Scrutiny reviews

A scrutiny review is when a council committee investigates a particular subject in depth in order to recommend proposals for change. As well as the views of council members and officers, they can consider the views of experts on the subject, service users and members of the public.

These reviews are essential if a local authority wants to produce an effective strategy. The London Borough of Islington's Sustainability Review Committee carried out a scrutiny review on the prevention of homelessness, which reported in July 2005.

The objectives of the review were to consider whether the council's prevention of homelessness activities were effective, to review the activities and to make recommendations to improve performance. The committee looked at, and made recommendations on, a range of issues, including:

• early intervention
• the options for people threatened with homelessness
• inter-agency work and rough sleepers
• the use of the private rented sector
• joint working with social services and housing providers
• cross borough and sub-regional working to maximise provision for those most at risk.

The questions the committee asked itself were comprehensive and challenging, including whether:

• the needs of specific groups of vulnerable homeless people, such as people with mental health problems and offenders, were taken into account
• the council was successful in preventing repeat homelessness
• the allocation policy struck the right balance between homeless/potentially homeless people and other groups
• the prevention of homelessness was sufficiently prominent in strategic planning.

A diverse group of people and organisations contributed to the review, such as:

• clients of the housing aid centre
• the Single Homeless Project and St. Mungo's outreach service
• council officers from a variety of departments, including law and public service, regeneration and environment and conservation
• beacon councils.

Focus groups were used, and there were surveys (of housing advice clients), site visits, and interviews with users and officers. Existing sub-regional and cross-borough forums, such as the Association of London Government homelessness working party, were also consulted.