AGENDA
(Addenda)
1. Apologies for
Absence
2. Declarations of
Interest – see guidance
note
3. Minutes
To confirm the minutes of the meeting held
on 24 June 2008 (CA3) and to receive for information any matters
arising therefrom.
4. Petitions and
Public Address
(See Addenda)
This report sets out the Council’s forecast
financial position for the 2008/09 financial year based on two months of
actuals to the end of May 2008. It includes projections for revenue, balances,
reserves and capital. The report sets out explanations where the forecast
outturn is significantly different from the budget with action plans to recover
the position where appropriate.
The in-year overspend for Directorates is
forecast to be £1.136m, as set out in the report. The in-year forecast excludes
the variance on the City Schools Reorganisation.
The year-end forecast of general balances
is set out in Annex 5 and shows a forecast of £18.069m. After taking into
account the forecast Directorate outturn, the consolidated revenue balances
forecast is £16.933m.
The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:
(a) note the
report;
(b) approve
the virements as set out in Annex 2a;
(c) approve
the changes to the capital programme as set out in paragraphs 55 to 58 and the
updated programme at Annex 7; and
(d) recommend
that Council approve the allocation of LABGI grant as set out in Annex 8.
The Strategic Measures interest on balances
outturn was £8.420m compared to a budget of £4.307m. The additional net
interest earned was as a result of higher temporary cash balances, due to
capital programme slippage, higher than budgeted interest received as a result
of the 'credit crunch', and a lower rate of interest paid on developer
contribution due to movements in the Baxter index.
The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to note the
Council’s treasury management activity carried out in 2007/08.
Thames Water Utilities Ltd (RWE Group) is
required to produce a Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP) which sets out how
demand for water will be balanced against supply over the next 25 years. The
draft WRMP was published for consultation on 7 May 2008, and covers the period
2010 to 2035. The consultation period ends on 27 August 2008.
This report sets out the key issues
highlighted in the WRMP, and the Thames Water Preferred Programme, including
the preferred option to provide a large reservoir south west of Abingdon, and a
proposed response from the county council.
The Environment Agency formal response to
the consultation is expected in July 2008. The county council response will
need to take note of the Environment Agency’s views. When the final WRMP is
approved by DEFRA it could effectively confirm the need for a large reservoir.
The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:
(a) delegate
responsibility to finalise a response to the consultation on the Thames Water
Resources Management Plan to the Head of Sustainable Development in
consultation with the Leader of the Council, Deputy Leader of the Council and
Cabinet Member for Sustainable Development, to take account of the Environment
Agency response which will be published in July; and
(b) agree
that the response should take account of the points made in this report, and in
particular question the basis for Thames Water's view that DEFRA's recommended
target of 130l/household/day is unattainable.
The 2008/09 draft legislative
programme was announced by Government in May. It sets out proposed legislation
for the next session of parliament, to be announced in the Queen’s speech in
the autumn. Comments are invited on the draft legislative programme as a whole,
and also on specific policy issues and individual bills by 6 August 2008.
This paper lists all bills in the programme
that have been identified as being relevant to the county council and our
services. Key legislative changes affecting Oxfordshire County Council are
highlighted below:
· New powers to levy a
supplement to Business rates
· A wide-ranging
education and skills bill
· Expanding
the duties of public bodies and employers regarding equalities
· Further developing
community empowerment
· Legislation to implement the findings of the Pitt
Review into the 2007 floods
The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:
(a) note the
report; and
(b) delegate
responsibility to the Leader of the Council to write a letter in response to
the consultation on behalf of Oxfordshire County Council.
This report outlines the need to plan the
provision of more secondary education In Didcot, given its expansion in
population size and need for more technical and scientific skills. It covers
the issues surrounding the provision; including the requirement for mixed
provision that will enable the delivery of 14-19 diplomas and the need for a
competition with the county council acting as decision-maker. The risks,
funding implications, timescales and next steps are also set out in the report.
The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:
(a) approve the
proposal to open a competition for the provision of a new secondary facility in
Didcot;
(b) instruct
officers to prepare a specification of the new secondary facility during autumn
2008, for consultation with all stakeholders prior to holding the competition;
and
(c) decide
whether the specification is to be approved by Cabinet or by Delegated
Decision.
The Youth Justice (Capacity &
Capability) Plan 2008/09 is tabled for endorsement by Cabinet and for Cabinet
to recommend for approval by the full meeting of Council on 9 September 2008.
The Plan highlights positive outcomes for
young people in Oxfordshire, in particular in relation to reductions in
re-offending and in new entrants into the youth justice system.
Cabinet is also asked to note budget
pressures in the service, in particular in relation to the successful Diversion
Scheme
The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:
(a) RECOMMEND
that Council approve the Youth Justice (Capacity and Capability) Plan for 08/09; and.
(b) note the
budget pressure for the Diversion Scheme from April 2009.
This
final report sets out the key themes, areas of evidence, analysis and
recommendations. The Review
set out:
· To identify how the County Council (and its
partners) may empower young carers (YCs) to
approach the authority for help (there is a fear that they do not because
conversely, they often think that they may be taken into care).
· To achieve a change in
understanding and perception around young carers.
· To identify the gaps
between provision, need/demand and availability of services.
· To examine the
social/economic/educational and health impacts of the issue.
The Children’s Services Committee believes
that the report demonstrates that these aims have been achieved. Among the
themes and ideas that the Committee would like to convey strongly – in some
instances through recommendations, are:
· The need for a single
point of contact in schools for young carers; a person who can give time, space
etc to them.
· A focus in the report
on the “Every Child Matters” agenda.
· The importance of and
hence recommendations around partnership working – how and who identifies young
carers? Who takes the lead?
· A recommendation about
on the one hand, the legal duty to assess and on the other, the absence of any
obligation to provide for the assessed need – and the need, possibly, for
lobbying govt.
· A big push in the
review on the connection between young carers and the County Council’s focus on
educational attainment and economic well-being. There is no measure of
attainment among young carers (whereas, say, there is among cared for
children). The Cabinet should be aware that improving the position of young
carers may have an impact on the overall attainment statistics and on economic
well-being, as we need to look at young carers destinations later on – eg
further and higher education.
· Promoting the
Children’s Society model in the Review, (the Key Principles and The Pathway)
and finding out how Oxfordshire can fit the gaps between need and provision
identified there.
The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to consider the
Scrutiny Review Report and communicate to the Children’s Services Scrutiny
Committee its response to the Review’s recommendations.
On 16 January 2007, the Cabinet approved
governance and financial arrangements for the Oxfordshire Waste Partnership.
These arrangements are critical in securing the effective delivery of the joint
waste strategy ‘No Time to Waste’. At that time, it was reported that the
financial arrangements needed further detailed development. This has now been
undertaken and has led to some proposed amendments to the legal agreement. The
purpose of this paper is to approve these amendments.
The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to agree that
Oxfordshire County Council should formally sign the attached Legal agreement,
subject to any minor drafting changes to be approved by the Head of Sustainable
Development following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Sustainable
Development.
The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to note the information
reported on the developer contributions negotiated and received through the
planning process in 2007/08.
The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to approve the
final Sustainable School Travel Strategy for publication.
The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:
(c) RECOMMEND
that Council adopt Annex 2 to replace the existing Chapter 3 in the adopted Bus
Strategy; and
(d) ask
officers to consult operators on contract length and to authorise the Head of
Transport (in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Transport) to adopt the
length which would offer best value for money for the county council, subject
to (i) compliance with legal requirements; and (ii) there being no contract
longer than five years which is not subject to intermediate review.
The Crime & Disorder Act 1998 (and
subsequent amendments) requires the county council (including Fire & Rescue
Services) to work with district councils, the police, police authority and
primary care trusts as "responsible authorities" to work in
partnership to reduce crime and disorder in their local area.
These partnerships are the five Crime &
Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) of Vale of White Horse, South
Oxfordshire, Cherwell, Oxford City and West Oxfordshire.
Working together, each CDRP is required to
produce three year, rolling strategies to tackle crime and disorder. The county
council, as one of the responsible authorities, must contribute, through its
wide range of services, to delivering the strategies and associated action plans.
It is also required, along with the other responsible authorities to agree and
publish the strategies.
The Community Safety Scrutiny Committee
considered the strategies on 2 July 2008.
The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to note the
views expressed by Members and the Community Safety Scrutiny Committee in
particular, and RECOMMEND the Council to approve the CDRP strategies.
The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to;
(a) commend
the Retained Firefighters, their Officers and the Retained Recruitment Officer
for their dedicated service to the Communities of Oxfordshire; and
(b) ask the
Director of Community Safety & Shared Services and Chief Fire Officer to
report to Cabinet the outcomes of the IRMP project examining the Retained Duty
System and the options for improving emergency cover within Oxfordshire.
The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to note the
report.
This report gives an update on activity
since the implementation of the Establishment Review and associated
Recruitment Approval process on 1 August 2005. It provides detail on the
overall objectives of the review and summarises progress made against the
targets which were agreed to ensure delivery of those objectives. Details of
the agreed establishment figure at 31 March 2008 in terms of Full Time
Equivalents is provided, together with the detailed staffing position at 31
March 2008. These are shown in the report by directorate and service area.
The report also provides information on
current activity and in addition there is information on grant funded posts and
those vacancies which are being covered by agency staff and at what cost.
The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:
(c) note the
report; and
(d) confirm
that the Establishment Review continues to meet requirements in reporting and
managing staffing numbers.
20. Forward
Plan and Future Business
(See also Addenda)
The Cabinet Procedure Rules provide that
the business of each meeting at the Cabinet
is to include “updating of the Forward Plan and proposals for business to be
conducted at the following meeting”. Items from the Forward Plan for the
immediately forthcoming meetings of the Cabinet appear in the Schedule at CA20. This includes any updated information relating to the business for those
meetings that has already been identified for inclusion in the next Forward Plan update.
The Schedule is for
noting, but Cabinet Members
may also wish to take this opportunity to identify any further changes they
would wish to be incorporated in the next Forward Plan update.
The Cabinet is
RECOMMENDED to note the items currently identified for forthcoming meetings.