Return to Agenda
ITEM CA3
CABINET
MINUTES of the meeting held on 19 February 2008 commencing at 2.00 pm and finishing at 2:55 pm.
Present:
Voting Members: Councillor David Robertson – in the chair
Councillor Roger Belson Councillor Louise Chapman Councillor Jim Couchman Councillor Mrs J. Heathcoat Councillor John Howell Councillor Ian Hudspeth Councillor C.H. Shouler Councillor Michael Waine
Other Members in Councillor Jean Fooks (for Agenda Items 7 & 8) Attendance:
Officers:
Whole of meeting: A.R. Cloke and S.D. Howell (Legal & Democratic Services); J. Simons (Chief Executive).
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, copies of which are attached to the signed Minutes.
12/08 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Keith R Mitchell CBE.
13/08 MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting held on 15 January 2008 were approved and signed, subject to the amendments detailed in the schedule of addenda.
14/08 FINANCIAL MONITORING (Agenda Item 5)
The Cabinet considered a report (CA5) which set out the Council’s forecast financial position for the 2007/08 financial year based on actuals to the end of December 2007.
Councillor Shouler thanked Mr. Petty for his service to the Council for the past thirty-seven years and wished him well in his retirement.
Councillor Couchman supported the revised charges for season tickets at Cogges Museum as an aide to improving footfall at the Museum.
RESOLVED: to:
(a) note the report;
(b) approve the virements as set out in Annex 2a;
(c) approve the supplementary estimates totalling £0.005m as set out in Annex 2c; and
(d) approve the revised charges for season tickets at Cogges Museum from 1 March 2008, as set out in paragraph 32.
15/08 CPA ANNUAL UPDATE (Agenda Item 7)
The Cabinet considered a report (CA7) which informed them about the Audit Commission’s Comprehensive Performance Assessment for 2007.
Councillor Fooks, speaking as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, suggested that cooperation with schools was the best way to help improve standards in those schools that were not helping pupils achieve their full potential.
The Chief Executive reported that the direction of travel had been assessed as ‘Improving Well’, and there were a number of positive messages from the Assessment which would be highlighted in due course.
The Cabinet noted that Oxfordshire Fire & Rescue Service was one of only two services nationally to achieve a 4-star rating and congratulated the Service on this achievement.
RESOLVED: to:
(a) note the report; and
(b) consider any necessary consequential actions.
16/08 STRATEGIC POLICY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (SPED) SMALL GRANTS FUND (Agenda Item 6)
The Cabinet considered a report (CA6) which reviewed and proposed amendments to the SPED Small Grants fund approval process that had been approved by the then Executive on 23 April 2005.
The revisions aimed to make the grant application process fairer, more transparent, and easier to manage. The proposed amendments also aimed to ensure that grants supported the Council's objectives.
RESOLVED: to approve the described revisions to the Grant Fund as set out in paragraphs 7- 9, subject to recipients of grants agreeing to work with Oxfordshire County Council in promoting the project to the benefit of both the Council and the recipient.
17/08 ANNUAL REPORT BY THE COMMISSION FOR SOCIAL CARE INSPECTION ON ADULT SOCIAL SERVICES (Agenda Item 8)
The Cabinet considered the Annual Report (CA8) by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that detailed the performance of Adult Social Services over the period 2006/7.
Councillor Jean Fooks, speaking on behalf of Councillor Janet Godden as Shadow Cabinet Member for Social & Community Services, congratulated the staff on the results of the report. However, she queried the low number of vulnerable adult referrals and that income from charges was less than expected.
Mr. Welch responded that officers were working with CSCI on the matter of vulnerable adults referrals.
Councillor Couchman added that the Directorate only narrowly missed out on achieving the maximum 3-star rating for 2006/7.
RESOLVED: to:
(a) note the report; and
(b) review progress on the areas for development through the quarterly monitoring of the directorate balanced scorecard.
18/08 INTEGRATED RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN (Agenda Item 9)
The Cabinet considered a report (CA9) which informed them on the progress of the Integrated Risk Management projects for 2007/08 and the proposed projects for 2008/09, alongside the proposed new strategic Integrated Risk Management Plan 2008-2013. A response to the consultation exercise was circulated as part of the schedule of addenda.
Councillor Heathcoat congratulated the Service on managing all projects on-time and within budget.
Mr. Crapper, in response to a question from the Cabinet, stated that the review of the agricultural services would not result in a reduction in the fire service response in the rural areas.
RESOLVED: to approve the IRMP 2008/13 Strategy and the IRMP Action Plan 2008/09, subject to the inclusion of any amendments necessary as a result of the consultation process as agreed by the Directory for Community Safety & Shared Services / Chief Fire Officer in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Community Safety.
19/08 STRATEGIC OUTSIDE BODY - GUIDED TRANSIT EXPRESS (GTE) FOR OXFORDSHIRE LTD(Agenda item 10)
In May 2007, the Cabinet appointed Councillor David Robertson and former Councillor Bill Bradshaw as the Council’s representatives on the Guided Transit Express (GTE) for Oxfordshire Ltd. The Solicitors to the Company have confirmed that the Council is entitled to nominate one person as a director of the Company.
RESOLVED: to confirm its appointment of Councillor David Robertson as the Council’s representative Director on GTE for Oxfordshire Ltd.
Note: As set out under Rule 17(a) of the Scrutiny Procedure Rules, this decision is exempt from Call-In as it is deemed urgent and any delay would seriously prejudice the Council’s interests, in that the next meeting of the Directors of the Company is on Monday, 25 February 2008.
20/08 FORWARD PLAN AND FUTURE BUSINESS(Agenda Item 11)
The Cabinet considered a list of items (CA11) for the immediately forthcoming meetings of the Cabinet
RESOLVED: to note the items currently identified for forthcoming meetings.
21/08 EXEMPT MINUTE(Agenda item 12E)
RESOLVED: that the public be excluded during consideration of the exempt minute of the meeting held on 15 January 2008 since it is likely that if they were present during that discussion there would be a disclosure of "exempt" information as described in Part I of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act, 1972 and specified in relation to the item in the Agenda and since it was considered that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.
PROCEEDINGS FOLLOWING THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE PRESS AND PUBLIC
The Exempt Minutes of the meeting held on 15 January 2008 were approved and signed.
................................................................................... in the Chair
Date of signing.................................................................. 2008
|