Overview and scrutiny meetings are normally held in public. You can attend meetings or take part in several ways.
Speak at a meeting
Members of the public can speak at overview and scrutiny committee meetings about an issue relevant to the committee or about a specific agenda item.
You will normally have up to 3 minutes to speak. A response may be given at the meeting or provided in writing afterwards.
If you would like to speak at a meeting, you can contact committeemeetings@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk. Advance notice is helpful but not required.
Submit a petition
You can submit a petition or e-petition to the council.
If a petition receives a response that the organiser believes is inadequate, an overview and scrutiny committee may review that response.
Suggest a topic for scrutiny
Overview and scrutiny committees review important issues affecting local residents and council services.
You can suggest a topic for the scrutiny work programme by contacting the overview and scrutiny team at committeemeetings@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk.
Scrutiny committees do not investigate individual complaints and instead focus on strategic issues.
Overview and scrutiny toolkit
The Overview and scrutiny toolkit (PDF) provides more information about the scrutiny process and guidance for people taking part in scrutiny reviews.
Further procedures are set out in the council's constitution.