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 invited to declare at this point in the meeting any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests, any prejudicial interests or any disclosable pecuniary interests they might have in the business on the agenda.

No additional interests were declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the Special and the Ordinary meetings of Council held on 8 October 2015.

Resolved:  That the minutes of the Special and the Ordinary meetings of Council held on 8 October 2015 be approved and signed by the Chair as correct records.

(i)           To consider any announcements made by the Lord Mayor in respect of Civic business.

(ii)          To invite Cllr D’Agorne to announce the nomination for the Lord Mayor Elect for the 2016/17 municipal year and

(iii)        To invite the Lord Mayor Elect to announce the nomination for Sheriff and Sheriff’s Lady.

The Lord Mayor reported that this was the first meeting of Council, since the death of Dennis Martin, a well known Dunnington Parish Councillor and Vice Chair of the Council’s Joint Standards Committee.

Members stood for a moment’s silence in memory of Mr Martin.

The Lord Mayor reported receipt of a silver award in the 2015 Defence Employer Recognition Scheme in national recognition of the Council’s commitment to the Armed Forces and a signed picture commemorating the 70^th Anniversary of two French heavy bomber squadrons presented to her at a recent civic reception for the French Veterans Association. Both gifts were on display at the meeting.

The Lord Mayor then invited Cllr D’Agorne to nominate the Lord Mayor Elect for the2016/17 Municipal Year. Cllr D’Agorne nominated Cllr Dave Taylor as the Lord Mayor Elect and this nomination was unanimously agreed. 

Cllr Taylor confirmed that he would be honoured to accept this office for the 2016/17 Municipal Year with the assistance of his Consort Susan Ridley. He also announced Jonathan and Brenda Tyler as his Sheriff and Sheriff’s Lady for the 2016/17 Municipal Year.

At this point in the meeting, any member of the public who has registered to address the Council, or to ask a Member of the Council a question, on a matter directly relevant to the business of the Council or the City, may do so.  The deadline for registering is 5:00pm on Wednesday 16 December 2015.

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

WEBCASTING NOTICE

Please note: this meeting may be filmed for live or subsequent broadcast via the internet - at the start of the meeting the Lord Mayor will confirm if all or part of the meeting is being filmed.

You should be aware that the Council is a Data Controller under the Data Protection Act. Data collected during this webcast will be retained in accordance with the Council’s published policy.

Public seating areas will not be filmed by the Council.

Richard Bridge spoke in relation to Councillor Carr’s motion, due for debate later in the meeting, on the Broad Rental Market Area (BRMA). He expressed concern that he had been informed in November that the Council had no plans to seek a review of the BRMA. However a Council motion for a review of the Market Area had now been put forward for consideration at this meeting.

Rebecca Jeffrey, from Advice York, spoke to thank Members for recommending an increase in the Council Tax Support cap however she indicated that a 7.5% increase would provide insufficient support for customers and requested the Council to support additional increases in future years. 

Andrew Dickinson spoke in relation to the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel to increase the allowances paid to Members. He expressed concern at the reports  recommendation, particularly in light of Government cuts to public services.

To consider any petitions received from Members in accordance with Standing Order No.15.  Notice has been received of one petition to be presented by:

·        Cllr Shepherd from local residents wanting a ban on letting boards in the Hull Road Ward.

Under Standing Order 15, a petition was presented by the following Member for reference to the Corporate and Scrutiny Management Policy and Scrutiny Committee, in accordance with the Council’s new petition arrangements:

·               Cllr Shepherd, on behalf of local residents, requesting the Council to implement a ban on letting boards in the Hull Road Ward. ^1.

To consider the report of the Council’s Monitoring Officer which annexes the final report and recommendations of the IndependentRemuneration Panel in relation to allowances which should be payable to Members.

Council received the written report of the Council’s Monitoring Officer which annexed the final report and recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel in relation to allowances which should be payable to Members, at pages 27 to 49 of the agenda papers.

Councillor Steward moved and Councillor Aspden seconded the recommendations and it was

Resolved: That Council:

(i)           Thank the members of the Independent Remuneration Panel for their work. ^1.

(ii)          Adopt the scheme of allowances now recommended by the Panel.

(iii)        Authorise the Director of Customer and Business Support Services to implement the changes with effect from 1^st January 2016. ^2.

(iv)        Ask the Monitoring Officer to make any consequential constitutional changes. ^3.

Reason:    To enable the Council to adopt a revised scheme of allowances having regard to its statutory obligations to receive and consider a report on allowances from an independent panel.

To receive and consider a written report from the Leader and, to answer questions on the work of the Executive, and the Executive recommendations for approval, as set out below:

A       Executive Leaders Report

A written report was received from the Executive Leader, Cllr Chris Steward, on the work of the Executive.

Members were then invited to question Cllr Steward on his report and questions were received from the floor from the following Members in relation to the subjects listed:

·        Cllr S Barnes – Letter from Cuadrilla regarding the exploration of fracking in the area and reference to the greater protection of communities as requested by the Local Plan Working Group

·        Cllr Kramm – minimum distance to drill sites from human settlements not being specified in the Council’s Joint Minerals and Waste Plan

·        Cllr Levene – changes in Council Tax benefits

·        Cllr Kramm – the allocation of sites in the Green Belt as starter homes for young families and whether this was possible in York

·        Cllr Lisle – development of small scale sites in the Green Belt

·        Cllr Levene – changes to Universal Credit

·        Cllr S Barnes – inclusion of Whinthorpe site in Local Plan

Cllr Steward responded directly to all the questions put to him.

B       Executive Recommendations

Capital Programme – Monitor 2 2015/16

Cllr Steward moved, and Cllr Aspden seconded the following recommendation contained in Minute 83 of the Executive meeting held on 26 November 2015:

Recommended: That Council agree a decrease in the 2015/16 capital programme of £901k as detailed in the report and contained in Annex A.

Reason:     To enable the effective management and monitoring of the Council’s capital programme.

On being put to the vote, the recommendation was declared CARRIED and it was

Resolved:   That Council agree the above recommendation in respect of a decrease in the 2015/16 capital programme.^1.

York Central and Access Project

Cllr Steward moved, and Cllr Aspden seconded the following recommendation contained in Minute 95 of the Executive meeting held on 15 December 2015, details of which were circulated at the meeting:

Recommended: That Council delegate the Executive the agreement of all future expenditure against the £10m capital budget allocated to the delivery of the York Central capital budget.

Reason:              To enable timely progress on delivery of the York Central site.

On being put to the vote, the recommendation was declared CARRIED and it was

Resolved:   That Council agree the above recommendation in respect of delegation of expenditure in relation to York Central.^2.

Council Tax Support – Consultation Decision Report

Cllr Steward moved, and Cllr Aspden seconded the following recommendation contained in Minute 96 of the Executive meeting held on 15 December 2015, details of which were circulated at the meeting:

Recommended: That Council agree to increase the Council Tax Support (CTS) cap by 7.5% to 77.5% cap at a cost of approximately £300k pa, which following changes to welfare benefit will deliver an average annual benefit to CTS customers of approximately £55 pa.

Reason:              To support financial inclusion and protect financially vulnerable customers from planned Welfare Benefit changes.

Cllr N Barnes then moved, and Cllr Cannon seconded, an amendment to the above motion, as follows:

In the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50.

To receive and consider a written report from the Deputy Leader and, to question the Deputy Leader thereon.

A written report was received from the Deputy Leader, Cllr Keith Aspden, on his portfolio area.

Members were then invited to question Cllr Aspden on his report and questions were received from the floor from the following Members in relation to the subjects listed:

·        Cllr Kramm – steps to become the Greenest City in the North

·        Cllr Galvin – whether any unspent ward funding would be clawed back if unused at the end of the financial year

·        Cllr Galvin – purpose of the Deputy Leader’s report

·        Cllr Gates – additional information on work undertaken to increase apprenticeships

·        Cllr Kramm – Ward budgets for the city centre wards and their use for the upkeep of bowling greens, flower displays at the railway station/West Offices, war memorials etc

·        Cllr Ayre – possible partnership assistance/BID funding for upkeep of above ward areas

Cllr Aspden responded directly to all the questions put to him.

To consider the following Motions on Notice under Standing Order 22:

Motions submitted for consideration directly by Council, in accordance with Standing Order 22.1

(i)      From Cllr Carr

Broad Rental Market Area

Council notes that

Local Housing Allowance rates set the maximum amount of Housing Benefit for private tenants and are set by the Valuations Office Agency (‘VOA’) and determined by the region in which tenants make their claim, called the Broad Rental Market Area (‘BRMA’);

The ‘York BRMA’ was once roughly the size of the City of York Council, but in recent years has been expanded in all directions to include Easingwold, Malton, Pocklington, Selby and beyond;

Because York’s BRMA now includes rental markets markedly different from those in York, including less expensive rural and market towns, York residents are at a disadvantage in the maximum benefit they can receive, which is not in line with York’s higher housing costs; therefore

In order to redress this disadvantage to York residents, for whom access to the private rental sector in York has become more challenging as the rate of rent rises in York continues to exceed Local Housing Allowance rates as set for the BRMA, Council instructs officers to seek a review of the BRMA by the VOA as permitted under statute and pledges all-party support for the Council’s application. 

(ii)      From Cllr Runciman

Public Health Cuts

Council Notes:

The Conservative Government has confirmed it will apply a flat rate cut of 6.2% to all local authority public health grant allocations to be applied in the 4th quarter of this financial year. The impact for City of York Council is an in-year budget cut of £508,830.

Services affected by the cuts could include school nursing and children’s health services, suicide prevention and domestic violence prevention, drug and alcohol work, sexual health, weight loss support, smoking cessation services and wider mental health provision including befriending services for older people.

In taking this decision, the Government has ignored opposition from organisations representing 220,000 doctors, 300,000 nurses, health service leaders, public health specialists and local authority leaders.

The Government has further ignored analysis by the Faculty of Public Health saying that the cut to the preventative work funded by the grant could have a knock-on cost to the NHS in excess of £1bn.

The Royal College of Nursing’s Regional Director for Yorkshire and the Humber has said “The NHS will end up paying for these savings many times over.......these plans will also disproportionately hit poorer communities in harder to reach areas and will make health inequalities worse”.

Last month’s Comprehensive Spending Review confirmed that the Government will make further cuts in local authority public health spending, as well as consult on options to transfer funding responsibility to local authorities as part of the move towards 100% business rate retention.

Council Believes:

The in-year cut to public health funding puts at risk crucial support and services for residents and risks significantly increasing pressure on NHS services in York.

By  ...  view the full agenda text for item 52.

Motions submitted for consideration directly by Council, in accordance with Standing Order 22.1

(i)    Broad Rental Market Area

(moved by Cllr Carr and seconded by Cllr Boyce)

“Council notes that

Local Housing Allowance rates set the maximum amount of Housing Benefit for private tenants and are set by the Valuations Office Agency (‘VOA’) and determined by the region in which tenants make their claim, called the Broad Rental Market Area (‘BRMA’);

The ‘York BRMA’ was once roughly the size of the City of York Council, but in recent years has been expanded in all directions to include Easingwold, Malton, Pocklington, Selby and beyond;

Because York’s BRMA now includes rental markets markedly different from those in York, including less expensive rural and market towns, York residents are at a disadvantage in the maximum benefit they can receive, which is not in line with York’s higher housing costs; therefore

In order to redress this disadvantage to York residents, for whom access to the private rental sector in York has become more challenging as the rate of rent rises in York continues to exceed Local Housing Allowance rates as set for the BRMA, Council instructs officers to seek a review of the BRMA by the VOA as permitted under statute and pledges all-party support for the Council’s application.” 

On being put to the vote, the motion was CARRIED and it was

Resolved:  That the motion be approved. ^1.

(ii)   Public Health Cuts

(moved by Cllr Runciman and seconded by Cllr Cullwick)

“Council Notes:

The Conservative Government has confirmed it will apply a flat rate cut of 6.2% to all local authority public health grant allocations to be applied in the 4th quarter of this financial year. The impact for City of York Council is an in-year budget cut of £508,830.

Services affected by the cuts could include school nursing and children’s health services, suicide prevention and domestic violence prevention, drug and alcohol work, sexual health, weight loss support, smoking cessation services and wider mental health provision including befriending services for older people.

In taking this decision, the Government has ignored opposition from organisations representing 220,000 doctors, 300,000 nurses, health service leaders, public health specialists and local authority leaders.

The Government has further ignored analysis by the Faculty of Public Health saying that the cut to the preventative work funded by the grant could have a knock-on cost to the NHS in excess of £1bn.

The Royal College of Nursing’s Regional Director for Yorkshire and the Humber has said “The NHS will end up paying for these savings many times over.......these plans will also disproportionately hit poorer communities in harder to reach areas and will make health inequalities worse”.

Last month’s Comprehensive Spending Review confirmed that the Government will make further cuts in local authority public health spending, as well as consult on options to transfer funding responsibility to local authorities as part of the move towards 100% business rate retention.

Council Believes:

The in-year cut to public health funding  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52.

To question the Leader and/or Executive Members in respect of any matter within their portfolio responsibility, in accordance with Standing Order 20.

In accordance with Standing Order 20. Members were then invited to question Cllr Steward and/or the Executive Members in respect of any matters within their portfolio responsibility. Questions were received from the floor from the following Members in relation to the subjects listed:

(i)        To Cllr Aspden, Deputy Leader, Economic Development & Community Engagement:

·        Cllr Williams – changes made to quarterly performance monitoring reporting

·        Cllr Williams – difficulties in checking performance against set monitoring targets

·        Cllr Levene – inclusion of key performance indicator (KPI) scorecards in future reports 

·        Cllr Looker – inclusion of KPI’s as an aid to identifying significant variations in performance for transparency purposes

·        Cllr N Barnes – the need to provide performance information in an easily accessible format

·        Cllr N Barnes – need for accountability against new Council Plan

·        Cllr Williams – why decision taken not to publish performance data against targets

·        Cllr Shepherd – comments made at the Local Plan Working Group meeting, that a ‘couple of thousand homes were required to make a proper community’

(ii)      To Cllr Carr, Executive Member for Housing & Safer Neighbourhoods:

·        Cllr Boyce – outcome of consultation in respect of possible changes in relation to Newbury Avenue housing scheme

·        Cllr Williams – whether  the cost of the delay in progressing the Newbury Avenue scheme would be published

·        Cllr S Barnes – concern at suggestion that the original consultation on this housing scheme was not robust

(iii)     To Cllr Gillies, Executive Member for Planning and Transport:

·          Cllr Flinders – how did the Built Environment Fund differ from the Reinvigorate York Fund

The Executive Members responded directly to all the questions put to them.

To receive a written report from the Executive Member for Transport and Planning, and to question the Executive Member thereon, in accordance with Standing Order 19.

A written report was received from the Executive Member for Transport and Planning, Cllr Ian Gillies, on work in his portfolio area.

Members were then invited to question Cllr Gillies on his report and a question was received from the floor from the following Member in relation to the subject listed:

·        Cllr Levene - the need for high priority to be given to a parking review

Cllr Gillies responded directly to the question put to him, however

To receive a report from Councillor Levene, the Chair of the Corporate and Scrutiny Management Policy and Scrutiny Committee (CSMC) on the work of the Committee.

Council received the report of the Chair of the Corporate and Scrutiny Management Policy and Scrutiny Committee, at pages 69 to 72 of the agenda papers, on the work of the Committee, since the last report to Council in October.

Resolved:  That the scrutiny report be received and noted.

Consideration was given to the following recommendation contained in Minute 18 of the meeting of the Gambling, Licensing & Regulatory Committee held on 16 November 2015:

Statement of Licensing Policy – Gambling Act 2005

Recommended:That Full Council adopt the policy.

Reason:              In order that the Council meets legislative requirements.

On being put to the vote, the recommendation was declared CARRIED and it was

Resolved:  That the recommendation in relation to the Statement of Licensing Policy – Gambling Act 2005 from the Gambling, Licensing and Regulatory Committee meeting held on 16 November 2015 be approved. ^1.

To consider the appointments and changes to membership of committees and outside bodies set out on the list attached to this summons.

Resolved:  That the appointments and changes to membership of Committees and outside bodies, as set out in the list circulated with the agenda papers, be approved. ^1.