ITEM CC10COUNTY COUNCIL – 4 APRIL 2006xREPORT OF THE CABINETCabinet Member: Leader of the Council
(Cabinet, 7 March 2006) The Cabinet has considered a draft Medium Term Corporate Plan 2006-10, which is one of those plans and strategies which require full Council approval. The Corporate Plan provides a medium-term focus for achieving the strategic priorities adopted by the Cabinet. It sets out the context in which the Council operates and the strategic challenges it faces. It describes the role and structure of the Council, including its role as a community leader. It outlines the rationale for the priorities we have set and identifies the areas on which we will focus. Each priority is supported by SMART targets, against which we will measure progress. The Plan goes on to explain our performance management framework and summarises the key elements of the Medium Term Financial Plan. It is intended to produce a separate Annual Report in June, which will provide a review of the previous year, highlighting achievements and challenges faced and commenting on our performance. The Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee has commended the Plan and congratulated members and officers on presenting a well-written document, suggesting only a small number of minor editorial changes which have been reflected in a revised draft circulated with the Council agenda. The Cabinet RECOMMENDS the Council to approve the Medium Term Corporate Plan for 2006-10.
(Cabinet, 7 February 2006) The Local Area Agreement (LAA) is a three year agreement between central and local government setting out the priorities for a given area. It is agreed between central government - represented by the Government Office for the South East (GOSE), and the local area represented by the County Council, the Oxfordshire Community Partnership and other key local partners. The LAA is focused on four themes: Children and Young People, Safer and Stronger Communities, Older People and Health and Enterprise and Economic Development. The Cabinet has considered a draft LAA, drawn up under the guidance of the Public Service Board (a high level group representing the major stakeholders) which that outlined the draft Local Area Agreement for Oxfordshire. The Cabinet also received and noted comments from the Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee, the majority of which have been covered in the draft Agreement. The Cabinet approved submission of the Agreement to GOSE, subject to editorial amendments and to any changes arising from further negotiations with GOSE and others. The Agreement as submitted to GOSE can be seen in the Members’ Resource Centre; a copy can be obtained on request from the Chief Executive’s Office. Cabinet Member: Leader of the Council, Finance, Change Management
(Cabinet, 21 March 2006) The Cabinet has received the Annual Audit & Inspection Letter for the financial year 2004/05. All members of the Council have received a personal copy. The Letter assesses the Council as progressing adequately during 2005, following on from its current three star rating achieved in 2004. It recognises that improvement has been marked in some areas, and that the Council is investing with partners in projects which are about to see significant improvements to the community. It finds that performance improvement is not consistent across all services but that systems and processes to achieve greater value for money are being given a greater focus. The Letter acknowledges that the Council has an improvement programme in place and has a range of improvement plans for service areas, but judges that these plans do not consistently include success measures to enable the Council to evidence service improvement to Oxfordshire people. The Letter includes specific recommendations for action to address these issues. The letter was considered by the Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee on 2 March and by the Audit Committee on 8 March. The Audit Committee invited individual Cabinet Members to pursue the recommendations in the Letter with the appropriate Directors and this will be done. Cabinet Member: Finance
(Cabinet, 17 January, 21 February and 21 March 2006) The Cabinet has considered a number of reports which have covered the period up to the end of January 2006. The consolidated forecast shows a balance of £12.845m with projected year-end overall Directorate underspend of £0.055m, made up as follows:
* net of City Schools’ Reorganisation Explanations of the detailed make up of these figures and of movement over time are in the monthly financial monitoring reports to the Cabinet and the supporting analysis placed each month in the Members’ Resource Centre. In the latest financial monitoring report a number of specific issues were raised concerning External Cash Fund Management which involve modifications to the Treasury Management Strategy as approved by the Council approved. These are identified in Annex 1 (download as .doc file), together with a brief explanation of each change. The Cabinet RECOMMENDS the Council to approve the modifications to the approved Treasury Management Strategy specified in Annex 1 to the report of the Cabinet. Cabinet Member: Change Management
(Cabinet, 21 February 2006) The Cabinet has considered a quarterly report on performance to date for 2005/06, against Oxfordshire Plan 2005/06 priorities, Public Service Agreement 2003/04 – 2005/06 targets, Best Value Performance Indicators (BVPIs) and, for 2005-06, Raising Our Performance 2. Performance against Oxfordshire Plan 2005/6 priorities has improved from the position reported in quarter 2. Of the Public Service Agreement targets, 7 are on track to receive reward grant (100% of reward grant in 3 cases); for 2 it is unsure at this stage whether they will achieve 60% of the target threshold; and 3 are showing improvement but will not achieve the 60% reward grant threshold. Detailed information is in the report to Cabinet, but a key point to note is that 57% of BVPIs are on track to achieve the year-end target. The Audit Commission has reported that nationally last year, the 'best' performance against targets was in the mid-50%s.
(Cabinet, 21 February 2006) The Cabinet has considered the research findings from Stage 2 of the work on the Shared Services model for the Council’s support services, the results of consultation, the proposed model, the resources required and the associated risks. The findings have supported the hypothesis that Shared Services will have significant financial and operational benefits for the Council and the Cabinet has approved the full implementation of the proposals. The savings will be achieved through a reduction in staff currently working within HR, finance and procurement functions across the organisation and the application of business process re-engineering and new systems to improve processes. Every effort will be made to avoid any redundancies and to redeploy staff to fill vacancies in front line services. Unison will be fully engaged in this process, as they have been to date. The benefits will not be achieved with ease and the project represents an ambitious change programme for the Council. However the risks involved will be managed through effective programme management, the monitoring of implementation by CCMT and the Change Management Board and by sufficiently funding the programme to proceed. The Cabinet has advised the Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee of the intended implementation to enable the Committee to review and advise on elements of the programme as it sees relevant.
(Cabinet, 21 March 2006) The Cabinet has approved a revised pay protection policy for County Council employees. The new policy is designed 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 to 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. Cabinet Member: Transport
(Cabinet, 21 February 2006) The Cabinet has considered a draft Local Transport Plan (LTP) for 2006-11, setting out policies for improving transport within the County over the next 5 years. The LTP is one of the strategic plans which require full Council approval. The final draft Plan, including the associated Bus Strategy, Information Strategy for Bus Services, Accessibility Strategy and Strategic Environmental Assessment, are circulated with the Council Agenda. Although consultation has produced little criticism of the overall LTP objectives and priorities for Oxfordshire, or of the approach taken to identify the worst transport problems across the county as the basis for the development of the programme, the Cabinet received a number of representations relating to issues or schemes which speakers felt should have been included in the Plan. These included, in particular, the omission of the previously proposed Wootton-Abingdon and Cholsey-Wallingford cycle routes, deferment of the A40 improvements north of Oxford and the lack of more detailed proposals for air quality improvements. However, changes in government funding criteria have meant that the priority of some schemes had to be reviewed, and as a result, it was not possible to include all of the initial proposals in the Plan. Although air quality is still a key priority, targets do not appear in the Plan because these cannot be drawn up until air quality management action plans are in place. A panel from the Environment & Economy Scrutiny Committee had considered the draft LTP and extensive changes have been made to the Plan in response to their comments. The Panel was particularly keen for the importance of using alternative forms of transport, such as bicycle and rail, to be emphasised. The Cabinet (with reservations on the part of some members) has also taken the opportunity to remove protection from development of the lines of those schemes which are not proposed to be included within the Local Transport Strategy, namely, Woodstock Bypass, Burford Bypass, Tiddington Bypass and Shilton Dip Bypass. The Council is RECOMMENDED to approve the final draft Local Transport Plan 2006 – 11, including the accompanying Bus Strategy, Information Strategy for Bus Services, Accessibility Strategy and Strategic Environmental Assessment, for submission to the Department for Transport.
(Cabinet, 21 March 2006) The Cabinet has agreed the finer details of the Transport Capital Programme 2006/07. The schemes in this Programme had already been identified as part of the LTP, but this does not give a complete breakdown of financing for the respective schemes. The Cabinet also reviewed performance in delivering the 2005/06 Transport Capital Programme. It is expected 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).
(Cabinet, 21 March 2006) The Cabinet has agreed details of 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. With pro-active asset management planning, a strategy is being developed to map out, over a number of years, the parts of the highway network where funds should be directed to achieve greatest benefit and maximum return. Consequently, non-principal roads are likely to receive a greater proportion of the assessed schemes structural maintenance budget than before. This should also impact positively on the CPA score for highways.
(Cabinet, 17 January 2006) The Cabinet has considered the results of a study by Jacobs Babtie on the safety of the A4142 between the A40 Headington Roundabout and B480 Garsington interchange, further to the 50mph speed limit and central reserve safety barrier schemes agreed last September and now being implemented. The Cabinet agreed that, on the basis of current evidence, further safety fencing or other measures on the A4142 Oxford Eastern bypass in relation to cross-over accidents are not required as a ‘stand alone’ scheme. However, the Cabinet asked officers to consider providing further safety measures to prevent cross-over accidents when other major works are being planned on the bypass in the future. The Cabinet also noted that monitoring of road casualties will continue as normal as they may justify other types of casualty reduction measures being utilised on the bypass.
(Cabinet, 17 January 2006) The Cabinet has considered progress made on introducing a Real Time Information (RTI) system on bus routes, the first phase having been installed on the Premium Routes between Oxford and Kidlington/Bicester. The Cabinet was pleased to note the successful commissioning of the system, with the cooperation of the major bus companies, and the clear public support for RTI shown by on-street customer surveys. In this light the Cabinet has endorsed expansion of the system, with the implementation of RTI displays on the Kennington Premium Route and traffic signal bus priority measures on the Oxford - Kidlington/Bicester Premium Routes, utilising Supported Capital Expenditure available in the remainder of 2005/06. The Cabinet also endorsed an outline phasing for the next LTP period, which envisages a balanced programme of capital investment for the 5 years with an overall net funding requirement for the Council of £2.2 million, plus significant contributions from operators. The rate of expansion of the system will depend on the funding allocated on the basis of the LTP, which will be determined each year by the Cabinet and Council.
(Cabinet, 21 March 2006) The Cabinet has received the annual report on rail projects, which sets out the County Council’s priorities for the development of rail services and facilities across Oxfordshire during 2006/07. The report outlined the key developments within the rail industry during the last twelve months, and the likelihood of making progress with each aspiration during 2006/07. b Reviewing progress over the last year the report noted progress on numerous station facility improvements and the successful campaign to avoid substantial service cutbacks, notably between Oxford and Bicester. The Cabinet has agreed a number of revisions to the list of aspirations, in the light of discussions with rail operators, the opportunities that will exist with the commencement of the new Greater Western rail franchise, and the Local Transport Plan 2006-2011. These include raising to High Priority for staff input of schemes for improvements at Banbury and Bicester Town stations. In Oxford, the option of relocating the station to Oxpens has now receded and investigations are being directed towards the expansion of capacity at the existing site. Cabinet Member: Sustainable Development
(Cabinet, 21 February 2006) The Cabinet has responded to the Government’s consultation on draft Planning Policy Statement 3 (PPS3) Housing, which represents the Government’s response to the Barker Review of Housing Supply. The draft PPS3 posits the need for the planning system to respond to the housing market and the Cabinet’s response acknowledges that this is one important factor in planning for housing growth. However, without sufficient regard to other considerations, this emphasis could jeopardise delivery of sustainable communities, overburden infrastructure and create resource and environmental problems. The Government is relying too heavily on house building to solve affordability problems. Requirements to provide housing in areas of high demand could undermine the protection of green belts At the same time the Government has consulted on a proposed "Planning Gain Supplement" (PGS) - a levy that would be collected by HM Revenue and Customs and would be coupled with scaled back planning obligations. The Cabinet have indicated their opposition to the proposals unless PGS is introduced as a local levy paid by developers to the relevant local authorities and the level of PGS would not be so high as to persuade developers to retain their land banks in the expectation of eventual repeal.
(Cabinet, 7 February 2006) The Cabinet has responded to a consultation by the South East England Development Agency on its draft Oxfordshire Regional Economic Strategy (RES) to 2016. The Cabinet endorsed the RES recommendations concerning key issues and drivers influencing the future of the economy in terms of employment, enterprise, innovation and creativity, skills, competition and business regulation and investment in infrastructure. However the Cabinet had concerns over the classification in the RES of part of the county as belonging to the Inner South East and part to the Outer South East, as not being justified by any evidence, being at odds with other geographies based on Oxfordshire or Central Oxfordshire that are already in use, and not helping improve the partnership working that SEEDA itself suggests is necessary chose to reject the designation of Inner and Outer areas insofar as they related to Oxfordshire due to several crucial factors. The Cabinet also rejected the new homes requirement suggested in the RES which exceeds the housing numbers agreed in the South East Plan and has represented to that the RES should be based on the latter. The Cabinet look forward to seeing SEEDA collaborating with the Council in making a case for the investment in infrastructure necessary to support planned further growth in Oxfordshire.
(Cabinet, 21 February 2006) The Cabinet has adopted the Rights of Way Improvement Plan for the period 2006-2011, prepared in partnership with the Oxfordshire Countryside Access Forum. Rights of Way Improvement Plans are intended to be the prime means by which local highway authorities will identify the changes to be made in respect of the management of, and improvements to, their local rights of way network, in order to meet the Government’s aim of better provision for walkers, cyclists, equestrians and people with mobility problems. The preparation of the Plan is a statutory duty but there is currently no duty on the authority to implement it: achieving the Plan’s ambitions will depend on the amount of funding and support that can be successfully obtained from internal and external sources. Cabinet Member: Children, Young People & Families
(Cabinet, 7 March 2006) The Cabinet has completed the preparation of the Children and Young People’s Plan 2006-2009 (CYPP). The CYPP responds to the new statutory requirement to produce a single, strategic plan for all services for children and young people provided by the local authority and all relevant partners and is one of the strategic plans which require full Council approval. The preparation process has involved extensive consultation with stakeholders which has included particular attention to the views of children. The final draft Plan is circulated with the Council Agenda. The draft has been considered by the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee and Cabinet welcomed the recommendations put forward by that Committee. The Scrutiny Committee thanked officers for an "excellent Plan" and welcomed the way the children’s consultation had been carried out. The Director for Children, Young People & Families confirmed that changes would be made to the Plan in line with the Committee’s comments, alongside other changes to reflect the comments of the School Organisation Committee. These are incorporated in the final draft now presented. The CYPP describes in detail the resources which will be allocated to implement the proposals in the Plan. There is much which can be achieved by realigning services and working together more effectively. There are other areas where the County has already been allocated additional grant or other funding and there are opportunities for aligning or pooling funding between agencies. The Council has allocated significant additional resources to implement the Plan from April 2006. The Cabinet requested that officers inform the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee periodically on progress in implementing the Plan to enable the Committee to review and advise on elements of the implementation programme as they see relevant. The Cabinet RECOMMENDS the Council to approve the Children and Young People’s Plan 2006-2009.
(Cabinet, 7 March 2006) The Cabinet has agreed proposals to take forward the principle of what the Government has termed "Children’s Trust" arrangements in order to improve outcomes for all children, young people and families through more integrated services, strategies and processes. The proposals centre on the formation of a Children and Young People’s Board, which will provide a strategic overview and ownership of the joint commissioning agenda for children and young people. The Board will oversee the implementation of key service changes to deliver the CYPP and the outcomes for children and young people in the Local Area Agreement. The Board will be chaired by the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Families and will include the lead members from District Councils and high level representatives from the health sector and police, together with parents/carers and children and young people representatives. It will be supported by a Joint Commissioning Team of officers and a Children and Young People’s Strategic Partnership that will report to the Board. This will be chaired by the Director for Children, Young People & Families and will of senior representatives of a wide range of agencies working with children, young people and families across Oxfordshire. The Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee, whilst expressing thanks for the work carried out in this area, was concerned over the demands placed on lead members and service officers and the potential duplication of existing boards and committees. It is expected that the Strategic Partnership will replace a number of existing partnerships and will work to rationalise the number of different groups that meet around the needs of children and young people across the county.
(Cabinet, 21 March 2006) The Cabinet has agreed arrangements to discharge the statutory responsibility of the County Council to establish a local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB), by 1 April 2006. The LSCB’s objectives are to coordinate and ensure the effectiveness of what member organisations do individually and together for the purposes of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children in Oxfordshire. The LSCB members will be senior officers, from all of the key agencies and sectors, collectively and individually promoting and ensuring high quality safeguarding services and practice. 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. 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.
(Cabinet, 7 March 2006) The Cabinet has agreed arrangements to develop local, multi-disciplinary teams across Oxfordshire as part of the Locality Working and Integrated Support Services for children, young people and families which were agreed in outline subject to consultation in October 2005 and reported to the Council on 1 November. A substantial majority of responses received either fully supported or broadly supported the framework that has been proposed. The arrangements will be based on a multi-disciplinary team of staff allocated to work in each local area to support children and young people in a range of settings, providing targeted, preventative support for children, young people and families. Staff will continue to be managed within their own services with coordination across services. Introducing a single, common assessment for children and families, with a lead professional for every child and family who needs one, will reduce duplication of effort and ensure that more resources are available for direct work with children and families. The Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee commented that they supported these proposals, in particular the areas pertaining to the reduction in bureaucracy and time spent in meetings. The Cabinet has authorised the Director for Children, Young People & Families to work with partners on the detailed arrangements for implementation of these teams.
(Cabinet, 7 March 2006) The Cabinet has agreed arrangements for the development of children’s centres in Oxfordshire following consultation which showed a very encouraging high level of support from parents and providers for the initiative. In a children’s centre parents will be able to get information about services available – including health, early education, childcare and family support services. Centres across Oxfordshire will be different from one to another – responding to the needs of the local community. Some will be on primary school sites as part of the extended schools offer; others will be extended family centres. Some will provide the full offer of services under one roof, others will provide drop-in facilities for parents and sign-posting to existing health, education and childcare services. Maternity services and Health Visitors will be key to reaching parents. A Panel of the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee had also considered the proposals and had highlighted the fact that the present phase of the programme will not provide children’s centres for all communities and that further provision is subject to the availability of funding beyond 2008. The Cabinet were very conscious of this but have noted officer advice following consultation with the DFES Sure Start Unit and other authorities that the development of children’s centres should be planned for the longer term on the basis that the Childcare Bill will make the provision of these services a statutory duty; that additional DfES funding will be made available in 2008 to develop further children’s centres across all areas to ensure that children’s centres become universal; and that children’s centres are mentioned as the corner-stone of future service delivery in a range of recent Government policy documents.
(Cabinet, 17 January 2006) The Cabinet has considered the outcome of the most recent inspection by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI), together with an action plan responding to the CSCI report’s recommendations. The overall judgment from CSCI was that children’s social care services in Oxfordshire were "serving some people well" with "promising prospects". This was an improvement on the previous judgment in 2002, which was "serving some people well" with "uncertain prospects". The Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee on 13 December had endorsed the report and action plan for consultation. The Cabinet welcomed the contents of the Inspectors’ report and endorsed the draft action plan, subject to any amendments that might appear appropriate in the light of responses to consultation. Progress on the action plan will be reported at each meeting of the Children’s Panel. Cabinet Member: Schools Improvement
(Cabinet, 21 March 2006) At the Council meeting on 10 January 2006 three motions relating to the Schools White Paper Higher Standards, Better Schools for All (two from Councillor Jean Fooks, one from Councillor Val Smith) were referred to the Cabinet, via the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee, to advise the Council at its 4 April meeting. On 28 February the Education and Inspections Bill was introduced in the House of Commons and received its Second Reading on 15 March. The Bill carries forward the proposals in the White Paper but with substantive modifications – notably, to retain the power of local education authorities to commission new community schools and to give mandatory effect to the Admissions Code. The Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee considered the motions in the light of the Bill on 14 March. The Committee’s comments are set out in Annex 2 (download as .doc file), which also shows amended and substitute wording indicated to the Committee by the proposers of the respective motions. The Cabinet noted the Scrutiny Committee’s comments and agreed to forward them to the Council. For its part the Cabinet advises the Council as set out in Annex 3 (download as .doc file).
(Cabinet, 7 March 2006) Following last year’s Best Value Review of County Facilities Management (CFM), the Cabinet has considered proposals to promote healthy eating for children and young people in Oxfordshire through a viable and effective school meals service. The plans have been developed in the light of a survey of schools’ needs and preferences and the Cabinet has endorsed them as a positive way forward. The evidence collected as a result of the survey demonstrates that future school needs can be met by providing: (a) a centrally managed school meals service to primary, nursery and special schools only; (b) a full catering support and advisory service available to all schools; and (c) a basic audit and monitoring service for all schools which do not subscribe to A or B. Anxieties have been expressed on the part of those secondary schools from which the meals service would be withdrawn as from 1 April under these arrangements. Negotiations have been undertaken with those schools on appropriate cushioning arrangements. The proposals are founded on a CFM business plan which requires a growth rate of between 5% and 6% year on year in meal sales in order to deliver a break even position. For CFM to successfully offer managed services it must position its offer in the middle market sector in order that it is affordable to schools and parents and equally importantly so that the quality of provision meets customer expectations. Effective communication of this strategy to all stakeholders and delivery of the required quality is essential to ensure success. CFM also provides cleaning services in schools and some County Council buildings. These are projected to return a surplus in 2005/06. However this part of the service is very dependent on the overall pattern of CFM’s business. With this in mind, it is proposed that the current arrangements for providing building cleaning services are maintained in their current form until the customer base from April 2006 onwards is identified more clearly.
(Cabinet, 7 February 2006) The Cabinet has agreed a number of detailed changes in the Fair Funding Formula in the light of the results of consultation with schools and the Schools Forum. The changes relate to a variety of issues: the social deprivation-related allocation of resources to meet identified needs; application of the SEN index to new schools; restoration of the funded school farm factor; allocation of funding for pay progression and leadership grants; recalculation of post-16 fixed cost clawback annually with any resources reallocated to Key Stage 3; bringing special school funding into line with our statistical neighbours for 2006/07; funding arrangements for nursery schools and nursery and infant classes; allocation of additional funding targeted for personalised learning by a combination of socio-economic deprivation and prior attainment factors and pupil numbers. Cabinet Member: Social & Community Services
(Cabinet, 21 March 2006) On 6 December 2005, 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. This stage was reported to the Council on 10 January. The Cabinet has now reviewed the conclusions to this work and confirmed the scope and nature of the agreement for lead commissioning and pooled budgets. In broad terms the Agreement is similar to previous Section 31 Agreements that the Council has entered into save that arrangements relating to overspends and underspends are set out in greater detail. 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 pooled budgets will total £59.4m, £31.8m of which represents the Social & Community Services gross budget for this service. (This will be offset by client and grant income.) Managing the risks is a concern equally shared by both partners. The risk sharing agreement will specify the proportional distribution of financial pressures and how each partner can dissolve the partnership; and will ensure that resources are put aside for the County Council to meet its obligations as lead commissioner. It is proposed that the final agreement will allow for the annual review of risk share arrangements, which will give both parties the necessary assurances on how risk can be properly managed.
(Cabinet, 21 March 2006) In December 2005 the Thames Valley Strategic Health Authority launched three consultations about the reconfiguration of NHS organisations, specifying the following options:
Both the Cabinet and the Joint Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee (JHOSC) were invited to comment on the proposals to reconfigure the NHS bodies. The JHOSC considered it on 26 January and agreed "that on the basis of the impact of the proposed configuration of each of the three NHS organisations on the delivery of health services to local people, it 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 came to the same conclusion and has advised the Strategic Health Authority accordingly.
(Cabinet, 7 March 2006) The inclusion in the capital programme of a replacement library for Thame was approved by the Council, on the recommendation of the Executive, in February 2005. Since that time, a full option appraisal has been carried out. Of three options that were investigated in detail, the conversion of the existing Thame Town Hall was agreed as the preferred option. The project would have substantial impact in terms of suitability and condition. It would also help to reach targets set within the Asset Management Plan and would offer the opportunity for better use of, and participation in, library and cultural services within Thame. The Cabinet has approved a project appraisal to enable the scheme to proceed, subject to satisfactory terms being agreed with Thame Town Council for the acquisition of the Town Hall. Negotiations with the Town Council are continuing. Cabinet Member: Community Safety
(Cabinet, 7 March 2006) The Cabinet has considered progress on the implementation of projects within the Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP) Action Plan 2005/06 together with feedback on the consultation process for the IRMP Action Plan for 2006/07. This proposes a comprehensive review of fire cover for the County; continuing development of a risk assessment based approach to managing fire safety; provision of a range of smaller fire appliances primarily to be used for secondary type fires; redesigning the day duty system; review of roles and appliance provision at Kidlington fire station; and realigning the structure of the Fire and Rescue Service to ensure that the Fire Authority can meet the needs of the IRMP. The consultation response recommended some minor amendments to the Plan and Cabinet authorised the Director for Community Safety & Chief Fire Officer, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Community Safety, to finalise the Action Plan 2006/07 for implementation from April 2006.
(Cabinet, 21 March 2006) The Cabinet has considered the findings of the Community Safety Scrutiny Committee’s Review of the Authority’s emergency planning processes. 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 of the Review 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. The Cabinet welcomed the Scrutiny Committee’s report and adopted almost all of its recommendations. It did not accept a suggestion by the Committee that the Emergency Planning Unit should be relocated into County Hall, in view of the risk of the Unit being in the "hot zone" if an incident were to occur in Oxford; but has asked officers to examine the benefits and disadvantages of locating the Unit at the Fire & Rescue Headquarters site.
KEITH
R MITCHELL
|