Meeting documents
Cabinet
Tuesday, 5 July 2005
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To Members of the Cabinet Notice of a Meeting of the CabinetTuesday 5 July 2005 at 2.00 pm County Hall, Oxford
Contact officer: Matt Bayliss (Tel: 01865 815384; E-mail)
Membership
Decisions taken at the meeting will become effective at the end of the working day on 13 July 2005 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 22 June 2005 (CA3) and to receive for information any matters arising therefrom. Cabinet Member:
Finance Report by Head of Finance & Procurement (CA5). This report reviews the Treasury Management activity carried out during 2004/5. It covers both debt financing and investment of temporary cash surpluses. The Council’s investments comprise in-house cash deposits and an externally invested fund managed by Alliance Capital. The report compares both the in-house and external investment performance against their benchmarks. The authority’s net treasury management income for 2004-5 exceeded the budgeted amount by approximately £2.45m. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to note the Council’s Treasury Management activity carried out in 2004/05. Cabinet Member:
Leader of the Council, Change Management Report by County
Council Management Team (CA6).
Seven of the 13 priorities were reported as being on target at the end of the fourth quarter. For two priorities there is a mixed picture. These are: Child Protection (reported as being on target in the third quarter) and Youth Crime Reduction. There were four priorities (Educational Attainment, Delayed Discharges from Hospital, Support for Older People and Public Transport) reported as not on target. Public Service Agreements were reached in 12 areas. At present there has been progress in 11 target areas. For the 12th (Cost Effectiveness) the Government have not yet come up with proposals for discussion with the Council. Of the other 11, 4 are on track to achieve target, 3 we are unsure as to whether they will achieve target and 4 are predicted not to achieve target. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to note the report.
Cabinet Member:
Leader of the Council, Finance Report by Head of Finance & Procurement (CA7). Following the County Council elections in May, the manifesto of the new administration gave a pledge for a decreasing level of Council Tax increases. The administration have asked officers to bring forward models demonstrating lower rates of Council Tax increases for 2006/07 to 2009/10 compared to those in the published Medium Term Financial Plan 2005/06 to 2009/10. This report provides various models showing the effects of lower Council Tax increases on the sum available to allocate in each of the years 2006/07 to 2009/10, and compares those to the Published Medium Term Financial Plan. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to select its preferred level of Council Tax for the purpose of its budget planning for 2006/07 and subsequent years. Cabinet Member:
Transport Report by Head of Transport (CA8). The purpose of this report is to present the County Council’s draft 2005 LTP Annual Progress Report for approval, prior to submission to Government at the end of this month. The report sets out how the Council has responded to last year’s ‘Weak’ assessment of its APR, identifies the scheme delivery and spending programme for 2004/05 (and explains the divergences from the work planned for 2004/05) and identifies progress towards national and local targets and objectives. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:
Cabinet Member:
Transport Report by Interim Head of Transport (CA9). Abingdon Town Council, the Vale of White Horse District Council and the County Council adopted an Integrated Transport Strategy for Abingdon (AbITS) in June 2001. An agreed objective of the Strategy was to improve the environment and make the town a more attractive place for shoppers, visitors and businesses. This was to be achieved by tackling traffic congestion and reducing the dependence on cars by offering safer alternative methods of travel, yet still recognising the need for journeys by car. Stratton Way will be made two-way to aid the removal of unnecessary traffic passing along Stert Street and High Street, and a general environmental enhancement will be undertaken to the town centre area to improve the pedestrian facilities on High Street and Stert Street with widening of pavements and the use of better quality materials. Other measures incorporated in the scheme include the provision of bus waiting facilities in Stratton Way to reduce congestion in the High Street, the introduction of a 20mph zone on Stert Street, High Street, Bridge Street approach and St Helens Wharf area, 24 hour waiting and loading restrictions on High Street and Stert Street and loading bays at key locations to service existing businesses. The scheme has progressed in to detailed design and the report outlines changes which have been made, together with a current cost estimate for the whole scheme which now stands at £3.1M. A detailed project appraisal is attached to the report. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:
Cabinet Member:
Transport Report by Interim Head of Transport (CA10). On 5 April 2005, Council adopted a motion by former Councillor Betty Standingford regarding considering bringing forward the introduction of parking controls adjacent to the new developments at the John Radcliffe Hospital and Oxford Brookes University sites. A programme of Controlled Parking Zones for Oxford was considered and agreed by the Executive on 15 March 2005. This took into account the staff resource allocated to the programme, and the timescales for the introduction of new zones. However, the concern regarding the timescale for the implementation of the zones in the Headington and Marston area is recognised in the context of the growth in the employment sites. It is therefore considered that the staff resource allocated for implementation of these zones should be reviewed in relation to the Transport Capital Programme to see if extra resource could be made available to bring forward their implementation dates. The Cabinet is recommended to:
Cabinet Member:
Transport Report by Head of Transport (CA11). This report explains the changes proposed by the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) for the new rail franchise that starts in April 2006. In 2002, the SRA announced its intention to create a new Greater Western rail franchise by combining three existing smaller franchises. At the beginning of June, the SRA issued an Invitation to Tender to the three companies that were pre-qualified to bid for the new franchise (First Group, National Express Group and Stagecoach Group). At the same time, the SRA started a stakeholder consultation on their proposed specification for the franchise and it is seeking formal responses by 2 August. The SRA proposals give benefits to some areas of Oxfordshire, such as the Cotswold and Cherwell Valley Lines, and cutbacks in others, for example, a reduced off-peak service for Didcot, reduced services for Appleford, Culham and Radley and the removal of most services between Oxford and Bicester. This report outlines the principal changes as they affect the County and seeks guidance from members on an appropriate course of action. The report also includes a draft list of requirements to submit to the SRA and the bidders for their consideration. These are based on the rail priorities agreed by the Executive on 1 March 2005 and previous consultation with parishes, updated to reflect recent developments. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:
Cabinet Member:
Transport Report by Interim Head of Transport (CA12). This report updates the Cabinet on the progress of officer work to achieve a countywide standard of Disability Awareness (and Customer Care) training for local bus drivers and seeks to extend a previously set deadline. Officers reported most recently on this issue to the Executive on 17 February 2005. The Executive agreed to defer the date by which Disability Awareness Training becomes compulsory on major County Council-subsidised bus services to 1 July 2005 (or six months after the contract start date if later); and asked officers in the meantime to use all efforts to identify organisations willing to offer a complete package of Disability Awareness Training to bus companies on a commercial basis, and to report back in good time in the event that they were unsuccessful. Since officers reported in February, significant progress has been made. However, it is now apparent that the extended date of 1 July 2005 to achieve the desired ‘roll-out’ of Disability Awareness Training to bus drivers is not capable of being met comprehensively. Officers therefore seek the instruction of Cabinet to begin the roll-out of accredited training county-wide, and to give officers authority in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Transport to set a revised date by which Disability Awareness Training for drivers of subsidised bus services will become mandatory. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:
Cabinet Member:
Children's Services Report by Director
for Social & Health Care (CA13) (download
as .doc file). This report presents a draft Strategy for Children and Young People with Caring Responsibilities and their Families. The Strategy has actions designed to make certain that young carers are offered appropriate support, thus ensuring that they do not take on inappropriate caring roles and are protected from any adverse consequences of their parent’s illness or disability. It also proposes that adults are supported, to help them to fulfil their role and responsibilities as parents where possible. Statutory organisations in Oxfordshire have a number of strategies and plans which direct the county’s work with vulnerable children. The Strategy for Children and Young People with Caring Responsibilities is for all professionals working in public, voluntary and community settings. The strategic themes are based on the five key outcomes for children and young people seen in Every Child Matters. There is an additional last theme about the management of the strategy. The strategies goals and actions are linked to the Every Child Matters Key Outcomes and Key Judgements. The key outcomes and key judgements will form the basis for the development of joint area reviews and annual performance assessments, and will judge the contribution that services make to the well-being of children and young people. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:
Cabinet Member:
Schools Improvement Report by Director for Learning & Culture (CA14). The current prices charged for statutory school age pupils travelling on mainstream transport are low when compared to the rates that other authorities charge and are far less than the actual cost to the Council of providing the transport. On 21 December 2004 the Executive agreed to increase the charges for concessionary travel, subject to consultation with users, to a level set at 10% less than the season ticket rates at the 3 and 5 mile points. This option offered additional revenue whilst still providing a sizeable subsidy to those travelling. The consultation with users took place between 24 February and 1 April 2005. The response to the consultation was low - 1.3% of the 2,313 consultees. 3 out of 34 secondary schools consulted made some comments. The proposed charges have been reported to the post-16 Transport Partnership, which accepted the increases as understandable and reasonable. The report concludes that the changes should go ahead on the basis that the consultation response was low and that the proposed charges represent good value for money given that they represent the equivalent of a minimum of £1.16 and a maximum of £1.61 per day. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED:
Cabinet Member:
Community Safety The Director for Community Safety reports as follows: At the Executive on 15 March 2005 I reported on the negotiations with site residents’ representatives over a new licence agreement for the 6 permanent sites owned by the County Council. This was based on the work carried out by the Traveller Services Member/Officer Working Group in reviewing the current policies relating to those services. The Executive authorised the Director for Community Safety (following consultation with the Working Group, the Director for Resources, and the Executive Member for Community Safety) to agree revised licence terms with the residents of sites in the light of final guidance expected from ODPM and to ask the Director to report on the outcome at a future meeting. It is now apparent that the ODPM consultation will take a considerable period before any final recommendations. This is because the consultation incorporates wider issues such as the provision of transit sites and the number of permanent sites within any one geographical area. We are continuing to consult on a Thames Valley basis on these separate issues. Until such time as the ODPM Guidance is provided the Council needs to finalise the terms of the licence agreement with residents of its traveller sites. A licence document has been developed with the permanent site residents and their legal representatives. This develops the previous tenancy document which, in the light of a recent European Court ruling, does not give adequate flexibility and rights to residents. The new agreement in effect grants individual residents the tenancy for their plot and allows for one succession. Persons entitled to succeed will be either the spouse of the tenant or another member of the tenant’s family, subject to further detailed aspects. The rights of residents will therefore be extended in the new agreement such that their status will be similar to that for council house tenancies. The proposed agreement would be best practice in this area, give reasonable extension of rights to our tenants, and meet their concerns surrounding the restrictions of the previous agreement. It is anticipated that the ODPM Guidance will confirm that local authorities should grant tenant status to residents of their traveller sites (indeed, some authorities already do). However, in the event that the ODPM Guidance advises that there should be a different arrangement between travellers and local authorities, it has been agreed that the provision in the proposed licence agreements relating to security of tenure should lapse. The residents and the Council would then renegotiate the terms of any new licence agreement to reflect the ODPM’s proposals. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to authorise the Director for Community Safety to agree the revised licence terms with the tenants of the six permanent sites owned by the County Council on the basis outlined in 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 CA16. 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. June 2005 |
