Report of the Chair of the Customer Services, Climate Change and Scrutiny Management Committee (CSCCSMC) – September 2024

1. This report is more brief than usual as there has been very little scrutiny activity during August, as is usually the case. Since my July report there has been one CSCCSMC call-in meeting. The meeting on 12 August considered a call-in of the decision made by the Executive on 18 July 2024, in respect of the Update on the Housing Delivery Programme and the Disposal of Surplus Sites. The outcome was that no breach was found and the original decision was upheld.

CSCCSMC

2. At its 8 July meeting the committee considered the feedback that had been provided by the other scrutiny committees in response to the draft York pipeline of projects for the York & North Yorkshire Combined Authority. It was agreed that the pipeline proposals would be reviewed again in 12 months, or earlier if required. Members also discussed the draft Corporate Improvement Action Plan and make recommendations for some additions to be made to the plan.

3. At its 9 September meeting the committee provided pre-decision scrutiny of the Acomb Front Street Phase 2 proposals, ahead of a decision being made at a Decision Session on 24 September. This came to CSCCSMC, rather than EPAT, in order for feedback to be provided in time for the decision session. Members also considered options for a review of the council’s scrutiny function. There was consensus that scrutiny training for members should be signposted and arranged where appropriate and that the £5k available for member training should be used. Further discussion is needed around the desirability and affordability of commissioning external expertise to help facilitate a scrutiny review.

Children, Culture & Communities Scrutiny Committee

4. Cllr Nicolls reports:

At the 3 September meeting members received a report on the end of Q4 finances as they affected CCC, which saw recurring improvement of some £2m in the outturn position. The good news from a financial aspect is The Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) is ahead of the target position set out in the Safety Valve recovery plan agreed with the DfE. The local authority is now in the second year of this four-year agreement and has exceeded the financial targets for this year.

5. Members also received an update on the SEND operational plan which highlighted 4 key facts:

a. More children and young people are being identified as having SEND; 

b. Their needs are not being met in mainstream education, and thus require specialist provision; 

c. More money is being invested in SEND, but it is significantly less that what is actually being spent on SEND;

d. Finally, despite rapidly rising spending outcomes of those with SEND and day to day experiences of the system have not improved.

6. As corporate parents, councillors may wish to read the Health Needs Assessment which can be found in the CCC scrutiny agenda on the Council Calendar for 3 September. It was also noted that the Council perhaps needs to promote the fantastic work of the SEND team to demonstrate we do more than cut grass and collect bins.

7. The committee also received an update on the Youth Strategy, we were perhaps a meeting early for this as there is potential good news on this to follow over the next few weeks. We will get a written update from Niall McVicar once this news is confirmed.

Economy, Place, Access and Transport Scrutiny Committee

8. No update this time as the committee last met on 25 June and next meets on 24 September.

Health, Housing & Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee

9. At its 10 July meeting members discussed the ongoing work of the Breastfeeding and Infant Feeding Delivery Plan, including around the development of a food insecurity pathway for those formula feeding, and how creating a breastfeeding-friendly city can provide an enabling environment to support breastfeeding. Members also discussed the approach being taken by York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to address issues identified by the last Care Quality Commission inspection. The Trust’s Chief Executive and Chief Nurse took part in the discussion.

Cllr Fenton, Chair of the Customer Services, Climate Change and Scrutiny Management Committee