Agenda and minutes

To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests in respect of items on the agenda for this meeting.  

None.

To adopt and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 24 October 2013.

RESOLVED: to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 24 October 2013 as a correct record and agree that the Chairman sign them as such.

The Chairman announced the availability of tickets for the 2014 Royal Garden Parties. Councillors, who had not previously attended a Royal Garden Party on behalf of the council, were invited to apply for tickets.

She invited councillors to make a donation to her chosen charities, the Chilterns MS Centre and the Oxford Heartfelt Appeal, for the Christmas buffet lunch.

None.

(Cabinet member responsible: Mrs A Badcock)

Cabinet, at its meeting on 5 December 2013, will consider a report seeking the approval of a project that will accelerate housing growth across the Science Vale area of South and Vale and ask that both Councils establish budgets to allow the project to proceed.

The report of the Strategic Director, which Cabinet will consider on 5 December, was circulated to all councillors with the Cabinet agenda. Please bring this report to the meeting.

The recommendations of Cabinet will be circulated to councillors on Friday 6 December.

Council considered Cabinet’s recommendations, made at its meeting on 5 December 2013, to approve a project to accelerate housing growth across the Science Vale area of South and Vale and establish budgets to allow the project to proceed. Both councils had been successful in securing a total of £2.06 million in grant funding from the Large Sites Capacity Fund.

In moving the recommendations of Cabinet Mrs Ducker, Leader of council, responded to questions submitted by Mrs E Hards prior to the meeting. She responded that:

• the baseline year for assessing housing delivery is 2013;
• that the problem of under delivery of new housing was a national problem and that this project would identify and analyse the barriers to housing delivery and put in place actions to overcome those barriers to speed up housing delivery;
• currently Vale of White Horse District Council is delivering over 75 per cent of the housing in Science Vale;
•  the funding will be used to accelerate housing development with the required infrastructure being funded by developers;
• the project will provide useful information for the development of the Didcot Area Action Plan.

In response to comments Mrs Ducker undertook to:

• ensure all councillors received a map showing the Science Vale area;
• provide details of the number of houses completed each year as a  direct result of this project

She confirmed that parish councils within the Science Vale area would be consulted on local infrastructure provision.

A number of councillors welcomed the project and the success of the council in securing grant funding.

RESOLVED: to

1.      approve the project to accelerate housing growth in the Science Vale Growth Area, funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government capacity fund;

2.      authorise the strategic director, in consultation with the Head of Legal and Democratic Services, if necessary as an exception to contracts procedure rules, to use the fund to commission and pay for works necessary to deliver the core objectives of the project as set out in the offer letter attached as an appendix to the report of the Strategic Director to Cabinet on 5 December 2013;

3.      approve South Oxfordshire District Council as the accounting body for the administration of the capacity fund and as the accountable body to the Department for Communities and Local Government for appropriate use of the fund.

(Cabinet member responsible: Mr D Dodds)

Cabinet, at its meeting on 5 December 2013, will consider a report on the council tax base for 2014/15.

The report of the Head of Finance, which Cabinet will consider on 5 December, was circulated to all councillors with the Cabinet agenda. Please bring this report to the meeting.

The recommendations of Cabinet will be circulated to councillors on Friday 6 December.

Council considered Cabinet’s recommendations, made at its meeting on 5 December 2013, on the council tax base for 2014/15.

RESOLVED:

1.                  to agree that, in accordance with the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (as amended by the Local Government Finance Act 2012) and the Council Tax (Prescribed Classes of Dwellings) (England) Regulations 2003 (as amended)

i.           from1 April 2014 the council tax discount to be applied on unoccupied and substantially unfurnished dwellings (Class C in the Regulations) be 100 per cent for one calendar month and zero per cent thereafter.  Where an unoccupied and unfurnished dwelling has already received the current 25 per cent discount for more than one calendar month on 1 April 2014, it shall receive zero discount.  Where an unoccupied and unfurnished dwelling has received a 25 per cent discount for less than one calendar month on 1 April 2014, it shall receive a 100 per cent discount for the number of days required to reach one calendar month and then zero per cent discount thereafter.  In considering whether a dwelling has been unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for any period, any one period not exceeding six weeks, during which it was not unoccupied andsubstantially unfurnished shall be disregarded.

2. to approve the report of the Head of Finance for the calculation of the council’s tax base and the calculation of the tax base for each parish area for 2014/15;

3. to agree that, in accordance with The Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (England) Regulations 2012, the amount calculated by South Oxfordshire District Council as its council tax base for the year 2014/15 be 53,217.1;

4. to agree that, in accordance with The Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (England) Regulations 2012, the amount calculated by South Oxfordshire District Council as the council tax base for the year 2014/15 for each parish be the amount shown against the name of that parish in Appendix 1 of the report of the Head of Finance to Cabinet on 5 December 2013.

(Cabinet member responsible: Mr D Dodds)

Cabinet, at its meeting on 5 December 2013, will consider a report on the total amount of council tax reduction scheme grant that will be passed down to town and parish councils for 2014/15, how the grant amounts for individual town and parish councils will be calculated, and the actual amounts for town and parish councils.

The report of the Head of Finance, which Cabinet will consider on 5 December, was circulated to all councillors with the Cabinet agenda. Please bring this report to the meeting.

The recommendations of Cabinet will be circulated to councillors on Friday 6 December.

Council considered Cabinet’s recommendations, made at its meeting on 5 December 2013, on the total amount of council tax reduction scheme grant to pass down to town and parish councils for 2014/15, how to calculate the  amounts for individual town and parish councils and the actual grant allocations for each town and parish council.

RESOLVED:

1.      that the total council tax reduction scheme grant to be passed down to town and parish councils for 2014/15 be £212,252;

2.      that the individual amounts for town and parish councils be calculated based on their relative need after considering the negative impact of the council tax reduction scheme on parish taxbases;

3.      that the individual grant amounts for towns and parishes are as set out in Appendix 2 to the report of the Head of Finance to Cabinet on 5 December 2013.

The councillors’ allowances scheme allows for the allowances payable under the scheme to be increased up to the RPI announced in the preceding September subject to Council decision. Council is invited to agree the level at which to increase the basic and special responsibility allowances from 1 April 2014.

Mr D Dodds moved and Mrs E A Ducker seconded a motion to apply no increase to the councillors’ basic and special responsibility allowances payable from 1 April 2014.

RESOLVED: to apply no increase to the councillors’ basic and

special responsibility allowances payable from 1 April 2014.

To consider the report of the head of legal and democratic services on proposed changes to the council’s constitution (attached).

Council considered the report of the Head of Legal and Democratic Services on proposed changes to the council’s constitution. The proposed changes, supported by the Constitution Review Task Group, were recommended to come into effect from 1 January 2014 with the exception of the revised budget and policy framework procedure rules and budget setting protocol that would come into effect immediately in preparation of the 2014/15 budget.

RESOLVED: to

1.                  agree the revised delegation 1.2 to the Head of Economy, Leisure and Property attached as appendix one to the report of the Head of Legal and Democratic Services to Council on 12 December 2013 with effect from 1 January 2014;

2.                  agree the delegation in respect of the national non-domestic rates 1 form (NNDR1) set out in paragraph seven of the report of the Head of Legal and Democratic Services to Council on 12 December 2013 with effect from 1 January 2014;

3.                  agree the amendments to the financial procedure rules set out in paragraph 12 of the report of the Head of Legal and Democratic Services to Council on 12 December 2013 with effect from 1 January 2014;

4.                  agree the revised budget and policy framework procedure rules and budget setting protocol set out in appendix two to the report of the Head of Legal and Democratic Services to Council on 12 December 2013 with immediate effect;

5.                  agree the proposed amendments to officer delegation and Cabinet and Council procedure rules set out in appendix three to the report of the Head of Legal and Democratic Services to Council on 12 December 2013 with effect from 1 January 2014;

6.                  authorise the Head of Legal and Democratic Services to make the necessary changes to the council’s constitution to reflect the changes set out in the report of the Head of Legal and Democratic Services to Council on 12 December 2013;

7.         authorise the Head of Legal and Democratic Services to make any minor or   consequential amendments to the constitution required for clarification, consistency and compliance with the council’s style guide.

None.

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