Suggest a topic for a scrutiny review consultation

Background

The role of Overview and Scrutiny is to review performance and examine the decisions taken by Cabinet, the council’s decision-making body. Much of this work is undertaken in committee but scrutiny members also conduct in-depth investigations into areas of underperformance and those that matter to the community.   

Overview and Scrutiny has powers to scrutinise council services and public service organisations e.g. the NHS, police or housing associations, as they too have a significant impact on the wellbeing of the population. Input from local people and organisations is a crucial part of the scrutiny review process, so we want to hear from you. 

The Overview and Scrutiny Committees are seeking suggestions from residents and other local partners on topics that would benefit from scrutiny involvement. All suggestions are considered by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee at the beginning of the municipal year (May to June) and those agreed form part of the committee work programme for the year ahead. 

If you live, work or study in Barnet, Overview and Scrutiny would really like to hear your suggestions which can be considered for inclusion in this year's scrutiny work programme. The Overview and Scrutiny Committees  welcome suggestions on:

• local issues which are important to you and the wider local community 
• local services which really matter to you, your family or the wider community which you think could/ should be improved. 

Overview and Scrutiny is able to investigate a wide range of local issues and your feedback will give the councillors insight into the views of the local community and other stakeholders and will help to identify areas of concern. The work the committees carry out each year then helps shape local services and contributes to the policy objectives of the council. 

How to have your say

We are keen to hear your views on topics that Overview and Scrutiny should review. We encourage you to have your say by completing our online questionnaire below. 

Complete questionnaire

If you would like to request a paper questionnaire or another format please:

• email scrutiny@barnet.gov.uk
• telephone 020 8359 3822
• write to us at Governance Service, Scrutiny Team, London Borough of Barnet, 2 Bristol Avenue, Colindale, London, NW9 4EU

If you would like someone to help you complete the questionnaire or need more information, please contact us using one of the above methods. 

For further information on how to get involved in Overview and Scrutiny, please visit our Scrutiny pages.

What happens after the consultation closes?

The council will review the consultation findings and the topics that are agreed will form part of the work programme for the year ahead. 

We will feed back the results on this consultation page and publish the final work programmes on the Scrutiny webpage in June 2026. 

Contact

Stella Akintan - Principal Overview and Scrutiny Officer

Email: stella.akintan@barnet.gov.uk