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 during the meeting Members were asked to declare any personal, prejudicial or disclosable pecuniary interests not listed on the Register of Interests that they had in the business on the agenda.

Councillor Scott declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 3 (Make it York Commissioning Agreement) as his wife had a business with the markets.

No other interests were declared.

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 Thursday 26 March 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: http://www.york.gov.uk/downloads/download/3130/protocol_for_webcasting_filming_and_recording_of_council_meetings

It was reported that there had been one registration to speak under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

Councillor Steward spoke in relation to Agenda Item 3 (Make it York Commissioning Agreement). He informed the Committee that he was the Chair of the Make it York Shareholder Committee and that they had met four times and alongside himself the membership currently comprised of Councillors Gunnell and Taylor. 

He then detailed which Members and Cabinet Members had previously been on the Committee. The Cabinet Members included Councillors Crisp and Williams. He felt that Make it York was a good thing and felt that the Council should make it work. The meetings had originally been held in private due to what had been deemed a lack of public interest, however they would now be held in public.

In regards to the Make it York Service Level Agreement (SLA), the Committee had first seen a very early draft, and had recently been presented with an updated version to which they could only make suggestions.  He hoped that the Shareholder Committee would be the main body to scrutinise the SLA.

At the previous meeting of Economic & City Development Overview & Scrutiny Committee on 11 March, a further additional meeting was requested to review and discuss the Commissioning Agreement for Make it York. This report presents Members with the latest draft Agreement as of 19 March 2015.

The Committee received a report which detailed the latest draft agreement as of 19 March 2015 of the Make it York Commissioning Agreement.

The Chair invited Councillor Steward to stay at the meeting to answer any questions in relation to the Make it York Shareholders Committee. Councillor Steward agreed to this request.

Discussion took place in response to points raised by Councillor Steward under Public Participation. It was clarified that Cabinet would set the priorities for Make it York and the Shareholder Committee would scrutinise the delivery of these.

Councillor Steward raised concerns at the rushed delivery date of the SLA and pointed out to the Committee that the Shareholders Committee could only make suggestions to the Cabinet Member. He highlighted the lack of transparency in the process and explained to Members why some of the Labour Group appointees had changed.

The Director of Communities and Neighbourhoods explained that the SLA would be signed off by the Cabinet Members involved, Councillors Crisp, Levene and Williams and it was for that reason that it was felt to be inappropriate to have decision makers on the Shareholder Committee.

Questions from Members included;

·        Did the Shareholder Committee publish agendas?

·        What was the Shareholder Committee’s remit?

·        Could the Shareholder Committee dismiss the Make it York Board?

It was reported that formal agendas had not been produced, that there was a draft remit and an AGM would be held at a Cabinet meeting. The Shareholder Committee could not dismiss the Board, but it could make recommendations to the Cabinet who had the power to appoint and dismiss Board Members.

It was noted that the Make it York’s Board;

·        Included the Chief Executive and Leader plus representatives from different sectors in the city on its membership.

·        That roles of different bodies involved would be built into the articles of the company.

·        That it was intended to produce the agendas and minutes using the Council’s Committee Management System for Board Meetings, and this was highlighted in the Terms of Reference, which had been taken to the Shareholders Committee twice.

One Member questioned whether the remit of ECDOSC might change due to the Shareholders Committee’s role in scrutinising Make it York and suggested that there were too many Cabinet Members responsible for Make it York. Councillor Steward responded that as the Chair as the Shareholders Committee he felt happy to take on the scrutiny of Make it York, but felt there would be a significant overlap with the work of scrutiny committees. He also agreed with the Member’s comment that the inclusion of three Cabinet Members on the Board was too many.

The Director of Communities and Neighbourhoods introduced the  report and stated that the purpose of the SLA was to specify the outcomes for Make it York and its requirements for delivery.

Some Members wanted clarification on the measurement of the performance in the information presented and trend analysis for outcomes. Officers reported that they could bring back reports including these to the Committee.

One Member asked  ...  view the full minutes text for item 63.