Agenda item

This report sets out the reasons for the pre-decision call-in of the above item, which appears as item 5 on the agenda for the Decision Session of the Executive Member for City Strategy to be held on 2 March 2010.  The report also explains the powers and role of the Scrutiny Management Committee in relation to dealing with the call-in.

Members received a report which asked them to consider a pre-decision call-in of an item related to the City of York’s Local Transport Plan 3 – Stage 1 consultation results and preparations for Stage 2 (options and impacts) consultation which had appeared as item 5 on the agenda for the Decision Session of the Executive Member for City Strategy held on 2 March 2010.

The original report to the Executive Member was attached as Annex A to the report and a copy of the Executive Member’s provisional decisions made at his meeting on 2 March were circulated at the meeting, for information.

The pre decision call in had been made by Cllrs Merrett, D’Agorne and Hudson on the grounds that:

(i)                 The report fails to take into account the recommendations from the traffic Congestion Scrutiny report and the current household scrutiny questionnaire that is being undertaken on the long term strategy for the city, contrary to assurances given by the former Assistant Director that they would be.

(ii)               The 10 year strategies in annex C do not match the Government's LTP 3 guidance (paragraph 4) which is looking for a twenty year long term strategy and shorter term policies and implementation plans.

(iii)             The outline questionnaire in annex C is extremely confusing and unlikely to produce useful results in its current form.

Members were invited to decide that there were either no grounds to make specific recommendation to the Executive Member in respect of the report (Option A) or to make specific recommendations to the Executive Member on the report (Option B).

Councillor Merrett addressed the meeting on behalf of the Calling–In Members.  He referred to the work of the Traffic Congestion Ad Hoc Scrutiny Committee and to their interim recommendations in relation to short and medium terms measures which, it had been agreed on 3 February 2009, would be fed into the LTP3 document. He questioned how the recommendations of the Scrutiny Committee would be taken into account in the LTP3 process. He went onto refer to the questionnaire, particularly to the overlap in questions in the two questionnaires and to the confusion this would cause residents. Finally he referred to the options section in which disagreement with one component would result in some of the options no longer being credible.

Councillor Hudson also spoke as a Calling-In member and referred to the three years spent by Scrutiny Committee members on putting together a vision and options for improvements in traffic congestion in the city. He confirmed that it had been agreed that the findings of the Scrutiny Committee’s questionnaire would be taken into account in LTP3 and he felt that traffic congestion was such an important issue for the City that the consultation on LTP3 should be delayed to allow time to incorporate results from the scrutiny questionnaire.

Officers confirmed that Annex C had only set out all the options to be included in the strategy questionnaire and that this was not meant to be the final version. It was confirmed that the complex information would be simplified.

Officers displayed the first draft of the four page questionnaire and referred to the reference included to the outcome of the Traffic Congestion Scrutiny Committee. It was pointed out that there may be timescale issues in relation to the analysis of the traffic congestion survey results and their inclusion in the LTP3 questionnaire.

Members questioned details of timescales for the availability of the traffic congestion survey, print deadlines and the timing for distribution of the LTP3 questionnaire. Officers expressed concern at any lengthy delays, which could affect the March 2011 deadline for completion of the strategy.

After a full debate, Cllr Orrell moved and Cllr Scott seconded, that Option B be approved and that the Executive Member reconsider the matter on 9 March 2010, on the basis of the reasons given for the call-in and the request to delay consultation on /LTP3 until after the General Election, to enable the results of the traffic congestion consultation to be analysed.  It was then unanimously

RESOLVED:    i) That Option B be approved and the report be referred back to the Executive Member for the reasons as set out in the call-in;

ii)           That the Executive Member be recommended to delay the City of York’s Local Transport Plan 3 consultation until after the General Election;

iii)         That the final draft consultation questionnaire be sent out to members of the Traffic Congestion Ad Hoc Scrutiny Committee for their comments;

iv)         That Officers prepare a timeline of indicative dates to meet the final Strategy deadline of March 2011.

REASON:                  In accordance with the procedures set out in the Council’s Constitution for dealing with called-in decisions, and in accordance with the reasons given by the Executive Member for his decision.