Agenda and minutes

At this point, Members are asked to declare:

·        any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests

·        any prejudicial interests or

·        any disclosable pecuniary interests

which they may have in respect of business on this agenda

Members were asked to declare, at this point in the meeting, any personal interests, not included on the Register of Interests, or any prejudicial or disclosable pecuniary interests they may have in respect of business on the agenda. No interests were declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 14 November 2017.

Resolved:  That the minutes of the last meeting held on 14 November 2017 be approved as a correct record and then signed by the Chair.

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have registered to speak can do so.  The deadline for registering is 5.00pm on Tuesday, 9 January 2018.  Members of the public can speak on agenda items or matters within the remit of the committee.

To register to speak please contact the Democracy Officers for the meeting, on the details at the foot of the agenda.

 Filming, Recording or Webcasting Meetings

Please note that, subject to available resources, this meeting will be filmed and webcast, or recorded, including any registered public speakers who have given their permission.  The broadcast can be viewed at http://www.york.gov.uk/webcasts  or, if sound recorded, this will be uploaded onto the Council’s website following the meeting.

Residents are welcome to photograph, film or record Councillors and Officers at all meetings open to the press and public. This includes the use of social media reporting, i.e. tweeting.  Anyone wishing to film, record or take photos at any public meeting should contact the Democracy Officers (whose contact details are at the foot of this agenda) in advance of the meeting.

The Council’s protocol on Webcasting, Filming & Recording of Meetings ensures that these practices are carried out in a manner both respectful to the conduct of the meeting and all those present.  It can be viewed at http://www.york.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/11406/protocol_for_webcasting_filming_and_recording_of_council_meetings_20160809.pdf

It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

This report from the York Museums Trust provides the latest bi-annual update on the Trust’s progress against the agreed core partnership objectives.

Members considered a report which provided the latest bi-annual update on the current activities of the York Museums Trust (YMT) and the Trust’s progress against the agreed core partnership objectives between July and December 2017.

YMT’s Chief Executive and Interim Chief Operating Officer attended the meeting to present the report. They advised that they had been successful in their bid to Arts Council England to be granted National Portfolio Organisation Status, meaning a commitment of £1.2m per annum for from 2018 for 4 years providing a reliable source of income. They advised that this was in recognition of their quality of programming, including future plans and ambitions.

They responded to questions in relation to

·        engagement with school children – YMT representatives agreed to provide further detail in relation to visits by school children at their next update

·        MarinellaSentaore: York Symphony Commission – YMT agreed to confirm the closing date of this commission by email.

·        Process of renewing YMT cards – members suggested possibility of using auto renew process via direct debit to discourage people from letting their memberships lapse.

·        Positioning of YMT as a world class cultural centre among museums –YMT acknowledged the need to raise the national/international profile of York as a whole not just of YMT

·        Enterprises income- improving shop profile and catering – looking at additional catering outlets

The Chair congratulated YMT representatives on the receipt of a number of awards, in particular the Little Vikings Awards for York Castle Museum in the ‘Best Attraction’ and ‘Best Christmas Experience’ categories and commended them on continuing to provide YMT cards for free to 17-24 year olds entitled to income related benefit.

Resolved:           That the report be noted and Members comments be taken into consideration.

Reason:              To fulfil the Council’s role under the agreed partnership arrangements.

This report provides an update on the latest financial and performance position with regard to the plans and budgets for services falling under the responsibility of the Corporate Director of Children, Education & Communities.

Members considered a report which provided an update on the latest financial and performance position with regard to the plans and budgets for services falling under the responsibility of the Corporate Director of Children, Education and Communities

The Corporate Director of Children, Education and Communities and the Finance Manager, Adults, Children and Education were in attendance to present the report. In relation to the financial position, they reported that officers were now reviewing some of the information coming out of Quarter 3 and were expecting to be able to report on an improved position at Quarter 3. They then responded to questions asked and provided more information in response to the following issues:

·        Underspend in Dedicated Schools Grant

·        Education Psychology budgets – recruitment, pay levels and levels of unmet demand

·        Provision for Children with most complex needs

·        Health and wellbeing of staff – ensuring balanced caseloads, provision of training and support

·        Primary and Secondary Voice Events

·        Post 16 Attainment Gap

·        Looked After Children – Out of City Placements – officers agreed to provide more detail in form of table in future reports to provide clarification

·        Hate crimes – increase in part due to no of incidents but also due to partnerships efforts to increase reporting – to be brought to attention of Human Rights Board

In response to a query about some of the indicators, the Corporate Director of Children, Education and Communities agreed to review the data set in advance of the next meeting to ensure that scrutiny members were receiving relevant information.

Resolved:  That the report be noted.

Reason:     To update the committee on the latest financial and performance position for 2017-18.

This report presents the findings of the Scrutiny Review into the city’s plans for commemorating the centenary of the end of World War One and asks Members to consider and endorse the Task Group’s draft recommendations.

Members considered a report which presented the findings of the scrutiny review into the city’s plans for commemorating the centenary of the end of World War One and asked them to consider endorsing the Task Group’s draft recommendations.

Resolved:  That the committee agreed the Task Group’s recommendations:

(i)           That the Executive provide a budget of £10k to enable the procurement of an event organiser to develop and promote a programme of events to commemorate the end of WW1, in line with the brief shown at Annex C

(ii)          That a reference group be set up to support and steer the work of the event organiser, with its membership as suggested in paragraph 15 above.

Reason:     To ensure the City reflects the appreciation of the residents to all those who sacrificed so much during the conflict, and to conclude this review in line with scrutiny procedures and protocols.

Members are asked to consider the Committee’s work plan for the 2017-18 municipal year.

Members considered the committee’s work plan for the remainder of the 2017-18 municipal year.

The Scrutiny Officer advised Committee Members that the CYC Bi-Annual progress report on Safeguarding and Looked After Children which had been due to be considered at this meeting would now be received at the May meeting instead.

She confirmed the proposal for a further informal meeting on Monday 29^th January to discuss Cllr Stuart Barnes’ topic proposal around the health and wellbeing of Young People in York. She advised that the topic proposal was due to be considered by the Health, Housing and Adult Social Care Policy and Scrutiny Committee at their forthcoming meeting and that they would also be encouraged to attend the informal meeting on 29January.

The Chair reminded Members that at the last informal meeting, they had found it difficult to come to conclusions about the topic proposal and felt it would be beneficial to invite members of the other committee and the Youth Council to contribute their thoughts before deciding how to take it forward.  The Scrutiny officer confirmed that both the Youth Council and Head of Huntington School had been invited to attend.

Resolved:  That the update be noted, including the amendment to the May meeting and the additional informal meeting on 29^th January.

Reason:     To keep the committee’s work plan updated.