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To All Members of the County Council

Notice of a Meeting of the Council

Tuesday 4 November 2003 at 10.30 am

County Hall, Oxford

Chris Impey
Assistant Chief Executive

24 October 2003

Contact officer: Ann Lowe (Tel: 01865 815384; E-mail)

AGENDA

ITEM OF URGENT BUSINESS

The Chair of the Council has agreed that this matter should be dealt with as an item of urgent business, the reason for urgency being that the Council's next meeting is not until 13 January 2004, by which time it would be too late for the Council's representations to the Home Secretary to have any meaningful effect.

Motion from Councillor Janet Godden

This Council was shocked at the announcement by the Minister for Immigration on 24 October 2003 of her plans to increase the number of places at Campsfield House immigrant detention centre from 184 to 290. Council resolves to write to the Home Secretary, reminding him of his undertaking in February 2002 to close this detention centre, and calling on him to do so without delay.

1. Minutes

To approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 9 September 2003 and to receive for information any matters arising therefrom.(CC1)

2. Apologies for Absence
3. Declarations of Interest
4. Official Communications
5. Appointments

The Council is asked:

1. to make the following appointments on the nomination of political groups:-

Learning & Culture Scrutiny Committee

Councillor Shouler in place of Councillor Jelf

Community Safety Scrutiny Committee

to appoint a member of the Liberal Democrat Group to the vacancy arising from the resignation of former County Councillor John Dennis

Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee

to appoint a member of the Liberal Democrat Group to the vacancy arising from the resignation of former County Councillor John Dennis

2. to make any further changes in membership of the Executive, scrutiny and other committees on the nomination of political groups;
3. to note the resignation of Mr Martin Wilkinson as a co-opted member of the Best Value Committee representing the business community, and to appoint a successor.
   
   
6. Petitions and Public Address
7. Questions with Notice from Members of the Public
8. Maximising Our Resources

Report by the Leader and the Deputy Leader of the Council (CC8).

The Council is RECOMMENDED to note the report.

9. Report of the Executive
   
   (CC9)
   
   (CC9 Supplement - REQUEST BY IQRA SCHOOL COMMITTEE)
   

1. to receive the consultants’ report and thank them for their work;
2. to agree, in principle, to support the project of co-ordinating and taking forward a renaissance of the West End of Oxford;
3. to agree specifically at this stage:

• the commissioning of the Development Framework and feasibility studies in the current financial year;
• the commissioning of further work by officers on the engagement of key project staff and the nature and form of an appropriate delivery agency, with a further joint report on the outcome of that work before agreeing to the engagement of staff or the establishment of any particular agency;
• the production of Supplementary Planning Guidance, at the appropriate time, on the key West End sites to help provide detailed development guidelines as specified in the Second Draft Oxford Local Plan Section 14;

4. on the assumption that SEEDA would contribute one third of the costs, to make financial provision to support the next stage of the project amounting to:

• £60,000 from each Council in 2003/04; and
• £150,000 from each Council in 2004/05;

5. to request the Steering Group to consider and establish appropriate consultative arrangements to include members, representatives of local residents, business organisations, other stakeholders and landowners in the West End;
6. to ask the Steering Group to oversee the project, commission further joint officer work and report back to the Executives of both Councils where appropriate.

10. Report of the Pension Fund Committee
    
    (CC10)
    

The Council is RECOMMENDED to note the report.

11. Scrutiny Report 2001-2003

Report of the Scrutiny Co-Ordinating Group (CC11).(Download as .pdf file)

(CC11 Supplement - Scrutiny Action Plan)


The Council is RECOMMENDED to note the achievements of Scrutiny over the last two years and the action plan for development and further improvement over the next year.

12. Questions with Notice from Members of the Council

Motions with Notice from Members of the Council

13. Motion from Councillor Dermot Roaf

• notes with great concern the major and unfair impact that successive council tax increases have on many citizens and recognises that this is substantially due to the Government’s management of grants to local authorities, as well as flaws in the system;
• regrets that the present system of local taxation takes no account of ability to pay;
• recognises that council tax therefore places a disproportionately high burden on residents with low incomes, such as pensioners;
• notes that since the Labour government came into office in 1997, Oxfordshire’s Band D council tax bill has risen by £383.41, a rise of 79%;
• recognises that the huge increase in the level of direct and ring-fenced grants, combined with rising costs and additional duties imposed by Government on local councils, has left authorities with the stark choice of huge cuts in services or massive increases in council tax, or a combination of both;
• regrets that the present system of local government finance is so confusing and lacking in transparency that accountability for the tax levied is blurred, with very few citizens able to penetrate the Government’s use of smoke and mirrors to paint every settlement as generous, regardless of the facts.

• to propose future funding settlements which provide mainstream grant for local authorities sufficient to ensure the provision of high quality, locally accountable public services;
• to replace the council tax with a local tax based on income, reinstating the principle of progressive taxation, that the more one earns, the more one pays.

14. Motion from Councillor Craig Simmons

• genetic modification of crop plants is a relatively new branch of science and technology;
• there is still scientific debate about the safety of GM crops;
• the commercial growing of GM crops presents legal and ethical problems;
• the commercial growing of GM crops can affect the status of nearby organic and identity protect (IP) crops;
• there is considerable local public concern over the issue of GM crops as indicated by the over-subscribed GM Nation consultation organised by the Council;
• counties such as Cornwall and neighbouring Warwickshire have sought to address such concerns by seeking legal protection to ensure that they remain GM-free.

• ensure that no GM crops are grown on land over which it has control;
• adopt a GM-free policy for all goods and services for which the Council is responsible;
• seek to protect the livelihoods of Oxfordshire farmers growing organic and identity protected (non-GM) crops, and address the more general public concerns, by writing to the European Commission in respect of each Part C Marketing Consent requesting that a condition is imposed under Article 19(3)(c) of Directive 2001/18 exempting the geographical area of Oxfordshire from the ambit of any such consent in order to protect the environment of Oxfordshire and to protect the integrity of the County as a GM-free area;
• make the appropriate representations to the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in respect of each prospective Part C Marketing Consent to protect the County’s environment and protect the integrity of Oxfordshire as a GM-free area.

15. Motion from Councillor Anne Purse

1. the many expressions of concern received from the public;
2. the overwhelming view of the public meeting called by the County Council that they opposed the introduction of GM crops at this time into the UK;
3. representations made by organic farmers in Oxfordshire expressing concern at the effects on their business should GM foods be grown in the vicinity of their farms; and
4. the results of the government trials which produced a serious loss of biodiversity in the cases of two crops while the trial of the third crop has been rendered valueless since the conventional herbicide used has now been banned by the EU,

1. assurances that the economic wellbeing of organic farmers will be considered when reaching decisions on the future of GM crops in this country; and
2. a reliable system of labelling to give consumers real choice.

16. Motion from Councillor Brian Hodgson

1. commends the Government and the Local Government Association (LGA) for the agreement between the Department for Work and Pensions, the Treasury and the LGA to sign a tri-lateral accord for closer working on the issue of child poverty;
2. urges this Council’s Executive to play a full part in the LGA year-long "Quids for Kids" campaign, and the awareness-raising project, currently gearing up for locally planned activities across England and Wales during the November month of action. (The project aims to lift children out of poverty by encouraging councils to boost families’ take-up of benefits and tax credit.);
3. is extremely concerned to address the issue of one half of families with a disabled child NOT receiving the Disability Living Allowance to which they are entitled; and
4. urges the Government to give councils the recognition and resources we need to achieve the overall goal of eradicating child poverty by the year 2020.

17. Motion from Councillor Brian Hodgson

1. both the number and geographical accessibility of NHS dentist practices in the County; and
2. the proportion of all dentists’ surgeries in the County which are fully accessible to people with physical disabilities or frailties.

18. Motion from Councillor Liz Brighouse