Agenda, decisions and minutes

At this point in the meeting, the Executive Member is 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 attached sheet for further guidance for Members].

The Executive Member was asked to declare, at this point in the meeting, any disclosable pecuniary interests, or other registerable interests he might have in the respect of business on the agenda, if he had not already done so in advance on the Register of Interests. None were declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the Decision Session held on 23 September 2024.

Resolved: That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 23 September 2024 be approved and then signed as a correct record by the Executive Member.

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 have changed to 2 working days before the meeting. The deadline for registering at this meeting is at 5.00pm on Monday, 11 November 2024.

 To register to speak please visit www.york.gov.uk/AttendCouncilMeetings to fill out an online registration form. If you have any questions about the registration form or the meeting please contact the Democracy Officer for the meeting whose details can be found at the foot of the agenda.

Webcasting of Public Meetings

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

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

This report seeks approval to progress to the statutory consultation stage of the process to introduce a citywide PSPO to cover:  Street urination and defecation, dog fouling and dog control.

A follow-up report, presenting the results of the consultation and data relating to the number of reports/council activity around these offences (cleansing etc) will be presented at a future meeting for an evidence-based decision to be made in respect to the introduction of the PSPO. 

Resolved:  To approve Option 1, which is to proceed to the statutory consultation stage of the process.

Reason:     This will allow for a full evidence-base to be developed, providing a robust basis for a decision to be made in respect to adoption of the PSPO.

The report was presented by the Community Safety Manager, who explained what a PSPO was and why this had been proposed.

The Executive Member noted the contents of the report, thanking and praising the staff at York BID and CYC who clean up the mess resulting from antisocial behaviour.

The Executive Member agreed with officer recommendations that on-the-spot enforcement was the best way forward, and asked who would be undertaking this enforcement. The Community Safety Manager answered that CYC had a good working relationship with the North Yorkshire Police force, and they would take statements and could issue Fixed Penalty Notices. The Executive Member agreed that working closely with police via a proportionate process was the best course of action.

The Executive Member asked about scale and timeliness of the consultation; the Community Safety Manager advised that consultees such as the Police Chief Constable and the Deputy Mayor as well as individual ward councillors would need to be consulted, and the consultation period would be eight weeks. The Executive Member suggested that due to the preelection period at the time of the decision session, it would be sensible to start consultation from 1 December 2024, and the Community Safety Manager agreed.

The Executive Member requested that the gratitude of the Executive – including the Executive Member personally, the Local Authority and the city be reflected back to those dealing with cleansing the mess. He also wished to emphasise that advancing this Protection Order was not about imposing a punitive regime but about changing behaviour to improve the city.

Resolved:  To approve Option 1, which is to proceed to the consultation stage of the process.

Reason:     This will allow for a full evidence-base to be developed, providing a robust basis for a decision to be made in respect to adoption of the PSPO.