Decisions

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To:

1. Enter into a deed of variation to the Accountable Body Agreement (ABA) for the delivery of the Milton Science Centre at Milton Park by MEPC (the owners and developers of Milton Park).

2. In accordance with the agreement and the variation, pay the Department for Communities & Local Government (DCLG) Building Foundations for Growth capital grant of £7 million for the construction of the centre to MEPC.

Cabinet considered the head of corporate services’ report on the joint technology strategy.  This updated the current strategy agreed in 2018, allowed the council to develop its technology infrastructure to meet the needs of the corporate plan, allowed the council to provide for future needs as it moved to new offices, and allowed it to adapt to changes in IT provision.  The strategy was set out in appendix A to the report, published with the agenda. 

Cabinet welcomed the updated technology strategy and noted that it would support all objectives set out in the corporate plan.  Cabinet particularly welcomed the emphasis on meeting the climate emergency objectives of the corporate plan, with a move towards cloud-based services, plus carbon neutral and carbon negative IT solutions. 

RESOLVED:to note the update on the projects incorporated in the Joint Technology Strategy and to support the continuing implementation of the programme. 

Councillor Sam Casey-Rerhaye introduced the report from the Joint Retrofitting Homes task and finish group.

Councillor Casey-Rerhaye briefly explained the methodology for why this report was created.

There was concern that the green homes grant from central government wasn’t working well, and a task and finish group was set up to investigate why, and how the district councils can utilise such schemes more productively.

The green homes grant was shortly withdrawn. We looked at retrofitting homes in particular to save carbon emissions and running costs for homes. We have had very informative discussions with interested parties, such as OxLEP. We propose projects in the report for council to consider. We ask scrutiny if we should take it through CEAC/CEEAC, and what next steps should we take?

Chair recommended that officers comment on the report, then pass it onto CEAC/CEEAC and then onto Cabinet.

Members felt that it should go to CEAC/CEEAC.

A member raised funding is an issue. The proposals require money. Chair felt that this was why officers should look at the report to find ways forward.

The report mentioned that 3,000 homes needed to be retrofitted a year by 2030. This was ambitious but in line with previous recommendations and in line with South Oxfordshire’s targets (when the group became a joint project). It was explained that it was not just funding, but the skill set to complete the works and the desire for construction parties to get involved, staff and resource implications. The report outlined these barriers so we can be prepared for when more funding becomes available.

Officers will be able to give realistic expectations when reviewing the report, prior to moving onto CEAC/CEEAC.

Resolved:

To send the Retrofitting homes report to officers for review, before sending to CEAC/CEEAC, who can advise Cabinet on next steps.

Cabinet considered the head of finance’s outturn report on the council’s treasury management activities in 2020/21. 

The Cabinet member reported that, despite a difficult operating environment, the council continued to make investments during 2020/21 that maintained security and liquidity, whilst providing a return that mostly exceeded market benchmarks.  The Joint Audit and Governance Committee had considered the report and was satisfied that the treasury activities had been carried out in accordance with the treasury management strategy and policy. 

Cabinet concurred, noting that during the year, the council’s performance had exceeded its budget target during a difficult year with the Covid-19 pandemic.  The strong performance had been the result of cash balances being higher during the year and with better interest rates than expected.  In addition, there had been no breaches of the prudential limits.  Cabinet welcomed the report and thanked officers for their work. 

RECOMMENDED to Council to:

(a)       approve the treasury management outturn report for 2020/21; and

(b)       approve the actual 2020/21 prudential indicators within the report.

Councillor Emily Smith returned to the meeting room and took the chair for the remainder of the meeting. 

Cabinet considered the head of finance’s report, which proposed a new procurement strategy.  This set out guidance on how the council should procure goods and services, whilst at the same time supported the council’s priorities and strategic themes. 

The Cabinet member for finance reported that the council had not had a procurement policy to date. The adoption of the strategy and action plan would give the council clear direction and guidance of matters to be considered and procedures to followed when purchasing goods, services and works.  In turn, this would help deliver the corporate plan objectives.  Additionally, it would minimise the risk of non-compliant procurements, which could be subject to challenge.  This would bring better value for money.  The strategy also included an ethical procurement statement setting out the standards the council would require of contractors and suppliers. 

Cabinet welcomed the new strategy, its ethical procurement statement and action plan, noting that these documents could be reviewed and updated in future. 

RESOLVED:to

(a)       approve the joint procurement strategy and the actions within it, as set out in Appendix 1 to the head of finance’s report to Cabinet on 1 October 2021;

(b)       approve the procurement action plan and the actions within it, as set out in Appendix 2 to the report; and

(c)        approve the ethical procurement statement and the actions within it, as set out in Appendix 3 to the report. 

Cabinet considered the interim head of policy and programmes’ report, which set out the first quarterly performance report following adoption of the corporate plan and adoption of the performance management framework. 

The report demonstrated the progress made in the reporting period.  Scrutiny Committee had reviewed it and had made suggestions for improvements, which Cabinet welcomed.  The report would be adapted and improved over time.  It was also hoped that in future, the quarterly reports could be published earlier, within six weeks of the end of each quarter. 

Cabinet thanked officers for their work in producing the first quarterly report and looked forward to the second quarter report, after which there would be a further review. 

RESOLVED: to approve the performance report for quarter 1 of 2021. 

Cabinet considered the interim head of policy and programmes’ report on a policy for planting trees on council land.  The joint policy outlined how South Oxfordshire and the Vale would protect, plant and manage trees on council land, and how the community would be supported with their tree planting initiatives. 

The council had previously sought to increase tree cover, protect trees on their land, and help to achieve their respective carbon neutral targets.  The policy also set out how community groups could apply to plant trees on council land. 

Cabinet welcomed the policy, as it would support communities that wished to plant trees on council land.  Cabinet asked that a review of the tree planting policy was carried out in six months’ time, or after the approaching tree planting season, to allow the council to learn from its experience. 

RESOLVED: to

(a)       approve the policy for planting trees on council land; and

(b)       conduct a review of the policy in six months’ time. 

Councillor Emily Smith declared a personal interest in this item as she was a director of the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership.  Councillor Smith took no part in the debate on this item.  In her absence, Councillor Bethia Thomas chaired the meeting for this item. 

Cabinet considered the report of the deputy chief executive – partnerships.  This sought an amendment to the Science Vale Enterprise Zone accountable body memorandum of understanding with Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership Limited and Oxfordshire County Council.  The memorandum detailed the retention and distribution of business rates growth income from the Science Vale Enterprise Zone (also known as EZ1), which covered Milton Park and Harwell Campus. 

The Cabinet member recommended that the Cabinet agreed to revise the memorandum of understanding.  There had been a number of changes to the governance and corporate structure of the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership, which were relevant to the memorandum.  Its wording no longer accurately recorded the way in which the council worked with the partnership and the county council.  Cabinet supported the recommendations. 

RESOLVED: to

(a)       enter into a revised memorandum of understanding with Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership and Oxfordshire County Council for the retention and distribution of business rates growth income from the Science Vale Enterprise Zone; and

(b)       to authorise the deputy chief executive – partnerships, in consultation with the Cabinet member for strategic partnerships and place, to finalise terms of the revised memorandum of understanding and to enter into it. 

Cabinet considered the head of corporate services’ report on a review of options for the partnership grants scheme.  The options were to:

1.          continue with the status quo, funding the three organisations currently in receipt of a partnership grant, delivering information and advice services for 12 months (within the constraints of the budget) 

2.          commission an organisation to provide the advice and support services currently provided by the existing recipients or some of them

3.          develop a policy for the funding that reflected the new corporate priorities and invite all local voluntary and community sector organisations to apply 

4.          close the current scheme, or reduce the value of the scheme, given the council’s other financial pressures. 

The Cabinet member recommended a blend of options 1 and 2 to allow the council to continue to support the three partnerships with grants over the next 12 months but allowing the council time to commission advice and support services in the future.  Cabinet supported this as it would allow the council to define what services it wished to commission with the voluntary sector. 

RESOLVED:to

(a)       commission information and advice services from 2023 onwards (budget permitting); and

(b)       extend the current partnership grants to Oxfordshire South and Vale Citizen’s Advice Bureau, Wantage Independent Advice Centre (now known as Vale Community Impact), and Community First Oxfordshire towards the provision of services across the district in 2022/23. 

Cabinet considered the interim head of development and regeneration’s report on the strategic property review.  This provided an overview of all council assets and the alignment of council business, capital and property asset strategies to ensure that property assets were optimised to meet the council’s corporate plan objectives. 

Underpinning the delivery of the review outcomes was a land and property asset disposal policy to provide a documented process to support dealing effectively with the council’s land and property assets.  The Cabinet member believed that the policy would allow the council to:

·       take transparent decisions on its land and property assets

·       implement the corporate plan’s aims

·       maximise capital and/or revenue from existing assets

·       reduce costs associated with managing the portfolio

·       understand potential financial risks/liabilities in holding council-owned assets in the short, medium and long term

·       improve efficiency in running the estate, thereby contributing to financially effective delivery of services

The Cabinet member also believed that there was a need to ensure that all relevant services were included in property-making decisions.  Setting up an asset management group would provide internal governance and enable inclusivity for cross-council service delivery.  Formal decisions would be taken in accordance with the council’s constitution, following advice from the asset management group. 

Cabinet supported the proposal as this would allow the council to better manage its assets, improve the use of those assets, improve the energy efficiency of the buildings, and support the corporate plan. 

RESOLVED: to

(a)       note the update on the strategic property review;

(b)       approve the Land and Property Asset Disposal Policy;

(c)        approve the council approach to transfer of assets from developers; and

(d)       note that in line with proposed processes set out in the Land and Property Asset Disposal Policy, an Asset Management Group (an advisory non-decision making group) will be set up to review, check and challenge the recommendations from the strategic property review prior to formal decision being taken on disposals of assets. 

Cabinet considered the head of planning’s report, which proposed the adoption of a revised developer contributions supplementary planning document.  The report set out the outcome of the consultation on the revised draft document.  Changes had been made, as a result of the consultation.  Scrutiny Committee had supported the proposed document. 

The Cabinet member recommended that the developer contributions supplementary planning document was adopted so that it could come into force alongside the revised community infrastructure rates within thecharging schedule.  This would help the council deliver the necessary infrastructure to support development across the Vale, as set out in the local plan.  Cabinet agreed, noting that the document would form a supplement to the adopted local plan. 

RESOLVED: to

(a)       adopt the Developer Contributions Supplementary Planning Document;

(b)       authorise the head of planning, in consultation with the Cabinet member for corporate services and transformation, to make any necessary further minor changes to the document; and

(c)        agree the proposed approach to preparing a separate section 106 internal protocol document, for use by councillors and officers. 

Cabinet considered the head of planning’s report, which proposed the adoption of the community infrastructure levy charging schedule.  A review of the charging schedule had taken place, including stages for public consultation and independent examination. 

The Cabinet member reported that the independent planning inspector had concluded that the council had provided sufficient evidence that showed the proposed rates would not threaten delivery of the local plan.  The inspector also concluded that the draft charging schedule would provide an appropriate basis for the collection of community infrastructure levy in the Vale and therefore recommended that the draft charging schedule should be approved. 

Cabinet also noted that Scrutiny Committee had supported the proposals. 

Cabinet concurred and looked forward to the charging schedule taking effect and bringing community infrastructure benefits to the Vale. 

RECOMMENDED to Council to:

(a)       adopt the Community Infrastructure Levy Charging Schedule (set out at Appendix 2 to the head of planning’s report to Cabinet on 1 October 2021) and the Community Infrastructure Levy Instalments Policy (set out at Appendix 3 to the report), with an implementation date of 1 November 2021; and

RESOLVED subject to Council approval of (a) above,to:

(b)    authorise the head of planning, in consultation with the Cabinet member for corporate services and transformation, to make any necessary further minor changes to the documents or a change to the implementation date for the new Community Infrastructure Levy rates.