Agenda, decisions and minutes

Cabinet - Tuesday, 16 June 2020 2.00 pm

Venue: Virtual

Contact: Sue Whitehead  Tel: 07393 001213; E-Mail:  sue.whitehead@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Link: video link to the meeting oxon.cc/Cabinet16062020

Items
No. Item

45/20

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Liam Walker

46/20

Minutes pdf icon PDF 272 KB

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 16 June 2020 (CA3) and to receive information arising from them.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 26 May 2020 were approved and signed as an accurate record.

47/20

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

 

How many responses were received to the consultation on the Closure of Walton Street that ended on 29th May?

 

Councillor Constance replied:

 

As this consultation only closed recently the detail of responses received in all formats (online, via email, postal and as petitions) is still being analysed, therefore the full breakdown is not yet available, but I can confirm that we received 487 responses online, and have recorded 147 emails so far, the final number is not yet known.  We have also received at least three petitions.

 

Supplementary Question:

That is a very significant response and demonstrates the depth of feeling on the issue. If I may, I would like to ask about something that has arisen from the consultation but was not a part of it.

Residents of Lekford Road have pointed out there is a 7.5 tonnes weight limit on their road.  They would like to know how that weight limit is enforced and what further measures might be taken to prevent heavy vehicles using their road?

Reply:

I am very aware of 7.5 tonne weight limit on Lekford Road.  St. Margaret’s Road is the designated route for heavier HGV traffic.  We are aware that there does seem to be greater use of Lekford Road and we have informed Trading Standards who are responsible for enforcement.  We are working with Lekford Road residents who have agreed to carry out a further traffic survey in the hope that we can resolve the issue.  We are not sure how we can stop heavy vehicles from using Lekford Road, but we are looking for a solution.

Councillor Howson replied:

 

The present signs are described by the government as in the Signs Giving Orders classification – the addition of ‘for access’ makes the issue more complicated, one solution could be to remove the ‘for access’ from the signs.

 

 

 

48/20

Petitions and Public Address

Minutes:

The Chairman had agreed the following request to speak:

 

Item 6

Speaker

 

Item 6 – Oxfordshire County Council Post COVID Planning: Restart, Recover, Renew

 

 

Councillor Liz Brighouse, Opposition Leader

 

The address is recorded at the item.

49/20

Oxfordshire County Council Post COVID Planning: Restart, Recover, Renew pdf icon PDF 628 KB

Cabinet Member: Leader

Forward Plan Ref: 2020/096

Contact: Claire Taylor, Corporate Director Customers & Organisational Development Tel: 07919 367072

 

Report by Chief Executive (CA    ).

 

To set out the council’s approach to post covid recovery.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

As set out under Rule 19(a) of the Scrutiny Procedure Rules, this decision was exempt from Call-In as it was deemed urgent to enable the actions and proposals in the report to be implemented immediately without any delay, which is important given the fluid situation with covid guidance and the need to respond and adapt.

         

Cabinet had before it a report which set out Oxfordshire County Council’s approach to post COVID-19 planning and recovery following the national period of lockdown and a prolonged period of operation within an emergency response context.

 

Councillor Liz Brighouse explained that in moving forward from the past 5 months where Corona Virus had dominated the lives of people across the world, there was a need to build on the commitment of all those public sector workers who had given so much to treat and care for those suffering from the virus, those who had kept us safe, those who fed us and those who continued to educate our children or were just there as a friendly voice on the end of a phone. That goodwill must not be squandered, and we must recognise and mend the cracks in our public services which became so visible.  Referring to the tragic death of George Floyd in the US which had prompted waves of protests across the world, in Oxfordshire despite the threat of COVID many people went onto the streets and into the Parks to call for an end to racism and discrimination against the black community. The BAME community had suffered disproportionately as a result of COVID and many children from that community will have fallen even further behind in their educational attainment.

 

She welcomed the statement from the Leader in relation to Black Lives matter and believed that the approach in the document could pave the way to an Oxfordshire which was Inclusive, Diverse and Thriving. Many of the pillars were in place in the Corporate Plan and the Director of Public Health Report, although some of the objectives would need to be reprioritised. The suggestion to prioritise Health Checks in our BAME Communities was welcome as was work with vulnerable children and families. Revisiting and reprioritising needed to be undertaken urgently. It was important also to continue and learn from the work which was being done in Banbury as a result of the DPH report. Working together and with and not just for Communities had to be the norm.

 

The lockdown had changed working and travelling patterns.  Inevitably some people would be going back into offices, but as this report considered, there was a need to ensure that the digital technology which had been developed was used and that innovative ways of delivering services took priority, to ensure that no one was digitally homeless. In education, children should have Chrome Books etc, and access to the internet. We had already considered how technology could be used to access and deliver services and that now needed to be accelerated.  It was important that there was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49/20

50/20

Forward Plan and Future Business pdf icon PDF 232 KB

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 CA7.  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 (CA7) 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.