Agenda item

To receive any recommendations from the Future Oxfordshire Partnership Scrutiny Panel meeting held on 13 September 2021.

The Chair invited Councillor Andrew Gant, Chair of the Future Oxfordshire Partnership Scrutiny Panel, to present the four recommendations arising from the Panel’s meeting on 13 September 2021.

Councillor Gant explained that the first two recommendations referred to the Panel’s consideration of the report on Oxfordshire’s Economic Recovery Plan (ERP) and related to the need to adopt a system wide approach in these matters. The Panel requested that HM Government be asked to simplify their bidding processes to encourage this method of working – especially around the issues of town centre renewal and the promotion of manufacturing.

The Panel’s third recommendation concerned the provision of disaggregated data and targets within the Economic Recovery Plan. The presentation of information in this way would make it easier to see if particular sections of society (e.g. the young) were disadvantaged during the economic recovery.  

Recommendation four was a detailed set of suggestions relating to the Partnership’s draft response to HM Government’s consultation on its proposed Oxford to Cambridge Arc Vision. This included the importance of: environmental concerns; the provision of data centres; East West Rail electrification; reducing dependency on private cars; housing viability; quantifiable, defensible targets and addressing inequalities across the county.  

Councillor Gant referred to the Panel’s consideration of the creation of a Local Nature Partnership for Oxfordshire, which had been warmly welcomed, and their response to the Oxfordshire Plan 2050 Regulation 18 Part 2 consultation. In so doing, he remarked that the Panel had been unclear as to the extent to which respondents to the Plan consultation were being asked to express views on levels of planned growth. While these concerns had not formed the basis of a formal recommendation to the Partnership, Councillor Gant, nevertheless, sought clarification on that issue. 

The Chair provided the Future Oxfordshire’s initial response to each of the recommendations – these would also be published in final form on the Partnership’s website after the meeting.

In summary, the Chair confirmed that:

·           The Future Oxfordshire Partnership agreed that rationalising the process by which local authorities and businesses can bid for HM Government funding would be beneficial.It did not, however, wish to submit any formal letters while existing bid processes were still ongoing. The Partnership would, nevertheless, request that the Executive Officer Group identify the best approach for delivering upon this recommendation and then report back. 

·           While recognising the sovereignty of councils to take a tailored approach to recovery, the Partnership agreed that there was a need, through the Economic Task Group, for a continued whole system response to the challenges facing Oxfordshire. It was anticipated that the Partnership would receive a report later in the year on the condition of the visitor economy, town centre renewal and system wide approaches to support it. With respect to the promotion of manufacturing, the Partnership noted that this formed a central tenet of the Local Industrial Strategy. They also drew attention to the fact that there is a specific project in the ERP report appendix which focusses on manufacturing and supply chain resilience – it did, however, need to secure funding before it could commence. 

·           It was understood that the Economic Recovery Task Group would work with national agencies and government departments to provide and make use of disaggregated data wherever it is available.

·           The Future Oxfordshire Partnership would delegate responsibility for incorporating the Panel’s suggested amendments to its draft response to the HM Government’s Oxford to Cambridge Arc Vision consultation.

Councillor Cooper suggested that in relation to the setting of quantifiable and defensible targets for the Arc Vision, the Partnership should explain to the Panel that its strong preference was for these to be an amalgamation of those decided by local authorities.

Councillor Smith confirmed that responses about future levels of growth were very much encouraged as part of the Oxfordshire Plan 2050 Part 2 Regulation consultation.