NORTH YORKSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

16 February 2022

STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN OF THE TRANSPORT ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

The Transport Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee has a remit that includes the following:

· Transport and communications infrastructure of all kinds, however owned or provided, and how the transport needs of the community are met

· Supporting business, helping people develop their skills, including lifelong learning

· Sustainable development, climate change strategy, countryside management, waste management, environmental conservation and enhancement flooding and cultural issues.

There has been one meeting of the committee and one Mid Cycle Briefing since my last statement to Council.

The Mid Cycle Briefing held on 9 December 2021 looked at the matters relating to highways management.

The proposed 20mph policy was reviewed ahead of it being taken to the meeting of the Executive on 11 January 2022.  The Executive had previously approved the 9 recommendations of this committee at their meeting on 24 November 2020.  The members present at the Mid Cycle Briefing were supportive of a policy that was evidence-led and based upon risk rather than see the imposition of blanket or default 20mph zones across the county.  It was good to see that in-depth scrutiny that the committee had undertaken on the application of 20mph speed limits had helped to shape policy.

Linked to the discussion outlined above was an update on the policy framework for the management of road safety matters and the specific criteria that is used to determine when road safety interventions are needed and what interventions are considered.  This was in response to concerns that had been raised by a Parish Council. 

At the meeting of the committee on 20 January 2022, the following matters were considered:

· National Highways update on maintenance and improvement activity

· York and North Yorkshire LEP Annual Update

· Update on the implementation of the North Yorkshire Local Flood Risk Management Strategy

· The refreshed Planning Enforcement and Monitoring Policy.

The theme that linked these was around place shaping and the role that the Council has to play in that process.  Those members present raised the following as matters of concern or interest:

· The need for Highways England to progress some key road safety and development projects as a matter of urgency, particularly on the A64

· A renewed and long term focus upon developing a skilled local workforce that enables a range of businesses to establish and develop in the county which offer higher wages, ongoing development and a defined career pathway

· The scrutiny arrangements of the work of the LEP to be enhanced, particularly as it goes through a period of significant change with local government review, devolution and the Levelling Up white paper

· Interest in enabling greater public involvement in providing local information on flood risk as part of the planning process

· Questions as to what further work can be done upstream with the natural environment to prevent flooding downstream and what mechanisms can be put in place by communities downstream to reward or incentivise efforts made upstream.

The next meeting of the committee is on 13 April 2022 and is likely to have the following items on the agenda:

· The 2020 road casualty figures in North Yorkshire and initiatives undertaken by the Road Safety Partnership

· North Yorkshire County Council’s Plan for Economic Growth

· Overview of the national bus service improvement plan and what this means locally

· An overview of the national changes to kerbside waste collection and domestic and commercial waste processing and what this will mean locally.

This will be the final meeting of the committee in this Council and falls within the pre-election period, ahead of the 5 May 2022 County Council elections.  As such, the agenda is under review to ensure that is conforms to the pre-election period guidance.

Finally, I would like to take the opportunity to thank all of the members of the committee and supporting officers who have enabled the scrutiny work to be undertaken over the past 5 years.  I am proud of the work that has been done and the role that the committee has had to play in the development of key policies.

COUNTY COUNCILLOR STANLEY LUMLEY

CHAIRMAN TRANSPORT ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

27 January 2022