Agenda, decisions and minutes

At this point, Members are asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interest they may have in the business on this agenda.

Members were invited to declare at this point in the meeting any personal or prejudicial interests they might have in the business on the agenda.  No interests were declared.

Cllr Runciman declared a personal, non prejudicial interest in agenda item 6 (Final Report of the ‘Cultural Quarter’ Ad Hoc Scrutiny Committee) as a Trustee of the York Theatre Royal.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting of the Executive held on 31 March 2009.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Executive meeting held on 31 March 2009 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

At this point in the meeting, members of the public who registered their wish to speak regarding an item on the agenda or an issue within the Executive’s remit can do so.  The deadline for registering is 5:00 pm on Thursday 9 April 2009.

It was reported that there had been no registrations to speak at the meeting under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

To receive details of those items that are listed on the Forward Plan for the next two Executive meetings.

Members received and noted details of those items that were currently listed on the Forward Plan for the next two Executive meetings.

This report presents the minutes of a recent meeting of the Social Inclusion Working Group and asks Members to consider the advice given by the Group in its capacity as an advisory body to the Executive.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Social Inclusion Working Group be noted and that the specific recommendations made by the Group in their Minute 43, as set out in paragraph 6 of the report be approved.

REASON:      In accordance with the requirements of the Council’s Constitution regarding the role of Working Groups, and in order to take account of the Group’s advice.

Members considered a report which presented the draft minutes of the meeting of the Social Inclusion Working Group (SIWG) held on 11 March 2009 and asked them to consider the advice given by the Group in its capacity as an advisory body to the Executive.

Members were asked to consider in particular the following recommendation in Minute 43 of the draft minutes attached at Annex A to the report, relating to improvements at York Railway Station:

“That the Executive be requested to give full consideration to the issues raised by SIWG in respect of the proposed changes to the station and to the Equality Impact Assessment when this was submitted by National Express.” ¹

Attention was also drawn to the Group’s advice in respect of the Democratic Services Equality Impact Assessment, contained in Minute 40.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Social Inclusion Working Group be noted and that the specific recommendations made by the Group in their Minute 43, as set out in paragraph 6 of the report be approved.¹

REASON:      In accordance with the requirements of the Council’s Constitution regarding the role of Working Group’s, and in order to take account of the Group’s advice.

This report presents the findings of the ‘Cultural Quarter’ Ad Hoc Scrutiny Committee following their review of a proposed ‘Cultural Quarter’ for York.

RESOLVED: That the following comments and proposals be agreed in response to the recommendations set out in the Scrutiny Committee’s final report:

Members considered a report which presented the findings of the ‘Cultural Quarter’ Ad Hoc Scrutiny Committee following their review of a proposed ‘Cultural Quarter’ for York.  Cllr Taylor, who chaired the Scrutiny Committee, and Cllr Hogg, who proposed the original scrutiny topic, were in attendance to present the Committee’s report and answer any questions.

Members were invited to note and comment on the findings of the Committee’s report and to consider the eight recommendations contained within it.  The report and recommendations had been endorsed by Scrutiny Management Committee at their meeting on 24 March 2009.

Members thanked the Committee and supporting Officers for their hard work in producing the report and welcomed its emphasis on the Council’s leadership role, working with partners to draw in external funding to help realise a joint vision for the City.  They noted that the Council was already supporting a number of cultural developments within the City, including the Minster developments and the Yorkshire Museum refurbishment.

Having noted the comments of the Shadow Executive on this item, it was

RESOLVED: That the following comments and proposals be agreed in response to the recommendations set out in the Scrutiny Committee’s final report: ¹

This report provides an update on the outcome of stage two of the four-stage procurement process for the delivery of the Council’s new headquarters.  It also outlines the key activities for the next two stages, the associated timeline for the overall completion of the project and the consultation process to inform the development of the bidders’ detailed solutions.

RESOLVED: (i)         That the content of the report be noted, with particular regard to the procurement of the new headquarters and the forthcoming process of consultation.

                        (ii)        That Officers be requested to ensure that there is co-ordination of public communications around this period in relation to the production of HQ consultation, Local Development Framework consultation and the Your Ward / Your City publications.

                        (iii)       That a further update report be presented to the Executive when the results of public consultation are available and again at the end of Stage 3 of the procurement process in September 2009.

REASON:      To enable Members to monitor the progress of this project and to ensure a thorough and co-ordinated approach to public consultation.

Members considered a report which provided an update on the outcome of Stage 2 of the four-stage procurement process for the delivery of the Council’s new headquarters and outlined key activities for the next two stages.

The Stage 2 evaluation of bids was now complete and the following developers and sites had been shortlisted for Stage 3:

• Norwich Union – a redevelopment and revitalisation of Yorkshire House, Rougier Street

• Tarras Park Properties Ltd. – a redevelopment and revitalisation of West Offices, Station Rise.

The shortlisted developers had been invited to invited to submit their detailed proposals by the end of July 2009.  In developing their proposals, they would be required to take part in a process of consultation with Council staff and the general public, details of which were set out in paragraphs 17 to 21 of the report.  If successful, each developer would be invited to take part in Stage 4 of the process and submit a tender for their developed scheme.

Following evaluation of the tenders, a recommendation for the award of the contract would be brought to the Executive in December 2009.  The overall project was still set to be delivered within the previously agreed timescales of mid to late 2012.  It was noted that all costs of the new arrangements to acquire a Council headquarters building had been included within the approved project budget of £43.8m and therefore placed no additional burden on the taxpayer.

Having noted the comments of the Shadow Executive on this item, it was

RESOLVED: (i)         That the content of the report be noted, with particular regard to the procurement of the new headquarters and the forthcoming process of consultation.

                        (ii)        That Officers be requested to ensure that there is co-ordination of public communications around this period in relation to the production of HQ consultation, Local Development Framework consultation and the Your Ward / Your City publications. ¹

                        (iii)       That a further update report be presented to the Executive when the results of public consultation are available and again at the end of Stage 3 of the procurement process in September 2009. ²

REASON:      To enable Members to monitor the progress of this project and to ensure a thorough and co-ordinated approach to public consultation.

This report provides an update on the current actions (Phase One) undertaken by the Neighbourhood Management Unit in relation to the motion on the Sustainable Communities Act agreed by Full Council on in November 2008 and seeks approval for a proposed course of action (Phase Two) to deal with proposals arising from the consultation process required by the SCA.

RESOLVED: (i)         That the information provided in paragraphs 3 to 9 of the report and in Annexes 1 and 4 be noted.

REASON:      So that Members are informed in detail of the specific requirements of fulfilling the SCA.

                        (ii)        That the current action detailed in Annex 2 be endorsed.

REASON:      To approve the actions that have already been carried out by Officers in the Neighbourhood Management Unit to progress the requirements of the Council motion.

                        (iii)       That the proposed course of action and timetable detailed in Annex 3 to the report, to ensure that the Council submits proposals under the SCA which comply with the requirements of the Act and associated Statutory Guidance, be approved.

REASON:      To ensure that the requirements of the Council motion are fulfilled, along with those of the SCA and the Statutory Guidance.

Members considered a report which provided an update on the current actions being undertaken by the Neighbourhood Management Unit in response to the motion on the Sustainable Communities Act (SCA) approved at Full Council in November 2008 and sought approval for a suggested course of action to deal with proposals arising from the SCA consultation process.

In agreeing the motion, Council had resolved to ‘use the Act by preparing and submitting proposals for local sustainability to central government by 31^st July 2009’ and also to encourage local community organisations to hold meetings enabling ‘citizen panels’ to put forward appropriate proposals.  To help fulfil the second part of this resolution, the Neighbourhood Management Unit (NMU) had taken steps to facilitate discussion of the SCA at the next round of ward committees, scheduled for April and May, and to encourage the involvement of parish councils and community groups.  Details of this process (Phase 1) were attached as Annex 2 to the report

To ensure full compliance with the SCA and the associated Statutory Guidance, a wider course of action (Phase 2) was required, involving Officers across a range of Council departments.  The proposed course of action, culminating in the submission of the final proposals to government by 31 July, was set out in Annex 3 to the report and summarised in paragraph 8.  The process would include the formation of an Officer project group and a Citizens’ Panel, and a screening of all proposals by the Without Walls Board before advice was sought from the Executive on which proposals to submit.  A list of matters to which the Council must have regard in agreeing and prioritising the proposals was attached as Annex 1 to the report and the detailed information to be submitted with each proposal was set out in Annex 4.

Having noted the comments of the Shadow Executive on this item, it was

RESOLVED: (i)         That the information provided in paragraphs 3 to 9 of the report and in Annexes 1 and 4 be noted.

REASON:      So that Members are informed in detail of the specific requirements of fulfilling the SCA.

                        (ii)        That the current action detailed in Annex 2 be endorsed.

REASON:      To approve the actions that have already been carried out by Officers in the Neighbourhood Management Unit to progress the requirements of the Council motion.

                        (iii)       That the proposed course of action and timetable detailed in Annex 3 to the report, to ensure that the Council submits proposals under the SCA which comply with the requirements of the Act and associated Statutory Guidance, be approved. ¹

REASON:      To ensure that the requirements of the Council motion are fulfilled, along with those of the SCA and the Statutory Guidance.

This report provides an update on progress with the procurement of a replacement for the Council’s current vehicle maintenance provider and makes recommendations for a short to medium term solution.

RESOLVED: (i)         That the options set out in the report be noted.

                        (ii)        That Option 3 - using Northgate Kendrick Ash (NKA) to provide interim management for, and an efficiency review of, vehicle maintenance, to be funded from the Council’s Corporate Efficiency Project – be approved.

REASON:      In accordance with Officers’ advice regarding NKA’s existing track record of success within the Council and the need for them to manage services directly in order to apply their risk based model as part of the efficiency review.

Members considered a report which provided an update on progress towards the procurement of a replacement for the Council’s current vehicle maintenance provider and made recommendations for a short to medium term solution.

The current provider, Defence Support Group (DSG), wished to give up their contract with the City of York Council as soon as possible, along with all their other non-defence contracts, and had offered the sum of £50k to assist with the cost of any future procurement exercise.  Because the procurement process would take longer than DSG were prepared to continue working for the Council, a solution would need to be found to enable them to withdraw from their contractual obligations.

Members were invited to consider the following options for management of the service pending the outcome of the efficiency review currently being carried out across the Council by efficiency partners Northgate Kendrick Ash (NKA):

Option 1 – bring the service back in-house and manage it directly.  This was not considered a viable option in the short term and could lead to a conflict of interest with the efficiency review.

Option 2 – employ external expertise to manage the service.  This would require a procurement exercise, causing further delay, and could also lead to a conflict of interest with the efficiency review.

Option 3 – utilise NKA to manage the service as part of their efficiency review.  This was the recommended option, on the basis that NKA already had a track record of success within the Council and would need to manage services directly in order to apply their risk based model as part of the efficiency review.

Having noted the comments of the Shadow Executive on this item, it was

RESOLVED: (i)         That the options set out in the report be noted.

                        (ii)        That Option 3 - using Northgate Kendrick Ash (NKA) to provide interim management for, and an efficiency review of, vehicle maintenance, to be funded from the Council’s Corporate Efficiency Project – be approved. ¹

REASON:      In accordance with Officers’ advice regarding NKA’s existing track record of success within the Council and the need for them to manage services directly in order to apply their risk based model as part of the efficiency review.

Any other business which the Chair considers urgent under the  Local Government Act 1972.

The Chair has agreed to consider under this item a report which asks the Executive to consider the revised 2009/10 rent guidelines issued by the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) and to approve an average rent increase of 2.86% backdated to 1 April 2009.  The matter is urgent because the Council must indicate if it wishes to accept the revised draft determination, and implement a lower rent increase, by 10am on 24^th April 2009.

Note:

The above report was added to this agenda on 9 April 2009.

RESOLVED: That Option 2 be approved and that an average rent increase in York of 2.86% be agreed.

REASON:      In accordance with the revised government guidelines and to ensure a balanced Housing Revenue Account.

Members considered a report which informed them of the revised 2009/10 rent guidelines issued by the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) and sought approval to implement a lower rent increase, in line with the revised guidance, backdated to 1 April 2009.

The Chair had agreed to deal with this item as urgent business, to enable a decision to be taken on the matter and communicated to CLG by the deadline of 10:00 am on 24 April 2009.

On 3 February 2009, the Executive had agreed to implement an average rent increase of 6%, in accordance with the original CLG guideline increase of 6.2%.  On 6 March, following pressure from tenants’ groups and councils (including CYC), the Housing Minister had announced a last minute change.  The guideline rent increase would be reduced to 3.1%, with a subsidy available from CLG, backdated to 1 April, to compensate for loss of income.  The options available to the Council were to continue with the original agreed increase (Option 1) or approve a revised increase of 2.86%.  Option 2 was recommended, on the basis that it would benefit tenants and comply with the revised guidance and that the resulting loss of income would be compensated.

Members expressed regret that the government had not issued this guidance earlier and that, in view of the deadline for consultation with local authorities, the reduced rent increase could not be implemented until the summer.  They asked to be informed of the outcome as soon as the results of the consultation were known.

RESOLVED: That Option 2 be approved and that an average rent increase in York of 2.86% be agreed. ¹

REASON:      In accordance with the revised government guidelines and to ensure a balanced Housing Revenue Account.