Agenda item

Members are asked to consider the Committee’s updated work plan for the municipal year 2012/13. As part of this agenda item they are also asked to consider a number of briefing notes in relation to proposed scrutiny topics and to make a decision as to which, if any, of these topics they would like to progress to review during this municipal year. Officers will be in attendance at the meeting to answer any questions that Members might have.

Members considered a report which presented them with the Committee’s work plan for 2012-13. Attached to the report were ten briefing notes on Scrutiny topics that had been proposed at a Scrutiny Work Planning Event on 2 May 2012.

Briefing Note 1-Developing Packages to Help People Being Made Redundant to Start Their Own Businesses

Members felt that an update on this work in a few months was more useful than conducting a scrutiny review on the topic. They therefore requested that an item be added to their work plan for consideration in two months time and agreed to not progress this topic to review.

Briefing Note 2- How Can Local Shopping Centres Contribute to the Wider Economic Well-Being of Their Community?

Members felt that this was an important topic to look at, and suggested  that one potential focus for any review could be around  areas of deprivation in the city. They agreed that they should review this topic and in the first instance set up a Task Group (membership to be confirmed) to set a focus and scope the review.  The Committee requested that this Task Group bring a scoping report back to the December meeting.

Briefing Note 3- Green Travel Plans

In reference to the proposed topic on Green Travel Plans, Officers spoke about the i-Travel York programme. The programme looked at how to engage and influence businesses in the city with regards to encouraging sustainable travel. Officers informed Members that a large amount of work was already being done on the programme. Some Members suggested that, as a result of this, a review should not be conducted on the topic but that an overview report on the situation be put on the Committee’s work plan to be considered next municipal year.

Briefing Note 4- Renewable Energy Generation within the City of York

Regarding the topic on “Renewable Energy Generation within the City of York”, some Members felt that more reports were needed on the Green Audit Process, but that this would not warrant a scrutiny review in itself. Although Officers informed Members that information on the process was already available and could be circulated to the Committee, some Members felt that a report should be written in order for it to be publicly visible. To this effect, they asked that a six monthly update on this matter be added to the Committee’s work plan.

Briefing Note 5- Housing Stock-How is it Meeting the Changing Needs of a Growing Population?

Members felt strongly that a Task Group (membership to be confirmed) should be set up to review issues surrounding the topic. They asked that the Task Group do some work around focusing this review and bring a scoping report back to the December meeting of this Committee.

Briefing Note 6- City Centre Retail Health

Members felt that proposed topic on City Centre Retail Health) should not be selected as a topic for review at the present time as they could not immediately see where they could add any value.

Briefing Note 7-Local Enterprise Partnerships

In relation to the LEPs topic, Members suggested that instead it might be beneficial to look at the possibility of working alongside Scrutiny Committees in neighbouring Local Authorities to conduct joint work on this topic. Some also recommended that the Chair of the Committee could carry out some liaison work with the Chairs of these Committees. Members felt it would be more helpful to continue receiving bi-monthly  progress reports on LEPs.

Briefing Note 8 – Women Working in York: Impact with Lack of Childcare or Independent Care

Councillor Douglas attended the meeting to present her submitted topic which was “Women working in York: Impact with lack of childcare or independent care”. She spoke about how there was a lack of available childcare in the evening, and that recent changes to tax credits had reduced the amount that could be used to pay for childcare. She added that those women who worked in lower paid jobs often could not pay for childcare as a result of the tax credit changes.

In response to comments from Members and Officers, she explained that she wanted to specifically focus on those women who wanted to work in the evening. It was noted that greater scoping work would be necessary, and some Members suggested that public engagement could be used in a review based on the topic. Members requested that a Task Group be set up to scope this review and a scoping report on the topic be considered at their December meeting.

Briefing Note 9- Reinstating the York to Beverley Rail Link

Some Members felt that this proposed topic was not a credible topic to look at mainly as much of the infrastructure for this route no longer existed.

Briefing Note 10- Post Development Adoption Procedure

Councillor Watt spoke about the reasons for submitting this scrutiny topic. Some Members shared his concern that there were areas of the city which still did not have adopted roads. Officers explained to Members that it was often down to the choice of developers on whether to adopt the highway within the development, and that this often affected the costs that residents would have to pay for their properties. As a result of this, developers did not have a strong incentive to go through the process.

Following a vote, it was decided that a scrutiny review on Post Development Adoption Procedure should not be carried out.

Work Plan

In relation to the attendance of the Cabinet Member for Transport, Planning and Sustainability at the Committee’s meeting on the 25 September 2011 it was requested that this be moved on the Work Plan to a potential meeting in December.

RESOLVED:       (i)      That the briefing notes be noted.

                             (ii)      That the work plan be noted and that the

following items be added to the Committee’s work plan;

·        Bi-monthly reports on the progress of LEPs.

·        A further update on information relating to the “Developing Packages to help people made redundant to start their own businesses”.

·        Scoping report on “How can local shopping centres contribute to the wellbeing of society”-December meeting.

·        A six monthly update report on Renewable Energy Generation within the City of York.

·        A scoping report on Housing Stock – how it is meeting the changing needs of a growing population’ to be brought to the December meeting

·        A scoping report on “Women working in York: Impact with lack of childcare in the evening” to be brought to the December meeting.

RESOLVED:                          To keep the Committee’s work plan up to date.¹