MinutesOF A MEETING OF THE |
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Cabinet
Held on Thursday 4 November 2021 at 6.00 pm at 135 Eastern Avenue, Milton Park, OX14 4SB
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Present in the meeting room:
Cabinet members: Councillors David Rouane (Chair), Robin Bennett (Vice-Chair), Sue Cooper, Maggie Filipova-Rivers, Leigh Rawlins and Anne-Marie Simpson
Officers: Steve Culliford and Mark Stone
Remote attendance:
Cabinet members: Councillors Pieter-Paul Barker and Andrea Powell
Officers: Patrick Arran, James Carpenter, Mark Hewer, Simon Hewings, Jeremy Lloyd, Suzanne Malcolm, Adrianna Partridge, Chris Traill and David Wilde
Guest: Councillor Sam Casey-Rerhaye
41 Apologies for absence
None
42 Minutes
RESOLVED: to approve the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 30 September 2021 as a correct record and agree that the Chair signs them as such.
43 Declaration of disclosable pecuniary interest
None
44 Urgent business and chair's announcements
None
45 Public participation
(1) Carole Lindsey, speaking as a market trader, made a statement regarding the poor condition of the public conveniences at Thame Market House, by the High Street car park. She asked for her photographs to be displayed to illustrate the issue. Traders wished to know what the council planned to do to improve the public conveniences, the only ones in the town centre. She called on the council to consider establishing a forum with the market traders to improve communication as the traders wished to work with the council to ensure a thriving town centre. Mrs Lindsey asked the council to advise on the timescale to refurbish the public conveniences.
The Cabinet member responsible for the service thanked Mrs Lindsey for her statement and agreed to investigate this matter further.
(2) Councillor Sam Casey-Rerhaye addressed Cabinet on item 7—the use of community infrastructure levy funds to support the council’s capital projects. Councillor Casey-Rerhaye asked whether the Climate and Ecological Emergencies Advisory Committee would be able to feed in green project suggestions to the projects working group.
46 Recommendations and updates from other committees
Cabinet noted an update from other committees, including the matters discussed at recent meetings of the Scrutiny Committee and the Licensing Acts Committee. There were no recommendations for Cabinet to consider at this meeting.
47 2021/22 Community Infrastructure Levy funding for South Oxfordshire District Council capital projects
Cabinet considered the report of the interim head of development and corporate landlord. This set out a proposal to use community infrastructure levy to fund capital projects. The report set out a process and criteria to assess potential projects through a councillors’ working group with officer input.
The Cabinet member reported that the aim was to set a process to assess projects and progress those that met the corporate objectives. The aim was to hold the first working group meeting in November. The projects would then be considered for inclusion in the next year’s budget. The Cabinet member believed there was scope to consider any green projects suggested by the Climate and Ecological Emergencies Advisory Committee.
Cabinet supported the proposal and looked forward to the working group’s proposals for projects in 2022/23. The preferred projects should support the council’s corporate objectives.
RESOLVED: to
(a) agree the proposed structure for identification of projects by a member working group; and
(b) authorise the interim head of development and corporate landlord and the head of finance, in consultation with the Leader and the Cabinet member for economic development and regeneration, to prepare terms of reference for the member working group.
48 Technology strategy
Cabinet considered the head of corporate services’ report on the joint technology strategy. This updated the current strategy agreed in 2018, allowed the council to develop its technology infrastructure to meet the needs of the corporate plan, allowed the council to provide for future needs as it moved to new offices, and allowed it to adapt to changes in IT provision. The strategy was set out in appendix A to the report, published with the agenda.
Cabinet welcomed the updated technology strategy and noted that it would support all objectives set out in the corporate plan, not just reduce costs. The council would be investing in key systems to provide better services to the public. Cabinet particularly welcomed the emphasis on reducing the council’s carbon footprint. Cabinet also welcomed the proposed customer relationship system proposals, and strategic move towards cloud-based services. The strategy would allow the council to move forward and adapt to changes in the IT environment.
RESOLVED: to note the update on the projects incorporated in the Joint Technology Strategy and to support the continuing implementation of the programme.
49 Exclusion of the Public
RESOLVED: to exclude members of the press and public from the meeting for the following items of business under Part 1 of Schedule 12A Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 and as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006 on the grounds that:
i. it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, and
ii. the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.
50 Minutes
The exempt minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 30 September 2021 were adopted as a correct record.
51 Technology strategy
Cabinet noted the exempt appendices to the joint technology strategy update report.
52 Property, asset management and technical services IT solution
Cabinet approved investment for a project to consolidate and upgrade the IT systems used for the property, asset management and technical services.
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