Minutes:
MP Attendance:
Considered: A verbal update from
Andrew Jones MP regarding issues of key concern in the Harrogate and
Knaresborough constituency.
The key points within the update provided by Andrew Jones MP were as follows:-
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Since his previous update to the Committee in
November 2022 significant progress had been made collecting data that would
support a bid to achieve bathing water status for the River Nidd at the
Knaresborough Lido. The team had received 30 supporting statements from bodies
such as Town and Parish Councils and over 200 people had signed up to help with
data collection and monitoring. He had personally delivered the bid to DEFRA
and a decision was expected to be delivered by late spring, he would continue
lobbying to make clear the supporting case for a positive decision on the
bathing water status.
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He also wanted to highlight details regarding
Devolution for North Yorkshire. He explained that the York and North Yorkshire
Combined Authority had now passed all Parliamentary procedures and was on its
way to being ready for election of the Mayor in May. The set
up of the new combined authority would unlock £540M of funding which is
designated to be spent on local priorities that were determined here rather
than in Westminster. He was in favour of decisions being made locally and he
wanted to express the importance of deciding the precise responsibilities that
the Town Council would hold and to avoid duplication of work between the Town
Council and the Area Committee.
Andrew Jones MP
then responded to questions from Members:
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In response to a question from Councillor Broadbank
on spending on education and where North Yorkshire Schools, sat in national
school performance tables, particularly in relation to SEND. He explained that
SEND was seeing significant growth and this was an issue that was being
experienced across the Country. The national budget for this area had gone up
by 60% since 2020 and for the next financial year the funding was £10.5B. North
Yorkshire received 1500 EHCPs in 2014 but was expecting around 5000 in the current
year. This was due in part to a change in the Children and Families Act 2014,
that broadened the scope of SEND. This increase was viewed by NYC’s Director of
Finance as the primary financial challenge for the new Council. The Council was operating with a deficit in
its yearly budget and this deficit was expected to rise with challenges such
that this. He explained that it was his view that all children, regardless of
ability or need, were fully educated and this was a critical part of public
policy. The Council was investing well with education in mind, for example in
the Harrogate and Knaresborough area Woodfield Primary School will open in
April for 80 pupils and focus upon speech and language communication and
other associated mental health needs. In terms of funding
he explained that he had met with schools, families, the Council and the
children’s Minister to discuss funding needs and there were a few points to
note. Firstly the national budget for education was
increasing and it was critical that North Yorkshire received its share. The
Government had produced a ‘SEND Action Plan’ and he would send a copy of this
to all Members. There three main points to the action plan, training for
teachers in mainstream schools, in schools’ capital budgets and in the
establishment of national standards. He had discussed the grant allocation for
North Yorkshire with the Minister and NYC’s grant would increase in the next
year to £676 per head for students aged between two and eighteen.
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In response to a question from Councillor Mann on
the fair funding formula, the MP explained that he had worked with local
organisations such as the Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust and the
Council. Public services across NY were high performing and there was work ongoing
to continue and improve the high level of services provided. He was working
with the other NY MPs to ensure that investments in NY’s services worked to
provide maximum benefits for the County and its services.
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In response to a question from Councillor Lacey on
the delay to setting up a local Town Council, Andrew Jones MP advised that he
agreed with the principle of local services delivered locally but that there
was more groundwork to be done before a Town Council could be formally
constituted. In response to a further question from Councillor Aldred he
explained that it was key to understand what responsibilities and functions the
Town Council would have before it was set up.
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In response to a question from Councillor Slater,
the MP explained that he would support Knaresborough Town Council on any
devolution related projects.
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In response to a question from Councillor Gostlow,
he responded that a decision on the Nidd bathing water status was due in late
spring. Work to improve the water quality of the River
Nidd was a lengthy and complex project but this was a hugely successful step
that had brought people together and it had highlighted a fantastic part of
Knaresborough. Councillor Gostlow followed up that the three designated river
swimming areas in the country had subsequently found to be in poor quality and
people that swam in them had a high chance of becoming ill from doing so,
significant investment was required if improvements were to be seen. He
explained that the Environment Agency were monitoring along the Nidd catchment
and it would be a complex job to improve the water quality, that
being said this was the first Government to attempt to tackle water
quality in a significant way and the Government’s action plan broadened the
scope of the water quality question from solely a coastal issue to one that
included inland waters.
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In response to a question from Councillor Aldred on
whether the MP supported the amended Station Gateway plan that had now been
submitted for approval, he explained that he was broadly in support of
sustainable transport improvements but he was aware that there had been
substantial questions regarding the viability of the Station Gateway
Scheme. In particular
there were concerns about the loss of loading areas and the reduction to
one lane of traffic. Andrew explained that he had not seen the amended plan
that had been submitted but following an outline provided by Cllr Aldred he was
supportive of improvements.
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In response to a question from Councillor
Broadbank on the funding of the HCC improvements he explained that the Council
was seeking national funding support and he would support this work.
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In response to a question from Councillor Haslam
on sustainable transport funding and specifically a plan to construct a train station
on Claro Road, the MP explained that he was happy to meet and discuss this with
Cllr Haslam but this would be a significantly complex project and would depend
on the national budget.
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Councillor Windass asked a question about the River Nidd water quality, following a recent visit from the
Environment Agency in which the EA representative had highlighted complex
issues from old mine workings, farm slurry run off and Yorkshire Water’s
sewerage plants that all had an impact on the water quality. Councillor Windass
asked what Government could do to help in light of all
these issues. Andrew explained that achieving improvements would require a
sustained multi-agency effort and significant funding. Until recently levels of
monitoring the river water quality had been as low as 6%. Currently there were
efforts to improve the level of monitoring in order that a holistic view and
assessment can be made. Soon there would be live monitoring so that members of
the public would be able to see in real time what the quality of the water was.
Government was working, through DEFRA, with farmers and looking to make capital
investments in sewerage works and storm overflows. The MP agreed to distribute
the water quality action plan to Members following the meeting.
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In response to a question from Councillor
Broadbank on the cost of food waste relating to confusing rules, Andrew
explained that he was unable to provide a full answer on this but would look into it and get back to Cllr Broadbank.
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In response to a question from Councillor Aldred
on whether the Country was getting value for money on money paid, or agreed to
be paid, to the Rwandan and French Governments to assist in remedying the
migrant issue, the MP explained that the migrant situation was a significant
issue in the Mediterranean. In 2022 2062 people lost their lives attempting to
cross that body of water and there was a significant problem of people
smuggling with vast amount of money being made at the expense of many people’s
lives. The principal aim of the Government was to regain control of our borders
and for British people to feel that they, through their Government,
are in control of who comes here. The Rwandan scheme was to be seen as a
deterrent to reduce the numbers of people trying to enter the country illegally
and the Albanian scheme had reduced number the number of people attempting to
cross the Channel by 30% last year. In terms of value
it was difficult to put a value on the lives of people and if you factored in
the significant costs of housing illegal migrants in hostels, amounting to
around £8.3M a day, the Government viewed this as a good investment.