Agenda and minutes

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 13 September 2011 (CC1) and to receive information arising from them.

RESOLVED:                        that the Minutes of the meeting of Council held on 13 September 2011 be approved and signed, subject to the following amendment:

Minute 86/11

.

Wording deleted and replaced by the following wording:

“The proposer said that she understood that the motion submitted was no longer necessary and it was agreed that the matter not proceed in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 15.1.”

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Belson, Darke, Hallchurch, Seale, D. Turner and Waine. An apology for lateness was received from Councillor Gearing.

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

Councillor Reynolds declared a prejudicial interest on Agenda Item 8, Community Safety Partnership Strategies by reason of his role as lead member for safer communities on Cherwell District Council.

The Chairman reported as follows:

The Chairman has sadly attended 3 repatriations for fallen servicemen since the Memorial Garden was dedicated.

Two successful snow day events have been held. One at the Deddington depot and the other at the Drayton depot; each had approximately 50 people in attendance where they gained information on snow clearance and salt spreading.

A listing of Chairman’s Events is now available on the website:

http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/content/chairman-council

The following public address was received:

Mrs Ruth Lyster spoke in support of Motion No 11, from Councillor Brighouse and in particular spoke against the decision to include Food with Thought in the scope of the l facilities management contract.

1.                Community Safety Partnership Strategies

(Cabinet, 18 October 2011)

The Crime & Disorder Act 1998 (and subsequent amendments) requires the county council (including Fire and Rescue Services) and statutory Community Safety partners to work in partnership to reduce crime and disorder in their local area.

These partnerships are the four Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) of Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire, Cherwell, Oxford City and West Oxfordshire.

Working together, each CSP is required to produce three year, rolling community safety strategies to tackle crime and disorder.  The county council, as one of the responsible authorities, must be represented on the CSPs and must contribute, through its wide range of services, to delivering the strategies and associated action plans.  It is also required, along with the other responsible authorities, to agree and publish the strategies.

The 2011-14 three-year rolling Community Safety Strategies aim to address crime, anti-social behaviour and the fear of crime.  Priorities reflect national, countywide and local concerns, including issues raised in consultation with local people. 

Priorities were also identified following the 2010 Strategic Intelligence Assessment, which replaced the three year community safety audits.

Cabinet considered the Strategies together with a report that included views from Members and the Safer and Stronger Communities Scrutiny Committee in particular and recommended them to Council for approval.

Council is RECOMMENDED to approve the Community Safety Strategies for Oxfordshire 2011-14.

The Crime & Disorder Act 1998 (and subsequent amendments) requires the county council (including Fire and Rescue Services) and statutory Community Safety partners to work in partnership to reduce crime and disorder in their local area. The Council had before them the report to Cabinet, which included views from Members and the Safer and Stronger Communities Scrutiny Committee in particular, together with the four Community Safety Partnership Strategies of Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire, Cherwell, Oxford City and West Oxfordshire.

RESOLVED:            (on a motion proposed by Councillor Mallon, seconded by Councillor Heathcoat and carried unanimously) to approve the Community Safety Strategies for Oxfordshire 2011-14.

Report of the Cabinet meetings on 20 September and 18 October 2011 (CC9)

The Council had before them the report of the Cabinet meetings held on 13 September and 18 October 2011 (CC10).

In relation to paragraph 2, (Establishment Review) (Question from Councillor Brighouse) responding to a request for information on  those staff made redundant including the jobs they did, the lengths of service and how the work is now being covered Councillor Robertson undertook to provide a written response on the figures requested.

In relation to paragraph 3 (Corporate Plan Performance and Risk Management Report for the First Quarter 2011) (Question from Councillor Pressel) Councillor Robertson agreed to provide information of the risk assessments carried out in relation to the loss of staff.

In relation to paragraph 4 (Outcome of Consultation on Outsourcing of Independent Living Services for People with a Learning Disability) (Question from Councillor Stevens) Councillor Fatemian undertook to provide a written response to the question on whether the outsourcing was worth the risk to the service users.

In relation to paragraph 10 (Saxon Centre – Big Society Fund/Asset Transfer) (Question from Councillor Brighouse) Councillor Mallon undertook to provide written details of the number of sessions for young people being held at the Centre.

26 questions with notice were asked. Details of the questions and answers and the supplementary questions and answers (where asked) are set out in Annex 1.

Councillor Rose agreed to respond in writing following a question as to whether he was aware that 20% more spaces could be gained at Thornhill P&R if the commercial use was not promoted by the availability of free parking.

Councillor Lindsay-Gale undertook to advise Councillors in writing as to the number of communications received on the recent consultation on the draft Minerals and Waste Planning Strategies.

Councillor Rose undertook to provide a written response to a question from Councillor Roz Smith on the cost of consultation over the route for the recent Oxford half marathon.

Councillor Fatemian undertook to provide a written answer to Councillor L Sanders' supplementary question on the effect on the budget or waiting times of the continuing care arrangements.

Councillor Robertson undertook to provide numbers of staff taking early retirement from October 2010 to the end of September 2011and comparisons with the previous two years.

Councillor Rose undertook to provide further details of Section 106 arrangements relating to cycleways.

Further to question 26 Councillor Chapman undertook to provide a detailed breakdown of the sessions held including whether a qualified youth worker had been involved.

“This Council notes that the Cabinet has agreed to include the current catering and cleaning services provided by Food with Thought and QCS within the scope of a Total Facilities Management Service Contract.

Given that:

 1. These services are paid for from the schools Delegated Budgets.

 2. Schools have indicated that they support the current service provided by Food with Thought,

 3. Food With Thought is forecasting a trading surplus

 4. There has been a 5.75% rise in the take up of meals.

 5. Currently any profit generated is reinvested in the service

Inclusion of this service in a much larger contract will jeopardise all of this and the other work which has been done this includes, training staff, communicating with parents, the provision of an excellent menu leaflet which goes out and is published in the Oxford Mail and much more. 

It is difficult to understand how a commercial organisation and possibly one where share holders or financial holding companies require a profit could provide such a service to our schools and to the children of this county.  This Council, therefore, calls on the Cabinet to reconsider its position and to open a dialogue with the schools as to how best these services can be provided.”

Councillor Brighouse moved and Councillor Stevens seconded the following motion:

“This Council notes that the Cabinet has agreed to include the current catering and cleaning services provided by Food with Thought and QCS within the scope of a Total Facilities Management Service Contract.

Given that:

 1. These services are paid for from the schools Delegated Budgets.

 2. Schools have indicated that they support the current service provided by Food with Thought,

 3. Food With Thought is forecasting a trading surplus

 4. There has been a 5.75% rise in the take up of meals.

 5. Currently any profit generated is reinvested in the service

Inclusion of this service in a much larger contract will jeopardise all of this and the other work which has been done this includes, training staff, communicating with parents, the provision of an excellent menu leaflet which goes out and is published in the Oxford Mail and much more. 

It is difficult to understand how a commercial organisation and possibly one where share holders or financial holding companies require a profit could provide such a service to our schools and to the children of this county.  This Council, therefore, calls on the Cabinet to reconsider its position and to open a dialogue with the schools as to how best these services can be provided.”

Councillor Fooks moved and Councillor Patrick seconded the following amendment to the motion shown in bold italics and strikethrough:

“This Council notes that the Cabinet has agreed to include the current catering and cleaning services provided by Food with Thought and QCS within the scope of a Total Facilities Management Service Contract.

Given that:

 1. These services are paid for from the schools Delegated Budgets.

 2. Schools have indicated that they support the current service provided by Food with Thought,

 3. Food With Thought is forecasting a trading surplus

 4. There has been a 5.75% rise in the take up of meals.

 5. Currently any profit generated is reinvested in the service

Inclusion of this service in a much larger contract will jeopardise all of this and the other work which has been done this includes, training staff, communicating with parents, the provision of an excellent menu leaflet which goes out and is published in the Oxford Mail and much more. Council believes that it is not proven that having a bigger contract will reduce risk to the County Council or save money, but that it would jeopardise the good work currently done by Food with Thought. In particular, it is not clear that including Food with Thought in the proposed contract would improve meal take-up or maintain the current high quality of provision

It is difficult to understand how a commercial organisation and possibly one where share holders or financial holding companies require a profit could provide such a service to our schools and to the children of this county.  This Council, therefore, calls on the Cabinet to reconsider its position and to open a dialogue with the schools as to how  ...  view the full minutes text for item 102/11

“This Council fully supports ‘Ox Online – The Digital Strategy for Oxfordshire’ and the campaign to get the whole county connected to Broadband as part of Oxfordshire’s Local Broadband Plan. 

Council notes:

That digital exclusion correlates closely to social and financial exclusion – those without IT skills find it harder to access education and employment opportunities, and miss out on opportunities to save money by accessing goods and services online.

That 28% of premises (residential and business) in Oxfordshire are in the Ofcom Market 1 area where it is recognised that the market has failed to deliver an adequate broadband service.

That 74,500, or 28% of households are within such areas, as are 33% of Oxfordshire’s businesses and 25 % of all employees.

That Race Online 2012 is a national campaign to get everyone online by the end of the Olympic year (hence the ‘race’); and

That nearly 10 million people in the UK never access the Internet. The ‘Give An Hour’ campaign hopes to help this group so that those with IT skills can ‘Give an Hour’ (gained when the clocks went back on 30th October) to show those without IT skills how to use computers and Internet.

Council resolves:

(a)       That, as part of Oxfordshire’s Local Broadband Strategy, members are asked to consider signing up as ‘Digital Champions’ to commit to helping others get online (at www.raceonline2012.org/giveanhour).

 (b)      That the work, resources and aims of ‘Ox Online’ continue to be promoted through the County Council’s resources, including the website.”

Councillor Fatemian proposed and Councillor Robertson seconded the following motion:

“This Council fully supports ‘Ox Online – The Digital Strategy for Oxfordshire’ and the campaign to get the whole county connected to Broadband as part of Oxfordshire’s Local Broadband Plan. 

Council notes:

That digital exclusion correlates closely to social and financial exclusion – those without IT skills find it harder to access education and employment opportunities, and miss out on opportunities to save money by accessing goods and services online.

That 28% of premises (residential and business) in Oxfordshire are in the Ofcom Market 1 area where it is recognised that the market has failed to deliver an adequate broadband service.

That 74,500, or 28% of households are within such areas, as are 33% of Oxfordshire’s businesses and 25 % of all employees.

That Race Online 2012 is a national campaign to get everyone online by the end of the Olympic year (hence the ‘race’); and

That nearly 10 million people in the UK never access the Internet. The ‘Give An Hour’ campaign hopes to help this group so that those with IT skills can ‘Give an Hour’ (gained when the clocks went back on 30th October) to show those without IT skills how to use computers and Internet.

Council resolves:

(a)       That, as part of Oxfordshire’s Local Broadband Strategy, members are asked to consider signing up as ‘Digital Champions’ to commit to helping others get online (at www.raceonline2012.org/giveanhour).

 (b)      That the work, resources and aims of ‘Ox Online’ continue to be promoted through the County Council’s resources, including the website.”

With the consent of Council, Councillor Fatemian accepted the amendment proposed by Councillor Pressel to add the following additional resolution (c) to the motion:

“(c) That the director for Adult Services seeks to arrange for volunteers (for instance from Age UK and student volunteers from The Hub) to contact the Council’s Well-being and Resource Centres to help the centre users get on-line.”

Councillor Fooks moved and Councillor Patrick seconded the following amendment to the motion shown in bold italics and strikethrough:

“This Council fully supports ‘Ox Online – The Digital Strategy for Oxfordshire’ and the campaign to get the whole county connected to Broadband as part of Oxfordshire’s Local Broadband Plan. 

Council notes:

That digital exclusion correlates closely to social and financial exclusion – those without IT skills find it harder to access education and employment opportunities, and miss out on opportunities to save money by accessing goods and services online.

That 28% of premises (residential and business) in Oxfordshire, mostly in rural parts of the county, are in the Ofcom Market 1 area where it is recognised that the market has failed to deliver an adequate broadband service.

That 74,500, or 28% of households are within such areas, as are 33% of Oxfordshire’s businesses and 25 % of all employees.

That Race Online 2012 is a national campaign to get everyone online by the end of the Olympic year (hence the ‘race’); and

That nearly  ...  view the full minutes text for item 103/11

“This Council reaffirms its conviction that the residents of Oxfordshire are deeply concerned about increasing pressures on adult social care budgets. It is unconvinced by arguments that the comparatively small saving required in the libraries budget can only be met by further cuts to adult social care. Council asks Cabinet to stop associating savings in libraries budgets with further cuts to adult social care; as it seems to be alone in seeing this correlation as inevitable.

Councillor Godden moved and Councillor Goddard seconded the following motion:

“This Council reaffirms its conviction that the residents of Oxfordshire are deeply concerned about increasing pressures on adult social care budgets. It is unconvinced by arguments that the comparatively small saving required in the libraries budget can only be met by further cuts to adult social care. Council asks Cabinet to stop associating savings in libraries budgets with further cuts to adult social care; as it seems to be alone in seeing this correlation as inevitable.”

Following debate the motion was lost by 16 votes to 47 with 2 abstentions.

“This Council notes the Westminster Hall Debate on the 6th September during which Tracey Crouch, MP for Chatham and Aylesford, highlighted the support for the appointment of an Older People’s Minister within government and the belief that such a post should carry with it a cross-departmental remit to secure improved outcomes for older people across government.

At a time of great national and local change in the way care and services are provided for older people not least through the Transforming Adult Social Care programme and the recommendations of the Dilnot Commission, this council recognises that this provision often sits across different departments and such an appointment could benefit Oxfordshire’s older people.

As such, Council asks that the Leader write to all the local MPs, including the Prime Minister, to express its support for the appointment of an Older People’s Minister.”

RESOLVED:             (on a motion by Councillor Fatemian, seconded by Councillor Jones and carried unanimously)

This Council notes the Westminster Hall Debate on the 6th September during which Tracey Crouch, MP for Chatham and Aylesford, highlighted the support for the appointment of an Older People’s Minister within government and the belief that such a post should carry with it a cross-departmental remit to secure improved outcomes for older people across government.

At a time of great national and local change in the way care and services are provided for older people not least through the Transforming Adult Social Care programme and the recommendations of the Dilnot Commission, this council recognises that this provision often sits across different departments and such an appointment could benefit Oxfordshire’s older people.

As such, Council asks that the Leader write to all the local MPs, including the Prime Minister, to express its support for the appointment of an Older People’s Minister.

“The recent survey, carried out by Demos on behalf of the Disabled Charity Scope, ranked Oxfordshire County Council as third-best out of 152 local authorities for how necessary budgetary decisions least impact on direct services for the disabled.  The report also sought to highlight areas of good working in Oxfordshire,

In particular:

• The development of a number of Extra Care Housing schemes, accommodation designed with the needs of frailer older people in mind and with varying levels of support and care available on site
• A move towards joint commissioning of care services for adults and children in preparation for closer working with health partners
• A current public consultation process into proposals to outsource some services for people with learning disabilities

Council:

(a)       Notes and welcomes the report and acknowledges that, whilst having to make savings due to the financial mismanagement of the previous Labour Government, it is possible to do so by providing a more efficient service that has the least impact on the users of the service. 

(b)       Expresses thanks to the staff within the Children’s Services and Adult Social Services Directorates for implementing policy in such a way that it can least impact on direct services for the disabled; and

(c)        Asks that the Cabinet, particularly those responsible for Children, Education & Families and Adult Social Care, continue to try to protect the most vulnerable groups when budget and policy decisions are made going forward.”

RESOLVED:             (on a motion by Councillor Hudspeth, seconded by Councillor Handley and carried by 44 votes to 7 with 10 abstentions)

The recent survey, carried out by Demos on behalf of the Disabled Charity Scope, ranked Oxfordshire County Council as third-best out of 152 local authorities for how necessary budgetary decisions least impact on direct services for the disabled.  The report also sought to highlight areas of good working in Oxfordshire,

In particular:

• The development of a number of Extra Care Housing schemes, accommodation designed with the needs of frailer older people in mind and with varying levels of support and care available on site
• A move towards joint commissioning of care services for adults and children in preparation for closer working with health partners
• A current public consultation process into proposals to outsource some services for people with learning disabilities

Council:

(a)       Notes and welcomes the report and acknowledges that, whilst having to make savings due to the financial mismanagement of the previous Labour Government, it is possible to do so by providing a more efficient service that has the least impact on the users of the service. 

(b)       Expresses thanks to the staff within the Children’s Services and Adult Social Services Directorates for implementing policy in such a way that it can least impact on direct services for the disabled; and

(c)        Asks that the Cabinet, particularly those responsible for Children, Education & Families and Adult Social Care, continue to try to protect the most vulnerable groups when budget and policy decisions are made going forward.

“This Council calls on the Cabinet Member for Transport to have charges introduced at the County-Council run Park and Rides at Thornhill and Water Eaton"

Councillor John Sanders moved and Councillor Brighouse seconded the following motion.

“This Council calls on the Cabinet Member for Transport to have charges introduced at the County-Council run Park and Rides at Thornhill and Water Eaton"

Following debate the motion was lost by 16 votes to 47 with 1 abstention.

“This Council supports Barnardo's campaign to cut children free from sexual exploitation and will take the necessary steps with our partners  to tackle the risk of this abuse in Oxfordshire.”

RESOLVED:            (on a motion by Councillor Roz Smith, seconded by Councillor Chapman and carried nem con)

This Council supports Barnardo's campaign to cut children free from sexual exploitation and will take the necessary steps with our partners to tackle the risk of this abuse in Oxfordshire.