Agenda, decisions and minutes
PDF 218 KBVenue: County Hall, Oxford, OX1 1ND
Contact: Sue Whitehead Tel: (01865) 810262; E-Mail: sue.whitehead@oxfordshire.gov.uk
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Minutes: The Minutes of the meeting held on 25 February 2014 were approved and signed. |
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Questions from County Councillors Any county councillor may, by giving notice to the Proper Officer by 9 am two working days before the meeting, ask a question on any matter in respect of the Cabinet’s delegated powers.
The number of questions which may be asked by any councillor at any one meeting is limited to two (or one question with notice and a supplementary question at the meeting) and the time for questions will be limited to 30 minutes in total. As with questions at Council, any questions which remain unanswered at the end of this item will receive a written response.
Questions submitted prior to the agenda being despatched are shown below and will be the subject of a response from the appropriate Cabinet Member or such other councillor or officer as is determined by the Cabinet Member, and shall not be the subject of further debate at this meeting. Questions received after the despatch of the agenda, but before the deadline, will be shown on the Schedule of Addenda circulated at the meeting, together with any written response which is available at that time. Minutes: Councillor Hards had given notice of the following question to Councillor Hibbert Biles:
“Following the reply to the question which I addressed to Councillor Hibbert-Biles at Cabinet on 25 February, I’ve been making enquiries about the “improved integrated sexual health service” to which the Cabinet Member referred.
Although the services will be provided in what might loosely be described as “premises in geographical locations where previous services were in place”, I understand that only the Banbury contraception & sexual health (C&SH) clinic will be in the same location as before and that many of the new locations are less well provisioned.
Taking Didcot as an example: The new integrated sexual Health service provided at the Oak Tree Health Centre will:
What steps did the Cabinet Member for Public Health take to ensure that the tender specification was adequate, and that the contract which was signed fully met that specification?”
Councillor Hibbert Biles replied: “The sexual health service will be delivered from a combination of community and secondary care locations in similar geographic locations to existing clinics. Unfortunately it is reported to us by the new providers that while they wanted to lease existing sites, they were not able to do so for all sites. However, all the new clinics which will house the new service will be based in the same towns as current services and meet the agreed specifications to give a wide coverage across the county.
Access to services is a priority of the commissioners and across the service as a whole there will be an increase in hours of service compared to current hours. The commissioners of this service believe that the new integrated service being implemented will provide improved sexual health services across Oxfordshire and will meet the changing needs of the residents of Oxfordshire.
Taking Didcot as an example: The new integrated sexual Health service provided at the Oak Tree Health Centre will:
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Petitions and Public Address Minutes: Item 6 – Councillor Brighouse, Opposition Leader Councillor Tanner, Shadow Cabinet Member for Policy Co-ordination Item 7 – Councillor John Sanders, Shadow Cabinet Member for Environment Councillor Hards, Local Councillor Councillor Harris, Local Councillor Councillor Price, Local Councillor Sarah Rawlinson, Didcot Resident
Item 8 –Councillor Brighouse, Opposition Leader
Item 10 – Councillor Price, Shadow Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care
Item 11 – Councillor Gill Sanders, Councillor Owen, Local Councillor Graham Speke, the Business Manager at Carterton Community College |
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Oxfordshire County Council Corporate Plan - 2014/15 - 2017/18 Cabinet Member: Policy Co-ordination Forward Plan Ref: 2013/127 Contact: Maggie Scott, Head of Policy Tel: (01865) 816081
Report by Head of Policy (CA6).
This report and its Annexes provide Cabinet with a draft of the Corporate Plan for 2014/5-2017/18 (Annex 1) and the proposed Indicators of Corporate Performance for 2014/15 (Annex 2) in advance of consideration by Council.
The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:
(a) note the proposed Indicators of Corporate Performance, and;
(b) approve the draft Corporate Plan before it is taken to Council on 01 April 2014. Additional documents: Minutes: Cabinet considered a draft of the Corporate Plan for 2014/5-2017/18 and the proposed Indicators of Corporate Performance for 2014/15 in advance of consideration by Council.
Councillor Brighouse, as Chairman of the Performance Scrutiny Committee commented that she had found the process for producing the Corporate Plan good. There had been an opportunity for it to be seen by Performance Scrutiny Committee and in other places and the labour Group as the opposition had received a briefing and had the opportunity to discuss it.
Councillor Tanner stated that he was glad to see the County Council had a Plan. He asked what the Council would be doing to ensure that as referred to in the Leader’s introduction we paid no more than our fair share of the burden of getting the national deficit down. He highlighted a number of areas of concern to him including lack of reference to revisions to the green belt and unconvincing references to tackle delayed transfer of care and the payment to care workers of the living wage. He welcomed the inclusion of targets but stressed that they must be SMART which many were not.
The Leader noted that the Council had had a Corporate Plan for many years. And responded to the individual comments.
Councillor Louise Chapman in moving the recommendation stated that as far as possible the process had been inclusive and that the final Plan reflected the Council’s key priorities and the budget agreed by Council in February. She was grateful for the input from the Performance Scrutiny Committee and she took on board the comments from Councillor Tanner about deliverable targets. Maggie Scott added that the main points raised by the Performance Scrutiny Committee would be included in the final Plan.
RESOLVED: to:
(a) note the proposed Indicators of Corporate Performance, and;
(b) approve the draft Corporate Plan before it is taken to Council on 01 April 2014.
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Local Transport Plan: Update Cabinet Member: Environment Forward Plan Ref: 2013/019 Contact: Tom Flanagan, Service Manager - Planning & Transport Policy Tel: (01865) 815691
Report by Director for Environment & Economy (CA7).
The Local Transport Plan 3 (2011-2030) was adopted by the County Council in 2011 as a 20-year strategy for Oxfordshire’s transport system. Having an adopted Local Transport Plan and keeping it under review, is a statutory requirement on the county council, as set out in the 2000 Transport Act as amended by the 2008 Local Transport Act. It provides the framework for the county council’s transport input into the Local Development Plan process and supports our ability to secure key infrastructure projects. It underpins our capital delivery programme, and the way in which we deliver our services. Owing to the long-term nature of the Plan it was agreed as part of the approval process that it would be regularly reviewed in order to keep it up to date and relevant. Five of the area strategies within the LTP3's implementation plan have been updated: these are for Banbury, Bicester, Carterton, Science Vale and Witney, covering the parts of the county likely to experience significant growth to 2030. The area strategy for Oxford is also currently undergoing review. The updates have been necessary to bring the proposed transport improvements in each area into line with Local Plans, thereby supporting our approach to securing funding for key infrastructure required to support planned growth. The proposed changes are in line with the overarching objectives and policies of LTP3.
Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to approve the removal of the existing area strategies for Banbury, Bicester, Carterton, Science Vale and Witney from LTP3 and their replacement with the updated strategies in Annexes 1 to 5 of this report. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Local Transport Plan 3 (2011-2030) was adopted by the County Council in 2011 as a 20-year strategy for Oxfordshire’s transport system. Having an adopted Local Transport Plan and keeping it under review, is a statutory requirement on the county council, as set out in the 2000 Transport Act as amended by the 2008 Local Transport Act. It provides the framework for the county council’s transport input into the Local Development Plan process and supports our ability to secure key infrastructure projects. It underpins our capital delivery programme, and the way in which we deliver our services. Owing to the long-term nature of the Plan it was agreed as part of the approval process that it would be regularly reviewed in order to keep it up to date and relevant. Cabinet had before them a report that updated five of the area strategies within the LTP3's implementation plan: these are for Banbury, Bicester, Carterton, Science Vale and Witney.
Councillor John Sanders, Shadow Cabinet Member for Environment queried why there was no update for the Oxford area. He welcomed the proposal to ease traffic on the A40 near Witney and queried the timescale. He also commented on the Park & Ride at Eynsham and on the bus lane from Witney. The Leader replied that the Local Transport Plan was a strategic document and that these were particular areas in need of update now. However all areas would be updated over time. Councillor Nimmo Smith responded to the particular points made stressing that the Witney Transport Strategy provided a clear and coherent approach to the issues identified. He added that work was ongoing to formulate the Local Transport Plan 4 and that this picked up new housing numbers.
Councillor Hards, Local Councillor for Didcot West, welcomed the large scale plans included but asked that the small schemes that made a difference to local people not be forgotten. He highlighted the impact of the continued development of Great Western Park over the next 15-20 years and that small highway improvement and road safety schemes would be needed. He added that in relation to the proposals to improve cycling and walking the Harwell Bicycle User Group were keen to talk to officers and to be engaged in the process. He was concerned that there was no master plan of cycle routes. Councillor Nimmo Smith responding agreed that there needed to be a balance between micro and macro schemes.
Councillor Harris, Local Councillor for Didcot Ladygrove, stressed that it was vital that the ring road be completed as a priority. Local residents had done a survey of the stretch of road and found that there was heavy use of the road including by heavy goods vehicles. The amount of traffic adversely affected the local residents of Ladygrove and he invited Cabinet Members to visit the area to see how vital the work was to local people. The Leader commented that he had visited the area on many occasions and the Cabinet Member for Environment noted ... view the full minutes text for item 25/14 |
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Oxfordshire Strategic Economic Plan Cabinet Member: Leader Forward Plan Ref: 2013/182 Contact: Richard Byard, Service Manager – Economy Skills
Report by Interim Director for Strategy and Infrastructure Planning (CA8).
The purpose of the report is to provide an update on the Oxfordshire Strategic Economic Plan (SEP).
Local Enterprise Partnerships were invited to prepare Strategic Economic Plans that set out the vision and ambitions for economic growth in their areas. The strength of our SEP will determine the level of investment we will secure from the competitive £2 billion annual Local Growth Fund (LGF). Scale, ambition and deliverability are key assessment criteria - our project priorities are currently being finalised in parallel against these criteria.
Development of the Strategic Economic Plan has been a fast moving iterative process following the signing of the City Deal on the 30th January. A near to final draft document (100+ pages) has now been prepared and forms the basis of the summary attached. This draft has been discussed at Chief Executives, Leaders, LEP Board and Strategic Economic Plan Steering Board meetings prior to Cabinet.
Cabinet's approval is sought to ensure the SEP aligns to and delivers against corporate priorities, prior to the SEP's submission to Government by 31 March 2014.
The SEP executive summary which captures the key themes, geographical focus and governance of the SEP accompanies the report.
The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:
(a) agree the appended Strategic Economic Plan Executive Summary which captures the key themes, geographical focus and governance of the strategy;
(b) request that the Council Leader should be authorised to approve any further amendments and approve the final Strategic Economic Plan that will be submitted to government on 31 March 2014. Additional documents: Minutes: Cabinet considered a report that gave an update on the Oxfordshire Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) including the SEP executive summary which captured the key themes, geographical focus and governance of the SEP.
Councillor Brighouse, Opposition Leader welcomed the Strategic Economic Plan which she found to be good. However one area which seemed to be missing was the impact on local communities of the economic growth, including factors such as low housing affordability and the level of skills in the local communities. These areas needed to be included in order to support future funding bids. The Leader welcomed the comments and commented that officers had worked to produce the document in just a few weeks. Richard Byard added that there was an emerging skills strategy.
A Cabinet Member asked that if the information was available it would be helpful to have a breakdown of investment by area. Joanna Simons replied that generally this information would not be available as spending was based on client groups rather than area. However she undertook to see what information was available.
A Cabinet Member asked that the final document be checked to ensure it was readable as the font size on some pages was too small.
RESOLVED: to:
(a) agree the Strategic Economic Plan Executive Summary which captures the key themes, geographical focus and governance of the strategy;
(b) request that the Director for Environment & Economy in consultation with the Council Leader should be authorised to approve any further amendments and approve the final Strategic Economic Plan that will be submitted to government on 31 March 2014.
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Cabinet Member: Environment Forward Plan Ref: 2014/011 Contact: Joy White, Senior Transport Planner Tel: (01865) 815882
Report by Director for Environment & Economy (CA9).
Travel Plans are long-term management strategies for sites, which seek to ensure that travel associated with them is sustainable. As part of the development control process, they have an important part in wider strategy to reduce the proportion of journeys made by private car, which is vital in order for networks to cope with increasing travel demand and thus to facilitate economic and housing growth. In accordance with national planning policy and local plans, Oxfordshire Councy Council requests travel plans from developers for sites which are expected to generate significant amounts of movement. Developers frequently ask for advice on preparing and implementing travel plans, and a standard guidance document has been developed in draft to ensure consistency and efficiency. As there is effort involved in implementing travel plans, they are likely to be ineffective in achieving their targets unless they are monitored. Councils are permitted to charge fees to cover the costs of monitoring, and the draft Guidance sets out our proposed monitoring fees, as well as clarifying the types of development for which we will request a travel plan. Formalising and publishing the guidance and our fees will make our approach clear to developers and the public, and help to ensure that staffing costs can be covered.
Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:
(a) approvethe Transport Assessments & Travel Plans Guidance Document and monitoring fee charging schedule (Annex 1) for publication; and
(b) approve the charging of fees to cover staff costs for other non-statutory Travel Plan related services on an hourly basis by agreement.
Additional documents: Minutes: Travel Plans are long-term management strategies for sites, which seek to ensure that travel associated with them is sustainable. In accordance with national planning policy and local plans, Oxfordshire County Council requests travel plans from developers for sites which are expected to generate significant amounts of movement. Developers frequently ask for advice on preparing and implementing travel plans, and Cabinet had before them a draft standard guidance document to ensure consistency and efficiency. As there is effort involved in implementing travel plans, they are likely to be ineffective in achieving their targets unless they are monitored. Councils are permitted to charge fees to cover the costs of monitoring, and the draft Guidance set out proposed monitoring fees for approval.
Joy White responding to concerns from Councillor Hibbert Biles, Cabinet member for Public Health & the Voluntary Sector undertook to ensure that all Air Quality Action Plans were referenced in Guidance.
RESOLVED: to:
(a) approve the Transport Assessments & Travel Plans Guidance Document and monitoring fee charging schedule for publication; and
(b) approve the charging of fees to cover staff costs for other non-statutory Travel Plan related services on an hourly basis by agreement. |
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Cabinet Member: Adult Social Care Forward Plan Ref: 2014/012 Contact: Ben Threadgold, Strategy Performance Manager Tel: (01865) 328219
Report by Director for Social & Community Services (CA10).
The purpose of the report is to seek agreement on the proposed use of the Better Care Fund in Oxfordshire, prior to submission to NHS England (as an integral part of the Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group’s Strategic and Operational Plans) by 4 April 2014. The plan has already been discussed by the Health and Wellbeing BOard on 13 March 2014, and will also be discussed by the Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group on 27 March 2014.
The Better Care Fund will total approximately £37 million in Oxfordshire from 2015/16 onwards, and is not new money as it will be reallocated from within the health and social care system. However, a significant proportion may be newly accessible to adult social care, and can be used to protect services where it can also be demonstrated that there are benefits to health.
Additional documents:
Minutes: Cabinet considered a report seeking agreement on the proposed use of the Better Care Fund in Oxfordshire, prior to submission to NHS England (as an integral part of the Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group’s Strategic and Operational Plans) by 4 April 2014.
The Better Care Fund will total approximately £37 million in Oxfordshire from 2015/16 onwards, and is not new money as it will be reallocated from within the health and social care system. However, a significant proportion may be newly accessible to adult social care, and can be used to protect services where it can also be demonstrated that there are benefits to health.
Councillor Price, Shadow Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, commented that the Fund was not new money. She queried what action was planned if the performance measure on delayed transfer of care figures was not met.
Councillor Heathcoat agreed that it would take resource and put Adult Social care under pressure. The Adult Services improvement Plan was looking at the impact of the Extra Care Bill. There were mechanisms in place to monitor progress including by the Older People’s Joint Management Group and the Health and Wellbeing Board. The partnership approach with a single assessment process was a key to success. John Jackson added that the Local Government Association was lobbying Government to provide additional funding for the new responsibilities in the Bill. On delayed transfer of care, it was important to keep on it but there were signs of progress.
During discussion Cabinet stressed that they took the delayed transfer of care situation extremely seriously and were aware of the efforts that all involved had made.
RESOLVED: to:
(a) Agree the Better Care Fund Plan for Oxfordshire for submission to NHS England by 4th April 2014, subject to the inclusion of any necessary changes which may be required following consideration by the Health and Wellbeing Board and Clinical Commissioning Group Governing Body as agreed by Chairman (Leader of the Council) and Vice Chairman (Clinical Chair of the Clinical Commissioning Group) of the Health and Wellbeing Board;
(b) In so doing, to agree the use of the Health Transfer to Social Care Funding in 2014/15 as set out in the financial template, and for this to form the basis of a section 256 agreement between the County Council and NHS England as agreed by the Director for Social & Community Services following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Services; and
(c) To receive an updated plan in March 2015 prior to implementation, reflecting performance in 2014/15 and any emerging pressures and priorities.
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Carterton Community College Extension of Upper Age Limit to Establish Post-16 Education Cabinet Member: Children, Education & Families Forward Plan Ref: 2013/178 Contact: Diane Cameron, School Organisation Officer Tel: (01865) 816445
Report by Director for Children’s Services (CA11).
This report follows a public consultation run from 6 January 2014 - 17 February 2014, on a proposal by the Governing Body of Carterton Community College.
The governors wish to alter the upper age limit of the College in order to enable it to offer post-16 education. The proposal is to implement the change from September 2014 and gradually increase the range of courses offered over a three-year period.
While under new School Organisation legislation there is no requirement for a public consultation before publication of proposals, the College has carried one out in order to gauge support for the proposal and to obtain a view on it from the county council.
Due to short timescales and meeting dates, this item is going before Cabinet rather than Cabinet Member for Children, Education & Families.
The College seeks a view on its proposal from the county council before deciding whether to proceed to publish proposals. If it does decide to publish, the final decision rests with the county council as the Local Authority.
The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to consider the proposal by Carterton Community College to alter its upper age limit in order to establish post-16 education, and give its view to the Governing Body. Additional documents: Minutes: Cabinet considered a report seeking their views following a public consultation on a proposal by the Governing Body of Carterton Community College to alter the upper age limit of the College in order to enable it to offer post-16 education. The proposal is to implement the change from September 2014 and gradually increase the range of courses offered over a three-year period.
Councillor Gill Sanders, Shadow Cabinet member for Children, Education & Families, welcomed the proposal. The consultation showed it clearly had local support.
Councillor Neil Owen, local councillor for Burford & Carterton North, also welcomed the proposal.
Graham Speke, Business Manager at Carterton Community College, spoke in support of the proposal commenting that the timing was right, it would provide real choice for local families and there was no need for a capital build programme.
RESOLVED: to strongly support the proposal to alter the upper age limit of Carterton Community College in order to enable it to offer post-16 education. |
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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 CA12. 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. Additional documents: Minutes: The Cabinet considered a list of items for the immediately forthcoming meetings of the Cabinet together with changes and additions set out in the schedule of addenda.
RESOLVED: to note the items currently identified for forthcoming meetings.
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