For the avoidance of doubt, Councillor Turner said he would leave the meeting at the point decisions were made in relation to item 8 of the agenda given his secondment to a Government Department.

None.

Councillor Tanner addressed the Board in relation to item 8 on the agenda (Approval of new twin cities). He expressed delight that this matter was before the Board and placed on record his thanks for the many people who support twinning and its associated activities and for the preparatory work by officers in relation to the current proposals. The move to appoint a full time twinning officer was most welcome. He commended continuation of the practice of adopting street names to acknowledge the City’s twinning arrangements and said  that thought should  be given to ensuring signage for the new arrangements given that the existing signs had little spare space to accommodate new names.

The Board Member for Culture and City Centre, Councillor Clarkson, was pleased to confirm that a full time twinning officer was to be appointed and that appropriate signage would be provided. Officers were, necessarily, waiting for the approval of this meeting before proceeding with either.  The costs of signage were being sought, in part, via the recommendations but were likely to be contributed to, also, by ward member budgets.  She was pleased to confirm that opportunities would be sought to acknowledge the new arrangements by adoption of street names.  In the case of Wroclaw however, the pronounciation of which would be challenging for many, something other than a street name would be preferable. Preliminary thought was being given to the central square in the covered market, a suggestion which chimed well with the fact that Wroclaw too has a covered market.

None.

None.

The Head of Community Services has submitted a report to approve the signing of full Twin City agreements with Wroclaw, Ramallah and Padova and agree the criteria for the formation of additional international links.

Recommendation: That the City Executive Board resolves to:

1.    Approve the Oxford-Wroclaw Twin City agreement signed in Wroclaw in October 2018;

2.    Endorse the Oxford Polish Association as the formal volunteer community Link for the Wroclaw twinning relationship;

3.    Approve the signing of full Twin City agreements with Ramallah and Padova;

4.    Delegate authority to approve the final wording of the full Twin city agreements to the Head of Community services in consultation with the  portfolio holder for Culture and City Centre and the Head of Law and Governance;

5.    Approve how we use the £23,000 budget allocation for twinning projects; and

6.    Approve the criteria and process for selecting future international links as set out in paragraph 26 of this report.

The Head of Community Services had submitted a report to approve the signing of full Twin City agreements with Wroclaw, Ramallah and Padova and agree the criteria for the formation of additional international links.

The Board Member for Culture and City Centre, Councillor Clarkson, introduced the report, which had been  the culmination of a great deal of work over the previous year and the slow and steady building of relationships with Wroclaw, Ramallah and Padova over time.

The benefits of twinning arrangements should be for the whole city, not just for cultural links between small groups. The example was  given of an opportunity which had been given for a group of young people to travel to Bonn to take part in a football event, many of whom would not otherwise have had the opportunity to travel abroad; the trip had had a profoundly positive effect  on them.

As the arrangements for twinning expand so it would be desirable for the Council to focus on providing a strategic lead and for community links to make many of the detailed arrangements. Thought might also be given to hosting events involving more than one linked City at a time.

Councillor Turner left the room at 6.50 when the Board moved to consider the recommendations.

The City Executive Board resolved to:

1.    Approve the Oxford-Wroclaw Twin City agreement signed in Wroclaw in October 2018;

2.    Endorse the Oxford Polish Association as the formal volunteer community Link for the Wroclaw twinning relationship;

3.    Approve the signing of full Twin City agreements with Ramallah and Padova;

4.    Delegate authority to approve the final wording of the full Twin city agreements to the Head of Community services in consultation with the  portfolio holder for Culture and City Centre and the Head of Law and Governance;

5.    Approve how we use the £23,000 budget allocation for twinning projects; and

6.    Approve the criteria and process for selecting future international links as set out in paragraph 26 of this report.

Recommendation: The City Executive Board resolves to APPROVE the minutes of the meeting held on 12 February 2019 as a true and accurate record.

Councillor Turner rejoined the meeting.

The Board resolved to APPROVE the minutes of the meeting held on 12 February 2019 as a true and accurate record.

Meetings are scheduled for the following dates:

·       13 March

·       10 April

·       22 May

·       12 June

·       10 July

·       07 August

·       11 September

·       09 October

·       13 November

·       11 December

All meetings start at 6pm.

Meetings are scheduled for the following dates:

·         13 March

·         10 April

·         22 May

·         12 June

·         10 July

·         07 August

All meetings start at 6pm.

No matters were considered in confidential session.