Agenda, decisions and minutes

At this point in the meeting, the Cabinet Member is asked to declare:

·        any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests

·        any prejudicial interests or

·        any disclosable pecuniary interests

which they may have in respect of business on this agenda.

The Cabinet Member was asked to declare any personal, prejudicial or disclosable pecuniary interests other than her registered interests that she might have had in the business on the agenda.

She declared a personal interest as a retired Member of Unison and a member of the Regional Arts Council, in relation to those agenda items where funding was provided by the Arts Council.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 8 May 2012.

RESOLVED:       That the minutes of the Decision Session held on 8 May 2012 be signed by the Cabinet Member as a correct record.

At this point in the meeting, members of the public who have registered their wish to speak at the meeting can do so. The deadline for registering is Tuesday 26 February 2013 at 5.00 pm.

Members of the public may register to speak on :-

·        an item on the agenda

·        an issue within the Cabinet Member’s remit;

It was reported that there had been three registrations to speak under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme, all in relation to agenda item 6 (York Museums Trust (YMT) Scrutiny Review Final Report).

Councillor Reid, Chair of the Learning and Culture Overview and Scrutiny Committee, commended the review and expressed her thanks to the work of the Task Group and confirmed that the Committee were supportive of the recommendations. She stressed the need for the collections to be retained in an acceptable way but also the importance of dealing with disposals and the need for a policy to cover this.

Councillor Taylor, member of the YMT Task Group, stated that the review had been an important piece of work to undertake as City of York Council were the ultimate guardians of the YMT collections. He confirmed that since the report had been presented to Cabinet, they had had to opportunity to meet with the Cabinet Member and relevant officers and were now comfortable that any issues had been resolved.

Councillor Watson, also on the YMT Task Group, advised that he was happy that the recommendations had been taken on board and cited the review as a good example of how scrutiny can be carried out.

This report reviews the programme of activities that were undertaken in York as part of our York800 celebrations: including the two royal visits and the Olympic torch and Paralympic lantern relays, and sets out the aspirations and plans for continuing the cultural and community legacy in 2013 and beyond.

RESOLVED:       That the report be noted and the Cabinet Member’s comments on the effectiveness of the York 800 programme and her support for the principles outlined in taking the legacy forward be recognised.

REASON:            To support the development of a world class cultural offer and build stronger, more participative, communities.

The Cabinet Member received a report which reviewed the programme of activities that were undertaken in York as part of the York800 celebrations: including the two royal visits, the Olympic torch and Paralympic lantern relays. It also set out the aspirations and plans for continuing the cultural and community legacy in 2013 and beyond.

The Head of Culture, Tourism and City Centre advised the Cabinet Member that York 800 had exceeded their expectations and had been a success on all themes. She drew the Cabinet Member’s attention to paragraph 30 of the report which detailed the legacy of York 800 including the involvement of strategic partners across the city from an early stage, the strong internal CYC team with membership from across the Council, the decision to be open and flexible regarding the use of the logo and branding of York 800, engagement with local media and recognition that as we move forward that outcomes cannot be achieved with CYC resources alone, but by working with partners a new culture of volunteering in the city has been developed.

The Cabinet Member expressed her thank to officers,  York@Large, York residents and volunteers for their part in making York 800 a success. She noted that many events would be running again this year due to their success and Buskival would become an annual event.

RESOLVED:       That the report be noted and the Cabinet Member’s comments on the effectiveness of the York 800 programme and her support for the principles outlined in taking the legacy forward be recognised.

REASON:           To support the development of a world class cultural offer and build stronger more participative communities

This report reviews the programme of activities that were undertaken in York to support the Cultural Olympiad, the Olympic Games, and Paralympic Games held in London during the summer of 2012 and sets out the aspirations and plans for continuing the sporting and community legacy of the games in 2013 and beyond.

RESOLVED:       That the report be noted and the Cabinet Member’s comments on the effectiveness of the York Gold 2012 programme and her support for the principles outlined in taking the legacy forward be acknowledged.

REASON:            To promote active and healthy lifestyles, cultural engagement and development of stronger communities within the city.

The Cabinet Member received a report which reviewed the programme of activities that had been undertaken in York to support the Cultural Olympiad, the Olympic Games, and Paralympic Games held in London during the summer of 2012. The report also set out the aspirations and plans for continuing the sporting and community legacy of the games in 2013 and beyond.

The Head of Sports and Active Leisure briefed the Cabinet Member on the range of events which had been organised by the Sport and Active Leisure Team during the year, and the legacy of York Gold 2012, in promoting increased participation in sport and healthy lifestyles, creating new opportunities for disabled people, creating a new generation of community and elite sports facilities, encouraging a new culture of volunteering, establishing a reputation as a home for excellent sporting events and links to world class sport, and re-energising school sport.

The Cabinet Member acknowledged that the Cultural Olympiad and Olympic and Paralympic Games had brought many opportunities to York. She expressed her thanks to officers, especially the Sport and Leisure Team, and communities for the overriding success of York Gold 2012. She noted the legacy opportunities and the increase in the drive in community accessible sports.

RESOLVED:       That the report be noted and the Cabinet Member’s comments on the effectiveness of the York Gold 2012 programme and her support for the principles outlined in taking the legacy forward be acknowledged.

REASON:           To promote active and healthy lifestyles, cultural engagement and development of stronger communities within the city.

This report sets out a recommended response from the Cabinet Member to the Learning and Culture Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s report on “whether YMT have achieved appropriate collections management standards in line with the Collections Loan Agreement and Collections Management Protocol agreed in 2002”.

RESOLVED:       That the Cabinet Member agreed to:

(i)      Request YMT to provide to the next meeting of the Learning & Culture Overview & Scrutiny Committee a presentation on the key principles that their Acquisition and Disposal policy review will be based on - in order to help frame and support YMT’s work on those revisions

(ii)      Request YMT to provide a revised version of the Acquisition and Disposal policy for the Learning & Culture Overview & Scrutiny Committee’s consideration at their meeting in May 2013, prior to it being approved by the Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Tourism.

(iii)     Note the willingness of YMT’s Volunteers Manager to attend ward meetings / community events to identify ward residents who may have useful skills and to help facilitate the recruitment of additional volunteers

(iv)     Ask YMT to provide for the Scrutiny Committee a brief report on their processes for training volunteers and passing on knowledge to enhance the training of new guides and volunteers

(v)     Restate with YMT the relevant section of the legal agreement between YMT and the Council with regard de-accessioning unwanted / damaged / duplicate collection items, in order to provide clarity on the procedure and to allow the progression of work on the collections and the implementation of YMT’s plans for the future.

(vi)     Ask YMT to continue their bi-annual update reports to Overview & Scrutiny Committee, ensuring that they:

(i)      identify their progress against the Collections Loan Agreement and Collections Management Protocol agreed in 2002

(ii)      include information on any items disposed of since the last update report.

(vii)    Note YMT’s continued efforts to improve storage arrangements for the collections and continue to reflect the shared ambition to improve collections management and documentation in the next Partnership Delivery Plan.

REASON:        To conclude the scrutiny review in line with the Council’s Scrutiny procedures and protocols.

The Cabinet Member received a report which set out a recommended response from the Cabinet Member to the Learning and Culture Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s report on “whether YMT have achieved appropriate collections management standards in line with the Collections Loan Agreement and Collections Management Protocol agreed in 2002”.

The Cabinet Member explained that, following the Cabinet meeting, she had met with members of the York Museums Trust Scrutiny Review Task Group to clarify her concerns. Further to that meeting, the Cabinet Member had outlined the decision she intended to approve in response to the recommendations in the final report on the York Museums Trust Scrutiny Review. The Cabinet Member thanked the Task Group for their work on the review.

RESOLVED:       That the Cabinet Member agreed to:

(i)      Request YMT to provide to the next meeting of the Learning & Culture Overview & Scrutiny Committee a presentation on the key principles that their Acquisition and Disposal policy review will be based on - in order to help frame and support YMT’s work on those revisions

(ii)      Request YMT to provide a revised version of the Acquisition and Disposal policy for the Learning & Culture Overview & Scrutiny Committee’s consideration at their meeting in May 2013, prior to it being approved by the Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Tourism.

(iii)     Note the willingness of YMT’s Volunteers Manager to attend ward meetings / community events to identify ward residents who may have useful skills and to help facilitate the recruitment of additional volunteers

(iv)    Ask YMT to provide for the Scrutiny Committee a brief report on their processes for training volunteers and passing on knowledge to enhance the training of new guides and volunteers

(v)     Restate with YMT the relevant section of the legal agreement between YMT and the Council with regard de-accessioning unwanted / damaged / duplicate collection items, in order to provide clarity on the procedure and to allow the progression of work on the collections and the implementation of YMT’s plans for the future.

(vi)    Ask YMT to continue their bi-annual update reports to Overview & Scrutiny Committee, ensuring that they:

(i)      Identify their progress against the Collections Loan Agreement and Collections Management Protocol agreed in 2002

(ii)      Include information on any items disposed of since the last update report.

(vii)                             Note YMT’s continued efforts to improve storage arrangements for the collections and continue to reflect the shared ambition to improve collections management and documentation in the next Partnership Delivery Plan.

REASON:        To conclude the scrutiny review in line with the Council’s Scrutiny procedures and protocols.

This report seeks the approval of the Cabinet Member to use Section 106 payments that have already been received by the Authority to improve York’s green spaces as set out in Annex 1.

RESOLVED:       That approval be given to the use of Section 106 funds on those schemes identified in Annex 1 of the report.

REASON:            To meet the requirements of the planning process and Council ambitions.

The Cabinet Member received a report which sought her approval to use Section 106 payments that had already been received by the Authority to improve York’s green spaces.

The Head of Parks and Open Spaces explained how Section 106 payments were received as part of the planning process and how these funds are invested in schemes . He drew the Cabinet Member’s attention to the project list at Annex A which provided detailed of complete, ongoing and planned and possible new projects.

With regard to improving the transparency of the use of Section 106 funds, he confirmed that any Member can request to view this list at any time by contacting him. 

He explained that from 2014, the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) would operate as one pot, driven by the local plan process, operating at different levels with neighbourhood plans feeding into it. He stated that this would result in larger scope and greater opportunities for accumulating funds for bigger projects. The Cabinet Member suggested it would be beneficial for Members to receive training on these changes in their role as Ward Councillors.

RESOLVED:       That approval be given to the use of Section 106 funds on those schemes identified in Annex 1 of the report.

REASON:           To meet the requirements of the planning process and Council ambitions.

This paper seeks approval for a re-launch of the YorkCard in April 2013.

RESOLVED:       (i)      That the re-launch of the YorkCard be agreed.

(ii)      That the promotion of existing and new offers, as set out in the report, be approved.

REASON:            To increase access by York residents to cultural provision and facilities.

The Cabinet Member received a report which sought her approval for a re-launch of the YorkCard in April.

Officers advised that residents see the YorkCard as good value for money. They confirmed that there would be a modest price increase and explained that it was proposed that the York Card be renewable annually, with a personalised year for each resident depending on when was renewed.

The Cabinet Member expressed her support for the re-launch of the YorkCard. She acknowledged the need to increase the price of the card but agreed that it still remained good value for money. She voiced her pleasure that York residents in receipt of means tested benefits would be able to apply for a YorkCard free of charge stating this would encourage disadvantaged communities to engage more in sport and leisure due to significant discounts offered with the YorkCard.

RESOLVED:       (i)      That the re-launch of the YorkCard be agreed.

(ii)      That the promotion of existing and new offers, as set out in the report, be approved.

REASON:           To increase access by York residents to cultural provision and facilities