Agenda, decisions and minutes

At this point in the meeting, the Executive Member is asked to declare:

·        any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests;

·        any prejudicial interests;

·        any disclosable pecuniary interests

which they may have in respect of business on this agenda.

The Executive Member declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 4 (Cultural Commissions: Allocating Leeds City Region Business Rate Pool Funding to York Cultural Projects),  as he had visited the municipality of Changsha referred to in the report.       

To approve and sign the minutes of the Decision Session held on 19 November 2018.

Resolved:  That the minutes of the Decision Session held on 19 November 2018 be approved and signed by the Executive Member as a correct record.

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 Thursday, 24 January 2019.  Members of the public can speak on agenda items or matters within the Executive Member’s remit.

To register to speak please contact the Democracy Officer 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 may 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 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 Officer (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/11406/protocol_for_webcasting_filming_and_recording_of_council_meetings_20160809

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

Gwen Swinburn spoke on Agenda Item 4 (Cultural Commissions: Allocating Leeds City Region Business Rate Pool Funding to York Cultural Projects).  She criticised the report for lack of clarity and late availability of background papers and cast doubt on the credentials of the Mediale team and their ability to deliver the programmes.

This report provides an update on two recent successful funding bids to the Leeds City Region Business Rates Pool to create two related programmes of cultural activity that will engage residents in a new shared vision for the city and contribute to the development of the Castle Gateway regeneration project by facilitating the use of Castle Car park as an events space.

Resolved:  (i)      That the approach to developing the programmes, set out in paragraphs 9 to 11 of the report, be approved.

Reason      To ensure that maximum benefit is gained for the city from these successful funding bids.

                   (ii)      That a further report be brought to the Executive Member or the relevant scrutiny committee providing information on the evaluation of last year’s Mediale events, further details of governance arrangements going forward and details of how the £90k core costs would be spent.

Reason:     To ensure that the programmes are properly managed and monitored.

The Executive Member considered a report which gave an update on two successful funding bids to the Leeds City Region (LCR) Business Rates Pool for projects that would create two related programmes of cultural activity in York.  Approval was sought for a proposed approach to these programmes.

The first project aimed to attract investment by promoting York’s strengths and assets through development of a shared vision for the city.  The second concerned the master-plan to transform the Castle and Eye of York area into new public realm and year-round spaces for theatre, markets and cultural events.  The bids provided:

·        £100k for programming in respect of the city vision;

·        £90k core costs for the Mediale Team to develop and run the programmes as set out in paragraph 9, with the team to raise a further £55k from sponsorship, co-commissioners and ticket sales;

·        £20k for further development of the Festival of the Rivers, as outlined in paragraph 11;

·        £100k to mitigate potential loss of car park income.

The council would also work with Mediale to carry out a feasibility study on an offer made by Changsha in China of funding towards the delivery of a major firework display on the Castle Gateway site.

Officers corrected two errors in paragraph 14 of the report: ‘£100k’ in the third sentence should read ‘£170k and ‘£210k’ in the final sentence should read ‘£140k’.  In response to questions from the Executive Member and matters raised under Public Participation, it was reported that a full evaluation of the first Mediale event held last year would be available shortly.  Using Mediale as the vehicle to take the two projects forward would enable the team to engage with York residents and make Mediale more than just a biennial festival.  The bulk of the funding would be channelled into the community and professional arts sectors.  Any council funding towards the fireworks display would be subject to consideration of a business plan.

Resolved:  (i)      That the approach to developing the programmes, set out in paragraphs 9 to 11 of the report, be approved.

Reason      To ensure that maximum benefit is gained for the city from these successful funding bids.

                   (ii)      That a further report be brought to the Executive Member or the relevant scrutiny committee providing information on the evaluation of last year’s Mediale events and further details of governance arrangements for these two programmes going forward and how the funding is spent.

Reason:     To ensure that the programmes are properly managed and monitored.

This report presents York Learning’s Self Assessment Report (SAR) for the academic year 2017/18 and invites the Executive Member to make any comments or recommendations prior to publication of the final SAR on the Ofsted portal.

Resolved:  That the findings of the service’s self-assessment report be noted. 

Reason:     To help monitor the service and ensure robust governance arrangements.

The Executive Member considered a report which presented York Learning’s Self Assessment Report (SAR) for the academic year 2017/18 and invited him to make comments or recommendations for the production and publication of the final report at the end of January.  The high level summary report was attached as Annex 1, with the draft full SAR at Annex 2 and data at Annex 3. 

The cover report highlighted the continuing improvement in education and training achievement identified in the SAR, with overall service achievement now standing at 84%.  However, apprenticeship programmes achievement had fallen below minimum standards for the third year running, largely due to a high staff turnover in the area of Health and Social Care.  Officers confirmed that the service was reviewing this area and had put actions in place to improve performance.

The Executive Member noted the challenges presented by the national crisis in health and social care against the background of a generally good performance by the service.  He congratulated the team for the work they were doing and

Resolved:  That the findings of the service’s self-assessment report be noted. 

Reason:     To help monitor the service and ensure robust governance arrangements.