Selby and Ainsty Area Constituency Committee
Minutes of the meeting of the Selby and Ainsty Area Constituency Committee held at the Civic Centre, Selby on Friday, 26th April, 2024 commencing at 10.00 am.
Present:
Members:-
Councillors Melanie Davis in the Chair, John Cattanach, Stephanie Duckett, Tim Grogan, Andrew Lee (Virtual attendance), Cliff Lunn, John McCartney, Bob Packham, Andy Paraskos, Kirsty Poskitt (Virtual attendance), Jack Proud, Steve Shaw-Wright and Arnold Warneken.
Apologies:
Apologies for absence were submitted by Councillors Karl Arthur, Mark Crane and Mike Jordan.
Officers:
Steve Loach, Paul Preston and Dawn Drury (Democratic Services), Karl Battersby, Corporate Director, Environment, Vikki Flowers, Head of Environmental Protection, Dr Kevin Carr, Divisional Officer, Regulatory Services, John S Lee, Strategic Planning Officer, Education and Skills (Virtual attendance), Duncan Ferguson, Regeneration Manager, Economic Development, Matthew Robinson, Head of Resilience and Emergencies.
Other Attendees: .
Keir Mather MP, his Office Manager and a Political Assistant, Amanda G Scrimgeour, Programme Manager, North Yorkshire and East Riding of Yorkshire and Lifelong Learning Lead for Groundwork Yorkshire and Tracey Sugden, Groundwork Yorkshire.
There was 1 member of the public present.
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Copies of all documents considered are in the Minute Book
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55 |
Welcome, introductions and apologies
The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Arthur, Crane and Jordan.
Councillors Lee and Poskitt joined the meeting remotely via MS Teams.
Following a restructure within the Democratic Services team, the Chair announced this would be the last meeting of this Area Constituency Committee (ACC) that Steve Loach, Principal Democratic Services Officer would be attending as he was now undertaking a different role in the organisation. Members of the ACC thanked Steve for his hard work and dedication and wished him well in his new role.
The Chair further introduced Paul Preston, Senior Democratic Services Officer to his first meeting of the Selby ACC. Paul would be providing the lead democratic services support to this Committee moving forward.
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Minutes of the Meeting held on 19 January, 2024
That the minutes of the meeting held on 19th January, 2024, having been printed and circulated, be taken as read and be confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.
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Declarations of Interest
Councillors Shaw-Wright and Warneken declared personal interests in minute 60 (Groundwork) as Board Members of Groundwork.
Councillor Shaw-Wright declared a personal interest in Minute 62, as members of his family were employed as primary school teachers in the Selby area.
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Public questions and/or statements
There were no public questions or statements received.
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59 |
Constituency MP Keir Mather
The Chair introduced and the Committee welcomed Keir Mather, the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Selby and Ainsty Constituency Area. Mr Mather was accompanied at the meeting with his office manager and a political assistant.
Keir Mather MP commented on current events including the forthcoming Mayoral election for North Yorkshire and York, and that having a Mayor as a single voice for the region, with the responsibility the office including transport and investment was to be welcomed.
He also spoke of dialogue he had had with Cllr Carl Les, OBE, the Leader of North Yorkshire Council on matters affecting the Selby Area. Flooding, public transport and other public services, such as no pest control offer in Selby area but still offered in Richmondshire and Ryedale legacy Council areas.
He also talked about a need for developing better co-ordination on cross-border issues with the South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire Mayoral Authorities.
He further talked about boundary changes and the specific change to the current Selby and Ainsty Constituency boundary.
He mentioned a Cost of Living support event to be held in Selby and Sherburn;.on-going work in Westminster, ministerial visits to the Constituency and that he was to shortly visit Selby Hospital. He added he had processed over 5,000 pieces of Casework since he was elected on many issues such as housing. He also mentioned running a “Selby Shoutout” competition, highlighting the good work of businesses in the Selby area.
Looking ahead he mentioned he would be meeting with the Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police and also would meet with Richard Flinton, Chief Executive of North Yorkshire Council and with Councillor Carl Les, OBE,the Leader of North Yorkshire Council.
In Parliament, although a date was not known as yet, there would be a forthcoming General Election. There were also some key pieces of legislation around the Rwanda Bill and Tobacco currently going through Parliament, which would be followed by the summer recess.
Councillor Paraskos commented that his area also covered Spofforth, Lower Wharfedale to Tockwith as part of the Ainsty Constituency area.
Councillor Shaw-Wright commented on the work that the MP had done around schools and for updating the ACC on matters.
Councillor McCartney commented regarding affordable housing and asked what was the Labour party going to do to build affordable housing. The MP commented that as a young person himself he was acutely aware of the urgent need to progress affordable housing provision in the Selby area.
The Chair, Cllr Davis added she wanted to see more social housing provided.
Councillor Warneken commented he would still continue to sit on the Selby ACC moving forward unless North Yorkshire Council made Constitutional changes to the ACC in the future.
Resolved – That Keir Mather, MP be thanked for his attendance at the meeting, his updates and responding the ACC’s questions and comments.
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60 |
Groundwork North Yorkshire
The Area Constituency Committee was informed that:
· Groundwork had successfully delivered summer playschemes in Goole (3 years) and Hessle (1 year) and programmes of activities in Leeds (5 years);
· Funding had been obtained from various sources: HAF, Wind Farms, Health Service, Local Authorities;
· The playscheme in Goole would be targeted at families requiring reliable, quality, secure provision for 30 children aged 7 – 11 from 29 July 2024 – 24 August 2024 from 9 am – 3 pm;
· There was a need across the region for provision that was reasonably priced for families who would otherwise not be able to afford summer childcare.
· Lunches would be supplied for children in receipt of free school meals; breakfast and snacks for all children;
· Sessional, qualified staff would deliver a structured programme around the environment, health and well-being and life skills (team building, confidence, leadership skills etc);
· An innovative programme would be put in place to enable children to engage, learn new skills, make friends, and have fun in an outside environment which was good for their mental and physical health, resilience etc.
The Committee was informed that Groundwork Yorkshire was proposing to replicate the Goole scheme in Selby for 30 children utilising Selby Park over summer 2024. The cost of full programme is £27,000. Groundwork Yorkshire had applied to FEAST for £4,114.75 and income from parents (£10 a week – based on 20 parents) would be £800, which left a balance of £22085 required. It was added that a reduced programme could be provided if full funding was not available.
Members discussed the proposed scheme and whilst supportive of it, advised Amanda and Tracey that the Area Constituency Committee (ACC) did not have a specific budget that it could use to contribute to this scheme. Whereas there was a £50k pot for economic development SEED funding per ACC, this was ringfenced for specific economic development purposes.
Councillor Shaw-Wright enquired whether any NEET funding for the project could be obtained, however was informed by Amanda this project didn’t meet the criteria for that source of funding.
The Committee noted the current shortfall in funding and discussed and explored potential sources of alternative funding that Groundwork could pursue. Each llor Elected Members had a Councillor Locality Budget, however it was for each individual Councillor to determine what projects they wished to support in their respective areas. Other potential funding sources mentioned for Groundwork to explore including the Not in Education, Employment and Training (NEET).
Resolved –
That the Committee thanks Amanda and Tracey from Groundwork for their detailed and informative presentation and wished Groundwork well in securing the necessary funding for the Go Wild Selby Summer Playscheme 2024 project. .
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Air quality in the Constituency Area
Vikki Flowers, Head of Environmental Protection and Dr Kevin Carr, Divisional Officer, Regulatory Services attended the meeting to present this item.
Members considered the report of the Corporate Director, Environment which sought the Committee’s comments and views on the draft of the North Yorkshire Council Air Quality Action Plan (2024 – 2029) which was a statutory document that updated and combined the AQAPs from the former Borough and District Councils within North Yorkshire.
Dr Carr gave a detailed power-point presentation to the Committee which highlighted the following matters:
· Local Air Quality Management; · Pollutants of Concern; · Pollutants of Concern in North Yorkshire; · NO2 Measured using Diffusion Tubes; · Objective Level Exceedence - AQAP · Air Quality Management Area – AQAP; · 7 Separate AQAP’s in North Yorkshire produced by former Borough / District Councils – requires review every five years; · The AQMA’s; ØBond End, Knaresborough; ØYork Place, Knaresborough; ØWetherby Road, Harrogate; ØLow/High Skellgate, Ripon; ØBedale;
· Progress and Impact of Measures to address air quality in North Yorkshire; · Present and Future AQ work; · Environment Act 2021;
Following the presentation, Dr Carr invited and responded to Members’ questions, comments and concerns on Air Quality.
Members made a number of comments including suggestions where pollutant monitoring tubes could be potentially located in the Selby area. Dr Carr added much work was done in consultation and co-operation with the work Public Health colleagues undertook, such as around schools. There was also a wider Steering Group that Dr Carr was a member of that he was able to feed into cross-service issues.
Dr Carr added there were approximately 600-700 monitoring tubes situated across the County and the tubes were portable and could be relocated where need was assessed and identified from some of the existing sites.
The ACC was further advised that there was further information on Air Pollution located on the NYC website: Air quality in your area | North Yorkshire Council
Dr Carr invited any further queries and comments to be sent to him post-meeting Members of the ACC could also send their questions via Paul Preston, the ACC Democratic Services lead.
Resolved: (a) That Dr Carr be thanked for his detailed and informative presentation and answering questions thereon; and
(b) The Committee’s comments and views on the draft of the North Yorkshire Council Air Quality Action Plan (2024 – 2029) as outlined at this meeting be noted.
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Schools, Educational Achievement and Finance
Members considered the report of the Corporate Director, Children and Young People’s Services which informed Members of the local educational landscape, educational achievement and the financial challenges which affected schools in the Selby & Ainsty constituency committee area.
Regarding the local education landscape, where are now 21 primary academies and 5 secondary academies within the Selby and Ainsty constituency area. The academy conversion rate for primary schools was similar within the constituency area when compared to the County as a whole (41.2% compared to 39.1% in North Yorkshire.) The academy conversion rate for secondary schools was higher (83.3% compared to 67.4% in North Yorkshire).
John S Lee, Strategic Planning Officer, Education and Skills attended the meeting remotely and responded to Members questions, comments and concerns at the meeting.
The Chair, Vice-Chair and Cllr Shaw-Wright and Packham raised questions and queries on specific educational issues and the number of NEET across all ACC areas.
The Chair specifically commented on the following matters:
Page 91 of the agenda document pack – Early Years Foundation Stage profile and development levels in the Selby area, did Covid-19 affect this? Mr Lee stated he would refer the query to his colleague Amanda Newbould for a written response post-meeting.
Paragraph 3.4 – useful to see Comparator information with all former North Yorkshire legacy district and borough Councils, can this be further broken down into local authority schools and Academies.
Paragraph 3.5 – can we track the cohort of children whose education was interrupted by Covid-19? Mr Lee responded he would follow this up with colleagues?
Page 93 – NEET – Chair commented new money available for NEET pupils, but none coming to Selby, it would be useful to understand how the criteria was assessed as to where the monies were allocated.
Paragraph 4.1 – Suspension incidents table – most common reason showing as “Skipton and Ripon” in final column, was this a mistake? Clarity sought post meeting.
Question – Is NEET provision assessed in the same way as schools by OFSTED? Mr Lee would provide clarity post-meeting.
Page 94 (paragraph 4.3) – Pupil Support Pathways: Multiple Exclusions – comment the CAHMS provisions seem stretched.
Point 5 – SEND provision – pupils awaiting an EHCP plan – is this the total figure ? Or are there more to be added (e.g. parents who have registered for an EHCP, but he EHCP has not yet been undertaken.
Comment – Members receiving feedback from parents relating to EHCP – reporting multiple instances of poor communication from officials in the Children and Young People’s Services directorate.
Page 96 – Elective Home Education – how many of the total figure relates to parents of SEND children?
Page 99 – Level of Funding for Selby – ranked 141 out of 150, who is pursuing this inequality at NYC on Selby’s behalf?
Paragraph 7.4, Schools in Financial Difficulty – comment 8 schools currently in financial difficulty (9 last year) – are they the same schools? We need some more additional support for those schools that are having financial difficulties.
Paragraph 8.9 – Mentions local primary schools’ provision in Selby, but what about Secondary Schools? No new schools, what does it take to trigger the building of a new secondary school? Mr Lee responded that NYC looked at both Primary and Secondary School provision though both housing and the Local Plan. It would require an influx of a lot of new people/children to an area to trigger proposals for a new secondary school.
Cllr Packham commented on some school issue within his ward and that now that North Yorkshire had a single Unitary Council there was a need for further Education input into the Local Plan process, for example attendance at Development Plan meetings.
Councillor Shaw-Wright commented that Early Years attainment had reduced from 2018 to 2023 across the Selby and Ainsty area, Key Stage 2 (KS2) had reduced attainment, whereas Key Stage 4 (KS4) was holding its own.
Councillor Poskitt enquired whether there was any lag in the data provided, especially in terms of EHCP’s. She added she would forward some more questions and queries on to Mr Lee post – meeting.
Mr Lee undertook to ascertain the information requested and respond to ACC Members post-meeting.
(Cllr McCartney left the meeting during consideration of this item).
Resolved:-
(1) That the report be noted.; and
(2) That Mr Lee provide a written response to the ACC post-meeting on those questions raised that required input from other education colleagues.
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Area Constituency Committees - £50k per ACC seed funding pot for Economic Development
Duncan Ferguson, Regeneration Manager, Economic Development attended the meeting and provided a verbal update regarding the Area Constituency Committee (ACC) - £50k Seed Funding Pot for Economic Development. Mr Ferguson recapped on work undertaken so far, including an online workshop attended by some of the ACC Members in February, 2024, where priorities of focus to concentrate on the service areas of Sherburn, Tadcaster and Selby were put forward and a wish that whatever projects were eventually supported, that it would leave a legacy with a preference for capital build initiatives. Three key themes had been identified; Heritage and the Arts; Public Transport and Social Enterprise. Mr Ferguson reiterated there was £50k seed funding from 2023/24 and another £50k from 2024/25 that needed to be allocated. He also stressed the need for decisions to be made sooner rather than later with the anticipation that contracts for agreed works to be allocated by no later than the end of September, 2024. Accordingly, he requested further Councillor input into the development of specific proposals and suggested a small short-term Member Task and Finish Group to identify and prioritise several projects and then bring those proposals back to the next meeting of the Area Constituency Committee in June, 2024 for consideration and for the ACC to agree a priority list of projects. The Committee felt this was a positive way forward and the Chair invited Councillors across the whole membership of the ACC for volunteers to serve on the task and Finish Group and that the opportunity be also provided to serve for other Councillors who were not present at this stage of the meeting. Councillor Warneken commented on a meeting he had attended recently by the Harrogate and Knaresborough ACC and the need now to progress decisions in a timely manner so schemes could be agreed and contracts awarded. In response to a question from Councillor Lee regarding the political composition of the Task and Finish Group membership, the Chair stated all Members present at this meeting had been offered the opportunity to serve on this Task and Finish Group if they so wished. Resolved – (1) That the report be noted; and (2) That Councillors Davis, Packham, Poskitt, Proud and Shaw-Wright, along with Councillor McCartney (who had left the meeting at this stage), from the Task and Finish Group.
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Public Transport
Members considered an update on both bus and rail matters raised at the last ACC meeting within the geographical area covered by the Selby and Ainsty Area Constituency Committee. Regarding bus matters, the following information had been circulated to all Members of the ACC which had been provided by Andy Clarke, Public and Community Transport Manager who was not present at the meeting. The ACC was informed that minor changes to the Coastliner 840/843 timetable took effect from 7 April 2024 – the retiming of some journeys to improve timekeeping. Also, proposals had been submitted to the Department for Transport (DfT) for the initial funding allocation that were received for bus services following the cancellation of the HS2 rail project. This included plans to cap bus fares for under 19s at £1 and timetable improvements to several bus routes including the Selby – Sherburn – Leeds corridor and Selby – Tadcaster. It was anticipated these plans would be implemented by early summer, 2024. Regarding Rail matters, Graham North, Rail Strategy and Performance Officer, York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority (YNYCA) had provided the ACC Members with a written update on the matters that were reported to the January, 2024 meeting of the ACC. The Chair commented regarding station usage and the c50% drop in people using South Milford Station and wandered if this was down to less trains stopping or structural issues? The vice-chair commented on a recent meeting she had undertaken with Transdev, the impact of the Coastliner service from Leeds to Scarborough in the busy summer period and also of the £2 single fare tickets to attract more people to bus use. Resolved:- That the report be noted.
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65 |
New free SEND school, Selby
Members had been circulated with a written report on progress by Chris Reynolds, Head of SEND Strategic Planning and Resources. On 9 April 2024 the planning application for the Selby SEN School was discussed at the Strategic Planning Committee meeting.
The report presented to that Committee by the Planning Officer, concluded that the provision of a SEND school would result in public benefits for Selby Area and the surrounding area, resulting in wider community benefits. The recommendation to Planning Committee was to grant planning permission of the proposal, subject to some conditions.
Committee members had a lengthy discussion regarding the visual impact of the building, the speed limit of the road network around the school, and the security of the site.
The Strategic Planning Committee resolved to Delegate to the Planning Development Manager (Selby Area), in consultation with the Chair and Vice-Chair, to Grant Planning Permission following the conclusion of discussions between the applicant and Local Planning Authority on the colour of the proposed cladding to the building, and updated conditions.
Following the committee meeting, the amended conditions have been drafted and are awaiting agreement. Discussions were also being entered into with the applicant regarding the proposed colour palette.
Once the above items have been agreed by all parties, a decision notice would be issued.
Resolved:-
That the report be noted.
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North Yorkshire Council's (NYC) role in responding to and recovering to emergencies
Matthew Robinson, the Council’s Head of Resilience and Emergencies attended the meeting and gave a power-point presentation on NYS’s role in responding and recovering to emergencies, which highlighting the following matters:- Responsibilities of multi-agency partners; Responsibilities of North Yorkshire Council; Elected Members role in emergencies and Community Resilience within the Area Constituency Committee Area. The presentation went on to highlight: · Civil Contingencies Act 2004; · Communicating Risks to York and North Yorkshire; · North Yorkshire Councils in Emergencies; · Elected Members role in integrated emergency management; · Area Committees – Resilience and Emergencies Officers contact details; · Concept Community Resilience Profile; · Community Emergency Plans – Selby and Ainsty ACC Mr Robinson talked about restructures following local government reorganisation within local engagement and community safety teams and other on-going departmental restructures which would help with better and improved co-ordination for resilience and emergencies work. He also informed the ACC that each locality area had assigned to a dedicated Resilience and Emergency Officer. The person who was covering Selby ACC area was Wendy Muldoon. Mr Robinson also asked if the ACC would like to consider an Annual Report of work undertaken in its area. The ACC welcomed this offer and would include an item on its future Work Programme. Members made several comments including the importance of regular refresh/update of plans; communication with key stakeholders such as Town and Parish Councils; and local engagement; local radio stations and information on the Council’s websites and the need to keep information up to date. In response, Mr Robinson stated that there would be some Emergency and Resilience Community events which would be held in the respective Central, East and West areas. It was currently anticipated these events would take place in early 2025. (Cllr Grogan left the meeting at the start of this item as he had to travel to Harrogate to Chair a Council Licensing meeting that afternoon). Resolved – (1) That the presentation, and issues raised, be noted; and (2) That an Annual Report be presented to the ACC at a future date.
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Work Programme
Considered –
The report of the Assistant Chief Executive (Legal and Democratic Services) providing a Work Programme for Members to consider, develop and adapt.
A Member commented that now the work of the Police and Crime Commissioner for York and North Yorkshire had ceased and responsibility passed to the newly elected York and North Yorkshire Mayor, perhaps future reports from the Mayor’s Office could be requested?
A Member requested a further update on the progress of Water Quality following on from the motion considered by Full Council on the matter?
The Chair requested a written update be obtained and circulated to Committee Members on progress on enforcement matters.
Announcement – the Office manager to Keir Mather MP, with the Chair and meeting’s permission informed the ACC that the MP would be meeting with the Minster for State for Rail in May. He added if any ACC Member or Member Constituents had anything they wished the MP to raise with the Minister, to get in touch with the Constituency Office. He also updated the ACC on Flooding issues which had been raised and provided an update that the MP had tabled a written question with DEFRA. He updated Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) were promised £75m in funding at the NFU event in January, 2024 by the Prime Minister. Grants were due to be allocated in June 2024.
Resolved –
(i) That consideration be given to the use of a variety of meetings to assist with delivery of the Work Programme;
(ii) That further consideration be given as to the items to be considered at the next meeting of the ACC at the forthcoming mid-cycle briefing.
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Such other business as, in the opinion of the Chairman should, by reason of special circumstances, be considered as a matter of urgency
None.
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The meeting concluded at 12.45pm.