Cllr Roz Smith declared an interest in the motion at 14f (fossil fuel divestment) as she had a decision making role as a member of the Oxfordshire County Council Pension Fund Committee.

Minutes of the meetings of Council held on

·       27 January 2020

·       13 February 2020 (Budget meeting)

·       24 February 2020 (adjourned Budget meeting)

·       20 May 2020 (Annual meeting)

·       8 June 2020 (Special meeting)

Council is asked to approve the minutes of these 5 meetings as a correct record, noting that minutes are taken at ordinary meetings of Council and not budget, annual or special meetings.

Council agreed to approve the minutes of the ordinary meeting held on 27 January 2020; 13 February 2020 (subject to checking the accuracy of the recorded vote at Minute 89d); 24 February 2020; 20 May 2020; and 8 June 2020 as true and correct records of those meetings.

The Lord Mayor shall sign these at a suitable time.

The Head of Law and Governance has been notified of changes of membership on committees requested by group leaders.

Council is asked to approve the following change to committee memberships notified by the Liberal Democrat group leader:

·         West Area Planning Committee - Cllr Wade to replace Cllr Harris

Any further changes will be circulated with the briefing note.

Council agreed to make changes with immediate effect to:

West Area Planning Committee

·       Cllr Wade to replace Cllr Harris

·       Cllr Tarver to replace Cllr Tidball

Announcements by:

1.    The Lord Mayor

2.    The Sheriff

3.    The Leader of the Council (who may with the permission of the Lord Mayor invite other councillors to make announcements)

4.    The Chief Executive, Chief Finance Officer, Monitoring Officer

The Lord Mayor reported on his civic appointments:

While there were far fewer engagements, he had taken part in online engagements and making videos including

·         Taking part with Perm, Oxford’s twin town, on Perm Day;

·         Remembering and commemorating Srebrenica Memorial day on 11 July2020;

·         Taking part in a global Eid event;

·         Meeting the new High Sheriff of Oxfordshire Mrs Amanda Ponsonby;

·         Taking part in online multi-faith meetings.

The Sheriff reported on his civic appointments including a virtual Freemen’s admission ceremony.

He recorded his thanks to the council’s countryside team for their extraordinary work in keeping Port Meadow useable and wildlife friendly in the current very challenging circumstances of greatly increased use and huge volumes of litter left.

The Leader of the Council reported the re-appointments and new appointments of Champions for specific parts of the Council’s work, and thanked them for their work in their roles:

Cllr Shaista Aziz - Race and equalities

Cllr Colin Cook - Heritage

Cllr Hosnieh Djafari-Marbini - Migrants

Cllr Richard Howlett - Co-operatives

Cllr Pat Kennedy - Older People

Cllr Mark Lygo - Sports

Cllr Chewe Munkonge - Small Business

Cllr Martyn Rush - Living Wage

Public addresses and questions to the Leader or other Cabinet member received in accordance with Council Procedure Rules 11.12, 11.13, and 11.14 relating to matters for decision in Part 1 of this agenda.

The briefing note will contain the text of addresses and questions submitted by the deadline, and written responses where available.

The request to speak accompanied by the full text of the address or question must be received by the Head of Law and Governance by 5.00 pm on 14 July 2020

Up to five minutes speaking time is permitted for each address.

Questions must be under 200 words and up to three minutes speaking time is permitted.

A total of 45 minutes to hear all speeches and replies is allowed for both public speaking items.

There were no addresses or questions.

The Head of Law and Governance has submitted a report asking Council to approve the a draft schedule of polling districts and polling places (shown at Appendix 1) for the administrative area of the City Council in order to allow by-elections to take place before May 2021 on the old ward boundaries.

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Brown, will introduce the report.

Recommendations: Council is recommended to:

1.            approve the draft schedule of polling places and polling districts as detailed in Appendix 1 to this report;

2.            agree that the changes should not be formally published unless required;

3.            agree that the scheme approved by Council on 13 February 2020 will apply again from 1 December 2020.

Council considered the report of the Head of Law and Governance seeking approval of a draft schedule of polling districts and polling for the administrative area of the City Council in order to enable any by-elections to take place before May 2021 on the old ward boundaries.

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Brown, presented the report and moved the recommendations which were agreed on being seconded and put to the vote.

Council resolved to:

1.            approve the draft schedule of polling places and polling districts as detailed in Appendix 1 to this report;

2.            agree that the changes should not be formally published unless required;

3.            agreethat the scheme approved by Council on 13 February 2020 will apply again from 1 December 2020.

The Head of Law and Governance has submitted a report  on behalf of the Head of Paid Service (Chief Executive) asking Council tonote the decisions taken by the Head of Paid Service (Chief Executive) using the urgency and emergency powers delegated in Parts 9.3(b) and (c) of the Constitution.

Please note an appendix may follow as a supplement, if required (paragraph 4 of the report refers).

Recommendation: Council is recommended to note the decisions taken as set out in the report.

Council considered the report of the Head of Law and Governance setting out the decisions taken by the Head of Paid Service (Chief Executive) using the urgency and emergency powers delegated in Parts 9.3(b) and (c) of the Constitution.

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Brown, presented the report and she and other Cabinet members answered questions:

·       Expenditure on ICT covered the costs of introducing remote working for the majority of staff to allow the council to continue to deliver services (hardware, software, licences, remote meetings, and peripheral devices). This was separate from the previously planned replacement programme. There were no immediate plans to return to office based working or to recoup any investment.

·       Topping up furlough payments to all furloughed staff accorded with good employment practices and the council’s commitment to paying the Oxford Living Wage.  

·       Decisions were taken with Cabinet’s input and knowledge and after informing opposition group leaders.

The recommendation, moved and seconded, was put to the vote.

Council resolved to note the decisions taken as set out in the report.

This item has a time limit of 15 minutes.

Councillors may ask the Cabinet Members questions about matters in these minutes:

Questions asked on:         

12 February - Minute 137 Scrutiny Committee Reports - plans for the Zero Emissions Zone

Cllr Gant asked a question and Cllr Hayes answered

15 July - Minute 31 Oxfordshire Growth Board Terms of Reference and Memorandum of Understanding

Cllr Gant asked a question and Cllr Brown answered.

Minute 137 Scrutiny Committee Reports - plans for the Zero Emissions Zone

Cllr Gant asked if the proposal was going ahead for two or three handheld APNR (automatic number plate recognition cameras) to enforce the planned Zero Emission Zone.

Cllr Hayes answered that this was still the case but both the final consultation on and introduction of the Zero Emission Zone had been postponed due to the impact of the Covid19 pandemic.

There were no questions.

There were no questions.

There were no questions.

Minute 31 - Oxfordshire Growth Board Terms of Reference and Memorandum of Understanding

Cllr Gant noted the changes were in the context of wider changes in regional structures to promote growth, and asked the Leader to comment on the process for agreement whereby all councils had to agree identical documents in a short time, severely restricting the opportunity to change these.

Cllr Brown replied that the converse was also true: it was not possible to impose a decision on councils without their individual agreement. Documents were discussed and then broadly agreed by all six Leaders in advance so that each council should be able to sign up to the final decision.

Questions on notice from councillors received in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11.11(b).

Questions on notice may be asked of the Lord Mayor, a Member of the Cabinet or a Chair of a Committee. One supplementary question may be asked at the meeting.

The full text of questions must have been received by the Head of Law and Governance by no later than 1.00pm on 8 July 2020.

The briefing note will contain the questions and written responses where available.

23 written questions were asked of the Cabinet members and Leader, and these and written responses were published before the meeting.

These along with summaries of the 15 supplementary questions and responses asked and given at the meeting are set out in the printed pack of these minutes.

Public addresses and questions to the Leader or other Cabinet member received in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11.12, 11.13 and 11.14 and not related to matters for decision in Part 1 of this agenda.

The briefing note will contain the text of addresses and questions submitted by the deadline, and written responses where available.

The request to speak accompanied by the full text of the address or question must be received by the Head of Law and Governance by 5.00 pm on 14 July 2020

Up to five minutes speaking time is permitted for each address.

Questions must be under 200 words and up to three minutes speaking time is permitted.

A total of 45 minutes to hear all speeches and replies is allowed for both public speaking items.

The Lord Mayor proposed and Council did not dissent that this item be taken at around 6.00pm instead of the 7.00pm set out in the Council meeting procedures.

There were five addresses to Council:

1.     Colin Aldridge asked the Council to consider introducing drug consumption rooms

2.     Peter Thompson, Director Oxford School of English, asked the Council to

3.     Tanagra Jabu Nala-Hartley asked the Council to Oxford Living Wage

4.     Hsin-Yung Yen gave a speech in support of the motion on twinning with a Taiwanese city

5.     David Madden gave a speech setting out his concerns at the accumulating impact of development in the north of the city.

The full text of these speeches as submitted and summaries of verbal responses from the Cabinet members given at the meeting are set out in the printed pack of these minutes.

1.     Report on behalf of the Leader of Council on the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (to follow)

2.     Members who are Council representatives on external bodies or Chairs of Council Committees who consider that a significant decision or event has taken place may give notice to the Head of Law and Governance by 1.00 pm on Thursday 16 July 2020 that they will present a written or oral report on this and how it may influence future events. Written reports will be circulated with the briefing note.

Council had before it the report on behalf of the Leader of the Council on the work of the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP).

Councillor Brown introduced the report and drew Council’s attention to the work relating specifically to the areas in the city; to the local industrial strategy; continuing to set out the council’s ambitions to create an inclusive and sustainable economy; and to the addendum setting out the current work to help the local economy recover from the impact of the Covid19 pandemic restrictions and prepare for a contraction in the economy.

Councillor Wolff asked if careers guidance looked ahead to estimate what would be needed in the future: for example to address skills shortages in the building industry; digitisation of the economy; and the climate emergency?

Councillor Brown responded that work on improving skills locally is constrained by the lack of ability to do this effectively at a local level. She had lobbied government ministers, and OxLEP was seeking means to develop tools to work with local businesses and people so that the right skills training was available.

Councillor Gant asked:

·       In relation to funding provided from European funds which generated match funding locally, whether this showed the damage the Brexit project was already doing to our local economy.

·       The factsheet stated the last two board meetings were held in public but there is no opportunity for members of the public to address or engage with the board. Could such opportunities be created?

·       Was there a workstream to look at improvements to digital infrastructure and broadband provision across the county?

Councillor Brown responded that it was not open to the Board to make opportunities for direct engagement available, but the council leaders could raise relevant issues in their capacity as members of the Board. OxLEP, having local council leaders on the Board, could be more responsive than a more remote body. This council’s key issues around sustainability and inclusivity were taken into account in OxLEP’s work: she would ask for these to be stated more clearly on the factsheet.

Council noted the report.

The Chair of the Scrutiny Committee has submitted a report which updates Council on the activities of Scrutiny and the implementation of recommendations since the last meeting of Council.

Council is invited to comment on and note the report.

Council had before it the report of the Scrutiny Committee Chair.

Councillor Gant introduced the report and gave an update on the work of the Scrutiny Committee.

Council noted the report and the appendices.

This item has a time limit of 60 minutes.

Motions received by the Head of Law and Governance in accordance with Council Procedure Rules by the deadline of 1.00pm on Wednesday 8 July 2020 are listed below.

Motions will be taken in turn from the Liberal Democrat, Green, Labour groups in that order.

Substantive amendments to these motions must be sent by councillors to the Head of Law and Governance by no later than 10.00am on Friday 17 July so that they may be circulated with the briefing note.

Minor technical or limited wording amendments may be submitted during the meeting but must be written down and circulated.

Council is asked to consider the following motions:

1.            Twinning with a locality on the island of Taiwan (proposed by Cllr Goddard, seconded by Cllr Wade)

2.            Adopting the C40 Mayors COVID-19 Recovery Task Force principles (proposed by Cllr Wolff, seconded by Cllr Simmons)

3.            Disproportionate deaths from Covid-19 of Health and care workers from Black, Asian and ethnic minorities (proposed by Cllr Bely-Summers)

4.            Celebrating Oxford’s Diversity (proposed by Cllr Gant, seconded by Cllr Altaf Khan)

5.            Against postponing County Council elections (proposed by Cllr Simmons, seconded by Cllr Wolff)

6.            Fossil fuel divestment (proposed by Cllr Hayes, seconded by Cllr Turner)

7.            Against postponing County Council elections (proposed by Cllr Roz Smith)

8.            Liveable Streets initiative (proposed by Cllr Wolff, seconded by Cllr Simmons)

Council had before it eight motions on notice submitted in accordance with Council procedure rules and reached decisions as set out below.

a)              Twinning with a locality on the island of Taiwan

b)              Adopting the C40 Mayors COVID-19 Recovery Task Force principles

c)               Disproportionate deaths from Covid-19 of Health and care workers from Black, Asian and ethnic minorities

The following motions were not taken as the time allocated for debate had finished:

d)              Celebrating Oxford’s Diversity

e)              Against postponing County Council elections

f)                Fossil fuel divestment

g)              Against postponing County Council elections (2)

h)              Liveable Streets initiative

Proposed by Cllr Goddard, seconded by Cllr Wade

Liberal Democrat motion

Council notes:

1.     That Oxford currently has twin towns and cities in Europe, the Middle East and the Americas. However, at present it has no such links with anywhere in East Asia.

2.     That no town or city in the UK is currently twinned with any town or city on the island of Taiwan.

3.     That amongst the achievements of the inhabitants of Taiwan are:

A.    Building what Freedom House describes as a “vibrant and competitive democratic system has allowed three peaceful transfers of power between rival parties since 2000” with “generally robust protections” for civil liberties. The organisation gives Taiwan a higher on their Global Freedom Index than the USA, France or Spain.

B.    Creating an “economic miracle” by which real GDP per capita on the island has increased more than 30 times since 1950. This make it one of the five fastest growing economies in the whole world during that period.

C.    Becoming the first jurisdiction in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage.

D.    A World beating response to Coronavirus. At the time of writing, there have been just seven confirmed fatalities from COVID-19 on the island, despite it having a population of 24 million and being in close proximity to the initial outbreak in Wuhan.

E.    In April 2020, donating 7 million face masks to European countries, including the UK, dealing with a shortage due to COVID-19.

4.     That Taiwan is the UK’s second fastest growing export marketand that the UK government is undertaking free trade talks with the Taiwan authorities.

5.     Cities in numerous countries which take the same diplomatic stance towards Taiwan have ‘sister cities’ on the island.

Council believes that:

1.     It should reaffirm the view that: “Twin city links give citizens the chance to engage with other cultures and ways of life, and make these experiences more accessible through established contacts and networks in the linked cities. They also bring benefit to cities through knowledge-sharing activities, where people can learn from how problems are tackled in other countries, exchange ideas and understand different viewpoints.”

2.     That Oxford would have much to gain from twinning with a locality in Taiwan and expanding its international links to encompass East Asia.

3.     That a municipality-to-municipality relationship is separate from the UK’s official diplomatic position of recognising the People’s Republic of China and avoiding dealing with the Taiwan authorities on a government to government basis. Oxford is grateful for the friendship of people from throughout the People’s Republic of China and the contribution its citizens make to the city as visitors, students and residents.

Council resolves:

1.     that Oxford City Council shall ask Cabinet to explore the possibility of] negotiating a twinning agreement with an appropriate municipality on the island of Taiwan.

2.     to ask the Leader to write to the Taiwan Representative Office in the United Kingdom to formally request their assistance in arranging this.

Due to other engagements Councillors Harris and Simm left the meeting at the start of this debate; and Councillor Aziz left the meeting before the vote was taken.

Councillor Goddard, seconded by Councillor Wade proposed the submitted motion as set out in the agenda and briefing note.

Councillor Clarkson, seconded by Councillor Tanner proposed the amendment as set out in the report in the briefing note.

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

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

Council resolved to adopt the following motion:

Council notes:

1.    That Oxford currently has twin towns and cities in Europe, the Middle East and the Americas. However, at present it has no such links with anywhere in East Asia.

2.    That no town or city in the UK is currently twinned with any town or city on the island of Taiwan.

3.    That amongst the achievements of the inhabitants of Taiwan are:

A.   Building what Freedom House describes as a “vibrant and competitive democratic system has allowed three peaceful transfers of power between rival parties since 2000” with “generally robust protections” for civil liberties. The organisation gives Taiwan a higher on their Global Freedom Index than the USA, France or Spain.

B.   Creating an “economic miracle” by which real GDP per capita on the island has increased more than 30 times since 1950. This make it one of the five fastest growing economies in the whole world during that period.

C.   Becoming the first jurisdiction in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage.

D.   A World beating response to Coronavirus. At the time of writing, there have been just seven confirmed fatalities from COVID-19 on the island, despite it having a population of 24 million and being in close proximity to the initial outbreak in Wuhan.

E.   In April 2020, donating 7 million face masks to European countries, including the UK, dealing with a shortage due to COVID-19.

4.    That Taiwan is the UK’s second fastest growing export market and that the UK government is undertaking free trade talks with the Taiwan authorities.

5.    Cities in numerous countries which take the same diplomatic stance towards Taiwan have ‘sister cities’ on the island.

Council believes that:

1.    It should reaffirm the viewthat: “Twin city links give citizens the chance to engage with other cultures and ways of life, and make these experiences more accessible through established contacts and networks in the linked cities. They also bring benefit to cities through knowledge-sharing activities, where people can learn from how problems are tackled in other countries, exchange ideas and understand different viewpoints.”

2.    That it would be worthwhile for Oxford to explore the possibility of establishing friendship links with a locality in Taiwan with a view to expanding its international links to encompass East Asia in the long term.

3.    That a municipality-to-municipality relationship is separate from the UK’s official diplomatic position of recognising  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26a

Proposed by Cllr Wolff, seconded by Cllr Simmons

Green member motion

This Council welcomes the findings of the C40 Mayors COVID-19 Recovery Task Force that has published a set of principles aimed at rebuilding cities & economies in a way that ‘improves public health, reduces inequality and addresses the climate crisis’.

This Council notes the principles:

1.    The recovery should not be a return to ‘business as usual’ - because that is a world on track for 3°C or more of over-heating;

2.    The recovery, above all, must be guided by an adherence to public health and scientific expertise, in order to assure the safety of those who live in our cities; 

3.    Excellent public services, public investment and increased community resilience will form the most effective basis for the recovery; 

4.    The recovery must address issues of equity that have been laid bare by the impact of the crisis – for example, workers who are now recognised as essential should be celebrated and compensated accordingly and policies must support people living in informal settlements;

5.    The recovery must improve the resilience of our city and communities. Therefore, investments should be made to protect against future threats – including the climate crisis – and to support those people impacted by climate and health risks;

6.    Climate action can help accelerate economic recovery and enhance social equity, through the use of new technologies and the creation of new industries and new jobs. These will drive wider benefits for our residents, workers, students, businesses and visitors; 

7.    We commit to doing everything in our power to ensure that the recovery from COVID-19 is healthy, equitable and sustainable;

8.    We commit to using our collective voices and individual actions to ensure that our national government supports both cities and the investments needed in cities, to deliver an economic recovery that is healthy, equitable and sustainable;

9.    We commit to using our collective voices and individual actions to ensure that international and regional institutions invest directly in cities to support a healthy, equitable and sustainable recovery

This Council agrees to monitor the on-going work of the Task Force and adopt the C40 Mayors principles in planning its own ‘build back better’ efforts.

Councillor Wolff, seconded by Councillor Howlett proposed the submitted motion as set out in the agenda and briefing note.

Councillor Howlett in his speech announced that the Leader of the Council has on behalf of the Council recently signed up to the principles set out in the motion. The Council will apply them internally; publically states that these are our principles; and is proud to be part of the global network of cities adopting these.

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

Council resolved to adopt the following motion:

This Council welcomes the findings of the C40 Mayors COVID-19 Recovery Task Force that has published a set of principles aimed at rebuilding cities & economies in a way that ‘improves public health, reduces inequality and addresses the climate crisis’. 

This Council notes the principles:

1.     The recovery should not be a return to ‘business as usual’ - because that is a world on track for 3°C or more of over-heating;

2.     The recovery, above all, must be guided by an adherence to public health and scientific expertise, in order to assure the safety of those who live in our cities; 

3.     Excellent public services, public investment and increased community resilience will form the most effective basis for the recovery; 

4.     The recovery must address issues of equity that have been laid bare by the impact of the crisis – for example, workers who are now recognised as essential should be celebrated and compensated accordingly and policies must support people living in informal settlements;

5.     The recovery must improve the resilience of our city and communities. Therefore, investments should be made to protect against future threats – including the climate crisis – and to support those people impacted by climate and health risks;

6.     Climate action can help accelerate economic recovery and enhance social equity, through the use of new technologies and the creation of new industries and new jobs. These will drive wider benefits for our residents, workers, students, businesses and visitors; 

7.     We commit to doing everything in our power to ensure that the recovery from COVID-19 is healthy, equitable and sustainable;

8.     We commit to using our collective voices and individual actions to ensure that our national government supports both cities and the investments needed in cities, to deliver an economic recovery that is healthy, equitable and sustainable;

9.     We commit to using our collective voices and individual actions to ensure that international and regional institutions invest directly in cities to support a healthy, equitable and sustainable recovery

This Council agrees to monitor the on-going work of the Task Force and adopt the C40 Mayors principles in planning its own ‘build back better’ efforts.

Source: https://www.c40.org/other/covid-task-force

Proposed by Cllr Bely-Summers

Labour member motion

People from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds are twice as likely to die of Covid-19 in the UK as white British people. This is the conclusion of the Public Health Report (PHE) Beyond the data: understanding the impact of Covid-19 on BAME groups.

44% of NHS doctors are from ethnic minority backgrounds but they accounted for 90% of the deaths of doctors. Black, Asians and ethnic minority nurses are 20% of the workforce but accounted for 75% of deaths.

Ethnic minority healthcare workers and care workers believe systemic racism and discrimination in the NHS and in the Social Care sector is one of the reasons many of their colleagues died.

The report highlights

·         Lack of representation in senior roles

·         Being less likely to seek care due to poorer experience with the NHS.

·         Being less likely to speak up when they had concerns about PPE and risks

·         A higher proportion of healthcare workers from ethnic minority working on Covid wards and care homes.

The Covid-19 pandemic has simply shone a light on a widespread entrenched problem. From the ongoing hostile environment and the Windrush scandal to the health surcharges for migrants. Local health unions have testimonies of ethnic minority healthcare workers and care workers not protected at work.

Some have left the profession, others have had to make life or death decisions. In modern Britain this is unacceptable.

The first PHE report commissioned by ministers explained why some populations groups are more affected than others but did not publish the recommendations which would have helped to reduce the disparities.

The chapter on community engagement was missing silencing again the voices of those who have been the most affected in spite of a very extensive consultation.

We have clapped for our NHS staff who have risked their lives to save us as well as our care workers. Far too many have made the ultimate sacrifice. Now it is time to address systemic racism, injustice and discriminations in our institutions and communities.

Oxford City Council therefore

1.    supports calls for extensive research to be funded on the disproportionate number of deaths of ethnic minority workers and care workers with clear recommendations; and

2.    asks the Leader to write to Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to request as a priority that PHE and the government implement in full and within a clear timeline all the seven recommendations set out in ‘Beyond the data : understanding the impact of Covid-19 on BAME groups’:

a)    comprehensive and quality ethnicity data collection and recording

b)    support community participatory research

c)    improve access, experiences and outcomes of NHS

d)    accelerate the development of culturally competent occupational risk assessment tools

e)    culturally competent Covid-19 education and prevention campaign

f)     target culturally competent health promotion and disease prevention programmes

g)    reduce inequalities caused by the wider determinants of health.

Councillor Bely Summers, seconded by Councillor Azad proposed the submitted motion as set out in the agenda and briefing note.

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

Council resolved to adopt the following motion:

People from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds are twice as likely to die of Covid-19 in the UK as white British people. This is the conclusion of the Public Health Report (PHE) Beyond the data: understanding the impact of Covid-19 on BAME groups.

44% of NHS doctors are from ethnic minority backgrounds but they accounted for 90% of the deaths of doctors. Black, Asians and ethnic minority nurses are 20% of the workforce but accounted for 75% of deaths.

Ethnic minority healthcare workers and care workers believe systemic racism and discrimination in the NHS and in the Social Care sector is one of the reasons many of their colleagues died.

The report highlights

• Lack of representation in senior roles
• Being less likely to seek care due to poorer experience with the NHS.
• Being less likely to speak up when they had concerns about PPE and risks
• A higher proportion of healthcare workers from ethnic minority working on Covid wards and care homes.

The Covid-19 pandemic has simply shone a light on a widespread entrenched problem. From the ongoing hostile environment and the Windrush scandal to the health surcharges for migrants. Local health unions have testimonies of ethnic minority healthcare workers and care workers not protected at work.

Some have left the profession, others have had to make life or death decisions. In modern Britain this is unacceptable.

The first PHE report commissioned by ministers explained why some populations groups are more affected than others but did not publish the recommendations which would have helped to reduce the disparities.

The chapter on community engagement was missing silencing again the voices of those who have been the most affected in spite of a very extensive consultation.

We have clapped for our NHS staff who have risked their lives to save us as well as our care workers. Far too many have made the ultimate sacrifice. Now it is time to address systemic racism, injustice and discriminations in our institutions and communities.

Oxford City Council therefore

1.     supports calls for extensive research to be funded on the disproportionate number of deaths of ethnic minority workers and care workers with clear recommendations; and

2.     asks the Leader to write to Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to request as a priority that PHE and the government implement in full and within a clear timeline all the seven recommendations set out in ‘Beyond the data : understanding the impact of Covid-19 on BAME groups’:

·       comprehensive and quality ethnicity data collection and recording

·       support community participatory research

·       improve access, experiences and outcomes of NHS

·       accelerate the development of culturally competent occupational risk assessment tools

·       culturally competent Covid-19 education and prevention campaign

·       target culturally competent  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26c

Proposed by Cllr Gant, seconded by Cllr Altaf Khan

Liberal Democrat member motion

Council notes that varied communities make a huge contribution to the vitality and integrity of civic life here in Oxford. Council believes that contribution should be acknowledged as much as possible, and that this council should use its own resources of visibility and public leadership to do so.

Council therefore agrees toask Cabinet to work towards establishing a list of the national days of the principal communities represented here in Oxford, to invite them to supply a flag, in consultation with officers over logistical matters such as size, which they would like to be flown from the Town Hall on their national day, and to instruct officers to undertake the necessary work.

This motion was not taken as the time allocated for debate had finished.

Proposed by Cllr Simmons, seconded by Cllr Wolff

Green member motion

This Council opposes the proposal by the Conservative Leader of the County Council to delay the County elections planned for 2021 until 2022.

This motion was not taken as the time allocated for debate had finished.

Propsed by Cllr Hayes, seconded by Cllr Turner

Labour member motion

Oxford City Council welcomes Oxfordshire Local Government Pension Fund’s climate-focused ambitions for its pension investments.

This Council welcomes the following changes by the Pension Fund as additions to an earlier decision to switch five per cent of its assets into a low carbon fund:

·         To switch another six per cent of assets into a new Sustainable Equities Fund being developed by Brunel Pension Partnership, the company owned by Local Government Pension Funds to manage investments on their behalf.

·         To introduce the target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from investments by 7.6% p.a. in line with the Paris Agreement and a maximum 1.5°C increase in global temperatures. The world needs more business plans to be in line with or improve on the 2015 Paris Accord agreement over emission paths.

1.    This Council congratulates the following for their contributions:

·         Oxfordshire Pension Fund has travelled far in its plans to respond to the risks of climate breakdown, and this Council congratulates the Committee.

·         the campaign group Fossil Free Oxfordshire and UNISON for co-operation with the Pension Fund and looks forward to seeing further collaboration.

Taking money out of fossil fuels is the right thing to do. It is also the financially prudent thing to do. Keeping fossil fuel companies in a portfolio reduces its total value, fossil fuel investments risk becoming ‘stranded assets’, and the climate crisis threatens the global economy and the ability of the Oxfordshire Local Government Pension Scheme to meet its liabilities.

In passing fossil fuel divestment motions, this Council has made clear that it makes no sense to invest in companies that undermine our future.

2.    Oxfordshire Pension Fund’s journey must be completed.

This Council asks the Leader to write to Oxfordshire Pension Fund to:

·         ensure the pledges to decarbonise the fund are underpinned by metrics that ensure the target emissions reductions will be met, including those that measure exposure to fossil fuel producers, not just fossil fuel users.

·         request confirmation that it will exclude from the portfolio any companies that continue to explore for or develop new fossil fuel reserves.

·         review the entire Climate Change Policy and Implementation Plan by 2022 at the latest, including 1) the effectiveness of engagement as stated in the implementation plan and; 2) progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions (rather than waiting until 2025 as suggested in the implementation plan).

However ambitious a pension fund pool member may be, the pace toward emissions reductions of 7.6% p.a. will be limited by the fund offerings provided by Brunel.

Brunel has shown recent climate leadership, but this Council asks the Leader to write to Oxfordshire Pension Fund to urge Brunel to go further by:

·         making a formal request to provide a range of funds that enable it to meet its 7.6% p.a. target while spreading risk, including zero carbon passive and managed funds.

·         writing an open letter asking Brunel to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of all portfolios by 7.6% p.a. and to reduce the  ...  view the full agenda text for item 26f

This motion was not taken as the time allocated for debate had finished.

Proposed By Cllr Roz Smith

Liberal Democrat member motion

At the recent meeting of the County Council on July 14 the Leader of the Council, Cllr Ian Hudspeth, tabled a motion [agenda item 15] which, among other things, called on the Leader to “write to the Secretary of State requesting that its 2021 elections are held over until 2022 to allow sufficient time to undertake an open and wide-ranging conversation with our local authority partners, residents and stakeholders to explore all options for a new future for Oxfordshire”.

Council

·         wholeheartedly opposes any attempt to delay scheduled elections, further reducing democratic accountability, bearing in mind that other elections are also due to be held in May 2021, many of them already delayed by a year, and

·         instructs the Leader to write to the Leader of the County Council and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government communicating its view.

This motion was not taken as the time allocated for debate had finished.

Proposed by Cllr Wolff, Seconded by Cllr Simmons

Green member motion

Council notes and supports the County Council’s renewed interest in ‘liveable streets’ as evidenced by the inclusion of some low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) measures in the Tranche 1 Active Travel funding application and the inclusion of LTNs in the recently published Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP).

Council also notes that creating a liveable street requires coordinated action by both City and County Councils as many responsibilities span both authorities (e.g. noise, air quality, planting, community safety and so on). The City is also a potential contributor of funding and a key stakeholder for any infrastructure works within the City.

Council notes that the Greater London Authority has developed specific indicators (along with  checklists, guidance and tools) for measuring the degree to which a street is ‘healthy’ and agrees to use these as part of its approach to designing and delivering liveable streets within the City.

The 10 key Healthy Streets Indicators, backed up by a measurement method, extensive case studies and guidance, are:

•              Everyone feels welcome

•              Easy to cross

•              Shade and shelter

•              Clean air

•              People feel relaxed

•              People choose to walk and cycle

•              Not too noisy

•              Places to stop and rest

•              People feel safe

•              Things to see and do

Source: https://healthystreets.com/home/about/

This motion was not taken as the time allocated for debate had finished.