Agenda and minutes

Members of the Executive and Corporate Management Team introduced themselves, followed by other Councillors present at the meeting.

Resolved –

That the public Minutes of the meeting held on 30 November 2021 and 7 December 2021, having been printed and circulated, be taken as read and confirmed by the Chairman as a correct record.

County Councillor Michael Harrison declared a personal non prejudicial interest in regard to Agenda Items 11 & 12, as he had relatives that worked in Health & Adult Services.  It was noted that the Standards Committee had previously given him a dispensation which enabled him to participate in, and vote at the meeting. 

County Councillor Andrew Lee also declared a personal non prejudicial interest in regard to Agenda Items 11 & 12, as he had a relative that worked in a care home.

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 6 January 2022, 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 Chairman who will instruct anyone who may be taking a recording to cease while you speak.

There were a number of public questions or statements received in regard to Agenda Item 5 – Approval of a new 20mph Speed Limit Policy.  The Leader decided to consider those submissions as part of that agenda item.

Recommendation:

Having noted the report, Executive Members are asked to recommend to the Chief Executive Officer that using his emergency delegated powers, he approve the revised 20mph Speed Limit and Zone policy as set out in Appendix 1.

Considered:

A report of the Corporate Director – Business and Environmental Services setting out set out how the recommendations of the Transport, Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee (TEE O&S) review of the existing 20mph speed limit policy had been achieved, and seeking approval of a revised draft 20mph Speed Limit and Zone Policy.

County Councillor Don Mackenzie introduced the report confirming the Executive previously approved all of the recommendations arising from the scrutiny review undertaken by a Task Group of the Transport, Economy and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee, on the County Council’s existing 20mph Speed Limit Policy.  He noted the report now being considered detailed how those recommendations had been introduced and incorporated into the revised Policy.

County Councillor Don Mackenzie also confirmed that as the County Council’s Road Safety Champion, he took the safety of the public very seriously, and that saving lives and the safety of the road network were his greatest priorities.  He also acknowledged the 20’s Plenty Campaign.

Allan McVeigh, Head of Network Strategy provided a detailed overview of the report and the progress made to date in implementing the scrutiny review’s approved recommendations, and drew attention to the revised 20mph Speed Limit and Zone Policy at Appendix 1.

The Leader welcomed the members of the public who had registered to speak at the meeting.

Mr Ian Conlan, representing 20s Plenty presented his statement which read as follows:

·           Your voters want default 20mph.

·           58 Parish Councils in our County have voted for it.

·           You have not consulted with either.

·           Parishes are your eyes and ears on the ground, and are reporting on going problems to you, with the expectation you act upon them.

·           70% of voters support default 20mph in surveys, before AND after implementation.

·           This policy frustrates active travel, excluding the most dangerous, fastest roads in settlements where default 20mph has the biggest impacts on road safety.

·           Your focus on casualty records for 3 years in each location, ignores the fact that 30mph speeds suppress active travel and community cohesion right across settlements.

·           Perception of danger, which the report ignores, is key, not just accident statistics.

·           Children at primary age can’t judge speed accurately.

·           Voters of all ages want to walk and cycle safely, throughout settlements.

·           Many counties have found that the current DfT guidance does allow them to set 20mph for most urban and village roads, without physical calming

·           There is no specific requirement for physical calming if average road speeds beforehand are above 24mph. In the rural Scottish Borders trial, the fastest roads had speed reduced by 6mph, bringing most drivers within the enforcement threshold for 20mph. Schemes consistently show 20-30% accident reductions, 30% when main roads are included. Karl Battersby recently claimed accident reductions on NYCC roads in 2020 a lockdown year with far fewer vehicle miles: both rose again in 2021.

·           Speed is always a factor in accidents.

·           Being hit at 30mph is like falling 8.8m, likely to kill or seriously injure, where 20mph hardly ever does.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 679.

Recommendation:

Executive Members are asked to recommend to the Chief Executive Officer that using his emergency delegated powers, he approve the publication of the proposals and statutory notices on 21 January to lower the school age range of Goathland Community Primary School from 25 April 2022, and that a final decision on these proposals be scheduled for 22 March 2022 Executive.

Considered:

County Councillor Patrick Mulligan introduced a report of the Corporate Director - Children and Young People’s Service, on the outcome of an informal consultation carried out by the Governors of Goathland Community Primary School on a proposal to lower the age range of the school from 4-11 to 3-11, in order to offer education for 3 year old children.

Executive Members noted the consultation feedback and next steps as detailed in the report, and all voted in favour of the recommendations in the report.  It was therefore

Resolved – To recommend to the Chief Executive Officer that using his emergency powers he approve that:

i.     Proposals and statutory notices be published on 1 October to lower the school age range of Goathland Community Primary School from 25 April 2022;

ii.     The Executive schedule taking a final decision on the proposals on 22 March 2022

Recommendations:

Executive Members are asked to note the contents of this report, and to recommend to the Chief Executive Officer that using his emergency powers (as outlined in section 2) to agree that the Council:

i.      Applies a Minimum Funding Guarantee (MFG) of +2.0% in the calculation of school budgets for the 2022/23 financial year.

ii.     Uses age weighted pupil units (AWPU) as the methodology for the allocation to school budgets of any surplus funding available within the Schools Block DSG after the calculation of the school funding formula using National Funding Formula (NFF) values.

iii.    Includes an exceptional circumstance lump sum of £50,000 for very small sparse secondary schools (which would otherwise be unable to attract sufficient funding to remain viable) in the 2022/23 North Yorkshire school funding formula. The estimated £100k additional funding requirement to be funded from the DSG Schools Block Reserve.

iv.   Continues to push for a fairer and more equitable funding settlement for schools in North Yorkshire, and continue to lobby for a fairer settlement of High Needs resources.

Considered:

A report of the Corporate Director for Children & Young People’s Services seeking Executive approval for a number of recommendations relating to school funding for 2022-23.

County Councillor Patrick Mulligan introduced the report and drew members’ attention to the key factor this year of an increase in the national funding formula of 3%, and to the proposed awarding of a £50k lump sum to two small rural secondary schools from the Education Authority’s reserve DSG fund.   He highlighted the County Council’s ongoing concerns for its rural schools which over recent years had struggled as a result of under-funding, and stressed the awarding of reserve funds should be considered a red flag to the Authority.  He also noted the previous lobbying of Government that had taken place to try to address the situation, and it was agreed this should be continued, and raised ata future meeting with the local MPs.

Members noted the report and voted unanimously in favour of the report recommendations.  It was therefore

Resolved – That it be to recommend to the Chief Executive Officer that using his emergency powers he approve that the Council:

i.       Applies a Minimum Funding Guarantee (MFG) of +2.0% in the calculation of school budgets for the 2022/23 financial year.

ii.      Uses age weighted pupil units (AWPU) as the methodology for the allocation to school budgets of any surplus funding available within the Schools Block DSG after the calculation of the school funding formula using National Funding Formula (NFF) values.

iii.     Includes an exceptional circumstance lump sum of £50,000 for very small sparse secondary schools (which would otherwise be unable to attract sufficient funding to remain viable) in the 2022/23 North Yorkshire school funding formula. The estimated £100k additional funding requirement to be funded from the DSG Schools Block Reserve.

iv.   Continues to push for a fairer and more equitable funding settlement for schools in North Yorkshire, and continue to lobby for a fairer settlement of High Needs resources.

Recommendations:

Executive Members are asked to note the contents of this report, and to recommend to the Chief Executive Officer that using his emergency powers (as outlined in section 2) he agree that the Council applies:

i.       A Minimum Funding Guarantee (MFG) of +2% in the calculation of special school budgets for the 2022/23 financial year.

ii.      An assumed inflationary increase of +2% to the Banded Funding allocations (top up / element 3 allocations) received by mainstream and special schools and academies for the 2022/23 financial year.

iii.     An assumed inflationary increase of +2% to the Banded Funding allocations (top up / element 3 allocations) received by alternative provision settings for the 2022/23 financial year

iv.     An assumed inflationary increase of +2% to the factor elements within the Special school contextual funding.

Considered –

A report of the Corporate Director for Children & Young People’s Services seeking Executive approval for a number of recommendations relating to Special school funding arrangements for 2022/23, which needed to be compliant with the High Needs operational guidance issued by the Department for Education (DfE).

County Councillor Patrick Mulligan introduced the report highlighting the recommendations had been broadly supported by the special schools community during a countywide consultation exercise.

He highlighted that whilst there had been extra funding for SEND this year, there had also been a corresponding increase in demand for ECHP, so again the lobbying for additional funding for Special Schools needed to continue.  Finally, he drew attention to the recommendations at paragraph 7 of the report.

Members had no questions and all voted in favour of the recommendations, and therefore it was 

Resolved – That it be recommended to the Chief Executive Officer that using his emergency powers he approve that the Council applies:

i.       A Minimum Funding Guarantee (MFG) of +2% in the calculation of special school budgets for the 2022/23 financial year.

ii.      An assumed inflationary increase of +2% to the Banded Funding allocations (top up / element 3 allocations) received by mainstream and special schools and academies for the 2022/23 financial year.

iii.     An assumed inflationary increase of +2% to the Banded Funding allocations (top up / element 3 allocations) received by alternative provision settings for the 2022/23 financial year

iv.     An assumed inflationary increase of +2% to the factor elements within the Special school contextual funding.

Recommendation:

Executive Members are asked to recommend to the Chief Executive Officer that using his emergency delegated powers he recommend the Admission Arrangements for approval to full Council at its meeting on 16 February 2022, to include:

·          the proposed co-ordinated admission arrangements appendix 1

·          the proposed admission policy for community and voluntary controlled schools appendix 2

·          the proposed admission policy for nursery schools, schools with nursery classes and pre-reception classes, appendix 3

·          the proposed published admission numbers (PAN’s) for community and voluntary controlled schools as shown in appendices 4(Primary) and 5 (Secondary)

Considered –

A report of the Corporate Director for Children & Young People’s Services seeking Members views on the response to the proposed admission arrangements for Community & Voluntary Controlled Schools for the school year 2023/24, and to seek approval for recommendation to the County Council for determination.

County Councillor Patrick Mulligan introduced the report confirming that the catchment areas for community and voluntary Controlled Schools across the Local Authority area remained unchanged with a number of minor changes to pupil numbers, as detailed in the report. 

All members voted in favour of the recommendation, and it was

Resolved – That it be recommended to the Chief Executive Officer that using his emergency delegated powers he recommend the Admission Arrangements for approval to full Council at its meeting on 16 February 2022, to include:

·         the proposed co-ordinated admission arrangements in appendix 1

·         the proposed admission policy for community and voluntary controlled schools in appendix 2

·         the proposed admission policy for nursery schools, schools with nursery classes and pre-reception classes, in appendix 3

·         the proposed published admission numbers (PAN’s) for community and voluntary controlled schools as shown in appendices 4(Primary) and 5 (Secondary)

Recommendations   

Executive Members are asked to recommend to the Chief Executive Officer that using his emergency delegated powers, he:

i)         Approve the Draft Section 75 Agreement;

ii)        Delegate to the Assistant Chief Executive (Legal and Democratic Services) approval of any necessary amendments to the Agreement, to enable it to be completed.

Considered:

A report of the Corporate Director – Children and Young Peoples Services presenting the outcome of the public consultation into the use and content of the Section 75 Agreement and seeking approval to enter into the Section 75 agreement between the Council and North Yorkshire Clinical Commissioning Group (NYCCG) in relation to the commissioning of Emotional Health and Wellbeing services.

County Councillor Andrew Lee introduced the report which provided an update on the public consultation undertaken and confirmed that the majority of responses had been in favour of North Yorkshire County Council entering into the Section 75 Agreement with NHS North Yorkshire CCG.

He confirmed the proposed Commissioning S75 Agreement would allow partners to work together in the procurement of services to support young people aged 9-19 in respect of their Emotional Health and Wellbeing.  He also provided an overview of the main aims of the partnership arrangement, as detailed in the report, and drew attention to the financial implications of the Agreement for the County Council.  

All Executive Members voted in favour of the recommendations in the report, and it was

Resolved:  That it be recommended to the Chief Executive Officer that using his emergency delegated powers, he:

i)     Approve the Draft Section 75 Agreement;

ii)    Delegate to the Assistant Chief Executive (Legal and Democratic Services) approval of any necessary amendments to the Agreement, to enable it to be completed.

Recommendations:

Executive Members are asked to recommend to the Chief Executive Officer that using his emergency delegated powers, he:

(i)    Approve, invoke and implement the proposed Adult Social Care Ethical Decision Making Framework.

(ii)   Delegate to the Corporate Director for Health and Adult Services (as the Council’s statutory director of adult social services) the power to invoke and implement the measures as set out in this report including taking all decisions necessary to implement the Ethical Decision Making Framework and any other decisions the Corporate Director for Health and Adult Services may deem necessary regarding Adult Social Care Services delivery in light of the continuing Covid-19 pandemic.  The Corporate Director for Health and Adult Services may where appropriate consult with the Executive Member for Adult Social Care and Health Integration, Chief Executive Officer, Assistant Chief Executive (Legal and Democratic Services).

(iii)  Instruct the Corporate Director for Health and Adult Services to present a monthly report to the Executive Member and to Management Board on the appropriate decisions so they can be reviewed.

(iv)  Approve that review of the framework in April 2022

Considered:

A report of the Corporate Director – Health and Adult Services setting out the proposed arrangements for Adult Social Care governance and prioritisation in response to Omicron Covid-19 and the anticipated surge in infections and how that will potentially impact on service delivery across Adult Social Care and the wider health and social care system.

County Councillor Michael Harrison introduced the report and confirmed that the Care Sector was facing significant challenges as a result of the impact of the pandemic and therefore there was a need to endorse the arrangements being made to get ahead of the situation and make sure that an effective decision making framework was in place for issue relating to care at both a strategic and operational level, and also on a case by case basis. These provisions were being proposed in the absence of a national legal framework, given that the Coronavirus Act Care Act provisions had now lapsed.

He noted it would also ensure an appropriate record of the decisions taken and the reasons for those decisions.

Richard Webb – Corporate Director for Health & Adult Services confirmed the legislation for the Corona Virus Act expired in July 2021 and that the County Council wanted a mechanism in place to manage the arrangements in the winter period.  He noted the proposals in the report would provide the legal framework for any required practice changes, and would assist the urgent prioritisation and delivery of services to the public in a timely and efficient manner.  It would also ensure transparency in the decision process and provide a mechanism for an ongoing review of the arrangements.

He suggested that rather than waiting for a national solution from Government, the Authority was seeking to put in place some local preventative measures now.

Barry Khan, Assistant Chief Executive (Legal & Democratic Services) confirmed the report was not seeking permission not to comply with the Council’s statutory responsibilities.  He noted these would continue, but in order to plan for future decisions, it was seeking a framework which allowed officers to make and record difficult decisions with regards to the available resources in an ethical manner.

Executive Members noted note the proposal would provide an auditable record of the decisions taken, and recorded their trust in the Corporate Director for Health & Adult Services and his team, to make the right decisions at the right time. 

All Executive Members voted in favour of the recommendations in the report and it was

Resolved: That it be recommended to the Chief Executive Officer that using his emergency delegated powers, he:

(i)    Approve, invoke and implement the proposed Adult Social Care Ethical Decision Making Framework.

(ii)   Delegate to the Corporate Director for Health and Adult Services (as the Council’s statutory director of adult social services) the power to invoke and implement the measures as set out in this report including taking all decisions necessary to implement the Ethical Decision Making Framework and any other decisions the Corporate Director for Health and Adult Services  ...  view the full minutes text for item 685.

Recommendations:

Executive Members are asked to recommend to the Chief Executive Officer that using his emergency delegated powers, he:

i.    Approve the allocation and issue of grants as detailed in this report, and 

ii.   Delegate any decisions associated with this approval to the Corporate Director Health and Adult Services, in consultation with the Corporate Director - Strategic Resources

Considered:

A report of the Corporate Director – Health and Adult Services confirming the proposed approach for the distribution of grants to Care Providers, utilising money from Government and the NHS (the two ICSs covering North Yorkshire) with the aim of supporting recruitment and retention to the care provider workforce during the Winter period December 2021 to March 2022.

County Councillor Michael Harrison introduced the report confirming some of the difficulties being experienced by the Care Sector in regard to the recruiting and retaining of front line care workers, particularly at entry level, which was having a knock on effect on the NHS both in terms of the continuing health care services it funded, and in the availability of care to enable safe and timely hospital discharge.

He suggested that anything that could be done to make the Sector more attractive to potential employees and to recognise the contribution made by care staff to the country throughout the pandemic was the right thing to do.  He noted the proposal was to bring forward some funding to go directly in to the pockets of care providers and care workers.

Richard Webb, Corporate Director for Health and Adult Services confirmed this was a way of acknowledging and thanking the 16,000+ care workers across the county both in the County Council and the 500 independent and voluntary sector providers of care.  He noted the funding  came from a number of sources and would equate to a take home rate of £300 per person, to be paid in two instalments by the end of March 2022.  There would also be some targeted funding for care providers for the provision of workforce initiatives, infection control and training etc, and payments would be made to people who work in regulated services.

County Councillor Carl Les drew attention to an email he had received from a Care Worker asking when the County Council was going to act to give additional support to Care Workers, and confirmed the report being considered was doing just that.

County Councillor Gareth Dadd noted that historically, governments of all political parties had not recognised the importance of care workers and their contribution to society.  He therefore welcomed the proposals in the report.

Executive Members all voted in favour of the recommendations in the report, and it was

Resolved:  That it be recommended to the Chief Executive Officer that using his emergency delegated powers, he:

i.    Approve the allocation and issue of grants as detailed in this report, and 

ii.     Delegate any decisions associated with this approval to the Corporate Director Health and Adult Services, in consultation with the Corporate Director - Strategic Resources

Recommendation:  That the Executive notes the report and considers any matters arising from the work of the Area Constituency Committees, that merits further scrutiny, review or investigation at a county-level.

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

County Councillor Carl Les noted his agreement with the feedback from Richmondshire Area Constituency Committee, in regard to the future remit of Area Constituency Committees i.e. that they be given responsibility for making local area based decisions as part of the revised structure for the new Council.

Resolved - That the report be noted.

Considered –

The Forward Plan for the period 23 December 2021 to 31 December 2022 was presented.

Resolved -   That the Forward Plan be noted.