Agenda item

Motions on Notice

To consider the following Motions on Notice under Standing Order 22:

Motions submitted for consideration directly by Council, in accordance with Standing Order 22.1

(i) From Cllr D Myers

Ethical Care Charter

“This Council notes that the UNISON Ethical Care Charter sets minimum standards to protect the dignity and quality of life for people who need homecare. It commits councils to buying homecare only from providers who give workers enough time, training and a living wage, so they can provide better quality care for thousands of service users who rely on it.

This council recognises the important job that carers do and believes that the time allocated to visits should match the needs of the clients. Clients should be allocated the same homecare worker wherever possible and zero-hours contracts should not be used in place of permanent contracts. Homecare workers should be paid for their travel time, travel costs and other necessary expenses. Visits should be scheduled so that homecare workers are not forced to rush their time with clients or leave their clients early to get to the next one on time.

This Council asks the Corporate Director: Health, Housing and Adult Social Care to prepare a report for the Executive setting out the Council's current position in the different areas covered by the Charter, and the implications of signing up to it, to inform a plan for City of York Council adopting the Charter.”

(ii) From Cllr Carr

Channel 4

“Council notes:

That a consultation has recently closed soliciting views as to what extent Channel 4, a statutory body owned by the government, could more effectively contribute to regional growth, including questions as to whether all or part of its operations should be relocated outside of London;

There is enthusiasm throughout Yorkshire to position itself as the future home of all or part of Channel 4 should developments warrant;

That within Yorkshire, the Leeds City Region, and York itself would represent an ideal location for any such transfer of Channel 4 operations either in part or in full;

Council therefore resolves to take a proactive role in any decisions regarding the results of the consultation in order to position itself to work on behalf of bringing Channel 4 to Yorkshire and invites officers to maintain both a watching brief on developments and to put together preliminary plans to be able to respond in a timely matter to the potential outcomes of the consultation, including working with other organisations similarly enthusiastic about relocating Channel 4 to Yorkshire.”

(iii) From Cllr Cullwick

Mental Health

“Council notes that:

· Mental health issues will affect 1 in 4 people at some point in their lives

· Over 5,000 people in Yorkshire and the Humber could be affected by mental health issues

· Mental health issues can shorten life expectancy in some cases by 15 to 20 years

· There is often a direct link between mental health and issues such as housing, employment, family problems or debt

· There is a growing consensus that it is unacceptable to treat people with mental health conditions any differently from those with physical health conditions.

Council welcomes:

· The £200,000 investment into mental health services as part of the 17/18 Council budget, including training for Youth Health Champions and a Ways into Work scheme.

Council resolves:

· To ask the Health and Well Being Board to work closely with the Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group, the Tees, Esk & Wear Valley Mental Health Trust and the local voluntary sector to support a fair deal for people with mental health conditions – including support for the Mental Health Concordat http://www.crisiscareconcordat.org.uk/about/

· To lend its support to the Executive Member for Health and Adult Social Care in championing mental health care, within her remit, fighting for the interests of those with mental health issues

· To write to the Secretary of State for Health asking him to ensure that mental health has parity of esteem with physical health throughout the health service and is funded accordingly.”

(iv) From Cllr S Barnes

Universal Credit, Citizens Advice York and York Financial Assistance Scheme

“Council has concerns regarding the implementation of Universal Credit Full Service (UCFS) in York and the possible impact on the city’s residents.

Council further notes the inquiry launched by the parliamentary Work and Pensions select committee, and recognises the ‘serious concerns’ identified by the committee, including:

· Claimants waiting 12 weeks or more for their first payment, resulting in hardship and distress.

· Vulnerable claimants struggling to adapt to receiving UC as a single monthly payment.

· The seven waiting days at the start of a claim, for which claimants receive no benefit, adding to claimants' financial difficulty.

· Rent arrears amongst UC claimants rising.

· Poor communications between landlords, support organisations and the Department for Work and Pensions where UC ‘full service’ is operating.

· UC inadequately supporting claimants in emergency temporary accommodation.

Council also regrets the fact that Citizens Advice York (CAY) is being forced to halve the number of days it is able to offer advice sessions to York residents due to funding difficulties at the same time as demand for help is expected to escalate.

Council has significant concerns that the implementation of UCFS will significantly impact on the level of rent arrears for the council’s own housing stock.

Council resolves:

To request the relevant director to urgently produce costed options for presentation to the Executive or relevant Executive Member Decision Session for consideration and decision.

To further request the options presented to include:

· An option to provide temporary, urgent financial support to CAY to enable it to continue offering the full four-day service of advice sessions (that was available to citizens in York until recently) for at least the first 12 months following full implementation of UC;

· An option to provide dedicated drop-in outreach sessions around the city for clients encountering difficulties with UCFS

· An option to provide a dedicated housing officer available during such sessions to liaise with CAY advisers to help facilitate an early warning system where rent arrears as a result of the implementation of UCFS may lead to evictions

· Proposals to increase the awareness and uptake of the York Financial Assistance Scheme (YFAS) – Including: the ability for third party advocacy groups to make applications on behalf of residents; and, the ability for individuals or advocates to make YFAS applications online.”

Minutes:

Motions submitted for consideration directly by Council, in accordance with Standing Order 22.1

(i) Ethical Care Charter

(proposed by Cllr D Myers and seconded by Cllr Shepherd)

This Council recognises the important job that carers do and believes that the time allocated to visits should match the needs of the clients. Clients should be allocated the same homecare worker wherever possible and zero-hours contracts should not be used in place of permanent contracts. Homecare workers should be paid for their travel time, travel costs and other necessary expenses. Visits should be scheduled so that homecare workers are not forced to rush their time with clients or leave their clients early to get to the next one on time.

An amendment was proposed by Cllr Runciman, and seconded by Cllr Fenton, as follows:

“Remove the following words from the last sentence:

“to inform a plan for City of York Council adopting the Charter”

On being put to the vote the amendment was CARRIED.

A vote was then taken on the original motion, as altered by Cllr Runciman’s amendment, which was also CARRIED and it was

Resolved: That the original motion, as altered by Cllr Runciman’s amendment, be approved as set out below: ¹

(ii) Channel 4

(proposed by Cllr Carr and seconded by Cllr Galvin)

“Council notes:

There is enthusiasm throughout Yorkshire to position itself as the future home of all or part of Channel 4 should developments warrant;

That within Yorkshire, the Leeds City Region, and York itself would represent an ideal location for any such transfer of Channel 4 operations either in part or in full;

On being put to the vote, the motion was CARRIED.

Resolved: That the motion be approved. ²

(iii) Mental Health

Councillor Cullwick sought Council’s consent to alter his motion to include Cllr Craghill’s proposed amendment.

“Under ‘Council welcomes’ add second bullet point:

· The first steps towards a long overdue comprehensive Mental Health Strategy for York.

Under ‘Council resolves’ add fourth bullet point as follows:

· To work through the Health, Housing and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee to closely monitor progress towards improved mental health services in York - taking into account the challenge to provide high quality hospital and community based services for all, in the context of a wider local health system facing financial crisis.”

Council agreed to the motion as altered above for debate, so that it now read:

“Council notes that:

· Mental health issues will affect 1 in 4 people at some point in their lives

· Over 5,000 people in Yorkshire and the Humber could be affected by mental health issues

· Mental health issues can shorten life expectancy in some cases by 15 to 20 years

· There is often a direct link between mental health and issues such as housing, employment, family problems or debt

· There is a growing consensus that it is unacceptable to treat people with mental health conditions any differently from those with physical health conditions.

Council welcomes:

· The £200,000 investment into mental health services as part of the 17/18 Council budget, including training for Youth Health Champions and a Ways into Work scheme.

· The first steps towards a long overdue comprehensive Mental Health Strategy for York.

Council resolves:

· To lend its support to the Executive Member for Health and Adult Social Care in championing mental health care, within her remit, fighting for the interests of those with mental health issues

· To write to the Secretary of State for Health asking him to ensure that mental health has parity of esteem with physical health throughout the health service and is funded accordingly.

A vote was taken on the motion, as altered to incorporate the words of Cllr Craghill’s amendment, which was CARRIED and it was:

Resolved: That the original motion, as altered, and set out above, be approved. ³

(iv) Universal Credit, Citizens Advice York and York Financial Assistance Scheme

(proposed by Cllr S Barnes and seconded by Cllr Derbyshire)

“Council has concerns regarding the implementation of Universal Credit Full Service (UCFS) in York and the possible impact on the city’s residents.

Council further notes the inquiry launched by the parliamentary Work and Pensions select committee, and recognises the ‘serious concerns’ identified by the committee, including:

· Claimants waiting 12 weeks or more for their first payment, resulting in hardship and distress.

· Vulnerable claimants struggling to adapt to receiving UC as a single monthly payment.

· The seven waiting days at the start of a claim, for which claimants receive no benefit, adding to claimants' financial difficulty.

· Rent arrears amongst UC claimants rising.

· Poor communications between landlords, support organisations and the Department for Work and Pensions where UC ‘full service’ is operating.

· UC inadequately supporting claimants in emergency temporary accommodation.

Council has significant concerns that the implementation of UCFS will significantly impact on the level of rent arrears for the council’s own housing stock.

Council resolves:

To request the relevant director to urgently produce costed options for presentation to the Executive or relevant Executive Member Decision Session for consideration and decision.

To further request the options presented to include:

· An option to provide dedicated drop-in outreach sessions around the city for clients encountering difficulties with UCFS

An amendment was proposed by Cllr Cuthbertson, and seconded by Cllr Reid, as follows:

“ Under Council resolves:

Delete ‘costed options for presentation to the Executive or relevant Executive Member Decision Session for consideration and decision,’ add ‘an assessment for presentation to the relevant Executive Member Decision Session. This assessment should set out practical measures that the council and its partners could quickly put in place to mitigate the risk of residents being adversely affected by the introduction of UCFS’

Delete ‘To further request the options presented to’ add ‘this assessment should include, but not be limited to’

Delete, from the first bullet point, ‘An option to provide temporary, urgent support to enable it to continue offering the full four day service of advice sessions (that was available to citizens in York until recently) for at least the first 12 months following full implementation of UC add ‘ Options for the provision of additional financial or other assistance to CAY and/or other partners to support access to drop-in outreach sessions for clients encountering difficulties with UCFS’

Delete, the second bullet point , ‘An option to provide dedicated drop-in outreach sessions around the city for clients encountering difficulties with UCFS’

Delete from the third bullet point, ‘ An option to provide a dedicated housing officer available during such sessions to liaise with CAY advisers to help facilitate an early warning system, add ‘ Options for an ‘early warning system’ to be put in place through which Housing Officers can quickly and easily signpost residents to sources of help and support’

Delete the word ‘Proposal’ from the fourth bullet point and replace ‘Options’. Add in the word ‘Scheme’ after Assistant.

On being put to the vote the amendment was CARRIED.

A vote was then taken on the original motion, as amended above, which was CARRIED and it was:

Resolved: That the original motion, as amended above, and set out in full below, be approved. ⁴

“Council has concerns regarding the implementation of Universal Credit Full Service (UCFS) in York and the possible impact on the city’s residents.

Council further notes the inquiry launched by the parliamentary Work and Pensions select committee, and recognises the ‘serious concerns’ identified by the committee, including:

· Claimants waiting 12 weeks or more for their first payment, resulting in hardship and distress.

· Vulnerable claimants struggling to adapt to receiving UC as a single monthly payment.

· The seven waiting days at the start of a claim, for which claimants receive no benefit, adding to claimants' financial difficulty.

· Rent arrears amongst UC claimants rising.

· Poor communications between landlords, support organisations and the Department for Work and Pensions where UC ‘full service’ is operating.

· UC inadequately supporting claimants in emergency temporary accommodation.

Council has significant concerns that the implementation of UCFS will significantly impact on the level of rent arrears for the council’s own housing stock.

Council resolves:

To request the relevant director to urgently produce an assessment for presentation to the relevant Executive Member Decision Session. This assessment should set out practical measures that the council and its partners could quickly put in place to mitigate the risk of residents being adversely affected by the introduction of UCFS.

This assessment should include, but not be limited to:

· Options for the provision of additional financial or other assistance to CAY and/or other partners to support access to drop-in outreach sessions for clients encountering difficulties with UCFS.

· Options for an ‘early warning system’ to be put in place through which Housing Officers can quickly and easily signpost residents to sources of help and support where rent arrears as a result of the implementation of UCFS may lead to evictions

· Options to increase the awareness and uptake of the York Financial Assistance Scheme – Including: the ability for third party advocacy groups to make applications on behalf of residents; and, the ability for individuals or advocates to make YFAS applications online.”