Agenda

To move that the Minutes of the meeting held on 16 July 2025, having been printed and circulated, be taken as read and be confirmed and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

Any correspondence, communication or other business brought forward by the direction of the Chair of the Council.

Members of the public may ask questions or make statements at this meeting if they have given notice and provided the text to Barry Khan, Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Democratic Services – email: barry.khan@northyorks.gov.uk or in writing to Barry Khan, Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Democratic Services, County Hall, Northallerton DL7 8AD by midday on Friday, 7 November 2025.  Each speaker should limit themselves to 3 minutes on any item.

If you are exercising your right to speak at this meeting, but do not wish to be recorded, please inform the Chair who will instruct anyone who may be taking a recording to cease while you speak.

1.         Taxi licensing

Proposer – Cllr Mark Crane

Seconder – Cllr Tim Grogan

This council urges the government to amend primary legislation to ensure that licences to operate and drive private hire vehicles and hackney carriages (otherwise known as taxis) are only granted to persons who live or work within that local government area.

This council urges the government to amend primary legislation to ensure that licences to operate or drive such vehicles are only granted to persons living or working within that local government area. Currently we are vulnerable to operators and drivers operating with North Yorkshire who may not have been authorised as proscriptively as our own.

2.         Supporting Area Committee decision making

Proposer - Cllr Peter Lacey

Seconder - Cllr Kirsty Poskitt

Council acknowledges the commitment made in advance of assuming Unitary status to being the most local large unitary Authority.  Council further recognises the means by which such localism is being pursued including double devolution and the development of community partnerships.  However, in a recent officer review of delegated powers by Area Committees a number of these powers were not being regularly exercised.  Council recognises that it is for Area Committees to determine their own work programme but equally that delegated powers should and could be better facilitated and enabled by changes in the way that Council business is run.

Council therefore commits:

1.    To ensure that the data and intelligence necessary for Area Committees to exercise their powers is aligned to the new Divisions expected to be finalised in January 2027 and therefore no longer reflects former District and Borough boundaries wherever possible and by September 2026 at the latest.

2.    To put in a place a robust process to enable Area Committees to exercise delegated power 20 to “make recommendations to the Corporate Director of Community Development on the expenditure of Community Infrastructure Levy and appropriate section 106 expenditure”.

3.    To develop a list of services likely to be more effectively delivered by Town and Parish Councils and/or in partnership with local community and voluntary groups and that, subject to business cases, there would be a presumption for double devolution for these services.

4.    To ensure that once County-wide policies are agreed, and where there is a commitment to locally sensitive implementation, that Area Committees are provided with the necessary officer support to develop and sign off plans, for example in the cases of Town Investment Plans or Local Parking Plans, consistent with delegated powers 17-19, 21 & 22 concerned local economic development.

5.    To undertake the equivalent of a post implementation review of activities designed to promote localism that identifies the most up to date best practice in local governance arrangements in similar large Unitary Authorities and learn from this by bringing a report and recommendations back to the appropriate decision-making body including any recommendations on the extent, effectiveness and realisation of delegated powers in the NYC Constitution.

3.         Restore the Policy Implementation Review Timeline for School Transport

Proposer - Cllr Brodigan  ...  view the full agenda text for item 7.

This motion states:

This Council, recognising that prostate cancer can develop without obvious symptoms, will write to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting, seeking a reassurance that a national testing scheme will be made available to men aged 40 + and those men with a family history of breast, ovarian and prostate cancer as a priority supporting Prostate cancer UK’s “Faster Fairer Better campaign”

This motion was referred from the Council meeting on 16 July 2025 to Scrutiny Board and then to Scrutiny of Health on 3 October 2025.

This motion: 

·           Reiterates its support for the dualling of the A64;

·           Agrees to write to the Mayor of York & North Yorkshire and the Members of Parliament for York Outer, Thirsk & Malton and Scarborough & Whitby requesting confirmation of their support for this essential upgrade;

·           Commits to working on a cross-party basis with national and local political representatives to secure this essential upgrade at long last

was referred from the Council meeting on 16 July 2025 to Scrutiny Board and then to the Transport, Economy, Environment and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 22 October 2025.

North Yorkshire Council to note the appointment of El Mayhew as the new Corporate Director Children and Young People’s Services. El Mayhew, an experienced candidate, following an early career in social work has extensive leadership experience across a variety of children’s service disciplines and council’s including large rural authorities, was selected for the post, following Stuart Carlton’s retirement in September 2025. The Chief Officers Disciplinary and Appointments Sub Committee undertook a robust recruitment process, over two rounds, the most recent receiving 16 applications for the role. It is anticipated that El will commence in role in January 2026.