One city, for all
Key
statistics
(infographics - sources inside back cover) - check 2021 census
York’s
population
202,821[i]
+13,000[ii].by
2032
48,779[iii]
students
9,854[iv]
people over 80 years old, + 12.7%[v]
since 2011.
York’s
diversity
7.3%[vi]
Black, Asian and
Racially Minoritised Communities 5.5%[vii]
white non-British.
5.5%[viii]
LGBTQIA York, 3.0% region, 3.1% England & Wales.
17.1%[ix]
disabled / 7.7%[x]
carer responsibilities.
Widely
recognised as a city of outstanding heritage, beauty and culture
and frequently topping the polls as the best place to visit in the
UK, York is a City of Sanctuary, a Human Rights City and a UNESCO
City of Media Arts. We are proud of our history of social
justice and collective action.
York is large
enough to be ambitious with plans to be a global science city
fuelling the regional economy yet compact enough for residents to
be within 30 minutes of outstanding childcare, schools and colleges
and communities close enough to build strong and supportive
relationships.
With 2,000 years
of history welcoming visitors from around the world two
universities delivering world-class research and innovation, a
commitment to improve social wellbeing and so many communities
freely giving their time and energy to volunteer, York occupies a
special place in the heart of millions of people.
Our city’s
considerable strengths provide a platform on which to continue to
build and improve.
York is a city
however whose outstanding education and academic results masks
widening education inequalities, a city where some people can live
healthy independent lives up to a decade longer than others who
live only a few miles away.
With so many
strengths, it is unacceptable that York was ranked
259th out of 316
of
the most income-deprived cities in the UK. Around 5% of
York’s population live in areas ranked amongst the bottom
fifth in England and Wales for deprivation.
Sharing our
resources, successes and strengths will mean everyone can access
the same opportunities, which in turn will strengthen our
neighbourhoods, communities and the city.
By establishing the conditions that bring York together as one
city, all of us will enjoy better, happier, healthier lives in a
healthier, fairer, more affordable, more sustainable and more
accessible city.
Our Vision
One
City, for all,
the City of York Council’s Council Plan (2023-2027), sets a
strong ambition to increase opportunities for everyone living in
York to live healthy and fulfilling lives.
It
builds on our strengths, to help us prepare for the future, and
improve the quality of life for residents
today.
It
links to the city 10-Year Plan and 10-Year Strategies covering
climate, health and wellbeing and the economy (York 2032) that was
co-designed with city partners and set a vision and five key
priority areas to focus on.
[image of the York 2032 framework)
The Council Plan
identifies what the Council will aim to deliver with partners over
the next four years.
It is important that we are both
ambitious and realistic. We will focus the council’s
limited resources where it will make the biggest difference, whilst
exploring innovative ways to attract investment into the
city.
Over
the next four years, the council will establish the conditions that
would make the city of York a healthier, fairer, more
affordable, more sustainable and more accessible place, where
everyone feels valued,
creating more regional opportunities to help
today’s residents and benefit future
generations.
Regional
governance is changing
The way the city
and region work together is changing. Throughout 2023 and
2024, regional governance structures are being established to
facilitate closer working between the City of York Council and
North Yorkshire Council to help deliver our priorities over the
years ahead.
The City of York
Council remains a unitary authority with no change in
responsibilities or boundaries. In the meantime, the newly
established North Yorkshire Council brings together North Yorkshire
districts authorities and the county council into one new unitary
authority called North Yorkshire Council.
City of York and North Yorkshire
councils negotiated a devolution deal between central government
and local authorities in York and North Yorkshire.
The York and
North Yorkshire Combined Authority will be established in 23/24,
with the election of the Mayor taking place in May 2024. The
Council will then work with the elected Mayor, and North Yorkshire
Council, to champion the interests of the city, and the region,
particularly in respect of strategic transport and economic
interests to national government.
The York Place
Health and Care Partnership has been established, formalising
arrangements to join up health, social care and the voluntary
sector work with communities. A 10-year prospectus was
co-designed with residents, partners and the community and clearly
sets out how health, care and community partners will work together
to improve the health and wellbeing of residents. The challenges
within health and care will require significant integration of
services.
Being clear on
our priorities now will help us over the decade ahead as we
continue to build a supportive and collaborative relationship with
our local and regional partners.
Delivering the plan
The local authority sector is experiencing very significant
pressures on its financial stability.
The challenge of increased demand within social care is creating a
situation where the majority of local authorities are having to
prioritise resources very carefully, with some restricting spending
to statutory services.
Within York we face these challenges and know we will need to take
decisions to ensure financial stability.
To deliver our plan, we must ensure financial resilience and
stability over the next four years. Exploring new ways to
fund action whilst developing additional income streams to invest
in services will be crucial. We will need to reduce the size
of the council to manage within our funding, whilst still being
ambitious for our city, and our businesses, communities and the
residents who live here.
We know it is only by being open and responsive, listening to
people and learning from their experience, improving customer
experience throughout our operations, and working hard for all the
people of York, that we will be able to deliver our vision and this
plan.
Our local, regional and national partnerships have a significant
role to help us. Whether unlocking investment, sharing
expertise or championing York’s interests, it is only by
working together to deliver shared objectives that we can improve
the quality of life for all our residents.
Our staff are key to achieving the actions set out within this
plan.
We will continue to support and invest in our staff, seeking to
retain staff and ensure the Council is a place people want to work
for. We recognise the financial challenges will be a concern for
our employees and will work closely with them.
This Council Plan is designed as a framework to set our priorities,
guide our decision-making, and consider our resource
allocation. It shows the outcomes we aim to deliver and the
actions we will take if funding allows, with more details in our
directorate and service plans which will be reviewed
annually.
PHOTO STORY To
show how the council can make a positive difference, it is our role
to set the conditions so that York is One City for
all. For example, we must ensure people with disabilities
are heard and have the same rights and access to opportunities as
everyone - with the council removing barriers to everyday living
and with disabled children supported into adulthood.
The
Four Core Commitments
Our
Core Commitments are the four outcomes we believe will achieve our
vision of a heathier, fairer, more affordable, more sustainable
and more accessible city where everyone feels
valued.
These outcomes inform the
decisions we make, and describe how we then work with partners,
residents and communities to deliver our
priorities.
We will put them
at the heart of council services and the key decisions we make as
we deliver for our residents, communities and
businesses.
They are the
tests we will use to ensure we move ever closer to achieving our
vision.
They are for
each
and
every one of our residents to benefit from, ensuring all our
residents benefit from the success of the city:
Equalities
and
Human Rights - Equality of opportunity
We will create
opportunities for all, providing equal opportunity and balancing
the human rights of everyone to ensure residents and visitors alike
can benefit from the city and its strengths. We will stand up to
hate and work hard to champion our communities,
Affordability
-
Tackling the cost-of-living crisis
We will find new
ways so everyone who lives here benefits from the success of the
city, targeting our support at those who need it most, supporting
communities to build on their own strengths and those of the people
around them.
Climate
-
Environment and the climate emergency
We know the race
to net zero is more urgent than ever and we will understand the
impact our actions have on the environment. We will prepare
for the future, adapting our city to extreme climate events and
enhancing our environment for future generations to
enjoy.
Health
-
Health and wellbeing
We will improve
health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities, taking a
Health in All Policies approach, with good education, jobs, travel,
housing, better access to health and social care services and
environmental sustainability. We will achieve better
outcomes by targeting areas of deprivation, aiming to level
opportunity across the city.
A health generating city, for children and adults
We want York residents to live happy, healthy independent lives in
communities that care, where the current trend of widening health
inequalities is reversed, and people are supported to manage their
health and wellbeing, with additional support available for those
that need it.
We want every child to be safe, healthy, and happy in strong
resilient families, living in diverse inclusive communities, with
equal opportunities to ensure they achieve their full potential and
the best possible outcomes.
Our starting point is that strong and supportive communities have
better health outcomes, when we build on the strengths of our
people, and give our citizens the best possible chance of staying
healthy. Our city is full of community and public assets that
can deliver hubs for partnership support and creativity. Our
thriving voluntary and community sector has over 250 organisational
members of York Centre for Voluntary Services (CVS) and the average
distance to green space in York is around a third of a kilometre,
versus a national average distance of a whole kilometre.
But we need more in place to support our residents. To ensure
everyone feels valued, we need to make sure our adult and social
care services are the very best they can be, focused on the areas
that make the biggest difference and preparing children for
adulthood.
Key statistics
- presented as infographics
Life expectancy
Average 80 years men compared to 79 Nationally. Across York this
ranges from 86 to 76 years with strong relationship to
“deprivation” in communities.
Average 84 years women compared to 83 Nationally / Across York this
ranges from 88 to 80 years with strong relationship to
“deprivation” in communities.
Volunteering
62%
of respondents to Talkabout give some form of unpaid
help.
Health
[xi]139 out of 307
local authorities where 1 is healthiest and 307 is least
healthy
Physical
activity
150+ minutes per
week, moderate intensity excl. gardening)
70%[xii]
York / 63% national average
likely to walk or cycle 3+ times a week
55% York / 45% national average .
Mental
health
18.9%
[xiii] 18-64 year olds predicted to have a
mental health problem
7.5%[xiv]
of 65 years old+ predicted to have dementia.
What we will do ...
1.
Working with York’s Health
and Care Partnership, deliver the ambitions set out in the Joint
Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2022-2032. [York Place Partnership
priorities image]
2.
Set the conditions for people to
live healthy independent lives:
2.1.
Increase
council-wide action to reduce health inequalities and report on
this through the Director of Public Health's Annual
Report.
2.2.
Co-design a
Housing with Support Strategy setting out the care choices people
have so older and disabled people could stay in their own homes as
long as possible.
2.3.
Work with the
York Health and Care Partnership to strengthen York’s
integrated prevention and early intervention model, and further
develop primary and secondary shared care models and emergency
care, working closely with the voluntary and community
sector.
2.4.Take a council-wide approach to
tackle domestic abuse and support victims and
survivors.
2.5.
Deliver the
Dementia Strategy Action Plan, updating and refreshing associated
strategies to promote greater understanding about the impact on
resident’s lives.
2.6.
Develop and
deliver an all age commissioning model for different specialist
facilities.
2.7.
Co-produce and
publish our approach to supporting people with Learning
difficulties, mental health, autism and delivery of adult social
care.
3.
Build community
pride:
3.1.
Celebrate the
city’s diversity, delivering an Anti-Racist Plan and
embedding across policy and processes.
3.2.
Develop family
friendly foot streets to bring playful exploration across the city
centre.
3.3.
Introduce
Neighbourhood Action Plans to target ward funding, community assets
and other resources to where they are needed most.
3.4.
Work with North
Yorkshire Police to target support to areas at risk of organised
crime.
4.
Start good health and wellbeing
young:
4.1.
Understand the
benefits and scalability of a Free School Meals Pilot with the
purpose of public good to transform children’s
lives.
4.2.
Introduce a
Spaces and Places Programme for young people developed by them for
them, including a Cultural Passport aimed at encouraging children
to engage in culture.
4.3.
Continue our
improvement journey to deliver good and outstanding children's
services with the voice of the child heard throughout all council
operations.
4.4.Embed corporate parenting so
children in care and care leavers can thrive.
5.
Target the right support at the
right time:
5.1.
Listen to lived
experience to deliver a Cost-of-Living Plan; and together with
partners, develop and deliver a 10-year Anti-Poverty Strategy and
Plan, including supporting young people and households reduce the
cost of heating and energy bills.
5.2.
Review the
fostering service, including the support to foster carers and
kinship carers.
5.3.
Deliver local
area coordination, health trainers and social prescribing that
supports people be independent and in communities, working
alongside partners for their own health and wellbeing.
5.4.Develop a locality model of
delivery, exploring the benefits of establishing “hubs”
across communities.
5.5.
Deliver the City
Community Mental Health Transformation Programme.
5.6.
Support more
people on their journey of recovery from addiction, including
through smoking cessation services and our recovery-based drug and
alcohol model.
Key performance indicators ...
|
Council Delivery
|
Number
of Children in Care
|
|
Number
of Child Protection cases
|
|
Numbers
of SEND Cases or EHCPs
|
|
% of people who use services who have control over their daily life
- Disabled People
|
|
% of people who use services who have control over their daily life
- Older People
|
|
Overall satisfaction of people who use services with their care and
support
|
|
City Outcomes
|
Children
and Families in Poverty - Income Deprivation Affecting Children
Index (IDACI)
|
|
%pt gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers achieving 9-4
in English and Maths at Key Stage 4
|
|
Number of children in temporary accommodation (temporary
accommodation to be further defined)
|
|
Health Inequality in wards (difference to York average)
|
|
% of reception year children recorded as being overweight
(including obese)
|
|
Slope index of inequality in life expectancy at birth - Female /
Male - (Three year period)
|
|
% of adults (aged 16+) that are physically active (150+ moderate
intensity equivalent minutes per week,)
|
High quality skills and learning for all
We want children to recognise a positive future for themselves no
matter their present circumstances. We want all ages to have access
to learning throughout their lives and to equip them with the
skills to succeed commercially and socially, both locally and
nationally.
We’ll support our schools to support our young people and
work collaboratively with employers to define skills and work with
social care staff to promote training for carers.
Over 6,000 children in York are living in poverty, with the gap
between education attainment varying across the city, and a lack of
adult social care and construction skills causing recruitment and
delivery issues.
Key
statistics - presented as an
infographic
Education
attainment equivalent to
GCSE level C+
75.3%[xv]
York average / 56.1% national average
57.7% [lowest ward] / 91.8% [highest ward]
17[xvi]
of York’s LSOAs are within the most deprived 10% of LSOAs in
England in terms of children and young people’s education and
skills. An LSOA is a Lower Layer Super Output Areas - a geographic
hierarchy designed to improve the reporting of small area
statistics in England and Wales.
Adults
Skills equivalent of a
Level 4 (degree or higher)
59.3%[xvii]
York average / [xviii]43.5%
North average / 38% nationally
22.5% [lowest ward] / 58% [highest ward]
What we will do ...
1.
Working with the
Skills Board, deliver the ambitions set out in the Skills Strategy
2020-2030.
2.
Provide outstanding
and inclusive education:
2.1.Implement the York Inclusive Schools
Charter, exploring options with York Schools and Academies Board
and the Maintained Schools Network to enhance or replace existing
kitemark schemes to better celebrate all aspects of the life of the
school.
2.2.Develop the relationship between
schools, family hubs and learning centres, such as Sanderson
House, in collaboration with other services
and universities.
2.3.
Work across the
region to highlight the funding challenges across early years
settings, schools and colleges, working with local and regional
partners to explore different opportunities.
2.4.Continue to work in close
partnership with the universities and college to deliver for the
city, welcoming students to communities and identifying
opportunities to unlock the power of education for public
good.
3.
Build and retain an
outstanding social care workforce:
3.1.Work with local education providers
to promote better training for the social care workforce and the
Social Care Forum.
3.2.Provide additional training for
social carers from the council and partners.
3.3.Work with secondary schools to raise
awareness of the skills needed to have a career in social
care.
3.4.Continue to promote apprenticeships
as a route into social care.
4.
Promote pathways to
employment:
4.1.Work with the Skills Board to
deliver the 10-year Skills Strategy, providing opportunities for
apprenticeships and promoting the range of career options and
pathways across the city, focused on sector specific skills based
on local market information.
4.2.Develop and implement the Adult
Learning Strategy, working closely with the Combined
Authority.
4.3.Invite the Skills Board to review
the curriculum to develop skills needed by York’s
economy.
4.4.Develop green skills, progressing to
quality qualifications and employment, including the green skills
of our own workforce focused on retrofitting council homes
(pg xx).
4.5.Continue to work with careers
leaders to embed the Gatsby Standards (www.gatsby.org.uk/education/focus-areas/good-career-guidance)
.
4.6.Develop the Supported Internship Hub
to support young people with SEND to access employment.
Key performance indicators ...
|
Council Delivery
|
Free School Meals - Primary and Secondary
|
|
City Outcomes
|
% of children who have achieved a Good Level of Development (GLD)
at Foundation Stage
|
|
% of pupils achieving 9-4 or above in English & Maths at Key
Stage 4 (C or above before 2016/17)
|
|
% of working age population qualified - to at least L2 and
above*
|
|
% of working age population qualified - to at least L4 and
above*
|
A fair, thriving, green economy for all
York has a strong economy. With high employment,
above-average wages, productivity amongst the highest in the North,
supported by outstanding universities and colleges, York is a
global science city and has world renown sectors in rail tech, bio
tech, creative tech and tourism/hospitality, together with being
home to a range of major public sector organisations.
However, our economy needs to work for everyone. We know that the
poorest people in York live an average 10 years less than the most
affluent, with rising numbers of residents claiming Universal
Credit whilst in work. We also know economic factors are the single
largest factor of a healthy life.
York’s Economic Strategy 2022-2032 was approved by Full
Council in December 2022. It is one of the core strategies
underpinning the 10-Year Plan which sets an ambition that
York’s economy will be vibrant and inclusive, with businesses
supported to grow and prosper and talent nurtured and
retained.
Our economy will be developed to be well balanced with a mix of
different sectors providing opportunities for young and
old.
Key statistics
-
presented as infographics
Economy
£6.1[xix]
bn 2020 contribution to national economy
7,515[xx]
businesses + 25.2% since 2011/ national average 33.0%
Employment
83.6%[xxi]
in employment / 75.5% nationally
1.7%[xxii]
claim Jobseeker's Allowance plus those who claim Universal Credit
who are out of work - range from 0.6% - 3.5% depending on where
they live in city
Working at home 2021[xxiii]
35.5% of 96,196 working residents worked mainly at or from
home
Income-deprived
7.2%[xxiv]
of population are income-deprived in 2019.
Housing affordability (median house prices to earnings
ratio)
8.9 in 2021/22
Earnings gap between the 25 percentile and the median
(£)
£165 in 2021/22
What we will do ...
1.
Working with York’s
Economic Partnership and the newly established Combined Authority,
deliver the ambitions set out in the Economic Strategy
2022-2032.
2.
Support an economy driven by
innovation and good business:
2.1.Realise the economic opportunity set
by devolution, York Central and the bioeconomy.
2.2.Deliver an action plan to increase
well-paid jobs and good working condition and redirect wealth back
into the local economy.
2.3.Develop an inward investment strategy to
unlock growth and attract new businesses.
2.4.Promote the Good Business Charter
and Living Wage Foundation, creating strong opportunities for
all.
3.
Encourage a greener
economy:
3.1. Prepare options for
a
green construction
skills plan to build retrofit and renewable energy expertise, with
a ‘Green Skills Village’ at its heart.
4.
Help businesses to
thrive:
4.1.Explore how council powers and
options could repurpose empty city centre premises, prioritising
council space to meet our priorities and working with landlords to
encourage meanwhile use.
4.2.Provide access to advice and support
that helps businesses grow better paid employment.
5.
Make the city centre work for
everyone:
5.1.Work with the tourism and
hospitality sector to explore new revenue streams and a
‘green’ tourist levy to
benefit residents and the hospitality sector.
5.2.Work with partners to develop the
City Centre, responding to the Movement Plan (pgxx).
5.3.Work with Make It York to develop a
city-wide “outdoor” markets strategy that attracts
residents and moves visitors through the city and neighbourhoods,
mindful of the council’s market charter.
Key performance indicators
...
|
City Outcomes
|
Survival
Of Newly Born Businesses post one year
|
|
Business Startups - (YTD)
|
|
Universal
Credit: Claimants
|
|
Housing
affordability (median house prices to earnings ratio)
|
|
Earnings gap between the 25 percentile and the median (£)
(York)
|
|
% of vacant shops - City Centre
|
|
GVA per head (balanced calculations) (£)
|
|
% of working age population in employment (16-64)
|
|
% of businesses paying real Living Wage
|
|
% of businesses signed up to the Good Work Charter
|
Sustainable accessible transport for all
Our race to net zero continues and we are committed to taking bold
action now rather than delay.
We will work with the city, partners, residents and businesses to
change the way we move through and around the city, prioritising
sustainable transport and discouraging non-essential vehicle
journeys.
Key statistics
- presented as infographics
Commuting in 2011
83,396 (74.6%) York residents aged 16+ in employment commuted
within York
25,734 commuters from authorities outside York.
3.2m P&R journeys in the last year
10m Bus Journeys in last year
40% of Buses operating in York are ultra- low emission (Electric
and Hybrid)
79% of customers arriving at York Station by sustainable modes of
transport in 2021
110 City of York
Council
electric vehicle charging points
What we will do ...
1.
Deliver bold and
ambitious proposals:
1.1.Develop a city-wide Movement Plan as
a statement of intent for discussion with the new Mayor, to
mitigate the carbon impact of upgrading and dualling the A1237,
reducing congestion and enabling active travel.
1.2.Develop Local Transport Plan 4 and
the Local Cycling, Walking and Infrastructure Plan (in line with
government guidance and aligned to the Air Quality Action Plan) to
help people travel easily in a sustainable, safe, and healthy
way.
1.3.Launch an inclusive and accessible
draft Local Transport Strategy consultation programme.
1.4.Deliver the Bus Service Improvement
Plan, including a new provider of bus shelters with real-time
information and lobbying for improvements in York’s bus
services.
1.5.
Launch and
deliver Air Quality Improvement Plan 4, taking bold action to
reduce air pollution beyond national regulations and aim to meet
World Health Organisation targets.
2.
Reduce carbon, enable
residents to choose alternatives to petrol or diesel
cars:
2.1.Seek to extend the Clean Air Zone to
include freight and taxis, covering York Central and responding to
the need for freight deliveries, considering additional action such
as taxi licensing.
2.2.Promote subsidised upcycled bike
schemes and seek to expand e-bikes to connect villages to the city
centre.
2.3.Become a fully electrified bus city,
refresh the EV strategy including e-bikes &
e-scooters.
2.4.Introduce traffic calming and
anti-idling patrols around schools to reduce traffic and remove
harmful pollutants.
2.5.Improve York’s access to rail,
completing the Station Frontage scheme and continue to support a
station at Haxby.
3.
Make the city
accessible for all:
3.1.Listen to the disabled community and
review Blue
Badge access
to the city, refreshing the access plan.
3.2.Co-design a plan for Our City Centre
to make foot street more welcoming and accessible, including
management of freight deliveries as part of the Movement Plan (pg
xx).
3.3.Provide concessionary bus fares for
age up to 25 years old.
3.4.Promote sustainable transport routes
to York Community Woodland.
4.
Improve the condition
of highways and infrastructure:
4.1.Improve streets, cycleways and
footpaths for walkers and wheelers, as part of the Highways
Improvement Asset Management Plan.
4.2.Review the business model for
transport enforcement including local regulations, such as
yellow-hatched boxes and illegal parking and anti-idling
enforcement to improve air quality.
Key performance indicators
...
|
Council Delivery
|
The number of City of York Council electric vehicle recharging
points in York
|
|
% of the road and pathway network that are grade 4 and below (poor
and below) – Roadways
|
|
City Outcomes
|
Park and Ride Passenger Journeys
|
|
Local bus passenger journeys originating in the authority area
(excluding Park and Ride)
|
|
Area Wide Traffic Levels (07:00 -19:00) (Excluding A64) from
2009/10 baseline
|
|
Index of cycling activity (%) (12 hour) from 2009
Baseline
|
|
Index of pedestrians walking to and from the City Centre (%) from
2009/10 Baseline
|
|
% of customers arriving at York Station by sustainable modes of
transport
|
Increase the supply of good quality affordable housing
In York the average cost of houses are at least 10 times average
earnings and rents rising 10% over the last year
(2021-22).
For many people in York, housing is either unaffordable, or demand
for good quality homes outstrips what’s available.
Therefore, seeking to accelerate the delivery of all homes and
tenure types with partners is an overarching priority.
Affordable homes means less than market value to buy or rent (for
example, social housing or shared ownership) or cheaper than
average to run. Recognising the
challenges vital key workers face, we will continue to work with
partners to consider options.
Key statistics -
shown as infographics
Housing
85,458[xxv]
households in York / + 8,670[xxvi]
by 2032
Average house
prices are 10.9[xxvii]
times the average salary
York is one of the 15 [xxviii]least
affordable cities in the UK.
4.5 per 100,000
people sleeping rough for the same period (5.4 Nationally and 3.1
Regionally)
24 people
sleeping rough on the last Thursday in July 2023
7,404[xxix]
social houses
1,209[xxx]
households on the housing waiting list.
20.0%[xxxi]
private rentals / 20.3% nationally.
What we will do ...
1.
Use our powers to set
the standards for future homes and business
premises:
1.1. Adopt the Local Plan, sharing how
the Local Plan sets out a vision for York’s spatial areas, to
take a robust approach to supporting the city’s health
infrastructure leading to a good range of local services,
workspaces, facilities, low traffic walking and cycling routes, new
communities, additional schools, roads and supporting
infrastructure to support the anticipated increased number of
residents.
1.2.Adopt a range of Supporting Planning
Documents including climate change and housing, to reduce carbon
emissions associated with new developments.
1.3.Implement new legislation (once
granted by government) to influence the short term let
market.
2.
Create more
affordable, sustainable, appropriate housing
options:
2.1.Refresh the Housing Strategy with a
focus on affordability and prioritising housing needs and reviewing
options for the traveller community.
2.2.Explore funding options to consider
how best achieve 100% affordable Passivhaus standard housing,
including working with the new Mayoral Combined Authority to unlock
funding, whilst delivering the schemes set out in the Housing
Delivery Programme (Shape Homes York).
2.3.Deliver a Housing Summit to
co-design an action plan with partners, Office of the Public
Estate, and Housing Associations to go above policy for affordable
rented homes and the housing mix and tenure types the city
needs.
2.4.Seek further opportunities to expand
the council’s Home Share Scheme, aiming to encourage more
long-term homeowners to share their premises with those starting
out.
2.5.Review the issues of affordability
and how it affects the city in terms of service/employment,
considering potential actions to address future homes standards
identified in the Local Plan.
3.
Improve the
sustainability and condition of current housing and commercial
premises:
3.1.Review the council’s Housing
Asset Management Programme to improve the quality of current social
housing and to accelerate progress towards our net zero
commitment.
3.2.Move towards decarbonising all of
our council housing, favouring the installation of heat pumps and
solar panels and the phasing out gas boilers (see pg xxx).
3.3.Develop a one-stop-shop Retrofit
Plan that supports householders overcome barriers to installation,
working with suppliers and the council to build skills through a
green skills plan (Pg xxx).
Key performance indicators
...
|
Council Delivery
|
Proportion of respondents who report that they are satisfied that
their home is well maintained
|
|
% of dwellings failing to meet the decent homes standard (Council
Stock)
|
|
% of properties with good to poor efficiency on roof, walls,
windows and flooring
|
|
Number of City of York Council Voids
|
|
% of Repairs completed on first visit (First Time Fixes)
|
|
City Outcomes
|
Energy
Efficiency % or properties EPC Grade C and above
|
|
Housing of Multiple Occupation as % of properties in
York
|
|
Net Housing Consents
|
|
Net additional homes provided
|
|
Number of new affordable homes delivered in York
|
|
Number
of people sleeping rough - local data
|
|
Number of homeless households with dependent children in temporary
accommodation
|
Cutting Carbon, Enhancing the environment for future
generations
Climate change
is the greatest threat facing our planet.
In York, we are
committed to tackling this threat and in 2019, Full Council
declared a climate emergency, set an ambition for York to be net
zero carbon by 2030 and establishing an independent Climate
Commission for the city.
Reducing our
carbon emissions, adapting to a changing climate and enhancing our
environment are crucial for our future generations to enjoy the
same quality of life we do today. There are
challenges in getting to where we need to be by 2030; but they are
achievable, and have the potential to deliver significant economic,
social and environmental benefits beyond our climate emergency
commitment.
Throughout our
actions we will ensure the financial burden of climate action is
not carried by those who can least afford it.
Key
statistics - shown as infographics
Cutting
carbon
overall carbon
emissions
51.3%[xxxii]
down between 2005 – 2020 (mostly due to decarbonisation of
the national grid).
council emissions 4% of the city’s total carbon
emissions.
Green
Space
11% current tree
canopy cover in York
13% target tree canopy cover
Air
quality: It is not acceptable for York to breach national
regulations.
[xxxiii]4.4%
of all deaths in York are attributable to poor air
quality
average concentration of nitrogen dioxide
(NO2)
19%1 down between 2018 - 2022
47µg/m3 on Gillygate2 /
40µg/m3) health-based standard
average concentration of fine particulate
(PM2.5)
18%3
down between 2018 - 2022.
within the government’s annual mean target level of
10µg/m3
above the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) annual mean
guideline of 5µg/m3
Modelling
done by the Public Health team at Merton Council, a similar sized
local authority to York, has shown the health co-benefits of their
sustainability aspirations – measured by an increase in
active travel, healthier and more sustainable diets, housing
retrofits and air quality improvement – could prevent nearly
300 excess deaths per year.
What we will do
...
1.
Working with
York’s Climate Commission and partners deliver the Climate
Change Strategy 2022-2032:
1.1. Work closely with the newly
established Combined Authority to attract additional funding and
contribute to the regional ambition of being the first carbon
negative region in the UK.
1.2.Use smart incentives to support
residents take climate action, including reducing energy
consumption (pg xxx)
retrofitting their homes (pg xxx) or changing how they travel (pg
xxx)
1.3.Expand the Climate Commission
membership to enable businesses to support each other and work
together to meet York’s net zero commitment.
1.4.Reduce energy consumption associated
with our buildings and transport systems.
2.
Improve the physical
environment:
2.1.Develop a “Caretaker”
proposal to reflect pride-in-place priorities in neighbourhood
plans.
2.2.Make the most of our green and blue
infrastructure, to increase biodiversity, improve health and
wellbeing and support nature recovery, understanding the impact and
the difference we make.
2.3.Increase investment in our natural
assets and climate change projects.
2.4.Develop an Adaptations Strategy to
prepare the city for the impact of climate change.
3.
Reduce pollutants and
waste:
3.1.Lobby appropriate bodies to remove
unregulated foul sewage discharge from York rivers.
3.2.Reduce air pollution, in traffic and
domestic heating, set out in the Air Quality Action
Plan.
3.3.Subject to government funding, be
ready for kerbside domestic food waste collection
service,
3.4.Reduce consumption through reduce,
reuse, rethink and recover actions and promote circular economy
activity across the economy.
4.
Embed carbon
reduction across key policies and plans:
4.1.Work with the Tourist Advisory Board
to promote York as a sustainable destination, updating the 10-year
Tourist Strategy to include green tourism and sustainable
travel.
4.2.Continuously explore and accelerate
our activities towards becoming a zero-carbon council, refreshing
procurement policies, changing to e-fleet, retrofitting
council-owned buildings and considering the impact of climate
change when taking council decisions.
5.
Increase sources of
renewable energy:
5.1.Develop the business case for
renewable energy to support the council’s net zero
commitment.
5.2.Explore models to accelerate
delivery of the Local Area Energy Plan, continuing to support
community energy schemes, such as Solar for Schools
5.3.Increase the amount of energy
produced from local, renewable sources.
5.4.Support community driven action and
ownership of renewable energy generation.
5.5.Transition to a low-carbon energy
system by delivering the Local Area Energy Plan.
Key performance indicators
...
|
Council
Delivery
|
Number
of trees planted by City of York Council
|
|
Level
of CO2 emissions from council buildings and operations (tonnes of
carbon dioxide equivalent)
|
|
City
Outcomes
|
% of
Talkabout panel who think that the council are doing well at
improving green spaces
|
|
% of
Talkabout panel satisfied with their local area as a place to
live
|
|
% of
Talkabout panel who give unpaid help to any group, club or
organisation
|
|
Household
waste sent for reuse, recycling or composting (%)
|
|
Carbon
emissions across the city (kilotonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent)
- (Calendar Year)
|
|
Average
of maximum annual mean nitrogen dioxide concentrations recorded
across three areas of technical breach (at points of relevant
public exposure).
|
How the council operates
Improving customer experience will drive everything we
do.
Our focus is the quality of life of York’s residents and
businesses. How residents connect and engage with us and how they
access the services we provide influences their experience of us.
We will be open and responsive to feedback, and will listen to, and
learn from, communities, building stronger partnerships.
Delivering the plan required financial stability. We have
recognised these challenges and will take the decisions necessary
to achieve this. It also requires additional investment and close
working with strategic partners. Our workforce are critical to
delivery, and we will continue to support and develop our
employees, during what we know will be a challenging period, but
one that will also provide opportunity for staff to achieve great
things.
What we will do ...
1)
Financial
Management: Ensure financial stability through a
long-term financial strategy, that recognises the major
unprecedented financial challenges, takes the difficult decisions
needed, and ensures investment is focused upon priority
areas.
2)
Core
Commitments: Embed the four Core Commitments into
our decision making, policies and programmes of work.
3)
Explore options for key strategic
partnerships:
a)
Review options for the
city’s historic infrastructure and capital maintenance
liabilities such as the Museums, Art Gallery, Mansion House and
other historic assets.
b)
Review arrangements with
Make It York to promote the city’s destination management
role (visitor offer) and city’s cultural offer, event and
market management, including considering regional
opportunities.
4)
Attract additional
investment:
a)
Use the Community
Infrastructure Levy and S106 contributions, Combined Authority and
government funding, to deliver the infrastructure and regeneration
set out in the Local Plan, including maximising grant
funding,
b)
Establish a York
Community Fund, to encourage benefactors to invest in local
projects.
5)
Improve customer
experience:
a)
Co-produce a Customer
Strategy improving customer experience across
operations.
b)
Develop different ways
to engage people at a local and neighbourhood level.
c)
Focus partnership
working in a locality model that responds to identified
need.
6)
Strengthen Regional
Partnerships:
a)
Work closely with
partners across the Health and Care Partnership, identifying
opportunities for greater integration and improved
efficiency.
b)
Work closely with the
Combined Authority, and North Yorkshire Council to seek to maximise
opportunities arising from devolution.
7)
Strengthen local
community partnerships
a)
Listen and learn from
community expertise and lived experience (including the York
Poverty Truth Commission), listening to representative groups and
forums when developing processes and policies and related Human
Rights and Equality Analysis.
b)
Establish the York
Access Standard, deliver the Access Action Plan to support and
inform Planning and major project development.
c)
Implement the Social
Model of Disability across the Council.
d)
Share how the council
works in partnership with city leaders, business and
partners.
e)
Refresh the 10-Year Plan
to reflect the Four Core Commitments.
f)
Refresh our approach to
human rights and equalities impact analysis.
g)
Explore the benefits of
the Council as a Dementia Friendly Employer.
h)
Establish a Social Care
Forum, giving voice to those who provide unpaid care and are
experts through experience, ensuring they or their loved ones are
supported.
8)
Value the
contribution of our workforce: Refresh the Organisational
Development Action Plan to continue the commitment to support our
staff’s health and wellbeing, continued training and
development, updating the workforce strategies and setting out our
recruitment and retention approach.
Key performance indicators
|
Council Delivery
|
Average Sickness Days per FTE - CYC (Excluding Schools) - (Rolling
12 Month)
|
|
Customer Centre Average Speed of answer –
Operators
|
|
% of 4Cs Complaints responded to 'In Time'
|
|
FOI & EIR - % Requests responded to In time
|
|
£££ additional external funding achieved (by
category, year on year)
|
|
% of York residents reporting ‘good’ or
‘excellent’ experience with Council
|
|
% of York residents reporting ‘poor’ or
‘satisfactory with Council
|
Working with Communities
This Council Plan
sets out the framework for the decisions we will make until March
2027 as we drive forward on delivering our priorities.
However, we know this council is your council and we
are determined to find new ways to work in partnership, listening
to and learning from our residents, businesses, communities,
partners and employees.
It is only by working
together that we can achieve our vision and bring the city together
as one city, so everyone can share in the strengths and success of
the city. There are several
ways we will work with you over the next four years:
Working
in partnership
The regional
landscape has changed, and with it, there are different local and
regional partnerships to strengthen. Different partnerships
help steer delivery of the Council Plan. We are grateful that
partners willingly provide expertise about what it’s like to
run businesses or deliver services in the city.
These partnerships
might be strategic and take a system-wide look at what’s
important, or statutory and are required to support the
council. They might also be operational dealing with a
specific aspect of how the council functions.
www.york.gov.uk/outsidebodies
Learning from community groups, listening to residents
We know that the
experience of living in the city is not shared - it can feel very
different depending on where residents live or their own
circumstances. We are keen to
continue to listen and learn from different community groups so we
can make a positive difference to everyone who lives in the
city.
We will work with
partners to hear from the communities they represent, for example,
the anti-racist strategy shared the lived experience of the Black,
Asian and Racially Minoritised Communities in York, the Poverty
Truth Commission is sharing the lived experience of what it feels
like to be financially excluded in the city.
The council, the community and voluntary sector, and multi-faith
groups, together with residents themselves, form
different
groups that represent different perspectives, sharing the
experience of different aspects of life in the city to influence
change and social action. Interacting with and listening to
these groups gives residents and communities the opportunity to
influence policy direction and get involved in developing processes
when their lives are affected or impacted positively or negatively
by a proposal.
(present the below options to get involved as
‘adverts’)
Our Big
Conversation
When we start to
develop strategies or action plans that address challenges across
the city, we will involve community groups and residents to
co-design proposals and provide feedback through surveys, polls or
engagement events or focus groups.
www.york.gov.uk/ourbigconversation
Talkabout
is
York’s citizens’ panel. Panellists are asked to
take part in online resident satisfaction surveys and gives
long-term insights into how views are changing. The main survey
currently runs twice a year asking for views on topics including
life in York, your local area, problems you face as well as your
opinions on different services delivered by the council. Talkabout
panellists are also invited by other council departments to take
part in consultations on other aspects of council services and
policy.
We are really keen to
ensure the Talkabout Panel represents the communities we serve and
would love to hear from you by inviting you to join the
panel.www.york.gov.uk/talkabout
Take an
active role in local democracy
It’s really
important that residents, businesses, and stakeholders have the
opportunity to participate in decision-making and take an active
role in local democracy.
Anybody can attend
and view the council's public meetings which are webcast on the
council’s YouTube channel. Subject to
availability, you can arrange to speak at a council meeting by
submitting a request two days in advance of the meeting you’d
like to speak at.
Have your say: attend meetings
– City of York Council
To find which
meetings are happening when, visit: Browse Meetings, 2023
(york.gov.uk)
You can speak with
your local councillor if you wish to raise concerns or
issues on items for consideration at meetings - visit
Your Councillors (york.gov.uk) to find the contact
details of your local councillor.
Find out more
We’re launching a weekly e-newsletter so you can easily keep
up to date with all the latest news, including finding out how to
get involved in improving customer experience or developing ideas
to solve difficult issues. www.york.gov.uk
Monitoring performance
We have set key performance indicators to measure the achievement
of our priorities set out in this plan and are committed to
transparently reporting our progress against these indicators in
our quarterly published finance and performance monitors to
Executive and Scrutiny Committees.
Monitoring progress is an important tool to help us do better and
essential to strengthen the relationship we have with of our staff,
residents and partners.
We will also report progress against our 10-year plan, including
the 10-year strategies, annually.
The refreshed Performance Management Framework describes this in
detail.
www.york.gov.uk/annualperformancereport
To support delivery of the council plan, Directors and Assistant
Directors produce annual service plans, in consultation with
portfolio holders, describing the actions they will take over the
year.
[inside back cover]
Data Sources
List sources of all data (and pg #)
York data is regularly updated in the York Profile, which is
publicly available:
