Report of the Chair of the Corporate Scrutiny Committee – November 2025

1. I’d like to start by thanking members of the Task & Finish Group and officers for their work on the council’s submission for the Boundary Commission on the future size of City of York Council. This impressive piece of work was completed in a short period of time in order to be ready for adoption by an Extraordinary Full Council meeting on 16 October.

2. There are a number of ongoing Task & Finish Groups. If any members have an idea for Task & Finish work, please feel free to contact me and/or the chairs of the People and Place scrutiny committees for an informal chat.

3. One of the features of the new way of working in Scrutiny is bi-monthly briefing sessions for members who are not on the Executive. The first such briefing was held on 21 October and was, I think, well received. We still have work to do to formalise how these briefing sessions will work, but I’m pleased that they are now underway.

Corporate Scrutiny Committee

4. At its 1 October meeting the committee approved (with a few minor amendments) the report of the Task & Finish Group on the Boundary Commission’s review of the number of councillors.

5. The committee also received a report providing an update on the status of the Castle and Eye of York major project covering the funding arrangements and delivery plans, including parking provision. There were questions asked which covered a wide range of topics and whilst it would be fair to say that not all members support the current scope and shape of the project compared to previous iterations, there was broad support for the resolutions set out in the report.

People Scrutiny Committee

6. At its 8 October meeting the committee received a report on work taking place towards implementing a neighbourhood working or ‘Integrated Neighbourhood Team’ (INT) Model which aims to deliver improved outcomes for individuals and communities. Members also provided feedback on the approach taken by the council to develop a new Adult Social Care Strategy for 2025-2028. Finally the committee received a report which presented York Learning’s end of year performance against their strategic aims for the academic year 2024/25.

Place Scrutiny Committee

7. At its 23 September meeting the committee was asked to provide feedback on the recommended allocation of the Parks Investment Fund ahead of a decision by the Executive on 7 October. Members’ views were also sought on the short to medium term options for the operation of the Hazel Court Household Waste Recycling Centre.