Agenda item
Motions on Notice
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 cutting the budget in the middle of the financial year it means it will be particularly difficult to make the necessary savings.
It is imperative to maintain access to essential service provision, but stark choices will need to be made from January.
Council Resolves:
(i) To write to the Government to further outline this Council’s opposition to the in-year cuts and the plan for further cuts in 2016/17 and 17/18.
(ii) To request that the Public Health Grant Spending Task Group set-up by the Health and Adult Social Care Policy and Scrutiny Committee considers the impact of this cut on current and future spending as part of its work.
(iii) From Cllr Cannon
Bootham Park Hospital
Council notes the challenges faced by the NHS and the ongoing impact on patient care for people in York.
It further notes:
- The detrimental impact on patients, carers and clinical staff caused by the closure of Bootham Park Hospital and the subsequent lack of accountability;
- The recent impact on physiotherapy patients from across York caused by the CCG’s failed procurement of MSK (Muscular Skeletal) services;
- The operational challenge presented by a fragmented NHS landscape, with a multitude of different organisations involved in both the Bootham Park closure and the failed MSK services procurement;
- The spate of recent CQC reports, all with ‘requiring improvement’ judgments:
§ Yorkshire Ambulance Service
§ York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
§ Leeds and York Partnership Foundation Trust
- The inability of York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to meet targets for A&E waiting times and for cancer treatment;
- The recent announcement that NHS Vale of York CCG is now classed as an organisation which is in ‘turnaround’ due to the ongoing deterioration of its financial position, leaving it categorised as 'not assured’;
- The unprecedented £1.6bn mid-year deficit facing NHS Trusts across the country.
Council believes the Government has no credible plan for improving NHS services for people in York.
Council resolves:
(i) To endorse the request made to the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt MP, by the Health and Adult Social Care Policy and Scrutiny Committee, in support of a call by the MP for York Central for an Inquiry/urgent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the closure of Bootham Park Hospital; and
(ii) To fully support the Council’s Health and Adult Social Care Policy and Scrutiny Committee in its continuing efforts to scrutinise local NHS services to ensure they cater for, and are responsive to, the needs of local people and that lessons are learnt from the Bootham Hospital closure.
(iv) From Cllr Rawlings
Loneliness and Social Isolation
Council notes that:
Loneliness and social isolation are public health and moral societal issues which as a result of changes in social patterns and increased longevity can adversely affect individuals of all backgrounds and income levels;
Although difficult to measure, the problem is worst amongst the elderly and it is estimated one in ten people of pensionable age living in York are likely to be classed as lonely or extremely lonely;
Loneliness and social isolation is known to have a particularly negative impact on older peoples’ mortality, morbidity and quality of life;
Department of Health figures show one in ten older people do not see their family even monthly and in just five years’ time there will be a million more people in the U.K. over 70.
Whilst there are things Council does to support residents and local communities to engage with neighbours who may be at risk of social isolation, it should look in a more joined up way with partners at what more can be done.
Council therefore pledges to support the following initiatives and requests the Director of Adult Social Care to:
· work closely with York’s Health and Wellbeing Board to imbed the prevention and reduction of loneliness as part of its Health and Wellbeing Strategy.
· set up a dedicated Steering Group to include organisations such as the Council, health partners, charities and support groups for the elderly in particular, to raise residents’ awareness of both the issue of potential loneliness amongst their neighbours and of services currently available for anyone feeling lonely and isolated;
· Work with neighbourhood teams to set up a pilot scheme in Haxby and Wigginton Ward (which has the oldest age profile of the three member wards) to map local assets for and barriers to keeping connected in older age, involving residents, local businesses and other partners and to assess how such a scheme, if successful, could be rolled out city-wide; and
· ensure that the potential for suffering loneliness and social isolation is embedded as part of all strategic needs assessments or local surveys and that this information is made known and available to council officers and others who are involved in providing or assessing relevant council services as a matter of course.
Minutes:
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 puts at risk crucial support and services for residents and risks significantly increasing pressure on NHS services in York.
By cutting the budget in the middle of the financial year it means it will be particularly difficult to make the necessary savings.
It is imperative to maintain access to essential service provision, but stark choices will need to be made from January.
Council Resolves:
(i) To write to the Government to further outline this Council’s opposition to the in-year cuts and the plan for further cuts in 2016/17 and 17/18.
(ii) To request that the Public Health Grant Spending Task Group set-up by the Health and Adult Social Care Policy and Scrutiny Committee considers the impact of this cut on current and future spending as part of its work.”
An amendment was proposed by Cllr Craghill as follows:
“The addition of the following resolutions at the end of ‘Council Resolves:’
iii) To ensure that the Public Health Grant Spending Task group has sufficient resources to complete its work as quickly as possible.
iv) To encourage the group and the wider council to engage pro-actively with voluntary and community sector groups as well as health service partners and the general public in order to find ways of responding to these cuts, whilst also highlighting the damage that they will do.”
On being put to the vote the amendment was declared CARRIED.
A vote was then taken on the original motion, as amended by Cllr Craghill’s amendment, which was also CARRIED and it was
Resolved: That the original motion, as amended by Cllr Craghill’s amendment, be approved. 2.
(iii) Bootham Park Hospital
(moved by Cllr Cannon and seconded by Cllr Funnell)
“Council notes the challenges faced by the NHS and the ongoing impact on patient care for people in York.
It further notes:
- The detrimental impact on patients, carers and clinical staff caused by the closure of Bootham Park Hospital and the subsequent lack of accountability;
- The recent impact on physiotherapy patients from across York caused by the CCG’s failed procurement of MSK (Muscular Skeletal) services;
- The operational challenge presented by a fragmented NHS landscape, with a multitude of different organisations involved in both the Bootham Park closure and the failed MSK services procurement;
- The spate of recent CQC reports, all with ‘requiring improvement’ judgments:
§ Yorkshire Ambulance Service
§ York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
§ Leeds and York Partnership Foundation Trust
- The inability of York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to meet targets for A&E waiting times and for cancer treatment;
- The recent announcement that NHS Vale of York CCG is now classed as an organisation which is in ‘turnaround’ due to the ongoing deterioration of its financial position, leaving it categorised as 'not assured’;
- The unprecedented £1.6bn mid-year deficit facing NHS Trusts across the country.
Council believes the Government has no credible plan for improving NHS services for people in York.
Council resolves:
(i) To endorse the request made to the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt MP, by the Health and Adult Social Care Policy and Scrutiny Committee, in support of a call by the MP for York Central for an Inquiry/urgent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the closure of Bootham Park Hospital; and
(ii) To fully support the Council’s Health and Adult Social Care Policy and Scrutiny Committee in its continuing efforts to scrutinise local NHS services to ensure they cater for, and are responsive to, the needs of local people and that lessons are learnt from the Bootham Hospital closure.”
On being put to the vote, the motion, was CARRIED and it was
Resolved: That the motion be approved. 3.
(iii) Loneliness and Social Isolation
(moved by Cllr Rawlings and seconded by Cllr Gates)
“Council notes that:
Loneliness and social isolation are public health and moral societal issues which as a result of changes in social patterns and increased longevity can adversely affect individuals of all backgrounds and income levels;
Although difficult to measure, the problem is worst amongst the elderly and it is estimated one in ten people of pensionable age living in York are likely to be classed as lonely or extremely lonely;
Loneliness and social isolation is known to have a particularly negative impact on older peoples’ mortality, morbidity and quality of life;
Department of Health figures show one in ten older people do not see their family even monthly and in just five years’ time there will be a million more people in the U.K. over 70.
Whilst there are things Council does to support residents and local communities to engage with neighbours who may be at risk of social isolation, it should look in a more joined up way with partners at what more can be done.
Council therefore pledges to support the following initiatives and requests the Director of Adult Social Care to:
· work closely with York’s Health and Wellbeing Board to imbed the prevention and reduction of loneliness as part of its Health and Wellbeing Strategy.
· set up a dedicated Steering Group to include organisations such as the Council, health partners, charities and support groups for the elderly in particular, to raise residents’ awareness of both the issue of potential loneliness amongst their neighbours and of services currently available for anyone feeling lonely and isolated;
· Work with neighbourhood teams to set up a pilot scheme in Haxby and Wigginton Ward (which has the oldest age profile of the three member wards) to map local assets for and barriers to keeping connected in older age, involving residents, local businesses and other partners and to assess how such a scheme, if successful, could be rolled out city-wide; and
· ensure that the potential for suffering loneliness and social isolation is embedded as part of all strategic needs assessments or local surveys and that this information is made known and available to council officers and others who are involved in providing or assessing relevant council services as a matter of course.”
An amendment was proposed by Cllr Craghill as follows:
“In the final paragraph, following the words ‘requests the Director of Adult Social Care to’ the addition of the words ‘ensure that the necessary funding and additional officer time is available to:’
In the third bullet point after ‘pilot scheme’ the deletion of the words ‘in Haxby and Wigginton Ward (which has the oldest age profile of the three member wards)”.
On being put to the vote the amendment was declared LOST.
A vote was then taken on the original motion, which was CARRIED and it was
Resolved: That the original motion, be approved. 4.