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ITEM EX3

EXECUTIVE – 2 SEPTEMBER 2003

Minutes of the Meeting commencing at 2.00 pm and finishing at 3.34 pm

Present:

Voting Members:

Councillor Keith R Mitchell – in the chair

Councillor Tony Crabbe
Councillor John Farrow
Councillor Neil Fawcett
Councillor Janet Godden
Councillor Margaret Godden
Councillor Anne Purse
Councillor David Robertson

Other Members in Attendance:

Councillor Brian Hodgson (for Agenda Item 5)
Councillor Ken Harper (for Agenda Item 7)
Councillor Terry Joslin )
Councillor Diana Ludlow ) (for Agenda Item 9)

Officers:

Whole of meeting:
Chief Executive, J. Leverton and G. Warrington.

Part of meeting:
D. Lines, M. Petty, N. Monaghan and M. Tailby (Resources); C. Blackwell and J. Disley (Environment & Economy); M. Mill and J. Leigh (Learning & Culture); N. Welch (Social & Health Care).

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.

    202/03. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

    Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Don Seale.

    203/03. MINUTES

    The Minutes of the meeting held on 22 July 2003 were approved and signed.

    204/03. PETITIONS AND PUBLIC ADDRESS

    The Leader of the Council had received a petition of approximately 85 signatures from Forest of Oxford requesting the planting of trees in Cornmarket and had replied confirming that officers had been instructed to identify appropriate locations for planting where possible, although there were very clear and serious practical difficulties in achieving this due to the existence of significant services and cellars below the surface.

    RESOLVED: to note the action taken.

    205/03. OXFORDSHIRE COMMUNITY NETWORK IN SCHOOLS

    (Agenda Item 8)

    The Executive considered a report (EX8) on the use of the Oxfordshire Community Network (OCN) in schools.

    Mrs Leigh addressed a number of technical support issues, which had been raised by school staff and advised that the need for development of ICT support in schools should be recognised. However she remained confident about ICT in Oxfordshire schools and tabled an analysis of the OfSTED reports to illustrate achievements to date.

    RESOLVED: to note the report.

    206/03. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: PROGRESS AGAINST PRIORITIES AND TARGETS FOR 2003/04

(Agenda Item 5)

The Executive considered a report (EX5) which provided assessments for the respective Directorates of progress of performance in Quarter 1 (April – June) of 2003/04 against:

  • Oxfordshire Plan 2003 priorities,

  • Public Service Agreement (PSA) and

  • Best Value Performance Indicators (BVPIs)

Councillor Hodgson raised questions with regard to the comments in paragraph 7 of the report concerning casualty reduction targets, compared with the Casualty Report 2002; and those priorities for Social & Health Care referred to Annex 1 which showed a lower rating. The Executive Members for Transport and for Children & Young People respectively responded.

Mr Lines reported that the rating shown in Annex 1 for developing services to help those who looked after a relative or friend should have read "3" and not "n/a" as in the report.

RESOLVED: to receive the report.

    207/03. ALLOCATION OF CAPITAL RESOURCES 2003/04

    (Agenda Item 6)

    The Executive considered a report (EX6) which brought together a number of issues around the capital programme.

    RESOLVED: to:

    1. approve the items listed at paragraph 9 of the report EX6 for inclusion in the Capital Programme with costs of £1.336m in 2003/04 and £0.193m in 2004/05;

    2. approve the offsetting of any capital receipt from the sale of 33 Crouch Street against the overspend on the Registration Service brought forward from 2002/03;

    3. approve the list of City Schools schemes in Annex 2 to the report EX6 totalling £3.1m for inclusion in the Capital Programme;

    4. approve the Social & Health Care strategies listed in Annex 3 in the report EX6 for inclusion in the Capital Programme on the basis of their being self-funded.

    208/03. ORCHARD FIELDS SCHOOL, BANBURY

    (Ageda Item 7)

    The Executive considered an outline project appraisal (EX7) in respect of a scheme for the resiting of Orchard Fields Primary School onto the neighbouring Princess Diana Park.

    Councillor Harper expressed support for the scheme but advised that sensitivity would be needed in resiting the small memorial garden and urged the need to give priority to community needs.

    Councillor Crabbe commended the officers for their work on this innovative scheme.

    RESOLVED: to approve project appraisal ED592.

    209/03. SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL TOWNS

    (Agenda Item 9)

    The Executive considered a report (EX9) which sought approval for the submission of an expression of interest in participating in the Department for Transport’s ‘Sustainable Travel Towns’ project, based on a case study of Didcot

    Councillor Joslin spoke in support of Didcot’s participation in this initiative. A great deal of work had already been done in the town to establish a substantial cycle network and this, coupled with its location close to international centres for science research and its role as a rail interchange, offered the best opportunity for success.

    Councillor Ludlow supported the promotion of Thame for inclusion in the project in the context of present and potential future problems.

    Councillor Robertson confirmed that Didcot was proposed for submission as it appeared more closely to accord with the Department of Transport’s project rules.

    RESOLVED: to:

    1. approve the submission of an Expression of Interest in the Department for Transport’s Sustainable Travel Towns initiative, based on a case study of Didcot;

    2. authorise the Director for Environment and Economy, in the event that the proposal was shortlisted by the Department, to submit a bid for funding, subject to consultation with the Executive Members for Transport and Strategic Planning & Waste Management the Didcot Area ITS Members Steering Group.

    210/03. WITNEY: WEST END LINK ROAD – PHASE 1

    (Agenda Item 10)

    The Executive considered a report (EX10) which set out the need to use compulsory purchase powers in order to purchase a small area of land to enable the scheme to proceed.

    RESOLVED: to authorise the making, publication and submission to the Secretary of State for confirmation of a Compulsory Purchase Order for the acquisition of the area of shaded land illustrated on drawing No WEL/CPO/002 adjacent to Dark Lane, Witney, in the event that negotiations to acquire the land by negotiation proved unsuccessful.

    211/03. BIODIVERSITY IN OXFORDSHIRE

    (Agenda Item 11)

    In October 2002 and March 2003 the Environment Scrutiny Committee had received presentations on biodiversity objectives in Oxfordshire and recommended that the Executive should "give an assurance that biodiversity was properly taken into account of in relevant policies and plans which it determines. The Executive now considered a report (EX11) which provided general background on biodiversity issues.

    RESOLVED: to:

    1. confirm that relevant policies for the protection, management and expansion of the biodiversity resource in general, and priority habitats/species populations in particular, should continue to be developed within appropriate plans and policy documents;

    2. note the proposal set out in the report EX11 for establishing an annual budget to be used towards the management of priority habitats which were the responsibility of the County Council and the joint support of biodiversity related projects in partnership with other local authorities, local communities and other relevant organisations.

    212/03. APPOINTMENT OF A PARTNER FOR BUILDING CONSTRUCTION WORKS

    (Agenda Item 12)

    The Executive considered a report (EX12) on the formal appointment of a partner under previously authorised arrangements for contracts to be awarded for building construction works.

    Mr Monaghan reported further proposals for framework agreements with local contractors for designing and building individual projects.

    RESOLVED: to note the performance of Mansell Construction Services Limited against the selection criteria for appointment of a partner for building construction works, and authorise their appointment accordingly.

    213/03. SUPPORTING PEOPLE COMMISSIONING BODY

    (Agenda Item 13)

    The Executive considered a report (EX13) which summarised governance arrangements for Supporting People in Oxfordshire.

    RESOLVED: to:

    1. confirm that, for the future, the County Council’s representative on the Supporting People Commissioning Body should be the Executive Member for Community Care & Health;
    2. authorise that member, following consultation (so far as he/she might think necessary) with other relevant members of the Executive:
        1. in his/her capacity as the County Council’s representative on the Commissioning Body, to agree the Supporting People Strategy and Annual Plan and any subsequent amendments or changes thereto; and
        2. to take any decisions on the part of the County Council as Supporting People Administering Authority that might fall outside the relevant officers’ operational delegated powers;

    3. that the Executive Member for Children & Young People be appointed as the alternative member of the Executive to deputise for the appointed representative on the Commissioning Body and to act as mentioned in (b) above in place of the Executive Member responsible for Community Care & Health, if the latter was unavailable for any reason.

    214/03. SENIOR MANAGEMENT GRADING STRUCTURE

    (Agenda item 14)

    The recently completed Job Evaluation exercise had covered all posts up to and including Senior Management Range. The Executive now considered a proposal to review the gradings applying to the new strategic management structure within the Council in order to address a number of anomalies and inconsistencies.

    RESOLVED: that a small working group, comprising the Leader, Deputy Leader and Leader of the Opposition together with one other member from each of the three political groups, be set up to advise the Executive on a grading structure for the County Council’s senior officers and subsequently to advise the Gradings Sub-Committee on any changes to individual gradings that might result from the new structure.

    215/03. FORWARD PLAN AND FUTURE BUSINESS

    (Agenda Item 15)

    The Executive considered a list of items for the next two meetings.

    RESOLVED: to:

    1. agree the additions and amendments set out in Schedules 1 – 3, amplified as set out in the Schedule of Addenda, for the purpose of the Forward Plan for the ensuing four months;

    2. subject to (a) above, note the items currently identified for forthcoming meetings as set out in Schedule 4;

(c) note that the meeting scheduled for 16 September had been cancelled due to insufficient business having been identified to justify holding that meeting.

in the Chair

Date of signing 2003

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