Meeting documents
County Council
Tuesday, 7 April 2009
To All Members of the County Council
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The Council is therefore RECOMMENDED to agree a temporary variation to the Schedule to Section L of the Constitution Specific Powers and Functions of Particular Officers with effect that from 8 June to 16 June 2009 paragraph (1)A(c) is to be read as follows:-
“(c) Any function of the Cabinet or of a Council committee or sub-committee, after consultation with the appropriate Director and thereafter with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Council.”
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9. Financial Monitoring
The Cabinet at its meeting on 17 March considered a request to recommend to Council a temporary virement from Home to School Transport to the Agency Placements budget.
The Cabinet was advised that Home to School Transport was predicting an overall underspend of £1.690m. This was made up of savings on retendering and route changes of £0.670m, savings on special transport of £0.470m, carry forward from 2007/08 of £0.320m plus savings on extended rights to free travel and other smaller variations totalling £0.230m. The previously reported underspend of £0.500m reflected the position after previously agreed and proposed virements. A permanent virement of £0.248m to the Children Looked After budget was agreed in July 2008. A further virement of £0.600m to the Placement Budget was included inappropriately in Annex 2a to the December 2008 report but not referred to in the main report. This will not be actioned. A temporary virement of £0.905m was requested from this budget to the Agency Placements budget.
The Cabinet RECOMMENDS Council to approve the temporary virement of £0.905m from Home to School Transport to Children’s Agency Placements
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10. Reports of the Cabinet
Report of the Cabinet meetings on 20 January, 17 February and 17 March 2009 (CC10(a))
Report on Partnership Working in Oxfordshire (CC10(b)) (download as .doc file)
11. Annual Report of the Audit Committee (CC11) (download as .doc file)
The Council is RECOMMENDED to receive the report.
12. Questions with Notice from Members of the Council
Motions with Notice from Members of the Council
WOULD MEMBERS PLEASE NOTE THAT ANY AMENDMENTS TO MOTIONS WITH NOTICE MUST BE PRESENTED TO THE PROPER OFFICER IN WRITING BY 9.00 AM ON MONDAY 6 APRIL 2009
13. Motion from Councillor Zoé Patrick
“Council recognises the importance of helping households to maintain lower fuel bills during this time of economic recession. We therefore call upon the Cabinet to consider introducing smart meters for households as a positive mechanism to help reduce energy bills, reduce carbon emissions and help to tackle fuel poverty.
This could be done by introducing them in local libraries so that residents can either buy them or hire them for use in their own homes. This scheme was introduced at York City Council and proved to be very popular and we therefore hope this could be replicated in Oxfordshire.”
14. Motion from Councillor Dermot Roaf
“Council notes the high amount of traffic noise on Oxfordshire’s roads and the detrimental effects on wellbeing to those who live close to these heavily trafficked roads. Council therefore requests the Cabinet to consider taking steps with District/City partners to measure the noise from the more heavily used Oxfordshire roads, so that this information can be held and drawn upon when opportunities arise for taking action that might improve the situation.”
15. Motion from Councillor Terry Joslin
“It is painfully noticeable that the approach roadsides and verges of many of the county’s waste facilities are strewn with litter to such a degree that they qualify as Grade D areas under the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse - meaning that they should be brought back to an acceptable standard of cleanliness within 5 days of notification.
The correlation with the county waste facilities is that the litter comes from unsheeted waste-carrying vehicles as they approach the waste sites. Without adequate sheeting it is literally sucked out of the open tops of these vehicles or the skips that they carry. Characteristically, it consists mainly of shredded plastic and paper.
This council is urged to make contact with all waste contractors and:
(a) insist on full and adequate sheeting of their vehicles,
(b) point out to all contractors using the county’s waste facilities that the Council will also ensure that failure to comply will trigger the ‘polluter pays’ principle contained within the Environmental Protection Act (1990) and the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act, 2005, to the effect that fines would be sought for regular offenders.”
16. Motion from Councillor Alan Armitage
“Council notes with regret that a recent survey of supermarket packaging commissioned by the Local Government Association (LGA) indicates that the proportion of supermarket packaging which cannot be recycled has not reduced from the 40% level recorded two years previously. It further notes that such packaging contributes substantially to the £20.7 million which the council expects to have to pay on landfill taxes between 2008 and 2011.
Though initiatives have been taken by Oxfordshire's District Councils to reduce the use of non-recyclable shopping bags, it is not clear that these have substantially reduced the amount of non-recyclable waste generated in the county, and there is no specific action planned by the Oxfordshire Waste Partnership to address the issue of supermarket waste.
Reduction of non-recyclable supermarket waste in Oxfordshire would not only reduce the cost to this council of landfill taxes, but also potentially reduce the capacity of any waste disposal facility required to deal with residual waste.
Council therefore asks the cabinet to initiate co-ordinated action with its partners in the Oxfordshire Waste Partnership to get supermarkets in the county to reduce the amount of packaging which cannot be recycled, and to support retail outlets such as farmers' markets which generate much less non-recyclable waste.”
17. Motion from Councillor Jean Fooks
“Council welcomes the Transform Oxford project in principle. However, it notes that many bus users have expressed concerns about possible deleterious effects on their journeys into and out of the city centre. It is already inconvenient for people wishing to travel across the city, such as between Kidlington and Headington, who now have to walk some distance through the centre between bus stops. For residents of the county outside the city it is essential that travel to and from work and leisure in Oxford is as convenient as possible.
Council notes that the Local Transport Act 2008 gives new powers to bus operators and local authorities to coordinate timetables and ticketing through the mechanism of a Quality Partnership.
Council therefore requests the Cabinet to make use of this Act to retain and improve existing services into the centre and to reinstate cross-city services as soon as possible.”
18. Motion from Councillor Lesley Legge
“Council notes with regret that the Government were not supported by all the Labour MEPs in the retention of UK’s opt-out of the EU Working Time Directive.
The EU Directive limits working hours to 48 hours per week - and this includes the time firefighters spend on call. If the opt out goes, many Oxfordshire fire stations may potentially have to offer a reduced service or employ more full time firefighters with the increased cost involved.
For people, especially in rural areas, retained firefighters on call can mean the difference between life and death. Retained firefighters usually have full-time jobs outside the fire service. As a second job, they spend up to 120 hours per week "on call" - in their own homes or at their regular workplaces, but there if needed in emergencies. Whole time officers who undertake a 78 hour week which includes on-call operational cover will also be affected if the opt-out is removed.
Council therefore asks the cabinet to write to Rt Hon Hazel Blears MP, Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government, and Mr Sadiq Khan MP, Fire Minister, about the threat to Oxfordshire fire services and urge them to fight for the retention of the opt-out clause to enable our Fire Service to maintain its excellent record of effective and efficient service for the people of Oxfordshire.”
19. Motion from Councillor Peter Skolar
"This Council opposes the European Union's resolution to abolish the UK's opt-out clause from the European Working Time directive.
The change could result in the loss of many retained fire-fighters in stations such as Henley, Thame, Goring and Watlington. Their working week would be limited to a total of 48 hours, including the time spent on fire duty.
This action by the EU would lead to a diminution of local fire station personnel and services which could put the lives of the people of Oxfordshire and their property at risk."
20. Motion from Councillor Nick Carter
“This Council congratulates the Cabinet Members and the officers of this Council for the improvements imposed over the last four years in the efficiency and management of the Council and would like to thank those responsible for all their hard work. This Council would ask the Government to ensure that sufficient funding is available to honour the commitments it imposes on this Council and that it recompenses Council for the extra onera/duties it imposes and expects Oxfordshire County Council to carry out.”
21. Motion from Councillor Charles Mathew
“That this Council proposes HM Government fund new River Crossings in Oxfordshire and a programme of bypasses and upgrading of the A40 and the A34; this is urgently needed to prevent gridlock in the near future and will alleviate the present dramatic traffic levels on these main routes.”
22. Motion from Councillor Peter Skolar
“This Council wishes to safeguard not only the young people of Oxfordshire but all young people by supporting the LACORS campaign and the Council Leaders’ demands for the creation of legislation to standardise and restrict the sale of e-cigarettes.”
23. Motion from Councillor John Sanders
“This Council asks the Cabinet, with a view to minimising disruption and saving taxpayers' money, to delay the implementation of the ‘Transform Oxford’ scheme for 18 months in order to give the bus companies an opportunity to implement joint ticketing and timetabling.”