North Yorkshire Council
Executive
Minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 18 November 2025 commencing at 11.00 am.
Councillor Carl Les in the Chair. Councillors Gareth Dadd, Richard Foster, Michael Harrison, Simon Myers, Heather Phillips, Janet Sanderson, Malcolm Taylor and Annabel Wilkinson.
In attendance: Councillors Alyson Baker, Caroline Dickinson, Andrew Lee, Karin Sedgwick and Andrew Williams.
Officers present: Richard Flinton, Karl Battersby, Gary Fielding, Nic Harne, Pete Thorpe, Richard Webb, Barry Khan, Daniel Harry, Elizabeth Jackson, Catriona Gatrell, Will Boardman, Chris Watson and Matt Roberts (R).
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Copies of all documents considered are in the Minute Book
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789 |
Apologies for Absence
An apology for absence had been received from Councillor Mark Crane.
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790 |
Minutes of the Meeting held on 4 November 2025
Resolved
That the public Minutes of the meeting held on 4 November 2025, having been printed and circulated, be taken as read and confirmed by the Chair as a correct record.
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791 |
Declarations of Interest
Councillor Michael Harrison declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in Minute 793 as his employer was listed within the Treasury Management Quarter 2 report. As he had previously been granted a dispensation by the Standards Committee he remained in the meeting room and took part in the debate and vote on the item.
Councillor Gareth Dadd declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in Minute 793 in relation to second homes. As he had previously been granted a dispensation by the Standards Committee he remained in the meeting room and took part in the debate and vote on the item.
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792 |
Public Questions and Statements
There were no public questions or statements.
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793 |
Q2 Performance Monitoring and Budget Report
Considered – A joint report of the Chief Executive and Corporate Director Resources bringing together key aspects of the Council’s performance on a quarterly basis.
The Executive Member for Corporate Services, Councillor Heather Phillips, introduced the report which covered the period 1 July 2025 to 30 September 2025 and drew Member’s attention to the Housing Landlord Services Performance Supplement which had been produced as an additional report to highlight progress made in the areas of compliance and repairs. The Executive Member made the following key points:
Key performance highlights: · Telephone call answering times had shown significant improvement and were performing below the original target set. · Tourism and cultural services were currently performing strongly. · Highways customer service requests were being handled more efficiently. · Children’s social care referrals had improved. · Early help and reablement services were delivering positive outcomes, ensuring timely interventions and improved outcome.
Areas of concern: · Benefits processing times were affected by backlogs from system convergence downtime · Homelessness remained a concern · Issues around Disabled Facilities Grants were now being addressed. · Bins and waste services were still adjusting to new systems. · Increased use of short-stay care home beds · School permanent exclusions rising
The Leader welcomed Members of Scrutiny Board to the meeting. In response to questions to Executive Members from Scrutiny Chairs and Member Champions the following was confirmed:
Thriving Places and Empowered Communities The Executive Member for Culture, Arts and Housing reported that homelessness prevention remained challenging as people presented with less time for intervention, though this hadn’t yet led to an increase in temporary accommodation use. Additional resources were being deployed to clear the backlog of Disabled Facilities Grants. Cultural attractions had welcomed over 80,000 visitors, with satisfaction ratings exceeding 90%.
· Summer reading challenge participation rose by 6%. Libraries would support the 2026 national year of reading with events including an adult reading challenge and a new mobile library would launch in January, visiting an additional 20 rural communities.
· It was suggested that when providing planning statistics separating applications determined within statutory timeframes from those agreed under extensions would provide clearer reporting. This approach would be considered, though it was noted that extensions were agreed with applicants, often where information was missing, and keeping to statutory timeframes might lead to increased refusal rates or withdrawals.
Sustainable and Connected Places · The Allerton Waste Recovery Park had been shut down for 44 days last year for repairs. Options to divert waste during maintenance periods were limited because alternative sites were often fully booked and the priority was to minimize shutdown days and keep the facility operating as many days as possible.
Safe, Healthy and Living Well The Executive Member for Health and Adult Services noted the positive impact of the occupational therapy assistant role, which had reduced waiting times for council services. The reliance on short-term beds was concerning, with the average stay being nearly 17 weeks. It was noted that this raised welfare concerns and costs exceeded available funding.
· Whilst timeliness of assessments was above national and statistical neighbour averages, completion times had increased due to record numbers of contacts at the front door, and also from police and health services. Actual referral numbers were falling and practice incentive training was being implemented to improve timeliness.
· Numbers of child protection plans were at a ten-year high, reflecting societal pressures and rising deprivation. A shift in the deprivation profile of North Yorkshire showed more were living in the 30% most deprived communities and fewer in the least deprived, which was an indication of when families would come under strain. Thresholds were being reviewed and early help provided where needed.
· The “Good” rating with an overall score of 81 out of 100 following the recent CQC inspection of Health and Adult Services was commended, placing North Yorkshire equal third nationally. An action plan was being developed to address areas for improvement, including workforce, transport, home care and housing, and work continued on extra care and supported housing for younger adults with mental health needs and disabilities.
Maximise Potential · Schools were adapting to the increased use of Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans by deploying specialist staff, investing in training, and working closely with the Council and external agencies. The Council would continue to advocate nationally for fair funding and it was noted that North Yorkshire remained one of the lowest funded authorities for high needs, ranking 146 out of 151. The importance of ensuring that funding followed identified need was highlighted.
One Council · It was not possible to benchmark the four-minute telephone answering target against other authorities as comparable data was not available. Performance had improved significantly, and use of the Council’s website was increasing, over four million page views had been recorded.
Housing Landlord Services Performance Supplement The Executive Member for Culture, Arts and Housing referred to the supplemental report on Housing Landlord Services, which had been included to provide information on progress and challenges in managing council housing stock. Following the merger of three stockholding authorities, the Council had self-reported to the Regulator due to a lack of data, which was essential for effective management. Void properties remained a major challenge, particularly in the former Selby district, and additional resources were being deployed to upgrade older housing stock, and this had contributed to a backlog of voids. Void properties had reduced Housing Revenue Account (HRA) income by £1.4 million. The Executive Member reminded Members that the HRA operated separately from the general fund and was not subsidised by council tax. All costs were funded by tenants through rent. The long-term HRA plan covered a 30-year period with a budget of approximately £260m for repairs and improvements, and current overspends should be viewed in that context.
Revenue Budget, Treasury Management and Capital Plan
The Executive Member for Finance and Resources, Councillor Gareth Dadd, introduced each section of the report, and reported an overspend of £8m at the end of Quarter 2. This was equivalent to 1.2% of the total budget for the year. There was a forecasted overspend of £15m at year end for Children and Young People’s Service, £8m of which was from child placement. Health and Adult Services were showing an overspend of £2.5m, Community Development an underspend of £3.4m and Environment a £1.1m overspend largely due to a fall in car parking income. Resources and Central Services were showing a £3.4m underspend due to the release of a £5m pay and inflation reserve as national pay awards and inflation were lower than expected.
The Executive Member for Children and Families reported that this quarter presented a concerning set of figures mainly relating to the rising numbers of looked-after children and child placements. It was noted that more children were entering care than leaving, creating significant pressure on foster care capacity. While the Council aimed to place North Yorkshire children with local carers, the increased complexity of some cases had led to the use of external placements, which had increased from three to nine, with some placements costing over £1 million per child per year due to high staffing ratios required. It was highlighted that the care market was inefficient, demand exceeded supply, and local authorities were competing for limited places. The Executive Member described management plan actions to address pressures, including challenging providers, creating additional places, and recruiting more foster carers. Longer-term reforms focused on placing children with friends and family. More immediate actions included practice demand management to safely mitigate risk, refining risk assessments, and strengthening early help to ensure families received timely support.
Executive were requested to approve a recommendation for £1.36m funding from the LGR reserve to fund the Customer Engagement Platform. This would include the replacement of telephony and the customer relationship management database, and would pay for itself after 8 years while providing opportunities for further savings.
In relation to Treasury Management the Executive Member highlighted that interest earned had outperformed against the benchmark and Executive noted thanks to the Audit Committee for its work on this.
Resolved
That the Executive
(i) Approve the refreshed Capital Plan summarised at paragraph 4.2.3. (Unanimous)
(ii) Approve the proposed committing of £2m of Strategic Capacity reserve to fund any overspend relating to the Selby Transforming Cities scheme and the delegation of the approval to draw upon that £2m to the Corporate Director – Resources in consultation with the Executive Member for Highways and Transportation and the Executive Member for Finance as summarised at paragraph 4.5.2 (Unanimous)
(iii) Notes the position on the Council’s Treasury Management activities during the second quarter of 2025/26.
(iv) Refers this report to the Audit Committee for their consideration as part of the overall monitoring arrangements for Treasury Management.
(v) Notes the forecast outturn position against the 2025/26 Revenue Budget, as summarised in paragraph 2.2.1.
(vi) Approve £1,360k funding from the LGR reserve to fund the Customer Engagement Platform in paragraph 2.5.2 and Appendix 1.
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794 |
Harrogate Transforming Cities Fund - Project update and Contract Entry Authority
Considered – A report of the Corporate Director Environment in which approval was sought to enter into a construction contract with North Yorkshire Highways and funding agreements with West Yorkshire Combined Authority and the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority to deliver the Harrogate Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) project. The TCF programme was funded by the Department for Transport and in Harrogate the aim was to support a shift towards more sustainable travel such as walking, cycling and using public transport in the vicinity of Harrogate Rail Station, whilst enhancing the street scene at a key gateway to the town centre.
The Executive Member for Highways and Transportation, Councillor Malcolm Taylor, introduced the item which would provide investment into the public realm in Harrogate. The Corporate Director Environment, Karl Battersby, reported that three public consultation exercises had been undertaken, and the scheme amended following comments received. The scheme represented one of the most significant investments in Harrogate in recent times and the proposal to use North Yorkshire Highways would ensure it was affordable. It was confirmed that Traffic Regulation Orders being in place was not a pre-requisite of funding from the Combined Authority.
The Head of Legal Property, Planning and Environment, Catriona Gatrell, referred to a legal challenge brought against the Traffic Regulation Orders made in relation to the project. Whilst the legal challenge had been dismissed, a recent ruling had granted the right of appeal to the Court of Appeal against the original decision, on the basis that there was a real prospect of success. It was confirmed that in making a decision today the Council could rely on the high court decision which had been made in its favour.
Councillor Michael Harrison explained that the scheme would also include improvements to signalling on the A61 from the Royal Hall which would improve traffic flow through the town centre and the scheme had received cross-party support within the town.
Resolved (unanimously)
That approval be given to the delegation of authority to the Corporate Director Environment, in consultation with the Corporate Director Resources, the Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Democratic Services, the Executive Member for Highways and Transportation and the Executive Member for Finance to: i. accept full grants from WYCA and YNYCA subject to funding body Approval to Proceed and acceptable terms and conditions of grant being received.
Subject to i: ii. agree the final terms of and enter into the construction contract to deliver the Harrogate TCF project with NYH iii. delegate authority to enact project scope adjustments, if necessary, post-contract entry to maintain costs within budget or to seek additional funding. iv. delegate authority to procure and appoint NEC 4 Project Manager and Supervisor and professional services necessary for contract management and delivery of the Harrogate TCF project.
Reasons for recommendations
It is necessary for the Council to formally accept funding to comply with the Council’s governance procedures.
As the funding is above £500,000 this decision would normally be made by Executive. However, due to the need to co-ordinate timing of the acceptance of grant funding and the signing of construction contracts, the Executive is asked to delegate approval to Corporate Director Environment, in consultation with the Corporate Director Resources, Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Democratic Services, Executive Member for Highways and Transportation and the Executive Member for Finance (in line with paragraph 13 of the Executive Members Delegation Scheme under the Constitution). This is on the basis that it is not practicable to refer it to the Executive for determination due to the tight timescales involved.
Alternative options considered
The following options were considered in drafting this report and the subsequent recommendations:
Do not accept the funding and do not proceed with works - This would remove any financial risk of delivering the scheme from the Council entirely as well as limit any future legal challenges in relation to the project but would result in the Council’s regeneration and active/public travel ambitions not being realised in Harrogate. The Council would have expended significant abortive costs on developing the project and the benefits of the scheme would not be realised leading to reputational damage to the Council from supporters of the scheme and funding partners. Furthermore, the DfT and WYCA have stated that the potential to use TCF funds for the delivery of other elements of the programme would be limited to elements of the Selby Project that have been sufficiently appraised at full business case stage. It is likely the majority of funding would have to be returned to the DfT for re-allocation elsewhere. Similarly, the funding from YNYCA would likely also have to be returned and / or allocated elsewhere in North Yorkshire.
The above option would likely result in reputational damage to the Council, not only with the funding bodies but with stakeholders and supporters of the scheme, putting at jeopardy future opportunities to secure external development funding for Harrogate and potentially the wider North Yorkshire area.
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795 |
Annual Review of Member Champions
Considered – A report of the Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Democratic Services to enable the Executive to consider whether the Member Champion role and remit remained in line with the Council’s priorities and challenges. The report set out the current champions, five of which were Executive appointments as set out at paragraph 2.2, and did not attract a Special Responsibility Allowance (SRA). Three appointments, the Older People’s, Young People and Climate Change Champions, were made by full Council and attracted an SRA. At Executive on 18 July 2023 it was agreed that an annual review of Member Champion roles take place.
Resolved
That the report be noted and it be confirmed that the Member Champion roles remain appropriate and in line with the Council’s priorities/challenges.
Reason for recommendation
The report is brought to the Executive to consider as part of an established process for an annual review of the role and remit of the Member Champions.
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796 |
Forward Plan
Considered – The Forward Plan for the period 7 November 2025 to 30 November 2026 was presented.
Resolved
That the Forward Plan be noted.
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797 |
Date of Next Meeting - 16 December 2025
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The meeting concluded at 12.12 pm.