Glossary of Terms
For the purposes of the Indepedent Review, the following definitions have been applied:
External audit - The periodic external scrutiny of corporate governance and management systems, financial statements and underlying financial systems, and the performance, performance management and reporting of public bodies.
Complaints handling - The investigation of complaints about public services carried out by a range of commissioners, ombudsmen and other public bodies with specific roles and responsibilities.
Inspection - The periodic, targeted scrutiny of specific services, to check whether they are meeting national and local performance standards, legislative and professional requirements, and the needs of service users.
Mapping - Putting together a picture of how the current scrutiny bodies work together.
Regulation - Regulation focuses on providing a licence to operate, enforcement of legislation and regulation, and monitoring the quality of services provided. Regulation may also include elements of service inspection, and can be designed to drive up quality as well as to enforce standards.
Scrutiny - Scrutiny includes all the activities of examination that scrutiny bodies carry out- regulation, audit, inspection and complaints handling.