Agenda and minutes

Resolved –

Thatthe public Minutesof themeeting heldon 17 January 2023 and the 24 January 2023,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 2 February 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.

A number of public questions and statements were received. Four were in regard to Agenda item 6, and eight were in regard to Agenda item 11.  The Leader welcomed the members of the public to the meeting and confirmed he would hear their submissions immediately before consideration of the appropriate agenda items. 

Recommendation:

That the Executive adopt the proposed Armed Forces Covenant Policy, as set out in Appendix 1 of the report.

Considered: A report of the Assistant Director Policy, Partnerships & Communities

As the Authority’s Armed Forces champion, County Councillor Carl Les introduced the report confirming that North Yorkshire was one of the first places in the UK to have an Armed Forces Covenant in place.

Neil Irving - Assistant Director Policy, Partnerships & Communities, provided an overview of the report which detailed the background to the covenant and drew attention to the new statutory duty to specified persons or bodies, including councils, to have due regard to the principles of the Covenant, when exercising certain housing, education or healthcare functions (excluding social care).

Members noted the recommendation within the report and agreed it was a timely opportunity for North Yorkshire Council to consolidate the good work already undertaken within the county and to take the necessary steps to meet the duty going forward.  It was therefore

Resolved: That the proposed Armed Forces Covenant Policy, as set out in Appendix 1 of the report, be adopted.

Recommendation:

That the Executive approves the draft counter fraud and corruption, whistleblowing and anti-money laundering and terrorist financing policies, and recommends them for approval by the County Council at its meeting on 22 February 2023.

Considered:  A report of the Corporate Director - Strategic Resources presenting a number of counter fraud policies required for the new North Yorkshire Council for the Executive’s approval.

County Councillor Gareth Dadd introduced the report, and Max Thomas from Veritau, confirmed the proposed policies were built on the County Council’s counter fraud policy framework with the aim of ensuring robust arrangements were in place to address any potential risks arising from local government reorganisation.  He also confirmed:

·          As a unitary authority, North Yorkshire Council would be responsible for counter fraud arrangements across a number of new service areas, including business rates, council tax, benefits and housing

·          The proposed Policies reflected both updated legislation and best practice

·          The importance of having a good policy framework in place from day one.

Executive members noted the proposal within the report, and it was

Resolved – That the draft counter fraud and corruption, whistleblowing and anti-money laundering and terrorist financing policies be endorsed and recommended for approval by the County Council at its meeting on 22 February 2023.

Recommendations:

The Executive is recommended to:

i.       to pass a resolution that the provisions of Part II of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 (other than section 45) shall be adopted within the administrative area of North Yorkshire Council, with effect on the 1 April 2023, with the caveat of the decision only taking effect if the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy has been adopted for the 1 April 2023;

ii.      Adopt the proposed Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policyas shown in Appendix 1, with or without amendments;

iii.     if adopted, to authorise the approval of minor and inconsequential amendments to the policy from time-to-time by a senior officer to reflect legislative changes or correct any inaccuracies;

iv.     if adopted to give approval for an Inclusive Service Plan (as outlined at paragraph 3.7) to be implemented within 18 months of adoption.

Considered – A report of the Corporate Director for Business & Environmental Services seeking adoption of the proposed Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy, taking into consideration the responses to the consultation and the recommendations from the Licensing Members Working Group at its meeting of 24 January 2023.  The report also sought approval:

a)     To remove the existing licensing hackney carriage zones to create a new single zone for the North Yorkshire Council;

b)     For a senior officer to make minor and inconsequential amendments to the policy (if adopted) to reflect legislative changes or correct any inaccuracies;

c)      To develop and maintain an Inclusive Service Plan (ISP) within 18 months of policy adoption.

County Councillor Derek Bastiman introduced the report and thanked the LGR Licensing Members Working Group and supporting officers for their work on the drafting the Policy under consideration.  He drew specific attention to paragraph 4.7 of the report detailing the Council’s commitment to improving accessibility, and the proposal to develop and maintain an Inclusive Service Plan (ISP) within 18 months of the proposed Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy being adopted, ideally forming part of the Council’s overarching Local Transport Plan.  He went on the welcome the contributions from members of the public who had made submission as part of the County Council public participation scheme.

It was noted four public submissions had been received.  The first three submissions were from representatives of the Disability Forum.  All three were unable to attend in person, and therefore their statements were read out on their behalf, as follows:

i) Mr Nick Moxon – Chairman of North Yorkshire Disability Forum

“The North Yorkshire Disability Forum agree that a mixed fleet of taxis is required for the first 5-year Policy but then to be reviewed. Please understand, anyone can use a wheelchair accessible taxi, but permanent wheelchair users cannot use a normal taxi. Quite simply, with almost 100 licensing authorities nationally having 100% of their taxis as being accessible, they provide clear evidence that it works.

I emphatically disagree with the Director’s recent statement to me that “high steps and large floor areas of traditional wheelchair accessible vehicles can constrain” the access of ambulant disabled people. This is factually incorrect and misleading as most wheelchair accessible cars (but not London Black cabs) are normal cars that are converted to take wheelchairs, prior to being supplied by Motability to wheelchair users. However, the statement is correct for the large Mercedes Vito type WAVs but these are not what most licensing authorities licence as taxis. We have information from one city with over 1250 accessible taxis where 9 different makes of wheelchair taxis are in use, in other words a mixed fleet of taxis. Ford Tourneo’s, Citroen Berlingo’s, Fiat Doblo’s and VW Caddy’s are typically found operating on taxi ranks within Yorkshire and across the country. Many families buy these models for everyday use because everyone, except a wheelchair user, can get in and out of them easily.

The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 176.

Recommendation:

That the Executive approve the draft risk management policy and recommends it for approval by the County Council at its meeting on 22 February 2023.

Considered – A report of the Corporate Director - Strategic Resources seeking approval for a risk management policy for the new North Yorkshire Council.

County Councillor Gareth Dadd introduced the report confirming the proposed overarching policy had drawn on best practice from the County Council, District and Borough Councils.

Having noted the report, Executive members

Resolved – That the draft Risk Management Policy for the new North Yorkshire Council be endorsed, and recommended for approval by County Council at its meeting on 22 February 2023

Recommendations:

The Executive is asked to note and recommend to County Council at their meeting on 22 February 2023:

i)    The appointments of Gary Fielding as Corporate Director Resources, Karl Battersby as Corporate Director of Environment and Nicholas Harne as Corporate Director Community Development for North Yorkshire Council with effect from 1 April 2023.

ii)  Approval of the proposed Chief Officer salary range from £129k to £150k, with 4 incremental progression points, (£129,000 to £133,967 to £139,125 to £144,481 to £150,044) be approved.

Considered – a Report of the Leader of the Council as Chair of the Chief Officer Appointment and Disciplinary Committee, outlining the Chief Officers Appointment and Disciplinary Committee recommendation to full council for the appointment to and salary of the Chief Officers for North Yorkshire Council.

County Councillor Carl Les introduced the report confirming the proposed appointments had been unanimously agreed by the Chief Officers Appointment and Disciplinary Committee,

Having received a brief overview of the proposed appointments from Justine Brooksbank, Assistant Chief Executive (HR), the Executive

Resolved:

That the following be recommended to County Council on 22 February 2023:

i)     The appointments of Gary Fielding as Corporate Director Resources, Karl Battersby as Corporate Director of Environment and Nicholas Harne as Corporate Director Community Development for North Yorkshire Council with effect from 1 April 2023.

ii)    Approval of the proposed Chief Officer salary range from £129k to £150k, with 4 incremental progression points, (£129,000 to £133,967 to £139,125 to £144,481 to £150,044) be approved.

Recommendation:

The Executive is asked to consider the revised Motion as drafted in Appendix 2 that has been referred by County Council and make recommendations for the consideration of County Council on 22 February 2023.

Considered – A report of the Corporate Director - Strategic Resources providing a summary of the fair tax motion including the key elements of the motion, to enable the Executive to make a formal recommendation to County Council on the 22 February 2023.

County Councillor Gareth Dadd introduced the report and drew attention to the amended version of the motion previously agreed by himself and the motion proposer – County Councillor Liz Colling.   He agreed the principal behind the Motion was a correct, and thanked Councillor Colling for her contribution in developing a cross-party, pragmatic and acceptable way forward.

Councillor Colling thanked Rachel Woodward- Head of Procurement and the representative from the Fair Tax Foundation who had worked with her, She also noted that currently procurement rules restricted what Councils could do to encourage responsible tax conduct amongst their suppliers. Having accepted there were limits on what the Authority could do, she suggested it was the responsible thing to do, and therefore welcomed the cross-party cooperation and proposed way forward.

Resolved – That the amended Motion at Appendix 2 of the report be endorsed and referred to County Council on 22 February 2023.

Recommendation:

The Executive are asked to consider the motion on fracking activities for oil or gas in North Yorkshire referred by County Council and make recommendations for County Council’s consideration on 22 February 2023.

Considered – A report of the Assistant Chief Executive (Legal and Democratic Services) presenting information to support the consideration of a motion regarding fracking activities for oil or gas in North Yorkshire, referred by County Council at their meeting on 16 November 2022.

County Councillor Greg White introduced the report which detailed the Current Government position on Fracking i.e. a total moratorium on fracking in England at this time and confirmed there were no planning applications for fracking in North Yorkshire.  He also referenced the robust Waste & Minerals Plan currently in place for North Yorkshire, which provided a high level of protection to residents against the unlikely event of government policy changing. 

He went on to confirm that the Motion under consideration would not improve or strengthen that protection.  Instead, he expressed concern that if the Authority were to pass the Motion, the existing conditions and protections arising from the Waste & Minerals Plan would be put in jeopardy, as anyone seeking a license to undertake fracking works could claim the Authority and its members were not considering their application with an open mind.  He therefore suggested the only sensible response from the Executive would be to reject the Motion and preserve the protections already in place.

County Councillor Bryn Griffiths, proposer of the Motion, drew attention to the incorrect versions of the Motion published within the agenda for the meeting and confirmed they had been superseded by a combined Motion which had been circulated to Executive Members prior to the meeting.  He went on to read out the combined Motion and queried whether the officer report written in response to the original two Motions properly addressed the combined version and suggested the Motion should be deferred to a later Council meeting.

County Councillor Arnold Warneken suggested everyone in North Yorkshire should be encouraged to take on board how serious the Authority was about its commitment to climate change and this message could be reinforced by a clear statement from the Authority that fracking was inappropriate given that it was the most polluting of fossil fuel extraction methods.

Barry Khan, Assistant Chief Executive (Legal & Democratic Services) confirmed there was no reason to defer consideration of the Motion to a later Council meeting.  He also expressed concern that members of a planning committee in the future may be open to an argument of pre-determination, should the proposal within the Motion be agreed by Full Council.  It was noted that should the Motion be agreed, there was a heightened risk of losing an appeal on the refusal of a fracking application in the future.

County Councillor Andy Brown argued that it would be quite reasonable for a Councillor to state a political position that fracking was damaging for the environment, and then to sit on a planning committee and consider the evidence put forward that it was not.

Having considered the views expressed at the meeting, the Executive voted unanimously and it was

Resolved  – That it be recommended to County Council that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 180.

Recommendation:

The Executive is asked to consider the motion on Proportional Representation that has been referred by County Council and make recommendations for consideration at the meeting of County Council on 22 February 2023.

Considered – A report of the Assistant Chief Executive (Legal and Democratic Services) presenting feedback on the motion on Proportional Representation referred by County Council at their meeting on 16 November 2022 and seeking a recommendation to the meeting of the County Council on 22 February 2023.

County Councillor David Chance introduced the report which provided an overview of the First-Past-The-Post system (FPTP) and the various forms of proportional representation (PR).

County Councillor Carl Les welcomed the public participants registered to speak on this item and invited each one to present their submission, as follows:

1. Mr Michael E. Chaloner, secretary to Richmond Constituency Green Party – 19 Spruce Gill Avenue, Aiskew, Bedale North Yorkshire DL8 1DN (attending in person)

“Looking at the diagram based on 2019 General Election we see how unfair the First Past the Post voting is to smaller political parties.

The Green Party had one MP, so they represented 866,000 voters while the SNP has only 26,000 per MP. No one should consider this true democracy.

If you support democracy you need to accept that the North Yorkshire Council should use a form of Proportional Representation for all elections.

It is not surprising that so many members of the British public have so little interest in politics while others turn to using extreme measures to get their opinions across.”

2. Ms Rosemary Livingstone – The Barn, Winksley, Ripon, North Yorkshire (attending in person) 

“I wish to submit the following statement in support of the NYCC Motion for Proportional Representation.  I am speaking as a private citizen on behalf of my family and friends.

There seems to be an existential angst amongst the population about the threats facing the County, the Country and the World. They feel these are not being dealt with adequately and they (the people) feel they are not being heard, and this is manifested in disillusionment with both local and national government.

As a consequence of this disillusionment there is a decline in the number of people voting in elections. It is not as though people can’t be bothered to vote- 12 million votes were cast in the TV series “I’m a Celebrity, get me out of here”.

So let’s look at the voting outcomes in the last General Election in 2019 - across 8 parliamentary constituencies in North Yorkshire, including York:

·         Conservatives polled 54% of all votes cast but won 7 out of 8 seats.

·         Labour took 26% of the votes cast but only won 1 seat.

·         20% of voters gained no representation at all and indeed, probably never will if the system is not changed.

·         So 45 % of all voters ended up with an MP they did not vote for with a massive under-representation for smaller minority parties relative to their vote share.

So let’s accept we have a problem. But there is a solution. The solution is a proper method of Proportional Representation when we have elections for ANY governing body.”

3. Mr Mark Harrison - 15 Garbutt  ...  view the full minutes text for item 181.

Considered –

The Forward Plan for the period 29 January 2023 to 31 January 2024 was presented.

Resolved -   That the Forward Plan be noted.