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3 February 2025 |
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Report of the Director (Housing and Communities) |
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Make It York Update
Purpose of Report
1. To consider reports from Make It York (MIY) on the company’s financial and non-financial performance since the last report in October 2024. The MIY narrative report at Annex A also includes:
a. Appendix 1 - Confidential management accounts report, profit and loss statement, balance sheet and cashflow forecast.
b. Appendix 2 – MIY Business Plan 2022-2025.
c. Appendix 3 – MIY SLA Strategic Linkages key performance data dashboard.
d. Appendix 4 – Risk Register.
2. Ratify the written resolution at Annex B for a new chairperson and new non-executive director of the company made on 21 November 2024.
Recommendations
3. The committee is asked to note the MIY Shareholder Report at Annex A and the supporting documents including Appendix 1 to 4 supplied by MIY.
4. 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.
Background and analysis
5. On 14th March 2024, the Council’s Executive agreed to enter into a further two-year extension of the Service Contract with MIY[1]. A new service specification (or SLA as it is often informally referred to) was negotiated between the Council and the MIY board laid out under the following headings:
· Destination Management Organisation: promotion of York as a leisure and business visitor destination.
· Visitor Sector Development: working with visitor sector businesses to improve York centre as a destination.
· Tourism Advisory Board: convene and facilitate TAB for York and take a lead in the development, delivery, and monitoring of the new tourism strategy.
· Markets: Development of a new markets strategy whilst operating the Shambles Market and management of the Market Charter on behalf of the whole city.
· Commercial Events: run safe, sustainable and accessible event programme to support economic growth and promote York, including specialist markets, local and community events in the city centre and other key event spaces.
· City Centre Vibrancy: contribute to the Our City strategy by development of a Spaces and Places Policy that improves how the city centre works, collaborating with partners.
· Culture: Help to deliver the culture strategy along with other partners to enable an ambitious and cohesive programme of cultural development for the city covering the arts, heritage and creative industries from the spaces managed by MIY.
· Events Framework: A city-wide Events Framework consistent with the aims of the cultural strategy that enables the city proactively to identify the events that it wishes to host and attract and enables the Council to respond in an informed way when opportunities are brought forward.
· UNESCO Designation: Ensure the people of York understand and appreciate the importance of York’s UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts status and maximise its impact. Through promotion on the Visit York and Make It York Website.
6. The new SLA and the extension came into effect on 23rd September 2024. The Service Contract expires on 22nd September 2026.
7. The SLA sets out key deliverables, outcomes by which performance will be measured, and detailed delivery tasks.
8. Executive agreed that MIY should report to the Shareholder Committee twice a year as follows:
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Key Company Matters:
9. MIY have included the business plan that was approved last March at Appendix 2. The new SLA has been in place since September 24. Quarterly monitoring of the service level agreement, its outcomes and outputs takes place along with tighter monitoring arrangements in the form of strategic linkages Key Performance Indicators shown in Appendix 3.
Financial update
10. As reported at Shareholder Committee in October 2024, MIY returned to solvency after a strong financial performance in 2023-24, with net assets of £285,051. The dividend payment of £25,000 was paid to CYC for 2023-24.
11. In the current operational year 2024/25, the position at the end of November 2024 indicates MIY are ahead of the budgeted position with the forecast for another profitable year by end of March 2025. The full details can be seen in confidential Appendix 1 and the financial narrative in Annex A.
12. MIY have worked closely with officers to monitor the company’s ongoing financial position and continue to provide bi-monthly updates, to ensure early warnings should this positive financial position change.
13. The Shareholder Committee can be reassured that officers will continue to work closely with MIY to monitor the financial position.
SLA Refresh
14. Under the Service Contract with MIY, it allows for an SLA refresh each year, to ensure the SLA remains up to date and can accommodate changes if required. As the current SLA was only approved in March 2024, there are no changes requested.
Legal & Governance
15. Under Article 12.4.1 of the Council’s Constitution, the Shareholder Committee has been delegated authority to approve MIY’s annual business plan and the appointment or dismissal of any company Directors (including the Chair), which requires Shareholder consent under the Articles of Association of MIY.
16. Schedule 2 of MIY’s Articles of Association published at Companies House set out the following reserved matters which require prior written consent of the Council in its capacity as sole shareholder of MIY:
a. Para. 1.5 – appointment of Directors; and
b. Para. 1.25 – the adoption of a strategic business plan in respect of each financial year.
17. Further, Article 25.3 gives the Council the right to appoint up to ten Non-Executive, Non-Council Directors.
18. Annex B is a copy of the written resolution made on 21 November 2024.
Risk Management
19. There are no specific risk issues arising from this report beyond those highlighted in the text.
Implications
20. There are no additional legal, HR, equalities, crime and disorder, information technology, property or other implications or decisions arising from this report.
Annexes
Annex A – Make It York Shareholder Report
Appendix 1 – Management Accounts report incorporating Profit & Loss statement, Balance Sheet and Cashflow forecast – Nov 2024 (Confidential)
Appendix 2 – MIY Business Plan
Appendix 3 – MIY SLA Strategic Linkages Key Performance data Dashboard.
Appendix 4 – MIY Risk Register.
Annex B – Written resolution dated 21 November 2024 (Confidential)
Background Papers
Shareholder Committee 14 October 2024 – Draft minutes https://democracy.york.gov.uk/documents/g14615/Printed%20minutes%20Monday%2014-Oct-2024%2016.30%20Shareholder%20Committee.pdf?T=1
Executive Decision 14th March 2024 - https://democracy.york.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?AIId=66936
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Author: |
Chief Officer responsible for the report: |
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Andrew Laslett Strategic Services Manager (Housing and Communities) |
Pauline Stuchfield Director of Housing and Communities |
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Report Approved |
✓ |
Date |
21.01.25. |
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Wards Affected: All |
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For further information please contact the author of the report |
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