Scrutiny call-in process

Executive Decisions that can be called-in The relevant scrutiny committee can call-in a decision made by Cabinet or an individual Cabinet member; a key decision made by an Officer under delegated powers; a decision made by an area committee or under joint arrangements (e.g. the Joint Waste and Recycling Committee).
Call-in Period When a decision making meeting is held the decision is published after the meeting - normally within 3 days (but can be sooner) and is sent to all councillors. The decision notice will have the date when it was published and will state that the decision will come into force on the expiry of 4 clear working days after the publication of the decision. This is known as the call-in period.
What happens during the call-in period During the 4 day call-in period the decision can be called-in by the relevant scrutiny committee if 3 (or more) members of the committee request it, setting out their reasons for calling the decision in. The Proper Officer/Monitoring Officer will assess whether the call-in is valid and notify the scrutiny members and the decision maker if the decision is to be called in. For a call-in to be valid the reasons must meet the call-in guidance set out in the Constitution and be made within the call-in period.
Consideration of a called-in decision by scrutiny If a decision is called-in, the relevant scrutiny committee will consider the called-in decision at a meeting of the scrutiny committee which must be held within 10 working days of the decision to call the matter in. If the committee does not meet within this timescale or does meet but does not object to the decision, the decision can be implemented at the expiry of the 10 working days or the date the committee met, whichever is earlier.
If after considering the decision, the committee is still concerned about it, the decision can be referred back to the original decision making body or person to reconsider it. On receipt of the response from scrutiny, the original decision maker considers scrutiny’s views and can either proceed with the original decision or make an amended decision taking into account scrutiny’s views. Scrutiny can alternatively refer the decision to Full Council. If Council does not object to the decision, then the decision can be implemented from the date of the Council meeting. However, if Council does object to the decision, it can only refer the matter back to the original decision making body or person, unless it is contrary to the policy framework, or contrary to or not wholly consistent with the budget.