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City of York Council |
Committee Minutes |
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Meeting |
Executive |
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Date |
13 July 2023 |
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Present |
Councillors Douglas (Chair), Kilbane (Vice-Chair), Coles, Lomas, Pavlovic, Ravilious and Webb |
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Apologies
In Attendance
Officers in Attendance |
Councillor Kent
Councillor Ayre
Ian Floyd – Chief Operating Officer Bryn Roberts – Director of Governance and Monitoring Officer Debbie Mitchell – Chief Finance Officer Neil Ferris – Corporate Director of Place James Gilchrist – Director of Environment, Transport & Planning Pauline Stuchfield – Director of Customer & Communities Michael Howard – Head of Active & Sustainable Transport Christian Wood – Head of Programmes and ITS
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Part A - Matter Dealt With Under Delegated Powers
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12. Declarations of Interest (17:31)
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. No interests were declared.
13. Minutes (17:31)
Resolved: That the minutes of the Executive meeting held on 15 June 2023 be approved and then signed by the Chair as a correct record.
14. Public Participation (17:32)
It was reported that there had been three registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.
Peter Richardson spoke on matters within the Executive’s remit, stating that he had not had a response to his questions at the Budget Council meeting in February on the adult social care precept, and that the council tax had been incorrectly calculated.
Flick Williams spoke on Agenda Item 5 (Update on Local Bus Services), highlighting issues that were deterring people from using buses, the disproportionate effect upon the poorest and the need to do more to hold operators to account.
Denise Craghill also spoke on Item 5, echoing the comments of the previous speaker and urging Executive to do all it could to progress the long term future of bus services.
15. Forward Plan (17:44)
Members received and noted details of the items that were on the Forward Plan for the next two Executive meetings at the time the agenda was published.
16. Update on Local Bus Services (17:44)
The Director of Environment, Transport & Planning and the Head of Active & Sustainable Transport presented a report which gave an update on actions taken in response to previous Executive decisions to support bus services in the short term and to maintain the bus network where possible, and detailed future plans to stabilise, improve and grow the local network in response to reduced government funding.
The council had secured funding of £17.4m through the government’s Bus Services Improvement Plan (BSIP), as well as £11.3m in zero emissions bus grants. The first year of BSIP funding had been paid in November 2022, at which point action had begun on delivering the BSIP, key elements of which were summarised in paragraphs 12-15 of the report. The council had commissioned consultants to examine the issues identified during consultation on the BSIP and suggest solutions; their report was expected shortly. Due to decreased passenger numbers, driver shortages, rising costs and reductions in covid support funding, First York had made timetable changes to a number of services. Officers had been tasked with seeking quotes from bus operators to retain all under-threat elements of the network for 3 months. Full details of support provided to the network through BSIP funding were set out in paragraphs 18-38 and Annex 1.
Executive Member for Economy & Transport thanked officers for their work in attempting to maintain current services and highlighted the importance of the bus network in sustainable transport and the potential role to be played in future by the new combined authority. Having noted the comments made under Public Participation on this item, it was
Resolved: (i) That the BSIP delivery update in the report be noted, including infrastructure improvement development, young person and family incentives, and the bus service support, these being the key BSIP items prioritised for the current year, the delivery of which was not affected by the bus subsidy challenges.
(ii) That it be noted that there remain a number of issues within the bus industry, including changes to government funding for bus companies and the fact that the current timeline of government funding matches BSIP, leading to a potential ‘cliff edge’ of funding for services in summer 2025; although officers will continue to work with the Enhanced Bus Partnership to seek to mitigate risk, future intervention by the council may be required.
(iii) That it be noted that operators have indicated they were to remove some early a.m. and late p.m. commercial services (Nos. 1, 4, 6, and 10/10A) which they consider are not economically viable, that officers have arranged short-term contracts from bus operators to retain the under-threat elements of these services, and that this additional funding will be considered by the Enhanced Bus Partnership in July 2023, with a longer-term tender process to be undertaken and reported back to the Executive.
(iv) That it be noted that officers will present the subsidy per passenger as part of any future funding decisions on which services should be supported, to help Members with their decision-making.
(v) That it be noted that the funding allocation to service support is limited and the initial allocation is committed, that Local Transport Authorities (LTAs), such as York, are now able to re-allocate part of the original BSIP funding to service support, that LTAs can switch up to 10% of the revenue allocation over the three-year programme without the government’s approval, and that this would impact on the council’s ability to deliver an existing BSIP deliverable project and require formal decision making.
(vi) That it be noted that the report on the City Centre Bus Shuttle is imminent but that it will need to be considered, and possibly revised further, in the light of any decisions to review hostile vehicle mitigation measures.
Reason: To ensure that the Bus Network in York is stabilised and that the council can work with the statutory Enhanced Bus Partnership to deliver its stated Bus Service Improvement Plans objectives in line with the National Bus Strategy, by both improving passenger experience and increase bus patronage.
17. LEVI Pilot Funding for Askham Bar HyperHub (18:03)
The Director of Environment, Transport & Planning and the Head of Programmes & ITS presented a report which sought approval to accept an offer of funding from the government’s Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) fund following a successful bid as part of a pilot for the Hyperhub 4 charging station scheme at Askham Bar Park and Ride.
The council’s 3-tier approach to delivering York’s electric vehicle charging network up to 2025 was set out in the York Public EV Charging Strategy at Annex A to the report. Hyperhubs 1 and 2 at Monks Cross and Poppleton Bar had delivered around 90% of all EV charging on the council’s network each month since opening in 2022. The proposed sites at Union Terrace and Askham Bar would complete the ‘ring’ of hyperhubs around the city. Due to current land ownership and lease arrangements at Askham Bar, it was considered sensible to undertake a feasibility study of the site. Two options were available, as summarised below:
Option 1 – accept the LEVI funding offer and allocate £60k match funding to a phase 1 business case and feasibility study. This was the recommended option.
Option 2 – not accept the offer, and look to deliver the project through an alternative route. This could affect future bids to the LEVI fund.
In supporting the recommendation, the Executive Member for Economy & Transport congratulated officers on securing the funding and noted that the hyperhub, being on the city boundaries, would also benefit the combined authority while staying within CYC’s control. In response to issues raised during debate, the Chair confirmed that discussions with partners were ongoing regarding the challenges around Northern Powergrid.
Resolved: (i) That Option 1 be agreed and the LEVI funding offer of £1,243k be accepted in principle, recognising the ultimate need for the £669k match funding, and that approval be given at this stage to match fund £60k, allocated from within current transport budgets, for a phase 1 business case and feasibility study.
(ii) That the results of the feasibility study be reported to a future Executive meeting and a further decision be sought on proceeding with delivery dependent on the outcome of the study.
Reason: To continue to deliver on the public EV charging strategy to meet objectives in terms of uptake of Electric Vehicles and climate change and carbon reduction.
18. Anti-Racism & Inclusion Strategy and Action Plan (18:13)
[See also under Part B]
The Director of Customer & Communities presented a report which introduced a city-wide Strategy Report and Action Plan (the Report) from the independent and cross-sectional working group led by Inclusive Equal Rights UK 3.0 (IERUK), and asked Executive to agree a response and to recommend the Report to Council.
The Report, attached as Annex A to the cover report, reflected the fact that although York was a truly multi-cultural city, people of colour continued to be adversely affected by a failure of organisations and institutions in the city to treat them with fairness, dignity and respect. Haddy Njie, the Chair of IERUK, and Gary Craig, a member of the working party responsible for accumulating data for the Report, were in attendance at the meeting to set the Report in context and explain the sources of the data that underpinned it. In doing so, they addressed the criticisms of the Report received from some quarters on its release and expressed their views on these negative comments.
In supporting the proposals, the Executive Member for Finance, Performance, Major Projects and Equalities thanked all those involved in bringing the Report forward, described the negative responses received as ‘appalling and despicable’ and highlighted the need to work together to tackle racism in the city and secure better ethic minority representation in its public institutions. Her comments were echoed by the Leader and other Members.
Resolved: (i) That the Strategy and Action Plan at Annex A to the report be noted.
(ii) That the council’s response to the Strategy and Action Plan and the next steps, including a clear commitment in the new Council Plan and a detailed plan of delivery within three months, be agreed and that officers be instructed to carry out the steps identified.
(iii) That it be noted that a further report will be presented to Executive within three months in response to the strategy, making recommendations for change where actions can be implemented in the short term and also identifying medium and longer-term measures .
Reason: To demonstrate the City of York Council’s commitment to being an Anti-Racist City.
Part B - Matters Referred to Council
19. Anti-Racism & Inclusion Strategy and Action Plan (18:13)
[See also under Part A]
The Director of Customer & Communities presented a report which introduced a city-wide Strategy Report and Action Plan (the Report) from the independent and cross-sectional working group led by Inclusive Equal Rights UK 3.0 (IERUK), and asked Executive to agree a response and to recommend the Report to Council.
The Report, attached as Annex A to the cover report, reflected the fact that although York was a truly multi-cultural city, people of colour continued to be adversely affected by a failure of organisations and institutions in the city to treat them with fairness, dignity and respect. Haddy Njie, the Chair of IERUK, and Gary Craig, a member of the working party responsible for accumulating data for the Report, were in attendance at the meeting to set the Report in context and explain the sources of the data that underpinned it. In doing so, they addressed the criticisms of the Report received from some quarters on its release and expressed their views on these negative comments.
In supporting the proposals, the Executive Member for Finance, Performance, Major Projects and Equalities thanked all those involved in bringing the Report forward, described the negative responses received as ‘appalling and despicable’ and highlighted the need to work together to tackle racism in the city and secure better ethic minority representation in its public institutions. Her comments were echoed by the Leader and other Members.
Recommended: (i) That Council receive the Strategy and Action Plan on behalf of the City.
(ii) That the Leader sign the Pledge at Annex B to the report on behalf of the Council.
Reason: To demonstrate the City of York Council’s commitment to being an Anti-Racist City.
Cllr C Douglas, Chair
[The meeting started at 5.30 pm and finished at 6.55 pm].