Agenda, decisions and minutes

There were none received.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 17 October 2023 (CA3) and to receive information arising from them.

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 October 2023 were approved and signed as a correct record by the Chair.

See annex.

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12 Business Management and Monitoring Report

Cllr Eddie Reeves

13 Capital Programme Approvals

Robin Tucker

Cabinet noted the following appointments:-

Future Oxfordshire Partnership Infrastructure Advisory Group:

Councillor Judy Roberts as OCC representative.

Councillor Andrew Gant as substitute.

Schools Organisation Stakeholder Group

Councillor Andy Graham to fill a vacancy

There were no reports from Scrutiny Committees at this meeting.

Cabinet Member: Adult Social Care

Forward Plan Ref: 2023/213

Contact: Ian Bottomley, Lead Commissioner – Age Well, ian.bottomley@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Report by Corporate Director: Adult Social Care (CA8).

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to

a)    Approve the new care home banding model and note the engagement of the market and partners in its development.

b)    Approve the implementation of an integrated purchasing framework with the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and Berkshire West Integrated Care Boad and to implement the new Care Home Banding model.

c)     Approve the revision of the s75 NHS 2006 agreement with the ICB to support implementation of the model and to delegate authority to agree further amendments to this agreement to the Corporate Director of Adult Social Care in consultation with the Director of Law and Governance

Cabinet had before it a report recommending that the Council approved the principle of entering into an integrated care homes purchasing framework with the  Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board (ICB).

The purchasing framework would source residential and nursing home beds for over 18-year-olds in Oxfordshire and within a 10-mile radius of the County boundary. This would cover adults who had been assessed as eligible under either the Care Act 2014 or under the NHS Continuing Health Care (CHC) Framework and who require a care home placement to meet their care needs.

Councillor Tim Bearder, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, presented the report and explained the background to the proposals. He said that a further key decision on the contractual arrangements would be required when the financial arrangements and other details had been finalised.

The Chair welcomed the proposals and, in particular, the integration with the Council’s health care partners that had been developed.

The Corporate Director for Adult Services then answered a number of questions on the framework agreement which would be introduced.

The Executive Director People, Transformation and Performance referred to two recent reports, one of which had cited Oxfordshire as the best performing authority in the South-East of England for availability of home care and the other which had given two examples of best practice in Oxfordshire in dealing with patients being discharged from hospital.

Councillor Bearder moved and Councillor Levy seconded the recommendations and they were approved.

RESOLVED to approve:-

a.     the new care home banding model and note the engagement of the market and partners in its development.

b.     the implementation of an integrated purchasing framework with the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and Berkshire West Integrated Care Boad and to implement the new Care Home Banding model.

c.     the revision of the s75 NHS 2006 agreement with the ICB to support implementation of the model and to delegate authority to agree further amendments to this agreement to the Corporate Director of Adult Social Care in consultation with the Director of Law and Governance.

Cabinet Members: Corporate Services and Finance

Forward Plan Ref: 2023/168

Contact: Tim Spiers, Director of IT, Innovation, Digital and Transformation, tim.spiers@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Report by Director of Finance (CA9).

Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

a)    Approve the refocusing of the programme on the delivery of improvements to existing human resources, finance, payroll and procurement functions and processes.

b)    Approve that the programme does not progress the development of detailed requirements and a full business case to review delivery options for corporate support services and underpinning technology.

c)    Approve the repurposing £1.23m of the existing approved £1.57m programme funding to deliver the refocused programme and return the remaining £345k to the Transformation Reserve

Cabinet had before it a report providing an update on the progress of the Business Services Transformation Programme and sought approval for a proposal to refocus, deliver improvements to existing human resources (HR), finance, payroll and procurement functions and processes and remain with Hampshire County Council’s Integrated Business Centre (IBC).

This report also sought approval for the repurposing of £1.23m of the existing Cabinet approved £1.57m programme funding for delivery of the programme to date and to plan and deliver an Improvement Stage. The £1.57m was previously agreed at Cabinet in April 2023 for programme resources to prepare detailed requirements for a transformation and procurement process.

Councillor Neil Fawcett, Cabinet Member for Community & Corporate Services presented the report and explained the background to the proposals. He referred, in particular, to the improvements which the Council aimed to achieve including increased productivity and improvements in the quality of financial and people management data across the organisation,

Councillor Fawcett moved and Councillor Sudbury seconded the recommendations and they were approved.

RESOLVED to approve:-

a.      the refocusing of the programme on the delivery of improvements to existing human resources, finance, payroll and procurement functions and processes.

b.    that the programme does not progress the development of detailed requirements and a full business case to review delivery options for corporate support services and underpinning technology.

c.      the repurposing £1.23m of the existing approved £1.57m programme funding to deliver the refocused programme and return the remaining £345k to the Transformation Reserve.

Cabinet Member: Finance

Forward Plan Ref: 2023/140

Contact: Tim Chapple, Treasury Manager, tim.chapple@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Report by Director of Finance (CA10).

Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to note the council’s treasury management activity in the first half of 2023/24 and recommend Council to note council’s treasury management activity in the first half of 2023/24.

Cabinet considered a report on the Council’s Treasury Management performance for the first half of the year (1 April to 30 September 2023)  measured against the budget agreed by Council in February 2023

The activities covered 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 Chair referred to two corrections to the report:-

Line 12 states "8 LOBO loans totalling £45m", but it should have read "8 LOBO loans totalling £40m

Paragraph 5, total debt was £297m not £302m as stated in the report

Councillor Dan Levy, Cabinet Member for Finance, presented the report and welcomed the Council’s performance in treasury management illustrated in the report.

The Chair expressed thanks to the officers in the Treasury Management for their hard work.

RESOLVED to note the Council’s treasury management activity in the first half of 2023/24 and recommend Council to note the Council’s treasury management activity in the first half of 2023/24.

Cabinet Member: Finance

Forward Plan Ref: 2023/316

Contact: Kathy Wilcox,

Kathy.wilcox@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Report by  Director of Finance

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

a)  endorse the report and note the directorate pressures that will need to be considered as part of the Budget & Business Planning Process.

b)  endorse the approach to savings that will be developed further through the Budget & Business Planning Process.

Cabinet had before it a report setting out the current pressures affecting the Council’s directorates which would need to be considered as part of the Budget and Business Planning process for 2024/25 and the approach to required budget savings.  Cabinet referred, in particular, to the measures being taken to address the current overspend in budgets within Children’s Services.

Detailed revenue savings and capital proposals would be considered by the Performance and Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 8 December 2023 along with any updates on funding following the Government’s Autumn Statement.

Updates to funding and any changes to proposals known by the end of December 2023 would be published on 11 January 2024 and considered by Performance and Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 19 January 2024.  Comments from scrutiny as well as feedback from the public engagement and consultation exercise would be considered by Cabinet ahead of proposing their budget on 30 January 2024.

Councillor Dan Levy, Cabinet Member for Finance, presented the report.

During discussion, members referred to the current pressures on specific budgets including Home to School transport and the need to identify savings to compensate for these.

Councillor Levy moved and Councillor Ley seconded the recommendations and they were approved.

RESOLVED to endorse:-

a)     the report and note the directorate pressures that will need to be considered as part of the Budget & Business Planning Process.

b)    the approach to savings that will be developed further through the Budget & Business Planning Process

Cabinet Member: Finance

Forward Plan Ref: 2023/141

Contact: Louise Tustian, Head of Insight and Corporate Programmes, louise.tustian@oxfordshire.gov.uk / Kathy Wilcox, Head of Financial Strategy, kathy.wilcox@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Report by Chief Executive / Director of Finance (CA12 ).

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to

a)    note the report and annexes.

b)    approve the virements in Annex 2a.

c)    approve the write off of five Adult Social Care contribution debts totaling £0.142m.

d)    approve the Supplementary Estimate request of £0.2m to fund the deficit balance for a school converting to academy status during 2023/24.

Cabinet considered a report presenting the September 2023 performance, risk, and finance position for the council.  The business management reports were part of a suite of performance, risk and budget documents which set out the council’s ambitions, priorities, and financial performance. 

Councillor Eddie Reeves, Chair of the Performance and Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee, addressed the Cabinet and asked for details of the measures were being taken to address the projected overspend in budgets in Children’s Services

Councillor John Howson, Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Young People’s Services, explained the background to the issues and the measures being taken to address the budget position in Children’s Services and for school transport and placement costs in particular.

Councillor Dan Levy, Cabinet Member for Finance, presented the report.

Cabinet welcomed, in particular, the reduction of the percentage of children in residential care in the County.

Councillor Levy moved and Councillor Howson seconded the recommendations and they were approved.

RESOLVED to:-

a)    note the report and annexes.

b)    approve the virements in Annex 2a.

c)    approve the write off of five Adult Social Care contribution debts totaling £0.142m.

d)    approve the Supplementary Estimate request of £0.2m to fund the deficit balance for a school converting to academy status during 2023/24.

Cabinet Member: Finance

Forward Plan Ref: 2023/139

Contact: Natalie Crawford, Capital Programme Manager, natalie.crawford@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Report by Director of Finance (CA13).

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

a)    approve £2.1m as a development budget to progress the design phase for the ‘Didcot Northern Perimeter Road Scheme 3’, a scheme already in the capital programme.

b)    approve the submission of a bid to Active Travel England for an indicative funding amount of £2.38m for several defined active travel schemes.

Cabinet had before it a report setting out requests for changes to the Capital Programme requiring Cabinet approval that will be incorporated into the agreed programme and included in the next quarterly update to the Capital Programme in December 2023.

Robin Tucker addressed the Cabinet and expressed concern about the lack of consultation with local communities on the Active Travel bid for Government funding. 

Councillor Andrew Gant, Cabinet Member for Transport Management, expressed appreciation for the contribution made by local stakeholders on the issues concerning Active Travel.  He said that the Council took the need for co-production and consultation very seriously which as demonstrated by the participation by stakeholders in a number of workstreams.  Councillor Gant referred to the complex process and timescales for bids for Government funding which, in many cases, resulted in bids having to be submitted at very short notice.

During discussion, members also welcomed the progress on the Didcot Northern Perimeter Road Scheme.

Councillor Levy moved, and Councillor Gant seconded the recommendations and they were approved.

RESOLVED to:

a)    approve £2.1m as a development budget to progress the design phase for the ‘Didcot Northern Perimeter Road Scheme 3’, a scheme already in the capital programme.

b)    approve the submission of a bid to Active Travel England for an indicative funding amount of £2.38m for several defined active travel schemes.

Cabinet Member: All

Contact Officer: Chris Reynolds, Committee Officer

chris.reynolds@oxfordshire.gov.uk

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 CA14.  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 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.

Cabinet noted the following responses to Scrutiny reports:-

Oxford United Football Club

Workforce Data

Workforce Strategy