Agenda and minutes

At this point in the meeting, 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 in the meeting, Members were asking to declare any personal, prejudicial or disclosable pecuniary interests that they might have had in the business on the agenda.

Councillor Cuthbertson declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 5 (Make it York) as he was a member of the Make it York Shareholder Committee.

No other interests were declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the last meetings of the Economic & City Development Overview & Scrutiny Committee held on 11 March and 27 March 2015.

Resolved:  That the minutes of the last meetings of the Economic and City Development Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 11 March and 27 March 2015 be signed and approved as a correct record.

In relation to Minute Item 63 (Make it York Commissioning Agreement) on 27 March 2015 Councillor Fenton asked if the recommendations had been forwarded on and if a response had been received from the Cabinet Leader. The Scrutiny Officer confirmed that they had been sent immediately following the meeting and that no response had been received.

It is at this point in the meeting that members of the public who have registered their wish to speak can do so. The deadline for registering is by Tuesday 16 June 2015 at 5.00 pm.

To register please contact the Democracy Officer for the meeting, on the details at the foot of this agenda.

Filming, Recording or Webcasting Meetings

Please note this meeting will be filmed and webcast and that includes any registered public speakers, who have given their permission.  This broadcast can be viewed at: http://www.york.gov.uk/webcasts.

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:

https://www.york.gov.uk/downloads/file/6453/protocol_for_webcasting_filming_and_recording_council_meetingspdf

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

This report highlights the Council’s structure for the provision of the overview and scrutiny function and the resources available to support it. It also details the current terms of reference for the individual Policy & Scrutiny Committees. These terms of reference may be subject to change by the new administration following the re-naming and re-designation of the Scrutiny Committees.  

Members received a report which highlighted the Council’s arrangements for the provision of the scrutiny function, the resources that supported it, and the current terms of reference of all the scrutiny and policy committees.

The Scrutiny Officer gave some background to the Committee about the proposed upcoming changes to the terms of references to the scrutiny committees. He explained that there were some of the areas previously covered by the committee, such as carbon reduction, which might not fit with the new title of the committee. The Chair explained that the main focus of the Committee would be on Economic Development.

Resolved:  That the report and specific remits of the individual Policy & Scrutiny Committees be noted.

Reason:     To inform Members of scrutiny arrangements.

(a) Scrutiny Arrangements

This report provides Members of the Economic Development & Transport Policy & Scrutiny Committee (EDTPSC) with information on the role of this Committee in scrutinising Make it York (MiY), given that the Make it York Shareholder Committee holds a scrutiny responsibility for the organisation.

(b) Attendance of the Managing Director

Steve Brown, Managing Director of Make it York will attend the meeting to introduce Make It York: York’s new Destination Management Organisation

Members considered a report which provided them with information on their role in scrutinising Make it York.

Further information on the governance arrangements of the company was given to the Committee by the Assistant Director for Strategic Planning and Transport.

It was confirmed that Make it York was a Teckal company, and was wholly owned by the Council, through its Board of Directors. It provided no less than 80% of its work to public sector clients and 20% to private sector clients.

Steve Brown, the Managing Director from Make it York attended the meeting to introduce the company to Members and answer any questions that they might have had.

He informed the Committee how the company had been legally formed on 2 April and had brought together six parts; Visit York, Science City York, City Centre Management, Festivals, Inward Investment, Business Support. Make it York received revenue from the Council which represented approximately 25% of its turnover. Other funding came from Visit York, sponsorship and running markets. However the revenue from the Council’s funding would only be guaranteed for three years.

It was also noted that Make it York’s meetings were quarterly, with four public and private meetings and an AGM. 

Regarding the Farmers’ Market, Make it York were aware of feelings over the location of the market and the competition between other traders. Therefore, a proactive marketing strategy would be carried out to attract traders in from outside York.

In response to a question from a Member about Make it York being a strong brand, it was hoped that Visit York and Science City York would continue to gain brand recognition and for Make it York to become an umbrella brand. It was confirmed that the Visit York name would continue on its own as it had a tradition of operating further outside of the city centre.

The Chair thanked Steve Brown for attending the meeting and answering Members’ questions.

Resolved: That the report and information presented be noted.

Reason:    To inform the Committee of the respective roles of the Executive, the Shareholder Committee and EDTPSC in relation to Make it York.

Members are asked to consider the Committee’s work plan for the municipal year.

Members considered the Committee’s Work Plan for the municipal year.

Discussion took place on the scheduled Executive Member Attendances. The Scrutiny Officer explained that given that the remit of the Committee had now altered, this meant that Members could invite four Executive Members to ask them about their priorities.

It was suggested that the Executive Member for Environment might be better suited to attend September’s meeting when an item on Air Quality was on the agenda. One Member suggested that it be useful for the Committee, if Executive Members were given a standard template as to what was expected in their presentation.

One Member asked whether the minutes of the Make it York Shareholder Committee could be shared and if they were reported to Full Council. It was suggested that as the minutes could contain commercially sensitive information that a verbal update might be the best way of reporting this to the Committee.

Officers presented an outline paper on a potential scrutiny topic on York’s Economic Strategy. They explained how the Economic Strategy was not set by the Council, but was set in conjunction with the business community and was a five year plan. They added that they would present a more detailed paper at the next meeting.

Following a question on the iTravel initiative from a Member, it was agreed that a situation report in iTravel be prepared for the September meeting. A short presentation could be given by Officers on iTravel, once a bid to the Local Sustainable Transport Fund had been submitted.

Resolved: That the work plan be noted and the following amendments be made;

·        That the attendance of the Executive Member for Environment be moved to the September meeting.

·        That a verbal update be given on the Shareholder Committee meetings.

·        That a further paper on the York Economic Strategy be considered at the July meeting.

·        A presentation on iTravel and sustainable transport be given at the September meeting.

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