Agenda, decisions and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Dan Levy.

- guidance note below

There were none.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 19 March 2024 (CA3) and to receive information arising from them.

The minutes of the meeting held on 19 March 2024 were approved as a correct record.

There were none received.

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 or present a petition are submitted by no later than 9am four working days before the meeting i.e., 9am on Wednesday 17 April 2024.  Requests to speak should be sent to chris.reynolds@oxfordshire.gov.uk

If you are speaking ‘virtually’, you may submit a written statement of your presentation to ensure that your views are 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.

8 Vision Zero Strategy

Danny Yee

Kate Fuller

Alison Hill

Alison Hill (on behalf of Robin Tucker, CoHSAT)

9 Future Generations Mission Statement

Cllr Charlie Hicks

Cllr Brad Baines (at start of meeting)

There were none to report.

Cabinet will receive the following Scrutiny reports:-

Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee report on Vision Zero

Education and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee report on Priority Action Plan

Councillor Kieron Mallon, Chair of the Place Overview & Scrutiny Committee, presented the report on Visio Zero.

Councillor Liz Brighouse, Deputy Chair of the Education and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee, presented the report on Draft Action Plan.

Cabinet received the reports and will respond in due course.

Cabinet Member: Transport Management

Forward Plan Ref: 2023/317

Contact: Caroline Coyne, Project Manager

Caroline.coyne@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Report by Corporate Director Environment & Place (CA8)

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to

(a)            Approve the Vision Zero Strategy and Action Plan ‘Oxfordshire – Safe Roads through Vision Zero to 2030’.

Cabinet had before it a report on the Vision Zero strategy and action plan which  set out how the Council aimed to achieve its target of a reduction in collisions to zero fatalities and life changing injuries from road traffic collisions by 2050: with an interim target of 25% reduction by 2026 and 50% reduction by 2030. It ensured our highway network was safely designed, implemented, and maintained with Vision Zero at the heart of our decision making.

Councillor Andrew Gant, Cabinet Member for Transport Management, presented the report. He thanked the speakers for their contributions to the meeting and referred to the valuable role played by the Council’s co-production partners in the development of these strategies.

During discussion, members made the following points:-

·       The large number of requests from parish councils for 20mph speed restrictions

·       The need for the Council to be ambitious in seeking to meet the targets set out in the strategy and to implement measures that would result in a reduction in the number of car journeys

·       The section on education should be enhanced to emphasise the need for cycle safety to be promoted in schools and for all schools, including those in the independent sector, to take on board initiatives on road safety.

·       The need to address problems caused by overweight vehicles and for heavy vehicles to keep to their designated routes.

·       The importance of adequate communication on the need for the Vision Zero strategy in view of the results of the consultation exercise and concerns that the consultation appeared to be geared towards older sections of the community.

The Chair expressed the Council’s thanks to all those who had been involved in the development of the strategy.

Councillor Gant moved and Councillor Ley seconded the recommendations, and they were approved.

RESOLVED to approve the Vision Zero Strategy and Action Plan ‘Oxfordshire – Safe Roads through Vision Zero to 2030’ as set out in the report.

Cabinet Member: Deputy Leader of the Council with Responsibility for Climate Change, Environment & Future Generations

Forward Plan Ref: 2023/361

Contact: Elena Grant, Policy Officer, 07825 403173

Report by Executive Director of Resources and Section 151 Officer (CA9)

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to

Cabinet is asked to agree the principle of Future Generations, and the mission statement that sets the direction of Oxfordshire County Council’s work in this space.

Cabinet had before it a report on a proposed mission statement on Future Generations. The Council had passed a motion setting out a commitment to considering Future Generations in decision-making, and as part of this there has been the appointment of a Future Generations Member Champion and Future Generations included in a Cabinet portfolio.

The next steps were to set out the approach and ambition to be one of the leading English councils in this space. A mission statement had been developed to set out the scale of the Council’s goals, along with some initial actions of where to start work in this space.

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Deputy Leader of the Council with Responsibility for Climate Change, Environment & Future Generations, presented the report. He thanked Councillor Hicks for bringing forward the proposal on Future Generations to the Council and looked forward to working with him in his new role as Member Champion.

During discussion members welcomed the mission statement and expressed the hope that schools would participate in the Council’s initiatives in this area of policy.

Councillor Sudbury moved and Councillor Leffman seconded the recommendation, and it was approved.

RESOLVED to agree the principle of Future Generations, and the mission statement that sets the direction of Oxfordshire County Council’s work in this space.

Cabinet Member: Deputy Leader of the Council with Responsibility for Climate Change, Environment & Future Generations

Forward Plan Ref: 2024/024

Contact: Sarah Gilbert, Head of Climate Action (Sarah.Gilbert@oxfordshire.gov.uk)

Report by Corporate Director for Environment & Place (CA10).

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to

a.     Note the biannual update on the delivery of the workstreams in the Climate Action Programme (Annex 1).  

b.     Approve adjustments to the programme for 2024/25 (Annex 2). 

c.      Approve the draft outcome measures for monitoring progress to a net zero Oxfordshire (Annex 3).

Cabinet had before it a report which provided an update on work to address the Climate Emergency, including delivery of the 2023/24 Climate Action Programme workstreams.

The report noted the council’s success in becoming the highest ranked county council in the UK for its Climate Action in Climate Emergency UK’s Climate Scorecard and receiving an A- score in a shadow submission to the industry-leading CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project) reporting framework.

The report provided an update on delivery of the council’s Carbon Management Plan for 2023/24. An emissions reduction will be achieved due to the imminent completion of the street lighting LED replacement programme. Whilst preparatory work has taken place, delivery of works planned for property, fleet, and staff business travel in 23/24 had been pushed back into 24/25. Property projects for 2023/24 would now complete alongside the 2024/25 programme.

The report also noted that 21 of 27 workstreams in the climate programme agreed in 23/24 were rated as green.

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Deputy Leader of the Council with responsibility for Climate Change, Environment and Future Generations, presented the report. He thanked all those who had contributed to the significant progress with the Council’s climate agenda and, in particular, the team of officers for all their hard work.

The Chair also welcomed the progress detailed in the report and that the Council was being recognised, nationally, for its performance on climate change initiatives.

Councillor Sudbury moved, and Councillor Howson seconded the recommendations, and they were approved.

RESOLVED to

a)    note the biannual update on the delivery of the workstreams in the Climate Action Programme (Annex 1).  

b)    approve adjustments to the programme for 2024/25 (Annex 2). 

c)     approve the draft outcome measures for monitoring progress to a net zero Oxfordshire (Annex 3).

Cabinet Member: Finance

Forward Plan Ref: 2024/059

Contact: Natalie Crawford, Capital Programme Manager

Natalie.crawford@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Report by  Executive Director of Resources and Section 151 Officer (CA11)

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

a.               approve the inclusion of the £2.384m Active Travel Fund 4 Extension (ATF4e) Grant into the capital programme to deliver active travel schemes across Oxfordshire.

b.               approve the inclusion of £1.260m grant funding from the Department for Transport Safer Roads Funds to carry out a specific package of road safety works.

c.               approve the drawdown of £2.000m of funds from the Parking Account to reinvest into three Park and Ride sites requiring maintenance work.

d.               approve the inclusion of Faringdon Community College, a scheme to replace temporary buildings with permanent accommodation, into the Capital Programme with an indicative budget of £6.006m to be fully funded from held & secure s106 contributions.

Cabinet had before it a report which set out changes to the Capital Programme requiring Cabinet approval that would be incorporated into the agreed programme and included in the next update to the Capital Programme in June 2024.

The Chair presented the report on behalf of the Cabinet Member for Finance.

Councillor Andrew Gant, Cabinet Member for Transport Management and Councillor John Howson, Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Young People’s Services, explained details of the additional schemes within their respective portfolios.

Councillor Leffman moved and Councillor Howson seconded the recommendations, and they were approved.

RESOLVED to:

a)    approve the inclusion of the £2.384m Active Travel Fund 4 Extension (ATF4e) Grant into the capital programme to deliver active travel schemes across Oxfordshire.

b)    approve the inclusion of £1.260m grant funding from the Department for Transport Safer Roads Funds to carry out a specific package of road safety works.

c)     approve the drawdown of £2.000m of funds from the Parking Account to reinvest into three Park and Ride sites requiring maintenance work.

d)    approve the inclusion of Faringdon Community College, a scheme to replace temporary buildings with permanent accommodation, into the Capital Programme with an indicative budget of £6.006m to be fully funded from held & secure s106 contributions

Cabinet Member: Community & Corporate Services

Forward Plan Ref: 2023/343

Contact: Sharon Yardy, Head of HR Professional Services

Sharon.yardy@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Report by Executive Director of Resources and Section 151 Officer (CA12)

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

(a)  Approve the award of the managed service recruitment contract as Oxfordshire County Council’s (OCCs) strategic supplier for our contingent labour workforce as set out in Confidential Annex 1. The aim is to award the contract by 1 June 2024 and the contract duration will be three years plus the option for a one-year extension; and

(b)  to delegate the finalisation of terms and conditions to the Director of Workforce and Organisational Development in consultation with the Head of Legal and Deputy Monitoring Officer and Head of Procurement

It was agreed that there was no requirement to exclude the public as there was no request to discuss the information in the exempt annex.

Cabinet had before it a report on the award of a managed service recruitment contract to a strategic supplier for the Council’s contingent labour workforce.

Councillor Neil Fawcett, Cabinet Member for Community and Corporate Services, presented the report.

Councillor Fawcett moved and Councillor Sudbury seconded the recommendations, and they were approved.

RESOLVED to:

a)    approve the award of the managed service recruitment contract as Oxfordshire County Council’s (OCCs) strategic supplier for our contingent labour workforce as set out in Exempt Annex 1. The aim is to award the contract by 1 June 2024 and the contract duration will be three years plus the option for a one-year extension; and

b)    to delegate the finalisation of terms and conditions to the Director of Workforce and Organisational Development in consultation with the Head of Legal and Deputy Monitoring Officer and Head of Procurement.

Cabinet Member: All

Contact Officer: Chris Reynolds, Senior Democratic Services Officer Tel: 07542 029441

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.

Oxfordshire Education Commission

Cabinet noted the following response to the Scrutiny report:-

Oxfordshire Education Commission