The Chair declared an interest, in relation to  item 8 (JSSP Regualtion 18 Consultation), as an employee of the Oxford University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust .

None received

None.

None.

The Board Member for Leisure and Housing,  was to have addressed the Board about the Severe Weather Emergency Provision (SWEP) but having sent apologies was unable to do so.  A copy of the paper to which she would have spoken is attached to these minutes.

The Scrutiny Committee had met on 21 January 2019 to consider the JSSP Regulation 18 Consultation document (item 8 of this agenda). Councillor Gant, as Chair of the Scrutiny Committee spoke to the paper and recommendations to the Board which flowed from that meeting. The Committee had heard how the consultation document had been produced jointly with the County and District Councils and how this impacted on the extent to which changes could be made at this stage of the process. An overarching concern of the Committee was that the document was pitched at too high a level.  Two particular issues surfaced in the discussion, a wish for greater emphasis on environmental issues and recognition of the importance of social housing. In recognition of the inability to make significant changes at this point it  had been agreed that  the Board should be asked to suggest a number of minor amendments  to the five Oxfordshire District Councils which  would go some way to meeting the Committee’s  and Council’s priorities.

The Chair shared the Committee’s frustration at the necessarily high level of documentation at this stage and at the difficulty of the next steps in the absence of firm decisions about  the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway. She saw no reason why some of the points made could not be put forward to the other Districts and officers would be asked to do so.

The Acting Head of Planning Services will submit a report to seek approvals to progress the production of the Oxfordshire Plan 2050 through adopting the Statement of Community Involvement, approving an amendment to the Local Development Scheme and approving the Regulation 18 (Part 1) document for consultation.

The report will be published as a supplement to this agenda.

The Acting Head of Planning Services had submitted a report to seek approvals to progress the production of the Oxfordshire Plan 2050 through adopting the Statement of Community Involvement, approving an amendment to the Local Development Scheme and approving the Regulation 18 (Part 1) document for consultation.

Since publication of the report some additions had been made to it, details of which had been distributed in advance of the meeting. A copy of the paper detailing these additions is attached to the minutes.

The Planning Policy and Place Manager introduced the report.  The Statement of Community Interest (SCI) detailed the changes made to it as a result of the 38 responses to the recent consultation. The proposed amendment to the  Local Development Scheme (LDS) sought simply to introduce an additional phase of consultation but all within the original timeframe. The intention is to keep the ‘Regulation 18’ consultation at a high level to stimulate debate but with sufficient ‘hooks’ within it to align with the local plan.

The Chair reminded  the Board that the JSSP was an important element of the Growth Deal and one which had to be delivered within a timescale.

The City Executive Board resolved to:

1.    Adopt the Statement of Community Involvement (“SCI”) as amended

following the close of the consultation as attached at Appendix 1;

2.    Approve the amendment to the Local Development Scheme (“LDS”) as asset out at paragraph 18 of this report;

3.    Approve the Regulation 18 (Part 1) Issues consultation document for public consultation as attached at Appendix 3; and

4.    Authorise the Oxfordshire Councils joint Heads of Planning group, to make any necessary editorial corrections and minor amendments to the documents, and to agree the final publication style.

The Head of Financial Services has submitted a report to consider feedback from the recent consultation on proposed changes to the Council Tax Support Scheme and to agree the principles of the new scheme to be drawn up for approval by Council on 28 January 2019.

Recommendations:That the City Executive Board resolves to:

1.Note the outcome of the consultation on the proposed Council Tax Reduction Scheme;

2.Delegate authority to the Head of Financial Services to draft the details of the new Council Tax Reduction Scheme for 2019/20 so that it can be submitted to Council for approval at its meeting on the 28 January 2019; and

3.Recommend Council to resolve to adopt the new Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme for 2019/20.

The Head of Financial Services had submitted a report to consider feedback from the recent consultation on proposed changes to the Council Tax Support Scheme and to agree the principles of the new scheme to be drawn up for approval by Council on 28 January 2019.

The Benefits Manager introduced the  report which noted the changes to the scheme as a result of the latest annual consultation. The consultation proposed just two changes to the scheme: uprating of the income banding (which determines the percentage discount received) and removal of the minimum floor for self-employed claimants.

The Chair noted how important the scheme was to protect the interests of poorer families and was pleased to see how the removal of the minimum income floor  would ameliorate a negative impact on some residents which hadn’t, originally, been understood.

The Board Member for Finance and Asset Management  noted that the number of authorities operating a council tax reduction scheme was dwindling but was pleased that Council was still committed to doing so.

The City Executive Board resolved to:

1.Note the outcome of the consultation on the proposed Council Tax Reduction Scheme;

2.Delegate authority to the Head of Financial Services to draft the details of the new Council Tax Reduction Scheme for 2019/20 so that it can be submitted to Council for approval at its meeting on the 28 January 2019; and

3.Recommend Council to resolve to adopt the new Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme for 2019/20.

Head of Housing Services has submitted a reporttoupdate the Board on progress of the Oxfordshire Homelessness Prevention Trailblazer programme.

Recommendations:That the City Executive Board resolves to:

Note the outcome of the review and the priorities for the year ahead.

The

The Head of Housing Services had submitted a report to update the Board on progress of the Oxfordshire Homelessness Prevention Trailblazer programme.

The System Change Manager (Homelessness Prevention), introduced the report which summarised progress of the two year programme to date. Delivery of the programme is due to finish in August 2019. The programme had at its heart a series of strong partnerships with, among others, representatives of the health service, justice system and social services. The aims and outcomes of the programme had been agreed collectively. The first six months had been devoted to researching homelessness in Oxfordshire to ensure that the subsequent workstreams were the right ones. The focus now was on developing the learning that  had been achieved so as to leave a lasting legacy. A lot of the value  had been through the simple connection of services with one another where the relevance of such connections hadn’t been appreciated before.

Members of the Board were pleased to see the positive consequences of the programme to date and agreed there was a powerful case for its extension.

The Chair thanked the System Change Manager and said the Board looked forward to hearing more about the programme in due course.

The City Executive Board resolved to:

Note the outcome of the review and the priorities for the year ahead.

The Head of Financial Services has submitted a reporton the performance of the Treasury Management function for the 6 months to 30 September 2018.

Recommendation: That the City Executive Board resolves to:

Note the performance of the Treasury Management function for the six months to 30^th September 2018.

The Head of Financial Services had submitted a reporton the performance of the Treasury Management function for the 6 months to 30 September 2018.

The Board Member for Finance and Asset Management  introduced the report noting that in a climate of low interest rates the Council’s investments, notably in relation to property funds, were performing quite satisfactorily. He reminded the Board of the Council’s loan facility to the Low Carbon Hub which as well as generating interest payments, served a socially useful purpose.

The City Executive Board resolved to:

Note the performance of the Treasury Management function for the six months to 30 September 2018.

The Executive Director Sustainable City will submit a report toseek project approval, subject to budget approval by Council, to relocate and extend the car parking decking currently at Oxpens car park at Redbridge Park & Ride.

The report will be published as  a supplement to this agenda.

The Executive Director Sustainable City had submitted a reportto seek project approval, subject to budget approval by Council, to relocate and extend the car parking decking currently at Oxpens car park at Redbridge Park & Ride.

The Executive Director Sustainable City introduced the report. The temporary planning permission for the decking on its current site had expired and it had to be removed. A number of options had been explored including  selling, scrapping or moving the  decking. All options had a cost associated with them. The option of moving the decking to the Redbridge Park and Ride site was considered, on balance, to be the most cost-effective , not least because it might mitigate the potential  loss of spaces at that site when work on the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme gets underway.

The City Executive Board resolved to:

1.    Grant project approval, subject to Council approval of the capital budget for the relocation and extension of the car park decking currently located at Oxpens car park at Redbridge Park and Ride; and

2.    Delegate to the  Chief Executive in conjunction with the Section 151 Officer and Monitoring Officers the authority to enter into all appropriate contracts to implement the recommended option.

Recommendation: The City Executive Board resolves to APPROVE the minutes of the meeting held on 18 December as a true and accurate record.

The City Executive Board resolved to APPROVE the minutes of the meeting held on 18 December as a true and accurate record.

Meetings are scheduled for the following dates:

12 February 2019

13 March 2019

10 April 2019

All of which will start at 6pm.

Meetings are scheduled for the following dates:

12 February 2019

13 March 2019

10 April 2019

All of which will start at 6pm.

No exempt matters were discussed.