Agenda item

Cabinet Member: Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance

Forward Plan Ref: 2020/121

Contact: Louise Tustian, Head of Insight & Corporate Programmes Tel: 07741 607452/Hannah Doney, Head of Corporate Finance Tel: 07584 174654

Report by Corporate Director Customers & Organisational Development and Director of Finance (CA10).

The report sets out Oxfordshire County Council’s (OCC’s) progress towards Corporate Plan priorities for 2020/21 for the period of July 2020.

Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

(a)      note the July business management and monitoring report; and

(b)     to approve the virements set out in Annex C – 2b and note the virements in Annex C- 2C.

Cabinet considered a report setting out Oxfordshire County Council’s (OCC’s) progress towards Corporate Plan priorities for 2020/21 for the period of July 2020.

Councillor Brighouse, Chairman of Performance Scrutiny Committee stated that the Committee had raised one matter not included in the report in relation to the costs of home to school transport additional funding due to covid. They have asked for further information. The Committee also asked for further information on the cost of support for people to stay in their own homes. On the report there was discussion around trees, recycling and road maintenance. The Committee had also suggested that accessibility of the report be reviewed.

Councillor Glynis Phillips, Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance, noted that the reported position was a testimony to County Council staff who continued to provide services during this difficult time. Councillor Phillips highlighted Indicator 26 about the level of disruption to journeys but which included the delivery of the system for trees surveyed. There was a need for a systematic tree planting programme to support our targets on climate action and she urged the inclusion of a new separate target in 2021/22. Councillor Phillips commented that her main concern was the covid emergency fund.  She queried where this money had come from and wondered if it had been highlighted at the recent Council meeting the budget revision would have been agreed. She asked how the decision was made to have an £18.3m Contingency Fund and requested that at the least the £175,000 reduction to the youth fund be reversed.

Councillor Bartholomew responded that there was a misunderstanding on the way Covid Emergency Funds had been identified and he would cover this during his introduction to the finance element of the report.

Councillor Gray, Cabinet member for Local Communities, added that the initial work could be done with the remaining funding as a different way to deliver had been identified.

Cllr Heathcoat, Deputy Leader of the Council introducing the business and risk elements of the report highlighting the position with regard to key outcomes and priorities linked to the corporate plan. In particular she highlighted that some service performances had been disrupted by covid with the need to suspend or vary normal operations. Referring to looked after children Councillor Heathcoat noted that nationally the numbers of LAC continued to rise but that in Oxfordshire there had been a reduction and that this was expected to continue with the implementation of the family safeguarding Plus Model. Within her own portfolio Councillor Heathcoat drew attention to the Fire Service that continued to exceed its targets for rapid response to blue light incidents and drew attention to their other activities. Trading standards had carried out virtual scams talks.

Councillor Bartholomew introduced the finance elements of the report. In relation to covid 19 costs and lost income the directorate budgets reflected the position to the end of July. As the year progresses and costs and lost incomes increase further virements will be made to reflect this increase. In the meantime, the funding would be held in the corporate covid contingency. If the current forecast remained unchanged the contingency will be at zero by the end of the 2020/21 financial year. Councillor Bartholomew added that the forecast could change, and the situation would be kept under review. Any remaining contingency balance remaining at the end of the financial year would be transferred to reserves for future years. If there was insufficient funding this would be met from general balances.

RESOLVED:             to:

(a)      note the July business management and monitoring report; and

(b)     to approve the virements set out in Annex C – 2b and note the virements in Annex C- 2C.