Agenda and draft minutes

There were none.

To receive any apologies for absence and temporary appointments.

Apologies were received from Cllr Haywood and from Cllr Middleton.

At the Chair’s discretion, Cllr Haywood was allowed to attend the meeting virtually as a guest, but he did not participate in any formulation of recommendations or voting.

Members of the public who wish to speak at this meeting can attend the meeting in person or ‘virtually’ through an online connection. 

To facilitate ‘hybrid’ meetings we are asking that requests to speak or present a petition are submitted by no later than 9am four working days before the meeting i.e., 9am on Monday 15 April 2024.  Requests to speak should be sent to scrutiny@oxfordshire.gov.uk

If you are speaking ‘virtually’, you may submit a written statement of your presentation to ensure that your views are taken into account. A written copy of your statement can be provided no later than 9am 2 working days before the meeting. Written submissions should be no longer than 1 A4 sheet.

There were none.

The Committee is recommended to APPROVE the minutes of the meeting held on 19 January 2024 and to receive information arising from them.

The minutes of the meeting held on 19th January 2024 were AGREED as an accurate record, subject to the following amendments:

·       The addition on the fifth page of reference to the NHS not currently being supportive of the workplace parking levy.

Councillor Dan Levy, Cabinet Member for Finance, Lorna Baxter, Executive Director (Resources), and Ian Dyson, Director of Finance Services have been invited to present the report submitted to and agreed by Cabinet on 19 March 2024.

The Committee is recommended to NOTE the report having raised any questions on its contents, and to AGREE any recommendations it wishes to make to Cabinet arising therefrom.

NB The Committee is being provided the same report as Cabinet; there is no additional Scrutiny report.

Councillor Dan Levy, Cabinet Member for Finance, Lorna Baxter, Executive Director (Resources), and Ian Dyson, Director of Finance Services were invited to present the Commercial Strategy report submitted to and agreed by Cabinet on 19 March 2024.

The Cabinet Minister for Finance introduced the report and argued that while the Commercial strategy was in its early stages, Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) should not pass up sensible opportunities to be more commercial, at a time when many councils across the country faced financial difficulties. The Cabinet member of Finance emphasised that being more commercial would underpin the Council’s prime function of supporting residents, businesses, and visitors. Challenges were expected but it was seen as important to get into a commercial mindset.

The Director of Finance Services wanted to ensure the ‘business as usual’ activity was tight and strong by focusing, for the upcoming year, on upskilling staff, processes, and contracts to ensure they were done right. This was to maximise the organisation’s assets, driving productivity and value for money, and allowing more ambitious commercial thinking and projects. An example of the work that had already been done was the digitisation of the business case process where good management practises were being developed. Other good opportunities to think commercially had already been taken, such as with the international market being engaged over the sale of County Hall.

The Committee raised a number of issues and questions about the strategy:

·       Where had the figure of 3-10% of total expenditure through typical efficiencies of a more commercially minded organisation come from?

PwC and Arcadis had both been used to consult on the strategy, in relation to assessing the Council’s commercial maturity. Both companies had independently suggested that figures were expected to be in this range having benchmarked the progress of other organisations who had gone through a similar process.

·       In relation to the risk appetite, how did Officers expect to manage risk if they did not know the risks? Could Officers define the risk appetite?

It was seen as suitable to define the risk appetite on a case-by-case basis. The risk would be looked at along with the feasibility of each opportunity as it was presented and balanced against the potential benefits of the opportunity. Each project would have its own risk management.

·       How was the new commercial mindset to be embedded throughout the organisation? Additionally, what funding had been made available for this in relation to consultants and staff training?

Arcadis had reported on the commercial maturity of the organisation. This report was designed to help provide a road map of how the commercial strategy would be implemented and embedded across the organisation. There was to be a focus on training and upskilling existing staff, in addition to changes to governance which aligned to the wider transformation process. Individualised training would improve value attained and would link with the transformation piece to ensure coherent training across the organisation. It was seen that all officers should have a level of commercial thinking about everything  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14/24

A Committee-requested item on Transformation. Councillor Liz Leffman, Leader of the Council, Stephen Chandler, Executive Director (People), and Mark Haynes, Director of Customer and Culture, including Transformation (interim) have been invited to present the report.

The Committee is recommended to NOTE the report having raised any questions on its contents, and to AGREE any recommendations it wishes to make to Cabinet arising therefrom.

The Committee had requested an item on the Council’s approach to Transformation. Councillor Liz Leffman, Leader of the Council, Stephen Chandler, Executive Director (People), and Mark Haynes, Director of Customer and Culture, including Transformation (interim) presented a report on Transformation to the Committee.

The Leader introduced the report describing how it cut across the whole organisation and supported the Delivering the Future Together programme. Staff had been worked with closely with regular well-attended meetings fostering much positive feedback.

The purpose of the Transformation programme was to support the nine priorities of the Administration as well as the organisation’s vision to be the employer, partner, and place shaper of choice. The programme would also help the organisation become more sustainable, one aspect of which had already been discussed in the previous item. Partnerships and collaborations were also an important part of the programme to deliver all the services the Council wanted while embracing technology.

The Executive Director (People) and Director of Customer and Culture, including Transformation (interim), presented the programme to the Committee. Transformation was about large-scale strategic changes that would help the organisation operate differently, focusing on culture, technology, and business models within the organisation.

The Transformation programme encompassed five keys areas which would help the organisation reach its overall objective to become a sustainable and successful organisation. These included being leaner, fewer buildings, embracing technology, collaborating with partners, and leveraging commercial opportunities.

The agreed governance process was explained through the workings and stages of the Strategic Transformation Programme Board (STPB), also known as the Design Authority. The transformation route was also explained throughout the five stages of: identify, define, design, deliver, and close. An update was given of where various transformation projects were in this transformation route, including the Commercial Strategy.

An update was also provided on the Delivery Hub Concept. This included the Programme Management Office, which included the Change Academy; Business Intelligence, including data and insights; and Communities of Practice, where like-minded people came together to share knowledge and learn new skills.

The Committee addressed the following issues:

·       Whether the governance structures were too bureaucratic and time consuming, in terms of the number of meetings. It was also unclear to the Committee, how one meeting, within the governance structure, would affect or impact subsequent meetings. Clear lines of accountability and governance transparency were recognised as essential.

Officers acknowledged that it was always about finding a balance between robust governance without creating its own industry of works. Technologies were being looked at to ensure systems and processes were as automated and lean as possible, including the use of AI. Sufficient rigour and governance would remain essential. The system was constantly being evaluated, including by the Lean Team. This was to make sure teams and projects were not stepping on each other’s toes, and program managers were talking to one another with clear roles and responsibilities.

·       How much were consultants being used in transformation program, and would transformation process leave the organisation more or less reliant on consultants in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15/24

Lorna Baxter, Executive Director (Resources) will provide a brief verbal update on changes made to the Business Management and Monitoring Report, specifically in relation to budget monitoring. The Committee is recommended to ask any questions and NOTE the update.

Lorna Baxter, Executive Director (Resources) provided a brief verbal update on changes made to the Business Management and Monitoring Report (BMMR), specifically in relation to budget monitoring.

Investments and savings from the budget passed in February would be monitored through the BMMR. This went through to Cabinet on a bimonthly basis and would also come through this Committee to be debated.

The importance of tracking all changes to the budget, especially the investments linked to the settlement agreed before the budget, was emphasised. Savings were already tracked but the metric was to be changed from a RAG status to a financial number.

The Committee is recommended to NOTE the progress of previous recommendations and actions arising from previous meetings, having raised any questions on the contents.

NB This item is to follow.

Having reviewed the progress of actions and recommendations the

Committee NOTED the action and recommendations tracker.

The Committee is recommended to AGREE its work programme for forthcoming meetings, having heard any changes from previous iterations, and taking into consideration the Council’s Forward Plan and any issues arising.

The Committee resolved to AGREE the proposed forward work plan, having taken account of the Cabinet Forward Plan and the Budget Management Monitoring Report subject to the following amendments:

·       A report in 6 months on the progress of the Commercial Strategy, to pick up issues discussed (training programmes, risk register, funding allocation, review of the term ‘Commercial’, and worked examples of transformation project as it progressed through the governance structures).

Since the last meeting of the committee Cabinet has made response to the following sets of scrutiny recommendations:

-        Employee Engagement*

-        City Centre Accommodation Strategy

-        Capital Assets Disposal Process

-        Social Value

The Committee is asked to NOTE the response.

*This item also includes the response of the Head of Paid Service to those recommendations addressed to him.

The Committee NOTED the Cabinet responses submitted. In response to the Social Value recommendations, clarity was requested on the scope of the first recommendation, and a timescale for implementing the final one.

The Committee is recommended to APPROVE the confidential minutes of the meeting held on 19 January 2024 and to receive information arising from them.

The confidential minutes of the 19 January 2024 meeting were AGREED as a true and accurate record.