Agenda and draft minutes

There were no apologies for absence from Members of the Executive.  The Chair of the Scrutiny Board advised that apologies had been received from Councillors David Hugill and Andrew Williams.

Resolved

That the public Minutes of the meeting held on 4 February 2025, having been printed and circulated, be taken as read and confirmed by the Chair as a correct record.

Councillor Michael Harrison declared a disclosable pecuniary interest in relation to Minute 632 as an employee of one of the approved lenders detailed in the Treasury Management 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 relation to Minute 632 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. 

Members of the public may ask questions or make statements at this meeting if they have given notice to Elizabeth Jackson, Principal Democratic Services Officer, and supplied the text by midday on Thursday 13 February 2025, 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

                      (i)         notes the forecast outturn position against the 2024/25 Revenue Budget, as summarised in paragraph 2.2.1.

                     (ii)         notes the forecast outturn position against the 2024/25 Housing Revenue Account budget as detailed in section 2.3

                    (iii)         Agree to allocate £660k of the Environment Directorate revenue underspend in 2024/25 to fund necessary fender improvement works at the Fish Quay, Whitby (paragraph 2.5.2).

                   (iv)         notes the position on the Council’s Treasury Management activities during the second quarter of 2024/25

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

                   (vi)         note the updated Q3 2023/24 Capital Plan; and

                  (vii)         approve the allocation of £660k of Environment Directorate revenue underspend to deliver the improvements to the Fish Quay, Whitby, to return it to full operation (paragraph 4.2).

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 October 2024 to 31 December 2024 and drew Members’ attention to the following:

·         Telephone response times were improving

·         Benefits processing times were improving

·         Increased customer satisfaction with highways

·         Shorter stays in short-term care homes

·         Increasing numbers of children requiring support

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:

·         A new team was looking into the large-scale fly-tipping incidents at Osmotherley and Easingwold and the Council would seek to recover costs if possible.

·         The Council had a satisfaction rate of 70% for ‘Ease of access (disabilities)’ for Highways, which was above the Council’s own trend and the England average, however more could be done.  Localised issues such as cracked pavements would be addressed through the annual accessibility budget of £75k.

·         Migration of data from the legacy councils continued in sequence as support systems converged such as for planning and revenues and benefits.  A priority was the avoidance of data leaks and ensuring the quality of the information transferred.

·         An update on progress with the community partnership approach and community anchor organisations was requested.  Councillor Phillips agreed to provide Councillor Peter Lacey with a written response.

·         Consolidated economic activity data was quite new and was being shared with some business stakeholder organisations.  Work was underway to look at how it could be effectively shown on the website to enable other groups to use it.

·         The Allerton Park incinerator was operated by a third party under contract to the Council and a recent breakdown had resulted in an increase in waste going to landfill.  Under the contract the Council received a rebate when the incinerator was unavailable, and all additional costs of disposal were met by the operator.

·         Hotel occupancy figures were provided by an external organisation and could be relied upon as the same data was used by the trade and tourist information services.  There was a small increase in hotel room occupancy over the year.

·         Dealing with childhood obesity was a priority through the Healthy Schools Programme which included promoting the free schools meals and the type of food being served.  A Family Weight Management Service was to be introduced and the Executive Member would be exploring the benefits of active travel with Public Health colleagues, such as cycling and walking to school.

·         A consultant, Dr Jill Kelly, was employed in Public Health who oversaw the healthy schools programme, which includeed education and weight monitoring and measuring, followed by direct support for individuals where required.  124 early years settings were registered with this scheme and the Executive Member would ask Dr Kelly to look at venues for Selby.

·         An update was provided on the state of the care market.  Whilst  ...  view the full minutes text for item 632.

Recommendation

That the proposed grant of a standard academy lease of the site to the Coast and Vale Learning Trust, or a successor Trust, is approved and the surrender of the current lease over Scalby School site is accepted by the Executive on Terms to be agreed by the Corporate Director - Resources.

Considered – A report of the Corporate Director Resources requesting approval for the grant of a standard academy lease to transfer part of the Lower Graham School site to the Coast and Vale Learning Trust, as a first step to secure investment from the Department for Education for a new school to replace the current Scalby Secondary School.  Agreement was also sought to accept the surrender of the current academy lease that operated at Scalby School once the proposed new school was operational.

It was noted that a written representation had been received from the Hope Sentamu Learning Trust in advance of the meeting and circulated to all Members of the Executive.

The Executive Member for Education, Learning and Skills, Councillor Annabel Wilkinson, welcomed the proposals in the report.  Following the identification of RAAC (Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete) in the construction of the school large parts of the building were now closed and temporary classrooms were being used.  The Department for Education (DfE) had undertaken to rebuild the school at a cost of £30-40m as part of the National School Rebuilding Programme.  Part of the former Lower Graham School site had been identified as most suitable for redevelopment, Springhead Sixth Form was currently using part of the site.  If the proposal was agreed the DfE would commence feasibility work.  Should the school be redeveloped at the Lower Graham site the Scalby School site would revert to the Council, and at that point a decision would be taken as to future use of that site.  It was hoped the DfE would consider the issues raised by the Hope Sentamu Learning Trust as part of the feasibility work. 

Councillor John Ritchie addressed the Executive, referred to the sport clubs currently using the Lower Graham School site and introduced Robbie Hawkes, who was in attendance at the meeting, who operated a football academy from the site.  Cllr Ritchie expressed concern that redevelopment of the site might threaten the sports activities, affect Springhead School and increase traffic.

Stuart Carlton, Corporate Director Childrens and Young People’s Service, advised that the consultation and feasibility study would be led by the DfE and confirmed that the Springhead School part of the site was ringfenced and was not affected by the proposals, though building works may cause some disruption.

Gary Fielding, Corporate Director Resources, confirmed that the Council would work with leaseholders to look at alternatives and traffic flows would be considered as part of any planning application.

Resolved (unanimously)

That the proposed grant of a standard academy lease of the site to the Coast and Vale Learning Trust, or a successor Trust, is approved and the surrender of the current lease over Scalby School site is accepted by the Executive on Terms to be agreed by the Corporate Director Resources. 

Considered – The Forward Plan for the period 7 February 2025 to 28 February 2026 was presented.

Resolved

That the Forward Plan be noted.

Any other items which the Leader agrees should be considered as a matter of urgency because of special circumstances

The Leader reported that a formal response had been received from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to the Letter Before Action challenging the Government’s decision to remove the Rural Services Delivery Grant as part of the local government finance settlement. The Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Democratic Services advised that the Council would now be considering its position.