Return to AgendaITEM CC1OXFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
MINUTES of the meeting of the County Council held at County Hall on Tuesday 8 January 2008 commencing at 10.00 am and finishing at 3.56 pm
Present:
Councillor LIZ BRIGHOUSE – in the chair
Councillors:
M Altaf-Khan Alan Armitage Michael Badcock Roger Belson Maurice Billington Norman Bolster Mrs Gail Bones Ann Bonner Bill Bradshaw Iain Brown Alan Bryden Patrick Cartledge Louise Chapman Jim Couchman Tony Crabbe Surinder Dhesi John Farrow Mrs Anda Fitzgerald-O’Connor Jean Fooks Mrs C Fulljames Barbara Gatehouse Deborah Glass Woodin Janet Godden Patrick Greene Sue Haffenden Timothy Hallchurch MBE Neville F Harris David Harvey Steve Hayward Mrs J Heathcoat Hilary Hibbert-Biles John Howell Ian Hudspeth Ray Jelf Bob Johnston Terry Joslin Colin Lamont Lesley Legge Kieron Mallon Olive McIntosh-Stedman Keith R Mitchell CBE Jim Moley David Nimmo-Smith Zoé Patrick G A Reynolds Dermot Roaf David Robertson Rodney Rose John Sanders Larry Sanders Don Seale Bill Service Chip Sherwood C H Shouler Craig Simmons Dr Peter Skolar Roz Smith Val Smith Lawrie Stratford Melinda Tilley David Turner Nicholas P Turner Michael Waine David Wilmshurst Chris Wise
The Council considered the matters, reports and recommendations contained or referred to in the agenda for the meeting and decided as set out below. Except insofar as otherwise specified, the reasons for the decisions are contained in the agenda and reports, copies of which are attached to the signed Minutes. 1/08 MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING (Agenda Item 1)
RESOLVED: that the Minutes of the meeting of Council held on 6 November 2007 be approved and signed as a correct record, subject to, in Minute 80/07, the corrections as follows shown by strikethrough and in italic type:
On Minute 84/07 (Questions with Notice from Members of the Public), in response to Councillor D Turner’s question about Roman Way, Councillor Hudspeth replied that the new footpath could not be adapted for use by equestrians, cyclists and pedestrians.
2/08 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE (Agenda Item 2)
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Marilyn Badcock, Carter, Dhall, Handley, Mrs Hastings, Mathew, Purse and Viney.
3/08 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST (Agenda Item 3)
4/08 OFFICIAL COMMUNICATIONS (Agenda Item 4)
The Chairman reported that:
(a) John Kelly, County Emergency Planning Officer, had been made an MBE;
(b) John Parry, Director for Community Safety and Chief Fire Officer, had received the Queen’s Fire Service Medal;
(c) Euton Daley, Artistic Director, Pegasus Theatre, had been made an MBE;
(d) She had written to the son of Benazir Bhutto conveying the Council’s condolences on the death of his mother recently and wishing him a peaceful time with his continuing studies at Oxford University;
(e) The Oxfordshire Millenium Charity Dinner, in aid of the Oxfordshire Community Foundation, had been held on 14 December 2007 at County Hall and approximately £4000 had been raised for the Foundation;
(f) She had received thanks from Brigadier Miles Wade, 145 Southern Brigade, for the support the Council had given to the troops in Oxfordshire returning from war zones;
(g) Former Councillor MacKenzie had died on 6 January 2008. Councillors Mitchell, Harris, Patrick, L Sanders, Michael Badcock, Tilley, Mrs Fulljames, Godden and Brighouse paid tribute to her. Council observed a minute’s silence in her memory.
5/08 PETITIONS AND PUBLIC ADDRESS (Agenda Item 6)
“We, the undersigned believe that building an incinerator in Oxfordshire would be detrimental to the environment, the health of local people, and the possibility of a sustainable future. Instead we call upon the Council to follow the example of Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Lancashire Councils and build a mechanical biological treatment centre (MBT).”
Jill Haas (Oxford Campaign against Climate Change) and Sam Clarke (Friends of the Earth) both addressed Council about Agenda Item 8 against incineration and asked the Council to consider alternatives.
6/08 WASTE MANAGEMENT PROCUREMENT PROCESS (Agenda Item 8)
Councillor Belson sought leave of Council to withdraw his motion. Seven members by standing in their places required a named vote in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 15(a). Voting was as follows:
Councillors voting for the withdrawal of the motion (46)
Councillors Michael Badcock, Belson, Billington, Bolster, Bonner, Brown, Cartledge, Chapman, Couchman, Crabbe, Dhesi, Farrow, Mrs Fitzgerald-O’Connor, Mrs Fulljames, Gatehouse, Greene, Haffenden, Hallchurch, Harris, Harvey, Hayward, Heathcoat, Hibbert-Biles, Howell, Hudspeth, Jelf, Joslin, Lamont, Mallon, McIntosh-Stedman, Mitchell, Nimmo-Smith, Reynolds, Robertson, Rose, J Sanders, Seale, Service, Shouler, Dr Skolar, V Smith, Stratford, Tilley, N Turner, Waine and Wilmshurst
Councillors voting against the withdrawal of the motion (18)
Councillors Altaf-Khan, Armitage, Bones, Bradshaw, Bryden, Fooks, Glass Woodin, Godden, Johnston, Legge, Moley, Patrick, Roaf, L Sanders, Simmons, R Smith, D Turner and Wise
Councillors Brighouse and Sherwood abstained (2)
Councillor Belson proposed and Councillor Lamont seconded that Council Procedure Rules 11 and 13 be suspended for this agenda item only to enable the Council to have a free and wide-ranging debate on the waste management procurement process. Council agreed to the suspension (46 members voting in favour, 1 member voting against and 17 members abstaining).
Council debated the issue of the waste management procurement process. Councillor Belson then summarised the points made by councillors during the debate and reported that the points would be included in a report to the Cabinet for its meeting on 15 January 2008 but would be circulated to all councillors beforehand to ensure accuracy.
7/08 REPORT OF THE CABINET (CC9) (Agenda Item 9)
The Council had before it the report of the Cabinet (CC9). The report contained one recommendation from Council.
Item 1 – Financial Monitoring
RESOLVED: (on a motion by Councillor Shouler and seconded by Councillor Mitchell):
(a) (nem con) to approve the permanent virement of £0.8m from the Dedicated Schools Grant unallocated budget as follows: £0.4m to Family Support & Assessment to increase the establishment of social workers and £0.4m to Agency Placements to address the ongoing pressures in relation to education and transport costs; and
(b) (45 members voting in favour, 1 member voting against and 16 members abstaining) to approve the allocation of the LABGI grant as set out in Annex 1 to the report.
8/08 QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE FROM MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL (Agenda Item 10)
23 questions with notice were asked. Details of the questions and answers and the supplementary questions and answers, where asked and given, are set out in the Annex to the Minutes (download as .doc file).
9/08 MOTION FROM COUNCILLOR ZOÉ PATRICK (Agenda Item 11)
Councillor Patrick moved and Councillor D Turner seconded the following motion:
“This Council recognises that The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 places responsibility on local authorities regarding the important role that frontline councillors play in their communities. County councillors should be recognised as ‘Community Champions’ taking forward the priorities and needs of their individual communities, helping to engage the public with local design and delivery of services.
Council therefore calls upon the Cabinet to confirm its commitment to enabling frontline councillors to perform their role appropriately in the communities they serve by:
(a) Setting up mechanisms which would increase powers of scrutiny within this Council, and take into account the Community Call for Action;
(b) Devolving some small budget funding to enable engagement with parish/town councils and community groups for delivery of key priorities.
This will give clear recognition to the work being undertaken by councillors in contributing to community leadership of this council. It will also be seen by the public as giving back some power to the people who were elected to serve them, and allowing councillors to respond to the needs of those they represent.”
After debate, the motion was lost by 37 votes to 17.
10/08 MOTION FROM COUNCILLOR DERMOT ROAF (Agenda Item 12)
Councillor Roaf sought leave of Council to withdraw his motion, which was granted, as he understood that Councillor Bradshaw had been given assurances on some of the issues raised in his motion.
11/08 MOTION FROM COUNCILLOR JOHN SANDERS (Agenda Item 13)
Councillor J Sanders moved and Councillor V Smith seconded the following motion:
"This Council believes that Oxford residents in controlled parking zones should not be charged for parking outside their own homes and therefore asks the Cabinet to remove all charges for residents’ parking permits in Oxford (subject to consultation).”
Seven members by standing in their places required a named vote in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 15(a). Voting was as follows:
Councillors voting for the motion (12)
Councillors Altaf-Khan, Armitage, Bones, Brighouse, Cartledge, Dhesi, Gatehouse, Harris, Joslin, J Sanders, R Smith and V Smith
Councillors voting against the motion (41)
Councillors Michael Badcock, Belson, Billington, Bolster, Bonner, Brown, Chapman, Couchman, Crabbe, Farrow, Mrs Fitzgerald-O’Connor, Fooks, Mrs Fulljames, Godden, Greene, Haffenden, Hallchurch, Harvey, Hayward, Heathcoat, Howell, Hudspeth, Jelf, Lamont, Mallon, Mitchell, Nimmo-Smith, Reynolds, Roaf, Robertson, Rose, Seale, Service, Sherwood, Shouler, Dr Skolar, Stratford, Tilley, N Turner, Waine and Wilmshurst
Councillors abstaining (9)
Councillors Bryden, Johnston, Legge, McIntosh-Stedman, Moley, Patrick, L Sanders, D Turner and Wise
12/08 MOTION FROM COUNCILLOR IAIN BROWN (Agenda Item 14)
RESOLVED: (on a motion by Councillor Brown and seconded by Councillor Tilley and carried nem con):
“Oxfordshire is a major warehousing and distribution hub for some of the largest companies within the UK. Unfortunately, within the County, there are not enough facilities to cater for the needs of the drivers of the large goods vehicles that deliver to this large and important transport hub. Council therefore requests that the Cabinet Member for Transport and the Director for Environment & Economy at Oxfordshire County Council give this matter consideration within the remit of highway planning and section 106 (planning gain) agreements.”
(Councillor Hayward spoke at the start of the debate and then left the room for the remainder of the debate.)
................................................................................... in the Chair
Date of signing.................................................................. 2008
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