Members of the public are encouraged to get involved in the overview and scrutiny process.

A system has been put in place to gather ideas for reviews to be carried out by the Council. These should not be about individual problems or grievances, but the big issues that affect a great number of people.

All reviews will be done through the Overview Panel meetings. Councillors will ask for evidence to be collected, will call witnesses, then study all the information before agreeing their findings. Finally the Councillors will issue their report which will set out their findings and what actions should be taken.

Anyone who uses the Council’s services can put in a request for a review.

The first step is to fill in a request form asking for a review.

You will have to state on the form:

• The reasons why you think this service needs to be reviewed.
• The evidence that supports this.
• What results you would like to see come out of the review.

Once your form is received, the Council promises to reply within five working days to confirm that your request has been received and will then inform you of the review process.

Councillors will look at the complete list of suggested reviews and pick the most high-impact, high importance topics.