Issue - meetings
CEB Reports for September
Meeting: 04/09/2014 - Finance Panel (Panel of the Scrutiny Committee) (Item 3.)
3. Treasury Management Annual Report 
PDF 150 KB
Contact Officer: Anna Winship, Financial Accounting Manager;
Tel 01865 252517, awinship@oxford.gov.uk
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Background Information |
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Report detailing the Council’s Treasury Management Performance for 2013/14. The City Executive Board on 10 September will be asked to note this report.
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Why is it on the agenda? |
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For Members to review the City Council’s Treasury Management Performance for 2013/14. The Finance Panel is the “proper scrutiny body” for the Treasury Management Strategy within the CIPFA code.
Any recommendations from the Panel will be reported to the City Executive Board on 10 September and circulated for information to all members of the Scrutiny Committee.
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Who has been invited to comment? |
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Anna Winship has been invited to attend to assist the Panel with this debate.
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Meeting: 04/09/2014 - Finance Panel (Panel of the Scrutiny Committee) (Item 5.)
5. Budget Monitoring 2014/15 - Quarter 1 (April - June) PDF 42 KB
Contact Officer: Nigel Kennedy, Head of Finance;
Tel 01865 252542; nkennedy@oxford.gov.uk
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Background Information |
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The Integrated Report outlines finance, performance and risk management information at the end of quarter 1 (30 June 2014). The Panel’s focus for this debate is the spending elements within this report.
The City Executive Board on 10 September will be asked to: · Note the projected outturn for finance and performance as at the end of the first quarter of 2014/15, · Recommend to Council the approval of a £160,000 capital investment in a Heavy Goods Vehicle Testing Facility.
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Why is it on the agenda? |
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For the Panel to monitor spend against budgets and seek reassurance and explanation for any significant variances.
Any recommendations from the Panel will be reported to the City Executive Board on 10 September and circulated for information to all members of the Scrutiny Committee.
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Who has been invited to comment? |
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Bill Lewis, Interim Management Accounting Manager, has been invited to assist the Panel with this debate.
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Additional documents:
Meeting: 02/09/2014 - Scrutiny Committee (Item 20)
20 Business in the Community PDF 147 KB
Contact Officer: Simon Howick, Head of Human Resources and Facilities
Tel 01865 252547 showick@oxford.gov.uk
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Background Information |
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The City Executive Board on 10 September 2014 will be asked to: · Endorse the connection with Cherwell School and the arrangements described within the report.
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Why is it on the agenda? |
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The Scrutiny Committee has asked for this item to be included on the agenda for pre decision scrutiny.
Members may wish to explore what outcomes the City Council is seeking to achieve, how success will be measured and how City Council staff will be supported in mentoring Year 10s and Year 12s at Cherwell School.
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Who has been invited to comment? |
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Councillor Price and Simon Howick have been invited to attend to present this item and answer the Committee’s questions.
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Minutes:
The Head of Human Resources and Facilities submitted a report (previously circulated, now appended) which detailed the development of the Business in the Community programme.
The Head of Human Resources and Facilities and Chris Price, Head of Cherwell School presented the report and explained the initiative to develop a mentoring scheme between City Council officers and Year 10 students from Cherwell School.
Thirty three officers have volunteered to be mentors in the scheme which will focus on career development, raising aspirations, citizenship and civics. The mentors come from across the council, and have been matched appropriately with the students.
Cllr Price explained that the Business in the Community programme arose through the Oxfordshire Schools Board, who discovered that local employers felt that many students didn’t have the skills necessary for work. Several businesses across the County are taking part in the initiative and work placements at the different employers can be arranged for pupils should they appear more suitable.
The Committee made the following comments:
· It is vital to build sustainable links particularly with vulnerable pupils and suggested that pupils should be able to change their mentor if the arrangement is not working for them.
· High quality careers advice is vital and there should be a strong emphasis on equipping pupils with advice and skills tailored to their needs and the needs of employers before they embark on the world of work.
· It’s important to set measurable and realisable targets, where possible, in order to monitor outcomes and ensure value for money.
Meeting: 02/09/2014 - Scrutiny Committee (Item 21)
21 Oxfordshire Growth Board PDF 138 KB
Contact Officer: David Edwards, Executive Director of City Development and Housing
Tel 01865 252394, dedwards@oxford.gov.uk
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Background Information |
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The City Executive Board on 10 September will be asked to: · Approve the City Council becoming a member of the Oxfordshire Joint Growth Board, and the terms and conditions appended to the report. · Appoint the Leader of the Council as the City Council’s representative on the Board and any other Executive Member as substitute, to be determined by the Leader of the Council.
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Why is it on the agenda? |
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The Scrutiny Committee has asked for this item to be included on the agenda for pre decision scrutiny.
Members may wish to consider issues around governance and accountability of this partnership board and to feed in any views or comments to the City Council’s proposed representative on this board.
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Who has been invited to comment? |
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Councillor Price, David Edwards and Michael Crofton-Briggs have been invited to attend to present their report and answer the Committee’s questions.
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Minutes:
The Executive Director of City Regeneration and Housing and Cllr Price submitted a report (previously circulated, now appended) which detailed the structure of the Oxfordshire Growth Board, which would be the body responsible for managing how the City Deal funding is spent.
Cllr Price presented the report. He explained that the creation of the Oxfordshire Growth Board would merge three partnership bodies (the Joint Committee for the City Deal, the Spatial Planning and Infrastructure Partnership and the Local Transport Board) into one.
The Board would be a joint committee under the Local Government Act 1972 and would therefore comply with all meeting requirements of the act (like any other council committee) and would be open to the public. The Committee suggested that this should be made explicitly clear in the Terms of Reference. The Board would consist of a mixture of full voting and non-voting representatives.
The Board would fall under executive function and no non-executive functions have been transferred. This means that the running of the Board is completely separate from the planning process. The Board will have to apply for planning consent and individual councils will be responsible for determining planning applications associated with the development.
In terms of scrutiny, there will be the opportunity to pre-scrutinise the Board’s proposals in the same manner the Committee scrutinises Council.
The Committee asked that officers include the Oxford Growth Board agendas on the Committee’s agenda and that the Board’s minutes be added to the council’s website.