Agenda item
Questions to the Cabinet Leader and Cabinet Members received under Standing Order 11.3(a)
To deal with the following questions to the Cabinet Leader and / or other Cabinet Members, in accordance with Standing Order 11.3(a):
(i) To the Cabinet Leader from Cllr Barton:
“Can the Leader inform Council how much of the Governments £3.3 billion funding to mitigate the impact of localised tax support scheme in 2014/15 will be allocated to CYC and at what point will Parish Councils be informed how much of it will be passed on to them?”
(ii) To the Cabinet Leader from Cllr Runciman:
“Is the Cabinet Leader still intending to hold a public meeting in each ward as part of his “community conversations” initiative and if so could he provide a timetable?”
(iii) To the Cabinet Leader from Cllr Aspden:
“Will the Cabinet Leader provide the footfall numbers recorded each day in the city-centre since his last report to Council?”
(iv) To the Cabinet Leader from Cllr Reid:
“On 10th November the Council Leader was quoted in The Press saying that the British Sugar development would “feature a large supermarket, bringing more jobs”. How big will this supermarket be and why did it not feature in the consultation exhibitions and online surveys undertaken with affected residents at the end of November?”
(v) To the Cabinet Leader from Cllr Reid:
“How much taxpayers’ money has been spent on supporting the local TV License application by “The York Channel” and what financial and other Council resources do you expect to be used to help in the development of this station?”
(vi) To the Cabinet Leader from Cllr Reid:
“What consultation has there been with residents living in the Wilton Rise and Cleveland Street areas on the proposal to build a bridge into the York Central development site?”
(vii) To the Cabinet Leader from Cllr Reid:
“The Council Leader has announced that a bridge into the York Central development site in the Chancery Rise area will receive £10 million of Council funding. Will the Leader confirm that the Council will have a stake in any development company which takes the York Central development forward and that York taxpayers will benefit directly from any increase in the value of the newly serviced site?”
(viii) To the Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Customer Service from Cllr Barton:
“Can the Cabinet Member assure Council that he takes seriously his role as the only voting member of our two man delegation to the Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation Management Committee bearing in mind he has yet to attend any meetings or even send his apologies?”
(ix) To the Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Customer Service from Cllr Ayre:
“What costs have the Council incurred through its membership of the Local Government Association and how much of this is due to councillor expenses?”
(x) To the Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Customer Service from Cllr Ayre:
“What is the cost of sending members to meetings being held outside the UK including those connected with the Council of Europe and how much is City of York Council contributing towards this sum?”
(xi) To the Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Customer Service from Cllr Cuthbertson:
“How many complaints, forwarded to the York Council Contact centre over the last 6 months via web based reporting tools (such as “My Council”, “report that hole”, “report that pothole” etc), have been successfully recorded and actioned and how many reports have been discarded because of data translation problems?”
(xii) To the Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Customer Service from Cllr Ayre:
“Following complaints and comments from the Information Commissioner a new FOI system has been put in place. Can the Cabinet Member outline what the new system is and whether this has led to any improvement?”
(xiii) To the Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Customer Service from Cllr Runciman:
“What are the total costs expected to be for holding the Budget consultation meetings which started on November 13th.?”
(xiv) To the Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Customer Service from Cllr Runciman:
“How many officer hours have been spent in total at the Budget consultation venues?”
(xv) To the Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Customer Service from Cllr Runciman:
“How many members of the public have attended each Budget consultation meeting so far?”
(xvi) To the Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Customer Service from Cllr Hyman:
“Could the Cabinet Member provide a list of all grants given to organisations and voluntary groups in 2012/13?”
(xvii) To the Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Customer Service from Cllr Reid:
“After the Cabinet’s decision to reject the Government’s transitional grant and cut council tax support to residents by 30% from this April, could the Cabinet Member confirm how many residents have been affected and if any liability orders have been issued?”
(xviii) To the Cabinet Member for Transport, Planning and Sustainability from Cllr Reid:
“On the Lendal Bridge/Coppergate restrictions could the Cabinet Member confirm the following figures:
a) The number of appeals lodged each week since the beginning of August against PCNs issued for contraventions of traffic restrictions on Coppergate and Lendal Bridge
b) The number of appeals which have been successful each week
c) The total revenue that the Council has received so far from PCNs following the introduction of the new restrictions on Coppergate and Lendal Bridge
d) The weekly changes to journey times (all modes of transport) on each arterial road and on each section of the inner ring road since the introduction of the new traffic restrictions
e) The numbers of accidents reported on roads in the City centre comparing the last 3 months with the equivalent period in 2012
f) The latest air quality monitoring reports for key sites in and close to the City centre, including the Leeman Road area, and comparing these with last year?”
(xix) To the Cabinet Member for Transport, Planning and Sustainability from Cllr Reid:
“In the first three months of the closure period on Lendal Bridge, what have been the average increases in:
a) Mileage
b) Journey time
c) Cost
for private car drivers who otherwise would have used the bridge?”
(xx) To the Cabinet Member for Transport, Planning and Sustainability from Cllr Orrell:
“What is the proposed timetable for the consideration of residents’ responses to the consultation on the Draft Local Plan and how will the large number of residents, who have made written responses, have the opportunity to address the LDF Working Group if they wish to do so?”
(xxi) To the Cabinet Member for Transport, Planning and Sustainability from Cllr Reid:
“In July the Cabinet Member said in relation to traffic cameras “Staff are now in the final stages of commissioning this new system and are finalising the list of which cameras will be presented on the website. This process should be completed within the next week and then live images will once again be available via YorkLIVE and i-travel”. At the last meeting he confirmed that the work was still ongoing. Could he confirm that the technical difficulties have now been overcome and that residents can now view the images on line?”
(xxii) To the Cabinet Member for Transport, Planning and Sustainability from Cllr Reid:
“Could the Cabinet Member confirm how long the i-Travel map function was unavailable for and if residents are able to use it again?”
(xxiii) To the Cabinet Member for Transport, Planning and Sustainability from Cllr Firth:
“What progress has the Cabinet Member made in furtherance of his assurances, given at previous Council meetings, that bus reliability monitoring information will be made available for York residents?”
(xxiv) To the Cabinet Member for Transport, Planning and Sustainability from Cllr Steward:
“Can the cabinet member demonstrate he understands the difference between success criteria and merely stating what data will be collected?”
(xxv) To the Cabinet Member for Transport, Planning and Sustainability from Cllr Steward:
“By what will the cabinet member deem the trial closure of Lendal Bridge a failure?”
(xxvi) To the Cabinet Member for Transport, Planning and Sustainability from Cllr Steward:
“Can the cabinet member detail any tangible progress made in dualling York’s Northern Ring Road since cabinet announced their support for Julian Sturdy and York Conservative Group’s campaign?”
(xxvii) To the Cabinet Member for Environmental Services from Cllr Reid:
“Given the need to radically improve recycling rates could the Cabinet Member please list the programme and projects currently in place to improve recycling including costs and expected benefits?”
(xxviii)To the Cabinet Member for Environmental Services from Cllr Aspden:
“How many of the salt bins, originally proposed by the present administration to be removed, have been saved and taken over by:
a) Parish Councils
b) Residents Associations
c) Individual residents
and how many of the salt bins on the streets last winter have not been ‘adopted’?”
(xxix) To the Cabinet Member for Environmental Services from Cllr Reid:
“Has the Cabinet Member signed-up to be a snow warden scheme and could he confirm how many York residents have also become snow wardens and how does this figure compare with the same time last year?”
(xxx) To the Cabinet Member for Environmental Services from Cllr Ayre:
“Can the Cabinet Member confirm what the council’s policy is regarding requiring supermarkets and takeaways to provide bins and clear detritus from their shop fronts and which establishments the policy applies to?”
(xxxi) To the Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Tourism from Cllr Ayre:
“A Freedom of Information request has revealed that, at present, the only income that the Council has identified from the Tour de France is an assumed £291,000 government grant to offset the expected £2.7 million costs. When does the Cabinet member expect to announce the amount of other local revenue that will be generated for the authority and how much does she anticipate will be available to discharge the motion, successfully proposed by Cllr Burton at the last Council meeting, which promised ““that all income generated for City of York Council from the Tour de France Grand Départ is spent on frontline services for residents”?”
(xxxii) To the Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Tourism from Cllr Ayre:
“For this financial year and last can the Cabinet Member supply for Parliament Street and St Sampson’s Square: a) dates on which events occurred, name of event, and income to the council b) the cost to the council for these events c) the proposed timetable for the next 12 months?”
(xxxiii)To the Cabinet Member for Health, Housing and Adult Social Services from Cllr Reid:
“What proportion of the 22,000 additional homes that the Cabinet Member feels should be built during the next 15 years under Labour’s Local Plan proposals, does she believe will be occupied by York residents and their families and how many by inward migration?”
(xxxiv) To the Cabinet Member for Health, Housing and Adult Social Services from Cllr Reid:
“Who took the decision, and when, to remove 2400 applicants from the Housing Waiting list (Home Choice) with effect from the beginning of October?”
(xxxv) To the Cabinet Member for Health, Housing and Adult Social Services from Cllr Reid:
“Does the decision to remove 2400 applicants from the Housing Waiting list, which means there are now officially fewer residents in housing need, mean there will be lower affordable house building targets?”
(xxxvi) To the Cabinet Member for Health, Housing and Adult Social Services from Cllr Jeffries:
“Could the Cabinet Member provide an update on the 184 residents with ‘moderate’ care needs who lost their eligibility for support from the council’s community care service last year – particularly in regards to how many are now in the "substantial" or "critical" care categories?”
(xxxvii) To the Cabinet Member for Crime and Stronger Communities from Cllr Aspden:
“Will the Cabinet Member take on board the concerns raised by the chairs of both Foxwood and Chapelfields Community Centres and reconsider planned funding cuts?”
(xxxviii)To the Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Tourism from Cllr Barton:
“Can the Cabinet Member confirm that when the Community Library Trust is formed, the positions of Chief Executive, Executive Directors and Senior Officers will be filled as a result of a trawl to be made available to possible applicants from outside of the Council’s employ?”
(xxxix) To the Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Tourism from Cllr Barton:
“Can the Cabinet Member assure Council that no further members of the existing Library staff will be made redundant in anticipation of the formation of the Community Library Trust?
(xl) To the Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Tourism from Cllr Barton:
Can the Cabinet Member outline what, in this continuing time of austerity, other vanity projects such as the Arts Barge are under consideration?”
(xli) To the Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Tourism from Cllr Barton:
“Can the Cabinet Member inform Council of the projected date of the grand opening of the Community Stadium and the proposals for the occasion”
(xlii) To the Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Tourism from Cllr Barton:
“Does the Cabinet Member stand by her statement that York City Knights will not be financially worse off by moving to the new Community Stadium?”
(xliii) To the Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Tourism from Cllr Barton:
“What is the Cabinet Members reaction to the news that the Athletics Club will not be sharing the facilities of the Sports Village?”
Minutes:
Forty-three questions had been submitted to the Leader and Cabinet Members under Standing Order 11.3(a). The guillotine having fallen at this point, Members agreed to receive written answers to their questions, as set out below:
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(i) To the Cabinet Leader from Cllr Barton:
“Can the Leader inform Council how much of the Governments £3.3 billion funding to mitigate the impact of localised tax support scheme in 2014/15 will be allocated to CYC and at what point will Parish Councils be informed how much of it will be passed on to them?”
Reply: “The £3.3 billion was not funding to mitigate the impact, it was in effect what we were already receiving, but nationally was 10% less.
In terms of the £3.3 billion figure, we won’t know exact figures until the final 2014/15 settlement announcement which we expect to be released the week commencing 16th December. In line with previous Government announcements and the summer funding consultations, preliminary Council Tax projections including Council Tax Support have been calculated on the basis of a grant to the same value we received for 2013/14 (£7.4m for City of York Council).
In response the council set up the York Financial Assistance Scheme (YFAS). This fund endeavours to help the most vulnerable in society affected by the multiple changes in the benefit system and not just Council Tax Support. This scheme works closely with the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, the Credit Union and York Food Bank.
With regard to parishes, letters were sent on Monday 9th December informing them of their tax base for 2014/15 and this included notification that the Council would help them maintain their 2013/14 funding level and thereby nullifying the effects of Council Tax Support on their budgets.”
(ii) To the Cabinet Leader from Cllr Runciman:
“Is the Cabinet Leader still intending to hold a public meeting in each ward as part of his “community conversations” initiative and if so could he provide a timetable?”
Reply: “ Yes. This will commence in the New Year, running from 30th of January to 10th November. This has already been circulated to all councillors including yourself. I have made this available for you at http://tinyurl.com/community conversations.”
(iii) To the Cabinet Leader from Cllr Aspden:
“Will the Cabinet Leader provide the footfall numbers recorded each day in the city-centre since his last report to Council?” Reply: “The latest footfall figures show that 1,548,586 people visited Parliament Street between the 10th October and the 10th December. This is a reduction of 1.5% from the previous year.
A fall in footfall has been a long-term trend in the city centre. You may have seen recent reports about large growth in internet sales. We have said before that we are concerned about this footfall trend, which reflects the pressure the high street has been under nationally for some time. This is why we are investing in our public realm and looking at new ways of working with Visit York.
Looking at York specifically, the city has the second lowest shop vacancy rates in the country and the city centre is very busy, particularly at weekends. Some have complained it is too busy. Based on the evidence from the camera placed outside Marks and Spencer, footfall for St Nick's Fayre was up 75% on last year and we are investing in new cameras to more accurately record footfall. I include for you the footfall data we have going back to 2007. I have already shared this information with you (Annex A). (See additional footfall figures at end of questions)
(iv) To the Cabinet Leader from Cllr Reid:
“On 10th November the Council Leader was quoted in The Press saying that the British Sugar development would “feature a large supermarket, bringing more jobs”. How big will this supermarket be and why did it not feature in the consultation exhibitions and online surveys undertaken with affected residents at the end of November?”
Reply: “The quote from The Press was referring to a sentence in my speech given at the annual business conference. The sentence was "The site is likely to include a new supermarket, further boosting employment prospects". There has been interest expressed for a new supermarket in this locality but no deal is yet complete. Consultation will take place once there are firmer proposals.
(v) To the Cabinet Leader from Cllr Reid:
“How much taxpayers’ money has been spent on supporting the local TV License application by “The York Channel” and what financial and other Council resources do you expect to be used to help in the development of this station?”
Reply: “Firstly I would like to congratulate One & Other for winning this Ofcom licence andthe many partners who supported them – including both universities, Science City York, Visit York, York CVS, Yorkshire Film Archive and NVG. It is a major boost to York’s vibrant media.
The extent of the financial investment has been the £2,500 application fee, paid for by Science City York, which was committed by the previous Liberal Democrat administration.
The main form of support is filming access to Council festivals and Cabinet streaming. The channel will be editorially independent from the Council as per Ofcom regulations.
When launched, it will be considered as a potential marketing/advertising/communication channel.”
(vi) To the Cabinet Leader from Cllr Reid:
“What consultation has there been with residents living in the Wilton Rise and Cleveland Street areas on the proposal to build a bridge into the York Central development site?”
Reply: “I am aware of the agreement of group leaders Councillor Carol Runciman and Councillor Ian Gillies to not play politics over this crucial development for York. I pay tribute to Councillor Ian Gillies for his support and not doing so. I have had conversations with Councillor Carol Runciman previously about Liberal Democrat leaflets being distributed in the area criticising the possible entrance point for construction traffic. I am sad to say history appears to repeating itself.
For information this has been around as an option for many years and was consulted upon by the previous Liberal Democrat council. You yourself commented on this in The Press at the time. The York North West Area Action Plan Issues and Options consultation (Nov 2007 - Jan 2008) identified a potential new access to the York Central site from Holgate Road as did the report to the LPWG 5 Dec 2011.
(vii) To the Cabinet Leader from Cllr Reid:
“The Council Leader has announced that a bridge into the York Central development site in the Chancery Rise area will receive £10 million of Council funding. Will the Leader confirm that the Council will have a stake in any development company which takes the York Central development forward and that York taxpayers will benefit directly from any increase in the value of the newly serviced site?”
Reply: “The Council is seeking to develop a commercially focused joint venture with Network Rail, the basis of that will be subject to a clear business case and the detail of it will follow as stated in a subsequent cabinet report. If this proves advantageous we would naturally have a stake in such an arrangement. The “return” for York taxpayers will come from a combination of what can be negotiated through such an arrangement, but importantly in terms of the £10m investment “stacking up”, this would come progressively from council tax through the development of over 1000 homes and from retained business rates, from over 80,000 sq.m of high quality business space, a £600m addition to our annual local economy, and up to 8,000 jobs.”
(viii) To the Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Customer Service from Cllr Barton:
“Can the Cabinet Member assure Council that he takes seriously his role as the only voting member of our two man delegation to the Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation Management Committee bearing in mind he has yet to attend any meetings or even send his apologies?”
Reply: “Yes, I can give that assurance.”
(ix) To the Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Customer Service from Cllr Ayre:
“What costs have the Council incurred through its membership of the Local Government Association and how much of this is due to councillor expenses?”
Reply: “The total cost of membership is £37,000.
Costs to the council for Member expenses relating to LGA business in the year 2013-14 to date are £1474.55.”
(x) To the Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Customer Service from Cllr Ayre:
“What is the cost of sending members to meetings being held outside the UK including those connected with the Council of Europe and how much is City of York Council contributing towards this sum?”
Reply: “There is no cost to CYC for Members attending Council of Europe meetings. Any costs are funded by the Council of Europe itself.”
(xi) To the Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Customer Service from Cllr Cuthbertson:
“How many complaints, forwarded to the York Council Contact centre over the last 6 months via web based reporting tools (such as “My Council”, “report that hole”, “report that pothole” etc), have been successfully recorded and actioned and how many reports have been discarded because of data translation problems?
Reply: “This question is not clear about whether the information request is for complaints or service requests, so for complaints we have the following analysis for June to November 2013 which shows there were a total of 639 complaints made to the council. These will have been received by a number of contact methods eg in person, by phone, by email or by completing the online form on our website. However we cannot yet report by contact method due to the restrictions of our current reporting systems but will ensure that this requirement is considered when we undertake any further improvement work on our complaints handling system.
Smarter York App - 2012 321
Total Footfall - 2013
10415 9757 8061 10123 10259
12226 60841 Total Emails - 2013 7088 5199 4474 5823 4825 4697 32106
Smarter York App -
2013
200
(xii) To the Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Customer Service from Cllr Ayre:
“Following complaints and comments from the Information Commissioner a new FOI system has been put in place. Can the Cabinet Member outline what the new system is and whether this has led to any improvement?” Reply: The council conducted its own review as part of an improvement programme. The results of the review on responding to and handling FOI enquiries was reported to Audit and Governance Committee on 26th September 2013. This highlighted the steps in our improvement plans and ongoing monitoring programme for FOIs, including the revised processes for both FOI responses and internal reviews. This report can be found at: http://democracy.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=437&MId=7685&Ver=4
(xiii) To the Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Customer Service from Cllr Runciman:
“What are the total costs expected to be for holding the Budget consultation meetings which started on November 13th?” Reply: The cost of the venues was £485 and the graphics £197, giving a total cost of £682.
(xiv) To the Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Customer Service from Cllr Runciman:
“How many officer hours have been spent in total at the Budget consultation venues?” Reply: “Officers gave up their time voluntarily and hours were not therefore recorded.”
(xv) To the Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Customer Service from Cllr Runciman:
“How many members of the public have attended each Budget consultation meeting so far?” Reply: “Over 500 residents have attended the consultation meetings.”
(xvi) To the Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Customer Service from Cllr Hyman:
“Could the Cabinet Member provide a list of all grants given to organisations and voluntary groups in 2012/13?” Reply: The grants are as follows:
(xvii) To the Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Customer Service from Cllr Reid:
“After the Cabinet’s decision to reject the Government’s transitional grant and cut council tax support to residents by 30% from this April, could the Cabinet Member confirm how many residents have been affected and if any liability orders have been issued?” Reply:
“There are approximately 6,000
customers claiming at any one time.
Where a customer is in arrears and the debt is greater than
£50 the council will go to court for a liability
order. This is necessary as no
attachment to DWP benefits or earnings can be made unless a
liability order has been granted. The
number of liability orders issued in respect of council tax support
customers is 1,512 and in nearly all cases a successful attachment
has been made. This compares to a total
of 6082 issued by the end of November 2013 for all council tax
customers.
(xviii) To the Cabinet Member for Transport, Planning and Sustainability from Cllr Reid:
“On the Lendal Bridge/Coppergate restrictions could the Cabinet Member confirm the following figures: a) The number of appeals lodged each week since the beginning of August against PCNs issued for contraventions of traffic restrictions on Coppergate and Lendal Bridge b) The number of appeals which have been successful each week c) The total revenue that the Council has received so far from PCNs following the introduction of the new restrictions on Coppergate and Lendal Bridge d) The weekly changes to journey times (all modes of transport) on each arterial road and on each section of the inner ring road since the introduction of the new traffic restrictions e) The numbers of accidents reported on roads in the City centre comparing the last 3 months with the equivalent period in 2012 a) The latest air quality monitoring reports for key sites in and close to the City centre, including the Leeman Road area, and comparing these with last year?” Reply: “Data is being ‘harvested’ for vehicle travel times across the city and far more detailed information will be published when this data becomes available in the new year. Travel time data for radial arterial routes for Park and Ride has already been published and this clearly demonstrates that that the restriction has not led to the ‘dire effect on traffic’ nor the gridlock as anticipated by some. Traffic flow data for these radial routes reinforces this - the flows are very similar comparing this year to last year. Buses using the bridge are showing significant reductions in travel times – with average travel times Clarence Street to Rougier Street reducing by 4 to 5 minutes and 2 to 3 minutes in the reverse direction. Improvements in vehicle flow have been observed at the Station Frontage, Lendal Arch Gyratory, Museum Street, St Leonards Place, Bootham, Gillygate, Clarence Street and Lord Mayors Walk. Water End has seen an increase in traffic volume (as was predicted) although Clifton Green is generally coping well with the additional traffic, albeit with some late afternoon pressures at the junction. Signal adjustment has been undertaken and the situation continues to be closely monitored on a day to day basis via CCTV. Skeldergate Bridge, Walmgate Bar and Foss Islands Road have seen increases in traffic (as was predicted) and some increase in the level of delay. The traffic control centre continues to actively manage the traffic to help minimise the impact. e) The numbers of accidents reported on roads in the City centre comparing the last 3 months with the equivalent period in 2012 There is a lag of 3 to 4 months between an accident being reported to the police and it being available for analysis on our accident database. People have 28 days to report injury accidents and the data then requires inputting and validating by the police and the council. Data for Sep, Oct, Nov 2013 will become available in the new year. For information the total number of accidents on roads within the city centre (inner ring road boundary) for 2012 are:
IRR – 01/09/2012 to 30/11/2012 (all times of day) Fatal = 0 Serious = 1 Slight = 28
IRR – 01/09/2012 to 30/11/2012 (between 10:30 – 17:00 hrs) Fatal = 0 Serious = 0 Slight = 12
f) The latest air quality monitoring reports for key sites in and close to the City centre, including the Leeman Road area, and comparing these with last year?”
I am not in a position to give a detailed answer on this as I indicated in response to Question xxv) at the last Council meeting, as air quality monitoring results are produced over a period of a calendar year. The reason for this is that air quality is heavily influenced by prevailing weather conditions and shows considerable seasonal variation, and shorter term results and comparisons are not necessarily reliable. Data from all sites for the 2013 calendar year period will be collated and ratified in Feb/March 2014 in line with DEFRA’s reporting requirements (report due April 2014).
However, in terms of Leeman Road, the automatic traffic counter (installed as part of the trial) shows that traffic levels on Leeman Road have remained more or less constant (actually fallen slightly since the Lendal bridge trial started). Volume of traffic is not the only metric affecting air quality, although it is the main one that might be influenced by the trial. With little change in traffic volume officers would not expect there to be significant changes in air quality resulting from the trial restriction in the Leeman Road area.”
(i) To the Cabinet Member for Transport, Planning and Sustainability from Cllr Reid:
“In the first three months of the closure period on Lendal Bridge, what have been the average increases in: a) Mileage b) Journey time c) Cost for private car drivers who otherwise would have used the bridge?” Reply: “I’d refer you to the original report to Cabinet covering the proposed Lendal bridge trial, which included the results of the modelling work on the best estimate of traffic and journey time / cost impacts. Council officers will be receiving Traffic Master data in the New year which will allow a detailed examination and analysis of what has happened in practice.” (ii) To the Cabinet Member for Transport, Planning and Sustainability from Cllr Orrell:
“What is the proposed timetable for the consideration of residents’ responses to the consultation on the Draft Local Plan and how will the large number of residents, who have made written responses, have the opportunity to address the LDF Working Group if they wish to do so?” Reply: “Officers are currently analysing and summarising all of the responses received. This information will be used, alongside further evidence base work, to inform recommendations on redrafting the Local Plan. A summary of all comments will be reported to Members early next year alongside the recommended changes to the Plan for Members to consider. Residents who have submitted comments will have the chance to address the Local Plan Working Group if they wish within the normal public speaking arrangements when the recommended changes are discussed. Residents will then have a further chance to comment on the recommended comments when we consult on the Publication draft Local Plan prior to submission to the Inspector for Examination.
Following the Local Plan Working Group on 4th November the Local Plan webpage has been updated to include the information set out in the report including the responses from statutory and prescribed bodies so that the public can view the initial feedback on the consultation. We will be publishing all of the 4,945 comments received on the website in due course.”
(iii) To the Cabinet Member for Transport, Planning and Sustainability from Cllr Reid:
“In July the Cabinet Member said in relation to traffic cameras “Staff are now in the final stages of commissioning this new system and are finalising the list of which cameras will be presented on the website. This process should be completed within the next week and then live images will once again be available via YorkLIVE and i-travel”. At the last meeting he confirmed that the work was still ongoing. Could he confirm that the technical difficulties have now been overcome and that residents can now view the images on line?” Reply: “The system has been fully working since late October 2013 and is now available on all supported platforms (the website, Apple mobile (IOS), Android mobile and Blackberry).” (iv) To the Cabinet Member for Transport, Planning and Sustainability from Cllr Reid:
“Could the Cabinet Member confirm how long the i-Travel map function was unavailable for and if residents are able to use it again?” Reply: “The iTravel website and online journey planner are fully functional and have not been down at all over the past few weeks – www.itravelyork.info This work was funded by the Better Bus Area Fund and the planner launched fully in October.
Some elements of the YorkLIVE website – www.yorklive.info. which provides CCTV traffic snapshots, roadworks info, car park and realtime bus service information went down for a week at the end of November as a result of changes to Google code which the site made use of. This has involved a major rewrite of the backend of the website, but it is now operational again (from Tuesday 3 December). A further review and update of the site is being undertaken to ensure all elements are operational.”
(v) To the Cabinet Member for Transport, Planning and Sustainability from Cllr Firth:
“What progress has the Cabinet Member made in furtherance of his assurances, given at previous Council meetings, that bus reliability monitoring information will be made available for York residents?”
Reply: “The Council gathers data on bus reliability and publishes this via the Department for Transport on an annual basis, as per our statutory duty. Through the Better Bus Area fund, the Council has been able to appoint two Bus Monitoring Officers who are more closely analysing bus performance data as well as taking immediate actions to resolve highway problems, e.g. amending traffic signal timings. The data is used to inform improvement schemes to junctions and sections of the highway for the provision of a better bus service.
Unfortunately, the process for sifting and analysing data is not currently automated. The time required to analyse the data and provide accurate bus service reliability returns on an annual basis is considerable. It is our hope that, in time, it will be possible to automate this system which would allow the publication of data on a regular basis, which could then be available for public view.”
(vi) To the Cabinet Member for Transport, Planning and Sustainability from Cllr Steward:
“Can the cabinet member demonstrate he understands the difference between success criteria and merely stating what data will be collected?”
Reply: “Yes. As an example, the last Labour Government rightly set targets for limiting unacceptable patient waiting times in Hospital A&E departments and for operations, and put the investment into the NHS to increase staffing to meet these targets, which was then successfully achieved. The Conservative Government via Andrew Lansley then changed these from targets to data collection requirement, and cut the funding, which has needless to say worsened performance and led to increased waiting times, putting patients at increased risk. Not what I’d call a success.”
(vii) To the Cabinet Member for Transport, Planning and Sustainability from Cllr Steward:
“By what will the cabinet member deem the trial closure of Lendal Bridge a failure?”
Reply: “Whilst no thresholds for success or failure have been set the trial would not be considered successful if unacceptable delays occurred across the network for which there was no identifiable solution that could be put in place and it could not be demonstrated that there was some improvement or potential for improvement to bus journey times and reliability.”
(viii) To the Cabinet Member for Transport, Planning and Sustainability from Cllr Steward:
“Can the cabinet member detail any tangible progress made in dualling York’s Northern Ring Road since cabinet announced their support for Julian Sturdy and York Conservative Group’s campaign?”
Reply: “As those members who attended the recent Scrutiny committee meeting will be aware, Mr. Sturdy made clear he was in no position to deliver on his election promise to get York’s northern outer ring road dualled, and that in reality full dualling can only be a long term aim, which can only be delivered incrementally over a long period of time. The situation is that the government has changed the way it funds major transport schemes. The process has been devolved to a more local level but at the same time has become much more complicated and uncertain. The previous Department for Transport Major Scheme funding is being placed into the Single Local Growth Fund from 2015. Access to this fund is on a competitive basis through the Local Enterprise Partnerships. York is in two LEP areas North Yorkshire York and East Riding and the Leeds City Region. These LEPs are preparing Strategic Economic Plans which will be used by the Government to allocate funds. The Council have submitted proposals for the upgrade of the A1237 (including dualling the busiest section) to both LEPs. If the LEPs decide that the upgrade is a priority for their area then it will be included in the Strategic Economic Plan and passed forward for assessment by the government. In addition the Cabinet has approved in principle joining the West Yorkshire plus York Transport Fund which includes the upgrade of the A1237 roundabouts. Access to the fund is dependent on York being included in the Leeds City Region ‘City Deal’ which relies on the setting up of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. It would be helpful if Mr. Sturdy could get some of his North Yorkshire Conservative colleagues to support this to ensure we gain access to those transport funds and can start upgrading the northern outer ring road as he says he supports.” (ix) To the Cabinet Member for Environmental Services from Cllr Reid:
“Given the need to radically improve recycling rates could the Cabinet Member please list the programme and projects currently in place to improve recycling including costs and expected benefits?” Reply: “As seen by Councils across the country and identified by DEFRA and WRAP, recycling rates have started to plateau (and in some cases reduce), due to the struggling state of the national economy, changing consumer habits and the reducing number of potential “step changes” that can be made, especially after the recent major expansion of rural properties receiving kerbside recycling collections. Amongst our Council family group, we achieved a higher ranking for our recycling rate in 12/13 than in 11/12. One of the few major changes that could still be made is the introduction of food waste collections. This is something the Council is exploring and a business case is being prepared that will set out expected costs and benefits. Similarly, the upcoming review of our commercial waste service will analyse the potential for an improved recycling services for businesses. We will also be looking to trial segregated solar compactor bins for recycling in the city centre, and are pursuing a policy of moving terraced properties to individual front-of-property rather than communal alley-based collections for residual waste, which tends to improve recycling rates. However, the focus now has to be on behavioural and localised changes. Our waste minimisation budget is £40,000. Examples of planned and underway programmes and projects in this area include: · targeted waste minimisation campaign in areas with low recycling performance, starting with a trial in Heworth and Clifton and then rolled out across the city. This will involve a junk mail incentive campaign – distributing junk mail stickers to all households, promoting a mail preference scheme, a prize draw for all households displaying the sticker – and a street-by-street recycling competition, with every household in the street with the most improved participation rate receiving gift vouchers. Expected benefits will be more accurately identified once the trial work is completed though we are confident of a 1-2% increase on current levels. · Community reuse collections with partners such as the British Heart Foundation. · Inclusion of “tetrapaks” and batteries in kerbside recycling collections. · Battery recycling containers to be offered to and installed in shops. · New recycling banks. · Further discounts for compost bins. · Working with schools to reduce waste production and improve recycling facilities. · Events such as “Give and Take” and “Love Food Hate Waste”. · Hints, tips and ideas through social media channels. · Commercial food redistribution project and workshops to show residents how they can reduce the amount of food and other items they throw away. · Support for third-party campaigns such as University of York Students' Union’s end-of-term “Big Green Clean”. Overall we remain committed to our target of 50% recycling by 2020.”
(x) To the Cabinet Member for Environmental Services from Cllr Aspden: “How many of the salt bins, originally proposed by the present administration to be removed, have been saved and taken over by: a) Parish Councils b) Residents Associations c) Individual residents and how many of the salt bins on the streets last winter have not been ‘adopted’?” Reply: “31 salt bins have been adopted by Parish Councils, 6 by Residents Associations, and 2 by other organisations, with 121 not adopted.” (xi) To the Cabinet Member for Environmental Services from Cllr Reid:
“Has the Cabinet Member signed-up to be a snow warden scheme and could he confirm how many York residents have also become snow wardens and how does this figure compare with the same time last year?” Reply: “At time of writing there are 208 registered Snow Wardens, compared to 142 at this point last year. Having signed up in November 2011 I can confirm that I am indeed a Snow Warden. Is Cllr Reid?”
(xii) To the Cabinet Member for Environmental Services from Cllr Ayre: “Can the Cabinet Member confirm what the council’s policy is regarding requiring supermarkets and takeaways to provide bins and clear detritus from their shop fronts and which establishments the policy applies to?” Reply:
“There has been no change in policy since the last administration: conditions regarding litter may only be added to licences for businesses selling hot food after 11pm or alcohol, as per national guidance, and then only where representations are made by the public that credibly demonstrate that litter from the premises is likely to create a public nuisance.
We will be working with city centre businesses to improve shop front cleanliness as part of the upcoming commercial waste review, as well as considering city centre street cleaning arrangements in the litter policy paper coming in January.”
(xiii) To the Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Tourism from Cllr Ayre:
“A Freedom of Information request has revealed that, at present, the only income that the Council has identified from the Tour de France is an assumed £291,000 government grant to offset the expected £2.7 million costs. When does the Cabinet member expect to announce the amount of other local revenue that will be generated for the authority and how much does she anticipate will be available to discharge the motion, successfully proposed by Cllr Burton at the last Council meeting, which promised ““that all income generated for City of York Council from the Tour de France Grand Départ is spent on frontline services for residents”?” Reply: “The Tour de France income is the Leader’s portfolio responsibility as it is economic development. I cannot answer for Cllr Alexander so you may wish to direct this question to him at a later date. However, I can assure you that there is work being done around income streams from camping provision, extra car parking and secure cycle storage and also spectator hubs around the city, not to mention the work being done by Visit York around hotel packages for the period that the race is in Yorkshire. More detail about these and more initiatives will be released in the New Year.”
(xiv) To the Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Tourism from Cllr Ayre:
“For this financial year and last can the Cabinet Member supply for Parliament Street and St Sampson’s Square: a) dates on which events occurred, name of event, and income to the council b) the cost to the council for these events c) the proposed timetable for the next 12 months?” Reply: “I am delighted by the success of the programme in the city centre with both new events and existing ones creating increased footfall. The 75% increase in the footfall over St Nick’s Fayre is testament to this. This coming weekend we have the Festival of Angels – a festival that I have revitalised and which is now a major contributor to increasing footfall in the city. As you can imagine, this activity that we are putting on is very demanding of staff and the last thing I am going to do is divert resources to drawing up the kind of list you ask for even were the information available in the format you suggest. What I can provide is an overview: In terms of Specialist Markets (Made In Yorkshire, Big Autumn Market, Medieval Market, Easter Fayre etc) We host 7-8 throughout the year which bring in between £55k and £60k a year. Also, Farmers Markets on the last Friday of every month).
St Nicholas Fayre - Income: £35k - £45k
Festive Fayre - Income: £100k
Annually we have: Residents Fest (Jan) Viking Fest (Feb) Income of £1k Chocolate Festival (April) International Festival of Faith & Culture (April) Buskival (May) York Carnival (June) Festival of Traditional Dance (September) Festival of Food & Drink (September) Festival of Angels (December)
The programme for next year is developing and needs to take account of the Newgate Market refurbishment and TdF. At the moment we are looking at: Residents Festival (Jan) Viking Festival (Feb) Specialist Market (Feb/Mar) International Festival of Faith & Culture (Apr) Chocolate Festival (Apr) 2 x Specialist Markets (Apr) Specialist Market (May) Buskival (May) Specialist Market (June) York Carnival (June) Festival of Food & Drink (June)
Whilst Newgate Market is on Parliament St, we currently have 3 specialist markets booked for St Sampson’s Sq with a possibility of working with a couple of other providers in between.”
(xv) To the Cabinet Member for Health, Housing and Adult Social Services from Cllr Reid:
“What proportion of the 22,000 additional homes that the Cabinet Member feels should be built during the next 15 years under Labour’s Local Plan proposals, does she believe will be occupied by York residents and their families and how many by inward migration?” Reply: “I would refer Cllr Reid to the Local Plan Core strategy, which she has been involved in. As she clearly knows, but is playing politics over, growth in need for homes is required for a variety of reasons. People are living longer, around 1/3 of people are living alone and there is a year on year growth in birth rate. Growth is also linked to economic growth which will result in some inward migration as previous employment in the City has. York has always been an attractive place to live and work – I know Cllr Reid moved to York. For further details I would suggest she puts this question to the relevant Cabinet Member.”
(xvi) To the Cabinet Member for Health, Housing and Adult Social Services from Cllr Reid:
“Who took the decision, and when, to remove 2400 applicants from the Housing Waiting list (Home Choice) with effect from the beginning of October?” Reply: “The policy brought to my ‘Decision Session - Cabinet Member for Health, Housing and Adult Social Services, Thursday, 18th July, 2013 The agenda item explains the changes to the scheme and the consultation undertaken http://democracy.york.gov.uk/documents/s82185/1%20CBL%202012%20-%20Final%20Member%20report.pdf
Cllr Reid will also find details of the policy, as agreed by all members of the scheme, contained in my report to Economic & City Development Overview & Scrutiny (ECDOS) on the 19th November, Agenda Item 4 pages 13 and 14.
and she can find the full policy at: http://www.york.gov.uk/downloads/file/977/north_yorkshire_housing_allocation_policy"
(xvii) To the Cabinet Member for Health, Housing and Adult Social Services from Cllr Reid:
“Does the decision to remove 2400 applicants from the Housing Waiting list, which means there are now officially fewer residents in housing need, mean there will be lower affordable house building targets?” Reply: “No – the GVA Strategic Housing Market Assessment 2011 identified a need for 790 additional affordable homes each year. These figures, as Cllr Reid is aware from sitting on the then Local Development Framework Working Group and the Local Plan, were not related to the size of the Housing Waiting List but based on a detailed primary survey of housing needs, the Housing Requirements in York: Assessment of the Evidence on Housing Requirements in York (2013) published as part of the Local Plan evidence base, which looked at the financial capacity of households to afford open market housing either to buy or to rent, plus homeless households and overcrowded/concealed households.”
(xviii) To the Cabinet Member for Health, Housing and Adult Social Services from Cllr Jeffries:
“Could the Cabinet Member provide an update on the 184 residents with ‘moderate’ care needs who lost their eligibility for support from the council’s community care service last year – particularly in regards to how many are now in the "substantial" or "critical" care categories?” Reply: “All residents who were receiving support based on the Moderate Criteria were assessed within 3 months of the decision to change the eligibility level. At that point in time 86 were deemed to have an increased need of support and moved to either Substantial or Critical needs as a result of the assessment. In most cases the eligibility decision changed because it was clear the person’s needs had changed since their last review. This was not considered to be unusual as the Council had seen, during the 3 months prior to the change, that people at Moderate level changed by around one third, although the numbers remained very similar overall. The outcome of reviews were checked by managers to ensure that we were applying consistent judgements on eligibility with further assurance checks taken by senior managers.”
(xix) To the Cabinet Member for Crime and Stronger Communities from Cllr Aspden:
“Will the Cabinet Member take on board the concerns raised by the chairs of both Foxwood and Chapelfields Community Centres and reconsider planned funding cuts?” Reply: “The staged reduction in funding to the Council’s community centres agreed by Council last February was communicated to the centres straight away to give their management committees plenty of time to look at their respective business plans and get themselves onto a self-financing basis before the funding ceases. I am pleased to say that all the centres have embraced this and officers are working alongside them to support them on their journey to be financially independent, just as all the other community centres across the city are. The Council of course also continues to support the centres in a variety of other ways.
Labour values local community facilities very highly and would not have taken this decision were it not for Conservatives and Lib Dems in Government cutting the council’s funding by well over a third, which is why we are supporting each centre on the road towards financial independence in 2015-16.
I am really encouraged by the ingenuity and business acumen displayed by the centres. I am particularly impressed by the Tang Hall Community Centre management committee which is doing an excellent job in exploring funding from other sources, engaging with local residents and groups who then use the venue in great numbers, facilitating new partnerships between the voluntary sector and the council, and increasing the range and type of services they offer to the community. They have decided to become a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, have recruited new Trustees, and substantially increased the use of the Centre.
Tang Hall are happy to share their learning with the management committees of the other social halls and community centres in York and officers will continue to help make this happen. CVS are also involved and able to help. I have no doubt that Foxwood and Chapelfields will also be successful with their plans.”
(xx) To the Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Tourism from Cllr Barton:
“Can the Cabinet Member confirm that when the Community Library Trust is formed, the positions of Chief Executive, Executive Directors and Senior Officers will be filled as a result of a trawl to be made available to possible applicants from outside of the Council’s employ?”
Reply: “What Cllr Barton has clearly missed is that Explore Libraries and Archives is a social enterprise – this is a proposal by our staff to form a community benefit society not a “library trust”. I am delighted that staff have stepped up to the plate to take responsibility, to further develop the brilliant work they have been doing, and to deliver important savings for the Council. Should the Council’s response to staff proposals been to have said “good idea, go for it, but first we’re going to sack all the managers and replace them with people from outside”? I don’t think so!”
(xxi) To the Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Tourism from Cllr Barton:
“Can the Cabinet Member assure Council that no further members of the existing Library staff will be made redundant in anticipation of the formation of the Community Library Trust?
Reply: “I am pleased that all redundancies made in the library service to date have been voluntary. In line with the Council’s policies on change we will look at any further applications for voluntary redundancy we receive if agreeing to them would be in the interests of the Council.”
(xxii) To the Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Tourism from Cllr Barton:
Can the Cabinet Member outline what, in this continuing time of austerity, other vanity projects such as the Arts Barge are under consideration?”
Reply: “I can assure you that I am not aware of any vanity projects; the only projects that I am involved in are delivering benefits to the economy of the city and the quality of life of its residents.”
(xxiii) To the Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Tourism from Cllr Barton:
“Can the Cabinet Member inform Council of the projected date of the grand opening of the Community Stadium and the proposals for the occasion.”
Reply: “As the completion date for the stadium is 2016 the details of any opening ceremony have not yet been discussed. This will be dealt with in good time closer to the occasion, however I can confirm we are on track, the project progresses well and on time and we will enter final discussions with our bidders in the New Year.”
(xxiv) To the Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Tourism from Cllr Barton:
“Does the Cabinet Member stand by her statement that York City Knights will not be financially worse off by moving to the new Community Stadium?”
Reply: “Please allow me to correct your mistake Cllr Barton, this statement was not made by myself at all but was made by a then senior officer of the council acting on behalf of the then Leader of the Liberal Democrat administration, Andrew Waller. In fact, I suspect that the reason people remember this so clearly was because it was one of the few memorable moments between the statement by Active York in 2005 that a new stadium was required and the Liberal Democrat Administration deciding to appoint a project team and progress with the principle of a new stadium in May 2008.
Until the current Labour Administration took over the project in May 2011 it was directionless due to lack of political will and leadership.
However, I will say that I can see no reason why either of the sports clubs would be worse off in a new stadium with much improved facilities.”
(xxv) To the Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Tourism from Cllr Barton:
“What is the Cabinet Members reaction to the news that the Athletics Club will not be sharing the facilities of the Sports Village?”
Reply: “I'm delighted with the outcome we have achieved by working closely with the City of York Athletic Club and the UoY.
Additional Information in relation to Minute 58 (iii) Question to Cabinet Leader from Cllr Aspden– Details of Footfall
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