Agenda and minutes

At this point in the meeting, Members will be invited to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have in the business on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest made in relation to the items of business on the agenda.

To approve and sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 18 December 2006.

The minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 18 December 2006 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

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 Committee’s remit can do so. Anyone who wishes to register or requires further information is requested to contact the Democracy Officer on the contact details listed at the foot of this agenda. The deadline for registering is Friday 19 January 2007 at 5.00pm..

The Chair reported that there had been no registrations to speak at the meeting.

To receive a briefing from Damon Copperthwaite (Assistant Director, City Development & Transport) on the key issues relating to traffic congestion and its effects in York.  An outline briefing is attached.

Members received a briefing paper from the Assistant Director (City Development & Transport) on the key issues relating to traffic congestion and its effects in York, together with an initial draft remit based on the original topic registration submitted by Councillor Simpson-Laing.

A full discussion took place on whether to proceed with a review around the registered topic and if so, what remit for any such review would be suitable given available resources to support it.

RESOLVED:

That an Ad-Hoc Scrutiny Sub-Committee be established on a 4:2:1 basis to review issues surrounding ‘traffic congestion’ in York with a view to any such review being concluded within 6 months on the basis of an appropriate remit being put together and emailed to SMC Members focusing on the impact of traffic congestion upon the following matters:

• Air quality;
• Economic performance;
• Quality of life;
• Accessibility to services, employment, education & health;
• Physical environment;
• Road safety;
• Bus reliability;
• Journey times; and
• Co2 emissions.  

 Further to the last meeting of the Committee to receive and consider a report on the potential implications for the scrutiny function arising from the White Paper, outlining briefing how these might be addressed in York.

Members considered a further report on the potential implications of the White Paper (Strong & Prosperous Communities) for the scrutiny function in York.  The report illustrated how existing processes with the function could be adapted to meet the requirements of ‘community call for action’ and suggested alternatives for managing reviews with partners. 

Members were reminded that processes were already in place to deal with a corporate response to the wider implications for local authorities contained within the White Paper and it was suggested that any comments they might have at this stage be fed into that process.

RESOLVED:             That the report be received and Members concerns generally regarding the resource implications arising from the new arrangements for scrutiny contained within the White Paper be referred for consideration as part of any wider response to it from the Council.