Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

To receive and note apologies for absence.

There were no absences.

At this point in the meeting, Members and co-opted members are

asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary interest, or other

registerable interest, they might have in respect of business on

this agenda, if they have not already done so in advance on the

Register of Interests. The disclosure must include the nature of

the interest.

An interest must also be disclosed in the meeting when it

becomes apparent to the member during the meeting.

(1) Members must consider their interests, and act according to

the following:

(2) Disclosable pecuniary interests relate to the Member

concerned or their spouse/partner.

(3) Members in arrears of Council Tax by more than two months

must not vote in decisions on, or which might affect, budget

calculations, and must disclose at the meeting that this restriction

applies to them. A failure to comply with these requirements is a

criminal offence under section 106 of the Local Government

Finance Act 1992.

The Executive Leader was asked to declare at this point in the meeting any disclosable pecuniary interest or other registerable interest they might have in respect of business on the agenda if they had not already done so in advance on the Register of Interests. The Executive Leader had none to declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the previous Decision

Sessions - Executive Leader, Policy, Strategy and Partnerships

held on 19 March 2025.

Resolved: That the minutes of the Executive Leader, Policy, Strategy and Partnerships meeting held on 19 March 2025 be approved and then signed by the Executive Leader as a correct record.

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have

registered to speak can do so. Members of the public may speak

on agenda items or on matters within the remit of the committee.

Please note that our registration deadlines are set as 2 working

days before the meeting, in order to facilitate the management of

public participation at our meetings. The deadline for registering

at this meeting is 5:00pm on Thursday 17 April 2025.

To register to speak please visit

www.york.gov.uk/AttendCouncilMeetings to fill in an online

registration form. If you have any questions about the registration

form or the meeting, please contact Democratic Services.

Contact details can be found at the foot of this agenda.

Webcasting of Public Meetings

Please note that, subject to available resources, this meeting will

be webcast including any registered public speakers who have

given their permission. The meeting can be viewed live and on

demand at www.york.gov.uk/webcasts.

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

Flick Williams stated that the Council should continue using Twitter. She stated that there are pros and cons to all social media platforms and that the Council should support free speech where legal limits were not breached. Finally she highlighted that the Twitter platform was more accessible than many other social media platforms.

This report sets out the case for reviewing the City of York Council’s use of X (formerly known as Twitter), in response to significant changes to the platform’s functionality, credibility, and reach.

Resolved:

                         i.         Approved the Council no longer sharing information on its corporate X (formerly known as Twitter) account @CityofYork, unless directed by Silver Command.

                        ii.         Approved the plan (Annex A) to encourage residents to register for information or follow other council social media channels, whilst closing all council X accounts that do not respond to an incident.

Reason:     The recommendation to end routine use of X follows an ongoing review of our communication methods to ensure they reflect our values of inclusion, trust, and respect. As the platform no longer aligns with these principles, this allows us to focus on clearer, more accessible routes for the public to engage with the Council, including our own channels, and other social networks. This recommendation does allow the Council the flexibility to utilise the X platform in emergency incidents and safeguards the Council against losing its verified status and identity.

The Head of Communications and Engagement introduced the report. He noted that X’s reach and credibility had declined in recent years. He noted that it had also removed fact checking facilities on its site. He confirmed that only 8% of residents sough to get their communications from the Council via X. He confirmed that the Council had spoken to a number of other organisations regionally and other local authorities about how they had moved away from using X and that the Council would keep open its X account for use by Silver Command in the case of needing to put out emergency communications.

The Executive Leader welcomed the report highlighting how the platform and changed and no longer aligned with the Council Plans values. She noted the removal of fact checking and moderators from content on X, which had exacerbated the rise in hateful and misinformation content. She therefore welcomed the plans to encourage residents to engage with the Council though other channels, as well as, maintaining the X account in cases of emergency.

Resolved:

                         i.         Approved the Council no longer sharing information on its corporate X (formerly known as Twitter) account @CityofYork, unless directed by Silver Command.

                        ii.         Approved the plan (Annex A) to encourage residents to register for information or follow other council social media channels, whilst closing all council X accounts that do not respond to an incident.

Reason:     The recommendation to end routine use of X follows an ongoing review of our communication methods to ensure they reflect our values of inclusion, trust, and respect. As the platform no longer aligns with these principles, this allows us to focus on clearer, more accessible routes for the public to engage with the Council, including our own channels, and other social networks. This recommendation does allow the Council the flexibility to utilise the X platform in emergency incidents and safeguards the Council against losing its verified status and identity.