What Council services should be scrutinised?
Residents are being given the chance to say what St Albans City and District Council services they would like to see improved.
A meeting of the Council’s Community, Environment and Sport Scrutiny Committee will be held on Wednesday 17 July.
And members want to hear beforehand from the public about what services they would like to see put under the microscope in the year ahead.
The Committee’s focus is on the areas covered by three portfolios: business, culture and tourism; leisure and sport; and climate and environment.
Topics that residents could raise include the running of the St Albans Museum + Gallery and efforts to further improve the recycling rate.
Their concerns might also include air pollution, cycling strategy, children’s playgrounds or car parks.
The Committee’s role is to check that the Council is providing the best possible services it can by examining its work in-depth.
Members review performance, decisions and policies as well as suggest changes that could be made to ensure improvements.
They can look at issues that are not the local authority’s direct responsibility but can impact on the District such as public transport.
The Committee can summon members of the Council’s Cabinet – its executive body – and Council officers for questioning. It can also ask for representatives from other organisations to present to meetings.
It cannot make decisions but can make recommendations to the Cabinet for changes or how policies should be developed.
A full list of the three portfolio’s responsibilities can be found here: business, culture and tourism; leisure and sport; climate and environment.
To suggest a topic for review, residents, businesses or other organisations should email scrutiny@stalbans.gov.uk by noon on Monday 15 July.
Richard Shwe, Deputy Chief Executive (Commercial and Development), the Committee’s lead officer, said:
Scrutiny Committees play a vital role in making sure our services are performing as well as they possibly can for the benefit of residents.
Councillors on the Committee want to make sure they are examining the areas that residents are most concerned about, so we need their feedback in that regard.
I urge anyone who wants a particular topic to take advantage of this opportunity to raise the issue with the Committee as it prepares its work schedule for the year ahead.
Councillors are very keen to hear from them and I hope there will be a good and interesting response.
This is the first meeting of the Committee since the District Council elections in May and a new chair will be elected.
The three Portfolio Holders accountable to this Committee are Cllr Chris White, Leader, Climate and Environment; Cllr Mandy McNeill, Business, Culture and Tourism; and Cllr Anthony Rowlands, Community, Leisure and Sport.
There is another Scrutiny Committee that checks on the Council’s Planning, Resources, Housing and Commercial services. Any topics raised on those subjects will be passed on.
For more information about the Council’s Scrutiny Committees, please click here: Community, Environment and Sport Scrutiny Committee: Planning, Resources, Housing and Commercial Scrutiny Community.
Media contact:
John McJannet,
Principal Communications Officer,
St Albans City and District Council
Tel: 01727-296130
Email: john.mcjannet@stalbans.gov.uk.