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Cabinet
Tuesday, 26 May 2009

 

 

 
 
To Members of the Cabinet
 


Notice of a Meeting of the Cabinet

 

Tuesday 26 May 2009 at 2.00 pm

 

County Hall, Oxford

 

 

Joanna Simons

Chief Executive                                                                                                                                  

May 2009

 

Contact officer:          Sue Whitehead

Tel: 01865 810262

E-mail: sue.whitehead@oxfordshire.gov.uk

 

 

Membership

 

Councillors

 

 

Keith R Mitchell CBE

-

Leader of the Council

David Robertson

-

Deputy Leader of the Council

Roger Belson

-

Cabinet Member for Sustainable Development

Louise Chapman

-

Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Families

Jim Couchman

-

Cabinet Member for Social & Community Services

Mrs J. Heathcoat

-

Cabinet Member for Community Safety

Ian Hudspeth

-

Cabinet Member for Transport

C.H. Shouler

-

Cabinet Member for Finance

Melinda Tilley

-

Cabinet Member for Place

Michael Waine

-

Cabinet Member for Schools Improvement

The Agenda is attached.  Decisions taken at the meeting

will become effective at the end of the working day on 3 June 2009

unless called in by that date for review by the appropriate Scrutiny Committee.

Copies of this Notice, Agenda and supporting papers are circulated

to all Members of the County Council.

Date of next meeting: 23 June 2009


If you have any special requirements (such as a large print version of these papers or special access facilities) please contact the officer named on the front page, but please give as much notice as possible before the meeting.

 


AGENDA

 (Addenda)

1.                 Apologies for Absence

 

2.                 Declarations of Interestsee guidance note

 

3.                 Minutes

(See also Addenda)

 

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 21 April 2009 (CA3) and to receive for information any matters arising therefrom.

 

4.                 Petitions and Public Address

(See Addenda)

 

5.                 Strategic Review of Funding Formula for Schools

Cabinet Member: School Improvement

Forward Plan Ref: 2009/022

Contact: Janet Tomlinson, Directoer for Children, Young people & Families, (01865 815122)
Report by the Director for Children, Young People & Families (CA5)

           

 

This report seeks Cabinet agreement to a strategic review of the school’s funding formula. The report sets out: the reasons for the review, its intended outcomes; the principles which should underpin it; key questions to be asked; and the process to be followed.

 

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to agree that a review should proceed on the basis outlined in the report

 

6.                 The Cooper School, Bicester – Sixth Form Proposals

Cabinet Member: Schools Improvement

Forward Plan Ref: 2009/008

Contact: Allyson Milward, Service Manager - School Organisation & Planning (01865 816447)

 

Report by Director for Children, Young People & Families (CA6).

 

At the meeting on 25 November 2008 Cabinet agreed to the publication of formal proposals to expand the age range from 11-16 years to 11-18 years and enlarge The Cooper School, Bicester. 2. The notice was published by the Authority on 26 March 2009 and expired following 4 weeks of formal consultation on 24 April 2009. The responses to the informal consultation process referred to in the proposal are available as background papers to this report. 

 

Where no representations in relation to a proposal are received the decision is usually referred to the Cabinet Member for ‘Schools Improvement’ for a decision. However, as this proposal relates to the area represented by the current incumbent of that position it is to be put to Cabinet for decision.  The proposed implementation date for the proposal is 1 September 2011. 

 

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to either:

 

(a)              reject the proposals;

 

(b)              approve the proposals;

 

(c)               approve the proposals with a modification (e.g. the proposal implementation date); or

 

(d)              approve the proposals subject to them meeting a specific condition.

 

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 24 June 2009.

 

7.                 District Sustainable Community Strategies

Cabinet Member: Leader of the Council, Deputy Leader of the Council, Community Safety

Forward Plan Ref: 2008/218

Contact: Paul James, Head of Partnership Working (01865 816031)

 

Report by Head of Partnership Working (CA7).

 

Each district in Oxfordshire has a local strategic partnership (LSP) and has a duty to produce a Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS).

 

The county council is a key partner in all five district LSPs with a Cabinet member representative from the council on each LSP.

 

District LSPs have been working to produce their Sustainable Community Strategy alongside the Oxfordshire Partnership's Oxfordshire 2030 strategy. Each strategy involved consultation with partners and the county council responded in detail to each consultation.

 

Four district LSPs have agreed their SCS and are seeking their approval from individual partner organisations; Oxford City, South Oxfordshire, Vale of White Horse, West Oxfordshire.

           

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to endorse the district sustainable community strategies and commit its support to delivery of the priorities identified

 

8.                 Witney - Cogges Link Road - Revised Project Appraisal to Fund Scheme to Completion

Cabinet Member: Transport

Forward Plan Ref: 2009/039

Contact: Julian Hartless, Principal Project Manager (01865 815097)

 

Report by Head of Transport (CA8).

 

The report seeks approval to a revised project appraisal for the scheme following obtaining planning approval.

 

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to approve the revised project appraisal for the Cogges Link Road

 

9.                 Transform Oxford – Queens Street – Project Appraisal

Cabinet Member: Transport

Forward Plan Ref: 2009/

            Contact: John Cramer, Principal Engineer (01865 815963)

 

Report by Head of Transport (CA9).

 

Oxfordshire County Council launched plans to Transform the centre of Oxford’s transport and pedestrian experience on 20 October 2008.  Included in Stage 1 of these plans is an improvement scheme for Queen Street - one of the city’s major shopping streets with high bus flows and large concentrations of pedestrians throughout the day.  The scheme will see the removal of all bus stops from Queen Street and a reduction in bus flows of about a third.  This will enable an increase in the amount of space for pedestrians and an improvement to the quality of the street environment ahead of a more comprehensive scheme post 2011 when the street is due to be fully pedestrianised.  The scheme also includes upgrades to bus stop infrastructure in the streets to which bus stops will be relocated.

 

A report was submitted to the Cabinet Member Decision meeting on 23 April detailing the results of consultation on the Transform Oxford Vision and more specifically the proposals for Queen Street.  At that meeting it was resolved that the proposed scheme be implemented with any changes that may be proposed as a result of further consultation be referred to the Head of Transport in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Transport for a decision.

 

This report seeks approval to the financial appraisal for the Queen Street project.

 

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to approve the project appraisal No.H191 in Annex 1.

 

10.             Forward Plan and Future Business

Cabinet Member: All

Contact Officer: Sue Whitehead, Committee Services Manager (01865 810262)

 

The Cabinet Procedure Rules provide that the business of each meeting at the Cabinet is to include “updating of the Forward Plan and proposals for business to be conducted at the following meeting”.   Items from the Forward Plan for the immediately forthcoming meetings of the Cabinet appear in the Schedule at CA10.   This includes any updated information relating to the business for those meetings that has already been identified for inclusion in the next Forward Plan update.

 

The Schedule is for noting, but Cabinet Members may also wish to take this opportunity to identify any further changes they would wish to be incorporated in the next Forward Plan update.

 

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to note the items currently identified for forthcoming meetings.

 

11.             Delegated Powers of the Chief Executive (Schedule to Section L of the Council’s Constitution – Paragraph (1)(c)(i))

(See also Addenda)

 

Paragraph (1)(c)(i)  requires any executive decision taken by the Chief Executive under the specific powers and functions delegated to her under the terms of that Rule, to be reported to Cabinet. Decisions taken in the period 1 January 2009 – 31 March 2009 are set out in the table below:

 

Date

Subject

Decision

25/03/2009

Provision of a Community led Planning Promotion and Support Service

Approved an exemption from the full tendering requirements of the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules

26/03/2009

1. Accommodation Services for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeker Children

2. Supported Lodgings Scheme

3. Homeless Prevention and Intervention Service

Approved an exception from the full tendering requirements of the Council's Contract Procedure Rules.

 

 

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