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To All Members of the County Council

Notice of a Meeting of the Council

Tuesday 10 January 2006 at 10.00 am

County Hall, Oxford


Derek Bishop
Head of Democratic Services

29 December 2005

Contact officer: Marion Holyman (Tel: 01865 810177; E-mail)

AGENDA

  1. Minutes

    2. To approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 1 November 2005 (CC1) and to receive for information any matters arising therefrom.

  2. Apologies for Absence

  3. Declarations of Interest – see guidance note

    4. Members are reminded that they must declare their interests orally at the meeting and specify (a) the nature of the interest and (b) which items on the agenda are the relevant items. This applies also to items where members have interests by virtue of their membership of a district council in Oxfordshire.

  4. Official Communications

  5. Appointments

    6. To make any changes in membership of the Cabinet, scrutiny and other committees on the nomination of political groups.

     

    The Council is RECOMMENDED to agree the following change to the membership of the

    Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee:

    Current Member Proposed Member

    Councillor Norman Bolster Councillor Lawrie Stratford

  6. Petitions and Public Address

  7. Questions with Notice from Members of the Public

  8. Members’ Allowances

The Head of Democratic Services reports as follows:

The Independent Remuneration Panel has considered the following matters:

  • Review of the current position for a Co-optees’ Allowance for those co-opted members serving on the Council’s committees and sub-committees, as instructed by Council in January 2005;

  • Whether a Special Responsibility Allowance should be payable to Minority Groups’ Spokesmen on the Scrutiny Co-ordinating Group and to Opposition Spokesmen on the Council’s Committees, these roles having been created following the 2005 Elections;

  • The indexation of Members’ Allowances which is due for review;

  • Clarify one aspect of the subsistence arrangements for members; and

  • Give a view on when a full review of the Members’ Allowances Scheme should be undertaken.

The Independent Remuneration Panel’s report is attached (CC8). The allowances recommended by the Panel will require financial provision of £5,000 per annum.

 

The Council is RECOMMENDED to consider and determine the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel, namely, that:

  1. An allowance of £5,000 be payable to the Chairman of the Audit Working Group, backdated to 1 April 2005, but not linked to the existing index;

  2. The level of this allowance be reviewed as part of the full review of the Scheme of Members’ Allowances along with all other co-opted member responsibilities;

  3. No Special Responsibility Allowance be payable to the Minority Groups’ Spokesmen on the Scrutiny Co-ordinating Group or to Opposition Spokesmen on the Council’s Committees, the situation to be considered afresh as part of the full review of the Scheme;

  4. The current indexation of members’ allowances by reference to the annual Local Government Pay Award for staff be continued until the next full review of the Scheme of Members’ Allowances;

  5. Under the current members’ subsistence arrangements, a lunch allowance should only be paid to members in exceptional circumstances;

  6. A full review of allowances be undertaken midway through the term of the current Council in early 2007.

  1. Review of the Constitution

Report of the Head of Democratic Services (CC9)

 

The Council is RECOMMENDED:

        1. to determine what action to take in respect of the following recommendations (shown shaded) in Annex 1 (download as .doc file) to the report:

  • A1(ii) – time limits for debates on individual motions;

  • A2(ii) – submission of amendments of motions in advance;

  • A3(ii) – limiting the nature of motions;

  • B3 – number of councillors required to request call-in;

        1. to adopt the changes proposed in respect of the remaining items set out in Annex 1 (download as .doc file) to the report;

        2. that except as otherwise mentioned in Annex 1 (download as .doc file), the changes agreed under (a) and (b) above be of immediate effect;

        3. to authorise the Head of Democratic Services to make the necessary amendments to the Constitution to give effect to (a) and (b) above.

  1. Report of the Cabinet (CC10)

Item

Heading

Recommendations to Council

5*

Corporate Asset Management Plan & Capital Strategy

to approve the Corporate Asset Management Plan & Capital Strategy 2005/06 to 2008/09

11*

Oxfordshire Minerals and Waste Development Framework: Statement of Community Involvement

        1. to endorse the responses to the representations on the consultation draft Oxfordshire Statement of Community Involvement;
        2. to approve the Oxfordshire Statement of Community Involvement and authorise the Head of Sustainable Development, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Sustainable Development, to finalise the Statement for submission to the Secretary of State; and
        3. to authorise the Head of Sustainable Development, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Sustainable Development, to prepare a pre-submission consultation statement and representations statement (to include the responses referred to in (a) above) for submission to the Secretary of State as required by the Regulations.

* PLEASE BRING YOUR COPY OF THE ANNEXES TO THE REPORT (CC10) CIRCULATED SEPARATELY WITH THE AGENDA

  1. Questions with Notice from Members of the Council

    Motions with Notice from Members of the Council

  2. Motion from Councillor Bob Johnston

    3. "In the light of recent problems over consultation by the County Council such as that over housing numbers, the Council asks the Cabinet in future always if possible to use a rigorous and recognised methodology. There are many such available, and this could be achieved within existing budgets."

  3. Motion from Councillor Dermot Roaf

    4. "The Council recalls that the voting at its last meeting on the respective housing distribution options specified in the Cabinet's South East Plan consultation document showed a relative preference for option 1 (focussing on Bicester and Didcot) over option 2 (focussing on Bicester, Didcot and Wantage/Grove). Council therefore resolves that option 1 be formally confirmed as its preferred option."

  4. Motion from Councillor Anne Purse

    5. "Noting that since the parking charges at Thornhill were dropped, the Park and Ride car park has become full from quite early in the morning, and therefore it is not available for many local people who traditionally use it as part of their journey to Oxford.

    This Council asks the Cabinet:

    1. to undertake an urgent and full investigation to assess whether the increase in parking at Thornhill is connected with:

        1. increased Park and Ride use, or

        2. increased use of the London/ airport buses from this stop, or

        3. Thornhill being used as a car park by people not using a bus; and

    (b) to ask officers to bring forward a detailed plan showing how the current parking difficulties for local people and others expecting to use it during the day can be remedied as soon as possible."

  5. Motion from Councillor Anne Purse

    6. "That noting the long delay in the automatic switch-off of lighting in Group Rooms, and the waste of energy thus caused, this Council asks the Cabinet to investigate a system in which the light can also be switched off manually by members as they leave the room."

  6. Motion from Councillor Jean Fooks

"This Council notes the launch of the Government’s Education White Paper on 25 October 2005.

This Council supports the Government’s wish to improve schools for every child but has serious doubts that the proposals in the White Paper would achieve this.

It believes that:

  • The aim of education is to help every child reach their personal potential in preparation for a fulfilling adult life

  • The best results are achieved when schools collaborate and the local authority is best placed to play a co-ordinating role

  • Local schools should be funded locally, with decisions made by elected bodies accountable to local people, rather than by fundi

    •

  1. Motion from Councillor Jean Fooks
  • ng formulas dictated by central government

  • The White Paper would raise barriers to delivering the Every Child Matters agenda which sees schools, alongside the Extended Schools initiative, as a key part of integrated children’s services.

This Council therefore calls for:

  • The restoration of financial and planning powers to Oxfordshire for 16-19 education to enable a coherent 14-19 education policy to be developed

  • The Leader of Oxfordshire County Council to lobby local MPs to campaign actively for education services to remain accountable to local people through local democracy and to vote for this principle when the White Paper is debated in Parliament.

This Council reaffirms its commitment to providing good local schools for every child and asks the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills to set out the concerns and proposals in this Motion."

"This Council has particular concerns that proposals concerning school admissions in the Government’s White Paper ‘Higher Standards, Better Schools for all’ would work against the provision of good local schools for every child. This Council believes that Admissions policies should not encourage schools to ‘poach’ pupils from each other.

This Council is concerned that implementing the White Paper would lead to:

  • An admissions ‘free for all’ where schools could choose the pupils they want and leave some parents without the school place they wanted for their child

  • School closures in deprived areas, contrary to the government’s own policies on neighbourhood regeneration

This Council therefore wants Oxfordshire to continue to lead and co-ordinate local admissions to ensure fair access for all, including hard-to-place children, and asks the Leader to write to the Secretary of State requesting that this be protected in any new legislation."

  1. Motion from Councillor Val Smith

    2. "This Council supports the excellent work done with schools throughout the County by the Injury Minimisation Programme, and recognises this combination of education in prevention and first aid is a model of collaboration between schools and the health service and has been shown to reduce the accident rate, saving human suffering and costs of accidents. This Council is proud that this path-breaking programme was started in Oxfordshire and has been emulated elsewhere in Britain and around the world.

    This Council congratulates Oxfordshire Schools and the Learning & Culture Directorate for having had the foresight to work with the local NHS to develop the programme and urges the Cabinet to work with the local Primary Care Trusts on funding issues to make sure this programme continues."

  2. Motion from Councillor Val Smith

    3. "This Council recognises that the Education White Paper has many strengths including money for personalised learning, action on behaviour and discipline, and more challenge for "coasting schools".

    However, there are other issues that cause concern - for example on admissions policies, the proposed ban on new community schools, the practicalities of expansion and contraction of schools in response to parental choice, and the risk that schools serving disadvantaged children may lose out in a more choice-driven system.

    This Council feels that as an LEA it should also have a say and requests the Cabinet Member for Schools Improvement to initiate discussions with officers and members in consultation with school governing bodies and parents with a view to the Council putting forward its views on the White Paper and any legislation to follow."

  3. Motion from Councillor Liz Brighouse

    4. "In view of the difficulties experienced by motorists getting into and out of Risinghurst at the A40/Collinwood Road junction and the fact that the London Road Study did not include this section of the road, the Council asks the Cabinet to look as a matter of urgency at the junction to ensure that measures are taken to make it safer."

  4. Motion from Councillor Olive McIntosh-Stedman

    5. "This Council

    1. notes in the light of recent accidents the importance of educating children in Oxfordshire about road safety;

    2. notes that the teaching of the Green Cross Code in schools was widely accepted in the 1980s;

    3. asks the Cabinet to encourage all schools in Oxfordshire to participate in Footsteps (the child pedestrian training scheme) and the Cycle Training Scheme;

    4. requests that the Cabinet raise with the Government the possibility of making road safety education a statutory requirement in the national curriculum."

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