The Committee resolved to elect Cllr Wade as Chair for the Council year 2021/22.

The Committee resolved to elect Cllr Chapman as Vice-Chair for the Council Year 2021/22.

None.

The Chair welcomed Members to the first meeting of the Committee in the new Council year. With its mix of experienced and new Members it would be a powerful Committee which would be well placed to make strong representations.

Recommendation: That the minutes of the meeting held on 02 March 2021 be APPROVED as a true and accurate record.

The Committee resolved to APPROVE the minutes of the meeting held on 02 March 2021  as a true and accurate record.

The Scrutiny Committee operates within a work plan which is agreed at the start of the Council year. The work plan is driven to a very large extent by the Cabinet Forward Plan.  A summary of the latest version of the Forward Plan is attached.The Committee will be asked to agree its work plan as part of the following item.

The Committee agreed to note the Forward Plan, leaving discussion of the Work Plan to the following item.

The Head of Law and Governance has submitted a report which seeks the Committee’s agreement to the adoption of  a set of operating principles for the Scrutiny Committee for the 2021/22 municipal year, establish standing panels and appoint standing panel Chairs. The recommendations are set out in the report.

The Chair noted that it was proposed to adopt the operating principles which had been used previously and as set out in Appendix One of the report.

The Scrutiny Officer explained that the number of review groups and standing panels was necessarily constrained. The proposal before the Committee for the three standing panels and two review groups could be amended but only if an increase in one was compensated for by a reduction in the other.

In relation to the proposed co-option of a tenant to the Housing & Homelessness Panel, it was suggested that there would be merit in a more flexible arrangement for the engagement of the homeless community. It was emphasised that this was not a reflection on the individual proposed but simply a wish to ensure that the Panel benefitted from a wider range of views from that community. The Committee agreed to defer this decision to the Housing and Homelessness Panel.

The wording of recommendation 3e was in need of clarification. The Scrutiny Officer noted that this wording was drawn from the Constitution and this would be addressed by an amendment to it in due course.

It was noted that the Budget Review Group’s work was particularly intense and demanding and that the previous practice of having a membership of 4 rather than the 6 (as proposed for  the Panels) was likely to be preferable. The Scrutiny Officer said a decision about the arrangements for that group, which was separate from the Finance and Performance Panel, would not have to be made until the Autumn.

In relation to scrutiny of the Council’s companies, new overall governance arrangements for the companies were being developed. In the absence of those details it was agreed that the Committee should proceed with the establishment of its Companies Scrutiny Panel in the usual way. The Scrutiny Officer agreed to bring the matter of the new governance arrangements to the July meeting to give the Committee an opportunity to comment on them if it wished to do so.

The Scrutiny Officer alerted the Committee to two proposed/likely changes to the schedule of meetings: Companies Panel on 21 June was unlikely to go ahead on that day. The Housing & Homelessness Panel on 05 July conflicted with an all Member event and he would liaise with the Chair of that Panel to find an alternative date.

The Committee agreed to appoint the following as Chairs to the three Panels

·         Housing & Homelessness: Cllr Smith

·         Finance & Performance: Cllr Fry

·         Companies Scrutiny: Cllr Chapman

The Scrutiny Officer set out the proposal for a more flexible approach to the Committee’s Work Plan which would enable a more responsive approach to variations in the Cabinet Forward Plan. At the heart of the proposal was the prioritisation of anticipated Cabinet reports for Scrutiny consideration.

It was agreed that that the opportunity to contribute the Committee’s views prior to completion of Cabinet reports (as well as after) would sometimes be valuable. The report going to Cabinet in July on the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

Cabinet, at its meeting on 16 June, will consider a report on the Oxford City Council Safeguarding Report 2019/20. The Committee is asked to consider the report and agree any recommendations thereon.

Councillor  Louise Upton, Cabinet Member for a Safer, Healthy Oxford; Dani Granito, Policy & Partnerships Team Manager; and Laura Jones, Safeguarding Coordinator, have been invited to attend for this item.

Councillor Louise Upton, Cabinet Member for a Safer Healthy Oxford, introduced the report. As a Council which, through its many and various ways of working, comes into contact with a significant number of vulnerable people, it has a statutory duty to keep them as safe as possible. In order to do that, its safeguarding processes are reviewed annually and that audit is made public. All Councillors will have the opportunity to undertake safeguarding training which makes clear the responsibility of everyone to be an active participant in safeguarding our community and which draws attention to the “My Concern” reporting mechanism. The latest audit draws attention to the particular safeguarding issues and challenges resulting from the pandemic. Safeguarding was a matter in which the Council worked in close partnership with other agencies, notably the County Council, the Police and Health Service, all of which are represented on the Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board (OSCB) and the Oxfordshire Safeguarding Adults Board (OSAB). The safeguarding duty should extend beyond just ensuring the basic welfare of our citizens and from beyond their surviving to their thriving.

Dani Granito, Policy & Partnerships Team Manager, noted that overall responsibility for safeguarding in OCC now lay with the Head of Corporate Strategy. The report drew attention to the safeguarding work delivered via the locality hubs during the pandemic. This included, for example, the provision of 210 laptops to pupils who could not otherwise access remote learning. A continuing national and local concern was that of neglect; the majority of local children on a child protection plan were experiencing neglect in some form. A considerable effort (via external peer review among other things) was being made to see how best to support those young people and prevent them experiencing neglect. All members of the partnership were now required to produce a Neglect Action Plan and a three monthly account of progress with it.

The OSCB and OSAB required the Council to conduct an annual safeguarding assessment. It was pleasing to note that the most recent assessment had, for the 4^th consecutive year, concluded that the Council demonstrated best practice in all 5 subject areas.

The requirement to report “any suspected victims of exploitation (slavery or human trafficking) to the Secretary of State” was of concern to the Committee which sought reassurance that it would not be subverted and used as a means of enforcing immigration controls. Officers emphasised that this reporting requirement fulfilled a statutory obligation and was seen a positive measure, providing a pathway to support. Nonetheless the Committee repeated its wish for the assurance mentioned above.

Officers confirmed that the many voluntary organisations providing support via the locality hubs were subject to the same safeguarding controls, awareness and training as Council employees.

Background was given to the Serious Case Review mentioned in the report and the key findings which had emerged from it.

The report celebrated some examples of positive safeguarding outcomes in numerical form. The Committee suggested that those data would be more meaningful if  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

Cabinet on 10 March considered Scrutiny recommendations in relation to the Council Business Plan 2021-22; Citizen Engagement; Zero Carbon Council; and the Climate Emergency Review Group. The Cabinet responses to the recommendations are attached.

The Scrutiny Officer drew attention to most recent Cabinet responses to previous Scrutiny recommendations.

Meetings are scheduled as followed:

Scrutiny Committee

14 July 2021

03 August 2021

08 September 2021

05 October 2021

02 November 2021

06 December 2021

All meetings start at 6.00 pm.

Standing Panels

Housing & Homelessness: 05 July; 06 October; 04 November

Finance & Performance: 08 July; 02 August; 06 September; 08 December

Companies: 21 June*; 20 September; 14 December 

*Please note this date may change.

Meetings are scheduled as followed:

Scrutiny Committee

14 July 2021

03 August 2021

08 September 2021

05 October 2021

02 November 2021

06 December 2021

All meetings start at 6.00 pm.

Standing Panels

Housing & Homelessness: 05 July*; 06 October; 04 November

Finance & Performance: 08 July; 02 August; 06 September; 08 December

Companies: 21 June*; 20 September; 14 December 

*Please note these dates will change.

If the Committee 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 Committee to pass a resolution in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 4(2)(b) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 on the grounds that their presence could involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as described in specific paragraphs of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

The Committee 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.

The Committee passed a resolution in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 4(2)(b) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 to exclude the press and the public from the meeting  for the following two items on the grounds that their presence could involve the disclosure of exempt information as described in specific paragraphs of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

Cabinet, at its meeting on 16 June, will consider a report on the County-Wide Transformation of Rough Sleeping. The Committee is asked to consider the report and agree any recommendations thereon.

Councillor Diko Blackings, Cabinet Member for Affordable Housing, Housing Security & Housing the Homeless; and Nerys Parry, Housing Strategy & Needs Manager, have been invited to attend for this item.

This item was discussed in confidential session.

Cabinet, at its meeting on 16 June, will consider a report on the Covered Market Leasing Strategy. The Committee is asked to consider the report and agree any recommendations thereon.

Councillor  Ed Turner, Cabinet Member for Finance & Asset Management; Jane Winfield, Head of Service for Corporate Property; Elaine Philip, Markets’ Manager; and Emma Gubbins, Senior Surveyor, have been invited to attend for this item.

This item was discussed in confidential session.