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City of York Council |
Committee Minutes |
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Meeting |
People Scrutiny Committee |
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Date |
17 March 2026 |
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Present
Officers in Attendance
In Attendance |
Councillors Waller (Vice-Chair, in the Chair), Mason [from 6:22pm], Moroney, D Myers, Nicholls, Orrell (Substitute for Councillor Cuthbertson), Baxter (Substitute for Councillor Burton), Hollyer (Substitute for Councillor Runciman) and Perrett (Substitute for Councillor Nelson)
Ian Cunningham, Head of Business Intelligence Zoe Delaney, Assistant Director of Integrated Commissioning and Community Integration, York Health and Care Partnership Michael Melvin, Director of Adults Safeguarding Harriet Smith, Integration and Commissioning Lead Sara Storey, Corporate Director of Adult Social Care Pauline Stuchfield, Director of Housing and Communities Sharron Smith, Chief Executive Officer, York Carers Centre Graeme Betts, Improvement Advisor Councillor Steels-Walshaw, Executive Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care Councillor Lomas, Executive Member for Finance, Performance, Major Projects and Equalities Councillor Pavlovic, Executive Member for Housing, Planning and Safer Communities |
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Apologies |
Councillors Burton, Cuthbertson, Nelson, and Runciman |
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17. Apologies for Absence (5:32pm)
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Burton (Chair), Cuthbertson, and Runciman, who were substituted by Councillors Baxter, Hollyer, and Orrell respectively.
In Councillor Burton’s absence, Councillor Waller would Chair the meeting.
Resolved: That Councillor Baxter be appointed Vice-Chair of the meeting.
18. Declarations of Interest (5:33pm)
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.
Councillor Baxter declared an interest in relation to agenda item 6, York Carers Strategy 2026-2032, in that she was previously a carer for City of York Council (CYC).
19. Minutes (5:33pm)
Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 3 December 2025 be signed and approved as a correct record, subject to the following amendment:
· That a response to questions regarding the 0.5 full time equivalent School Poverty Officer from the Ebor Academy Trust to lead on the co-ordination of the work with schools on the implementation of the school poverty framework be included under Minute No. 13.
20. Public Participation (5:35pm)
It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.
21. Care Quality Commission Local Authority Assessment (5:35pm)
The Corporate Director of Adult Social Care presented the report outlining the Care Quality Commission (CQC) Local Authority Assessment, and the subsequent actions being taken.
The Informal Improvement Advisor reported that he had been appointed by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to support CYC in its improvement journey, address challenges identified within the assessment, and report to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on improvements made.
It was reported that the method used for the assessment was following a new assessment process and there was a need to work with departments such as housing to ensure further quality care. CYC had a ‘requires improvement’ score overall and a notification had been sent to the Department of Health and Social Care highlighting that CYC had not met some requirements. Meeting had been held with staff to outline the recommendations made within the assessment outcome in order to ensure understanding.
The Director of Adults Safeguarding reported that in response to the assessment CYC had developed a consistent approach to deal with the risks people faced while waiting for Council services which was now consistent and overseen. He discussed the approach to transitional safeguarding to ensure people have support they need in transition to adulthood and noted work ongoing with the Safeguarding Adults Board to develop a new framework measuring the actions being taken.
The Executive Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care expressed that safeguarding was the responsibility of all Council areas.
In response to questions from members, the Corporate Director of Adult Social Care, the Director of Adults Safeguarding, the Informal Improvement Advisor, and the Executive Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care confirmed that:
· There was a need to ensure that there was appropriate housing and supported living options for people; the recruitment of Occupational Therapists would help with this as well as joint working with the Director of Communities.
· Local Area Coordinators worked with Social Care teams and now had powers to directly pick people up early in their journey into care.
· A joint frailty Hub facility with Nimbuscare had helped reduce admissions to hospital.
· In the short term, agency staff and secondments would be used to focus on specific areas, in the medium to long term however there would be a focus on engaging with the Occupational Therapy partner to increase the number of Occupational Therapists to help people access more adaptations and support.
· People on waiting lists were seen on a risk level and so people with greater needs tend to get seen first while others wait – as such, many people’s needs then develop further as they wait; work was ongoing with staff at the first point of call to help get support early to prevent people’s lower level needs developing without support, and reduce demand. There was a great amount of unmet demand within York and needs were expected to go up in the short term because of this, but plans presented within the report was expected to make us more resilient in the long term.
· A 12% reduction in waiting lists was a significant improvement that had been achieved.
· CYC co-produced a learning leadership board giving a valuable opportunity to see peoples’ experiences.
· Some types of placements out of York were less expensive than in York. York care home costs were higher than elsewhere and there was a lot of demand. CYC funded 27% of care home costs in York with the other 73% being self-funders or other Local Authorities.
· Although CYC had run care homes in previous years, it wouldn’t work to run care homes today as the strategic balance in York is different to larger Local Authorities.
· Examples of progress made included: Joint ongoing working and improved working relationships with York Hospital and with health colleagues, and the reduction in delays and an increase in people going home from hospital rather than care home first.
· CYC’s ongoing priorities were to meet the statutory duties outlined in the Section 50 letter notification shared with the Secretary of State. The Corporate Director of Adult Social Care was accountable for achieving these and was advised by the Informal Improvement Advisor.
· Individual circumstances were considered when out of area accommodation was required.
· CYC’s Market Position Statement had lapsed and was due for renewal; this could be shared with members to highlight and develop how CYC manages its market responsibilities.
· National standards for pay were being investigated by the Government, and the outcome would feed into how Local Governments support the external care market. The Market Position Statement would help shape CYC’s position on this.
· Work on a development plan was ongoing and could be brought back to the Committee for further scrutiny; Learning from Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs) would be shared with members.
Resolved: That the People Scrutiny Committee supported the action plan and approach outlined.
Reason: So that members were aware of the outcome of the CQC Local Authority Assessment and supported the subsequent actions being taken.
22. York Carers Strategy 2026-2032 (6:51pm)
The Corporate Director of Adult Social Care, Integration and Commissioning Lead, and Chief Executive Officer, York Health and Care Partnership presented the report.
Officers highlighted the contribution made by unpaid carers who supported family members and friends alongside other commitments. The strategy had been guided by carers lived experience through ongoing conversations including with the Carers Action Group and a citywide consultation. Officers outlined the four focus areas to improve outcomes for carers and objectives of the strategy and suggested that the strategy was designed to be a live document that would be revisited when data had been improved.
It was detailed how the strategy could support keeping people out of hospital and out of care homes, and ensure unpaid carers were valued and heard.
The Executive Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care discussed how there were likely many more unpaid carers in York who CYC were not aware of as many unpaid carers did not identify as such; she stated how this strategy was the start of greater consistent join working between partners.
In response to questions from members, the Corporate Director of Adult Social Care, Integration and Commissioning Lead, and Chief Executive Officer, York Health and Care Partnership confirmed that:
· Some GP surgeries were collecting data on unpaid carers and there was an opportunity to improve joint up working through partners to use this information.
· GP surgeries and care workers were trying to pinpoint the moment someone identified as a carer through subsequent meetings, as the need for care increased.
· Feedback was welcomed on how to involve partners, health colleagues, and communications to better develop the strategy.
· Many did not identify as carers as the definition of carer is different for each individual, and people’s self-identification may change over time.
· Schools had a key role in supporting children who were unpaid carers and discussions were developing regarding better recognition of young carers.
· Once people identify as carers all sorts of advice and support can be offered to them through the strategy, however the difficulty was in getting some people past the first step of seeking help when they do not identify as carers, or believe the support offered is for them.
Feedback was received from the Committee for Officers to support York employers in joining Employers for Carers in order to receive better support and advice; and for better communication to be considered to support those who don’t identify as carers and therefore do not receive the support available to them.
Resolved: That the People Scrutiny Committee considered and commented on the York Carers Strategy 2026–2032.
Reason: To provide Scrutiny assurance and input prior to consideration by Executive.
23. 2026/27 Ward Funding Allocations (7:21pm)
The Director of Housing and Communities presented the report, noting that the 2026/27 individual Ward budget allocation was comprised of £250,000 to be allocated across the city, and outlined existing and potential models to inform making the split to wards, as detailed within the report.
Members considered the options available to them and discussed Models A-E as detailed within the report. Feedback on the models outlined was then provided, including:
· Earlier clarity regarding funding levels for the following year would be beneficial as these tended to be revealed quite late and restrict forward planning.
· Models A and B seemed to be designed to target deprivation more efficiently; however, under these models it was also suggested by members that smaller wards received an unproportionate amount of money than larger wards with similar deprivation scores.
· A reduction in the amount of ward funding granted would have impacts on deprivation in all wards.
· It could be beneficial for CYC to investigate how some payments could be recovered in some ways to ensure some communities don’t lose out.
In response to questions from members, the Director of Housing and Communities, confirmed that:
· The majority of ward funding for 2025/26 had been spent and was due to be completed by the end of the financial year.
· Community Skips were not considered ward funding expenditure.
· Further written information on funding models and deprivation statistics would be shared with members.
The Executive Member for Housing, Planning and Safer Communities, and Executive Member for Finance, Performance, Major Projects, Human Rights, Equality and Inclusion commented that:
· Applications for City Wide Funding did not have to involve every ward but did need to have support of more than one ward.
· Some wards had markedly higher levels of deprivation and as such it made sense for funding to the allocated to those wards; this was the model that had been suggested.
· Funding Applications consisting of multiple wards were often more efficient and effected wider groups of people; it would be beneficial to receive bids and then decide on a case-by-case basis which funding pot the applications fall under. Citywide Funding also helped streamline funding applications, stopping often seen duplication of applications across various wards.
Resolved:
· That details of ward expenditure be published for each Councillor to showcase what funding had been spent on.
· That the People Scrutiny Committee considered the content of the report, the options presented and provided comments on the existing model (Model A) and models from the options outlined in the report.
Reason: In order to provide feedback before the Executive approves the method of allocation of ward funding.
24. Work Plan (7:58pm)
Members discussed the work plan for the upcoming municipal year. The Chair noted that the formation of a Task and Finish Group for Housing Repairs was ongoing; and the Scrutiny Officer reported that membership for a Joint Task and Finish Group with Corporate Scrutiny Committee on Adult Social Care Finance had been confirmed and work on this was ongoing. Members were informed that the next informal Scrutiny Member Briefing Session School Attendance and the Attainment Gap session would be held on 15 April.2026.
Resolved: That Members considered and agreed the Committee’s work plan for the upcoming municipal year.
Reason: To ensure that the Committee maintains an appropriate programme of work.
Councillor Burton, Chair
[The meeting started at 5.32 pm and finished at 8.01 pm].