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To Members of the Cabinet Notice of a Meeting of the CabinetTuesday 19 September 2006 at 2.00 pm County Hall, Oxford
Contact officer: Matt Bayliss Tel: 01865 815384 E-mail: matt.bayliss@oxfordshire.gov.uk
Membership
Decisions taken at the meeting will become effective at the end of the working day on 27 September 2006 unless called in by that date for review by the appropriate Scrutiny Committee. Copies of this Notice, Agenda and supporting papers are circulated to all Members of the County Council
AGENDAAddenda
To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 18 July 2006 (CA3) and to receive for information any matters arising therefrom. Cabinet Member:
Finance Report by Head of Finance & Procurement (CA5). This report covers the period ended 31 July 2006 for both revenue and capital. The consolidated revenue forecast for the year-end shows a balance of £13.421m. This is made up of £15.902m general balances and a forecast directorate overspend of £2.481m (net of City Schools and after allowing for the proposed additional contribution to the Older People's Pooled Budget). Pressures are emerging within Children, Young People and Families within the placement budget in Early Years and Family Support. Within Social and Community Services revisions to projections of client numbers indicate residential and nursing income in excess of that originally predicted. It is proposed that this income is passed as a contribution to the Older People's Pooled Budget to meet the increased cost of the client numbers. The report makes recommendations for approval of a number of virements for which Cabinet approval, and recommendation to Council for approval, is requested. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:
Cabinet Member:
Finance Report by Head of Finance & Procurement (CA6) (download as .doc file). This report is the first in a series that will inform members on the service and resource planning process and budget issues for 2007/08 and the medium term, and forms initial information that will lead to the Council agreeing a budget requirement and council tax for 2007/08 in February 2007. The report sets out estimated funding and planned expenditure for 2007/08 and outlines the budget issues emerging for 2007/08 and beyond for both revenue and capital expenditure. It also considers the implications for the Council of maximising borrowing allocations given by government in support of capital schemes. The report also sets out the proposals from the County Council Management Team for managing the service and resource planning process for 2007/08 and sets out a timetable for the process. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:
Cabinet Member:
Change Management Report by County Council Management Team (CA7). This quarterly report is for our performance at the end of the first quarter of 2006/7. The report presents performance against priorities in a balanced scorecard format, using a traffic light system to show progress within four blocks: customers, finance, process and people. Performance at the end of the first quarter is encouraging, showing green traffic lights for over 80% of indicators where information is available. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to note the report. Cabinet Member:
Change Management Report by Head of Human Resources (CA8). This report gives an update on activity since the implementation of the new Establishment Review and associated Recruitment Approval process on 1 August 2005. It provides detail on the overall objectives of the review and summarises progress made against the targets which were agreed to ensure delivery of those objectives. Details of the agreed establishment figure at 31 March 2006 in terms of Full Time Equivalents is provided, together with the detailed staffing position at 30 June 2006. These are shown in the report by directorate and service area. The report also provides information on current activity with specific reference to the implications of the directorate realignment and how we are engaging Heads of Service with the process. In addition there is information on grant funded posts and those vacancies which are being covered by agency staff and at what cost. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:
Cabinet Member:
Transport Report by Head of Transport (CA9). This report gives the results of the recent consultations on the proposal to introduce charges for residents and visitor’s parking permits in Oxford, carried out in conjunction with the publication of the draft amendments to parking orders to enable charges to be made. Consideration is given to the issues raised by those people responding to the consultation, which has resulted in the recommendation of substantial changes to the original proposals for visitor’s parking permits, of improvements to the level of service, and of other actions to address the issues raised. The report concludes that nothing in the consultation reveals significant flaws in the case for introducing charges. The report also considers the introduction of a revised permit scheme for discretionary authorisations for contractors’ vehicles to park in permit parking spaces and concludes that this scheme be introduced as proposed. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:
Residents parking permits £40 a year for each of the first two permits for any household in any zone £80 a year for a third permit, £120 a year for a fourth and further permits in zones where Orders allow this. Visitors parking permits No charge for one batch of 25 permits; £15 for a second batch of 25 permits. No charge for visitors permits issued to qualifying residents aged 70 or over. Contractors permits £15 for a discretionary authorisation to apply for a week in the zone requested.
Residents parking permit £10 a year for each permit.
Cabinet Member:
Sustainable Development Report by Head
of Sustainable Development (CA10). The Oxfordshire Waste Partnership (OWP) consists of representatives from all the district councils in Oxfordshire and the County Council. Over the past year, the OWP has worked to produce the Oxfordshire Joint Municipal Waste Strategy. This work has involved the evaluation of many options for the reduction, reuse, recycling, treatment and disposal of waste. The strategy sets out how the six authorities are going to work in partnership to effectively manage waste over the next 25 years in the context of future challenges, the need for change and a shared vision for the future. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED, subject to the comments of the Environment & Economy Scrutiny Committee, to approve the Oxfordshire Joint Municipal Waste Strategy and authorise the Director for Environment & Economy following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Sustainable Development to approve any minor amendments which may arise as a result of the consideration of this strategy by the other partners of the Oxfordshire Waste Partnership. Cabinet Member:
Sustainable Development Report by Head of Sustainable Development (CA11). The purpose of this report is to seek Cabinet approval for the procurement of waste treatment facilities for Oxfordshire. Three of the Council's existing landfill contracts expire in 2009, and the amount of biodegradeable municipal waste that Oxfordshire will be able to landfill without incurring fines is to reduce each year until 2019/20 at least under EU and Government legislation. The report sets out the key points in the business case prepared for this project, including an options appraisal and affordability assessment, and compares the implications of procuring waste treatment technologies with doing nothing. The conclusion is that procurement should proceed as the costs of waste treatment could be significantly less than doing nothing, but that the business case will also need to be revisited to ensure that the justification remains robust. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED on the basis of the outline business case to:
Cabinet Member:
Transport, Sustainable Development Report by Director for Environment & Economy (CA12) (download as .doc file). The County Council has been consulted by Oxford City Council on a full application, with supporting documents, for the redevelopment of the Westgate Centre submitted by the Westgate Partnership. The proposed development incorporates mixed use development including the alteration, refurbishment, part redevelopment and extension of the existing Westgate Centre to provide new retail and residential accommodation within Use Classes A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, and C3 and D1; erection of a replacement multi storey car park at Abbey Place and new access onto Thames Street: provision of new bus facilities and a bus priority route; environmental improvements to the public realm; associated highway access and landscape works; and other associated uses. The proposal incorporates a threefold expansion of the retail floor space on the site (from 17,000m² to 51,300m²), 127 new residential units and a new 1335 space multi-storey car park, which would replace the current Westgate car park and adjacent Abbey Place surface car park. The County has a significant role to play in any redevelopment of the Westgate area, as the Transport Authority, as Strategic Planning Authority and land owner. If approved, any consent is likely to involve the County Council in a number of respects and the Council will need to be party to legal agreements to secure infrastructure, works on the public highway and stopping up orders. This report describes the proposed development and concentrates on the main issues for the County Council raised by the proposal. A recommended response to the City Council is set out in full at Annex 4, which the Cabinet is asked to endorse. Subject to any supplementary information contained in the Addendum yet to be submitted by the applicant, the Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:
Cabinet Member:
Change Management Report by Corporate
Governance Scrutiny Committee (CA13). The Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee has undertaken a Review of ‘Customer Focus’ in the Council. The purpose was to look at whether the Council is effective in focusing on the needs of local people in providing its services. The Review sought to identify how the corporate centre encourages customer focus, how effectively the views of local people are reflected in service planning, and how customer service initiatives are supporting the development of customer focus. The aim of the Review was to make recommendations that could help to improve the customer focus of the Council. The report’s findings and recommendations are based on interviews with staff at all levels of the Council, witnesses representing external organisations, and other sources of evidence such as research by MORI. The Committee found that the Council has made significant progress in this area, and has a renewed commitment to customer focus. Several recommendations have been made to address the coordination and implementation of further improvements. On 27 July the Scrutiny Committee agreed the report for submission to the Cabinet. An executive summary of the report with its recommendations is attached (CA13). The full Review Report has been circulated to Cabinet Members, as has a paper by the Cabinet Member for Change Management commenting on the Review, which the Committee wished to be forwarded to the Cabinet. Copies of both documents have been placed in the Members’ Resource Centre and are available for public inspection. The Cabinet Member for Change Management RECOMMENDS the Cabinet to adopt the following in response to the Scrutiny Review Report:
a. thank
the review panel and officers for their work in undertaking this review;
b.
ask the Charter Mark Programme Board to consider the recommendations
made by the review panel in the context of its own work programme and,
where appropriate, take the recommendations into account in the Council’s
preparation for a Corporate Charter Mark; and
c.
communicate to the Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee its response
to the Review’s recommendations.
Cabinet Member:
Finance, Change Management Report by Director
for Resources (CA14). The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has set out, for consultation, four options for a new look LGPS to be implemented from 1 April 2008. This report considers each of the four options together with a range of related issues and highlights the key points to be considered in drawing up the Cabinet's response, as an employer, to the consultation proposals. The deadline for responses is 29 September 2006. The DCLG have stressed that there is no favoured option at this stage and that stakeholders can offer their own proposals rather than being constrained by the four options in the consultation document. The responses to this consultation will inform which proposal the DCLG takes forward through a statutory consultation exercise, in the form of Draft Scheme regulations commencing in late Autumn 2006. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to consider the issues raised in Annex 1 to the report and authorise the Director for Resources, following consultation with the Cabinet Members for Finance and Change Management, to submit a response to the DCLG by 29 September 2006. Cabinet Member:
Social Care & Policy Co-ordination Report by Director for Social & Community Services (CA15). The Department of Health is conducting a national consultation on a new National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS Funded Nursing Care in England. The South Central Strategic Health Authority is submitting a response on behalf of the Primary Care Trusts. This is a response from the perspective of the Local Authority. The new National Framework aims to clarify the definitions of the types of NHS funded care, and standardise the assessment and decision making process using nationally agreed assessment tools. The objective is to minimise the post code lottery effect as to who is eligible for NHS funded care, and make the process more transparent and comprehensible for vulnerable people and their families. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:
Cabinet Member:
Finance Report by Head of Property (CA16) (download as .doc file). This annual report details the performance of the Council’s property portfolio from April 2005 to March 2006. The following aspects of the property portfolio are covered: fitness for purpose; acquisitions, disposals and capital receipts; condition and required maintenance; environmental performance; building accessibility; utilisation of school properties; and capital projects. Fitness for Purpose surveys for the majority of operational properties have been included for the first time. The results of this annual assessment will help monitor progress towards achieving the Resources Directorate Service Plan target of 90% of properties being fit for purpose by 2015. The content of this report will help inform the Corporate Asset Management Plan. Future targets will be set in the next revision of the Corporate Asset Management Plan. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to note the report and request that benchmarking information and targets be provided in the Corporate Asset Management Plan for 2007/08. Cabinet Member:
Community Safety, Property Report by Director for Community Safety & Chief Fire Officer, Head of Property (CA17) (download as .doc file).. The Council recognises that an early warning of fire is essential in ensuring that any damage to the structure of a school is kept to a minimum, and that the provision of a fire alarm system with automatic fire detection linked to the Fire and Rescue Service is the best way to achieve this. Full Council have asked the Cabinet to encourage all schools in Oxfordshire to fit automatic fire alarms linked to the Fire and Rescue Service and in new schemes to do so in accordance with the agreed risk assessment process; and recommend that all new schools and extensions or major refurbishments to existing schools be fitted with sprinklers when the agreed risk assessment process demonstrates its worth. The report has been brought to Cabinet to seek approval for agreed actions between Property Services and the Fire and Rescue Service that will enable Cabinet to meet Council's request. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to agree the actions set out in Paragraph 5 of the report. Cabinet Member:
All 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 CA18. 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.
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