Centre for Public Scrutiny

The Centre was launched in December 2002 under the auspices of the I&DeA. Its aims are described as follows:

The Centre for Public Scrutiny has been set up to meet the new demands scrutiny will make on elected representatives and the professionals who support them. Its brief is to:

• promote the role of scrutiny and raise its profile
• develop a rigorous understanding of the different approaches to scrutiny and how to make scrutiny effective
• facilitate links between different tiers of government and their scrutiny activities.

The Centre will build on existing regional networks to create a forum where practitioners can meet both on-line and in person at various events, to share experience and good practice.

The Centre's first annual conference took place in June 2003.

Visit the Centre's website.

Improvement and Development Agency for Local Government (I&DeA)

I&DeA Knowledge is a free, web-based service which aims to gather expertise, ideas and solutions together in one place. It also includes discussions of current local government topics and a library of information about every local authority in England and Wales.

Once you have registered, the database offers "instant access to fully searchable, evaluated good practice." Visit I&DeA Knowledge

Local and Regional Government Research Unit

The unit is part of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and has published a large number of studies on its web pages.

The Constitution Unit (University College of London)

This organisation describes itself as "the UK's foremost independent research body on constitutional change"; it specialises in constitutional reform and comparative constitutional studies.

Since September 2002 it has been carrying out a two-year programme of research into effective scrutiny at all levels of government in the UK.

Visit the Unit's website

Local Government Information Unit

Visit the Unit's website

Southwest Observatory

The Observatory publishes research and information on:

• business and the economy
• the environment
• planning
• public health
• skills and learning

The site also includes census data and the South West Barometer which aims to monitor "at a very broad level, whether the South West is moving in the right direction" in a number of policy areas.

Overview and Scrutiny: Government report

On 25 September 2002, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister published a 121-page report entitled "The Development of Overview and Scrutiny in Local Government." The report offers a number of conclusions about what makes for effective scrutiny.

See the full report.