Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Edwards.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 16 June 2026 and for the Chair to sign them as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 16 June 2026 were approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

See guidance note below.

Councillor Levy declared an interest in respect of item 6 & 7 as he was as a non-Executive Director of Enterprise Oxfordshire and therefore left the meeting at this point.

Any county councillor may, by giving notice to the Proper Officer by 9 am two working days before the meeting, ask a question on any matter in respect of the Shareholder Committee’s delegated powers.

The number of questions which may be asked by any councillor at any one meeting is limited to two (or one question with notice and a supplementary question at the meeting) and the time for questions will be limited to 30 minutes in total. As with questions at Council, any questions which remain unanswered at the end of this item will receive a written response.

Questions submitted prior to the agenda being despatched are shown below and will be the subject of a response from the appropriate Committee Member or such other councillor or officer as is determined by the Committee Member, and shall not be the subject of further debate at this meeting.

There are none.

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There were none.

Cabinet Member: Environment and Economy  

Forward Plan Ref: 2026/157 

Non-Key Decision: 

Contact: Nick Glover, Head of Future Economy and Innovation (Nicholas.Glover@oxfordshire.gov.uk)  

Report by Director of Economy and Place (SC6). 

To seek approval for strengthening Enterprise Oxfordshire’s governance and membership through new sub-committees and expanded partnership representation.

The Shareholder Committee is RECOMMENDED to:

a)     APPROVE the establishment of an Enterprise Zone (EZ) Advisory Board (and its scope and purpose) as a formal sub-committee of the Enterprise Oxfordshire Board.

b)     AGREE to establish a county-wide Skills Board (and its scope and purpose) as a formal sub-committee of the Enterprise Oxfordshire Board.

c)     AGREE in principle the extension of company membership of Enterprise Oxfordshire to local public sector partners.

d)     AGREE to receive further proposals on governance and the composition of the EZ Advisory Board, Skills Board, and Enterprise Oxfordshire Board to include members from across the county’s public, private and higher education sectors.

e)     INSTRUCT officers to develop detailed governance proposals, including recommendations for the establishment of further sub-committees as appropriate.

The Deputy Chair, Councillor Laura Gordon (Cabinet Member for Environment and Economy), introduced the report.

During discussion, it was noted that this report set out provisional governance arrangements to deal with concerns raised about the Enterprise Zones and the importance of stakeholder buy-in, given impending local government reorganisation in Oxfordshire. It was stated that the approach was deliberately vague to allow for a consultative approach with partners to ensure these arrangements worked for all involved.

Members noted that the introduction of a Skills Board would be extremely welcome to allow for Oxfordshire’s economy to be as inclusive as possible.

Officers requested for a slight amendment to change the word ‘Instruct’ to ‘Request’ within recommendation e). Members noted the change and agreed to it.

Councillor Gordon moved and Councillor Fawcett seconded the amended recommendations and they were approved.

RESOLVED to:

a) APPROVE the establishment of an Enterprise Zone (EZ) Advisory Board (and its scope and purpose) as a formal sub-committee of the Enterprise Oxfordshire Board.

b) AGREE to establish a county-wide Skills Board (and its scope and purpose) as a formal sub-committee of the Enterprise Oxfordshire Board.

c) AGREE in principle the extension of company membership of Enterprise Oxfordshire to local public sector partners.

d) AGREE to receive further proposals on governance and the composition of the EZ Advisory Board, Skills Board, and Enterprise Oxfordshire Board to include members from across the county’s public, private and higher education sectors.

e) REQUEST officers to develop detailed governance proposals, including recommendations for the establishment of further sub-committees as appropriate.

Cabinet Member: Environment and Economy 

Forward Plan Ref: 2026/124 

Non-Key Decision

Contact: Sadie Patamia, Head of Corporate Services – Enterprise Oxfordshire (Sadie.Patamia@oxfordshire.gov.uk)

Report by Director of Economy and Place (SC7). 

To recommend the appointment of a Managing Director for Enterprise Oxfordshire, which is a reserved matter for Shareholder Committee.

The information in this case is exempt in that it falls within the following prescribed categories:

1.    Information relating to any individual

2.    Information which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual

and since it is considered that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

The annex containing exempt information under the above paragraph is attached.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to:

a)    Agree to the appointment of the candidate recommended by the Enterprise Oxfordshire Board to the position of Managing Director of Enterprise Oxfordshire, outlined in Exempt Annex 1.

The Deputy Chair, Councillor Laura Gordon (Cabinet Member for Environment and Economy), introduced the report.

During discussion, it was noted that a comprehensive recruitment and interview process was carried out comprising of senior officers at Enterprise Oxfordshire and the Council, along with the relevant Cabinet Member. It was noted that if the appointment was approved, the candidate would be ready to start in Autumn 2026.

Councillor Gordon moved and Councillor Fawcett seconded the recommendations and they were approved.

RESOLVED to:

a) Agree to the appointment of the candidate recommended by the Enterprise Oxfordshire Board to the position of Managing Director of Enterprise Oxfordshire, outlined in Exempt Annex 1.