|
Meeting: |
Executive |
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Meeting date: |
2nd September 2025 |
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Report of: |
Debbie Mitchell Director of Finance |
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Portfolio of: |
Councillor Katie Lomas, Executive Member for Finance, Performance, Major Projects, Human Rights, Equality & Inclusion
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Q1 2025/26 Finance and
Performance Monitor
Subject of
Report
1. This report sets out the projected financial position and the latest performance information for the period covering 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2025. This is the first report of the financial year.
2. The report outlines that, despite the Council’s continued financial challenges, performance continues to be good in across many areas of the Council.
3. The forecast for the year is that we will have a net overspend of £4.4m, which is slightly worse than the same position last year at this time. The main are of overspend is Adult Social Care, where increased costs and complexity remains a very challenging position.
4. As outlined in reports to Executive throughout the previous financial year, the existing cost control measures remain in place, and further action is still needed to bring spending down to an affordable level over the medium term, to safeguard the Council’s financial resilience and stability. The Council’s track record of delivering savings, along with robust financial management, provides a sound platform to continue to be able to deal with both the current and future challenges.
5. Local government continues to be in challenging times, with worsening performance in a number of sectors nationally. The majority of performance indicators chosen to support and monitor the Council Plan in York, continue to show a generally positive and stable trend against this difficult financial picture and shows the hard work from staff, partners and the city to tackle these challenges.
6. Council Plan Progress Reports, providing an update of activity against each of the plan’s seven priorities, will be published on an annual basis and sit alongside a six-monthly snapshot of progress available on the Council’s website (https://www.york.gov.uk/council-plan-1/snapshot-progress-council-plan/5). The reports complement the Finance and Performance Monitor, providing a narrative for the steps that the Council is taking to meet its ambitions.
7. The previous year-end report was considered by Executive in July, and with annual data cycles and release patterns, there is limited new data for Q1 for around half of the indicators. Historic data has been left in this report where no further data available.
8. The Council Plan basket of supporting set of indicators are the high-level measurable element of our performance framework, at a Council operational and City Outcomes level, and in newly available data up to Q1 2025-26 there has been positive performance in below.
9. The gap in the % of children who reach the expected level of development at 2-2.5 years of age between the highest and lowest York ward has reduced in the last year, alongside a similar reduction in the gap in the % of children totally or partially breastfeeding at 6-8 weeks between the highest and lowest York ward; key indicators around the number of children within services for Children in Care and Child Protection Plans are stable; the number of people whom are eligible and taking a free school meal has increased in both the primary and secondary sectors this year.
10. There has been a very positive direction of travel over the last few years in city centre performance measures, with high customer footfall and low shop vacancy rates; economic performance for GVA (Gross Value Added) continues to increase annually; Park & Ride and local bus passenger journeys have made a strong recovery post-covid although figures have now stabilised; the % of customers arriving at the station by sustainable modes of transport has remained high in recent years.
11. Our housing indicators are showing a positive direction of travel, with an increase in the number of new affordable homes delivered, and a further increase in new additional homes provided and consents approved; however this is set alongside challenges with residents’ satisfaction with some of the services the Council offers which is being addressed in the Housing annual report.
12. In June 2025, following a petition from Bishopthorpe Road traders and representations from other urban shopping areas, Executive approved reduced carparking charges, together with a process to gather the impact of the current charging regime as a response to the Right to Challenge Carparking Charges within the Traffic Management Act 2004.
13. This evidence base will be comprised of both a consultation and engagement exercise in five locations, combined with the quarterly publication of economic and transport data as an Annex of the Monitor Performance Report. Annex 2 shares an initial draft of this data which is a work in progress. The council is working with 3rd parties to secure different data for future iterations of Annex 2, leading to a more comprehensive monthly picture of the impact, compared to either Year on Year or month on month. For ease of reference, this report and the data will also be published on the York Open Data platform.
14. Annex 2 shares footfall collated from two cameras in Parliament Street and Micklegate. These cameras have been at the same location for several years, with the footfall data shared on the open data platform for 3rd parties to report on regularly. Over May, it became apparent that the camera at Parliament Street has not always been collating real time data and instead providing assumptive data. The council is comparing data collated from previous months with data from BT Active Insights to provide an assessment of how accurate this assumptive data is. From June, the Parliament Street camera data will be temporarily suspended from publication on the York Open Data platform until the council can verify the accuracy of it.
Benefits and Challenges
15. This report is to note the latest financial projections and current performance. The main challenge is delivering on agreed savings whilst also identifying further reductions in expenditure. The benefit of a balanced budget is that resources can be diverted into delivering Council priorities.
Policy Basis for Decision
16. This report is to note the latest projections and current performance. The ongoing financial resilience and stability of the council is essential in ensuring Council priorities can continue to be achieved.
Financial Strategy Implications
17. The report sets out the projected financial position. There remain overspends within Adult Social Care and some savings that are proving difficult to fully recognise in the short term. There continues a need therefore to focus on reducing expenditure and maximising income to safeguard financial resilience and stability.
Recommendation and Reasons
18. Executive is asked to:
· Note the finance and performance information.
· Note that work will continue on identifying the savings needed to fully mitigate the forecast overspend.
Reason: to ensure expenditure is kept within the approved budget.
Background
Financial Summary and Mitigation Strategy
19. The current forecast is that there will be an overspend of £4.4m. As outlined in previous reports to Executive, the financial position across the council has been less severe than was faced in previous years and last year’s outturn was much improved. We have seen an increase in the continued recurring overspend within Adult Social Care, which continues to be of concern. Many of the underspends and mitigations that have allowed us to balance the budget at year end have generally been one off.
20. Members will be aware that the financial position of local government is a national challenge and that the pressures being seen across both Adult and Children’s Social Care are not something that is unique to York. Many Councils are experiencing significant financial pressures and struggling to balance their budgets now, so it is vital that we continue the work to reduce our expenditure down to a sustainable level both within the current financial year and over the medium term.
21. The delivery of savings plans continues to be a clear priority for all officers. Corporate Directors and Directors will keep Executive Members informed of progress on a regular basis.
Financial Analysis
22. The Council’s net budget is £156m. Following on from previous years, the challenge of delivering savings continues with c£14m to be achieved to reach a balanced budget. Early forecasts indicate the Council is facing net financial pressures of £4.4m and an overview of this forecast, on a directorate by directorate basis, is outlined in Table 1 below.
|
Service area |
Net budget £’000 |
2025/26 Forecast Variation £’000 |
|
Children & Education |
32,138 |
-18 |
|
Adult Social Care & Integration |
50,540 |
5,090 |
|
Transport, Environment & Planning |
18,457 |
-670 |
|
Housing & Communities |
7,490 |
1,072 |
|
Corporate & Central Services |
47,796 |
-565 |
|
Sub Total |
156,421 |
4,909 |
|
Contingency |
500 |
-500 |
|
Total including contingency |
156,921 |
4,409 |
Table 1: Finance overview
Reserves and Contingency
23. The February 2025 budget report to Full Council stated that the minimum level for the General Fund reserve should be £7.4m. At the beginning of 2025/26 the reserve stood at £7.4m.
24. Should the mitigation outlined in this report not deliver the required level of savings in the current financial year then this reserve is available to support the year end position. However, in light of the ongoing financial challenges being faced by all Councils it is now more important than ever to ensure the Council has sufficient reserves. Therefore, should it be the case that we need to draw down a substantial amount from this general reserve in 2025/26, growth will need to be included in the 2026/27 budget to ensure that reserves can be maintained at an appropriate level.
25. In addition to the general reserve of £7.4m there are a range of other earmarked reserves where funds are held for a specific purpose. These reserves are always subject to an annual review and these funds will again be reviewed on a quarterly basis and where appropriate to do so will be released to support the in-year position. Whilst this is a prudent approach that will ensure the financial resilience of the Council it is not a substitute for resolving the underlying overspends but instead allows time to develop future savings proposals in a planned way.
26. As in previous years a contingency budget is in place, and this is currently assumed to be available to offset the pressures outlined in this report.
Loans
27. Further to a scrutiny review, it was agreed that these quarterly monitoring reports would include a review of any outstanding loans over £100k. There is one loan in this category for £1m made to Yorwaste, a company part owned by the Council in June 2012. Interest is charged on both loans at 4% plus base rate therefore interest of 8.25% is currently being charged. All repayments are up to date.
Directorate Analysis
Children and Education
28. The forecast directorate outturn position is an underspend totalling £18k and the table below summarises the latest forecasts by service area.
|
|
2025/26 Budget |
Forecast Outturn Variance £’000 |
Forecast Outturn Variance % |
|
Children’s Safeguarding |
28,128 |
250 |
+0.9 |
|
Education & Skills |
14,867 |
-102 |
-0.7 |
|
School Funding & Assets |
-5,730 |
0 |
0 |
|
Director and Central Budgets |
-5,127 |
-166 |
+3.2 |
|
Total Children and Education |
32,138 |
-18 |
-0.1 |
29. The 2025/26 year end position is forecast to be an £18k underspend and represents a significant and continuing improvement in the financial position of the directorate. During 2022/23 the projected unmitigated overspend peaked at £8.7m, reducing to £4.6m in 2023/24. This reflects the considerable progress that has been made to manage spend in a number of key areas, particularly agency staffing, high cost placements and home to school transport.
30. The number of Children Looked After (CLA) in York been reducing over the past few years. From 262 CLA at the end of March 2023, the number at the beginning of the financial year was 237 and at the end of 2024/25 it was 240.
31. The placement budgets overspent by £1,513k in 2024/25 (£3,027k in 2023/2024) but is only predicted to overspend by £94k in 2025/26.
32. Due to growth allocation for 2025/26, reduction in out of city placements and the work around the disabled children’s high-cost placements (costed to their own area and increased Health contributions) the pressure on this budget has reduced significantly.
33. There are currently 14 young people in residential, semi-independent or “Together We Can” accommodation compared to 17 placements as the end of March 2025. Of these placements 5 will become 18 years of age during 2025/26. There are currently 44 Independent Fostering Agreement (IFA) placements compared to 41 at the end of 2024/25 (plus 20 that ended during the year).
34. Staffing & other budgets within Children’s Social Work Services are predicted to underspend by £84k due to UASC income and other budgets. Legal fees are predicted to be overspent by £55k.
35. The Disabled Children’s Services is predicted to overspend by £383k mainly due to overspends on direct payments/Early Help.
36. Innovation and Children`s Champion has underspent by £119k due to the ability to fund some expenditure from the Family Hubs grant, Family Seeing grant & Changemakers grant.
37. The Home to School Transport budget, which has been in an overspend position for a number of years has been allocated £730k of growth from the 2024/25 corporate allocation, for demographic pressures and contract inflation. This budget is now predicted to underspend in 2025/26 by £18k.
38. There was an underspend of £87k for 24/25 within the Virtual School and Inclusion service as a result of vacancies, one-off savings in non-staffing expenditure and additional grant funding supporting already committed expenditure. For 2025/26 there is a predicted underspend of £74k.
39. The Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) is ahead of the target position set out in the Safety Valve recovery plan agreed with the DfE. The local authority is now in the final year of this four year agreement and has exceeded the financial targets for the first three years.
40. The brought forward balance on the DSG at 1 April 2024 was a deficit of £291k. The outturn position for 2024/25 was an in-year surplus of £883k. However, included in this figure is an amount of £960k of Safety Valve funding, so without this the in-year position would have been a deficit of £77k. The result is a final position at the 31st March 2025 of a surplus of £592k.
41. Despite the DSG now being in a cumulative surplus position, pressure on High Needs is increasing significantly. The budget for 2025/26 has been set on the basis of a predicted deficit in the year of £342k. This deficit is predicted despite the inclusion of the final funding due under the Safety Valve of £2m, thus the underlying in-year deficit against the DSG ordinarily receivable was £2,342k in 24/25.
42. Due to this underlying position, the local authority expects significant challenges in managing this position in future years, despite the cumulative deficit being eliminated a year early. In common with the national picture, York is continuing to experience an increase in High Needs pupils together with an increasing complexity of need, often requiring expensive provision, especially in Post 16 and Post 19 provision and the education element of Out of Authority placements. In particular York is facing a significant increase in demand for special school places, often exacerbated by tribunal decisions.
43. In addition, due to the significant pressures on mainstream school budgets, it is becoming increasingly difficult for High needs pupils to be supported in these settings. This situation is particularly difficult in York due to the low level of school funding which has a significant impact on these schools ability to adequately meet the needs of High Needs pupils.
44. The Safety Valve agreement committed the local authority to bring the DSG into an in-year balanced position by 2025/26. Further payments are conditional on the local authority meeting the targets set out in the Management Plan, and reporting quarterly to the DfE on progress, with the eventual aim of eliminating the in-year deficit by the target date, with additional payments by the DfE eliminating the historic deficit at that point.
45. As a result of the above, this year the Safety Valve agreement is likely to be the most difficult to date, with an increasing risk of the LA being unable to balance increasing high needs expenditure with the funding received in the High needs block of the DSG. Officers are working hard to avoid this position but it is becoming increasingly challenging to achieve.
46. One option that is available to LAs with significant High Needs pressures is to seek approval to transfer up to 0.5% of the Schools Block to the High Needs Block. York is beginning a consultation process with the Schools Forum with the objective of gaining approval for such a transfer in the financial year 2026/27. If this approval is not granted, the LA can submit a disapplication request to the Secretary of State for Education to still allow such a transfer.
Adults
|
|
2025/26 Budget £’000 |
Forecast Outturn Variance £’000 |
Forecast Outturn Variance % |
|
Direct Payments |
5,897 |
1,475 |
25.0 |
|
Home and Day Support |
3,981 |
-248 |
-6.2 |
|
Supported Living |
18,214 |
1,134 |
6.2 |
|
Residential care |
20,276 |
1,947 |
9.6 |
|
Nursing care |
6,377 |
715 |
11.2 |
|
Short term placements |
667 |
-18 |
-2.7 |
|
Staffing (mostly social work staff) |
7,809 |
222 |
2.8 |
|
Contracts and Commissioning |
1,907 |
0 |
0 |
|
In House Services |
5,246 |
-115 |
-2.2 |
|
Be Independent & Equipment |
1,038 |
191 |
18.4 |
|
Other |
-20,819 |
-274 |
1.3 |
|
Recharges |
-53 |
61 |
115.1 |
|
Total Adult Social Care |
50,540 |
5,090 |
10.0 |
48. ASC has received total growth of £10m in 2025/26. £8m of this growth has been allocated to fund inflationary pressures and £2m growth is set aside to address care provider NI pressures.
49. The following section gives more detail on the achievement of savings and mitigations to be investigated to reduce the forecast overspend.
50. Budget Council approved £1,140k of savings for Adult Social Care with a further £358k of savings crystallising from ongoing business efficiencies. £755k has already been delivered with a further £743k expected to be achieved by the year end.
51. Mitigations will be needed to bring down the Q1 position. ASC will look to achieve this by implementing the following:
· Revisit previous years savings to identify opportunities for further efficiencies.
· Review projects currently underway in ASC and the financial benefits quantified as well as the value for money of current arrangements.
· Embedding strength-based assessments and a multi-disciplinary approach via the Review Team.
· Co-ordinating with the Transformation team to quantify and deliver saving opportunities from the project work.
· Investigate brokerage tools to support negotiations with providers.
· Review of Better Care Fund schemes.
52. The following sections describe any significant variations to budgeted costs, customer numbers and income. The variations are generally due to not fully meeting previous years’ savings targets plus significant price pressures in the market. Some variations are large due to having small numbers of individuals within those budgets whose individual needs can vary significantly.
Direct Payments (£1,475k overspend)
53. The Learning Disability (LD) Direct Payments budget is projected to overspend by £1.1m. The average weekly cost is £121 per week above budget (£803k) and the average weekly cost of a transport direct payment is £40 per week above budget (£241k).
54. The Older Person (OP) Direct Payments budget is projected to overspend by £211k. The average weekly cost has increased by £95 per week compared to budget (£204k).
55. The Direct Payment working group continues to meet regularly to address issues and explore opportunities in this area.
Home and Day Support (£248k Underspend)
56. The Physical & Sensory Impairment (P&SI) community support budget is projected to underspend by £395k. The number of packages on tiered contracts has increased 11% compared to budget (£160k); This is offset by a reduction in the average weekly package cost (£206k) and Day Support (£46k). In addition, income from s117 contributions and Continuing Health Care (CHC) contributions have increased (£350k) from 5 additional people above budget.
57. The OP community support budget is projected to overspend by £198k. This is due to the number of packages arranged via tiered contracts increasing by 15% compared to budget; however, this is offset with increased contributions to care by individuals with a net impact of £65k and a reduction in the average CHC income per person of £953 per week (£199k). There is also a reduction in the number of people receiving day support care (£27k) and the weekly cost per exception contract has decreased £200 (£53k) compared to budget.
Supported Living (£1,134k overspend)
58. The LD Supported Living budget is projected to overspend by £1.6m largely due to an increase in the average weekly cost per placement of £182 per week compared to budget (£1.7m), This is slightly offset by having two less people on average than budgeted for (£168k).
59. Supported Living was an area ASC were unable to rebase the budget. A business case is underway to investigate the longer-term needs within this area which may include building new provision.
Residential care (£1,947k overspend)
60. LD Working Age residential care budget is projected to overspend by £958k. This is due an additional 4 individuals receiving residential care compared to the budget of 58 people (£513k). The overspend is further compounded by the average weekly cost being higher than budgeted (£409k) and receiving less CHC income (£52k).
61. The Older People residential budget is projected to overspend by £1,097k. There are significantly more packages in the forecast (308 packages paid through the ledger in May 2025 compared to 282 at the end of January 2025 when the budget was rebased). The rebasing exercise factored in approx. £350k for individuals placed in homes but not yet set up for payment on Mosaic.
62. There is on-going work in this area to validate this increase and a working group is reviewing the method used to forecast future costs/income and numbers by reviewing trends and considering whether seasonality should be factored in. The group will also look at any issues which prevent the timely commissioning of packages (both in terms of paying providers and recovering income) which creates volatility and variations to the forecast.
Nursing Care (£715k overspend)
63. The Mental Health (MH) over 65 nursing care budget is projected to overspend by £159k. This is due to an individual being placed on a higher cost placement out of area from March 2025 with an increased cost of £1.3k per week compared to budget.
64. The MH working age nursing care budget is projected to underspend by £68k. This is due to an individual that was newly commissioned in March 2025 with an annual cost of £234k offset with S117 funding of £249k back dated to December 2024 based on the S117 panel agreement. The team are chasing the outstanding final notification and agreement from the Integrated Care Board (ICB). The funding has been agreed at the joint panel hence factoring in the additional income into the projection.
65. The OP nursing care budget is projected to overspend by £589k. There are 15 additional people in the forecast compared to when the budget was rebased in January 2025.
66. As for OP Residential care above, Nursing Care is also being considered by the working group to validate and understand the changes in care package numbers, consider different ways of forecasting and remove barriers which prevent delayed commissioning of packages.
In House Services and Staffing (£222k overspend)
67. Staffing Overspends in the ISS Team, Mental Advocacy Team, The Emergency Duty Team and the Social Work Team. Mostly due to these teams being over establishment. This is offset by underspends in the Hospital Discharge Team and the ASC Community Team.
In House Services (£115k underspend)
68. The underspend is due to staffing hours being held back until the Glen Lodge refurbishment is complete. The forecast includes £105k investment in staffing with the ambition of diverting ten people from residential care packages to achieve the Business as Usual saving ASC07 in the savings table above.
Be Independent & Equipment (£468k overspend)
69. There is still a budget gap of £130k arising from when the service was originally insourced which has yet to be fully addressed. Staffing is expected to overspend by £30k largely due to an unfunded regrade of some of the posts in the team.
70. This area is being reviewed to ensure it is delivering value for money and towards the ASC Strategy and Care Act 2014 objective to prevent and reduce care needs.
Transport, Environment and Planning
71. The directorate is forecasting an underspend at quarter 1 of £547k and the table below summarises the latest forecasts by service area.
|
|
2025/26 Budget £’000 |
Forecast Outturn Variance £’000 |
Forecast Outturn Variance % |
|
Transport |
7,417 |
-305 |
-4.1 |
|
Fleet |
-79 |
18 |
-22.8 |
|
Highways |
5,324 |
-150 |
-2.8 |
|
Parking Services |
-9,774 |
-256 |
-2.6 |
|
Waste |
10,003 |
-480 |
-4.8 |
|
Public Realm |
3,767 |
+53 |
+1.4 |
|
Emergency Planning |
146 |
+62 |
+42.5 |
|
Planning Services |
-78 |
+323 |
+414.1 |
|
Public Protection |
872 |
0 |
0 |
|
Community Safety |
681 |
+65 |
+9.5 |
|
Management |
178 |
0 |
0 |
|
TOTAL |
18,457 |
-670 |
-3.6 |
72. The Environment, Transport and Planning Directorate is projecting a gross underspend of £670k at the first monitoring position. The primary reason for the underspend is continued strong performance from income particularly relating to parking. The two main areas of savings are across Transport and Waste Services. These are detailed further in the paragraphs below.
73. Within Transport there is a forecast underspend of £305k across the service. There are projected underspends due to additional income levels of Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders and contributions from bus service contributions. There are offset from overspends on the CCTV contract and shortfall of revenue from ANPR as the camera equipment has not been functioning as required.
74. Car parking tariffs were increased in April with the intention of reducing traffic in the city centre whilst producing additional revenue. The net income from parking funds highways and transport expenditure.
75. Car park income for the first two months is approximately 10% ahead of budget. There has been a reduction in the number of transactions (12%) but the average transaction has increased by 42%. This has meant total income is c18% higher than 2024/25. Additional resource of £60k has been allocated to undertake reviews of the impact of the charges on businesses and economic activity. It is assumed that the strong revenue performance will slow down over the year and at this point a saving of £140k is forecast.
76. There is a forecast underspend of (£480k) across waste disposal and collection. Income from selling spare capacity at Allerton Waste Recovery Plan is forecast to be £100k higher than forecast as overall council waste tonnages remain relatively static. There is also additional forecast income from recycling rebates, HWRC commercial waste fees bulky waste fees and gas sales of c £280k.
77. Across Waste Collection operational costs are forecast to be c £110k above budget as employee and vehicle costs are slightly ahead of profile.
78. 2025/26 is the first full year of the garden waste subscription service and subscriptions are at a similar level to 2024/25. Over 40,000 subscriptions have been taken out which has resulted in income to date being c £50k above budget.
79. Within the Highways area there is an anticipated underspend of £150k as electricity prices have reduced for unmetered supply to a lower level than assumed in the budget.
80. Across Planning Services there has been a shortage of staff across Building Control resulting in only a minimal chargeable service being in operation. This is resulting in a forecasted shortfall of c £300k across the service area. This may improve should additional resources be sourced in the year.
Housing and Community Services
81. The directorate is forecasting an overspend at quarter 1 of £1,072k and the table below summarises the latest forecasts by service area.
|
|
2025/26 Budget
£’000 |
Forecast Outturn Variance £’000 |
Forecast Outturn Variance % |
|
Housing Services |
803 |
+42 |
+5.2 |
|
Healthy & Sustainable Homes |
360 |
+27 |
+7.5 |
|
Building Services |
-511 |
0 |
0.0 |
|
Communities |
6,960 |
+614 |
+8.8 |
|
Customer Services |
-122 |
+389 |
+319 |
|
TOTAL |
7,490 |
+1,072 |
+14.3 |
82. Within Communities the main potential pressure relates to the £600k library saving. This was £300k from 2024/25 with another £300k for 2025/26. To date this saving has not been delivered causing a budget pressure from 2024/25 and increased pressure in 2025/26. The council is exploring options with Explore that can be included into the contract to deliver savings on this service. The process does require time to review provision levels as well as consultation and agreement from the partners. There remains an aspiration to gain a full saving from the process but the level of savings that can be delivered this year remains unknown and the timescale for delivery of the full saving is unclear.
83. A saving from a restructure of the Early intervention and Local Area teams (£75k from 20024/25 plus £37k 2025/26) has not yet been finalised and the savings may not yet begin until November. A vacancy on Local Area Coordinator posts can save £40k leaving a net overspend of £65k.
84. A further significant overspend from bereavement services of £295k is being forecast. As a result of a restructure to make savings in 2024/25 against the crematorium redundancy costs of £80k will impact this year with additional operating costs of £22k. The income forecast based on the first 2 months bookings show an under-recovery of £67k. Pressures on the bookings at the crematorium include alternatives to the traditional ceremony. Income from memorials at the crematorium and cemetery income is also below expectations and showing a £30k under recovery. CYC commitments at Fulford cemetery are also being forecast at £100k while a business plan is being worked on with the Parish council.
85. Salary costs on the Customer Services and Registrars are slightly higher than the budget, plus a redundancy cost of £26k from the 2024/25 restructure previously mentioned. The service is looking at where savings can be found.
86. There are several risk areas on the homelessness service but currently expecting to meet all the costs through the Homelessness Prevention Grant and Rough Sleeping Grant, both of which have increased for 2025/26. Staff transferred from changing lives will each potentially receive an increase in salary. A full restructure of the Resettlement Team which will include the GF Hostels and CYC office staff needs to be within available resources. Hostels staff are reliant on WWY to cover absences. Rents at the hostels are to be reviewed to ensure that they cover costs but this may not be put into effect until April 2026. There are extra posts being funded from the refugee grants.
87. The housing service has a budget for capital receipts from land sales primarily for self-build schemes which has not been achieved for a couple of years causing a £52k overspend.
88. Healthy homes is likely to have an overspend with HMO licence fee income. This pressure could be resolved by the issuing of penalty charge notices to landlords that have not properly licenced their properties.
Housing Revenue Account
89. The Housing Revenue Account budget for 2025/26 was set as a net surplus of £2,023k prior to debt repayment due in 2026. There were carry forwards of £2,149k agreed as part of the outturn report meaning the revised budget stands at £126k deficit (excluding £9,500k debt repayment).
90. At the early stage of the year, it is assumed that the overall account will outturn within the budget.
91. There will be extra costs under general management which are unavoidable. Subscription fees to the Housing Ombudsman and the Housing Regulator have risen by £30k and the annual software subscription to Capita is £45k. CYC is also facing increasing numbers of disrepair claims resulting in high levels of legal costs – currently £41k above budget.
92. There are currently 2 vacancies within the HRA leadership, Assistant Director will be vacant from July and Head of Housing and Asset Management has been vacant since April. Both posts will be filled but the saving while they are vacant should mitigate the general management overspends.
93. There is a forecast underspend across special services primarily due to savings from Glen Lodge as the refurbishment scheme is delivered. This is offset from reduced income in the Charges for Service line. Glen Lodge is expected to see a return to full occupancy during the second quarter.
94. Leaseholder charges for 2025/26 are showing a £145k increase over the expected budget.
95. The HRA working balance position as at 31st March 2025 was £25.8m and are forecast to reduce but is still higher than assumed when the budget was set. The latest forecast balance at 31st March 2026 is estimated to reduce to £16.4m.
Corporate & Central Services
96. The forecast outturn position for the remaining areas of the Council is a net underspend of £565k and the table below summarises the latest forecasts by service area.
|
|
2025/26 Budget
£’000 |
Forecast Outturn Variance £’000 |
Forecast Outturn Variance % |
|
Director of Finance |
5,521 |
-269 |
-4.9 |
|
CO HR & Support Services |
11,872 |
+316 |
+2.7 |
|
Director of Governance |
3,867 |
+66 |
+1.7 |
|
City Development |
970 |
+822 |
+84.7 |
|
Public Health |
29 |
0 |
0 |
|
Other Corporate & Treasury Mgt |
25,537 |
-1,500 |
-5.9 |
|
Total |
47,796 |
-565 |
-1.2 |
97. The underspend in Finance is driven by favourable incomes variances in; Property Services £118k, Transactional Services £99k and Business Intelligence £53k.
98. The main negative variance to budget in the Directorate is in HR & Support Services. The £316k overspend is predominately driven by the loss of the IT support contract for Explore £130k alongside overspends across system development. Work is ongoing to seek to mitigate this position.
99. In City Development the saving identified to increase advertising revenue will not be achieved in 2025/26 as there is a need to replace the bus shelters in order to fit new digital screens. This will be undertaken during the year. Revenue from the new agreement is expected to start in 2026/27.
100. There remains £500k set aside as a contingency and this is assumed to be used to offset other financial pressures across the council.
Performance – Service Delivery
101. This performance report is based upon the city outcome and council delivery indicators included in the Performance Framework for the Council Plan (2023-2027) which was launched in September 2023. Wider or historic strategic and operational performance information is published quarterly on the Council’s open data platform; www.yorkopendata.org.uk
102. The Executive for the Council Plan (2023-2027) agreed a core set of indicators to help monitor the Council priorities and these provide the structure for performance updates in this report. Some indicators are not measured on a quarterly basis and the DoT (Direction of Travel) is calculated on the latest three results whether they are annual or quarterly.
103. A summary of the city outcome and council delivery indicators by council plan theme are shown in the paragraphs below, and the latest data for all of the core indicator set can be seen in Annex 1.
Performance - Health and Wellbeing: A health generating city
106. % of reception year children recorded as being overweight (incl. obese) – The participation rates for the National Child Measurement Programmes (NCMP) in York for 2023-24 were 96.9% for reception aged children and 94.5% for Year 6 pupils.
· The 2023-24 NCMP found that 22.8% of reception aged children in York were overweight (including obese), compared with 22.1% in England and 23.8% in the Yorkshire and Humber region. York has the fourth lowest rate of overweight (including obese) for reception aged children in the Yorkshire and Humber region. The rate in York has increased compared with 2022-23 (from 19.9% to 22.8%).
· Of Year 6 children in York, 33.5% were overweight (including obese) in 2023-24 compared with 35.8% in England and 37.5% in the Yorkshire and Humber region. York has the second lowest rate of overweight (including obese) for Year 6 children in the Yorkshire and Humber region. The rate in York has increased compared with 2022-23 (from 32.5% to 33.5%).
107. Slope index of inequality in life expectancy at birth – Average Life Expectancy for men in York (79.8 years) is above the England average (79.1 years). For women (83.6 years) it is also above the England average (83.1 years).
· Healthy Life Expectancy for men in York (62.0 years) is above the England average (61.5 years). For women (62.7 years) it is also above the England average (61.9 years).
· The Slope Index of Inequality in life expectancy at birth measures the difference in life expectancy between the most and least deprived areas within a population. A higher value indicates a greater difference in life expectancy between the most and least deprived areas, suggesting greater health inequalities. The first published values were for 2011-13.
· Since 2011-13 the inequality in life expectancy for women, in York, has increased (worsened) from 6.2 years to 6.7 years. The English average is currently 8.3 years.
· Since 2011-13 the inequality in life expectancy for men, in York, has increased (worsened) from 6.6 years to 10.1 years. The English average is currently 10.5 years.
· Deprivation deciles are drawn up using data from the 2019 Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD). The Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs) in York are ranked from 1 to 120 on the overall IMD measure and then divided into local deprivation deciles with 12 LSOAs in each.
· For women, in York, between the most and least deprived deciles there is currently a 9.2 year difference in life expectancy. For men, it is currently a 10.7 year difference in life expectancy.
108. % of adults (aged 16+) that are physically active – The latest data from the Adult Active Lives Survey for the period from mid-November 2023 to mid-November 2024 was published in April 2025. In York, 366 people aged 16 and over took part in the survey, and they reported higher levels of physical activity, and lower levels of physical inactivity, compared with the national and regional averages. York has the 6th highest physical activity rate and the lowest physical inactivity rate in England (out of 296 Districts and Unitary Authorities). Positively:
· 76.5% of people in York did more than 150 minutes of physical activity per week compared with 63.7% nationally and 62.3% regionally. There was a significant improvement in physical activity in York compared with the previous year (69.8%).
· 12.9% of people in York did fewer than 30 minutes per week compared with 25.1% nationally and 26.9% regionally. There was a significant improvement in physical inactivity in York compared with the previous year (18.8%).
109. Percentage of people who use services who have control over their daily life – In 2023-24, 81% of all York’s respondents to the Adult Social Care Survey said that they had “as much control as they wanted” or “adequate” control over their daily life, which was higher than the percentage from respondents in the Y&H region as a whole (80%). It is also higher than the corresponding percentage who gave one of these responses in England as a whole (78%). It has slightly increased in York from the 2022-23 figure (78%).
110. Percentage of people who use services who have control over their daily life – Older People – In 2023-24, 76% of older people in York that responded to the Adult Social Care Survey said that they had “as much control as they wanted” or “adequate” control over their daily life. This is the same as the corresponding percentages experienced by older people in the Y&H region (76%) and higher than for older people in England as a whole (74%). However, it has decreased in York from the 2022-23 figure (77%).
112. Health Inequalities in wards – The ‘health gap’ indicators show the difference between the wards with the highest and lowest values. A lower value is desirable as it indicates less variation in health outcomes based on where people live within the City. Trend data for these indicators helps to monitor whether the gaps are narrowing or widening over time.
· Absolute gap in % of children who reach expected level of development at 2-2.5 years of age between highest and lowest York ward (4 yr aggregated) - The value for this indicator for the 4 year period 2021-22 to 2024-25 was 9.6% (the difference between 95.5% in Haxby & Wiggington and 85.9% in Clifton). The latest value represents an improvement (a narrowing of the gap in York) compared with the previous values of 10.5% for 2020-21 to 2023-24 and 13.7% for 2019-20 to 2022-23.
· Absolute gap in % of children totally or partially breastfeeding at 6-8 weeks between highest and lowest York ward (4 year aggregated ward data) - The value for this indicator for the 4 year period 2021-22 to 2024-25 was 36.4% (the gap between 80.5% in Heworth Without and 44% in Westfield). The latest value represents an improvement (a narrowing of the gap in York) compared with the previous values of 39.3% for 2020-21 to 2023-24 and 39% for 2019-20 to 2022-23.
113. Children and young people in care per 10k, excluding short breaks – At the end of June 2025, 235 children and young people were in York’s care. As a rate per 10k population, this is just below the National average (2023-24) and within York’s expected range. Separated children (also known as ‘UASC’), a sub-group of children in care, are expected to increase in number in York due to the National Transfer Scheme. The scheme mandates that “the Home Office will not transfer UASC to an authority that is already looking after UASC in line with, or greater than, 0.1% of their child population”. For York, this is equivalent to approximately 34 young people based on current population. However, the number of separated children has decreased, with 14 at the end of June 2025, compared to 21 in December 2024.
114. Children subject to a Child Protection Plan – 142 children were the subject of a Child Protection Plan at the end of June 2025. As a rate per 10k population, York is just below the National average (2023-24). The number of children subject to a Child Protection Plan in York ranges (between 125 and 150 in 2024-25) and can be impacted by large family groups. During Q1, several large families became the subject of Child Protection Plans.
Performance - Education and Skills: High quality skills and learning for all
116. % of working age population qualified to at least L4 and above – In 2024-25, 59.6% 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 (47.6% and 40% respectively). This result ranks the city of York fourth regionally. The 2024-25 figure is an increase from 2023-24 (53.8%).
118. % of children who have achieved a Good Level of Development at Foundation Stage – In 2023-24, 70% of our 5-year-olds achieved a Good Level of Development compared to 67.7% Nationally, and 66.1% in Yorkshire and Humber.
Performance - Economy: A fair, thriving, green economy for all
119. Universal Credit Claimants – At the end of June 2025 there were 14,826 people, in York, on Universal Credit. This is the highest figure to date, surpassing the previous high of 13,236 in February 2021. This is low compared to the region and nationally representing 11% of the working age population in York, compared to 21% regionally and 16% nationally. The figures dropped to a low of 11,054 in May 2022 but they have steadily increased since then. This is a mixture of increased claimants and people who have been converting over from other schemes (Tax Credits and most other legacy benefits), with this picture becoming clearer at the end of 2026 as DWP predicts/plans for all people to have moved over to Universal Credit.
120. There are two types of claimant: those in employment and those not. Both types have been gradually increasing in the last 12 months with the number of those not in employment increasing as claimants of legacy benefits are migrated across to Universal Credit. The increase in the number of those in employment may be attributed to a higher percentage of part time workers (27.9% in York, 23.6% regionally and 23.4% nationally). In the region, York has the highest number of part time workers and the highest number of claimants in employment but the lowest proportion of claimants not in employment (59.1% compared to a regional high of 67.7%).
123. % of vacant city centre shops – At the end of June 2025, there were 37 vacant shops in the city centre which equates to 5.9% of all city centre shops. This is 16 shops lower than at the same point in 2024 and much lower than the latest provisional national benchmark in Q1 2025-26 of 13.7%. The latest York figure is the lowest seen for a number of years.
124. GVA per head (£) – In 2023-24, the GVA per head in York was £41,162 which was the second highest figure regionally. This latest figure is an increase from last year (£37,748). Annually since 2009-10, the GVA per head has generally been increasing (from £25,976 per head).
125. % of working age population in employment (16-64) – In Q3 2024-25, 77.8% of the working age population were in employment, which is higher than the national and regional figures (75.5% and 73.8% respectively) and the York performance gives the city a ranking of third regionally. The figure for Q3 2024-25 in York remains fairly high overall but is lower than the figures seen for the previous two years.
126. % of Total Employees working for an Accredited Living Wage/Good Business Charter employer – 16% of employees worked for an Accredited Living Wage employer and 13.5% worked for an Accredited Good Business Charter employer in 2023-24, which are at the same level as last year.
127. Survival of Newly Born Businesses post 1 year – In York, 175 businesses were created in Q3 2023-24, down 3% on a year ago. There were 160 business closures in the same quarter, which is 3% higher than in 2022-23. The survival rate post 1 year has been consistently around 94% in York for the last 4 years, with the latest figure of 93.9%. The York figures have been consistently higher than the National and Regional rates (92.3% and 91.7% respectively).
Performance - Transport: Sustainable accessible transport for all
128. P&R Passenger Journeys – Passenger journeys for park and ride customers totalled 0.87m during Q1 2025-26, compared to 0.92m in Q1 2024-25 and 1.03m in Q1 2019-20. Passenger journeys for other local providers totalled 0.84m for May 2025 (latest data) compared to 0.87m in May 2024.
129. Although a strong recovery has been made to bus usage post-covid, the long-term behavioural and lifestyle changes of increased online shopping and hybrid working are likely to continue re-shaping the use of public transport. The decrease shown in recent usage compared to the previous year may be related to a number of factors including recent fare increases, city centre congestion with a number of disruptions and works taking place and the recent warm weather leading to greater visits to coastal areas outside of the city.
130. Area Wide Traffic Levels – 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. Following this, the numbers decreased to a low of 1.75m in 2020-21. However, the covid pandemic brought with it numerous national lockdowns and local restrictions so the decrease in traffic levels was to be expected. Since then, figures increased to 2.08m in 2022-23 and have remained fairly comparable since. The latest figure is 2.03m vehicles in 2024-25.
131. Index of Cycling activity – From a baseline taken in 2009, cycling figures increased year on year until 2014, where a high of 56% above baseline was achieved. Annual figures from 2014 then slowly started to fall until prior to the pandemic (2019) where cycling levels in the city were around 41% above the baseline. During the pandemic, figures then fell significantly then remained comparable until 2023. The latest data for 2024 shows a drop in cycling activity to only 2% above the baseline of 2009.
132. Cycling data is collected via automatic traffic counters (24 off road sites) during 5 traffic neutral months each year, alongside a one-day 12-hour manual count on inner cordon and bridge and boundary sites.
133. The pandemic had a huge effect on how people travel around, and how much they travel. Other cities with high levels of cycling have also seen falls in activity. In York, cycling levels appear to have fallen because of a decline in commuting (as a result of more working from home), although travel patterns are still settling down. York has a strong walking and cycling heritage, but if we are to achieve our climate and traffic reduction targets and see a long-term, sustainable increase in rates of cycling, we need to enable more people to choose the bicycle as the primary way of getting around. There is much more to be done to encourage even more people towards riding, wheeling and walking in the future, and we have recently carried out an extensive LTP and Movement and Place consultations to better understand what changes we can make to help support residents to make the change to cycling, and how we can support our cycling communities.
134. Index of pedestrians walking to and from the City Centre – From a baseline in 2009 (36,919), there has been a 1% increase in the number of pedestrians walking to and from the city centre in 2024. This is 24 percentage points lower than in 2023, but this drop is likely because there was heavy rain on the day the survey took place, so less people were walking to and from the city centre. 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.
135. Walking data is collected over a 12 hour period once per year and there is a valuable record going back many years. However, the limited nature of the data (that it is only collected on one day) mean that other variables such as the weather and roadworks can have undue influence. Looking forward we are exploring more comprehensive ways of gathering data around walking and cycling, using some of the AI technology that is now available.
136. % of customers arriving at York station by sustainable modes of transport – In 2024, 79% of customers arrived at York station by sustainable modes of transport which is a slight increase from 78% in 2023. The data is usually 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.
138. When looking at all providers of EV charging, the latest data collated by ZapMap, a charging locator app, shows that for York the total number of publicly available charging devices (all speeds) was 160 at the end of Q4 2024-25 which is an increase from 146 at the start of the year. The number of those which were rapid chargers was 50 at the end of Q4 which is an increase from 36 at Q1. A charging device may have more than one connecter and be able to charge more than one vehicle at a time so the figures do not show total charging capacity but are an indication of and can be used to compare York to national and regional rates. The rate of devices available (all speeds) per 100,000 population was 78.2 for York compared to 66.2 Regionally and 115.4 Nationally. York was just above the Regional and National rates for rapid charging devices at the end of the year at 24.4 per 100,000 population compared to 22.3 Nationally and 21 Regionally.
140. The percentage of non-principal roads in York, from local figures, where maintenance should be considered was 33% in 2024-25 (a large increase from 25% in 2023-24). Like the above indicator, there are two processes for collecting this indicator, a local one for providing the figures above, and a one-off SCANNER survey which is used by the DfT for benchmarking. The latest York figure for SCANNER is 4% for non-principal roads in 2023-24 which is lower than the latest benchmarks in 2023-24 (National average 7% and Regional average 4%). Please note SCANNER surveys were not carried out in York in 2021-22 and 2022-23.
Performance - Housing: Increasing the supply of affordable housing
141. Number of new affordable homes delivered in York – During 2024-25, affordable housing completions are significantly below the identified level of need (although 153 affordable homes have been delivered in 2024-25, compared to 122 in 2023-24). National scale challenges are facing many areas with buoyant housing markets such as a shortage of sites for affordable housing and labour and supply chain constraints, and these have affected delivery in York. The council itself is maximising delivery opportunities currently, and will access a range of funding opportunities for direct delivery in addition to securing over half of the total completions during 2024-25 through Section 106 planning agreements. The council’s own Housing Delivery Programme will deliver an increased number of affordable homes during 2025-26, including accessing significant grant funding.
142. There is a significant and growing future pipeline of affordable homes with planning permission in place across the council's own newbuild development programme and section 106 planning gain negotiated affordable housing. This has been supported by the progress to adoption of the council’s Local Plan. Inclusive of applications with a resolution to approve from Planning Committee, there are over 1,500 affordable homes identified in approved planning applications. The progress ranges from sites that are being built out currently to others with substantial infrastructure or remediation challenges to resolve prior to development. Over 600 of these have progressed through detailed planning, either as a Full application or Reserved Matters (inclusive of applications with Resolution to Grant from Planning Committee, awaiting s106 agreement). The remainder are at Outline stage, with more uncertainty on timescales and final delivery levels, including the York Central affordable housing contribution.
143. The Government and Combined Authority have stated that housing supply, and affordable homes in particular, are amongst its key delivery priorities and the council will take advantage of new opportunities in this climate wherever possible.
144.
% of dwellings with energy rating in A-C band in the EPC
register – An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) gives
a property an energy efficiency rating from A (most efficient) to G
(least efficient) and is valid for 10 years. Apart from a few
exemptions, a building must have an EPC assessment when
constructed, sold or let. Whilst the EPC register does not hold
data for every property, it can be viewed as an indication of the
general efficiency of homes. The rating is based on how a property
uses and loses energy for example through heating, lighting,
insulation, windows, water and energy sources. Each area is given a
score which is then used to determine the A-G rating and a rating
of A-C is generally considered to be good energy
performance.
145. The % of properties on the register for York with an EPC rating of A-C at the end of May 2025 was 46.3%. This measure has increased incrementally month on month since CYC began reporting on the information in March 2023 when 42% of properties were rated A-C. The largest changes in York continue to be in the middle categories with around 4% less properties rated D-E and around 4% more rated C. Data is based on the last recorded certificate for 63,169 properties on the register for York, some of which will have been last assessed more than ten years ago. The median rating continues to be a score of 68 (Band D) which is the same as the latest national benchmark.
· There has been a total of 649 net housing completions. This includes the following:
o 395 were new build homes (60.9%)
o 258 (39.8%) net additional homes were a result of changes from other uses to residential homes, of which 33 were a result of ‘prior approval’ consents
o 4 homes resulted from conversions
o 8 homes were demolished during the monitoring period
· In terms of the type of sites that were developed:
o 485 homes (74.7%) were completed on housing sites (Use Class C3)
§ Significant sites providing housing completions (Use Class C3) over the monitoring period have been the Former York City Football Ground, Bootham Crescent (25), Cocoa Works, Haxby Road (Phases II) (35), Former Civil Service Club, Boroughbridge Road (38), Cherry Tree House, 218 Fifth Avenue (48), Germany Beck housing site (69), and Cocoa Works, Haxby Road (Phases I) (172)
o 54 (8.3%) homes were on individual sites with five or less dwellings
o 135 (20.8%) net additional off campus, privately managed student ‘cluster flats’ were completed at Former Alton Cars, 3 James Street.
· A further 63 net equivalent homes resulted from additional bedspaces created at both new and existing care homes within the authority area during the twelve-month monitoring period.
147. Net Housing Consents – Planning applications determined during the full monitoring period of 1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025 resulted in the approval of 739 net additional homes. A further 416 net additional homes were approved at Planning Committee during the monitoring period and are still awaiting legal agreement sign off.
148. The main features of the housing approvals are:
· 642 of all net homes consented (86.87%) were granted on housing sites (Use Class C3).
· Significant sites granted approval for housing (Use Class C3) include new homes planned for housing allocations ST4: Land to South of Hull Road Heslington (162), ST33: Land to East of Millfield Industrial Estate Main Street Wheldrake (139), H29: Land to S/E of 51 Moor Lane Copmanthorpe (75) and the provision of new homes and the change of use at The Retreat 107 Heslington Road (120)
· 64 homes were approved on sites of 5 or less homes
· 44 homes are to be lost through a change to other uses or through proposed demolition
· 133 purpose built student accommodation (PBSA) ‘cluster’ flats were approved at Enterprise Rent-a-Car, 15 Foss Islands Road
· A further 416 homes have been approved through a resolution to grant consent at Planning Committee over the last twelve months and are currently subject to the execution of a section 106 legal agreement. The most significant of these sites are:
o The PBSA approved at 19 to 33 Coney Street (248)
o Land to South and East of the Cemetery, New Lane Huntington (107)
o Hungate Development Site (42 net additional homes compared to the previously consented total)
150. Of the 33 households with children in temporary accommodation at quarter end, 31 were recorded as accommodated in hostels, this will generally be James House which is designated accommodation for families. The remaining households were in ‘other’ accommodation which can include a private letting or housed in another LA district. Everyone who is homeless and in temporary accommodation will have a support worker to guide them through the process of finding and keeping future accommodation along with help for budgeting, debt advice, independent living skills, tenancy management and completion of actions on a personal housing plan. York continues to report no households with children housed in Bed and Breakfast accommodation at quarter end.
151. When looking at the total number of households in temporary accommodation per households in area (000s), York has seen a slight increase during 2024-25 but continues to perform positively compared to benchmarks (0.79 in York compared to 5.38 Nationally and 1.59 Regionally).
152. Number of people sleeping rough – A monthly count of people sleeping rough takes place on the last Thursday of each month. Navigators carry out an early morning street walk checking known rough sleeping hot spots and responding to intelligence or reports of rough sleepers. The latest figure shows that there were 23 people sleeping rough in York in June 2025, which is comparable to 22 people in June 2024. People’s circumstances who are measured within the count are a mix of those who don’t have access to accommodation, and those that do. In order to gain a better picture on people sleeping rough, the following three breakdowns are being introduced to the monitor about those included in each monthly count. This information will be reported alongside the total from the July count onwards and will be available in the Q2 monitor and Open Data platform.
· Number of people sleeping rough: No Local Connection – those who have no family or friends connection to York.
· Number of people sleeping rough: Accommodation Available (Local Connection) – those where accommodation is available but hasn’t been returned to, this can be for a number of reasons including: substance abuse, intoxication, mental health, socialising/street drinking or seeking public donations in the night-time economy. The majority are from York or at least have a Local Connection to York via a family member.
· Number of people sleeping rough: Actual Rough Sleeping (Local Connection) – those who are from York with no accommodation available or are not willing to accept accommodation.
154. A HMO is defined as an entire house, flat or converted building which is let to three or more persons who form two or more households and who share facilities such as a kitchen, bathroom and toilet.
156. An increase in the number of non-decent properties for York was anticipated following the commissioning of a Full Stock Condition Survey to be carried out on HRA housing stock during 2024. The extensive survey provided a range of information on the internal, external and communal safety and condition of each property. Around 6,400 (87%) council owned homes were inspected with the remainder being made a priority for 2025 onwards to continue improving information held and the quality of homes.
157. % of repairs completed on first visit – The percentage of repairs completed on the first visit was 83.1% in Q1 2025-26, which remains high and is a slight increase from 82.9% in 2024-25.
159. % of tenants satisfied that their landlord provides a home that is well maintained – In 2023-24 in York, 64% of tenants were satisfied that the landlord provides a well maintained home, which is one of the tenant satisfaction measures collected for the Regulator for Social Housing (RSH). The national figure for 2023-24 reported by RSH was 67%. Results from the 2024-25 Tenant Satisfaction Survey show a reduction in this area with 56% of respondents reporting that they were satisfied. National figures for 2024-25 are due in late summer.
160. Combined with tenant feedback, data received from the 2024 stock condition survey, where around 87% of properties were physically inspected, provides further evidence for the council to assess the condition of homes and act on results. York continues to focus on key compliance rates for gas, fire, lift, asbestos and water hygiene safety across housing stock.
Performance - Sustainability: Cutting carbon, enhancing the environment for our future
161. Average of maximum annual mean Nitrogen Dioxide concentration recorded across three areas of technical breach – With the exception of 2024 (and 2020 during the pandemic), CYC’s air quality monitoring network has previously demonstrated sustained exceedances of the health-based nitrogen dioxide objective of 40µg/m3 in 3 areas of the city, namely Gillygate/Lord Mayor’s Walk, Blossom Street/Holgate Road and Rougier Street/George Hudson Street. These are referred to as ‘technical breach areas’ and fall within CYC’s Air Quality Management Area.
162. Whilst not all monitoring points within these areas were exceeding health-based standards, there has previously been at least one monitor at a point of relevant public exposure within each area that was above the annual mean objective of 40µg/m3. This indicator considers an average of the maximum annual mean concentrations of NO2 in these three areas.
163. As can be seen from the graph above:
· Projections undertaken for CYC’s Fourth Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP4) suggested that it might take until 2026-27 for this indicator to fall below 40µg/m3. However, the rate of improvement observed in York between 2022-2024 has significantly exceeded that observed in earlier years from 2012-2022 (which was around 2.5% improvement a year over 10 years).
· The AQAP4 target was met in 2024 and the indicator is well within the 40µg/m3 health-based objective. This is a positive result.
164. Measures such as the introduction of further electric buses (and other types of electric vehicle) across the network have undoubtedly contributed to this success. In line with commitments in AQAP4, CYC aims to improve air quality further in all areas to improve public health.
166. Level of CO2 emissions across the city and from council buildings and operations – Emissions associated with council operations have been reducing across every category we measure, due to the work underway to improve the energy efficiency of our buildings and fleet electrification. However, improvements to the scope and accuracy of our reporting methodology mean that new emissions are now being recorded, resulting in an overall increase in reported operational emissions. Fully understanding our emissions is an important step in managing and mitigation our impact. Further details are available here: https://democracy.york.gov.uk/documents/s179414/Report.pdf. City-wide emissions have experienced a small increase in 2021, following post-covid restrictions. While this rebound is not unexpected, emissions have not returned to pre-covid levels following the long-term trend of emissions reduction since 2005. The rate of reduction over this time, however, is not sufficient to meet our net zero by 2030 ambition and significant emissions reductions are needed over the remaining years. Further details are available here: https://democracy.york.gov.uk/documents/s179439/EMDS_City%20Wide%20Emissions%202024.pdf
167. % of Talkabout panel satisfied with their local area as a place to live – The second bi-annual resident satisfaction survey taken by the Talkabout panel took place during Q3 2024-25. Results from the Q3 2024-25 Talkabout survey showed that 80% of the panel were satisfied with York as a place to live, a five percentage point decrease from the previous survey, returning to the same level as Q3 2023-24. 80% were satisfied with their local area, consistent with results from Q3 2023-24, and consistently higher than the average from the Community Life Survey, which recorded the lowest level of satisfaction since the survey began in 2013-14, at 74%. Results from the Q1 2025-26 Talkabout survey will be available in the Q2 Monitor.
168. % of Talkabout panel who give unpaid help to any group, club or organisation – Results from the Q3 2024-25 Talkabout survey found that 66% of panellists had given unpaid help to any group, club or organisation within the last 12 months. The government's Community Life Survey 2023-24 recorded that 54% had taken part in either formal or informal volunteering at least once in the last 12 months. Results from the Q1 2025-26 Talkabout survey will be available in the Q2 Monitor.
170. Adding these figures to the 150 standards and 2,516 whips planted during 2023-24 (fully supported by £75,000 external grant funding) brings the total number of trees delivered during the current Council Plan period to 5,371, exceeding, ahead of time, the Council’s commitment to plant 4,000 additional trees by March 2028 to address the climate and nature emergencies.
171. Spring 2025 across England was the driest since 1893, with all areas receiving well below average rainfall. The challenging conditions has led to a higher number of trees than normal failing to establish successfully. The council’s contractor will re-stock failed trees later this year in line with contract requirements to maintain target outputs.
Performance - How the council will operate
173. FOI and EIR – % of requests responded to in-time (YTD) – 96% of FOI and EIR requests were responded to in-time during Q1 2025-26, which is an increase from 89% in 2023-24 and the highest figure seen for a number of years.
174. % of 4Cs complaints responded to in-time – There has been a large decrease in the number of corporate complaints received over recent years with 1,054 received in 2024-25 (compared to 1,310 in 2023-24 and 1,866 in 2022-23). This decrease has continued into 2025-26, with 222 complaints received in Q1. The percentage of corporate complaints responded to in time during 2024-25 was 70.1% which is a large decrease from 85.5% in 2023-24. However, the figures were lower during the start of the year but had increased in the second half. The Q1 2025-26 figure was 82% showing a continued improvement.
176. Average sickness days per full time equivalent (FTE) employee – At the end of May 2025, the average number of sickness days per FTE (rolling 12 months) had increased to 11.9 days from 11.4 in May 2024. The latest benchmarks show that the CIPD public sector benchmark is 10.6 days per FTE, putting us above national trends.
177. York Customer Centre average speed of answer – Phones were answered, on average, in 1 minute and 11 seconds during Q1 2025-26 by the York Customer Centre. This is slower than in 2024-25 (42 seconds) but comparable with the previous few years. Call volumes have increased in the last year mainly due to garden waste calls.
Consultation Analysis
178. Not applicable
Options Analysis and
Evidential Basis
179. Not applicable
Organisational
Impact and Implications
180. The recommendations in the report potentially have implications across several areas. However, at this stage
· Financial implications are contained throughout the main body of the report. The actions and recommendations contained in this report should ensure the continued financial stability and resilience of the Council both in the current year and in future years.
· Human Resources (HR), there are no direct implications related to the recommendations.
· Legal The Council is under a statutory obligation to set a balanced budget on an annual basis. Under the Local Government Act 2003 it is required to monitor its budget during the financial year and take remedial action to address overspending and/or shortfalls of income.
· Procurement, there are no specific procurement implications to this report.
· Health and Wellbeing, there are no direct implications related to the recommendations.
· Environment and Climate action, there are no direct implications related to the recommendations.
· Affordability, there are no direct implications related to the recommendations.
· Equalities and Human Rights, there are no direct implications related to the recommendations.
· Data Protection and Privacy, there are no implications related to the recommendations.
· Communications, there are no direct implications related to the recommendations.
·
Economy, there are no direct implications related to the
recommendations.
Risks and Mitigations
181. An assessment of risks is completed as part of the annual budget setting exercise. These risks are managed effectively through regular reporting and corrective action being taken where necessary and appropriate.
Wards Impacted
182. All.
Contact details
For further information please contact the authors of this report.
Author
|
Name: |
Debbie Mitchell |
|
Job Title: |
Director of Finance |
|
Service Area: |
Finance |
|
Telephone: |
Ext 4161 |
|
Report approved: |
Yes |
|
Date: |
19/08/2025 |
Co-author
|
Name: |
Ian Cunningham |
|
Job Title: |
Head of Business Intelligence |
|
Service Area: |
Finance |
|
Telephone: |
Ext 5749 |
Annexes
Annex 1: Q1 Performance Tables - City Outcomes and Council Delivery Indicators 2023-2027
Annex 2: City Centre Movement and Place Dashboard August 2025