Agenda item

To consider the following Motions on Notice under Standing Order B10:

 

1)   Expanding Access to On-Street Electric Vehicle Charging in York

 

To be moved by Councillor Vassie

 

Council notes that:

 

·        The Government has announced a £25 million Electric Vehicle Pavement Channels Grant to support local authorities in installing cross-pavement charging solutions, including pavement channels and gully systems, enabling residents without off-street parking to safely charge electric vehicles from their homes.

·        Thousands of York households, particularly those living in terraced streets and properties without driveways, are unable to benefit from the convenience and lower cost of home electric vehicle charging.

·        York has established itself as a national leader in public rapid charging through the successful HyperHub sites at Monks Cross and Poppleton Bar Park and Ride, demonstrating the Council's ability to deliver innovative charging infrastructure.

·        The Council's Public EV Charging Strategy prohibits charging cables trailing across the public highway because of legitimate highway safety and accessibility concerns.

·        Advances in cross-pavement charging technology, alongside the creation of a dedicated Government funding programme, now provide an opportunity to address these concerns through engineered solutions designed to remove trip hazards while maintaining safe and accessible footways.

·        The Executive report on the replacement EV back-office contract confirms that future expansion of York's public charging network will come forward through separate Executive decisions, providing an opportunity to consider new forms of neighbourhood charging.

·        There are widespread concerns about the reliability of the existing public charging infrastructure.

 

Council believes that:

 

·        Residents without driveways should not be disadvantaged in making the transition to electric vehicles.

·        Expanding access to affordable home charging will support York's climate ambitions while helping residents reduce the cost of motoring.

·        Public rapid charging infrastructure alone cannot meet the needs of every resident, and a successful electric vehicle network requires a range of charging solutions.

·        Accessibility and highway safety must remain paramount. However, the existence of legitimate concerns should not prevent the Council from investigating new technologies specifically designed to address those concerns.

·        York should be proactive in pursuing external funding opportunities wherever they exist, particularly where they support the Council's climate, transport and affordability objectives.

 

Council therefore resolves to request that the Executive:

 

·        Welcome the Government's Electric Vehicle Pavement Channels Grant and commit to exploring opportunities for York to benefit from the funding.

·        Request officers to undertake a review of commercially available cross-pavement charging technologies, including pavement channels and gully charging systems, assessing their suitability for use within York's historic streetscape, together with their safety, accessibility, maintenance and legal implications.

·        Review the City of York Public EV Charging Strategy in light of recent Government policy and funding relating to cross-pavement charging technologies.

·        Identify suitable residential locations where a pilot scheme for cross-pavement charging could be introduced, subject to appropriate technical assessment and local consultation.

·        Work with the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, Government, distribution network operators and industry partners to maximise opportunities to secure external funding for neighbourhood electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

·        Produce a report to Place Scrutiny within six months setting out:

 

o    available funding opportunities;

o    potential pilot locations;

o    estimated costs;

o    technical and legal considerations;

o    accessibility assessments;

o    and recommendations for the future rollout of cross-pavement charging in York.

 

·        Include progress on neighbourhood and residential on-street charging as part of future updates on the implementation of the Council's EV Charging Strategy.

 

2)   Reaffirming York's Support for Corporate Parenting

 

To be moved by Councillor Coles

 

Council welcomes:

 

·        the Government's ambition for all children - regardless of background or start in life – to thrive and do well;

·        its introduction of initiatives such as ‘Best Start in Life’, with the aim to improve levels of child development by age 5, and the ‘Families First Partnership Programme’, with the commitment to improve outcomes by moving away from crisis response and into early intervention;

·        the Government's direct investment in young people with experience in the care system which includes: free dentistry, free ophthalmology and free prescriptions beyond 18 and up to age 25;

·        the Government's stated intention to cap profiteering in the children's care market.

 

Council notes:

 

·        its Inclusion and Belonging Strategy, approved last year, including detailed strategies to support and promote inclusion in school for all children, and further notes this Strategy gained greater validity by creating space to hear the voice of the child;

·        the positive transformation of York’s Corporate Parenting Board since 2023;

·        the transition from a Children’s Services that received an Ofsted inspection result of ‘Requires Improvement’ under the previous Liberal Democrat-Green administration to one of ‘Outstanding’ under the current Labour administration;

·        that a functioning and highly effective Corporate Parenting Board was cited as a contributing factor to that ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted judgment;

·        the MacAllister Report and what it says about Corporate Parenting and championing the voice of children in care;

·        York’s Corporate Parenting Board has a crucial role in championing children in care through strengthening their voice and connecting it with their corporate parents in the local authority, health, police, education and other public bodies;

·        Corporate Parenting is one of the most important roles local councillors perform, including the duty to do everything they can to support both children who are in the care system and those on the edge of it;

·        York’s Corporate Parenting Board exists to maintain independent, critical oversight for the care of our children and young people;

·        that one of the first acts of Reform-led Wakefield Council was to cut their Corporate Parenting Committee in the name of 'cutting waste'.

 

Council resolves to:

 

·        commit to maintaining a Corporate Parenting Board;

·        ask People Scrutiny Committee to consider creating a Task and Finish Group focused on Corporate Parenting in order to explore what is working well in York and suggest any measures that could further improve the support offered;

·        condemn Reform UK’s view that councillors’ work supporting children in care is a 'waste';

·        request the Council Leader write to Children and Families Minister Josh McAllister MP, to request that Corporate Parenting Boards be made statutory for all Local Authorities with responsibilities for Children’s Services;

·        request that its representatives at the LGA work with that organisation to encourage councils, regardless of political balance, to join City of York Council in campaigning to make Corporate Parenting Boards a statutory obligation for all Local Authorities.

 

3)    Enhancing services for Young People in York

 

To be moved by Councillor Baxter

 

Council welcomes:

 

·        the successful rollout of the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme in York, which in 2025 saw significantly higher take-up than the national average;

·        the setting up of York Youth Partnership last year – and its express aims to ensure young people have safe places to be with their friends; a range of activities to take part in; are supported by people with the right skills;

·        the Government's actions to tackle the threat faced by children online, through the Online Safety Act 2023 and its 2025 provisions;

·        the more recent announcement last month of the Government’s intention to ban social media for under 16s in 2027;

·        the Government’s commitment to Youth Hubs across the whole country and its ‘Youth Guarantee', with £1bn to be invested to unlock over 200,000 paid jobs for young people, with a ‘Jobs Guarantee’ to be expanded to ages 18-24;

·        a National Youth Strategy - the first in two decades,- including: investing in youth workers, volunteers and trusted adults (£15m over 3 years); improving youth work qualifications and access to youth work apprenticeships; and providing £70m over 3 years to help local councils rebuild and improve Youth Services.

 

 Council notes:

 

·        that between 2010 and 2023 local spending on Youth Services across England fell by 73%, to £1.2bn lower than in 2010, resulting in the closure of more than a 1,000 Youth Centres and the loss of more than 4,500 youth workers;

·        that the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) is financially stretched and cannot be expected to deliver youth services without financial support, but that York does have good examples of partnership working such as ‘The Place’ in Westfield;

·        that a lack of activities and positive role models outside the family unit can lead to children being exploited both in physical and online spaces, and also to antisocial behaviour;

·        the excellent work of Art of Protest in Acomb and Westfield supporting children and young people’s activities there, while fostering a sense of belonging in their communities;

·        the Millburn Review highlighting issues faced by young people trying to enter the workforce and an appreciation of how Youth Services can support young people to develop skills to help them in a competitive jobs market;

·        that whilst York has low numbers (3.3%) of young people Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) relative to national and regional averages, we should do all we can to reduce this number.

 

Council resolves to ask the Council Leader, together with the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, to write to the Government seeking a commitment to:

 

·        scale up Young Futures Hubs to deliver the Government’s manifesto commitment to open access support in every community – integrating therapeutic interventions, GPs, family support, employment advice, and youth programmes under one roof;

·        expand the new Richer Young Lives Fund into York communities that have so far missed out on Government investment, due to the current funding formulae;

·        accelerate plans to rollout Youth Hubs.

 

and requests People Scrutiny Committee convenes a Task and Finish group to investigate:

 

·        the setting up of a Local Covenant Partnership Programme to support civil society, working with councils and providers, to expand provision for young people;

·        unlocking match-funding and encouraging place-based philanthropy to support more sustainable funding for youth services;

·        Government investment in new and existing youth facilities, through the expansion of our Better Youth Spaces programme, working with communities and partners to make better use of underused spaces.