Agenda and minutes

At this point, Members are asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interests 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 any of the business on the agenda.

No interests were declared.

RESOLVED:That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of Annex 3 to Executive item 9 (Capital Programme Out-turn 2005/06 and Revisions to the 2006/07 Programme), on the grounds that it contained information relating to the financial and business affairs of particular persons, which was classed as exempt under paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A to Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as revised by The Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006).

To approve and sign the minutes of the Shadow Executive meeting held on 7 June 2006.

RESOLVED:             That the minutes of the meeting of the Shadow Executive held on 7 June 2006 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 an issue within the Shadow Executive’s remit can do so. The deadline for registering is Tuesday 20 June 2006, at 10.00 am.

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

The Shadow Executive made the following comments on the Forward Plan at page 7 of the papers circulated for the Executive meeting to be held on 27 June 2006:

The Shadow Executive:

• May require Officer attendance at the relevant Shadow Executive meeting/s in respect of the following items (current Executive dates in brackets):

o       York Central (11/7)

o       Corporate Asset Management Plan (11/7)

o       Capital Strategy Document 2006-09 (11/7)

o       Finance Strategy 2007/8-2009/10 (11/7)

o       Highway Services Procurement (11/7)

o       Directorate of City Strategy (11/7)

o       Restructuring of Chief Executive’s Department (25/7)

The Shadow Executive considered a report which was listed as item 6 on the agenda for the Executive meeting on 27 June, at page 9.  The report asked the Executive to review and comment on the Statement of Accounts for the financial year 2005/06 and refer them to Full Council for approval.  Copies of the pre-audit version of Accounts for the year had been circulated separately to Members.

Having discussed the issues set out in the report, the following comments were agreed:

The Shadow Executive:

• Requests further information regarding school reserves (table 1 of the report), on the proportions already allocated against future capital scheme and currently unallocated.

RESOLVED:(i) That the Executive be asked to take the above comments into account when considering this item.

                        (ii)        That the item not be called in.

The Shadow Executive considered a report which was listed as item 7 on the agenda for the Executive meeting on 27 June, at page 23.  The report presented an overview of the Council’s performance during 2005/06 and asked the Executive to recommend a draft Council Plan for 2006/07 to Full Council, so that it could be published before 30^th June.  Copies of the draft Council Plan had been circulated separately to Members.

Having discussed the issues set out in the report, the following comments were agreed:

The Shadow Executive:

• Have made comments previously on the draft Council Plan.
• Notes that there are a number of areas of 2005/06 year end performance where results are poor or declining, notably community safety, refuse collection, leisure, satisfaction of the public with information provided by the Council, road safety, street cleaning  and Housing and Council Tax Benefits.
• Suggests these areas require examination in more detail by relevant Executive Member and Advisory Panels (EMAPs), including seeking explanations from the Executive Members as to what is being done to remedy the problems and if they are satisfied with the position.

RESOLVED:(i) That the Executive be asked to take the above comments into account when considering this item.

                        (ii)        That the item not be called in.

The Shadow Executive considered a report which was listed as item 8 on the agenda for the Executive meeting on 27 June, at page 51.  The report set out the projected out-turn position on the Council’s General Fund Revenue Account, the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), Commercial Services, the Collection Fund and the Public Sector Agreements (PSAs) for 2005/06.

Having discussed the issues set out in the report, the following comments were agreed:

The Shadow Executive:

• Notes that there are a small number of areas with very significant overspends, which are likely to be ongoing into the current financial year.
• Would like to see reports on how these matters will be addressed, including those areas where early in year monitoring did not indicate problems, particularly Adult Social Services and Children’s Services, and seeks assurances that the management information issues this suggests are also being addressed.

RESOLVED:(i) That the Executive be asked to take the above comments into account when considering this item.

                        (ii)        That the item not be called in.

The Shadow Executive considered a report which was listed as item 9 on the agenda for the Executive meeting on 27 June, at page 83.  The report set out the final out-turn position of the Council’s Capital Programme for 2005/06 and sought approval for the statutory declaration on the funding of the programme, slippage on the programme and the addition of new externally funded schemes to the Capital Programme for 2006/07 to 2008/09.

Having discussed the issues set out in the report, the following comments were agreed:

The Shadow Executive:

•  Notes the major failure to obtain projected capital receipts and the consequential effect that over-reliance on uncertain receipts has caused.

RESOLVED:(i) That the Executive be asked to take the above comments into account when considering this item.

                        (ii)        That the item not be called in.

The Shadow Executive considered a report which was listed as item 10 on the agenda for the Executive meeting on 27 June, at page 111.  The report provided an update on York’s first and second Local Public Service Agreements (LPSA1 and LPSA2) and asked the Executive to approve recommendations for distribution of the performance reward grant for LPSA2.

Having discussed the issues set out in the report and questioned officers present at the meeting, the following comments were agreed:

The Shadow Executive:

• Notes the report.
• Assumes that the financial arrangements are as in paragraph 15 of the report and not paragraph 13 as stated in the recommendation.

RESOLVED:(i) That the Executive be asked to take the above comments into account when considering this item.

                        (ii)        That the item not be called in.

To receive a presentation on Local Area Agreements (LAA’s).

Members received a presentation on Local Area Agreements (LAA’s).

They emphasised the need to engage with the public, especially socially excluded groups, the community and voluntary sector, trade unions and Members during the drafting process for the LAA.

RESOLVED:                         That the presentation be noted.