To:                             Future Oxfordshire Partnership (FOP):

Title of Report:        Future Oxfordshire Partnership Work Programme

Date:                          28 November 2023

Report of:                 Paul Staines- Head of Programme

Status:                       Open

Introduction

1) The Future Oxfordshire Partnership, (FOP) will recall that in March 2021 it endorsed the Strategic Vision (the Vision) for Oxfordshire. A Vision that was then adopted individually by all partners in the FOP.

2) With the Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal reaching a conclusion, and with the decision to cease the development of the Oxfordshire Plan 2050, the adoption of the Vision offered an opportunity to reflect and recalibrate the work programme to ensure alignment.

3) Accordingly, during the spring and summer of 2023 an exercise was carried out to define what a future work programme might contain. Partners were asked to propose projects that FOP could usefully either take forward, fund or support and these projects were then tested to ensure that they aligned to the Vision.

4) The honed list of projects aligned to the Vision was then offered to the partners for comment, support or otherwise. From this exercise we developed a smaller list of projects that enjoyed either unanimous or majority support.

5) Having arrived at this list of projects with principled support, the next logical step in programme development is to assess the projects deliverability. This report offers such an assessment, by way of agreeing a final list of projects that the partners can deliver, together with resource implications.

FOP Work Programme Workshop

6) As part of the process of project assessment, a workshop was held with the partners in September to discuss and test support for the projects proposed. The key messages from this workshop were:

· That projects should be scoped to complement and add value to the partners existing work plans and align to commonly shared objectives.

· A conclusion that several of the projects, whilst laudable in themselves are primarily research pieces to arrive at a position or an understanding of policy amongst the partners., Where this is the case consideration would need to then be given to the next iteration of the project.

· A question as to the value of the First Homes research policy, with a suggestion in the meeting that the longevity of the policy could be in question, as we approach a general election.

· A recognition that where projects required commissioning- for example research pieces such as OxIS- this would require procurement and some legal expertise and that this would need to be drawn from amongst the partners.

7) Alongside these messages was a widely held perspective that the scale of the programme needed to be manageable, that projects should focus upon deliverability, recognising the need to use finite resources most effectively and in a manner that would add value to the partners collectively.

Proposed Work Programme

8) Taking these views into account, and mindful of the ultimate need for a programme that FOP can be confident of delivering, this report proposes the following:

a) That, for the reasons set out in paragraph 6, FOP cease to progress the project on First Homes.

b) That the remaining projects be examined through the lens of deliverability and categorised in one of 4 ways, these being:

· Projects Underway-

  Projects that partners are already taking forward collectively.

· Projects Committed-

  Projects that we have made a commitment to deliver- either in public or amongst partners, in discussion.

· Projects proposed and worked up- as more detailed proposals.

· Projects proposed in principle- but to date yet have not been scoped or assessed.

9) Prioritising projects using this ‘matrix of deliverability’ will enable FOP to arrive at a list of projects that are aligned to the Vision, enjoy partner support and that have been worked up and assessed as being broadly deliverable, although still subject to a detailed project plan.

10) This matrix is used to prioritise the projects in the tables below and to show the advisory group(s) that will own the project, either the Housing Advisory Group (HAG), Infrastructure Advisory Group (IAG) Environment Advisory Group (EAG) or Planning Advisory Group (PAG)

Projects Underway

Project description	Deliverable outputs	Timeline	Resource implications	Sponsor
Progression of workstreams on Oxfordshire’s energy needs and journey to zero carbon and development of Local Area Energy Planning approach	-Local Area Energy Plans. -Training for members and officers -Identify pipeline of investment ready projects; develop funding and implementation steps.	1-2 years	Commission cost circa £150 from FOP. Potential additional costs of circa £500k across all councils for which the capacity fund could contribute. Officer time already committed by partners	EAG/IAG
Ensure strong partnership working on sustainable travel.	-Strategic Active Travel Network, -Bus/Rapid Transit Network, -Proposed Oxfordshire Metro concept. All reflected in LTCP and Local Plans.	1-2 years	Officer time already committed by partners	IAG
Support buildings decarbonisation across Oxfordshire through retrofitting and rooftop solar	Expand retrofit take up, address the retrofit skills gap and reduce costs through scaleup of activity	1-2 years	Officer time already committed by partners. Possible funding from Future Fit Oxfordshire bid.	EAG/HAG

Projects Committed

Project description	Deliverable outputs	Timeline	Resource implications	Sponsor
Develop the next phase of the Oxfordshire Infrastructure Strategy (OxIS).	OxIS Phase3	6-12 months	-75k approximate cost of commission. -FOP project management. -Officer time commitment by partners	IAG
Accelerate the roll out of publicly accessible EV infrastructure.	Develop proposals for programme of Increased rollout	1-2 years	FOP project management. -Officer time commitment by partners	IAG
Opportunities for a joint approach to advanced methods of construction	Develop proposals for programme of Increased take-up of MMC	6-12 months	FOP project management. -Officer time commitment by partners	HAG, may link to EAG/PAG
Support engagement with the BOB Integrated Care Board (ICB) to support the provision of healthcare infrastructure.	Understanding of the planning issues faced by the BOB ICB and enhancing their understanding of LPA planning issues and a project plan to address.	6-12 months Initial discussion at PAG on 15/12	FOP project management. -Officer time commitment by partners	PAG
Explore introduction of the land-based carbon sequestration offset model	Explore a joint approach to carbon offsetting policies in Local Plans Develop a longer pipeline of investment -ready nature-based projects that offset carbon	1-2 years	Officer time commitment by partners	EAG/LNP Link to PAG work on BNG
Explore Green Finance	-Establish a multi- agency Working group -Identify new innovative funding mechanisms. -Promotion of local investment opportunities.	1-2 years	Officer time commitment by partners. Possible funding from Future Fit Oxfordshire bid.	EAG/LNP

Projects proposed and worked up.

Project description	Deliverable outputs	Timeline	Resource implications	Sponsor
Explore joint approaches to securing more genuinely affordable homes	A common data set, or evidence base that councils can use to illustrate the need for genuinely affordable rented housing.	6-9 months	External commission requiring funding. This is forecast to be approximately £10 – £20k. Officer time commitment by partners	HAG
Explore opportunities for enhanced support to enable a faster rate of delivery of new affordable homes	A commissioned enabling resource to work with CLH, Self-Build groups, or those seeking to promote exception sites for affordable housing.	A three-year project to allow for affordable units to come to fruition.	External commission requiring ongoing funding. This is forecast to be approximately £10k. Officer time commitment by partners	HAG

 Projects proposed in principle.

Project description	Deliverable outputs	Timeline	Resource implications	Sponsor
Development of a workstream to explore water resilience across the county	To be determined	To be determined	To be determined	PAG
Explore opportunities for a joint approach to viability assessments.	To be determined	To be determined	To be determined	PAG
Opportunities for a joint approach to Biodiversity Net Gain between LPA and LNP	To be determined	To be determined	To be determined	PAG

Programme Recommendations

11)  Reflecting upon the projects as detailed above and mindful of the need to develop a programme that is deliverable and can be resourced by the partners. FOP is invited to prioritise the projects as follows:

12) Those projects that are either underway or committed to should be included in the FOP Work Programme.

13) Of the projects that are proposed and worked up, both projects relate to the development of affordable housing and are closely aligned to both the councils’ priorities and the Vision, it is therefore recommended that both be included in the Programme.

14) Finally, projects that have only been proposed in principle should be further examined by the relevant advisory group’s officer support meeting, with recommendations on the scope and shape of the project reported to EOG for considerations and potential future inclusion into the overall programme.

Governance

15) Any programme of work will require appropriate governance and it makes sense for the existing structures of FOP to be utilised to avoid duplication.

16) It is therefore proposed that the projects are owned by the relevant advisory groups as project sponsors- detailed in the tables above- and reporting on progress is led by the Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) for that Group, with the support of the officer support groups already established.

17) The FOP Executive Officer Group (EOG) will own the programme at officer level and review and agree all reports to FOP on progress.

18) The FOP core team will provide overall programme management and individual project management as required and will be responsible for coordinating all reporting to both EOG and FOP.

Financial Implications

19) Where the financial implications of the project are known this has been detailed in the relevant table.

20) For projects yet to be specified in this way any financial implications will form part of the detailed project scope and reported to the relevant advisory group and FOP as appropriate.

Legal Implications

21) Any legal implications arising from the proposed work programme will need to be included in a detailed project scope. Appropriate legal resources form partners will need to be made available to review and comment as appropriate.

Other Implications

22) For commissioned studies, there will need to be procurement resources made available from the partners to assist. There are no other implications arising from this report.

Conclusion

23) This report offers a proposed work programme for FOP, a suggested methodology for prioritising those projects and recommendations as to the projects to be included in the Work Programme, with the intention of offering a realistic and deliverable work programme that is closely aligned to the Vision, given the resources available.

24) This report recommends the shape of the Work Programme in paragraphs 11-14.

25) FOP is invited to note the report, indicate their agreement to the priority rationale suggested, and mindful of the recommendations in paragraphs 11-14, indicate which projects it wishes to see included in the final Work Programme.

26)  FOP is also recommended to ask the relevant advisory groups to require detailed project plans to be developed for approval, for those projects included in the programme.

Background Papers

27)  None