Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received on behalf of Councillor Mallon.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 22 June 2010 (CA3) and to receive for information any matters arising therefrom.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 22 June 2010 were approved and signed subject to the following correction:

65/10 (Item 11, Local Investment Agreement) paragraph 2: Delete ‘supported schemes relating to her Division’ and substitute with ‘expressed concern that local housing schemes were in the 2010-2015 group when they were on hold pending infrastructure works. She also suggested that it would be a good idea to have a member of the PCT or public health on the board.’

Any county councillor may, by giving notice to the Proper Officer by 9 am on the 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 questions to the Leader:

“1.        Why has no single member champion produced a report (to be published on the intranet) since January, and some for considerably longer than that?”

Councillor Mitchell replied:

“Champions' reports were due on 31 March 2010 and on 30 June 2010.  Given that 31 March was immediately before the calling of the General Election and the commencement of a period of purdah, I took the view that members would be busy campaigning and that Champions' reports might fall foul of the purdah rules and were, therefore, best avoided.  I have reviewed and changed some of the Champion positions.  They all know they are expected to produce quarterly reports and these are being collated and finalised at the moment and should be on the Intranet by the end of this month.”

“2.        What is the status of the "member champions" mentioned in the Business Strategy 2010-2013 dated June 2010? Cllr Shouler was appointed at Cabinet on 22nd June 2010; when were the others appointed? Will they be providing quarterly reports?” 

Councillor Mitchell replied:

All of the Champion Appointments were made at Agenda Item 14 (see Annex to the report) at the Cabinet Meeting on 22 June 2010. 

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

“3.        Is the Leader intending to appoint someone to take over as Design Champion? As he clearly has had difficulty finding someone to appoint in the last six months, has he considered asking a member of another group?”

Councillor Mitchell replied:

“The position of Design Champion has been discontinued on the advice of the last Champion.

Councillor Jean Fooks had given notice of the following question to the Cabinet Member for Growth & Infrastructure:

“4.        Can the Cabinet Member give an update on the progress of the City/County partnership bid for Plugged-in Places funding, and any information on the performance of the two electric vehicles on loan to the Council?”

Councillor Hudspeth replied:

“Plugged-in Places

At the end of June 2010, the City and County submitted an expression of interest for the second round of Plugged in Places.  This application was supported by a range of other partners.

We have subsequently met with the Office for Low Emissions Vehicles (OLEV) and were advised by them that our Expression of Interest was good. 

The new Government has made policy commitments to this agenda, most clearly in the coalition agreement which announced they will mandate a national charging infrastructure for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.  We are further advised by civil servants that Ministers are taking an active interest in the Electric Vehicle arena and are considering the detail for how to take forward the wider OLEV programme, including the Plug-in Car Grant and Plugged-in Places.

However, we also understand in discussion with OLEV, that decisions are being taken in the wider context of a need to reduce the budget deficit and unfortunately, at this point in time, no firm decisions  ...  view the full minutes text for item 72/10

The following requests to address the meeting had been agreed:

Cabinet Member: Finance & Property

Forward Plan Ref: 2010/097

Contact: Tim Chapple, Financial Manager – Treasury & Pension Fund Investment Tel: (01865) 323978

Report by Assistant Chief Executive & Chief Finance Officer (CA 6).

The report sets out the Council’s Treasury Management Outturn financial position for the 2009/10 financial year. 

The report fulfils the CIPFA Code of Practice on Treasury Management 2001 (and subsequent updates) requirement for the receipt of an annual report summarising the Treasury Management activity within 6 months of year-end.

The Council's external debt increased from £402.38m on 1 April 2007 to £412.09m on 31 March 2010.  All new long-term debt was arranged through the Public Works Loans Board.  The weighted average rate of interest paid on long-term debt during 2009/10 was 4.81%.

Security and liquidity of cash was prioritised over returns and the council adopted a cautious approach to lending to financial institution, with the majority of deposits restricted to 3 months in duration.

The Council achieved an in-house deposit return of 1.21% and continued to use 2 external fund managers, Investec and Scottish Widdows Investment Partnership (SWIP).  Investec earned an average return of 1.20% and SWIP 3.62%.

The net outturn on Treasury Management debt and investment activity was an underspend of £288k. This was mainly due to higher than average balances throughout the financial year.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to note the report, and to RECOMMEND Council to note the Council’s Treasury Management Activity in 2009/10.

Cabinet considered a report that set out the Council’s Treasury Management Outturn financial position for the 2009/10 financial year.

The report fulfilled the CIPFA Code of Practice on Treasury Management 2001 (and subsequent updates) requirement for the receipt of an annual report summarising the Treasury Management activity within 6 months of year-end.

RESOLVED:             to note the report, and to RECOMMEND Council to note the Council’s Treasury Management Activity in 2009/10.

Cabinet Member: Finance & Property

Forward Plan Ref: 2010/028

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

Report by Assistant Chief Executive & Chief Finance Officer (CA 7).

Monthly financial report on revenue and capital spending against budget allocations, including virements between budget heads.

Cabinet considered the financial monitoring report and addenda covering the period to the end of April 2010. The report focused on key risk areas and areas of emerging pressures identified by Directorates, along with plans to manage these. Councillor Liz Brighouse OBE, speaking as a local member expressed the distress she had felt on reading that the scheme for Bayards Hill was held up.

Mrs Fisher whilst recognising the difficult choices ahead and supporting the moratorium spoke in support of the Magdalen Rd and Divinity Rd parking

Schemes.

Responding to a question from Councillor Hudspeth Mrs Fisher commented that she could not speak for the whole area; there was a duty on the Council to consult but that the proposals met the Council’s duties.

The Leader responding to the comments made clarified that the schemes referred to by the speakers had not been cancelled. The schemes being approved today were those that had been prioritised as matters that needed to be taken forward without delay. Other schemes were postponed and would be reviewed.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Property highlighted areas of concern including pooled budgets, the underspend on school transport, placements and the general fragility of the social & community services budget.

During debate Cabinet Members supported the moratorium on capital projects in the light of the current financial position. They outlined the actions being taken to review and address the concerns raised by Councillor Couchman.

Following discussion around the play pathfinder schemes the Leader proposed an additional recommendation that was agreed.

RESOLVED:                        to:

(a)               note the report and addenda;

(b)               note the changes to 2010/11 grant allocations;

(c)               agree the change to the allocation of Harnessing Technology grant as recommended by the Schools Forum on 19 July 2010;

(d)               approve the virements as set out in Annex 2a;

(e)               approve the updated capital programme as set out in Annex 6.

(f)                 agree the moratorium on capital schemes in 2010/11 that are not yet committed;

(g)               agree to release the capital schemes set out in Annex 8 from the moratorium;

(h)               agree that any further urgent changes to the schemes held in the capital programme moratorium ahead of further review in the Autumn should be delegated to the Chief Executive and Chief Finance Officer after consultation with the Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance & Property;

(i)                 recommend Council to approve the reductions in revenue grant funded expenditure and related virements as set out in revised Annex 3e;

(j)                  note the increase in VAT with effect from 4 January 2011, and agree that the current scale of charges will not be amended in 2010/11;

(k)               recommend Council to agree the changes to the Specified and Non-Specified Investment instruments section of the Treasury Management Strategy;

(l)                  recommend Council to agree that any further changes required to the Annual Treasury Management Strategy & Annual Investment Strategy can be delegated to the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance and property;  ...  view the full minutes text for item 75/10

Cabinet Member: Finance & Property

Forward Plan Ref: 2010/133

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

Report by Assistant Chief Executive & Chief Finance Officer (CA 8).

The Cabinet considered a report (CA8) on the context to and changes needed in the service and resource planning process 2011/12 to 2015/16 and outlining the Council’s business strategy.

RESOLVED:                        to:

(a)               agree that an additional £100m is used as a planning assumption for spending and grant reductions over the period 2011/12 – 2014/15;

(b)               agree to a full review of the Capital Programme in the light of national budget assumptions and the pressures currently being identified;

(c)               request officers to bring forward a revised planning process to the September Cabinet meeting; and

(d)               agree to launch The Oxfordshire Big Debate with the public and staff.

Cabinet Member: Adult Services

Forward Plan Ref: 2010/083

Contact: Alan Sinclair, Transforming Adult Social Care Director Tel: (01865) 323665/Jon Wilcox, Finance Officer Tel: (01865) 323665

Report by Director of Social & Community Services (CA 9).

As part of the Transforming Adult Social Care Programme the Resource Allocation System, sometimes referred to as a RAS, has been developed to as a method of matching the level of the person’s need (as indicated by an assessment) to the amount of money to be made available to them.

The Resource Allocation System aims:

•              To set out clearly what levels of funding will be provided at different levels of need.

•              To provide a guide to how an indicative budget is arrived at. This would take the form of setting out the likely level of budget for particular range of scores in the overview assessment.

•              To serve as a framework within which decisions about changes to the formula can be made.

This is being brought to the Cabinet as the resource allocation system has implications for future budgeting decisions and planning for the County Council. Cabinet are asked to recommend the proposed policy that would govern the resource allocation system for approval by the County Council in September 2010.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

(a)               note the report;

(b)              recommend to Council to approve the introduction of the Policy for the operation of personal budgets in Oxfordshire from October 2010; and

(c)               agree that a further report be brought to a future Cabinet meeting to approve any changes to the Policy for the financial year 2011/12.

Cabinet considered a report (CA9) that asked Cabinet to recommend, for approval by the County Council in September 2010, the proposed policy that would govern the resource allocation system.

Cabinet noted that a briefing was to be held for all Councillors following the extraordinary Council meeting on 27 July 2010.

RESOLVED:                        to:

(a)               note the report;

(b)               recommend to Council to approve the introduction of the Policy for the operation of personal budgets in Oxfordshire from October 2010; and

agree that a further report be brought to a future Cabinet meeting to approve any changes to the Policy for the financial year 2011/12.

Cabinet Member: Leader

Forward Plan Ref: 2010/107

Contact: Steven Howell, Assistant to the Cabinet Tel: (01865) 816376

Report by Leader of the Council (CA 10).

To agree a response to the legislative programme outlined in the Queen’s Speech on 25 May 2010.

Cabinet considered a report (CA10) that set out a response to the content of the Queen’s Speech that was delivered on 25 May 2010. The report also summarised an initial reaction to the new measures announced in the emergency budget delivered on 22 June 2010.

Councillor Zoe Patrick, Leader of the Opposition, welcomed the inclusion in the Queen’s Speech of 23 policies proposed by the Liberal Democrat Party. In commenting on individual proposals, she welcomed the pupil premium and Localism Bill. In relation to academies, she expressed some concerns over the funding for the remaining schools. She welcomed the Council’s response on planning issues and felt that with regard to the proposals in the Health Bill it was a question of waiting to see how GPs managed their new role.

Responding to a question from Councillor Mitchell regarding the position of her Group in relation to development at Grenoble Road Councillor Patrick indicated she had nothing to say at this time.

The Leader in proposing the response commented that he welcomed the academy proposals but shared some of the concerns over future funding of remaining schools. He was proposing a conference looking at academies.

During discussion, the Cabinet Member for Schools Improvement referred to the pupil premium and asked that the response include a request to include the children of service men and women in the proposal. Referring to the admissions issue, he was not persuaded that the use of the schools adjudicator would be effective.

The Deputy Leader suggested a strengthening of the response under paragraph 21. He commented that responsibilities were to come to local authorities with no additional funding.

The Cabinet Member for Growth & Infrastructure referred to paragraphs 10 & 11 relating to mineral extraction and suggested an additional point be made to government seeking clarity over arrangements for determining the amount of mineral extraction in localities.

RESOLVED:                        to agree the response set out in the report subject to the strengthening of the response in relation to paragraphs 15 and 21 and an additional point under paragraph 12 relating to mineral extraction.

Cabinet Member: Adult Services

Forward Plan Ref: 2010/132

Contact: John Pearce, Service Manager Strategic Commissioning, Social & Community Services

Report by Director for Social & Community Services (CA 11).

The report outlines the proposed changes concerning the development of carers' services within Oxfordshire.  It relates to those services commissioned for adult carers from the Area Based Grant (previously the Carers' Grant), the Oxfordshire County Council Base budget and the Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust contributions for carers totalling £6.302m.

The report recommends that the existing services relating to personal budgets and direct payments to carers totalling £4,407,900.00 continues. It also recommends that new re-designed Services offering information and advice will be provided by Oxfordshire County Council Customer services centre, and tenders will be invited for face to face support for carers.

The rationale supporting this recommendation follows extensive involvement with carers and the strategic need to reach many more carers than currently.  It is estimated that only 15% of carers in Oxfordshire access existing carers' services and this needs to be increased considerably. There are estimated 60, 000 people in Oxfordshire who care for vulnerable and disabled people. However only 9000 are known to voluntary and statutory sector.

The main area for service development is around information and advice, community network development, and enabling carers to maintain or improve employment opportunities. Oxfordshire County Council's website is to be enhanced to enable it to become more user interactive and increase accessibility.

The main shift around information and advice is to provide this through the new Oxfordshire County Council Customer Service Centre rather than through the existing arrangement of carers' centres. (3 centres in Didcot, Oxford and Banbury). The Customer Service Centre will proactively identify all those who have a caring responsibility and ensure appropriate information is made available to them by whatever method is most relevant to their needs.

 A range of face to face support to be made available for carers of Oxfordshire for example peer support, access to brokerage service and specialist outreach workers based in the community (The Carers support Service).  The Carers support Service will actively work with the carers who require this intervention as a solution and this tenders will be invited for these services.

The Aim is to increase the number of known carers by 20% per year so at the end of 3 years 75% of carers are known.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to approve the revised commissioning intentions for carers within Oxfordshire, as detailed in this report.

Cabinet considered a report (CA11) that outlined the proposed changes concerning the development of carers' services within Oxfordshire. It related to those services commissioned for adult carers from the Area Based Grant (previously the Carers' Grant), the Oxfordshire County Council Base budget and the Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust contributions for carers totalling £6.302m.

Councillor Zoe Patrick, Leader of the Opposition, referred to the number of carers as estimated in the report and queried the capacity of the Customer Service Centre. She asked why it was felt that the network would work better without Carer Centres and felt that the mitigation provided was inadequate.

Mr Tony Purkiss, Chairman of Oxfordshire Carers’ Forum, commented that he had been encouraged in the past few years by the improvements in awareness of carers. He recognised the need for the proposals and made the following points. He hoped that the Oxfordshire Carers Forum remained intact. He commented that the strategic direction did not feature parent carers who also sought advice from Carers Centres. He felt that support should be targeted on those most in need to avoid the danger of diluting the quantity and quality of the support provided and finally he supported the identification of carers as a first step.

Responding to a question from Councillor Fatemian he confirmed that he found the Council supportive of carers.

Ms Brandi, speaking as a carer supported the concern concerning parent carers, expressed the fear that they would be excluded from valued support and felt that they had not been directly consulted.

Councillor Fatemian in proposing the recommendations commented that the problem was that carers did not always identify themselves. The new service model moved away from carers having to attend a specific location and the key outcome had to be local and accessible to carers. He emphasised that savings under the new model were to be reinvested. He commented that the Cabinet Member and Directorate were considering the issue of parent carers for Children, Young People & Families and that there would be further consultation. The Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Families added that she would be happy to include the matter on the agenda of the Children’s Trust Board.

The Director for Social & Community Services responding to a query from Councillor Patrick advised that the figure in paragraph 21 of the report equated to three full time equivalent officers.

RESOLVED:                        to approve the revised commissioning intentions for carers within Oxfordshire, as detailed in this report.

Cabinet Member: Growth & Infrastructure

Forward Plan Ref: 2009/234

Contact: Joanne Fellows, Project Manager (Local Transport Plan) Tel: (01865) 815546

Report by Head of Transport (CA12).

Oxfordshire County Council has a statutory requirement to produce a new Local Transport Plan (LTP3) by April 2011.  LTP3 will cover the period from 2011 to 2030 and will be a blueprint for all transport development across the county and not just the publicly funded elements. 

The background against which the Plan is being developed is changing fast.  It is becoming increasingly important for the Plan to reflect the current economic climate whilst not losing sight of the longer term aspirations for Oxfordshire.  It is important that the County Council has an agreed LTP in order to respond to development and other pressures and allows the delivery of priority transport schemes when funding becomes available.

The purpose of this report is to outline the progress that is being made in developing the LTP3 and set out the results of the consultation on scenarios for LTP3.  The scenarios do not include specific schemes but the choice of scenario will influence which schemes are progressed in the future.

This report also outlines changes recommended to the policies approved by Cabinet in March 2010.  The revised set of policies will form the basis on which a draft Plan will be prepared for public consultation later this year, and a timetable for Plan finalisation is also set out as an annex to this report.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to

(a)               approve the preferred scenarios for the LTP, noting the information contained in the Strategic Environmental Assessment of the scenarios; and

(b)              approve the recommended changes to the policies, as the basis for further development of the LTP.

Cabinet considered a report (CA12) that outlined progress in developing the LTP3 and that set out the results of the consultation on scenarios for LTP3. The report also outlined changes recommended to the policies approved by Cabinet in March 2010.

Councillor Anne Purse, Shadow Cabinet Member for Growth & Infrastructure raised a number of concerns. She referred to the fast changing scene and hoped that the process, which was lengthy, would be able to pick the changes up. She hoped that there would be flexibility when looking at the scenarios for the different types of community defined in the plan as some town issues were common to some rural areas and she was concerned at the reduced emphasis on speed control mechanisms and changes to planning regulations. She also welcomed the commitment to produce a complete list of schemes.

The Cabinet Member for Growth & Infrastructure responded to the comments made.

RESOLVED:                        to:

(a)               approve the preferred scenarios for the LTP, noting the information contained in the Strategic Environmental Assessment of the scenarios; and

(b)               approve the recommended changes to the policies, as the basis for further development of the LTP.

Cabinet Member: Transport

Forward Plan Ref: 2010/098

Contact: Julian Hartless, Principal Project Manager Tel: (01865) 815097

Report by Head of Transport (CA 13).

This report addresses statutory procedures in connection with Cogges Link Road.  The procedures relate to land assembly (including the use of compulsory purchase powers), side roads and private means of access to premises, and works on non-navigable watercourses.  The Cabinet’s authorisation is required for the exercise of compulsory purchase powers and making and publishing of statutory orders, and the recommendation is extended to cover these and other statutory procedures which arise in this scheme..

Cabinet considered a report that addressed statutory procedures connected to the Cogges Link Road. The procedures related to land assembly (including the use of compulsory purchase powers), side roads and private means of access to premises, and works on non-navigable watercourses.

Mr James Mawle speaking as the representative of the principal landowner opposed the proposals.

RESOLVED:                        to:

(a)               approve the exercise of the Council’s statutory powers of compulsory purchase to enable the acquisition of all land requirements for the purposes of the Cogges Link Road Scheme shown edged red/ and coloured  on drawing number B0800100/B4130, including the service, publication and display of notices, the public deposit of documentation, and application to the Secretary of State for Transport for confirmation of the compulsory purchase of all land requirements for the purposes of the Cogges Link Road Scheme;

(b)               approve the making of applications to the appropriate Secretary of State or other body (as the case may be) for certificates that the replacement land to be provided is ‘equally advantageous’ as and no less in area than the existing ‘special category land’ which is required for the Cogges Link Road Scheme, including the service, publication and display of notices and the public deposit of documentation;

(c)               approve the exercise of the Council’s statutory powers for the purchase of land for the Cogges Link Road Scheme by General Vesting Declaration, including the service, display and publication of notices;

(d)               approve the making of a Side Roads Order in connection with the improvement, stopping up and diversion of side roads including public footpaths, and the stopping up of private means of access to premises and the provision of new means of access to premises, as shown on drawing number B0800100/B4500 Rev B, the service, display and publication of notices, the public deposit of documentation, and application to the Secretary of State for Transport for confirmation of the Side Roads Order;

(e)               approve the service, display and publication of all notices required for or in connection with the carrying out of works on non-navigable watercourses in connection with the Cogges Link Road Scheme;

(f)                 approve the taking of all necessary steps by officers to implement the statutory procedures required in connection with the Cogges Link Road Scheme; and

approve the affixing of the Council’s common seal to all orders, declarations, and any other documents arising in connection with the statutory procedures for the Cogges Link Road Scheme.

Cabinet Member: Growth & Infrastructure

Forward Plan Ref: 2010/029

Contact: Howard Cox, Team Leader – Developer Funding (01865) 810436

Report by Head of Sustainable Development (CA 14).

This report provides a summary of the developer contributions secured by the County Council through the planning process in 2009/10; identifying the financial contributions negotiated, received and spent during the year (according to district area and locality).

The report shows that 82 planning obligations were completed in 2009/10 securing a total of £28.38M. The report shows the actual amount of contributions received during the year to be £7.24M with the amount spent being £5.34M.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to note the information reported on the developer contributions negotiated and received through the planning process in 2009/10.  

Cabinet considered a report (CA14) that summarised developer contributions secured by the County Council through the planning process in 2009/10; identifying the financial contributions negotiated, received and spent during the year (according to district area and locality).

Councillor Anne Purse stated that she appreciated the efforts of officers but queried whether the recommendations of a Scrutiny Review of the last few years had been implemented.

The Cabinet Member for Growth & Infrastructure agreed that officers did a tremendous job. He was not quite certain where the Council was in respect of the recommendations of the Scrutiny Review but further proposals may be coming forward from government in autumn 2010.

RESOLVED:                        to note the information reported on the developer contributions negotiated and received through the planning process in 2009/10.

Cabinet Member: Leader

Forward Plan Ref: 2010/030

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

Report by Assistant Head of Legal & Democratic Services (CA 15).

To report on a quarterly basis any executive decision taken by the Chief Executive under the specific powers and functions delegated to her under the terms of Part 7.4 of the Council’s Constitution – Paragraph 1(A)(c)(i).  Item not for scrutiny call in.

RESOLVED:               to note the schedule of delegated powers exercised by the Chief Executive.

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 CA16.  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.

Councillor Patrick, Leader of the Opposition, commented on the deferral of the Cogges Trust report. The Trust was wound up and animals slaughtered. The Deputy Leader responding commented that there was a new Trust being set up. A Shadow Board was considering the options and in the mean time, the museum was closed for this year.

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.