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Customer & Corporate Services Scrutiny Management Committee Report of the Ethical Asset Disposal Task Group |
23 May 2022 |
Ethical Asset Disposal
Background
1. At the end of a Corporate & Customer Services Scrutiny Management Committee (CSMC) call-in meeting on 21 December 2020[1] on the subject of the Update on the Asset Management Strategy 2017-2022, it was resolved that “a request be made for an appropriate Scrutiny committee to undertake scoping work, with a view to developing a strategy for the council on the ethical disposal of its assets.”
2. An informal working group of three members from amongst the CSMC and Economy & Place Scrutiny Committee membership was established – Cllr Stephen Fenton, Cllr Ed Pearson and Cllr George Norman. The working group has undertaken some scoping work by meeting with relevant officers to discuss what currently exists in relation to City of York Council (CYC) asset disposal policies. The working group has also gathered information on what other local authorities do.
3. The working group was not asked to come up with any recommendations, but to report back to CSMC with the information gathered, for CSMC to then decide on next steps.
Information gathering
4. The working group met with Nick Collins, CYC Head of Asset Management, on 13 October 2021. We heard that the council’s constitution requires members’ approval for the disposal of land and building assets, that every asset is different and that there are robust procedures in place to identify potential alternative uses for assets that are deemed to be surplus to requirements. Members explored what wider community engagement is undertaken when assets may be deemed surplus to requirement and were told that this would be done through the CYC Strategic Services Manager. The Officer also referred to the York Map tool through which councillors are able to see all CYC assets in their ward.
5. The 1972 Local Government Act requires local authorities to dispose of their land and buildings for the best consideration reasonably obtainable. However, the General Disposals Consents 2003, removes the requirement for local authorities to seek approval from the Secretary of State, for any disposal of land, where the difference in value between the unrestricted value of the interest to be disposed of, and the consideration accepted (the undervalue), is less than £2,000,000. The local authority should ensure that it follows normal and prudent commercial practices, including the view of a professionally qualified valuer, as to the likely amount of the undervalue.
6. Members asked the Head of Asset Management to share further information with them, and this was received in December 2021.
a) CYC Method Statement for the Disposal of Land or Property (Annex 1)
This document describes the process followed to ensure that the sale of assets adheres to council policies. It is not explicit in the document, but it is presumed that before this process is embarked upon a decision will have been made a) to sell the asset and b) if so, whether at full market value or a reduced value reflecting non-financial benefits to be realised from the sale. The steps to be followed include exploring whether there are other council service areas that could make use of the property and whether it might be of interest to partners.
b) CYC Ethical Property Letting and Management Procedure (Annex 2)
Of interest, but not directly relevant as this procedure relates to the letting and management of property rather than its disposal.
c) Map of CYC owned and leased land (excluding housing) (Annex 3)
d) Map of city centre CYC owned and leased land (excluding housing) (Annex 4)
These maps are high-level and demonstrate the extent of CYC owned and leased land
e) York Map User Guide (Annex 5)
This document provides an introduction to the York Map facility, which members can access via a link on the CYC intranet home page. The map can be used by members to identify all CYC property in their ward by checking the ‘Property terrier’ box under the Layer List – see below.
