The reduction of scrutiny panels at the civic centre from seven to four has been slammed by the opposition Conservatives

Enfield Civic Centre and (inset) Chris Dey

Enfield Council has defended a shake-up of its scrutiny functions amid a row between Labour and Conservative councillors over whether it amounts to “streamlining” or “watering down”.

Chris Dey, the Tory councillor for Grange ward, attacked the Labour administration for reducing the number of scrutiny panels on the council from seven to four – a move he described as a “shocking abomination”.

The shake-up includes axing the council’s environment forum and merging of the health and community safety panels – each panel will meet four times per year. These are in addition to the overview and scrutiny committee, which is continuing in its existing form and still has the power to force the council’s cabinet to reconsider key decisions, meeting six times a year.

But the council has this week defended the reduction of its scrutiny panels, saying it was designed to “enhance the impact” of each panel and “improve decision making”.

It has also been pointed out that neighbouring councils have a similar number of such panels, while Barnet even has fewer, with just two. Waltham Forest, however, has eight.

Cllr Dey had argued that the reduction to four scrutiny panels meant that important topics were being “amalgamated” and that a council which had recently been ranked 303 out of 317 across England for its overall performance, according to data published by The Times, should be seeking more scrutiny rather than less.

Defending the move, a council spokesperson said: “The decision to restructure the number of scrutiny panels was made to streamline our processes, ensuring more focused and effective oversight.

“This restructuring aims to align our scrutiny efforts with key priority areas: culture and environment, healthy and safe communities, thriving children and young people, and housing and regeneration.

“The changes are designed to enhance the impact of each panel by reducing duplication and enabling deeper dives into critical issues, ultimately improving decision-making and resource allocation.

“This approach also supports our commitment to financial prudence and effective governance. There will be an overall saving achieved from the consequential changes to the members allowance scheme.

“We believe this new structure will allow for more comprehensive and meaningful scrutiny and we remain committed to transparency and accountability, ensuring that the council continues to serve the best interests of our community.”

Cllr Dey, who unsuccessfully stood to become an MP in Enfield North at the general election, also criticised the council for publishing and agreeing the report about its scrutiny shake-up during its annual meeting on 15^th May, which has traditionally been focused solely on the mayor-making ceremony rather than political debate.

In his address to the meeting, he said: “To try to sneak this report in tonight and hope there wouldn’t be any opposition to it was quite foolish on behalf of the administration.

“’Streamlined’ is the word the administration wants to use but this side of the chamber would say ‘watered down’. The total scrutiny function is being reduced.

“Scrutiny is an incredibly important function of the council. By moving from seven committees to four, which was glossed over in a heartbeat, we end up amalgamating very important subjects […] in totality this is a very sad day for democracy in Enfield.”

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