Agenda and draft minutes
PDF 61 KBVenue: Council Chamber, Council Offices, Woodgreen, Witney, Oxfordshire OX28 1NB. View directions
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Apologies for Absence and Temporary Appointments To receive any apologies for absence and temporary appointments.
The quorum for the Committee is 6 members. Minutes: Apologies were noted from Councillors Andrew Lyon, Mark Walker, Liz Leffman, Natalie King, Steve Cosier and Adam Clements.
Councillor David Jackson substituted for Councillor Adam Clements.
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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.
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Minutes of Previous Meeting To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 8 January 2025. Minutes: The Committee considered the minutes of the meeting held on 8 January 2025. Councillor Alistr Wray noted that his name needed correcting under apologies for absence.
Councillor Liam Walker proposed that the minutes be approved subject to the minor amendment. This proposal was seconded by Councillor Carl Rylett, put to the vote and agreed by the Committee.
Resolved: The Committee approved the minutes of the meeting held on 8 January 2025.
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Report back on recommendations For the Committee to note the Executive’s response to any recommendations arising from the previous Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting. Minutes: The Executive’s response to the Committee’s recommendation on the target for temporary accommodation bedspaces was noted.
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Chair's announcements To receive any announcements from the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. Minutes: The Chair asked members of the Committee to fill in a survey on the effectiveness of the overview and scrutiny function.
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Participation of the Public To receive any submissions from members of the public, in accordance with the Council’s Rules of Procedure, 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 democratic.services@westoxon.gov.uk by no later than 10.00am on the working day before the meeting. Minutes: There was no public participation.
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Update on Budget 2025 – 2026 Purpose: This report provides an update on the budget for 2025/26 following the provisional government funding settlement on 18th December 2024.
To consider: 1) The Draft Base Budget for 2025/26 2) The Council’s Capital Programme for 2025/26 to 2031/32 3) The level of Council Tax for 2025/26 4) The Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) 5) The Responses from the Statutory Budget Consultation
Recommendations: That the Executive resolves to recommend the following to Council for approval: 1) The General Fund Revenue Budget as Summarised in Annex A. 2) The Updated Medium Term Financial Strategy in Annex B. 3) The Capital Programme for 2025/26 to 2031/32 as set out in Annex D. 4) The Council’s Pay Policy Statement as set out in Annex L. 5) The level of District Council Tax for 2025/26 for a Band D property of £129.38 as shown in Annexes E-G. And the following for noting: 1) Fees and charges for 2025/26, as detailed in Annex I and J. 2) The Parish Precepts and Tax Levels set out in Annex H.
Additional documents:
Minutes: Councillor Alaric Smith, Executive Member for Finance, introduced the update on the Budget for 2025 – 2026 which would be considered by the Executive on 12 February 2025 and then full Council on 26 February 2025. The Executive Member highlighted that:
The Committee asked questions and noted that:
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Committee Work Programme Purpose: To provide the Committee with an updated Work Programme for 2024/25.
Recommendation: That the Committee notes and comments on the work programme. Minutes: The Committee noted that the Climate Change Strategy had slipped on the Executive programme from March to July and that Publica Transition Phase 2 had been added for March. The Committee noted the change and agreed to include the Publica Transition item on the agenda for the March Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting.
The Chair encouraged Members to submit questions on the service performance report and the finance performance report in advance of the next meeting.
The Chair noted that the Knights Court Business Case item was not on Work Programme currently because the timing was uncertain but it remained on the radar.
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Executive Work Programme Purpose: To give the Committee the opportunity to comment on the Executive Work Programme.
Recommendation: That the Committee agrees which items on the Executive Work Programme should be subject to pre-decision scrutiny and the priority order of those items. Minutes: The Committee noted that the papers for the 12 February 2025 Executive meeting had already been published.
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Matters Exempt from Publication If the Overview and Scrutiny Committee wishes to exclude the press and public from the meeting during consideration of any of the items on the exempt from publication part of the agenda, it will be necessary for the Overview and Scrutiny to pass a resolution in accordance with the provisions of section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that their presence could involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as described in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government act 1972.
The Overview and Scrutiny may maintain the exemption if and so long as, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. Minutes: The Committee did not consider the exclusion of the press and public.
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Annex J - Proposed Fees and Charges for Trade Waste (Exempt Annex) Minutes: This item was not considered in private session.
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