Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence and temporary appointments.

No apologies for absence were received.

To Committee is recommended to APPROVE the minutes of the meeting held 9 December 2022 and to receive information arising from them.

The minutes of the Performance and Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny meeting held on 9 December 2022 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

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 Friday 13 January 2023. Requests to speak should be sent to bryony.crosslanddavies@oxfordshire.gov.uk

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

The Performance and Corporate Services Committee is invited to consider and comment on:

·       Proposed Strategic Plan for 2023/24 to 2025/26.

·       Updates to revenue budget proposals for 2023/24 to 2025/26 by directorate.

·       Proposals for the use of the Budget Priority Reserve.

·       Proposed additions to the capital programme.

1.    The Performance and Corporate Services Committee was invited to consider and comment on:

a.    Proposed strategic Plan for 2023/24 to 2025/26

b.    Updates to revenue budget proposals for 2023/24 to 2025/26 by directorate

c.     Proposals for the use of the Budget Priority Reserve

d.    Proposed additions to the capital programme

e.    Review of fees and charges

STRATEGIC PLAN

2.    The Leader of the Council provided an overview of the Council’s proposed Strategic Plan for 2023/24 to 2025/26.

3.    The 2023-2024 framework was built from nine strategic priorities, 25 commitments and 49 objectives. The latter were SMART and would be summarised in a report to Cabinet on a bimonthly basis. This draft Strategic Plan was to be considered at Council following approval of the budget.

4.    The Cabinet Member for Corporate Services added that the nine strategic priorities were grouped into three themes – ‘greener, fairer, healthier’ – and were linked to engagement and consultation feedback received from the Oxfordshire Conversation events, budget consultation and the resident satisfaction survey.

5.    Whilst mainly a continuation of the previous Strategic Plan, there were two new objectives which related to the cost of living crisis and the NHS and integrated care system.

6.    An annual performance report would capture the achievement, success and challenges throughout the first year of the Strategic Plan. At the end of the fourth quarter, the underlying supporting performance measures across all nine priorities would be reviewed and updated. Targets supporting the delivery of the priorities would also be reviewed, updated and reported within a business management report that was considered at Cabinet on a bi-monthly basis.

7.    In response, the Committee explored a number of issues, most notably around which priorities were felt to be the most crucial by the administration; monitoring and reporting arrangements; the benefits and challenges of partnership working; the links between the Strategic Plan and other Budget and Policy Framework documents; green growth and rural transport.

Issues raised by Members:

8.    Asked which of the nine priorities was considered the most important in the current financial year, the Leader responded that climate action and tackling inequalities were at the core of the Council’s focus. These priorities were reflected across many of the other Council’s priorities.

9.    A Member enquired as to how the Council would monitor and report – and to what level of detail - on the delivery of the commitments in the Strategic Plan. The Member also asked over what timescale the Council expected to achieve and deliver on the commitments.

10. In response, the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services explained that detailed plans underpinned each of the objectives and would be monitored through an action plan. The Cabinet Member acknowledged the importance of specific, measurable outcomes and reassured the Committee that they would be detailed in an annual report and brought to a future meeting of the Committee for discussion.

11. A Member queried whether there were targets and standing commitments in place for achieving specific outcomes with regard to tackling  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5/23

The Performance and Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee is invited to consider and comment on:

a)    The measures Oxfordshire County Council have put in place to mitigate the effect of the cost of living crisis on residents across Oxfordshire; and

b)    Planned and proposed future measures.

1.    The Performance and Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee was invited to consider and comment on:

a.    The measures that Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) have put in place to mitigate the effect of the cost of living crisis on residents across Oxfordshire; and

b.    Planned and proposed future measures.

2.    The Cabinet Member for Health and Equalities introduced the report which provided an update on OCC’s response to the cost of living crisis and the measures the Council implemented to help residents, lessons learned and planned and proposed work.

Issues raised by Members:

3.    A Member noted that current interventions seemed to focus more heavily on crisis intervention and responding as issues emerge, and less on strategic planning to prevent poverty. In the long-run, both were required but the Council should develop more ideas around the latter.

4.    Members were concerned that there remained groups for whom accessing the Council’s support was challenging. The Committee hoped that the Council would seek to engage a genuine diversity of community organisations as awareness-raisers and take measures to ensure ease of access for the digitally-excluded.

5.    In response, the Cabinet Member informed the Committee that the Council worked closely with districts, community champions and the voluntary sector to ensure work was happening at a community level. The importance of partnership working to tackle poverty and inequality was emphasised.

6.    The Committee observed that money being sent to those in poverty was utterly vital to its recipients, and this being the case the Council should be mindful to ensure that money disbursed to other organisations was being spent correctly. Given this, the Council should give consideration as to whether to undertake an independent audit to ensure funds were reaching the intended recipients.

RESOLVED:

i)               The Committee RECOMMENDED that the Council report regularly to the Locality meetings on the spending and activity relating to the cost of living within that locality.

The Committee is asked to NOTE the progress of previous recommendations and actions having raised any questions on the contents.

1.    The Principal Scrutiny Officer provided an update on the Committee’s Action and Recommendations Tracker.

2.    The Performance and Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee NOTED the Action and Recommendation tracker.

3.    The Committee requested that indicative timescales for response be allocated to all items on the action and recommendation tracker going forward.

The Committee is recommended to AGREE its proposed work programme for 2023/24, having heard any changes from previous iterations, and taking into consideration the Council’s Forward Plan and any issues arising.

The Chair and Vice-Chair of the Committee will be attending a meeting on 17^th January 2023 to review the Business Management and Monitoring Report. A verbal update will be provided if there are any issues arising from that which are recommended to be included in the Committee’s Forward Work Plan.

1.    Members received an update on the Committee’s proposed work programme for 2023/24.

2.    The Principal Scrutiny Officer informed the Committee that every two months the Chairs and Vice-Chairs of the Council’s committees met to discuss the BMMR and any issues arising that necessitated scrutiny involvement. The group had noted the high number of red RAG rated indicators within Children’s Services as a concern and a priority for scrutiny by the People Committee. Thus, it was suggested that the Performance and Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee defer its scheduled Social Value item at its subsequent meeting if workload support across the scrutiny committees was required. 

3.    It was agreed that the Chair and Vice-Chair meet with their People Committee counterparts to discuss the approach to the urgent Children’s Services item. A meeting of the Performance and Corporate Services Committee would then be scheduled via Microsoft Teams to discuss and agree its forward work plan for subsequent meetings.

4.    The next meeting was scheduled to take place during the pre-election period. It was agreed that this meeting be rescheduled to an appropriate date following the election.