Conceptual questions relating to the purpose of external scrutiny
The following questions relate to the issues which will be considered by the Review when forming its conclusions and making recommendations for the future. The Review Team would be happy to receive any additional information to expand your submission which you feel would usefully add to the evidence base from which Professor Crerar will draw his conclusions.
General conceptual questions - The purpose of external scrutiny
- What is the main purpose of external scrutiny?
- Who are the beneficiaries of external scrutiny and how are their various needs best met?
- What balance is required between regulation, audit and inspection to achieve an effective system of external scrutiny and if so, how is this achieved?
- How do you make external scrutiny focus effectively on the needs of service users? How should you balance evidence from service users with other knowledge and information?
- Should complaints handling be an integral part of a system of external scrutiny? If so, how should the information from complaints be used?
- How should external scrutiny balance the competing demands placed upon it? For example, responding to individual service failures against development of longer term strategic focus on policy issues.
- How best do you achieve independent, credible external scrutiny in terms of structures, legislation, relationships with Government?
- How far should an external scrutiny system have legal enforcement powers?
Supplementary questions relating to your organisation
The following sections relate to your organisation specifically and provide the opportunity for you to submit a more in depth picture of what you do, and any supplementary material that you feel would add value to the evidence base.
Role and purpose
- What is the purpose of your organisation and how do you gauge your success?
- What have been the major scrutiny environment and policy changes affecting your organisation over the last 5 years? How have these impacted on your role? How have you adjusted your methodology and practice in response to these?
Methodology & impact of activity
- How would you describe your methodology? For example is it primarily a quality assurance model? A compliance model? Somewhere between the two? Please provide evidence.
- How you do assess the impact of your activities in terms of i) compliance with the relevant regulatory framework and ii) driving quality improvement?
- Does your organisation disseminate good practice? Please give examples.
- Are there constraints on your ability to encourage innovative models of service delivery?
- How does your organisation ensure improvements are made when aspects of service delivery fall below an acceptable standard?
- If you handle complaints, to what extent do you use such data to inform your other scrutiny activities? Does your complaints handling role conflict in any way with your other activities?
Public involvement in external scrutiny
- Do you obtain evidence from service users during inspection, audit or regulation activities? If so, how does it inform/influence your professional decisions?
- If you involve service users and/or members of the public in carrying out inspection, audit, or regulation activities, how does this information influence your professional judgements?
Governance & Accountability
- How does your organisation prioritise its activities, and what are the main drivers/influences on the planning of your activities?
- Do national priorities influence your organisational planning and work programme? Please give examples.
- How are the key indicators of success for your organisation's performance determined, how are they measured and by whom?
- How is your organisation held to account for its financial performance? Through annual reports? Are there other mechanisms in place to externally monitor or manage your delivery and use of resources?
- Do the findings from your organisations' activities influence national policy? Please give examples.
The Future
- What changes would you make to the current system of external scrutiny to create a system which is fit for the future?
- List the three biggest problems with the existing arrangements for external scrutiny and what would you do about each?
- What are the key issues for Government policy and legislation making with regard to external scrutiny?
- Are there any public services in the areas you cover which are subject to too many overlapping scrutiny processes, and which could be reduced in future?
- Are there any public services in the areas that you cover which are not currently subject to external scrutiny and which should be in future?