The Lord Mayor presented Honorary Alderman Bob Price with a badge and a framed scroll commemorating the conferral of the honour.  Honorary Alderman Bob Price gave a short speech to Council and took his seat.

The Lord Mayor presented Stephen Brown with a badge and a framed scroll commemorating the conferral of the honour on Honorary Alderman Jean Fooks.  Stephen Brown gave a short speech to Council on her behalf and took his seat.

The Lord Mayor presented Honorary Alderwoman Gill Sanders with a badge and a framed scroll commemorating the conferral of the honour.  Honorary Alderwoman Gill Sanders gave a short speech to Council and took her seat.

Councillor Linda Smith, seconded by Councillor Aziz, proposed the submitted motion as set out in the agenda and briefing note.

After debate and on being put to the vote the motion was agreed.

Council resolved to adopt the following motion:

The Government's ideological pursuit of austerity has directly contributed to the soaring number of people being made homeless and sleeping rough on our streets. Despite this, Oxford City Council has an ambition that no one should have to sleep rough on the streets of our city and we have allocated our own budgets and successfully bid for government money to help achieve this.

This winter the council is providing an additional 41 bed spaces to help people off Oxford's streets. This is in addition to the 20 beds provided by the Oxford Winter Night Shelter throughout January, February and March and up to 20 extra night shelter beds which we are working with our neighbouring districts to provide through funding secured by this council.

This extra winter provision comes on top of the 167 beds and associated support for former rough sleepers which are funded throughout the year, and up to 74 bed spaces are available to anyone who needs them this winter, regardless of their connection to Oxford or their entitlement to benefits.

This council also operates a Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) which opens extra beds during periods when extended cold weather is forecast, the protocol means emergency shelters are opened when night time temperatures are forecast to drop below freezing for three consecutive nights, but there is flexibility on the decision of when to open.

This council gives thanks for the hard work of our partner organisations, charities, voluntary organisations, professional workers and volunteers. We are especially grateful to the churches hosting the Oxford Winter Night Shelter for their enormous contribution to reducing rough sleeping on our streets.

This Council therefore resolves to ask the Board Member, Leisure and Housing:

1.  To continue to work towards our vision of nobody having to sleep rough on the streets on Oxford. The extra beds this winter will help us move towards that goal, and council officers should use the discretion given to them on when to trigger SWEP to help ensure that no one is left out in freezing temperatures whenever resources allow.

2.  To work with partners towards a SWEP protocol, that will open emergency provision whenever night time temperatures are forecast to fall below zero.

3.  To ensure that preparations for next winter 2019/20 should include an increase in night shelter beds which are available to all rough sleepers throughout the season, moving away from the need for SWEP and adopting a model of continuous winter provision.

4.  To ensure that the City Executive Board monitors the application of SWEP this winter, and receive reports, from the Head of Housing Services, in January and April 2019 to cover: the occasions when SWEP has been triggered; the use of officer discretion on when to trigger SWEP; and statistics on the availability of bed spaces for adult single homeless persons within the city for the period covered by the report.

Councillor Tanner, seconded by Councillor Garden, proposed the submitted cross party motion as set out in the agenda and briefing note.

After debate and on being put to the vote the motion was agreed.

Council resolved to adopt the following motion:

1.      Oxford City Council reaffirms its determination that Oxford should remain an international, open, and welcoming European city.

2.      The Council believes that, irrespective of the outcome of the Brexit negotiations, rights of EU27 citizens who have made their homes here should be fully maintained and, that their electoral participation rights should be extended, to make our democracy more inclusive.

3.      We call on the Government and all employers, institutions and authorities in Oxford to do all they can to respect, protect, and fulfil the rights to which EU27 citizens are entitled, and to ensure they are not discriminated against in any way.

4.      In particular, we call for EU27 citizens living in Oxford to have rights to:

a.   Live, work, study, and retire in the UK 

b.   Enjoy a lifelong guarantee that they can leave the UK and return thereto

c.   Retain their existing right to vote in all local government elections

d.   Be suitably enfranchised in national elections and referendums

e.   Be able to register for settled status without onerous proof or excessive cost

f.    Naturalise, should they wish to do so, at the cost of administration

5.      We recognise the hugely valuable contribution that migrants, from the rest of Europe and around the world, have made to our city, and are making to the culture, prosperity and success of Oxford. 

Council resolves to:

1.     ask the Leader of the Council to write to the Prime Minister and local MPs to convey the City Council’s views as expressed above.

2.     ask the City Executive Board to do whatever it can to support this Oxford European Charter. 

Councillor Turner arrived at the end of this item.

Councillor Harris, seconded by Councillor Landell Mills, proposed the submitted motion as set out in the agenda and briefing note.

Councillor Hayes, seconded by Councillor Taylor, proposed an amendment to the submitted motion as set out in the agenda and briefing note.

After debate and on being put to the vote, the amendment was declared carried.

After debate and on being put to the vote, the amended motion was agreed.

Council resolved to adopt the following motion, as amended:

This Council:

•   Recognises that we all have a right to breathe clean air. However, across the UK illegal and here in Oxford harmful levels of air pollution are damaging people’s health and their quality of life and cutting lives short;

•   Recognises the urgent need to reduce levels of vehicle emissions in Oxford's most polluted streets and build on the considerable success of Oxford City Council in reducing air pollution so far;

•   and notes that local authorities are hitting the limits of what they can achieve with the powers and funding they have from Government and calls for continued advocacy to Government—with existing allies such as Greenpeace UK, Friends of the Earth (England, Wales, and Northern Ireland), UK100, and other councils—to seek more powers and funding to accelerate the journey to zero;

•   notes that considerable work has been undertaken since the public consultation last year to fully understand the impact of the journey to zero and develop proposals which account for the feedback from directly impacted stakeholders and groups. Oxford’s Zero Emission Zone has to be practical; and

resolves to seek to reduce vehicle emissions urgently in Oxford's most polluted streets by asking Oxford City Council and the highways authority, Oxfordshire County Council, to continue to work together in partnership on plans to introduce a Zero Emission Zone in Oxford from 2020, considering all options available, the details of which will be announced in early 2019.

Council had before it the annual report on the work of the Oxfordshire Health Improvement Board 2016/17 and its priorities for 2018/19.

Councillor Upton, Board Member for Healthy Oxford, presented the report and responded to comments.  The valuable work of local breast feeding services was noted. Councillor Upton agreed that the No Local Connection Review Group report should be referred to the Health Improvement Board and undertook to look into the funding of translation services at the East Oxford Health Centre.

Council noted the report.

Council had before it the report of the Leader of the Council outlining the work of the Oxfordshire Strategic Partnership (OSP).

Councillor Brown presented the report. In response to questions and comments from Councillor Simmons she undertook to review the content of the OSP website to ensure that the material was current and said that she was also disappointed at the delay in the launch of the “on line giving platform” and was pressing for this to be progressed. She would inform Council when it was implemented.

Council noted the report.

Council considered a report from the Head of Law and Governance which set out a programme of Council, committee and other meetings for the 2019/20 council year (May 2019 to May 2020 inclusive).

Councillor Susan Brown, Leader of the Council presented the report and moved the recommendations which were adopted on being seconded and put to the vote.

Council resolved to:

1.     Approve the programme of Council, committee and other meetings attached at Appendix 1 for the council year 2019/20;

2.     Delegate authority to the Committee and Member Services Manager, in consultation with Group Leaders, to make changes to this programme, in the event that there is a decision at Annual Council to change the committee structure or remit which impacts on the programme of meetings; and

3.     Delegate authority to the Committee and Members Services Manager to set dates for additional training and briefing sessions for members, for meetings of the Shareholder of the Council’s companies, and for the Companies Scrutiny Panel, and, in consultation with the Head of Business Improvement, to set meetings of the Appointments Committee and Investigations and Disciplinary Committee (should they be required).

Council had before it the report of the Scrutiny Committee Chair, Councillor Gant.

Councillor Gant presented the report. He thanked Councillor Henwood for his services to the Scrutiny Committee and welcomed Councillor Curran to the Scrutiny Committee and Councillor Tanner to the joint Growth Board Scrutiny Panel.  He confirmed that the election of a Vice-Chair and appointments to the Scrutiny Panels would be decided at the next Scrutiny Committee meeting on 4 December 2018. He commended the No Local Connection Review Group report to Council.

He undertook to provide a written response to a question from Councillor Simmons regarding the Fusion Lifestyle Audit.

Council noted the report.

The Leader announced and Council approved the following appointments to fill the Committee vacancies created by Councillor Henwood resigning the Labour whip and sitting as an independent councillor and as a consequence his place on the Growth Board Scrutiny Panel:

·       East Area Planning Committee – Councillor Simm

·       Scrutiny Committee – Councillor Curran

·       Growth Board Scrutiny Panel – Councillor Tanner

Council noted the appointment of Cllr Arshad as the Council representative on the Florence Park Community Centre in place of Councillor Henwood.

Council agreed to approve the minutes of the ordinary meeting of Council held on 1 October 2018 and the special meeting of Council held on 17 October 2018 as a true and correct record.

Councillor Gant referred to minute item 83: which stated that the Construction Contract Award would be deferred for consideration at the City Executive Board meeting on 14 November 2018. As the report had not been considered at that meeting he asked that this should be recorded in the minutes.

Councillor Rowley apologised for the delay.  He advised that the report was scheduled for consideration in January or February 2019.  He asked for the matter to be appropriately recorded and noted as signed minutes cannot be subsequently altered.

Council considered a report of the Head of Planning, Sustainable Development and Regulatory Services, submitted to the General Purposes and Licensing Committee meeting on 22 October 2018 detailing the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 and seeking approval of associated licence fees and charges.

Councillor Clarkson, Chair of the General Purposes Licensing Committee presented the report and undertook to provide a written response to a question about the pricing structure for the licence fees and charges.

Councillor Clarkson moved the recommendations which were adopted on being seconded and put to the vote.

Council resolved to:

1.     agree the licence fees and charges as set out in Appendix A of the report;

2.     delegate animal welfare licensing responsibilities to the Chief Executive.

An annual report to propose any required changes to the constitution.

Council considered a report of the Head of Law and Governance which detailed recommended changes to the Council’s Constitution following an annual review of the Constitution overseen by an informal Cross-Party Constitution Group.

Councillor Chapman, Board Member for Customer Focused Services, presented the report.

Councillor Simmons, seconded by Councillor Gant, proposed the following amendment which was tabled at the meeting:

Item 9 Constitution Appendix 2 p70; Appendix 1 p8 #49

Section 11.18 (c): alter the word limit on motions to 500 words (from proposed 300 words)

Councillor Chapman accepted the proposed amendment and moved the amended recommendations which were adopted on being seconded and put to the vote.

Council resolved to:

1.        Approve the list of proposed amendments to the Constitution detailed in Appendix 1 and highlighted in Appendix 2 and subject to the inclusion of a further amendment to Section 11.18 (c) to alter the word limit on motions to 500 words. 

2.        Adopt the revised Oxford City Council Constitution as presented in Appendix 2 with the addition of the change at (1) above.

3.        Delegate authority to the Head of Law and Governance to amend any further wording that is identified as being inconsistent with the changes approved by Council.

4.        Delegate authority to the Head of Law and Governance to amend the Constitution to include a social media policy, following consideration and approval by the Standards Committee.

To allocate CIL and Homes England Housing Infrastructure Funds related to the Oxford North Development.

Council considered a report of the Regeneration and Economy Programme Director and Head of Planning Services requesting an in-principle decision to use Homes England Housing Infrastructure (Marginal Viability) Funding (HIF) and Community Infrastructure Levy funds for infrastructure support at Northern Gateway/Oxford North.

Councillor Brown, Leader of the Council, presented the report, answered questions and moved the recommendations which were adopted on being seconded and put to the vote.

Council resolved to:

1.     apply Community Infrastructure Levy receipts to the value of £8.85m (as generated from future strategic scale development at Northern Gateway/Oxford North) in order to fund investment in highways/transport infrastructure provision to support the delivery of the Northern Gateway strategic site allocation.