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.

The Chair invited Members to declare at this point any personal or prejudicial interests they might have in the business on the agenda.  The following interests were declared:

• Cllr Fraser – a personal, non prejudicial interest in agenda item 6(iv) (Notices of Motion – North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust), as a retired member of UNISON;
• Cllr Kind - a personal, non prejudicial interest in agenda item 7 (Report of Executive Leader and Executive Recommendations), in relation to Executive Minute 131, as a beneficiary of the Local Government Pension Scheme;
• Cllr Evans - a personal, non prejudicial interest in agenda item 7 (Report of Executive Leader and Executive Recommendations), in relation to Executive Minute 131, as a beneficiary of the Local Government Pension Scheme.

To approve and sign the minutes of the Special and the Ordinary meetings of Council held on 30^th November 2006.

The minutes of the Special and Ordinary meetings of Council held on 30^th November 2006 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Lord Mayor, subject to the addition of Cllr Scott’s name to the list of Members present at the Ordinary meeting.

To consider any announcements made by the Lord Mayor in respect of Civic business, and in particular the nomination of the Lord Mayor Elect and the Sheriff of York for the Municipal Year 2007/08.

The Lord Mayor announced the receipt of a seal that had been presented to the Council as a gift from the Merchant Adventurers.  She went on to provide details of events planned to celebrate the 50^th Anniversary of York’s twinning with Munster and of two fundraising events for the Lord Mayor’s charities – a Valentine’s Ball on the 10^th February and a Fashion Show on the 29^th March.  She then announced the launch of the York Design Award, which was intended to promote excellence in contemporary architecture in the City.  Further details of the criteria for the Award would be circulated to Members.

The Lord Mayor invited Cllr Steve Galloway to nominate the Lord Mayor Elect for the Municipal Year 2007/08.  Cllr Galloway nominated, and Cllr Waller seconded, Cllr Irene Waudby as the Lord Mayor Elect and this nomination was unanimously agreed.  Cllr Waudby replied that she would be honoured to accept this office for the second time and that she would nominate her Sheriff for the year at a future meeting of Council.

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 remit of Council can to so.  Anyone who wishes to register, or requires further information, is requested to contact the Principal Democracy Officer.  Contact details are listed at the foot of this agenda.  The deadline for registering to speak is 5:00 pm on Wednesday, 24^th January 2007.

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

To consider any petitions received from Members in accordance with Standing Order No. 7, including the following, of which notice has been received:

• A petition from local residents seeking improvements to the area around Plantation Shops, Boroughbridge Road.  To be presented by Cllr Simpson-Laing.

The following petitions were presented by Members under Standing Order 7:

(i)                 A petition presented by Cllr Simpson-Laing on behalf of local residents seeking improvements to the area around Plantation Shops, Boroughbridge Road.

(ii)               A petition presented by Cllr Horton on behalf of residents living near 17 Almsford Road, Acomb, expressing concern about the derelict state of this empty property and vandalism on the site.

(iii)             A petition presented by Cllr Potter on behalf of parents, governors and staff at Tang Hall Primary School, regarding the resurfacing of the pavement outside the school, on Sixth Avenue.

(iv)              A petition presented by Cllr Bradley on behalf of parents of pupils at St Mary’s School, Askham Richard, calling for seat belts to be fitted to the school bus.

(v)                A petition presented by Cllr Jamieson-Ball on behalf of residents of Heslington and Badger Hill, regarding the impact of student housing on communities.

RESOLVED: That the above petitions be referred to the Executive or appropriate committee.

To consider the following Notices of Motion under Standing Order 11:

(i)         From Cllr Horton:

            “This Council notes that:

·        There is a housing crisis in the City, as evidenced by the draft Fordham Housing Market Assessment, showing the vast majority of newly formed households unable to afford either house purchase with a mortgage or private sector rents (on the normal affordability criterion);

·        The current Liberal Democrat support is for a lower regional housing allocation for York that can only exacerbate the York house price premium, as supply will be reduced by a third compared to the house building rates in York over the last six years;

·        Many families have been forced out of the City due to rising house prices;

·        Those people that do stay in the City, particularly those on low incomes, often have to live in poorer quality, overcrowded housing;

·        Living in overcrowded residences can lead to poor mental and physical health.

This Council welcomes the Government’s Barker report, about providing new housing to meet projected need, and calls upon the Executive Member to work with the Government and the Regional Assembly to increase the supply of affordable family housing in York.”

(ii)        From Cllr Potter:

“Council notes with regret that the Environment Forum is no longer represented on the Local Strategic Partnership Board, leaving the large environmental voluntary sector with no direct input into the ‘Without Walls’ vision and forthcoming review of the community strategy.

Council believes that this situation does not properly reflect how important environmental issues are to the City and its residents.

Council requests the ‘Without Walls’ Board to ensure that the Environment Forum are allocated a formal place on the LSP Board and mandates the Council’s nominees on the Board to support this.”

(iii)       From Cllr Blanchard:

“Council notes that:

·        To produce foie gras, at just 12 weeks old ducks and geese are restrained and grain is forced down the throat through a tube or pipe, a process that often results in physical injury;

·        They are forcibly fed the equivalent to an adult human eating 1-28 lbs (7-13 kg) of spaghetti a day; and, after two or three weeks, when they are ready for slaughter, their livers will have swollen to about ten times normal size.  The swollen liver expands the abdomen and can make movement and breathing difficult, as well as causing other health problems;

·        Most ducks are kept in wire cages so small they have no room to turn around or stretch their wings, and their feet are often injured by the wire floor;

·        Many die before the force feeding cycle ends, and the mortality rate for ducks raised on foie gras farms is overwhelmingly the highest in the industry;

·        The force-feeding of geese is already outlawed in Poland, Denmark, Germany, Norway and Israel.

Council believes that:

·        This intolerably cruel and painful practice is unnecessary and should end;

·        The city of Chicago, USA, has shown tremendous compassionate leadership in its brave decision to ban foie gras in its shops and restaurants;  ...  view the full agenda text for item 49.

In accordance with Standing Order 11, five notices of motion had been received:

(i)         The Housing Situation in York

It was moved by Cllr Horton and seconded by Cllr Simpson-Laing that:

“This Council notes that:

• There is a housing crisis in the City, as evidenced by the draft Fordham Housing Market Assessment, showing the vast majority of newly formed households unable to afford either house purchase with a mortgage or private sector rents (on the normal affordability criterion);
• The current Liberal Democrat support is for a lower regional housing allocation for York that can only exacerbate the York house price premium, as supply will be reduced by a third compared to the house building rates in York over the last six years;
• Many families have been forced out of the City due to rising house prices;
• Those people that do stay in the City, particularly those on low incomes, often have to live in poorer quality, overcrowded housing;
• Living in overcrowded residences can lead to poor mental and physical health.

This Council welcomes the Government’s Barker report, about providing new housing to meet projected need, and calls upon the Executive Member to work with the Government and the Regional Assembly to increase the supply of affordable family housing in York.”

Cllr Reid then moved, and Cllr Greenwood, seconded, an amendment to the above motion, as follows:

“In the first paragraph:

- delete ‘City, as evidenced by’ in the first line of the first bullet point and replace with ‘UK, affecting many residents in York’.

- delete all after “Assessment” in the second line of the first bullet point, replace with ‘contains vital data on housing problems in York, which will be fully utilised to inform the development of the LDF’, and transfer this whole sentence into a new bullet point;

- delete all after ‘The’ in the first line of the second (now third) bullet point and replace with ‘housing target in the local plan is for 675 new homes per annum and the proposal in the draft RSS is for 640 homes per annum’;

- delete all after ‘families’ in the third (now fourth) bullet point and replace with ‘across the UK and in York struggle to afford housing’;

- delete the whole of the fourth (now fifth) bullet point and replace with ‘The housing situation of residents, particularly those on low incomes, would be improved by a relaxation of government rules on spending the receipts from council house sales, and a fairer social housing grant for York’,

- after ‘health’ in the fifth (now sixth) bullet point, add ‘and by being enabled by government to spend more of the income generated by York tenants on social housing in York, overcrowding could be better tackled, with the health benefits that would ensue’;

 - insert the following additional bullet points (nos. 7, 8 and 9):

‘- York is a leader in the amount of affordable housing that it has provided without the use of housing subsidy;

- The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

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

A written report was received from the Leader, Cllr Steve Galloway, on the work of the Executive.  He then moved, and Cllr Waller seconded, those minutes requiring confirmation from:

a)         the Executive meetings held on 19 December 2006 and 16 January 2007, namely:

·        Minute 131 – Local Government Scheme: Scheme Changes and Local Discretions

·        Minute 143 – Amendments to the Council Constitution

and

b)         the meeting of the Executive Member for Leisure and Culture and Advisory Panel held on 16 January 2007, namely:

·        Minute 29 – Library Service Restructure.

The motion was put to the vote and was declared CARRIED and it was

RESOLVED: That the above minutes, and the recommendations of the Executive and the Executive Member for Leisure and Culture, be approved.

To receive a written report from the Executive Member for Adult Social Services, and to question the Executive Member thereon, provided any such questions are registered in accordance with the timescales and procedures set out in Standing Order 8(2)(a).

A written report was received from Cllr Sue Galloway, the Executive Member for Adult Social Services.  Cllr Galloway then responded to a series of registered and relevant supplementary questions put by Members in accordance with Standing Orders, as follows and in accordance with the list circulated around the Council Chamber,as follows:

(i)         From Cllr Fraser:

“In the light of the various changes to the Homecare Service agreed by the Executive Member for Adult Social Services and implemented over recent months, namely:

·        The more rigorous application of the current eligibility criteria

·        The introduction of a waiting list for those assessed as requiring the service

·        The withdrawal of the two week waiver of charges for the service following hospital discharge

·        The transfer of long-term users of the service to the recently established locality based private sector provision

can she outline the impact of these changes on the services provided, including the take-up of the service by users ?”

 (ii)       From Cllr Scott:

“What effect has the changeover from Meals on Wheels to the current frozen meals provision, resulting fromthe implementation of the reorganised services referred to in the Executive Member’ s report, had on the take-up of meals by customers?”

(iii)       From Cllr Horton:

“Could the Executive Member for Adult Social Services account for the difficulties which arose for customers of the Homecare Service on the transition of long-term users of the Service to the recently established locality based private sector provision and how was  adequate consultation with service users and their carers and the necessary sensitivity in implementing the transfer ensured ?”

 (iv)     From Cllr Potter:

“Does the Executive Member for Adult Social Services accept that the reported statement by the Council Leader last August 2006 in The Press, that his administration was considering restricting access to care (as a result of the implementation of the reorganised services referred to in the Executive Member’ s report), caused widespread concern amongst users of these services and can she outline her policy in this respect and guarantee to maintain the existing level of application of eligibility criteria for access to care ?”

To deal with the following questions to the Executive Leader and / or other Executive Members, in accordance with Standing Order 10(a):

(i)         To the Executive Leader, from Cllr Hyman:

            “Would the Executive Leader confirm the % increase in Council Tax implemented between 1999 and 2003 and contrast that with the present administration’s performance?”

(ii)        To the Executive Leader, from Cllr Hyman:

            “Would the Executive Leader comment on the adequacy of job advisory services in the City and in particular detail the work undertaken by Future Prospects during the year?”

(iii)       To the Executive Leader, from Cllr Holvey:

            “Would the Leader agree to ask – now that capacity problems at the monitoring suite at the police station have been resolved – for a report on the options for modernisation and extension of CCTV coverage in the City to be prepared and would he say what obstacles there could be to the extension of the service into suburban shopping areas?”

(iv)      To the Executive Leader, from Cllr Holvey:

            “Would the Executive Leader indicate what options for funding the government backed Waste and Highways PFI projects he is considering?  Would he say what the consequences would be if either of these projects did not go ahead?”

(v)       To the Executive Member for Corporate Services, from Cllr Moore:

            “Would the Executive Member comment on claims that the costs of the new City Hall offices which are to be built for the Council are ‘spiralling’ and would he detail what the financial implications for the project are expected to be for Council Taxpayers over the next 20 years?”

(vi)      To the Executive Member for Corporate Services, from Cllr Moore:

            “Would the Executive Member indicate how Council Tax collection rates are progressing and contrast this with performance in previous years and with other authorities?”

(vii)     To the Executive Member for Corporate Services, from Cllr Hill:

“In view of the tight restrictions to be placed upon the use of alternative commercial accommodation at Clifton Moor, what does the future hold for the Parkside Centre’s commercial tenants?”

(viii)    To the Executive Member for City Strategy, from Cllr Simpson-Laing:

“Can the Executive Member explain the present situation regarding the inadequate ticket machines on the ftr?”

(ix)      To the Executive Member for City Strategy, from Cllr Simpson-Laing:

“Can the Executive Member inform Members when the Council plans to draw up planning guidelines to stop or reduce the sub-division of family and terraced houses?”

(x)       To the Executive Member for City Strategy, from Cllr Potter:

“Can the Executive Member for City Strategy confirm how many existing residential streets have been adopted since 2003, and how many have been requested for adoption by residents?”

(xi)      To the Executive Member for City Strategy, from Cllr Vassie:

“Would the Executive Member compare – in real terms – car parking charges, which are proposed to apply for the forthcoming year, with those approved by the previous administration?  Would she detail the increase in car parking charges applied during the period 1999-2003 with those that  ...  view the full agenda text for item 52.

In accordance with Standing Order 10(c)(i), the following questions were put and responses given:

(i)         To the Executive Leader, from Cllr Hyman:

“Would the Executive Leader confirm the % increase in Council Tax implemented between 1999 and 2003 and contrast that with the present administration’s performance?”

            The Executive Leader replied:

“Thus the increase in Council Tax has slowed during the course of the present administration compared to the last.”

(ii)        To the Executive Leader, from Cllr Hyman:

            “Would the Executive Leader comment on the adequacy of job advisory services in the City and in particular detail the work undertaken by Future Prospects during the year?”

            The Executive Leader replied:

“For adults, the main statutory provider of job advice is JobCentre Plus, and I cannot comment on the adequacy of their service.  However, they are also the provider of various unemployment benefits and are often charged with moving people off benefits rather than providing impartial advice on employment. Future Prospects provides advice which  is free and impartial with the addition of extra support in the form of benefits advice and what are called "better off calculations" to enable clients to understand the connection between benefits and wages.  As the graph demonstrates, the total number of cases addressed by Future Prospects over the last 3 years represents an increase compared to previous years.Future Prospects has been particularly successful in supplementing its council grant with additional earned income which has allowed it to expand its activities to meet demand.”

(iii)       To the Executive Leader, from Cllr Holvey:

            “Would the Leader agree to ask – now that capacity problems at the monitoring suite at the police station have been resolved – for a report on the options for modernisation and extension of CCTV coverage in the City to be prepared and would he say what obstacles there could be to the extension of the service into suburban shopping areas?”

            The Executive Leader replied:

“I have asked officers to look into the possibility of extending and modernising the City centre CCTV network taking advantage of new technologies (the so called WiFi/Mesh system). It is possible that this would prove to be a project which could be resourced from the Venture Fund.  Provision has been made in the draft Council budget for a trial extension of the CCTV system to one of the suburbs – probably to a shopping area with a proven record of anti social behaviour. Although use of hi definition technologies would be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 52.

To receive a report from Cllr Kirk, the Chair of the Scrutiny Management Committee (SMC) on the work of the SMC.

A written report was received from Cllr Kirk, the Chair of the Scrutiny Management Committee (SMC) on the work of the SMC since the last report to Council, on 30 November 2006.

Minutes of the following meetings of outside bodies, received since the last meeting of Council, have been made available for Members to view on the Council’s website, at

 http://democracy.york.gov.uk/mgListOutsideBodies.asp?bcr=1

Copies may also be obtained by contacting Democracy Support Group at the Guildhall, York (tel. 01904 551088).

• Association of North Yorkshire Councils (minutes of meeting 13 November)
• North Yorkshire Police Authority (minutes of meeting 6 November)

Members are invited to put any questions to the Council’s representatives on any of the above bodies, in accordance with Standing Order 10(b).

Minutes of the following meetings of Outside Bodies were considered:

• Association of North Yorkshire Councils (minutes of meeting on 13 November 2006)
• North Yorkshire Police Authority (minutes of meeting on 6 November 2006).

These minutes had been made available to Members to view on the Council’s website.  The Lord Mayor invited comments and questions, firstly from Council representatives on those bodies, either in relation to the body generally or specifically on the minutes, and secondly from Members generally.  No comments or questions were forthcoming.

To consider the appointments and changes to membership of committees and outside bodies set out on the list attached to this summons.

RESOLVED: That the appointments to Committees, Outside Bodies and Working Groups set out in the list at page 43 of the Council papers (and attached as Annex 1 to these minutes) be approved.