Performance – Council Plan Outcomes

 

1          It is likely that due to impacts of COVID, a number of the indicators will see a significant change both in terms of their numbers and their direction of travel in future reporting periods. The majority of the performance measures within the Council Plan have a lag between the data being available, and the current reporting period and therefore impacts will not be immediately seen, and may occur over several years as new data becomes available.

 

Well paid jobs and an inclusive economy

 

 

Business Rates

2          During March 2020, the Government was aware of the impending impact of COVID-19 on businesses and sought to mitigate the impact through a mix of grants and business rate reliefs at a local level including business rates discount of 100% for qualifying retail businesses. This scheme remains open although all awards in York have now been made. There were 2,550 businesses with a rateable value under £51,000 who received the discount, 607 businesses with a rateable value over £51,000 and 35 nursery discounts. The total value of the awards was over £70 million.

 

3          In addition, 2,146 small business grants totalling over £21 million, 1,298 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants totalling over £24 million and 668 applications for the enhanced micro grant scheme totalling over £2 million have also been paid to qualifying businesses. City of York Council were the 12th fastest authority in distributing business grants to those who needed it most during COVID-19, and were quick to respond to support the shielded and vulnerable, recruiting volunteers and organising community hubs.

 

Median earnings of residents – Gross weekly pay

4          In April 2019, the estimated median gross weekly earnings for full-time resident employees in York were £574.60, which is an increase of 12% from £512.60 in 2018. In recent years, the increase in earnings has been fastest among the lowest paid occupations. However, taking inflation into account, real pay is still some way below its historic level. Nationally the increase was 2.9% and regionally, 3.4% over the same period. Data for 2020/21 will be available in October 2020.

 

 

% of working age population qualified – to at least L2 and above

5          In 2019-20, 83% of the working age population in York were qualified to at least L2 and above (GCSE grades 9-4), which is higher than the national and regional figures (75.6% and 72.5% respectively). This result ranks the city of York third regionally. The 2019-20 figure has remained stable compared to 2018-19 (83.2%). York performs in the top quartile compared to other Unitary authorities and is ranked 4 out of 56 Unitary LAs.

 

% of working age population qualified – to at least L4 and above

6          In 2019-20, 49.1% of the working age population in York were qualified to at least L4 and above (certificate of higher education or equivalent), which is higher than the national and regional figures (40.3% and 34.2% respectively). This result ranks the city of York first regionally. The 2019-20 figure is an increase from 2018-19 (47.9%). York performs in the top quartile compared to other Unitary authorities and is ranked 5 out of 56 Unitary LAs.

 

GVA (Gross Value Added) per head (£)

7          In 2018-9 (the latest available data), the GVA per head in York was £30,258 which was the second highest figure regionally. Apart from a slight dip in 2015-16, the GVA per head has been increasing annually since 2009-10 where it was £25,976 per head. Data for 2019-20 will be available in December 2020. Based on predicted economic trends nationally, it is expected that there will be a negative impact on GVA values in future years.

 

% of vacant city centre shops compared to other cities

8          At the end of Q1 2020-21, there were 47 vacant shops in the city centre, which is a reduction from 53 at the same point in 2019-20. The number of vacant shops equates to 7.3% of all city centre shops, which is lower than the national benchmark in Q1 2019-20 of 11.7%. The York figure has not fluctuated a great deal in the past 10 years, with a high of 9.2% in 2016-17 and the national benchmark figure has remained stable too, with a high of 12.3% in 2013-14. This measure will continue to be monitored along with a number of new measures looking at vacancy rates within secondary shopping centres to broaden the economic picture of the city. These will include Clifton Moor, Monks Cross, Haxby Village and Acomb High Street.

 

% of working age population in employment (16-64)

9          In Q2 2019-20, 78.8% of the working age population were in employment, which is higher than the national and regional figures (75.7% and 73.8% respectively). The York performance gives the city a ranking of first regionally and represents a continued yearly upward trend. Q3 2019-20 data will be available later in 2020.

 

Getting around sustainably

 

 

P&R Passenger Journeys  

10       In 2019-20 there were a total of 3.98 million Park and Ride passenger journeys into and out of the city. This is lower than in 2018-19 (4.24m) and the lowest in the previous seven years (with a high of 4.61m in 2015-16). Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, lower numbers than normal were seen during March 2020, which partly explains the decrease since 2018-19.

 

Local bus passenger journeys

11       In 2019-20, 11.6 million local bus passenger journeys originated in the local authority area. This is slightly lower than the number of journeys in 2018-19 (12m) but overall, there has been a steady increase over the previous seven years (from 9.7m in 2012/13).

 

% of ROAD and pathway network that are grade 4 (poor condition) or grade 5 (very poor condition) - Roadways / Pathways

12       In 2019-20, 20% of the road network was classed as in poor or very poor condition. This is a slight decrease from 2018-19 and 2017-18 (23% and 24% respectively and reflects the investment in the highways maintenance programmes in the last few years. In 2019-20, 3% of the pathway network was classed as in poor or very poor condition. This remains relatively low compared with previous years, with the highest being 6% in 2015-16.

 

Area Wide Traffic Levels (07:00 -19:00) (Excluding A64)

13       Between 2011-12 and 2016-17, the number of vehicles on the city’s roads increased year on year to a high of 2.2 million. Since then the numbers have slowly decreased to a provisional figure of 2.15 million in 2018-19. This slight decrease in numbers is set against a backdrop of a city with an increasing population. Data for 2019-20 will be available in October 2020.

 

Index of cycling activity (12 hour) / % of residents actively cycling and national comparisons

14       From a baseline in 2009 (31,587), there has been a 20% increase in cycling activity in 2018. The highest level seen since the baseline was established was in 2014 where there was a 29% increase above the baseline. Data for 2019 will be available in October 2020.

 

 

15       Statistics about walking and cycling in England in 2019 were published during August 2020. The data is based on two main sources, The National Travel Survey and the Active Lives Survey. The picture for York residents is a positive one with a higher than average proportion engaging in both walking and cycling (the percentage of adults in York who walk or cycle five times per week (50%) is higher than regional and national averages (34.1% and 35.8%).

 

16       Community mobility data has been available regularly from Google since the start of the pandemic to track how visits to places such as shops and transit stations are changing. The data reflects significant changes to the activity of the residents living and working in the city compared to a baseline taken in January. At the end of June 2020, there had been a 65% reduction in retail and recreation, 20% reduction in grocery and pharmacy, and a 49% reduction in the use of Public Transport.

 

Index of pedestrians walking to and from the City Centre (12 hour in and out combined)

17       From a baseline in 2009-10 (37,278), there has been a 26% increase in the number of pedestrians walking to and from the city centre in 2018-19. This is 16% higher than in 2017-18. This is the highest increase seen since the baseline was established. Data is gathered on an annual basis  over the course of one day; it is a count of pedestrians crossing an inner cordon set just beyond the inner ring road and includes off-road routes such as riverside paths. Data for 2019-20 will be available in October 2020.

 

% of customers arriving at York Station by sustainable modes of transport (cycling, walking, taxi or bus – excluding cars, lift, motorcycle or train)

18       In 2018, 73% of customers arrived at York station by sustainable modes of transport which is an increase from 71% in 2017 but lower than 75% in 2016. The data is gathered by an annual survey which takes place for a five- hour period in seven locations around the station. Members of the public are asked how they arrive at the station and the results are flow weighted to take into account the split of people arriving at each entrance. Data for 2019 will be available in October 2020.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Greener and Cleaner City

 

 

Percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling or composting

19       The latest provisional data of 35% in Q4 2019/20 shows that the amount of household waste sent for reuse, recycling or composting has decreased slightly from 38% in the same period in 2018-19. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, green bin collections did not start in March as usual however; the provisional annual recycling rate has increased from 44% in 2018-19 to 48% in 2019-20. York performs in the middle quartile compared to other Unitary Authorities and is ranked 22nd best out of 56 Unitary LA’s.

 

Residual household waste per household (kg/household)

20       Provisional residual waste (i.e. non-recyclable) per household data suggests that the figures have increased since last year (119kg in 2018/19 Q4 and 128kg in 2019/20 Q4). Despite the increase in Q4 residual waste, possibly partly due to the COVID-19 lockdown, the provisional annual figures have decreased from 551kg in 2018-19 to 461kg in 2019-20. York performs in the middle quartile compared to other Unitary Authorities and is ranked 26th best out of 56 Unitary LA’s.

 

 

 

 

Incidents - Fly tipping / Rubbish / Cleansing (includes dog fouling, litter and all other cleansing cases) / Graffiti – On Public/Private Land

21       The number of service calls received due to cleansing (including dog fouling and litter) and graffiti during Q1 2020-21 have both decreased since Q4 2019/20 (cleansing from 748 to 405 and graffiti from 152 to 74). The number of fly-tipping service calls has increased during the same period from 452 to 596 calls. When it comes to measuring actions taken, as a proportion of incidents reported, of fly-tipping within Unitary Authorities similar to York, York is the second best in taking action against perpetrators.

 

Air Quality

22       New data has shown that York’s air pollution has significantly reduced during the Coronavirus lockdown. Analysis produced by a leading expert in air quality has shown improvements in air quality, compared to ‘business as usual’ figures, for specific areas of York where the council undertakes regular air quality monitoring (the highest reductions being 43% on Fishergate and 38% on Nunnery Lane). The average reduction across all York sites was 30%. This clearly demonstrates that traffic is a significant source of nitrogen dioxide in the city and supports the steps that the Council has taken so far to reduce vehicle emissions.

 

23       The City of York Council’s priorities for the coming year are:

·         Reducing emissions from buses through the introduction of the Clean Air Zone (CAZ)

·         Continued promotion of anti-idling measures

·         Continued reduction of emissions from taxis

·         Continued delivery of strategic EV charging networks

·         Continued reduction of emissions from new development

·         Reducing emissions from the council’s fleet

·         Increasing awareness of the impact of air pollution on public health

·         Continued modal shift and network improvement measures

 

24       During Q1 2020-21, musicMagpie conducted a survey to discover the greenest and most sustainable city in the UK. The survey looked at the best and worst eco-friendly habits, including things like refurbished technology, recycling rates and methods of travel. The city of York had the highest overall score for sustainability, the highest score for the proportion of zero-plastic supermarket shoppers, and the most home grown fruit and vegetables.

 

Trees Planted

25       During the last six months of 2019-20 there were 515 trees planted by City of York Council, in conjunction with partners. Some of the locations of these trees were:

·         Victoria Fields for Interfaith week in partnership with Treemendous;

·         Rawcliffe Country Park for the Woodland Trust national tree planting day in partnership with York Tree Wardens and Tremendous;

·         River Foss (Monk bridge area) in partnership with the Woodland Trust and the River Foss Society;

·         Hob Moor, Dringhouses and Woodthorpe in partnership with the local community

·         Badger Hill in partnership with the local community and university volunteers

 

26       Due to the specific times of year that trees are planted, no trees were planted during Q1 2020-21, but this is expected to increase by September.

 

% of Talkabout panel who think that the council and partners are doing well at improving green spaces

27       The Talkabout Resident Satisfaction Survey was adapted and included in the ‘Our Big Conversation’ (OBC) consultation which launched in June 2020. It was sent to the Talkabout panel and is available to all York residents.

 

28       The results showed that 44% of respondents agreed that the Council and its partners are doing well at improving green spaces, an increase from 42% in Q3 2019-20.