Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Rodney Rose and Councillor Kieron Mallon.

To confirm the minutes of the meetings held on 15 November and 12 December 2011 (CA3a (attached) and 3b(to be circulated separately)) and to receive any information from them.

The minutes of the meetings held on 5 November 2011 and 12 December 2011 were approved and signed.

Any county councillor may, by giving notice to the Proper Officer by 9 am two working day before the meeting, ask a question on any matter in respect of the Cabinet’s delegated powers.

 

The number of questions which may be asked by any councillor at any one meeting is limited to two (or one question with notice and a supplementary question at the meeting) and the time for questions will be limited to 30 minutes in total. As with questions at Council, any questions which remain unanswered at the end of this item will receive a written response.

 

Questions submitted prior to the agenda being despatched are shown below and will be the subject of a response from the appropriate Cabinet Member or such other councillor or officer as is determined by the Cabinet Member, and shall not be the subject of further debate at this meeting. Questions received after the despatch of the agenda, but before the deadline, will be shown on the Schedule of Addenda circulated at the meeting, together with any written response which is available at that time.

Councillor Zoe Patrick had given notice of the following question to the Deputy Leader:

 

“Why are the sandwiches sold in the Common Hall cafe being bought from a company in London rather than being purchased locally according to the County's procurement rules?  According to the Source Oxfordshire website it states "We are supporting the Federation of Small Businesses' Keep Trade Local campaign - the Oxford part of which was launched in November 2008."  This is certainly not consistent with that policy.  It has also meant that there have been some days where there have been no sandwiches available because they have not arrived from London.”

 

Councillor Robertson replied

 

“When originally looking for suppliers of ready- made sandwiches for The Common Hall Cafe we invited several companies to produce trial samples of their products, including a local company called Brambles.  Only one company, Greencore, provided us with these samples and met with us, despite the other companies stating they would deliver samples, etc.

 

We are aware that there have been some problems recently with delivery from Greencore which we have addressed. However, we are currently looking again at alternative suppliers and will consider local suppliers, as we did in the first instance. However, while our preference would be to use a local provider, our choice of suppliers will be governed by cost and location as well as reliability.”

 

Supplementary

 

“Has consideration been given to this service being provided in house.”

 

Reply

 

“This service has in the past been provided in house and some sandwiches are of course still produced in County Hall.  Catering staff are I understand keen to resume provision of this service and I will look at all options available.”

 

 

Councillor Jean Fooks had given notice of the following question to the Deputy Leader:

           

"The lack of an information board in the reception area of County Hall is meaning that people, whether members or visitors, have to ask the reception staff where their meetings are.  This is unwelcoming to visitors and an unnecessary nuisance for members and the reception staff. I understand that in the present financial situation, it is not possible to provide a new electronic board giving the information. There is usually an A4 sheet to which the staff refer. Would it be possible to enlarge this to A3 or bigger and display it on the wall, so that it is immediately visible and would help people find where their meeting is without having to bother reception staff and often have to wait in a queue to ask ?"

 

Councillor Robertson replied

 

“The details of the meetings on the ground floor are now displayed on a notice board on the right hand side of the reception desk. This should help visitors find out where their meeting is to be held and, hopefully, reduce the need to wait in a queue. To cut down on costs we have utilised a notice board that was retrieved from Cricket Road for this purpose.

Visitors to meetings  ...  view the full minutes text for item 144/11

The following requests to address the meeting had been agreed:

 

Item 8 - Councillor Zoe Patrick, Leader of the Opposition and Olive McIntosh-Stedman

Item 9 – Councillor Jenny Hannaby, Shadow Cabinet Member for Adult Services

Item 10 and 11– Councillor Jean Fooks, Deputy Leader of the Opposition

 

Cabinet Member: Finance & Property

Forward Plan Ref: 2011/141

Contact: Kathy Wilcox, Principal Financial Manager Tel: (01865) 323981

 

Report by Assistant Chief Executive & Chief Finance Officer (CA6).

 

This report focuses on the delivery of the Directorate Business Strategies which were agreed as part of the Service and Resource Planning Process for 2011/12 – 2015/16.  These form part of the forecast position for each Directorate.  Parts 1 and 2 include projections for revenue, reserves and balances as at the end of October 2011.  The Capital monitoring is included at Part 3. 

 

Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

(a)              note the report and approve the virements as set out in Annex 2a and agree the return to balances as set out in Annex 2e;

(b)              Agree the Children’s Act loan write off as set out in paragraph 44;

(c)               Agree the creation of the Children, Education and Families reserves as set out in paragraphs 50 to 52;

(d)              Approve the change to the Capital Programme as set out in annex 9c.

Cabinet considered a report which focussed on the delivery of the Directorate Business Strategies agreed as part of the service and resources planning process for 2011/12-2015/16 and which formed part of the forecast position for each Directorate.

 

RESOLVED: to

 

(a)               note the report and approve the virements as set out in Annex 2a to the report CA6 and agree the return to balances as set out in Annex 2e to CA6;

 

(b)               agree the Children’s Act loan write off as set out in paragraph 44 of the report CA6;

 

(c)               agree the creation of the Children, Education and Families reserves as set out in paragraphs 50 to 52 of the report CA6;

 

(d)               approve the change to the Capital Programme as set out in Annex 9c of the report CA6.

 

 

Cabinet Member: Finance & Property

Forward Plan Ref: 2011/142

Contact: Lorna Baxter, Assistant Head of Finance (Corporate Finance) Tel: (01865) 323971

 

Report by Assistant Chief Executive & Chief Finance Officer (CA7).

 

This is one in a series of reports on the Service and Resource Planning process for 2012/13 to 2016/17, providing councillors with information on budget issues for 2012/13 and the medium term. The report includes updated Directorate Business Strategies, along with a summary of the changes to the pressures and savings contained therein.  It also provides an update on Government consultations and announcements; sets out the review of charges and provides a draft Capital Strategy, Corporate Asset Management Plan and Transport Asset Management Plan.

 

Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

(a)               note the report and that an addenda will be produced following the publication of the Draft Local Government Finance Settlement;

(b)              consider the revised Business Strategies (Annex 3) and the changes to the pressures and savings (Annex 2) in forming their budget proposals in January 2012;

(c)               consider, in forming their budget proposals, the implications in 2013/14 of accepting the Council Tax Freeze Grant in 2012/13;

(d)              agree that funding from the New Homes Bonus will be made available for capital as part of the Rolling Fund, noting that the allocation for 2012/13 is £1.068m;

(e)               in relation to the review of charges:

(1)               Note those charges prescribed by legislation;

(2)               Approve those charges where there is local discretion as set out in Annex 6 noting that some of those charges will commence before April 2012; and

(f)                 agree the capital prioritisation assessment set out in Annex 8b.

 

 

The Cabinet considered a further report (CA7) on the service and resource planning process for 2012/13 to 2016/17 which provided information on budget issues for 2012/13 and the medium term, included an update on directorate business strategies with a summary of changes to the pressures and savings therein, provided an update on government consultations and announcements, set out the review of charges and provided a draft capital strategy, corporate asset management plan and transport asset management plan.  Also tabled was a supplementary report to CA7 setting out the implications of the draft local government finance settlement and associated announcements.

 

During discussion Cabinet members addressed specific issues within their respective portfolios.

 

RESOLVED:

 

(a)               to note the report CA7 and the implications set out in the addendas when forming budget proposals in January 2012;

 

(b)               to consider the revised Business Strategies (Annex 3 to CA7) and the changes to the pressures and savings (Annex 2 to CA7) in forming their budget proposals in January 2012;

 

(c)               to consider, in forming their budget proposals, the implications in 2013/14 of accepting the Council Tax Freeze Grant in 2012/13;

 

(d)               to agree that funding from the New Homes Bonus would be made available for capital as part of the Rolling Fund, noting that the allocation for 2012/13 was £1.068m;

 

(e)               that in relation to the review of charges to:

 

(1)         note those charges prescribed by legislation;

 

(2)         approve those charges where there was local discretion as set out in Annex 6 to CA7 noting that some of those charges would commence before April 2012;

 

(f)                 to agree the capital prioritisation assessment set out in Annex 8b to CA7.

 

Cabinet Member: Leader

Forward Plan Ref: 2011/204

Contact: Jonathan McWilliam, Director of Public Health Tel: (01865) 336708

 

Report by Director of Public Health (CA8).

 

Cabinet requested to recommend the Council to receive the report and note its recommendations.

The Cabinet considered (CA8) the fifth annual report of the Director of Public Health for Oxfordshire.

 

Olive McIntosh Stedman addressed the Cabinet on behalf of the Oxfordshire Mental Health Crisis Bed Project regarding funding for a crisis house providing respite support for mental health users and carers in cases not considered serious enough for hospital.

 

Responding to Councillor Robertson she confirmed that there were about 10 cases each requiring care 3 times per annum at a total cost of £6,300.

 

Councillor Zoe Patrick referred to the key reference on referrals and the need to minimise time wasted referring people unnecessarily from one part of the system to another.  She welcomed the section on breaking the cycle of deprivation; the high priority to be given to addressing the high percentage of children living in poverty in many areas of Oxfordshire; the fall in the high rates of teenage pregnancy in the City although there were areas still with high rates; improvements in the mental health system particularly for carers and GP commissioning; Oxfordshire’s rating as the sportiest county in England; the encouraging results in the fight against killer disease and the HPV vaccination programme against cervical cancer and stressed the need to continue to concentrate efforts on reducing alcohol addiction.  She acknowledged the hard work in realising all these achievements but stressed the need for work to continue.

 

The Director of Public Health presented his report and the Cabinet Member for Adult Services commended it to the Cabinet.

 

RESOLVED: to RECOMMEND Council to receive the report and note its recommendations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cabinet Member: Deputy Leader

Forward Plan Ref: 2011/184

Contact: Graham Shaw, Head of ICT Business Delivery Tel: 07939069084

 

Report by Director for Environment & Economy (CA10).

 

CT managers from Oxfordshire and Hampshire have explored opportunities for a closer tactical working relationship between the two ICT functions to mutual advantage. The conclusion is that a formal Partnership Agreement on ICT between the two ICT Services is being recommended to both Councils

 

The Partnership Agreement is allowed for under Section 101(5) Local Government Act 1972.

 

Under the agreement a Joint Board will be established to manage and develop the working relationship. The agreement is constituted as a framework allowing for further service operations to be added by mutual agreement.

 

The first service area under consideration is SAP Applications Support from Hampshire to Oxfordshire.

 

It is proposed that the Partnership Agreement will commence on 1 February 2012.  Oxfordshire's current contract for SAP Application Support expires in October 2012. SAP Support through the Partnership will commence at a mutually beneficial time and based on concluding a satisfactory agreement with the existing supplier.

 

Transferring support in this way will enable Oxfordshire to realise savings in excess of £1 Millions by 2015 and avoid a costly new procurement exercise.

 

Cabinet is asked to decide on whether this Partnership Agreement should proceed.

 

Cabinet is RECOMMENDED:      to:

(a)              agree the establishment of a Joint ICT Partnership between the Oxfordshire County Council and  Hampshire County Council ICT Services;

(b)       agree the first area of partnership collaboration to be the provision of SAP Support to Oxfordshire;

(c)       agree that the Cabinet portfolio holder  for ICT has  responsibility for approval of other potential areas of collaboration, that have material or significant impact,

(d)       delegate responsibility for agreement to the finalised Partnership agreement to the  Cabinet Portfolio Holder for ICT

The Cabinet considered (CA10) proposals for a formal partnership agreement for ICT services between Oxfordshire and Hampshire.

 

Councillor Fooks welcomed and commended the proposal.

 

Councillor Robertson commended the proposal and the opportunities which it now presented for similar arrangements in other service areas.

 

RESOLVED: to

 

(a)               agree the establishment of a Joint ICT Partnership between the Oxfordshire County Council and  Hampshire County Council ICT Services;

 

(b)               agree the first area of partnership collaboration to be the provision of SAP Support to Oxfordshire;

 

(c)               agree that the Cabinet portfolio holder  for ICT had  responsibility for approval of other potential areas of collaboration, that had material or significant impact;

 

(d)               delegate responsibility for agreement to the finalised Partnership agreement to the Cabinet Portfolio Holder for ICT.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED:

(a)               to agree the establishment of a Joint ICT Partnership between the Oxfordshire County Council and  Hampshire County Council ICT Services;

(b)               to agree the first area of partnership collaboration to be the provision of SAP Support to Oxfordshire;

(c)               to agree that the Cabinet portfolio holder  for ICT has  responsibility for approval of other potential areas of collaboration, that have material or significant impact,

(d)               to delegate responsibility for agreement to the finalised Partnership agreement to the  Cabinet Portfolio Holder for ICT

 

Cabinet Member: Deputy Leader

Forward Plan Ref: 2011/143

Contact: Alexandra Bailey, Corporate Performance and Review Manager Tel: (01865) 816384

 

Report by County Council Management Team (CA13).

 

Quarterly Performance Monitoring report.

The Cabinet considered (CA11) a report setting out progress made toward the Corporate Plan priorities for the period between July and September 2011.

 

Councillor Fooks welcomed progress on development of the Local Enterprise Board but expressed concerns regarding the need to improve performance in a number of areas such as educational attainment; area stewards fund and cycle of deprivation.

 

Councillor Robertson felt the County Council had achieved a number of positive outcomes and that overall progress against 2011/12 targets were on track overall. However, he acknowledged that there were some priority areas which needed to be improved and these areas would continue to be monitored closely. 

 

RESOLVED: to note the report

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to note this report.

 

Cabinet Member: All

Contact Officer: Sue Whitehead, Committee Services Manager (01865 810262)

 

The Cabinet Procedure Rules provide that the business of each meeting at the Cabinet is to include “updating of the Forward Plan and proposals for business to be conducted at the following meeting”.   Items from the Forward Plan for the immediately forthcoming meetings of the Cabinet appear in the Schedule at CA15.  This includes any updated information relating to the business for those meetings that has already been identified for inclusion in the next Forward Plan update.

 

The Schedule is for noting, but Cabinet Members may also wish to take this opportunity to identify any further changes they would wish to be incorporated in the next Forward Plan update.

 

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to note the items currently identified for forthcoming meetings.

 

 

The cabinet considered a list of items (CA12) for the immediately forthcoming meetings of the Cabinet together with changes and additions set out in the schedule of addenda.

 

RESOLVED: to note the items currently identified for forthcoming meetings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Agenda Item)

 

The Cabinet considered a list of items (CA) for the immediately forthcoming meetings of the Cabinet together with changes and additions set out in the schedule of addenda.

 

RESOLVED:          to note the items currently identified for forthcoming meetings.

 

RESOLVED: that the public be excluded for the duration of Item 9E since it was likely that if they were present during that item there would be disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) in relation to that item and since it was considered that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information on the grounds in that the information related to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) and that otherwise commercially sensitive information would be disclosed to the detriment of the companies involved.

Cabinet Member: Adult Services

Forward Plan Ref: 2010/216

Contact: Laurence Dowden, Service Manager, Major Projects Tel: (01865) 323685

 

Report by Director for Social & Community Services (CA9).

 

To seek approval to the principles for developing the Partnership Agreement with the Oxfordshire Care Partnership and specific service developments to achieve service and financial objectives of the Council and the Oxfordshire Care Partnership.

 

The information in this case is exempt in that it falls within the following prescribed categories:

 

3.      Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

and it is considered that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, in that otherwise commercially sensitive information would be disclosed to the detriment of the companies involved.

 

Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to

 

(a)       Note the negotiations underway to achieve savings via planned development of care homes, reduction in block beds, increased rental income, replacement of residential beds with extra care housing, retention of Lake House and Glebe House within the contract, providing continuing care beds through the OCP contract and further ad hoc block bed reductions;

 

(b)       Note that there will be a special meeting of that Scrutiny Committee in early January to enable them to consider the proposals;

 

(c)       Endorse the proposals for overall service redevelopments and the recommended changes to the OCP contract;

 

(d)       Agree to the sale of the freeholds of 5 Phase 1 new build sites proposal to OCP for a capital receipt in order to achieve flexible reduction of the block contract subject to conclusion of ongoing negotiations;

 

(e)       Delegate authority to the Director of Social and Community Service to sign off the changes to the OCP contract and the revised financial model with advice from the Chief Finance Officer and cabinet members for Finance and Property and Adult Services following a consultation with the Adult Services Scrutiny Committee in January 2012.

 

The Cabinet considered (CA9) a report setting out the principles for developing a partnership agreement with the Oxfordshire Care Partnership (OCP) for the provision of services for the care and support of older people in Oxfordshire whilst achieving service and financial objectives of the Council and the OCP.

 

Councillor Hannaby recognised the need to make savings but expressed some concern regarding the reduction in the number of residential beds and monitoring of self funding and stressed that those not eligible for self funding should be helped.  She highlighted the potential to work with district councils to include extra care housing in the local plan process.

 

The Director of Social and Community Services presented the report.

 

The Cabinet Member for Adult Services commended the proposals and welcomed the comment by Councillor Hannaby regarding extra care housing.  There would be further reports to the Adult Services Scrutiny Committee on these proposals and to the Cabinet in March regarding care home fees.

 

RESOLVED: to

 

(a)               note the negotiations underway to achieve savings via planned development of care homes, reduction in block beds, increased rental income, replacement of residential beds with extra care housing, retention of Lake House and Glebe House within the contract, providing continuing care beds through the OCP contract and further ad hoc block bed reductions;

 

(b)               note that there will be a special meeting of the Adult Services Scrutiny Committee in early January to enable them to consider the proposals;

 

(c)               endorse the proposals for overall service redevelopments and the recommended changes to the OCP contract;

 

(d)               agree to the sale of the freeholds of 5 Phase 1 new build sites proposal to OCP for a capital receipt in order to achieve flexible reduction of the block contract subject to conclusion of ongoing negotiations;

 

(e)               delegate authority to the Director of Social and Community Services to sign off the changes to the OCP contract and the revised financial model with advice from the Chief Finance Officer and Cabinet members for Finance and Property and Adult Services following a consultation with the Adult Services Scrutiny Committee in January 2012.