Agenda and draft minutes

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.

At this point in the meeting Members were asked to declare any personal, prejudicial or disclosable pecuniary interests that they might have in the business on the agenda.  There were no additional declarations of interest to those already recorded.

To approve and sign the minutes of the previous meeting held on 18 January 2016.

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting of the 18 January 2016 be approved and signed by the Chair.

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 22 April 2016.

Members of the public may register to speak on:

·        An item on the agenda

·        An issue within the remit of the committee

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

Filming, Recording or Webcasting Meetings

“Please note this meeting will be filmed and webcast and that includes any registered public speakers, who have given their permission.  This broadcast can be viewed at http://www.york.gov.uk/webcasts.

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 officer (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/downloads/file/6453/protocol_for_webcasting_filming_and_recording_of_council_meetingspdf

Andrea Dudding, Unison, spoke about requests to publicise union materials to Make it York staff.

Resolved: That Make it York would liaise with Unison to agree a convenient time to enable staff to find out Unison’s offer.

Action: That a consistent approach to unions in arms length bodies be requested as part of the report to Executive on governance of arms length bodies.

This report presents Make it York’s summary of financial performance for 2015/16.

Steve Brown outlined the highlights and challenges of Make it York financial performance to date.  He noted this was subject to full figures for March and audited accounts but that the likely outcome would be a small surplus.

The committee congratulated Make it York on above budgeted financial performance.

The board noted that the summary of financial information was too generalised (e.g. other direct costs over £2m not broken down) to fully understand the finances and inner workings of the business plan, and that in the future it would be helpful for the shareholder to understand this further, subject to Executive’s recommendations on the governance of arms length bodies.

Steve Brown outlined that the Make it York Board received a longer financial and that currently that was where detail was looked at in relation to overall financial performance.

Action: That consistency of financial reporting of arms length bodies be clarified as part of the report to Executive on governance of arms length bodies.

This report presents:

·        A narrative report of latest activities and progress against responsibilities

·        Make it York scorecard

The reports provided an outline overview of Make it York’s activity and performance.  Steve Brown noted the slower progress of inward investment work over 2015/16, and that this and higher value jobs would be a greater focus in 2016/17.  He shared an Inward Investment Guide for York, which will be available on Make it York’s new website.

He also highlighted the work down to support businesses during and after the December flooding, and this accounting for diverted resources away from during this period, but also that it accounted for strong performance in relation to business assists, working with 179 businesses.

Finally, he noted successful work creating a consumer fund for marketing, with significant contributions from national bodies.

The board asked why a website for Make it York, and particularly for inward investment enquiries, was not live yet.  Steve Brown responded that the new website will be launched on May 17^th.

The board also asked questions about development of visitor activities around Easter, the progress on the Shambles Market and how Visit York membership was progressing as key customers of Make it York.

The board noted the number of jobs created, particularly above the average wage, as an area for concern.  While it acknowledged difficulties around measuring direct support for job creation, it hoped that performance would be improved in 2016/17, and a refreshed Service Level Agreement would help support the focus on this.

The report updates the committee on suggested changes to the Service Level Agreement, which is part of the Council’s client relationship with the organisation.  In summary, it recommends that the Committee notes the suggested changes, and continue to monitor and review the financial and operational performance of Make it York over a range of activities, including those specified in the SLA with the Council, but also the wider activities within Make it York’s business plan.

Council Officers outlined ongoing discussions with Make it York on reviewing the Council’s customer agreement ‘Service Level Agreement’ with Make it York to focus more on and a clearer view of the activities and outputs the Council is paying for from Make it York.  They explained that Make it York would respond to the draft with a delivery plan to form the full agreement.

Steve Brown asked for clarity on what was required in the delivery plan response to the Service Level Agreement.  Officers outlined that while there were key elements it should cover, such as specific activity, outputs, timescales and resources Make it York intended to use to deliver the Council specification, that discussing an approach in person would ensure that there was agreement on what would be supplied.

The board discussed that to date they had focussed on monitoring just the Council contract with Make it York, and that a broader organisational would be helpful given Council income accounted for only a quarter of Make it York’s income.  The board also commented that greater clarity on its role would be helpful, as well as the distinction between the Council’s role as shareholder and that of client.

Resolved:    (i)      That the Shareholder Committee note the suggested changes to the Service Level Agreement;

(ii)      That the Shareholder Committee continue to monitor and review the financial and operational performance of Make it York over a range of activities, including those specified in the SLA with the Council, but also the wider activities within Make it York’s business plan, to ensure that Make it York delivers for all of its customers and the long term interests of the owner;

(iii)     That the future role and remit of the board be informed initially by the upcoming Executive review on governance of arms length bodies.

Action: That the report to Executive on governance of arms length bodies should address and bring clarity to shareholder and client roles in relation to Make it York and other arms length bodies.