Agenda and minutes

Venue: The Thornton Room - Ground Floor, West Offices (G039). View directions

Contact: Chris Elliott  Democracy Officer

Webcast: video recording

Items
No. Item

30.

Declarations of Interest

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.

Minutes:

At this point in the meeting, Members were 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.

 

Cllr Mason declared a non-prejudicial interest as he is a Director of Make it York.

 

31.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 73 KB

To approve and sign the minutes of the Economy and Place Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 28 November 2018.

Minutes:

Members requested the following change to minute 29 (Work Plan 2017/18)

 

-      It was noted that January’s meeting of the Economy and Place Scrutiny and Policy Committees would be re-arranged so that the Policy Scrutiny Committee could meet on the 16 January and the Scrutiny Policy Committee on the 29 January.

 

Resolved:  That subject to the above changes, the minutes of the previous meeting held on the 28 November 2018 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

 

32.

Public Participation

It is at this point in the meeting that members of the public who have registered their wish to speak can do so. The deadline for registering is by 5.00pm on Tuesday 15 January 2019. Members of the public may speak on an item on the agenda or an issue within the Committee’s remit. To register, please contact the Democracy Officer responsible for the meeting (the contact details are available at the foot of the agenda).

 

Filming or Recording 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.  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 Democracy 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/download/downloads/id/11406/protocol_for_webcasting_filming_and_recording_of_council_meetings_20160809.pdf

 

 

Minutes:

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

33.

Finance & Performance Monitor 2 pdf icon PDF 164 KB

This report provides details of the 2018/19 forecast outturn position for both finance and performance across services within the Economy and Place Directorate. The paper incorporates data to September 2018 as reported to Executive on 29th November 2018.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

 

33.       Finance & Performance Monitor 2

 

Members received the second finance and performance report of 2018/19 for the Economy and Place Directorate.

 

Officers introduced the item and explained that there was a projected overspend of £322k. Officers highlighted the following financial issues:

-      Waste collection – sickness higher than budget, temporary  staff needed

-      Fleet workshop – following a review of the workshop

 

Castle car park partially closed due to the Rose Theatre, but offset by additional income at nearby car parks.

 

In response to Member questions, officers made the following points:

-      That the main staffing issue faced by waste services was a shortage of LGV drivers. It was noted that the service has kept drivers on over the winter period to help with mandatory training and recruitment however further challenges will be experienced in April, when the green waste service resumes.

-      That there would be situations were co-mingling (the mixing of recyclates) would occur, particularly when there are vehicle breakdowns, planned servicing or on particularly narrow streets in which a specialised vehicles have restricted access. However, Officers noted that it can often seem as though waste staff are ‘co-mingling’ when they are using a ‘slave bin’ to collect large amounts of one type of recyclate in the same receptacle.

-      That there would always be an element of agency staff reliance within waste services due to the necessity of the roles and the service, should a staff member be off work.

-      That the recycling statistics included in the report included green waste and therefore the recycling statistics will always be stronger in quarters one and two

-      That there is an important balance to be struck between the quality of recycling and the guarantee that the product will be recycled eventually after being sold.

 

Members requested that more detail be included in the reports, particularly with regard to the mitigations of overspends. Members noted that without this, there was very little to scrutinise.

 

Officers informed the committee that the increase in revenue from visitors using alternative car parks to castle car park, as a result of the Rose Theatre placement, was in addition to the compensation paid by the Rose Theatre to the Council for loss of income at the car park. It was noted that as a result of this, the Rose Theatre organisers would be reducing their payment to the Council when it returns in 2019.

 

Resolved:  That the report be noted and acknowledged by Members.

 

Reason:     To update the Scrutiny Committee of the latest finance and performance position

 

34.

Economic Health of York City Centre Draft Final Report pdf icon PDF 179 KB

This report provides information on the work carried out as part of a full Committee review of the Economic Health of York City Centre.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

34.       Economic Health of York City Centre Draft Final Report

 

Members received the draft final report of the Scrutiny review into the economic health of the City Centre.

 

Members received an update from the Economic Growth Team on research into other Loyalty Schemes, this document is attached as a supplement to the agenda.

 

Members discussed the recommendations in the report and discussed the following points:

-      Whether The Council was the correct body/organisation to provide the £10k funding to Indie York

-      The impact of the proposed loyalty scheme

-      The increase in the number of bars and restaurants in York

-      The changing nature of York’s City Centre

-      The Future High Streets Fund including a discussion with officers highlighting the potential funding available and the bidding process.

 

Members reviewed the recommendations and amended recommendations (ii), (iii) and (vi) to read as follows:

 

(ii)      Consider making a bid to the £675 million Future High Streets Fund to secure funding to help York respond and adapt to changes facing city centres.

(iii)     Prepare a long-term strategy to make its high streets and the city centre fit for the future, taking into account relevant aspects of the Grimsey report and the view of all key stakeholders.

(vi)    Works with Indie York and traders to develop a city-wide loyalty scheme to make it easier for businesses to reward customers with an attractive discount offer for shopping locally while encouraging business growth and customer retention across a city-wide customer engagement platform.

 

It was therefore:

 

Resolved:  That subject to the changes to recommendations (ii), (iii) and (vi), Members agreed with this report progressing to the meeting of Economy and Place on 28 January 2019.

 

Reason:     To progress this scrutiny review in accordance with scrutiny protocols and procedures

 

 

35.

Work Plan 2018/19 pdf icon PDF 147 KB

Members are asked to consider the Committee’s work plan for the remainder of the 2018/19 municipal year.

 

Minutes:

Members considered the Work Plan for the final meeting of the municipal year.

 

Members discussed a potential report on business rates in the City and it was agreed that this report would come to the committee on 19 March 2019.

 

 

 

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