Agenda item

To receive a written report from the Leader and to consider the following Executive recommendations for approval:

A – Executive Leader’s Report

A written report was received from the Executive Leader, Cllr Aspden, on the work of the Executive.

B – Executive Recommendations

Cllr Aspden moved, and Cllr D’Agorne seconded, the following recommendations contained in Minute 20 of the Executive meeting held on 23 July 2020 and Minute 42 of the Executive meeting held on 1 October 2020:

Capital Programme Outturn 2019/20 and Revisions to the 2020/21 – 2024/25 Capital Programme

Recommended:  That Council approve the re-stated 2020/21 to 2024/25 programme of £600.615m, as summarised in Table 3 in paragraph 92 of the report and detailed in Annex A.¹

Reason:              To enable the effective management and monitoring of the council’s capital programme.

Capital Programme - Monitor 1, 2020/21

Recommended:  That Council approve the adjustments resulting in a decrease of £12.827m in the 2020/21 budget, as detailed in the report and contained in Annex A.

Reason:              To enable the effective management and monitoring of the council’s capital programme.

On being put to the vote, the recommendations were declared CARRIED and it was

Resolved:            That the above recommendations be approved.²

Urgent Business: Devolution for York and North Yorkshire and Unitarisation - Update

Cllr Aspden confirmed that he was content to accept the amendment from Cllr Crawshaw to the recommendations contained in Minute 52 of the Executive meeting held on 22 October 2020.

Cllr Aspden then moved, and Cllr D’Agorne seconded, the amended recommendations, as follows:

Recommended:  That Council:

(i)      Note the letter from the Secretary of State (Annex 2 to the report) and the issues as set out in the report.

(ii)      Approve the submission to Government of a case for City of York Council remaining a unitary on its existing footprint.

(iii)     Delegate authority to the Interim Head of Paid Service to make a submission, in line with the decision above, within the Government’s timescales.

(iv)    Approve the submission of a Strategic Partnership Agreement with North Yorkshire (Annex 4), which proposes areas of potential joint working between City of York Council and a new North Yorkshire unitary council to support efficient local government in the region, following consideration by Scrutiny and well in advance of the Government’s final deadline for submission.

(v)     Approve the submission of Devolution ‘Asks’ (Annex 1, as approved by Executive on 23 July 2020) alongside the unitary submission, subject to the permissibility within this process, in order to progress devolution discussions with Government as quickly as possible.

Reason:     To ensure that an appropriate response, which benefits York, is submitted to Government within the required timescales.

A named vote was then taken on the recommendations, with the following result:

The recommendations were therefore declared CARRIED and it was

Resolved:  That the above recommendations be approved.³