Agenda, decisions and minutes

At this point in the meeting, the Executive Member is asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests or other registerable interests she might have in respect of business on this agenda, if she has not already done so in advance on the Register of Interests.

The Executive Member was asked to declare, at this point in the meeting, any disclosable pecuniary interests, or other registerable interests she might have in the respect of business on the agenda, if she had not already done so in advance on the Register of Interests. None were declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 9 February 2023.

Resolved: That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 9 February 2023 be approved and then signed as a correct record by the Executive Member.

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 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 Tuesday 14 March 2023.

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 http://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 (http://www.york.gov.uk/COVIDDemocracy) for more information on meetings and decisions.

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

Ben Burton, Chair of Labour’s Housing Policy Forum and a candidate for Heworth, spoke on agenda item 4, Update on retrofit programme including Home Upgrade Grant Phase 2 (HUG2) bid. He supported the HUG2 bid but addressed why he felt there was a lack of progress on council retrofit programmes, and the need for a clearer direction on retrofitting the council's homes than was currently proposed. He also noted that an advice service had been started by the charity sector and more progress was now required to create a one-stop shop solution.

This report provides a progress to date on delivering retrofit works and provides clarity on the next steps to enable projects to be delivered in York within the timescale of the programme.

Resolved:

(i)           That the progress to date on delivering retrofit works following the success of attracting grant funding to support cross tenure improvement works, be noted.

(ii)         That upon successful notification of the grant, the Memorandum of Understanding will be signed to enable the commencement of procurement activity and more specific site analysis works.

(iii)        That prior to the signing of a delivery contract following a procurement exercise, a report will be provided to Executive seeking approval to sign the delivery contract and commence works.

Reason: To deliver the council’s ambitions for minimising vulnerable residents’ energy bills, supporting health and wellbeing, building the local green economy and retrofit supply chains, and reducing carbon emissions in the city.

The Executive Member considered a report that provided a progress on delivering retrofit works, and provided clarity on the next steps to enable projects to be delivered in York within the timescale of the programme.

The Head of Housing Delivery and Asset Management provided an overview, noting the programme requirements that would contribute to the priorities of the retrofit action plan, which sought to maximise the delivery of future government programmes in the private sector.

The Executive Member noted that should the application be successful, a mix of properties would be targeted for works, including fabric and heating upgrades in rural properties, heating upgrades to apartments in blocks with all electric heating, and fabric measures and heating upgrades to properties with old non-gas heating.

In terms of the wider retrofit programme, officers confirmed they had submitted an application to extend the delivery timescale for Local Authority Delivery 3 (LAD3) and Home Upgrade Grant Phase 1 (HUG1) to 30 September 2023, but no formal response had been received.  It was also noted that no formal response had been received regarding HUG2 and Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF), but officers were extremely positive that these programmes would be successful, and work to identify suitable properties was continuing.

In response to the public speaker, officers felt the retrofit action plan was explicit on the ambition, and they confirmed they had been successful in securing grant funding for a retrofit advice service to be strengthened. It was also noted that there would be a further funding opportunity to develop a larger sub-regional energy advice service.

In answer to questions raised by the Executive Member, the Housing Policy Officer confirmed that government grant funding schemes had certain criteria and the HUG2 funding eligibility would include low-income neighbourhood characteristics. It was also noted that the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership were undertaking a feasibility study into a one-stop shop retrofit service and the UK Innovation Project would also be providing financial advice to those on a low income.

The Executive Member noted the challenges faced over the last three years and commended officers for the achievements made.  She recognised officers dedication and hard work to reduce fuel poverty and carbon emissions across all tenures and she supported the ambitions within the action plan.

Resolved:

(i)           That the progress to date on delivering retrofit works following the success of attracting grant funding to support cross tenure improvement works, be noted.

(ii)         That upon successful notification of the grant, the Memorandum of Understanding will be signed to enable the commencement of procurement activity and more specific site analysis works.

(iii)        That prior to the signing of a delivery contract following a procurement exercise, a report will be provided to Executive seeking approval to sign the delivery contract and commence works.

Reason: To deliver the council’s ambitions for minimising vulnerable residents’ energy bills, supporting health and wellbeing, building the local green economy and retrofit supply chains, and reducing carbon emissions in the city.