Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chair and Vice-Chair of the Future Oxfordshire Partnership for the 2024/2025 year June 2024 to May 2025.

Kevin Jacob, Senior Democratic Services Officer for the Future Oxfordshire Partnership opened the meeting and welcomed those present before calling for nominations for the office of Chair.

Councillor Andy Graham proposed Councillor Liz Leffman as Chair of the Future Oxfordshire Partnership for the year 2024/2025 and this was seconded by Councillor Susan Brown. There being no other nominations, this was confirmed by the voting members of the Partnership.

RESOLVED: That Councillor Liz Leffman be elected as Chair of the Future Oxfordshire Partnership for the 2024/2025 year.

Councillor Leffman took the Chair at this point and proposed that Councillor David Rouane be elected as Vice-Chair of the Future Oxfordshire Partnership for the 2024/2025 year, and this was seconded by Councillor Bethia Thomas. There being no other nominations, this was confirmed by the voting members of the Partnership.

RESOLVED: That Councillor David Rouane be elected as Vice-Chair of the Future Oxfordshire Partnership for the 2024/2025 year.

Councillor Leffman paid tribute to Councillor Susan Brown for her chairing of the Partnership over the previous year.

Apologies for absence were submitted from Professor Alex Betts.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chair referred to the tragic events that had taken place in Southport the previous day and the loss of life of three girls. Members of the Partnership joined with the Chair in expressing their deepest condolences to all those involved.

The Chair added that she wished to alter the order of the agenda to consider Item 15: Oxfordshire Local Area Energy Plan – Outline Business Case after Item 5: Report of the Scrutiny Panel. This was agreed.

To adopt as a correct record the minutes of the Future Oxfordshire Partnership meeting held on 20 March 2024.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 20 March 2024 were agreed as a correct record of the meeting subject to noting that Professor Alex Betts was representing the University of Oxford individually and was not representing both the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University. It was agreed that this should be corrected on future agendas and minutes.

Asking a question and addressing the Partnership
Questions or requests to make an address (in full and in writing) must be received by 5pm on Wednesday 24 July 2024, three clear working days before the Future Oxfordshire Partnership meeting.

Questions and addresses should be no longer than one side of A4 paper in Arial 12 font. The address or question will be circulated to the Partnership and public speakers will be invited to speak at the meeting. Written submissions may also be read out by the Chair or Democratic Services Officer where requested or if the person making the request for public speaking is not able to attend the meeting. A response may be given at the meeting or a written answer supplied. The Chair will have discretion to manage the public participation procedure as they see appropriate. Questions and notice of addresses must be submitted to futureoxfordpartnership@southandvale.gov.uk

Note: This meeting may be recorded for live broadcast. At the start of the meeting the Chair will confirm the meeting is being filmed. By registering to speak you are consenting to being recorded and to the use of those video and audio recordings for webcasting.

It was noted that no requests for public speaking had been received by the deadline for requests, but that an email to Kevin Jacob and various elected members from Councillor Parker, Chairman of Shirburn Parish Council had been received shortly before meeting. This related to the Watlington Relief Road scheme within the Housing from Infrastructure Programme referred to in item 8: Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal: Update as at the end of Quarter 4 2023/2024 and a question asked by Shirburn Parish Council to the Scrutiny Panel on 23 July 2024.

It was agreed that the letter should be referred to when the substantive agenda item was discussed. 

For action: To receive any recommendations from the Futue Oxfordshire Partnership Scrutiny Panel meeting held on 23 July 2024.

Councillor Barry Wood, Chair of the Scrutiny Panel presented the Panel’s report to the Partnership as circulated.

For action: To consider a business case proposing an increase in the allocation of the Housing and Growth Deal Capacity Fund for the support of Local Area Energy Planning in Oxfordshire.

Exempt information under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972

The Future Oxfordshire Partnership gives notice that it may decide by passing the necessary motion to hold all or part of the discussion of this item in private on the grounds that there would likely be disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 as amended and the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest on disclosing the information.

The Partnership considered a report which referenced the final version of the Oxfordshire Local Area Energy Plan, (OxLAEP) Programme Scope and which presented the OxLAEP Outline Business Case, (OBC). Mark Saunders, Energy Systems and Investment Manager, Oxfordshire County Council introduced the report and gave a presentation summarising key points.

It was noted that the FOP was being asked to consider four possible options with Option Four as detailed on agenda page 59 the recommended decision. This was for full development of the OxLAEP programme and ongoing LAEP function including the suggested mitigations related to district council resource requirements and approval by the FOP of an addition £450,000 of funding in addition to the £150,000 previously approved.

Councillor David Rouane and Councillor Bethia Thomas commented that local area energy planning was a very useful and important piece of work, but it was right that the proposals withing the report had recognised the resourcing issues faced by district councils in supporting the LAEP which could potentially occur at the same time as the Local Plan inspection process in the case of South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils. In this context the ability for district councils to take a staged approach was welcomed and it acknowledged that the development of the proposals had been a collaborative process.

Councillor David Hingley commented on the importance of energy planning to all the district councils in Oxfordshire and that he had been pleased to see the lever of thought given to seeking to address the issue within the report. He supported the previous comments that from a district council perspective it was important to avoid a situation where costs of taking part outweighed the benefits. It was positive that additional sources of external funding to support the LAEP continued to be explored.

Nigel Tipple commented that on behalf of the Oxfordshire system, OxLEP was shortly to begin commissioning of a piece of work to look at green investment opportunities which could potentially align with timing of the wider LAEP process. 

The Chair referred to the discussion of the proposals at the Infrastructure Advisory Group and involvement of a wide group of members and to the issues facing some developments in accessing electricity grid connections which would continue to need to be raised with HM Government. The proposals were an important part of moving to Net Zero.

In response to a question from Councillor Andy Graham, Andrew Down Future Oxfordshire Director confirmed that if agreed by the Partnership, the additional £450,000 requested would be funded from the Housing and Growth Deal Capacity Fund.

Councillor Graham also queried whether consideration had been given to the impact of the districts undertaking their Local Plan processes at different dates and stages on the overall LAEP process given the limited resources of the districts. In response, Mark Saunders indicated that it was felt to be possible for a stage gated process to be followed by the district councils in the development of the LAEP, but that this would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

For information: To receive an initial update on the summit of local authority leaders on the future of the partnership scheduled for 29 July 2024.

The Chair provided an initial verbal update on the discussion held by the Leaders of the Partnership’s local authorities on the future of the Partnership held on 29 July 2024.

It was noted that the Future Oxfordshire Partnership, under its previous title of the Oxfordshire Growth Board, had originally been established in 2014 to facilitate and manage the Oxford and Oxfordshire City Deal and then later the 2018 Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal which would come to an end in March 2025. At this point it was felt appropriate to discuss a full refresh of the Partnership and its operation, including how collaboration between partners could be taken forward in the future. It was stressed that no decisions had been taken and further work and discussions would need to take place before any proposals were considered formerly, but it was intended to bring a paper to the Partnership’s next meeting.

The Chair then summarised her personal observations on the discussion before inviting the other council leaders to do so.

·           Two main areas had been subject of discussion – the role of the Future Oxfordshire Partnership and its future governance structures including whether the current advisory groups were still needed and in relation to this, the announcements made by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government around opportunities for the potential devolution of powers to councils.

·           There had been a general willingness to work together and to seek to find ways to continue to make the Partnership relevant.

·           That there was in principle support for the devolution of powers to the councils linked to the Partnership as a collaborative body and to look at how that might be taken forward, acknowledging that currently it was unclear what HM Government’s offer might be.

·           There was support for avoiding duplication.

·           There was support for tackling inequalities and promoting inclusivity within the Oxfordshire economy.

Councillor Andy Graham commented that whilst no decisions had been made there had been a fruitful and productive discussion around the areas and issues that the councils had in common which had included starting to explore the areas where a strategic approach could be mutually beneficial. In his opinion, there were potential exciting opportunities around issues such as strategic infrastructure which might inform a future programme of work. Change was on the way, and it was intended that this should be focussed and deliverable so that all residents benefitted as a result, without adversely affecting individual councils’ sovereignty.

Councillor Bethia Thomas expressed her appreciation for the discussion, noting that it had been an informal discussion and no decisions had been taken. She stated that it was important for the Partnership to be restructured to provide better value for money for all partners and residents by focussing on areas where collaborative working would be most helpful and produce impacts across Oxfordshire. Membership should also follow a streamlined model.

It was clarified that following the discussion, officers from Oxfordshire County Council would be working on the outputs of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

For Action: To agree appointments to the following roles if required:

a)     Housing Advisory Group Chair

b)     Environment Advisory Group Chair

c)     Infrastructure Advisory Group Chair

d)     Planning Advisory Group Chair and;

e)     To note that the Oxford to Cambridge Pan Regional Partnership nomination will continue to rotate with the Future Oxfordshire Partnership’s Chair. In the event that the Chair is unavailable or is a member of the collaboration board in another capacity, another nomination should be made.

f)      To note that the England’s Economic Heartland Strategic Transport Forum nomination will continue to rotate with the Future Oxfordshire Partnership’s Chair, unless the Chair is unavailable or is a member of the Forum in another capacity, in which the Vice-Chair should be the FOP representative.

g)     To note that the Partnership’s representative on the Oxfordshire Local Nature Partnership will continue to be the Chair of the Environment Advisory Group.

The Chair commented that pending the outcome of the review of the Partnership’s future it was proposed that appointment of advisory group chairs take place, but that the advisory groups only meet when it was considered there was a benefit to do so.

With regard to the appointment of a representative to the Oxford to Cambridge Pan Regional Partnership, (PRP) the Chair commented that normally the Chair of the Future Oxfordshire Partnership attended those meetings, but that she sat on the PRP in a different capacity, and it was not possible to appoint the current Vice-Chair. This appointment would be deferred for further discussion.

RESOLVED:

1.     That the following Future Oxfordshire related appointments be made for the 2024/2025 year:

a)     Housing Advisory Group – Councillor Susan Brown

b)     Environment Advisory Group – Councillor David Rouane

c)     Infrastructure Advisory Group – Councillor Liz Leffman

d)     Planning Advisory Group – Councillor Andy Graham

2.     That an appointment of a representative to the Oxford to Cambridge Pan Regional Partnership be deferred.

3.     That Councillor David Rouane be appointed as the Partnership’s districts representative on England’s Economic Heartland.

4.     That it be noted that Councillor David Rouane continues to be appointed to Oxfordshire Local Nature Partnership by virtue of his position as Chair of the Environmental Advisory Group.

For information: To receive the Quarter 4, Year 2023/2024 progress report for the Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal and endorse any amendments to the programmes of work as necessary.

The Partnership considered a report which provided an update on progress and spend for the remaining programmes included as part of the Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal as of Quarter 4, 2023/2024. Kathy Wilcox, Head of Corporate Finance, Oxfordshire County Council introduced the report to the meeting and highlighted the following matters:

·           The Housing from Infrastructure, (HfI) Grant and Housing and Growth Deal Net Capacity Fund remained.

·           Oxfordshire County Council was the responsible and accountable body for the two remaining programmes. It was also responsible under the terms of the agreement signed with HM Government in 2022 for taking all decisions on the allocation of the remaining HfI grant funding, in consultation with other partners. It also held all the risk associated with the programme.

HfI expenditure as of the Quarter 4 was £20.5m, taking overall spend up to £86.5m.

·           To utilise all the remaining grant budget, a further £56.3m would need to be spent during the 2024/2025 financial year. Due to this tight deadline, HfI funding had been prioritised towards schemes entering the construction phase that could meet the deadline and which had other sources of funding that could be utilised after the deadline.

·           The overall HfI programme remained over profiled by £1.6m against available grant funding with the aim of maximising the use of funding by the deadline.

·           Paragraphs 3.2.2 and 3.2.3 of the report set out details in respect of ongoing schemes under construction or where construction contracts had been agreed. A correction was noted to para 3.2.3 in that construction for Abingdon Lodge Hill was anticipated to begin in October 2024 and Steventon lights in October 2024.

·           It was important that the remaining schemes entered the construction phase as soon as possible.

·           Other funding sources including S106 funds would be utilised to complete schemes beyond March 2025.

·           Remining recycled funds were £26.2m which had to be utilised before the final £30m of grant funding could be requests which meant the allocation would need to be claimed retrospectively.

·           A planning decision on the Watlington Relief Road scheme was expected later in 2024, potentially in October or November. Work was ongoing to assess the impact of this on the Housing and Growth deal funding and the ongoing deliverability of the scheme, considering the need to maximise use of grant funding by March 2025.

·           An update on schemes that would be funded from the Housing and Growth Deal element would be included in the Quarter 1, 2024/2025 report to the Partnership.

·           The total original Housing and Growth Deal Net Capacity budget had been £5m. Up to Quarter 4 spend in 2023/2024 had been £115,000 with a total of £1.2m of the budget remaining. It was expected that this budget would be nearly completely utilised if all of the anticipated business cases for use of the funds were agreed.

The Chair referred to the representation submitted from Shirburn Parish Council in respect of the Watlington Relief Road, (WRR). Kevin Jacob responded that the letter referred back to a question asked  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

For information: To consider a report providing an update on the progress of the Oxfordshire Inclusive Economy Partnership (OIEP) priorities.

The Partnership considered a report setting out an update on the progress of the Oxfordshire Inclusive Economy Partnership, (OIEP). Jeremy Long, Co-Chair of the OIEP provided a detailed summary against each of the OIEP’s priorities of:

·           Educational attainment focussing on early years education and support.

·           Inclusive Economy focussing on both employees and employers.

·           Social value and procurement focussing on increasing the amount of money that was spent in Oxfordshire for the benefit of Oxfordshire’s residents.

·           Place shaping focussing on investing in the localities within Oxfordshire that needed it most.

The OIEP was grateful for the support of the Future Oxfordshire Partnership towards its officers but there was still more it could do if its support was further augmented.

In discussion, members of the Partnership paid tribute to the important work the OIEP was undertaking.

Councillor Andy Graham commented on the importance of officers within the different councils being fully connected and integrated into the OIEP’s work and activity if the potential of the OIEP was to be fully realised. He asked how integration and connectivity around the OIEP could be more formally strengthened within councils to achieve the impact needed.

Councillor Graham also commented on the importance of work to support refugees into employment as being vital in assisting individuals to reach their full human potential and asked whether the OIEP could also play a wider role and a route to national government in promoting the welfare of refugees on a range of issues including claiming asylum, homes and housing.

The Chair referred to the applications of the County Council, Oxford City Council, and the universities to become places of sanctuary. A collective and collaborate effort would be required. Attention was draw to the mentoring scheme of Refugee Resource.

Jeremy Long responded that he would take these points back for consideration. He stressed that it was not the aim of the OIEP to lead the refugee response, but that it was seeking to highlight opportunities for training programmes that had worked elsewhere, and which might not otherwise have been brought into Oxfordshire. It was also seeking to promote the capabilities of refugees and other minorities to employers in a similar way as it had done with prison leavers.

Nigel Tipple supported these points and outlined the support and work that OxLEP was doing around the social contract which included mobilising practical IT support for refugees such as laptops and mobile phones. It was also working with partners such as Sofea.

Councillor David Rouane referred to the aspiration of local authority leaders for the Oxfordshire economy to be more fairly distributed between the areas of great wealth and deprivation. The OIEP was playing an important role in assisting communities that had previously been left behind to become a greater part of the main economy.

RESOLVED: That the update report of the Oxfordshire Inclusive Economy Partnership be noted.

For information: To receive an update on the Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) development and the plan to go out to public consultation.

The Partnership considered a report which set out an update on the development of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy, (LNRS) and plans for public consultation. Chloe Edwards. Local Nature Recovery Strategy Project Manager, Oxfordshire County Council introduced the report and gave a presentation highlighting progress against its five steps and Matt Whitney, Oxfordshire Local Nature Partnership Manager also responded to questions.

In discussion, members of the Partnership thanked officers for the presentation and commented that action on nature recovery through the LNRS was critical for the county. Leaders commented they looked forward to their councils responding as part of the process and could potentially help with promoting the consultation through their own council websites.

It was suggested that further information on the relevant timelines and deliverable outcomes as part of the consultation would be useful.  In response Matt Whitney commented that it was fully recognised that there was a need to deliver real outcomes from the LNRS. Unfortunately, HM Government had not yet allocated any additional resources for the LNRS delivery, but the Local Nature Partnership was working to facilitate and coordinate action on nature recovery alongside a wide range of individuals and organisations. The Local Nature Partnership Forum on 23 October 2024 would also discuss and try to find ideas as to how positive outcomes might be delivered.

The Chair stated that it was important to consider the deliverability of the LNRS, recognising that a lot of work and innovative nature recovery actions were already being developed and implemented by independent groups and parish councils etc. Councillors could potentially help link the LNRS consultation into these groups. Officers responded that they were working with these types of groups including farm clusters, schools, and parish councils.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

To receive updates from the Chairs of the advisory groups and summary notes from these meetings if available.

For information: To receive an update from the Infrastructure Advisory Group.  Draft summary notes from the meetings held on 12 March 2024 and 6 June 2024 are attached.

RESOLVED: That the update from the meetings of the Infrastructure Advisory Group held on 12 March 2024 and 6 June 2024 be noted.

For information: To receive an update from the Planning Advisory Group.  Draft summary notes from the meeting held 15 March 2024 are attached.  

RESOLVED: That the update from the meeting of the Planning Advisory Group held on 15 March 2024 be noted

For information: To note and comment on the Future Oxfordshire Partnership’s Forward Plan. 

The Partnership considered its Forward Plan as set out in the agenda. The Chair reminded the meeting that there could changes to the programme in the longer term to reflect the discussions taking place on the Partnership’s future and that an item should be added to the next Partnership meeting on the review process and discussions.

Robin Rogers referred to the planned joint session of the Partnership and the Health and Wellbeing Board on 20 November 2024.

Future Oxfordshire Partnership members and officers may verbally update the Board on progress on matters previously before the Partnership for consideration, listed in the forward plan, or relevant to the Partnership’s future decisions.  This is for the sharing of information and no decisions will be taken. 

No matters were raised under this heading.

For information: To receive updates from other partnerships supporting the delivery of the Oxfordshire Strategic Vision.

Professor Alistair Fitt referred to the Oxford to Cambridge Pan Regional Partnership, (PRP) and commented that a key issue was the securing of funding for the future. The new Government had yet to make any specific announcements regarding the PRP.

Councillor Susan Brown commented that she was taking every opportunity to try and raised the profile of the PRP with HM Government and to try to obtain specific assurances about the future, but in general terms she did feel that the government recognised the value of pan regional partnerships and their potential to positively influence issues as such as inclusive and environmental economic growth, skills and innovation.

The Chair provided an update on recent meetings of England’s Economic Heartland. It was noted that the new Managing Director of East West Rail had attended the most recent meeting and there had been some uncertainty around future HM Government funding for the programme in the light of recent government announcements.  Work by EEH on rail network corridor studies was going well.

A recent success had been the restoration of services between Oxford and Bristol which could also open up the possibility of the reinstating Wantage and Grove Station. Discussion was also taking place regarding the North Cotswold line which at the present was single tracked considering the status of Worcester Parkway as a strategic housing site and to encourage non car travel. Lobbying of HM Government was also continuing with regard to the electrification of the Didcot to Oxford line.

The dates of confirmed Future Oxfordshire Partnership meetings are below. Please refer to list of meetings  for the most up to date information on times and locations.

·           Thursday 3 October 2024

·           Tuesday 26 November 2024

·           Tuesday 28 January 2025

·           Tuesday 18 March 2025

·           Tuesday 24 June 2025

The dates of future meetings as set out in the agenda.