Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence and temporary appointments.

There were none.

See guidance note on the back page.

There were none.

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 09.00 three working days before the meeting, i.e., Friday 19 September, 2025.

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.

Where there are a number of requests from persons wishing to present similar views on the same issue, the Chair may require that the views be put by a single spokesperson. It is expected that only in exceptional circumstances will a person (or organisation) be allowed to address more than one meeting on a particular issue in any period of six months.

There were none.

Cllr Liz Leffman, the Leader of the Council, has been invited to present a progress update on the Council’s work on Local Government Reorganisation.  Martin Reeves, Chief Executive, Lorna Baxter, Executive Director of Resources and s.151 Officer (Deputy Chief Executive), and Helen Mitchell, Programme Director: Local Government Reorganisation, have also been invited to attend and to answer the Committee’s questions.

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 report, annexes 1-4, and the background paper are attached.  Annexe 5 is to follow.

Cllr Liz Leffman, the Leader of the Council, was invited to present a progress update on the Council’s work on Local Government Reorganisation.  Martin Reeves, Chief Executive, Lorna Baxter, Executive Director of Resources and s.151 Officer (Deputy Chief Executive), and Helen Mitchell, Programme Director: Local Government Reorganisation, were also invited to attend and to answer the Committee’s questions.

The Leader introduced the Local Government Reform (LGR) item outlining the statutory requirements driving the process, emphasising the Council’s duty to engage with the City Council as the local planning authority and to fulfil its own responsibilities as the highways and transport authority. The Leader highlighted key benefits of LGR, such as the opportunity for more integrated and efficient service delivery, improved strategic planning, and better use of public assets. Partnership working was underscored as essential, with the Leader noting ongoing close collaboration with Oxford City Council and other public sector partners to ensure that the reform would support both local priorities and statutory obligations, and to maximise the positive impact for residents and the wider community.

The Executive Director of Resources and s.151 Officer presented the financial analysis for Oxfordshire's single council proposal, noting PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) appraisal of one and two unitary options with a standard methodology for direct comparison. The analysis used revenue reports from local authorities and assessed reorganisation benefits in staff, third-party spend, property, and democracy. Disaggregation costs were only relevant for two and three-unitary models; transition costs like redundancies, IT, and consultation were considered. The Executive Director of Resources and s.151 Officer confirmed the methodology was typical for business cases, not government-mandated, and expenditures were aggregated as a starting point. The appraisal targeted net benefits and payback periods, estimating roughly £27 million annual savings for a single unitary council, with the analysis pending final due diligence.

The Committee raised the following questions and comments:

·       Whether the financial analysis for local government reorganisation accounted for diseconomies of scale, particularly if more services were devolved to town and parish councils, and about the treatment of pension strain in the calculations. The Executive Director of Resources and s.151 Officer responded that diseconomies of scale were not expected to be significant, as county-wide procurement would likely offset any such effects.

Regarding pension strain, the Executive Director of Resources and s.151 Officer explained that it referred to the cost to the pension fund when someone over 55 was made redundant, and that it was difficult to calculate precisely for each individual. However, she confirmed that, for consistency, none of the three business cases included pension strain in their calculations.

·       A question was asked about the powers of mayoral strategic authorities, referencing a recommendation from the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny (CfGS) that suggested the City Council might retain powers over areas such as the economy, business, tourism, planning, and licencing. The question also sought clarity on the concept of clusters, the powers and budgets of area committees, how a larger council could be closer to communities, whether the county  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4/25