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Recommendation
1: That the Future Oxfordshire
Partnership request that HM Government consider ways to simplify
and rationalise the process by which it considers local authority
bids for funding through initiatives such as the Community Renewal
Fund and Levelling Up Fund, so as to encourage a system wide
approach.
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Yes
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The Future Oxfordshire Partnership agrees that
rationalising the process by which local authorities and businesses
can bid for funding would be beneficial. Since this recommendation
was made, the Future Oxfordshire Partnership Executive Officer
Group has recommended drafting a letter to HM Government on this
subject, which is in development at the time of writing.
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Recommendation
2: That the Future
Oxfordshire Partnership agree recommendation 2 of the ERP report
around the need for partners to continue to undertake a whole
system response to securing economic recovery and that
specifically, this includes, but not be limited to, a system wide
approach to town centre renewal and the promotion of manufacturing
as a sector.
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Yes
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The Future Oxfordshire Partnership agrees that there
is a need for a continued whole-system response,
through the Economic Task Group, to the economic challenges faced
in Oxfordshire. We would
add that system wide discussions will need to take a holistic and
inclusive approach to recovery which do not focus wholly on the
economy, but also consider community recovery and public wellbeing,
among other areas, in line with the themes set out in the
Oxfordshire Strategic Vision. We continue to offer our strong
support for countywide collaboration and partnering to deliver the
most effective response to the recovery, whilst recognising the
sovereignty of each council to take a tailored local approach to
recovery. We anticipate receiving a report on the condition of the
Visitor Economy, town centre renewal, and system wide approaches to
support it, later this year. With respect to the promotion of
manufacturing, we note that this is a central tenet of the Local
Industrial Strategy, and that there is a specific project in the
ERP report appendix which focuses on manufacturing and supply chain
resilience, which is ready, but has not yet secured
funding.
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Recommendation
3: That the Future Oxfordshire
Partnership provides feedback that the Economic Recovery Plan
should draw on wider dis-aggregated data that helps to show how
some sections of society may be disadvantaged through the economic
recovery, particularly for young people who are not in education,
employment, or training. This will be useful to inform targeted
interventions.
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Yes
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The Future
Oxfordshire Partnership can provide this feedback. It is understood
that the Economic Recovery Task Group will work with national
agencies and government departments to provide and make use of
disaggregated data wherever it is available.
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Recommendation 4:
That the Future Oxfordshire Partnership be requested to strengthen
its draft response to HM Government’s Oxford to Cambridge Arc
Vison Consultation to emphasise:
a.
The importance of environmental
preservation and enhancement across all pillars of the proposed
Vision and considerations for the future of the Arc.
b.
The importance of the securing adequate
provision of data centres in order to support greater digital
connectivity.
c.
The need for full electrification of the
East West Railway as a current rather than future
priority.
d.
The need to reduce dependency on private
cars within developments through good site connectivity and
design.
e.
The need to ensure that matters of
housing viability and affordability are not used as reasons to
compromise or weaken environmental building standards.
f.
Quantifiable and defensible targets and
numbers should be set in order to give the welcome aspirations
within the Vision more credibility and robustness.
g.
The need to recognise that
inequality is not evenly distributed within Oxfordshire and that
pockets of serious deprivation do exist within the
county.
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Yes
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The Future
Oxfordshire Partnership will delegate responsibility for
incorporating these amendments to its Director, in consultation
with the Chair. In relation to recommendation 4f, we would
have a strong preference that any targets contained within the
Vision or the Arc Spatial Framework be an amalgamation of targets
decided by local authorities, and not imposed top down.
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