Agenda, decisions and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Eddie Reeves and Steve Harrod.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 17 July 2018 (CA3) and to receive information arising from them.

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 17 July 2018 were approved and signed as an accurate record.

Councillor Laura Price had given notice of the following question to Councillor Judith Heathcoat:

“Could the Deputy Leader explain why, at a time when Oxfordshire is considering the implementation of a new operating model with significant implications for staff, the creation of 6 new Deputy Director posts was authorised? Where was the public business case for the appointments and how many other senior positions have been created, or are planned to be created without scrutiny?”

Councillor Heathcoat replied:

“Following Cabinet agreement to the Senior Management Review (SMR) in December 2016, the senior management of Communities (specifically the Environment & Economy areas) was left to be reviewed and adjusted during the restructuring processes underway. This was prior to the initiation of the Transformation programme or Fit for the Future. Following the appointment of the Strategic Director for Communities, his first major task was to review and put in place the senior management teams for the new Department. The first stage of that was to establish new Director posts to reflect the direction of the organisation and align this with other departments to fill out how Communities would engage in cross council work participate in the Corporate Leadership Team (CLT) – again this was prior to Transformation getting under way. The new Directors were then tasked with developing structures which could both meet our MTFP commitments, but also meet the emerging challenges we were facing at the time: unitary council, devolution, property issues arising from Carillion and the development of partnership working.

In the autumn of 2017 an operational decision was taken to add Assistant Director posts into Communities. These new posts would be part of restructuring activity to address the volume and nature of the work in Communities and the need to be prepared to deal with Fit for the Future. This injection of capacity and capability would enable us to address some major issues affecting Communities and indeed the Council. Most significant was how to:

• deal with a failing Carillion contract (prior to their collapse);
• develop and solidify the emerging Growth Deal and Housing Infrastructure Funding proposals;
• develop and deliver a new approach to asset management and investment;
• completely overhaul how we deliver our capital programme; and
• develop and implement the department’s part in developing and implementing the emerging target operating model (TOM).

To wait until we agreed the TOM to change our operational leadership structure was not operationally possible because we would not be able to achieve existing MTFP savings (particularly for Planning & Place directorate) and we would not be in a robust position to begin the implementation of the TOM. Similar decisions had been taken previously in People Directorate (both Adults and Children’s Services). Although we had no absolute clarity on TOM when we started the process to recruit in January 2018, we knew enough about the emerging layers, the major principles of transformation and the workload priorities to enable us to recruit the skills and capacities we would need to see us through.”

Supplementary: “Given the assertion in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 83/18

The Leader of the Council had agreed the following requests to address the meeting:-

Cabinet Member: Education & Cultural Services

Forward Plan Ref: 2018/113

Contact: Lauren Rushen, Policy Officer Tel: 07990 367851

Report by Elective Home Education Working Group (CA12).

The Education Scrutiny Committee agreed to undertake a short investigation into the reasons for an increase in elective home education (EHE) across the county in December 2017. The working group comprised of Councillor Waine and Councillor Smith. This report presents the findings of the investigation and the recommendations to Cabinet.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

(a)          consider the recommendations of the Education Scrutiny Committee Elective Home Education working group;

(b)          agree which of the following recommendations the Cabinet will accept:

(i)           further analysis is undertaken to understand the reasons for higher numbers of EHE at years 5 and 9 through modifications to the EHE parent/carer questionnaire;

(ii)          further analysis is undertaken by officers on a school level and locality basis to understand the trends associated with EHE in locality areas to see if there are links with social deprivation, gender, adoption or SEND provision. This should be reported to the Committee in 6 months’ time;

(iii)        the concept of a 2-week cooling off period before taking pupils off the roll at a school is discussed as part of the attendance conference in July, or at another suitable occasion with head teachers, to gauge level of commitment from schools to understand whether it would be feasible to implement a system across Oxfordshire;

(iv)        that the authority advocates that school leaders in include information about numbers of EHE children in their termly reports to governors/directors or other reporting mechanism that may exist;

(v)          schools and colleges in the County are contacted and asked if they would be prepared to provide access to private candidates to expand the range of exam centres in the County for EHE pupils;

(vi)        a named contact on the MASH is identified as a point of contact for EHE issues and concerns;

(vii)       a briefing is organised for representatives on the MASH about EHE and the role of the County Attendance Team in EHE;

(viii)     the EHE questionnaire is further modified to give the ability to include a more detailed explanation from parents/carers, if they wish to share more detailed reasons for opting for EHE;

(ix)        the New College, Swindon example of good practice is investigated and any information is shared with Further Education establishments in Oxfordshire.

and;

(c)          ask the Director for Children’s Services, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Public Health and Education, to prepare a response a future meeting of the Education Scrutiny Committee.

The Education Scrutiny Committee agreed to undertake a short investigation into the reasons for an increase in elective home education (EHE) across the County in December 2017. The working group comprised of Councillor Waine and Councillor Smith. The Cabinet had before it a report which presented the findings of the investigation and the recommendations to Cabinet for consideration.

Councillor Michael Waine, Chairman of the Education Scrutiny Committee highlighted the key findings of the deep dive which had been carried out with Councillor Emily Smith who had raised a Motion at Council on the same topic at the same time.  He thanked officers for providing timely evidence and support for the Review.  The Review’s findings were in line with the National picture of a rise in Elective Home Education.  The findings mainly focused on those children that had attended School and then had dropped out for some reason, rather than those who home educated from the beginning as a choice.

There was a concern around the legislation and the non- statutory guidance regarding the local authority’s responsibility and the authority’s ability to enforce it.  The working group noted that the comparative lack of High Needs Funding contributed to EHE together with the need to create an inclusive learning environment within schools so that issues could be addressed within the school.

The working group also felt that further data analysis was needed to gain greater understanding of the underlying issues that gave rise to elective home education.

The working group were supportive of the RAG rating that had been introduced. The rating system should mean that parents/carers who had taken a proactive approach to home educating felt supported and intervention work could be targeted where the authority might have concerns or families needed support. The working group wished to continue to monitor EHE numbers, the impact of the restructure and the introduction of the system to ensure that the right resources were in place.

Councillor Emma Turnbull, Shadow Cabinet Member for Education & Cultural Services drew the Cabinet’s attention to two areas in the report which she felt needed to be prioritised: the higher numbers of EHE in SEND Children( highlighting the inadequacy of SEND provision and the urgent need to carry out of the SEND Review) and the need for of a Review of how the County Council communicated and maintained relationships with the parents of EHE children in order to build trust and have a relationship with these families and to fulfil the Council’s Statutory responsibility to ensure children are safe from harm and that there learning needs were always met.

Councillor John Howson, local member for St. Margaret’s spoke in support of Councillor Michael Waine. He referred to the need to focus on 2 groups, those who had started school but were removed from school at one point or another, particularly at Year 9, and Gypsy Roman and Traveller Groups.  He asked the Cabinet to ensure that EHE did not become a route for schools to off-roll those children that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 85/18

Cabinet Member: Finance

Forward Plan Ref: 2018/053

Contact: Katy Jurczyszyn, Strategic Finance Manager (Finance, Strategy & Monitoring) Tel: 07584 909518

Report by Director of Finance (CA6).

This report is the first in the series on the Service & Resource Planning process for the forthcoming year which will culminate in Council setting a Corporate Plan for 2021; a budget for 2019/20; a medium term plan to 2022/23 and capital programme to 2028/29 in February 2019. This initial report sets the context and the starting point for the process.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

(a)          note the report;

(b)          approve the Service and Resource Planning process for 2019/20; and

(c)          approve a four-year period for the Medium Term Financial Plan and ten-year Capital Programme to 2028/29.

Cabinet had before them the first in a series on the Service & Resource Planning process for the forthcoming year which will culminate in Council setting a budget for 2019/20; a medium-term plan to 2022/23 and capital programme to 2028/29 in February 2019.  The initial report set the context and the starting point for the process, and sought approval to the proposed process, including the timetable.

Councillor Glynis Philips, Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance stated that the report reflected the current level of uncertainty and the challenges faced by the County Council.  She questioned whether the £46.5 which needed to be taken out of this year’s budget was achievable as areas of overspend and risk this year would put pressure on the 2019/20 budget.  Whilst the additional funding for the NHS was welcome, there needed to be a significant increase in adult social care funding to reflect the community based services of home care some adults needed before they could be discharged from hospital. This had to be in addition to the Adult Social Care precept which was not keeping up with need.

She welcomed 'Fit for the Future', although it was a high-risk investment, and the investment in the County’s roads but queried what was being done about direct services for residents such as our offer for young carers. She urged the Cabinet at the start of this budget process to look at what could be done to improve vital services for the most vulnerable residents.

Councillor David Bartholomew, Cabinet Member for Finance, responded to the points made commenting that a cautious and carful approach was taken to the any risks unknown and known and that very careful attention was paid to overspends.  The rise in Adult and Child Social Care was a National Issue and budgets had been increased to significant amounts to deal with this.  Everything possible was being done to protect and safeguard vital services.

Councillor David Bartholomew introduced the contents of the contents of the report and moved the recommendations.

RESLOVED:  to:

(a)          note the report;

(b)          approve the Service and Resource Planning process for 2019/20; and

(c)          approve a four-year period for the Medium Term Financial Plan and ten-year Capital Programme to 2028/29.

Cabinet Member: Leader

Forward Plan Ref: 2018/134

Contact: Alexandra Bailey, Director of Capital & Investment Delivery Tel:07768 027257; Lorna Baxter, Director of Finance Tel: 07393 001218; Owen Jenkins, Director for Operations Tel: 07554 103542

Report by Strategic Director for Communities (CA7).

To approve the inclusion of significant investment in the Council’s assets as part of the proposed Capital Programme to 2029, the funding for which will be included in the proposed Budget for 2019/20 and Medium Term Financial Plan to 2022/23 which will be considered by Cabinet in January 2019.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

(a)          note the report; and

(b)          approve the inclusion of significant investment in the Council’s assets as part of the proposed Capital Programme to 2029, the funding for which will be included in the proposed Budget for 2019/20 and Medium Term Financial Plan to 2022/23 which will be considered by Cabinet in January 2019.

Cabinet had before it a report which sought approval to the inclusion of significant investment in the Council’s assets as part of the proposed Capital Programme to 2029, the funding for which would be included in the proposed Budget for 2019/20 and Medium Term Financial Plan to 2022/23, which was due to be considered by Cabinet in January 2019.

Councillor Bob Johnston, local member for Kennington & Radley, whilst welcoming the recommendations commented on the need to ensure that the correct resource, staff and project management were in place to administer the investment and to ensure that any potential contractors were also pre-assessed to ensure that they had the right skill sets.

Councillor John Sanders, Shadow Cabinet Member for Environment spoke in support of the report. He believed that the only way out of austerity was to invest and that this was an excellent plan in this regard.  He believed that you could not achieve growth without investment and that the growth had the potential to boost funding for the Council.  He cautioned the Cabinet to take note of the changes in demography and increase in population as they were key to determining future infrastructure needs and to take note of past contract issues and urged the Cabinet to keep as much of the work in-house as possible and to, at the very, least keep the management of the project in-house.

Councillor Charles Mathew, local member for Eynsham, whilst having sympathy for the need of further investment in schools and highways, expressed concern over further external borrowing in addition to £350m current external borrowing which currently cost the Council £16m per year.  He believed the Council should be decreasing not increasing external borrowing.  The present plans suggested that the extra potential council tax to 2023/24 could service any extra loan.  He cautioned that this was inappropriate measure at this time when all the Council finances were under such pressure.   He urged the Cabinet to only use internal borrowing and that external borrowing was used only if there was guaranteed means to repay it.

Councillor David Bartholomew, Cabinet Member for Finance responded to the financial points raised.  He reassured members that each project would be dealt with prudence and caution, have its own individual business case and would be carried out over a number of years when the Council was sure that it had the Council Tax base growth to fund it, so that the Council did not spend the money until it was sure the money was available and that resources would be identified at that time. 

Although Councillor Bartholomew agreed that internal borrowing was preferable, he did not feel that it was appropriate to tie the Treasury Management Team in to internal borrowing if circumstances arose when a much better return could be achieved with external investments and the capital funding was obtained via the PWLB. 

Councillor Ian Hudspeth, Leader of the Council moved the recommendations and responded to the points made explaining that this investment was key to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 87/18

Cabinet Member: Finance

Forward Plan Ref: 2018/118

Contact: Donna Ross, Principal Finance Manager – Treasury Pension Tel: (01865) 323976

Report by Director of Finance (CA8).

The report sets out the Treasury Management activity undertaken in the financial year 2017/18 in compliance with the CIPFA Code of Practice.  The report includes Debt and Investment activity, Prudential Indicator Outturn, Investment Strategy, and interest receivable and payable for the financial year.

Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to note the report, and to RECOMMEND Council to note the Council’s Treasury Management Activity in 2017/18.

Cabinet considered a report which set out the Treasury Management activity undertaken in the financial year 2017/18 in compliance with the CIPFA Code of Practice.  The report included Debt and Investment activity, Prudential Indicator Outturn, Investment Strategy, and interest receivable and payable for the financial year.

Councillor Glynis Phillips, Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance welcomed the positive report and in particular the repayment of £18m of maturing loans, that the Council’s investments were classified as low risk and high return and that Northamptonshire had repaid the £10 million it had borrowed.  She noted that Arlingclose had raised as a risk the known uncertainties which would follow the Withdrawal Treaty, new international trading arrangements and the implications of the US and China trade war and the possible effect on the Council’s Treasury Management Activity.

Councillor David Bartholomew, Cabinet Member for Finance, responded to the points raised acknowledging that there were uncertain times ahead but gave assurances that this was being very carefully monitored.

Councillor Bartholomew moved the recommendations and introduced the contents of the report, highlighting that benchmarking results confirmed that the Council was achieving higher than average interests on deposits at 31 March 2018, when compared with a group of 135 other local authorities. This had been achieved by placing deposits over a longer than average duration with institutions that were of higher than average credit quality.

RESOLVED:            to note the report, and to RECOMMEND Council to note the Council’s Treasury Management Activity in 2017/18.

Cabinet Member: Leader

Forward Plan Ref: 2018/127

Contact: Robin Rogers, Strategy Manager Tel: 07789 923206

Report by Chief Executive (CA9).

The Operating Model is a detailed description of how the Council will work in the future, with the key aims of putting better outcomes for residents and the delivery of the Thriving Communities Vision at the centre of all plans and operations.

Development activity since March has produced a detailed design for the Operating Model and the report seeks Cabinet approval for the proposal.

The draft Cabinet Report and Annexes, have been considered by Performance Scrutiny Committee and Audit and Governance Committees on 6 September and will be considered by full Council through a themed debate on 11 September. The comments from Performance Scrutiny Committee are attached and those for Audit & Governance will follow.

Please note that the Full Business case (330 pages, which includes the Executive Summary) is attached to the report and can be found on the Website www.oxfordshire.gov.uk or a copy can be obtained on request from deborah.miller@oxfordshire.gov.uk. The full business case will not be circulated with the paper copies of the agenda but they will include the Executive Summary.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

(a)     endorse the proposed Operating Model set out in the Business Case in Annex 1 as the basis of whole council transformation planning;

(b)    agree to Option 1 (see para. 66), to enable delivery of the estimated range of savings (£34m-£58m) to the fullest extent appropriate;

(c)     agree the delivery principles set out in paragraph 77 as the basis for future detailed decision making;

(d)    direct the Chief Executive to bring a costed proposal for implementation to Cabinet in October 2018.

Cabinet had before them a report (CA9) which set out a proposed Operating Mode which was a detailed description of how the Council would work in the future, with the key aim of putting better outcomes for residents and the delivery of the Thriving Communities Vision at the centre of all plans and operations. Development activity since March had produced a detailed design for the Operating Model and the report sought Cabinet approval for the proposal.

The draft Cabinet Report and Annexes, had been considered by Performance Scrutiny Committee and Audit & Governance Committees on 6 September and by full Council through a themed debate on 11 September, the comments from which were before the Cabinet for consideration.

Councillor Liz Brighouse, Chairman of the Performance Scrutiny Committee spoke to the comments made by the Performance Scrutiny Committee who overall had accepted that there was a need to change the way the organisation worked. Improved coordination across the whole authority for the benefit of Oxfordshire residents must be the way forward, but the risks associated with this change needed to be properly managed. She urged the Cabinet to proceed with the cross party working group as soon as possible.

The points the Committee wished to raise with Cabinet were as follows:

·                The business case provided insufficient detail about implementation to give members and the public confidence that there would not have to be further cuts to front line services to make the required savings. No ‘Plan B’ was outlined in the report.

·                There was a lack of evidence in the business case that similar models had worked elsewhere. More evidence should be included to demonstrate the benefits of a different approach and enable Cabinet to make a robust decision.

·                Members were sceptical that implementation could be achieved within 3 years. A more realistic timetable should be developed.

·                Councillors were great collectors of local intelligence; the interface with councillors and the public as the operating model was embedded and would be important. Elected members needed to be involved in shaping and overseeing this process and there needed to be clear evidence along the way that benefits were being realised.

·                The levels of staff engagement and involvement in the design of the model; if staff had not ‘bought into’ the new ways of working, they were likely to find work arounds which could negate planned efficiencies and savings.

·                Members were mindful that potential redundancy costs had not yet been factored into the financial model and were concerned about the impact this could have on the identified savings.

·                The need to ensure that vulnerable people were still supported to access vital services, in light of a heavy reliance on technological solutions in the new model. Members queried how we would ensure investment in new technology would deliver the best results.

·                The proposed approach to business intelligence had the potential to be transformative in itself and members hoped this would lead to better decision-making and management of the organisation.

Councillor Ian Hudspeth, Leader of the Council  ...  view the full minutes text for item 89/18

Cabinet Member: Environment

Forward Plan Ref: 2018/110

Contact: John Disley, Policy Strategy Manager Tel: 07767 006742/Amanda Jacobs, Principal Transport Planner Tel: 07825 314772

Report by Director for Planning & Place (CA10).

The six Oxfordshire Councils and the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OXLEP) have signed the Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal with Government in March 2018. Under the terms of the Deal the local District and City authorities have committed to producing an Oxfordshire Joint Statutory Spatial Plan (JSSP) for submission to the Planning Inspectorate for independent examination by 31 March 2020 and adoption by 31 March 2021, subject to examination process.

Oxfordshire County Council is an observer to the process however, Cabinet is asked to consider the Local Development Strategy (LDS) and the Draft Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) for the JSSP as well as the Scoping Document which outlines the level of detail and processes associated with the JSSP.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

(a)          note and support the Local Development Scheme (LDS) for the JSSP presented at Annex 1.

(b)          note and support the draft Statement of Community Involvement 2018 for the JSSP, presented at Annex 2, which will undergo a six-week period of formal public consultation.

(c)          note and support the JSSP Scoping Document presented at Annex 3.

The six Oxfordshire Councils and the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OXLEP) had signed the Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal with Government in March 2018. Under the terms of the Deal the local District and City authorities had committed to producing an Oxfordshire Joint Statutory Spatial Plan (JSSP) for submission to the Planning Inspectorate for independent examination by 31 March 2020 and adoption by 31 March 2021, subject to examination process.

Oxfordshire County Council was an observer to the process however, Cabinet had before it a report which outlined the Local Development Strategy (LDS) and the Draft Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) for the JSSP as well as the Scoping Document which set out the level of detail and processes associated with the JSSP.

Councillor John Sanders, Shadow Cabinet Member for Environment welcomed the report but queried whether the LTP4 which was referred to in the Spatial Plan was now out of date and urged the Cabinet to ensure that this plan was taken seriously as it was a statutory requirement.

Councillor Ian Hudspeth, Leader of the Council welcomed this forward looking plan to take a look at connectivity, infrastructure in the right places, delivering homes for people with the correct assess to employment.  He welcomed the 3 year land supply and the opportunity to take a good look at rail.

Councillor Yvonne Constance, Cabinet Member for Environment moved the recommendations congratulating officers on their work on the JSSP  welcoming the opportunity to provide an Oxfordshire-wide, integrated strategic planning framework and supporting evidence base to support sustainable growth across the county to 2050, including the planned delivery of much needed homes and economic development and infrastructure.

RESOLVED:   to:

(a)         note and support the Local Development Scheme (LDS) for the JSSP presented at Annex 1;

(b)         note and support the draft Statement of Community Involvement 2018 for the JSSP, presented at Annex 2, which will undergo a six-week period of formal public consultation;

(c)           note and support the JSSP Scoping Document presented at Annex 3.

Cabinet Member: Deputy Leader

Forward Plan Ref: 2018/054

Contact: Sarah Currell, HR Manager – Business Systems Tel: 07867 467793

Report by Director of Human Resources (CA12).

This report gives an update on staffing numbers and related activity during the period 1 April 2018 to 30 June 2018.  It gives details of the actual staffing numbers at 30 June 2018 in terms of Full Time Equivalents.  These are shown by directorate in Appendix 1. In addition, the report provides information on the cost of posts being covered by agency staff and an Agency Trend analysis in Appendix 2.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to note the report.

Cabinet considered a report that provided an update on staffing numbers and related activity for the period 1 April 2018 to 30 June 2018.

Councillor Laura Price, Opposition Deputy Leader, welcomed the opportunity she had been given to meet with the Cabinet Member and officers to discuss a new format for the staffing report but requested that, particularly in light of the forthcoming operating model, the placement of the staffing report on the Cabinet Agenda be given further consideration to give it greater emphasis and prioritise the way the council looked at staffing and how it related to the wider objectives and to provide a way to monitor the implementation of the operating model. 

In relation to the growth in Agency staff, she noted that this mainly seemed to come down to vacancies that had not been able to be filled and expressed concern that there was continuous use of Agency Staff to cover essential business posts and that the Council did not appear to have any data about how those posts that were becoming vacant, correlated to the Council’s objectives.  She urged the Cabinet to consider whether the new operating model was robust enough to ensure that the council was bridging the gap between where the vacancies existed that needed to be filled and where the reduction in posts in the new operating model needed to come from.

Councillor Judith Heathcoat, Deputy Leader of the Council explained that data would be collected under Fit for Future as the plans develop, and that meeting the Corporate Plan’s aims and objectives come to the Business Management Plan so would not want to duplicate work.

RESOLVED:to note the report.

Cabinet Member: All

Contact Officer: Sue Whitehead, Committee Services Manager Tel: 07393 001213

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 CA13.  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.

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.