Return to AgendaITEM CA3
CABINET
MINUTES of the meeting held on 18 September 2007 commencing at 2.00 pm and finishing at 4.30 pm
Present:
Voting Members: Councillor Keith R Mitchell – in the chair
Councillor Roger Belson Councillor Louise Chapman Councillor Jim Couchman Councillor Mrs J. Heathcoat Councillor John Howell Councillor Ian Hudspeth Councillor David Robertson Councillor C.H. Shouler Councillor Michael Waine
Other Members in Councillor Olive McIntosh-Stedman (for Agenda Item 9) Attendance: Councillor Terry Joslin (for Agenda item 21) Councillor Patrick Greene (for Agenda item 21)
Officers:
Whole of meeting: A.R. Cloke (Legal & Democratic Services)
Part of meeting:
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/additional documents, copies of which are attached to the signed Minutes.
108/07 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence were received from Councillor
109/07 DECLARATION OF INTEREST
Councillor Mitchell declared a personal interest in relation to Agenda Item 22 on the grounds that he was Council’s representative on the South East of England Regional Assembly.
110/07 MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting held on 17 July 2007 were approved and signed subject to the following amendment:
In relation to Minute 101/02, insert after the first bullet point: “(There should be few if any issues given that all the designated children would be in school the term before.)”
111/07 PETITIONS AND PUBLIC ADDRESS
There were no requests to address the meeting.
112/07 FINANCIAL MONITORING (Agenda Item 5)
The Cabinet considered a report (CA5) which covered the period up to the end of July 2007 for both revenue and capital. Changes to the forecast outturn were reported against the position at the end of May, as previously reported to the Cabinet and significant variations highlighted.
The Directorate in-year overspend for 2007/08 was predicted to be £1.672 which, when the City Schools reorganisation overspend of £1.957m (repayment planned over a number of years) and the Schools Transport days variation of £0.494m were included, produced the overall overspend of £4.123m.
The year-end forecast position of General balances at the end of July was £22.499m. Allowing for a further allocation of £1.323m of Performance Reward Grant, together with the supplementary estimate of £0.159m requested in this report (paragraph 23), implied a revised year-end forecast for General Balances of £21.017m. When taken with the forecast Directorate in-year overspend of £1.672m and the Transport days 2007/08 variation of £0.494m, this gave a consolidated balances forecast for the year-end of £18.850m.
RESOLVED: to:
(a) note the report;
(b) approve the virements as set out in Annex 2a (paragraph 31);
(c) approve the £0.159m supplementary estimate to Environment & Economy for the Flood Defence Levy (paragraph 23);
(d) approve the write off of £0.081m bad debt in Social & Community Services (paragraph 33); and
(e) approve the changes to the capital programme as set out in paragraphs 46 to 59.
113/07 SERVICE & RESOURCE PLANNING 2008/09 TO 2012/13 (Agenda Item 6)
The Cabinet considered a report (CA6) which was the first in a series on the service and resource planning process for 2008/09 to 2012/13, providing Members with information on the budget issues for 2008/09 and the medium term. Councillor Shouler reminded Cabinet Members that this report (CA6) should be placed into the folder provided and would, along with others in due course, eventually provide information for the Cabinet to recommend a budget requirement and Council Tax for 2008/09 to the Council in February 2008.
The report set out estimated funding and planned expenditure for 2008/09 and the assumptions on which these were based. It outlined the budget issues emerging for 2008/09 and beyond for both revenue and capital expenditure. The report also set out the proposals from the County Council Management Team for managing the service and resource planning process for 2008/09 including a timetable of events.
Councillor Shouler stated that he would, for budget planning purposes, prefer to see two- or three-year settlements for public sector pay and he confirmed that the Council did not have any deposits with Northern Rock plc. He thanked Lorna Baxter and her team for their work on the service and resource planning process.
RESOLVED: to:
(a) note the report;
(b) approve the Service and Resource Planning Process for 2008/09; and
(c) ask the Capital Steering Group to consider the outstanding capital needs and potential funding sources and make recommendations to Cabinet in January 2008.
114/07 ACTIVE FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEMS IN SCHOOLS (Agenda Item 7)
The Director for Community Safety and Chief Fire Officer thanked the Cabinet Members for Schools Improvement and Community Safety for their work on this subject. He reminded the Cabinet that it had agreed the following actions at its meeting on 19 September 2006:
· To review the current fire safety strategy developed by Property Services and the Fire and Rescue Service for all County Council buildings. · To develop a “Fire Suppression and Alarm Systems Risk Assessment” as part of the new fire safety strategy process. This will require that a risk assessment is carried out in the very early design stages of a project to determine whether sprinklers would be appropriate and the level of fire alarm and detection systems required. The risk assessment process would take into account such issues as the social and economic consequences of a fire for both the school and the wider community, storage of materials, public access to the site, vulnerability of the construction to fire, security measures at the site, history of vandalism and arson, local socio-demographic factors, and access for the Fire and Rescue Service. · In conjunction with Children Young People & Families Directorate (CYP&F) provide guidance to schools recommending the use of the Fire Safety Strategy when carrying out major refurbishments or new building projects using self finance or devolved capital funding. The guidance will also include a recommendation that schools review their current fire alarm and detection systems in existing buildings and to consider fitting, using delegated funding, an automatic link to an alarm receiving centre which alerts the Fire and Rescue Service. · Establish a working group involving Property Services, the Fire and Rescue Service, CYP&F and the County Council’s insurers to agree the standard of sprinkler installation where the process indicates that sprinklers are required in schools and to investigate the use of mist systems in the protection of high risk areas and life safety issues.
The Cabinet considered a report (CA7) which recommended that new schools, or those which underwent a major refurbishment, should be risk assessed. This would establish if a school was high, medium or low risk and determine if a sprinkler system was necessary. It was the Government’s expectation that only schools identified as low risk would not require sprinklers to be fitted.
All existing schools were to be risk assessed and a report detailing appropriate fire safety measures is to be drawn up. Councillor Waine reported that this was not a cheap option, in fact it would be extremely expensive; it would be done gradually, however. In answer to a question, the Director for Community Safety and Chief Fire Officer reported that the 1100 hours reduction referred to at paragraph 9 of the report would be achieved by extending the reassessment period for medium risk premises.
RESOLVED: to direct that:
(a) all new County Council schools and major refurbishments are risk assessed by an experienced Fire Safety Officer;
(b) all new County Council schools and major refurbishments, other than those categorised as low risk, must be fitted with an active fire suppression system;
(c) all existing primary schools (including special schools) be risk assessed by an experienced Fire Safety Officer based on a programme co-ordinated with the Primary Review;
(d) all existing secondary schools (including special schools) be risk assessed by an experienced Fire Safety Officer; and
(e) the outcome of those risk assessments be compiled into a report and brought back to Cabinet for further consideration.
115/07 FLOODING RECOVERY (Agenda Item 8)
The Cabinet considered a report (CA8) which outlined the impact that the July flooding had on the people and businesses in Oxfordshire, the arrangements that were made as a consequence, the cost of the flooding to the County Council and the longer-term flooding issues in the county.
Councillor Mitchell drew attention the written statement from Councillor Zoé Patrick, the Leader of the Opposition who could not be present. He added that the number of properties affected was changing all the time as new victims of the flooding came to light; for instance, the figure in the Vale of White Horse District Council area had increased from 570 (the figure in the report) to 770, giving a new total for Oxfordshire of 2,660 properties where water had entered a habitable part of the house. The remedial highways and bridges works were estimated to amount to 15% of the current capital programme, and this money needed to be found from somewhere, although he stressed the need for Government to reimburse local authorities for all expenditure and not just that over a threshold.
The Leader of the Council then referred to the tremendous community spirit that had been evident. This was echoed by the Chief Executive who reminded Cabinet that the Chairman of the Council was hosting a reception on 26 September for those Council employees and fire-fighters who had helped during the recent flooding; the Cabinet wished to express their thanks to all the district and County Council staff involved.
The Cabinet advised the Environment and Economy Scrutiny Committee that the scope of its Review should include the offer to district councils in Oxfordshire to participate; the Review should also examine future flood prevention measures as well as the response to the recent flooding.
RESOLVED: to:
(a) thank the emergency services and other Council staff for their dedication to both their job and helping the people of Oxfordshire following the July floods;
(b) note that recovery has now moved to business as usual;
(c) instruct the Head of Finance & Procurement to pursue re-imbursement by the Government of the costs incurred by this council as a consequence of the floods;
(d) note that officers are pursing longer term issues with the other councils in Oxfordshire and the Environment Agency and receive a report back in due course; and
(e) note that Sir Michael Pitt has been commissioned to undertake a national review of the response to the floods on behalf of the Government and instruct officers to contribute to this.
116/07 PEERS SCHOOL, LITTLEMORE : CREATION OF AN ACADEMY (Agenda Item 9)
The Cabinet considered a report (CA9) asking setting out the reasons for the proposals for the school to become an Academy and the main steps that have been taken to consult informally on the proposals, and the Cabinet was asked to consider publishing statutory notices for the closure of Peers School.
This would enable the Secretary of State to give approval to the business case for creating an Academy to replace Peers School and to sign the appropriate funding agreements. The report outlined the reasons for the proposals for the school to become and Academy to replace Peers School and to sign the appropriate funding agreements. Details of the outcome of the consultation and how future consultation will take place, should the Cabinet decide to proceed, are also outlined in the report.
Councillor McIntosh-Stedman spoke in support of the proposal on behalf of many of the residents in her Division. She had attended the consultation meetings, and had also read the brochure that had been circulated. In short, she had faith in the proposal for an Academy and supported the closure of Peers School and the issuing of a formal notice to this effect.
Councillor Waine reported that there had been good attendance at the four public consultation meetings. Like Councillor Chapman, he believed that doing nothing was not an option: there were good quality and new primary schools feeding pupils into a poor secondary school; a new Academy was the only sensible option. He congratulated the relatively new Head Teacher on the recent improved performance and examination results, but added this was not enough to secure the future of the school considering the current state of the buildings, etc. and so he supported the proposal for an Academy.
Councillor Mitchell referred to the South East Plan Panel Report, to be considered later on the agenda, and the proposal to build up to 4,000 new homes on the land off Grenoble Road, Oxford. He considered it was worthwhile pursuing the current proposal on the Peers School site, rather than wait to see what transpired in respect of that site.
RESOLVED: to proceed with the proposal to close Peers School, conditional upon the creation of the Academy in its place, and issue the appropriate statutory notices.
117/07 CONSULTATION ON FORMULA GRANT DISTRIBUTION (Agenda Item 10)
The Department for Communities and Local Government Department had issued a consultation paper in July about possible approaches to be used when distributing formula grant in the next three years - 2008/09, 2009/10 and 2010/11. These were the three years covered by the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review, which should be issued sometime in the period 8 - 18 October 2007.
Formula grant distribution is a complex issue and it had become even more so following the introduction of what is called the 'four block' distribution model in 2006/07.
In 2007/08 the Council received a formula grant of £92.261m, of which £6.775m was 'damping grant'. Thus the underlying formula grant figure was only £85.486m. In the longer term, the formula grant might be expected to increase only at the minimum levels chosen by Ministers. This would continue until the additional support received from the damping grant was removed.
The consultation paper asked 30 questions about various possible changes to the formula grant distribution system. Most proposals would affect the County Council’s underlying grant figure rather than the grant after damping. Thus they might not affect the actual grant payments during the next three years. However, they could undermine or improve the underlying grant figure and this would delay or bring forward the time at which the Council no longer relied on damping grant.
The Cabinet considered a report explaining the proposed changes in more detail, as well as suggested responses to the 30 questions at Annex 2. The Council had been asked to respond to the consultation by 10 October 2007. The formula grant figures for the next three years will be announced for consultation in November or December 2007, and a final figure for 2008/09 should appear in January 2008.
A supplementary report had been circulated after the agenda despatch, but before the meeting, amending the responses to some questions (as set out below).
Question 2 – change the response of ‘Yes’ to ‘No’ (so we favour removal of the floor for Children’s services).
Also delete the extensive comments in the following ‘Any further comments’ section
Question 3 – change the response to ‘Immediately’.
Question 4 – change the response of ‘Yes’ to ‘No’ (so we favour the removal of the floor for Younger Adults services).
Also retain the comments in the following ‘Any further comments’ section about the inadequacy of our relative needs share for Younger Adults. Thus keep the first and second paragraphs, apart from the last sentence of the first paragraph. Delete the third and fourth paragraphs.
Question 5 – change the response to ‘Immediately’.
RESOLVED: to approve the response to the formula grant consultation set out in Annex 2 (amended as shown above), and delegate authority to the Cabinet Member for Finance to approve any changes necessary as a result of new information or understanding.
118/07 SCHOOLS BUSINESS SYSTEMS (SAP) PROJECT (Agenda Item 11)
The Cabinet considered a report (CA11) setting out the history of this project and making recommendations about the way forward.
The Schools Business Systems Project had been established in 2005, growing out of the Council’s work on SAP revitalisation. One of the Project’s aims was to pilot the use of SAP in schools. This was with a view to delivering improved financial management both for schools and for the Council as a whole.
In the light of the work of the pilot, the benefits of using SAP for financial and business management were considered significant and were set out in the final Evaluation Report on the Project (Annex 1).
On this basis, it was considered that the time was right for the Council to move forwards full integration of schools’ financial systems with those of the Council. This would be achieved by introducing SAP into all schools in Oxfordshire in two main phases in 2008-09 and 2009-10.
Phase 1 of the roll-out could be achieved at no additional cost to the Council using unspent monies already voted for the SAP Schools Pilot Project. For Phase 2, the additional one-off rollout costs were estimated at £500k (including a small contingency sum) over two financial years, 2008-09 and 2009-2010. Once each phase of the roll-out was completed, the provision of SAP support in the schools concerned would become self-financing through financial contributions from the participating schools.
Councillor Howell drew attention to the report from the Schools Forum set out in the Schedule of Addenda, and their particular concerns about the implementation timetable; he believed a two year roll-out was both appropriate and achievable. He added that the Staffordshire County Council approach had been effective, i.e. end the pilot and push on with the roll-out.
Councillor Waine stated that it was time to give a lead and move away from two systems; the pilot had demonstrated the benefits, both financial and otherwise.
RESOLVED: to:
(a) agree that the SAP schools pilot project be brought to a close; and
(b) agree that an accelerated roll-out project of SAP into schools should be created on the basis set out in this report, subject to the agreement and appropriate sign-off of the PID.
119/07 PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT : FIRST QUARTER REPORT PROGRESS AGAINST PRIORITIES AND TARGETS (Agenda Item 12)
The Cabinet had before them the quarterly report (CA12) which showed performance against the key targets contained in the Council's Balanced Scorecard at the end of the first quarter of 2007/8. The report was presented in a new format to provide a clear and easily understood summary of areas of concern. The report also identified performance against each priority target using a traffic light system to show progress within four blocks: customers, finance, process and people.
Councillor Howell reported that the approach to performance the Cabinet had introduced encouraged ownership, management and accountability for performance; this was complemented by corporate de-cluttering through the Change Management programme.
RESOLVED: to note the report.
120/07 ESTABLISHMENT REVIEW (Agenda Item 13)
The Cabinet considered a report (CA13) which gave an update on activity since the implementation of the new Establishment Review and associated Recruitment Approval process on 1 August 2005. It provided detail on the overall objectives of the review and summarised progress made against the targets which were agreed to ensure delivery of those objectives. Details of the agreed establishment figure at 30 June 2007 in terms of Full Time Equivalents was provided, together with the detailed staffing position at 30 June 2007, shown in the report by Directorate and Service area.
The report also provided information on current activity and in addition there is information on grant funded posts and those vacancies which were being covered by agency staff and at what cost.
Councillor Howell reported that the Establishment Review was part of the policy and philosophy of the current administration that managers needed to manage on the basis of proper management information and not just by instinct.
RESOLVED: to:
(a) note the report; and
(b) confirm that the Establishment Review continues to meet requirements in reporting and managing staffing numbers.
121/07 VALUE FOR MONEY STRATEGY (Agenda Item 14)
Councillor Howell drew attention the written statement from Councillor Zoé Patrick, the Leader of the Opposition who could not be present.
The Cabinet considered a report (CA14) which introduced a proposed unified strategy for Value for Money. The draft plan has been considered and approved by the County Council Management Team.
A shared understanding of why value for money is important in driving this key focus of the vision for Oxfordshire.
This strategy put Value for Money into the context of what it meant for Oxfordshire, what the desired outcomes of implementing this strategy were, and the means by which they would be achieved. The outcomes were set out as clear aims that demonstrated the commitment to deliver excellent services to the people of Oxfordshire. The seven key processes by which the Council would achieve this value for money were then set out in detail, with each showing how the Council would use them and linked back to detailed processes already in place.
RESOLVED: to approve the Value for Money Strategy.
122/07 COMMISSION ON INTEGRATION AND COHESION (Agenda Item 15)
The Commission on Integration and Cohesion was established by Government as a fixed term advisory body charged with considering how local areas could make the most of the benefits delivered by increasing diversity and how they could respond to the tensions it can sometimes cause. The Commission’s final report, “Our Shared Future”, had been published on 14 June 2007, with the aim of offering practical approaches that build communities’ own capacity to prevent problems, including those caused by segregation and the dissemination of extremist ideologies. The final report provided a definition of cohesion and integration and the key principles that the Commission believed underpin the definition.
The Cabinet considered a report (CA15) which summarised the Commission's main recommendations and how the County Council was addressing the issues raised.
RESOLVED: to note the summary of the recommendations in the Commission on Integration and Cohesion’s report and endorse the County Council’s approach to addressing the issues raised.
123/07 ICT SERVICES - FUNDAMENTAL REVIEW 2007 (Agenda Item 16)
The Cabinet considered a report (CA16) which described:
(1) The outcomes of the Joint Scrutiny/Fundamental Review of ICT Services which took place in the period January - July 2007
(2) The Action Plan to address the development themes that emerged from the Review which were agreed by the Fundamental Review Board and endorsed by Change Management Board and by Corporate Scrutiny in July
(3) The proposal for an enhanced ICT Strategy Group to manage the Action Plan and to develop and promote corporate ICT Strategy in support of Change Aim 6:
The Cabinet was asked to endorse the ICT Action Plan which had a number of corporate, cross-cutting strategic themes; it was also asked to consider the proposal for changes to the membership and remit of the ICT Strategy Group.
Councillor Howell reminded colleagues that this was a ground-breaking review, in that it was the first review conducted jointly with a Scrutiny Committee. It had involved external consultants who had extensive experience in the public and private sectors.
RESOLVED: to:
(a) congratulate ICT Services on the outcome of the FSR;
(b) note the conclusions of the FSR; and
(c) endorse the priorities and identified areas for future development.
124/07 PARTNERSHIP WORKING STRATEGY (Agenda Item 17)
Councillor Mitchell reminded colleagues that local service delivery was now provided by a wide range of statutory, independent, private and voluntary sector organisations and that the Council, therefore, needed to work closely with its partners in order to deliver better outcomes and value for money for local people.
This meant working effectively at a regional and county level with the police, healthcare providers, Learning and Skills Council and other public agencies – and equally – at the local level with district, town and parish councils.
The Partnership Strategy set out the County Council’s framework for partnership working. It included:
· Why we work in partnership and our principles for partnership working. · Strategic Partnership working: The Oxfordshire Partnership and Local Area Agreement. · Our thematic county-level statutory partnerships. For example. The Children and Young People’s Partnership. · Non statutory thematic county-level partnerships. For example: the Waste Partnership. · Partnership working at the local level. · Involvement of elected members in partnerships and the role of Scrutiny. · Accountability and equality. · Risk and performance management.
Councillor Mitchell added that the approved strategy should be sent to the five Oxfordshire district councils so they could see how the County Council will work in partnership with them.
RESOLVED: to adopt the Partnership Strategy.
125/07 CLOSER TO COMMUNITIES (Agenda Item 18)
Councillor Mitchell pointed out that Oxfordshire communities were diverse in scale and character and the urban/rural nature of the county needed to be reflected in the Council’s service strategies and operational practice. In addition it was recognised that we live in an ever changing world and that communities would need to adapt and change in order to survive. The County Council had a key role in helping local communities to adapt and change as well as in ensuring that services reflect local needs and were accessible.
The Government had also recognised that ‘top down’ approaches to problem solving were not always the most effective solution and, in the recent White Paper, there had been strong emphasis on the need for local authorities to have more freedom to support and encourage local place shaping: in other words helping local communities to shape their own future by getting involved in projects which would sustain thriving and cohesive villages, towns and our city, for the 21st century.
In essence the County Council had three roles:
· To shape service delivery to reflect local needs · To support local community planning · To provide leadership in major development and regeneration
Although the County Council was already fulfilling these roles in many ways, the Cabinet were asked to consider a report (CA18), the purpose of which was to sharpen the focus for the Council’s work with local communities and to provide better information for local Members who lead much of the work with local communities.
RESOLVED: to:
(a) endorse the extension of information mapping for Oxfordshire’s natural communities;
(b) approve the priority list of development/regeneration projects set out in paragraph 22 of the report;
(c) consider Member support arrangements in Autumn 2007; and
(d) review overall progress and next steps in Autumn 2008.
126/07 THE GOVERNANCE OF BRITAIN: THE GOVERNMENT’S DRAFT LEGISLATIVE PROGRAMME (Agenda Item 19)
The Government had published a document, "The Governance of Britain", in July containing its proposals for constitutional reform and the draft legislative programme.
The proposals were aimed at stronger accountability of the Government to Parliament, greater engagement between Parliament and the people, greater engagement between the Government and the people and strong Cabinet government. The change in the way the legislative programme is planned marks a step forward in all of these respects.
One of the key elements of the work of Parliament is to consider legislation put before it by the Government. Most of the Government’s legislative programme was announced each year in the Queen’s Speech, and was approved by Her Majesty the Queen following a closely guarded process in which individual departments proposed bills to be introduced and a Cabinet Committee took forward a process which saw bills discussed, costed and drafted. All this was done behind closed doors and the result was that Parliament did not have prior sight of what will take up much of its time.
The County Council's Management Team and other officers had taken the opportunity to consider the Bills in the draft legislative programme and a summary of implications for the County Council was provided in the report (CA19) which the Cabinet considered.
Councillor Mitchell endorsed the approach taken in publishing the draft legislative programme which would allow a coherent and co-ordinated response rather than the previous random ad hoc approach.
RESOLVED: to authorise the Leader of the Council to respond to the Government’s Consultation on its Draft Legislative Programme 2008/09 with copies to Oxfordshire MPs and the Local Government Association as follows:
a. Children in Care Bill: to reflect the issues in the briefing paper, particularly the inadequacy of funding for these radical proposals; b. Constitutional Reform Bill: to reflect the issues in Annex 2 to the briefing paper; c. Crossrail Bill: to reflect the concerns about track capacity; d. Education and Skills Bill: ensure it is easier to direct young people into appropriate education or skills-based training, but not by increasing the mandatory school leaving age; e. Health and Social Care Bill: to reflect the concerns in the briefing paper.
127/07 PRIMARY SCHOOL PROVISION IN SOUTH-WEST BICESTER (Agenda Item 20)
Councillor Waine informed colleagues that funding and a site for a new 14-class primary school was likely to be secured through a section 106 agreement linked to a new 1,565 housing estate in Bicester. Although the responsibility for consultation lay with the governors as it was a voluntary aided school, he asked the Cabinet to support an informal consultation led by the governors of St Edburg's School. A proposal has been developed between the governors, the Oxford Diocese and County Council officers to relocate the school to the new estate.
The Cabinet considered a report (CA20) which set out the benefits of this approach and the implications for neighbouring schools.
RESOLVED: to support the informal consultation to be undertaken by the governing body of St Edburg’s school on the relocation of the school to South-West Bicester.
128/07 PLANNING OBLIGATIONS (DEVELOPER CONTRIBUTIONS) - SCRUTINY REVIEW (Agenda Item 21)
Councillor Belson reminded colleagues that planning obligations (made usually under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990) were legal commitments made by developers to provide on or off site works and/or funding for infrastructure such as roads, schools, or libraries which were necessary to meet needs arising from a new development proposal. Planning obligations were usually required to be completed before the grant of planning permission to secure the provision of the infrastructure required in consequence of the development.
Significant planned new growth in Oxfordshire for the coming 20 or so years means that demands on Council services will grow. This will make the securing of funding from all appropriate sources even more important in the future. Already much of the Council’s capital programme is heavily reliant on developer funding.
The Environment and Economy Scrutiny Committee has conducted a review of the effectiveness of the way in which the planning obligations system is used by the County Council. This has been conducted over a period of about a year, has involved interviews with a wide range of internal and external customers together with assessment of current and emerging government policy.
The Cabinet had before them a report (CA21) which considered the Scrutiny Committee's report, and made recommendations to the Cabinet, including the adoption of an action plan and increasing the resources devoted to work on planning obligations.
Councillor Joslin addressed the Cabinet as a member of the Review Panel. He explained that the Review Panel had started out with one overriding goal, which was to bring the developer contributions process out into the open and achieve a higher degree of transparency, particularly for the benefit of elected members who are ultimately responsible for managing the very large sums of money raised.
It was the Panel’s aim that the developers should be beneficiaries of this report, knowing clearly what was expected of them and having a set of ground-rules to work by, agreed by both sides in advance. At the other end of the scale, the Panel felt it was equally important that the ‘customers’ know what was being done on their behalf.
He added that the Panel was pleased the Cabinet seemed to have accepted the review report in the main and that implementation would take place fairly rapidly. He thanked the Review Panel for their contributions and their time – Councillors Patrick Greene, Anne Purse and Norman Bolster have all made knowledgeable and valuable contributions to the final report – and also the Review Officer, Matt Bramall.
Councillor Greene endorsed Councillor Joslin’s comments and was pleased to note that the responses from the Head of Sustainable Development reflected the review’s recommendations.
RESOLVED: to:
(a) thank the Environment & Economy Scrutiny Review Committee for their report and the significant work behind it;
(b) agree the action plan set out in Annex 2 to the report;
(c) agree to consider, as part of the Service & Resource Planning process, the need to invest £170k in the Developer Funding Teams from 2008/9 to meet the requirements identified under Recommendation 4 above. In addition, officers should continue to explore the scope for meeting as large a proportion of this as possible from developer contributions; and,
(d) agree to consider the need to invest and fund the additional staffing in Property Services and CYP&F Directorate required to ensure the delivery of the required projects resulting from planning obligations be identified as part of the Service & Resource Planning process for 2008/09.
129/07 HOUSING GREEN PAPER: “HOMES FOR THE FUTURE: MORE AFFORDABLE, MORE SUSTAINABLE” AND SOUTH EAST PLAN PANEL REPORT (Agenda Item 22)
Councillor Belson reported that the Government had published a Green Paper entitled ‘Home for the Future: More Affordable, More Sustainable”, and that comments on the Green Paper were invited by 15 October 2007.
The Cabinet considered a report (CA22) which outlined the main points in the Green Paper and the recommended response to it.
The Government had also published the Panel report on the Examination of the draft South East Plan and the report (CA22) also outlined the main points which related to Oxfordshire and recommended an initial response to them, pending the publication of the Government’s formal response and proposed modifications to the draft South East Plan that is expected early next year.
RESOLVED: to:
(a) endorse the comments in paragraphs 11 to 24 as the County Council’s comments on the Green Paper “Homes for the Future: more affordable, more sustainable” and the initial response to the Panel report on the draft South East Plan; and, (b) authorise the Leader of the Council to write to the Secretary of State:
(1) Drawing attention to the apparent factual error in the Panel Report concerning the Special Development Area in the Central Oxfordshire Sub-Region. It is clear that the area referred to is land to the south of Grenoble Road. The Inspectors state that “the boundary between Oxford City and South Oxfordshire runs through the area immediately to the south of the City and it is therefore vital that the RSS gives a clear steer to the need for joint working”. This land is wholly within the boundaries of South Oxfordshire District Council and the Inspectors appear to have misunderstood the location of the boundary; (2) In addition, setting out this Council’s position on location of 4,000 dwellings in the Green Belt south of Grenoble Road in the following terms: (i) Oxford City Council has included a preferred option in their draft LDF core strategy to provide 11,000 dwellings within Oxford (4,000 more than in the draft SE plan). This, together with evidence that the City normally exceeds planned numbers, suggests many more houses might be built in the city than Panel have assumed; (ii) The site is wholly in South Oxfordshire which will have a claim on any affordable housing that is provided; (iii) There are concerns about the transport impact of the proposal. Although the Inspectors express a strong preference for the southern edge of the City, the Panel accept that access is poor and more detailed transport impact appraisal would have to be undertaken in subsequent work. The site is remote from centres of employment and there is a danger this site will attract commuters to London, Reading or other employment centres, placing further pressure on an already highly congested road network; (iv) There are questions of how much affordable housing might realistically be provided against competing demands for infrastructure. There is still a major funding issue to be addressed; and, (v) The proposed site is in the Green Belt. This Council is opposed to any breaches in the Green Belt around Oxford. The Housing Green Paper says Government is committed to the principles of the green belt and will make no fundamental changes to green belt policy. The Council calls on the Secretary of State to honour the pledge given by the Prime Minister.
130/07 FORWARD PLAN AND FUTURE BUSINESS(Agenda Item 23)
The Cabinet considered a list of items (CA23) for the immediately forthcoming meetings of the Cabinet.
RESOLVED: to note the items currently identified for forthcoming meetings.
................................................................................... in the Chair
Date of signing.................................................................. 2007
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