"A councillor has no business being a member of a Scrutiny Committee unless he or she is prepared to ask challenging questions."

Comment in today's Mail on Sunday from Janet Street-Porter:

The only bright news last week was that the mouthy, opinionated Tory MP Dr Sarah Wollaston — selected in an open primary in Totnes — has been voted chair of the Commons Health Select Committee. As she’s no yes-woman, that should liven matters up.

Why Cameron should boot out his sexist blond bimbo, says Janet Street-Porter | Mail Online

This is not a candidate the Prime Minister would have wished for:
Vocal critic of Cameron gets leading health watchdog role | Society | The Guardian
Sarah Woolaston elected Chairman of Health Select Committee | East Devon Alliance

This has singular relevance for governance at a local level:

Sarah Wollaston:  Select committees should ask challenging questions and put aside party loyalties

Thursday, 19 June 2014 2 Comments by Claire

Sarah Wollaston said something relevant and topical today on the Daily Politics programme.  It is about the role of scrutiny and the importance of impartiality.

She said that an MP had no business being a member of a select committee unless he or she is prepared to ask challenging questions

Members of select committees should put their party loyalties aside, added Dr Wollaston……

Council scrutiny committees are based on the model of parliamentary select committees, where witnesses are invited along and asked questions.

I am a member of EDDC’s overview and scrutiny committee and Devon County Council’s health and wellbeing scrutiny committee.

The idea is to try and get behind an issue, to work through to the nub of it, particularly on issues of public concern. The role of the scrutiny committee is act on behalf of residents who do not have the opportunity to seek out, or ask such questions.  And it should be taken seriously…. But is it?

Here are a few examples of EDDC overview and scrutiny meetings ....

http://www.claire-wright.org/index.php/post/eddc_relocation_cost_could_spiral_to_7_million 

http://www.claire-wright.org/index.php/post/stuart_hughes_deposed_as_overview_and_scrutiny_chair 

http://www.claire-wright.org/index.php/post/what_happened_to_the_edbf_scrutiny_committee 

http://www.claire-wright.org/index.php/post/east_devon_business_forum_what_happened_to_scrutiny 

Comments

1. At 08:13 pm on 20th Jun Paul wrote:

Yes - it is ridiculous, and hypocritical and very reminiscent of George Orwell’s “doublethink”.

But whilst we (you) should continue to point out the contradictions and the absurdities of some of EDDC’s statements, we should not expect them to have any real impact. The only way things will improve will be a change of EDDC leadership following the next Local Government elections.

2. At 07:04 am on 21th Jun Roger Giles wrote:

I am delighted that Sarah Wollaston was elected Chair of the parliamentary Health Select Committee. She is an MP with a record of saying what she thinks, rather than what the party whips tell her to say.
I trust that the members of the EDDC Overview and Scrutiny Committee took note of Sarah Wollaston`s comments.
CCG representatives attended the 12 June Scrutiny Committee meeting to explain their proposals to close in-patient beds at East Devon community hospitals. The CCG presentation was full of jargon and vagueness, and appeared to be an attempt to create a smokescreen. 
There was a pressing need for Scrutiny members to ask “challenging questions” to elicit details. Instead, we heard toadying comments such as “that`s just what I wanted to hear”, and the CCG officer was “a breath of fresh air”. Worse, when I did seek to establish exactly what the CCG proposed, I was heckled by some Scrutiny Committee members and other Conservative councillors who were not even on the Scrutiny Committee.
If an MP has no business being a member of a Select Committee unless he or she is prepared to ask challenging questions, perhaps a councillor has no business being a member of a Scrutiny Committee unless he or she is prepared to ask challenging questions.

Sarah Wollaston: Select committees should ask challenging questions and put aside party loyalties - Claire Wright

Devon Tory Conservative MP Sarah Wollston elected chairman of powerful health select committee MPs | Western Morning News
Tory critics of Cameron lead battle to chair health select committee | UK news | The Observer
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