Scrutiny

Facilitated through Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council's scrutiny committee structure, it involves Councillors working with local people, the community, council services and other organisations. The council's Select Committees meet on a regular basis and also gather information through site visits and a range of engagement activities.

The council has five themed Select Committees comprising of nine Councillors on each (politically balanced). Some Select Committees also have non-Councillor co-opted members.

Select Committees examine, review and challenge the work of the council and its local partners. They cannot make decisions, but do make recommendations to the council and other organisations.  

Read our overview and scrutiny end of term report for 2019 to 2023.

For further information on our Select Committees, including copies of final reports, visit the Council's meetings, agendas and minutes webpage or telephone 01642 528158.

Executive Scrutiny Committee

Scrutiny provides Councillors who are not part of Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council's decision-making Cabinet the opportunity to review decisions, policies and performance that affect the borough.

Scrutiny is a Councillor-led process which helps to ensure that the council's and other local organisations' services and policies meet the needs of local people. The Executive Scrutiny Committee co-ordinates the scrutiny work programme, providing a strategic steer for the work of the Select Committees. It also considers periodic updates on the Council Plan and the Council's Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP).

Adult Social Care and Health Select Committee

Review of Stockton-on-Tees Adult Carers Support Service

Carers play a substantial and vital role in meeting social care needs. The cost of replacement care locally for Stockton-on-Tees has previously been estimated to be around £464 million annually. From an early intervention and prevention perspective, addressing the needs of carers enables Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council to delay or possibly avert the need for complex and costly social care interventions, and by sustaining carers within their caring role, the stability of local adult health and social care services is supported. Identifying and providing support to these individuals is not just mandated by the Care Act 2014 but a sound economic and socially responsible decision (which may also prevent carers themselves needing services in their own right). By providing information, advice and support to carers we are able to ensure they promote their own wellbeing, prevent carer breakdown, and establish resilient communities.

The local Adult Carers Support Service was brought in-house to Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council in January 2018 and works with adults who are providing informal care and support for adults across the borough. Since then, the service has developed significantly, with over 5,000 referrals during this time. As of June 2025, it was working with 3,200 unpaid carers within Stockton-on-Tees, offering ongoing advice, information and support alongside statutory carers assessments, support planning, carers personal budgets, and time-out support. Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council are also supporting nearly 2,000 carers with a direct payment which amounts to a projected spend of £550,000 for this provision in this financial year.

Whilst this offer is considered to be effective, it would be of benefit for the service to be scrutinised to provide assurance around its current delivery. It is also hoped that this review will help highlight any gaps in the service and, in turn, help shape future developments for local provision.

The review is scheduled to report to Cabinet in March 2026.

Quality Assurance Work

As well as undertaking in-depth reviews, the Committee looks at a range of other information to keep an overview of performance. These include NHS Quality Accounts and Healthwatch reports, as well as visits to local health and social care services.

Children and Young People Select Committee

Review of Additionally Resourced Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Provision

Since 2017, Stockton-on-Tees have had an enhanced mainstream school (EMS) model in place which supports children who require additional support than normally available in mainstream when they have a particular area of need, for example, a cognition and learning difficulty. In recent years, these placements have been overpopulated (for example for children who have language and communication needs) and underutilised in other areas (hearing impairment, visual impairment and physical needs), resulting in high levels of high needs funding been distributed to settings without the children in situ to receive support.

In December 2024, the government requested that all councils begin to consider creating resourced provision within their mainstream's schools, with an announcement of further funding awaiting in Spring 2025. This new funding can be used to adapt classrooms to be more accessible for children with SEND, and to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils' needs and this coincides with the work already in development in Stockton.

In January 2025, Cabinet received a report detailing the outcome of consultation relating to increasing capacity in mainstream schools within Stockton-on-Tees, by transferring current Enhanced Mainstream Schools (EMS) to Additionally Resourced Provision (ARP) and SEN Units. The consultation was largely positive and Cabinet:

1. supported the recommendation to transfer Enhanced Mainstream Schools to ARP and SEN Units from September 2025
2. agreed to invest up to an additional £730,000 per annum into these provisions from the high needs block of the Dedicated Schools Grant
3. agreed to allocate £85,000 from the high needs provision capital allocations for investment in the SEND Unit at Preston Primary School to increase capacity from 8 to 16 places in September 2025

The purpose of this scrutiny will be to receive update on the implementation of the transfer from September 2025 and engage with the secondary schools to secure additional applications from the secondary sector and fully understand the barriers to the schools becoming ARPS, identifying ways in which we may overcome this to secure the provision required for children and young people in the borough.

The review has been paused as a result of recently published changes to legislation which is relevant to this scrutiny topic.

Review of children not in school

Children not in school covers a range of scenarios where a child is not accessing a full-time education. The range of reasons a child may not be accessing a full-time education at a school is vast and covers:

• all reasons for absence from school including authorised absence, unauthorised absence
• pupils on reduced or part-time time tables
• pupils who are accessing alternative provision not in a registered school (whether arranged by the school or the local authority)
• pupils receiving home and hospital provision
• pupils who are CME (Children Missing Education)
• children who are EHE (Electively Home Educated)
• children who have no school base and are EOTAS (Educated Other Than at School)
• children who move into the borough and are waiting for a school place

Strengthened systems for children not in school has the potential to:

• improve attendance further
• improve pupil outcomes
• reduce associated anti-social and criminal activity
• reduce demands on community safety resources

The review is scheduled to report to Cabinet in May 2026.

Member visits to frontline services

In addition to review work, Select Committee Members undertake a programme of visits to frontline services as part of their wider quality assurance work.

Community Safety Select Committee

Review of Children affected by Domestic Abuse

In December 2023, Foundations (the national What Works Centre for Children and Families) reported figures which revealed that at least 827,000 children in England and Wales may have suffered domestic abuse by the end of 2023. Amid concerns that the numbers of children affected by domestic abuse had escalated, the organisation called for an urgent focus on testing the most promising approaches to strengthen support for children.

The impact of domestic abuse is felt by children regardless of their age, and this is now recognised in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. Children exposed to domestic abuse or experiencing domestic abuse in their own relationships are regarded as victim-survivors in their own right.

Domestic abuse can seriously affect families and the physical, mental and emotional health, wellbeing and development of children and young people. Children and young people can develop emotional, behavioural and developmental issues such as anxiety, challenging and aggressive behaviour or withdrawal, delayed speech, language and communication and low self-esteem, affecting their ability to form healthy relationships and educational attainment. In 2020 to 2021, the local domestic abuse service found that children were exposed to three-quarters of domestic abuse incidents, whilst a third of referrals to Children's Services were related to domestic abuse.

The Domestic Abuse Strategy 2022 to 2028 for Stockton-on-Tees highlights the importance of intervening early to minimise the impact of domestic abuse on children. As such, the main aims for this review will be to:

• understand the impact of domestic abuse on children, the extent of this issue across the borough, and the ways in which those who experience this are identified - in particular, explore how domestic abuse impacts children in their early years, and the extent of the lasting impact as they grow older
• articulate the current local offer for children and young people affected by domestic abuse, providing clarity for frontline professionals, families, children and young people
• explore opportunities for early intervention (focusing on those services engaging with children and families with children in their early years) to protect children from the enduring impacts of domestic abuse

The review is scheduled to report to Cabinet in April 2026.

People Select Committee

Review of Post 16 Provision

There is a strong Post 16 offer in Stockton-on-Tees with five providers offering a range of courses and qualifications to fulfil a variety of different passions and career aspirations. Achievement for young people at the end of their Post 16 education is growing rapidly with a higher than national average A level pass rate.

However, enrolment figures for in borough providers have been impacted in recent years with students choosing to attend out of borough providers, and a survey of young people approaching the end of Year 11 suggested that some students are unaware of the offer available to them.

The review will consider the current position, challenges, and proposed solutions in Stockton-on-Tees post 16 provision, to assist in increasing attraction and retention and lead to better outcomes for the young people of the borough.

The review is scheduled to report to Cabinet in September 2026.

Place Select Committee

Review of Governance of Capital Projects

The council has a large-scale programme of capital projects within the borough to ensure that we are providing quality facilities for residents, attracting investment, and making Stockton-on-Tees a great place to live, work and visit. A strong governance and oversight framework for capital projects gives confidence to bother council members as well as resident that they are value for money and have a social value. This should include robust processes for financial planning, identifying risk, and assessing the impact on services for residents.

The aim of the review is to examine the processes, including governance and decision-making structures, in delivering major capital projects and identify if these can be improved.

The review is scheduled to report to Cabinet in May 2026.

Other Scrutiny

A Tees Valley Joint Health Scrutiny Committee, comprising the five Tees Valley Local Authorities, exists to act as a forum for the scrutiny of regional and specialist health scrutiny issues which impact upon the residents of the Tees Valley, and for sharing information and best practice in relation to health scrutiny and health scrutiny issues. Time-limited Joint Committees may also be established to respond to consultation on changes to local health services, as and when needed.

In terms of crime and disorder, the council is represented on the Cleveland Police and Crime Panel. The panel's main role is to scrutinise the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), review the police precept, contribute to the development of the Police and Crime Plan, and consider proposed appointments by the PCC.

Earlier in 2023, a joint working group was initiated by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council to investigate the high-profile mass crustacean deaths which occurred along the North East coast in late 2021. Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council is a member of this group which continues to meet regularly.