Agenda and minutes

At this point, Members are asked to declare:

·        any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests

·        any prejudicial interests or

·        any disclosable pecuniary interests

which they may have in respect of business on this agenda.

At this point, Members were asked to declare any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests, any prejudicial interests or any disclosable pecuniary interests which they may have in respect of business on the agenda. None were declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 8 July 2019.

Resolved:  That the minutes of the previous meeting held on the 8 July 2019 be approved and signed by the Chair as an accurate record.

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have registered to speak can do so. The deadline for registering is 5.00pm on Friday 6 September 2019. Members of the public can speak on agenda items or matters within the remit of the Committee.To register to speak please contact the Democracy Officer for the meeting, on the details at the foot of the agenda.

Filming, Recording or Webcasting Meetings

Please note that, subject to available resources, this meeting will be filmed and webcast, or recorded, including any registered public speakers who have given their permission. The broadcast can be viewed at http://www.york.gov.uk/webcasts or, if sound recorded, this will be uploaded onto the Council’s website following the meeting.

Residents are welcome to photograph, film or record Councillors and Officers at all meetings open to the press and public. This includes the use of social media reporting, i.e. tweeting.  Anyone wishing to film, record or take photos at any public meeting should contact the Democracy Officer (whose contact details are at the foot of this agenda) in advance of the meeting.

The Council’s protocol on Webcasting, Filming & Recording of Meetings ensures that these practices are carried out in a manner both respectful to the conduct of the meeting and all those present.  It can be viewed at http://www.york.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/11406/protocol_for_webcasting_filming_and_recording_of_council_meetings_20160809.pdf

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

The attached annex is an update on City of York Council’s ICT Strategy and E-democracy capability.

Members considered a report and annex that updated them on City of York Council’s (CYC) ICT Strategy and E-democracy capability.

The Assistant Director of Customer Services and Digital gave an update and confirmed that Officers were continuing to develop the Council’s digital engagement options to provide residents with various routes to access services online. She highlighted the online statistics around website usage, webcasting and modgov. It was noted that within this particular financial year resident digital engagement had significantly increased due to the launch of new online services and the introduction of MyAccount. 

The Head of Communications informed Members that following the purchase of a new software licence, consultation and engagement with residents online could take place in a variety of ways. It was noted that the Regional Adoption Agency had hosted a successful live question and answer session on Facebook and a selection of ward committees were now piloting online question and answer sessions at their meetings. 

In answer to Members questions regarding public engagement Officers stated that:

·        residents could manage council tax and benefit services from MyAccount as well as report on environmental issues. More services would be made available through MyAccount in the future, including all of street and waste services and council tax eBilling.

·        they were engaging with sector partners to tackle digital inclusion and would always provide residents with various options to contact the Council.

·        they would list any abbreviations used in future reports and would consider the professional jargon used.

·        they would investigate CYC’s website search engine function, particularly when trying to locate information on Councillors and democracy.

Members discussed Councillor digital engagement for current and prospective Members and the potential use of IT and video conferencing solutions to allow them to actively participate in public meetings when it was not possible to attend. Officers confirmed that the technology was available but that more engagement with all Councillors was required to identify their requirements and how the different interaction options would be managed in a meeting. 

Members discussed CYC’s website and it was noted that:

·        new Councillors should receive a more detailed overview of the digital options and tools available to them.

·        the current reporting tool for Members could be simplified.

Members considered the options put forward in the report and were pleased to note that digital services had grown allowing residents the option to have a digital relationship with the Council.

Resolved:

                     I.        That the content of the report and the associated annex be noted.

                   II.        That an E-Democracy update report be received in six months’ time.

                 III.        That options to progress Councillor digital engagement be delegated to Officers for consideration, in conjunction with the Chair and that any further information be reported back to the Committee in due course and potentially as part of the above 6 monthly update.

                 IV.        That the web team investigate CYC’s website search engine function, particularly when trying to locate information on Councillors and democracy.

Reason:     To ensure that the Council was providing the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

This report provides Members with their first update on the implementation of the approved recommendations arising from three scrutiny reviews completed by the Customer and Corporate Services Scrutiny Management Committee during the previous administration.

This report provides Members with their first update on the implementation of the approved recommendations arising from three scrutiny reviews, (Scrutiny Operations and Functions, Financial Inclusion, Single Use Plastics) completed by the Customer and Corporate Services Scrutiny Management Committee (CSMC) during the previous administration.

Members were asked to consider all recommendations from the three reviews and to sign off any they agreed were now fully implemented and were also asked to agree whether they wished to receive further updates in six months’ time on any outstanding recommendations.

Members agreed to sign off most recommendations within Scrutiny Operations and Functions (Annex 1 to the report) and Financial Inclusion (Annex 2 to the report) and made the following comments on those recommendations:

Scrutiny Operations and Functions

·        vii) and xi) To be considered at the Scrutiny Chairs and Vice-Chairs meeting.

·        x)  To be signed off but monitored due to overstretched resources.

·        xiii)  To remain outstanding as the necessary work was still being progressed.

Financial Inclusion

·          ii), x) and xi) To remain outstanding as the necessary work was still being progressed.

Single Use Plastics (Annex 3 to the report)

The Chair of Climate Change and Policy Scrutiny Committee raised some issues regarding the  single use plastics review, which had been undertaken prior to the formation of the new Climate Change Scrutiny Committee.  As a result, it was agreed that it would be appropriate to refer these recommendations to the Climate Change and Policy Scrutiny Committee for consideration.

Resolved:

(i)           That the content of the report be noted.

(ii)         That the recommendations from the Scrutiny Operations and Functions and Financial Inclusion Scrutiny Reviews, that have been fully implemented, be signed off subject to the comments above.

(iii)        That the Single-Use Plastics Scrutiny Review recommendations be referred to  the Climate Change and Policy Scrutiny Committee for consideration.

(iv)        That a further update on the outstanding recommendations in relation to the Scrutiny Operations and Financial Inclusion reviews be received in 6 months’ time.

Reason: To raise awareness of those recommendations which are still to be fully implemented.

This report provides Members with a six-monthly update on the work of the Economy and Place Policy and Scrutiny Committee.

Members considered a report that provided them with a six-monthly update on the work of the Economy and Place Policy and Scrutiny Committee.

The Chair of the Economy and Place Policy and Scrutiny Committee gave an update and confirmed the Committee had received:

·        Briefings from various Officers on the priorities of the Economy and Place Directorate;

·        An update from the Managing Director of Make it York;

·        An annual report from the Executive Director of York Business Improvement District;

·        Reports from the Executive Member for Transport and the Executive Member for Economy and Strategic Planning.

Members noted that the Committee were continuing to consider work plan items and possible scrutiny topics and the Executive Member answered questions regarding influencing the growth of high-skilled jobs in the city and how they would prioritise and deliver their scrutiny review topics to enable a positive impact.

Members discussed the challenges when selecting a shortlist of scrutiny topics and it was noted that CSMC could be used to facilitate topics that did not fit easily into the scope of a single Scrutiny Committee. The option to include regional partners, external services or other Councils in a scrutiny review was discussed and although this could be considered on a case by case basis, Members agreed it was important to ensure a review would deliver tangible outcomes.

Members thanked the Chair of the Economy and Place Policy and Scrutiny Committee for his update.

Resolved:  That the update be noted.

Reason: To give the Committee updated on the work of the Economy and Place Policy and Scrutiny Committee.

This report provides Members with details of new petitions received to date, together with those considered by the Executive or relevant Executive Member/Officer since the last report to the Committee.

Members considered a report providing them with details of new petitions received to date, together with those considered by the Executive or relevant Executive Member/Officer since the last report to the Committee.

Members considered the current petitions report process and felt that current methodology might be worth reviewing  to ensure the Committee received the petitions they would expect to monitor and review.

Resolved: 

                     I.        That the report be noted.

                   II.        That the current report process for petitions be considered by the Head of Civic, Democratic & Scrutiny Services, in conjunction with the Chair, to examine options for reviewing the petitions currently reported to the Committee.

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

To consider the Draft Work Plan for 2019-20.

Members considered the Draft Work Plan for 2019-20.

The Chair invited Members to consider any possible scrutiny review topics and it was suggested that due to some under achieving finance and performance indicators within major projects, a report to clarify how large contracts were corporately managed would help Members to assess whether this matter warranted further review.

In terms of wider work planning, the Chair confirmed that:

·        CMSC could consider the corporate element within topics that spanned across all scrutiny committees or any specific elements that related directly to the CSMC function.

·        He planned to discuss with the Head of HR, initially, matters relating to the wellness and wellbeing of staff and the new absence reporting system.

·        He was keen to measure the outcomes of motions agreed at Council and the impact of any scrutiny review recommendations that had been implemented from 2009 and would discuss how this could be effected with the Head of Civic, Democratic & Scrutiny Services.

At this point in the meeting, Members were informed that the Assistant Director of Customer Services and Digital was now the Chief Officer assigned as ‘lead officer’ to this Committee.

 Resolved:  That the draft work plan be approved, subject to the           following additions:

·        A Corporate Project Management Process overview report.

·        An update on the wellness and wellbeing of staff and the new absence reporting system.

Reason:     To ensure that the Committee had a planned programme of work in place.