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.

To approve and sign the minutes of the Executive meeting held on 15 March 2011.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Executive meeting held on 15 March 2011 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

At this point in the meeting, members of the public who have registered their wish to speak regarding an item on the agenda or a matter within the Executive’s remit can do so.  The deadline for registering is 5:00 pm on Monday 28 March 2011.

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 currently listed on the Forward Plan for the next two Executive meetings.

This report presents the minutes of meetings of the Local Development Framework Working Group and the Equality Advisory Group and asks Members to consider the advice given by the Groups in their capacity as advisory bodies to the Executive

RESOLVED:      i)           That the draft recommendations of the Local Development Framework Working Group and the Equality Advisory Group, attached at Annexes A and B to the report be approved.

ii)                  That the specific recommendation of the Equality Advisory Group that the Equalities Monitoring Form be adopted for use by all council departments, be approved. ^1.

iii)                That Officers be requested to arrange for the erection of appropriate signage outside Disabled Toilets providing members of the public with information on the operation of the alarms together with appropriate contact details. ^2.

REASON:                  In accordance with the requirements of the Council’s Constitution in relation to the role of working groups.      

Members considered a report which presented the minutes of the Local Development Framework Working Group (LDFWG) meeting held on 14 February 2011 and the Equality Advisory Group (EAG) meeting held on 15 February 2011.

Members were asked to consider a number of specific recommendations contained in the minutes, as summarised below:

• LDFWG Minute 34 – to add the British Sugar Site and the Severus Hill Water Reservoir to Appendix 1 of the Biodiversity Report.
• EAG Minute 19
  • To adopt the Equalities Monitoring Form for use by all Council departments.
  • To consider linking alarms in accessible toilets in Council buildings to the Warden Call Service.
  • To compile a comprehensive list of organisations for consultation and make all council consultations available on the Council’s website.

Having noted the comments of the Labour Group Spokespersons on this item, it was

RESOLVED:      i)           That the draft recommendations of the Local Development Framework Working Group and the Equality Advisory Group, attached at Annexes A and B to the report be approved.

ii)                  That the specific recommendation of the Equality Advisory Group that the Equalities Monitoring Form be adopted for use by all council departments, be approved. ^1.

iii)                That Officers be requested to arrange for the erection of appropriate signage outside Disabled Toilets providing members of the public with information on the operation of the alarms together with appropriate contact details. ^2.

REASON:                  In accordance with the requirements of the Council’s Constitution in relation to the role of working groups.      

This report presents the findings of the Task Group set up by the Effective Organisation Overview & Scrutiny Committee to carry out a review of Customer Complaints procedures and seeks approval for the Group’s recommendations. Councillor Firth, Chair of the Task Group, will be attendance to present the report.

RESOLVED:             That the recommendations arising from the Customer complaints Policy Scrutiny Review as detailed at paragraph 7 of the report, be approved and noted. ^1.

REASON:                  In order to respond to the Task Group’s recommendations and to address the concerns raised when this scrutiny topic was originally submitted.

Members considered a report which set out the findings of the Task Group set up by the Effective Organisation Overview & Scrutiny Committee to review the Council’s Customer Complaints procedures.  Cllr Firth, the Chair of the Task Group, was in attendance to present the Group’s final report.

The Group’s eight recommendations were set out in paragraph 7 of the covering report and in the A5 pamphlet version of their final report, attached at Annex A.  The full final report had been made available to view on the Council’s website.

Having noted the comments of the Labour Group Spokespersons on this item, it was

RESOLVED:             That the recommendations arising from the Customer complaints Policy Scrutiny Review as detailed at paragraph 7 of the report, be approved and noted. ^1.

REASON:                  In order to respond to the Task Group’s recommendations and to address the concerns raised when this scrutiny topic was originally submitted.

This is the fifth and final report to provide an update on the progress of the Cycling City York (CCY) Programme, highlighting works and achievements in the programme throughout its lifetime and initial conclusions.

RESOLVED:             That the Executive notes the progress made on the Cycling City programme and expresses its support for the continuation of the programmes aims and achievements.

REASON:                  To update members on progress and monitoring of the Cycling City programme.

Members considered a report which provided the fifth and final update on the progress of the Cycling City York (CCY) Programme, highlighting works and achievements in the programme throughout its lifetime and initial conclusions.

The report set out progress and key conclusions in each area of the programme, including marketing, communications & events, the schools group, participation initiatives, workplace initiatives and engagement with the Police and Safer Partnerships team.  The programme had demonstrated a successful approach to influencing behavioural change towards sustainable forms of transport, although care must be taken to avoid negative impacts on other such transport, such as buses.  From a structural point of view, revenue initiatives supported by capital schemes and a clear marketing and communications approach had proven more effective and less costly than capital schemes alone.

The conclusions in the report would form part of Cycling England’s wider report to the Department for Transport (DfT).  The DfT was seeking further focus and funding from local authorities for similar initiatives and programmes after conclusion of the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) in 2015.  If the Council’s LSTF bid was successful, this additional momentum should enable cost effective projects to continue after this period by building on current work, albeit with fewer resources.

Officers updated on the monitoring work undertaken and to key York cycling statistics from 2010, details of which had been attached to the republished agenda at Annex B.

Having noted the comments of the Labour Group Spokespersons on this item, it was

RESOLVED:             That the Executive notes the progress made on the Cycling City programme and expresses its support for the continuation of the programmes aims and achievements.

REASON:                  To update members on progress and monitoring of the Cycling City programme.