North Yorkshire Council
Harrogate and Knaresborough Area Constituency Committee
8 June 2023
Committee Work Programme
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Purpose of Report To ask Members to consider, amend and add to the Committee’s work programme.
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1. Remit of the Committee
The remit of the Area Constituency Committees is detailed in Appendix 1 of the ACC Ways of Working report.
2. Work Programme Items
The intention is for the Committee to develop a work programme that:
· is owned by the Committee
· has items on it that are important locally but relevant at a strategic, county level
· evolves over time and is not static.
The Committee Chairman, Vice-Chairman and the Democratic Services Officer will keep the work programme up to date and determine which items need to be considered at a public committee meeting and which could be picked up elsewhere.
Alternative ways of dealing with issues that come to the Committee could include:
- Referral to an officer at the Council for a response;
- Referral to the Democratic Services Officer to conduct further research to ascertain whether it was appropriate for the committee to review;
- Referral to Council Overview and Scrutiny;
- Referral to the Chairman and Vice-Chairman to consider, outside of a formal committee meeting;
- Referral to the appropriate Executive Member to consider.
3. Follow up to meetings
- The following has been circulated after the meeting on 16 March:
- Harrogate Active Travel Strategic Project Map
- Response from Yorkshire Water to questions from the Committee
*It was also agreed that a visit for members to Bilton Treatment Works would be arranged.
The following further work has been identified since the meeting:
- Yorkshire Water be invited to attend a meeting of the Committee once a year, prior to the end of 2023 with technical (engineer) representation
- The Environment Agency be invited to attend a meeting of the Committee to consider water quality in the river Nidd
- Defra be invited to a meeting of the Committee to consider proposals to help clean up the river Nidd
- The following has been circulated after the special meeting on 5 May
- Further information received from Harrogate District Cycle Action about Harrogate Station Gateway
4. Potential Future Work
- Community and Voluntary Sector in the Town of Harrogate - To be introduced by Councillor Chris Aldred
At the ACC on the 16th March, following an update from NYC Stronger Communities, it was noted that the Community and Voluntary Sector in the Town of Harrogate faced particular challenges in the transition to new arrangements as a result of the absence of a Town Council and the need to co-design the role and function of any future Community Anchor organisation. Cllr Peter Lacey and Cllr Sam Gibbs committed to consult with other members of the ACC to set out a proposed terms of reference for this group. Having met with Cllr Pat March, Cllr Chris Aldred, Cllr Mike Schofield and with input from Liz Meade (Stronger Communities), as well as receiving expressions of interest from other Harrogate Town ACC members, the following proposal is now being made.
- That a working group of the ACC is established with the following terms of reference:
- To assure itself, and thereby the ACC, that funding for community and voluntary sector organisations serving the residents of the Town is not jeopardised by the absence of a Town Council.
- To engage with any voluntary sector organisation that it considers to be at particular risk.
- To receive progress reports from Stronger Communities on the process to design and establish a Community Anchor function for the Town of Harrogate.
- To consider how the ACC and its members can best support grass-roots community groups within the Town during this transitional period
- To learn from existing good practice within the ACC and wider to inform the development of a stronger community and voluntary sector for the people of the Town in the future.
- It is proposed that the working group is made up of five Councillors representing Harrogate Town Divisions and proportional to political group representation and that it meets at least every six months, or more frequently if the proposed agenda requires. The terms of reference and continuation of the group would be reviewed in the light of any decision to establish a Town Council for Harrogate in unparished areas.
- Historic work programmes of the former District and Borough Councils O&S Committees
In January 2023 the collation of items from the former District/Borough Council O&S Work Programmes was undertaken. This would enable them to be brought to the attention of the relevant new NYC O&S Committees and/or Area Constituency Committees as appropriate for consideration. Any matters relating specifically to O&S Committees have been referred to those Committees (See below). The former Harrogate Borough Council Overview and Scrutiny Commission had agreed not to undertake larger reviews in the final year prior to reorganisation. It had previously expressed an on-going interest in some areas where perhaps in depth reviews in the work programme may be appropriate in the future. The Commission therefore maintained a “watching brief” as part of the work programme on the following and Members were provided with relevant updates:
· Local bus provision - Transport, Economy, Environment and Enterprise Scrutiny Committee
· Sports pitches - Scrutiny of Health or Corporate and Partnerships or Transition Committee
· Use of agency workers - Corporate and Partnerships (If service specific – i.e. looking at Children’s Social workers could be an item for a specific Committee, e.g. Children and Families)
· Contract tendering/procurement - Corporate and Partnerships
· Double taxation/parish precept - Scrutiny Board or Corporate and Partnerships
- Informal Briefings
The following informal session is proposed:
- Local Transport Plan - 29 June 2023 at 10.30 am
- Work Programme
The Committee’s work programme is at Appendix 1.
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Recommendation Members are asked to consider, amend and add to the Committee’s work programme.
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Democratic Services
North Yorkshire Council
Background documents: None