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 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 disclosable pecuniary interests that he might have had in respect of business on the agenda. They confirmed they had none.

To approve and sign the minutes of the Decision Session held on 18 January 2021.

Resolved:  That the minutes of the Decision Session held on 18 January 2021 be approved as a correct record and  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. The deadline for registering at this meeting is at 5.00pm on Thursday 11 February 2021.

To register to speak please visit

www.york.gov.uk/AttendCouncilMeetings to fill out an online

registration form. If you have any questions about the

registration form or the meeting please contact the Democracy

Officer for the meeting whose details can be found at the foot of

the agenda.

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.

This paper recommends to the Executive Member for Finance & Performancein consultation with the Executive Member for Housing & Safe Communities, that the funding shortfall in maintaining the winter grants scheme to 31^st March 2021 is met through the extended York Financial Assistance (YFAS) scheme. This was supplemented in 2020/21 by £1m of council funds to support residents in hardship during the covid pandemic.

Resolved:  That approval be given to the funding the winter grants scheme through to 31^st March 2021 through use of the extended YFAS funding at an estimated cost of £200k.

Reason:     To provide financial support to the city’s most financially vulnerable residents through the ongoing covid-19 pandemic.

The Executive Members considered a report recommending that the funding shortfall in maintaining the winter grants scheme to 31 March 2021 was met through the extended York Financial Assistance (YFAS) scheme. This was supplemented in 2020/21 by £1m of council funds to support residents in hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Assistant Director Customer and Digital Services outlined the support that was currently in place noting that the government had confirmed that there would be further funding beyond 31^st March 2021 available for food and activities through the school holidays. She then noted the take up of funding from families for food and utility bills and she encouraged families to claim the extra support if approved at this meeting.

The Executive Member for Housing and Safer Neighbourhoods supported the recommendations and whilst welcoming the support from the government, acknowledged that the original funding was insufficient and noted that she would like to see the government providing more ongoing support. The Executive Member for Finance and Performance also welcomed the report and it was:

Resolved:  That approval be given to the funding the winter grants scheme through to 31^st March 2021 through use of the extended YFAS funding at an estimated cost of £200k.

Reason:     To provide financial support to the city’s most financially vulnerable residents through the ongoing covid-19 pandemic.