Meeting documents
Cabinet
Tuesday, 21 March 2006
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To Members of the Cabinet Notice of a Meeting of the CabinetTuesday 21 March 2006 at 2.00 pm County Hall, Oxford
Contact officer: Kath Coldwell (Tel: 01865 815902; E-mail) Membership
Decisions taken at the meeting will become effective at the end of the working day on 29 March 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 7 March 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 up to the end of January 2006 for both revenue and capital. The consolidated forecast to date shows a balance of £12.845m. This is an increase of £0.658m since the previous report and is made up of a net reduction of £0.680m in the forecast Directorate overspend offset by a net call on balances of £0.022m. The overall Directorate position is now forecast to be an underspend of £0.055m. For the remainder of the financial year the budgets of the two realigned Directorates will continue to be treated for financial reporting purposes as if the realignment had not taken place, although from 1 January management responsibility for some areas of those budgets has changed. In this report, therefore, the ‘Learning & Culture’ and ‘Social & Health Care’ groupings are retained. However, a summary of the position for the realigned Directorates is included at Annex 5 for information. The forecast position for general balances has reduced by £0.022m since the last report and now stands at £12.790m. This is due to an increase of £0.090m in the forecast overspend on the Firefighters’ Pension budget, offset by a reduction of £0.020m in the Retained Firefighters’ overspend and the return to balances of a £0.048m underspend on the budget for the May 2005 council elections. This remains in line with the projections set out in the 2006/07 budget proposals which were agreed by Council on 14 February. The Cabinet
is RECOMMENDED to:
(h) approve the adjustments to the capital programme as shown at paragraph 68.
Cabinet Member:
Change Management Report by Head of Human Resources (CA6). 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 agreed objectives. These include the identification of an agreed establishment figure as a base-line, the requirement for a documented case for each vacancy, an agreed description of front-line, business critical and back-office services and the development of a centralised system of approvals for recruitment. Details of the agreed establishment figure at 30 June 2005 in terms of Full Time Equivalents (FTE) in post and approved vacancies (our base-line) are also provided, together with the detailed staffing position at 31 December 2005. These are shown in the report by directorate and service area. In summary, our establishment numbers were as follows: At 30 June 2005 (FTE in post 4537) At 30 September 5277 (FTE in post 4635) At 31 December 2005 (FTE in post 4663) The report also provides information on process improvements since implementation on 1 August, with reference to organisational management information on SAP, the implications of the directorate realignment and how we are engaging Heads of Service with the process. In addition there is also 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:
Finance Report by Director for Resources The Director for Resources reports as follows: The
Audit Commission/KPMG have issued the Annual Audit & Inspection
Letter 2004/05. The Letter represents a summary of the Auditors’ work
and key findings relating to the financial year 2004/05. The Letter
was circulated on 31 January 2006 to all Councillors and relevant officers.
Members are asked to bring their copy of the Letter to the meeting.
Copies have also been placed in the Members’ Resource Centre and
on public deposit. The letter was considered by the Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee on 2 March and by the Audit Committee 8 March. The Scrutiny Committee agreed to scrutinise implementation of recommendations R1 (development of measures of success for strategies and plans), R2 (monitoring of key outcomes, priorities and targets and development and implementation of action plans) and R3 (embedding the new balanced scorecard methodology) as part of its work programme and will consider progress as a whole Committee activity on 1 June 2006. The Audit Committee resolved to: receive the Annual Audit & Inspection Letter and note the comments from the Audit Commission/KPMG; make no recommendations to the Cabinet on 21 March 2006 arising from the Letter; invite individual Cabinet Members to pursue the respective recommendations in the Letter with the appropriate Directors; note the outcomes of the Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee on 2 March 2006 and the Scrutiny Co-ordinating Group on 6 March 2006; and to draw the Letter to the attention of Chairmen of the scrutiny committees for scrutiny committee consideration as appropriate. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to receive the Annual Audit and Inspection Letter. Cabinet Member:
Transport Report by Head of Transport (CA8). The report provides the finer details of the funding of schemes in the Transport Capital Programme 2006/07 for approval. The schemes in this Programme have already been agreed as a result of the Cabinet approval of the draft final Local Transport Plan 2006 – 2011 at its meeting on 21 February 2006, but this did not give a complete breakdown of financing for each scheme in 2006/07. The report also provides a review of performance in delivering the 2005/06 Transport Capital Programme. The financial position at the time of drafting the report is that all of the Transport Capital Settlement for 2005/06 will be spent. There is a forecast underspend of £0.47 million on a total budget of £38.00 million due to slippage on just a very few schemes. This underspend is almost all in developer funding which remains available for those schemes in the 2006/07 programme. The Oxfordshire Highways partnership has completed 214 out of 235 planned actions (a mixture of forward designs, construction and purchases) in the Capital Programme reported to Cabinet in October 2005. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to approve the 2006/07 Transport Capital Programme as set out in Annex 1 to the report. Cabinet Member:
Transport Report by Head of Transport (CA9). This
report lists the proposed expenditure on highway maintenance activities
programmed for 2006/07 from both the capital and revenue budgets.
Following on from 2004/05 and 2005/06 the available budget has again
been prioritised to support the County Council's objective to improve
the condition of local roads and pavements while at the same time
holding the condition of the principal road network at its present
level.
Cabinet Member:
Transport Report by Head of Transport (CA10). This report deals with the County Council’s priorities for the development of rail services and facilities across Oxfordshire during 2006/07, and explains how the Council will engage with its partners within the rail industry to further its rail priorities. This is an annual report and enables the Cabinet to review, and where necessary update, our list of rail aspirations and establish priorities for the next financial year paying particular regard to the opportunities that will exist with the commencement of the Greater Western rail franchise, and the Local Transport Plan 2006-2011. To set the background against which the aspirations need to be considered, the report outlines the key developments within the rail industry during the last twelve months, and the likelihood of making progress with each aspiration during 2006/07. In order for Cabinet to consider each aspiration, an indication of the possible staff and financial implications for the County Council is given, together with an overall recommended priority. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:
Cabinet Member:
Social & Community Services Report by Head of Democratic Services (CA11). In December 2005 the Thames Valley Strategic Health Authority launched three consultations about the reconfiguration of NHS organisations, specifying the following options:
The consultation proposals are described more fully in the attached report (CA11) which identifies considerations which might affect the Cabinet’s response – mainly in terms of the Council’s social care responsibilities and partnership working arrangements with the NHS. The Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee considered the consultation on 26 January and its response is set at the end of the report. The Committee supported the principle of a single PCT for Oxfordshire, Option 2 for the SHA restructuring and the similar option for the Ambulance Trusts. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to agree its response to the consultation on the basis of:-
Cabinet Member:
Schools Improvement The Director for Children, Young People & Families reports as follows: The report to the Cabinet on 7 March on the Schools White Paper "Higher Standards, Better Schools for All - more choice for parents and pupils" gave an overview of the contents of the White Paper with a particular focus on those proposals which indicated a change in the role of local authorities. One main purpose of that report was to provide a basis for the Cabinet to consider how to respond to the three motions relating to the White Paper (two from Councillor Jean Fooks, one from Councillor Val Smith) which the Council on 10 January referred to the Cabinet, via the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee, to advise the Council at its 4 April meeting. The Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee was due to consider the report on the White Paper on 28 February. However the Education and Inspections Bill was introduced in the House of Commons on that day and the Committee decided to convene a special meeting on 14 March to consider what comments to make, with a request to the Cabinet not to finalise its advice to the Council until this 21 March meeting, so that it might take into account the Committee’s comments. The Cabinet on 7 March agreed the Committee’s request and deferred consideration to this meeting. The Scrutiny Committee’s comments will be reported to the meeting (download as .doc file). In the meantime the text of the three motions relating to the White Paper, together with a summary of the Bill produced by the DfES, are circulated with this agenda (CA12). The Bill itself can be seen on the Parliament web site (http://www.parliament.uk/bills/bills.cfm). The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to consider, in the light of the comments of the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee and the provisions of the Education and Inspections Bill, what advice to offer the Council on the three motions. Cabinet Member:
Children, Young People & Families Report by Director for Children, Young People & Families (CA13). The report sets out the statutory responsibility of the County Council to establish a local Safeguarding Children Board, by 1 April 2006. It summarises the duties and functions of the Board, the agencies to be represented, and the progress made to date in Oxfordshire. The Board must act independently of the Council, its partners and the new Children & Young People’s Board, as it has to be able to hold all of those bodies accountable for the effectiveness with which they deliver services to children in the County and safeguard and promote their welfare. The report also sets out the minimum funding requirements, to be met by partner contributions, to enable the Safeguarding Children Board to deliver its responsibilities. This is a challenging agenda requiring new partnerships and accountability arrangements to be established and for time and resources to be committed. The Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board will be a vital element in improving services and outcomes for the County’s most vulnerable children. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:
Cabinet Member:
Schools Improvement Report by Director for Children, Young People and Families (CA14) (download as .doc file). Project Appraisal ED635 relates to the replacement of the 2 storey 'Bicester' building at Brookside Primary School. This building was originally built in 1957 with a design life of 25 years. The building provides essential accommodation including the main entrance/admin facilities, hall, servery, ICT room, library and general teaching classrooms. The project to replace the building also includes some internal reorganisation of the school to provide improved accommodation for Bicester Under Fives and Families (BUFF). The cost of the project is primarily being met from the capital programme. The cost of providing improved accommodation for BUFF forms part of the Children's Centre Programme. The cost of this element of the project will be met from the Children's Centres capital allocation. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to approve Detailed Project Appraisal ED635. Cabinet Member:
Community Safety Report by Community Safety Scrutiny Committee. The
Community Safety Scrutiny Committee undertook a Review of the authority’s
Emergency Planning processes as recent events across the UK (and the
world) have shown that organisations need to be prepared for a wide
variety of incidences, ranging from severe weather to acts of terrorism.
The aim was to scrutinise the current level of readiness across the
Council’s services. On 6 February the Committee received the report
of its Lead Member Review Group, which found that the authority has
robust arrangements for effectively dealing with a wide range of emergencies.
A number of recommendations were made as to how these could be improved
further. The Committee agreed the report, subject to minor amendments
and the addition of a new recommendation R10, for submission to the
Cabinet. An executive summary of the report with its recommendations is attached (CA15). The full report (as amended) has been circulated to Cabinet Members. A copy has been placed in the Members’ Resource Centre and is also available for public inspection. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to consider the Scrutiny Review Report and communicate to the Community Safety Scrutiny Committee its response to the Review's recommendations. Cabinet Member:
Social & Community Services Report by Director for Social & Community Services (CA16). On 6 December 2006, the Cabinet agreed to the development of agreements under Section 31 of the Health Act 1999 for services for people with a Learning Disability. The arrangements under consideration were for lead commissioning and pooled budgets. The responsibilities that the County Council would have under these arrangements were set out in the previous report. This report presents the conclusions to this work; summarises the scope and nature of the agreements for lead commissioning and pooled budgets; gives the total value of the pooled budgets and the contributions from each of the partners that are being proposed; and summarises the arrangements for the detailed implementation of the agreement. A high level of agreement between the partners has been evident throughout the preparation work. The consultations on the proposed commissioning and pooled budget arrangements were positive and supportive. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:
Cabinet Member:
Change Management Report by Head of Human Resources (CA17). The current pay protection policy for County Council employees requires revision so as to align better with forthcoming major organisational changes which may result in significant movement of employees into new roles, some involving redeployment to lower graded jobs. It is important that this movement works smoothly to maintain confidence and morale among the workforce and to avoid job losses and potentially expensive redundancy costs. The revised policy freezes pay at the level which applied at the date of redeployment, so that the employee does not suffer an actual drop in pay. Suitable alternative employment at the protected pay level will continue to be sought where appropriate in order to minimise the need for protection and maintain the status of the employee where possible. Consultations with Unison have been positive and they have balloted their members on acceptance of this revision. The result was overwhelmingly in favour of acceptance of the new policy. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to agree the amended policy set out in Annex 1 to 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. It was indicated at the meeting on 7 March that the 5 April meeting might not be needed. This is now confirmed: two of the items previously listed for that date (Chipping Norton School Project Appraisal and Administration of a SEEDA Programme) will now come to the 18 April meeting; the third (Schools Admission Arrangements) falls within the delegated powers of the Director for Children, Young People & Families to agree, but the Cabinet Member for Schools Improvement will be consulted before the arrangements (which must be notified to the Secretary of State by 15 April) are finalised. Cabinet Members may 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: (a) the cancellation of the meeting on 5 April 2006; (b) the items currently identified for the 21 April meeting. March 2006
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