Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence and temporary appointments.

Apologies were received from the following:

-        Cllr Boucher-Giles

-        Cllr Ley (for whom Cllr Batstone was substituting)

See guidance note on the back page.

There were none.

The Committee is recommended to APPROVE the minutes of the meeting held on 16 January 2026 and to receive information arising from them.

The minutes of the meeting on the 16 January 2026 were AGREED as a true and accurate record subject to the following amendment:

-        Strengthening reference to the Committee’s wish to see the options appraisal undertaken in relation to the Watlington Relief Road.

Members of the public who wish to speak on an item on the agenda at this meeting, or present a petition, can attend the meeting in person or ‘virtually’ through an online connection.

Requests to speak must be submitted no later than 9am three working days before the meeting, i.e. Tuesday 14 April 2026

Requests should be submitted to the Scrutiny Officer at scrutiny@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 on the day of the meeting. Written submissions should be no longer than 1 A4 sheet.

The Scrutiny Officer read out a statement sent through from the Chair of Shirburn Parish Meeting, Mr Parker in relation to the Watlington Relief Road. The issues raised concerned the status of the planning consent and budget implications arising, the absence of a Cabinet report relating to the item, and the scheme’s designation as an ‘active travel’ scheme.

The Committee NOTED the address.  

Councillor Dan Levy, Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Transformation, Susannah Wintersgill, Director of Public Affairs, Policy and Partnerships, Tom Parsons, Head of Customer Experience, Clare Martin, Strategic Improvement Lead, and Richard Merritt, Operational Manager Contact Oxfordshire have been invited to present a report on the Customer Service Centre.

The Committee is asked to consider the report and raise any questions, and to AGREE any recommendations it wishes to make to Cabinet arising therefrom.

Councillor Dan Levy, Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Transformation, Susannah Wintersgill, Director of Public Affairs, Policy and Partnerships, Tom Parsons, Head of Customer Experience, Clare Martin, Strategic Improvement Lead, and Richard Merritt, Operational Manager Contact Oxfordshire attended the committee to present an update report on the Customer Service Centre.

Councillor Levy introduced the Customer Experience service update. The Council had prioritised enabling residents to contact the authority through channels that suited them, supported by investment in online and telephone systems. Officers introduced the customer experience team and the redesigned had gone live on 1 February, with management layers streamlined and additional capacity added in workforce planning and complaints to improve response times and learning. The service had been structured around customer feedback (complaints/FOI/MP enquiries), a contact centre covering communities and neighbourhoods (excluding adult social care), a dedicated social and health care ‘front door’ for adult social care, and a small strategic improvements function focused on customer journeys and working with Zoom. A major demand spike linked to the temporary congestion charge was highlighted, which included handling around 15,000 emails handled in six weeks. The focus had been on reducing avoidable ‘chase’ calls and switchboard misrouting, and that new Zoom reporting had provided better insight than low response-rate satisfaction surveys, alongside reduced waiting times.

In response to the report received and introduction given, members of the committee began their questioning.

Members sought to know how AI had been used to help answer the high volume of enquiries, and what impact this had had on staff wellbeing. Officers said AI functionality within the new Zoom platform had surfaced relevant information from the council’s knowledge base (including web content and training materials) to advisers during calls, helping them provide faster and more accurate answers. AI had also been used to analyse call sentiment and engagement across all interactions, and that virtual-agent technology had supported intent-based routing and reduced switchboard demand and customer waiting time. On wellbeing, officers said the peak period had strengthened teamwork and morale, with staff working flexibly to manage demand, and they said a positive workplace culture had been promoted.

Clarification of the service level targets (SLAs), which issues had affected achievement, and whether there had been major drivers of contact other than the temporary congestion charge. Officers said SLAs had been set as the proportion of calls answered within a specified time and had been tailored by service to reflect average call length, rather than applying a single ‘80/20’ industry standard. Adult social care calls were typically lengthy (often around 40 minutes and sometimes significantly longer), so the SLA had been set at 70% answered within five minutes, whereas more transactional lines (including general enquiries) had operated to shorter SLAs and generally performed strongly. Performance had varied predictably by day and time and could not be fully controlled because customer calling patterns clustered. On other drivers, the overall service-level figure had been pulled down primarily by adult social care telephony due to call complexity, safeguarding contacts and the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14/26

Kim Sawyer has been invited to present a report updating members on the latest developments from central government regarding Devolution.

The Committee is asked to consider the report and raise any questions, and to AGREE any recommendations it wishes to make to Cabinet arising therefrom.

The Committee were provided the Devolution Update by Cllr Leffman, Kim Sawyer, Programme Director for Devolution, having been called away to an urgent meeting.

Cllr Leffman noted that there had been limited progress since the last update to the Committee because the matter remained under consideration by the Secretary of State. Thames Valley leaders had submitted an expression of interest to the Minister for Devolution for a Foundation Strategic Authority (FSA), although they had preferred to pursue a Mayoral Strategic Authority (MSA). She explained that ministers had indicated an MSA could only follow after establishing an FSA, via a joint committee and related governance arrangements. Legislation was expected to go through Parliament in May. Cllr Leffman reported that a decision on which areas would proceed had been expected that week but had been delayed until after the May elections, following additional submissions about the proposed geography. She added that while there had been interest in including Buckinghamshire, it had not wished to participate at that stage, though ministers had expected it to align with a Thames Valley authority in due course. It was anticipated that the situation would be clearer by June, when the committee could be updated on the government’s plans for the Thames Valley.

Following the introduction, the Committee commenced its questions.

Members sought more information about whether the intention was for Swindon to included as part of the Thames Valley Strategic Authority. Cllr Leffman said that officials had indicated that government wished Swindon to be included, consistent with the Spatial Development Strategy (SDS) geography. Central government officials had sought assurance that the Thames Valley partners would work with Swindon, and that she, together with the leaders of West Berkshire and Wokingham, had provided a statement to the Minister confirming their intention to work in partnership with Swindon if that was the Minister’s direction. However, there were strong differences of opinion across Thames Valley partners on the desirability of including Swindon within the future Thames Valley strategic authority.

Given the benefits of an MSA, members sought to clarify whether it was possible to proceed directly to an MSA without first becoming a FSA. In response, Cllr Leffman said ministers had indicated that it would not be possible to move straight to an MSA, and that the forthcoming legislation required areas to begin as a FSAs. She added that leaders still sought clarification on what this would mean in practice, including the timetable for progressing to an MSA, and that the Minister had agreed to attend a leaders’ meeting after the elections to discuss those questions.

Members sought to understand more about the proposed governance arrangements for the FSA. Cllr Leffman said officers had begun considering the governance arrangements, including the establishment of a joint committee, and she expected a clearer proposal to be brought back to the committee in June once government’s arrangements were confirmed. She said representation was being considered on a population basis, with an initial suggestion of two representatives for Oxfordshire, one for each Berkshire  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15/26

Councillor Dan Levy, Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Transformation, Vic Kurzeja, Director of Property and Assets, Michael Smedley, Head of Estates, and James Cater Clare Martin, Strategic Improvement Lead, and Richard Merritt, Operational Manager Contact Oxfordshire have been invited to present a report on Community Asset Transfer Policy prior to its consideration by Cabinet.

The Committee is asked to consider the report and raise any questions, and to AGREE any recommendations it wishes to make to Cabinet arising therefrom.

Councillor Dan Levy, Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Transformation, Vic Kurzeja, Director of Property and Assets, and James Cater, National Management Trainee presented a report on the draft Community Asset Transfer Policy prior to its consideration by Cabinet.

Councillor Levy explained that the Council had historically dealt with community groups’ use of County Council property on an ad hoc basis and had sought to formalise the process to make it clearer for the public and for groups wishing to use, lease or take on Council property. He said a two-part policy had been developed, covering community asset transfer and community leasing, to set out how the Council would offer more favourable terms to eligible community groups than to commercial tenants, and invited officers to present the detail and answer questions.

Officers said the community asset transfer policy had been redeveloped and split into two parts: asset transfer (including transfer at less than best consideration in recognition of social value) and community leasing. They said a cross-council working group had been established to assess applications and to identify properties for transfer or lease, bringing together property, community wealth building and relevant service leads to improve coordination. They outlined transparent assessment criteria focused on social value, support to statutory services, investment in the property, financial management and local community benefit, and said rent concessions had been determined on a case-by-case basis (including peppercorn rent where appropriate). VCS engagement had been undertaken via a survey and webinar, which had informed clarifications on revenue caps, expanded criteria, openness to 10+ year leases, subletting permissions, proportionate reporting and tenant obligations.

In response to the presentation and report, the Committee raised a number of questions and points of clarification.

It was suggested that the Community Asset Transfer Working Group might be under-resourced, and could benefit from public health, finance and legal attendees, as well as a more flexible meeting schedule.

The Committee discussed how different tenants could be treated consistently, including those who had existing arrangements under a different policy, and after local government reorganisation. In response, officers stated that there were relatively few existing arrangements and that they had reviewed current leases; when existing leases ended, renewals and any reapplications would be assessed through the same policy framework and working group process, so that tenants were treated consistently. Officers would communicate and engage with current voluntary and community sector partners to ensure they understood the new process and could prepare for renewal. Officers had also liaised with district councils and that, following any Local Government Reorganisation, policies and processes would be reviewed and realigned by the new authority, with the intention of maintaining broadly aligned principles and consistent outcomes across areas.

Members wished to know whether non-VCS organisations would be eligible to apply under the policy. It was confirmed that non‑VCS community projects could apply under the policy, but VCS organisations would be prioritised where there were competing applications.

Greater information was sought over whether a community asset transfer was a full transfer  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16/26

Councillor Dan Levy, Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Transformation, Councillor Tim Bearder, Cabinet Member for Adults, Karen Fuller, Director of Adult Social Services, Victoria Baran, Deputy Director of Adult Social Care, and Ian Bottomley, Deputy Director of Commissioning, and Kathy Wilcox, Head of Corporate Finance have been invited to consider the Business Management and Monitoring Report with a specific focus on Adult Social Care.

The Committee is asked to consider the report and raise any questions, and to AGREE any recommendations it wishes to make to Cabinet arising therefrom.

Councillor Dan Levy, Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Transformation, Councillor Tim Bearder, Cabinet Member for Adults, Lorna Baxter, Deputy Chief Executive and S.151 Officer, Karen Fuller, Director of Adult Social Services, Victoria Baran, Deputy Director of Adult Social Care, Stephen Rowles, Strategic Finance Business Partner, Isabel Rockingham, Head of Joint Commissioning HC Age Well, and Kathy Wilcox, Head of Corporate Finance attended to present the Business Management and Monitoring Report, focusing on Adult Social Care.

Councillor Bearder said the item was brought forward due to the Adult Social Care forecast overspend, which had been around £8m earlier in the year but had reduced to around £4m following mitigation work. Pressures reflected the demand-led nature of the service, including more complex presentations and hospital discharge costs. He also highlighted additional costs from the collapse of NRS (the council’s equipment provider). Work continued to stabilise the position by year end.

Officers explained that the business management and monitoring report had summarised the council’s finance, performance and risk position, and that separate capital monitoring and outturn reports had updated progress on the capital programme. The extract before the committee had focused on Adult Services and had formed part of a series of service-focused updates. The figures reflected the position previously considered by Cabinet in March and were based on the January monitoring position, with a revised and improved outturn position due to be reported to Cabinet in June. Officers highlighted key adult-services-related capital schemes, including the residential accommodation programme, an update on the supported homes investment, and the passthrough of Disabled Facilities Grant funding to district councils. It was noted that the January forecast had taken a prudent approach and that mitigating actions had been taken to prevent recurring pressures in 2026/27, including through application of monies from the Better Care Fund and the agreed budget. The Director of Adult Social Care said the service had maintained close financial oversight through regular management reviews, reported continued success in discharge-to-assess and ‘home first’ arrangements with higher numbers of people supported to return home, and noted increased complexity and intensity of need. She also reported progress on reducing unsecured debt, including proactive work on deprivation of assets and recovery action through the courts.

In response to the introduction and on the basis of the report, committee members raised a number of queries.

More information was sought on the high number of discharges. Officers said the increased discharge numbers reflected a shift towards supporting more people to return home, rather than moving into care homes, with additional home-care capacity provided in the early days after discharge. They reported that this had followed joint work with commissioners and providers to strengthen the discharge-to-assess pathways, enabling higher throughput (with seasonal variation). The overall number of people delayed in hospital had broadly stabilised, but the number of days of delay had reduced as the discharge process had accelerated.

Members asked why a £3.5m cost pressure was evident so early on the year and why it had not been  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17/26

The Committee is recommended to NOTE the progress of previous recommendations and actions arising from previous meetings, having raised any questions on the contents.

The Committee NOTED the action and recommendation tracker.

The Committee is recommended to AGREE its work programme for forthcoming meetings, having heard any changes from previous iterations, and taking account of the Cabinet Forward Plan and of the Budget Management Monitoring Report.

The Committee AGREED the proposed work programme.

Attached are the Cabinet response to the Performance and Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee reports on:

·       BMMR – CEF Focus

·       BMMR – Public Health Focus*

·       Budget Proposals for 2026/27 to 2030/31

·       Parking Permits*

·       Social Value*

The Committee is asked to NOTE the responses.

* NB These responses are draft responses, which are scheduled to be signed off at Cabinet on 21 April.

The Committee NOTED the Cabinet responses to the reports on:

·       BMMR – CEF Focus

·       Budget Proposals for 2026/27 to 2030/31

And the draft responses from Cabinet relating to reports on:

·       BMMR – Public Health Focus

·       Parking Permits

·       Social Value