Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

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Speaking at a Council or Committee meeting

Venue: St Aldate's Room, Town Hall

Contact: John Mitchell, Committee Services Officer 

Items
No. Item

1.

Election of Chair for 2018/19

The Committee is asked to elect a Chair for the 2018/19 Council year. The Chair must be from one of the opposition groups.

 

 

Minutes:

The Committee resolved to elect Councillor Gant as Chair for the Council year 2018-19.

2.

Election of Vice-Chair for 2018/19

The Committee is asked to elect a Vice-Chair for the 2018/19 Council year. The Chair Vice-Chair can be from any political group.

Minutes:

The Committee resolved to elect Councillor Henwood as Deputy Chair for the Council year 2018-19.

3.

Declarations of interest

Minutes:

None.

4.

Chair's Announcements

Minutes:

The Chair welcomed those present to the first meeting of the newly constituted Scrutiny Committee, extending a particular welcome to those who were newly elected Councillors and whose fresh insights and views would be welcome.

 

5.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 131 KB

 

Recommendation: That the minutes of the meeting held on 05 April 2018 be APPROVED as a true and accurate record.

 

Minutes:

The Committee resolved to APPROVE the minutes of the meeting held on 05 April 2018 as a true and accurate record, subject to some minor typographical corrections.

6.

Scrutiny Operating Principles and Panel Arrangements pdf icon PDF 122 KB

The Scrutiny Officer has submitted a report setting out a draft set of operating principles for the Scrutiny Committee for the 2018/19 municipal year and to establish Standing Panels and appoint Standing Panel Chairs.

 

The Committee is recommended to:

 

1.    Agree the Committee Operating Principles for the 2018/19 municipal year, as set out in Appendix 1;

2.    Agree to re-establish the Finance, Housing and Companies Standing Panels for the 2018/19 municipal year;

3.    Elect Chairs of the Finance, Housing and Companies panels; and

4.    Note the schedule of meetings for the 2018/19 municipal year.

 

Officer Contact: Stefan Robinson, Scrutiny Officer

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Scrutiny Officer had submitted a report setting out a draft set of operating principles for the Scrutiny Committee for the 2018/19 municipal year and to establish Standing Panels and appoint Standing Panel Chairs.

 

Speaking to the report, he drew particular attention to its 4 recommendations.  In relation to the Companies’ Standing Panel, it was agreed that further clarification about its role in relation to the companies’ shareholder (ie the City Executive Board (CEB) meeting as the shareholder) would be helpful, with particular reference to the information it would have access to. It was noted that consideration might be given to merging the Companies and Finance Panels at some point in the future.

 

The Committee elected Chairs to the Standing Panels (see below). Other members of the Panels would be agreed at the next meeting of the Committee.The Scrutiny Officer would contact group secretaries for nominations.

 

With reference to review groups and items for the work plan, the Scrutiny Officer would welcome suggestions for subjects by 21 May. The suggestions would feed into a long list for further consideration on 05 June.

 

The Scrutiny Officer reminded members of the Committee of his offer to meet them on a 1:1 basis at a mutually convenient time. This might be particularly helpful for new member of the Committee. He had tabled a copy of a new Scrutiny Guide for Councillors which was also being sent to members of the Committee electronically.

 

The Committee resolved to :

  1. Agree the Committee Operating Principles for the 2018/19 municipal year.
  2. Agree to re-establish the Finance, Housing and Companies Standing Panels for the 2018/19 municipal year.
  3. Appoint the following Panel Chairs: Finance, Cllr Fry; Housing, Cllr Henwood;  Companies Cllr Fry.
  4. Note the schedule of meetings for the 2018/19 municipal year.

 

 

 

7.

Work Plan and Forward Plan pdf icon PDF 116 KB

The Scrutiny Committee operates within a work plan which is agreed at the start of the Council year. The work plan will be reviewed at each meeting so that it can be adjusted to reflect the wishes of the Committee and take account of any changes to the latest Forward Plan (which outlines decisions to be taken by the City Executive Board or Council). The Committee is asked to review and note its work plan for the 2018/19 council year.

 

Separately from regular consideration of the Work Plan, the Scrutiny Committee conducts an annual Work Plan review, which will take place at the Committee meeting on 5 June. Committee members are encouraged to submit items for the Work Plan longlist to the Scrutiny Officer by 21 May. The Committee is advised to prioritise items based on the following criteria:

 

     Is consideration of the issue timely?

     Is it a corporate priority?

     Is the issue of significant public interest?

     Can Scrutiny influence and add value?

     Is it an area of high expenditure?

 

Contact Officer: Stefan Robinson, Scrutiny Officer

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Scrutiny Officer spoke to the report which set out the proposed work plan for the 2018/19 municipal year.

 

He reminded members of the Committee that the content of the plan was for it to determine, subject to the resources available to carry it out. He noted that CEB consideration of the Local Plan had been deferred to September and Scrutiny consideration of it had, therefore, slipped too.

 

Separately from regular consideration of the Work Plan, the Scrutiny Committee conducts an annual Work Plan review, which will take place at the Committee meeting on 5 June. Committee members were reminded to submit items for the Work Plan longlist to the Scrutiny Officer by 21 May.

 

8.

Review of Discretionary Housing Payment Policy pdf icon PDF 113 KB

The Scrutiny Committee has asked for this item to be included on the agenda for pre-decision scrutiny. The City Executive Board on 22 May will be asked to approve amendments to the current Discretionary Housing Payment Policy and to note the trends in expenditure detailed in the report. This is an opportunity for the Scrutiny Committee to make recommendations to the City Executive Board.

 

Lead member: Councillor Susan Brown, Board Member for Customer and Corporate Services

Officer Contact: James Pickering, Welfare Reform Manager

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Scrutiny Committee had been asked for this item to be included on the agenda for pre-decision scrutiny. The City Executive Board on 22 May would be asked to approve amendments to the current Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) Policy and to note the trends in expenditure detailed in the report.

 

The Welfare Reform Manager  spoke briefly to the report. The principal objective of the DHP policy, (to provide short term financial relief to applicants in order to give them time to find more sustainable solutions) remained unchanged. The Policy had been reviewed in light of the wider roll out of Universal Credit (UC) and other consequential and related changes.

 

The fluctuating level of government funding for DHP required a responsive approach to its delivery and an eye to be kept on other welfare changes which might impact upon its use and adjustments to the allocation criteria. Part of the Policy intention was to ensure that its use did not result in liabilities for the Council once funding was either reduced or removed.  Unspent allocations for one year could not be carried over to the next.

 

Issues about the uses of DHPs were inextricably linked with the introduction of UC. It was suggested that the Committee might benefit from a  report on the  consequences of the latter in due course.

 

It was noted that the Council did not top up the funds available for DHP, as it was able to do if it wished and as some other authorities did. In this context it was noted that the Homelessness Reserve might be used for such a purpose.  The Welfare Reform Manager noted that a separate sum of £25k was available in the current financial year to assist residents, on a case by case basis, who are particularly adversely affected by the introduction of UC. Despite this, it was agreed that representations should be made to the CEB to top up the DHP fund if it was considered that there was further need which could be met by additional funds being made available.

 

 

9.

Oxford Town Hall pdf icon PDF 102 KB

The Scrutiny Committee has asked for a report to enable them to consider how the Council can improve the profile and accessibility of the Town Hall. This is an opportunity for the Committee to note the work that is already underway, and make any comments and recommendations as necessary.

 

Lead member: Councillor Susan Brown, Board Member for Customer and Corporate Services

Officer Contact: David Hunt, Commercial Manager, Community Services

 

 

Minutes:

 

The Scrutiny Committee had asked for a report to enable it to consider how the Council can improve the profile and accessibility of the Town Hall.

 

David Hunt, Commercial Manager, Community Services introduced the report. There had been recent audit of the building’s accessibility, the final report of which was not yet available. The audit had been conducted by a team with experience of addressing the challenges of access in listed and otherwise historically valuable college buildings in the city. The Town Hall, as a Grade 2 listed building, presented some interesting challenges when it came to matters of access and some pragmatic decisions had to be made about the extent of some otherwise desirable changes whether on grounds of cost or the limitations imposed by listed status.  There was agreement however on the desirability of treating those rooms available to the public as a priority.

 

The recently confirmed programme of a £3m refurbishment of the museum would help affirm the Town Hall as a cultural hub for the City. The imperative of accessibility had been “baked into the process” of its development to ensure the highest levels of participation once open. Thought was being given as to how the attraction of the new museum could be used, in turn, to promote other aspects of the Town Hall. Cllr Simm noted that thought was being given to linking the new museum with the City’s other museums and so generating the idea of a “Museum Quarter.”

 

The balance to be struck between generating income through lettings; free use by community groups (which have a positive impact on Oxford’s residents); and use to meet the Council’s meeting and other needs was always a difficult one. It was “difficult to turn away bookings.” David and his colleagues were in touch with members of the communities team about how best to promote the use by community groups.

 

In a wide ranging discussion about accessibility concerns were raised about the practice of charging for the Town Hall’s voice enhancers and of levying a £5 per capita charge for groups wishing to bring their own food. There was a strong view that residents in some part of the City did not regard the City centre (and therefore the Town Hall) as ‘their’ town centre, gravitating, rather, to Templars Square for example. It was noted that the new Museum was being developed in a way which deliberately sought to break away from the customary ‘town and gown’ model with a much more inclusive approach which embraced all parts, aspects and communities of the City, past and present. It was hoped that this would encourage more local people to engage with the museum than hitherto.

 

It was noted that the agreement for letting the Town Hall flat was subject to a break clause which was being exercised to bring it back under Council control with effect from July 2019 to allow the necessary museum work to take place. This break would provide an opportunity to consider a new  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

10.

Report back on recommendations pdf icon PDF 66 KB

This item is for the Committee to note and comment on recent executive responses to Scrutiny recommendations.  Since the last meeting the Board has responded to recommendations on Health Inequalities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minutes:

The Committee noted the response by the City Executive Board to its recommendations in relation to Health Inequalities.

 

11.

Dates of future meetings

Meetings for 2018 are scheduled as followed:

 

Scrutiny Committee

 

 

  • 17 May
  • 05 June
  • 03 July
  • 30 July (provisional)
  • 06 September
  • 08 October
  • 06 November
  • 04 December

 

 

Standing Panels

Housing Standing Panel: 05 July, 11 October, 12 November

Finance Standing Panel: 04 July, 10 September, 06 December

Companies Panel (Provisional dates) 07June, 31 July, 11 September,

29 October, 12 December, 03 January 2019

 

 

All meetings start at 6.00 pm

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minutes:

Meetings for 2018 are scheduled as followed:

 

Scrutiny Committee

 

 

  • 05 June
  • 03 July
  • 30 July (provisional)
  • 06 September
  • 08 October
  • 06 November
  • 04 December

 

 

Standing Panels

Housing Standing Panel: 05 July, 11 October, 12 November

Finance Standing Panel: 04 July, 10 September, 06 December

Companies Panel (Provisional dates) 07June, 31 July, 11 September,

29 October, 12 December, 03 January 2019

 

 

All meetings start at 6.00 pm