What is health scrutiny
The Department of Health and Social Care issued updated guidance on local authority health scrutiny on 9 January 2024. This states that:
‘The primary aim of health scrutiny is to strengthen the voice of local people, ensuring that their needs and experiences are considered an integral part of the commissioning and delivery of health services and that those services are effective and safe.’
Health scrutiny has a strategic role in monitoring local health services and holding commissioners and providers to account on behalf of local residents. It also acts as a critical friend, offering constructive challenge with the aim of driving improvement in services.
How health scrutiny works at Cambridgeshire County Council
On 15 July 2025 Council established a new Health Scrutiny Committee to discharge the council’s statutory health scrutiny function. The committee will meet four times a year. It is responsible for reviewing and scrutinising the planning, provision and operation of health services in Cambridgeshire.
The Chair of the Health Scrutiny Committee is Councillor Richard Howitt and the Vice Chair is Councillor Anna Bradnam. The Health Scrutiny Committee has twelve members. It has seven county councillors and five co-opted members. The co-opted members represent the council’s city and district council partners. They can’t vote, but they are involved in the committee’s discussions. You can find details of the committee membership and dates of future meetings on the Health Scrutiny Committee webpage.
Health scrutiny sessions are broadcast live via a livestream on the council's website. They are also recorded and are available to watch on the council's YouTube channel. Meetings are held at New Shire Hall, Alconbury Weald PE28 4YE and are open to the public and press.
Upcoming health scrutiny meetings
The new Health Scrutiny Committee’s first meeting will be on Tuesday 14 October 2025 at 2.00pm. Details of the service/s which the committee will be scrutinising will follow once confirmed.
Suggestions for future meetings
We want to know what parts of our local NHS health services in Cambridgeshire are working well for you, or anything you are worried about or think could work better. This will help us decide what subjects to look at in future meetings.
If you have any suggestions please let us know. We won’t be able to cover everything, but we want to look at subjects that are important to local people.
Please send your suggestions to: democraticservices365@cambridgeshire.gov.uk
