There were no declarations of interest made.

The Chair informed the Committee that an online training session had been scheduled on Monday 8 December in relation to consumer standards. Members’ attendance was encouraged.  

The Committee is asked to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 11 November 2025 as a true and accurate record.

The Committee resolved to approve the minutes of the meetings held on 11 November 2025 as a true and accurate record.  

Public addresses relating to matters of business for this agenda. Up to five minutes is available for each public address.

The request to speak accompanied by the full text of the address must be received by the Director of Law, Governance and Strategy by 5.00 pm on Wednesday, 26 November 2025.

None.

Councillor addresses relating to matters of business for this agenda. Up to five minutes is available for each address.

The request should be received by the Director of Law, Governance and Strategy by 5.00 pm on Wednesday, 26 November 2025.

None.

Cabinet, at its meeting on 10 December 2025, will consider a report to approve the Authority Monitoring Report and Infrastructure Funding Statement for publication.

Cllr Alex Hollingsworth, Cabinet Member for Planning and Culture, David Butler, Director of Planning and Regulation, and Rachel Williams, Planning Policy and Place Manager have been invited to present the report and take part in discussions.

The Committee is asked to consider the report and agree any recommendations.

Cabinet, at its meeting on 10 December 2025, will consider a report to approve the Authority Monitoring Report and Infrastructure Funding Statement for publication.  

Councillor Alex Hollingsworth, Cabinet Member for Planning and Culture, Rachel Williams, Planning Policy and Place Manager, Lorraine Freeman, Team Leader for CIL, Data Analysis and Reporting, and Mariam Salawu, Senior Data Analyst and Reporting Officer, were present to respond to questions.  

The Committee was asked to consider the report and agree any recommendations. 

Councillor Hollingsworth introduced the report and provided a comprehensive summary. 

Councillor Latif joined the meeting. 

Councillor Miles queried the reference to a land supply of 2.8 years in the report and requested a simplified explanation of its meaning. Councillor Miles also requested expanded information on the complex set of reasons relating to why housing targets had not been met.  

Councillor Hollingsworth explained that the statistic of 2.8 in the report referred to housing land supply and that it had been identified that much of Oxford’s housing need could not be found within the city. The target in the Local Plan is therefore the level that can be delivered for the city, rather than the whole need. However, once a Local Plan is more than five years old, the basis of the calculation changes and cannot be used as the target; therefore, the housing land supply this year dropped. Councillor Hollingsworth noted that this will change when a new Local Plan is adopted; the housing land supply will likely rise above 5 again. Comparable context of other local authorities was also provided to the Committee.  

Councillor Mundy joined the meeting.  

In response to Councillor Miles, the Planning Policy and Place Manager explained that when compiling the data, it became evident that there had been a downturn in housing delivery. The Committee heard of a range of reasons that could be contributing, however were also informed that no singular reason could be entirely responsible; instead, the downturn is the result of a complex matrix of interlinked factors including market conditions, for example. The Planning Policy and Place Manager emphasised that officers are working to make sense of these factors in order to support housing delivery.  

Councillor Qayyum joined the meeting.  

Councillor Rowley requested explanation for the statistics relating to housing completions in 2021, 2022 and 2023, and queried the accuracy of the statistics in paragraph 26.  

In reference to her previous question, Councillor Miles also asked whether some of the reasons for the downturn in housing completion may be within the Council’s control.  

In response to Councillor Miles, Councillor Hollingsworth noted issues relating to the block on development relating to the Environment Agency’s concerns about Thames Water’s infrastructure, which has now been resolved, and section 106 agreement delays due to third-party decisions and actions. It was also emphasised that these issues are not unique to Oxford and are largely out of the Council’s control. Other external influences including inflation in the cost of construction materials due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine were listed. Councillor  ...  view the full minutes text for item 76.

Cabinet, at its Special meeting on 4 December 2025, will take a decision whether to endorse the submission by Oxfordshire County Council, on behalf of Oxfordshire councils, of an Expression of Interest to Government for the inclusion of the Thames Valley area in the next wave of its Devolution Programme.

Cllr Susan Brown, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Partnership Working, Caroline Green, Chief Executive, and Mish Tullar, Transition Director, have been invited to present the report and take part in discussions.

The Committee is asked to consider the report and agree any recommendations.

Cabinet, at its Special meeting on 4 December 2025, will take a decision whether to endorse the submission by Oxfordshire County Council, on behalf of Oxfordshire councils, of an Expression of Interest to Government for the inclusion of the Thames Valley area in the next wave of its Devolution Programme. 

Councillor Susan Brown, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Partnership Working, and Mish Tullar, Transition?Director,?were present to respond to questions.  

The Committee was asked to consider the report and agree any recommendations. 

Councillor Brown presented the report to the Committee and provided a comprehensive summary. 

The Transition Director outlined connections between devolution, and Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), specifically Oxford City Council’s three-unitary proposal. 

Councillor Ottino queried how inclusion within a Thames Valley Mayoral Strategic Authority would be communicated to local residents as a beneficial arrangement, noting that he does not personally identify himself as being part of the Thames Valley region. Concern with how distant this identity could feel was noted.  

Councillor Latif queried why Buckinghamshire is seeking to remain separate from the Thames Valley Mayoral Strategic Authority. Clarification of the difference between LGR and devolution was also requested. Councillor Latif expressed concern over the difference in geographical scale between LGR and devolution and asked how this can be aligned.  

Councillor Jarvis asked what sense there is from Government about Buckinghamshire not wishing to be part of a Thames Valley Mayoral Strategic Authority. 

In response to Councillor Ottino, Councillor Brown confirmed that many conversations are ongoing between local authorities regarding the impacts of devolution and how to present it to the public. The Committee heard that a significant budget has been allocated by Government to give more powers to local areas; the potential benefits of which were highlighted. Comparable examples, such as Manchester, were also referenced. Councillor Brown noted that for areas that do not obviously fit the geographic regions, the Government may aim to use powers to ensure that no region is left out, including Buckinghamshire. In response to Councillor Latif, LGR and devolution were explained via the connections they will have to each other and the inclusion of all unitary authority leaders within the decision-making model of the Mayoral Strategic Authority. Councillor Brown outlined how the three-unitary model would best support representation of local voices within a Mayoral Strategic Authority.  

The Transition Director commented on the complementarity of smaller place-based unitary authorities with Mayoral Strategic Authorities, noting the positive impacts to investment, strategic responsibility, and delivery this will bring.  

Councillor Miles queried why Swindon is included within the proposal for a Thames Valley Mayoral Strategic Authority, noting that its identity fits more neatly with west country regions.  

Councillor Brown clarified that Swindon proactively expressed interest for being included within a Thames Valley Mayoral Strategic Authority and provided detail on its economic context which aligns with Oxford. Its consideration within the proposed growth corridor between Oxford and Cambridge was also outlined.  

The Chair queried the role of unitary authority leaders within a Mayoral Strategic Authority  ...  view the full minutes text for item 77.

The Work Plan is driven to a very large extent by the Cabinet Forward Plan. The Scrutiny Committee agrees its priorities for items coming onto the Forward Plan, which then form part of its Work Plan.

The Committee is recommended to confirm its agreement to the Work Plan, or agree any amendments as required.

The Chair requested comments on the work plan; there were none.  

The Scrutiny and Governance Advisor informed Members that following a request for fair trade to be considered by a member of the public over previous years, the matter is being continually monitored by officers and is likely to be before the Scrutiny Committee next year. 

The Chair noted that in January, the Committee will also be considering the new Local Plan.  

The Committee agreed to the Work Plan.  

At its Special meeting on 10 November 2025 and ordinary meeting on 19 November 2025, Cabinet considered the following reports from Scrutiny and made responses to the recommendations:

·       Local Government Reorganisation

·       Hackney Carriage Emissions Standards Report

The Committee is asked to:

1.     Note Cabinet’s responses to its recommendations.

The Chair outlined the responses from Cabinet to the Scrutiny Committee’s recommendations from its last meeting, as listed within the report.  

Councillor Ottino queried whether the Scrutiny Committee could make recommendations to the licensing committees. 

The Committee and Member Services Manager explained that there is no formal mechanism for this, however comments could be taken to officers to make them aware of possible discussions relating to policy at the next Committee meeting.  

The Committee noted Cabinet’s responses to its recommendations. 

Since the Scrutiny Committee’s previous meeting, the following Working Groups have met:

• Housing and Homelessness Working Group (13 November 2025)
• Climate and Environment Working Group (17 November 2025)
• Finance and Performance Working Group (26 November 2025)

The Committee is asked to:

1. Endorse the recommendations from Working Groups.

Appendices to this report contain exempt information pursuant to Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. To discuss this item, it will be necessary for the Committee to pass a resolution to exclude the press and public from the meeting in accordance with the provisions of Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, specifying the grounds on which their presence could involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as described in specific paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act 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 Access to Information Procedure Rules – Section 15 of the Council’s Constitution – sets out the conditions under which the public can be excluded from meetings of the Council)

The Chair reminded Members to request to enter closed session if the wished to discuss the confidential appendix.  

The Scrutiny and Governance Advisor outline the recommendations from the recent meetings of the working groups and summarised the main points of discussion, as listed within the report.   

The Committee endorsed the recommendations and noted the discussions which took place at the meetings of the working groups.  

Scrutiny Committee

·       13 January 2026

·       3 February 2026

·       10 March 2026

·       7 April 2026

All meetings start at 6:00 pm.

The Committee noted the dates of future meetings.