Decisions

To note the contents of the report by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGO) and to endorse the actions undertaken in response by this Council.

Recommendations Agreed.

Councillors Ian Corkin and Steve Harrod.

None.

Approved and signed as an accurate record of the Meeting.

There were none.

Cabinet received the following public address:

Item 7 – Service & Resource Planning Report 2020/21 -Councillor Glynis Phillips, Shadow Cabinet member for Finance;

Item 8 – Business Management & Monitoring Report – July 2019 - Councillor Liz Brighouse, Chairman of Performance Scrutiny Committee;

Councillor Laura Price, Opposition Deputy Leader;

Item 9 – The Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children’s Board Annual Reports - Cllr Liz Brighouse, Chairman of Performance Scrutiny Committee;

Councillor Gill Sanders, Shadow Cabinet Member for Children’s Services

Art Well, Local Resident;

Item 10 - Oxfordshire Adult’s Safeguarding Board Annual Report - Cllr Liz Brighouse, Chairman of Performance Scrutiny Committee; Cllr Sobia Afridi, Shadow cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, Cllr Debbie McIlveen, local Councillor for Leys, Mr Art Well, local resident;

Item 11 – Report by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman – Investigation into a complaint against Oxfordshire County Council (Ref: 18 009 005), Councillor Liz Brighouse, Opposition Leader.

The Cabinet considered a list of items (CA) for the immediately forthcoming meetings of the Cabinet together with changes and additions set out in the schedule of addenda.

RESOLVED:            to note the items currently identified for forthcoming meetings.

To note and seek agreement of the report.

Joint Responsibility: Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance.

Recommendations Agreed.

To provide background and context to the service and resource planning process for 2020/21.

Recommendations Agreed.

To note the reports.

Recommendations Agreed.

To note the contents of the report.

Recommendations Agreed.

To note the update for Cabinet Members formal consultation briefing note on terms of the permits scheme.

Recommendations Agreed.

In order to avoid confusion, in relation to Agenda Item 17, Councillor John Howson confirmed that he was no longer a trustee of the Children not Heard Charity, although he remained listed on their website as a trustee.

Council noted that the Chairman had sent a letter of Condolence to the Chief Constable on behalf of the Council expressing deep sorrow for PC Andrew Harper’s family and friends.

Council gave a vote of thanks to Oxfordshire Fire & Rescue Service for their hard work over the exceptionally busy summer period.  The Chairman asked the Chief Fire Officer to convey Council’s appreciation to all staff.

The Chairman announced that his Charity Dinner would be held on Friday 18 October 2019 at the Holt in Steeple Aston.  Invites would be sent out shortly.

Recommendations agreed by 46 votes to 0, with 11 abstentions.

The time being after 3.30 pm, this motion was considered dropped in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 15.1.

With the consent of Council, Cllr Brighouse moved her motion, amended  at the suggestion of Councillor Reeves as set out in bold italics and strikethrough below:

“This Council is concerned that Local Government in general and Oxfordshire in particular may have to make further cuts in staff and services for the most vulnerable people as a result of an emergency Spending Review. which is required to fund Brexit.

The Leader is asked to write to the PM and Chancellor:

·                Expressing the Council’s deep concern about the impact of further cuts and in particular the impact of a one-year ad hoc Spending Review.

·                Telling them of the Transitionformation Programme which Oxfordshire has funded in order to ensure future stability and of the Innovative Partnership which has been established to make Service Delivery more efficient and effective.

·                That this work undertaken by Oxfordshire could be seriously damaged given that Local Government now needs stability. has already suffered crippling austerity cuts and now needs stability.”

The motion as amended was carried by 57 votes to 0 (unanimously).

RESOLVED:

“This Council is concerned that Local Government in general and Oxfordshire in particular may have to make further cuts in staff and services for the most vulnerable people as a result of an emergency Spending Review.

The Leader is asked to write to the PM and Chancellor:

·                Expressing the Council’s deep concern about the impact of further cuts and in particular the impact of a one-year ad hoc Spending Review.

·                Telling them of the Transformation Programme which Oxfordshire has funded in order to ensure future stability and of the Innovative Partnership which has been established to make Service Delivery more efficient and effective.

·                That this work undertaken by Oxfordshire could be seriously damaged given that Local Government now needs stability.”

The time being after 3.30 pm, this motion was considered dropped in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 15.1.

Motion Agreed by 54 votes to 0, with 1 abstention.

With the consent of Council, Councillor Reeves moved an amendment to his motion as set out below in bold itailic/strikethrough:

“This Council welcomes the additional annual investment from government (‘DfT’) in our highways, through our maintenance block allocation, and any additional funding that we have been awarded through the pot hole fund and the challenge fund, which amounts to around £13,500,00 each year.

The Council has chosen to invest in highway maintenance from our additional £120,000,000 into infrastructure over ten years, plus investing £40,000,000 into street lighting.  This amounts to:

1. £10,000,000.00 in the financial year 2018/19; and

2. a further £15,000,000.00 in 2019/20.

This Council notes that the government allocated additional monies from the Highways Maintenance and Integrated Transport Block monies make Oxfordshire one of the most heavily invested counties in the South of England, with only significantly larger counties such as Hampshire and Kent receiving more funding in recent years.

This Council further notes the success of its internal and prudential borrowing policy, which is already yielding welcome improvements to roads across Oxfordshire.

This Council resolves to:

1.         review ways in which non-ringfenced DfT funds such as the Integrated Transport Block allocation of £3,700,000 can be leveraged alongside s.106. and Councillors’ Priority Fund (‘CPF’monies with a view to improving roads and school crossings where there is demonstrable need;

2.         consider extending the date for allocating any unspent CPF Councillor’s Priority Fund monies beyond January 2020 where members are in discussions with officers regarding complementary s.106 monies that may be used to generate more comprehensive solutions and said officers are in need of more time; and

3.         review traffic congestion management arrangements in our market towns with a view to working with both District partners and Thames Valley Police to explore opportunities for decriminalised parking and residents’ parking schemes in areas of acute need.”

The motion, as amended was agreed by 41 votes to 15, with 1 abstention.

RESOLVED:

“This Council welcomes the annual investment from government (‘DfT’) in our highways, through our maintenance block allocation, and any additional funding that we have been awarded through the pot hole fund and the challenge fund, which amounts to around £13,500,00 each year.

The Council has chosen to invest in highway maintenance from our additional £120,000,000 into infrastructure over ten years, plus investing £40,000,000 into street lighting.  This amounts to:

3. £10,000,000.00 in the financial year 2018/19; and

4. a further £15,000,000.00 in 2019/20.

This Council notes that the government allocated Highways Maintenance and Integrated Transport Block monies make Oxfordshire one of the most heavily invested counties in the South of England, with only significantly larger counties such as Hampshire and Kent receiving more funding in recent years.

This Council further notes the success of its internal and prudential borrowing policy, which is already yielding welcome improvements to roads across Oxfordshire.

This Council resolves to:

4.         review ways in which non-ringfenced DfT funds such as the Integrated Transport Block allocation of £3,700,000 can be leveraged alongside s.106. and

5.         consider extending the date for allocating any unspent Councillor’s Priority Fund monies beyond January 2020 where members are in discussions with officers regarding complementary s.106 monies that may be used.

6.         review traffic congestion management arrangements in our market towns with a view to working with both District partners and Thames Valley Police to explore opportunities for decriminalised parking and residents’ parking schemes.

Council noted the following appointments:

Thames Valley Police & Crime Panel - named substitute, Councillor Kevin Bulmer;

OCC appointments to Joint Shared Services & Personnel Committee:

Councillors Ian Hudspeth, Ted Fenton, Jeannette Matelot, Liz Brighouse and Liz Leffman;

Named substitutes for the same body:

Councillors Judith Heathcoat, Mike Fox-Davies, Laura Price and Richard Webber.

Council Received the following Petition and public address:

Petition

Mr Chris Knowles, presented a petition on behalf of the Clean Air in Chippy Campaign, asking the County Council “How and When Oxfordshire County Council were going to remove HGVs from Chipping Norton?”.

Public Address

Mr Bill MacKeith, representing Oxford and District Trades Union Council, spoke in support of Agenda Item 14 (Motion by Deborah MclIveen on the Living Wage).

Ms Maria Semmonds, representing Children Heard and Seen in support of Agenda Item 17 (Motion by Councillor Neville Harris on Children Heard and Seen).

There were none.

12 questions with notice were asked. Details of the questions and answers and the supplementary questions and answers (where asked) are set out in Annex 1 to the Minutes.

In relation to question 8 (Question from Councillor Turnbull to Councillor Lindsay-Gale), Councillor Lindsay-Gale gave an undertaking that the appeals would be undertaken as quickly as possible and to provide Councillors with an update on the situation at the end of the month.

To review Treasury Management activity in 2018/19 in accordance with the CIPFA code of practice.

Recommendations Agreed nem con.

Councillors Bartholomew and Carter paid tribute to Donna Ross and Lorna Baxter for their work in this area.

 Council received the report of the Cabinet.

In relation to paragraph 1 of the report (Business Management & Monitoring Report) (Question from Councillor Leffman to Councillor Bartholomew and Heathcoat) Councillor Bartholomew gave an undertaking that the Business Management & Monitoring Report format would be looked at with a view to refining and developing the report and providing a ‘key highlights’ or a ‘summary of changes’  in the report.

In relation to paragraph 8 of the report (Bus Access to Queen Street, Oxford) (Question from Councillor Johnston to Councillor Constance) Councillor Constance gave an assurance that there would be no further applications to reduce the number of buses in Queen Street.

In relation to paragraph 8 of the report (Bus Access to Queen Street, Oxford) (Question from Councillor Roz Smith to Councillor Constance) Councillor Constance gave an assurance to bring the state of the paving (including uneven slabs and poor patching) in front of the Westgate entrance to officers’ attention for action.

In relation to paragraph 9 of the report (Provisional Revenue Outturn Report) (Question from Councillor Roberts to Councillor Bartholomew/Constance) Councillor Constance gave an undertaking to provide a written answer detailing in relation to the on/off street parking surplus, which projects had been identified for the spending of the surplus.

With the consent of Council, Councillor MclIveen moved her motion, amended at the suggestion of Councillor Charles Mathew as shown in bold italics and strikethrough below:

“Living costs in Oxfordshire are high and pay is relatively low. High housing costs mean that employers in the public and private sectors struggle to recruit and retain staff.  There are vacancies in all areas of the public sector and this is affecting service delivery. Housing costs in Oxfordshire have risen at a similar rate to those in London where workers in the Public Sector are paid a London Living Wage of £10.55 per hour.

Paying a Local Living Wage will enable people to take up job opportunities in Oxfordshire and according to employers would

?   improve staff’s quality of work;

?   decrease Absenteeism;

?   with better retention lower human resources costs.

It enables people to live on their wages and reduces in work benefits via Universal Credit. Paying the local Living Wage increases investment in the local economy.

Oxfordshire County Council asks the Cabinet to set up a working group with health partners and the Oxfordshire System Workforce Group to investigate implementation, including the cost to individual sectors of the Community, of a Living Wage policy in Oxfordshire (similar to London) and its countywide impact.”

The motion as amended was approved by 57 votes to 0 (unanimously).

RESOLVED:

“Living costs in Oxfordshire are high and pay is relatively low. High housing costs mean that employers in the public and private sectors struggle to recruit and retain staff.  There are vacancies in all areas of the public sector and this is affecting service delivery. Housing costs in Oxfordshire have risen at a similar rate to those in London where workers in the Public Sector are paid a London Living Wage of £10.55 per hour.

Paying a Local Living Wage will enable people to take up job opportunities in Oxfordshire and according to employers would

?   improve staff’s quality of work;

?   decrease Absenteeism;

?   with better retention lower human resources costs.

It enables people to live on their wages and reduces in work benefits via Universal Credit. Paying the local Living Wage increases investment in the local economy.

Oxfordshire County Council asks the Cabinet to set up a working group with health partners and the Oxfordshire System Workforce Group to investigate implementation, including the cost to individual sectors of the Community, of a Living Wage policy in Oxfordshire (similar to London) and its countywide impact.”

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Suzanne Bartington, Tim Bearder, Maurice Billington and Lawrie Stratford.

With the consent of Council, Councillor Atkins moved her motion, amended at the suggestion of Councillor Brighouse as shown in bold italics and strikethrough below:

“The way in which the County Council governs itself is a subject which should be carefully considered and regularly reviewed.  The selection of our Chairman and Vice-Chairman is particularly important, as we all rely on the Councillor in the Chair to bring at least some semblance of order and civility to all our proceedings, and to help us get our job as a Council done.

The current arrangements for the selection of Chairman and Vice Chairman, involving rotation of the posts between the 3 main political groups, have currently been in place for 6 years (having been set up many years ago, with a 4-year interregnum between 2009 and 2013) and so the time is right for us to consider whether they work well or could perhaps be improved.  

Council asks the Leader of the Council to set up a cross-party group to look at how our Chairman and Vice-Chairman are selected, and if necessary, to make recommendations to the Council for change, bearing in mind that any choice is always subject to the overriding requirement for the Council to accept any nomination.” consider changes to the current arrangements of selecting the Chair and vice Chair as part of the normal constitution review.

The motion as amended was agreed nem con.

“The way in which the County Council governs itself is a subject which should be carefully considered and regularly reviewed.  The selection of our Chairman and Vice-Chairman is particularly important, as we all rely on the Councillor in the Chair to bring at least some semblance of order and civility to all our proceedings, and to help us get our job as a Council done.

The current arrangements for the selection of Chairman and Vice Chairman, involving rotation of the posts between the 3 main political groups, have currently been in place for 6 years (having been set up many years ago, with a 4-year interregnum between 2009 and 2013) and so the time is right for us to consider whether they work well or could perhaps be improved.  

Council asks the Leader of the Council to consider changes to the current arrangements of selecting the Chair and vice Chair as part of the normal constitution review.

There were none.

There were none.

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 7 June 2109 were approved and signed as an accurate record of the Meeting.

Mr Collins confirmed that the Climate Change Workshop would be held on 8 November 2019.

No business for this Meeting.

Noted.

Noted.

Noted.

Received.

Received.

Agreed.

Agreed.

(c)(i) Agreed by 6 votes to 4.

Agreed.

(d)     ask Officers in consultation with the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and spokesperson to amend their Governance Policy/Terms of Ref  to ensure that the independence and impartiality of the Pension Fund Committee Members is assured.

Recommendations agreed.

Recommendations agreed.

The Committee congratulated the fund managers for their performance in such a difficult year.

Recommendations Agreed.

Recommendations agreed.

Recommendations agreed, subject to the following additional recommendation:

(b)     give a formal vote of thanks to Managers and Staff for their performance and excellent results.

Noted.

Recommendations agreed.

Agreed.

There were none.

No further summary needed.

The report was noted.

Recommendation agreed.

Recommendation agreed.

Recommendation agreed.

Recommendation agreed.

Recommendation agreed.

The change of meeting date and the work programme were agreed.

Recommendations agreed.

None

None

None

Recommendation agreed.

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 21 May 2019 were approved and signed as an accurate record of the meeting, subject to ‘Ian’ being changed to ‘Liam’ in Minute 39/19.

Councillor Stefan Gawrysiak (no temporary appointment)

Councillor Peter Handley (no temporary appointment)

Councillor Damian Haywood (no temporary appointment)

None received

Approved and signed.

Minute 31/19 - Extraction Of Sand, Gravel And Clay Including The Creation Of New Access, Processing Plant, Offices With Welfare Accommodation, Weighbridge And Silt Water Lagoon System With Site Restoration To Agriculture And Nature Conversation Including Lakes With Recreational Afteruses And The Permanent Diversion Of Footpath 171/15 And Creation Of New Footpaths At Land At Fullamoor Plantation, Clifton Hampden, Abingdon, Ox14 3dd  - Application Mw.0074/18

Mr Periam advised that as no further material comments had been received the refusal notice had been issued.

Item 6 Radley ROMP

Roger Thomas (Friends of Radley Lakes)

Richard Dudding (Radley Parish Council)

Douglas Symes (Agent)

Item 7. Wallingford School – Application R3.0143/18

Kevin Griffin – OCC

Matthew Richards (Ridge & partners)

Lynne Harrison (Wallingford School)

County Councillor Lynda Atkins

Item 8 – Faringdon Quarry – Application MW.0068/19

Glen Yarwood (Little Coxwell Parish Council)

County Councillor Judith Heathcoat

Item 9 – Dix Pit – Application R3.0059/19

Suzi Coyne (Agent)

County Councillor Charles Mathew

Authorisation agreed as set out in the recommendation in the addendum for the item which contained additional conditions.

Approved as amended in bold italics subject to additional conditions (under Part 17, Class B.2(2) of the GDPO) to protect the amenity of the neighbourhood to :

·                     Limit the number of vehicle movements to 22 per day

·                     Robust dust and noise monitoring

·                     Use of wheelwashing facilities

Approved subject to an informative on the consent stating that the reason that a security deposit was not sought for the routeing agreement was that the applicant did not have a poor track record of complying with routeing agreements.

No updates

No decision required

Agreed