Oxford City Council Leader announces 2021/22 Cabinet

Councillor Brown was re-elected as Leader of the Council, with Councillor Ed Turner elected as the Statutory Deputy Leader, and Councillor Tom Hayes elected into the other Deputy Leader role.

Members of the Cabinet are:

Councillor Susan Brown - Leader, and Cabinet Member for Inclusive Growth, Economic Recovery, and Partnerships

• Leader of the Council
• Council strategy and partnership lead
• Business and inclusive economy lead, supporting clean growth and promoting the Oxford Living Wage
• Leads on work to restart Oxford’s business economy and economic recovery from the pandemic
• Leads on democratic services and emergency planning
• Works with partners to protect and grow job opportunities and skills training for young people and those seeking work
• Supports the development of Oxford’s co-operative sector and community wealth building.
• Works with partners to reopen city centre and district centre businesses and ensure the safe return of employees and visitors to our city and district centres
• Works with Oxford’s Covered Market to reopen safely
• Council nominee on partnership bodies including the Oxfordshire Growth Board, Oxford Strategic Partnership, Oxford Local Economic Partnership, Zero Carbon Partnership, Fast Growth Cities and the Ox-Cam Arc

Councillor Ed Turner – Deputy Leader (Statutory), and Cabinet Member for Finance and Asset Management 

• Oversees Oxford City Council’s finances and investments, ensuring a balanced budget that delivers the council’s priorities
• Ensures that Oxford City Council is able to continue to operate through a period of extreme financial change and challenge
• Oversees the council’s investment and management of land and property
• Leads on the ‘Oxford model’ of generating income to provide local public services for the people of Oxford
• Responsible for the delivery of the council’s capital programme of investment and maintenance of the council’s assets
• Leads on bids for government funding and prioritisation of workstreams
• to align with
• Ensures that money that comes to Oxford City Council to help support businesses and individuals is passported to them as quickly as possible
• Works to ensure that Oxford City Council is reimbursed by the Government for the work undertaken to support local communities during the pandemic
• Deputises for the Leader as required.
• Council nominee on the Growth Board Infrastructure Sub Group

Councillor Tom Hayes - Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Green Transport and Zero Carbon Oxford

• Introducing and extending Oxford’s Zero Emission Zone and implementing the council’s Air Quality Action Plan, 2021-2025
• Creating a Zero Carbon Council by 2030 or earlier, and provides leadership and co-ordination of all council decarbonisation plans
• Delivering a Zero Carbon Communities strategy and embedding climate action within Oxford’s communities
• Creating a Zero Carbon Oxford by 2040 or earlier through the Zero Carbon Oxford Partnership and working with partners (including bus companies, the taxi trade, district and county councils, the Universities, business and NHS Trusts)
• Continued delivery of the outcomes of Oxford’s Citizens’ Assembly on Climate Change and leadership of democratic engagement on climate action
• Enabling continued electrification of transport by delivering an EV strategy and introducing necessary infrastructure
• Developing and introducing Connecting Oxford focusing on improving public transport, active travel, congestion reduction and traffic management
• Continue to work with people with disabilities and older people to ensure that their needs are taken into account in transport planning
• Ensuring fairer access to roads for all by taking forward road reprioritisation for cyclists, public transport, and new forms of mobility and technologies
• Taking forward the inclusive pedestrianisation of Oxford
• Leading on car parking policy including park and ride policy
• Development of Council’s engagement with COP26
• Council nominee on partnership bodies including Zero Carbon Oxford, Oxfordshire Local Nature Partnership, and Environment Growth Board sub-committee.
• Deputises for the Leader as required.

Councillor Lubna Arshad – Cabinet Member for Parks and Waste Reduction

• Promotes reuse, reduce, repair, and recycling campaigns to deliver the waste reduction outcomes of Oxford Citizens’ Assembly on Climate Change
• Expand the number of water fountains and places supporting refill when the pandemic allows
• Promotes biodiversity in the council’s green spaces to deliver the outcomes of the Citizen’s Assembly, with the Cabinet Member for Green Transport and Zero Carbon Oxford
• Works to enhance the quality of life of residents, workers and visitors to Oxford through the provision of excellent parks and open spaces
• Manages our parks, allotments and open spaces to encourage wide community participation and healthy lifestyles
• Oversees cemetery provision.
• Special responsibility for supporting new members of council to get the support and induction they need
• Council nominee on the Oxfordshire Waste Reduction Board

Councillor Shaista Aziz – Cabinet Member for Inclusive Communities

• Champions community cohesion and celebrating diversity
• Leads the council’s work on tackling racism and developing inclusive communities
• Supports social and financial inclusion
• Works with neighbourhoods and communities on the provision of community meeting spaces
• Ensures support to people affected by the government’s hostile environment
• Works with the Cabinet member for a Safer, Healthier Oxford to tackle loneliness and isolation
• Ensures the delivery of the Bullingdon and East Oxford Community Centre projects
• Oversees management of the Council Tax Reduction Scheme, Discretionary Housing Payments and delivery of financial support to our citizens
• Works to ensure that Oxford citizens who are impacted financially by COVID-19 get the help they are entitled to
• Council nominee on the Youth Partnership Board

Councillor Diko Blackings - Affordable Housing, Housing Security, and Housing the Homeless

• Oversees the management and policies associated with running our council owned housing
• Delivers the outcomes of the Oxford Citizens’ Assembly on Climate Change in relation to the council’s own housing, working with the Cabinet Member for Green Transport and Zero Carbon Oxford
• Improves tenant involvement in the running of council housing, particularly with the decarbonisation of council housing
• Delivers the recommendations of the Scrutiny review on Domestic Violence as it relates to housing policy, along with the Cabinet Member for a Safer, Healthier Oxford
• Gets every homeless person who wants accommodation off the streets
• Develops a ‘Housing First’ approach to tackling homelessness so no-one has to sleep rough or is inadequately housed and that they have the support they need
• Focuses on the health of homeless people, a particularly vulnerable group working with the Cabinet Member for a Safer, Healthier Oxford
• Works with partners in the voluntary, charitable, public and private sector to bring funding and joint working to house homeless people in Oxford
• Council nominee on the Growth Board Housing Sub Group

Councillor Mary Clarkson - Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Tourism

• Supports Oxford’s cultural sector recover and thrive
• Ensures Oxford’s cultural offer is as varied as possible and inclusive to all of our citizens
• Ensures licensing policy supports safe working and use of public space during the recovery period
• Ensures a vibrant city centre, attractive to all residents and visitors
• Works with partners (Experience Oxfordshire, local businesses and others) to promote sustainable tourism
• Promotes the city’s markets, including the Covered Market, as retail destinations for local residents and visitors
• Supports the safe reopening of the council’s leisure provision
• Oversees the City’s leisure provision through monitoring of the City Council’s contract with Fusion Lifestyle to manage Oxford’s leisure centres, pools and ice rink
• Encourages participation in sports and active lifestyles across all ages and communities
• Leads on policy for Oxford’s Waterways including campaigning for bathing water Status for Oxford’s rivers and promotion of our waterways for recreation and leisure
• Council nominee on Oxfordshire Sport Partnership

Councillor Alex Hollingsworth - Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Delivery

• Delivery of Oxford’s Local Plan 2036 for more housing and sustainable development
• Delivers housing against our housing delivery test
• Improves the private rented sector in Oxford through working with landlords and tenants and through regulation
• Introduces the private sector housing licensing scheme
• Develops policy to tackle the loss of housing to short term rentals
• Oversees the development of the wholly-owned Oxford City Housing Ltd as a means to building better homes in Oxford
• Ensures necessary infrastructure is in place to support the building of much needed housing
• Delivery of the outcomes of the Oxford Citizens’ Assembly on Climate Change through planning policy
• Works to get support for tenants in the private sector and support the campaign against section 21 evictions
• Ensures tenants in the private rented sector have access to advice and support
• Works with landlords to ensure good quality housing.
• Council nominee on the Growth Board 2050 Plan Sub-Committee

Councillor Mike Rowley - Cabinet Member for Citizen Focused Services

• Ensures the efficient and effective delivery of council services to residents and businesses by improving services according to customer feedback
• Oversees the continued success of the wholly-owned Oxford Direct Services Ltd as a means of income generation to invest in council services
• Works with the Cabinet Member for Zero Carbon Oxford to ensure the larger-scale electrification of the council’s fleets
• Oversees the recovery of council services delivered by Oxford Direct Services and prioritisation of projects
• Works with the Board of Oxford Direct Services to develop and deliver their business plan
• Supports the development of the Locality Hubs model for service delivery
• Oversees the work of the Customer Contact Centre to deliver vital advice and support to local residents and businesses
• Encourage the development of apprenticeships in the City Council and a recruitment strategy that develops a more diverse workforce
• Responsible for the support of Oxford City Council staff through a period of change to more home-working and new ways of working
• Ensures effective delivery of the council’s digital strategy

Councillor Louise Upton - Cabinet Member for a Safer, Healthier Oxford

• Leads on and promotes public health including No Smoking Oxfordshire
• Works with partners to eliminate health inequalities
• Works with partners to develop an Oxford Food Policy to ensure that all households and families have access to healthy food
• Works with the Cabinet member for Communities to tackle loneliness and isolation
• Works to improve the mental health of Oxford’s citizens with focus on the mental wellbeing of young people
• Works with TVP and other partners to promote safe communities and neighbourhoods, including protecting businesses
• Works with the Cabinet member for Housing to deliver the recommendations of the Domestic Violence Scrutiny Review
• Develops policy with partners to tackle vulnerability which can lead to criminality such as modern-day slavery and entrapment in the drugs supply
• Works with the Cabinet Member for Communities to create a city free of hate crime and discrimination
• Council nominee on Oxford Safer Communities Partnership, Safer Oxford Partnership, Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel, Oxfordshire Health and Wellbeing Board and Health Improvement Board

The Leader’s report on the Cabinet will be presented at the Annual Council meeting on Wednesday (19/05).

“Today I am delighted to be announcing our new roles and responsibilities for this year's Cabinet. Over the past year the Council’s priorities expanded to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, while also continuing to maintain our previous commitments.

“As we now lead our city through recovery from the pandemic, the Cabinet reflects how the Council will continue to support our residents, businesses and communities, as well as continuing to address our key priorities of enabling an inclusive economy, supporting thriving communities, delivering more affordable housing and tackling homelessness, and pursuing a zero carbon Oxford.”

Councillor Susan Brown, Leader of Oxford City Council