The Scrutiny Officer will provide a verbal update on the progress of the Review Group’s call for evidence.

Deferred.

The Scrutiny Officer will provide a verbal update on the progress of the Review Group’s call for evidence.

Agreed that the Bishop of Oxford, Steven Croft should be invited to a future meeting of the group.

The Review Group have asked to issue a call for evidence in the form of a survey which will be made available on the Council’s consultations webpage.

The Review Group are asked to approve the draft survey, subject to advice from the Council’s Consultation and Engagement Officer.

The Review Group agreed to shorten the survey by combining questions 7 & 8 and questions 10 & 11, and by removing questions 17 & 18.

The Review Group may wish to invite written evidence from low paid workers, members of the public and others via an open access ‘call for evidence’.  This could take the form of an online survey available via the Council’s Consultations webpage.

The Review Group is asked to consider:

1.    Whether to proceed with a survey

2.    Which group(s) to invite evidence from

3.    What questions to ask

Example questions:

·         Please could you describe your experience of the issue of low pay in Oxford?

·         The City Council promotes the payment of an ‘Oxford Living Wage’ of £9.26 per hour as a minimum (£18,303 per year for an employee working 38 hours per week).  This compares to the legal minimum of £7.50 per hour (£14,820 per year) for over 25s.  Thinking about the cost of living in Oxford, do you think the level of the Oxford Living Wage is: a) too high, b) too low, c) about right, d) don’t know.   

The Review Group requested an online survey asking people about their views on whether they think there should be an Oxford Living Wage and the rates of the OLW, the National Living Wage for over-25s and the rate for under-25s.

The Review Group asked to see the survey and press release before they are issued and suggested that the Chair appears on the local radio.