Agenda and minutes

Venue: The Snow Room - Ground Floor, West Offices (G035). View directions

Contact: Catherine Clarke and Louise Cook (job-share)  Democracy Officers

Webcast: video recording

Items
No. Item

25.

Declarations of Interest

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

 

Minutes:

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

 

Councillor Crawshaw declared a personal non prejudicial interest in agenda item 7 (Update on Academisation, Place Planning & Additional School Places Required) as a governor of Scarcroft Primary School.

 

Councillor Steward declared a personal non prejudicial interest in agenda item 6 (School Improvement and Ofsted Update on Schools Performance) as a Governor of Rufforth Primary School.

26.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 98 KB

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 11 September 2018.

Minutes:

Resolved:  That the minutes of the meeting of the committee held on 11 September 2018 be approved as a correct record and then signed by the chair.

 

27.

Public Participation

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have registered to speak can do so.  The deadline for registering is 5.00pm on Tuesday 6 November 2018.  Members of the public can speak on agenda items or matters within the remit of the committee.

 

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

 

 Filming, Recording or Webcasting Meetings

Please note that, subject to available resources, this meeting will be filmed and webcast, or recorded, including any registered public speakers who have given their permission.  The broadcast can be viewed at http://www.york.gov.uk/webcasts  or, if sound recorded, this will be uploaded onto the Council’s website following the meeting.

 

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 Officers (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/download/downloads/id/11406/protocol_for_webcasting_filming_and_recording_of_council_meetings_20160809.pdf

Minutes:

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

 

The Vice Chair (in the chair) explained that two weeks previously, Councillors Rawlings, Fenton, Crawshaw and Dave Taylor had been invited to meet with the Youth Council.  At that meeting it had been suggested that the Youth Council register to speak at the next Children, Education & Communities Policy & Scrutiny Committee to express their views and priorities for the next year.

 

Jake Field-Gibson spoke as Chair of York Youth Council and informed Members that the Youth Council had around 15 members aged between 11 and 19 who worked to represent the views and interests of young people in York. He highlighted the elected positions, which included a member of Youth Parliament. He explained that UK Youth Parliament was an organisation that had over 300 representatives from around the country. They were responsible for coordinating the national ‘Make your Mark’ ballot for 11 to 18 year olds, which also guided campaign ideas for Youth Councils. He advised Members that the top three topics voted for in York were mental health, ending knife crime and tackling homelessness and members of the Youth Council were seeking advice from the relevant services and professionals to better understand the agreed topics and the current situation in York. He invited other members of the committee to attend a future Youth Council Meeting to see how they worked.

 

Members thanked him and the other Youth Council Members for the update and expressed a desire to work with the Youth Council on issues being considered by the Committee in the future where they were relevant to the work of the Youth Council.

 

 

28.

City of York Safeguarding Children Board Bi-annual Update pdf icon PDF 99 KB

This report provides an update on the progress of City of York Safeguarding Children Board, highlighting the new safeguarding partnership arrangements to take the place of the Local Safeguarding Children Board in the context of Working Together 2018 and the Children & Social Work Act 2017.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered a report which provided an update on the progress of the City of York Safeguarding Children Board, highlighting the new safeguarding partnership arrangements to take the place of the Local Safeguarding Children Board in the context of Working Together 2018 and the Children & Social Work Act 2017.

 

Councillor Rawlings stated that, as he was the Executive Member at the time of the formation of new arrangements, he would not take part in the debate on this item.

 

The Interim Corporate Director of Children’s Services, Education and Communities and the Strategy and Policy Group Manager were in attendance at the meeting to present the report. They advised that work was also being undertaken to ensure that arrangements around school contacts were being refreshed and strengthened and that chief officers within the partnership were fully behind this. They responded to Members questions in relation to whether there was a place in the new structure for bodies such as the YorOK Board to be able to articulate concerns such as those voiced at a recent meeting around the emotional health and wellbeing of young people in the city; and in relation to the funding of project leaders who would work on engaging early years, schools and colleges in the new safeguarding arrangements.

 

Members acknowledged that they would continue to receive bi-annual reports on the new safeguarding partnership arrangements.

 

Resolved:  That the Committee note the update on the new safeguarding partnership arrangements and the establishment of the City of York Safeguarding Children Partnership (CYSCP) in January 2019.

 

Reason:     To ensure that the committee is aware of the transition to, and the establishment of, the new arrangements.

29.

York Theatre Royal Bi-annual Update pdf icon PDF 87 KB

This paper provides the members of the policy and scrutiny committee with an update on York Theatre Royal.

Minutes:

 

Members considered a report that informed them of the progress and performance of York Theatre Royal and provided information on planned work going forward.

 

The Executive Director of York Citizens Theatre Trust was in attendance to provide an update to Members and he drew their attention to the following points:

·        The success of summer production “The Secret Garden”  - most other theatres did not produce summer productions such as this.

·        Preparations for pantomime season were well underway for what would be Berwick Kaler’s 40th pantomime - Ticket sales were going well.

·        Although the Takeover Festival had started in York, it had informed how theatres across the country now worked with young people.

·        Continued work with York Conservation Trust on developments of the patio area and in De Grey House.

·        New website would be launched in April 2019, when the theatre launched a new visual identity.

·        A series of community focused events were being organised from January onwards to celebrate the theatre’s 275th birthday.

 

He responded to queries raised by members in relation to: engagement with communities, outreach programmes and work with young people; and the future use of Tate Wilkinson House as artists’ accommodation.

 

Resolved:  That the report be noted.

 

Reason:     To keep Members updated and to fulfil the council’s role as a funding body.

30.

School Improvement and Ofsted Update on Schools Performance pdf icon PDF 123 KB

This report provides information about school performance in the academic year 2017- 2018 and information about the position of schools according to Ofsted inspection judgements as of 22 October 2018.

 

Minutes:

Members considered a report which provided information in relation to school performance for the academic year 2017-18 and about the position of schools according to Ofsted inspection judgements as of 22 October 2018.

 

The Council’s Head of Primary School Effectiveness and Achievement and the Head of Secondary School Effectiveness and Achievement were in attendance as well as the Interim Corporate Director of Children’s Services, Education and Communities to present the report. They explained the school performance figures contained in the report for Early Years Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 4 and provided an update on Ofsted judgments.

 

With regard to Post 16 outcomes, officers advised that there was little information available at present with the first release of data only having been released that week but they advised that this didn’t provide institution level data.

 

Officers responded to Members questions in relation to the following areas:

 

·        Attainment outcomes for disadvantaged pupils and ongoing work to narrow the attainment gap.

·        Ofsted judgments – concern that statistics may not be a true reflection of standard of schools in the city now.

·        Decrease in Key stage 1 results for writing at greater depth, the higher standard

·        York Schools and Academies Board and the need to ensure that the voice of primaries and Local Authority maintained schools were given enough weight on this board.

·        Role of councillors in scrutinising progress.

 

Members acknowledged that, in order to continue to improve outcomes, York needed to focus its resources on those schools and groups of pupils that significantly underperformed in relation to national indicators.

 

Resolved:  That the report be noted and that the work being done by the York Schools and Academies Board be supported.

 

Reason:     In order that that Members are kept informed in relation to school performance.

 

 

31.

Update on Academisation, Place Planning & Additional School Places Required pdf icon PDF 209 KB

This paper provides the members of the policy and scrutiny committee with an update on academisation in York and provides an update on the council’s work on school place planning.

 

Minutes:

Members considered a report which provided them with an update on academisation in York and provided an update on the council’s work on school planning.

 

The Head of School Services, School Services Manager, Policy and Strategy, (who is the lead on school place planning), and the Interim Corporate Director of Children’s Services, Education and Communities were at the meeting to present the report. They responded to specific issues raised by Members, including concerns raised in relation to potential pressure on Danesgate in becoming an academy and they informed Members about work being undertaken with specialist providers to manage pressure on high needs provision. 

 

As detailed in the report, Members noted that, in relation to forecasting, planning area action plans detailed predicted future housing as well as current approvals, and so included the latest data on predicted dwellings and associated pupil numbers from strategic housing sites, including all those in the draft local plan and they acknowledged that this work would need to be reviewed alongside the emerging local plan once it had been adopted.

 

Resolved:

 

(i)      That the report be noted including the developments in school place planning during the previous 12 months.

 

(ii)      That an update be provided to the committee in around a year’s time.

 

Reason:     To keep Members informed on developments in relation to adademisation and school place planning.

 

32.

Joint Review: Resident Involvement Feasibility Report pdf icon PDF 171 KB

This report informs Members of a topic request submitted by Cllr Ann Reid to look into tenant involvement, including the York Residents’ Federation which has recently failed to appoint a committee and is thus no longer operational.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered a report which provided information in relation to a topic request submitted by Cllr Ann Reid to look at tenant involvement, including the York Residents’ Federation, which had recently failed to appoint a committee and was not longer operational. The submission asked the committee to undertake a scrutiny review to help identify where the council could increase its support for tenant engagement, both in wards and across the city and also help establish new residents associations in wards that were not covered by an active association

 

The Scrutiny Officer drew Members attention to the limitedtime remaining during the current municipal year to undertake a review and suggested that Members may wish to recommend that the review be carried out during the next municipal year. He suggested that the topic could lend itself to a broader review, giving the opportunity to look at engagement on a broader level across the city. He also advised that the Health, Housing and Adult Social Care Policy and Scrutiny Committee were happy to undertake a joint review on the topic with this committee taking the lead and advised that Cllr Kallum Taylor had already expressed an interest in being involved in a review. He advised that a scoping report could be agreed which would provide further information to enable them to decide on a remit for a review.

 

The Council’s Head of Housing and the Housing Engagement and Equalities Facilitator for Housing were in attendance at the meeting. They expressed concern that the report did not reflect the amount of work which was going on and provided information to Members on tenant engagement including  a wide range of regulatory activities, many of which had been taking place for a number of years  with residents associations, the Federation but also with many other people who access housing services including:

 

·        The Tenant Scrutiny Panel which meets monthly

·        A strong set of service inspectors who constantly examine our services

·        Residents associations – some of which were thriving and some struggling

·        Officer support, training and documentation to help groups deal with governance issues, finances etc

·        Leaseholder Forum which meets twice a year and is open to all  leaseholders

·        Leaseholder Scrutiny Panel which meets monthly

·        Streets Ahead Magazine available to tenants and leaseholders, available on the council website

·        Annual Tenant Satisfaction Survey which has been running for decades – this also feeds into regulatory required Tenant and Leaseholder Annual Report, available on website. Scrutiny Panel is instrumental in putting that together

·        Focus Groups and bespoke consultations

·        Increased use of social media including new Housing Facebook page, which is used in addition to Council Facebook and Twitter feed to get information out there

 

They expressed their desire for scrutiny involvement in light of post Grenfell legislation coming through and in light of the Federation being where it was at the moment.

 

While acknowledging that the topic was a valid one, some Members did not feel that a review should be undertaken at present time. They acknowledged that a substantial  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

33.

Cultural Strategy Update pdf icon PDF 181 KB

This report provides an update on the development of a Cultural Strategy for York for the period 2019 – 2025.

 

Minutes:

Members considered a report which provided them with an update on the development of a cultural strategy for York for the period 2019-25. Ahead of the report being taken to the Executive, Scrutiny Members views were sought in relation to which of the 15 key ideas informing the vision they felt were the most important to prioritise for implementation and which were the most appropriate for the council to be involved in. They were also asked to consider what the Council’s role in it should be and where the council should position itself.

 

The Assistant Director, Communities and Equalities, presented the report to Members using a presentation to provide an update on the key emerging ideas to inform the vision, as these had changed slightly to those presented in the agenda papers as a result of the feedback sessions which had taken place on 20 October.

 

Members expressed the following views:

·        15 key ideas was a lot - it might be better divided into sections covering what we are looking to achieve, how we are going to do that, and then what is required to achieve those things.

·        Performance and workshop space was lacking - the council could play a role by facilitating temporary pop up performance spaces.

·        It was important to consider sharing of spaces and promotion of partnership activity.

·        York’s rivers were important to the city and if the decision was made in favour of branding, rivers should be part of any branding of York.

 

Resolved: That Members comments in relation to the 15 key areas be noted.

 

Reason:     In order that Members feedback can be used to inform the subsequent report being taken to the Executive for decision.

 

34.

Work Plan 2018/19 pdf icon PDF 77 KB

Members are asked to consider the Committee’s work plan for the 2018/19 municipal year.

 

Minutes:

Members considered the Committee’s work plan for the remainder of the 2018/19 municipal year.

 

Members acknowledged the hard work and success of the Local Area Teams (LATs) in being a key part of York’s early help response to working with children, young people and families. Following a conversation with the Head of Early Help and Local Area Teams it was suggested that it may be beneficial for this committee to look at identifying where the gaps are around support for early help. Officers advised that existing scoreboards were available as data was already provided to the Safeguarding Children Board.  It was agreed that Councillors Crawshaw and Rawlings meet informally to take this forward with a view to a short report being presented to a future meeting.

 

Following further discussion, it was agreed that the work plan be updated to include:

 

13 March 2019

·        Annual Report from Make It York which had been omitted from the workplan

·        Report from Head of Housing and Head of  Communities and Equalities on Resident Involvement to reflect on issues raised during discussion on agenda item 8 (Minute 32 refers)

 

Post May 2019

Update on Local Area Teams

 

Resolved: That the work plan be approved subject to the above amendments/additions.

 

Reason:     To keep the Committee’s work plan updated.

 

 

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