Councillor Ottino declared an interest relating to item 8, the Allocation of Prevention of Homeless Budget 2025/26, noting his work at A2Dominion in the Housing first team. The Scrutiny and Governance Advisor recommended that Councillor Ottino leave the meeting during the discussion of this item.  

Councillor Stares declared an interest as a trustee of the Littlemore Community centre. The Scrutiny and Governance Advisor noted this.  

Councillor Mundy declared an interest relating to item 7, noting that he is an employee of the Agnes Smith Advice Centre. The Scrutiny and Governance advisor noted there is no requirement for him to leave the room during consideration of the item but registered the interest. 

The Chair notified the Committee of the adjustments that will be made to the meeting to support members observing Ramadan.  

The Chair informed the Committee that there had been one request to remove a call in for a future decision by Cabinet since the last meeting. The Scrutiny and Governance Advisor explained that the government has asked local authorities to submit initial proposals by 21 March and the Monitoring Officer and Chair of the Scrutiny Committee have therefore, under 17.9 of the constitution, decided to remove call in on this cabinet decision to ensure the Council can reach the submission deadline.  

Minutes from 29 January 2025

Recommendation: That the minutes of the meeting held on 29 January 2025 be APPROVED as a true and accurate record.

The Chair noted a mistake on page 16 and requested that ‘update’ be replaced with ‘uptake’.  

Subject to this amendment, the Committee resolved to approve the minutes of the meeting on 29 January 2025 as a true and accurate record. 

Councillor Mundy joined the meeting.  

The Work Plan is driven to a very large extent by the Cabinet Forward Plan, a summary of which is attached. 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 Scrutiny and Governance Advisor informed the Committee that item 9 has been deferred for discussion at a later meeting as the Director of Housing has requested more time to allow for further consultation with tenants in order to comply with requests from the Housing Regulator. The Scrutiny and Governance Advisor also explained that an update report on the rollout of online payment systems would also be deferred to June.  

Councillor Corais joined the meeting.  

The Chair commented that the Committee holds a list of items for future discussion in addition to the items which go Cabinet. These are subject to allowances of time and the capacity of officers. The Chair notified members that the topic of Fair Trade would be considered at a future meeting within the wider context of sustainability and that work is being done at the officer level to prepare a report; this is not yet ready due to resource constraints and is not on the workplan for March or April. 

Councillor Ottino queried whether the Committee has followed up on information regarding flooding action plans to ensure that plans regarding his ward be made available. The Scrutiny and Governance Advisor committed to following this up.  

The Chair reminded members of their ability to suggest items for the work plan, assuring them that these would be scheduled when possible.  

The Committee agreed the workplan.

At its meeting on 5 February 2025, Cabinet considered the following report from Scrutiny and made responses to the recommendations:

·       Grant Allocations to Community & Voluntary Organisations 2025/26

·       Equalities Update

The Committee is asked to:

1.    Note Cabinet’s responses to its recommendations.

2.    Note any updates from Panel meetings.

The Scrutiny and Governance advisor informed the Committee that since the last meeting, Cabinet has agreed one recommendation relating to the grant allocation report. In regards the Equalities update report, ten recommendations were made, six of which were agreed, one agreed in part, and two were not agreed.  

Cabinet, at its meeting on 12 March 2025, will consider a report from the Director of Corporate Strategy (Interim), seeking approval for the Oxford City Council Annual Business Plan for 2025 to 2026.

Councillor Susan Brown, Leader of the Council, Mish Tullar, Director of Corporate Strategy (Interim) and Lucy Cherry, Policy and Partnership Officer will present the report and answer questions.

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

Mish Tullar, Director of Corporate Strategy, and Lucy Cherry, Policy and Partnership Officer, were present to respond to questions from the Committee. 

Councillor Mundy declared an interest relating to item 7, noting he is an employee of the Agnes Smith advice centre. The Scrutiny and Governance advisor noted there is no requirement for him to leave the room during consideration of the item but registered the interest.  

The Director of Corporate Strategy introduced the draft business plan for the 2025/26 Council year which outlined the top-level actions proposed to support delivery of the outcomes in the Council’s 4-year strategy, categorised under each of the five corporate priorities. The Committee heard that the report builds on historic feedback from the LGA peer review in 2023 and focuses on prioritisation and is designed in a manner which is easier to read for the public. The Director of Corporate explained that the report is published annually and highlights the work which has been delivered against actions form previous annual plans. 

Councillor Regisford joined the meeting.  

The Policy and Partnership Officer explained that the process of developing the strategy involved collaboration between officers and the Corporate Leadership Team to assess and filter a long list of suggested priorities. 

The Chair invited the Committee to ask questions.  

Councillor Ottino queried whether the presence of the review into the approach to housing allocations is standard, or indicative of an issue. In reference to page 41, it was asked what the term ‘accommodation business improvement district’ meant, and finally, it was queried whether the risks mentioned had been updated since the previous year.  

The Chair also sought clarification on what steps are envisaged for facilitating conversations, the task group, and who will be involved. In regards housing priority and The Renter’s Rights Bill, the Chair also queried what the new opportunity mentioned could mean in connecting with the Council’s priorities. 

The Director of Corporate Strategy assured the Committee that the housing allocations policy is updated as part of good practice and that the review is not indicative of a wider issue. In regards the ‘accommodation business improvement district’, the Committee learned that this relates to a levy which applies to commercial accommodation businesses and raises money for improvements within the same area. Furthermore, the levy must be organised and led by the businesses themselves. In response to Councillor Ottino’s recognition of risks mentioned within the report, it was confirmed that some could now be removed. In regard the Renter’s Rights Bill, Councillor Linda Smith, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, explained that changes will be coming into place which ban section 21 notices (no fault evictions) and thus impact the number of people who present as homeless. Therefore, the Committee heard that the Council would want to review the legal change as there are currently around 3500 people on the housing register who hold little chance of being allocated limited social housing. The Council will be required to assess this over future years, and it must be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 85.

Cabinet, at its meeting on 12 March 2025, will consider a report from the Deputy Chief Executive – City and Citizens, seeking approval for the Allocation of Preventing Homelessness Budget 2025/26

Councillor Linda Smith, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, Nerys Parry, Director of Housing and Francesca Barr, Senior Rough Sleeping Officer will present the report and answer questions.

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

Councillor Linda Smith, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, Francesca Barr, Senior Rough Sleeping Officer, Ossi Mosley, Rough Sleeping and Single Homelessness Manager, and Richard Wood, Housing Strategy and Needs Manager, were present to respond to questions from the Committee.  

Councillor Smith summarised the report and informed the Committee that the Housing Needs Team has been nominated for a local government award, offering her congratulations. The Committee heard a summary of the report which outlined the non-statutory work that the Council is choosing to invest in to support the goal of nobody in Oxford sleeping rough. To this end, over £1.7m has been allocated to support organisations working with rough sleepers and to boost housing first work. Councillor Smith also explained that the number of those on the streets is remaining stable, however many have been homeless for too long, demonstrating that current solutions are not sufficient. The Committee understood that more focus is required on long-term, permanent, and settled accommodation with considerations of security and support for maintaining tenancies.  

The Chair thanked the officers and Councillor Smith, offering her congratulations.  

The Senior Rough Sleeping Officer provided additional context to the Committee, explaining that the preventing homeless budget is the Council’s main means to help alleviate and manage rough sleeping in Oxford. The Committee heard that the Council also receives additional grant funding form central government to enable services for single persons experiencing homelessness and that all actions are designed to align with current strategic objectives. The Rough Sleeping and Single Homelessness Manager informed that Committee that last week the government published its annual information on the numbers of rough sleepers which showed national increases, but also a decrease of 11% in Oxford compared to the previous year. It was noted that whilst progress is being made, the number must reduce further despite challenges including the high demands for accommodation and the lack of affordable accommodation to transition to, a contextual matter especially relevant to Oxford. Finally, the Senior Rough Sleeping Officer noted that the challenges will create difficult decisions in the next financial year; rising service delivery costs will need to be met. A selection of the recommendations to changes in service funding from the report were summarised.  

The Chair invited the Committee to ask questions.  

Councillor Qayyum referred to appendix 2 and sought clarification on the costs noted for normalising immigration status. The Rough Sleeping and Single Homelessness Manager explained that this funding was received from government in around 2021/2022 and was allocated for work with those who hold unknown status around recourse of use of public funds. The money supports people in this category to gain legal status in order to acquire the legal entitlement to seek support.  

Councillor Mundy acknowledged the presence of homeless persons in temporary accommodation such as hotels, which he noted to be expensive and disruptive whilst not providing sufficient facilities. He queried how much is currently spent on this, and how many people have been in hotels for more than a year.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 86.

Cabinet, at its meeting on 12 March 2025, will consider a report from the Deputy Chief Executive – City and Citizens, seeking approval for the Domestic Abuse Policy for Service Users.

Councillor Lubna Arshad, Cabinet Member for a Safer Oxford, and Liz Jones, ASBIT Manager and DA Lead, will present the report and answer questions.

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

The report will be published as part of a supplementary agenda next week.

The Chair reminded the Committee that item 9 had been deferred for consideration at a later date at the request of the Director of Housing in order to allow time for further consultation with tenants and to comply with the requirements of the Housing Regulator.  

The Anti-Slavery Coordinator has submitted to the Scrutiny Committee to provide an update on the Council’s work with Adult Exploitation and Modern Slavery.

Councillor Lubna Arshad, Cabinet Member for a Safer Oxford, and Nicole Bell, Anti-Slavery Coordinator will present the report and answer any questions.

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

Councillor Lubna Arshad, Cabinet Member for a Safer Oxford, Nicola Bell, Anti-Slavery Coordinator, and Richard Adams, Community Safety Service Manager, were present to answer questions form the Committee.  

Councillor Arshad introduced the report, providing context regarding the role of the Anti-Slavery Coordinator which was established in January 2022 using funding from the office of the Police and Crime Commissioner to lead the County’s response to adult exploitation and modern slavery. The Committee heard that a central recording system now captures referrals, data, and risk factors which then inform interventions and resource allocation across Oxfordshire. Councillor Arshad summarised the extensive data provided within the report relating to the cases, locations, and trends and explained that a multi-agency working group has been established to support work to tackle the rising trend of young people transitioning into the adult pathways. Members learned that the Anti-Slavery Coordinator leads work on developing proactive responses underpinned by the ‘4Ps Principle’ (Prepare, Protect, Prevent and Pursue). Councillor Arshad concluded by summarising the actions, meetings, and training that are ongoing.  

The Anti-Slavery Coordinator described the increase in referrals to the adult pathway which has demonstrated increased awareness around the issues of adult exploitation and modern slavery recently. The Committee heard that at a previous Scrutiny Committee meeting, data was presented for a 24-month period which showed 126 referrals in Oxford city in comparison to the 126 noted in this report which had been recorded over a shorter 10-month period. The Anti-Slavery Coordinator explained that the increasing trend is consistent across Oxfordshire and that it represents an improved handle on the prevalence of the issue. The Community Safety Service Manager commended the work of the Anti-Slavery Coordinator and noted the partnerships which she has built with hospitals, the Department for Work and Pensions, and various statutory bodies across the County. 

Councillor Qayyum queried whether the 126 referrals in Oxford demonstrate an accurate reflection of the matter, or whether the number of cases could be higher but are unknown due to lack of reporting. She also asked whether the figure includes cases which feature migration patterns across geographical regions. 

Councillor Mundy asked whether there is data relating to people exploited by businesses operating under licenses from Oxford City Council. 

The Anti-Slavery Coordinator explained that the 126 cases are understood to be a good representation of the trend as it is inevitable that some cases go unreported. The Committee heard that the development of partnerships is targeted at encouraging more referrals, but that the issue is nationally challenging as it relies on the willingness of people and victims to come forward. In regards cross-border migration, it was clarified that the report provides statistics on this. In response to Councillor Mundy’s question, the Anti-Slavery Coordinator noted that work is ongoing to tackle exploitation within businesses and disruption activities could include licensing enforcement.  

Councillor Jarvis queried why there has been a decrease in referrals from the care sector.  

Councillor Ottino noted that the report does not reference prosecutions and queried firstly, whether these  ...  view the full minutes text for item 88.

Scrutiny Committee

·       26 March 2025

Standing Panels

Housing & Homelessness: 06 March 2025

Finance & Performance: 14 April 2025

Climate & Environment: 27 March 2025

All meetings start at 6.00 pm.

The Committee noted the dates of future meetings.