Agenda and draft minutes
PDF 57 KBVenue: Council Chamber, Council Offices, Woodgreen, Witney, Oxfordshire OX28 1NB. View directions
Contact: Democratic Services
Note: To be held at the rising of the Full Council meeting
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Apologies for Absence. To receive any apologies for absence from Members of the Executive. The quorum for the Executive is 3 Members. Minutes: Apologies were received from Councillor Hugo Ashton, Executive Member for Planning. |
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Declarations of Interest To receive any declarations of interest from members of the Executive on any items to be considered at the meeting. Minutes: There were no declarations of interest. |
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Minutes of Previous Meeting As the meeting on 12 March 2025 took place after the publication date for this agenda there are no minutes to consider. Minutes: As the meeting of the Executive on 12 March 2025 took place after the publication date for the agenda there were no minutes to consider. |
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Receipt of Announcements To receive any announcements from the Leader of the Council, Members of the Executive or the Chief Executive. Minutes: There were no announcements made by Executive Members. |
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Participation of the Public Any member of the public, who is a registered elector in the District, is eligible to ask one question at the meeting, for up to three minutes, of the Leader of the Council, or any Member of the Executive on any issue that affects the district or its people.
Notice, together with a written copy of the question, must be provided to Democratic Services, either by email to:
democratic.services@westoxon.gov.uk
or by post to:
Democratic Services, West Oxfordshire District Council, Woodgreen, Witney OX28 1NB.
Questions are to be received no later than 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).
A response may be provided at the meeting, or within three clear working days of the meeting. 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 appropriate Executive Member will either respond verbally at the meeting or provide a written response which will be included in the minutes of the meeting. Minutes: There was no public participation. |
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Reports from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee There has been no meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee since the last meeting of the Executive.
Minutes: There had been no meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee since the last meeting of the Executive and therefore no reports from the Committee for consideration. |
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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. Minutes: There had been no meeting of the Audit and Governance Committee since the last meeting of the Executive and therefore no matters were raised. |
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Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation - Initial Options Purpose To provide an overview of the interim plan and each of the options for local government reorganisation in Oxfordshire, prior to submission to the Government on 21 March 2025. Recommendations That the Executive resolves to: 1. Note the receipt of the statutory invitation received from the Minister of State for Housing, Communities & Local Government on 5 February 2025; 2. Note the interim plan update as set out in Appendix 1 and the emerging options for local government reorganisation set out in the Appendices 2-4; 3. Note that the Leader of the Council with the support of Officers will write to the Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution to outline the Council’s commitment to working collaboratively with other Oxfordshire Partners on LGR and Devolution options and to set out the initial views from the Executive.
Additional documents:
Minutes: Councillor Andy Graham, the Leader of the Council introduced the item. Councillor Graham stated that the purpose of the item was to provide an overview of the interim plan and each of the options for local government reorganisation (LGR) in Oxfordshire, prior to submission to the Government on 21 March 2025. Government would then share feedback to councils and would expect submission of final proposals no later than 28 November 2025.
Councillor Graham advised that the Council had been working within a tight timescale on the agreed submission and was pleased with the co-operative way in which all Oxfordshire councils had worked.
Councillor Graham went on to introduce the three initial options for LGR that have been agreed by Oxfordshire councils and formed the submission to Government as follows:
Councillor Graham stated that the proposed options and representative letters that would outline the options were to be agreed and noted by Members of Oxfordshire councils at the relevant councils’ Executive meetings that day and at County Cabinet on 20 March 2025 to provide a commonality of approach across Oxfordshire.
Councillor Graham stated that in addition to the agreed overarching letter of options, each council would be sending an accompanying letter in which they would take the lead on one of the options. West Oxfordshire and Cherwell District Council would jointly be leading on the two-unitary model. Councillor Graham noted that West Oxfordshire District Council’s individual response letter acknowledged the alternative options on which other Oxfordshire councils were taking the lead.
Councillor Graham advised that following a response from the Government the Council would begin to investigate the data around the option suggested in the feedback, and continue to work with partners, to work towards a final proposal. Councillor Graham advised that, following the Government feedback the Executive would continue to be transparent with Members. The Executive would create a Cross-party Working Group in the new civic year to work towards planning LGR. Regular LGR briefings to Council would also continue to allow Members to have their views heard.
Councillor Graham concluded that Government would be expecting a final proposal by 28 November 2025. The Executive would be guided by Officers and Members in generating the proposal to ensure compliance with guidelines. Ultimately the Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government would make the final decision on LGR and there remained a great deal of uncertainty.
In discussing the item, other members of the Executive congratulated Councillor Graham and Officers on the work, considering tight timescales. It was noted that the current proposals and options could be amended based on Government feedback and the work in creating other options. It was noted that the Council was not precluded ... view the full minutes text for item 324. |