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City of York Council |
Committee Minutes |
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Meeting |
Children, Culture and Communities Scrutiny Committee |
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Date |
2 July 2024 |
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Present |
Councillors Nicholls (Chair), Clarke (Vice-Chair), Crawshaw [from 6:03pm], Cuthbertson, Knight, Nelson, Waller, Wilson, and Melly (Substitute for Councillor Taylor) |
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Apologies
In attendance
Officers in attendance
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Councillors Cullwick, Taylor
Councillor Webb – Executive Member for Children, Young People and Education
Sam Blyth - Strategic Manager, Corporate Policy and City Partnerships Claire Foale - Assistant Director Policy and Strategy Niall McVicar - Head of Service - Innovation and Children’s Champion Pauline Stuchfield - Director of Housing and Communities Angela Padfield - Head of York Learning Paul Cliff - Executive Head of Service, Adult Learning & Skills, York and North Yorkshire |
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1. Declarations of Interest (6:00pm)
Members were asked to declare at this point in the meeting 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 of Interests. None were declared.
2. Minutes (6:00pm)
Resolved: That the minutes of the meetings of the committee held on 9 April 2024 and 7 May 2024 be approved and signed as a correct record.
3. Public Participation (6:01pm)
It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak at the
meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.
4. York Pipeline of Proposals to York & North Yorkshire Combined Authority (6:01pm)
Members were invited to consider a report which outlined the proposals for projects that could receive funding from the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority. The projects had been organised under the following headings:
i. Great Places for All
ii. Housing
iii. Well-connected economy
iv. Productive and Innovative Economy
Members asked a range of questions about the projects listed under each heading in Annex A to the report. During the course of the discussion, it was reported that:
· The Mayor of the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority had made framework revisions, as detailed within paragraph 15 of the report.
· The importance of the Early Years Economy had been previously noted by other scrutiny committees.
· A national programme for Youth Zones had been set up across the north of England in order to support young people.
· Growth Community Plans could be added to the Pipeline - neighbourhood plans were currently being produced, of which some would require capital investment.
· The Combined Authority had a commitment to tackling the cost of living crisis, and was in the process of appointing policy officers in regard to this.
· Once funding had been approved, more detailed proposals covering the scale as well as budget requirements would be developed and brought back to the committee in a years’ time.
During the course of the discussion, members provided the following feedback to the report authors:
· That discussions around digital connectivity was lacking within York city-centre and support on this would benefit residents, especially those on low incomes.
· That partnerships could be implemented with the Music Venues Trust to include music venues within York’s cultural offer.
· That York’s status as the UK’s only UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts could be championed within the Pipeline along as its status as a UNESCO World Heritage City.
Resolved: That the committee reviewed the pipeline of projects identified in Annex A of the report.
Reason: To ensure the pipeline aligns with the 10-year strategies for
York, the 2023-2027 Council Plan, and YNYCA Economic Framework, enable different perspectives from across the Council to be considered in the pipeline’s development, and ensure that York has a strong, consolidated list of proposals through which to engage future funding opportunities emerging from the YNYCA.
5. Family Hub Network Development Update (6:28pm)
The Director of Housing and Communities, and the Head of Service - Innovation and Children’s Champion, presented the report, and in response to questions from members confirmed that:
· Discussions were ongoing with Health to move Health resources into communities. This supported the prevention strategy in terms of helping people early by working on a local integrated level.
· The Raise York website’s role was to bring information together and improve accessibility of information on local support. Analytics of how people accessed the website could be investigated to improve the website.
· Producing the SEND local offer in coproduction with families was a priority.
· Phase one of the Raise York Pilot Activity identified early wins for expenditure savings and phase two would investigate working together with local areas.
Resolved:
i. That on behalf of the committee, the Chair would liaise with the Executive Member for Children, Young People and Education and would advise all council members to complete a brief evaluation survey after they worked through the modules within the Children’s Workforce Induction Pack, created by Raise York, as detailed in paragraph 28 of the report.
Reason: In order for Raise York to receive valuable feedback on the Children’s Workforce Induction Pack to help evaluate its success.
ii. That the committee noted and commented upon the development of a Raise York Family Hub Network and the pilots which were underway/in development.
Reason: To support the successful development and implementation of a Raise York Family Hubs network.
6. York Learning (7:12pm)
The Head of York Learning, and Executive Head of Service, Adult Learning & Skills, York and North Yorkshire presented the report and noted the necessity to produce an updated Accountability Agreement for 2024/25 for the Strategic Plan to feed into.
In response to questions from members, the Head of York Learning, and Executive Head of Service, Adult Learning & Skills, York and North Yorkshire confirmed that:
· Funding was provided under the Adult Skills Budget for people on low income, and free courses could be provided through self and GP referrals. People who could afford to pay for courses did, and funding was received from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to cover people from the West Yorkshire region who worked in York.
· Funding would soon be delivered through the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority and discussions were in place regarding this.
· The Cost of Living Crisis and COVID-19 Pandemic had affected York Learning’s finances, and costs would need to increase in the future, however they had managed to not increase prices up to now. Other Local Authorities (LAs) who received more funding than City of York Council were in positions to charge less for their courses.
· To support young people York Learning offered a study programme for those aged 16-18 with negative school experiences which was over capacity. A Special Educational Needs/Disabilities (SEND) programme was also offered to support employment for young people with SEND.
· York Learning didn’t have venues of their own but did use community venues. Children and Young People’s Centres were used for adult learning which acted as a barrier to education for some.
Resolved: That the committee considered York Learning’s progress through the 23/24 academic year.
Reason: To help monitor the service and provide sound governance arrangement for York Learning Services.
7. Work Plan (7:47pm)
The committee was informed that the Finance & Performance Q4 report originally scheduled for this meeting, had been deferred to the meeting scheduled for 3 September 2024.
Resolved: That Members considered the committee’s work plan for the 2024/25 municipal year.
Reason: To have kept the committee’s work plan for the 2024/25 municipal year updated.
Cllr Nicholls, Chair
[The meeting started at 6.00 pm and finished at 7.50 pm].