Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence and temporary appointments.

Apologies for absence were received from the following:

-        Cllr Greenaway (for whom Cllr Smith was substituting)

-        Cllr Mallon (for whom Cllr Evans was substituting)

-        Cllr Shiri (for whom Cllr Roberts was substituting)

See guidance note on the back page.

There were none.

The Committee is recommended to APPROVE the minutes of the meetings held on 17 April 2026 and 12 May 2026, and to receive information arising from them.

The minutes of the meetings of the 17 April 2026 and 12 May 2026 were AGREED as a true and accurate record.

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

Requests to present a petition or to speak must be submitted no later than 9am three working days before the meeting, i.e. 09/06/2026.

Requests should be submitted to the Scrutiny Officer at scrutiny@oxfordshire.gov.uk.

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

There were none.

Cllr Fawcett, Cabinet Member for Resources, and Cllr Levy, Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Transformation, Ian Dyson, Director of Financial and Commercial Services, Rob MacDougall, Chief Fire Officer and Director of Community Safety, Kathy Wilcox, Head of Corporate Finance, and Verity Royle, Planning and Reporting Manager have been invited to present a report on the Business Management and Monitoring Report, with a particular focus on the Fire and Rescue Service.

The Committee is asked to consider the report and raise any questions, and to AGREE any recommendations it wishes to make to Cabinet arising therefrom.

Cllr Fawcett, Cabinet Member for Resources, and Cllr Levy, Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Transformation, Ian Dyson, Director of Financial and Commercial Services, Rob MacDougall, Chief Fire Officer and Director of Community Safety, Kathy Wilcox, Head of Corporate Finance, and Verity Royle, Planning and Reporting Manager attended the committee to present the Business Management and Monitoring Report with a focus on the Fire and Rescue Service.

The Head of Corporate Finance introduced the report which brought together finance, performance and risk updates for Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue and Community Safety as part of the Committee’s rolling updates.

The service reported a small overspend of £0.5m against a budget of £32.6m for 2025/26, driven by a £0.6m overspend in Fire and Rescue, partly offset by a £0.1m underspend in Trading Standards. Reserves of £3.4m were held at year end, largely earmarked for vehicles and equipment.

Performance across all measures was reported as strong, with indicators rated green and continued delivery against key priorities, including community safety, health and tackling inequality. Capital expenditure of £1.3m on fleet and equipment was also noted, funded primarily from service reserves.

Speaking to the financial aspects of the report, members sought more information on the Carterton Community Safety Centre. Robin MacDougall, Chief Fire Officer and Director of Community Safety, explained that the service was operating from a temporary fire station. A site had been secured through a Section 106 agreement for a new permanent fire station, with plans developed and some capital funding identified. However, insufficient funding was in place to begin the project, and the service was exploring options to secure the additional capital required. This remained challenging and had to be balanced against maintaining the current fire crew response. The service was keeping the project under review, including ways to reduce build costs and increase available capital funding.

Members also sought explanation of the firefighters’ New Dimension grant. The Chief Fire Officer explained that a national resilience function had been established across UK fire and rescue services, covering capabilities such as urban search and rescue, hazardous chemical incidents and major flooding. Oxfordshire hosted two units: a high-volume pumping unit at Banbury and a detection, identification and monitoring team at Bicester serving the Thames Valley. It was confirmed that the funding did not support Kennington fire station but was adequate for the work undertaken.

For context, the Chief Fire Officer gave a presentation on performance and proposed changes to the service’s delivery model. The Fire and Rescue Service cover model was intended to better align resources with demand, which was concentrated during the day and early evening. Fire engine availability did not currently align with the busiest periods, and response times had been increasing nationally and locally, making change necessary.

He reminded the Committee of the breadth of activity undertaken by the service, noting that during 2025/26 it had attended more than 6,000 incidents. These included nearly 1,500 fires, 140 flooding incidents, 83 animal rescues, more than 118 incidents assisting other agencies, almost 350  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28/26

Cllr Levy, Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Transformation, Ian Dyson, Director of Financial and Commercial Services, and Richard Scarlett, Head of Procurement and Commercial have been invited to present an update report on the progress of the Council’s Commercial Strategy.

The Committee is asked to consider the report and raise any questions, and to AGREE any recommendations it wishes to make to Cabinet arising therefrom.

Cllr Levy, Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Transformation, and Ian Dyson, Director of Financial and Commercial Services, presented an update report on the progress of the Council’s Commercial Strategy.

Introducing the report, the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Transformation explained that the strategy had been intended to ensure that the Council’s commercial activity added value to the organisation, supported wider policy objectives, and generated income where appropriate. He highlighted the importance of ensuring that contracts delivered financial and social value, supporting community and environmental priorities through procurement, and identifying commercial opportunities that could support the delivery of services.

The Director of Financial and Commercial Services reported that reasonable progress had been made since the strategy had been approved, although progress had been slower than hoped because of the need to undertake foundational work. The Council had reviewed its operating model, redesigned relevant service structures, strengthened commercial and procurement capacity, and begun to improve contract management arrangements.

Committee members questioned the rationale for the acquisition of the Castle Quarter, noting that many members had been unaware of the initiative because of commercial confidentiality. Questions were asked about the total cost, the source of funding, the relationship between the acquisition and the sale of County Hall, and the consistency of decision making in relation to property assets in the same area.

Officers explained that the opportunity to acquire the leasehold interest had arisen and had been assessed from both a place-shaping and commercial perspective. The Committee was advised that the total capital investment approved by Cabinet was £34 million, covering the acquisition and associated capital requirements. Officers stated that, after borrowing and operating costs, the acquisition was expected to generate a minimum net surplus of £550,000 per year, with the potential for this to increase through commercial management of the asset.

Members asked about the risks associated with the acquisition, including reliance on footfall, rental income, occupancy levels, and the performance of existing and future tenants. Officers explained that due diligence had been undertaken, that market advice had been received, and that a reserve would be established from expected early-year surpluses to provide a buffer if income levels were lower than anticipated. The Committee was advised that four vacant units were expected to be occupied within 18 months and that the Council had protection in relation to income from those units for the next two years.

Members expressed concern that the projected annual surplus represented a relatively low yield against the level of investment and questioned whether the Council was becoming a significant commercial landlord. Officers clarified that the Council was not permitted to borrow solely for commercial gain and that the acquisition had been justified by its wider place-shaping purpose. The business case had needed to demonstrate that the investment would pay for itself and would not become a burden on the revenue budget.

Members also sought further detail on the Council’s vision for the Castle Quarter, the proposed letting profile, the approach to asset management, and the governance  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29/26

Cllr Gordon, Cabinet Member for Environment and Economy, Robin Rogers, Director of Economy and Place, and Nicholas Glover, Head of Future Economy have been invited to present an update report on Shaping Oxfordshire’s Future Economy.

The Committee is asked to consider the report and raise any questions, and to AGREE any recommendations it wishes to make to Cabinet arising therefrom.

Cllr Gordon, Cabinet Member for Environment and Economy, and Nicholas Glover, Head of Future Economy attended to present an update report on Shaping Oxfordshire’s Future Economy. The Head of Future Economy highlighted to members his interest as Interim Managing Director of Enterprise Oxfordshire.

Introducing the report, the Head of Future Economy explained that Oxfordshire had a strong economy, highly significant research and innovation assets, a skilled workforce, and extremely high employment rates. However, he advised that productivity remained a key challenge and that the benefits of innovation-led growth had not flowed evenly across the county. Persistent deprivation in some areas, pressures in the foundational economy, difficulties in retaining and scaling businesses, and misalignment between housing, employment and transport infrastructure were highlighted as key challenges for the county’s economy.

The Committee heard that, given the uncertainty created by LGR, devolution, the proposed development corporation and wider institutional change, officers were not proposing a traditional long-term economic strategy . Instead, the focus had shifted to an investment plan for the short to medium term, intended to support businesses and residents while longer-term governance and spatial decisions were resolved.

The Head of Future Economy stated that the emerging investment pipeline was approximately £150 million, although no final decisions had been taken. He suggested that Enterprise Oxfordshire could provide a platform for delivery and for convening public, private and academic partners, but that some interventions might be better delivered by local government or other partners. The intention was to take proposals to Cabinet in July, with further development of interventions expected in September and beyond.

Members sought more detail about the leadership of Enterprise Oxfordshire. The Head of Future Economy clarified that he had been appointed Interim Managing Director of Enterprise Oxfordshire following the departure of the previous Chief Executive. His interim contract was due to end in July, although it was likely to be extended. Recruitment for a Managing Director was underway, with final interviews expected on 29 June and a recommendation due to be considered by the shareholder committee on 14 July. The Committee was advised that a candidate had also been identified for the role of Chair of Enterprise Oxfordshire and would be recommended to the Shareholder Committee for approval.

Members asked for greater clarity on the competing views referred to in the report around economic development, particularly in relation to the statement that developing a traditional economic strategy was exceptionally challenging. The Head of Future Economy explained that there were differing views across Oxfordshire about the appropriate economic model, including spatial questions around housing, commercial development, growth locations and the extent to which the benefits of Oxford’s universities and spin-outs should be spread across the county and beyond.

Members emphasised the importance of transparency and asked that the specific views of organisations be made clear where possible. The Head of Future Economy referred to LGR submissions as public documents that set out different perspectives on the county’s future economic model. The Cabinet Member for Economy and Environment added that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30/26

The Committee is recommended to AGREE its work programme for forthcoming meetings, having heard any changes from previous iterations, and taking account of the Cabinet Forward Plan and of the Budget Management Monitoring Report.

The latest publication of the Cabinet Forward Plan can be found here:

https://mycouncil.oxfordshire.gov.uk/mgListPlanItems.aspx?PlanId=484&RP=115

The Committee AGREED the proposed work programme but, in the event that Council gave it power to consider LGR issues and the government announced its ‘minded to’ decision in July, the Committee requested to replace the BMMR item with an LGR update.

Attached are the Cabinet responses to the Performance and Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee reports on:

-        The Business Management and Monitoring Report

-        Parking Permits

-        Draft Social Value Policy

The Committee is asked to NOTE the responses.

The Committee NOTED the Cabinet responses to the reports on:

-        The Business Management and Monitoring Report (Public Health)

-        Parking Permits

-        Draft Social Value Policy