Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence. 

None

To receive any declarations of personal or personal and prejudicial interests in respect of items on the agenda for this meeting. 

None

To receive notification of any matters which the chairman determines should be considered as urgent business and the special circumstances which have made the matters urgent, and to receive any announcements from the chairman.

None

Any statements, petitions, and questions from the public under standing order 32 will be made or presented at the meeting.

None

To consider report 10/11 of the head of economy, leisure, and property. 

Cabinet considered report 10/11 of the head of economy, leisure, and property.  This provided information to help the Cabinet decide whether and how to put in place a Conservative pre-election pledge to introduce free short-stay car parking in the three market towns.  The Cabinet’s proposals were to:

·       introduce two hours free parking at all Vale car parks

·       increase parking charges over three hours

·       increase permit costs

·       require a ticket to be displayed at all times, including during the free parking period

·       extend the charging period to 6pm on Monday to Saturday

·       introduce a 'no return' for two hours for all car parks in a particular town

The report set out the officers’ assessment of the impact on income and expenditure.  The section 151 officer believed that the changes would cause a significant loss of income, estimated at £192,500 a year, with one-off costs of £10,000 for changes to signs, equipment, and advertising the proposals.  This would have a significant impact on the medium term financial plan.  The section 151 officer identified options to meet this cost:

·        using the new homes bonus

·        achieving further shared service efficiency savings, for example, co-locating the Vale’s and South Oxfordshire District Council’s offices in one building

·        other reactive savings through lean working efficiency measures or service cuts

·        raising income by creating a business improvement district

There were risks with each option—the section 151 officer did not believe that these options would be sufficient to meet the longer-term cost of the Cabinet’s proposals.  As no budget was available to fund the proposals in the current year, the Council would need to approve a supplementary revenue estimate to meet the cost. 

Cabinet noted that the proposals would require a change to the council’s policy, which stated that income from the service as a whole must cover the car parks’ operating, maintenance and management costs.  There would also need to be a new car park order.  Following consultation on the order, the proposals were likely to be introduced in December 2011 at the earliest. 

The report also identified other options such as introducing totally free parking, maintaining the existing service, or increasing charges. 

The Cabinet member responsible for this service reported that the car parking service was not just a source of revenue; it was a service.  Free parking worked in other parts of the country.  The proposals would help attract more visitors to the Vale and would improve the economies in the market towns. 

Three non-Cabinet councillors had requested to address the Cabinet on this matter:

• Councillor Jenny Hannaby questioned why free parking was necessary when it was already available in Wantage.  How would the Cabinet monitor the effectiveness of the proposed changes?  How would the Cabinet fund this in future years?  The new homes bonus should be used for housing or youth facilities.  Was the Cabinet going to consult the public on these changes? 
• Councillor Richard Webber believed that from reading the report, the proposed course of action was unwise.  He accepted that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To consider report 11/11 of the head of HR, IT, and customer services. 

The Cabinet considered report 11/11 of the head of HR, IT, and customer services.  This set out the detailed proposal to award a contract to replace the council’s existing property system with a new joint system with South Oxfordshire District Council.  The software would support core functions of planning, building control, land charges, environmental health, and licensing. 

Cabinet noted that the officer project board concluded that it was not feasible to extend the contract in place at another council.  Instead, the board considered that the councils should seek competitive tenders for a new joint contract.  This was more likely to deliver best value for money and bring savings for both councils.  This proved to be correct with the preferred tender resulting in £37,690 predicted savings per year for this council and £20,085 savings for South Oxfordshire.  The councils would split the costs equally.  The Cabinet member supported the proposal, believing that the councils had followed the proper procurement process. 

The chairman invited Councillor Jenny Hannaby to address the meeting.  She urged the Cabinet to ensure staff were adequately trained on the new system and that the money set aside for this was used for training and not other items. 

Cabinet agreed to the proposals, believing that the council would secure significant savings and an improved property system.  The officers assured the Cabinet that the post-procurement review would check the adequacy of training given. 

RESOLVED:

(a)       To approve the award of a contract for property-based database systems to Ocella Software Systems Limited; and

(b)       To authorise the head of HR, IT, and customer services to arrange for officers to finalise terms and conditions and enter into a contract with Ocella. 

To consider report 12/11 of the head of corporate policy. 

The Cabinet considered report 12/11 of the head of corporate strategy that sought approval to a new corporate equalities policy, developed as a joint policy with South Oxfordshire District Council.  The policy was developed in response to the Equality Act 2010.  This required public services to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, and victimisation; to advance equality of opportunity; and the need to foster good relations between people who shared a protected characteristic and those who did not share it.  A protected characteristic under the Act referred to colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, disability, age, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, religion, belief, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity.  The Act contained a power enabling the government minister to impose specific duties on public bodies to support better performance of the general duties.  These regulations were out for consultation and could be brought into force in July 2011. 

The draft policy ensured equality considerations were included in all council functions.  It covered:

·           assessing the impact of service and employment design

·           collecting monitoring data to understand communities

·           consultation and engagement

·           advancing equality of opportunity in contracts where relevant

·           equalities training

·           commitment to the Equality Framework for Local Government

·           human resources policies

·           monitoring complaints

The chairman invited Councillor Jenny Hannaby to address the meeting.  She welcomed the policy. 

Cabinet welcomed the new policy and noted that an action plan would develop the equality objectives. 

RESOLVED:

(a)       To approve the corporate equality policy as set out in the appendix to report 12/11: and

(b)       To authorise the head of corporate strategy, in consultation with the relevant cabinet member, to make any further changes to the policy to reflect any changes to the duties currently being consulted on, following final government approval. 

None