Return to AgendaITEM CA3
CABINET
MINUTES of the meeting held on 18 March 2008 commencing at 2.00 pm and finishing at 3.40 pm.
Present:
Voting Members: Councillor Keith R Mitchell CBE – in the chair
Councillor Roger Belson Councillor Louise Chapman Councillor Jim Couchman Councillor Mrs J. Heathcoat Councillor John Howell OBE Councillor Ian Hudspeth Councillor David Robertson Councillor C.H. Shouler Councillor Michael Waine
Other Members in Councillor Alan Armitage (for Agenda Item 5) Attendance: Councillor Craig Simmons (for Agenda Item 6) Councillor Roz Smith (for Agenda Item 6) Councillor Zoé Patrick (for Agenda Items 6, 7 & 10) Councillor Jean Fooks (for Agenda Items 8 & 12)
Officers:
Whole of meeting: S.D. Howell and S. Whitehead (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. 22/08 DECLARATION OF INTEREST
Councillors Couchman, Mrs Heathcoat, Hudspeth and Mitchell declared a personal interest in Agenda Item CA11 as members of the Pension Fund Scheme under the provisions of Section 18 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.
23/08 MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting held on 19 February 2008 were approved and signed.
24/08 PETITIONS AND PUBLIC ADDRESS
Mr. Krznaric presented a petition for consideration at Agenda Item 6 that reflected the concerns of residents in the Magdelan area regarding parking congestion and road safety.
Councillor Patrick presented a petition at Agenda Item 6 that reflected the concerns of local residents of Grove after recent flooding.
The following requests to address the meeting had been agreed:-
25/08 FINANCIAL MONITORING (Agenda Item 5)
The Cabinet considered a report (CA5) that set out out the Council’s forecast financial position for the 2007/08 financial year based on actuals to the end of January 2008.
Councillor Armitage, speaking as the Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance, sought information on the planned closure of the Print & Design Unit and in particular whether any consultation had taken place with scrutiny. Councillor Howell was willing to discuss the matter with the Chairman of the Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee.
Councillor Shouler noted that the move to external printing was a County Council Management Team decision, rather than a policy decision. The Cabinet endorsed that decision. .
RESOLVED: to:
(a) note the report;
(b) approve the virements as set out in Annex 2a; and
(c) approve the supplementary estimates totalling £0.106m as set out in Annex 2c.
26/08 TRANSPORT ASSET MANAGEMENT PLAN AND CAPITAL & REVENUE WORKS PROGRAMME (Agenda Item 6)
The Cabinet considered a report (CA6) that provided an introduction to the Transport Asset Management Plan (TAMP) and summarised the budget, programme and service implications for Highway Maintenance and Transport Improvements as set out in the TAMP for Oxfordshire County Council, summarised at Annex 1 – ‘Maintaining a Vital Asset’. A Detailed Project Appraisal for the St. Aldates Carriageway Strengthening Scheme was attached as Annex 10 for consideration by the Cabinet.
Ms. Johnson and Mr. Krznaric spoke of parking congestion and road safety concerns in the Magdelan area, which would be exacerbated by the proposed Divinity Road Controlled Parking Zone. Given the proximity to the High Street and Cowley Road, Ms. Johnson demonstrated the extent of the congestion, detailed in a presentation circulated to Cabinet Members. Ms. Johnson felt the situation had become dangerous, with emergency vehicles unable to access the area; and proposed that a Controlled Parking Zone in the area, which prioritised residents parking and limited permits, would be an acceptable solution. Mr. Krznaric noted that petitioners recognised that the proposals would mean a charge for parking in the area.
Councillor Simmons, speaking as Local Member for East Oxford, noted that Divinity Road Residents; the East Area Parliament; and Local Members were supportive of the proposed Controlled Parking Zone in that area.
Councillor Smith, speaking as Shadow Cabinet Member for Transport, raised her concern at the lack of a local indicator for increasing cycling levels; and that Oxford City was not receiving a level of funding that reflected usage.
Councillor Patrick, speaking as Local Member for Grove & Wantage, outlined recent flood damage in her constituency, which was causing significant distress to residents. Residents felt this flooding was as a result of Council-maintained assets being unable to cope with ordinary weather conditions, as detailed in the petition submitted by Councillor Patrick.
Councillor Hudspeth, speaking to the report, responded that he looked forward to proceeding with a Controlled Parking Zone in the Magdelan Road area in addition to those proposed in the report. He also perceived no imbalance in the funding allocation for Oxford City and highlighted the proposed Rent-a-bike Scheme in aid of improving cycling levels.
RESOLVED: subject to the amended Annexes 4c & 8 attached in the schedule of addenda, to:
(a) approve the overall content of the Oxfordshire County Council Transport Asset Management Plan (TAMP), its strategies and programme and specifically:
(i) approve the details of the 2008/09 Transport Improvements programme and scheme allocations and 2009-11 provisional programme as set out in Annex 3, subject to further clarification during 2008/09;
(ii) approve the use of relevant developer funded contributions to fund works in the 2008/09 Transport Improvements Programme;
(iii) approve the details of the 2008/09 Highway Maintenance programmes and allocations, and 4 year provisional programmes as set out in Annex 4 and Annex 5;
(iv) approve Oxford City Council’s Section 42 estimate for 2008/09 as modified and shown in Column B of Annex 8;
(b) approve the Detailed Project Appraisal attached at Annex 10 (A420 St. Aldates Carriageway Strengthening).
27/08 NEW LOCAL AREA AGREEMENT FOR OXFORDSHIRE (LAA2) 2008-2011 (Agenda Item 7)
Oxfordshire County Council is the lead authority responsible for developing the Local Area Agreement with the Government on behalf of the authorities and organisations involved in the Oxfordshire Partnership. The Cabinet considered a report (CA7) that contained the list of indicators and initial targets, for submission to the Government Office for the South East (GOSE) as the next phase of the Local Area Agreement process.
In response to a query from Councillor Patrick, Councillor Robertson stated that any resultant reward grants would be split fairly across the Council and its partner organisations.
RESOLVED: to:
(a) agree the list of 35 indicators recommended by the Oxfordshire Partnership, for submission to GOSE by 31 March 2008; and
(b) consider a further report on progress at the 15 July 2008 meeting of the Cabinet.
28/08 SUSTAINABLE SCHOOL TRAVEL STRATEGY 2008-2011 (Agenda Item 8)
The Cabinet considered a report (CA8) that aimed to explain and summarise the draft Sustainable School Travel Strategy for Oxfordshire (Draft SSTS) and set out how the Council would meet the requirements of this aspect of the Education & Inspections Act 2006. If approved, the report would be published for Stakeholder consultation, with a final version of the strategy to be agreed and published by summer 2008.
Councillor Fooks, speaking as Shadow Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Families, suggested that savings on contracts be passed on to parents and asked how the County Council would manage the costs of the 14-19 strategy.
The Cabinet highlighted the particular needs of rural schools; the need to address any public perception of sustainable travel to school being unsafe; and the importance of parental choice.
RESOLVED: to approve the attached draft Sustainable School Travel Strategy for consultation, subject to the amendment set out in the Schedule of Addenda.
29/08 EXPANSION OF HANWELL FIELDS COMMUNITY SCHOOL, BANBURY (Agenda Item 9)
The Cabinet considered a report (CA9) which outlined the informal and formal consultation procedure together with the responses and implications in order that a Statutory Notice in the form of a "Prescribed Alteration" in respect of the Expansion by more than 30 pupils and 25% of Hanwell Fields Community school, Banbury could be considered for determination by the Cabinet as ‘decision maker’, or rejected or approved with modification.
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 Cabinet’s role would be negated by referral to the Schools’ Adjudicator if the decision was not taken within two months of the publication of the Statutory Notice, in this case being 18 January 2008.
RESOLVED: to approve the proposals.
30/08 PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT – THIRD QUARTER REPORT OF PROGRESS AGAINST PRIORITIES AND TARGETS (Agenda Item 10)
The Cabinet considered a quarterly monitoring report (CA10) detailing performance against the key targets contained in the Council's Balanced Scorecard at the end of the third quarter of 2007 - 2008.
Councillor Patrick, speaking as the Leader of the Opposition, raised concerns regarding the number of delayed discharges; action planning regarding educational attainment; and low attainment in adult skills.
Councillor Couchman noted that the current number of delayed discharges was reduced, though further investment was required.
RESOLVED: to note the report.
31/08 CHANGES TO PENSION REGULATIONS – REVISED NEW LOOK LOCAL GOVERNMENT PENSIONS SCHEME REGULATIONS 2008 (Agenda Item 11)
The Cabinet considered a report (CA11) that set out recommendations for the Council’s arrangements to implement and communicate the New Look Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Regulations 2008 so far as is known at present. An amendment to the current Retirement Policy Statement was also proposed.
Ms. Corrigan noted that these amendments did not affect elected members who were also members of the scheme.
RESOLVED: to:
(a) adopt the Pension Policy at Annex 2;
(b) adopt the revised Retirement Policy Statement at Annex 3; and
(c) consider a further report when the remaining Regulations are published.
32/08 ESTABLISHMENT REVIEW (Agenda Item 12)
The Cabinet considered a report (CA12) that gave an update on activity since the implementation of the 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.
Councillor Fooks, speaking as Deputy Leader of the Opposition, raised her concern at the high number of vacancies in the Children, Young People & Families Directorate, particularly in areas where continuity of service was most desirable.
Ms. Corrigan undertook to respond with further details of the vacancies.
Councillor Howell responded that there had been downward pressure on vacancies which he hoped would continue.
RESOLVED: to:
(a) note the report; and
(b) confirm that the Establishment Review continues to meet requirements in reporting and managing staffing numbers.
33/08 FORWARD PLAN AND FUTURE BUSINESS(Agenda Item 13)
The Cabinet considered a list of items (CA13) for the immediately forthcoming meeting of the Cabinet.
RESOLVED: to note the items currently identified for forthcoming meetings.
................................................................................... in the Chair
Date of signing
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