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City of York Council |
Committee Minutes |
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Meeting |
Shareholder Committee |
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Date |
3 February 2025 |
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Present |
Councillors Lomas (Chair) and Kilbane |
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In Attendance |
Councillor Ayre (Leader of the Lib Dem Group) |
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Officers Present |
Helen Whiting, Chief Officer HR and Support Services (remote) Patrick Looker, Head of Service Finance Andy Laslett, Strategic Services Manager Dan Moynihan, Senior Lawyer (Contracts and Commercial) and Deputy Monitoring Officer |
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External Visitors |
Sandy Boyle, Managing Director (Yorwaste Ltd) Karen Bull, Managing Director (City of York Trading Ltd) Sarah Loftus, Managing Director (Make It York) Tony Spinks, Head of Finance (Make It York) Max Thomas, Chief Executive (Veritau) |
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19. Apologies for Absence (16:31)
No apologies for absence were received.
20. Declarations of Interest (16:31)
Members were asked to declare at this point in the meeting any disclosable pecuniary interests or other registerable interests they might have in respect of business on the agenda, if they had not already done so in advance on the Register of Interests. None were declared.
21. Minutes (16:31)
Resolved: That the minutes of the last meeting held 14 October 2024 were approved and then signed by the Chair as a correct record.
22. Exclusion of Press and Public (16:32)
Resolved: That the public and press be excluded from the meeting during consideration of:
· Agenda item 8, Annex B on the grounds that it contained information relating to any individual. This information is classed as exempt under Paragraph 1 of Schedule 12A to Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to information) (Variation) Order 2006.
· Agenda item 7, Annexes A and B; Agenda item 8, Appendix 1; and Agenda item 9, Appendices 1 and 2, on the grounds that they contained information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information). This information is classed as exempt under Paragraphs 3 of Schedule 12A to Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to information) (Variation) Order 2006.
23. Public Participation (16:33)
It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.
24. Yorwaste Ltd Finance and Performance Update (16:33)
The Managing Director of Yorwaste Ltd provided the committee with an update on the company’s financial and non-financial performance for the financial year 2024-25. During the discussion in was noted that:
· The company continued to prioritise safety and to date had gone 364 days without a Lost Time Injury (LTI).
· In terms of financial performance, while there had been a fall in gas revenue and reduced volumes in third-party recyclate processing, this had been offset by increased commercial activity including an increase in lifts. The increase in lifts (or collections) reflected that waste was being collected from a higher number of customers, rather than more waste per customer. There was no definitive measure of market share but the company was doing well in comparison to competitors.
· A final decision from North Yorkshire Council on its Simpler Recycling strategy was expected before the next meeting of the committee; expansion of the existing facility might need to be considered as a result.
· The company was proceeding with a planning application for phases 1 and 2 of the Harewood solar site. A specialist consultant was doing work to address ‘glint and glare’ objections to phase 3, which could be reviewed and pursued at a later date. Given the cost of grid connection the viability of phase 3 would need to be considered, as with annual efficiency gains by 2035 it might be possible to achieve a better return from a smaller site.
· Year-end profits for 2024-25 were expected to be broadly in line with last year at around £1.5m. Above inflation costs for next year were expected from the increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions and the Living Wage Foundation living wage, which the majority of Yorwaste staff were close to. It was expected that the company would still be profitable in 2025-26 but at a reduced level compared to recent years. Work to finalise the budget was ongoing, but £500,000-700,000 would be needed to maintain a cash-positive position.
Resolved: To note the reports from Yorwaste Ltd attached at annex 1 to the report.
Reason: To ensure the Council is updated on the financial performance of Yorwaste Ltd.
25. City of York Trading Ltd and Work with York Limited Update (16:45)
The Managing Director of City of York Trading Ltd (CYT) provided members with an update on the performance of CYT since the last meeting of the committee, as well as an update on Work with York Limited. She noted that she was currently the sole director of Work with York Limited, which had been set up in October 2024, and that preparations were underway for the company to begin providing service to the Council from 1 April 2025. As part of this work, the committee were being asked to approve the appointments of Non-Executive Directors to the board of Work with York Limited.
[Between 16:47 and 17:07 the press and public were excluded from the meeting during consideration of Annexes A and B to the report].
Resolved:
i. To note the confidential Performance Update from City of York’s Trading Ltd attached at Annex A to the report.
Reason: To ensure the Council is updated on the performance of City of York Trading Ltd.
ii. To note the confidential Update from Work with York Limited attached at Annex B to the report.
Reason: To ensure the Council is updated on the plans of Work with York Limited.
iii. To approve the appointment to the board of Work with York Limited as Non-Executive Directors, those current Non-Executive Directors of City of York Trading Ltd and delegate authority to the current director of Work with York Limited to make all necessary filings with the Registrar of Companies and all necessary updates to the statutory registers, letterhead, website, etc. of the Company in relation to said appointments.
Reason: To ensure Work with York Limited has an appropriate number of Non-Executive Directors on its Board as required by the Work with York Limited Shareholders Agreement.
26. Make It York Update (17:09)
The Managing Director and Head of Finance of Make It York (MIY) provided members with an update on the company’s financial and non-financial performance since the last meeting of the committee. They highlighted successes over recent months including the Christmas Market, Residents Weekend and Ice sculpture trail. It was noted that MIY was working with officers on developing a new layout for next year’s Christmas Market. There had been 110,000 visits to the MIY website to book tickets for Residents’ Weekend events, and 63,000 visits to the Ice Trail website, up from 37,000 last year. Consultations with Shambles Market traders had been recognised by the National Association of British Markets as an example of good practice. While a profit was still expected in the next financial year, it was not likely to be as strong as the last two years due to the impact of Christmas Market changes and a move away from print.
In response to members’ questions it was noted that:
· Of a total of 13 complaints received about the Christmas Market, only one related to insufficient Blue Badge access, and none to provision of public toilets. Additional provision of the latter had worked effectively. While there had been some disappointment at the closure of the market for a day during Storm Darragh, this had been necessary for safety reasons.
· A risk score for emergency and continuity planning was not included in the risk register at Appendix 4 to the report but would be provided for members.
[Between 17:18 and 17:28 the press and public were excluded from the meeting during consideration of Appendix 1 and Annex B to the report].
Resolved:
i. To note the MIY Shareholder Report at Annex A and the supporting documents including Appendix 1 to 4 supplied by MIY.
ii. To approve the appointments of the new chairperson and non-executive director to the MIY board.
Reason: To ensure the Council is updated on the financial and non-financial performance of Make It York, its business plan, and the ratification of the written resolution in relation to board members.
27. Veritau Business Update (17:29)
Members considered an update from the Chief Executive of Veritau on the performance and trading activities of Veritau Limited and Veritau Public Sector Limited (VPS) since the last meeting of the committee.
It was noted that one new member council, Cherwell District Council, had been admitted to VPS, and a number of new clients had been gained. The company was working at capacity and was having to be selective in taking on new work. New redaction software had been successful implemented and would increase efficiency, especially in processing subject access requests. Good Business Charter accreditation had been retained and a small profit across the two companies was expected for 2024-25.
In response to questions it was noted that most growth was on the commercial side of the business, with a range of clients including councils, schools, charities, and sports governing bodies interested in the services offered by Veritau.
[Between 17:34 and 17:42 the press and public were excluded from the meeting during consideration of Appendices 1 and 2 to the report].
Resolved:
i. To note the performance of both Veritau Limited and Veritau Public Sector Limited since the last business update report in October 2024.
ii. To approve the 2025/26 business plans (and budgets) for both Veritau Limited and Veritau Public Sector Limited.
Reason: To enable members to assess the performance of Veritau against the current business plan and to approve the business priorities for each company for 2025/26.
28. Work Plan (17:42)
Members considered the committee’s work plan for the next municipal year.
Resolved: That the committee’s work plan for 2025/26 be noted and approved.
Reason: To ensure the committee received regular reports in accordance with the functions of an effective Shareholder Committee.
Cllr K Lomas, Chair
[The meeting started at 4.30 pm and finished at 5.43 pm].