Agenda, decisions and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Duncan Enright.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 18 October 2022 (CA3) and to receive information arising from them.

The minutes of the meeting held on 18 October 2022 were approved and signed as an accurate record.

See Annex

Members of the public who wish to speak at this meeting can attend the meeting in person or ‘virtually’ through an online connection. 

To facilitate ‘hybrid’ meetings we are asking that requests to speak are submitted by no later than 9am four working days before the meeting i.e., 9am on Wednesday 9 November 2022.  Requests to speak should be sent to colm.ocaomhanaigh@oxfordshire.gov.uk

If you are speaking ‘virtually’, you may submit a written statement of your presentation to ensure that if the technology fails, then your views can still be taken into account. A written copy of your statement can be provided no later than 9am 2 working days before the meeting. Written submissions should be no longer than 1 A4 sheet.

Petition on Traffic Filters and the Botley Road Area: Paul Lenz

8 Climate and Natural Environment Policy Statement

Cllr John Howson

9 Property Strategy

Cllr David Bartholomew

Petition

Paul Lenz stated that he believed most residents in West Oxford supported the goals of the traffic filters but had grave concerns about making the Botley Road the only access to the Westgate Centre, the railway station and Oxpens.  This residents believed will be detrimental to some of the stated goals, such as improving bus times in West Oxford.  The petition had been signed by 1856 people.

Councillor Andrew Gant, Cabinet Member for Highway Management, thanked Mr Lenz for organising the petition and bringing it to Cabinet.  He responded that he could not prejudge the decision to be taken by Cabinet at the meeting on 29 November 2022 but he could say that the recommendation was expected to be for an Experimental Traffic Regulations Order.  If Cabinet agrees to that, there will be monitoring of the effects and changes can be made later if it is not found to achieve the goals.

Cabinet Member: Finance

Forward Plan Ref: 2022/081

Contact: Louise Tustian, Head of Insight & Corporate Programmes, louise.tustian@oxfordshire.gov.uk; Kathy Wilcox, Head of Financial Strategy, 07788 302163

Report by Corporate Director Customers, Organisational Development & Resources/Director of Finance (CA6).

The business management reports are part of a suite of performance, risk and budget documents which set out our ambitions, priorities and financial performance. The 2022 – 2025 Strategic Plan sets out the Council’s ambitions for the next four years. It also shows our priority activities for the current financial year.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to

a)                  note the report and annexes

b)                  agree the virements in Annex B-2a and the supplementary estimate request in Annex B-2c.

c)                  write off a debt of £0.3m for advance payments and the cost of arranging alternative provision in relation to a home care provider that went into administration in early 2017.

Cabinet considered a report presenting the September 2022 performance, risk and finance position for the council.

Councillor Calum Miller, Cabinet Member for Finance, summarised the report.  The remaining red indicators could be mostly grouped as relating to two particular areas: children’s services and financial management.  The Council faced considerable headwinds which were reflected in the red indicators in the report: notably the ability to make savings and to handle outturn variations in the dedicated schools grant

Councillor Miller drew attention to the expected £6.6m deterioration in the financial position – a large part was driven by the considerable financial pressures facing children’s services.  He noted that the Leader had written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the significant financial challenges facing the Council and that other councils have indicated that they were on the brink of bankruptcy.

Councillor Liz Brighouse, Cabinet Member for Children, Education & Young People’s Services noted that the issue of the deficit in the High Needs Block had been around since 2014.  Consultants were looking at a project called “Delivering Better Value” but other similar projects around the country were finding it difficult to achieve their goals.  She hoped that the government would soon realise that it needed to address the deficit of £3.4bn across the country in relation to Special Educational Needs and Disability.

Councillor Brighouse added that all services across the system were also stretched for resources.  However, it has been possible to bring down the numbers of children being taken into care and provide more support to families when they need it.

Councillor Glynis Phillips, Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, addressed the rate of abandoned calls to the Council.  This had increased to 24% where the target was 10%.  She apologised to those who had not been able to obtain an answer.  Staff turnover, and in particular the loss of very experienced staff, had contributed to the problem.  However, they were recruiting as quickly as possible and there was already improvement in the October statistics.

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Cabinet Member for Climate Change Delivery & Environment, commented on three red indicators under his portfolio:

·       The difficulties in the number of electric vehicle recharging points related to technical problems at a Park & Charge site.

·       Retrofitting in low income households was running behind target because the Council received the money for it late.

·       The drop in garden waste for composting this dry summer has contributed to the reduction in recycling.  It might be worth reconsidering what is measured as this gives a misleading impression.

The recommendations were moved by Councillor Miller, seconded by Councillor Sudbury and agreed.

RESOLVED to:

a)              note the report and annexes

b)              agree the virements in Annex B-2a and the supplementary estimate request in Annex B-2c.

c)              write off a debt of £0.3m for advance payments and the cost of arranging alternative provision in relation to a home care provider that went into administration in early 2017.

Cabinet Member: Finance

Forward Plan Ref: 2022/088

Contact: Tim Chapple, Treasury Manager, tim.chapple@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Report by Director of Finance (CA7).

To provide a mid-term review of Treasury Management Activity in 2022/23 in accordance with the CIPFA code of practice.

Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to note the report, and to RECOMMEND Council to note the council’s treasury management activity the first half of 2022/23.

Cabinet received a report covering the treasury management activity for the first half of 2022/23 in compliance with the CIPFA Code of Practice on Treasury Management 2021.

Councillor Calum Miller, Cabinet Member for Finance, introduced the report.  He noted how turbulent the recent months had been in the world of finance.  However, the Council was holding more cash than expected and higher interest rates led to interest receivable being £1.4m higher than expected.

Councillor Miller had held discussions with officers about possible restructuring of the Council’s debt but the Treasury’s charge on restructuring made it a rather high hurdle.  Together with the fact that it is not anticipated that the Council will need to borrow more in this financial year, it is not proposed at this time to restructure.

Councillor Miller highlighted a new commentary in paragraphs 37 and 38 which outlined the real costs of the deficit in the High Needs Block amounting to £0.5m in lost interest this year rising to £2.7m annual loss by 2025/26.

Finally, he noted that the Treasury Management activity was predicted to contribute a £1.6m improvement over what was initially forecast. He was grateful to officers for managing the finances so well during a difficult period.

Councillor Miller moved the recommendations which were seconded by Councillor Sudbury and agreed.

RESOLVED to

note the report, and to RECOMMEND Council to note the Council’s treasury management activity the first half of 2022/23.

Cabinet Member: Climate Change Delivery and Environment

Forward Plan Ref: 2022/028

Contact: Sarah Gilbert Climate Action Team Leader, 07867 467797 / Nick Mottram, Environment and Heritage Group Manager, 07733 002171

Report by Corporate Director Environment & Place (CA8).

The Council’s Corporate Plan is ambitious for leading positive change by working in partnership to make Oxfordshire a greener, fairer and healthier County. This new Climate and Natural Environment Policy Statement (the Policy Statement) supports and strengthens this ambition to include a policy focus on environmental resilience and nature recovery.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

a)                  Agree this Climate and Natural Environment Policy Statement to ensure environmental considerations are placed at the heart of policy and decision-making across the County Council.

b)                  Re-affirm commitment to the shared environment principles of the Future Oxfordshire Partnership, set out in Appendix 1.

c)                  Lead positive change through a new County-wide strategic framework, detailed in Appendix 2, to ensure the principles for climate action, environmental resilience and nature recovery are embedded in the breadth of County Council partnership activity across Oxfordshire.

Cabinet had before it a report on the new Climate and Natural Environment Policy Statement which supports and strengthens the ambition of the Council’s Corporate Plan to include a policy focus on environmental resilience and nature recovery.

Before considering the report, the Chair had agreed to a request to speak.

Councillor John Howson welcomed the statement and accompanying recommendations but believed that the role of the school sector was under-played in the policy.  Maintained schools received a mention in the objectives but he asked for academies and private schools to be brought into the fold as key stakeholders.  There was also the question of school transport and the buses and taxis that the Council uses to bring children to school.

Nick Mottram, Environment & Heritage Manager, introduced the report.  It was built on the Oxford-Cambridge Arc Environmental Principles. Officers had sought to expand those to include, for example, climate adaptation where appropriate.

It brought together a well-developed Oxfordshire Climate Action Plan with previously less-well-developed natural environment aspirations.  The ambitions of the Policy Statement were to be delivered through more detailed strategies and plans some of which exist and some of which were to be developed, and through partnership working.  The list of services, organisations and partners was indicative and many other partners were likely to be involved, such as the school sector identified by Councillor Howson.  The detailed wording of the principles would be reviewed in response to feedback from Council services, partners and future changes in legislation and guidance, and progress monitored.  However, he noted that there was nothing in the recommendations to cover updates to the Policy Statement and asked Cabinet to consider adding such a clause.

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Cabinet Member for Climate Change Delivery & Environment, thanked officers for their work on the Policy Statement.  He noted that the Policy Statement was bringing forward the date for decarbonisation in Oxfordshire to the early 2040s instead of 2050.  It was also setting targets on decarbonisation for suppliers.  It addressed how Oxfordshire would be affected by various different global warming scenarios.

Councillor Sudbury added that there was a commitment to the circular economy and the need for Oxfordshire to become much more sustainable.  One area that he could see needed to be added was resilience to adverse weather.  He supported the proposal to add a clause relating to updates to the Policy Statement.

Other Cabinet Members welcomed the Policy Statement and made the following points:

·       The reference to the precautionary principle was crucial as it can be very difficult to predict the impact of changes.

·       Cabinet should be updated on progress in a year’s time to ensure that the Policy Statement was put into action.

·       The reference in recommendation b) to the Future Oxfordshire Partnership should be replaced by Oxford Cambridge Arc.

The Chair proposed an amendment to allow changes to the Policy Statement to be agreed by the Corporate Director Environment & Place.

The recommendations as amended were proposed by Councillor Sudbury and seconded by Councillor Hannaby.

RESOLVED to

a)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 147/22

Cabinet Member: Finance

Forward Plan Ref: 2022/090

Contact: Vic Kurzeja, Director for Joint Property Team, Vic.Kurzeja@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Report by Corporate Director - Commercial Development, Assets and Investment (CA9).

This paper presents a property strategy for Oxfordshire County Council which set out the long-term strategic framework for the development and delivery of economic, social and environmental objectives that relate to the Council’s property and assets portfolios.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to

a)                  Adopt the strategy as set out at annex 1.

b)                  Request that the Director of Property establishes a cross party Cabinet Advisory Group to oversee the development of the options and business cases for the city centre accommodation review, part of the operational assets portfolio (annex 2).

c)                  Request officers provide regular updates with regards to the implementation of the strategy against a suite of key performance indicators.

d)                  Note the feedback provided by the Performance and Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee. 

e)                  Delegate authority to the Corporate Director for Customers, Organisational Development and Resources, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Property to make minor amendments to the strategy in response to feedback from the cross party Cabinet Advisory Group (recommendation b).

Cabinet discussed a paper presenting a property strategy for Oxfordshire County Council, setting out the long-term strategic framework for the development and delivery of economic, social and environmental objectives that relate to the Council’s property and assets portfolios.

Before considering the report, the Chair had agreed to a request to speak.

Councillor David Bartholomew, Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance, stated that he would support the recommendations with some reservations.  There had been a succession of directors, consultants and cabinet members with responsibility over the last ten years and then the local elections changed the administration and the pandemic impacted on the use of property.

Councillor Bartholomew believed this document was among the best produced in his experience.  However, he criticised the lack of reference to One Public Estate which encourages cooperation among public bodies in the use of property.  The important thing was that the strategy should be brought into an Action Plan that would have cross-party support given the long term nature of the strategy.

Councillor Calum Miller, Cabinet Member for Finance, thanked Councillor Bartholomew for his comments and confirmed that the proposed Cabinet Advisory Group would include all political parties in the Council.  He also thanked the Place Overview & Scrutiny Committee for its comments on the strategy and looked forward to on-going dialogue in the future.

The Council had a number of empty properties and it was necessary to get moving on either finding uses for those or disposing of them.  There were also significant challenges in decarbonisation and financial efficiency.  The immediate priorities were listed in paragraph 10 of the report.  Officers had already taken an opportunity to give up one lease that would free up around £600,000.

Councillor Miller added that the Council was committed to the One Public Estate programme.  The administration wanted to create community hubs to ensure that people could access services locally.  However, there would be times when the Council may need to move on its own.

Councillor Jenny Hannaby welcomed the proposal to move on vacant properties, which had been a frustrating issue for local Members.  She asked that Members and residents be consulted on any proposals in their area.

The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Miller, seconded by Councillor Lygo and agreed.

RESOLVED to:

a)              Adopt the strategy as set out at annex 1.

b)              Request that the Director of Property establishes a cross party Cabinet Advisory Group to oversee the development of the options and business cases for the city centre accommodation review, part of the operational assets portfolio (annex 2).

c)              Request officers provide regular updates with regards to the implementation of the strategy against a suite of key performance indicators.

d)              Note the feedback provided by the Performance and Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee. 

e)              Delegate authority to the Corporate Director for Customers, Organisational Development and Resources, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Property to make minor amendments to the strategy in response to feedback from the cross party Cabinet Advisory Group (recommendation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 148/22

Cabinet Member: Leader

Forward Plan Ref: 2022/192

Contact: Colm Ó Caomhánaigh, Committee Officer, 07393 001096

Report by Director of Law & Governance (CA10).

Appointment of a partner governor with Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust.

Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to

a)                  designate Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust as a Strategic Outside Body;

b)                  appoint Councillor Tim Bearder, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, as a partner Governor with Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust.

Cabinet was asked to confirm the appointment of a partner governor to Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust.

The Leader proposed that this item be deferred so that it could be considered alongside a similar appointment to Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

It was agreed to defer to the Cabinet meeting on 29 November 2022.

For information only: The Cabinet Response to the report from the Performance & Corporate Services Overview & Scrutiny Committee report on the Citizens’ Jury.

The Cabinet’s positive response to the People Overview & Scrutiny Committee report on the Citizens’ Jury was noted.

Cabinet Member: All

Contact Officer: Colm Ó Caomhánaigh, Committee Officer Tel: 07393 001096

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.

The Cabinet considered a list of items for the immediately forthcoming meetings of the Cabinet.

RESOLVED:to note the items currently identified for forthcoming meetings.