Agenda, decisions and minutes

RESOLVED: to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 14 February 2013 as a correct record and agree that the Chairman sign them as such.

Purpose: to secure agreement to the proposed approach for procuring a contractor to provide leisure management services on behalf of South Oxfordshire District Council and Vale of White Horse District Council from 1 September 2014 (report attached)

RESOLVED: to

1. jointly with Vale of White Horse District Council, commence the procurement of a leisure management contract under the competitive dialogue process;
2. to set the evaluation weighting for the joint contract at 50 per cent price and 50 per cent quality.

Following the earlier informal briefing on the leisure management contract between the Cabinets of South Oxfordshire District Council and Vale of White Horse District Council, (as set out in the notes attached to the minute book copy of the minutes)  Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Economy, Leisure and Property that asked Cabinet to agree to the proposed approach for procuring a contractor to provide leisure management services on behalf of Vale of White Horse District Council and South Oxfordshire District Council with effect from 1 September 2014.

Mrs E Hards addressed Cabinet.  In response to Mrs Hards’ questions concerning Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and the length of the contract, Ms K Arnold, Shared Leisure Manager, responded.  She advised that KPIs would be subject to discussion over coming months and expected some to be available around August-time.  In terms of the length of the contract that would be subject to discussion with the bidders during the competitive dialogue process but would probably be up to 10 years in length.  Mrs E A Ducker further added that the Scrutiny Committee should have the opportunity to consider the KPIs and should also have sight of the notes from the meetings of the project board.

Cabinet noted the potential drawbacks of a shared contract that included differences between the existing leisure management contracts across the two councils.  These differences compared with the financial benefits of a joint contract, which could bring competitive bids and operational and efficiency benefits in contract management.  Cabinet therefore agreed to enter into a competitive dialogue process in a joint procurement with Vale of White Horse District Council.

Cabinet also considered the evaluation criteria, which according to policy was to make 60 per cent of marks available for the most competitive price and 40 per cent for quality.  In order to ensure that high quality service was given as much regard as value for money and it remained deliverable, Cabinet agreed to allocate 50 per cent of marks for price and 50 per cent for quality.

RESOLVED: to

1. jointly with Vale of White Horse District Council, commence the procurement of a leisure management contract under the competitive dialogue process;
2. to set the evaluation weighting for the joint contract at 50 per cent price and 50 per cent quality.

Purpose: To consider extending the new homes bonus policy for another year, and whether to make an allocation of new homes bonus funding to Chinnor Parish Council towards the costs of a new community building in Chinnor (report attached)

RESOLVED: to

1. extend the current new homes bonus interim policy, agreed by Cabinet on 12 April 2012, for one further year (2013/14);

2. transfer the sum of £220,000 from the provisional to the approved capital programme for new homes bonus funding to Chinnor Parish Council for its new community building;

3. award £220,000 to Chinnor Parish Council towards the costs of the construction of a £780,000 community building in Chinnor, funded from the community element of the new homes bonus budget in 2013-14.

Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Corporate Strategy that asked Cabinet to consider extending the new homes bonus policy for another year and to make an allocation of new homes bonus funding to Chinnor Parish Council towards the costs of a new community building in Chinnor.

In April 2012 Cabinet agreed an interim new homes bonus policy for 2012/13 and now considered extending it for one year whilst officers assessed the need to provide such funding following Government’s recent announcement that 25 per cent of the Community Infrastructure Levy would be paid to town and parish councils.  As the policy had provided income to support local communities that were accepting significant amounts of new housing, Cabinet agreed to extend the policy.

Noting the minimal risks of funding the project at Chinnor and that Chinnor’s application met the eligibility criteria, Cabinet agreed to fund the cost of a new community building in Chinnor.

RESOLVED: to

1. extend the current new homes bonus interim policy, agreed by Cabinet on 12 April 2012, for one further year (2013/14);

2. transfer the sum of £220,000 from the provisional to the approved capital programme for new homes bonus funding to Chinnor Parish Council for its new community building;

3. award £220,000 to Chinnor Parish Council towards the costs of the construction of a £780,000 community building in Chinnor, funded from the community element of the new homes bonus budget in 2013-14.