To hear tributes and observe a minute’s silence in memory of former Lord Mayors or serving councillors or serving senior officers who have died.

List the names, posts and dates of death

Council is recommended to resolve to elect a Lord Mayor to the start of the Annual Council meeting in May 2026.

Council is recommended to resolve to appoint a Deputy Lord Mayor to the start of the Annual Council meeting in May 2026.

Council is recommended to resolve to appoint a Sheriff to the start of the Annual Council meeting in May 2026.

Announcements by:

1.     The Lord Mayor

2.     The Sheriff

3.     The Leader of the Council (who may with the permission of the Lord Mayor invite other councillors to make announcements)

4.     The Chief Executive, Chief Finance Officer, Monitoring Officer

Council is asked to elect a Leader of Council in accordance with the Council’s executive arrangements as set out in the Constitution for a term of office beginning immediately and ending at the annual Council meeting immediately following the end of their current term of office.

Council will receive and note a report from the Leader on:

1.       The appointment of the Deputy Leader of the Council;

2.       The appointment of up to 8 additional members of the Cabinet;

3.       The responsibilities of the Leader, Deputy Leader, and other Cabinet Members;

4.       The Council’s representative and their substitute on the Oxfordshire Joint Leaders Committee;

5.       The appointment of Members to the Shareholder and Joint Venture Groups which has responsibility for acting as shareholder of the Council’s companies and for safeguarding and furthering the Council’s interests and investments in its companies and joint ventures.

6.       The Executive Scheme of Delegation as set out in Section 4 of the Council’s Constitution dated 26 January 2026 (and agreed by Council on 26 January 2026); and

7.       Any other matters.

The Director of Law, Governance and Strategy has submitted a report asking Council to appoint committees and the members serving on those committees for the Council year 2026-2027 in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (Section 15) and other relevant legislation. Appendices 2 and 3 will be circulated in the Briefing Note published before the meeting, and any outstanding nominations to committee seats may be announced, or agreed, as appropriate at the meeting.

Recommendation: Council is recommended to:

1.             Approve the structure of the Council committees, as defined within the Council’s Constitution and set out in Appendix 1: Committee Structure 2026-2027;

2.             Approve the methods, calculations and conventions used in determining political representation on committees as outlined in the report and shown in Appendix 2: Political Proportionalities on Council Committees 2026-2027;

3.             Appoint to committee seats in accordance with the requirements of political proportionality and the nominations made by political groups, as shown in Appendix 3: Committee Nominations 2026-2027;

4.             Agree to appoint Councillor David Newman of Blackbird Leys Parish Council as the co-opted, non-voting member of the Standards Committee representing the four Parish Councils in Oxford until May 2027;

5.             Agree that all members of Council will form the pool of members able to observe on appeals and some grievances panels in accordance with the Council’s policies;

6.             Appoint one non-executive member to the Joint Oxfordshire Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, as shown in Appendix 3: Committee Nominations 2026-2027.

Appendices 2 and 3 will be published as part of the Briefing Note.

The Director of Law, Governance and Strategy has submitted a report asking Council to approve amendments to the Constitution, including updated delegations to approve Ward Member Budget spend applications

Recommendation: Council is recommended to:

1.    Approve the changes to the Constitution, as listed in Appendix 1;

2.    Delegate authority to the Director of Law, Governance and Strategy (Monitoring Officer) to make any other consequential amendments to the Constitution to reflect the changes in appendix 1 to the extent that they have not been identified in the above, provided such changes are purely required as a direct consequence.

Additional information, councillors’ questions, public addresses and amendments to motions are published in a supplementary briefing note. The agenda and briefing note should be read together.

The Briefing Note is published as a supplement to the agenda. It is available on the Friday before the meeting and can be accessed along with the agenda on the council’s website.