Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Dean and Wilkinson.

Councillor Harrison declared a personal interest in agenda item 8 (Policy and Overview Scrutiny Committee Work Programme 2022/23 insofar as she is a Memmber of MioCare Board of Directors, a Wholly Owned Local Authority Company and  she is  a customer of Miocare by way of buying into its Careline and Response Service. 

There were no items of urgent business received.

There were no public questions for this meeting of the Committee to consider.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Policy Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 8^th November 2022, are attached for approval.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 8 November 2022 be approved as a correct record.

With the Committee’s agreement the following item, agenda item no.7, was considered prior to agenda item no.6, Transport Strategy.

Report to follow

The Committee scrutinised an Update report presented by Donna McLaughlin, Director of Social Value Creation, Northern Care Alliance on employment support, local recruitment and ongoing items from the NCA NHS Group in relation to the Oldham Care Organisation.

The NCA is one of the largest employers in Oldham. In September 21 an update was provided to the Oldham Overview and Scrutiny Committee on employment support and local recruitment.  Questions were asked in that report which are summarized below alongside with a general update on progress.

NCA has agreed by 2025 the following ambitions:

·                     Create 1000 pre-employment opportunities across the NCA for those furthest away from the employment from a baseline of 320. 

·                     85% of pre-employment learners will be supported into paid work from NCA

·                     60% of those employed by the NCA to be residents of Bury, Rochdale, Oldham, and Salford.

·                     Support 1000 staff to become NHS Career Ambassadors by 2023.

Donna McLaughlin informed the Committee that the goal is to getting local people into jobs. In response to a question regarding funding she advised that some funding has been obtained via partnerships and some through grants.

Currently the Oldham Organisation was in the process of seeking other sources of funding with the ultimate aim of achieving funding via internal resources. The Organisation had given itself a time frame until 2025 to prove its concept. She advised that a further 12 months operation of the various programme initiatives the Organisation was involved with will give a clearer view of funding resources for the future of the concept.

Responding to Members concerns about avenues for local people to get themselves onto career ladders when the bar for entering a profession was so high for many people. Donna McLaughlin informed Members that they are working with employers on recruitment with the aim to enable a line of entry to their professions by people who do not have the required qualifications but who do have knowledge and experience which would give them  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Including the Oldham Town Centre Parking Strategy (report to follow)

The Committee scrutinised a report and presentation by Helen Fallon, Strategic Transportation Team Leader, setting out the Oldham Transport Strategy. The Oldham Transport Strategy sets out how Oldham will meet the ambitions set out in the Greater Manchester Transport Strategy 2040 and sub strategies, whilst ensuring investment is prioritised to ensure Oldham’s Transport and Highways Network support a Healthy, Clean and Thriving borough.

The Vision for Oldham as set out in the strategy is to create a connected borough with increasing use of public transport and active travel that provides all people with safe and inclusive access to opportunities and healthy choices.

The Transport Strategy sets out the council's transport and highways ambitions in relation to:

·         A Healthy Oldham

·         A Clean Oldham

·         A Safe Oldham

·         An Accessible Oldham

·         A Connected Oldham and

·         A Thriving Oldham

The Oldham Transport Strategy and Delivery Plan align with the Greater Manchester Transport Strategy 2040 ‘Right Mix’ ambition for half of all journeys to be made by active and sustainable transport modes by 2040. The aim of Oldham’s Transport Strategy is to reduce carbon emissions from transport, increase cycling, walking and public transport use and enable the borough to become an increasingly attractive place to live, work and visit.

Oldham’s Transport Strategy will support the borough’s ambitions for sustainable growth and development over the next 20 years.

The Delivery Plan sets out transport interventions to be delivered over the following time periods:

·         short term 0 - 5 years;

·         medium term 5 -10 years;

·         long term 10 – 20 years (up to 2040); and

·         beyond 20 years - 2040 onwards.

The Transport Strategy also includes the first proposed sub-strategy - an update to the Oldham Town Centre Parking Strategy. The refreshed Town Centre Parking Strategy is necessary to support the current regeneration proposals for the town centre, which are aimed at providing quality homes within the town centre, increasing office and service space, and promoting decreasing road traffic and increased access to public transport. These growth plans need to be supported by the right parking infrastructure, with the right levels of car parking provided in the right places at the right tariff. An updated car parking strategy is therefore needed to ensure that appropriate mechanisms and processes are in place to plan for future provision.

A number of recommendations have been made in the Parking Strategy which range from improvements to signage around the town centre, updates to parking technology, such as mobile phone application, Mobility Hubs, and Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure. Following the adoption of the Parking Strategy, work will be undertaken to establish a supporting delivery plan facilitating the implementation of the identified recommendations.

As actions are identified to support the aims set out in the Transport Strategy, Oldham Borough Council will be developing further sub strategies to support this, potentially including an Active Travel Sub Strategy to set out how we will ensure we meet our Transport ambitions to get more people walking, wheeling, and cycling.

Helen Fallon emphasised that the key aim  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Committee considered its Work Programme for 2022/23.

The Chair made reference to the Administration Budget being considered at the next meeting of the Committee on 26 January 2023 and informed Members that Budget Training would be held on 11 and 16 January and Members were invited to attend. These dates and times will be confirmed to Members.

Resolved:

That the Policy Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme for 2022/23 be noted.

Key Decisions scheduled to be taken by the Council/Cabinet.

The Committee reviewed the Key Decision Notice which provided an opportunity for the identification of items or policy or service development, not otherwise listed on the Committee Work Programme.

Resolved:
That the report and the Key Decision Notice be noted.