Agenda and minutes

At this point in the meeting, Members and co-opted members are asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary interest, or other registerable interest, they might have in respect of business on this agenda, if they have not already done so in advance on the Register of Interests. The disclosure must include the nature of the interest.

An interest must also be disclosed in the meeting when it becomes apparent to the member during the meeting.

[Please see attached sheet for further guidance for Members]

At this point in the meeting, Members and co-opted members are asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary interest, or other registerable interest, they might have in respect of business on this agenda, if they have not already done so in advance on the Register of Interests.

Cllr Merrett noted that he was a beneficiary of the green bin collection service.  Prior to the meeting, he had taken advice from the Monitoring Officer and as this was the case for most members, he had been advised that it was not a declarable interest.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 4 December 2023.

Resolved:             That the minutes of the last meeting held on 15 January 2024 be approved as a correct record.

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have registered to speak can do so. Members of the public may speak on agenda items or on matters within the remit of the committee.

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Please note that, subject to available resources, this meeting will be webcast including any registered public speakers who have given their permission. The meeting can be viewed live and on demand at www.york.gov.uk/webcasts.

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It was reported that there had been one registration to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

Gwen Swinburn, a resident, stated that she was in support of both the call-in and charging for green bin waste collections.  She raised concerns regarding the consultation process and the report to the Executive Member.  Finally, she made some suggestions for future scrutiny review.

This report outlines the reasons for the call-in of the decision made by the Executive on 24 January 2024, in respect of Waste Services.  The report also sets out the powers and role of the Corporate Services, Climate Change and Scrutiny Management Committee (Calling-In) in dealing with the call-in.

Members considered a report which set out the reasons for the call-in of the decisions made by the Executive on 25 January 2024 in respect of the above matter, along with the committee’s remit and powers in relation to the call-in.

The decisions were contained in the extract from the relevant Decision Sheet at Appendix A to the report.  The original report and associated annexes were attached at Appendix B.  The decisions had been called in by Cllrs Hollyer, Fisher and Mason for the following reasons:

·        The Council paper claims that the charge will go towards offsetting the cost of delivering the service, however no rationale is given for the level of the charge being set at £46.50, other than this happening to be the amount charged in neighbouring North Yorkshire Council - a council with a very different profile to York. It would seem that the charge was set at the maximum level it was felt possible politically. This is no basis for making policy, if a charge is deemed necessary then it should be set at a level appropriate to York, with an explanation for the level. In addition, the stated aim of the policy is to cover the cost of collecting green waste, however the level of the charge is potentially higher that needed to cover the costs of the service - in opposition to the supposed aims of the policy.

·        No consultation with the public has been properly undertaken, the report seems to think that a reference to the charge made last year in a council report is sufficient consultation with the public. Clearly this is wholly insufficient and the lack of consultation is reflected in the inadequate EIA, which glosses over, for example, the impacts on elderly and disabled residents that might rely on the service as it is.

·        The options appraisal, in paras 33-38 makes no mention of the impacts of introducing a charge on the Council’s equalities and environmental objectives - and only focuses on the financial issue. In addition, no consideration appears to have been given to the likely increase in costs of carrying the, potentially large amount of, extra green waste dumped in the grey bins to Allerton Park and then processing it.

·        Insufficient consideration is given to the impact of the charge on the Council’s equalities (e.g. impact on elderly and disabled residents for example) and environmental objectives (e.g. reduced recycling, increased air quality, increased fly-tipping, increased car trips, increased paving of gardens) - and no referenced evidence for assertions that these are not concerns has been provided.

The Calling-in Members, Cllrs Hollyer, Fisher and Mason, each addressed the committee in turn, expanding on their reasons for the call-in and then responding to questions from Members.  The Executive Member for Environment and Climate Emergency, Cllr J Kent, and the Executive Member for Finance and Major Projects, then addressed the committee regarding their decisions, and responded to questions.  Officers responsible for the report to the Decision Session spoke to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.