Agenda, decisions and minutes

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 Cabinet Member’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 Cabinet Member or such other councillor or officer as is determined by the Cabinet Member, and shall not be the subject of further debate at this meeting. Questions received after the despatch of the agenda, but before the deadline, will be shown on the Schedule of Addenda circulated at the meeting, together with any written response which is available at that time.

Question received from Cllr John Howson

‘In view of the evidence that Myalgic Encephalopathy/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is one of the leading causes of long-term absence from school, affecting approximately 1% of pupils, what training has been provided for school nurses to help them to advise teachers and school leaders of how they might manage the learning of pupils with ME/CFS.’

Response

The School Health Nurse Service has not received any formal training in the area of ME/CFS. Individuals have developed any knowledge they have based on experience in practice, and joint working with Consultant Paediatricians, as and when the need arises.

Rebecca Cooper, Public Health Specialist, added that the School Health Nurse Service was a newly developing, holistic service and needed to be aware of issues such as ME/CFS. Therefore, if it was deemed appropriate, school health nurses would be appraised of the symptoms associated with this medical condition, together with information such as the availability of support groups etc.

Forward Plan Ref: 2014/098

Contact: Ruth Ashwell, Youth, Engagement & Opportunities – Service Manager Tel: (01865) 810649

Report by Youth, Engagement & Opportunities – Service Manager (CMDPHVS4).

Oxfordshire County Council believes that YOUTH MATTERS and has set up a fund of £100,000 to support work with children and young people across the County. The fund supports the aspirations of those working with children and young people in Oxfordshire to ensure all children and young people can access positive activities in their leisure-time by 2020.

The Cabinet Member for Public Health & the Voluntary Sector is RECOMMENDED to consider the applications (listed in paragraph 4 of the report) for grant support in the light of the officer recommendation as set out in the applications annexed to this report.

The following awards were approved (amount awarded in brackets):

·         Hanney Youth FC – ‘Clubhouse Build’ project (£2,000);

·         The Disability Karate Federation – ‘Karate for Individuals with Disabilities’ project (£5,000);

·         Blackbird Leys Adventure Playground – ‘Winter Opening’ project (£3,000);

·         Oxfordshire Youth – ‘Community Link Up project – Boxing Awards Scheme’ (£1,300);

·         Oxford Wheels Project – ‘Skateboard/BMX Coaching Sessions’ (£3,130);

·         The Music Club – ‘Music for All’ project (£2,000);

·         Thomas Gifford’s Charity –‘Charlbury Community Centre (£4,700) it was noted that a contribution from the local community budget would be sought for any future applications; and

·         Dovecote Voluntary Parent Committee – ‘Dovecote Afloat’ project (£4,000)