Guidance on personal and personal prejudicial interests is attached to these agenda pages.

Councillor Price declared a personal interest in the appointment to the South Oxford Playground (minute 4 refers) as the Chair of this group.

Members of the public may, if the Board Member agrees, ask a question of the Board Member on any item for decision on this agenda (other than on the minutes).  The full text of any question must be notified to the Head of Law and Governance by no later than 9.30 am two clear working days before the meeting.  Questions by the public will be taken as read and, at the Board Member’s discretion, responded to either orally or in writing at the meeting.  No supplementary question or questioning will be permitted.

The total time permitted for this item will be 15 minutes.

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City Councillors may, at the Board Member’s discretion, ask a question or address the Board Member on an item for decision on the agenda (other than on the minutes).  The full text of any question and the nature of any address must be notified to the Head of Law and Governance by no later than 9.30 am two clear working days before the meeting.  Questions by councillors will be taken as read and, at the Board Member’s discretion, responded to either orally or in writing at the meeting.  No supplementary question or questioning will be permitted.  If an address is made, the Board member will either respond or have regard to the points raised in reaching her or his decision.  If the address is by the Chair of a Scrutiny Committee or her or his nominee then the Board member will be required to say as part of their decision whether they accept the Scrutiny recommendations made.

Councillor Royce, in attendance, indicated that she wished to ask questions on the item concerning the Loan Guarantee for Arts at the Old Fire Station. She would ask her questions when this item was reached.

To agree nominations to outside and other bodies for the 2011/2012 Council Year.

Lois Stock (Democratic Services Officer) presented the report.

Resolved to approve all recommendations as laid out in the officer’s report with the following additional decisions:-

(1)    To ask Angela Cristofoli to arrange a meeting between the Forest of Oxford Steering Group and Councillors Price, Pressel, Fooks and a representative from the Liberal Democrat group, for a time to be agreed in the autumn, in order to look at issues raised by Councillor Fooks in her feedback on this group;

(2)    To ask Angela Cristofoli to arrange a meeting between the Oxford Asian Cultural Association and Councillors Price, Bance and a representative from the Liberal Democrat group in order to discuss issues around this group;

(3)    To ask Angela Cristofoli to arrange a meeting between the Wood Farm Community Association, at the same time as the one above, and involving the same Councillors;

(4)    To make the following appointments:-

(5)    To make all other appointments as detailed in the report;

(6)    To delete the following outside bodies as no longer operating;

·        Local Strategic Partnership Steering Group (now the Oxford Strategic Partnership)

·        Oxford Community Local Strategic Partnership;

·        Oxfordshire Supporting People Commissioning Body;

·        Blackbird Leys Adventure Playground Management Committee

(A complete list of all appointments is attached to these minutes.)

To consider a request for the Council to at as guarantor for a bank loan of up to £115,000 to Arts at the Old Fire Station (the company).

A risk map appendix was not available when the agenda was dispatched and will be sent ‘to follow.’

Councillor Price explained the background to this item.

In answer to questions from Councillor Royce concerning the risk of this group defaulting on the loan, Councillor Price indicated that he was satisfied that the Council would be able to keep a careful track of this group’s finances and that the risk, as assessed by officers, was small. Should the Council need to intervene, there was provision to do so via Laura Worsfold (Culture Team Leader) and Councillors.

Resolved to agree

(1)   That Oxford City Council will, in principle, act as guarantor for a loan facility of up to £115, 000 to be supplied by a social investment bank to Arts at the Old Fire Station;

(2)   That authority be delegated to the Corporate Director of Finance and Efficiency to enter into an appropriate arrangement with the lender on terms that comply with the content of the officer’s report.

If the Board member wishes to exclude the press and the public from the meeting during consideration of any of the items on the exempt from publication part of the agenda, it will be necessary for the Board member to pass a resolution in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 21(1)(b) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2000 on the grounds that their presence could involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as described in specific paragraphs of Schedule I2A of the Local Government Act 1972.

The Board member may maintain the exemption if and so long as, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

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