Overview and Scrutiny Committees (OSCs)

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Introduction - What are they?

As of 1st January 2003, Health Overview and Scrutiny Committees (OSCs) should be provided by the Local Government Authorities in England that provide social services.  The Local Authorities in question are all either County Councils (e.g. Devon), Metropolitan Authorities (e.g. Birmingham), District Council Unitary Authorities (e.g. Plymouth), and London Borough Councils (e.g. Lambeth).

OSCs are responsible for monitoring the NHS services provided in their region.  Until recently, this used to be one of the jobs of Community Health Councils (CHCs).  This system has now been reformed, because the government decided that the job of overseeing NHS services should be carried out by elected officials, rather than by employees of CHCs.  You can read more about CHCs and their abolition on our Patient Advocacy page.