The government wishes to speed up the process under which local authorities introduce new measures - by permitting them to introduce local ‘cabinets’. This means that as in central government, a small number of elected members (councillors) are authorised to vote on certain issues rather than referring every matter to meetings of the full council.

Decisions made by a small proportion of elected councillors must be open to question by more members before being adopted. Legislation therefore provides for scrutiny commissions, composed of a number of councillors, to study the decisions made. They have the power to order further research or enquiries before allowing them to pass. All councils are required to have commissions in place.

Scrutiny commission advisers - also known as scrutiny support officers - are employed to advise and provide guidance to individual scrutiny commissions. They work for district/borough, county, unitary and metropolitan councils.

Work Environment

Scrutiny commission advisers may spend considerable amounts of time out of their own offices, attending meetings or visiting other council officials, councillors and expert witnesses. They also attend some council meetings.

They usually work 37 hours per week, from Monday to Friday.

Some evening work may be necessary in areas where council meetings are held in the evenings.

Daily Activities

Scrutiny commission advisers aim to assist the scrutiny process by providing high level professional advice, research and investigatory back up.

Their days vary considerably. They plan their own time and arrange their own meetings with other people according to the work in hand. Often, the order of work they have planned has to change if a commission member or other elected councillor needs urgent information or advice.

Scrutiny commissions have two roles. One is reactive - to examine the work done by the cabinet. Scrutiny commission advisers are responsible for identifying and recommending which issues the particular commission should examine and advising the chairman. They then make the arrangements for commissions to meet, notify all the councillors on the committee, draw up and agenda and attend the meeting to offer any advice and guidance required. The commission will be composed of councillors from different wards, who have volunteered to serve on the commission. They will have a expertise in a particular area of work - which could be environment, education or public protection - but may need further advice on certain points. Sometimes the commission will decide that the cabinet decision was based on insufficient information and may decide to notify them that they are making further investigations. They might decide to ask ‘witnesses’ to attend a meeting and answer questions. The scrutiny commission adviser may help in identifying suitable people - environmental specialists or police officers for example, and invite them to a future meeting.

The second role is proactive. The commission’s members can decide to look at an issue that affects local residents and that they would like the council to discuss. They might again decide to call in witnesses from outside the council. Scrutiny commission advisers contact relevant experts and invite their opinions.

They spend a considerable amount of time writing briefing documents for commission members, writing accounts of meetings and progress reports on issues being scrutinised.

Scrutiny commission advisers meet regularly with the chairman of their commissions and have an important role in keeping MPs and MEPs informed on the work of commissions and trying to ensure that they take any appropriate action on their recommendations.

Skills & Interests

Scrutiny commission advisers need a thorough knowledge of:

• local government procedures
• local councils’ rights and duties
• central government legislation as it affects local authorities.

They also need:

• good administrative skills
• organisational ability
• ability to manage their own time and to prioritise work loads
• excellent communication skills ability to work with people from a variety of backgrounds and political parties.

Entry Requirements

Scrutiny commission advisers have varied backgrounds. Councils normally require either:

a degree
a professional qualification relevant to local government
or considerable experience of work in a local authority.

Estimated salary range

Variable - some councils pay from £24,612 to £28,839.

Please note that salary information is a guide only and there may be local agreements in place. For further information about salaries for particular positions, please contact your local council directly.

Future prospects & opportunities

This is a new post. It is therefore difficult to assess opportunities.

Some councils have decided to employ scrutiny commission advisers to service just one commission and to conduct all their own research whereas others have decided to employ one officer to look after two or three commissions - with the support of a research assistant.

The number of scrutiny commission advisers employed will depend on the council’s policy. A medium sized council might have six.

Related Occupations