Agenda and minutes

At this point, 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.

Members were invited to declare at this point in the meeting any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests, any prejudicial interests or any disclosable prejudicial interests they might have in the business on the agenda. No interests were declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the Economy and Place Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 4 October 2017 .

Resolved:           That the minutes of the meeting of the Economy and Place Scrutiny Committee held on 04 October 2017 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

It is at this point in the meeting that members of the public who have registered to speak can do so. The deadline for registering is 5.00pm on Monday, 27 November 2017. Members of the public can speak on agenda items or matters within the remit of the Committee. 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 will 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 http://www.york.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/11406/protocol_f

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60809.pdf

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

To receive an update report from Make It York on their progress with regard to their Service Level Agreement (SLA) with City of York Council.

Members received an update report from Make it York on their progress in relation to their Service Level Agreement (SLA) with City of York Council (CYC). The Scrutiny Officer reminded Members that the update reports were provided to the Committee twice a year, with the Officers attending the meeting once a year. It was also clarified that the current SLA agreement was in place until 2018.

Members agreed that future reports should include qualitative measurements to highlight Make it York’s performance against their SLA, and questioned whether Make it York’s quarterly Key Account Management (KAM) insight reports could be included in their biannual updates

Resolved:           That the report be noted.

Reason:              To update Members on progress in relation to Make it York’s Service Level Agreements.

This report provides details of the 2017/18 forecast out-turn position for finance and performance across services within the Economy and Place Directorate.

Members received a report providing details of the 2017/18 forecast out-turn position for finance and performance across services within the Economy and Place Directorate. The Finance Manager was in attendance to provide the summary and answer Members’ questions. It was clarified that the Allerton Waste Recovery Park was the most viable long-term solution to treat waste from households across the county. It was also confirmed that the underspend in Economic Development was due to a number of vacancies within the team.

Members queried the sickness levels in Waste and questioned whether it was a factor in bin collections being missed in some areas of York. Officers confirmed that sickness levels were generally higher in customer-facing and manual jobs and that Waste’s performance was similar to other departments in the Council and in other waste teams at other local authorities.  Also that the sickness management procedures were being followed.  Members questioned whether sickness levels had increased following the HR re-scheduling exercise undertaken in April 2017, and officers confirmed:

·        the re-scheduling exercise had been undertaken in relation to Recycling and Waste was unaffected;

·        staff capacity was not an issue and it had not resulted in more work for employees;

·        managing resource levels was a constant piece of work due to outside factors such as the development of new residential properties;

·        there was a national shortage of Heavy Transport Vehicle (HTV) drivers which resulted in challenges related to short-term work cover.

Members noted they were scheduled to receive an update on Mixed Recycling and Waste Collection at their next meeting on 17 January 2018, but officers advised it would be more appropriate to slip this item to the May 2018 meeting.

Finally, Members requested an update on timescales and progress in relation to the use of the Better Decision Making tool in the Council.

Resolved:           That the report be noted.

Reason:              To update the Committee on the latest finance and performance position.

This report outlines the activities of the Emergency Planning Team and the preparedness of the council to manage incidents in the organisation and the city.  It also considers the CVS ‘Ready for Anything’ programme and the potential role of Members in an emergency.

Members received a report outlining the activities of the Emergency Planning Team and the preparedness of the Council to manage incidents in the organisation, which highlighted the ‘Ready for Anything’ programme and the potential role of Members in an emergency. The Assistant Director for Transport, Highways and Environment and the Emergency Planning Officer & Business Continuity Advisor updated Members on progress made with improving communication and engagement with current and prospective volunteers and wards. The following was also noted:

·        the Emergency Planning’s role is to deal with outcomes rather than prevention related to matters such as natural disasters etc;

·        the Emergency Planning Team provided advice in relation to Community Emergency Plans and their progress was dependent on the relevant communities;

·        the newly-created Emergency Planning Assistant role would allow for wider engagement with wards and parishes;

·        additional volunteers would be recruited to participate in different initiatives but long-term funding solutions would need to be considered to achieve it.

It was agreed it would be useful to:

·        provide Members with some emergency planning training, followed by the provision of an emergency planning information pack for all Members;

·        have Community Emergency Planning included as an agenda item at future ward team meetings.

Resolved:           That the report be noted.

Reason:              To raise Members’ awareness of their role in emergency planning at the community level.

Members are asked to consider the Committee’s work plan for the remainder of the 2017/18 municipal year.

Members were asked to consider the Committee’s work plan for the remainder of the 2017/18 municipal year, and agree the following changes:

·        the Waste Update on Mixed Recycling & Waste Collection be slipped to the May 2018 meeting;

·        the Mapping of Volunteers Integrated into Service Delivery Risk Assessment & Analysis item would provide examples of how volunteers had been used but, due to limited timescales, it would not include a full mapping exercise.

Resolved:           That the workplan be approved subject to the above amendments.

Reason:              To ensure that the Committee has an agreed programme of work in place.