Issue - meetings

Leader of the Council, Councillor Barry Wood, will attend the meeting to give an overview of his areas of responsibility.

Resolved

(1)       That the overview be noted

The Chairman welcomed Councillor Barry Wood, Leader of the Council, to the meeting, to give an overview of the role of Leader as well as a general update regarding current work.

Councillor Wood explained that the role of Leader meant that he had to monitor performance of the Council as a whole, by way of meeting performance targets and pledges and ensuring the Council had sufficient resource to do so. The day-to-day work was the responsibility of officers, with Councillor Wood relaying any overriding messages or concerns on behalf of the Members.

Policy development was another area of work that Councillor Wood was involved in, which required looking ahead and anticipating what might be needed. The Leader explained that one such example was the change in business rate levels coming into effect later this year, which could mean a new policy for small and medium businesses.

As well as day-to-day issues around performance, Councillor Wood explained that he also had overall responsibility for the personnel at the Council. There were currently a high number of agency and temporary workers in departments across the Council, but it was necessary to ensure that posts were filled and work was completed.

With regards to current work, Councillor Wood explained that the downgrading of services at the Horton Hospital and the ‘One Oxfordshire’ proposals from Oxfordshire County Council were the two main issues the Council were heavily involved in, and would be the focus for the immediate future.

In response to the ‘One Oxfordshire’ proposals, the Committee thanked Councillor Wood for his proactive response to the campaign, as residents had been asking about the Cherwell stance on the issue.

The Committee thanked Councillor Wood for the overview.

Resolved

(1)       That the overview be noted