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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber

Contact: Democratic Services 

Items
No. Item

CL.25

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 63 KB

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 20 July 2022.

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 20 July 2022 were approved and signed by the Chair as a true record of the meeting subject to Councillor St John being shown as present and Councillor Jackson sending apologies.

Councillor MacRae raised a point of order under Rule 15.14. on a question previously asked. Councillor MacRae asked Councillor Aitman for an update on the Monahan Way pitches and on the work needed at the play area in the Country Park. Councillor Aitman said that she had not received an update and undertook to discuss with Councillor MacRae outside the meeting.

CL.26

Apologies for Absence

To receive any apologies for absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors: Chapple, Doughty, Leffman and Woodruff.

 

CL.27

Declarations of Interest

To receive any declarations from Members of the Committee on any items to be considered at the meeting

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

CL.28

Receipt of Announcements

(a)   Tribute to her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

(b)  Presentation of past Chairman Badge to Councillor McBride

(c)   To receive any announcements from The Chairman, Leader, Members of the Cabinet or the Head of Paid Service.

Minutes:

Chairman of the Council

(a)   Tribute to her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

 

The Chair and Leaders of the political groups paid tribute to her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in particular her dedication to public service over an exceptionally long reign.

 

The Council observed a period of silence in memory of Her Majesty.

 

(b)  Presentation of past Chairman Badge to Councillor McBride

 

The Chair presented a past Chairman Badge to Councillor McBride. Councillor McBride said it had been an honour to Chair the Council and to represent the West Oxfordshire over a wider sphere. He thanked Councillors for the support he had received and for the opportunity to serve.

 

(c)   Other announcements

 

The Council congratulated Cllr Booker on the  new arrival in his household. Secondly the Chair reminded the meeting it was St Frideswide's Day who is the patron saint of Oxfordshire. Thirdly the Chair asked councillors to put 10 March 2023 in their diaries as Mr Simon Hoare M.P. The Chairman of the Northern Ireland select committee was coming to address the authority on the future of the province. Fourthly the Chair sadly informed the Council that the Chair's reception on 11 November 2023 had been cancelled due to technical reasons. 

 

The Leader of the Council

Councillor Andy Graham, Leader of the Council, thanked Councillors for their kind wishes during his recent illness and thanked Councillor Enright for deputising in his absence. The Leader updated the Council on the rising number of COVID cases and said that the Council remained committed to supporting the NHS.

The Leader introduced the newly appointed Youth Champion, India Mae Thompson, from Finstock. He listed her many sporting achievements on the world stage and looked forward to her representing the Council at future events.

 

Cabinet member for Stronger, Healthier Communities

Councillor Joy Aitman reminded Council that there would be a briefing after the meeting to report on the work of the Cost Of Living Crisis Working Group.

 

Cabinet Member for the Environment

Councillor Lidia Arciszewska said that the Council was organizing a ‘Waterways Day’ at Woodgreen on Friday 18 November. The event would focus on the current state of watercourses, their ecology and how to manage them to prevent flooding. Thames Water, WASP, OCC and other organizations and community groups would be in attendance. All Councillors were invited to attend. 

 

CL.29

Appointments to Future Oxfordshire Scrutiny Panel

Purpose:

Council is invited to approve the appointment of three non-executive members to the Future Oxfordshire Scrutiny Panel.

 

Recommendation:

Following discussions with Group Leaders, nominations have been received for Councillors Julian Cooper, Richard Langridge and Charlie Maynard.  Council is invited to approve these appointments.

Minutes:

The Chair invited Council to approve the appointment of three non-executive members to the Future Oxfordshire Scrutiny Panel. Nominations had been received for Councillors Julian Cooper, Richard Langridge and Charlie Maynard.

 

Council resolved to appoint Councillors Julian Cooper, Richard Langridge and Charlie Maynard to the Future Oxfordshire Scrutiny Panel.

 

CL.30

Participation of the Public

Anyone who lives in the district or who pays council tax or business rates to the Council is eligible to read a statement or express an opinion at this meeting. You can register to speak by sending your written submission of no more than 750 words to [email protected] by no later than 10.00am on the working day before the meeting.

 

Minutes:

There were none.

CL.31

Members' Questions

The following question has been submitted by a Member of Council in accordance with the Council Procedure Rules (Constitution Part 5, rule 10). Oral responses will be provided at the meeting. Following receipt of the answer to their question a Member is entitled to ask one supplementary question at the meeting.

 

Question 1.  Councillor MacRae for Councillor Enright (Cabinet Member for Economy).  As a largely rural area with infrequent transport links, theresidents of our District are, in many ways reliant on taxis to enable them to carry out activities such as shopping and visits to medical facilities.  The energy situation we are experiencing has resulted in a massive increase in fuel prices and therefore a very marked increase in taxi operating costs, thus potentially putting some operators at risk of going out of business.  Does the Leader agree that this Council should seek ways to support the licensed taxi trade and thereby support local residents and can he explain what this Council this Council is doing to support our licensed taxi drivers to mitigate against the near doubling of fuel prices in the past year?

 

Question 2. Councillor MacRae for Councillor Arciszewska (Cabinet Member for the Environment). How many times have there been reports of multiple (i.e. involving several or all households in a street) missed bin collections in the last six months?

  

Question 3. Councillor MacRae and Councillor Fenton for Councillor Arciszewska (Cabinet Member for the Environment). How many of the District’s Sewage Treatment Works are due for upgrade within the next two years?

 

Question 4. Councillor Al-Yousuf for Councillor Graham (Leader) and Councillor Rylett (Cabinet Member for Planning and Sustainable Development). Do you agree that this Council is in a planning crisis because it cannot demonstrate a 5 year housing land supply and therefore needs an emergency response? 

 

 

Minutes:

The following questions were asked at the meeting, and below are the recorded answers:

 Question 1. Councillor MacRae for Councillor Enright (Cabinet Member for Economy). As a largely rural area with infrequent transport links, the residents of our District are, in many ways reliant on taxis to enable them to carry out activities such as shopping and visits to medical facilities. The energy situation we are experiencing has resulted in a massive increase in fuel prices and therefore a very marked increase in taxi operating costs, thus potentially putting some operators at risk of going out of business. The new rates for fares, which came into effect on 12 October, would help the taxi drivers but would put increased pressure on residents who could ill afford to pay more.

 

Answer: It is recognised that taxis are a very important part of the District’s infrastructure. There are a range of issues that might be considered including licensing which it might be possible to harmonise across a wider area. More discussions were being held with officers to discuss the options. Councillors were encouraged to come forward with proposals.

 

Supplementary Question Councillor MacRae: Following the adoption of the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy, which came into effect on 1 October 2021, it was proposed that a second piece of work would follow in 2021/22.  This would look at the vehicle part of the Council’s Policy and review in line with the Council’s climate change priorities.  It was also promised that a consultation, supporting the DfT’s Statutory Standards for the taxi/private hire trade, would be carried out to identify if there are local circumstances which indicate that the installation of CCTV in vehicles would have either a positive or an adverse net effect on the safety of taxi and private hire vehicle users, including children or vulnerable adults, and taking into account potential privacy issues. What progress has been made on this and when can Council be made aware of the results of the review?

 

Answer: Councillor Enright would ask for an update for Councillor MacRae.

 

Question 2. Councillor MacRae to Councillor Arciszewska (Cabinet Member for the Environment). How many times have there been reports of multiple (i.e. involving several or all households in a street) missed bin collections in the last six months?

 

Answer: 4,729,943 collections have been made in the last six months (1/4/22-30/9/22). The collection accuracy remains high at 99.85%. 25 premises have reported repeat missed collections during this period.

Supplementary Question Councillor MacRae: Whilst I realise that the Cabinet member feels she has more important things to do than chase up missed bin collections, as she advised Cllr Fenton in a recent email,  does she agree with me that providing a waste collection service is one of the most significant services for which all households pay their Council Tax? What steps has she taken to reverse the decline in the service that residents have noticed since the current administration came into office? I can quote a personal example  ...  view the full minutes text for item CL.31

CL.32

Recommendations from Cabinet and the Council Committees

There are no recommendations to this meeting of Council.

 

Minutes:

There were none.

 

CL.33

Motion - Proposed by Councillor Pearson pdf icon PDF 74 KB

The following Motion to support the Climate and Ecology Bill been submitted by Councillor Pearson and seconded by Councillor Goodwin.

 

‘WODC resolves to:

1.    Support the Climate and Ecology Bill;

2.    Write to Robert Courts, MP letting him know that the motion has been passed, and urging him to sign up to support the Bill.

3.    Write to Zero Hour, the organisers of the cross-party campaign for the Bill, expressing its support ([email protected])."

Minutes:

Councillor Pearson, introduce the motion that West Oxfordshire District Council should resolve:

a)    To support the Climate and Ecology Bill;

b)    For the Leader to write to Robert Courts, MP letting him know that the motion has been passed, and urging him to sign up to support the Bill.

c)    For the Leader to write to Zero Hour, the organisers of the cross-party campaign for the Bill, expressing the Council’s support ([email protected])."

In debate it was noted that the Private Member’s Bill had been drafted by scientists, lawyers and activists. It had been gathering support from a broad range of campaign groups, businesses and charities. The Bill allowed for the creation of a Citizens’ Assembly that would put forward recommendations contributing to the work of both the UK Government and UK Parliament in delivering an essential climate and ecological emergency strategy.  The District Council must set an example by tackling the climate and nature crises; doing what it can to cut emissions and halting and reverse UK biodiversity loss.

Points in opposition to the motion included ceding constitutional rights to an unelected Citizen’s Assembly, the involvement of the more extreme activists and the rapid transitional from fossil fuels before alternatives are available.

The Council resolved 25 in favour and 20 against:

a)    To support the Climate and Ecology Bill;

b)    For the Leader to write to Robert Courts, MP letting him know that the motion has been passed, and urging him to sign up to support the Bill.

c)    For the Leader to write to Zero Hour, the organisers of the cross-party campaign for the Bill, expressing its support ([email protected])."

Councillor Ashbourne left the meeting.

 

CL.34

Report of the Constitution Working Party pdf icon PDF 84 KB

Purpose:

To consider proposals from the Constitution Working Group for amendments to the West Oxfordshire District Council to adopt new Council Procedure Rules, Officer Employment Procedure Rules and a Protocol on the Conferment of Honorary Titles

 

Recommendations:

Council is recommended to:

  1. establish a Working Group, to report to Council, to be known as the Constitution Working Group, with immediate effect until the Annual Council meeting in May 2023;
  2. approve the terms of reference of the Constitution Working Group as set out in Annex A to this report;
  3. appoint to the membership of the Constitution Working Group as set out in Annex B to this report and to note that the Group appoint Cllr Fenton as their Chair;
  4. approve the Council Procedure Rules at Annex C to this report and formally adopt them as part of the Council’s Constitution from 20th October 2022;
  5. approve the Officer Employment Procedure Rules at Annex D to this report and formally adopt them as part of the Council’s Constitution from 20th October 2022;
  6. approve the Protocol on Conferment of Honorary Titles at Annex E to this report and formally adopt it as part of the Council’s Constitution from 20th October 2022;
  7. delegate authority to the Monitoring Officer to make minor and consequential amendments to the Constitution. 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Fenton introduced the report which set out proposals from the Constitution Working Group for amendments to the Constitution to adopt new Council Procedure Rules, Officer Employment Procedure Rules and a Protocol on the Conferment of Honorary Titles. He thanked Councillors who had served on the Group some on whom had now left the Council.

 

Councillor Fenton mentioned that Councillor Coul would no longer be on the working group and would be replaced by Councillor Mead. He explained that the Council Procedure Rules had been extensively rewritten but that future amendments would be marked up to allow alterations to be tracked. He confirmed that the Protocol on Conferment of Honorary Titles did not preclude the award of titles to those Councillors who had lost seats in elections.

 

The Council resolved to:

 

a)    establish a Working Group, to report to Council, to be known as the Constitution Working Group, with immediate effect until the Annual Council meeting in May 2023;

b)    approve the terms of reference of the Constitution Working Group as set out in Annex A to the report;

c)    appoint to the membership of the Constitution Working Group as set out in Annex B to the report, but substituting Councillor Coul with Councillor Mead, and to note that the Group appoint Cllr Fenton as their Chair;

d)    approve the Council Procedure Rules at Annex C to the report and formally adopt them as part of the Council’s Constitution from 20th October 2022;

e)    approve the Officer Employment Procedure Rules at Annex D to the report and formally adopt them as part of the Council’s Constitution from 20th October 2022;

f)     approve the Protocol on Conferment of Honorary Titles at Annex E to the report and formally adopt it as part of the Council’s Constitution from 20th October 2022;

g)    delegate authority to the Monitoring Officer to make minor and consequential amendments to the Constitution.