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.

Members were invited to declare at this point in the meeting any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests, any prejudicial interests or any disclosable pecuniary interests they might have in the business on the agenda.

The following personal interests were declared:

The following prejudicial or disclosable pecuniary interests were declared:

To approve and sign the minutes of the Council meeting held on 26 October 2017.

Resolved:  That the minutes of the last meeting of Council, held on 26 October 2017, be approved and then signed by the Lord Mayor as a correct record.

To consider any announcements made by the Lord Mayor in respect of Civic business and the Lord Mayor will

(a)      Invite Council’s nomination for the Lord Mayor Elect 2018/19 in line with the Council’s Protocol for Nomination of Lord Mayors; and

(b)      Invite the Lord Mayor Elect for 2018/19 to announce the nominee for Sheriff for 2018/19.

The Lord Mayor reported that, since the last meeting of Council, a former City of York Councillor and Lord Mayor of York, Malcolm Heppell, had sadly passed away. Members stood for a minute’s silence in memory of Mr Heppell.

The Lord Mayor then acknowledged the Christmas opening of the Mansion House on 2 and 3 December.  She confirmed that the House would remain open to the public from Wednesdays to Sundays until 23 December, after which it would close until the grand re-opening on 27 January 2018. She thanked the Mansion House team and volunteers who had made the event such a success.

Finally, the Lord Mayor invited Cllr Aspden to nominate the Lord Mayor Elect for the2018/19 Municipal Year. Aspden nominated Cllr Keith Orrell as the Lord Mayor Elect and this nomination was unanimously agreed. 

Cllr Orrell confirmed that he would be honoured to accept this office with the assistance of his Lady Mayoress, Judith Orrell. He also announced that Mrs Verna Campbell and her husband Prof Colin Campbell would be Sheriff and Sheriff’s Consort for the 2018/19 Municipal Year.

At this point in the meeting, any member of the public who has registered to address the Council, or to ask a Member of the Council a question, on a matter directly relevant to the business of the Council or the City, may do so.  The deadline for registering is 5:00pm on Wednesday 13 December 2017.

To register to speak please contact the Democracy Officers for the meeting, on the details at the foot of the agenda.

WEBCASTING NOTICE

Please note: this meeting may be filmed for live or subsequent broadcast via the internet - at the start of the meeting the Lord Mayor will confirm if all or part of the meeting is being filmed.

You should be aware that the Council is a Data Controller under the Data Protection Act. Data collected during this webcast will be retained in accordance with the Council’s published policy.

Public seating areas will not be filmed by the Council.

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

Five members of the public had registered to speak at the meeting under Public Participation.

Gwen Swinburn spoke in relation to the reports of the Executive Leader and Deputy Leader. She commended the Council’s increased use of webcasting in 2017 and other work to strengthen transparency within decision-making, but commented on the perceived tensions within the council and its potential impact on public trust in the council’s management team.

Mr Fisher addressed the council in relation to open governance. He confirmed he was speaking as a private individual rather than expressing views of the parish council. He stated that, in his opinion, all councillors (but at the very least, members of the Audit and Governance committee), should be provided with a copy of the independent report which has been written in relation to the Audit and Governance Committee meeting, as soon as possible.

Bob Webb spoke in relation to Councillor Mason’s motion on funding for children and young people in York, at item 8 on the agenda. As a teacher, he expressed concern regarding ever decreasing resources for schools and pupils, particularly given that York schools were, he understood, the worst funded in the country. Lack of funding made it harder to maintain a balanced curriculum with potential loss of more creative subjects.

Claire Douglas also addressed the council in support of Councillor Mason’s motion on funding for children and young people in York. She advised Members that she was the chair of trustees of the Big Futures Foundation, a charity working in York schools to  close the attainment gap between disadvantaged and non disadvantaged children. She stated that, as well as falling funding, York schools had to deal with other factors impacting on children’s ability to attend school including child poverty and mental heath issues, The time put into closing the attainment gap, providing social welfare support to families and dealing with mental health issues were all a drain on schools budgets and would remain a challenge for schools.

Honorary Alderman Brian Watson spoke in relation to the Leader’s report and specifically in relation to the delivery of the Community Stadium project and expressed concern in regard to the financing of this project.

To consider any petitions received from Members in accordance with Standing Order No.15.  Notice has been received of one petition to be presented by:

·        Cllr Warters, on behalf of Osbaldwick Ward residents, calling for the removal of the 20mph signs in Osbaldwick.

Under Standing Order 15, the following petition was presented by Cllr Warters, for reference to the Customer and Corporate Services Scrutiny Management Committee, in accordance with the Council’s arrangements for petitions:

·         A petition on behalf of residents of Osbaldwick Ward, calling for the removal of the 20mph signs in Osbaldwick.¹

To receive and consider a written report from the Leader and, to answer questions on the work of the Executive, and the Executive recommendations for approval, as set out below:

A.  Executive Leader’s Report

A written report on the work of the Executive was received from the Executive Leader, Cllr Carr.

Members were then invited to question Cllr Carr on his report and questions were received from the floor from the following Members in relation to the subjects listed:

·        Cllr Cannon – the role of City of York Council in the York Central Partnership

·        Cllr Craghill – equalities issues in respect of the provision of ultra-fast broadband

·        Cllr Derbyshire – whether dualling of York’s northern ring road was raised during discussions with the Secretary of State for Transport and response to this issue.

Cllr Carr responded directly to all the questions put to him, including supplementary questions.

B.  Executive Recommendations

Refresh of Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Business Plan 2017 to 2047

Cllr Carr moved, and Cllr Waller seconded, the following recommendation contained in Minute 86 of the Executive meeting held on 15 November 2017:

“Recommended:     That Council approve the creation of a new capital budget of £20m to fund the building of additional affordable homes over the period 2018/19 to 2022/23.

Reason:                   In order to support the adoption of the HRA Business Plan, which sets out priorities for the housing revenue account for the next five years and gives clear messages as to the commitment to continue to invest in the council’s existing stock and local communities and to build much needed social rented housing.”

On being put to the vote, the recommendation was declared CARRIED and it was

Resolved:  That the above recommendation in respect of the Housing Revenue Account Business Plan 2017-2047 be approved. ¹

Capital Programme – Monitor 2 2017/18

Cllr Carr moved, and Cllr Waller seconded, the following recommendation contained in Minute 87 of the Executive meeting held on 15 November 2017:

“Recommended:          That Council approve:

1.   the adjustments resulting in a decrease of £3.728m in the 2017/18 budget, as detailed in the report and contained in Annex A and

2.   the amended financing of earmarked schemes from capital receipts, as set out in paragraphs 42 to 43 of the report and in Table 4.

Reason:              To enable the effective management and monitoring of the council’s capital programme.”

On being put to the vote, the recommendation was declared CARRIED and it was

Resolved:  That the above recommendation in respect of the Capital Programme Monitor 2 2017-18 be approved.²

To receive and consider a written report from the Interim Deputy Leader and, to question the Interim Deputy Leader thereon.

A written report was received from Cllr Waller, the Interim Deputy Leader, on his portfolio area.

Members were then invited to question Cllr Waller on his report and questions were received from the floor from the following Members in relation to the subjects listed:

·        Cllr N Barnes – with regard to Universal Credit, how much progress the administration had made with Citizens Advice York in agreeing the new service level agreement and funding from April 2018

·        Cllr Crawshaw – flood defence works at Clementhorpe and request to complete planned works on barrier at Clemethorpe as quickly as possible.

·        Cllr Craghill – planning application for York Central, asked that full consultation takes place before a number of separate planning applications come forward.

·        Cllr Looker – sustainability issues relating to York Central – intention to push for inclusion of open space to be used for a range of activities.

Councillor Waller responded directly to all the questions put to him, including supplementaries.

To consider the following Motions on Notice under Standing Order 22:

Motions submitted for consideration directly by Council, in accordance with Standing Order 22.1

(i)           From Cllr Richardson

Non-recyclable materials

“Council notes:

There are significant environmental problems with disposing of single use plastics, which release toxic chemicals when they break down, are a non-recyclable material and therefore a waste of energy and economic value and also contribute significantly to waterway litter in York.

 Council therefore requests the appropriate Scrutiny Committee to consider the merits of undertaking a scrutiny review in order to investigate the council’s use of single use plastics in its buildings, etc. and through its procurement arrangements and how the behaviour of others may be influenced in relation to this particular form of pollution in support of the coalition’s broader environmental policies.”

(ii)          From Cllr Mason

Funding for Children & Young People in York

“Council notes:

That under the new Schools National Funding Formula, the Government is imposing real term cuts on schools by freezing per-pupil funding while inflation and school costs, such as staff salary costs, employer pension and national insurance contributions, which affect all schools and academies, increase.

That schools in York are set to remain the lowest funded, when compared to any other local authority area in the country.

That every child deserves the best possible start in life, and that an excellent education is pivotal to this, yet this Government’s Funding proposals will make it difficult for schools to meet the increasing demand of pupil numbers or address the growing national crisis in teacher recruitment and retention.

The importance of the York Youth Council in providing a vital link between the Council and young people in facilitating a space where young people can actively engage in decisions which affect their future.

The excellent contribution of staff and youth councillors to the Youth Council in its activities to support young people across the City, particularly in their campaign efforts to protect and develop mental health support in local schools.

Council resolves:

·              To write to the Secretary of State for Education to highlight that York continues to remain the worst funded local authority and ask for her to reconsider York’s position.

·              That the Council supports schools as much as possible during the implementation of the new National Funding Formula.  

·              That we urge the Executive to maintain funding to the York Youth Council, particularly its membership of the UK Youth Parliament, as part of a wider effort to support children and young people.”

(iii)        From Cllr D Myers

Construction Standards

“Council notes:

The ability of this council to influence standards within the construction industry through its procurement policies.  It further notes some sub-standard practices historically within the industry that are likely to continue unless those procuring large contracts insist on basic minimum standards for every worker, whether directly or indirectly employed.

Council resolves:

To request the Executive to review the council’s procurement policies around construction contracts, with particular regard to health and safety, pay and benefits, employment  ...  view the full agenda text for item 49.

Motions submitted for consideration directly by Council, in accordance with Standing Order 22.1.

 (i)     Non-recyclable Materials

(Proposed by Cllr Richardson, seconded by Cllr Steward)

“Council notes:

·        There are significant environmental problems with disposing of single use plastics, which release toxic chemicals when they break down, are a non-recyclable material and therefore a waste of energy and economic value, and also contribute significantly to waterway litter in York.

Council therefore:

·        Requests the appropriate Scrutiny Committee to consider the merits of undertaking a scrutiny review in order to investigate the council’s use of single use plastics in its buildings etc. and through its procurement arrangements, and how the behaviour of others may be influenced in relation to this particular form of pollution in support of the coalition’s broader environmental policies.”

Cllr D’Agorne moved, and Cllr Kramm seconded, an amendment to the above motion, as follows:

“At the end of the first bullet point, after ‘in York’, add: ‘which can then contribute to long lasting plastic pollution on beaches and in the marine environment.’

Insert the following additional bullet points after the first one:

·        ‘The harmful effects this has on marine life and the increased amount of plastic entering the food chain.

·        Existing initiatives aimed at reducing the numbers of single use disposable coffee cups being used for take-away drinks, such as the ‘Freiburg cup’ and the York manufactured ‘iamreusable’ cup.’

At the end of what is now the fourth bullet point, add the following sentence: ‘Options to reduce the use of single-use disposable cups in York should include working with Make it York (possibly via its new service level agreement with the Council) and the York BID to reduce waste and tackle litter and rubbish collection challenges within the city centre.’”

On being put to the vote, the amendment was declared CARRIED.

A vote was then taken on the original motion, as altered by Cllr D’Agorne’s amendment, which was CARRIED an it was:

Resolved:  That the original motion, as altered by Cllr D’Agorne’s amendment, be approved as set out below.¹

“Council notes:

·        There are significant environmental problems with disposing of single use plastics, which release toxic chemicals when they break down, are a non-recyclable material and therefore a waste of energy and economic value, and also contribute significantly to waterway litter in York, which can then contribute to long lasting plastic pollution on beaches and in the marine environment.

·        The harmful effects this has on marine life and the increased amount of plastic entering the food chain.

·        Existing initiatives aimed at reducing the numbers of single use disposable coffee cups being used for take-away drinks, such as the ‘Freiburg cup’ and the York manufactured ‘iamreusable’ cup.

Council therefore:

·        Requests the appropriate Scrutiny Committee to consider the merits of undertaking a scrutiny review in order to investigate the council’s use of single use plastics in its buildings etc. and through its procurement arrangements, and how the behaviour of others may be influenced in relation to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

To question the Leader and/or Executive Members in respect of any matter within their portfolio responsibility, in accordance with Standing Order 20.

In accordance with Standing Order 20, Members were invited to question the Leader and/or the other Executive Members in respect of any matters within their portfolio responsibility. 

Questions were received from the floor from the following Members in relation to the subjects listed:

(i) To Cllr Carr, Leader:

·        From Cllr Warters – need to address highways defects caused by work to install 21^st century communications infrastructure in the city.

·        From Cllr Cullwick – request to stand up for York’s care services by writing to Secretary of State highlighting serious financial challenges in York.

(ii)      To Cllr Runciman, Executive Member for Adult Social Care & Health:

·        From Cllr N Barnes – progress on work with Citizens Advice York on their new service level agreement and funding from April 2018.

(iii)     To Cllr Lisle, Executive Member for Housing & Safer Neighbourhoods:

·        From Cllr Flinders –increase in people sleeping rough on streets in last year, the effect on people who are homeless, impact on local businesses and on residents – reason for this and what action is to be taken to address it.

The Leader and Executive Members responded directly to all the questions, including supplementary questions, put to them.

To receive a written report from the Interim Executive Member for Culture, Leisure & Tourism and to question the Interim Executive Member thereon, in accordance with Standing Order 19.

Council received a written report from Cllr Reid, Interim Executive Member for Culture, Leisure and Tourism.

Resolved: That the report of the Interim Executive Member for Culture, Leisure and Tourism be received and noted.

Members were then invited to question Cllr Reid on her report and questions were received from the floor from the following Members in relation to the subjects listed:

·        Cllr Galvin – commented that he was delighted to learn about the agreement for new football pitches at the Askham site to be used by White Rose Football Club.

·        Cllr Wells – plans for the Library Service.

·        Cllr Taylor – queries whether any library closures were foreseen following the consultation and request for update on Haxby library.

·        Cllr Shepherd –request commitment to undertake review of open spaces in the city – need to encourage physical activity.

Cllr Reid responded directly to the questions put to her.

To receive a report from Councillor Williams, the Chair of the Customer and Corporate Services Scrutiny Management Committee on the work of the Committee.

Council received the report of the Chair of the Corporate and Scrutiny Management Policy and Scrutiny Committee on the work of the Committee since the last report to Council, in October 2017.

Resolved:  That the scrutiny report be noted.

The Chair of the Audit and Governance Committee, Cllr Derbyshire moved, and Cllr Kramm seconded, the following recommendation contained in Minute 45 of the Audit and Governance Committee meeting on 6 December 2017:

Contract Procedure Rules Update

“Recommended:     That Council approve the revised Contract Procedure Rules, with the following amendments:

·        A change from “should” to “must” throughout the document to emphasis the importance of the specified actions and procedures.

·        The addition of the following sentence to section 7.9 on page 9: “An updated register of routine procurement must be presented regularly to the Executive Member for Finance and Performance.”

·        Removal of the word “regularly” from the final sentence of page 29 (section 26) relating to the report of breaches.

·        Removal of delegated authority to the Chief Finance Officer to vary the spending limit of £5000 specified on page 8 (section 4.3 and 4.4)

·        A change to section 2.1.3 (page 6), from “may be brought” to “must be brought and from “or” to “and”

·        The addition of a requirement in section 4.4 (page 8) to maintain an ongoing schedule of contracts not using Yortender.

Reason:     To ensure appropriate governance of the Council’s purchasing activity.”

On being put to the vote, the recommendation was declared CARRIED and it was

Resolved:  That the above recommendation, in relation to the Contract Procedure Rules, be approved.¹

To consider appointments to the School Admission and/or Exclusion Appeals Panel as set out on the list attached to this summons.

Resolved:  That the appointment of additional school admission / exclusion appeals panellists, as set out at page 51 of the agenda papers, be approved.