Agenda and minutes

Members of the Executive and Corporate Management Team introduced themselves.

County Councillor Carl Les is to send congratulations and support on behalf of the Executive to Liz Truss as the new leader of the Conservative party and next prime minister, and to the relevant new secretaries of state once appointed.

Resolved –

Thatthe public Minutesof themeeting heldon 23 August 2022,having been printedand circulated,betakenas readand confirmedby theChairmanas acorrect record.

There were no declarations of interest.

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 1 September 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:-

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There were no public questions or statements.

Recommendation:

That subject to any views expressed at the meeting, the Executive recommend the draft Local Flood Risk Management Strategy to Full Council for approval and adoption.

Considered: A report of the Corporate Director – Business and Environmental Services setting out the proposed draft Local Flood Risk Management Strategy.

County Councillor Derek Bastiman introduced the report, stating that the draft strategy is a very important document that is required to be reviewed and updated every six years by the County Council as the Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA). Officers have carried out a review of the strategy, consulting with other risk management authorities, neighbouring flood authorities and other national bodies such as the Environment Agency. The draft strategy has also been the subject of a public consultation, with key changes resulting from the feedback received included a review of the previous actions to show the progress made, and a new set of actions to cover the period from 2022 to 2027. The strategy was also considered by the Transport, Economy and Environment O&S Committee in July, with a user friendly and accessible summary produced and the strategy strengthened to reflect the need for the LLFA to take into account local communities local knowledge of drainage and flood risk issues when responding to consultations, strategies and local plan allocations in relation to the planning process. Subject to any alterations by the Executive, the strategy will go to the Full County Council on 16 November.

County Councillor David Chance commented that he was pleased to see that consultation had taken place with key stakeholders to gather feedback to the draft strategy at a local level.

County Councillor Paul Haslam joined the meeting remotely to comment on parts of the draft strategy that he would like to see included in future versions. These included reference to the hydrological cycle that may have been affected by the recent drought, with evaporation levels exceeding the current levels of rainfall and how this water can be harnessed and stored for the future. He also commented on trying to mitigate the amount of water going into the sewage system so that future flooding events do not exacerbate the sewage problem. He welcomed the draft strategy and encouraged the link between the climate change, resilience and planning policies in future work.

In response, the Senior Flood Risk Management Engineer (MH) spoke about the ongoing project work with Yorkshire Water. He added that a review of the Yorkshire Water drainage and wastewater management plan is ongoing, with the county council responding as a consultee. County Councillor Derek Bastiman suggested sending the comments from County Councillor Paul Haslam to Planning department colleagues for their consideration.

Resolved –

That subject to any views expressed at the meeting, the Executive recommend the draft Local Flood Risk Management Strategy to Full Council for approval and adoption.

Recommendations: To approve:

(a)   The Devolution Deal subject to the consultation identified in the report;

(b)   The Governance Review as identified in Appendix 1;

(c)   Publication of the Scheme at Appendix 2 for consultation and to delegate to the Assistant Chief Executive (Legal and Democratic Services) any changes and actions needed to ensure that a full consultation exercise is conducted for the area;

(d)   Delegation to the S151 Officer, in consultation with the Executive Members for Finance and Open for Business, to approve with the City of York to work up the details of, and implement, the financial arrangements including a risk share mechanism and funding source;

(e)   To cashflow initial implementation costs of £600k (ahead of the funding being available to be drawn down) and agree to receive a further report once the full implementation costs are known;

(f)   The creation of Joint Devolution Committee with the City of York Council and delegating to the Assistant Chief Executive (Legal and Democratic Services) in consultation with the Leader the final terms of reference as agreed with the City of York Council

Considered: A report of the Assistant Chief Executive, Legal and Democratic Services, with details of the steps needed to be taken following the announcement of “minded to” Devolution Deal for York and North Yorkshire on 1 August 2022 and seek permission to approve the governance review, commence the consultation on the Scheme, create a joint committee, agree to cashflow up to £600k of implementation costs and delegate to the S151 Officers to develop the financial arrangements to deliver the Deal.

County Councillor Carl Les introduced the report, looking at the background to reaching the Devolution Deal for York and North Yorkshire that the Government was minded to enter into. He congratulated North Yorkshire County Council, City of York Council and York & North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership officers on the work they had undertaken to achieve what he regarded as a good deal.

The Chief Executive (RF) summarised the key elements of the proposed Devolution Deal, marking a new relationship with central government for North Yorkshire and York which compares well with other Devolution Deals across the country. The report includes a published Scheme setting out the proposals for the creation and governance arrangements for a York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, along with a Governance Review, which concluded that the statutory criteria are met in creating a Mayoral Combined Authority for York and North Yorkshire, as it will improve the exercise of statutory functions in the area. To move forward, a two month consultation period is recommended in the report, before further consideration and final submission to the Government. It is also recommended in the report to establish a Joint Devolution Committee between North Yorkshire County Council and City of York Council in the interim period, to have joint political oversight of the arrangements in working together. The report also recommends agreement of initial implementation costs of £600k, to cover the consultation exercise and the setup of the Joint Devolution Committee. It was highlighted that there is risk around the initial implementation costs before a Deal is secured, but if that occurs then these costs can be reclaimed from the capacity funding that comes with the Devolution Deal itself.

The Chief Operating Officer of the York & North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (JF) spoke about the key elements of the Deal, including:

·       A 30 year Mayoral Investment Fund that would be set up, with funding of £18 million per year, totalling £540 million

·       A further £22.65m to be spent in this Comprehensive Spending Review period by March 2025, comprising of £13 million for the building of new homes on brownfield land, £7 million to deliver net zero projects and up to £2.65 million investment to develop affordable, low carbon homes.

·       For York, the Deal provides investment of up to £50 million to support and deliver the York Central brownfield regeneration scheme, which would generate additional GVA and associated benefits for the whole York and North Yorkshire region

·       The Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA) would become the Statutory Strategic Transport Authority, with the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 66.

Considered –

The Forward Plan for the period 22 August 2022 to 31 August 2023 was presented.

Resolved -   That the Forward Plan be noted.