Agenda and draft minutes

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.

Members were asked to declare at this point in the meeting any disclosable pecuniary interests or other registerable interests 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.

To approve and sign the minutes of the last meeting of the Committee held on 19 March 2024.

Resolved:  That the minutes of the last meeting held on 19 March 2024 were approved and then signed by the Chair as a correct record.

To consider excluding the public and press from the meeting during consideration of Agenda Item 7, Exempt Annex A on the grounds that it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information), and information relating to any consultations or negotiations, or contemplated consultations or negotiations, in connection with any labour relations matter arising between the authority or a Minister of the Crown and employees of, or office holders under, the authority. This information is classed as exempt under Paragraphs 3 and 4 of Schedule 12A to Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to information) (Variation) Order 2006.

Resolved: That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of Agenda Item 7 (City of York Trading Ltd Update), Exempt Annex A on the grounds that it contains information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information), and information relating to any consultations or negotiations, or contemplated consultations or negotiations, in connection with any labour relations matter arising between the authority or a Minister of the Crown and employees of, or office holders under, the authority. This information is classed as exempt under Paragraphs 3 and 4 of Schedule 12A to Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to information) (Variation) Order 2006.

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 20 June 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 http://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 (http://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.

Gwen Swinburn spoke on governance issues. She raised concerns about the oversight of council-owned businesses and requested a governance review of the role and efficacy of the committee to ensure common standards and transparency.

To consider a finance update from Yorwaste Ltd.

The Managing Director of Yorwaste Ltd provided the committee with an update on the company’s performance. It was noted that despite increased inflation costs this had been strong in terms of both safety and financial return, partly due to higher than usual landfill gas revenues. A significant drop in these revenues was anticipated but the company was benefitting from the retention of uncontracted third-party recycling and commercial collections growth. A decision on a planning application for a solar farm on the Harewood Whin site was expected during the summer, whilst options had been identified to respond to any changes in the government’s Simpler Recycling strategy.

In response to questions from the committee it was confirmed that full grid connection for the Harewood Whin scheme was not expected until 2034/35, although if the solar farm was approved it should be possible, subject to an application to Northern Powergrid for an appropriate connection, to export excess electricity using existing infrastructure in order to achieve self-sufficiency in electricity over this year.

Resolved: To note the reports from Yorwaste Ltd attached at Annex 1 to the report.

Reason:     To ensure the Council was updated on the financial performance of Yorwaste Ltd.

To consider a business update from Veritau Limited.

The Chief Executive of Veritau Limited provided the committee with an update on the company’s performance since March 2024. It was noted that while efforts had focused on establishing the new company (Veritau Public Sector Limited), the Group continued to attract new clients and been accepted onto the new YPO framework for internal audit and counter fraud services. Annual accounts for 2023/24 were in the process of being audited and a profit exceeding last year’s was expected; the final results would be reported to the next meeting of the committee. Feedback from annual client surveys was positive and the annual staff satisfaction survey showed a small improvement on 2023.

In response to questions from the committee it was confirmed that while client satisfaction surveys showed a shift from ‘excellent’ to ‘good’, response rates had been low and more significance should be attached to retention, which remained strong with 99% of clients indicating that they would continue to purchase services in 2024/25.

Resolved: To note the Group’s performance since the last business update report in March 2024.

Reason:     To ensure the Council was updated on the performance of Veritau Limited.

To consider the Committee’s work plan for the 2024/25 municipal year.

Members considered the committee’s work plan for 2024/25.

Resolved: That the work plan be noted.

Reason:     To ensure the committee received regular reports in accordance with the functions of an effective Shareholder Committee.

To consider a performance update from City of York Trading Ltd.

The committee considered a performance update presented by the Managing Director of City of York Trading Ltd (CYT).

[Between 16:56 and 17:10 the press and public were excluded from the meeting during consideration of Exempt Annex A to the report].

Resolved: To note the confidential Performance Update from City of York Trading Ltd attached at Annex A to the report.

Reason:     To ensure the Council was updated on the performance of City of York Trading Ltd.