Agenda and minutes

To elect a Member to act as Chair of the meeting.

Resolved:  That Councillor Fenton be elected as Chair of the meeting.

At this point in the meeting, Members and co-opted members are asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary interest, or other registerable interest, they 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 the attached sheet for further guidance for Members.]

Members were asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary interest, or other registerable interest, they might have in respect of business on the agenda, if they had not already done so in advance on the Register ofInterests.

None were declared.

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 are set as 2 working days before the meeting, in order to facilitate the management of public participation at our meetings. The deadline for registering at this meeting is 5:00pm on Thursday, 11 January 2024.

To register to speak please visit www.york.gov.uk/AttendCouncilMeetings to fill in an online registration form. If you have any questions about the registration form or the meeting, please contact Democratic Services. Contact details can be found at the foot of this agenda.

Webcasting of Public Meetings

Please note that, subject to available resources, this meeting will be webcast including any registered public speakers who have given their permission. The meeting can be viewed live and 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 two registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

Flick Williams, joined the meeting remotely via Zoom, and spoke about the importance of public access, and the right to speak at meetings.  She highlighted the unique perspective offered by the public and paid tribute to the arrangements at CYC in relation public participation and remote attendance as this enabled the participation of many residents. She noted that the live webcast of meetings promoted transparency and cautioned against the requirement to submit a written speech in advance as being not inclusive and anti-democratic.  She raised concerns about the effectiveness of the Combined Authority and urged members to ensure that public participation was enshrined in the new constitution.

Gwen Swinburn requested that the Audit and Governance Committee be given oversight of amendments to the constitution, the authority to evaluate the operation of the constitution, the scheme of delegations and to audit the Police and Fire authorities.  She raised concerns regarding the voting rights of independent persons, the location of the offices, the lack of public participation rights and the role of the statutory finance officer.  She stated that all meetings should be webcast and retained for six years

This report provides the Audit and Governance Committee and the Corporate Services, Climate Change and Scrutiny Management Committee with an opportunity to consider the contents of the draft Constitution for the Combined Authority.

The Interim Monitoring Officer of the York and North Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority introduced the updated draft Constitution for the Combined Authority.  She noted that changes would continue to be made post May, following the election of Mayor.  She also noted that the integration of the Police and Crime aspects was complex due to the operational differences.

The Monitoring Officer confirmed that the current registered office for the Combined Authority was Northallerton, However, the final decision as to the location of the office had not been made.

Members proceeded to review the draft constitution raising concerns and proposed amendments as they went through the document by section.

The following was agreed:

Part 1 – Introduction and articles

·       Para 1.13 – amend to read “Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime’ means a person appointed by the Mayor who may exercise Policing and Crime and/or Fire and Rescue functions of the Mayor where delegated.”

·       Para 5.1 – amend to read “The Y&NYCA usually ordinarily meets every month, but additional meetings may take place within the monthly period should the need arise.”

·       Para 10.2 (c) – amend to read “The advancement of Respect for human rights and equalities”

·       Para 10.2 (d) - amend to read “Presumption in favour of public accountability and openness”

·       Para 10.2 - insert new point (g) to read as follows: “Due consideration to be given to environmental sustainability and the climate crisis”

·       Para 11.3 (b) – amend to read: “Any contract with a value exceeding £50,000 entered into by the Y&NYCA shall be made in writing.”

·       Para 12.2 – amend to read “Changes to the Constitution will only be approved by the full Y&NYCA after consideration of the proposal by the Monitoring Officer and the Audit & Governance Committee and in accordance with the Y&NYCA Rules of Procedure in Part 5 of this Constitution, provided that such delegations made by the Mayor as are included in Part 3, 4 and 9 of this Constitution appear for information only and may be revised by the Mayor following consultation with, and having given written notice to, the Monitoring Officer.”

Part 2 – Functions of the Y&NYCA

·       B. Transport, para 1.1 (c) – amend to read “The Y&NYCA must develop policies for the promotion and encouragement of safe, integrated, efficient, sustainable and economic transport to, from and within their area, and must prepare and publish a local transport plan containing its policies and proposals for their implementation.”

[7.04 – 7.12 pm, the meeting adjourned to allow Members to take a comfort break.]

Part 3 – Responsibility for Functions

·       In relation to paras 4.2 (c) and para 4.3 below, members felt there was an inconsistency in the wording highlighted in relation to the agreement of, or rejection of, a MDA.

“4.2 A proposal by the Mayor to:

(a) Designate any area of land as an MDA;

(b) Alter the boundaries of an MDA to exclude an area of land;

(c) Decide that a Mayoral Development Corporation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.