Agenda, decisions and minutes

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 22 January 2019 (CA3) and to receive information arising from them.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 22 January 2019 were approved and signed as a correct record, subject to the following correction (in bold italics) to the 4^th sentence of paragraph 11 of the preamble to Minute 4/19:

In relation to Oxford City, a number of proposals were being looked at in relation to changes to manage congestion and the overriding principles would be that any changes must be combined with benefits.

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.

Councillor Howson had given notice of the following question to Councillor Constance:

“Has the county council any views on the idea of creating ‘Home Zone’ streets as defined by the Department for Transport in their design guidelines?”

Councillor Constance replied:

“The Oxfordshire Street Design Guide, on which work is ongoing, will seek to provide guidance on the design of developments from master planning stage to detailed design. We envisage the guide will promote various types of design which are appropriate for different street types. Therefore, we expect to include guidance on the use of shared surfaces and space which may be more appropriate for streets from which properties are directly accessed and are lightly trafficked. Shared surfaces and space, encourage motorists to give way to other users of the street and encourage the use of the street for play and social interaction, which is what Home Zones seek to achieve.  The aim of the design guide is to help create successful places where people want to live, work and play and to encourage walking, cycling and use of public transport. We hope to undertake stakeholder consultation over the summer months and conclude the project in autumn 2019. “ 

Supplementary: Councillor Howson highlighted a proposed development in his local area of a hotel without parking provision and noted that schemes such as Home Zones would enable areas to remain as communities. It was an additional tool in addition to Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs). Councillor Constance thanked Councillor Howson for the question and agreed that there were occasions when CPZs would be appropriate and other times when Home Zones could be used.

Councillor Pressel had given notice of the following question to Councillor Hudspeth:

“At our budget meeting, the Leader quite rightly said that ‘we must target our resources to provide vital services to those vulnerable adults and children who require them most’. In the light of this, please can you tell us exactly what criteria will be used for deciding how the new £1 million fund for youth services will be allocated? Can we assume that the data from the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment will be used to inform our decisions?”

Councillor Hudspeth replied:

“I was delighted to propose and vote for a budget that was caring and compassionate as it:

Increased the funding on Adult Social Care by £8.8 million

Increased the funding on Children’s Social Care by £9.0 million

Increased the funding on Education by £3.0 million

Provided £1 million for Youth provision across the county.

These measures will help the most vulnerable adults and children across Oxfordshire.

By contrast I noted that Cllr Pressel voted:

AGAINST increasing the funding on Adult Social Care by £8.8 million

AGAINST increasing the funding on Children’s Social Care by £9.0 million

AGAINST increasing the funding on Education by £3.0 million

AGAINST providing £1 million for Youth provision across the county

The criteria for allocating the £1 million for youth provision will ensure that all areas across the county will be able  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12/19

The Leader had agreed the following requests to speak:

Cabinet Member: Environment

Forward Plan Ref: 2018/202

Contact: Lauren Rushen, Policy Officer Tel: 07990 367851

Report by Deep Dive Lead Member (CA6).

The condition of roads has a significant impact on levels of public satisfaction with the Council and their local area. As a result, the Performance Scrutiny Committee commissioned a deep dive into the factors affecting public perception and experience of highways and the Council’s approach to improving this. From July to November a small group of councillors worked with officers to identify opportunities for improving the condition of the road network, tackling congestion, better managing the impact of street works and adapting our approach to maintenance contracts and partnership working on highways. This report has been considered by the Performance Scrutiny Committee and is now presented to Cabinet for them to consider and respond to its recommendations.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

(a)          Consider the findings of the Performance Scrutiny Committee’s deep dive into highways.

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

(1)          Ensure there is councillor input into the review of the Highways Asset Management Plan, and that this includes consideration of flexibility for local prioritisation.

(2)          Ask Cabinet to ensure there is a smarter process for developing a programme of work to utilise the additional capital investment in highways and that a robust capital governance process is in place to help shape this and improve risk management.

(3)          Ensure officers consider the impact on public perception when developing a programme of work and improve opportunities for councillors to influence this based on local priorities.

(4)          Ask officers to work with SKANSKA to explore a business case for greater levels of supervision that will ensure the quality of work remains high, including a consideration of how in-house resources could be utilised differently.

(5)          Ensure that opportunities to utilise staff in flexible ways are explored further with SKANSKA, so that the maximum benefit of having staff on site can be realised.

(6)          Encourage officers to explore more innovative maintenance methods and tools.

(7)          Ask Cabinet to ensure an effective approach to publicly publishing and communicating the highways programme of work is in place.

(8)          Ask officers to develop a more robust process for informing councillors of local road improvements in their division, so that they can advise on works that need to be prioritised and support early communication with residents.

(9)          Ask officers to ensure all responses to highways enquiries / reports through Fix My Street include a named officer contact.

(10)       Ensure direct points of contact are communicated and established for key stakeholders (e.g. town and parish councils) to ensure that local highway priorities can be followed up and dealt with more efficiently.

(11)       Support the Council’s ambition to become a Permitting Authority and request a report on the expected impact of this in mid-2019.

(12)       Support the development of a comprehensive out of hours traffic management provision to ensure effective management of the impact of major incidents and network failures  ...  view the full agenda text for item 14/19

The condition of roads has a significant impact on levels of public satisfaction with the Council and their local area. As a result, the Performance Scrutiny Committee commissioned a deep dive into the factors affecting public perception and experience of highways and the Council’s approach to improving this. From July to November a small group of councillors worked with officers to identify opportunities for improving the condition of the road network, tackling congestion, better managing the impact of street works and adapting our approach to maintenance contracts and partnership working on highways. The report had been considered by the Performance Scrutiny Committee and was presented to Cabinet for them to consider its recommendations.

Councillor Brighouse, Chairman of Performance Scrutiny Committee speaking in support of the recommendations set out the reasons for the review and thanked the councillors who had been part of the group. The Performance Scrutiny Committee had considered and endorsed the recommendations.

Councillor Jenny Hannaby, lead member on the Working Group thanked officers for their work and particularly Katie Read, Senior Policy and Performance Officer for bringing it all together. Councillor Hannaby introduced the contents of the report highlighting the significant themes that had led to the recommendations. Communication had been a key element of their considerations, both to councillors, parishes and the wider public. Enforcement was another key area impacting on the public’s perception of highways and their satisfaction with the service. The group were in favour of the Council becoming a permitting authority. The group had identified the real funding issues and supported the work to press for funding whenever possible.  The positive impact of dragon patchers was recognised but there was a need to find a way to use them in urban areas. In commending the recommendations Councillor Hannaby urged Cabinet to act to achieve the quick wins within the recommendations.

Councillor John Sanders, Shadow Cabinet Member for Environment and member of the Group commented that the Group had been careful that their recommendations would save or generate money or at the least be cost neutral. He did not think that there was a need for special costing in the longer term. In supporting the recommendations, he drew attention to the proposal that the Council become a permitting authority. Councillor Sanders also highlighted the importance of community engagement.

Councillor Ian Hudspeth, Leader of the Council, thanked Performance Scrutiny Committee for bringing forward the recommendations for Cabinet to consider.  Councillors would be aware that highways issues were the biggest part of their mail box.

Councillor Yvonne Constance, Cabinet Member for Environment, thanked the Performance Scrutiny Committee for taking the time to undertake the review. Councillor Constance thanked Councillor Hannaby for the summary of recommendations and for drawing out the key themes, that were reiterated in several recommendations: member and community engagement, better communication and responses, supervision and flexibility of staff/contracts and enforcement. There was an opportunity to celebrate the good work being done whilst looking at what further was needed.

Owen Jenkins, Director of Community Operations,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14/19

Cabinet Member: Deputy Leader of the Council

Forward Plan Ref: 2018/152

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

Report by Director of Human Resources (CA7).

The report gives an update on staffing numbers and related activity during the period 1 October 2017 to 31 December 2017.  It gives details of the actual staffing numbers at 31 December 2017 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 gave an update on staffing numbers and related activity during the period 1 October 2018 to 31 December 2018.  It gave details of the actual staffing numbers at 31 December 2018 in terms of Full Time Equivalents.  In addition, the report provided information on the cost of posts being covered by agency staff and an Agency Trend analysis. Cabinet noted the correction to the agenda summary set out in the addenda.

Councillor Judith Heathcoat, Deputy Leader of the Council, introduced the contents of the report highlighting the changes made in response to queries and comments made previously and noting that with transportation the report would continue to develop. Councillor Heathcoat added that more detailed information was on the website. In relation to agency staff Councillor Heathcoat commented that there were legitimate reasons for using agency staff, such as, to provide continuity of service when recruiting to vacancies to cover a time limited piece of work. Councillor Heathcoat added that regarding all recruitment there were strict controls in place to manage recruitment.

Councillor Heathcoat, responding to a question about the high use of catering and hospitality agency staff in Quarter 1 compared with the rest of the year, explained that this had been connected to Carillion and staff had become employed.

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 CA8.  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.

Cabinet Member: Transformation

Forward Plan Ref: 2019/001

Contact: Andrew Fairweather, Asset & Investment Team Manager Tel: 07825 790242/Karen Lister, Head of Estates & Strategy Tel: 07875 441940

Report by Director for Capital Investment & Delivery (CA10).

The information contained in the annex is exempt in that it falls within the following prescribed category:

3.         Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information);

and since it is considered that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, in that disclosure would undermine the process to the detriment of the Council’s ability properly to discharge its fiduciary and other duties as a public authority.

Approval was given on 21 December 2018 by The Leader of the Council with the agreement of the Director of Finance, to authorise the Strategic Director of Communities to negotiate, up to a specified maximum value, the purchase of Pearman’s land, being 13.32 ha (32.91 acres) adjoining the Council's land at Tank Farm, in order to ensure the County Council's control, influence and deliverability of the programmed capital receipt for Tank Farm.

The negotiations are now complete and this report details the provisionally agree terms of acquisition.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to

(a)    authorise the Strategic Director of Communities in consultation with the Portfolio member to complete the purchase, for the value specified in Annex B, of Pearman’s land, being 12.51 ha (30.91 acres) adjoining Tank Farm.

(b)    authorise the Director of Law & Governance in conjunction with the Director of Capital Investment & Delivery and Director of Finance to undertake appropriate due diligence and prepare the necessary legal agreement on the terms referred to in Annex B.

Cabinet discussion was held in public session without detailed reference to the information contained on the annex, that remains exempt.

The information contained in the annex is exempt in that it falls within the following prescribed category:

3.         Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information);

and since it is considered that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, in that disclosure would undermine the process to the detriment of the Council’s ability properly to discharge its fiduciary and other duties as a public authority.

Approval was given on 21 December 2018 by The Leader of the Council with the agreement of the Director of Finance, to authorise the Strategic Director of Communities to negotiate, up to a specified maximum value, the purchase of Pearman’s land, being 13.32 ha (32.91 acres) adjoining the Council's land at Tank Farm, in order to ensure the County Council's control, influence and deliverability of the programmed capital receipt for Tank Farm.

The negotiations are now complete, and Cabinet considered a report that detailed the provisionally agreed terms of acquisition.

Councillor Eddie Reeves, Cabinet Member for Transformation, introduced the contents of the report and highlighted the benefits of the proposed recommendations.

RESOLVED:             to

(a)    authorise the Strategic Director of Communities in consultation with the Portfolio member to complete the purchase, for the value specified in Annex B, of Pearman’s land, being 12.51 ha (30.91 acres) adjoining Tank Farm.

(b)    authorise the Director of Law & Governance in conjunction with the Director of Capital Investment & Delivery and Director of Finance to undertake appropriate due diligence and prepare the necessary legal agreement on the terms referred to in Annex B.