Agenda and minutes

TheChairwelcomedeveryoneto the meeting.  Apologies were received from County Councillors Neil Swannick and Derek Bastiman.

Resolved –

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 23 September 2022, having been printed and circulated, be taken as read and confirmed and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

County Councillor Janet Jefferson declared an interest in agenda item 7 – Schools, Educational Achievement & Finance, as a Trustee of the Coast and Vale Learning Trust.

County Councillor Liz Colling declared an interest in agenda item 7 – Schools, Educational Achievement & Finance, as a Governor of Childhaven Community Nursery School.

County Councillor Roberta Swiers declared an interest in agenda item 7 – Schools, Educational Achievement & Finance, as a Governor of Cayton Primary School.

There were no other declarations of interest.

Members of the public may ask questions or make statements at this meeting if they have given notice and provided the text to Melanie Carr of Democratic Services (contact details below) no later than midday on Tuesday 22 September 2022. 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 those taking a recording to cease whilst you speak.

There were no public questions or statements.

County Councillor Clive Pearson welcomed Rt Hon. Sir Robert Goodwill MP to the meeting, who in turn thanked the Chair and was pleased to have the opportunity to attend committee meetings back in person. He began by welcoming the appointment of Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister and hoped this would lead to a period of financial stability.

On Local Government Reorganisation, the MP was keen to see the creation of town councils in the unparished parts of Scarborough and Harrogate, with a consultation with residents ongoing. Mr Goodwill also welcomed the proposed creation of a mayoral combined authority for York and North Yorkshire as part of a devolution deal. He felt this would provide powers and funding to enable the region to unleash its full economic potential and in doing so level up, raise living standards for local communities and make a full contribution to the UK economy.

Sir Robert explained that the lack of NHS dentistry services continues to remain a concern in the constituency, with local residents struggling to find emergency treatment. Mr Goodwill welcomed the addition of further dentistry provision on Falsgrave in Scarborough and hoped to see progress in Eastfield.

The difficulties in booking GP appointments and in primary care were also raised as a concern. Mr Goodwill welcomed the £47m investment in Scarborough Hospital as part of a new Urgent and Emergency Care Centre and hoped it would help with the recruitment issues for new doctors and nurses on the Yorkshire coast.

It was noted that the sealife mortality off the North East coast has been recently investigated by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee, with an inquiry held and the Secretary of State subsequently asked to consider a number of actions by the select committee.

Mr Goodwill was very worried about the supported housing situation in the constituency and helping residents with the cost of living crisis.

Following this introduction, issues raised by elected members included:

·       Communication errors regarding the hospital care of a patient that had led to delays in treatment, and how this could be resolved.

·       Property developers buying HMOs and converting them into single rooms

·       The views of Mr Goodwill on climate change matters such as fracking and nuclear power

·       Whether the legislation to bring in Environmental and Land Management schemes (ELMs) is going ahead?

·       Reports in the media about the use of sewage dry spills by water companies and how these can be stopped.

·       The views of the MP on trail hunting and progress with the Animal Welfare Bill.

·       The current state of rural bus services in the constituency and what action can be taken.

·       Parish and Town Councils picking up existing District and Borough Council responsibilities following Local Government Reorganisation.

·       Putting pressure on NHS England to resolve the lack of dentist provision in Eastfield

·       The importance of recruiting planning staff to maintain service standards given shortages across the country in this area.

The Chair thanked Sir Robert Goodwill MP for his attendance and his responses to members  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

Considered – Report of PC Lee Holmes to update members on rural policing.

Some of the key points highlighted in the report are as summarised below:

·       High fuel and energy prices, together with the continued high prices of fertiliser and inputs such as feed and agro chemicals, has placed extra financial strain on farming families in rural communities.

·       As dark nights draw in over the winter period, the possibility of the theft of heating oil and agricultural oil/diesel has increased.

·       An Avian bird flu lockdown was put in place from Monday 10 November, with several cases identified in North Yorkshire.

·       Rural watches are now fully active, which should lead to an increase in the intelligence received and deter travelling criminals. The working model used for disseminating information via WhatsApp is being looked at nationally.

·       General theft remains the highest crime reported in Scarborough rural areas.

There followed a discussion, the key points of which are as summarised below:

·       Local ANPR of vehicles suspected of thefts is ongoing.

·       Operation Figaro, working with other police forces to robustly target poachers to put a stop to their illegal activity, is continuing.

·       The shooting industry is struggling, through a multitude of factors including the avian influenza and the inability of accessing pheasant chicks to rear as they would normally for lowland shoots.

·       The ability to identify vehicles using their Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) has helped to return stolen cars and vehicles to their owners.

·       The tensions associated with policing activities around fox hunting, as a result of the emotional feelings on both sides of the argument.

·       The best ways of combatting rural crimes.

·       The advantages of setting up Rural Watch groups across the county to combat crime and allow information to be fed in. Also, the benefits of community WhatsApp groups to disseminate information was noted.

PC Liam Holmes was thanked for his report.

Resolved – That the report be noted.

Purpose: To provide an update on the local educational landscape, educational achievement and the financial challenges affecting schools in the Scarborough & Whitby constituency committee area.

Members considered a detailed report introduced by Matt George, Strategic Planning Officer, CYPS. The wide ranging report provided information and statistics for the Scarborough and Whitby constituency on:

·       The number of schools across the constituency area and their status;

·       School standards and attainment;

·       Exclusions;

·       Special Education Needs;

·       Schools Finance;

·       Planning of school places;

There followed a discussion, the key points of which are as summarised below:

·       Following the introduction of a preventative model of alternative provision for attempting to avoid a permanent pupil exclusion, a post-implementation review is ongoing looking at comments received from those involved.

·       Day 6 cover for Scarborough Pupil Referral Service implemented, with consultation about to start around bringing in a similar model for the rest of the county.

·       The Scarborough district has been successful in receiving £1m over three years as part of the Priority Educational Investment Area, with the first two meetings of the Board having taken place.

·       The full details of the Woodlands Academy rebuild in Scarborough are being prepared.

·       Given the expected demand for secondary school places in the next 4/5 years with the housing developments in the pipeline, is another secondary school at Eastfield under consideration?

·       Completion of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHC) across the county is improving, but is currently well below the 90% level for completing plans within 20 weeks. This was due to a national shortage of Educational Practitioners. In North Yorkshire, a contract with an agency has been set up to help resolve this situation.

The Chair thanked officers for the report.

Resolved – That the annual report be noted.

Considered - A report by Karen Atkinson, Stronger Communities Delivery Manager.

Some of the key points highlighted in the report are as summarised below:

·       The cost of living support provided by the County Council

·       The support provided through the North Yorkshire Local Assistance Fund for vulnerable people who are moving into or seeking to remain within the community, including help with food and fuel costs or other essential household items.

·       The third round of the Household Support Fund, with a particular focus on those most in need who have missed out on cost of living payments and energy support.

·       Grants distributed to food banks.

·       The DfE funded holiday activity and food programme, offering free holiday activities and food for free school meal eligible children in Easter, Summer and Christmas main school holidays.

·       The work of the local Community Support Organisations (three in the constituency) during the Covid-19 pandemic and the identification and mapping of ‘Warm Spaces’ across Scarborough and Whitby.

·       Specialist support given to six VCSE organisations in the Scarborough and Ryedale area to remodel their services and provide additional capacity for fundraising in trying to ensure their future sustainability.

There followed a discussion, the key points of which are as summarised below:

·       The provision of ‘Warm Spaces’ across Scarborough and Whitby and how these have been set up and are working so far. County Councillor Roberta Swiers reported that the warm space set up in Cayton had been well attended and was bringing out underlying issues around the cost of living that could be addressed by partner organisations.

·       Whether FEAST provision (free holiday activities and food for free school meal eligible children) could be considered over the February 2023 half term holidays.

·       Are there plans to extend free school meal provision to cover children who fall under the existing criteria in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 during the cost of living crisis?

·       Could free school breakfast clubs be introduced?

Resolved – That the report be noted.

Considered -

The report of the Assistant Chief Executive (Legal and Democratic Services) asking Members to review the Work Programme, taking into account the outcome of discussions on previous agenda items and any other developments taking place across the area.

The suggestion of a report on travel connectivity across the Scarborough and Whitby constituency was suggested as a future item.

Resolved - That the Democracy Officer update the work programme to reflect the decisions made during the meeting.

None.