Agenda item

Recommendations from other committees

(1)      Joint Audit and Governance Committee – 14 October 2019

Treasury Outturn 2018/19

 

The Joint Audit and Governance Committee considered the head of finance’s report on the treasury outturn for both South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse in 2018/19. 

 

RECOMMENDED to Cabinet to

 

(a)     note the treasury management outturn report 2018/19; and

 

(b)     that the committee is satisfied that the treasury activities have been carried out in accordance with the treasury management strategy and policy. 

 

(2)      Climate Emergency Advisory Committee – 15 October 2019

Options for the future and next steps

 

The Climate Emergency Advisory Committee considered a report by the Head of Partnership and Insight, which set out the options for recommendations that the committee could make to Cabinet in response to the climate emergency declaration. 

 

RECOMMENDED to Cabinet to

 

(a)      Recommend Target Option Three:

·           Vale of White Horse District Council to reduce carbon emissions by 75% by 2025 and become a carbon neutral council by 2030 

·           Vale of White Horse district to reduce carbon emissions by 75% by 2030 and become a carbon neutral district by 2045 

The committee believes that the final carbon neutral district date of 2045 is an aspirational target, which can be approved pending further assurance from officers based around ongoing evidence and agreed action.  This to be an overarching goal for the council in respect of adopting an early carbon neutral target as outlined in the Council motion put forward on 11 April 2019.

 

(b)     authorise the committee to review the Climate Emergency Work Programme proposals for further exploration, full evaluation and costing.  The activities and actions contained in the themes below be pursued, with a council strategic response being defined in each case:

·           Theme 1, Council Business

·           Theme 2, Partnership

·           Theme 3, Housing

·           Theme 4, Infrastructure

·           Theme 5, Transport

·           Theme 6, Biodiversity

·           Theme 7, Behaviour Change

 

Points of amendment:

·           Theme 5, Transport: Additional point of action to investigate a council project or business partnership, enabling residents, council members and staff access to an electric vehicle hire facility, promoting electric vehicle use in the district.

·           Theme 5, Transport: Additional point to review planning options in relation to the location of housing and business developments to prevent the need for long distance commutes.

·           Theme 5, Transport: Additional point to work with Oxfordshire County Council to improve and increase the number of cycle paths networks, improving safety and the connection between towns and villages.

·           Theme 5, Transport: Additional point to resolve to ask South Oxfordshire District Council to incorporate electric vehicle charging points in the plans for the Crowmarsh council office site.

·           Theme 5, Transport: Additional point to review the opportunities for installing charging points at taxi ranks.

·           Theme 5, Transport: Additional point to resolve to ask the Planning Department to investigate the requirement for electric car charging points within domestic and business applications.

·           Theme 6, Biodiversity: Additional point to engage and support the community in encouraging biodiversity in their own gardens.

 

(c)     authorise the committee to support the commissioning of expertise where necessary to define and validate the council’s and district’s energy consumption and carbon dioxide and equivalent (CO2e) emissions baselines, and to fully explore, evaluate and cost proposed work programme options.  The cost of this scoping exercise should be met within the 2019/20 existing budget.  Any increased expenditure outside of the remaining 2019/20 budget will be subject to approval as set out in the council’s financial procedures. 

 

(d)     authorise the committee to approve commencement of a communications and engagement plan, to include engagement with members and officers, residents, community groups, businesses, town and parish councils into routine communications by the district councils and the exploration of the creation of a Resident Advisory Group.  Additional incorporation of letters to be written to the county council and town and parish councils seeking assistance in meeting carbon targets.

 

(e)     note that all other Oxfordshire councils have declared or acknowledged a climate emergency and are yet to declare specific actions to achieve targets or publish work programmes.

 

(f)      authorise the committee to establish a task and finish group to work with officers on putting forward work programme proposals for further evaluation and costing.  This will include presenting options back to the committee, to prioritise and recommend to Cabinet for their implementation.  Task and finish group appointees were Councillors Alison Jenner, Max Thompson, Eric de La Harpe, Amos Duveen and David Grant. 

Minutes:

(1)      Joint Audit and Governance Committee – 14 October 2019

Treasury Outturn 2018/19

 

The Joint Audit and Governance Committee considered the head of finance’s report on the treasury outturn for 2018/19.  The committee recommended that Cabinet noted:

(a)     the treasury management outturn report 2018/19; and

(b)     that the committee was satisfied that the treasury activities had been carried out in accordance with the treasury management strategy and policy. 

 

Cabinet welcomed the committee’s comments for consideration later in the meeting. 

 

(2)      Climate Emergency Advisory Committee – 15 October 2019

Options for the future and next steps

 

The Climate Emergency Advisory Committee had considered a report by the Head of Partnership and Insight, which set out the options for recommendations that the committee could make to Cabinet in response to the climate emergency declaration. 

 

The committee recommended Cabinet to:

 

(a)      Recommend Target Option Three:

·           Vale of White Horse District Council to reduce carbon emissions by 75% by 2025 and become a carbon neutral council by 2030 

·           Vale of White Horse district to reduce carbon emissions by 75% by 2030 and become a carbon neutral district by 2045 

The committee believes that the final carbon neutral district date of 2045 is an aspirational target, which can be approved pending further assurance from officers based around ongoing evidence and agreed action.  This to be an overarching goal for the council in respect of adopting an early carbon neutral target as outlined in the Council motion put forward on 13 February 2019.

 

(b)     authorise the committee to review the Climate Emergency Work Programme proposals for further exploration, full evaluation and costing.  The activities and actions contained in the themes below be pursued, with a council strategic response being defined in each case:

·           Theme 1, Council Business

·           Theme 2, Partnership

·           Theme 3, Housing

·           Theme 4, Infrastructure

·           Theme 5, Transport

·           Theme 6, Biodiversity

·           Theme 7, Behaviour Change

 

Points of amendment:

·           Theme 5, Transport: Additional point of action to investigate a council project or business partnership, enabling residents, council members and staff access to an electric vehicle hire facility, promoting electric vehicle use in the district.

·           Theme 5, Transport: Additional point to review planning options in relation to the location of housing and business developments to prevent the need for long distance commutes.

·           Theme 5, Transport: Additional point to work with Oxfordshire County Council to improve and increase the number of cycle paths networks, improving safety and the connection between towns and villages.

·           Theme 5, Transport: Additional point to resolve to ask South Oxfordshire District Council to incorporate electric vehicle charging points in the plans for the Crowmarsh council office site.

·           Theme 5, Transport: Additional point to review the opportunities for installing charging points at taxi ranks.

·           Theme 5, Transport: Additional point to resolve to ask the Planning Department to investigate the requirement for electric car charging points within domestic and business applications.

·           Theme 6, Biodiversity: Additional point to engage and support the community in encouraging biodiversity in their own gardens.

 

(c)     authorise the committee to support the commissioning of expertise where necessary to define and validate the council’s and district’s energy consumption and carbon dioxide and equivalent (CO2e) emissions baselines, and to fully explore, evaluate and cost proposed work programme options.  The cost of this scoping exercise should be met within the 2019/20 existing budget.  Any increased expenditure outside of the remaining 2019/20 budget will be subject to approval as set out in the council’s financial procedures. 

 

(d)     authorise the committee to approve commencement of a communications and engagement plan, to include engagement with members and officers, residents, community groups, businesses, town and parish councils into routine communications by the district councils and the exploration of the creation of a Resident Advisory Group.  Additional incorporation of letters to be written to the county council and town and parish councils seeking assistance in meeting carbon targets.

 

(e)     note that all other Oxfordshire councils have declared or acknowledged a climate emergency and are yet to declare specific actions to achieve targets or publish work programmes.

 

(f)      authorise the committee to establish a task and finish group to work with officers on putting forward work programme proposals for further evaluation and costing.  This will include presenting options back to the committee, to prioritise and recommend to Cabinet for their implementation.  Task and finish group appointees were Councillors Alison Jenner, Max Thompson, Eric de La Harpe, Amos Duveen and David Grant. 

 

Councillor David Grant, chairman of the Climate Emergency Advisory Committee, addressed Cabinet, reporting on the outcome of the committee’s first meeting.  The committee had recommended some targets, which it believed were ambitious but realistic and achievable.  The committee also believed that it was necessary to engage with staff and other councillors to attain the necessary buy-in to tackle the climate emergency. 

 

Cabinet thanked the committee for its recommendations and made several further suggestions for the committee to consider, including:

·         promoting alternative transport modes such as public transport 

·         relying less on electric vehicles that used fossil fuels to generate power 

·         supporting and encouraging green technologies, such as solar panels 

·         recommending the fast introduction of greener planning policies by using supplementary planning documents to introduce policy changes quickly, rather than waiting until the adoption of the next local plan 

·         lobbying government to change building regulations to encourage green technologies 

·         exploring the use of greener technologies in listed buildings 

·         encouraging hydrogen technologies 

·         lobbying for a county-wide cycle network 

 

Councillor Grant welcomed these suggestions and agreed to take them back to the committee for consideration alongside technical advice. 

 

Cabinet supported the setting of climate targets.  It was noted that there was an existing budget allocated to tackle the climate emergency.  Any work commissioned to assist the council would have to be within existing budget.  The committee’s recommendations were updated to reflect this.  Any proposals for additional budget would have to be considered as part of the council’s overall budget proposals for 2020/21.  Cabinet also noted that the council would also need to set out its climate emergency policies in its new corporate plan. 

 

RESOLVED to:

 

(a)      adopt the following targets:

·           Vale of White Horse District Council to reduce its own carbon emissions by 75% by 2025 and become a carbon neutral council by 2030 

·           Vale of White Horse district to reduce district-wide carbon emissions by 75% by 2030 and become a carbon neutral district by 2045 

The final carbon neutral district date of 2045 is an aspirational target, which can be approved pending further assurance from officers based around ongoing evidence and agreed action.  This to be an overarching goal for the council in respect of adopting an early carbon neutral target as outlined in the Council motion put forward on 11 April 2019; 

 

(b)     authorise the Climate Emergency Advisory Committee to review the Climate Emergency Work Programme proposals for further exploration, full evaluation and costing.  The activities and actions contained in the themes below be pursued, with a council strategic response being defined in each case:

·           Theme 1, Council Business

·           Theme 2, Partnership

·           Theme 3, Housing

·           Theme 4, Infrastructure

·           Theme 5, Transport

·           Theme 6, Biodiversity

·           Theme 7, Behaviour Change

 

Points of amendment:

·           Theme 5, Transport: Additional point of action to investigate a council project or business partnership, enabling residents, council members and staff access to an electric vehicle hire facility, promoting electric vehicle use in the district.

·           Theme 5, Transport: Additional point to review planning options in relation to the location of housing and business developments to prevent the need for long distance commutes.

·           Theme 5, Transport: Additional point to work with Oxfordshire County Council to improve and increase the number of cycle paths networks, improving safety and the connection between towns and villages.

·           Theme 5, Transport: Additional point to resolve to ask South Oxfordshire District Council to incorporate electric vehicle charging points in the plans for the Crowmarsh council office site.

·           Theme 5, Transport: Additional point to review the opportunities for installing charging points at taxi ranks.

·           Theme 5, Transport: Additional point to resolve to ask the Planning Department to investigate the requirement for electric car charging points within domestic and business applications.

·           Theme 6, Biodiversity: Additional point to engage and support the community in encouraging biodiversity in their own gardens.

 

(c)     subject to the availability of sufficient existing budget, to authorise the committee to support the commissioning of expertise where necessary to define and validate the council’s and district’s energy consumption and carbon dioxide and equivalent (CO2e) emissions baselines, and to fully explore, evaluate and cost proposed work programme options.  Any increased expenditure outside of the remaining 2019/20 budget will be subject to approval as set out in the council’s financial procedures; 

 

(d)     authorise the committee to approve commencement of a communications and engagement plan, to include engagement with members and officers, residents, community groups, businesses, town and parish councils into routine communications by the district council and explore the creation of a Resident Advisory Group.  This should include letters being written to the county council and town and parish councils seeking assistance in meeting carbon targets; 

 

(e)     note that all other Oxfordshire councils have declared or acknowledged a climate emergency and are yet to declare specific actions to achieve targets or publish work programmes; and 

 

(f)      authorise the committee to establish a task and finish group to work with officers on putting forward work programme proposals for further evaluation and costing.  This will include presenting options back to the committee, to prioritise and recommend to Cabinet for their implementation.  The Task and Finish Group appointees to be Councillors Alison Jenner, Max Thompson, Eric de La Harpe, Amos Duveen and David Grant. 

 

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Vale of White Horse District Council
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