Agenda item

Questions to the Executive Leader and Executive Members received under Standing Order 10(c)

Meeting of Council, Thursday, 4 February 2010 6.30 pm (Item 82.)

To deal with the following questions to the Executive Leader and / or other Executive Members, in accordance with Standing Order 11.3(a):

(i) To the Executive Leader, from Cllr Alexander:

“Can the Leader of the Council please tell me what the monetary value is of the savings made subsequent to your meetings with the Council’s Efficiency, Procurement and Risk Management Champion?”

(ii) To the Executive Leader, from Cllr D’Agorne:

“What are the costs to CYC arising from the appointment of 6 'Renaissance team' staff (on costs, accommodation etc) and to whom are they accountable?”

(iii) To the Executive Leader, from Cllr Vassie:

“Does the Executive Leader agree that openness and transparency could be improved if the Council published details of all Freedom of Information requests and subsequent answers on its website? Would the Executive Leader agree to take a report to the Executive reviewing the costs and processes used in implementing the FOI Act locally together with options for improving the transparency and efficiency of the system?"

(iv) To the Executive Leader, from Cllr Alexander:

“Will the Leader of the Council ensure that this council writes to all other authorities in the country and asks them to adopt measures to support the Press’s Lifesavers campaign?”

(v) To the Executive Leader, from Cllr Merrett:

“Would the Council Leader explain why the requirement of the January 2008 Council decision that ‘bi-monthly update reports - copied to all Council Members - be submitted via the Group Leader / Shadow Executive / Executive process detailing progress made on the delivery of the Action Plan for tackling climate change within the Council’ has not been implemented, and will he now ensure the decision is belatedly implemented?”

(vi) To the Executive Member for City Strategy, from Cllr D’Agorne:

“What actions (beyond the current 'Fulford Corridor' highway works) might be put in place to address poor air quality in Fulford as a result of the declaration of an Air Quality Management Area?”

(vii) To the Executive Member for City Strategy, from Cllr D’Agorne:

“What information will you be providing to Fulford Rd/ Main St residents explaining the benefits of declaring their area as an AQMA in order to help them respond to the recent questionnaire in the ward newsletter?”

(viii) To the Executive Member for City Strategy, from Cllr D’Agorne:

“What is the timetable for citywide consultation on the draft LTP3 and measures that will reduce air pollution to meet the air quality limits for the city centre AQMA?”

(ix) To the Executive Member for Corporate Services, from Cllr Fraser:

“Can the Executive Member for Corporate Services provide details of the rollout of the planned new fibre-optic ICT infrastructure to all the Council's various buildings, including the priority for the various categories of buildings referred to in the email briefing to councillors sent out by the Head of IT last month?”

(x) To the Executive Member for Neighbourhood Services, from Cllr Firth:

"Can the Executive Member outline the Council's response to the severe weather situation over the Christmas period?"

(xi) To the Executive Member for Neighbourhood Services, from Cllr D’Agorne:

“Will she make available to members a full report of dates and times of gritting of cycle routes as well as roads and paths outside the 'priority network' and what work is planned to assess what can be learnt from accident records and injury claims arising from the recent icy weather?”

(xii) To the Executive Member for Children & Young People’s Services, from Cllr Waudby:

“Can the Executive Member tell Council how the Adoption Service performed in its recent Ofsted inspection?”

(xiii) To the Executive Member for Housing & Adult Social Services, from Cllr Fraser:

“Can the Executive Member for HASS tell us how he justifies his refusal to attend the recent meeting of the Health Scrutiny Committee to account for his stewardship of the part of his portfolio relating to Adult Social Services, and specifically to assist in the consideration of his own Executive's reference regarding the disturbing budget overspend in that department?”

(xiv) To the Executive Member for Leisure, Culture & Heritage, from Cllr B Watson:

“Can the Executive Member for Leisure, Culture and Heritage define the remit of the Heritage Champion and outline his work to date?”

(xv) To the Executive Member for Leisure, Culture & Heritage, from Cllr Holvey:

"The recent Active People Study showed a 6% increase in adult participation in sport from 19% to 25%. Could the Executive Member update Council on the current situation regarding Adult participation?"

Minutes:

Fifteen questions had been submitted to the Executive Leader and Executive Members under Standing Order 11.3(a). As the guillotine had now fallen, Members agreed to receive written responses to these questions. The questions and the written responses are set out bellows:

i) To the Executive Leader, from Cllr Alexander:

Reply

The council has made significant saving in recent years. Significantly exceeding the Gershon Efficiency Targets as set by Central Government, and has embarked on the More for York Programme. I am grateful for the time that the Efficiency Procurement and Risk Management Champion has put into the role, and he has played his part in supporting the change agenda which has resulted in the significant efficiencies that the council has made.

(ii) To the Executive Leader, from Cllr D’Agorne:

“What are the costs to CYC arising from the appointment of 6 'Renaissance team' staff (on costs, accommodation etc) and to whom are they accountable?”

Reply

The full costs of the posts – salary, National Insurance, and pension are being met by Yorkshire Forward who are also contributing to the recruitment and any training costs. As the host authority CYC is covering the accommodation - but this is from existing budgets and within 9 St Leonards Place.

The Head of Renaissance will report to Mike Slater AD Planning and Sustainable Development in City Strategy.

(iii) To the Executive Leader, from Cllr Vassie:

Reply

I agree that openness and transparency would be improved by the council publishing details of Freedom of Information requests and answers on the council website. I have asked officers to draw up a report to investigate how this can happen, and it is my hope that it will not only improve the operation of the Act but also save officer time in answering questions that have already been asked, and show to the public the nature of the questions that the council is answering on their behalf.

(iv) To the Executive Leader, from Cllr Alexander:

“Will the Leader of the Council ensure that this council writes to all other authorities in the country and asks them to adopt measures to support the Press’s Lifesavers campaign?”

Reply

I am very supportive of the Press Lifesavers Scheme as it will help to encourage more people to sign up for organ donation which will greatly help those waiting in desperate need. It has been an essential prompt to many people, myself included, I must admit, to get around to signing up to the NHS organ donation website, and letting relatives know that is what I want.

I will do my part as council leader in York to write to other councils to raise the profile of this campaign, and the national need to increase awareness.

(v) To the Executive Leader, from Cllr Merrett:

Reply

The motion from January 2008 predates the appointment of the existing Sustainability Officer and the recently appointed Sustainability Projects Officer, unfortunately there was a period when there were no sustainability officers in posts and the new officers were not aware of this motion. The AD Planning and Sustainable Development, apologises for this oversight.

There have however been a number of reports since April 2008 (to the Executive ,to the Without Walls Board and to the Environment Partnership Board)

· 22nd April 2008 - Executive - Carbon Management Programme - Strategy & Implementation Plan

· 27th February 2009 - Environment Partnership Board - Climate Change Update Meeting

· 3rd March 2009 - Executive - Carbon Management Programme Strategic Implementation Plan

· 12th May 2009 - WoW Board - Climate Change Framework and Action Plan – Presentation

· 8th September 2009 - Executive -Carbon and Energy Management Plan – Update

· 9th September 2009 - Environment Partnership Board 16th February 2010 - 10:10 campaign and Sustainability Update

* plus in 2008/09 - all LSP Partnership Boards received CC presentations

(vi) To the Executive Member for City Strategy, from Cllr D’Agorne:

“What actions (beyond the current 'Fulford Corridor' highway works) might be put in place to address poor air quality in Fulford as a result of the declaration of an Air Quality Management Area?”

Reply

Work on the Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) (i.e. what can be done to improve the situation) will commence once the Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) has been declared. As a precursor to the action planning process, the Environmental Protection Unit, which forms part of the Neighbourhoods Directorate, must carry out a source apportionment study for the area to gain a better understanding of sources of pollution in Fulford and the issues involved.

When this has been done it will be necessary to decide which source of pollution to target although it is possible that the current improvements to the Fulford corridor – which are aimed at encouraging the use of public transport and cycles – together with the changing emission profile of the vehicles in use in the City, will together result in a significant improvement in air quality

(vii) To the Executive Member for City Strategy, from Cllr D’Agorne:

Reply

I won’t be providing any as this matter is currently the responsibility of the Executive Member for Neighbourhoods.

I understand though that representatives from the Environmental Protection Unit will be attending the Fishergate and Fulford/Heslington Ward committee meetings to talk to residents about the implications of an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) in Fulford. Declaring an AQMA places a legal duty on the Council to develop an Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP). Measures in the AQAP will aim to bring about air quality improvement by reducing levels of nitrogen dioxide to acceptable levels (i.e. within health based objective levels). The main benefit is thus a long-term health benefit, which will be stressed to residents at the ward committee meetings.

(viii) To the Executive Member for City Strategy, from Cllr D’Agorne:

“What is the timetable for citywide consultation on the draft LTP3 and measures that will reduce air pollution to meet the air quality limits for the city centre AQMA?”

Reply

There will be three stages of public consultation for LTP3. The first has already been undertaken (in December) through Your City and a series of workshops. This stage consisted of gaining an understanding of the key challenges and influences that residents, businesses and partners considered should be taken into account in developing a strategy. The outcome of the consultation will be reported back through EMDS in March 2010.

The second stage will take place in April and will use Your City and workshops to consult on a series of strategy options, which will include to varying degrees, measures to meet air quality and climate change targets. This consultation will remain relatively broad in order to gauge public preference regarding the extent to which we should seek to implement measures. To that effect it will set out the implications and benefits of the options in delivering a range of outcomes, including improvements in air quality.

The third stage will take place in the Autumn 2010 and will be on the draft LTP3 which will include the preferred option and a range of measures associated with it.

(ix) To the Executive Member for Corporate Services, from Cllr Fraser:

Reply

The new network will have five hub sites - Central Library, St Anthony's House, York High School, St Oswald's School and Rawcliffe Park & Ride and will form the core back bone of the network.

The work to link the Council's Offices/Schools/Libraries and other locations to this new network is being undertaken in a cluster/location based approach to maximise the co-ordination of the on-street resources and minimize any disruption to the residents.

The project is scheduled for completion by the end of September 2010 and the work to migrate off the existing network over to the new system will be undertaken following consultation/agreement with the Departments/Services to minimize the impacts/risks of providing Services to Council's Customer base.

(x) To the Executive Member for Neighbourhood Services, from Cllr Firth:

"Can the Executive Member outline the Council's response to the severe weather situation over the Christmas period?"

Reply

I would like to put on record my thanks to all staff who worked so hard, many round the clock, to keep the City moving. Anyone out driving a gritter lorry at 8pm on Christmas Day or 5am on Boxing Day deserves our unreserved thanks.

Between 17 Dec 2009 and 10 Jan 2010; we experienced the worst winter conditions for around 25-30 years. During that period the temperatures, both day and night, rarely rose above freezing and dropped at times to –10 degrees C. In addition to this in excess of 35cm of snow fell on multiple occasions.

During that period:

o More than 10, 000 hours were worked with 50% of this on works outside the Winter Maintenance policy

o 4200 tons of Rock Salt was used compared to an average winter use of around 2500-3000 tonnes.

o 88 treatments of the priority network were completed compared to 20 gritting runs for the same period in 08/09. The 10 gritting routes have 2 teams of drivers who worked 12 hours on/12 hours off for 4 weeks.

o The 233 Salt bins have been filled and refilled 4 times

o Targeted treatments of schools, old peoples homes and post offices were undertaken outside the current requirements of the policy..

o Car Parks were ploughed and gritted twice and a mechanical clearance of snow and ice was undertaken outside of policy.

o Park and ride sites were gritted 3 times as requested by the P&R manager. This is not covered in policy.

o Cycle Paths were gritted 3 times. These are not budgeted within the policy.

o We started with around 2,600 tonnes of rocksalt in the salt barn at the eco depot and another 1000 tonnes pre-ordered. This would be more than enough to cope with the requirements of an average winter and well above the Government recommendation of at least 6 days supply. In addition a further 3000 tonnes of rock salt has been ordered but as the Government has now taken control of the salt supplies we are still waiting for 2300 tonnes to be delivered.

During the period more than 800 requests for service were received from members of the public, 86 of those from elected members. In the main these related to untreated footways, cycle ways, roads and the lack of accessible salt bins.

During the period:-

o changes were made to improve access our of normal office hours,

o from 23rd Dec the CYC website was updated daily with gritting and weather updates and improvements made to the information available on gritting routes and salt bins.

o Update emails to members on a nearly daily basis.

o Staff and members undertook at least 25 media interviews including one from New Zealand.

Staff are now busy filling the hundreds of potholes that have appeared and assessing all the implications that this period of severe weather has identified, both long and short term. This winter is far from over and we need to be ready for more snow.

(xi) To the Executive Member for Neighbourhood Services, from Cllr D’Agorne:

Reply

My previous answer outlines the magnificent work carried out by staff. Half of the 10,000 hours worked was off the priority network and this is recorded, in the first instance on an 18 page Excel spreadsheet.

Officers are reviewing all the information received from the emergency services, bus companies, members and members of the public along with the requests for gritting, snow clearance and extra salt bins as well as accident records to assess if any roads and footpaths need to be added to the winter maintenance regime on either a permanent basis or at times of particular bad weather.

(xii) To the Executive Member for Children & Young People’s Services, from Cllr Waudby:

“Can the Executive Member tell Council how the Adoption Service performed in its recent Ofsted inspection?”

Reply

I am delighted to report to council that the result of the recent inspection of the Adoption Service here in the City of York was an overall quality rating of 'good'.

Within that judgement, the Inspectors found that there is good provision for protecting children, that our provision for helping children to enjoy and achieve is good, and that the provision we make for helping children to make a positive

contribution is outstanding.

In the new Ofsted Inspection regime, gaining an outstanding judgement is very difficult to achieve and all the staff involved in the service deserve thanks an praise for the work that they do with this most vulnerable group. The Inspectors

acknowledged that there is an experienced and committed team, working efficiently. It is good to know that all sections of the community are welcomed without prejudice and equality and diversity are promoted.

The Inspectors noted that the service is clearly focused on the needs of children and that work to help children understand their histories and life stories is of an unusually high standard.

It is good to know that children who need this service are being so well-served by our Adoption Team and I would like to congratulate them all.

(xiii) To the Executive Member for Housing & Adult Social Services, from Cllr Fraser:

Reply

"I attended the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committees on the 2^nd December 2009 and gave a presentation to the Committee on progress on the issues of Safeguarding and Personalisation, important parts of my portfolio and essential elements of the improvement plan with which the Scrutiny Committee has been concerned. I was invited to the following meeting of the Committee on the 14^th December and agreed to attend in order to hear any views of the Committee on the More4York agenda which was due to be considered by the Executive on the following day.

At that subsequent meeting, the committee

RESOLVED: That the Executive Member/Leader be requested to provide details of the capital and revenue figures for Adult Social Services for the 2010/11 financial year to enable the Scrutiny Committee to discuss this matter at their meeting on 13 January 2010, in order to respond to the Executive’s request.

This minute was subsequently confirmed as correct at a later meeting of the committee.

The relevant section of the Scrutiny Review Procedure rules - para 2.1.1 (f) - reads as follows.

[Any Scrutiny Committee can "require any Councillor (including members of the Executive) or officers to attend a meeting to explain about matters within their remit. It is the duty of those persons to attend if so required and they may be required to answer questions relating to:

· any particular decisions or series of decisions

· the extent to which the actions taken implement Council policy

· their performance

All attendees must be informed of why they have been asked to attend, the date and time of the meeting etc etc".

The rules do not require an Executive member to attend a scrutiny meeting to discuss an issue which has yet to be considered or to discuss information which may be in an unpublished officer report. The 10/11 budget figures were not available on 13th January 2010.

Therefore the Scrutiny Committee request was contrary to the Councils constitution.

The papers for the Housing and Adult Social Services budget EMDS were published on Monday 18th January (4 days after the scrutiny meeting). At that point they were in the public domain.

They could have been called in for either pre or post decision scrutiny. They were not.

In additional, any member of the Council could attended an EMDS session and make representations. I realise that there is considerable frustration amongst some councillors due to the abolition of the Executive Member and Advisory Panel Meetings which created a forum for cross party pre-decision scrutiny. However, it is to overcome the shortcomings of the current scrutiny system, that councillors and members of the public can come to the Executive Member Decision Sessions and make public representations

(xiv) To the Executive Member for Leisure, Culture & Heritage, from Cllr B Watson:

“Can the Executive Member for Leisure, Culture and Heritage define the remit of the Heritage Champion and outline his work to date?”

Reply

The remit of the Heritage champion is defined in the constitution Pt 3b paragraph 11. I have had frequent discussions with Cllr. Taylor in regards Heritage issue in the city. It is both Cllr Taylor and my own position that while Heritage is contained with the portfolio of the Executive Member for Leisure Culture and Social Inclusion the importance of the issue cuts across most areas of the council and would involve specific conversation with all members of the Executive noticeably the Executive Member for City Strategy and the Executive Leader. Cllr Taylor also meets frequently with relevant officers in his role of champion. For more detail of the work of Heritage Champion Cllr Taylor has indicated he would be more than willing to brief members.

(xv) To the Executive Member for Leisure, Culture & Heritage, from Cllr Holvey:

Reply

The results from Sport England's Active People 3 research have been released. Active People is a national survey carried out by MORI which measures adults (aged 16+) participation in Sport and activity leisure. This is a national telephone survey which samples 1000 people in each authority area. The results of this research are used as a national performance indicator NI8 to measure Local authority performance in encouraging participation in sport and active leisure. It is an indicator which is included as a priority for York in our Local Area Agreement. The city's participation target in the LAA is 1% increase per annum.

I continue to have deep concerns with how these statistics are drawn. They specifically exclude for example any residents who do not have a land line telephone. They also only include people who are deemed active based on strict Sport England criteria. As such anyone who runs 2 marathons a week or cycles 5 miles to work and back everyday would not be included as active under this survey. Sport England have accepted many of the flaws in this methodology and this is reflected in the high margin of error associated with these results.

Active people 1 released in December 2006 questioned 1000 people in York about their sports participation over the previous 4 weeks. This indicated that 24.9% of the adult population in York participated in sport and active leisure activities for the recommended 3 x 30 minutes per week.

In December 2008 the interim Active people 2 results were released using a smaller 500 people sample. Such a small sample size appeared to provide an anomalous result which while providing impetus to the work we are doing on participation rates did not in our opinion provide a true picture of York. As originally intended these figures should be taken in conjunction with Active People 3 to provide a true comparison.

The Active People 3 results, released in December 2009 again used a 500 people sample with the view that they are used in conjunction with the Active people 2 data to give a 1000 sample size and a figure which is comparable to the original Active People 1 baseline figure. York's Active People 3 results indicate that 25.4% of York adults participate in sport 3 times per week for 30 minutes or more. ( + 6% ) However when taken cumulatively with the Active People 2 figure this shows that participation in 3x 30 minutes of sport per week is 22.9%. This is the figure that the city's participation will be measured on.

When taken in conjunction with Sport England's Margin of error this shows that there has been no statistically significant change from Active People 1 to Active People 2/3. When looked at in a national context York fairs above average. Nearly all local authorities showed no significant change, reflective of the fact that changing people's lifestyles is a long term rather than short term goal. It is clear though that Active People 1 and 3 place York in the top quartile nationally and our combined figure for Active People 2 and 3 places us second quartile.

Within these statistics as well significant improvement has been made in specific areas. When the results for Active People 1 were released, the figures which were of greatest concern were the difference in participation rates between those in lower socio economic groups, those aged 55+, and those with a limiting disability against the average adult population in the city. In the last 2 years the council and its partners in Active York have aimed to narrow these gaps.. We are delighted that the combined Active People 2 and 3 data shows some promising results. The gap in participation between the average in York and those aged 55+ has been reduced by 2%, and between those in socio economic groups 5 and above by over 3%. The biggest change is in the percentage of people with a limiting disability participating in sport 3 times per week for 30 minutes or more. This appears to have increased from 7% in Active People 1 to 16.3% in Active People 2/3.

Additionally, the findings from the latest data supports the continued priority the city is placing on encouraging its residents to become generally more physically active, at least for 30 minutes a day. This focus includes the sorts of sports activities measured above, but also has a wider reach, promoting activities such as dance, walking and cycling, gardening and conservation, play, and all forms of daily movement and exercise. With this in mind, the just 30 "Good News" campaign launches this week, carrying 3 very positive messages to the residents of the city

·You only need 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day to boost your happiness and health. As long as its done in 10 minute bursts or more this exercise can be anything

·Most people in York are close to hitting your target of 30 minutes a day so a little bit more, a bit more often shouldn’t be too difficult

·There are lots of easy ways you can reach your 30 minutes in York. Suggestions of things to try will be available on the website www.justafewminutesmore.com from 1st February and through monthly emails that you can sign up to and postcard offers which will be available in the coming months.