Return to AgendaITEM CC8
COUNTY COUNCIL – 6 NOVEMBER 2007
REPORT OF THE CABINET
Cabinet Member: Leader of the Council
1. Review of Delegation to Cabinet Members (Cabinet, 16 October 2007)
The Cabinet considered a report that examined the first 13 months of operation of the discharge of executive functions by way of a general delegation to Cabinet Members. The report proposed that the current scheme be continued. The report also examined the first 6 months of operation of the Transport Decisions Committee and recommended that the Committee’s functions should be brought into the existing arrangements and discharged by the Cabinet Member for Transport.
The Cabinet confirmed the existing arrangements for the discharge by individual Cabinet Members of executive functions and wound up the Transport Decisions Committee with effect from 1 November. The Cabinet authorised the discharge of its functions to be exercised by the Cabinet Member for Transport. The Cabinet also agreed to review the working of the arrangements once they had been in operation for a further year, subject to any detailed adjustments that might appear desirable in the interim.
2. Flooding Recovery (Cabinet, 18 September 2007)
The Cabinet considered a report on the recovery efforts after the July flooding. The report outlined the impact that the flooding had on the people and businesses in Oxfordshire, the arrangements that were made as a consequence, the cost of the flooding to the County Council and the longer-term flooding issues in the county.
The Cabinet noted that recovery had moved to business as usual and took the opportunity to place on record its thanks to the emergency services and other Council staff for their dedication to both their job and helping the people of Oxfordshire. At a national level, Sir Michael Pitt had been commissioned to undertake a national review of the response to the floods on behalf of the Government and the Cabinet instructed officers to contribute to this.
As far as the future was concerned, the Head of Finance & Procurement was instructed to pursue re-imbursement by the Government of the costs incurred by this council as a consequence of the floods, and it was noted that officers were pursing longer term issues with the other councils in Oxfordshire and the Environment Agency, and Cabinet would receive a report back in due course. In addition, the Cabinet advised the Environment and Economy Scrutiny Committee that the scope of its Review should include the offer to district councils in Oxfordshire to participate; the Review should also examine future flood prevention measures as well as the response to the recent flooding.
3. Partnership Working Strategy (Cabinet, 18 September 2007)
Local service delivery is now provided by a wide range of statutory, independent, private and voluntary sector organisations. We therefore need to work closely with our partners in order to deliver better outcomes and value for money for local people.
This means working effectively at a regional and county level with the police, health, Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and other public agencies – and equally – at the local level with district, town and parish councils.
The Cabinet considered and approved the Partnership Working Strategy which sets out the County Council’s framework for partnership working. It includes:
- Why we work in partnership and our principles for partnership working - Strategic Partnership working: The Oxfordshire Partnership and Local Area Agreement - Our thematic county-level statutory partnerships (e.g. the Children and Young People’s Partnership) - Non statutory thematic county-level partnerships (e.g. the Waste Partnership) - Partnership working at the local level - Involvement of elected members in partnerships and the role of Scrutiny - Accountability and equality - Risk and performance management
4. Closer to Communities (Cabinet, 18 September 2007)
The Cabinet considered a report on how the Council could sharpen the focus for its work with local communities and provide better information for local members who lead much of the work with local communities.
Oxfordshire communities are diverse in scale and character and the urban/rural nature of the county needs to be reflected in our service strategies and operational practice. In addition we recognise that we live in an ever changing world and that communities will need to adapt and change in order to survive. The County Council has a key role in helping local communities to adapt and change as well as in ensuring that services reflect local needs and are accessible.
The Government has also recognised that ‘top down’ approaches to problem solving are not always the most effective solution and, in the recent White Paper, there was strong emphasis on the need for local authorities to have more freedom to support and encourage local place shaping: in other words helping local communities to shape their own future by getting involved in projects which will sustain thriving and cohesive villages, towns and our city, for the 21st century.
In essence the County Council has three roles:
· To shape service delivery to reflect local needs · To support local community planning · To provide leadership in major development and regeneration
The Cabinet endorsed the extension of information mapping for Oxfordshire’s natural communities and approved the priority list of development/regeneration projects set out in paragraph 22 of the report. It also agreed to consider Member support arrangements in late Autumn 2007 and to review overall progress and next steps in Autumn 2008.
5. The Governance of Britain: The Government’s Draft Legislative Programme (Cabinet, 18 September 2007)
The Cabinet considered a report on the Government document, "The Governance of Britain", containing proposals for constitutional reform and the draft legislative programme for 2007/08.
The proposals are aimed at stronger accountability of the government to Parliament, greater engagement between Parliament and the people, greater engagement between the government and the people and strong Cabinet government. The change in the way the legislative programme is planned marks a step forward in all of these respects.
One of the key elements of the work of Parliament is to consider legislation put before it by the Government. At present most of the Government’s legislative programme is announced each year in the Queen’s Speech. It is announced by Her Majesty the Queen following a closely guarded process in which individual departments propose bills to be introduced and a Cabinet Committee takes forward a process which sees bills discussed, costed and drafted. All this is done behind closed doors and the result is that Parliament does not have prior sight of what will take up much of its time.
At my request the County Council's Management Team and other officers have taken the opportunity to consider the Bills in the draft legislative programme and a summary of implications for the County Council is provided in the report.
The Cabinet authorised me to respond to the Government’s Consultation on its Draft Legislative Programme 2007/08 with copies to Oxfordshire MPs and the Local Government Association as follows:
· Children in Care Bill: to reflect the issues in the briefing paper, particularly the inadequacy of funding for these radical proposals; · Constitutional Reform Bill: to reflect the issues in Annex 2 to the briefing paper; · Crossrail Bill: to reflect the concerns about track capacity; · Education and Skills Bill: to ensure it is easier to direct young people into appropriate education or skills-based training, but not by increasing the mandatory school leaving age; and, · Health and Social Care Bill: to reflect the concerns in the briefing paper.
Cabinet Member: Finance
6. Financial Monitoring (Cabinet, 18 September & 16 October 2007)
The Cabinet has considered two financial monitoring reports. The report to the meeting on 18 September covered the period ended 31 July 2007 and the report to the meeting on 16 October covered the period ended 31 August 2007.
At the September Cabinet meeting it was reported that the Directorates in-year overspend for 2007/08 was predicted to be £1.672m. When the City Schools reorganisation overspend of £1.957m and the Schools Transport days variation of £0.494m were included, it produced an overall overspend of £4.123m. The year-end forecast position of general balances at the end of July 2007 is £22.499m. Allowing for a further allocation of £1.323m of Performance Reward Grant, together with the supplementary estimate of £0.159m, implied a revised year-end forecast for general balances of £21.017m. When taken with the forecast Directorate in-year overspend of £1.672m and the Transport days 2007/08 variation of £0.494m, this gave a consolidated balances forecast for the year-end of £18.850m.
At the October Cabinet meeting it was reported that the consolidated revenue forecast for the year-end shows a balance of £18.733m. This is made up of £21.524m general balances less a forecast Directorate overspend of £2.297m and the Schools Transport days variation of £0.494m. Within Children, Young People & Families Directorate, the Early Years and Family Support Service had a forecast overspend of £1.377m. There had been an increase to the forecast overspend within Agency Placements and the figure was now £0.250m. There had been no change to the forecast Asylum Seekers overspend (£0.652m). Within Social & Community Services Directorate, the forecast revenue overspend now stands at £0.374m. The Environment & Economy and Resources Directorate forecast an overspend of £0.064m, a decrease of £0.025m since July 2007. The Community Safety Directorate forecast an overspend of £0.298m, an increase of £0.523m from July. This was due to £0.356m of expenditure incurred to the end of August relating to the July floods (£0.207m in the Fire and Rescue Service and £0.149m in Emergency Planning). The Corporate Core forecast an overspend of £0.184m, a £0.016m reduction since July 2007.
The Cabinet approved a revised Capital Programme updated to reflect the end of year roll-forward from 2006/07, the variations reported in the financial monitoring process and a review of the funding available.
The Cabinet RECOMMENDS Council to
(1) establish a fund of £100K from the additional LABGI allocation of £340K to assist in welcoming/supporting returning military personnel to Oxfordshire from serving abroad and their families;
(2) authorise the Leader of the Council, Cabinet Member for Finance and the Assistant Chief Executive & Chief Finance Officer to approve applications for contributions to projects; and,
(3) consider at its meeting in January 2008 recommendations from the Cabinet for the allocation of the remaining LABGI money.
7. Service & Resource Planning 2008/09 to 2012/13 (Cabinet, 18 September 2007)
The Cabinet considered the first in a series of reports on the service and resource planning process for 2008/09 to 2012/13, providing Members with information on the budget issues for 2008/09 and the medium term. The report provided initial information that would eventually lead to the Council agreeing a budget requirement and Council Tax for 2008/09 in February 2008.
The report set out estimated funding and planned expenditure for 2008/09 and the assumptions on which these were based. It outlined the budget issues emerging for 2008/09 and beyond for both revenue and capital expenditure. The report also sets out the proposals from the County Council Management Team for managing the service and resource planning process for 2008/09 including a timetable of events.
The Cabinet approved the Service and Resource Planning Process for 2008/09 and asked the Capital Steering Group to consider the outstanding capital needs and potential funding sources and make recommendations to Cabinet in January 2008.
Cabinet Member: Sustainable Development
8. Planning Obligations (Developer Contributions) - Scrutiny Review (Cabinet, 18 September 2007)
The Cabinet considered a report on the Scrutiny Committee's review, as well as making recommendations, including the adoption of an action plan and increasing the resources devoted to work on planning obligations.
Significant planned new growth in Oxfordshire for the coming 20 or so years means that demands on Council services will grow. This will make the securing of funding from all appropriate sources even more important in the future. Already much of the Council’s capital programme is heavily reliant on developer funding.
The Environment & Economy Scrutiny Committee has conducted a review of the effectiveness of the way in which the planning obligations system is used by the County Council. This has been conducted over a period of about a year, and involved interviews with a wide range of internal and external customers, together with assessment of current and emerging government policy.
The Cabinet thanked the Environment & Economy Scrutiny Committee for its report and the significant work behind it and agreed the action plan set out in Annex 2 to the report.
The Cabinet agreed to consider, as part of the Service & Resource Planning process, the need to invest £170k in the Developer Funding Teams from 2008/9 to meet the requirements identified under Recommendation 4 of the report, and also to consider the need to invest and fund the additional staffing in Property Services and CYP&F Directorate required to ensure the delivery of the required projects resulting from planning obligations as part of the Service & Resource Planning process for 2008/09.
Cabinet Member: Schools Improvement
9. Provision of Additional Secondary Pupil Places in Bicester (Cabinet, 16 October 2007)
The Cabinet considered a report that summarised the findings from the public consultation on the provision of additional secondary school places in Bicester, which concluded in July 2007. The consultation found that two thirds of respondents preferred option C of the proposal, which was for a new 14+ educational learning centre to be constructed. The centre would be purpose built to meet the demands of the future curriculum for learners from age 14 and would accommodate pupils from Year 10 upwards; A-levels and other Post 16 courses would be taught at both schools and the new 14+ Learning Centre.
The Cabinet approved Option C as the preferred option by which to respond to and meet the future needs for education in Bicester. The Cabinet also instructed officers to carry out further work on feasibility, management, governance and pastoral care for Option C and to complete negotiations with developers to secure a sufficient and appropriate site to meet the needs of the selected option.
10. Post 16 Special Educational Needs Provision (Cabinet, 16 October 2007)
The Cabinet considered a report that updated it on proposals for a more flexible approach to Post 16 Special Educational Needs Provision in Oxfordshire. The report noted that collaboration between special schools, Further Education colleges, the Learning & Skills Council (LSC) and Oxfordshire County Council, Connexions and representatives of the parent group CHOICE had led to significant developments, including the creation of a curriculum framework; agreement on common lengths of school/college days, flexibility of provision and the use of LSC/County Council funds.
The Cabinet agreed to consult widely on the range of possible options that would extend the age range of some or all of Oxfordshire’s special schools and requested that a further report on the outcome of this consultation be presented to Cabinet in January 2008. The Cabinet also asked me to write a letter to the LSC that requested confirmation of its funding arrangements for Post 16 Special Education Needs provision in Oxfordshire.
11. Peers School, Littlemore: Creation of an Academy (Cabinet, 18 September 2007)
The Cabinet considered a report asking it to consider publishing statutory notices for the closure of Peers School, which would enable the Secretary of State to give approval to the business case for creating an Academy to replace Peers School and to sign the appropriate funding agreements. The report outlined the reasons for the proposals for the school to become an Academy and the main steps that had been taken to consult informally on the proposals. Details of the outcome of the consultation and how future consultation will take place were also outlined in the report.
On the basis of the outcome of the consultation, the Cabinet agreed to proceed with the proposal to close Peers School, conditional upon the creation of the Academy in its place, and authorised the issue of the appropriate statutory notices.
12. Primary School Provision in South-West Bicester (Cabinet, 18 September 2007)
The Cabinet considered a report on an informal consultation led by the Governors of St Edburg's School.
Funding and a site for a new 14-class primary school are likely to be secured through a Section 106 agreement linked to a new 1,565 housing estate in Bicester. The Cabinet was asked to consider supporting a proposal developed between the governors, the Oxford Diocese and County Council officers to relocate the school to the new estate. The report outlines the benefits of this approach and the implications for neighbouring schools.
The Cabinet supported the informal consultation to be undertaken by the Governing body of St Edburg’s school on the relocation of the school to South-West Bicester.
Cabinet Member: Change Management
13. Performance Management: First Quarter Report Progress Against Priorities and Targets (Cabinet, 18 September 2007)
The Cabinet considered the quarterly report which showed performance against the key targets contained in the Council's Balanced Scorecard at the end of the first quarter of 2007/8. The report was presented in a new format to provide a clear and easily understood summary of areas of concern. The report identified performance against each priority target using a traffic light system to show progress within four blocks: customers, finance, process and people.
For the ‘Customer’ block, there were 11 Green and 10 Amber indicators; for ‘Finance’, 6 Green and 2 Amber; for ‘People’ 2 Green and 1 Amber; and for ‘Process’, 1 Green and 2 Amber. There were no Red indicators in any block.
14. Establishment Review (Cabinet, 18 September 2007)
The Cabinet considered a report on activity since the implementation of the new 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. Details of the agreed establishment figure at 30 June 2007 in terms of Full Time Equivalents were provided, together with the detailed staffing position at 30 June 2007, shown in the report by Directorate and Service area.
The report also provided information on current activity, grant funded posts and those vacancies which were being covered by agency staff and at what cost.
15. Value for Money Strategy (Cabinet, 18 September 2007)
The Cabinet considered a report on introducing a proposed unified strategy for Value for Money, and a draft plan had been considered and approved by the County Council Management Team.
This strategy puts Value for Money into the context of what it means for Oxfordshire, what the desired outcomes of implementing this strategy are, and the means by which we will achieve them. The outcomes are set out as clear aims that demonstrate our commitment to deliver excellent services to the people of Oxfordshire. The seven key processes by which we will achieve this value for money are then set out in detail; each one shows how we will use them and links back to detailed processes already in place.
The Cabinet agreed to adopt the strategy to ensure a shared understanding of why value for money is important in driving this key focus of the vision for Oxfordshire.
KEITH R MITCHELL CBE Leader of the Council
October 2007
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