Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence and temporary appointments.

Apologies were received from Cllrs Enright and Pressel.

Apologies were also received from Cllr Dr Ley, Cabinet Member for Public Health, Inequalities and Community Safety for item 6.

See guidance note on the back page.

There were none.

The Committee is recommended to APPROVE the minutes of the meeting held on 24 July 2024 and to receive information arising from them.

The minutes of the 24 July 2024 meeting were AGREED as a true and accurate record.

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 19 September 2024.  Requests to speak should be sent 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 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.

Robin Tucker spoke about agenda item 7, praising the Local Transport and Connectivity Plan (LTCP) for its thorough and progressive outlook. He emphasised the need for detailed monitoring and action plans to meet targets. Despite early successes, these were only initial steps in transforming Oxfordshire's transport network. Mr Tucker proposed developing a model to evaluate journey modes and the shifts needed to achieve LTCP targets and tackle future challenges.

Danny Yee discussed agenda item 7, stressing the need for a detailed plan to identify and monitor effective measures. He noted that East Oxford's achievements had been undervalued, as they exceeded the county's 2030 targets. Despite this, Mr Yee called for significant infrastructure changes to meet cycling and road safety goals, advocating for a bold reallocation of road space.

The Committee requested a report on flooding in Oxfordshire, the various responsibilities of partners, and an overview.

The Committee has invited Cllr Dr Pete Sudbury, Deputy Leader of the Council with Responsibility for Climate Change, Environment & Future Generations, Paul Fermer, Director of Environment and Highways, and Teresa Kirkham, Head of Environment and Circular Economy, to present the report.  The Committee has also invited representatives from the Environment Agency, Thames Water, and South Oxfordshire and the Vale of the White Horse District Councils.

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 invited Cllr Dr Pete Sudbury, Deputy Leader of the Council with Responsibility for Climate Change, Environment & Future Generations, Paul Fermer, Director of Environment and Highways, and Teresa Kirkham, Head of Environment and Circular Economy, to present the report.

The Committee was pleased to welcome external stakeholders, namely Evie Kingsmill, Evidence Manager at the Environment Agency (EA), Jake Morley, Government and Stakeholder Engagement Manager with Thames Water (TW), and John Backley, Technical Services Manager for South Oxfordshire District Council and the Vale of the White Horse District Council.  The Committee also welcomed the attendance of Terry Coupar, Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue, Sean Rooney, Head of Highway Maintenance, and Paul Wilson, Operations manager (Highways Operations), Clare Mills, Operational manager for Flood Risk Management, and Carol Mackay, Resilience Manager, to answer the Committee’s questions.

The Deputy Leader opened the flood response discussion by highlighting recent heavy rain and flooding. It was emphasised that, while the report covered river flooding, the latest incident was caused by rainfall. The difficulty of managing significant rainfall quickly was emphasised, with a warning of worsening conditions due to climate change. The need for a long-term water management plan in response was stressed.

Cllr Hicks arrived following the introduction from Cllr Sudbury

The Technical Services Manager presented the findings and lessons on the part of his district councils from Storm Henk, outlining future actions for pre- and post-flood events. The challenges were also discussed like communicating with displaced residents and improving community resilience through effective flood protection examples.

The Evidence Manager outlined the EA’s role during Storm Henk, covering flood risk management from main rivers, maintaining assets, mapping, and regulating activities. The EA forecasted floods, monitored river levels, alerted the public, ensured operational assets, and supported multi-agency responses. Key lessons learnt from the recent flooding included maintaining good responder relationships, effective coordination, forecasting challenges, resourcing issues, prioritizing flood warnings, the value of community officers in data collection, and high groundwater levels causing potential flooding.

Following the introduction, members raised a number of issues for discussion with internal and external officers including:

·       What work, along with the planning department, occurred to create a more preventative than reactive response to flood events?

It was explained that South and Vale had a team of land drainage specialists, who reviewed planning applications to address drainage issues and ensured developers' proposals met Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) requirements, which were legally required. It was the district council's responsibility to ensure new developments managed water properly, and district engineers-imposed planning conditions accordingly.  Constructions were inspected with flood modelling used to ensure developers' proposals managed water appropriately.

Members explored provision of sandbags across the county.  The Technical Services Manager confirmed that South and Vale District Councils do not provide sandbags for flood defence, stressing the need for property owners to take proactive protective measures. Officers explained that sandbags were seen as impractical due to resource limitations and that flood guards and barriers were more efficient in keeping floodwater out.  Some communities may have had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32/24

Cllr Dr Nathan Ley, Cabinet member for Public Health, Inequalities and Community Safety, and Rob MacDougall, Chief Fire Officer and Director of Community Safety, have been invited to present a report on Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service Improvement.

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.

Rob MacDougall, Chief Fire Officer and Director of Community Safety, was invited to present a report on Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service improvement.

The Chief Fire Officer introduced the significant improvement plan, highlighting it as a major change and addressing both His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) recommendations and broader service improvements. The Fire Improvement Board had been established and had its first meeting, with HMICFRS showing support for the approach. The recommendation was for the Committee to endorse the Fire Improvement Board as the method to track improvements and to agree that the Chief Fire Officer should report annually on progress.

Following the Chief Fire Officer’s introduction, members raised a number of questions and concerns about the report, including the following:

• The scale of false alarms was highlighted by members as an area of concern.  The Committee was advised that a consultation with the public about false alarms had been completed, and a new policy had been adopted to address this issue, the implementation of the new policy was delayed. This was to allow for broader engagement with the business community. The policy aimed to reduce the number of unwanted fire signals and is expected to have an immediate impact upon its implementation next month.

• The service received internal support from Oxfordshire County Council's IT and digital services and collaborated with external partners through the National Fire Chiefs Council to explore national data and digital solutions, aiming to enhance digital capabilities and boost efficiency and response times.

• The Committee was advised that the service was focused on improved communication around feedback processes.  The introduction of an independent reporting line was highlighted as a measure to provide staff with a confidential way to raise issues.

Members expressed their concerns that since the previous report the service had seen a downgrade of all criteria to either adequate or required improvement.  Members were assured that the grades in the report reflected a change in the grading system by the HMICFRS, which affected the overall assessment.

It was explained that if any areas for improvement were identified in the report, the service would automatically receive an "adequate" rating instead of "good." This change in grading criteria contributed to the shift in grades observed.

The impact of a significant pay dispute, which nearly led to industrial action, was acknowledged as having affected the service's capacity to focus on certain areas, potentially influencing the grades received.

The service was taking steps to address these issues, including improving communication around feedback processes and introducing an independent reporting line for staff to raise concerns, aiming to rebuild confidence in the feedback system and address the concerns highlighted by the HMICFRS.

• The proportion of staff reporting that they had experienced bullying and harassment was also highlighted by members. The need to address this issue was pressed by members who were curious as to what the service was doing to rectify this.

It was acknowledged that some staff had experienced bullying and harassment.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33/24

Cllr Andrew Gant, Cabinet Member for Transport Management, Cllr Judy Roberts, Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Development Strategy, and John Disley, Head of Transport Policy, have been invited to present a report on progress made on delivering the Local Transport and Connectivity Plan (LTCP) to date and the draft LTCP monitoring report.

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.

Cllr Andrew Gant, Cabinet Member for Transport Management, and Cllr Judy Roberts, Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Development Strategy, had been invited to present the Local Transport and Connectivity Plan (LTCP) progress report. Paul Fermer, Director of Environment and Highways, Joseph Kay, Oxfordshire Transport Strategy Team Leader, and Ben Smith, Strategic Transport Manager, were also present to answer any of the Committee’s questions.

The LTCP progress report was introduced as having marked a major shift aimed at changing travel behaviours in the county. Despite difficulties in setting a relevant baseline due to COVID-19’s impact on travel, there were positive trends like increased cycling, bus, and rail use, along with fewer road traffic casualties. However, vehicle miles and road emissions rose slightly. The report also mentioned delays in major policy implementations. The Committee was reminded that some of the data pertained to 2022 which made monitoring a challenge.  There had also been delays to larger impact schemes owing to external factors.

Following the introduction, members raised a number of queries and questions for the Cabinet Members and Officers, including the following:

• Members noticed that the baseline measurement for the number of car trips had changed, and it was explained that this was because of changes to the way trips were measured and the need for a consistent base.  In 2022, there was a 4% increase in car journeys when compared to 2019.  In 2024, there was a 2.3% decrease when compared to the new baseline of 2022. Members were concerned that the change of baseline was not sufficiently clear and asked that where data was still unavailable for previous years that it was made clear that it was forecast data.
  
  

The Committee suggested that a change of target from a reduction in the number of car trips to reduction in car mileage, as it might provide a better correlation with carbon emissions and align with approaches used by other governments. This suggestion was accepted as logical and worth exploring, especially considering the difficulties in measuring car trips accurately.

• The Committee suggested that greater granularity in the data would be useful.  The Committee recognised that the adoption of plans and strategies were examples of policy delivery.  However, it considered that a greater distinction should be made in the monitoring report, and when reporting on progress generally, between the policies themselves and the physical infrastructure delivered as outputs of those policies.  For instance, whilst multiple policies had been implemented, the relatively slow pace of the resultant infrastructure was of concern to members.

• The aim of mobility hubs was to intercept traffic outside the city to lessen congestion and emissions. They would facilitate a smooth switch from personal vehicles to public or shared transportation like electric buses or trains for the rest of the trip into the city.

This approach focused on transport decisions based on their overall impact on the place, not just individual modes. The goal was an integrated, sustainable, and efficient transport system that benefited the community and environment. Movement and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34/24

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 Action and Recommendation tracker was NOTED with a request for an update on recommendations in progress.

The Committee the invited Paul Fermer, the Director of Environment and Highways, and Robin Rogers, Director of Economy and Place, to introduce themselves to the Committee explaining their roles and responsibilities.

The Director of Environment and Highways explained that he managed a wide array of duties, including road maintenance, safety, network management, supported transport, and environmental initiatives. His team handled street works coordination, parking enforcement, home school transport, recycling centres, local flood authority tasks, and major transport and infrastructure projects.

The Director of Place and Economy outlined his role, overseeing teams in Place Planning, Climate Action, Innovation Service, Future Economy, and Strategic Planning. He also noted his work in devolution policy and the Future Oxfordshire Partnership.

Paul Fermer, Director of Environment and Highways, and Robin Rogers, Director of Economy and Place, have been invited to introduce the new directorate responsibilities to the Committee and to advise the Committee in agreeing its work programme.

The Committee is recommended to AGREE its work programme for forthcoming meetings, taking account of the Cabinet Forward Plan and of the Budget Management Monitoring Report.

There was a discussion about some budgetary implications from the highways and maintenance budget forecast, including the 20% reduction in income received through parking levies. Members were informed that any underspend went back into the central pot to help with wider council pressures.

The Committee AGREED to the committee work plan with the addition of a review of cycle and footpath maintenance in February.

The Committee also agreed to the membership of the Transport Working Group, noting the inclusion of Cllr Haywood, who did not sit on the Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Attached is the Cabinet response to the Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee report on Vision Zero. The Committee is asked to NOTE the response.

The Committee NOTED the Cabinet response to the report submitted on Vision Zero.