The Transition Director has submitted a report to:

1.    Provide an update on the Oxfordshire Environment Partnership (OEP) which convenes the City, District and County Councils in Oxfordshire to share best practice and agree actions;

2.    Seek support for the Resource and Waste Strategy for Oxfordshire (Appendix 1) which sets out how the City Council will work with others to deliver sustainable waste management services as part of our response to the climate emergency. It runs until 2023 and focuses on local authority collected waste; and

3.    Reconfirm support for the reintroduction of joint working across Oxfordshire in the form of a partnership. Including reinstating a dedicated officer post to take forward county-wide waste management, following the declaration of a climate emergency.

Recommendations:That  Cabinet resolves to:

1.    Adopt Oxfordshire’s Resources and Waste Strategy for Oxfordshire 2018-2023, in response to the Climate Emergency;

2.    Agree support for reinstating a Countywide Partnership on resources and waste management;

3.    Support the principle of the reintroduction of an Officer post to advance the shared goals of all Oxfordshire councils to effectively manage waste arising in the county, subject to City Council’s budget process for 2020/2021; and

4.    Delegate authority to the Transition Director in consultation with the Section 151 Officer, Monitoring Officer and Cabinet Member for Zero Carbon Oxford to conclude the negotiation and agreement of a Memorandum of Understanding with all other relevant councils in Oxfordshire concerning the partnership and shared post across the proposed reformed Waste Partnership.

The Transition Director had submitted a report to:

1.    Provide an update on the Oxfordshire Environment Partnership (OEP) which convenes the City, District and County Councils in Oxfordshire to share best practice and agree actions;

2.    Seek support for the Resource and Waste Strategy for Oxfordshire (Appendix 1) which sets out how the City Council will work with others to deliver sustainable waste management services as part of our response to the climate emergency. It runs until 2023 and focuses on local authority collected waste; and

3.    Reconfirm support for the reintroduction of joint working across Oxfordshire in the form of a partnership. Including reinstating a dedicated officer post to take forward county-wide waste management, following the declaration of a climate emergency.

Councillor Tom Hayes, Cabinet Member for Zero Carbon Oxford, introduced the report saying it was timely given the current enthusiasm in the wider community for tackling a range of issues related to the climate emergency. The proposal would reinstate the Countywide Partnership on Resources and Waste Management and commit the Council to sharing the cost of an associated officer post with the other councils in the Partnership. The Resource and Waste Strategy was ambitious and the Partnership would facilitate good countywide political working to help achieve those ambitions.

It was noted that this would provide an excellent example of the merits of a partnership approach as opposed to delivering a programme via a single service countywide.  The waste and recycling challenges in the City, for example, were different from those of a rural district and a partnership approach enabled those differences to be reflected in delivery of the programme.

Councillor Hayes concluded by noting the need to acknowledge all that had been done by Councillor Tanner in his previous role as the Executive Member for “A Clean & Green Oxford”.

Cabinet resolved to:

1.    Adopt Oxfordshire’s Resources and Waste Strategy for Oxfordshire 2018-2023, in response to the Climate Emergency;

2.    Agree support for reinstating a Countywide Partnership on resources and waste management;

3.    Support the principle of the reintroduction of an Officer post to advance the shared goals of all Oxfordshire councils to effectively manage waste arising in the county, subject to City Council’s budget process for 2020/2021; and

4.    Delegate authority to the Transition Director in consultation with the Section 151 Officer, Monitoring Officer and Cabinet Member for Zero Carbon Oxford to conclude the negotiation and agreement of a Memorandum of Understanding with all other relevant councils in Oxfordshire concerning the partnership and shared post across the proposed reformed Waste Partnership.