Return to AgendaITEM CA3
CABINET
MINUTES of the meeting held on 20 January 2009 commencing at 2.00 pm and finishing at 3.45 pm.
Present:
Voting Members: Councillor Keith R Mitchell CBE – in the chair
Councillor Louise Chapman Councillor Jim Couchman Councillor Mrs J. Heathcoat Councillor Melinda Tilley Councillor Ian Hudspeth Councillor David Robertson Councillor C.H. Shouler Councillor Michael Waine
Other Members in Councillor Jean Fooks (for Agenda Item 6) Councillor Peter Skolar (for Agenda Items 9 and 11 Councillor Terry Joslin (for Agenda Item 10) Councillor Zoe Patrick (for Agenda Item 11)
Officers:
Whole of meeting: Chief Executive, S. Whitehead (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 additional documents 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.
1/09 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Roger Belson.
2/09 MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting held on 16 December 2008 were approved and signed.
3/09 FINANCIAL MONITORING (Agenda Item 5)
The Cabinet considered a report (CA5) that set out the Council’s forecast financial position for the 2008/09 financial year based on eight months of actuals to the end of November 2008. It included projections for revenue, balances, reserves and capital. The report set out explanations where the forecast outturn was significantly different from the budget with action plans to recover the position where appropriate.
The in-year overspend for Directorates was forecast to be £0.201m. This position excluded the -£1.000m underspend on the ICT Investment Fund which will be carried forward to 2009/10. The year-end forecast of general balances was £21.352m. After taking into account the forecast Directorate outturn, the consolidated revenue balances forecast was £21.151m.
The projected in-year commitment on capital was estimated to be £99.8m as at the end of November. This was -£0.9m less than the capital programme reported to Cabinet on 21 October 2008. Actual expenditure to the end of November was £49.9m, 51% of projected spend.
The Cabinet Member for Finance congratulated officers on the tight control being maintained over the spending profile for the year. He highlighted the need in the current financial situation to monitor closely the position on bad debts set out in paragraph 44.
RESOLVED to:
(a) note the report; and
(b) approve the virements as set out in Annex 2a.
4/09 SERVICE & RESOURCE PLANNING REPORT FOR 2009/10 - 2013/14 (Agenda Item 6)
The Cabinet considered a report (CA6) that was the fourth in a series on the Service and Resource Planning process for 2009/10 to 2013/14, providing councillors with information on budget issues for 2009/10 and the medium term. It was the final report to Cabinet before Council consideration of the budget on 10 February 2009. The report set out the latest information on the Council’s financial position, including the Treasury Management Strategy for 2009/10 and considered the capital funding, including an updated Capital Programme.
Cabinet also considered a report from the Cabinet Member, which set out the basis for the Cabinet’s budget proposals to Council and Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) for 2009/10 to 2013/14. The proposals took into consideration comments on the draft budget proposals from the individual Scrutiny Committees in December 2008 as well as the latest information on the Council’s financial position as outlined in the main report report. It also took account of the public consultation on the budget which was undertaken on 17 November 2008.
Councillor Jean Fooks, speaking as Shadow Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Families, referred to the comments from the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee and highlighted that they had expressed the view that additional funding was needed. Staff were carrying very high workloads and in the light of the baby P case referrals were up by 30%. She referred to page 3 of 27 of Annex 3 that referred to an unallocated amount of £700,000 and asked that resources be put in place to provide the necessary assurance in the service.
Councillor Fooks also referred to the new social work software that took social workers away from the job in order to input data. She acknowledged that this was a Government initiative over which the Council had no control.
The Cabinet Member for Finance introduced the contents of the reports and confirmed that he had been aware of the budget suggestions and comments from Scrutiny Committees. Savings would be put into an amalgamated Annex 3. In referring to the proposed inflation provisions he noted that the Government had made no pronouncement on public sector pay. The County Council was part of the national agreement and would honour that agreement. He referred to paragraph 39 and noted that the figure for pensions in 2011/12 would need to be increased from £4m to £5.7m. He highlighted a number of capital schemes including Cooper School and work to begin on the Building Schools for the Future programme.
The Cabinet Member referred to the additional and amended recommendations set out in the schedule of addenda tabled at the meeting.
He agreed with the concerns of Councillor Fooks in relation to the social work software system. He noted that the Government was aware of the issues and plans were in place to alleviate the problems and the Council had taken up a lobbying campaign. The Leader had written to staff to thank them for the work they undertook.
The Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Families was clear that she did not wish to see cuts in child care. The following wording on page 3 of 27 of Annex 3 to the December Service and Resource Planning report 2009/10 – 2013/14 did not reflect the work embarked on under a preventative programme:
‘Raise threshold for accessing care services to reduce the number of children and families receiving support’
She proposed and it was agreed to delete the wording in the amalgamated Annex 3 and replace with:
‘Detailed review of early years funding streams to switch resources to the preventative agenda’
She stressed that the bottom line remained the same but it was to make it clear that there was to be no cut in childcare social work.
The Assistant Chief Executive & Chief Finance Officer highlighted that the tax base had changed from 0.38% to 0.39% but was subject to further change as the information from all the Districts had not yet been received.Similarly information was still awaited on the collection fund figures. She confirmed that the final figures when received would go to all groups.
With regard to the Pension Fund (paragraph 34) she referred to the latest information received and suggested that in the light of that information the original figure of £6m included in the December report rather than the £4m in the current report be included in the finalised Annex 3. This would also affect the table in paragraph 39.
With regard to the draft budget position for 2010/11 onwards paragraph 42 referred to the need for additional efficiency savings. Following further work it was now possible to factor in £5m rather than £4.5m to give a balanced budget.
The Cabinet and the Assistant Chief Executive & Chief Finance Officer recorded their thanks to the Treasury Management staff who were coping with daily changes due to the challenging financial situation. They had worked hard to maintain an effective use of resources whilst ensuring security. There was a lot of additional work to ensure monitoring was maintained. Referring to the recommendation relating to the her ability to make changes to the credit matrixes she felt it was correct to review this after the next year. The major change proposed in the report was the ability to allow for internal borrowing up to 25% Referring to the additional funding to comply with the international financial reporting standards she stressed that it was a requirement to maintain their inspection rating and would make the balance sheet more robust.
Officers undertook to check and amend as necessary the percentage figures in paragraph 10 of the Asset Management Plan.
RESOLVED: to:
(a) (in respect of revenue) RECOMMEND Council to approve: (1) a budget for 2009/10 and a medium term plan to 2013/14, based on the proposals set out by the Cabinet Member for Finance; (2) a budget requirement for 2009/10; (3) a precept for 2009/10; (4) a council tax for band D equivalent properties; (5) virement arrangements to operate within the approved budget; (6) the £34.9m virement proposed in paragraph 41 and annex 4b for the Older Persons Pooled Budget.
(b) (in respect of treasury management) RECOMMEND Council to approve: (1) the Treasury Management Strategy Statement (2) the use of internal funds instead of external borrowing up to a maximum of 25% of the portfolio; (3) Prudential Indicators from April 2009; (4) that in relation to the 2009/10 strategy any further changes required to the credit matrix be delegated to the Chief Finance Officer in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and leaders of the Opposition and other groups.
(c) RECOMMEND Council to approve the Minimum Revenue Provision Methodology Statement as set out in paragraphs 10 to 14 of Annex 9.
(d) (in respect of capital) RECOMMEND Council to approve: (1) the updated Capital Strategy and Corporate Asset Management Plan; (2) a Capital Programme for 2009/10 to 2013/14; (3) Prudential Indicators from April 2009.
(e) To delegate authority to the Leader of the Cabinet, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and the Chief Finance Officer, to make appropriate changes to the budget.
5/09 DRAFT CORPORATE PLAN 2009/10 TO 2013/124 (Agenda Item 7)
The Cabinet considered the draft of the Corporate Plan (CA7) for the period 2009/10 to 2013/14 which was provided for approval by Cabinet on 20 January 2009 in advance of consideration by the full Council in February 2009. The Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee had considered the draft plan. The Committee’s advice was set out in the schedule of addenda tabled at the meeting.
RESOLVED: subject to consideration of any advice from the Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee and to the inclusion of consequential and editorial changes in the text as agreed by the Chief Executive in consultation with the Leader of the Council, to RECOMMEND the Council to approve the Medium Term Corporate Plan 2009/10-13/14.
6/09 ANNUAL REPORT BY THE COMMISSION FOR SOCIAL CARE INSPECTION ON ADULT SOCIAL SERVICES - ADULT SOCIAL CARE STAR RATING (Agenda Item 8)
Each year the Commission for Social Care Inspection provides an annual report on how each council serves the people in their area who use adult social care. The 2007/8 report for Oxfordshire was attached as annex 1 to the report submitted (CA8).
The Cabinet considered the report that was structured around seven key outcomes, which are used to evaluate how well the council currently serves people, and 2 further criteria which are used to describe the future prospects for the council.
The Cabinet Member for Social & Community Services expressed disappointment that the service had not finally been awarded three stars despite the Inspector and Regional Inspectorate rating it at that level. However he paid tribute to the staff in the Directorate for their efforts to improve. He would be writing to staff to congratulate them on progress to date. The service was improved when compared to last year with many areas of strength and some areas of development. The Director for Social & Community Services added that there was objective evidence of clear progress over a number of years.
RESOLVED: to
(a) receive the report; and
(b) review progress on the areas for development through the quarterly monitoring of the directorate balanced scorecard.
7/09 THE DEMOGRAPHIC CHALLENGE IN OXFORDSHIRE - SCRUTINY REVIEW LOOKING INTO THE DEMOGRAPHIC CHALLENGE FOR OLDER PEOPLE’S SERVICES WITHIN OXFORDSHIRE (Agenda Item 9)
The Cabinet considered a summary report (CA9) which described the pressures of an increasing and ageing population on Oxfordshire.
The report identified the pressures that this demographic growth will have; outlining a series of ‘red flags’ that detail the areas and issues that the Lead Member Group felt warranted most attention. In particular, these are Managing Future Care (Section 5 of the report), Promoting Good Health and Good Mental Health (Section 6), New Criteria for Housing, Planning and Transport (Section 7), and Other Issues (including learning disability, physical disability, information and advocacy, and black and minority ethnic issues) (Section 8).
Councillor Peter Skolar, Lead Member for the Review, explained the background and context for the report produced. It had been a lengthy Review and the scope of the work was evident when 300 plus recommendations were reached. It was decided to approach the work in a different way particularly as the majority of the recommendations were not for the County Council. It was important to look at how the issue could be tackled going forward and the report highlighted particular issues and suggested a Conference to engage with partners. A thicker paper going into the detail of the Review and the issues discovered would be at that Conference.
The Cabinet Member for Social & Community Services received the report as a work in progress. He expressed some disappointment that there were not more options on how to address the issues raised but praised members and officers for their diligence. He supported the holding of a Conference.
RESOLVED: to:
(1) endorse the proposal to hold a Demographics Conference on the 19th March 2009;
(2) accept the report as a whole and in doing so, endorse the “red flags” as the main areas for work and development in the future;
(3) agree that the red flags should be used as the main underlying themes for the conference in order to lead to agreed actions as appropriate and necessary in the future.
8/09 DIDCOT PARKWAY STATION INTERCHANGE SCHEME (Agenda Item 10)
The Cabinet considered a report (CA10) seeking approval of the Detailed Project Appraisal for the Didcot Parkway Station Interchange scheme as required by The Financial Procedure+ Rules in the Council’s Constitution.
Councillor Terry Joslin, speaking as a Local Member for Didcot South welcomed the proposals but stressed that they should be seen as a beginning and future opportunities for investment promoted. He asked that the space around the station continued to be protected as it had been up to now and that attempts to build on it be resisted except where they related to transport plans.
The Cabinet Member for Transport commended the work done by the Railway Officer in promoting train travel. He noted the importance of the scheme that had been a long time in preparation.
RESOLVED: to approve the Project Appraisal H186 for the Didcot Parkway Station Interchange scheme.
9/09 READING AREA TRANSPORT INNOVATION FUND BID (Agenda Item 11)
The Cabinet considered a report (CA11) that described Reading Borough Council's plans to bid for £275 million under the Government's Transport Innovation Fund (TIF). The report outlined that the County Council was invited to be represented on a TIF Partner Authority Members’ Liaison Group in order to influence the final package of measures.
Councillor Zoe Patrick, speaking as Leader of the Opposition, expressed her Groups opposition to the third Thames crossing because of the extra vehicular movements it would bring to the local area. She suggested that it would be good to see a South Oxfordshire District Council representative on the Liaison Group. Responding to a query she added that she was not commenting on congestion charging.
Councillor Skolar, speaking as a local member, indicated that he was speaking on behalf of towns and parishes in the area. He had attended a meeting and local people had praised the role of the County Council and the local MP for representing their views and Reading Council for the way they were going about the bid process. The amended wording of the recommendation included in the schedule of addenda had been suggested by local people.
The Cabinet Member for Transport indicated that he had been happy to attend the meeting. He stressed that it was Reading’s bid and covered an area much wider than the part of Oxfordshire affected. It was clear from the Local Transport Plan that the Council was not in favour of congestion charging and the recommendation reinforced the point. He undertook to take back to Reading the suggestion that South Oxfordshire District Council be included on the Liaison Group. RESOLVED: to:
(a) agree that the Cabinet Member for Transport should represent Oxfordshire County Council on Reading Borough Council’s TIF Partner Authority Members’ Liaison Group;
(b) the Council is opposed to congestion charging per se and only supports a third Thames crossing for public transport vehicles;
(c) subject to (b) above to support the principle of the TIF bid by Reading Borough Council to secure traffic improvements provided there is appropriate evidence to justify such improvements but acknowledging that this does not commit this Council to support any of the measures set out in the TIF bid.
10/09 APPOINTMENT TO SOUTH EAST ENGLAND COUNCILS (SEEC) (Agenda Item 12)
Council at it’s meeting on 13 January agreed to add South East England Councils to the list of ‘strategic’ Outside Bodies to which the Cabinet makes appointments.
SEEC has been set up to work with the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) on developing the Single Integrated Regional Strategy for the South East. SEEC came into being on Friday, 12 December 2008 following a meeting of the Leaders of the 74 principal councils in the South East region, constituted on the basis that a member is nominated from each of the 74 principal councils in the South East region.
The Leader proposed and it was:
RESOLVED: that Councillor Roger Belson be appointed to serve as a member to the South East England Councils.
11/09 FORWARD PLAN AND FUTURE BUSINESS(Agenda Item 13)
The Cabinet considered a list of items (CA13) for the immediately forthcoming meetings of the Cabinet and the amended forward plan as detailed in the schedule of addenda.
RESOLVED: to note the items currently identified for forthcoming meetings.
................................................................................... in the Chair
Date of signing.................................................................. 2009
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