None.

Members are asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests they may have in any of the following agenda items.  Guidance on this is set out at the end of these agenda pages.

None

Contact Officer: Pat Jones (Principal Scrutiny Officer), Tel 01865 252191, phjones@oxford.gov.uk

Pat Jones (Principal Scrutiny Officer) introduced this item and presented the Work Programme to the Committee.

Introduction

She explained that she would include the Forward Plan from now on, so that the Committee could decide if it wished to pre-scrutinise a particular item.  It was agreed that the Committee would see item 34 on the Forward Plan – the Green Spaces Strategy – at its meeting on 30^th January 2013.

The Committee noted the progress on the Work Programme to date. It also noted that the Housing Panel had appointed a Tenants’ Representative, Linda Hill, who has started to work with the Panel.

The Committee also noted that work would begin on the issue of Local Celebratory Events later in the year. Work on Young People and Work was also ongoing and a date for a meeting of that panel would be set for the New Year.

Update on the Education Panel

A number of schools have engaged with the City Council’s investment in primary education. The Panel wishes to form a relationship with one of the schools so that it can monitor the progress and development of the scheme as a case study. The selection of school very much depended on which school was willing to take part. The Panel would prefer to study a school that had no support from any other source as it wished to judge the true effect of the new scheme.

In response to a suggestion from the Chair, Councillor Altaf Khan, it was agreed that the Principal Scrutiny Officer would obtain information concerning school places, but this would not be included in the Panel’s brief (other than as a matter of information) as this was very much an Oxfordshire County Council matter.

Resolved to note the Work Programme

Contact Officer: Lois Stock (Democratic Services Officer), Tel 01865 252275, lstock@oxford.gov.uk

The Principal Scrutiny Officer introduced this item and presented the report to the Committee.

Resolved to note that the report and recommendations would be presented at City Executive Board on 5^th December 2012.

Contact Officer: Pat Jones (Principal Scrutiny Officer), Tel 01865 252191, phjones@oxford.gov.uk; Lois Stock (Democratic and Electoral Services Officer); Tel 01865 252275, lstock@oxford.gov.uk

The Head of Law and Governance submitted a report (previously circulated, now appended), providing an update to the Committee on the work carried out by the Panel that was investigating issues around the health of Oxford’s shopping areas.

Councillors Clack, Wolff and Wilkinson were the three Panel members. Councillor Wilkinson presented the report to the Committee and explained the background to it. The Committee noted that the Panel had decided to focus on the district shopping areas as defined by the Core Strategy. These were Headington, Summertown, Blackbird Leys and Cowley Road.

Introduction

The Panel members explained that, although a lot of initial work had been carried out, there were still further areas to explore, including:-

• Exploration of the balance of planning use classes;
• Community use of empty shops – district shopping areas should not be just about shopping, they should involve and include the community too;
• Council powers regarding community use of empty shops;
• Access to district centres by walking, cycling and public transport;
• Holistic ideas for shopping areas as laid out in the Portas Review;

The Panel wished to continue its work, and invited comments from the Committee regarding its future direction.

Comments from the Committee

In response, the Committee made the following observations:-

• The work carried out so far is useful, but the economic context needs to be woven into any future work as this affects shopping patterns;
• The Council is a landlord for many retail units and it has a duty to maximise its income – how can this be balanced with the desire to put empty shops into community use?
• There are issues too with major retailers (big multi nationals) and small independent shops competing in the same market;
• Need to ensure equality of access for all groups and need to think about how we could use district centres to create hubs for voluntary and community groups;
• It is noteworthy that our vacancy rate (for properties let out by the Council) is very low;
• Would be useful to know the number of independent traders in an area and if this had changed significantly over time. It would be useful to measure the number of charity shops;
• Vitality is often measured by “dead” frontages (that is, shops given over to estate agents, insurance brokers etc), so it would be useful to look at the percentage of shops that fall into this category;

Executive Board Member comments

The Committee welcomed Councillor Colin Cook to the meeting.

Councillor Cook observed that Oxford was the most desired retail location in the UK, and that the City had very low vacancy rates. A monitoring report to CEB had revealed that there had been a decrease in vacancy rates in the previous three years

He did not feel that the Council could have much impact on shopping cycles.  Studies showed that shopping trends were cyclical. In modern days there was huge competition from the internet for shopping that would be delivered straight to your door – almost a throwback  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

Contact Officer: Angela Cristofoli (Communities and Neighbourhoods Manager); 01865 252688, acristofoli@oxford.gov.uk

Angela Cristofoli (Communities and Neighbourhoods manager) submitted a report (previously circulated, now appended) providing an update on Community Centres.

Introduction

The Committee welcomed Angela Cristofoli (Communities and Neighbourhoods Manager) and Mark Spriggs (Neighbourhood Locality Officer) to the meeting.

Angela Cristofoli informed the Committee that she was buying in support from “Community Matters” as this was targeted help for people associated with Community Centres. It was important to recognise that Community centres are largely run and managed by volunteers.  Every centre had been audited and user satisfaction surveys have been carried out.  She would like to investigate in more depth who uses the centres and for what purposes.  It is suggested that an Oxford Standard for Community Centres is developed.

Additional information

The following information was provided in response to questions from members of the Committee:-

• It is noted that the Council should be careful that it does not take away business from local concerns – for example cafes – where similar ventures are run in the Community Centres;
• There are internet cafes at several Community Centres – for example at Blackbird Leys, Barton and Northway. There are work clubs at Barton and Littlemore;
• The Communities and Neighbourhoods team is also trying to work in partnership with the library at Blackbird Leys – they are trying to complement ventures and activities already in existence, and they want to help people learn how to do more things online;
• Some Community Centres are providing outlets for enterprise, such as a cake baking project at Wood Farm that is known as “Muffin Mums”;
• Recycling at Community Centres is a complicated procedure, but it is hoped that all centres will be signed up for this shortly;
• The Council’s vision for the future of Community centres is a much wider topic for debate, but the main aim for now is to have all the centres functioning well. There is the question too of their geographical setting – are they in the right place in their community?
• Asset management is addressing the question of the maintenance backlog at the Community Centres, and Communities and Neighbourhoods is working in partnership with them on this. A maintenance plan for Community centres has been drawn up.
• A lot of work is being done with volunteers – on recruiting them, supporting them and developing their skills;
• It is noted that Marston does not have a designated Community centre, but it does have Mortimer Hall and a Scout Hut, and outreach work is ongoing in the area;
• Although the comments about the importance of any buildings being pleasant to be in were noted, it is important to ask who measures this. Could this be part of the customer satisfaction survey perhaps?
• It would be useful for Community Associations to visit other Community Centres  in other parts of the country in order to look at examples of best practice and see form themselves how things could be done differently;
• The Council needs to make its buildings safe, and it needs to pay heed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

Contact Officer: Pat Jones (Principal Scrutiny Officer), Tel 01865 252191, phjones@oxford.gov.uk

The Scrutiny Review Panel submitted a report concerning the first year review of Area Forums. Panel members Councillors Sanders and Wilkinson asked Principal Scrutiny Officer Pat Jones to introduce this report to the Committee. The Committee was asked to note that the report and its findings related specifically to the last Council year (2011 to 2012) and what the Panel observed then. It was also noted that Councillors Campbell and Sinclair had joined the Panel at a later stage.

Introduction

Pat Jones explained the report and its finding to the Committee. Councillor Sanders emphasised that every Area Forum was different, some were well attended, others less so, and that one size did not fit all. There were many ways of engaging with the public besides Area Forums, and each area should consider and use what worked best for its particular communities. She had found that the Communities and Neighbourhoods team offered superb support to the Forums, and was sure that this had made a difference. Councillor Sanders believed that it was not necessary for the Forums to meet unless there was a specific reason to do so, and when they did meet, it was desirable for there to be fresh input from different people, rather than having the same point of view put forward every time.

Councillor Wilkinson added that in some areas the Forums were enormous in size, and she felt that for some issues it would be better to break them down into smaller geographical units.

Angela Cristofoli (Communities and Neighbourhoods Manager) clarified that her team was there to support each Area Forum in the way it found most helpful. Each area had 4 fixed sessions per year, and resources depended very much on what people wished to achieve from their Area Forum.  It was up to each Forum to determine how it used its meetings and its resources.

Committee comments

The following comments were made by the Committee:-

(1)   Forums can be effective if they are managed well;

(2)   It’s important that the needs of the local community are central to debates at Forum level;

(3)   There are some excellent tenant and Residents Associations within the City and these can be more effective that an Area Forum;

(4)   Some Forums cover a very big area and perhaps this limits their effectiveness;

(5)   The Council has very poor engagement with the public, and this is likely to continue until powers and budgets are given back to areas in a similar manner to the old Area Committees;

(6)   There is a need to link the future of the Area Forums to an overall review of Council Governance;

(7)   The 4^th recommendation listed in the report should be first;

(8)   We have a lot to learn from each other. It would be helpful to have a compulsory training session on Councillors as local leaders, then we might be better placed to know what resources we should be seeking from the Communities and Neighbourhoods team;

(9)   Not convinced of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

Minutes of the meeting held on 18^th June 2012 attached.

Resolved to confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 18^th June 2012.

These are the dates of future meetings, starting at 6pm:-

30^th January 2012

4^th April 2012.

Resolved to note the following dates:-

30^th January 2013

4^th April 2013.