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Executive – 15 March 2005

ADDENDA

Item

4. Petitions and Public Address

Item

Speaker

5 - Financial Monitoring

Cllr Liz Brighouse (Shadow Executive)

6 - SAP Revitalisation

Cllr Robert Evans (Shadow Executive)

8 - Regional Planning : South East Plan

Cllr Terry Joslin (Shadow Executive)

Cllr George Reynolds

District Cllr Eleanor Hards (Didcot Town Council)

9 - South East Regional Housing Strategy

Cllr Terry Joslin (Shadow Executive)

Cllr George Reynolds

10 - Transport Capital Programme

Cllr Jean Fooks

Mr Bill Holman (Oxford resident)

12 - Cornmarket Street, Oxford, Reconstruction Scheme - Scrutiny Review

Cllr Power (Scrutiny Review Group Member)

Cllr C.H. Shouler (Scrutiny Review Group Member and Chair, Environment Scrutiny Committee)

13 - Road Casualty Reduction – Best Value Review

Cllr Brian Hodgson (Best Value Review Group Member)

15 - Redevelopment Proposals for Homes for Older People

Cllr Robert Evans (Local Member)

 

16 - Social & Health Care Contracts

Cllr Barbara Gatehouse (Shadow Executive)

Cllr Jean Fooks (Chair, Social & Health Care Scrutiny Committee)

17 - Equalities

Cllr Robert Evans (Shadow Executive)

18 - Social Inclusion

Cllr Robert Evans (Shadow Executive)

19 - Community Safety Strategies

Cllr Neville F. Harris (Shadow Executive)

20 - Traveller Policy

Cllr Neville F. Harris (Shadow Executive)

21 - "Faith in Our Schools" Scrutiny Review

Cllr Andrew Brown (Scrutiny Review Group Member)

22 - Expansion of the Museum Store

Cllr Mrs Anda Fitzgerald-O’Connor (Scrutiny Review Member)

Cllr Margaret Ferriman (Scrutiny Review Group Member)

23 - Inland Waterways

Cllr Terry Joslin (Shadow Executive)

6. SAP Revitalisation

Cost estimate summary (EX6 Supplement) (download as .xls file).

On 3 March 2005 the Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee recommended the Executive to support the revitalisation of SAP with particular reference to the importance of accurate HR data.

7. Raising Our Performance 2

On 3 March 2005 the Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee noted:

    • the importance of addressing/focusing on weaknesses and the non-achievement of targets; and

    • the links between ROP2 with its Target Setting Process Scrutiny Review.

8. Regional Planning: South East Plan

Executive summary of the report by Proteus Public Relations Ltd. on their facilitation of the County Council’s local consultation on the SEERA Draft Plan (EX8 Supplement) (download as .doc file)

Revised recommendations (in bold/italics):

(a) (i) on the evidence provided to date, there is not considered to be a convincing case for development above current RPG9 levels; a significant proportion of any housing provided should be affordable;

        (ii) sustainable communities in the sub-region can be achieved only if the current infrastructure shortfall is addressed by additional direct Government funding before any further development takes place; further infrastructure requirements to support additional development should be fully funded, in part by direct Government funding, and in place either in advance of or in parallel with development;

On 23 February 2005 the Environment Scrutiny Committee considered the initial proposals for the South East Plan and agreed to endorse the "sharper focus" option for the future distribution of housing in the south east region - with the lowest option, allocating 1,000 houses to central Oxfordshire and 700 to the rest of Oxfordshire.

In relation to the two options for the location of housing in the Central Oxfordshire sub-region, one member was in support of Option A (Development at larger settlements beyond the green belt with growth focused at Bicester and Didcot), one member was in support of Option B (urban extensions to Oxford, including development in the Oxford green belt) and four members did not support either option. (Two members asked for their abstention to be recorded).

The Committee expressed deep concern over the housing figures proposed by SEERA and whether the numbers had been sufficiently tested to demonstrate that they were justified. The Committee also expressed the importance of adequate infrastructure being provided in advance of any future housing development.

9. South East Regional Housing Strategy

The report is amended as follows:

    • paragraph 10, delete "It" and substitute "Banbury"

    • paragraph 25: 360 homes a year. The date at the end of the second sentence should be 2003.

    • paragraph 37: "emergency" accommodation

    • paragraph 39: delete "is" in last sentence

12. Cornmarket Street, Oxford, Reconstruction Scheme – Scrutiny Review

Decision of Oxford City Council’s Finance Scrutiny Committee on 1 March 2005 and comments of the County Council’s Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee on 3 March 2005 (EX12 Supplement).

  1. Road Casualty Reduction – Best Value Review

On 15 December the Environment Scrutiny Committee agreed to endorse the report and additional recommendation of the Best Value Committee and to ask the Executive to write to the Chief Executives of the NHS Trusts, Primary Care Trusts and Ambulance Trust to seek their views on Road Casualty Reduction.

16. Social & Health Care Contracts

Revised recommendation (bold/italics):

(b) (3) authorise the letting of a single consolidated contract with Age Concern for an initial period of three years, with an option to extend for two additional years, for the provision of the full range of services currently delivered by them and allowing scope for further service development, to take effect on expiry of the interim contracts referred to in (b)(2) above;

17.Equalities

On 3 March 2005 the Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee noted the report and commended the Race Equality Scheme & Corporate Equality Plan 2005-2008 as outlined by the Deputy Leader of the Council and the Corporate Strategies Manager to the Executive.

18. Social Inclusion

On 3 March 2005 the Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee was broadly in support of the Social Inclusion Action Plan Framework as the basis for a prioritised corporate Social Inclusion Action Plan to be developed during 2005/06 as outlined by the Deputy Leader of the Council and the Corporate Strategies Manager.

25. Policy on Checking Criminal Records

In December 2004 and February 2005 Unison recognised the need for the policy; and emphasised that it was important that the policy was consistent and transparent in its approach to individuals records.

EX12 - Supplement

Cornmarket Street, Oxford, Reconstruction Scheme – Scrutiny Review

On 1 March 2005 the City Council’s Finance Scrutiny Committee resolved:-

(1) to RECOMMEND the Executive Board to accept the review report and, in doing so to consider the following amendments:-

    1. Recommendation 1 – There should be an urgent review of future Public Realm Strategy projects in the light of the Cornmarket Scheme before any further specific proposals for schemes are Brought forward. This review should be undertaken jointly by the City and County, and should draw on appropriate professional advice:

    2. Recommendation 4 – The County Council should review its approach to risk assessment and risk management strategies for capital projects in the light of best practice in civil engineering in the last five years in order to ensure more robust levels of contingency are used;

    3. Recommendation 7 – The City and the County Councils should undertake to identify good practice in relation to the Public Realm Strategy as well as in relation to risk management practice and audit any departures from such practice occurring in the Cornmarket Scheme that could become barriers to successful Partnership working, and apply these lessons to future projects (for example Broad Street and Oxford’s West End);

(2) to inform the Executive Board that the Committee believes that an action plan needs to be drawn up setting out how the review of the Public Realm Strategy is to be carried out;

(3) to ask the Executive Board to agree to circulate the Public Realm Strategy and the latest proposals for the redevelopment of Broad Street to all members of Council.

On 3 March the County Council’s Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee forwarded the following comments to the Executive:

a)the ‘Project Relationship Chart’ in the presentation should have been included in the review report; as it is not, it is attached herewith (download as .ppt file);

b) Recommendation 2: a single lead Member must be appointed to/associated with large, politically sensitive projects;

c) Recommendation 7: an agreed project methodology should be established at the commencement of large projects;

d) the Committee endorsed the recommendations and urged the Executive to ensure that they are taken forward positively; and

e) the Committee wished to add its tribute to Rex Knight, Chair, the Joint Review Team, County Council and City Council officers for their work and Brookes University and Councillor David Robertson for their involvement in the project.

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