Cabinet, at its meeting on 10 July 2024, will consider a report from the Head of Corporate Strategy seeking approval for the Corporate Strategy 2024-2028. Cllr Susan Brown, Leader of the Council, Mish Tullar, Head of Corporate Strategy and Clare Keen, Policy and Partnerships Officer have been invited to present the report and answer questions. The Committee is asked to consider the report and agree any recommendations.

Cllr Susan Brown, Leader of the Council introduced the report from the Head of Corporate Strategy which sought Cabinet approval for the Corporate Strategy 2024-2028. She indicated that the document represented important updates guiding the Council's proposed strategy for the next four years, building upon the previous Council Strategy 2020-24. The key priorities had largely remained unchanged but reflected ongoing relevance. The strategy incorporated feedback from the Local Government Association Peer Review and the previous recommendations from the Committee on the pre-consultation draft of the strategy, along with community input on issues such as affordable housing.

Mish Tullar, Head of Corporate Strategy mentioned that Corporate KPIs were not included in the submitted report but would be developed and presented for Cabinet approval in August. The Corporate KPIs would incorporate robust tracking over the strategy's four-year span. He highlighted that the comparative work requested by the Committee in a recommendation on the pre-consultation draft of the strategy had been undertaken, which would be circulated to the Committee outside of the meeting via the Scrutiny Officer. He also outlined engagement with external stakeholders during the consultation process, which began in June 2023, including individual sessions with political groups and extensive discussions with internal staff.

Clare Keen, Policy and Partnerships Officer also attended the meeting to speak to the item and answer the Committee's questions.

During discussions, the Committee noted the following:

• The Corporate Strategy 2024-28 focused on the Council's strategic direction rather than detailed coverage of all statutory services and other areas. These would be included in departmental business plans aligned with the strategic priorities outlined in the document.
• The reference to decarbonise ‘other council buildings’ included all non-residential properties owned by Council, ranging from community centres and leisure facilities to significant structures like the Town Hall.
• The Strategy aimed to outline an overarching direction rather than committing to specific initiatives. Whilst there had not been specific efforts that focused on Oxford becoming a child-friendly city, work to develop an age-friendly city was recently initiated and found that improving accessibility for older people also benefitted younger children.
• Engagement with the Children and Young People Partnership was integral to the development of the proposed strategy.
• The decline in the number of children in the city was attributed primarily to housing affordability issues. In response, the Strategy proposed to focus on increasing the supply of affordable homes and raising standards in the private sector. The Council currently offered extensive provisions such as play parks, leisure centres, and affordable leisure activities for children and families, including free swimming and summer play schemes, which indicated there were no significant gaps in relation to these services.
• In terms of deliverability, the Strategy aimed to prepare plans to enable the quick implementation of ambitious goals once funding became available. Despite financial limitations, these ambitions were tempered with responsible financial management practices and the Council's active pursuit for funding through initiatives such as the OxWED development, its wholly-owned companies, and grant funding opportunities from the Government and other sources.
• Resources were allocated to drive forward the Council’s zero carbon priorities. The draft Strategy proposed to expand the Zero Carbon Oxford Partnership (ZCOP), which had so far attracted nearly £1m of funding, into a county-wide partnership.

The Committee resolved to make the following recommendation on the report to Cabinet:

1. That the Council includes a priority within the strategy to have an age and child friendly city, noting that the detail would sit in other supporting strategies such as Oxford’s Economic Strategy, the City Centre Action Plan and the Thriving Communities Strategy, to ensure that inclusivity of all ages is at the forefront of the Council’s approach.
2. That the Council includes specific reference within the strategy to the work of the Child Poverty Review Group and adoption of the Socio-Economic Duty to demonstrate the Council’s commitment to working to reduce inequality at every level.
3. That the Council makes more explicit reference within the strategy to activity which is funded versus activity that is dependent on securing funding; and references prioritisation processes to ensure that activity is undertaken on the basis of having maximum impact when considering cost/benefit and value for money.

Cllr Susan Brown, Leader of the Council, Mish Tullar, Head of Corporate Strategy and Clare Keen, Policy and Partnerships Officer left the meeting and did not return.