Announcements by:

1.    The Lord Mayor

2.    The Sheriff

3.    The Leader of the Council (who may with the permission of the Lord Mayor invite other councillors to make announcements)

4.    The Chief Executive, Chief Finance Officer, Monitoring Officer

5.    The City Rector

The Lord Mayor thanked Members for appointing him in May and noted the many engagement he had completed since. This included welcoming the King to Oxford, opening street markets, and attending the Leys festival.  

The Deputy Lord Mayor noted that she had attended some events on behalf of the Lord Mayor and is enjoying her role as Deputy.  

The Sheriff noted her new responsibilities as the conservator of Port Meadow and informed Council that on 5 June she had met with officers from the parks and communications teams and ODS to plan for keeping the meadow safe and clean over the busy summer months. Furthermore, on 19 June, she the annual sheriff's inspection of the meadow with the support of ODS; the Sheriff had been impressed by the knowledge and dedication of the ranger team. Council also heard that since 2022, the water quality in Oxford’s designated area of bathing water status has declined and the Sheriff has written to the Chief Executive of Thames Water to express concerns. On 27 June, meetings were attended with Thames Water and the Environment Agency, at which time the Sheriff learned that despite investigations, the reasoning for the poor water quality is still unknown, although some evidence links to discharge from sewage treatment works and human faeces. Council were informed that the Environment Agency is now coordinating a project with a small local charity to bring together stakeholders and volunteers to identify the source of the pollution. The Sheriff expressed her disbelief and disappointment at the lack of progress and concern that a response led by a small local charity may not be commensurate to the priority of the environmental disaster. The Sheriff urged Thames Water and the Environment Agency to do more and to do better. The Sheriff noted that she would be writing to the relevant government ministers and Council will be kept informed of the progress.  

The Leader informed Council that a decision from Government on Local Government Reorganisation is expected during the week and that this would be comprehensively communicated to staff, councillors, residents, and stakeholders. In relation to devolution, the Leader noted her disappointment that the Thames Valley devolution deal was vetoed by the Leader of Oxfordshire County Council with no warning. The Leader noted this as an undemocratic decision made on behalf of the district and city councils in Oxfordshire but with no warning or consultation; it had also removed 18 months of work. The Leader pledged to collaboratively work with the new Prime Minister to ensure that devolution can progress locally. In relation to the Oxford Union debate which took place recently, the Leader also emphasised that the Council had put out a very clear statement condemning the way in which the Oxford Union has consistently invited deliberately provocative speakers and not paid the cost to the community for security or support cohesion. Members heard that the Council would work with anyone wishing to push for the Oxford Union to take financial responsibility, rather than passing this to the taxpayer. The Leader also noted that along with the Cabinet Member for a Safer Oxford, Councillor Arshad, she had written to the Police and Crime Commissioner inviting him to support this endeavour; the County Council has committed to doing so. Furthermore, in relation to Campsfield, the Leader set out that she had worked with the Head of Planning to draft a letter outlining opposition to the use of the facility as a detention centre; this had been sent. The Leader drew Council’s attention to the fact that Marie Tidball, former Labour councillor and current MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge had recently received the Stonewall changemaker award for policy change alongside her fellow Labour MP Rachel Taylor for their work on changing the law in relation to hate crime on the basis of someone's sexuality, gender identity, or disability. The Leader commended this work, noting it as a huge step forward in LGBTQ+ rights, and offered formal congratulations. Council applauded.   

Finally, the Leader announced the appointment of Champions for the year ahead: 

• Armed Forces and Veterans Champion – Councillor Mark Lygo 

• Cycling champion – Councillor Louise Upton 

• Heritage Champion – Councillor Mary Clarkson  

• Nighttime Economy and Events Champion - Councillor James Taylor 

• Older People's Champion - Councillor Trish Elphinstone 

• Small Business Champion – Councillor Chewe Munkonge  

• Vision Zero Champion - Councillor Chris Smowton 

Councillor Yeatman joined the meeting during the Leader’s announcements.  

There were no announcements from the Chief Executive, the Chief Finance Officer, or the Monitoring Officer.  

The City Rector noted that 2,126 years ago Julius Caesar was born. Whilst an amazing general and a writer, he was not as accomplished at reading a room. The City Rector noted how privilege he feels to be able to address Council and noted their ability to read a room well.