Executive Member: Leader of the Council
Forward Plan Ref: 2002/144A
Contact Officer: Jenny Hydari, Assistant County Treasurer (01865 815401)

Report by Director for Business Support & County Treasurer (EX5).

The report sets out proposals for the budget process and the timetable for the 2003/04 budget. The Medium Term Financial Plan envisages reductions in the Council Tax increase over a three year period – 7% (2003/04), 6% (2004/05) and 5% (2005/06) – following an increase of 9.8% in the current year. This position is, however, under severe threat from two sources: budget pressures to spend beyond the planned figures are very substantial; and the Government is proposing changes to the grant arrangements that will probably result in substantially lower sums for Oxfordshire.

The report proposes rolling forward the base budget for 2002/03 and adding the minimum of expenditure considered to be unavoidable for the purposes of prudent financial management. It is proposed that Directors for the respective programme areas should then be asked to bring forward bids ranked in priority order. The process for preparing the bids needs to be rigorous and criteria need for this process are set out in the report.

These bids, together with the other proposals in this report, the Executive’s draft Budget Strategy, and the capital programme update presented on 17 September, would together comprise the ‘initial proposals’ for consultation with Scrutiny Committees, in accordance with the Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rules set out in the Constitution, before finalisation of proposals by the Executive at the meeting in January, and recommendation of a budget, Council Tax and capital programme to the Council in February.

The Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council are preparing a draft Budget Strategy for the Executive’s consideration.

Alongside the report is a Financial Strategy (EX5A), prepared by the Chief Executive and Director for Business Support & County Treasurer in the context of Raising our Performance, implementation of which will require sound financial management and investment. The document sets out a four year financial strategy which will lead to improvements in our financial stability and our capacity to invest and will contribute to a coherent improvement programme for all of our resources. An annual report will review progress against the action points to ensure that the Strategy is achieved.

The Executive is RECOMMENDED to:

Executive Member: Children & Young People
Forward Plan Ref: 2002/159
Contact Officer: Phil Hodgson, Assistant Director, Children & Families (01865 815833)

Report by Director of Social Services (EX7).

The purpose of this report is:

Under current housing legislation, housing authorities have no statutory duty to offer accommodation to applicants who are found to be "intentionally homeless" or who are ineligible due to their immigration status. Such families are advised to contact Social Services for assistance if they are unable to find accommodation for themselves, and the relatively high numbers of families who fall in this category, particularly in Oxford City, have resulted in an increasing demand on the Children’s Division of the Social Services Department.

Parents who are homeless are unlikely to be able to adequately meet the needs of their children and the Social Services have a clear duty to assist such families. The particular circumstances of the majority of these families, combined with the high cost of accommodation in Oxford, makes it difficult for them to obtain, and/or retain, housing in the private sector. The combined pressures of legal obligation, evident need and budget constraints place the social services in a difficult position.

The Homelessness Act 2002 provides an opportunity and impetus for housing authorities and Social Services to work co-operatively with other agencies to reduce the number of, and provide services to, homeless families.

The Executive is RECOMMENDED to:

Executive Member: Children & Young People
Forward Plan Ref: 2002/158
Contact Officer: Phil Hodgson, Assistant Director, Children & Families (01865 815833)

Report by Director of Social Services (EX8).

This report identifies the need to raise the maintenance allowance for foster carers to bring these up to the agreed National Fostering Network recommended rates, and also outlines the current system of Adoption and Residence Order Allowances and their implications in terms of the benefits for the children and the cost to the Authority.

For those children that remain in the looked after system 70% live in foster homes. With increasing demands placed upon foster carers to raise standards of care, with the children concerned presenting increasing levels of difficulty, and with private independent fostering agencies (IFAs) offering considerably higher levels of payment, many foster carers see themselves as offering a service for which an element of remuneration is appropriate. Oxfordshire’s position is that it now pays less than the National Fostering Network’s recommended rates to its carers.

For children to leave the looked after system to become adopted or subject to a Residence Order operates in their best interests, given that such an outcome will only be sought where the local authority has judged it meets the needs of the individual child. The costs of meeting these children’s needs through a supported Adoption or Residence Order placement are significantly less than the ongoing costs of maintaining the child in the looked after system. The costs therefore represent a better situation than if the children were to remain looked after. It is anticipated that this will be an ongoing pressure on the budget, and given the small numbers of older children currently receiving Adoption and Residence Order Allowances, this will continue to be a pressure for some years to come.

Executive Member: Community Care & Health; Children & Young People
Forward Plan Ref: 2002/160
Contact Officer: Nick Welch, Assistant Director (01865 815714)

Report by Director of Social Services (EX9).

This report summarises the key elements of the Supporting People Reforms; identifies a range of service and other issues for the County Council’s Social Services Department the Council as the Administering Authority for Supporting People Reforms; and proposes a process for enabling the Council to agree to the Shadow Strategy that the Government requires to be submitted by the end of October.

The Supporting People Reforms are often complex in their implementation, and the report summarises the key issues and challenges for the County Council. There are particular concerns regarding the level of resources for implementation in Oxfordshire as well are longer term concerns over allocation of resources for the provision of services.

The Executive is RECOMMENDED to:

Executive Member: Community Care & Health
Forward Plan Ref: 2002/151
Contact Officer: Alan Sinclair, Head of Service Disabilities, (01865 810298)

Report by Director of Social Services (EX11).

This report outlines the objectives of the "Guide to Integrating Community Equipment Services" issued by the Department of Health in March 2001 and the action taken in Oxfordshire so far, and recommends an action plan for approval before being sent to the Department of Health. It also describes the current services.

A draft Action Plan was produced in June 2002 in partnership with a stakeholder group and has been circulated for comments. A final action plan is to be produced by October 2002. The draft plan covers: co-terminosity issues and how they might be resolved; how a single point of contact might be achieved alongside other initiatives such as single assessment; reporting systems for adverse incidents; working towards a pooled budget with joint eligibility criteria and a single inventory; proposals for a new equipment service and contract by 2004; setting of clear priorities for the use of funding and improved management of demand and resources; and how to ensure that the integrated community equipment service for Oxfordshire is in line with Department of Health guidance.

The report is also being presented to the Social & Health Care Scrutiny Committee on 25 September and any comments on their part will be reported to the meeting.

The Executive is RECOMMENDED to:

Executive Member: Transport
Forward Plan Ref: 2002/108
Contact Officer: John Disley (01865 810460)

Report by Director of Environmental Services (EX12).

The purpose of this report is to update the Executive on progress made on GTE, set out the timetable for further work on the project to be completed by the end of 2002/03 and, subsequent to this, the work programme for delivering the project. The report also identifies the funding requirements for this work and to bid for further County Council funding support for GTE.

The report confirms that significant progress has been made on the GTE project. The alignment has been refined and costs updated, a detailed Environmental Study is well underway, the Business Case is being updated and a General Manager has been appointed to spearhead the project locally. GTE is still very much viewed as viable.

Work Programmes have been identified for taking GTE forward in the short term (2002/03) and medium term (2003-08) and the funding requirements of these specified. Beyond the current financial year, the funding commitments required to deliver the project are very significant and, should the County Council agree to bear all or most of these, would require a significant funding commitment from either revenue or Single Capital Pot funds.

To deliver GTE, a holistic approach is required for the north-south rail corridor through Oxford in particular. The opportunity exists for this corridor to be comprehensively redeveloped to the benefit of both rail and GTE whilst maximising integration and minimising costs.

The Executive is RECOMMENDED to:

Executive Member: Learning & Culture
Forward Plan Ref: 2002/149
Contact: Craig Blackwell, County Ecologist, (01865 810469)

Report by Director of Cultural Services and Director of Environmental Services (EX13).

English Nature has offered to commit £60,000 per year for three years to establish a Berkshire Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Biological Records Centre, uniting the work of the three counties, improving standards of documentation and data and the quality of services and information provided to the planning authorities on biodiversity matters. Following a report by external consultants and negotiation within the three counties English Nature has agreed that the best location for the new centre is the Oxfordshire Museum, Woodstock. The report describes the background to the development of Biological Records Centres and the implications of this proposal.

Executive Member: Leader of the Council
Forward Plan Ref: 2002/90
Contact Officer: Adrian Sell, Performance Review Advisor (01865 816031)

Report by Director for Strategy (EX14).

This Review was considered initially by the Best Value Committee on 27 March 2002 and subsequently by the Scrutiny Committees. Their comments were drawn together and reported to the Best Value Committee on 11 September, together with certain additional information which the Committee had requested, and a revised version of the Corporate Charging Policy which had been presented in draft with the original Review document. The Committee recommend the Review and Action Plan to the Executive, together with the revised draft Corporate Charging Policy.

The Review and Corporate Charging Policy was considered by all Scrutiny Committees during their meetings in May - July. Their comments are summarised in the report, together with officer comments.

Executive Member: Leader of the Council
Forward Plan Ref: 2002/141
Contact Officer: John Leverton, Head of Committee Services (01865 815314)

Report by Assistant Chief Executive, Director of Environmental Services and Acting Chief Education Officer (EX15).

The Executive has indicated that it would wish to pursue arrangements for delegation in respect of certain operational matters in order to concentrate more on its strategic priorities. This report sets out proposals for bringing this about in the areas identified by the Executive as suitable for such delegation, ie:

The report favours creation of a committee of the Executive to deal with individual highway and traffic schemes and bus subsidy matters. This would clearly relieve the full Executive of a substantial amount of non-strategic business – although at the expense of an additional burden on the members concerned. There would be full accessibility for members of the public and councillors (subject to the exempt status of moist bus subsidy matters.)

Early years proposals are likely to arise much less frequently, as individual "one-off" issues. An arrangement whereby the appropriate officers would decide individual proposals in consultation with the relevant Executive Members (in this context, Children & Young People and Schools would seem appropriate) and local members.

The Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee considered the report on 19 September. Individual Members expressed a range of views about the delegation proposals but the Committee reached no general conclusion on the overall principles. The Committee did however agree that, if the Executive decide to adopt the proposals, it should do so subject to the following amendments:

The Executive is RECOMMENDED, subject to consideration of the comments of the Scrutiny Committee, to:

Executive Member: All
Contact Officer: John Leverton (01865 815314)

The Executive Procedure Rules provide that the business of each meeting of the Executive is to include "updating of the Forward Plan and proposals for business to be conducted at the following meeting".

The publication date of the next Forward Plan, for the period November – February 2002, is 18 October 2002. It will be necessary to determine its content at the meeting on 15 October, but members may wish at the present meeting to identify any changes they would wish to have incorporated in the next update.

In the meantime, a list of items from the Forward Plan for the next two meetings is attached (EX16).

The Executive is RECOMMENDED, subject to any changes and/or additional items it would wish to see incorporated in the next Forward Plan, to note the items currently identified for forthcoming meetings.

October 2002

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