Return to AgendaITEM CC1OXFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL
MINUTES of the meeting of the County Council held at County Hall on Tuesday 1 April 2008 commencing at 10.00 am and finishing at 3.50 pm
Present:
Councillor LIZ BRIGHOUSE – in the chair for Agenda Item 1 Councillor TONY CRABBE – in the chair for Agenda Item 2 onwards
Councillors:
M Altaf-Khan Alan Armitage Lynda Atkins Marilyn Badcock Michael Badcock Roger Belson Maurice Billington Norman Bolster Mrs Gail Bones Ann Bonner Iain Brown Alan Bryden Nick Carter Patrick Cartledge Louise Chapman Jim Couchman Sushila Dhall 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 Pete Handley Jenny Hannaby Neville F Harris David Harvey Steve Hayward Mrs J Heathcoat Hilary Hibbert-Biles John Howell Ian Hudspeth Ray Jelf Colin Lamont Lesley Legge Kieron Mallon Charles Mathew Olive McIntosh-Stedman Keith R Mitchell CBE David Nimmo-Smith Zoé Patrick Anne Purse G A Reynolds Dermot Roaf David Robertson Rodney Rose John Sanders Larry Sanders Don Seale Bill Service Chip Sherwood C H Shouler Dr Peter Skolar Roz Smith Val Smith Lawrie Stratford Melinda Tilley David Turner Nicholas P Turner Carol Viney 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.
21/08 ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN FOR THE 2008/09 COUNCIL YEAR (Agenda Item 1)
Before inviting nominations for the office of Chairman of the Council, Councillor Brighouse (the retiring Chairman) addressed the meeting, reflecting on her year of office. She thanked her husband and family, Councillors Mitchell and Gatehouse and Di Chambers, the Chairman’s Assistant, for their support during the year. Councillors Mitchell, Patrick, Gatehouse and L Sanders thanked Councillor Brighouse.
Councillor Brighouse then invited nominations for the office of Chairman of the Council.
Councillor Mitchell proposed and Councillor Robertson seconded Councillor Crabbe for the office of Chairman of the Council for the 2008/09 Council Year.
RESOLVED: to elect Councillor Crabbe for the office of Chairman of the Council for the 2008/09 Council Year.
Councillor Crabbe made and signed his declaration of office.
22/08 ELECTION OF VICE-CHAIRMAN FOR THE 2008/09 COUNCIL YEAR (Agenda Item 2)
The Chairman called for nominations for the office of Vice-Chairman.
Councillor Patrick proposed and Councillor D Turner seconded Councillor Purse for the office of Vice-Chairman of the Council for the 2008/09 Council Year.
RESOLVED: to elect Councillor Purse for the office of Vice-Chairman of the Council for the 2008/09 Council Year.
Councillor Purse made and signed her declaration of office.
23/08 MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING (Agenda Item 3)
RESOLVED: that the Minutes of the meeting of Council held on 12 February 2008 be approved and signed as a correct record, subject to the addition to Minute 16/08 (Official Communications), sub-paragraph (a) shown in italic type:
Councillors Patrick, Mitchell, Harris, R Smith, Brighouse and Wise paid tribute to him.
On Minute 13/08, page 2, paragraph 2, Councillor R Smith asked for an update. Councillor Hudspeth said that the issue had been discussed at the January meeting of Council and there had been some confusion as to which member she was referring. He understood that the invitation would be received from an area committee and, when the Council received the invitation, arrangements would be made for the relevant member to attend at a time to be agreed.
On Minute 20/08 (Service and Resource Planning 2008/09 to 2012/13), Council was informed that the Assistant Chief Executive and Chief Finance Officer had advised that the figures for bands B, F and H of the Council Tax were incorrect and had been rounded up 1p higher than they should have been: for example, band H should be twice the sum for band D. Council was required to agree a Council Tax for Band D, and the figures for the other bands were calculated in terms of multiples or fractions of that figure. The County Solicitor’s view was that the other figures were simply illustrative and thus could be amended to reflect what they should have been under the appropriate Regulations. Council was advised that he had exercised his power to give lawful effect to the Council’s decision, as set out in the Constitution, and the district councils had been advised of the amended figures accordingly.
24/08 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE (Agenda Item 4)
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Johnston, Joslin and Simmons.
25/08 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST (Agenda Item 5)
On Item 15 (Motion from Councillor Brown), Councillor Shouler declared a personal and prejudicial interest as a person with whom he had a close association could benefit financially should the development of an eco-town take place at Weston-on-the-Green.
On Item 18 (Motion from Councillor Gatehouse), Councillor Mitchell declared a personal interest as Chairman of the South East Regional Assembly.
26/08 OFFICIAL COMMUNICATIONS (Agenda Item 6)
The Council received a report from the County Returning Officer on the outcome of the by-elections for the Grove & Wantage and Wallingford divisions held on 13 March 2008. The Chairman welcomed Councillor Lynda Atkins (Wallingford division) and Councillor Jenny Hannaby (Grove & Wantage division) to their first meeting of Council.
The Chairman reported:
(a) Maureen Hastings (County Councillor for Kidlington and Yarnton Division) had resigned her membership of the Council on 6 March 2008. Councillor Mitchell paid tribute to her and wished her well in her retirement;
(b) the death on 28 February 2008 of John Hannis (County Councillor for Chipping Norton Division 1981-85);
Councillors Brighouse, Hayward and Hibbert-Biles paid tribute to him. Council observed a minute’s silence in his memory. The Chairman agreed to send Council’s condolences to his wife and family.
(c) the receipt by the immediate past Chairman of the Council of a plaque “With Many Thanks to Oxfordshire County Council from The Soldiers and Families of Dalton Barracks”.
27/08 APPOINTMENTS (Agenda Item 7)
(1) Leader, Deputy Leader and Cabinet RESOLVED:
(a) (on a motion by Councillor Jelf and seconded by Councillor Dr Skolar) to agree to elect Councillor Mitchell as Leader of the Council and Councillor Robertson as Deputy Leader of the Council;
(b) (on a motion by Councillor Mitchell and seconded by Councillor Robertson) to agree to appoint 10 members to the Cabinet and to appoint Councillors Belson, Chapman, Couchman, Mrs Heathcoat, Howell, Hudspeth, Mitchell, Robertson, Shouler and Waine to the Cabinet.
(2) Committees and Review of Political Balance
The Council had before it a report by the Assistant Head of Legal & Democratic Services.
RESOLVED: (on a motion by Councillor Mitchell and seconded by Councillor Robertson and carried nem con) to:
(a) confirm continuation for the 2008/9 Council Year of the existing scrutiny committees, Standards Committee and other committees listed in Annex 2 to the report;
(b) agree the political balance on committees shown in Annex 3 to the report, subject to the following adjustments:
(1) retention of the existing "10-councillor" option for the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee with the Conservative Group allocation (and accordingly the total number of councillor seats) augmented by three;
(2) the Conservative Group giving up a seat on the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee;
(3) retention of the adjustment whereby the Green Group gives up a seat on the Community Safety and Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committees;
(4) allocation of the Conservative Group and Green Group seats at (2) and (3) above to the Independent Members;
(5) retention of the adjustment whereby the Labour Group gives up a seat on the Democracy & Organisation Committee, and this is offered to the Independent Members;
(6) allocation of the ‘unfilled’ seat on the Pension Fund Committee to the Liberal Democrat Group;
(c) appoint to committees the councillors and co-opted members shown in Annex 1 (download as .doc file) to the minutes.
(3) Pension Fund Committee
RESOLVED: (on a motion by Councillor Mitchell and seconded by Councillor Robertson) to appoint West Oxfordshire District Councillor Richard Langridge of 5 Hoyle Close, Witney, Oxon OX28 1JD to the vacancy for a District Council representative on the Pension Fund Committee.
28/08 REPORT OF THE CABINET (Agenda Item 10)
The Council had before it a report of the Cabinet.
RESOLVED: to receive the report.
29/08 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE (Agenda Item 11)
The Council had before it the annual report of the Audit Committee.
RESOLVED: (on a motion by Councillor Wilmshurst and seconded by Councillor Jelf) to receive the report.
30/08 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE STANDARDS COMMITTEE (Agenda Item 12)
The Council had before it the annual report of the Standards Committee.
Mr Elmore, the Chairman of the Standards Committee attended the meeting for this item. He summarised the main issues arising over the last year. He thanked Mr Cloke and Ms Holyman for their work on the Committee during the absence on sick leave of Mr Clark, the Monitoring Officer.
RESOLVED: (on a motion by the Chairman and seconded by the Vice-Chairman) to:
(a) receive the report;
(b) thank Mr Elmore for attending the meeting and his work on the Committee.
31/08 QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE FROM MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL (Agenda Item 13)
26 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 Annex 2 (download as .doc file) to the minutes.
32/08 MOTION FROM COUNCILLOR MELINDA TILLEY (Agenda Item 14)
Councillor Tilley moved and Councillor Hibbert-Biles seconded the following motion:
“This Council calls on government to listen carefully to Oxfordshire’s schools when they ask for less bureaucracy and fewer government circulars, fewer centrally-imposed targets, more flexibility in setting their own curricula and more certainty over their long-term financial assets. It calls on the Leader of the Council to convey to the Secretary of State our belief that Oxfordshire’s schools would be better served by action which
- Gives parents and teachers locally more say in the way schools are run; - Improves discipline and behaviour in schools, shifting the balance of power in every classroom back in favour of the teacher; - Gets every child who is capable of doing so reading by the age of six, so that every minute in the classroom thereafter is productive; - Reforms the testing regime in primary schools to reduce bureaucracy and focus on every pupil’s real needs; - Delivers more teaching by ability which stretches the strongest and nurtures the weakest; - Reforms the schools’ inspection procedure to ensure there is tougher, more effective and more searching scrutiny of under-performance; - Champions excellence in the state sector; - Ensures funding for deprivation goes direct to the pupils most in need rather than being diverted by bureaucracies; - Diverts more resources to pupils who come from disadvantaged backgrounds, ensuring they get the earliest possible opportunity to choose the best schools and enjoy the best teaching.”
Councillor Brighouse moved and Councillor Harris seconded the following amendment (shown by italic type and by strikethrough):
“This Council calls on government to listen carefully
to Oxfordshire’s schools when they ask for less bureaucracy and fewer
government circulars, fewer centrally-imposed targets, more flexibility in
setting their own curricula and more certainty over long-term financial assets as
it has done over the last 10 years. It calls on the Leader of the Council
to convey to the Secretary of State our belief that Oxfordshire’s schools are
best - Gives parents and teachers locally more say in the way schools are run - Improves discipline and behaviour in
school, by engaging parents/carers at an early age in behaviour programmes and
by empowering teachers to work more creatively with parents/carers
- Reforms the testing regime in primary schools to reduce bureaucracy and focus on every pupil’s real needs
- Reforms the schools’ inspection procedure to make it less bureaucratic - Ensures there is tougher more effective and more searching scrutiny of underperformance of schools by local authorities. - Champions excellence in the state sector - Ensures funding for deprivation goes direct to pupils most in need rather than being diverted by bureaucracies - Diverts more resources to pupils who come from disadvantaged backgrounds, ensuring they get the earliest possible opportunity to choose the best schools and enjoy the best teaching.”
After debate, the amendment was lost by 44 votes to 8 votes.
RESOLVED: (by 45 votes to 7 votes) as follows:
“This Council calls on government to listen carefully to Oxfordshire’s schools when they ask for less bureaucracy and fewer government circulars, fewer centrally-imposed targets, more flexibility in setting their own curricula and more certainty over their long-term financial assets. It calls on the Leader of the Council to convey to the Secretary of State our belief that Oxfordshire’s schools would be better served by action which
- Gives parents and teachers locally more say in the way schools are run; - Improves discipline and behaviour in schools, shifting the balance of power in every classroom back in favour of the teacher; - Gets every child who is capable of doing so reading by the age of six, so that every minute in the classroom thereafter is productive; - Reforms the testing regime in primary schools to reduce bureaucracy and focus on every pupil’s real needs; - Delivers more teaching by ability which stretches the strongest and nurtures the weakest; - Reforms the schools’ inspection procedure to ensure there is tougher, more effective and more searching scrutiny of under-performance; - Champions excellence in the state sector; - Ensures funding for deprivation goes direct to the pupils most in need rather than being diverted by bureaucracies; - Diverts more resources to pupils who come from disadvantaged backgrounds, ensuring they get the earliest possible opportunity to choose the best schools and enjoy the best teaching.”
33/08 DIRECTOR FOR ENVIRONMENT & ECONOMY
The Chairman reported that this meeting would be Mr Dudding’s, the Director for Environment & Economy, last meeting of Council.
Council thanked Mr Dudding for his work for the Council and wished him well for the future.
34/08 MOTION FROM COUNCILLOR IAIN BROWN (Agenda Item 15)
RESOLVED: (on a motion by Councillor Brown and seconded by Councillor Hayward and carried nem con):
"Oxfordshire is at the western end of an arc of development that stretches from Harwell to Cambridge. The Oxford-Cambridge 'arc' will become a vital economic corridor and see an increase in the resident population in the coming years. In order to optimise the benefits this will bring, this Council calls on the Leader and the Cabinet to:
(a) support regular, fast train services between Oxford, Bicester and Milton Keynes as the first stage of eventually extending train services to Bedford and Cambridge;
(b) write to the East of England Regional Assembly asking them to reconsider their lack of support for an east-west rail link from Cambridge and Bedford;
(c) ensure that transport and spatial planning policies in Oxfordshire include support for delivering and funding an east-west rail link that will benefit residents of the county.”
(Councillor Shouler left the Chamber for consideration of this item.)
35/08 MOTION FROM COUNCILLOR R SMITH (Agenda Item 16)
Councillor R Smith moved and Councillor Legge seconded the following motion:
“Council notes that:
(a) the Drinking Water Inspectorate ensures that water supplied by Thames Water is of high quality;
(b) transporting bottled water increases carbon emissions and creates billions of glass and plastic bottles, which then require recycling or end up in landfill; and
(c) tap water can be easily filtered, chilled and put into reusable containers, thus reducing waste, saving money and cutting carbon emissions.
Council resolves to ask the Cabinet to consider:
(a) stopping purchasing bottled water for council offices and council meetings; (b) providing chilled, filtered tap water as an alternative, and, where practical and financially viable; and (c) replacing any bottled water coolers with water fountains or supply filtered water coolers which can be refilled with tap water.”
Councillor Mallon moved and duly seconded that the motion now be put. This was carried by 45 votes to 13.
The motion was lost by 43 votes to 16 votes.
36/08 MOTION FROM COUNCILLOR ZOÉ PATRICK (Agenda Item 17)
Councillor Patrick moved and Councillor Fooks seconded the following motion:
“Council notes the integrated train and bus tickets promoted by the rail industry in Oxfordshire and commends this initiative. Council also notes that a limited multi-operator bus ticket already exists in the Oxford area (Plus Pass) and notes that other local authority areas have created multi-operator ticketing schemes to include most bus operators, with major benefits for local residents wanting to make journeys requiring the use of more than one operator’s buses.
Council believes that the residents of Oxfordshire would greatly benefit from a similar scheme operating here, and therefore requests the Cabinet to require Officers to establish a trial area (outside Oxford) for the creation of a multi-operator ticketing facility, based on existing technology.
Council requests that this trial scheme be promoted and monitored, with the intention that the benefits of this scheme be extended to the remainder of the County in due course, and that the technology required to support such a County-wide scheme be fully investigated.”
After debate, the motion was lost by 45 votes to 25 votes.
37/08 MOTION FROM COUNCILLOR LIZ BRIGHOUSE (Agenda Item 18)
Councillor Brighouse moved and Councillor Gatehouse seconded the following motion:
"This Council welcomes the support from John Goddard, Liberal Democrat leader of Oxford City Council, for a review of the Green Belt around Oxford.”
Councillor Roaf moved and Councillor Patrick seconded the following amendment shown in italic type and by strikethrough:
"This Council
After debate, the amendment was lost by 51 votes to 14 votes.
After debate, the motion was lost by 44 votes to 8 votes.
................................................................................... in the Chair
Date of signing.................................................................. 2008
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