Agenda, decisions and minutes

At this point in the meeting, the Executive 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.

The Executive 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 discloseable pecuniary interests that they might have in respect of business on the agenda. No interests were declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the Decision Session held on 24 July 2020.

Resolved: That the minutes of the Decision Session - Executive Member for Finance and Performance held on 24 July 2020 be approved as a correct record and be signed by the Executive Member at a later date.

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 committee.

Please note that our registration deadlines have changed to 2 working days before the meeting, in order to facilitate the management of public participation at remote meetings. The deadline for registering at this meeting is 5:00pm on Tuesday 22 September 2020.

To register to speak please contact Democratic Services, on the details at the foot of the agenda. You will then be advised on the procedures for dialling into the remote meeting.

Webcasting of Remote Public Meetings

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

During coronavirus, we've made some changes to how we're running council meetings. See our coronavirus updates (www.york.gov.uk/COVIDDemocracy) for more information on meetings and decisions.

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

The report provides the Executive Member for Finance & Performance and the Executive Member for Economy & Strategic Planning with details of the financial support provided by City of York Council (CYC) to business in York through all grants and reliefs during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Resolved:

i)             That the financial value and number of businesses supported by the council be noted.

ii)            That the speed and efficiency in distributing the support be noted.

iii)          That it be noted that the Government’s Small Business Grants (SBG) and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure grants (RHLG) closed for applications on 28 August 2020.

   Reason: To clearly set out the extent of the financial support provided by the council and the speed at which it was provided to businesses in York.

The Executive Member for Finance and Performance and the Executive Member for Economy and Strategic Planning considered a report that gave the details of the financial support provided by City of York Council (CYC) to businesses in York through all grants and business rate reliefs during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Assistant Director of Customer and Digital Services was in attendance to provide an update and it was noted that the Government had sought to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on businesses through a mix of grants and business rate reliefs delivered at local level, which included:

•        Business rates discount of 100% for qualifying retail businesses.

•        Retail, hospitality and leisure grants.

•        Small business grant scheme.

The Assistant Director confirmed that the council was aware at an early stage that the Government schemes had some gaps, especially for micro businesses, so the council introduced its own Micro Grant scheme to support those businesses that had no Rateable Value and following a Government announcement on 1 May, a new discretionary grant scheme was introduced to support businesses who ‘fell through the cracks’ of the main grant scheme. This scheme superseded the councils own micro scheme as an enhanced micro grant scheme on 1 June 2020.

The Executive Members noted the various grants and business rate reliefs offered including the total number of businesses that had received an award and the total value of payments issued.

The Executive Members commended all officers for their response to the pandemic and for ensuring that all the resources provided by the Government and the council were issued rapidly and efficiently. It was confirmed that the council would continue to lobby central Government to make more funds available, particularly for those businesses that had not qualified for funding.

Resolved:

i)             That the financial value and number of businesses supported by the council be noted.

ii)            That the speed and efficiency in distributing the support be noted.

iii)          That it be noted that the Government’s Small Business Grants (SBG) and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure grants (RHLG) closed for applications on 28 August 2020.

   Reason: To clearly set out the extent of the financial support provided by the council and the speed at which it was provided to businesses in York.