ITEM EX3

EXECUTIVE - 22 JANUARY 2002

EXECUTIVE – 8 JANUARY 2002

Minutes of the Meeting commencing at 2.00 pm and finishing at 4.30 pm

Present:

The Executive considered the matters, reports and recommendations contained or referred to in the agenda for the meeting, together with a schedule of addenda tabled at the meeting, and decided as set out below. Except insofar as otherwise specified, the reasons for the decisions are contained in the agenda, reports and schedule, copies of which are attached to the signed Minutes.

1/02. DECLARATION OF INTEREST

Councillor Mitchell declared an insubstantial non-pecuniary interest in Agenda Item 16 (School Development Projects : Project Appraisal ED573/1 The Warriner School, Bloxham Phase 2).

2/02. MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 11 December 2001 were approved and signed.

Councillor Seale advised that with regard to Minute 54/01 he had questioned the practicability of introducing 20mph speed limits.

3/02. OXFORDSHIRE PLAN 2002/03

(Agenda Item 5)

The Executive considered a report (EX5) which outlined initial proposals for the production of the Oxfordshire Plan.

RESOLVED: (by 8 votes to 0) to:

1. adopt the arrangements for production of the Oxfordshire Plan 2002/03 set out in the report;
2. agree the outline set out in the report and Annexes as the Executive’s initial proposals for the Plan, subject to Annex 2 (Vision Statement and Values) being amended to read as set out in the Annex to these Minutes;
3. invite the Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee to make any comments on the initial proposals in time for consideration by the Executive on 22 January 2002.
   
   

4/02. ECONOMIC STRATEGY FOR OXFORDSHIRE 2001-2005

(Agenda Item 6)

The Executive had before them a report (EX6) which discussed the Economic Strategy for Oxfordshire 2001-2005 published by the Oxfordshire Economic Partnership.

RESOLVED: to:

1. endorse the strategy and to inform the Oxfordshire Economic Partnership accordingly;
2. invite the Oxfordshire Economic Partnership to attend a meeting of the Executive during the summer to review progress, targets and follow up action.
   
   

5/02. 2002-05 COMMUNITY SAFETY STRATEGIES

(Agenda Item 7)

The Executive considered a report (EX7) which outlined the County Council’s obligations under the 1998 Crime and Disorder Act to develop 3-year community safety strategies with its partner organisations and summarised work already undertaken.

RESOLVED: (nem con) to:

1. note the report and the key themes emerging in the draft 2002-05 Community Safety Strategies subject in relation to paragraph 7 of the report to recording concerns as to the adequacy of references to anti social behaviour and street crime and young people within the Strategies;
2. refer the draft strategies to the Community Safety Scrutiny Committee for comment in time for report to the next meeting of the Executive;
3. authorise the Chief Executive and Director for Strategy to make appropriate arrangements to ensure that the County Council was represented on the strategic Community Safety Partnerships to fulfil its role effectively.
   
   

6/02. PLACEMENT SERVICE

(Agenda Item 8)

In March 2000 the Social Services Committee had agreed proposals to develop a new residential children’s home strategy in order to develop a wider range of options within Oxfordshire. The Executive considered a report (EX8) which outlined progress thus far.

RESOLVED: subject to approval of a detailed project appraisal and consultation with relevant staff, to agree the proposals set out in the report for:

1. the reprovision of services from Warwick House and Holme Leigh by developing 12 places in three separate units;
2. funding a marketing campaign to improve the number of foster carers.
   
   

7/02. RESIDENTIAL/NURSING CARE

1. authorise the completion, by April 2002, of a Section 31 Partnership Agreement for adult residential/nursing care (providing for pooled budgets and lead commissioning by Social Services), on the basis of the outline of terms set out in the report, subject to settlement of the final detailed terms by the Director of Social Services in consultation with the Executive Member for Community Care & Health;
2. report back on progress in due course.

8/02. AIDS SUPPORT GRANT

(Agenda Item 10)

The Executive considered a report (EX10) which set out proposals to make an application to the Department of Health for grant aid to invest in core services for adults and children at risk from and affected by HIV.

RESOLVED: to:

1. agree the pattern of expenditure as outlined in paragraph 5 of the report;
2. endorse the proposed matched funding, which was within existing policy and budget plans;
3. agree an application being made for Aids Support Grant for 2001/2002 accordingly.
   
   

9/02. BEHAVIOUR, ATTENDANCE AND EXCLUSIONS: BEST VALUE REVIEW

(Agenda Item 11)

The Executive considered the Review and Action Plan (EX11) as endorsed by the Best Value Committee, and the comments thereon of the Learning & Culture and Social & Health Care Scrutiny Committees.

RESOLVED (nem con):

1. to note the outcomes of the Review and the comments of the Scrutiny Committees thereon and approve the identified actions for service improvement subject to necessary funding being identified;
2. to note with concern the increase in the number of children in the care of this authority permanently excluded from school (page 8 of the Review and Action Plan), and the number of children in care without a school place (page 16);
3. in view both of the detrimental effect of absence from school on the life chances of the children concerned, and of the knock on consequences for foster carers and the children’s residential homes of children out of school, to ask the Best Value review team to reconvene to consider these issues in more depth, and to report back with an action plan for implementation in September 2002;
4. to ask officers to ensure that appropriate stakeholders are consulted for the purpose of (c) above, and that these consultees included children in care, representative foster carers and the managers of the authority’s children’s residential homes.
   
   

10/02. IMPACT OF CENTRAL EDUCATION SERVICE ON THE QUALITY OF LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT IN SCHOOLS: BEST VALUE REVIEW

(Agenda Item 12)

The Executive considered the Review and Action Plan (EX12) as endorsed by the Best Value Committee and the comments thereon of the Learning & Culture Scrutiny Committee.

RESOLVED: (nem con) to note the outcomes of the Review and the comments of the Scrutiny Committee thereon and approve the identified actions for service improvement subject to necessary funding being identified.

11/02. NEW ROMAN CATHOLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL, OXFORD: ADMISSIONS CRITERIA

(Agenda Item 13)

In the light of a recommendation of the then Education Committee in October 2001, the Executive considered whether the Roman Catholic Archdiocese and the new governing body should be asked to agree that in their admissions policy for the new school, the distance the family lived from the school should take precedence over the religious beliefs of the family.

The Executive had before them a report which explained that as an aided school the governing body and not the Local Education Authority was the legal admissions body and whatever view the County Council adopted the school could proceed with its own admission criterion.

RESOLVED: (Councillor Crabbe and Councillor Tudor Hughes voting against) to take no further action at the present time but that if consulted again the County Council should reaffirm its previous position.

12/02. RECONFIGURATION OF PUPIL REFERRAL UNITS

(Agenda Item 14)

The Executive considered a report (EX14) which detailed the results of the consultation on the structure of a proposed Countywide Pupil Referral Unit and Reintegration Service.

Mr Scott advised that the responses received had indicated virtually unanimous support for the proposed restructuring.

RESOLVED: to agree the establishment of a Countywide Pupil Referral Unit and Reintegration Service as detailed in papers submitted to the Executive on 27 November 2001 and in the consultation papers attached at Annex A to EX14.

13/02. TRANSPORT TO HENLEY COLLEGE: PROPOSAL TO AMEND THE POLICY ON SUBSIDY AVAILABLE TO OXFORDSHIRE STUDENTS

(Agenda Item 15)

The Executive had before them a report (EX15) which considered the current policy regarding payment of transport subsidies to students attending Henley College.

Councillor Turner addressed the Executive. He considered it grossly unfair if students in this part of the county were made to pay more than others and suggested a more equitable approach countywide including the use of existing public transport services for students.

RESOLVED: (by 8 votes to 0, Councillor Crabbe abstaining) to defer a decision pending a further report to the Executive:

1. on the possible capping of the subsidy for eligible students attending Henley College;
2. the possibility of utilising existing public transport services for students travelling to Henley College;

whilst recognising the desirability of maintaining present equity for all students across the county.

14/02. SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS: PROJECT APPRAISALS

• ED528, paragraph 4(i) "£430,000" to read "£423,000";
• ED529, paragraph 4(i) "£646,000" to read "£552,000".

1. approve Project Appraisals ED426/2, ED528 (as amended), ED529 (as amended), ED573/2, ED578 and ED579;
2. authorise the completion of a funding agreement for the Carterton New Church of England Aided Primary School on the revised basis set out in Appraisal No. ED426/2.

15/02. ON-STREET PARKING ACCOUNT – APPLICATION OF SURPLUS

(Agenda Item 17)

The Executive had before them a report (EX17) which detailed proposals for the application of the surplus on the account.

RESOLVED: that:

1. in the absence of evidence of any approved additional parking provision for which there was no specific budget allocation, it be recorded that the Executive where satisfied that the provision of further off-street parking in the County (over and above that mentioned in the report) was unnecessary or undesirable;
2. surplus arising from the on-street parking account as at 1 April 2001 be applied:

1. to defray the costs of the highway improvements and measures to assist buses under the Oxford Transport Strategy programme identified in the programme approved by the former Environmental Committee on 14 March 2001 as funded from that source;
2. to meet the presently unfunded costs of public transport support in 2001/02 (£1,574,000) to the extent that the Council was unable to fund that expenditure from other sources;
3. any amount of surplus as at 1 April 2001 which had not been applied or apportioned under (b) above be carried forward in the account to the following financial year.
   
   

16/02. SECOND COUNTRYWAYS RURAL TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT PILOT ZONE

(Agenda Item 18)

The Executive considered a report (EX18) which summarised progress on the first pilot zone and detailed proposals for the creation of a second.

Councillor Julian Cooper spoke in support of the introduction of a second pilot zone in Zone 4 and confirmed local support for such a scheme.

RESOLVED: (by 8 votes to 0) that subject to the allocation of funding through the transport capital programme for 2002/03 and beyond, to:

1. approve the promotion of a second CountryWays Rural Traffic Management Zone;
2. endorse the selection of Zone 7 (Uffington) for the reasons stated in the report EX18;
3. agree the management and consultation arrangements outlined in the report.
   
   

17/02. PARKING ENFORCEMENT CONTRACT OXFORD AND NORTH HINKSEY

(Agenda Item 19)

The Executive considered a report (EX19) which evaluated four tenders received for the parking enforcement contract, which would expire on 2 February 2002.

RESOLVED: to award the contract to Company A as referred to in the report EX19.

18/02. AUDIT PROCEDURES

(Agenda Item 20)

The Executive had before them a report which considered options for the further development of corporate governance and accountability arrangements across the Council, and the need to maintain and develop effective financial control and legality standards.

RESOLVED: that consideration of this issue be deferred to enable officers to report fully to subsequent meetings on the options for and implications of allocating responsibility for overseeing the audit function either to a new committee or to an existing committee (such as Best Value), with a view to a recommendation being made to Council in the context of the review of the executive arrangements in Spring 2002.

19/02. FORWARD PLAN AND FUTURE BUSINESS

(Agenda Item 21)

The Executive considered schedules (EX21 and EX21 Supplement) identifying amendments and additions proposed for the updating of the Forward Plan and proposals for business to be conducted at the 22 January and February meetings.

The Executive were also asked to consider what arrangements should be made for the consideration of two items, raised by members under paragraph (9) of Section E of the Constitution.

RESOLVED: to:

1. agree that the items raised by members be dealt with as follows:

• Collective Purchasing Agency (Councillor Brian Hodgson): refer to the Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee to advise the Executive not later that March 2002;
• Oxfordshire Children’s Rights Checklist (Councillor Janet Godden): refer to the Social & Health Care Scrutiny Committee to advise the Executive not later than March 2002;

b. note the items identified for forthcoming meetings as set out in Schedule 4 of EX21, subject to (a) above and to the recommendations and other amendments set out in the Comments column on pages 1-3 of EX21 Supplement, subject also to:

• deferment of the item on the Structure Plan Issues Paper to February;
• the inclusion of an additional item to the Executive on 22 January regarding the Compulsory Purchase Order for Skimmingdish Lane, Bicester;

c. agree the additions and amendments set out in Schedules 1 – 3 of EX21 for the purpose of the next Forward Plan, for the period February – May 2002, subject to the further additions and amendments consequent on (a) and (b) above and as set out on page 4 of EX21 Supplement.

in the Chair

Date of signing 2002

Vision Statement

Making Oxfordshire an even better place to live, work and grow

Values

Serving the people and communities of Oxfordshire

Honesty and integrity

Valuing our staff

Teamwork and co-operation

Value 1 - Serving the people and communities of Oxfordshire

Value 2 - Honesty and integrity

Value 3 - Valuing our staff

Value 4 - Teamwork and co-operation