Scrutiny at the councils
Scrutiny plays a vital role in the councils' decision-making and policy development processes. It ensures public accountability is exercised at every level and that decisions relating to place, communities, resources and finance are thoroughly reviewed.
Adur District Council and Worthing Borough Council have set up a Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committee (JOSC) to undertake this role as part of the joint working arrangements. The JOSC is made up of eight members from Adur and eight members from Worthing. The committee is politically balanced.
What does the Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committee do?
The Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committee is responsible for holding the executives and Joint Strategic Committee to account, as well as helping to develop new policies.
The committee scrutinises decisions, reviews and advises on existing policies and public services, monitors the councils' performance and carries out policy development functions. Its aim is to secure continuous positive improvement in the way the councils' functions are exercised; taking economy, efficiency and effectiveness all into account.
The councils have recently undertaken a review of the Joint Overview and Scrutiny process to help improve the outcomes and the level of impact from the Committee and agreed a number of recommendations:
The committee has set a new work programme which will be reviewed on a regular basis. The new work programme has prioritised matters which require detailed scrutiny and are relevant to the work of the councils and align more closely with the councils' strategic priorities and can help make a difference:
The committee is set to hold a number of themed meetings throughout the year covering the following issues and welcomes public engagement in these meetings:
- 4th September 2025: Housing themed meeting
- 6th November 2025: Update and interview with the Chief Executive and Leaders on the delivery of 'Our Plan' and progress of the Councils' Work Programme
- 4th December 2025: Crime and Disorder and Safer Communities themed meeting - Interviews with the Chairs of the Adur and Worthing Safer Communities Partnership
- 27th January 2026: Budget update meeting and scrutiny of the joint budget and Worthing only budget
- 5th March 2026: Themed meeting - a review of the performance of the Worthing Business Improvement District
- See also: Other past Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committee meetings - reports and minutes
The committee will also sometimes set up various smaller working groups, which are established to conduct work on behalf of the committee. Usually made up of a minimum of four committee members, a working group undertakes a specific piece of scrutiny work, and reports back to the committee with their findings and recommendations. This year the committee has agreed to set up a working group to review the following issues:
- Budget Scrutiny Working Group: to take the lead in budget scrutiny and take a much broader and deeper approach to budget scrutiny which will inquire into and influence budgetary matters
Adur District Council and Worthing Borough Council also each have their own Overview & Scrutiny Committees. Adur's committee is made up of eight members and Worthing's has 15 members.
You can find committee agendas, reports and minutes, as well as details of committee members via the links below:
- Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committee (JOSC)
- Adur Overview & Scrutiny Committee
- Worthing Overview & Scrutiny Committee
To find out more about how the councils' political management is structured, please see:
If you're concerned about a local issue
If there is a local issue that is having an impact on you, your community or business, you can ask the Adur and Worthing Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committee to investigate it by completing the form below.
If you are a local resident you can ask your councillor to help you complete the form. If you are unsure who your councillors are then please see:
The work programme for the committee is under constant review and you can ask the committee to review issues relating to council services throughout the year and if you are concerned about any issues you should submit the scrutiny request form using the link set out below:
Adur and Worthing Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committee Annual Reports
At the end of each municipal year the committees produce an Annual Report. The reports for the last five years are available below:
Adur and Worthing Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committee - Annual Report 2024-25 (427KB)
Adur and Worthing Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committee - Annual Report 2023-24 (1,062KB)
Adur and Worthing Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committee - Annual Report 2022-23 (951KB)
Adur and Worthing Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committee - Annual Report 2021-22 (1,191KB)
Adur and Worthing Joint Overview & Scrutiny Committee - Annual Report 2020-21 (4,129KB)
If you require an annual report for previous years please contact the Scrutiny and Risk Officer using the contact details below.
Need assistance with this service?
Get in touch:
Scrutiny and Risk Officer
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Page last updated: 31 July 2025