The Committee agreed to elect Councillor Mark Mills as Chair for the Council Year 2012/13.

The Committee agreed to elect Councillor Mike Rowley as Vice-Chair for the Council Year 2012/13.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Mohammed Niaz Abbasi (councillor Beverley Clack attended as a substitute) and Oscar Van Nooijen (Councillor Roy Darke attended as a substitute).

There were no declarations of interest made.

Contact Officer: Lucy Cherry, Leisure Manager

Tele: 01865 252707, email: lcherry@oxford.gov.uk

The Head of Leisure and Parks submitted a report (previously circulated, now appended) which provided performance updates on the City Council’s Leisure Management Contract with Fusion Lifestyle between April 2011 and March 2012.  A confidential appendix was also submitted (previously circulated, now appended).

With the permission of the Chair, Nigel Gibson addressed the Committee and said that he wished to make general and specific points.  On a general point he said that Fusion was not a charity in the same way that Oxfam.  He said that to state it as a charity was a tax scam and that tax avoidance was being used which was not appropriate and the Council should be open on this.  He felt that the report did not give enough detail on the capital investment and that the savings amounted to only £100k per year over a five year period.  The report did not show the drop in attendance at the Temple Cowley Pool, which did not surprise him as he said that the facility was now dilapidated where the boiler had been out of action and the air conditioning in the gym had not been repaired.  He further added that the report did not say that there were now fewer swimming courses and that Gala’s were held at very short notice leading to the Pool being closed at very short notice.  He further highlighted issues concerning energy efficiency which had previously been dealt with in the MACE report.  Overall he felt that the report was incomplete and misleading. 

Councillor Van Coulter, Board Member for Leisure attended the meeting and presented the report.  He highlighted that if the annual costs of the Leisure Service were compared, these costs had reduced which was a remarkable achievement.  The Ferry Sports Centre and the Ice Rink were now showing an increased surplus which would be used to make further improvements at these two facilities.  With regard to the subsidy for the other facilities such as the Barton Leisure Centre, there had been a reduction in the subsidies paid.  However he added that there were various maintenance costs which the Council had to bear for the Blackbird Leys Pool and the Temple Cowley Pool, while Fusion bore the maintenance costs of the other facilities.  Overall he felt that the contract was working well and driving improvement in the costs of the service.

Councillor Rowley said noted that there had been a significant increase in visits to all the leisure facilities in 2010/11, but since then the number had seemed to reach a plateau.  In response Councillor Coulter said that there was still more than could be done with the funds available with regard to outreach work with our target groups.

Councillor Fry made a general comment concerning the pie charts used in the report asking that rather than just the post code being show, population distribution would also help.  He also asked if the Oxford Living Wage was paid to sub-contractors.  He further commented that the maintenance procedures that Fusion  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Contact officer: Nigel Kennedy (Head of Finance)

Tele: 01865 252708, email: nkennedy@oxford.gov.uk 

The report was not available when the main agenda was printed and will be circulated separately prior to the meeting.

The Executive Director, Organisational Development and Corporate Services submitted a report (previously circulated, now appended) which set the Council’s treasury management activity and performance for 2011/12 and the proposed revision to the Treasury Management Strategy for 2012/13-2015/2016 which would be recommended to the Full Council.

The report would also be submitted to the City Executive Board for consideration at its meeting on 4^th July 2012.

Nigel Kennedy, Head of Finance introduced the report and highlighted that the Council had achieved all of this targets for the 2011/12 period.  He further highlighted that under the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) self financing, the Council had borrowed £198m.  Regarding the Council’s capital finance requirement, it stood at £203m at 31^st March 2012.  This would have been higher if the new competition pool had been included, but this had slipped to the 2012/13 year.

Councillor Fry asked how underspends should be interpreted.  In response Nigel Kennedy said that with the capital programme, these were divided into two categories, underspend and slippage.  Underspends where a project came in under budget, slippage was when the cost of the project would be moved to, for example the next year, where the spend would take place.

Anna Winship following questions concerning interest rates said that the Council had a mixture of investments, the majority were on a 3 month basis, but any that were longer would be for a maximum period of a year.  All interest was paid in sterling.

Councillors McCready and Simmons asked questions concerning right to buys and loss of rental income.  In response Officers explained that the Council as part of the Housing Business Plan had used a figure of 10% of Council homes being bought each year under the RTB scheme.  If this figure was greater the financing would have to be looked at again.  Under the new self financing arrangements, the Council still gives the discount to the tenant, but part of the sale income still has to be passed to the Government, except where the Council can invest the money in new social housing, when the Council receives the whole RTB receipt.

Councillor Fooks asked what the current position was with the Councils funds in Icelandic Banks.  In response Anna Winship said that the Council had received 70% of its funds back from the Heritable Bank with 80% expected in total.  Regarding the Glitnir Bank, the Council had received 4 of the 5 currency repayments totalling £1.2m and it was expected that the Council would eventually receive 100% of its holdings back.

Councillor Mills asked if there were additional risks investing in Police Authorities.  In response Nigel Kennedy said that the credit rating for Police Authorities was no different to other public organisations.

Nigel Kennedy in response to questions on Money Market Fund Limits said that all of the funds were AAA rated and diversification has taken place.  The Council continued to work with advisors and the Council could request any funds back with no notice period required.

The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Contact Officer: Nigel Kennedy, Head of Finance, e-mail: nkennedy@oxford.gov.uk Tel: 01865 252708

This report was not available at the time of printing and will be circulated to members before the meeting.

The Head of Finance submitted a report (previously circulated, now appended) which presented the financial out-turn for the year ending 31^st March 2012.

The report would also be submitted to the City Executive Board for consideration at its meeting on 4^th July 2012.

Nigel Kennedy, Head of Finance introduced the report and in response to questions explained that the Council had budgeted for employee wage inflation.  However due to the freeze in pay rises etc. this money was not spent and so was placed into reserves.  The Partnership Payment which was being paid to qualifying employees would come from contingencies.  Councillor Rowley added that the level of contingencies would be reviewed as part of the mid term finance strategy.

Councillor Fry asked what was the Insurance Fund for, and did the Council have liabilities on the pension fund.  In response Nigel Kennedy said that the Council self-insured and had to cover for hidden liabilities such as asbestos.  Regarding the pension liabilities, he said that these had been factored into the Statement of Accounts, but while the fund had a deficit of £92m, there were no immediate liability issues.

Councillor Fooks said that she was concerned that when an employee left and the position was not filled for whatever reason, that the services was not being provided and the post was being labelled as an underspend.

Councillor Simmons felt that it was over prudent to place carry a contingency of £3m.

The Committee agreed to forward the following recommendations to the City Executive Board:

(a)       That all carry forward requests are supported taking into account that the Committee had noted that in some service areas, had the money been spent as planned in year, it would have placed them in a position of overspend.  The most significant of these being the Museum request from Policy Culture and Communications and brings into sharper relief the under achievement of income in the Town Hall. 

(b)       To request that the £0.5m surplice be placed in reserves and its use considered during the up and coming budgetary process rather than earmarking it at this stage for capital;

(c)        To request Board Members and Senior Officer consider the effects of delays in recruitment on services and plans and to allow for any “catch-up” required within future planning.

Contact Officer: Neil Lawrence, e-mail: nlawrence@oxford.gov.uk, Tel: 01865 252542

This report was not available at the time of printing.  It will be circulated to members before the meeting.

The Head of Business Improvement and Technology submitted a report (previously circulated, now appended) which provided a final report on the Council’s progress against the 20 Corporate Plan Targets for 2011/12 and a wider perspective on performance achievements as set out in the Council’s Performance Improvement Framework.

The report would also be submitted to the City Executive Board for consideration at its meeting on 4^th July 2012.

Jane Lubbock, Head of Business Improvement and Technology introduced the report.

Councillor Fry asked how would risk assessments be carried out regarding benefits and the proposed changes with direct payments.  In response Jane Lubbock said that Officers were working hard to signup more people paying by direct debit and that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) had agreed with Tim Sadler, Executive Director for City Services to underwrite the risk part of the direct payment pilot that the Council was part of.

Neil Lawrence in response to questions concerning the indicators which were being discontinued, said that some indicators had been discontinued at a corporate level, but still remained at a service level and would be monitored and managed there.

Councillor Fooks asked how it had been decided who the top 20 employers were in Oxford with regard to the measurement of satisfaction of businesses.  In response Neil Lawrence said that it had been based on the Oxford Times top employer list.  Councillor Fooks responded by suggesting that more small and medium sized businesses should be included

In response to further questions from Members, Neil Lawrence said that the targets for the attendance at the Holiday Activity Programme were started a fresh each year. 

The Committee agreed to note the progress made against the Corporate Plan targets for 2011/12 and performance improvements made as a result to the Council’s commitment to deliver efficient and effective services.

Contact Officer: Pat Jones, Principal Scrutiny Officer

Tele: 01865 252191, email: phjones@oxford.gov.uk

The Head of Law and Governance submitted a report (previously circulated, now appended) which gave Committee Members the opportunity to consider suggestions made for the Work Programme and to begin to plan their work for the coming Council Year.

The Committee agreed:

(a)       To defer consideration of the Work Programme for the 2012/13 Council Year to an informal meeting on Wednesday 18^th July 2012 at 6.00pm at the Town Hall;

(b)       To re-appoint the Finance and Performance Scrutiny Standing Panel with a membership consisting of Councillors Mark Mills, Mike Rowley, James Fry and Craig Simmons.

Minutes of the meeting held on 26^th. March 2012 are attached.

The Committee agreed to approve the minutes (previously circulated) of the meeting held on 26^th March 2012.

The Committee will meet in the Town Hall at 6.00pm on the following dates:

Wednesday 19^th September 2012

Monday 5^th November 2012

Monday 28^th January 2013

Monday 25^th March 2013

The Committee agreed to note that it would meet in the Town Hall at 6.00pm on the following dates:

Wednesday 19^th September 2012

Monday 5^th November 2012

Monday 28^th January 2013

Monday 25^th March 2013