Agenda and minutes

Venue: Meeting Room 1, 135 Eastern Avenue, Milton Park, Milton, OX14 4SB

Contact: Ron Schrieber, Democratic Services Officer 

Items
No. Item

Sc49

Notification of substitutes and apologies for absence

To record the attendance of substitute members, if any, who have been authorised to attend in accordance with the provisions of standing order 17(1), with notification having been given to the proper officer before the start of the meeting and to receive apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Councillors Ed Blagrove (substitute Simon Howell) and Mohinder Kainth (substitute StJohn Dickson).

Sc50

Declarations of interest

To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests in respect of items on the agenda for this meeting.  

Minutes:

None.

Sc51

Single unitary council for Oxfordshire pdf icon PDF 128 KB

At its meeting on 15 February 2017 Council agreed the following motion:

 

“This Council supports the principle of a new countywide unitary council for Oxfordshire but recognises that the One Oxfordshire discussion document currently being publicised by Oxfordshire County Council requires strengthening in order to maximise the benefits to, and influence of, local communities and to satisfy the concerns of residents about some aspects of the proposal including the need for more local decision making.

 

Council authorises the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, to work with other partner councils to develop the terms of a proposal for local government change in Oxfordshire and present a detailed report to Council in due course”.

 

In light of the above motion the committee is invited to consider the report of the chief executive on the development of proposals for a single unitary council for Oxfordshire and make any recommendations to Cabinet and Council for consideration at meetings on 6 March and 8 March respectively – report to follow. 

 

 

 

Minutes:

At its meeting on 15 February, Council authorised the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, to work with other partner councils to develop the terms of a proposal for local government change in Oxfordshire and present a detailed report to Council in due course.

 

The committee considered the chief executive’s report which gave an update on the One Oxfordshire engagement proposal. The committee was requested to make comments and recommendations to Cabinet and Council to assist with their decision making at special meetings on 6 and 8 March, respectively.

 

Councillor Matthew Barber, leader, attended, together with David Hill, chief executive and Mark Stone, interim chief operations officer.  They introduced the report, provided additional information and answered questions. The leader reported that both Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) and the district councils had previously agreed that a single unitary council would be the most effective and efficient option for the future governance of Oxfordshire.  Both he and the leader of South Oxfordshire believed that it was preferable to support and seek to improve OCC’s new proposal rather to oppose it and thereby support the existing two-tier system.

 

The committee discussed the process by which a single unitary council for Oxfordshire might be created and the way in which such a council might operate.

 

In response to questions and issues raised by the committee, it was reported that:

 

Process

 

·         OCC were currently undertaking a public engagement exercise rather than a consultation. It was not required to consult as any decision on the proposal would be taken by the Secretary of State. However it was running focus groups, opinion polls and workshops to gauge public opinion.

·         Whilst the timetable was tight, it had been set by OCC which intended to submit its proposal to the Secretary of State before the end of March.

·         The aim of a unitary council in operation in 2019 was based on the assumption that the Secretary of State would make his decision before the summer parliamentary recess.

·         Whilst the government was no longer offering additional funding to new unitary authorities, there was an expectation that the new authority would be able to negotiate some freedoms and flexibility.  The government had not yet issued guidance on the preparation of unitary submissions but it was anticipated that any such guidance would restrict the current flexibility to draw up a submission that best met the needs of local residents.

·         Whilst the support of all Oxfordshire councils would be welcomed, consensus amongst affected local authorities was not required in order for the Secretary of State to consider a unitary proposal. However, it was anticipated that the final submission would allay many of the concerns expressed by some of the councils and some Oxfordshire MPs. There was an open invitation to leaders of Cherwell, Oxford City and West Oxfordshire Councils to join the process to discuss how their concerns could be addressed.

·         By supporting an improved bid, the Vale of White Horse would be a party to further discussions and  ...  view the full minutes text for item Sc51

 

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