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 the business on the agenda.

Cllr Fraser declared a personal non prejudicial interest in Executive Agenda items 6 and 9 (Minutes 42 and 45 refer) as a member of the retired section of Unison and in Executive Agenda item 10 (Minute 46 refers) as a council representative on York CVS and the Foundation Hospital Governing Body.

Cllr Potter declared a personal non prejudicial interest in Executive Agenda item 10 (Minute 46 refers) as a member of York Compact and as chair of voluntary agencies in City of York.

Cllr Simpson-Laing declared a personal and prejudicial interest in Executive Agenda item 10 (Minute 46 refers) as an employee of a voluntary organisation, and left the room during the discussion of this item.

Cllr Gunnell declared a personal and prejudicial interest in Executive Agenda item 10 (Minute 46 refers) as an employee at York CVS, and left the room during the discussion of this item.

To approve and sign the minutes of the Shadow Executive meeting held on 18 July 2007.

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 4 September 2007, at 5.00 pm.

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

To consider the items on the agenda for the Executive meeting to be held on 11 September 2007, and to take a decision on whether to call-in any of these items.

Please note that the reports relating to these items will be published on the Council’s website on Friday 31 August 2007. The website address is www.york.gov.uk. Copies of the Executive agenda and reports are also available for viewing at public libraries in York and can be obtained by telephoning Democracy Support Group on York (01904) 551088.

The Shadow Executive made the following comments on the Forward Plan at page 13 of the papers circulated for the Executive meeting to be held on 11 September 2007:

The Shadow Executive

§         raised concerns about the number of items pending for the next Executive and the management of the Forward Plan

§         requested that for future agendas the previous schedule be reinstated as a summary table

§         agreed to provisionally request officers for the following items on the Executive Forward Plan:

         Executive on 25 September

§        Review Report – Leisure Facilities Strategy

§        Review Report – Waste Management

§        Review Report – Jobs

§        Parking Review

The Shadow Executive considered a report which was listed as item 5 on the agenda for the Executive meeting on 11 September 2007, at page 33.  The report presented the minutes of a recent meeting of the Young People’s Working Group and asked Members to consider the advice given by the Working Group in it capacity as an advisory body to the Executive.

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

The Shadow Executive:

§   recommended that the restriction on Shadow Executive members standing as the Childrens and Young Person’s Champion be lifted

§   accepted that Working Groups were a useful mechanism for exploring issues but raised concerns as to the effectiveness of Working Groups and their ability to influence the council decision making process and recommended a review of the reporting mechanism.

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 6 on the agenda for the Executive meeting on 11 September 2007, at page 43.  The report asked Members to note amendments made to the Constitution by the Council’s Monitoring Officer pursuant to the provisions of Article 16 of the Constitution.

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

The Shadow Executive:

·  noted the report and looked forward to the further constitutional review process.

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 11 September 2007, at page 49.  The report sought approval of the Environmental Sustainability Strategy and Action Plan towards a Climate Change Strategy for the city, and also sought agreement to the adoption of the Environmental Policy as a basis for the Council’s Environmental Management System (EMS).

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

The Shadow Executive:

§   agreed that the report should be referred back to officers as the report needed further work

§   agreed that there were major gaps in the report and that:-

o       the Council should be setting an example

o       actions were too unspecific

o       there should be increased input from Neighbourhood Services Directorate

o       the report contained pious statements and insufficient actions without an indication of timescales, costs and achievability

o       it did little to encourage the Council to “get its house in order”

• noted the omission at paragraph 9 of the report that there was no implementation of Labour administration’s sustainability strategy for all parts of the Council

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 11 September 2007, at page 87.  The report sought approval for a set of reviews and other pieces of work aimed at improving the Council’s efficiency. These reviews were in addition to the Council’s existing efficiency based exercises which had already been successful in more than achieving the targets set by the Government.

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

The Shadow Executive:

§         welcomed the report as a first step to reviewing the underlying problems in procurement, and noted in particular the top quartile spending on Page 95

§         agreed that YPO should be considered and not neglected

§         reminded the Executive of the Sustainable Procurement scrutiny report

§         looked forward to seeing the Competition Strategy

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 11 September 2007, at page 99.  The report presented to Members the Council’s draft Financial Strategy for 2008/09 to 2010/11. In doing so it covered both the Council’s financial position for the next 3 years (the Medium Term Financial Forecast or MTFF) and potential options for bridging the gap between the expected budgetary position and the funding available. It also attempted for the first time to formalise a number of financial policies relating to the Council’s financial management.

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

The Shadow Executive:

§         agreed that in relation to the consultation on page 105, there should not be a reliance on “on-line” consultation and recommended the widest possible consultation, to include C and D as favoured mechanisms

§         agreed that a qualitative approach was needed and consultation had to be pertinent to current realities

§         raised concerns about recommendation B and suggested promoting trading as an additional way of increasing income

§         noted the budget pressures but reserved their position on specific budget issues.

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 11 September 2007, at page 173.  The report set out and sought approval of the new and revised York Compact codes of good practice that had been developed by the York Compact Group. It also asked Members to endorse the Council’s continued involvement in and support for the York Compact.

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

The Shadow Executive:

§         welcomed the report

§         noted this was a corporate issue which needed to be a part of all directorates’ corporate planning.

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.