Agenda item

Recommendations

 

That the Executive

 

(i)             Approve the refreshed Capital Plan summarised at paragraph 4.2.3.

 

(ii)            Approve the proposed committing of £2m of Strategic Capacity reserve to fund any overspend relating to the Selby Transforming Cities scheme and the delegation of the approval to draw upon that £2m to the Corporate Director – Resources in consultation with the Executive Member for Highways and Transportation and the Executive Member for Finance as summarised at paragraph 4.5.2

 

(iii)           Notes the position on the Council’s Treasury Management activities during the second quarter of 2025/26.

 

(iv)           Refers this report to the Audit Committee for their consideration as part of the overall monitoring arrangements for Treasury Management.

 

(v)            Notes the forecast outturn position against the 2025/26 Revenue Budget, as summarised in paragraph 2.2.1.

 

(vi)           Approve £1,360k funding from the LGR reserve to fund the Customer Engagement Platform in paragraph 2.5.2 and Appendix 1.

Considered – A joint report of the Chief Executive and Corporate Director Resources bringing together key aspects of the Council’s performance on a quarterly basis.

 

The Executive Member for Corporate Services, Councillor Heather Phillips, introduced the report which covered the period 1 July 2025 to 30 September 2025 and drew Member’s attention to the Housing Landlord Services Performance Supplement which had been produced as an additional report to highlight progress made in the areas of compliance and repairs.  The Executive Member made the following key points:

 

Key performance highlights:

·       Telephone call answering times had shown significant improvement and were performing below the original target set.

·       Tourism and cultural services were currently performing strongly.

·       Highways customer service requests were being handled more efficiently.

·       Children’s social care referrals had improved.

·       Early help and reablement services were delivering positive outcomes, ensuring timely interventions and improved outcome.

 

Areas of concern:

·       Benefits processing times were affected by backlogs from system convergence downtime

·       Homelessness remained a concern

·       Issues around Disabled Facilities Grants were now being addressed.

·       Bins and waste services were still adjusting to new systems.

·       Increased use of short-stay care home beds

·       School permanent exclusions rising

 

The Leader welcomed Members of Scrutiny Board to the meeting.  In response to questions to Executive Members from Scrutiny Chairs and Member Champions the following was confirmed:

 

Thriving Places and Empowered Communities

The Executive Member for Culture, Arts and Housing reported that homelessness prevention remained challenging as people presented with less time for intervention, though this hadn’t yet led to an increase in temporary accommodation use.  Additional resources were being deployed to clear the backlog of Disabled Facilities Grants.  Cultural attractions had welcomed over 80,000 visitors, with satisfaction ratings exceeding 90%. 

 

·       Summer reading challenge participation rose by 6%. Libraries would support the 2026 national year of reading with events including an adult reading challenge and a new mobile library would launch in January, visiting an additional 20 rural communities.

 

·       It was suggested that when providing planning statistics separating applications determined within statutory timeframes from those agreed under extensions would provide clearer reporting. This approach would be considered, though it was noted that extensions were agreed with applicants, often where information was missing, and keeping to statutory timeframes might lead to increased refusal rates or withdrawals.

 

Sustainable and Connected Places

·       The Allerton Waste Recovery Park had been shut down for 44 days last year for repairs. Options to divert waste during maintenance periods were limited because alternative sites were often fully booked and the priority was to minimize shutdown days and keep the facility operating as many days as possible.

 

Safe, Healthy and Living Well

The Executive Member for Health and Adult Services noted the positive impact of the occupational therapy assistant role, which had reduced waiting times for council services. The reliance on short-term beds was concerning, with the average stay being nearly 17 weeks. It was noted that this raised welfare concerns and costs exceeded available funding.

 

·       Whilst timeliness of assessments was above national and statistical neighbour averages, completion times had increased due to record numbers of contacts at the front door, and also from police and health services.  Actual referral numbers were falling and practice incentive training was being implemented to improve timeliness.

 

·       Numbers of child protection plans were at a ten-year high, reflecting societal pressures and rising deprivation. A shift in the deprivation profile of North Yorkshire showed more were living in the 30% most deprived communities and fewer in the least deprived, which was an indication of when families would come under strain.  Thresholds were being reviewed and early help provided where needed.

 

·       The “Good” rating with an overall score of 81 out of 100 following the recent CQC inspection of Health and Adult Services was commended, placing North Yorkshire equal third nationally. An action plan was being developed to address areas for improvement, including workforce, transport, home care and housing, and work continued on extra care and supported housing for younger adults with mental health needs and disabilities.

 

Maximise Potential

·       Schools were adapting to the increased use of Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans by deploying specialist staff, investing in training, and working closely with the Council and external agencies. The Council would continue to advocate nationally for fair funding and it was noted that North Yorkshire remained one of the lowest funded authorities for high needs, ranking 146 out of 151.  The importance of ensuring that funding followed identified need was highlighted.

 

One Council

·       It was not possible to benchmark the four-minute telephone answering target against other authorities as comparable data was not available. Performance had improved significantly, and use of the Council’s website was increasing, over four million page views had been recorded.

 

Housing Landlord Services Performance Supplement

The Executive Member for Culture, Arts and Housing referred to the supplemental report on Housing Landlord Services, which had been included to provide information on progress and challenges in managing council housing stock. Following the merger of three stockholding authorities, the Council had self-reported to the Regulator due to a lack of data, which was essential for effective management.  Void properties remained a major challenge, particularly in the former Selby district, and additional resources were being deployed to upgrade older housing stock, and this had contributed to a backlog of voids. Void properties had reduced Housing Revenue Account (HRA) income by £1.4 million.  The Executive Member reminded Members that the HRA operated separately from the general fund and was not subsidised by council tax.  All costs were funded by tenants through rent.  The long-term HRA plan covered a 30-year period with a budget of approximately £260m for repairs and improvements, and current overspends should be viewed in that context.

 

Revenue Budget, Treasury Management and Capital Plan

 

The Executive Member for Finance and Resources, Councillor Gareth Dadd, introduced each section of the report, and reported an overspend of £8m at the end of Quarter 2.  This was equivalent to 1.2% of the total budget for the year.  There was a forecasted overspend of £15m at year end for Children and Young People’s Service, £8m of which was from child placement.  Health and Adult Services were showing an overspend of £2.5m, Community Development an underspend of £3.4m and Environment a £1.1m overspend largely due to a fall in car parking income.  Resources and Central Services were showing a £3.4m underspend due to the release of a £5m pay and inflation reserve as national pay awards and inflation were lower than expected.

 

The Executive Member for Children and Families reported that this quarter presented a concerning set of figures mainly relating to the rising numbers of looked-after children and child placements. It was noted that more children were entering care than leaving, creating significant pressure on foster care capacity.  While the Council aimed to place North Yorkshire children with local carers, the increased complexity of some cases had led to the use of external placements, which had increased from three to nine, with some placements costing over £1 million per child per year due to high staffing ratios required. It was highlighted that the care market was inefficient, demand exceeded supply, and local authorities were competing for limited places.  The Executive Member described management plan actions to address pressures, including challenging providers, creating additional places, and recruiting more foster carers. Longer-term reforms focused on placing children with friends and family.  More immediate actions included practice demand management to safely mitigate risk, refining risk assessments, and strengthening early help to ensure families received timely support.

 

Executive were requested to approve a recommendation for £1.36m funding from the LGR reserve to fund the Customer Engagement Platform.  This would include the replacement of telephony and the customer relationship management database, and would pay for itself after 8 years and provide opportunities for further savings.

 

In relation to Treasury Management the Executive Member highlighted that interest earned had outperformed against the benchmark and Executive noted thanks to the Audit Committee for its work on this.

 

Resolved

 

That the Executive

 

(i)             Approve the refreshed Capital Plan summarised at paragraph 4.2.3.

(Unanimous)

 

(ii)            Approve the proposed committing of £2m of Strategic Capacity reserve to fund any overspend relating to the Selby Transforming Cities scheme and the delegation of the approval to draw upon that £2m to the Corporate Director – Resources in consultation with the Executive Member for Highways and Transportation and the Executive Member for Finance as summarised at paragraph 4.5.2

(Unanimous)

 

(iii)           Notes the position on the Council’s Treasury Management activities during the second quarter of 2025/26.

 

(iv)           Refers this report to the Audit Committee for their consideration as part of the overall monitoring arrangements for Treasury Management.

 

(v)            Notes the forecast outturn position against the 2025/26 Revenue Budget, as summarised in paragraph 2.2.1.

 

(vi)           Approve £1,360k funding from the LGR reserve to fund the Customer Engagement Platform in paragraph 2.5.2 and Appendix 1.