Agenda item

To receive a written report from the Executive Member for Finance, Performance, Major Projects, Human Rights, Equality and Inclusion, and to question the Executive Member thereon, in accordance with Standing Orders B9 and B10.

A written report was received from Cllr Lomas, Executive Member for Finance, Performance, Major Projects, Human Rights, Equality, and Inclusion.

Members were then invited to question the Executive Member on her report. Questions were received from the floor from the following Members in relation to the subjects listed and replied to as indicated:

Council Tax

From Cllr Steward: There are three views on council tax, that it should be frozen as advocated by Keir Starmer a year ago, that there should be an increase such as 5% as is the current labour government policy, or that there should be no cap, in which camp is the Executive Member?

Response: I am happy to talk about our approach to council tax. What we would like to do is to make sure the council can continue to provide the services that our residents need and rely on. What I would prefer to do with council tax personally is less relevant to this conversation. I think we will be forced into a position to increase council tax in order to safeguard those frontline services that our residents rely on so much.

Supplementary from Cllr Ayre: How much precisely would that 5% increase raise and how much of that would be offset against increased in contract costs as a result of the National Insurance increases?

Response: I will write to you with those figures.

Supplementary from Cllr Ayre: Do you agree with my assertion that probably about 2.5% of the council tax increase will go directly on the national insurance cost of contracts?

Response: I have answered your question.

Affordable Housing on York Central

From Cllr Taylor: Concerning affordable housing on York Central, can the Executive Member explain how plans have changed over the last year and how she sees the role of social housing helping meet the housing needs of York residents on this site?

Response: This is a really important issue for residents of York. We have entered productive discussions with all the partners in the York Central partnership and we are now looking at not the 20% affordable housing that was originally planned but in fact we are looking at ways that we can double that amount to providing 40% affordable housing on that site. It is an exciting development that actually delivers for the people of York and gives the opportunity for ordinary people in York to be able to live in their own city which is something that we are all very concerned about at the moment.

Supplementary from Cllr Healey: I believe the Leaders report had a figure of up to 50% should the figure that the council should be holding you to account for be 40, 50 or 20?

Response: The original plans for York Central were 20%. Your previous administration agreed 20% so that is the figure which you can hold us to account on but I am telling you that we are ambitious for our city and so we are going to go further than that.

Banking Hubs

From Cllr Coles: I wanted to pick up on the great news about the banking hub for Acomb that was recently confirmed and to ask the Executive Member if she could outline how Councillors locally had contributed to this ambition and why it is so important for residents living in the immediate Westfield, Acomb and Holgate areas and perhaps she could add anything else that could be done to support banking hubs across the city so that we can deliver better financial support for residents.

Response: The news that the last bank branch in Acomb Front Street was closing was a devastating blow to a lot of local residents but also to the other businesses in that busy high street area. Councillor Waller started a petition to encourage the Halifax not to close their branch but unfortunately that was a business decision that they had already made. I pay tribute to Councillors Rose, Coles, and Nelson for the work that they did with Cash Access UK to ensure that they were able to consult widely with residents, with businesses and with community groups in the area. I pay tribute to the work that Councillor Taylor did in reaching out to Cash Access UK to make sure that Acomb was on their list for a banking hub. I pay tribute to the work that everyone did in making sure that Acomb was not forgotten when sadly the last bank branch was closed. We have other areas in the city where we have high street shopping areas that are out of the city centre that have lost their bank branches already and I think that’s a great model for how other ward councillors can reach out to Cash Access UK to link working with them on that public consultation and making sure that the strength of feeling is known. Banks will not necessarily change their minds about closing on the strength of a petition that is submitted to them, but we have an alternative and it is important that we look at the future and really engage with that alternative.

Supplementary from Cllr Steward: Isn’t there a great opportunity for building societies to potentially be encouraged into some of those gaps? Could we as a council potentially reach out proactively to some of those societies?

Response: Previously there were a number of building societies located in Acomb Front Street as well and they also closed their branches over a period of time. I think that it is clear that these building societies which offer banking facilities are taking similar approaches to the other high street banks in centralising their branch structures. I note that some of them have made pledges about not closing branches, but I suspect they will take the same approach of not wanting to reopen branches in those areas. If there are any links that we can make to encourage branches of banks or building societies which offer banking facilities to open anywhere in our out of city centre shopping areas, then we absolutely will do.