A prayer for your scrutiny committee
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Hello, here is a prayer for your scrutiny committee, in case you find it useful. --------------------- As we sit down around this committee table May we be the best version of our scrutiny selves May we work together with respect and compassion And always remember the citizens we seek to serve As we steady ourselves for our scrutiny work May we feel confident about the tasks before us May we feel well prepared And ready to challenge constructively As we start our first item May we be sure of our purpose May we be guided well by our chair And focussed on making a difference As we greet our first witness May we see them calm and relaxed Knowing why they are here and what to expect And open to dialogue as we are open to dialogue As we ask our first questions May we show we are respectful by our words May we show we are listening by our faces And see thought in the faces of those who we talk with As we conclude each item May we be clear about our conclusions May our recommendations be impactful And let us be happy with our agreed next steps As we end our our meeting Let us feel we have used our time well Let us reflect on what we have done And look forward to when we next meet If we should look back in three months time May we be grateful for the assurance we have provided May we be grateful for the improvements we have helped with And pleased to have played our part Amen If you would like to see / add any comments, I have posted this prayer on LinkedIn here. |
Dear scrutineer,
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Once upon a time, dear scrutineer, there was a senior officer called Ralph who worked as a director at three different councils. Here is his scrutiny story. I wonder what you’ll make of it? At the first, Strawbridge District Council, Ralph’s relationship to scrutiny was as a witness, appearing before the scrutiny committee to present reports and answer questions. At this council, it was generally the officers who did this, cabinet members, when they did attend, sat with the committee members...
Kostas, a scrutiny officer I know, was telling me about what he thought was a funny moment before a meeting the other week. He said it was ok to share, so, as long as you keep it to yourself, here it is. The chair of the committee that Kostas supports was talking to him about how to get the committee members out of their obvious cliques. Every meeting they all sit together in their political groups, which means that, for one thing, scrutiny doesn’t feel as cross-party as it should. For...
Vice Chair Jo was telling me the other day about one of the members on her scrutiny committee. “I mean, he’s very polite, I think he enjoys the sessions and asks good questions sometimes but…” (and I knew there was a ’but’ coming) “… he just doesn’t believe in it, he just doesn’t think there is any actual point to scrutiny”. I’ve heard this before, of course. Even after all these years I hear people talking about the ‘good old committee system’ and how scrutiny was an afterthought when they...