Agenda

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.

(1)         Members must consider their interests, and act according to the

following:

(2)         Disclosable pecuniary interests relate to the Member concerned or their spouse/partner.

(3)         Members in arrears of Council Tax by more than two months must not vote in decisions on, or which might affect, budget calculations, and must disclose at the meeting that this restriction applies to them. A failure to comply with these requirements is a criminal offence under section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

To approve and sign the minutes of the Council meetings held on 21 March 2024 and 23 May 2024.

To consider any announcements made by the Lord Mayor in respect of Civic business.

At this point in the meeting, any member of the public who has registered to address the Council, or to ask a Member of the Council a question, on a matter directly relevant to the business of the Council or the City, may do so.  The deadline for registering is 5:00pm on Monday, 15 July 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 public meeting will be webcast including any registered public speakers who have given their permission.  The remote public meeting can be viewed live and on demand at

www.york.gov.uk/webcasts.

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

To consider any petitions received from Members in accordance with Standing Order B5.  Notice has been received of two petitions to be presented by:

i.             Cllr Waller – regarding an Estate Manager for the Chapelfields Estate.

ii.            Cllr Whitcroft – regarding the proposal to locate a new McDonalds restaurant off Fulford Road.

To receive and consider a written report from the Leader and ask questions on the work of the Executive.

To receive and consider a written report from the Deputy Leader and, to question the Deputy Leader thereon.

To consider the following Motions on Notice under Standing Order B13:

Motions submitted for consideration directly by Council, in accordance with Standing Order 22.1

(i)           From Cllr B Burton

York Public Spending

“Council notes:

·        Real terms funding reductions to City of York Council over a sustained period;

·        The very difficult decisions the council has taken since 2011 to balance the budget - decisions involving all of York’s main political parties;

·        The particular challenges for York of having the lowest funding across all public services of any single tier council area in the country, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, and the compound effect this has for each individual public service;

·        Acute problems around access to affordable dentistry, A&E and mental health care, and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision in schools;

·        The prospect of increasingly difficult budget decisions impacting valued council services over the next three years if national funding remains as forecast in the council’s Medium-Term Financial Strategy;

·        York’s membership of the F20 Group of lowest funded local authorities in the country and the need for that Group to be active at this point in making its case to the new Government.

Council believes:

·        While political groups often have different priorities, councillors share a commitment to the city’s services receiving fair funding.

·        Further, it believes specific pressure areas for local government require long term solutions and should be a priority for the new Government:

Council resolves:

·        To request the Chief Finance Officer and Executive Leader jointly write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to request urgency in concluding the Fair Funding Review, first signalled by the Government in 2016, detailing why this is necessary;

·        To request this opportunity is used to also highlight service pressures and to request long-term funding certainty to enable the council to plan its services over the period of each four-year electoral cycle;

·        To request the Director of Public Health and Executive Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care write to the Secretary of State for Health, pushing for early reform of the NHS dental contract to open up greater access to NHS dentistry in the city as soon as possible;

·        To request Executive works collaboratively with other parts of the public sector locally, including York and North Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, to consider how each can make efficiencies and save money by reviewing how services are delivered;

·        To put on record its thanks to staff and partners for their work over several years in such challenging circumstances, and for their continued commitment to service delivery to the city.”

(ii)         From Cllr Knight

Giving York’s children the best start in life

“Council notes:

·        The two-child limit, introduced by the Conservative Government in 2017, restricts support in Universal Credit and tax credits to two children in a family.

·        Analysis by the Child Poverty Action Group shows that 900,000 children living in poverty in England do not currently qualify for free school meals  ...  view the full agenda text for item 8.

To question the Leader and/or Executive Members in respect of any matter within their portfolio responsibility, in accordance with Standing Order B11.

To receive a written report from the Executive Member for Environment and Climate Emergency, and to question the Executive Member thereon, in accordance with Standing Orders B9 and B10.

To receive a report from Councillor Fenton, Chair of the Corporate Services, Climate Change and Scrutiny Management Committee, on the work of the Committee.

The report asks Council to agree the adoption of the proposed Parental Leave Policy for Elected Members, attached at Annex A to the report, together with agreeing dispensations for any Members taking Parental Leave in accordance with the Policy, and delegating authority to the Monitoring Officer to confirm such dispensations outside of Council.

To receive a report of the Monitoring Officer presenting the Annual Report of the Joint Standards Committee for the 2023/2024 Municipal Year.

This report updates Council on the use of Special Urgency procedures, as required by legislation, and as set out within the City of York Council Constitution and provides information on instances where General Exception (i.e. Urgency) Procedures were used.

Any other business which the Chair considers urgent under the Local Government Act 1972.

Democracy Officer

Jane Meller

Contact details:

·        Telephone: (01904) 551088

·        Email: democratic.services@york.gov.uk