Meeting documents

Cabinet
Wednesday, 22 June 2005

CA220605-03

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ITEM CA3

CABINET – 7 JUNE 2005

Minutes of the Meeting commencing at 2.00 pm ened finishing at 3:45 pm

Present:

Voting Members:

Councillor Keith R Mitchell – in the chair

Councillor Roger Belson
Councillor Louise Chapman
Councillor Jim Couchman
Councillor John Howell
Councillor Ray Jelf
Councillor David Robertson
Councillor Don Seale
Councillor C.H. Shouler
Councillor Michael Waine

Other Members in Attendance:

Councillor Dermot Roaf (for Agenda Items 5 & 10)
Councillor Bob Johnston (for Agenda Item 6)
Councillor Alan Bryden (for Agenda Item 6)
Councillor Jean Fooks (for Agenda items 7 & 9)
Councillor Anda Fitzgerald O’Connor (for Agenda item 9)

Officers:

Whole of meeting: Chief Executive, J. Leverton and M. Bayliss (Chief Executive’s Office).

Part of meeting: Director for Learning & Culture; Director for Social & Health Care; P. Mann (Environment & Economy); A. Harper-Smith (Chief Executive’s Office).

The Cabinet 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.

    114/05. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

    Councillor Belson indicated that he would not participate in Agenda Item 9 on the basis that he had been a member of the review panel.

    115/05. MINUTES

    The Minutes of the meeting held on 18 May 2005 were approved and signed.

    116/05. PETITIONS AND PUBLIC ADDRESS

    The following requests to address the meeting had been agreed:-

    Request from

    Agenda Item

    Mrs Margaret Davies (Leader of Didcot Town Council)

    Mr Graham Jones (Rescue Oxford)

    6. Local Transport Plan 2006-2011

    117/05. OXFORDSHIRE PLAN/BEST VALUE PERFORMANCE PLAN
    AND PROGRAMME

    (Agenda Item 5)

    The Cabined considered a draft of the annual Best Value Performance Plan (the ‘Oxfordshire Plan’) for submission to the meeting of the Council on 21 June 2005. The final Plan had to be published by 30 June 2005.

    There were gaps in the draft document for (a) the BVPI outturn data, which was still being collected, and (b) the targets for 2005-06 and beyond, which were still being evaluated. The Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee had considered an outline of the Plan on 3 March and were in "broad support" of the proposals.

    Councillor Roaf expressed doubts as to the achievability of certain of the proposals in the Plan, in particular the expressed intention to reduce the rate of council tax increases and the planned increase in early years places.

    RESOLVED: subject to the inclusion of the outturn data and targets information referred to, to RECOMMEND the Council to approve the Plan for publication by 30 June 2005.

    118/05. LOCAL TRANSPORT PLAN 2006-11

    (Agenda Item 6)

    The Cabinet considered a Draft Local Transport Plan and accompanying Bus Strategy to cover the years 2006/07 – 2010/11 to replace the current Plan, which would expire in March 2006. The Plan was required to be submitted to Government in a Provisional version in July 2005 with a final version having to be completed by March 2006. The report set out the main requirements of the Plan, how the Provisional Plan had been developed, its key features and the five year capital programme proposed to implement it.

    The Plan was one of those strategic documents which must be referred to the full Council for approval. The Plan had to be published by 31 July 2005 and would therefore need to be submitted to the meeting of the Council on 21 June 2005.

    Councillor Johnston, whilst welcoming some aspects of the draft Plan, stated his opposition to a number of the Cabinet’s transport policies and proposals, in particular, the dualling of the A40 and free evening parking in Oxford.

    Councillor Bryden expressed concern about principle of downgrading of the B4015, which would lead to increased congestion on other routes, contrary to expressed objectives of the Plan. He advocated planned improvements to the means of access to M40 from the south.

    Mrs Davies criticised the Plan as failing to give effect to the commitment to give priority to investigation of north-south access to and from Didcot and expressed concern about the prospect of abandonment of local schemes in Didcot, referring to developer contributions which had been received in respect of such schemes.

    Mr Jones welcomed some aspects of the draft Plan, commending a number of further measures in Oxford, including bus lanes in Abingdon Road and Summertown, improved accessibility in High Street, reconfiguring of Frideswide Square and short term parking in Broad Street.

    In relation to the remarks by Mrs Davies, Mr Mann indicated that officers would be reviewing the overall financing of local transport schemes, including the application of developer contributions, in the context of the new government transport funding arrangements and would report back to the Cabinet.

    RESOLVED: to:

    1. note the progress of the Provisional Local Transport Plan, including the Provisional Bus Strategy, and agree its general direction;
    2. approve the transport programme for 2006/07 for inclusion in the Provisional LTP together with the outline programme for the remainder of the Plan period;
    3. prioritise and approve the reallocation of funding in the 2005/06 Transport Capital Programme to reflect the revised objectives for the second Local Transport Plan;
    4. approve the approach outlined in the report for the funding of Cogges Link Road and Marcham Bypass;
    5. approve the removal of the Wheelchair Accessible Bus Grant from the capital programme from 2006/07;
    6. subject to the above and to further work on the draft in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Transport to RECOMMEND the Council to approve the Plan, including the Provisional Bus Strategy, for submission by 31 July 2005.

    119/05. FUTURE OF CHILDREN’S SERVICES AND
    RELATED ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE


    (Agenda Item 7)

The Cabinet considered a report by the Leader of the Council (CA7) proposing action in response to the Children Act 2004 requirements to designate a Director of Children’s Services and a Director of Adult Social Services.

Councillor Fooks welcomed the proposals but expressed concern about their complexity and the resources needed to achieve them; and the problem of the potential separation of some services from others with which they had links. She also expressed the hope that the future inspection regime would be simplified so that, for example, there would be a single inspection for all children’s services.

RESOLVED: to:

    1. endorse the re-designation of the Director for Learning & Culture as Director of Children’s Services, and of the Director for Social & Health Care as Director of Adult Social Services, with responsibilities to be defined as outlined in the report, and authorise the consequential amendment of the Constitution to reflect their changed roles when the necessary organisational changes were introduced;
    2. authorise the Chief Executive, in consultation with the two Directors and Cabinet Members for Children’s Services and Health & Community Services, to settle the detailed terms of reference of each Director, based on the Children Act 2004 and statutory guidance issued under the Act;
    3. ask officers to report further on the Best Value Review action plan, the development of a Children and Young People’s Commissioning Trust and the organisation and financial structure of the two Directorates, taking into account the issues identified in the present report, to the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee and (in respect of the role and responsibilities of the Director of Adult Social Services) the Health & Community Services Scrutiny Committee in September and the Cabinet in October.

    120/05. PROMOTION OF DISABILITY EQUALITY

    (Agenda Item 8)

    The Cabinet considered a report (CA8) responding to a motion adopted by Council calling on the Cabinet to produce a disability equality action plan in the course of 2005.

    RESOLVED: to

    1. note the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 2005;
    2. agree to the development of a Disability Equality Scheme by the statutory deadline once determined, to include full and comprehensive consultation; and
    3. note that implementation of the Council’s Comprehensive Equality Policy and Corporate Equality Plan would ensure that the Council’s existing commitment to the promotion of disability equality was implemented effectively.

    121/05. SOCIAL & HEALTH CARE GRANTS TO VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS -
    SCRUTINY REVIEW


    (Agenda Item 9)

    The Cabinet considered the report of this Scrutiny Review (CA9) regarding the Social & Health Care systems for administering funding arrangements with voluntary sector organisations and the effect of the Oxfordshire Compact on how far the various arms of the Council involved in this area were working in a co-ordinated manner.

    Councillor Fitzgerald O’Connor presented the Review report and commended its recommendations. Councillor Fooks stressed that the recommendations were aimed at the organisation’s practices, not at individuals. She emphasised the benefits gained from the relatively small expenditure involved in grant-aiding voluntary organisations.

    Councillor Seale welcomed the report and thanked the Review Team. He gave a detailed response, which is reproduced as Annex A to these minutes.

    RESOLVED: to endorse the response of the Cabinet Member for Health & Community Services, subject to all members of the Council being advised when grant applications had been deposited in the Members’ Resource Centre pending decision.

    122/05. REVIEW OF APPOINTMENTS

    (Agenda Item 10)

    The Cabinet considered a report (CA10) on member appointments to a variety of bodies which in different ways supported the discharge of the Council’s executive functions. The report identified the basis on which appointments to the respective bodies had been made in the past and invited the Cabinet to agree arrangements for filling the councillor places on those bodies. The opportunity was also taken to affect a minor adjustment to the substitution rules for the Transport Implementation Committee.

    The Cabinet also had before it proposals for the respective appointments by the Leader of the Council (CA10 Supplement).

    Councillor Roaf indicated his general acceptance of the Leader’s proposals, but urged that a membership of nine be retained for the Children’s Panel and that there be more flexibility with respect to the Integrated Transport Working Groups. The Leader of the Council indicated that he would be prepared to revisit individual cases in the light of experience.

    RESOLVED: to agree:

    1. the basis for appointments to the respective bodies listed in Annex B Supplement, subject to any variation subsequently agreed by the Leader of the Council; and
    2. the extension of the ability to substitute at Transport Implementation Committee meetings to any Cabinet Member nominated by the Leader or Deputy Leader.

    123/05. FORWARD PLAN AND FUTURE BUSINESS

(Agenda Item 11)

The Cabinet considered a list of items from the Forward Plan for the immediately forthcoming meetings (CA11)

RESOLVED: to note the items currently identified for forthcoming meetings.

in the Chair

Date of signing 2005

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