The idea of an accountability or scrutiny panel is that it gives power to a group of citizens or residents to review, and sometimes arbitrate over, a decision, a set of actions or an institution. This positions local people as people with a stake in local democracy, not just as service users.
These panels recognise the right for residents and citizens to challenge institutions and their decisions, to understand and meet their needs better and ensure decisions are being followed through. These panels usually consist of 15-30 members of the public, recruited as a reflective sample of the local population as much as is possible with a small group, by demographics and geography. You may want to oversample those from marginalised or less heard groups.
The concept aligns to the Citizen Council element of the Ostbelgian Model of institutionalised citizen participation. The Citizen Council is the permanent institution where a panel of 24 people selected by citizen lottery form to set the region’s engagement strategy, advise on where they need to engage citizens more deeply and hold the parliament accountable. Recently, Involve has been running Resident Scrutiny Panels at Grenfell as part of the development of the Future Grenfell Support Programme. This is part of the Global Settlement Agreement requirement for a new fund of money to be set up to benefit the bereaved and survivors of Grenfell and the local community.
So, how much does a citizen accountability or scrutiny panel cost?
Costs would be in the region of £100,000 to £150,000, although there is a high level of flexibility in how these panels are run.