Agenda and decisions

At this point in the meeting, Members and co-opted members are asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary interest, or other registerable interest, they might have in respect of business on this agenda, if they have not already done so in advance on the Register of Interests. The disclosure must include the nature of the interest.

An interest must also be disclosed in the meeting when it becomes apparent to the member during the meeting.

(1)     Members must consider their interests, and act according to the following:

(2)     Disclosable pecuniary interests relate to the Member concerned or their spouse/partner.

(3)     Members in arrears of Council Tax by more than two months must not vote in decisions on, or which might affect, budget calculations, and must disclose at the meeting that this restriction applies to them. A failure to comply with these requirements is a criminal offence under section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

To approve and sign the minutes of the Executive meeting held on 21 January 2025.         

At this point in the meeting members of the public who have registered to speak can do so. Members of the public may speak on agenda items or on matters within the remit of the Executive.

Please note that our registration deadlines are set as 2 working days before the meeting, in order to facilitate the management of public participation at our meetings.  The deadline for registering at this meeting is 5:00pm on 7 March 2025.       

To register to speak please visit www.york.gov.uk/AttendCouncilMeetings to fill in an online registration form.  If you have any questions about the registration form or the meeting, please contact Democratic Services.  Contact details can be found at the foot of this agenda.

Webcasting of Public Meetings

Please note that, subject to available resources, this meeting will be webcast including any registered public speakers who have given their permission. The meeting can be viewed live and on demand at www.york.gov.uk/webcasts.

During coronavirus, we made some changes to how we ran council meetings, including facilitating remote participation by public speakers. See our updates (www.york.gov.uk/COVIDDemocracy) for more information on meetings and decisions.

To receive details of those items that are listed on the Forward Plan for the next two Executive meetings.

This report sets out proposals to introduce a new fostering fee framework, which will aim to supersede the existing one. This has been widely consulted on with both foster carers and fostering staff. The outcome of these consultations has resulted in these proposed changes.

Resolved:

                      i.         To introduce the proposed new skills and fee levels for Foster Carers in York.

Reason:    To deliver a framework that is fair and equitable across all foster carers and support children and young people in care.

This report seeks decisions to deliver further retrofit works in the private and social housing sector as well as supporting future retrofit activity through advice and support.

Resolved:

                         i.         Delegated authority to the Director of Housing and Communities in consultation with the Director of Finance, and Director of Governance, to accept funding offered by the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero for the Warm Homes: Local Grant programme and to sign the memorandum of understanding to enable delivery of the works;

                        ii.         Delegated authority to the Director of Housing and Communities in consultation with the Director of Finance, and the Director of Governance, to procure a partner to the deliver the Warm Home: Local Grant programme, including entering into the delivery contract with the successfully procured new partner for April 2025 to March 2028 or March 2030 if funding is provided beyond 31 March 2028;

                      iii.         Delegated authority to the Director of Housing and Communities in consultation with the Director of Finance, and the Director of Governance, to accept funding offered by the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero for the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund programme and to sign the memorandum of understanding to enable delivery of the works;

                      iv.         Delegated authority to the Director of Housing and Communities in consultation with the Director of Finance, and the Director of Governance, to procure a partner to the deliver the Warm Home: Social Housing Fund project, including entering into the delivery contract with the successfully procured new partner for April 2025 to March 2028.

Reason:     To deliver the council’s ambitions for minimising the

energy bills of those residents facing financial challenges, supporting health and wellbeing, building the local green economy, and retrofit supply chains, and reducing carbon emissions in the city and to ensure the provisions of the Subsidy Control Act 2022 are complied with.

This report explains the work undertaken by the York Poverty Truth Commission (PTC) and how it led to the creation of the Commission’s Charter and Organisational Standards.  These aim to promote dignity and respect for those facing poverty.

Resolved:

                      i.         Noted the work of the York Poverty Truth Commission and the council to date in promoting and implementing the Organisational Standards;

                    ii.         Formally adopted the Charter for Organisational Standards developed by the York Poverty Truth Commission; and

                   iii.         Approved a published six-monthly monitoring report for the Executive Member for Finance, Performance, Major Projects, Human Rights, Equality and Inclusion.

Reason:    To commit to and promote the work of the PTC and secure ongoing delivery and monitoring of the work into the future.

This report provides Executive with the final Centre for Governance and Scrutiny recommendations following the Scrutiny Impact Review, and a proposed action plan to address each of the recommendations, for members’ consideration.

Resolved:

                      i.         To endorse the proposed actions as set out in Annex B in respect of Scrutiny Review Report recommendations 1-2, 4-7 and 9-12, noting that a cross-party working group will be established to lead on and oversee the work;

                    ii.         To recommend that, in respect of recommendation 8 of the Scrutiny Review Report, Full Council resolves to implement a revised Scrutiny structure, comprising an overarching Scrutiny Committee (including calling-in functions) with nine seats, a Place Committee with nine seats, and a People Committee (to include Housing) with nine seats. These changes to take effect at the 2025 Annual General Meeting and will be reviewed in 12 months;

                   iii.         To recommend to Council that Recommendation 3 of the Scrutiny Review Report is not adopted.

Reason:    To seek Full Council’s approval for changes to how Scrutiny operates at the Council.