Appendix 6 to this item includes exempt information pursuant to Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. If the Scrutiny Committee wishes to discuss matters relating to the information set out in Appendix 6 to the report, it will be necessary for the Scrutiny Committee to pass a resolution to exclude the press and public from the meeting (as set out at agenda item 12).

Cabinet, at its meeting on 18 October 2023, will consider a report from the Head of Corporate Strategy seeking:

·       Approval for Oxford City Council’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (EVI) Delivery and Implementation Plan, which clarifies the work packages and resources needed to deliver the first chapter of Oxford’s EVI Strategy (OxEVIS), up to April 2026;

·       Delegated authority for officers to enter into contracts and agreements with third parties to deliver the OxEVIS Implementation Plan; and

·       Agreement to changes to the GULO (Go Ultra Low Oxford) project.

Cllr Louise Upton, Cabinet Member for Planning and Healthier Communities, Mish Tullar, Head of Corporate Strategy, Tina Mould, Sustainable Innovation Programme Team Manager and Sarah Hassenpflug, Project Manager – Innovation Team have been invited to present the report and answer questions. The Committee is asked to consider the report and agree any recommendations.

Cllr Louise Upton, Cabinet Member for Planning and Healthier Communities, presented the report which (i) sought approval of Oxford City Council’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (EVI) Delivery and Implementation Plan, which clarified the work packages and resources needed to deliver the first chapter of Oxford’s EVI strategy (OxEVIS) up to April 2026; (ii) sought delegated authority for officers to enter into contracts and agreements with third parties to deliver the OxEVIS Implementation Plan; and (iii) sought agreement to changes to the GULO (Go Ultra Low Oxford) project.  She reported on the successes achieved by the Council which had put it ahead of neighbouring authorities and the target of net zero carbon emissions for Oxford by 2040 or earlier.

Cllr Upton advised that the Government’s recent Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy ‘Taking Charge’ published in March 2022 transferred responsibility for EVI to Tier 1 local authorities.  In this context Oxfordshire County Council would take full control of EVI on the highways, including the existing installed Go Ultra Low Oxford (GULO) estate, and future GULO phase 2 deployment.  This had been taken into account in the Implementation Plan, shifting from a direct delivery approach towards a partnership approach focused on working in collaboration with the County Council and neighbouring Districts and the joined up collaborative approach to EVI deployment was outlined in the report.

Mish Tullar, Head of Corporate Strategy outlined the estimated net income detailed in the report and highlighted the importance of implementation of Electric Vehicle Infrastructure for the Council.

In response to questions from the Committee, Mish Tullar, Tina Mould, Sustainable Innovation Programme Team Manager and Sarah Hassenpflug, Project Manager – Innovation Team, advised the following:

·       [CA1] Charging via a faster charger outlet was more expensive than home charging due to differences in how the energy was taken from an external charging point, which included implications on tax and time taken to charge.

·       It was not expected that any differences would be experienced in the roll-out of the GUL-e system being developed by ODS in the formulation of this partnership.

·       The introduction of Car Club charging points was being deployed in the majority of City Council car parks; however these were dependent on size and accessibility.

·       As part of the EVI tender, there were opportunities for micro-hubs to be developed by communities and social enterprises and grants available for their implementation.

·       Joint working had taken place with the Planning department to review the scope of electric charging points in conservation areas within the city.

·       Generic contracts were being developed to ensure that charging points that were broken or in a state of disrepair were fixed.

·       The majority of the infrastructure for installation of charging points was allowable under Permitted Development.

The Committee resolved to make the following recommendations on the report for Cabinet:

1.    That the Council works closely with Oxfordshire County Council to consider options for reserved parking spaces outside homes specifically for at-home onstreet EV charging in areas of Oxford where a need for this provision is identified (e.g. because of parking constraints in those areas).

2.    That the Council works closely with Oxfordshire County Council to consider options for at-home EV charging in conservation areas to ensure that residents living in these areas do not experience disproportionate access to onstreet EV charging opportunities.

3.    That the Council works closely with Oxfordshire County Council to explore options to incentivise concessionaires to promptly repair EV Infrastructure when a unit is out of service.

4.    That the Council works closely with Oxfordshire County Council to investigate the viability of EV co-charging between employment and the public on employment sites.