Issue - meetings

This report seeks to brief the Executive on the review on jobs, as requested in the Policy Prospectus.

RESOLVED:(i) That the continuing good performance of the York economy and the very low unemployment rates seen in the City over the last 4 years be noted;

(ii)               That the interim arrangements recently announced, which will give major employers a direct channel to a senior contact within the Council to ensure that any issues relating to jobs are resolved quickly, be welcomed;

(iii)             That officers be requested, as part of their response report to the Future York proposals, to consider how the City Strategy Directorate resource allocation priorities can be refined to ensure prompt attention to major applications which are likely to result in significant additional jobs in the City and also to address the issues of job vacancies in the planning department;

(iv)              That, using the opportunities offered by the restructure of the Business Link support organisation, the Council and its partners consult further with small business representative organisations to understand whether more can be done to sustain the economic viability of the sector;

(v)                That the City’s approach to skill training and social inclusion issues (including relative wage rates) be progressed with partner organisations using the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) and other appropriate interface mechanisms.

REASON:            To help shape the effectiveness of future action.

Members received a report which sought to brief the Executive on the review on jobs, as requested in the Policy Prospectus.

The review report highlighted how the Council could allocate sufficient resources to ensure that job creating planning opportunities were dealt with quickly, indicated how a partnership approach could assist the growth of local small businesses including refinements to the Council’s purchasing policies (as part of an overall review of procurement to take account of ethical, sustainability and efficiency issues), and looked at the adequacy and success of local skill training facilities for York workers.

The Assistant Director (Economic Development & Partnerships) advised Members of the interim arrangements recently announced, which would give major employers a direct channel to a senior contact within the Council to ensure that any issues relating to jobs were resolved quickly, and outlined the next steps that were proposed to take the Jobs Review forward.

Members discussed the continuing good performance of the York economy and the low unemployment rates.  They noted that an issue still to be addressed was ensuring that York residents were able to play a full part in the economic growth of the City and that some people were not left “economically excluded”, and they outlined ways in which partners and partnerships could contribute to dealing with this matter.

Having considered the advice of the Shadow Executive, it was

RESOLVED:(i) That the continuing good performance of the York economy and the very low unemployment rates seen in the City over the last 4 years be noted;

(ii)               That the interim arrangements recently announced, which will give major employers a direct channel to a senior contact within the Council to ensure that any issues relating to jobs are resolved quickly, be welcomed;

(iii)             That officers be requested, as part of their response report to the Future York proposals, to consider how the City Strategy Directorate resource allocation priorities can be refined to ensure prompt attention to major applications which are likely to result in significant additional jobs in the City and also to address the issues of job vacancies in the planning department;

(iv)              That, using the opportunities offered by the restructure of the Business Link support organisation, the Council and its partners consult further with small business representative organisations to understand whether more can be done to sustain the economic viability of the sector;

(v)                That the City’s approach to skill training and social inclusion issues (including relative wage rates) be progressed with partner organisations using the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP) and other appropriate interface mechanisms.

REASON:            To help shape the effectiveness of future action.