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.

At this point in the meeting, Members were asked to declare any personal interests not included on the register of interests, any prejudicial interests or any disclosable pecuniary interests which they might have in respect of the business on the agenda. None were declared.

It is at this point in the meeting that members of the public who have registered to speak can do so.  The deadline for registering is 5.00pm on Friday 13 March 2015.  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 Officer for the meeting, on the details at the foot of the agenda.

Filming, Recording or Webcasting Meetings

Please note this meeting may be filmed and webcast or audio recorded and that includes 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 Officer (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/downloads/download/3130/protocol_for_webcasting_filming_and_recording_of_council_meetings

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

Dr Andrew Phillips, Deputy Chief Clinical Officer for the Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group spoke to endorse the initiative to develop the care homes, care village and a community hub at the two sites. He stated the opportunity to develop a community and care hub aligns with the commissioning group’s strategic clinical aims for improved health care outcomes for patients and integration between health & social and mental health care.

Mr George Wood representing the York Older People’s Assembly

spoke in support of the Councils modifications and fully endorsed the proposals. He expressed the Assembly’s support for the different housing opportunities proposed for the elderly and the continued recognition for people with dementia. He suggested work moves forward at different stages and included the use of technology to allow older people to live independently for longer.

To approve and sign the minutes of the last meeting of the Committee held on 23 February 2015.

Resolved:  That the minutes of the last meeting of the Committee held on 23 February 2015 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

To consider the decisions made by the Cabinet at their meeting held on 3 March 2015 in relation to the above item, which has been called in firstly by Councillors Aspden, Runciman and Waller and secondly by Councillors Doughty, Douglas and Wiseman in accordance with the Council’s Constitution.  A cover report is attached setting out the reasons for the call-in and the remit and powers of the Corporate and Scrutiny Management Committee (Calling-In) in relation to the call-in, together with the original report and the decisions of Cabinet.

Members received a report which asked them to consider the decision made by the Cabinet on 3 March 2015, in relation to the Council’s Housing for Older People Programme and proposals for an alternative approach to the provision of accommodation with care for older people, subject to agreement of a detailed business case.

Details of the Cabinet’s decision were attached at Annex A to the report and the original report of the Director of Adult Social Care to the Cabinet, attached at Annex B.

The original decision had firstly been called in by Councillors Aspden, Runciman and Waller on the following grounds:

·        A full assessment of the reasons for the failure of the EPH project, the decision-making timeline, and a detailed analysis of the costs incurred.

·        A comprehensive explanation for why the Lowfield Care Village proposal had been abandoned.

·        A commitment to investigate and publish a report on the governance and management of the overall project, including the suggestion that finances could be “fudged”.

·        A commitment to carry out a full consultation with local residents on the future of the Lowfields site (including the playing fields).

·        Following this, a commitment to present to Members a range of options (with business cases) for the future of the site including an assessment of whether a different provider could deliver a Care Village at Lowfields.

The original decision had secondly been called in by Councillors Doughty, Douglas and Wiseman on the following grounds:

·        More information was needed regarding the business case for the plan, including projections regarding the long-term economic viability of the proposal.

·        Because the previous plans collapsed due to poor governance, poor financial planning and minimal project management arrangements CYC needs to properly understand what went wrong regarding the previous model and what was needed for the new plan to succeed before committing to further borrowing.  As the Chief Executive intends to conduct a full review of the lack of governance on the last proposal it was sensible to wait until this had been reported before a final commitment to a new plan was undertaken.

·        Clarification was needed regarding the sites selected for the new plan and whether these sites represented the best solution in terms of both achieving best value for residents and best use of the proposed sites.

Cllr Waller addressed the meeting on behalf of the first group of Calling In members. He highlighted their key issues regarding the transparency of decision making, confidence in the Council and resources spent so far on the project. He stated that ward residents over the last 5 years had welcomed the proposals for the Lowfields site and suggested that they now felt abandoned without further explanation.

Cllr Doughty also addressed the meeting on behalf of the second group of Calling In members. They had three areas of concern that centred around trust, transparency and accountability. He questioned the Cabinet Members input and why the financial implications were not reported earlier. He confirmed he had raised a series of questions on the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.