Agenda, decisions and minutes

In view of the changing circumstances around the Covid-19 pandemic, this meeting was held remotely.  Any relevant decisions recorded in these minutes will be formally approved by the Chief Operating Officer, using his emergency delegated powers.

At this point in the meeting, the Executive Members are 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 Executive Members were asked to declare, at this point in the meeting, any personal interests not included on their Register of Interests or any prejudicial or discloseable pecuniary interests that they might have in respect of the business on the agenda. 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 have changed to 2 working days before the meeting. The deadline for registering at this meeting is at 5.00pm on Tuesday 14 December 2021.

 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've made some changes to how we're running council meetings. See our coronavirus updates (www.york.gov.uk/COVIDDemocracy) for more information on meetings and decisions.

It was reported that there had been one registration to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

Cllr Fenton spoke on Agenda Item 3, Financial Strategy 2022/23 to 2026/27. He highlighted his support to the budget proposals, referencing the continued commitment to meet residents needs and the grant funding attracted to deliver energy efficiency improvements in Council housing, privately owned and rented housing in the city. He also welcomed the proposals outlined in the report to continue the Council’s investment in York’s libraries, leisure and cultural provision. He noted that ward grants had been well utilised throughout the pandemic and he welcomed the continued investment in communities, despite the significant pressures facing all Councils across the country.

The purpose of this Decision Session report is to provide background information for the overall Financial Strategy and to present the draft savings proposals, growth assumptions and capital schemes for the Housing and Safer Neighbourhoods and Culture, Leisure and Communities portfolios. This will provide an opportunity for Executive Members to obtain feedback in advance of the finalisation of the overall Financial Strategy which will be presented to Executive on 7 February 2022.

In the interests of wider transparency and consultation relating to budget decision making sessions, all budget reports for these sessions have been published together on Monday 6 December 2021, https://www.york.gov.uk/budget. A copy of the appropriate papers for this meeting are attached for the purpose of this session.

Resolved:

(i)           That the feedback from consultation to date, as set out in Annex 3 to the report, be noted.

(ii)         That Option 1 be agreed and the following be retained for inclusion in the overall budget:

·     The 2022/23 revenue savings proposals for the Housing and Safer Neighbourhoods and Culture, Leisure and Communities portfolios, as set out in Annex 1 to the report.

·     The 2022/23 revenue growth proposals for the Housing and Safer Neighbourhoods and Culture, Leisure and Communities portfolios, as set out in Annex 2 to the report.

·     The new schemes for inclusion in the 2022/23 to 2026/27 Capital Programme, as set out in Annex 4 to the report.

Reason: To ensure that stakeholders have the opportunity to feed into the budget process in advance of the finalisation of the Financial Strategy 2022/23 to 2026/27.

The Executive Members considered a report that provided background information for the overall Financial Strategy and presented the draft savings proposals, growth assumptions and capital schemes for the Housing and Safer Neighbourhoods and Culture, Leisure and Communities portfolios. The Decision Session also provided an opportunity for the Executive Members to obtain feedback in advance of the finalisation of the overall Financial Strategy which would be presented to Executive on 7 February 2022.

The Chief Finance Officer, the Finance Manager and the Director of Customer and Communities were in attendance to provide an update and answer any questions raised.

Officers informed the Executive Members that:

·        The Council continued to face unprecedented financial challenges due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which had generated an in-year financial pressure, as noted to Executive in the latest Financial and Performance Monitoring reports. 

·        The provisional local government finance settlement for 2022/23 was due to be announced imminently by written statement and officers were still not aware if this would be a one-year allocation or a multi-year package, which further added to uncertainty and made long-term financial planning more complex meaning the overall Financial Strategy may be altered depending on the outcome of that settlement.

The Executive Members were informed of the key assumptions highlighted within the report and the additional £30k to support the creation of an Access Officer post to support the Strategic Review of City Centre Access and associated Action Plan. The Executive Members also noted that the annexes to the report outlined the detailed proposals for their portfolio’s and also included a summary of the consultation responses received. 

The Executive Members commended and thanked officers for the work undertaken to formulate the reports, despite the significant budget challenges and they each addressed the budget proposals that supported their portfolio areas.

The Executive Member for Housing and Safer Neighbourhoods noted the additional revenue funding to support children’s and adult social care and she also welcomed the revenue to support the climate emergency, new skills and training, local communities, holiday hunger and the York Financial Assistance Scheme.  Officers were also commended for organising the public consultation and the Executive Member thanked those that had been involved in the focus group that had allowed members of the public to take a more in-depth look into the Council’s budgets.

Resolved:

(i)           That the feedback from consultation to date, as set out in Annex 3 to the report, be noted.

(ii)         That Option 1 be agreed and the following be retained for inclusion in the overall budget:

·          The 2022/23 revenue savings proposals for the Housing and Safer Neighbourhoods and Culture, Leisure and Communities portfolios, as set out in Annex 1 to the report;

·          The 2022/23 revenue growth proposals for the Housing and Safer Neighbourhoods and Culture, Leisure and Communities portfolios, as set out in Annex 2 to the report;

·          The new schemes for inclusion in the 2022/23 to 2026/27 Capital Programme, as set out in Annex 4 to the report.

Reason: To ensure that stakeholders have  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.