Agenda, decisions and minutes

At this point in the meeting, the Executive Member is asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary interest, or other registerable interest, she 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.

[Please see attached sheet for further guidance for Members]

The Executive Member was asked to declare, at this point in the meeting, any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests or any prejudicial or disclosable pecuniary interests they might have in respect of the business on the agenda.

None were declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the Decision Session held on 18 July 2023.

That the minutes of the Decision Session held on 18 July 2023 be approved 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 have changed to 2 working days before the meeting. The deadline for registering at this meeting is at 5.00pm on Monday, 13 November 2023.

To register to speak please visit www.york.gov.uk/AttendCouncilMeetings to fill out an online registration form. If you have any questions about the registration form or the meeting please contact the Democracy Officer for the meeting whose details can be found at the foot of the agenda.

Webcasting of Public Meetings

Please note that, subject to available resources, this public meeting will be webcast including any registered public speakers who have given their permission. The public meeting can be viewed on demand at www.york.gov.uk/webcasts.

During coronavirus, we made some changes to how we ran council meetings, including facilitating remote participation by public speakers. See our updates (www.york.gov.uk/COVIDDemocracy) for more information on meetings and decisions.

It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak at the session under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

This report presents York Learning’s strategic aims for 2023/24 and identifies areas for development to meet the Accountability Agreement.

Resolved:

That the Strategic / Service Plan be approved, subject to the realignment to the new council priorities, as discussed in the meeting.

Reason:     To help monitor the service and provide sound governance arrangement for York Learning Services.

The Executive Member considered the Annual Strategic Plan for York Learning, as presented by Joint/Executive Head of Service, Adult Learning & Skills.

The report presented York Learning’s strategic aims for 2023/24 and identified areas for development to meet the Accountability Agreement.

In response to the Executive Member’s questions, officers explained efforts to widen participation and advised about progression and pathways.

It was reported that:

·        Successful working partnerships with Kyra, CVS and Menfulness and explained that these differentiate the offer from a school.

·        Users could re-engage in a non-pressured way through non-accredited learning which was more accessible than formal education.

·        Learning started at Level 2 (equivalent to GCSE) Level 3 courses, were kept to a minimum so as not to overlap college provision.

The Executive Member clarified the requirement to include the new council priorities before she approved the report and associated plan.

Resolved:            That the York Learning Accountability Agreement 2023/23, and its publication, be approved, subject to the realignment to the new council priorities.

Reason:               To help monitor the service and provide sound governance arrangement for York Learning Services.

This report gives an overview of the allocation of resources from the 2023/24 Council Budget growth funding and provides the context for investment in York’s Drug and Alcohol Partnership priorities and programme.

Resolved

That the £75k, from Public Health reserves, be approved to fund the following:

a.   £50k funding for York in Recovery, a peer-led recovery charity working with those in recovery to maintain abstinence-based social and community participation.

b.   £25k funding for the Alcohol Care team at York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust.

Reason: These investments are in line with partnership and council priorities, and constitute a strong level of additional support from the council to support those with substance use disorder and tackle health inequalities.

The Executive Member considered an overview of the allocation of resources from the 2023/24 Council Budget growth funding, presented by the Public Health Specialist Practitioner.

This report provided the context for investment in York’s Drug and Alcohol Partnership priorities and programme.

The Director of Public Health noted a correction to the report; Paragraphs 1 and 18 of the report stated that the schemes had been funded by one-off growth money in the 23/24 budget, whereas, the finance had come  from the Public Health reserves.

Officers outlined the proposed spending plans contained within the report and reported that the York Drug and Health partnership brought a range of initiatives and partners together as a single point of contact.

The Chair approved the £75,000 funding as proposed by the report and offered her continued support to officers.

Resolved:            Approved use of £75,000 for the purposes outlined in the report to fund the following:

i.   £50k funding for York in Recovery, a peer-led recovery charity working with those in recovery to maintain abstinence-based social and community participation.

ii.   £25k funding for the Alcohol Care team at York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust.

Reason:              These investments are in line with partnership and council priorities and constitute a strong level of additional support from the council to support those with substance use disorder and tackle health inequalities.

This is the annual report of the Director of Public Health, this year it is focused on domestic abuse.

Resolved:

That the publication of the Director of Public Health Report 2023 be approved.

Reason: so that the statutory duty of the local authority to publish the report is met.

The Executive Member considered the Director of Public Health’s Annual report 2023, which focused on domestic abuse.

This was presented by the Director of Public Health.

The Officer highlighted several areas of concern such as the impact on children, families and the wider society, and noted the aim to provide more relationship education in schools. She also emphasised the importance of taking the needs of perpetrators into account when services were commissioned.

It was reported that multi agency work that focused on prevention and intervention for high risk families had proved successful in the city.

The Chair approved the report and in doing so acknowledged the outgoing Director of Public Health’s contribution to the Local Authority throughout the pandemic and thanked her for her collaboration with both the current and the previous Executive Members.

Resolved:            The Executive Member approved publication of the Director of Public Health Annual Report 2023.

Reason:               So that the statutory duty of the local authority to publish the report is met.