The Scrutiny Committee met on 4 November 2024, and the Housing and Homelessness Panel will meet on 7 November 2024. The following reports are expected, together with any recommendations from those meetings:

·       Leisure Update

·       Update on the development of Oxford River Charter (and Council’s engagement with Thames Water)

·       Furnished Tenancy Scheme

Councillor Miles presented the reports from Scrutiny. She referred to two Scrutiny meetings, one on the 4^th of November which looked at an update on the city’s river charter, the Council’s engagement with Thames Water, and a leisure update. There were six recommendations presented to Cabinet relating to those. The second meeting that she referred to took place on the 7^th of November. Councillor Miles said that in the meeting, they discussed the responsibilities of different agencies, legislative gaps at a national level regarding environmental protection, and the impact of deregulation on water companies.

Councillor Miles said that they discussed the topic of domestic misconnections, as an area that falls under the Council’s responsibility. Issues were also raised about storm water run off and river pollution. Across all of these topics, was the need for meaningful engagement with stakeholders and work to ensure that residents’ concerns are adequately addressed. Councillor Miles said that there were three recommendations from the first item. They were:

·       That the Council formally requests a structured meeting with Thames Water, for Council Members to put forward resident concerns about water issues in the city, and for officers to provide support in proposing the structuring of the meeting.

·       That Officers develop a proposal for council to convene multi-stakeholder dialogue event between Members, local Members of Parliament, industry, and other water quality stakeholders to inform the content of a future Oxford City River Action Plan, to identify coordinated efforts to safeguard Oxford’s water resources for the future.

·       That the Council commissions a review by Officers to clarify its powers, obligations and the potential actions based on good practice to: identify and enforce existing domestic misconnections in residential properties that the council has control or influence over; and to prevent future misconnections, in order to safeguard against water contamination.

Councillor Railton responded to these reports from Scrutiny. The main thrust of their work is that they are trying to sort out the sewage capacity matter first, before working on other matters downstream. With respect to the missed connections, she said that this matter comes under building control. Councillor Railton said that they have since clarified what the Council’s responsibilities are in this realm. Councillor Railton said that with regard to the second recommendation, doing nothing on this issue was also possible, as they have made the necessary clarifications.

Councillor Miles then presented the leisure update report from Scrutiny. She said that committee had asked questions about the new contract’s progression and received reassurance regarding improvements made by the new leisure supplier. They also explored the topic of accountability for facility conditions, and how the new supplier is working to address inherited issues. Councillor Miles said they received reassurances and were happy with the outcome of their meeting. From this report they recommended:

·       That the Council requests Officers to explore a business case for the availability and year-round access to the lido, utilising the existing water source heat pump to support sustainable operations.

·       That the Council ensures enhanced ventilation is included in any retrofitting or renovations of the leisure centre changing facilities, with a specific focus on health and safety.

·       That the Council establishes a process for a six-monthly review of the leisure supplier’s finances, with update reports provided to the Finance and Performance Panel for ongoing review and oversight.

Councillor Munkonge thanked Councillor Miles for the discussion they had at Scrutiny. He stated that they have accepted the first recommendation. They are talking with the new provider, to see if there is a viable business case for this to go forward. Councillor Munkonge said that they did not accept the second recommendation from Scrutiny, because this matter is already taken into account in the work they are undertaking. He said that the Council has already approved a budget for these updates to the Council’s leisure centres. The third recommendation, they have accepted, but only partly. At this moment, they believe the new leisure provider has financially sound accounts. Councillor Munkonge said that it is their view that a yearly review would be appropriate for this matter.

Councillor Miles presented the third report from Scrutiny. She said that the panel discussed a number of items, including the schemes uptake in Oxford as compared to the national average, its’ flexibility to meet rising demand, and how the scheme provides financial relief to tenants. She said they explored these issues, as well as how the scheme maintains a cost neutral status for the Council. Councillor Miles said that Scrutiny also discussed tenancy transfer to other properties and opportunities to reduce furniture waste. The recommendation from this discussion was that:

·       the Council further explores opportunities to establish more formalised relationships with local charities and organisations to enhance the reuse and recycling of used furniture under the Furnished Tenancy Scheme, with the goal of reducing waste by extending life of furniture items that may still hold value for temporary housing or community projects.

Councillor Brown responded on behalf of Councillor Smith because she was delayed in getting to the meeting. Councillor Brown said that they have accepted the recommendation from Scrutiny on this paper and there will work be done prior to the contract being put into place to allow this recommendation to go forward.

Councillor Brown said that they would change the order of the agenda, due to Councillor Smith’s delayed arrival to the meeting. Agenda item 10 was taken next.

Councillor Chapman entered the meeting during this item.