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ITEM CA3

 

CABINET

 

MINUTES of the meeting held on 16 October 2007 commencing at 2.00 pm and finishing at 3.25 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 Carol Viney (for Agenda Item 10)

Attendance:                   Councillor Alan Armitage (for Agenda Item 10)

                                          Councillor Anne Purse (for Agenda Item 11)

                                          Councillor Bob Johnston (for Agenda Item 11)

 

 

Officers:

 

Whole of meeting:           M. Bayliss and G. Warrington (Legal & Democratic Services)

 

Part of meeting:

 

Agenda Item	Officer Attending
5	L. Baxter & M. Petty (Finance & Procurement)
6	M. Tailby (Environment & Economy)
8	M. Mill (Children, Young People & Families)
9	S. Adams (Children, Young People & Families)
11	G. Beekmeyer (Environment & Economy)

 

 

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.

 

 

131/07    MINUTES

 

The Minutes of the meeting held on 18 September 2007 were approved and signed.

 

132/07    PETITIONS AND PUBLIC ADDRESS

 

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

 

Request from	Agenda Item
Dr Linda Hulin	9 - Post 16 Special Educational Needs Provision

 

133/07    FINANCIAL MONITORING

(Agenda Item 5)

 

The Cabinet considered a report (CA5) which covered the period ended 31 August 2007 for both revenue and capital and reported changes to the forecast revenue outturn against the position at the end of July 2007.

 

The Cabinet congratulated Sue Scane on her appointment as Assistant Chief Executive & Chief Finance Officer.  

 

RESOLVED:         to:

 

(a)         note the report;

 

(b)         approve the virements as set out in Annex 2a of the report;

 

(c)         approve the changes to the capital programme; and,

 

(d)         recommend Council to:

 

(i)                 establish a fund of £100K from the additional LABGI allocation of £340K to assist in welcoming/supporting returning military personnel to Oxfordshire from serving abroad and their families;

 

(ii)               authorise the Leader of the Council, Cabinet Member for Finance and the Assistant Chief Executive & Chief Finance Officer to approve applications for contributions to projects; and

 

(iii)             consider at its meeting in January 2008 recommendations from the Cabinet for the allocation of the remaining LABGI money.

 

134/07    REPORT ON THE PERFORMANCE OF THE PROPERTY PORTFOLIO

(Agenda Item 6)

 

The Cabinet considered the annual report (CA6) detailing the performance of the Council’s property portfolio through April 2006 to March 2007.

 

RESOLVED:

 

(a)          to note the report and request that benchmarking information and targets be provided in the Corporate Asset Management Plan for 2008-09; and,

 

(b)          that fitness for purpose surveys be undertaken every three years instead of annually, with an annual assessment of progress.

 

135/07     REVIEW OF DELEGATION TO CABINET MEMBERS

(Agenda Item 7)

 

The Cabinet considered a report (CA7) which examined the first 13 months of operation of the discharge of executive functions by way of a general delegation to Cabinet Members and proposed that the current scheme be continued. The report also examined the first 6 months of operation of the Transport Decisions Committee and, following changes to the portfolios of the relevant Cabinet Members, recommended that the Committee be wound up and its functions brought into the existing arrangements and discharged by the Cabinet Member for Transport.

 

RESOLVED:         to:

 

(a)          confirm the existing arrangements for the discharge by individual Cabinet Members of executive functions;

 

(b)          wind up the Transport Decisions Committee with effect from 1 November and authorise that the discharge of its functions be exercised by the Cabinet Member for Transport;

 

(c)          authorise the Assistant Head of Service (Democratic) to take all necessary steps to bring the arrangement at (b) into effect from that date, including:

 

(i)                 the setting of provisional dates and venues for decision meetings, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Transport and the Director for Environment & Economy;

 

(ii)               making the arrangements known to other members and to officers; and,

 

(iii)             review the working of the arrangements when they have been in operation for a further year, subject to any detailed adjustments that may appear desirable in the interim.

 

136/07     PROVISION OF ADDITIONAL SECONDARY PUPIL PLACES IN BICESTER

(Agenda Item 8)

 

The Cabinet considered a report (CA8) summarising the findings of a public consultation on the provision of additional secondary school places in Bicester.

 

RESOLVED:         to:

 

(a)          adopt Option C as the preferred option by which to respond to and meet the future needs for education in Bicester;

 

(b)          instruct officers to carry out further work on feasibility, management,  governance and pastoral care for Option C and report back; and,

 

(c)          authorise Officers to complete negotiations with developers to secure a sufficient and appropriate site to meet the needs of the selected option and any possible future expansion and report back on the potential implications in terms of timeline and costs of the preferred option.

 

137/07     POST 16 SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS PROVISION

(Agenda Item 9)

 

The Cabinet considered a report (CA9) on updated proposals for a more flexible approach to Post 16 Special Educational Needs Provision in Oxfordshire.

 

Dr Linda Hulin (representing CHOICE, a parent group) opposed any continuation of the interim model. The aim was to end a discriminative practice against a vulnerable group. She urged that the Cabinet agree to offer real educational choice to Post 16 people requiring Special Educational Needs.

 

Councillor Waine broadly agreed with the comments made by Dr Hulin and stated that a more flexible approach would be taken in future. He acknowledged the importance of consultation and would ensure that this was undertaken comprehensively and suggested that confirmation should be sought from the Learning & Skills Council regarding funding arrangements for Post 16 Special Education Needs provision.

 

RESOLVED:         to:

 

(a)          consult widely on the range of possible options set out in options (b) and (c) of paragraph 13 of the report;

 

(b)          request a further report on the outcome of the consultation in January 2008; and,

 

(c)          ask the Leader of the Council to write a letter to the Learning & Skills Council requesting confirmation of funding arrangements for Post 16 Special Education Needs provision in Oxfordshire.

 

138/07     NEIGHBOURHOOD ACTION GROUPS (NAGS)

(Agenda Item 10)

 

On 2 July the Community Safety Scrutiny Committee had conducted a select committee investigation into the County’s Neighbourhood Action Groups (NAGs). The Cabinet now considered (CA10), the recommendations of the Scrutiny Committee with regard to County Councillor involvement, governance arrangements, communication, managing demand, disseminating information and sharing best practice, performance monitoring and resources.

 

Speaking on behalf of Councillor Altaf-Khan, Councillor Armitage considered that the Scrutiny Review had been flawed and over-complex and he urged the Cabinet to refer the Review back to the panel with a substantially reduced number of recommendations. He asked for clarification on how the County Council could contribute to the work of the Neighbourhood Action Groups.

 

Councillor Heathcoat responded that part of the issue had been that Thames Valley Police had wider responsibilities outside the boundaries of Oxfordshire. The review found that communication between Neighbourhood Action Groups and the Police was generally good but the Police had felt that several of the Reviews’ recommendations were too prescriptive. She suggested that the Community Safety Scrutiny Committee review this topic in 12 months’ time.

 

RESOLVED:         to:

 

(a)          agree the recommendations of the Community Safety Scrutiny Committee regarding how Oxfordshire County Council and County Councillors could best engage with the County’s Neighbourhood Action Groups;

 

(b)          urge the Police Authority to request that there was a full cohort of police resources for NAGs in place to help to ensure that NAGs in Oxfordshire were robustly supported and that there was no downgrading of funding priorities for Neighbourhood Action Groups in future; and,

 

(c)          request that the Community Safety Scrutiny Committee review the progress and implementation of the review in 12 months’ time.

 

139/07     PARTIAL REVIEW OF THE SOUTH EAST PLAN – PROVISION OF CARAVAN SITES FOR GYPSIES AND TRAVELLERS

(Agenda Item 11)

 

The South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA) was undertaking a partial review of the South East Plan covering the provision of caravan pitches for gypsies and travellers. The Cabinet considered a report (CA11) seeking endorsement of advice for submission to SEERA on the number of caravan pitches to be provided in each district to 2016 and noted and amendment to the figure for authorised sites in paragraph 4 of the report from 64 to 80.

 

Councillor Purse expressed disappointment that transit sites were not relevant to the report and that travelling show people were not represented adequately.

 

Councillor Heathcoat responded that Gypsies & Travellers were recognised as a particular ethnic group but that travelling show people were not, and therefore had been excluded from the report.

 

Councillor Johnston did not express a preference for either of the two options outlined in the report but was pleased with developments at Redbridge. With regard to option B, he urged the Cabinet to look at where the sites could be located as to avoid previous historical problems.

 

Councillor Belson responded that all the four rural districts had agreed the advice in the pro-forma, with the exception of Oxford City . The pro-forma would now be amended to note the alternative advice from Oxford City , which would be annexed to the document submitted to SEERA.

 

RESOLVED:         to endorse the advice set out in Annex A to CA11 and amended to include the alternative advice from the City Council for submission to the South East England Regional Assembly.

 

140/07    FORWARD PLAN AND FUTURE BUSINESS

(Agenda Item 12)

 

The Cabinet considered a list of items (CA12) 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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