Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007

123 Joint overview and scrutiny committees: local improvement targets

(1) For the purposes of this section, “group of partner authorities” means—

(a) a county council in England; and

(b) one or more district councils which are partner authorities of it.

(2) The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision under which a group of partner authorities may—

(a) appoint a joint committee (a “joint overview and scrutiny committee”); and

(b) arrange for any functions of making reports and recommendations falling within subsection (3) to be exercisable by the committee.

(3) A report or recommendation falls within this subsection if—

(a) it concerns a matter which—

(i) relates to the attainment of any local improvement target specified for the time being in a relevant local area agreement; and

(ii) is not an excluded matter; and

(b) it is made to—

(i) the county council, or

(ii) the county council and one or more district councils,

in the group of partner authorities.

(4) In subsection (3)—

(a) “excluded matter” means any matter with respect to which a crime and disorder committee could make a report or recommendations—

(i) by virtue of subsection (1)(b) of section 19 of the Police and Justice Act 2006 (c. 48) (local authority scrutiny crime and disorder matters); or

(ii) by virtue of subsection (3)(a) of that section;

(b) the reference to a report or recommendations being made to a county council or district council is, in the case of a local authority operating executive arrangements under Part 2 of the Local Government Act 2000 (c. 22), to be read as a reference to a report or recommendations being made to the local authority or its executive.

(5) Regulations under subsection (2) may in particular—

(a) provide for arrangements to be made only in circumstances, or subject to conditions or limitations, specified by the regulations;

(b) in relation to joint overview and scrutiny committees, make provision applying, or corresponding to, any provision of—

(i) section 21(4) and (6) to (12) of the Local Government Act 2000 (c. 22),

(ii) sections 21A to 21D of that Act, or

(iii) section 246 of, and Schedule 17 to, the National Health Service Act 2006 (c. 41),

with or without modifications;

(c) make provision—

(i) as to relevant information which associated authorities must provide to a joint overview and scrutiny committee (or, if the regulations make provision for the appointment of sub-committees of such a committee, to such a sub-committee); and

(ii) as to information which may not be disclosed by an associated authority to a joint overview and scrutiny committee (or, if the regulations make provision for the appointment of sub-committees of such a committee, to such a sub-committee).

(6) For the purposes of subsection (5)(c), in relation to a joint overview and scrutiny committee—

• “associated authority” means—

  (a)

  the county council in the group of partner authorities which appointed the joint overview and scrutiny committee; or

  (b)

  any person which is a partner authority in relation to that council other than—

  (i)

  a police authority; or

  (ii)

  a chief officer of police;

• “relevant information”, in relation to an associated authority, means information which is relevant to a local improvement target in a relevant local area agreement which relates to the associated authority;

and section 105(2) or (3) applies for the purpose of determining whether a local improvement target relates to an associated authority.

(7) Regulations under this section may not make provision of a kind mentioned in subsection (5)(c) with respect to information in respect of which provision may be made in exercise of the power conferred by section 20(5)(c) or (d) of the Police and Justice Act 2006 (c. 48) (guidance and regulations regarding crime and disorder matters).

(8) In this section—

(a) “relevant local area agreement”, in relation to a joint overview and scrutiny committee, means a local area agreement of the county council in the group of partner authorities which appointed the committee; and

(b) “local area agreement”, “local improvement target” and “partner authority” have the same meanings as in Chapter 1 of this Part.

(9) Any group of partner authorities and any joint overview and scrutiny committee must, in exercising or deciding whether to exercise any functions conferred on it by or by virtue of regulations under this section, have regard to any guidance issued by the Secretary of State.