Agenda and minutes

Resolved –

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

Councillor Yvonne Peacock declared a non-prejudicial interest in Agenda item 4, as the owner of a private hire company that provided school transport.

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 Friday 19 November 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.

There were no public questions or statements.

Considered – A report provided by Andrew Clarke, Public and Community Transport Manager giving an update on the ongoing Yorbus Pilot.

Andrew Clarke introduced the report, which outlined the service and provided a performance analysis for 2021/22, which included passenger data and feedback on the associated key performance indicators.  He also confirmed that the pilot period had been extended for a second year up to 30 June 2023.

Whilst some concern was expressed about the cost of running the service, Members welcomed its introduction, recognising its benefit to smaller communities.  They also noted:

·          The steady increase in use of the service and that it was attracting more young people than other subsidised bus services.

·          Customer satisfaction was above the expected level.

·          The introduction of a pre-booking option and the impact it was having on journey availability

·          The increase in fares as of August 2022.

·          The reasons for use i.e., travelling to doctors/hospital, and for shopping and socialising.

·          Its favourable comparison with other digital demand responsive services.

·          The ongoing work to identify additional future funding options and options for an extended roll out to other parts of the county.

Members suggested the service could be used to provide vital access to work and education for young people living in rural areas.

The Chair thanked the officer for the update, and it was

Resolved – That the update be noted.

Considered – A update on community resilience and emergency planning provided by Matthew Robinson -Head of Resilience & Emergencies.

Matthew Robinson provided a brief overview of the benefits of having local community emergency plans in place to provide support in dealing with the first 48 hours following an incident. 

He also provided an overview of how Councillors could help local communities to introduce an Emergency Plan, help during an incident, and after an incident through the assessment of a community’s reaction.

Members recognised the risk associated with a reliance on wi-fi as a result of the switch from analogue to digital telephony.  They also noted that any existing emergency plans would need updating to remove District and Borough Council contacts in preparation for vesting day. They also noted the use of the locality fund by some members to support emergency planning work in their divisions e.g. for the purchasing of generators.

Members suggested a crib sheet with telephone numbers for key officers/service teams and external partners, would be helpful for all members.  As would some literature to use to promote the benefits of having an emergency plan to small community groups.

The Chair thanked the officer for his report and it was

Resolved – that the report be noted.

Considered – An update report on North Northallerton Bridge, informing Members of the ongoing progress on its delivery.

Area Highways Manager, Jayne Charlton, presented the update report, and confirmed that subject to weather conditions, the bridge was to be open to the public from mid December 2022 onwards.  It was noted that pedestrian access could not be provided sooner due to a manufacturing issue which had held up the installation of the lighting columns.

Councillor Heather Moorhouse requested information on highways related issues affecting climate change and requested that a report on CO₂ emissions be brought to a future meeting.

Resolved – That the update report be noted.

Considered -  A detailed and wide-ranging report introduced by Mark Ashton, Strategic Planning Officer, providing information on:

·            The no of schools across the area and their status;

·            School standards and attainment;

·            Exclusions;

·            Special Education Needs;

·            Elective Home Education;

·            Schools Finance;

·            Local school place planning issues;

Members welcomed the report and noted:

·            The good Ofsted outcomes.

·            Falling school numbers had been the catalyst for the Rural Commission.

·            The introduction of new and affordable housing in rural villages would bring more children to those areas supporting the sustainability of rural schools.

·            The increase in exclusions at both primary and secondary schools.

·            The numbers of pupils in elective home education - a large proportion were working well with EHE parent groups in place and EHE advisors in all localities monitoring those schools with higher EHE numbers and the quality of the education being provided.

·            The impact of rising energy costs on school budgets (110% for electricity and up to 350% for gas).

·            The importance of liaising with partners in the NHS on young people’s mental health issues.

·            The work of the strategic planning team e.g. monitoring the preferences of parents understanding the local issues affecting future pupil numbers at specific schools such as Catterick school.

The Chair thanked the officers for the report and it was

Resolved – That the annual update report be noted.

Considered - A report presenting the committee’s draft work programme for the municipal year 2022-23.

Melanie Carr, Principal Democratic Services & Scrutiny Officer introduced the committee’s work programme and asked Members to review it taking into account the outcome of discussions on previous agenda items and any other developments taking place across the area.

It was agreed that the Chair would work with the supporting officer to update the draft work programme ahead of the Committee’s next meeting.

Resolved – That the work programme be noted.