Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence from members of the Committee.

The Chief Fire Officer sent his apologies for not being present for Item 13, Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service Statement of Assurance 2024-25. The Deputy Chief Officer was present on his behalf.

The Chair declared an interest in relation to Item 13; her nephews were Oxfordshire firefighters. However, there were no objections to her keeping the chair throughout.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 17 September 2025 and to receive information arising from them.

In response to a question at the previous meeting, the Treasury Manager said that the cost to the Council of managing existing funds was 0.68 per cent and that the dividends that the Council received were net of those management charges.

The Committee noted the written responses to questions raised at the meeting held on 17 September 2025, which they had received from the Head of Corporate Finance and the Director of Law and Governance and Monitoring Officer.

APPROVED the minutes of the meeting held on 17 September 2025 as an accurate record of proceedings.

Members of the public who wish to speak on an item on the agenda at this meeting, or present a petition, can attend the meeting in person or ‘virtually’ through an online connection.

Requests to present a petition must be submitted no later than 9am ten working days before the meeting.

Requests to speak must be submitted no later than 9am three working days before the meeting.

Requests should be submitted to committeesdemocraticservices@oxfordshire.gov.uk

If you are speaking ‘virtually’, you may submit a written statement of your presentation to ensure that if the technology fails, then your views can still be taken into account. A written copy of your statement can be provided no later than 9am on the day of the meeting. Written submissions should be no longer than 1 A4 sheet.

There were no petitions.

Mr David Hearn did not attend the meeting to address the Committee.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to note Ernst and Young’s Draft Audit Results Report for 2024/25.

External auditors from Ernst & Young Limited Liability Partnership introduced reports for this and the following two items.

The Committee asked about the capitalisation of labour and noted that it applied to project management and that the Home Upgrade Grant was a back payment for services received.

The Committee also asked about outstanding balances and noted that the system did not always capture them accurately, although auditors could clearly identify who had and had not paid.

The Committee discussed their ambition for unqualified accounts.

The Committee also asked about the variation fee and noted that the Public Sector Accounting Standards Authority sets the audit fee scale annually in consultation with the Council.

The Committee sought and were given assurance that the factual misstatement of £8.3 million related to the adoption of IFRS 16 did not have a material impact on the report.

RESOLVED to note Ernst and Young’s Draft Audit Results Report for 2024/25.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to note Ernst and Young’s Draft Auditor’s Annual Report for 2024/25.

The Committee noted that at the end of March 2025:

-       The County Fund or Revenue General Reserve was £45 million.

-       The Medium-Term Fiscal Plan Deficit was £5 million.

-       The Business Rates Review was forecast for £5 million.

-       The Fair Funding Review was forecast for £20 million.

The Council also noted that Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND), excluding the High Needs Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficit, could cost up to £50 million per year.

The Council also noted that Usable Capital Reserves were at £221 million in March 2025, which were not enough to cover the financial pressures identified without additional support.

The Committee discussed the possibility of applying Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) borrowing to the High Needs Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficits.

RESOLVED to note Ernst and Young’s Draft Auditor’s Annual Report for 2024/25.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to note Ernst and Young’s Draft audit Results Report for the Pension Fund.

The Committee asked about the authorisation of use of journals within the Council and noted that the review process constituted sufficient control.

ACTION

External auditors said that they would take a question about the proportion of pension funds arising from riskier Level 3 investments away for a response.

NOTED Ernst and Young’s Draft Audit Results Report for the Pension Fund for 2024/25.

Annex 1 – Statement of Accounts 2024/25 to follow.

The Statement of Accounts for Oxfordshire County Council for 2024/25 has been prepared in accordance with the CIPFA Code and includes the Narrative Report, primary financial statements, and pension fund accounts.

There are no significant changes in preparation, although IFRS 16 on Leases has been implemented for the first time.

The Annual Governance Statement, approved in June 2025, requires no amendments.

Summary Accounts provide an accessible overview of the Council’s financial position and performance.

Auditors are expected to issue a disclaimed opinion, with a possibility of a qualified opinion; however, no material misstatements have been identified.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to:

a)     consider and approve the Statement of Accounts 2024/25 at Annex 1;

b)     note the Summary Accounts 2024/25 at Annex 2;

c)      agree that no changes are required to the Annual Governance Statement 2024/25, previously approved by the Committee on 4 June 2025;

d)     consider and approve the Draft Letter of Representations 2024/25 for the Oxfordshire County Council accounts at Annex 3; and

e)     agree that the Executive Director of Resources and Section 151 Officer, in consultation with the Chairman of the Committee (or Deputy Chairman in his absence), can make any further changes to the Statement of Accounts 2024/25 and/or letters of representation that may arise during completion of the audit.

The Deputy Chief Account introduced the report.

The Committee asked about the Capital Programme overspend and noted that a Board of officers was being introduced to improve the Programme’s forecasting and delivery.

The Committee agreed that it was disappointing that they were still waiting for the Government’s White Paper on Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) reform.

The Chair congratulated the Deputy Chief Accountant on her forthcoming appointment as the Council’s Chief Accountant.

RESOLVED to:

a)    approve the Statement of Accounts 2024/25 at Annex 1;

b)    note the Summary Accounts 2024/25 at Annex 2;

c)    agree that no changes are required to the Annual Governance Statement 2024/25;

d)    approve the Draft Letter of Representations 2024/25 for the Oxfordshire County Council accounts at Annex 3; and

e)    agree that the Executive Director of Resources and Section 151 Officer, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee (or Deputy Chair in her absence), can make any further changes to the Statement of Accounts 2024/25 and/or letters of representation that may arise during completion of the audit.

Treasury management is defined as: “The management of the organisation’s borrowing, investments and cash flows, including its banking, money market and capital market transactions, the effective control of the risks associated with those activities, and the pursuit of optimum performance consistent with those risks.”

The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy’s (CIPFA’s) ‘Code of Practice on Treasury Management 2021’ requires that committee to which some treasury management responsibilities are delegated, will receive regular monitoring reports on treasury management activities and risks. This report is the second for the 2025/26 financial year and sets out the position at 30 September 2025.

Throughout this report, the performance for the first half of the year to September 2025 is measured against the budget agreed by Council in February 2025.

As at 30 September 2025, the council’s outstanding debt totalled £270m and the average rate of interest paid on long-term debt during the 6 months was 4.41%. No new external borrowing was raised during the first half of the year, whilst £2m of maturing Public Works Loan Board (PWLB), was repaid. The council’s forecast debt financing position for 2025/26 is shown in Annex 1.

The Treasury Management Strategy for 2025/26 agreed in February 2025 assumed an average base rate of 4.00%.

The average daily balance of temporary surplus cash invested in-house was expected to be £303m in 2025/26, with an average in-house return on new and existing deposits of 3.25%. 

During the six months to 30 September 2025 the council achieved an average in-house return of 4.60% on average cash balances of £447.966m, producing gross interest receivable of £9.896m. In relation to external funds, the return for the six months was £2.004m, bringing total investment income to £11.900m. This compares to budgeted investment income of £6.771m, giving a net overachievement of £5.129m.

At 30 September 2025, the council’s investment portfolio totalled £490.582m.  This comprised £356.500m of fixed term deposits, £32.972m at short term notice in money market funds and £101.110m in pooled funds with a variable net asset value.  Annex 4 provides an analysis of the investment portfolio at 30 September 2025.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to note the council’s treasury management activity for the first half of 2025/26 and recommend Council to note council’s treasury management activity in the first half of 2025/26.

The Treasury Manager introduced the report.

The Chair congratulated Treasury Management on the accruement of nearly £10 million in interest at mid-term for 2025/26, which was double what was expected.

The Committee asked about the use of Lender Option Borrower Option (LOBO) Loans and noted that Treasury Management always set aside money for their repayment.

The Committee sought and received assurance that actions were in place to stabilise the High Needs Dedicated School Grant (DSG) Block cumulative deficit.

ACTIONS

The Treasury Manager said that he would answer a question about the minimum repayments for loans from the Public Works Loan Board at the next meeting.

It was agreed that the High Needs DSG deficit would be referred to the Executive Director of Resources and Section 151 Officer and the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Transformation for a fuller response.

RESOLVED to note the council’s treasury management activity for the first half of 2025/26 and recommend Council to note council’s treasury management activity in the first half of 2025/26.

This report presents a summary of activity against the Counter Fraud Plan for 2025/26, presented to the July 2025 Audit & Governance committee meeting.  The Counter Fraud plan supports the Council’s Anti-Fraud and Corruption Strategy by ensuring that the Council has proportionate and effective resources and controls in place to prevent and detect fraud as well as investigate those matters that do arise.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to note the summary of activity against the Counter Fraud Plan for 2025/26.

The Chief Internal Auditor and Counter Fraud Team Manager introduced the report for this and the following item.

The Committee asked about fraud taking place in their divisions and noted that that this was and would be deal with by Trading Standards and partner agencies.

The Committee also asked for an update on Counter-Fraud Cases raised against Council employees and noted that that was not possible for live investigations.

The Committee asked about Blue Badge Enforcement and noted that data matching led by the Cabinet Office took place every two years to prevent fraud.

The Committee sought and received assurance that officers were confident in the National Fraud Investigation’s efforts in relation to Adult Social Care.

RESOLVED to note the summary of activity against the Counter Fraud Plan for 2025/26.

This report presents the revised Anti-Fraud and Corruption Strategy, which is subject to review every two years.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to consider and approve the revised Anti-Fraud and Corruption Strategy Executive Summary.

The Chair asked how the failure to prevent fraud would be judged as such and noted that the Council had all statutory requirements around prevention already in place.

The Committee asked about fraud and corruption in relation to any contractors and noted that if the Council were affected then this strategy would apply.

The Committee sought and received assurance that all officers received Anti-Fraud and Corruption training as required.

RESOLVED to approve the revised Anti-Fraud and Corruption Strategy Executive Summary.

This report sets out updates to the risk and opportunities policy and an overview of the latest strategic risk register which contains the Council’s most significant strategic risks. The strategic risk register is proactively managed by the senior leadership team (SLT) and reported into the strategic leadership board (SLB) as part of the council’s business management and monitoring reports (BMMR). These combined reports contain performance, risk, and finance progress updates against the delivery of the current strategic plan priorities.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to note the risk management update and approve the revised risk and opportunities policy 2025/26.

The Director of Transformation, Customer Experience and Digital introduced the report.

The Committee asked about the risk in relation to Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) and noted that those risks had been de-escalated to operational level.

The Committee also discussed how and why the Council pools data in relation to risk with other Councils to identify best practice.

The Committee also asked about the Inherent Risk Score used in the report and the processes involved in risks featuring on the Strategic Risk Register.

The Committee noted that members were entitled to suggest risks for inclusion on the Strategic Risk Register at any time and not just in their meetings.

ACTIONS

The Director of Transformation, Customer Experience and Digital introduced the report said that she would take a request for further information about Strategic Risk 11 – Section 106 away for a written response.

It was agreed that training would be set up, for members, to explain the Council’s Strategic Risk Register and Inherent Risk Score in greater depth.

RESOLVED to note the risk management update and approve the revised risk and opportunities policy 2025/26.

The Fire and Rescue National Framework for England 2018 sets out a requirement for all fire and rescue authorities to provide annual assurance on financial, governance and operational matters through publishing an Annual Statement of Assurance. Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Statement of Assurance confirms that we are demonstrating due regard to the requirements included in the framework and the expectations set out in the authorities’ risk management plans.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to consider and approve the Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service Statement of Assurance 2024/25 for publication.

This document is procedural and not recommending any policy decision, strategy or project involving major change.

The Deputy Chief Fire Officer and Strategic Risk and Assurance Officer introduced the report.

The Committee congratulated Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service on delivering value for money and thanked firefighters for their work.

The Committee asked if the principle of equality extended to delivering a consistent quality of service countywide and were advised that it did.

The Committee discussed lithium-batteries, high-rise buildings, and houses in multiple occupation as fire hazards and the work that the Service did to minimise risk.

Officers urged Members to let the Service know of any houses in multiple occupation in their divisions that would benefit from a fire safety inspection.

RESOLVED to approve the Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service Statement of Assurance 2024/25 for publication.

On 4 June 2025, this Committee approved the Annual Governance Statement (AGS) for the year 2024/25. Local authorities are required to prepare an AGS to be transparent about their compliance with good governance principles and to give an opinion on the effectiveness of those arrangements. As part of the process, authorities are expected to highlight areas of focus for the year following.

This report therefore updates the Committee on the eight specific areas of focus identified for 2025/26.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to receive this update on the actions from the Annual Governance Statement 2024/25 and to make any comment upon them.

The Director of Law and Governance and Monitoring Officer introduced the report for this and the following four items.

RESOLVED to note this update on the actions from the Annual Governance Statement 2024/25.

The council’s Whistleblowing Policy (as presented to and approved by this Committee on 13 March 2024) provides clarity around the six categories set out in the Employment Rights Act 1996 that make a complaint a qualifying disclosure under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.

A copy of the policy is attached to the report. A review of this policy will be undertaken in early 2026.

In 2024-25, to support the implementation of the revised policy, members of the council’s Strategic Leadership Team, along with colleagues from HR, Audit & Counter Fraud, Finance, and Law & Governance, completed The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy's (CIPFA) Whistleblowing eLearning course.

The council’s Governance Team has produced in-house Whistleblowing training, which was published on the Learning Zone in October 2025 and is accessible to all employees. Completion of this eLearning course is mandatory for managers, and new employees as part of the induction process, while all employees are encouraged to undertake the training annually. Details of the course have been shared through internal channels including Hive, Viva Engage, and the November Managers’ Briefing.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to:

a)    note the number of incidents of Whistleblowing during the 2024-25 financial year and

b)    note that training on Whistleblowing is currently being rolled out within the organisation.

The Committee discussed the potentially negative connotations of the word whistleblowing; however, they noted that whistleblowing had increased with the new policy.

The Committee discussed whistleblowing in relation to any contractors and noted that the Council expected contractors to have their own policies in place.

The Committee equally asked if the Council had considered contracting its own whistleblowing and noted that that had been considered but that it was deemed unnecessary.

The Committee sought and received assurance from officers that measures were in place to prevent a culture of relation in relation to whistleblowing within the Council.

RESOLVED to:

a)    note the number of incidents of Whistleblowing during the 2024-25 financial year and

b)    note that training on Whistleblowing is currently being rolled out within the organisation.

The Strengthening the Standards and Conduct Framework for local authorities in England consultation which ran between 18 December 2024 and 26 February 2025, sought views on introducing a mandatory minimum code of conduct for local authorities in England, and measures to strengthen the standards and conduct regime in England to ensure consistency of approach amongst councils investigating serious breaches of their member codes of conduct, including the introduction of the power of suspension.

This Committee agreed a Council response to the Consultation at its meeting on 15 January 2025 which was subsequently submitted and formed part of the Consultation responses.

The government has reviewed all submissions, and feedback received from 2,092 respondents during the Consultation process. Responses were sought from members of the public, current and prospective local authority elected members, local government officers from all types and tiers of authorities, and local authority sector representative organisations.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to note the government’s response to the Strengthening the Standards and Conduct Framework for local authorities in England Consultation and that legislation is intended to be brought through subject to parliamentary scheduling.

The Committee discussed the possibility of a mechanism by which councillors could be suspended from office, for instance, if there were court proceedings against them.

The Committee noted that this would be further discussed by Parliament and as such would feature on a future agenda.

RESOLVED to note the government’s response to the Strengthening the Standards and Conduct Framework for local authorities in England Consultation, and that legislation is intended to be brought through subject to parliamentary scheduling.

The Council has a duty to keep its constitution under review. This includes all relevant codes and protocols, and the procedure rules for committees, as well as corrections, updates, amendments, and developments to the constitution.

The constitution forms a key part of the Council’s governance framework, setting rules, principles, and procedures to enable the Council to take decisions and do its work effectively.

A Constitution Member Working Group has served as a vital forum for cross-party engagement and consensus-building on matters relating specifically to the review and updating of the Council’s constitution. It is best practice that the group remains active to ensure the constitution is kept current and fit for purpose and responds to the current needs of the Council.

Under provisions contained within the Local Government Act 2000 (and as subsequently amended) the Council is required to prepare and maintain a constitution. The constitution must contain:

·       The standing orders and rules of procedure of the Council;

·       The Members Code of Conduct;

·       Such other information as the Secretary of State may direct; 

·       Other information (if any) as the Council considers appropriate.

It should be noted that since 2000, there have been over a hundred legislative changes and instructions which have been required to be included within the constitution. This highlights one of the reasons why the constitution needs to be kept under regular review.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to:

a)    agree with the proposal to reconvene the Constitution Member Working Group, as set out in this report;

b)    agree and comment as necessary, on the draft terms of reference for the working group, as set out in Annex A; and

c)    request the Director of Law & Governance and Monitoring Officer to seek nominations for representatives from each political group who will attend the working group meetings, in accordance with paragraph 15 of this report.

The Chair stressed the importance of members attending the Constitution Member Working Group if appointed and of reporting back to their respective political groups.

The Committee agreed that there should be an additional Liberal Democrat member in the group to better enable majority voting by having an odd number of members.

The Committee also agreed that members of the whole Council should be able to make written recommendations to the group and be informed of its discussions.

RESOLVED to:

a)    agree with the proposal to reconvene the Constitution Member Working Group, as set out in this report;

b)    agree and comment as necessary, on the draft terms of reference for the working group, as set out in Annex A; and

c)    request the Director of Law and Governance and Monitoring Officer to seek nominations for representatives from each political group who will attend the working group meetings, in accordance with paragraph 15 of this report.

This report proposes some changes to the role and function of Member Champions and clarifies the appointment process for future Member Champions.

Cabinet at its meeting on 18 November 2025 agreed to propose these changes to the Audit & Governance Committee.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to recommend to Council to amend the Council’s Constitution to replace part 8.5, Member Champion Role with the text in Appendix 2.

The Chair requested that in future reports each Member Champion have a named Cabinet Member to whom they report to in performing their function.

The Committee asked how the Council determined which areas required a Champion, which they noted was the result of the executive identifying a particular need.

Members of the Committee who were Champions encouraged others to get involved in this area of the Council’s work, should the opportunity present itself.

The Chair thanked officers and all the Council’s Champions for their work.

RESOLVED to recommend to Council to amend the Council’s Constitution to replace part 8.5, Member Champion Role with the text in Appendix 2.

There was none.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to note the Committee Work Programme to November 2026 and comment upon it.

RESOLVED to note the Committee Work Programme to November 2026 with the following additions:

o   Training on Risk Management before the Committee meeting on 11 March 2026

o   Updates on the Constitution Working Group, provisionally, on that day