Agenda and draft minutes

Before the formal business of the meeting began, the Lord Mayor invited all present to stand for a minute’s silent reflection in memory of the late Honorary Alderman Brian Watson.

She then welcomed Cllr John Moroney to his first Council meeting following his success at a recent by-election, and offered congratulations to Cllr Emily Nelson and Cllr Kallum Taylor, both of whom had welcomed baby daughters earlier in the month.

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 invited to declare at this point in the meeting any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests, any prejudicial interests or any disclosable pecuniary interests they might have in the business on the agenda. None were declared.

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

Resolved:  That the minutes of the Council meetings held on 21 March 2024 and 23 May 2024 be approved and then signed by the Chair as a correct record.

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

The Lord Mayor gave a summary of the activities of the civic party since she took office in May, including participating in York’s Africa Day celebrations, York Pride, and the Our City festival. She noted that all could take pride in York as a diverse, inclusive, and welcoming city. She noted that it had been her privilege to meet with D Day veterans, as well as well as representatives from York’s twin cities of Dijon and Munster.

She acknowledged the work of the Leader of the Council with York’s Imam and Rabbi in developing a cross-community resolution on the situation in Gaza, which it was hoped would be concluded before the next full Council meeting.

The Lord Mayor also paid tribute to the late Honorary Alderman Brian Watson.

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.

It was reported that five people had registered to speak at the meeting under the council’s Public Participation Scheme.

Gwen Swinburn raised concerns over a proposed change to the Lord Mayoralty Points Allocation which would see the reallocation of unspent points from previous years, suggesting that this opened space for political interference. She called for any changes to the points system to be considered through proper democratic processes.

Flick Williams spoke in relation to Disability Pride Month. She noted recent progress around accessibility, but also raised concerns that disability equality training had not yet been rolled out across the authority. She called for an end to tokenism and the embedding of genuine disability equality into the Council’s work plan.

Geoff Beacon spoke in relation to plans for York. He noted the relationship between wealth and carbon emissions and the impact of increasing housing costs on young people and renters. He suggested that the existing Local Plan was incompatible with decarbonisation, and called for all new housing in York to be car free. 

The remaining registered speakers did not attend the meeting.

The Lord Mayor thanked all public participants for their contributions.

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.

Under Rule B5 2, the following petition was presented for reference to the Corporate Services, Climate Change and Scrutiny Management Committee, in accordance with the Council’s petition arrangements:

i.             A petition presented by Cllr Waller, on behalf of local residents, regarding an estate manager for the Chapelfields estate.

The following petition, which was not covered by Rule B5 2, was also presented for reference to Planning Committee B:

ii.            A petition presented by Cllr Whitcroft, on behalf of local residents, 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.

A written report was received from the Executive Leader, Cllr Douglas, on the work of the Executive.

Members were then invited to question the Leader on her report. Questions were received from the floor from the following Members in relation to the subjects listed and replied to as indicated:

Combined Authority and Regional

From Cllr J Burton: Can the Leader please provide a progress update on York Central since the last Council meeting in March, including possible changes to housing plans for the site?

Response: I was at York Central yesterday with the developers, the Chief Executive of Homes England, and the Combined Authority Mayor. Since November when the developers were selected and we’ve been having discussions with them, we’ve had very positive feedback from them responding to our vision and our hopes for the site, and the fact that it needs to deliver for the people of York. Up until that point many people doubted whether the development would go forward and give us the affordable, sustainable homes, good quality jobs, green space and biodiversity that we need. Many people didn’t have confidence in that at all. The developers are already engaging with local communities. The conversations I’ve had with them, and those with Executive Members and other partners in the city have all been consistent in wanting to push up, above policy, truly affordable housing on the site and Homes England very supportive of this. I’m really hopeful for the future of what the site looks like and think it will exceed our Labour Group expectations that we had when it got outline planning approval – I’m really optimistic.

Children, Young People and Education

From Cllr Healey: Your report mentions that the Council is currently developing a local youth strategy and you say that you recognise the value of good local youth provision, but you don’t mention that your administration’s changes to ward funding arrangements directly led to the loss of much-valued youth provision such as the Strensall Youth Club. Would you like to apologise to the young people who have been affected by your decision and explain how you will reinstate what has been needlessly lost?

Response: I cannot begin to think why it is that changes to the ward funding have affected a youth group, other than perhaps the decisions of councillors as to where they decide to award their money. Youth groups totally fit within the principles we are supporting, as many councillors in the chamber are supporting youth activities in their wards through their ward funding so it’s not something that I really recognise; what I do recognise is that the Council is really starting to up its involvement in youth activity across the city; the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire is also very committed to this. Our pipeline of projects includes youth activities, youth hubs, cultural passports, so given the position that youth work in the city has been in for a number of years I’m optimistic about an increase in provision.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

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

A written report was received from the Deputy Leader, Cllr Kilbane.

Members were then invited to question the Deputy Leader on his report. Questions were received from the floor from the following Members in relation to the subjects listed, and replied to as indicated:

Deputy Leader’s Report

From Cllr Fenton: Congratulations to the Deputy Leader on your election as Deputy Mayor for the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority (YNYCA). Your report claims the administration is steering York away from what you describe as the old insular politics of the previous administration. Can you please explain how this characterisation fits with the successes delivered by the previous administration in securing funding for major projects such as York Central, the station frontage and the outer ring road dualling which are now coming to fruition?

Response: I think given the track record of the previous administration, that funding was secured almost in spite of the previous administration. The generosity of Labour-led YNYCA is funding the York Central development referred to. To give an example, when we were in opposition before last year’s election, Cllr Douglas and I met with the landowners of York Central, and in the first week post-election we met with Homes England and Network Rail and other York Central partners and were informed that we were the first political leaders that they had had a face-to-face conversation with. A project that affects the future of everybody in this city and region and there had been no political engagement with the people who were running that project, which had left officers of this Council having to second-guess what the then-Leader’s opinion might be on particular developments. That’s what happened when we went to see them; we sat down with them and said we want 40% truly affordable housing on that land, we want jobs on that land so that when people who live up on Severus Hill look down the hill they see opportunity in York Central for them and their kids. We told them we wanted it car-light because of climate concerns and in terms of the space needed there, and while they might not have agreed with everything we said they were really glad to hear a political leader telling them what it was that this city wanted, because it had been so badly lacking through the insular politics of the previous administration.

Supplementary from Cllr Ayre: Isn’t it the case that elsewhere in your report you claim to dislike a nasty brand of politics, yet your response demonstrates that this is in fact the way you like to do business?

Supplementary Response: What that refers to is the lies in Liberal Democrat leaflets in the Hull Road by-election, straightforward lies as well as the usual half-twisting of truths and ridiculous bar-charts. Putting lies through people’s doors has an impact.

Cllr Ayre: The Deputy Leader is accusing people in this chamber of lying. That is not true, and is defamatory.

Cllr Kilbane: It is true, so it’s not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

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 20.

(i)      York Public Spending

Moved by Cllr B Burton, seconded by Cllr Coles.

“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.”

On being put to the vote, the motion was declared CARRIED unanimously, and it was

Resolved: That the above motion be approved.

(ii)     Giving York’s children the best start in life

Moved by Cllr Knight, seconded by Cllr Waller.

“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  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

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

Members were invited to question the Leader or Executive Members. Questions were received from the floor from the following Members, and replied to as indicated:

Question to Cllr Ravilious, Executive Member for Transport

From Cllr Nicholls: As the Executive Member will be aware, there has been a weight limit on Appleton Road Bridge in Bishopthorpe since October, and hopefully it will be fixed by the end of the year. Whether the bridge is open or closed the location of Celkom and a number of haulage companies in the Acaster area means an ever increasing number of lorries going through Bishopthorpe, Copmanthorpe and Appleton Roebuck, and they are a real threat to road safety to the youngest and the oldest, to pedestrians and cyclists. Does the Executive Member agree with me that this is an entirely unacceptable situation and that such companies should be located at the side of motorways or main A-roads, and where land is cheap? If she does agree will she join myself and Cllr Steward in working towards stopping such companies operating where always driving through villages is unavoidable, and what action would she like to see the Council taking?

Response: I think this is a case of a company that’s outgrown its location, it’s become very successful, and obviously when we’re looking at our transport strategy and the movement and place plan we’re really focusing on what kind of places do we want to create, what sort of traffic and environment are we trying to create. With all of area you mention, having such huge HGVs going through the villages is not appropriate, and we need to look at ways to discourage that kind of traffic through small villages. Fixing the bridge is in progress and will help to relieve some of the pressure as we won’t have all the HGVs going along the same road. We will need to start looking at measures we can introduce in the villages to make them feel safer places for people to walk and cycle safely, and to get to school and to the doctor safely. I would be very happy to come to visit you in your villages to look, with officers, at what measures we can introduce in the short term as part of our movmenet and place plan to make them a safe environment for people. We’re committed to our vision zero policy to eliminate road deaths and serious injuries by 2040; making sure that heavy vehicles like HGVs are travelling slowly enough and ideally not going through small villages is something we will be looking to do. It's not something we can do overnight, we will have to work progressively on the kind of measures we can use in the coming years.

Question to Cllr Douglas, Executive Leader

From Cllr Hollyer: In terms of the motion just passed in relation to postal votes, in York there were issues with the timely dispatch of postal ballots and incorrect polling cards being issued which led to residents  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

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.

A written report was received from Cllr Kent, Executive Member for Environment and Climate Emergency.

Members were then invited to question the Executive Member on her report. Questions were received from the floor from the following Members in relation to the subjects listed, and replied to as indicated:

Carbon Reduction

From Cllr Coles: Where is the partnership with Solar for Schools already operating and what are the plans to roll it out to other schools? Any particular reference to the Westfield Ward would be much appreciated.

Response: This is very timely. I was at Dringhouses Primary School this morning where 75 solar panels have just been put on the roof. I met the ‘eco-warriors’ from Reception to Year Six who were fantastically keen and passionate about the project. The whole team at the school was delighted and this is the latest of seven schools across York that now benefit from the Solar for Schools project. This is a fantastic collaboration between the Solar for Schools Partnership and local authorities and educational establishments; they assess your school to see if it’s suitable, then do all the planning and installation, and there is a payback scheme whereby they take off the energy, but you get a reduced energy price, so it’s a win-win. In addition, there is an educational component; they come and deliver STEM-type subjects around sustainability, renewables and cheaper electricity, and involve the children in that. You’ll be delighted to know that we have two more projects in the pipeline, the first of which is Westfield Primary and the next is Applefields School. I hope these will be installed by the end of this year which will bring the total to nine. It’s a really wonderful project; a win for the planet because it reduces emissions, a win for the schools because it gives them extra educational training and cheap renewable energy, and a win for the Council because it reduces our costs.

Housing

From Cllr Whitcroft: What role is the Executive Member playing in the development of retrofitting Council homes and making sure our housing stock is as environmentally friendly as possible, particularly in relation to new development, but also existing housing stock?

Response: This overlaps with Cllr Pavlovic’s portfolio; a huge amount of work has been done by that team to map all the energy performance certificates across the city, so we have a really good idea for each individual house of how its energy is used and how efficient it is. The good news for our Council tenants in our social housing is that generally we perform much higher than the private residential stock. In relation to that our retrofit policy is that under our repairs scheme we do voids first so that there is no fuss for tenants; much of the resistance to retrofit that has to happen is from residents themselves because houses are turned upside-down, insulation is quite intrusive if you’re fitting heat pumps or new cookers, so we do it when there is  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

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

A written report was received from Cllr 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.

The following recommendations contained in the report of the Monitoring Officer at page 67 of the agenda papers was moved by Cllr Douglas and seconded by Cllr Kilbane.

“Council is recommended to:

i.      Agree to the implementation of the Parental Leave Policy for Members, attached at Annex A;

ii.     Agree that a Member taking Parental Leave pursuant to the Policy is a suitable reason for Council to grant a dispensation from the provisions of Section 85(1) of the Local Government Act 1972, and that such a dispensation is therefore granted for any Member taking Parental Leave pursuant to the Policy; and

iii.    Amend the Council’s Scheme of Delegation to introduce a delegation to the Monitoring Officer to confirm in writing a dispensation under b) above for any Member taking Parental Leave pursuant to the Policy.

Reasons:

i.    To ensure that Members requiring Parental Leave are able to take such leave as they may require, ensuring equity of treatment with Officers, and contributing towards improving Member retention and diversity;

ii.   To ensure that Members taking Parental Leave do not inadvertently vacate their offices by virtue of Section 85(1) of the Local Government Act 1972, by granting a dispensation in advance for any Member taking Parental Leave under the Policy, rather than requiring individual dispensation reports to be presented to Council meetings; and

iii. To ensure that such dispensation can be confirmed at an early stage, and that individual Members are not required to disclose personal information unnecessarily.”

On being put to the vote the recommendations were declared CARRIED unanimously, and it was

Resolved: That the above recommendations be approved.

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

A written report from the Monitoring Officer was received, 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.

The following recommendation contained in the report of the Monitoring Officer at page 82 of the agenda papers was moved by Cllr Douglas and seconded by Cllr Kilbane.

“That Council is recommended to note the report.

Reason:     To comply with legislative and constitutional requirements, and ensure full transparency.”

On being put to the vote the recommendation was declared CARRIED, and it was

Resolved: That the above recommendation be approved.