[Ed Hammond]

If your authority, or team, still subscribes to the Local Government Chronicle, you may have seen the spread in the 2/2/12 edition about the committee system (or maybe you're still waiting to see it as it circulates slowly around 25 other people in the office).

It's a balanced and nuanced treatment of the matter, supplemented and enhanced by a comment piece on the matter by our own Jessica Crowe.

The LGC appears to have carried out a survey of 76 council CExs which has revealed a "small but significant" shift to committees. However, this also suggests that, where councils are making the move, it is to something which looks more like the fourth option, "streamlined" system, which retains a scrutiny function.

As some of you know I am battling valiantly to complete a detailed piece of research on the committee system this month, which will hopefully explain more.