Overview and Scrutiny Committees (OSCs)

What does it do?

OSCs are part of the committee structure through which lots of local government business is conducted.  This means that they meet regularly in public, and publish agendas and minutes of their discussions.  They are all made up of elected councillors (including, in some instances, members who have been asked to join from District Councils in the Authority's region).  The size of OSCs is highly variable: at the time of writing, Gloucestershire has 7 councillors on its committee, while County Durham has 28.

OSCs oversee the activities of NHS Trusts (including Primary Care Trusts - PCTs) and Strategic Health Authorities (StHAs - see our guidance) that are responsible for planning and providing NHS services in their area.  It is important to emphasise that they do not manage these bodies, and they do not have direct rights of inspection: their role is to monitor NHS bodies' activities, to contribute to their strategic planning, and to ensure they are held to account for their decisions on behalf of the people they serve.  The particular duties of OSCs are as follows:

Reports and recommendations:  OSCs are expected to publish reports that set out the issues they have been considering, the evidence they have looked at, the conclusions they have reached, and the recommendations they would like the NHS bodies under their scrutiny to consider.  They can request a written response from the NHS body which is the subject of any report

Consultation:  It is a matter of law that NHS bodies have to consult their local OSC whenever they are considering "any proposal for a substantial development of the health service..., or for a substantial variation in the provision of such service".  This means that the OSC has the right to comment on any major plans put forward by the NHS body.  If the OSC is not satisfied that its views have been properly considered, it has the power to refer the matter to the Secretary of State for Health.  After considering the matter, the Secretary of State can compel the NHS body in question to undertake further public consultation, or to take any other action he sees fit.

Obtaining information:  An OSC also has the legal power to "require an officer of a local NHS body to attend before the committee to answer such questions as appear to the committee to be necessary for discharging its functions".  This means that, whenever an OSC wants questions answered, they can compel a senior member of the NHS body in question to come and discuss matters with them.  This is an important power.  One circumstance in which an OSC is likely to summon a representative of an NHS body is where it has had concerns referred to it by a local PPI Forum (see our guidance on PPI Forums).  Again, the OSC has the right to refer the matter to the Secretary of State for Health, if it remains concerned.

Multiple local authorities are allowed to form Joint OSCs, if they feel that would be the most effective way of carrying out some or all of their functions.  In London, for example, there is a proposal for all the Borough Councils to join together to form a "Joint Pan-London" OSC, to monitor the London Ambulance Service, and other aspects of the NHS's activities that apply across the city.