Cllr Gant, Chair of the Scrutiny Committee presented the report. All three recommendations were agreed by the Board.

The Executive Director, Housing and Regeneration has submitted a report to update Members on the consultation draft of the Strategic Economic Plan (SEP), and to agree feedback on it, prior to formal endorsement of the document.

Recommendation: That the City Executive Board resolves to:

1.    Endorse the draft Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership Strategic Economic Plan, subject to the feedback in the report and any additional member comments being relayed to the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership Board for consideration.

Cllr Rowley arrived

The Executive Director, Housing and Regeneration submitted a report to update Members on the consultation draft of the Strategic Economic Plan (SEP), and to agree feedback on it, prior to formal endorsement of the document.

Cllr Price, Board Member for Corporate Strategy and Economic Development presented the report.

Cllr Fooks said she approved of the sustainability issues which were highlighted by the Scrutiny Committee. She felt the SEP did not put enough emphasis on the gap in key skills and jobs and the need for more affordable housing in Oxford. Cllr Price acknowledged that there were not enough training opportunities available, the Government refusing to release the adult training budget to local councils was not helping.

Cllr Fooks asked for a break-down of costs for the £452M invested in the Northern Gateway project. Cllr Price agreed to pass this information on.

Cllr Fooks asked whether OxLEP had discussed how they were to fund the projects without EU funds.  Cllr Price said it was an area for discussion and would depend on the Brexit discussions and whether the Government will release money that would have gone to the EU.

Cllr Turner said that OxLEP needs to remind the government that the scientific and educational communities and tourism are extremely vulnerable to Brexit.

The City Executive Board resolves to:

1.    Agree to formally endorse the draft Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership Strategic Economic Plan, subject to the feedback in the report and any additional member comments being relayed to the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership Board for consideration.

Cllrs Pressel and Azad left the meeting

Cllr Price, Board Member for Corporate Strategy and Economic Development presented the report. He outlined the four themes of people, place, enterprise and connectivity outlined in the plan and explained that the SEP provided a framework for how local plans are developed and a basis for funding bids.

The Chair asked how the devolution proposals and the scrutiny function fitted into the work of the LEP. Cllr Price said that if there was a restructure of local authorities in Oxfordshire then there would be a requirement for a new agreement between the LEP and any new authority.

The draft plan has been publically consulted on and it now required approval from each authority, which required it going through the scrutiny process.

The Committee made the following comments on the SEP:

Cllr Simmons was concerned with the measure identifying climate change as a risk to sustainable development but not providing any conclusions for how climate change could be addressed.

Cllr Wilkinson asked why there had been such a low response from businesses during the consultation. Cllr Price said that there were several well attended workshops for businesses had taken place, but they hadn’t necessarily resulted in business owners making a submission. The LEP had also consulted business organisations such as the chamber of commerce and had incorporated their ideas into the plan.

Cllr Hayes asked that the report be amended to say that businesses have been consulted and their views have been captured through workshops and that business owners preferred the workshops approach.

Cllr Tidball asked about the connectivity theme, in particular how intercity bus connectivity could be improved. She felt there was a gap in investing in connecting the city’s bus routes and the use of the ring road and maximising the use of the Park and Ride system.

The Committee discussed the demands of growth and the pressures it causes on housing and infrastructure. Unaffordable housing affected businesses ability to expand, as they struggle to attract employees who can afford to live in the city.

There is an on-going need for councils to work together within the planning parameters to encourage housing developments whenever possible.

At the same time it is equally important for councils to encourage people to learn skills which are in demand by city businesses.

The Scrutiny Committee AGREED the following recommendations to the City Executive Board:

1. The report sets a clear goal on page 19 to deliver sustainable growth in line with the Brundtland Commission definition.  The SWOT analysis (p29) identifies the risk that, as it stands, this will not be achieved with regard to climate change targets - a key indicator of sustainable development. Nowhere are the conclusions of this aspect of the swot analysis addressed. Where is the detail of how the climate change targets are to be met?

2. The report and framework should make it clear that whilst the formal response from the business community was low this does not mean that views  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38