Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence. 

None.

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

None.

To receive notification of any matters which the chairman determines should be considered as urgent business and the special circumstances which have made the matters urgent, and to receive any announcements from the chairman.

None.

Any statements, petitions, and questions from the public under standing order 32 will be made or presented at the meeting.

None.

To consider the report of the strategic director and comments from Scrutiny Committee. 

Councillor Richard Webber addressed the meeting, as follows:

“I want to make a statement on behalf of all 23 opposition Vale Councillors and to request that this is formally recorded in the minutes of the meeting:

“All of us are behind the general principle of sharing unused space in new Abby House and saving the council money. However, for the following reasons we believe that the current proposal leaves much to be desired.

1.         Little more than half the ground floor of Abbey House will be available to Vale of White Horse District Council. This is not “sharing accommodation” it is, in effect, moving the Vale out of its home and giving it to others;

2.         There has been no proper consultation with the people most affected by the consultation – Vale staff below senior management level, residents of the Abingdon area (representing almost half of all Vale residents), and councillors;

3.         The decision is being taken in haste as a result of the needs, not of this council, but the timescales of other councils;

4.         Financial and other information has been drip-fed and is still not complete, making it very difficult to scrutinise the proposal properly. Such information as has been made available, has been hastily put together, lacking detail and often full of inaccuracies, vagaries (sic) and omissions;

5.         In spite of a last minute flurry of papers trying to argue to the contrary, alternative proposals have been too easily dismissed with little, or no, hard data on capital/revenue implications.

If this proposal goes ahead, we believe that this council will be perceived as having no obvious home and will become little more than an adjunct service to other bodies. The proposal is not so much a “sharing” as a “cash in and sell out”.

As the proposal is almost certainly irrevocable, we urgently request that Cabinet gives itself more time, gets more hard data on this proposal and alternatives before making a final decision”

The Cabinet then discussed the issues as follows:

·           The Vale Council will retain the freehold of the building;

·           The arrangement brings significant financial benefits;

·           The building will be occupied by a high quality lessee;

·           The lease will be subject to a full maintenance agreement;

·           There will be a guaranteed tenure of South Oxfordshire’s offices for the duration of the lease;

·           Financial savings created by the office share have helped to protect frontline services;

·           A significant amount of officer and committee time has been dedicated to considering this matter.

Resolved

1.         To approve the proposed terms as detailed in the report for the proposed occupation by Oxfordshire County Council of part of Abbey House;

2.         To authorise the Strategic Director in consultation with the Leader of the council to agree any variation to the terms outlined in this report and to enter into the  agreement for lease, lease, licence to alter and facilities management agreement and any other related or ancillary agreements or documents;

3.         To note that a further report will be presented  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.