Decisions

Resolved

(1)          That the Business Plan (annex to the Minutes as set out in the Minute Book) be approved.

(2)          That, having due regard, the statutory report of the Chief Finance Officer (Section 25 report) be noted.

(3)          That the net revenue budget for the financial year commencing on 1 April 2021 of £22.374m, including the budget allocations to the Directorates of the Council (annex to the Minutes as set out in the Minute Book) be approved.

(4)          That the Medium Term Financial Strategy and Revenue Budget 2021/22, including the Savings Proposals, Pressures and the Revenue Impacts of Capital Schemes (annexes to the Minutes as set out in the Minute Book) be approved

(5)          That the Capital Bids and Capital Programme (annexes to the Minutes as set out in the Minute Book) be approved.

(6)          That the Capital and Investment Strategy (annex to the Minutes as set out in the Minute Book) be approved.

(7)          That the Treasury Management Strategy, including the Prudential Indicators, Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Policy and Affordable Borrowing Limit for 2021/22 (annexes to the Minutes as set out in the Minute Book) be approved.

(8)          That the Property Investment Strategy (annex to the Minutes as set out in the Minute Book) be approved.

(9)          That the Reserves Policy (annex to the Minutes as set out in the Minute Book) be approved.

(10)       That the planned level of reserves for 2021/22 – 2025/26 (annex to the Minutes as set out in the Minute Book) be approved.

(11)       That the Chief Finance Officer’s recommended minimum level of General Balances of £5m be approved.

(12)       That an increase in the Basic Amount of Council Tax for Cherwell District Council for the financial year beginning on 1 April 2021 of £5, resulting in a Band D charge of £138.50 per annum be approved.

(13)       That it be noted that on 4 January 2021 Executive approved Cherwell District Council’s calculated Council Tax Base for 2021/22:

a)            for the whole Council area as 55,615.9 [item T in the formula in Section 31B of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended by sections 72 to 79 of the Localism Act 2011 (“the 1992 Act”)]; and

b)            for dwellings in those parts of its area to which a Parish Precept relates as in the annex to the Minutes (as set out in the Minute Book).

(14)       That it be agreed that the Council Tax requirement for the Council’s own purposes for 2021/22 (excluding Parish Precepts and Special Expenses) be £7,702,802.

(15)       That the following amounts be calculated for the year 2021/22 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the 1992 Act:

a)            £115,532,120 being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2) of the 1992 Act, taking into account all precepts issued to it by Parish Councils and any additional special expenses;

b)            £102,378,407 being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A (3) of the 1992 Act;

c)            £13,153,713 being the amount by which the aggregate at 1.6.4(a) above exceeds the aggregate at 1.6.4(b) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31A(4) of the 1992 Act, as its Council Tax requirement for the year (Item R in the formula in Section 31B of the 1992 Act);

d)            £236.51 being the amount at 1.6.4(c) above (Item R), all divided by Item T (1.6.2(a) above), calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31B of the 1992 Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year (including Parish Precepts and Special Expenses);

e)            £5,450,911 being the aggregate amount of all special items (Parish Precepts and Special Expenses) referred to in Section 34(1) of the 1992 Act as per the annex to the Minutes (as set out in the Minute Book);

f)             £138.50 being the amount at 1.6.4(d) above less the result given by dividing the amount at 1.6.4(e) above by Item T(1.6.2(a) above), calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 34(2) of the 1992 Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which no Parish Precept or special item relates.

(16)       That it be noted that for the year 2021/22 the Oxfordshire County Council and  the Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley have issued precepts to the Council, in accordance with Section 40 of the 1992 Act, for each category of dwellings in the Council’s area as indicated below :

(17)       That the Council, in accordance with Sections 30 and 36 of the 1992 Act, hereby sets the amounts shown in the annex to the Minutes (as set out in the Minute Book) as the amounts of Council Tax for the year 2021/22 for each part of its area and for each of the categories of dwellings.

(18)       That it be noted that the Council’s basic amount of Council Tax for 2021/22 is not excessive in accordance with principles approved under Section 52ZB of the 1992 Act;

(19)       That, in fulfilment of the requirements of Sections 38-43 of the Localism Act 2011, the Pay Policy Statement (annex to the Minutes as set out in the Minute Book) be approved.

Resolved

(1)          That, having given due consideration to the levels of allowances to be included in the 2021/2022 Members’ Allowances Scheme, the Independent Remuneration Panel’s recommendations, as set out below, be adopted:

·         The Basic Allowance be frozen at the current level of £4512

·         All Special Responsibility Allowances (SRA’s) be frozen and remain at the current level:

o   Leader of the Council*: £7680

o   Deputy Leader of the Council*: £2652

o   Executive Members holding a portfolio: £6708

o   Leader of the Opposition: £3096

o   Chairman of the Accounts, Audit & Risk Committee: £3732

o   Chairman of the Budget Planning Committee: £3732

o   Chairman of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee: £3732

o   Chairman of Planning Committee: £4464

o   Chairman of Appeals Panel: £264 SRA plus £264 per meeting to a capped limit of £1056

o   Chairman of Licensing Committee: £264 SRA plus £264 per meeting to a capped limit of £1056

o   Chairman of Personnel Committee: £264 SRA plus £264 per meeting to a capped limit of £1056

o   Chairman of Standards Committee: £264 SRA plus £264 per meeting to a capped limit of £1056

*Leader and Deputy Leader receive the respective SRA and the SRA for Executive Members holding a portfolio

·         All Co-optee and Independent Persons Allowances be frozen and remain at the current level of £768.

·         The Dependant Carers’ allowance be frozen and remain at the current level of £20 per hour and claims capped at 40 hours per month.

·         The Childcare allowance be frozen and remain at the current level of £10 per hour and claims capped at 40 hours per month.

·         There be no change to Travelling and Subsistence Allowances

o   Bicycles: 20p per mile

o   Motorcycles: 24p per mile

o   Motor vehicles including electric vehicles: 45p per mile

o   Breakfast allowance: £6.02 per meal

o   Lunch allowance: £8.31 per meal

o   Evening meal allowance: £10.29 per meal

·         The Democratic Services Team to book overnight accommodation.

·         Non-Executive Director allowances to be frozen and remain at the current level of £4464 and expenses paid at the same levels as district councillors and recharged to the relevant company

(2)          That the Director Law and Governance be authorised to prepare an amended Members’ Allowances Scheme, in accordance with the decisions of Council for implementation with effect from 1 April 2021.

(3)          That the Director Law and Governance be authorised to take all necessary action to revoke the current (2020/2021) Scheme and to publicise the revised Scheme pursuant to The Local Authorities (Member’s Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003 (as amended).

(4)          That the Independent Remuneration Panel be thanked for its report and  a fee of £300 set for each Panel Member for the work carried out on this review for 2021/2022 and the same level of fee be agreed for any reviews carried out in 2021/2022 capped at a maximum of £1200, which can be funded from existing budgets.

Resolved

(1)          That the results of the second consultation stage of the Adderbury Community Governance Review be noted.

(2)          That the final recommendations that no warding of Adderbury Parish Council take place, and that the number of parish councillors for Adderbury Parish Council should remain as 12 be approved.

Resolved

(1)          That the revised Statement of Licensing Policy (annex to the Minutes as set out in the Minutes Book) be approved for adoption.

Resolved

(1)          That Councillor Phil Chapman be appointed as the council’s representative to the Oxfordshire Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Resolved

(1)          That the following motion be adopted:

“Last year Cherwell District Council consumed 1.4million sheets of paper.  A third of this was sent to elected members in the form of committee papers, reports and general communications.  There is obviously a considerable financial cost associated with this, including the cost of the paper, officer time, printing and distribution. Equally importantly, there is also a very considerable environmental cost that we must address if we are to meet our zero carbon by 2030 commitment. 

Over the last 9 months this authority has shown enormous resilience and resourcefulness:  Our dispersed workforce is successfully operating from home, we are developing an agile model of working that will ensure we capture the best practice of operating during the pandemic and, of course, members are now successfully fulfilling their democratic responsibilities remotely, mastering Teams and tech in a way we could have barely imagined at the beginning of the year. 

This motion draws on this innovation and asks members to deploy the same resourcefulness to embrace a “paper-lite” culture and calls on this council to:

·         Recognise that continuing to have printed media as the default position for this council is unsustainable

·         To resolve that from 7 May 2021 the default position will be “paper-lite” and members will have to opt into hardcopy print and that it will remain an option for those that need it.

·         To ensure that adequate training and support will be provided to all members who require it to make the transition.”

(2)          That the following motion be adopted:

“This Council notes :

1. The recent endorsement of the "Twenty is Plenty" campaign by Oxfordshire County Council in its role as Highways Authority which means all new residential roads will have a 20 mph speed limit, unless there is compelling evidence for a higher limit.

2. The evidence that introduction of 20mph limits even without formal enforcement results in much safer speed profiles and this is particularly beneficial in the vicinity of schools, community hubs and care facilities.

This Council believes that as the Local Planning Authority we should support the County Council as Local Highway Authority in securing 20 MPH speed limits (instead of 30 MPH) in new developments in the interest of securing a more usable and more attractive environment for those not travelling by motor vehicle.

The Council further believes that there may be a role for a "best practice guide" produced by OCC and would ask the county council to consider how it might best advise Parish Councils to help them facilitate 20mph limits where there is local demand.”

(3)          That the following motion be adopted:

“This Council fully recognises the value of the much-loved Horton General Hospital to the residents of Banbury and its surrounding catchment area, which uniquely covers four counties.

Local efforts to retain acute services at the Horton have been welcomed by Councils at all tiers in recent months and by community groups and residents alike. This Council’s position has always been  that the Horton’s future should be as a fully functioning General Hospital complementing the world-class services at both the John Radcliffe Hospital and Churchill Hospital so as to build on Oxfordshire’s enviable reputation – both nationally and internationally –  as a centre for excellence in healthcare. That remains unequivocally the case today.

This Council is encouraged that Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUHFT) and the Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (OCCG) have listened to the strong representations of residents, Councillors and community groups (notably, Keep the Horton General) in recent years and those of Victoria Prentis MP and this Council welcomes steps taken by both OUHFT and OCCG to develop a masterplan for the Horton without delay.

For its part, this Council resolves to do all it can to support the advancement of this vision and commits to reviewing options with Councils at other tiers with a view to supporting OUHFT and CCG-led redevelopment plans so as to deliver an improved facility on the hospital’s existing site or at a new and improved one within the Banbury area that is accessible to residents across the Horton’s unique four-county catchment area.”

(4)          That the following motion be adopted:

“Worsening flooding has substantial economic and social costs. Homes and businesses nationwide are at repeated risk of significant damage which leads to financial and emotional distress. In some cases, these risks can no longer be insured against. Climate change will exacerbate this for Cherwell residents with increased incidence, and severity, of flooding.

The cross-agency nature of the problem can be frustrating and inefficient in a crisis, with no one organisation taking responsibility for flooding response or maintenance of flood defences. Resources are stretched thin, and while major incidents receive the attention of various emergency agencies, lower level, localised flooding, which is becoming more widespread, can sometimes receive a less focused response.

Last year CDC resumed responsibility for district land drainage & flood risk management. In view of these responsibilities, and our close working relationship with the county council, we should wherever possible:

1.    Encourage areas that are at risk of flooding to establish a ‘flood resilient community’, including forming local flood response groups, forums for residents to feedback information on current and potential flooding risks, and the setting up of their own flood response stores to provide locally available flood alleviation equipment

2.    Publish regularly updated surveys and maintenance programs, with maps of drainage and flood defences and associated repair responsibilities.

3.    Call on all risk management agencies to set up a cooperative task force, which we would participate in, including the provision of a centralised contact point which can trigger an immediate, proportionate response to all emergency flooding events.

Resolved

(1)      That the wording of the reasons for refusal be agreed.

Refused, contrary to officer recommendations.  Reasons to be set out in the minutes.

Approved, conditions to be set out in the minutes.

Approved, conditions to be set out in the minutes

Refused, reasons to be set out in the minutes

Approved, conditions to be set out in the minutes.

Resolved

1.1     That the position on planning appeals contained within the report be noted.