Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Andrew Williams

Resolved –

Thatthe public Minutesof themeeting heldon 6 February 2024,having been printedand circulated,betakenas readand confirmedby theChairmanas acorrect record.

Inregard to Agendaitem5, CouncillorMichaelHarrisondeclared a pecuniary interest,as an employeeofone ofthe organisationslisted in Treasury Management AppendixB.  Heconfirmedhe had adispensation fromthe StandardsCommittee enabling himto remainin the meetingand vote.

Members of the public may ask questions or make statements at this meeting if they have given notice to Melanie Carr of Democratic and Scrutiny Services and supplied the text (contact details below) by midday on Thursday 15 February 2024, three working days before the day of the meeting.  Each speaker should limit themselves to 3 minutes on any item.  Members of the public who have given notice will be invited to speak:

·            at this point in the meeting if their questions/statements relate to matters which are not otherwise on the Agenda (subject to an overall time limit of 30 minutes);

·            when the relevant Agenda item is being considered if they wish to speak on a matter which is on the Agenda for this meeting.

If you are exercising your right to speak at this meeting, but do not wish to be recorded, please inform the Leader who will instruct anyone who may be taking a recording to cease while you speak.

There were no public questions or statements.

Recommendations

That the Executive:

a)     notes the forecast outturn position against the 2023/24 Revenue Budget, as summarised in paragraph 2.2.2.

b)     notes the forecast outturn position for the Housing Revenue Account as set out in paragraph 2.3.1.

c)      approves the carry-forward of any unallocated sums for each of the Area Constituency Committees into 2024/25 for one-year only as set out in paragraph 2.6.1.

d)     approves the recommendation to fund £795k for design work on the Harbours from the Supply Chain reserve as per paragraph 2.7.1

e)     notes the position on the Council’s Treasury Management activities during the third quarter of 2023/24

f)       refers this report to the Audit Committee for their consideration as part of the overall monitoring arrangements for Treasury Management.

g)     notes the updated Q3 2023/24 Capital Plan; and

h)     approves capital funding of £795k from the Supply Chain Reserve to progress Scarborough Lighthouse and Roundhead Piles replacement (£543k) and Whitby West Pier Lighthouse (£252k) in order to complete the design works to be in a position to bid for external funding for the actual delivery of both schemes.

Considered:  A joint report of the Chief Executive and Corporate Director - Strategic Resources, bringing togetherkey aspects of the CountyCouncil’s performanceon aquarterlybasis.

CouncillorDavidChance introducedtheQuarter 3performancemonitoringandbudget report,confirmingitprovided an overview on all of the ambitions of the County Council but with a key focus on the council plan ambition for ‘Every child and young person has the best possible start in life’.

He went on to summarise the performance update which covered the services previously provided by the former County Council and those transferred from the District and Borough Councils and drew attention to the progress made in converging those services and systems.

He noted the purpose of the new office of Local Government (OFLOG) was to monitor local authority performance and reviewing productivity and drew attention to the work underway to revise the Council’s performance framework to meet the changing needs of the Council and the new requirements of OFLOG.    

He went on note:

·         The pressure in HAS from hospital discharges and reduced assessor capacity in frontline teams;

·         An increase in front door contacts and an increase in referrals for Children’s Services;

·         A slight drop in the public’s satisfaction in the county’s Highways network, compared to a larger recorded drop in satisfaction nationally, moving the Council in to the top quartile;

·         A significant drop in waste to landfill compared to Quarter 1;

In regard to his own portfolio area, he confirmed

·         An increase in apprenticeships with 50 new starters in Quarter 3;

·         An increase in applications for Local Assistance funding, with 91% of applications being approved;

·         An increase in the accessing of healthcare by the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities

In response to questions to Executive Members from Scrutiny Members, the following was confirmed:

·         Occupancy rates in Care Homes across the county was currently around 90-95%.  The main reasons for care home closure were workface recruitment or quality related;

·         Across the county the uptake of the MMR vaccine was above the national average but still below the target set by the Authority, and interventions were in place in identified hotspots;

·         C&F assessments remained high, and well within the variance expected compared to recent years;

·         Schools were still re-setting behaviour post pandemic and so the increase in suspensions and permanent exclusions was not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 403.

Recommendations

The Executive are asked to:

i.       Accept the modifications to the consultation draft Statement of Community Involvement document as detailed in paragraph 4.3 of the report;

ii.      Adopt the Statement of Community Involvement as set out at Appendix A to this report for the purposes of engagement on, amongst other matters, the preparation of the North Yorkshire Local Plan, neighbourhood plans and the determination of planning applications;

iii.     Delegate authority to the Executive Member for Open to Business to approve and adopt any future amendments to, or replacement of, the Statement of Community Involvement.

Considered – A report of the Corporate Director of Community Development seeking the adoption of the Statement of Community Involvement as the basis for consultation and community engagement in the preparation of the North Yorkshire Local Plan, other relevant planning policy documents and the consideration of planning applications.

Councillor Derek Bastiman introduced the report and provided an overview of the purpose of the Statement.  He noted the consultation undertaken on the draft SCI and the consideration given to the feedback on how best to engage the public on planning matters etc.

Executive Members welcomed the report, and it was

Resolved – That:

i.      The modifications to the consultation draft Statement of Community Involvement document as detailed in paragraph 4.3 of the report be accepted;

ii.    The Statement of Community Involvement as set out at Appendix A to the report be adopted for the purposes of engagement on, amongst other matters, the preparation of the North Yorkshire Local Plan, neighbourhood plans and the determination of planning applications;

iii.   Authority be delegated to the Executive Member for Open to Business in consultation with the Corporate Director of Community Development to approve and adopt any future amendments to, or replacement of, the Statement of Community Involvement.

Recommendation:  Thatthe Executive notesthe reportand considersanymatters arisingfrom the workof theArea Constituency Committees,that meritsfurther scrutiny,review orinvestigationat acounty-level.

Considered– A report of the Assistant Chief Executive (Legal & Democratic Services) providing an overview of the key issues considered at a recent meetings of the Area Constituency Committees.

Councillor David Chance introduced the report and drew specific attention to paragraph 2.2 and the proposal to develop a civic honours type scheme for the Council, and through that Scheme to recognise the achievements of Rachel Daly.

In light of recent reported events Councillor Gareth Dadd suggested the Executive may wish to ask the Harrogate & Knaresborough Area Constituency Committee to consider the appropriateness of having the current Chair remain in post.

Resolved– That:

i.       The report be noted.

ii.      Officers consider the proposal to introduce a Civic Honours Scheme and report back to Executive within 6 months;

iii.     In light of recent reported events, the Harrogate & Knaresborough Area Constituency Committee be asked to consider re-appointing to the post of Chair;

Considered –

The Forward Plan for the period 12 February 2024 to 28 February 2025 was presented.

Resolved -   That the Forward Plan be noted.