None.

The Chair reminded the Committee that this would be the final meeting of the municipal year; he thanked Committee members and officers for their work. 

The Committee is asked to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 10 March 2026 as a true and accurate record.

The Committee resolved to approve the minutes of the meetings held on 10 March 2026 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 Monday, 30 March 2026.

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 Monday, 30 March 2026.

None.

At the Scrutiny Committee meeting on 1 July 2025, the Committee requested a report setting out the Council responsibilities in relation to managing and maintaining watercourses, ditches, streams and brooks that run alongside or through land owned by the City Council.

Cllr Anna Railton, Cabinet Member for Zero Carbon Oxford, Malcolm Peek, Property Services Manager and Michael Woods, Major Works Project Manager are invited to present the report and take part in discussions.

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

At the Scrutiny Committee meeting on 1 July 2025, the Committee requested a report setting out the Council responsibilities in relation to managing and maintaining watercourses, ditches, streams and brooks that run alongside or through land owned by the City Council. 

Councillor Anna Railton, Cabinet Member for Zero Carbon Oxford, Malcolm Peek, Property Services Manager and Michael Woods, Major Works Project Manager were present to respond to questions.  

Councillor Railton introduced the report and welcomed the ongoing work of officers.  

 
The Major Works Project Manager outlined the contents of the report, noting that it included content from across Council services.  

The Chair invited questions from the Committee.  

Councillor Ottino requested maps outlining the rivers and streams that the Council is responsible for and noted concern relating to the lack of progress with flood action plans for specific areas of the city.  

 
The Major Works Project Manager committed to sharing a map in the future and, in relation to the flood action plans, explained that due to feasibility issues, alternative options are now being assessed by the environmental sustainability team on behalf of Oxfordshire County Council. The Committee understood that actions arising from this should be apparent in due course. Councillor Railton seconded these comments.  

Councillor Ottino queried when the relevant reports would be received and emphasised the need for more urgency to ensure residents’ homes are not flooded.  

Councillor Jarvis queried what is involved with ditches surveys and what the resulting actions are, specifically whether there is a threshold for taking action on anything discovered. Councillor Jarvis also asked, in relation to brooks with blockages, what is the best route residents can you use to flag such issues and whether there is a clear plan for addressing these flood risks.  

The Property Services Manager outline the ongoing work to assess and plan future preventive maintenance, of which Oxford Direct Services already deliver most. Difficulties relating to waterway ownership were also explained; the Council does not have control over many areas which are privately owned. The Committee understood that ongoing close working with the County Council continues where funding is available. In relation to signposting the public, the Property Services Manager noting ongoing work to display information ore clearly online in relation to waterways ownership.  

Councillor Rowley, following from comments from Thames Water regarding the inadequacy of drains, asked what the Council does to identify issues and works when formulating a preventative maintenance plan. Councillor Rowley also asked what would happen if a ditch in the Council’s ownership was no longer adequate for drainage.  

The Chair noted that currently, work has often been delivered on an ad hoc or repair basis and asked how many ad hoc repairs have been completed since the Environment Agency pulled back.  

The Property Services Manager responded that these are not captured as a standalone work type by ODS. However, this would be raised with ODS to see if they would be able to provide this information going forward.

In response to the Chair’s question, the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 123.

Cabinet, at its meeting on 15 April 2026, will consider a report to approve the decision-making route for Councillor applications for Ward Member Budget and Community Infrastructure Levy spend and approve amendments to with part 4 of the Council Constitution to reflect those arrangements.

Cllr Susan Brown, Leader and Cabinet Member for Partnership Working and Jonathan Malton, Committee and Member Services 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 15 April 2026, will consider a report to approve the decision-making route for Councillor applications for Ward Member Budget and Community Infrastructure Levy spend and approve amendments to with part 4 of the Council Constitution to reflect those arrangements. 

Jonathan Malton, Committee and Member Services Manager, was present to respond to questions.   

The Committee and Member Services Manager introduced the report, noting that it provides an update on the decision-making route for ward member budgets and community infrastructure levy (CIL) applications. The Committee heard that the process has been formalised, and it ensures delegation is made to appropriate officers. Members were also informed that the report summarises the ongoing work of reviewing the applications process to ensure it is fit for purpose and aligned with relevant legislation.  

The Chair invited questions from the Committee. 

The Chair asked how decision regarding central CIL spend are reached and also requested an explanation of the process for adding to the central CIL list.  

The Committee and Member Services Manager explained that, although outside the scope of this report, strategic CIL (i.e. that not allocated to member CIL budgets /parish /Neighbourhood forums or on CIL administration) is agreed as part of the wider budget process. CIL projects are discussed through the Development Board process with the Director of Planning & Regulation and the Group Finance Director agreeing on both the appropriateness of the item, and the capacity of the CIL budget to incorporate any new nominations. In response to the Chair’s second question, The Committee and Member Services Manager relayed a response from officers which explained that additional requests come forward via the Development Board process where the proposal is for the strategic CIL budget, with ultimate approval via the budget process. 

Councillor Stares welcomed the changes listed in the report and noted that they have been effective in streamlining the processes.  

Councillor Ottino also welcomed the changes and requested clarity on when planning permission is required for ward member budget and CIL requests.  

The Committee and Member Services Manager explained that the relevant form has been updated to include questions relating to the need for planning permission and location; this will ensure necessary permissions are in place before CIL is spent. The Committee were minded that due to the number of stakeholders across the city, it is not possible to give a one-size-fits-all response. In relation to ongoing costs, the Committee and Member Services Manager also explained that ward member spend cannot be used for projects which involve ongoing costs; examples were discussed.  
Councillor Ottino requested additional clarification of what would be classified as an ongoing spend.  

The Chair also welcomed the changes set out in the report. The Chair queried the response times for applications and requested a description of the background processes involved. 

In response to Councillor Ottino, the Committee and Member Services Manager outlined that anything not accounted for in an annual ongoing budget cannot be accepted, this included examples of waste bins with ongoing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 124.

The Scrutiny Committee, at its meeting on 14 January 2025, requested a report summarising all urgent key decisions that have been taken in the 2025/26 municipal year.

Cllr Susan Brown, Leader and Cabinet Member for Partnership Working and Jonathan Malton, Committee and Member Services 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.

The Scrutiny Committee, at its meeting on 14 January 2025, requested a report summarising all urgent key decisions that have been taken in the 2025/26 municipal year. 

Jonathan Malton, Committee and Member Services Manager, was present to respond to questions. 

The Committee and Member Services Manager introduced the report, noting that six urgent decisions had been taken over the last 12 months. The Committee were also reminded of an addendum published last week containing details of a further urgent decision taken most recently. The Committee were assured that each urgent decision is taken with the permission of the Chair in line with the urgency functions as listed in the constitution.  

The Chair invited questions from the Committee. 

Councillor Ottino asked the Chair if sufficient information and notice had been provided on each occasion. 

The Chair confirmed that sufficient information had been provided on each occasion, and whilst haste had often been required, this was due to factors out of the Councils' control, such as government action and pressures. The Chair also noted that the current process has improved in comparison to the previous year. 

Councillor Stares noted a typed error in the report; this was acknowledged.  

The Chair invited the Committee to consider possible recommendations. 

The Committee made no recommendations. 

The Chair thanked the Committee and Member Services Manager.

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 noted that due to the upcoming election it would be hard to determine scheduling for future meetings but welcome suggestions from Members.  

The Scrutiny and Governance Advisor noted that the next meeting of the Committee would take place in June in the new municipal year and outlined suggested topics currently recorded on the long list, including two new topic suggestions from the Chair: 

• Review of the impact of museum charging 
• Park Trees audit, specifically, on the volume and health of trees in parks across the city including planting, removal and ill health patterns. 

Councillor Ottino suggested that a report on the state and use of disused garage sites be requested, as well as report on HRA land in relation to attraction of anti-social behaviour. 

The Scrutiny and Governance Advisor recorded the suggestions.  

The Committee noted the workplan.  

At its meeting on 18 March 2026, Cabinet considered the following reports from Scrutiny and made responses to the recommendations:

·       More Leisure Annual Service Plan and Year 2 Update

·       Nighttime Economy

·       Fly-tipping and Litter Management

·       Heat Network Update

The Committee is asked to:

1.     Note Cabinet’s responses to its recommendations.

The Chair provided a summary of Cabinet’s 14 responses to the Committee’s previous recommendations, as set out in the report, and noted that an addendum to this agenda also contained an updated recommendation from the previous meeting in relation to the nighttime economy, as requested by Councillor Jarvis. 

The Committee noted Cabinet’s responses to its recommendations.  

Since the Scrutiny Committee’s previous meeting on 3 February 2026, the following Working Groups have met:

• Finance and Performance Working Group (26 March 2026)
• Housing and Homelessness Working Group (31 March 2026)
• Climate and Environment Working Group (1 April 2026)

The Committee is asked to:

1. Endorse the recommendations from Working Groups.
2. Note the recommendations to the Shareholder and Joint Venture Group.

Appendix 1 contains 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 Scrutiny and Governance Advisor detailed the recommendations made by the working groups since the Committee last met, as set out in the report.  

The Committee endorsed the recommendation. 

Scrutiny Committee

·       9 June 2026

Noting that the next meeting would be in the new municipal year following the election, the Chair thanked Members for their work and recommendations across the year.   

The Committee thanked the Chair for his work throughout the last year. 

The Committee noted the dates of future meetings.