Approved council motions 2022/23

Council meeting Wednesday 7 December 2022

Proposer: Councillor Lugova Seconder: Councillor Roberts

Lead officer: Head of Policy & Programmes

Council resolves to:

1. That building regulations do not require homes or commercial properties to be carbon zero in their construction or their operation, only that they need to be ‘zero carbon ready by 2025’
2. That national planning legislation does not allow councils to enforce zero or negative carbon standards as part of our local plans
3. In response to a Liberal Democrat amendment proposed to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill* minister Lee Rowley MP made clear the government would not support allowing local planning authorities to insist on zero carbon build. Therefore, council resolves to ask the leader to write to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up Housing and Communities to ask that Building Regulations are urgently updated to reflect an expectation that all new buildings must be zero or negative carbon in their construction and operation.

Update: Letter to Secretary of State for Levelling Up Housing and Communities drafted.

Council meeting Wednesday 7 December 2022

Proposer: Councillor Smith Seconder: Councillor Thomas

Lead officer: Head of Policy & Programmes

Council resolves to:

1. Continue to do all we can with the limited resources we have to ensure residents and local businesses are supported during the cost-of-living crisis.
2. Continue to liaise with the District Councils Network, Local Government Association and South East Councils partnerships to share information and lobby for sufficient funding to be devolved to local government. 
   • Ask the Leader of the Council to write to the Secretary of State for Communities, Housing and Local Government and the Chancellor of the Exchequer setting out the concerns raised in this motion and asking for: A multi-year financial settlement for local government including certainty on the timing of any changes to the New Homes Bonus and the Business Rates reset and the DEFRA waste reforms 
   • Greater financial flexibility for efficient, low spending councils like the Vale 
   • The ability to recover the full cost of providing planning and licensing services; at a minimum the early implementation of increases to planning fees proposed earlier in 2022 
   • Additional funding to address the inflationary cost pressures the council is facing and resources to help address increasing demand for council services

Update:

• Full Council agreed to a more generous Council Tax support scheme on 7 December 2022
• The Council’s Community Hub continues to support residents in need by directing them towards services that advise on heating bills, employment, skills and wellbeing.
• The Vale has also submitted investment plans to unlock the council’s conditional allocations from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF). This funding will enable a three-year pipeline of projects for the Vale and would substantially uplift the council’s Economic Development budget.
• Letters to Secretary of State and Chancellor of the Exchequer drafted.

Council meeting Wednesday 12 October 2022

Proposer: Councillor Boyd Seconder: Councillor Cooke

Lead officer: Head of Policy & Programmes

Council resolves to:

ask the leader of the council to write to the appropriate Government minister to make the council’s position on fracking clear and to ask for confirmation that no fracking sites will be allowed without district council approval. On top of this, the minister should also consider requiring a referendum of local residents to be carried out at the cost of the energy company.

Update: Letter sent to government minister. HM Government reinstated the fracking ban in October 2022.

Council meeting Wednesday 12 October 2022

Proposer: Councillor Gascoigne Seconder: Councillor Fawcett

Lead officer: Head of Policy & Programmes, Head of Development & Corporate Landlord, Head of Planning

Council resolves to:

1. Request that the Leader write to the relevant minister(s) asking them to:  a) reconsider the short length of the business energy cap period and to look at additional ways to provide direct support to specific business sectors such as pubs and restaurants.  b) accelerate and provide further renewable energy grants to enable businesses to more affordably transition to non-fossil fuel derived energy sources. This will help to mitigate this crisis and reduce exposure to similar crises in the future
2. Aim to process any available support grants in the fairest and quickest way in line with Government guidance and due diligence. Using the experience gained during the covid pandemic, enable the council to seek to get them to where they are needed most. 
3. Continue to provide advice and support to help local businesses through South and Vale Business Support, building on the lessons learned through our covid support programme.
4. Request the Chief Executive to consider instructing officer to bid for grants that become available to district councils to support local businesses to generate energy sustainably, making them less reliant on the rising costs of natural gas and electricity.
5. Continue to work positively with the Future Oxfordshire Partnership and Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP) to ensure that the current needs of SMEs and rural businesses across the Vale are understood and considered when developing OxLEP programmes.

Update:

• The Council continues to contribute to discussions with the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP) regarding the Partnership’s plans to refresh the economic recovery plan, the Local Industrial strategy (LIS) and the county’s economic baseline data.  
• The Vale has also submitted investment plans to unlock the council’s conditional allocations from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF). This funding will enable a three-year pipeline of projects for the Vale (including supporting SMEs through the development of the visitor economy and facilitating business decarbonisation) and would substantially uplift the council’s Economic Development budget. 
• A letter to the relevant ministers has been sent.

Council meeting Wednesday 12 October 2022

Proposer: Councillor Povolotsky Seconder: Councillor Johnston

Lead officer: Head of Policy & Programmes

Council resolves to:

1. Support the aims in the Environment Bill to reduce waste and encourage reuse as well as recycling.
2. Ask the leader to write to the new environment minister, copied to our two local MPs, to:
   • ask for the guidance we need to plan our waste services to be issued urgently.
   • express this council’s concern about the risk the current delay creates to local household waste services and our impeccable record as one of the UK’s top district councils for waste recycling.
   • back the request made by LARAC that the industry needs at least a year’s advance warning to budget for operational changes, and up to five years to deliver infrastructure changes.

Update: Letter to Environment Minister and local MPs sent.

Council meeting Wednesday 13 July 2022

Proposer: Councillor Povolotsky Seconder: Councillor Lugova

Lead officer: Head of Policy & Programmes

Council resolves to;

1. ask the Leader and Chief Executive to explore
   • Expanding our Council Tax Reduction Scheme to reduce the tax burden for lower income households
   • Ways to protect funding for partnership grants delivering advice services to residents in next year’s budget and future years as far as possible
   • Ways to continue and widen the remit of the community hub, which was initially created in response to Covid to support residents and is now acting as a central point for information and support 
   • Working with partners to improve access to affordable food across our district
2. ask the Leader to write to relevant government ministers and our local MPs to ask for urgent action to relieve the cost-of-living crisis through such measures as:
   • Provide immediate financial support for consumers of heating oil, Bottled gas, solid fuels, those reliant on generators for electricity and those on prepayment meters.
   • Increase Rural Fuel Duty Rate Relief and expand the number of rural areas covered
   • Consider reducing VAT to 17.5% putting money back into the pockets of average families, boosting the economy and helping to support local retailers
   • Deliver a real and immediate increase in investment in UK renewables and an energy plan for the UK which immediately reduces costs for the end user and leads to the decarbonisation of the UK energy network in the long term.

Update: Submitted to lead officers.

Council meeting Wednesday 18 May 2022

Proposer: Councillor Thompson Seconder: Councillor Webber

Lead officer: Head of Policy & Programmes, Head of Planning

Council resolves to:

1. Welcome Oxfordshire County Councils commitment to set out an ambitious plan to reduce car journeys and reliance on private motor vehicles
2. Support the commitment by the County Council to put climate change action at the heart if its proposals.
3. Continue to respond to consultations on the Oxfordshire Transport and Connectivity Plan supporting the overarching objectives but asks the cabinet member to work with Officers to challenge the policies, as appropriate, in order to ensure they are robust enough to achieve their aim. 
4. Ask the Cabinet member for Planning to work with officers to continue to ensure that this council’s contributions to OxPlan2050 and the forthcoming Joint Local Plan support these aspirations and work to develop spatial planning and policies within those plans reflects the need to reduce the number of avoidable journeys that are currently undertaken by car, such as those required purely for commuting or shopping.
5. Ask the leader to write to the Leader of the county council encouraging them to ensure that they reflect, as far as possible, their aspirations when responding to planning consultations, not only Vale, but across the County noting that they will need to comply with policy.

Update:

• Letter to Leader of Oxfordshire County Council sent.
• The Oxfordshire Plan 2050 has come to an end by mutual agreement.
• The Joint Local Plan Issues consultation specifically mentioned opportunities for reducing the number of unnecessary car journeys by ensuring that developments are within easy reach of jobs and services people need for their day-to-day lives and are supported by appropriate, low and zero-carbon transport options.
• Oxfordshire County Council  adopted their Local Transport and Connectivity Plan in July 2022.

Council meeting Wednesday 18 May 2022

Proposer: Councillor de la Harpe Seconder: Councillor Bowring

Lead officer: Head of Policy & Programmes, Head of Corporate Services

Council resolves to:

1. Express regret for the recent loss of life on our roads and believes that the changes to the Highway Code should be commended as they seek to mitigate any risk to safety.
2. Asks the Leader to write to Oxfordshire County Council to ensure that
   • the County Council as the highways authority publicises the changes to the Highway Code widely as part of its highways safety messaging and requesting it ensures that all future transport schemes in the Vale of Vale of White Horse District Council – Council minutes – Wednesday, 18 May 2022 13 White Horse reflect the latest changes to the Highway Code and encourage Active Travel by default.
   • all cycle infrastructure should be delivered in accordance with the standards set out in the Government’s Cycle infrastructure design (LTN 1/20) guidance
3. Ask the Cabinet member for Community Engagement to work with officers to highlight government and county council communications about the Highway Code changes via our media channels and signpost (for example in Vale News) to the Government website and the latest guidance where relevant

Update: Letter sent to the Leader of Oxfordshire County Council and a response has been received.

Council meeting Wednesday 18 May 2022

Proposer: Councillor Thomas Seconder: Councillor Johnston

Lead officer: Head of Policy & Programmes, Head of Development and Corporate Landlord, Head of Planning

Council resolves to:

1. create a Member Food and Farming Champion to promote local food production and distribution, as well as healthy eating in the Vale.
2. encourage farming communities and agricultural businesses to respond to any consultation on our new Joint Local Plan and Oxfordshire Plan 2050.
3. encourage developers to include community gardens and allotment provision within all new housing developments.
4. encourage and promote high environmental health standards at all stages of food production, distribution and redistribution, and continue to support local businesses and ‘farm-door’ sales, recognising their positive impact on reducing the carbon emissions associated with food miles.
5. maximise opportunities to highlight the importance of food and farming in our local economy via the press and through social media.
6. continue to investigate ways we can support food redistribution organisations and food charities to address food poverty in the district, noting the work that has already been done in this regard.
7. continue to promote ways we can reduce food waste through our waste service and the use of food recycling bins.
8. continue to promote the use of waste food and the highlight the climate benefits this can bring.
9. minimise food waste at any event that we may host that serves food, and to use such occasions to highlight the use of waste food, low carbon options, and locally sourced produce wherever possible.

Update:

• A Food and Farming Champion has been appointed.
• Cabinet endorsed the Oxfordshire Food Strategy (Part One) in December 2022. 
• Since the motion was passed, officers have engaged with a number of stakeholders within the farming community and rural organisations, through a series of meetings both virtual and in person
• During Q2 2022/23, the Strategic Property team started to review sites which would potentially be suitable for community garden projects. They also established a cross-service officer working group to discuss how to take these projects forward.