The Head of Corporate Strategy has submitted a report to consider adoption of a countywide and system wide strategy for recovery and renewal in Oxfordshire following the COVID pandemic.

Cabinet is recommended to:

1.      Adopt the Oxfordshire System Recovery and Renewal Framework, as set out in Appendix 1, as the key partnership document guiding joint programme planning beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic period; and

2.      Delegate final revisions to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, as partnership organisations complete their engagement and decision-making processes.

The Head of Corporate Strategy had submitted a report to consider adoption of a countywide and system wide strategy for recovery and renewal in Oxfordshire following the Covid pandemic.

It was noted that the report would be presented to all of the other Oxfordshire councils for approval.  Comment was made that this process meant it was difficult for individual councils to recommend changes following scrutiny, given that this would involve altering a report which may have already been agreed by other councils.  However, the report before Cabinet at this meeting represented a broad framework which did not require the Council to commit to anything beyond adopting general principles which it already supported.  In presenting the report the Leader commented that the report recognised the good work which had been done throughout the pandemic, and the value of a collaborative partnership approach.  In particular, health inequalities had widened during the pandemic, and a commitment to work together to address this was supported.  An example of partnership working in this area was the Food Strategy which was currently in development, which would seek to address inequalities in access to food; another area of partnership work was climate change.  The Leader commended the work of Ansaf Anzhar, Director of Public Health for Oxfordshire County Council, in leading on partnership work to address health inequality.

With regard to the scrutiny recommendations, it was agreed that a recommendation should be made to the County Council to produce a report in a year’s time for consideration by the Health and Wellbeing Board and this Council’s scrutiny committee, detailing what had happened as a result of the establishment of the Framework.  The Chief Executive was asked to progress this with other council Chief Executives.  It had also been recommended that the Council produce its own update at the same time, and this was also agreed.  The final recommendation from scrutiny had been to suggest amendment to the Framework to clarify that it did not replace countywide strategies or override city / district level policies and strategies.  This was also agreed, although it was noted that any changes to the Framework, such as that above, which were suggested by councils would need to be agreed by all the Chief Executives.  The Chief Executive was therefore asked to progress this request with other council Chief Executives.

Cabinet resolved to:

1.     Adopt the Oxfordshire System Recovery and Renewal Framework, set out at Appendix 1 of the report, as the key partnership document guiding joint programme planning beyond the Covid-19 period; and

2.     Delegate final revisions to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Leader of the Council, as partnership organisations complete their engagement and decision making processes.