Scrutiny

What is scrutiny?

Scrutiny is about the Yorkshire and Humber Assembly working with Yorkshire Forward and partners to better deliver the Regional Economic Strategy. Its work is about making sure that the activities undertaken by Yorkshire Forward are the right ones for the region, supporting Yorkshire Forward and other regional bodies to become more accountable.

Why do we do it?

In 1999, the government announced additional funding and greater flexibility for Regional Development Agencies, and demanded in return more accountability, giving that responsibility to the regional assemblies.

Each region has developed its own procedures for taking forward scrutiny to reflect different opportunities and challenges facing them but agreed principles and protocols for effective scrutiny state that reviews will:

• be timely, planned and programmed;
• be endorsed by partners;
• provide measurable and meaningful outcomes; and
• add value for both the Regional Development Agencies and Regional Assemblies from a regional perspective.

How does it work?

Scrutiny is led by the Scrutiny Board.

The Scrutiny Board undertake two formal scrutiny reviews a year which focus on priority areas for the region in terms of delivering the Regional Economic Strategy to it's maximum impact. The scrutiny process includes:

• a statistical report compiled by Yorkshire Futures - the region’s intelligence network
• policy and expertise from consultants
• a series of interviews with key stakeholders in the region
• an open public discussion with Yorkshire Forward
• a private meeting with Yorkshire Forward
• online input from other Assembly members and stakeholders
• up to 10 recommendations for Yorkshire Forward and partners
• an action plan from Yorkshire Forward
• six monthly monitoring updates

Impact of scrutiny

Since 2002, the Assembly has undertaken 10 in-depth reviews looking at key issues for the region's future economy. Each review has highlighted new ways of working to further develop the work of Yorkshire Forward and its partners. Further details on each of these reviews. You can also download a brochure about scrutiny below which includes summaries of previous reviews.

Getting involved

The Scrutiny Board are keen for as many people, organisations, partners to get involved with scrutiny. This will maximise the impact and relevance of scrutiny and in turn make the most of the work Yorkshire Forward and the economy of Yorkshire and Humber. There are many ways to get involved:

• send in written information
• be interviewed by the commissioned consultants
• come along and enter the debate at the public discussion
• meet with the Scrutiny Board for a focus group discussion

For regular updates on scrutiny please email the Scrutiny team at scrutiny@yhassembly.gov.uk and we you will be added to the Scrutiny mailing list.

New publication

The Yorkshire and Humber Assembly have produced a new guide about how the Assembly carries out it's scrutiny function.

The 16-page publication (available below) contains details of the how the Assembly carries out its statutory responsibility to scrutinise collective delivery of the RES, led by Yorkshire Forward. It includes short summaries of each of the reviews already carried out, along with case studies showing examples of where the work has had real impact at the ground level.