Agenda item

To receive a written report from the Executive Member for Leisure, Culture and Social Inclusion, and to question the Executive Member thereon, provided any such questions are registered in accordance with the timescales and procedures set out in Standing Order 8(2)(a).

A written report was received from Cllr Vassie, the Executive Member for Leisure, Culture and Social Inclusion.

Notice had been received of six questions on the report, submitted by Members in accordance with Standing Orders. 

The guillotine having fallen at this point, Members agreed to receive written replies to these questions.  The questions and the written responses are set out below:

(i)         From Councillor Looker

“Given the precarious state of the financial markets, and the building trade, what written assurances has the Executive Member seen from Barbican Leisure to assure him that the Barbican is going to get its full refurbishment and when are we likely to see some firm dates for re-opening. How secure are the Community Carol Concert and the Festival of Remembrance for 2009?”

            Reply

“Cllr Looker is right to draw attention to the economic circumstances in which we now find ourselves. I share the concerns of all members at the time it is taking to see work begin on the refurbishment of the Barbican.

We have received repeated assurances for Absolute Leisure that the Barbican will re-open by Easter 2009. However, we have also seen a lot of time lost in the discharging of the pre-conditions that need to be satisfied prior to the refurbishment commencing.

I have been working with officers over the past two weeks to identify which pre-conditions are still outstanding. They include conditions about supplying samples of the glass and cladding that is proposed, a detailed method of works statement, and the submission of a Sustainability Statement. These pre-conditions can plainly not be swept aside. A meeting with Absolute Leisure has been organised for the beginning of October.  The meeting will be chaired by Bill Woolley. I expect this meeting either to resolve the matter of the pre-conditions or to set a firm deadline for Absolute Leisure to supply the information to satisfy those pre-conditions.  A letter has been sent to Absolute Leisure in advance of this meeting to try to ensure that the meeting resolves matters.

I should point out that once the pre-conditions have been satisfied and Absolute Leisure have paid the £0.75 million they have agreed to pay then they will have to pay the approximately £3million refurbishment costs into a joint escrow account in order to pay for the refurbishment works.  In other words, CYC cannot be short changed on the refurbishment works.

If the meeting does not produce progress then we will be considering all the options available to us.  The council has the power to give 4 weeks’ notice that it intends to determine the agreement, giving Absolute Leisure the option of either walking away or completing, paying the purchase price, and depositing the £3million. I would hope we do not have to go down that particular path because getting the Barbican refurbished and re-opened as soon as possible is plainly what most people would wish to see and the plans I have seen suggest that the proposed refurbishment would produce the exciting venue we need in York.  It should also be borne in mind that when CYC was last running the Barbican it was costing the city around £750k per year.”

(ii)        From Councillor Looker

“What are the arrangements that the Executive member for Leisure, Heritage and Social Inclusion is making for ensuring the Social Inclusion issues are raised and dealt with at EMAP. Is it not critical that we can be seen to be taking forward a full work plan to improve all elements of Social Inclusion within both CYC and the City?”

            Reply

“I agree that Social Inclusion issues need to be raised and dealt with at EMAP. It is also clear that the workload for groups such as the Social Inclusion Working Group are very onerous and that discussion needs to take place to ensure the programme for the year ahead is manageable. 

I will ensure that EMAP does get to see and comment on the forward plan for Social Inclusion.

Recent meetings of the Social Inclusion Working Group have demonstrated what a valuable contribution these issues make to the fabric of life in our city and the functioning of this local authority. Seeing how written reports are presented to those with learning difficulties offers an insight into the huge gap between reports produced for officers and members and reports produced for the public at large. Quite frankly I believe most residents, myself included, would prefer reports that paid far more attention to presentation.”

(iii)       From Cllr Orrell

“Could the Executive Member update us on user numbers and energy efficiency data at Yearsley Pool?”

            Reply

As can be seen in my Executive report, user numbers are up 34.7% since the revamp of Yearsley pool. Quarterly figures show that April to June this year 34,396 visits were made to the pool, compared with 25,534 for the same period in 2007. 

Re: energy efficiency data, as the Executive report makes clear, bills for steam used to heat the pool have more than halved. I am still awaiting detailed information on electricity consumption.  I understand similar savings have been made.

I want to congratulate both officers responsible for the revamp and staff operating the pool for all the hard work.”

(iv)       From Cllr Looker

“While fascinated by the prospect of the nuclear history of York (presumably in the "nuclear bomb" sense rather than in the purer physics sense) does the Executive member feel confident that we are going to see a comprehensive plan for the City Archives coming our of Richard Taylor's work, and when does he hope to see this come to fruition, and to EMAP?”

            Reply

“Yes, I am confident that Richard Taylor will produce a comprehensive plan for the City Archives.  I think seconding him from the National Railway Museum has been a fantastic move for the city and really does offer us the opportunity to move forwards with the city archives. Richard understands better than most the national context for archives, and the need to be creative and imaginative about how they are made available to the public, residents, visitors and academic instituions around the world.  York has previously struggled because our vision for the archives was more about finding a home for a load of tricky and demanding old paper rather than a plan for opening up access to the city’s history. The scrutiny report on the archives challenged that lack of vision and set the course for appointing someone from outside the council to move the issue forwards.

York has an incredible collection of invaluable archival material, equal to the quality of our built historic environment, going back many hundreds of years, from documents concerning the running of the city to the reports produced by non-conformists, such as the Rowntrees, looking into poverty in the 19^th century. What we need is an imaginative plan for making these document available to the many. With the appetite for local history, and our plans for an expansion of the Central Library, and Richard Taylor’s input, I have every confidence that we can create a blueprint for a revitalised service that re-establishes the City Archive as a focus for civic pride. .

A report, containing an action plan to move things forwards quickly in the new year, will be coming to the Executive on 16^th December.  Rather than bringing a formal report to EMAP, I would propose a workshop on this issue at EMAP on 2^nd December to discuss to discuss the principles and opportunities so that the discussion can then inform the Executive meeting on 16^th December.”

(v)        From Cllr Ayre

“Could the Executive Member update us as to the user numbers at Acomb Library?”

            Reply

“Over the 12 months prior to closure for the refit, visitor numbers averaged 180 per day. Over the 8 months since the Library re-opened visits have averaged 428 visits per day.

These outstanding figures have been matched by the figures for new members at the library which have more than doubled since the new Acomb Explore Library opened its doors in February, from around 100 per month in 2007 to around 230 a month this year, with over 330 people applying for membership in last August.”

(vi)       From Cllr Kirk

“Could the Executive Member update us on plans to hold a Holocaust Memorial Day in York next year?”

            Reply

“Holocaust Memorial Day is the international day of remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust and the other many genocides that have taken place around the world both before the Holocaust and in the years since.

The day will provide a context for looking at our  collective past and reflecting on the misery and suffering human beings have brought on each other through hatred of difference.  It will provide an opportunity to motivate ourselves not to repeat the crimes of the past.

For York next January the theme will be that of Standing up to Hatred. A group, of which I, Cllr Looker and Cllr Crisp are members, has been meeting to develop plans for the central civic cermony on 27^th January which will, I hope, include among its participants both young and old, members of all faiths and none, and representatives from refugee groups in York.”