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Approved council motions 2024/25

Council meeting Wednesday 23 October

Proposer: Councillor Clegg Seconder: Councillor James

Lead officer: Deputy Chief Executive – Partnerships

Council notes that:

  • The Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has approved Thames Water’s Water Resources Management Plan 2024 (WRMP24).
  • The Environment Agency had advised that Thames Water should not be able to publish its WRMP24 without addressing significant remaining issues.
  • Thames Water submitted its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Scoping Report for the reservoir to the Planning Inspectorate, which was then put out to consultation with organisations including this Council.
  • Thames Water is attempting to ‘scope out’ assessment of embankment breach risk, despite the Environment Agency’s  “Lessons from historical dam incidents” which sets out a series of incidents involving the breaching of embankments, along with many near misses and other serious incidents both in the UK and overseas.
  • The requirement to be able to reduce the reservoir water level by 1m per day would lead to a discharge into the River Thames that could cause very serious flooding downstream, especially if coinciding with high levels of flow along the Thames.
  • Thames Water appears to accept the need for assessing and managing this risk, however, this assessment will not be required before the Development Consent Order (DCO) approval, but after construction is largely completed.

Council resolves to:

  1. Ask the Leader to request of the Secretary of State and of Thames Water that the following must come before DCO approval for SESRO and be published openly so that they can be scrutinised by all levels of government and by the public: a) Embankment failure risk analysis and mitigation planning. b) Risk analysis and mitigation planning for the impact of emergency drawdown on flooding along the Thames valley.
  2. Ask the Leader to re-request a meeting with the current Secretary of State with invitations to: the Members of Parliament for Didcot and Wantage and for Oxford West and Abingdon; the Group Against Reservoir Development (GARD); the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE); the leaders of the groups represented in this chamber; and the County Councillors in the proposed zone of development and fall out. Said meeting to discuss the existing concerns that have not yet been addressed and the overall options for governance of the system.

Update: submitted to lead officer

Council meeting Wednesday 23 October 2024

Proposer: Councillor James Seconder: Councillor Patel

Lead officer: Chief Executive

Council notes that:

  • That through our actions and motions, this council has demonstrated its strong desire to provide the services and support we are responsible for in a way that shows transparency and democratic accountability.
  • Polls show that the UK public supports public ownership of public services.
  • Councils across the country spend hundreds of millions of pounds buying in essential goods, services and expertise from the private sector each year.
  • The Public Services (Social Value) Act was introduced in 2012. It provides a legal basis for public authorities to look for wider social, economic and environmental benefits when undertaking procurement exercises.
  • There are well documented cases demonstrating insourcing public services can deliver lower costs, more efficiency, a public sector ethos, and an enhanced level of democratic accountability for local residents.
  • That councils of all political persuasions have brought services back into local control to save money and gain control over essential services for their residents.

The Council further notes: –

  • That Vale of White Horse District Council has successfully brought a number of services and staff in-house to gain greater control and value for money. These include finance, IT, HR and property management among others.
  • Consideration of direct provisioning requires a long lead time, and this cannot be assessed in the same way as an outsourced contract. To consider direct and outsourcing on the same short timescale effectively rules out the direct provisioning option.
  • Extensive cuts to council funding and a lack of a multi-year financial settlement for councils have deeply harmed the ability of councils to build resilience, innovate and deliver.
  • That investing in strengthening the council’s capacity and skills to deliver services in-house takes time, but it can make the council more sustainable, innovative and effective for the long term.

This Council therefore resolves to call on Cabinet to: –

  1. Continue to work with officers to comply with our duty to achieve best value for tax payers (including economic, environmental and social value) when commissioning services to meet the needs of our residents.
  2. Seek to assess options of direct provisioning well ahead of contract renewal such that sufficient lead time is allowed for a change of delivery model to in-house, if that is found to be the preferred option.
  3. Confirm its intention to always consider options for in-house delivery when reviewing any outsourced provision, with guidance to the policy development teams within the council on this priority.
  4. Ask officers to ensure that if there is a need to engage consultants, there is a clear expectation that insourcing will be given as much weight as external contracts in any options appraisal. Continue to call for a reversal of cuts to local government funding and a multi-year, fair funding settlement for district councils.

Update: submitted to lead officers

Council meeting Wednesday 17 July 2024

Proposer: Councillor Foxhall Seconder: Councillor de la Harpe

Lead officer: Head of policy & programmes

Council resolves that this council recognises that:

  1. The UK is committed by the Climate Change Act and by the Glasgow Climate Pact to reducing its carbon emissions to net zero by 2050, and to reducing them by 68% from 1990 levels by 2030.
  2. The Climate Change Committee has estimated that Local Authorities have powers or influence over roughly a third of emissions in their local areas.
  3. This council is already committed to reducing its own carbon emissions to net zero by 2030 and to supporting our District to achieve the same by 2045.

Resolves to:

  1. Ask Cabinet to consider the use of SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) targets and reporting to deliver and monitor our carbon emissions reduction targets for Council and District emissions.
  2. Consider innovative financing options to deliver the climate action that we need to meet our targets and to support a just transition for our residents.
  3. Ask the Leader to write to the Secretary of State to request that all Local Authorities are given statutory duties, powers and funding to enable them to deliver locally for a Net Zero transition in line with the UKs legal commitments.

Update: a letter has been sent to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero which can be viewed here

Council meeting Wednesday 17 July 2024

Proposer: Councillor Thompson Seconder: Councillor Rayner

Lead officer: Head of Corporate Services

Council resolves:

  • That LGBTQ+ people have a long contributed to political, economic, social and cultural life in the Vale of White Horse, the UK, and the wider world. However, their stories have often been omitted from history books and wider discourse.
  • Vale has a proud record of recognising and supporting the importance of equality and diversity. Examples include the fact that Council has an adopted Diversity and Inclusion strategy and since 2019 has reconfirmed its commitments to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in motions on Islamophobia, and anti-Semitism, and trans rights and we strive to embed those values across our service delivery.
  • Regrettably however, some politicians and political campaigns still seek to vilifying and ridicule members of the LGBTQ+ community and there has been an uptick of violence and hate crimes towards LGBTQ+ persons in recent years. There are many important international days for LGBTQ+ awareness that Council does not currently mark externally, including International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, which falls on 17 May, and Transgender Day of Remembrance, which falls on 20 November. February 2025 marks 20 years of LGBT+ history month, which Council has not hitherto marked with any large-scale external communications or events.

Council therefore resolves to:

  1. recognise the damage done to individuals across the LGBTQ+ community by Section
    28 of the Local Government At (1988), which required local authorities to take
    restrictive approaches across areas such as education, publicity and communications,
    which means that the harm done to the LGBTQ+ community, and others, has
    extended long past the legislation’s removal in 2003.
  2. restate its belief that LGBTQ+ persons are valued members of our community.
  3. endorse the view that support for LGBTQ+ groups is not, and must not, be limited to raising the flag during Pride month.
  4. ask cabinet to consider developing a communications strategy that highlights and marks the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia , the Transgender Day of Remembrance 17th May, 20th November and LGBT+ History month. The development of such a strategy could support and make visible the various initiatives across the Vale and periods of LGBTQ+ awareness beyond pride.
  5. asks cabinet to consider how the Council could best support organising an annual public event from February 2025 to mark LGBT+ history month.
  6. ask Leader of the Council to write to the relevant Government Minister asking that they note the commitment to supporting equality for all of this Council, emphasising the importance of education and understanding as key drivers against intolerance in all spheres.
  7. note that the Leader has asked the EDI Champions to meet with officers and report
    back to her, and update Council as required, on matters relating to the above on a biannual basis.

Update: submitted to lead officers