The Council's Cabinet met on 11 November and endorsed recommendations from the Overview and Scrutiny Board. These changes focus on making scrutiny more effective, providing clearer evidence of its impact, and ensuring earlier engagement in decision-making.
The review, following the Council’s 2025/26 annual assessment, identified areas for improvement, including earlier engagement, greater continuity in leadership roles, and more consistent follow-up on recommendations. While acknowledging existing good practices such as councillor training and financial scrutiny, the report highlighted opportunities for enhancement.
Three key measures were agreed by the Cabinet: a shared framework for Cabinet and scrutiny to foster constructive challenge and timely information access; greater continuity of scrutiny leadership by encouraging Chairs and Vice-Chairs to serve two-year terms where practicable; and a consistent system for tracking recommendations, detailing their agreement status, reasons, responsibilities, and deadlines.
“"Residents should be able to see not just that decisions are being challenged, but what difference that challenge makes. These changes will help councillors examine proposals earlier, ask informed questions and follow through on agreed improvements. Clear responses, named responsibilities and regular progress checks will help ensure scrutiny leads to meaningful action and better outcomes for the people who use our services. This is all about ensuring decisions help us to deliver on our 2040 Vision – Creating London’s Super Suburb - to make Havering the best place in London to Live, Learn and Earn and for businesses to Invest, Grow and Thrive."
These new arrangements are intended to focus scrutiny on resident priorities, bolster evidence-based decision-making, and ensure agreed recommendations translate into tangible actions. The new tracking system will enable councillors to assess the delivery and improvement of services.
The protocol is effective immediately, with the response template and tracker to be implemented within 20 working days. Progress will be reviewed quarterly, with an initial report after six months and the first annual review in 2027/28. These changes are expected to be managed within existing resources.
