Return to AgendaITEM CC11(a)
COUNTY COUNCIL – 4 NOVEMBER 2008
REPORT OF THE CABINET Cabinet Member: Deputy Leader of the Council
1. Performance Management: 1st Quarter Progress Report Against Priorities and Targets (Cabinet, 16 September 2008)
The Cabinet has noted a report on the Council's Balanced Scorecard detailing progress against priorities and targets as at Quarter One 2008 - 2009.
2. Establishment Review (Cabinet, 16 September 2008)
The Cabinet has noted a report that gave an update on activity since the implementation of the Establishment Review and associated Recruitment Approval process on 1 August 2005. Details of the agreed establishment figure at 31 March 2008 in terms of Full Time Equivalents was provided, together with the detailed staffing position at 31 March 2008. The report also contained information on grant funded posts and those vacancies which are being covered by agency staff and at what cost.
Cabinet Member: Finance
3. Financial Monitoring for the Period to the end of July 2008 (Cabinet, 16 September 2008)
The Cabinet has considered a financial monitoring report for the period to 31 July 2008.
The year-end forecast of general balances is £19.000m. After taking into account the forecast Directorate outturn, the consolidated revenue balances forecast is £17.034m.
It was reported that £7.494m of underspends had been approved to carry forward for use in 2008/09 and future years. In addition, £4.270m of overspends will automatically be carried forward.
The Cabinet noted the report and revised Annex 6 and approved the virements and supplementary estimate requests, as set out in the report to the Cabinet.
4. Better Offices Programme (Cabinet, 21 October 2008)
The Cabinet agreed a project appraisal for additional capital expenditure of £675,000 in respect of the Better Offices Programme. This Project Appraisal supplements the previous approval for £2.018 million and is required due to:
· the proposed replacement of ceilings due to asbestos contamination found in the ceiling voids in County Hall and the need to improve lighting and aesthetic appearance; · an increase in staff numbers and the wish to improve reception and meeting room facilities; and · increases in costs now that the actual costs of the 4th floor refurbishment are know.
5. Annual Report on the Property Portfolio (Cabinet, 21 October 2008)
The Cabinet noted an annual report detailing the performance of the Council’s property portfolio from April 2007 to March 2008. The report included benchmarking information and targets for 2008/09.
The report included information on:
· the extent to which the estate is fit for purpose · changes in the size of the portfolio · income from capital receipts · the condition of property and required maintenance · environmental performance · the accessibility of public buildings · performance in the delivery of capital projects
6. Service & Resource Planning Report for 2009/10 - 2013/14 (Cabinet, 16 September 2008)
The Cabinet has considered the first in a series of reports on the service and resource planning process for 2009/10 to 2013/14, providing councillors with information on the budget issues for 2009/10 and the medium term.
The report set out estimated funding and planned expenditure for 2009/10 and the assumptions on which these are based. It outlined the budget issues emerging for 2009/10 and beyond for both revenue and capital expenditure. The report also set out the proposals from the County Council Management Team for managing the service and resource planning process for 2009/10 including a timetable of events.
The Cabinet noted the report and agreed the process for service and resource planning for 2009/10; agreed to consider spreading available one-off funding for 2009/10 over 2009/10 and 2010/11 and replacing this with available on-going funding from 2011/12; and approved the draft Capital Strategy as an aid to the planning process.
Cabinet Member: Children, Young People & Families
7. Early Years Capital Plan (Cabinet, 16 September 2008)
The Cabinet considered a report on new capital funding which had been made available by the Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) to secure significant investment in early years provision.
The report and annexes outlined the Council's approach to using the funding in Oxfordshire and included the aims, the current context, investment priorities, criteria and timescales.
The Cabinet approved the Oxfordshire Early Years Capital Plan 2008 – 2011and agreed to draw the report and decision to the attention of full Council.
8. Children’s Centres (Cabinet, 21 October 2008)
The Cabinet considered a report outlining progress to date in identifying sites, where sites were still to be found and proposals for taking the programme forward. The Cabinet endorsed the approach and proposals contained in the report. Cabinet Member: Social & Community Services
9. Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum Project (Cabinet 16 September 2008)
Cabinet agreed a report giving approval in principle for a scheme to lease some land at The Oxfordshire Museum to the Soldiers of Oxfordshire to enable them to build a new museum to house their collections.
10. Fundamental Service Review of Day Services for Older People (Cabinet 16 September 2008)
Cabinet agreed the recommendations contained in a report that summarised the key findings of a review of day services for older people including: to explore the provision of a Single Information Service across Oxfordshire with information provision supported by OCC, District/City Council, Health, key Voluntary Organisations, and others; to revamp the image that Day Centres have and consider a separate work-stream to review marketing; to redesign its referral processes; to continue to increase its Resource Centre provision, ensuring that service developments undertaken by others are considered, and ensuring that a multi-agency Stakeholder Commissioning Group supports the location and service design of each service; to support/facilitate an increase in the availability of independent (contracted and non-contracted) day centres and lunch clubs; to concentrate service delivery to the core mid-week opening hours of some day centres and explore opportunities to open on a weekend; to develop a strategy to improve the capacity of community support through increases in volunteering; to encourage and influence the development of robust transport services; to implement localised networking/partnership groupings - involving one or two specialist centres supported by a range of other smaller day centres in specified geographical areas; to ensure that day centres/services are able to respond to diverse cultural needs where demand requires such a response; to ensure the provision of IT links in external day centres where appropriate; and to shift the focus of some care management tasks to some IT-enabled Day Centres and explore how Centres can enter and maintain data on SWIFT as part of its routine business to support Care Management processes.
11. Fundamental Service Review of Cultural Services (Cabinet, 21 October 2008)
The Cabinet noted a report summarising the outcomes of the Fundamental Service Review of Cultural Services covering the Library Service, Heritage Services, Music Service, arts and recreation development, management, policy and performance. The cabinet noted that the Adult learning and Registration services had not been included in the scope of the Review and they agreed the recommendations.
12. Scrutiny Review of Integrated Health and Social Care (Cabinet, 21 October 2008)
The Cabinet considered the Scrutiny Review Report looking at the effectiveness of efforts to achieve a single point of access for people in need of care, for instance upon leaving hospital. It looked at the role of the Access Team in Social & Community Services and of other agencies in the provision of care and at efforts to improve information flow and co-ordination. In developing the report and recommendations, the Lead Member Review Group was asked to establish any deficiencies in the way social care and health services work that might be detrimental to patients/ clients and their carers. The Cabinet accepted recommendations 1-9, and rejected recommendation 10 on the basis that it was being dealt with already.
Cabinet Member: Sustainable Development
13. South East Plan – Proposed Modifications (Consultation On Secretary Of State’s Proposed Changes) (Cabinet, 16 September 2008)
The Cabinet agreed a response to the Government’s consultation on ‘Proposed Changes to the South East Plan’.
14. Eco-towns : Draft Planning Policy Statement and Sustainability Appraisal – Progress Report (Cabinet, 16 September 2008)
The Cabinet in June 2008 had considered a report on the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) consultation on eco-towns, including the proposed eco-town at Weston on the Green – Weston Otmoor – one of 15 potential locations that were being assessed. In September the Cabinet considered a report that gave an update on the process so far, outlined the next stages of the government’s consideration of the eco-town proposals and recommended a further response to CLG.
The Cabinet agreed a further response and wished to reiterate that on the information available that there were strong objections to the inclusion of the “Weston Otmoor” eco-town proposal in the final list of eco-towns locations, in particular on the grounds that: the proposal is contrary to the policies in the South East Plan, as proposed by the Secretary of State; the proposal would have a significantly detrimental impact on the implementation of planned development of Bicester and the promotion of Bicester as a major employment location in northern Central Oxfordshire; and the Council remains unconvinced about the deliverability of the major infrastructure package that underpins the eco-town proposal. Cabinet Member: Transport
15. Scrutiny Review of Flooding (Cabinet, 21 October 2008)
The Cabinet considered the Scrutiny Review report of the Environment and Economy Scrutiny Committee on the lessons leant from the flooding in July 2007 and recommending actions to be taken to protect them, as for as possible, and to mitigate against the effects of future events. Cabinet agreed the recommendations.
Cabinet Member: Community Safety
16. Fire and Rescue Service Contingency Planning (Cabinet, 16 September 2008)
The Cabinet has considered a report setting out options for the provision under s.2 of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (CCA 2004) to plan for emergencies and to maintain plans for the purpose of ensuring, so far as is reasonably practicable, that if an emergency occurs it is able to continue to perform its functions.
The Cabinet noted that FRAs had agreed to work together to secure contractual arrangements with a Service Provider for emergency cover to allow FRAs to discharge their duties in exceptional circumstances such as national disaster, terrorist event, pandemic (Avian Flu, SARS etc) or industrial action.
This project known as Fireguard had been completed with a preferred bidder having been identified (G4S) and all financial costs known.
The Cabinet agreed to reject the Fireguard solution and to direct officers to do further work on costings within the 2009/10 budget process for an informed decision to be made.
17. July 2007 Flooding – Further Reports (Cabinet, 21 October 2008)
Cabinet considered a report providing an update of progress concerning the recommendations agreed by Cabinet in November 2007 in relation to severe flooding in Oxfordshire.
They noted the report and agreed that a further report be submitted on options relating to the Fire and Rescue Service response to future incidents and that if necessary a further report be submitted on any legislation introduced.
18. Items Exempt from Call-In
Scrutiny Procedure Rule (17)(a) requires any decision taken as a matter of urgency within the terms of that Rule, and thus not subject to the call in procedure, to be reported to the next meeting of the Council, together with the reasons for urgency.
In reaching a decision on the item, the decision-maker was of the opinion that the matter was urgent within the meaning of Scrutiny Procedure Rule (17)(a) and that the decision should not be subject to call-in because the delay likely to be caused by the call-in procedure, if invoked, would seriously prejudice the Council’s or public interests for the following reasons:
In the circumstances outlined above, the Chairman of the Council agreed that the decisions should be treated as a matter of urgency.
KEITH R MITCHELL CBE Leader of the Council
October 2008
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