Decision details

Purpose of Report: To update the Executive Member on the work to reach our 'business friendly Council' ambitions carried out since the last update in Spring 2016.

The Executive Member will be asked to note the work undertaken to date, along with the findings from the project, and to support the next recommended steps towards becoming a 'business friendly' Council.

Resolved: That the Executive Member:

                                             I.        Noted the work that has been undertaken to reach the objective of becoming a business friendly Council since the last Decision Session.

                                           II.        Advised that the following next steps (set out in the paper) should be explored further and agreed to a programme of work to deliver some of the recommended outcomes.

a)   Review how we consult with businesses with the aim of launching a new business consultation approach by April 2017.

b)   Signposting – for example, work to eliminate the confusion

between the role of Make it York (York Means Business, Visit York, Science City York) and City of York Council.

c)   Website – review the findings from the staff and business surveys with ICT and the Web Team.

d)   Promotion – looking at ways to promote our business services with Marketing and Communications.

                                          III.        Agreed that work continues to develop ‘business friendly’ ideas and projects as a whole and that ‘business friendly’ becomes best practice procedure within the authority.

Reason: 

                                             I.        To continue work on business friendly Council and to foster stronger, more supportive working relationships with local businesses.

                                           II.        To provide the best possible service for internal and external customers.

                                          III.        To deliver tangible results for positive change and to support continuous service improvement.

                                         IV.        To streamline existing processes where possible to produce better quality results.

                                          V.        To demonstrate to the business community and staff that we have learned from their feedback.

                                         VI.        To show ongoing commitment to transparency and accountability to residents and business.