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ITEM CA3

CABINET - 21 MARCH 2006

Minutes of the Meeting commencing at 2.00 pm and finishing at 4.00 pm

Present:

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 the following additional document:

• a schedule recording the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee’s advice on the three motions referred by Council to the Cabinet via the Scrutiny Committee,

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.

50/06. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Roger Belson.

51/06. MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting held on 7 March 2006 were approved and signed.

52/06. FINANCIAL MONITORING

(Agenda Item 5)

The Cabinet considered a report (CA5) which covered the period up to the end of January 2006 for both revenue and capital. Ms Slater, advised that the total in the "Jan 06" column of the table in paragraph 19 of report CA5 should read £3,072m.

RESOLVED: to:

1. note the report;
2. approve the proposed rephasing of the repayment of the 2003/04 overspend on Statementing and Fees to Independent Schools;
3. approve the virement of £0.184m from the budget for Out of County Fees and £0.197m from the Statementing budget to offset the overspend on Home to School Transport;
4. approve the virement of £0.289m from the budget for Early Education Funding for 3 & 4 Year Olds to Adult Learning;
5. request the Head of Early Years & Family Support to bring forward an updated action plan on how the pressures on the Placement Strategy will be managed in 2006/07;
6. approve a supplementary estimate of £0.028m to fund the costs of a second Unison Assistant Branch Secretary;
7. request Council to approve the following modifications to the approved Treasury Management Strategy:
   
   

1. that the maximum average duration of the fund invested with SWIP should be 5 years instead of 3 years;
2. that Bond Funds and Short Term Funds be added to the list of approved investment instruments;
3. that the external fund managers be given separate lending limits in addition to the in-house limits, as shown at Annex 7 of the report;
4. that 100% of the externally invested fund could be placed in Money Market funds, AAA rated Bond Funds and AAA rated Short Term Funds;
8. approve the adjustments to the capital programme as shown at paragraph 68 of the report.
   
   

53/06. ESTABLISHMENT MONITORING

(Agenda Item 6)

The Cabinet considered a report (CA6) which gave an update on activity since the implementation of the Establishment Review and associated Recruitment Approval process on 1 August 2005.

Councillor Howell expressed a wish that the relevant Head of Service should attend for any future monitoring report when a significant variation was reported in their service.

RESOLVED: to:

1. note the report;
2. confirm that through the further process improvements indicated in the report the Establishment Review continued to meet requirements in reporting and managing staffing numbers.
   
   

54/06. ANNUAL AUDIT AND INSPECTION LETTER 2004/05

(Agenda Item 7)

The Cabinet considered the Annual Audit & Inspection Letter 2004/05, issued by the Audit Commission/KPMG, together with the responses of the Audit Committee and Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee.

RESOLVED: to receive the Annual Audit and Inspection Letter.

55/06. TRANSPORT CAPITAL PROGRAMME

(Agenda Item 8)

The Cabinet considered a report (CA8) which provided details of the funding of schemes in the Transport Capital Programme 2006/07 for approval.

Councillor Johnston, speaking as Shadow Cabinet Member for Transport, expressed regret that it had been necessary to reduce the number of schemes that could be funded as part of the Transport Capital Programme as a result of the new government funding criteria. He stated that his Group would have prioritised other schemes, for example, cycle tracks. He commented that the Council’s project management processes could be improved further and asked if there was a system to ensure that the Council ceased to use those contractors and sub-contractors who had not delivered an acceptable standard of work.

Councillor Robertson stated that all contractors and sub- contractors for highway work would be employed within the framework of Oxfordshire Highways to ensure that appropriate standards were met and that those who failed to deliver would be required to redo the work at their own cost.

RESOLVED: to approve the 2006/07 Transport Capital Programme as set out in Annex 1 to the report.

56/06. HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE PROGRAMME 2006/07

(Agenda Item 9)

The Cabinet considered a report (CA9) which provided details of the activities proposed for inclusion in the Highway Maintenance Programme 2006/07 for approval.

Councillor Johnston, speaking as Shadow Cabinet Member for Transport, generally welcomed the report, highlighting the marked improvement in the condition of footways across the county. He expressed concern that it might be difficult for the Council to achieve completion of all the scheduled highway maintenance activities within the allocated budget and expressed concern about long term deterioration of the road network and the prospect of an increasing backlog in schemes which were justified by HAMP assessment.

Councillor Robertson outlined the Council’s many successes, commenting that the Council received very few compensation claims. He accepted that there was a considerable maintenance backlog, which would need to be addressed.

RESOLVED: to:

1. endorse the details of the 2006/07 Highway Maintenance programme as set out in Annex 2 of the report subject to confirmation of the capital funding for structural maintenance;
2. approve the Oxford City Council’s Section 42 estimate as modified and shown in Column B of Annex 3 of the report;
3. approve the Detailed Project Appraisals at Annex 5 of the report.
   
   

57/06. RAIL PROJECTS

(Agenda Item 10)

The Cabinet considered a report (CA10) which dealt with the County Council’s priorities for the development of rail services and facilities across Oxfordshire during 2006/07.

Councillor Johnston, speaking as Shadow Cabinet Member for Transport, stated that more money was needed from government for sustained, planned investment in rail. He urged the Cabinet to make representations to Network Rail and rail operating companies to press for such investment. In his view, provision of the East-West rail link was critical if the planned major developments in the region were to go ahead; that modest improvements on the Cotswold Line would do much to improve reliability; and that the resignalling of the lower Cherwell Valley and work towards securing a station at Wantage/Grove should be given high priority.

Councillor Patrick, speaking as a Local Member, expressed disappointment that work to secure the Wantage/Grove station re-opening was proposed for only a low priority in the report in view of the inclusion by the Cabinet of major growth at Grove in its submission on the draft South East Plan to SEERA.

Councillor Moley, speaking as a Local Member, stated that he supported the campaign by Ed Vaisey MP, which asked for better infrastructure and no more new housing in his constituency. He suggested that the Cabinet could back his call for infrastructure improvements to be provided in the area including re-opening of the Wantage/Grove station.

Councillor Robertson stated that the priority for the UK rail industry was to maintain the existing network and improve the reliability of existing train services, rather than expand the network through additional stations or services. He commented that Mr Saunders was the Council’s only Rail Development Officer and that, whilst he did an excellent job, the demands on his time needed to be limited. At present, there was no prospect of progress on the re-opening the Wantage/Grove station in the near future and it would not therefore be productive to require him to spend time in promoting it at this stage.

He referred to the award to the First Group of the Greater Western franchise, to start in April 2006, on the basis of proposals for substantial investment of £200m with the Department for Transport which would be spent on many projects across the franchise including better interchanges and stations. By working in partnership with the rail industry, neighbouring local authorities and other third party stakeholders, the Council would be able to ensure that the funding could be used to best effect.

Councillor Mitchell confirmed that the Council would continue to lobby the government for better investment in rail. He added that Mr Vaisey’s role was to represent his constituents, whereas the County Council was responsible for the whole of the County and the submission to SEERA had been formulated in that light. Councillor Shouler pointed out that the Cabinet in its submission to SEERA had stated that any new housing must be dependent on the appropriate infrastructure being provided.

RESOLVED: to:

1. note the progress of the key rail projects during the past year;
2. adopt the recommended priorities for and, where applicable, the recommended changes to, the proposed rail aspirations as indicated in the report;
3. note that an amount of £135,000 had been included for rail development in the 5-year LTP Capital Programme for 2006/07, agreed by Cabinet on 21 February 2006;
4. continue the allocation from the Public Transport Revenue Support budget of up to £30,000 for feasibility and other related work to take forward the County Council’s rail aspirations;
5. authorise the Head of Transport, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Transport, to determine how funding could be used to achieve the Council’s rail priorities and to make subsequent modifications if necessary.
   
   

58/06. RECONFIGURATION OF NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE STRUCTURES

(Agenda Item 11)

The Cabinet considered a report (CA11) on the reconfiguration of National Health Service Structures.

RESOLVED: to support the principle of a single Primary Care Trust for Oxfordshire, Option 2 for the Strategic Health Authority restructuring and the similar option for the Ambulance Trusts.

59/06. WHITE PAPER: HIGHER STANDARDS, BETTER SCHOOLS FOR ALL; EDUCATION AND INSPECTIONS BILL

(Agenda Item 12)

The Cabinet had before it a schedule recording the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee’s advice on the three motions referred by Council to the Cabinet via the Scrutiny Committee.

Councillor Fooks, as proposer of two of the motions, referred to the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee’s advice, commenting that education should help every child to fulfil their potential, the proposals would result in less democratic accountability, extending choice of schools would be meaningless in rural areas, the proposals concerning school admissions would work against the provision of good local schools for every child and that local authorities should be able to support school governors in improving schools experiencing difficulties rather than being encouraged to close them down.

Councillor Waine stated that he broadly welcomed the Bill, commenting that many of the initiatives were already in place. He proposed a basis for the advice to be given to the Council on behalf of the Cabinet, highlighting in particular the importance of parental responsibility; the role of ‘specialist diplomas’ in ensuring that non-academic children were also able to fulfil their potential; that the ‘choice’ aspects of the Bill were not necessarily relevant to rural areas; that control over funding should be returned to local authorities; and that admission arrangements needed to be seen as fair and transparent.

RESOLVED: to:

1. note the advice of the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee in relation to the three motions and forward the advice to the Council;
2. advise the Council that the Cabinet:
   
   

1. broadly supported the direction of the White Paper and the Education and Inspection Bill currently before Parliament, with the aim of improving schools for every child;
2. welcomed:
   
   

1. moves towards a mixed economy of schools that were available to offer parents real choice in large urban areas;
2. the intervention proposals;
3. the discipline proposals;
4. the proposals that underlined parental responsibility;
5. the strengthening of performance management;
6. the development of ‘specialist diplomas’ to  recognise vocational  education;
7. support for personalised learning;
   
   
3. was concerned that:
   
   

1. the ‘choice’ aspects of the Bill were city orientated and were not necessarily relevant to rural areas, where choice would not always be possible and where the financial costs of transport, and potentially the environmental costs also, would be high;
2. the Bill failed to address 16-19 funding issues and if the local authority was to have a truly strategic role then the Learning and Skills Council should be abolished;
3. the Bill contained real contradictions in respect of the local authority taking a strategic role;
   
   
4. accepted that, with diversity, the local authority’s role in admission arrangements would change, but considered that this did not prevent it fulfilling the role of being best placed to work with all schools to ensure fair admission policies and practice across the authority.
   
   

60/06. OXFORDSHIRE SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN BOARD

(Agenda Item 13)

The Cabinet considered a report (CA13) which set out the statutory responsibility of the County Council to establish a local Safeguarding Children Board, by 1 April 2006.

RESOLVED: to:

1. endorse the arrangements set out in the report for the establishment, from 1 April 2006, of the Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board;
2. authorise the Director for Children, Young People & Families, in consultation with the various partner bodies, to agree the detailed arrangements for the implementation of (a) above including, in consultation also with the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Families, formal terms of reference for the Board.
   
   

61/06. EDUCATION PROJECT APPRAISAL: BROOKSIDE PRIMARY SCHOOL, BICESTER REPLACEMENT OF 2 - STOREY BICESTER BUILDING AND CREATION OF CHILDREN’S CENTRE

(Agenda Item 14)

The Cabinet considered a Project Appraisal ED635 (CA12) which related to the replacement of the 2 storey 'Bicester' building at Brookside Primary School.

RESOLVED: to approve Detailed Project Appraisal ED635.

62/06. SCRUTINY REVIEW OF EMERGENCY PLANNING

(Agenda Item 15)

The Cabinet considered the Environment & Economy Scrutiny Committee’s review of the authority’s emergency planning processes, which had scrutinised the current level of readiness across the Council’s services. The executive summary and recommendations had been circulated with the agenda for the meeting (CA15).

Councillor Hudspeth elaborated upon the findings and recommendations of the review. He commented that the Review Panel had found the Emergency Planning Unit to be a highly professional, mobile unit, which could be accessed anywhere across the County. The Review Panel had been concerned about the resilience and testing of the cascade system, which took place during the daytime, so as to not inconvenience employees. However, the Panel wished the system to be tested at different times. He stated that the community’s potential to respond to an emergency needed to be improved and that the Council needed to focus on small disasters which were more common.

Councillor Jelf welcomed the Review and proposed a response to its recommendations, which is reproduced in Annex 1 to these minutes. The meeting gave particular attention to the Review’s suggestion that the Emergency Planning Unit should be relocated to County Hall, but concluded that this should not be pursued in view of the potential high risk of such a location in the event of an incident affecting central Oxford.

RESOLVED: to endorse the response at Annex 1 to these minutes, subject to the officers named in the response reporting on progress:

1. to the Cabinet Member for Community Safety; and
2. at such time as the Community Safety Scrutiny Committee wished to review the outcomes of the review, to that Committee.
   
   

63/06. LEARNING DISABILITY SERVICE PARTNERSHIP

(Agenda Item 16)

The Cabinet considered a report (CA16) which presented arrangements for the detailed implementation of agreements for lead commissioning and pooled budgets under Section 31 of the Health Act 1999 for services for people with a Learning Disability.

In response to concerns expressed by some members of the Cabinet, Mr Welch confirmed that there would be a formal monitoring and review process under the agreement and that reports would be brought forward through the monthly financial monitoring system via the Joint Management Group.

RESOLVED: to:

1. confirm the arrangements with the Oxfordshire PCTs, as outlined in the report and the report to the meeting on 6 December 2005, for lead commissioning and a pooled budget in relation to services for adults with a learning disability;
2. authorise completion of an agreement with the PCTs for the implementation of the arrangements, subject to the terms of such agreement being to the satisfaction of the Director for Social & Community Services and the County Solicitor in consultation with the relevant Cabinet Member.
   
   

64/06. PAY PROTECTION POLICY

(Agenda Item 17)

The Cabinet considered a report (CA17) on a revised pay protection policy for County Council employees.

RESOLVED: to agree the amended policy set out in Annex 1 to the report.

65/06. FORWARD PLAN AND FUTURE BUSINESS

(Agenda Item 18)

The Cabinet considered a list of items from the Forward Plan (CA18) for the immediately forthcoming meetings.

RESOLVED: to note:

1. the cancellation of the meeting on 5 April 2006;
2. the items currently identified for the 18 April meeting.

in the Chair

Date of signing 2006

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