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Agenda and draft minutes

Executive - Thursday, 13th November, 2025 2.00 pm

Venue: Council Chamber, Council Offices, Woodgreen, Witney, Oxfordshire OX28 1NB. View directions

Contact: Democratic Services 

Media

Items
No. Item

414.

Apologies for Absence

To receive any apologies for absence from Members of the Executive. The quorum for the Executive is 3 Members.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no apologies for absence.

415.

Declarations of Interest

To receive any declarations of interest from members of the Executive on any items to be considered at the meeting.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

416.

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 122 KB

To approve the minutes of the previous meetings, held on 15 October 2025 and 22 October 2025.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no amendments to the minutes of the previous meetings held on 15 October 2025 and 22 October 2025.

 

The minutes were proposed by Councillor Andy Graham, Leader of the Council.

 

Duncan Enright, Deputy Leader of the Council, seconded the proposal.

 

The proposal was voted on and approved unanimously.

 

RESOLVED:

To approve the minutes of the previous meetings held on 15 October 2025 and 22 October 2025.

417.

Receipt of Announcements

To receive any announcements from the Leader of the Council, Members of the Executive or the Chief Executive.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no announcements.

418.

Participation of the Public

Anyone who lives, works, or studies in West Oxfordshire is eligible to ask one question at the meeting, for up to three minutes, directed at the Leader of the Council or any Executive Member on any agenda item or on any issue that affects the district or its people.

 

All questions must be no longer than three minutes long.

 

Members of the public wishing to speak at a meeting must notify [email protected], or call Customer Services on 01993 861000 including their name and the agenda item or topic they wish to speak on, by 2.00pm two clear working days before the meeting (e.g. for a Wednesday meeting, the deadline would be 2.00pm on the Friday before).

 

If the topic of the question is not within the remit of the Council, advice will be provided on where best to direct the question.

 

The Leader or relevant Executive Member will either respond to a question verbally at the meeting or provide a written response which will be included in the minutes of the meeting.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There was no participation of the public.

419.

Reports from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee pdf icon PDF 187 KB

To consider recommendations from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee had met on 3 September 2025 to consider the work of the Youth Development Officer. The Committee had made four recommendations which were included in the agenda to the meeting on pages 21-22. The Executive thanked the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for their engagement and Officers for their work in this area. The Executive agreed to all of recommendations made.

 

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee had also met on 11 November 2025 to consider the proposals for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). The Committee had made three recommendations which were included as a supplement to the agenda for this meeting. The recommendations and Executive response were dealt with under Item 11 of the agenda.

420.

Matters raised by Audit and Governance Committee

There has been no meeting of the Audit and Governance Committee since the last meeting of the Executive.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Audit and Governance Committee had not met since the last meeting of the Executive.

421.

Westhive update and consideration of future options pdf icon PDF 224 KB

Purpose:

To provide an update on the progress of the Westhive scheme to date and to set out the options for future delivery.

 

Recommendation(s):

That the Executive resolves to:

1.    Consider as part of the 2026/2027 budget setting process, the inclusion of a budget for ‘one off’ community grant funding, at £120k per year for a three year period from 2026-2029.

2.    Request officers consider all feedback and platform hosting options, reporting back to Executive in December 2025.

3.    Delegate the responsibility of working through the procurement of a new multi-year contract to the Director of Place in consultation with the Executive Member for Finance and the Executive Member for Stronger Healthy Communities.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Rachel Crouch, Executive Member for Stronger, Healthy Communities presented the item, the purpose of which was to provide an update on the progress of the Westhive scheme to date and to set out the options for future delivery.

 

In her presentation Councillor Crouch made the following points:

 

  • The report presented options for the future delivery of the Westhive scheme, however consideration of these options was intended to be reported to the Executive in December.
  • Westhive was launched in October 2023. There had been four rounds of funding with twenty-eight projects that had successfully reached their project funding targets. Twelve of the projects had benefitted children and young people which was in accordance with Council priorities.
  • The total amount of funding secured to date using the platform was £948,172, of which the Council and Community Infrastructure Fund investment (CIF) combined had contributed £446,433.
  • The platform had attracted a diverse range of groups and included those groups that may not ordinarily engage in Council schemes.
  • Projects were reviewed and scored by Officers, before being considered by a panel that included the Leader of the Council, Chief Executive, Executive Member for Stronger, Healthy Communities and other Executive Members. Award decisions were delegated to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Leader of the Council.
  • The Council had a full-time Community Funding Officer the work of whom had been invaluable.
  • Spacehive were the current host for the platform, the three-year contract with Spacehive was due to end 30 April 2026. The contract with Spacehive for hosting the platform was £30,000 annually.

 

The Officer responsible for the report was then invited to comment by Councillor Andy Graham. The Officer advised that round five of funding had recently been approved and included nine projects with a total of £120k granted in funding from the two funds. The Officer clarified that the report contained recommendations for budget setting for Westhive in addition to recommendations that concerned the start of work on future hosting. It was intended that a further report would be brought to the Executive in December to consider in full the options for future hosting for the scheme.

 

A Member highlighted that it was important to differentiate between Westhive and the UK Share Prosperity Fund and Rural England Prosperity Fund which also both issued funding through the platform but were not within the funding being considered at the meeting. It was stated that the use of the platform allowed the UK Share Prosperity Fund and Rural England Prosperity Fund to have increased transparency, and this was the reason for the use of the mechanism.

 

Councillor Crouch proposed accepting the recommendations of the report.

 

Councillor Andy Graham, Leader of the Council seconded the proposal

 

This was voted on and approved unanimously.

 

RESOLVED

That the Executive:

  1. Considered as part of the 2026/2027 budget setting process, the inclusion of a budget for ‘one off’ community grant funding, at £120k per year for a three year period from 2026-2029.
  2. Requested officers consider all feedback and platform hosting options,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 421.

422.

Council tax support 2026/27 pdf icon PDF 464 KB

Purpose:

To consider and recommend to Full Council the revised Council Tax Support Scheme for the financial year 2026/2027.

 

Recommendation(s):

That Executive recommends to Full Council to:

1.    Agree the increase to income bands from 1 April 2026 of 3.5% or the inflationary increase in welfare benefits, whichever is greater.

2.    Agree that any surplus in the Hardship Fund is transferred over to 2026/2027.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Alaric Smith, Executive Member for Finance, introduced the item the purpose of which was to consider and recommend to Full Council the revised Council Tax Support Scheme for the financial year 2026/2027.

 

In his introduction Councillor Smith advised that:

 

  • Councils were required to review their Council Tax Support (CTS) schemes each year.
  • Annual wage growth was expected to be between 3% and 4% in Q4 of 2025 and remaining at a similar level during 2026. Therefore, without changes to the CTS scheme, this would result in more households being moved into a high-income band and as a result having to pay a higher share of the full Council Tax for their property.
  • To continue to give support to households during the ongoing cost of living crisis, proposals were being made to increase income bands by 3.5% or in line with the inflationary increase in welfare benefits.
  • In 2022/2023 the Council implemented a Hardship Fund to support those residents who were struggling financially. The fund was created with financial support from Oxfordshire County Council, and West Oxfordshire District Council. There remained in excess of £78,000 in the fund. It was recommended that any funding surplus be transferred into the financial year 2026/2027.
  • The proposed changes increased the estimated cost of the CTS scheme by approximately £47,304 in the 2026/27 financial year which would be reflected in a decrease in the Council Tax base and Council Tax income. The decrease in income would be spread proportionately across the major precepting authorities and resulted in a loss of income the Council of £2,504.30. This loss of income would be considered as part of the 2026/2027 budget setting process.

 

Councillor Smith proposed accepting the recommendations of the report.

 

Councillor Andy Graham, Leader of the Council seconded the proposal

 

This was voted on and approved unanimously.

 

RESOLVED:

That Executive recommended to Full Council to:

  1. Agree the increase to income bands from 1 April 2026 of 3.5% or the inflationary increase in welfare benefits, whichever is greater.
  2. Agree that any surplus in the Hardship Fund is transferred over to 2026/2027.

423.

Private Sector Housing and Caravan Sites policy review and update. pdf icon PDF 74 KB

Purpose:

To Renew the Private Sector Housing Renewal Policy and Caravan Sites Policy.

 

Recommendation(s):

That the Executive resolves to:

1.    Approve the Private Sector Housing Strategy as set out in Annex A and the Mobile Homes Policy as set out in Annex  B.

2.    Recommend to Council to approve a new Stock Conditions Survey.

3.    Instruct / authorise officers to schedule the next Stock Conditions Survey once budgetary provision has been made.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Lidia Arciszewska, Executive Member for Environment, introduced the item, the purpose of which was to renew the Private Sector Housing Renewal Policy and Caravan Sites Policy. Councillor Arciszewska asked the Officer present to give the relevant points to the Executive which raised the following:

 

  • The report had updated existing policies and taken into account the recent legislative changes concerning caravan site regulation and the significant changes to private sector housing regulation. It also had considered the imminent Renters Reform Bill, due to pass in October. It was timely to adopt the policies being considered now as this would allow the Council to incorporate changes as a result of the Bill. The policies would be reviewed in twelve months, and every three years after.
  • The policies had been aligned with the Council’s priorities in its Housing Strategy, Enforcement Policy and Long-Term Empty Homes Strategy and set out commitments to: tackle poor conditions in private housing; work with partners to ensure homes met required standards; bring long-term empty properties back into use; and tackle unlicensed HMOs (Houses in Multiple Occupancy).
  • New requirements for mobile home sites had been introduced in 2020 that required sites to appoint a Fit and Proper Person, and the Council was now required to administer and enforce this requirement. The policy that was presented had accommodated this and other new provisions and had set out the approach to this work.
  • Briefings on the Policies would be provided for Members in future that would include updates on changes in legislation, responsibilities on the Council and new powers.

 

In response to a question from a Member, the Officer advised that, as a result of the Renters Right Act, additional powers and responsibilities on the Council now included: investigatory powers and powers to require information; duties to investigate illegal evictions; and, in the future, a requirement to administer and enforce landlord databases.

 

A further question was raised around partner authorities and the degree of engagement that had taken place. The Officer advised that in the context of the policies “partners” had referred to the Publica Councils, in terms of the sharing of resources, and the Oxfordshire Authorities. Regular meetings had taken place with these partners to consider joint working on these matters, especially with LGR in mind, and also with regard to the stock conditions survey, where joint procurement could achieve savings.

 

Councillor Arciszewska proposed accepting the recommendations of the report.

 

Councillor Geoff Saul, Executive Member Housing and Social Care, seconded the proposal and suggested that this was an important function of the Private Sector Housing Strategy and was key to ensuring that housing was safe and secure, which was a key responsibility of the Council.

 

This was voted on and approved unanimously.

 

RESOLVED:

That the Executive:

  1. Approved the Private Sector Housing Strategy as set out in Annex A and the Mobile Homes Policy as set out in Annex B.
  2. Recommended to Council to approve a new Stock Conditions Survey.
  3. Instructed / authorised officers to schedule the next Stock  ...  view the full minutes text for item 423.

424.

Local Government Reorganisation pdf icon PDF 86 KB

Purpose:

To provide the full proposals for the three unitary models covering the entire existing boundary of all Oxfordshire Councils and West Berkshire Council in response to the Government’s formal invitation on the 5 February 2025.

 

Recommendation(s):

That the Executive resolves to:

1.    Note that since the statutory invitation to all councils in two tier areas, significant work has been undertaken by all Oxfordshire Councils and that West Oxfordshire and Cherwell District Councils’ officers have engaged with officers across Oxfordshire and West Berkshire.

2.    Note that two other proposals will be submitted, one proposed by Oxfordshire County Council covering the Oxfordshire area and one from Oxford City Council covering the Oxfordshire and West Berkshire area. 

3.    Considers the views of Council at their meeting on the 12 November 2025 regarding the three unitary models.

4.    Considers approving the submission of a full proposal for a two unitary model based on one new unitary council covering the entire existing boundaries of West Oxfordshire and Cherwell District Councils and Oxford City Council, with a working title of ‘Oxford & Shires’ and a second new unitary covering the entire existing boundaries of South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils and West Berkshire Council, with the working title of ‘Ridgeway’

5.    Subject to approval, notes that Cherwell District Council, South Oxfordshire District Council, Vale of White Horse District Council and West Oxfordshire District Council will jointly submit the full proposal directly to Government in line with the Oxfordshire invitation letter.

6.    Delegate authority to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Leader of the Council, to make any final amendments to the full proposal and associated documents for the 2 unitary model prior to submission to Government.

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Andy Graham, Leader of the Council, introduced the item, the purpose of which was to provide the three full proposals for local government reorganisation in Oxfordshire, in response to the Government’s formal invitation on the 5 February 2025.

 

Prior to considering the recommendations to the Executive, Councillor Graham thanked the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for their recommendations on proposals for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) which were included as a supplement to the agenda for this meeting. Councillor Graham then invited comments on the recommendations from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee from the Executive which raised the following points:

 

  • Recommendation 1 from the Committee was welcomed, in particular its reference to the need to strengthen the focus in the two unitary proposal on agriculture. It was noted that, as the two unitary proposal included Oxford City, there was a need to ensure the challenges faced by the rural and farming communities were recognised. It was also suggested that it was important to support transport for the rural food sector, including farmers. Part of the work of a new authority could include improvements in the use of fertilisers and nutrients in the farming sector.
  • A Member commented that it would be beneficial to build on the work of the Community Safety Partnership with Thames Valley Police which was particularly important in rural areas.

 

Councillor Graham concluded that the rural impacts of LGR were rightly highlighted by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, including impacts on farming, rural crime and food security. Councillor Graham proposed that the Executive accepted the recommendations made by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. The proposal was unanimously agreed by the Executive.

 

Councillor Graham informed the meeting that the Executive had invited Members of the Council, at their meeting on 12 November 2025, to consider and present views on the submission of a full proposal for a two unitary model based on one new unitary council covering the entire existing boundaries of West Oxfordshire and Cherwell District Councils and Oxford City Council and a second new unitary covering the entire existing boundaries of South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils and West Berkshire Council. Councillor Graham read the comments made by the Council, which were included in a supplement to the agenda.

 

A Member noted that an observation that had been raised by Council but had been omitted from the supplement, was the need for a stronger emphasis on a bottom-up approach in a new authority in order to ensure groups that were disengaged with local politics were considered. This was noted by Councillor Graham and could be addressed by Officers.

 

Councillor Graham thanked the Council for their observations which had been very useful and reminded those present that not all councils considering such proposals had provided an opportunity for Members to comment. Councillor Graham proposed that the comments made by Council were noted and that Officers would use them as appropriate in the finalisation of the submission. The proposal was unanimously agreed by the Executive.

 

Councillor  ...  view the full minutes text for item 424.

 

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