Agenda and minutes

At this point in the meeting, Members and co-opted members are asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary interest, or other registerable interest, they might have in respect of business on this agenda, if they have not already done so in advance on the Register of Interests. The disclosure must include the nature of the interest.

An interest must also be disclosed in the meeting when it becomes apparent to the member during the meeting.

[Please see the attached sheet for further guidance for Members.]

Members were asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary interest, or other registerable interest, they might have in respect of business on the agenda, if they have not already done so in advance on the Register of Interests.

None were declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 22 April 2024.

Resolved:  That the minutes of the last meeting held on 22 April 2024 be approved as a correct record, subject to an amendment at minute 46 where the last sentence should read ‘He raised concerns regarding high consumption areas, which he considered to be big polluters’.

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have registered to speak can do so. Members of the public may speak on agenda items or on matters within the remit of the committee.

Please note that our registration deadlines are set as 2 working days before the meeting, in order to facilitate the management of public participation at our meetings. The deadline for registering at this meeting is 5:00pm on Thursday, 9 May 2024.

To register to speak please visit www.york.gov.uk/AttendCouncilMeetings to fill in an online registration form. If you have any questions about the registration form or the meeting, please contact Democratic Services. Contact details can be found at the foot of this agenda.

Webcasting of Public Meetings

Please note that, subject to available resources, this meeting will be webcast including any registered public speakers who have given their permission. The meeting can be viewed live and on demand at www.york.gov.uk/webcasts.

During coronavirus, we made some changes to how we ran council meetings, including facilitating remote participation by public speakers. See our updates (www.york.gov.uk/COVIDDemocracy) for more information on meetings and decisions.

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

This report provides an update on the 10-Year Strategies and how they underpin the ambitions of the council, relate to the Council Plan and informs council priorities.

The Assistant Director of Policy and Strategy introduced the report and summarised the key points contained in the update.

Members asked a range of questions which covered the 10 Year Scorecards, time lags in data sets, changes to plans as a result of strategic priorities, transport policy including car-sharing initiatives, the role of the combined authority, timescales for reviewing and updating the strategies, climate strategy key performance indicators (KPI’s) and financing the climate action plan.

Officers and the Leader noted that transport policy was being developed in conjunction with the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority through the emerging local transport plan. 

Resolved: 

                                              i.          That the report be noted.

                                             ii.          That the item be brought back to the committee following any future update of the strategies.

Reason:                To allow the committee to discharge its responsibilities in monitoring and advising on council priorities and strategies.

This report provides information on approved Council motions since November 2023, when this Committee last considered an update. 

The Democratic Services Team Leader provided an update on the monitoring and tracking of approved Council motions.

Members questioned the wording of the information relating to the motion on the Introduction of Council Tax Premium for Second Homes.  They also requested that more information be provided in the actions and status columns where appropriate.

[6.27pm Cllr Rowley left the meeting.]

Resolved:

                                                        i.          That the content of Annex A be noted.

                                                       ii.          That CMT/Portfolio Holders and then Group Leaders review approved Council Motions periodically at their monthly session to ensure any agreed actions for Members are being appropriately enacted.

                                                     iii.          Clarification be sought on the wording for the above motion relating to Council Tax.

Reason:               To ensure that processes for monitoring and implementing approved council motion resolutions remain sufficiently robust.

Members are invited to scrutinise the updated schedule of petitions and to consider any next steps such as may be appropriate.

The Democratic Services Team Leader provided an update on the Schedule of Petitions, covering petitions received since May 2023.

The officer explained the process for Petitions and noted that there was some ambiguity in the Constitution for the process for petitions received by the council.

[6.30 – 6.31pm, Cllr Steels-Walshaw left the meeting.  6.31 – 6.34 pm, Cllr Taylor left the meeting.]

It was confirmed that members could contact Democratic Services in the first instance for more information relating to the status of a petition.  Members suggested that tracking the status of petitions via the website would be useful.

In relation to petition 217, to support calls for an immediate and sustainable ceasefire in Gaza and Israel, Cllr Healey proposed that the petition be escalated to the Leader of the Council for consideration, this was seconded by Cllr Taylor.  Members voted unanimously in favour of the recommendation.

Resolved:

                                              i.          Democratic Services to look into options for a web page to hold petitions received and progress against them moving forward;

                                             ii.          That petition 217, as outlined above, be referred to Executive Leader Decision Session;

                                           iii.          Invite Constitution Working Group to review and clarify the practice of referring petitions lodged at Full Council to CCSMC, taking account of custom of practice and the legitimate role of the Committee and avoiding unnecessary delays in the process of petitions being considered;

                                           iv.          In the interim, Chair/Vice Chair to review any new petitions received and expedite any not progressed for action/consideration by relevant decision taker

Reason:                To ensure the Committee carries out its constitutional function in relation to petitions.

To consider the current scrutiny overview work plan and the potential business of the committee for the upcoming municipal year 2024/25.

Members considered the Scrutiny work plan for the four scrutiny committees and discussed future items for the municipal year.

Resolved:            

                                                        i.          That the work plan be noted.

                                                       ii.          That a draft committee work plan be distributed to Members for review and comment.

Reason:                To ensure an overview of the scrutiny work programme.