Agenda and minutes

Before the commencement of the meeting, the Council paid tribute to former Councillor Brian Marshall who had recently passed away.

To receive apologies for absence.

There were no apologies for absence.

A copy of the Register of Interest for each Selby District Councillor is available for inspection at www.selby.gov.uk.

Councillors should declare to the meeting any disclosable pecuniary interest in any item of business on this agenda which is not already entered in their Register of Interests.

Councillors should leave the meeting and take no part in the consideration, discussion or vote on any matter in which they have a disclosable pecuniary interest.

Councillors should also declare any other interests. Having made the declaration, provided the other interest is not a disclosable pecuniary interest, the Councillor may stay in the meeting, speak and vote on that item of business.

If in doubt, Councillors are advised to seek advice from the Monitoring Officer.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 14 May 2019.

The Council considered the minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 14 May 2019.

It was noted that leisure was still listed under the portfolio of the Lead Executive Member for Housing, Health and Culture and this it should be listed under the portfolio of the Leader of the Council.

RESOLVED:

To approve the minutes of the Council meeting held on 14 May 2019 subject to the above amendment for signing by the Chairman.

The Chairman, Leader of the Council or the Chief Executive will deal with any communications which need to be reported to the Council.

The Chief Executive informed Council that the St Germain Parade would take place on Wednesday 31 July and that the Council was still looking for volunteers to support the event.

The Chief Executive informed Council that a letter had been received from the Local Government Boundary Commission for England requesting information concerning housing projections for certain wards in the district. It was noted following receipt of the information, they would make a decision on whether to conduct a review for Selby.

To receive any announcements from the Chairman, Leader or Members of the Executive.

There were no announcements.

To receive any petitions.

There were no petitions received.

To receive and answer questions, notice of which has been given in accordance with rule 10.1 of the Constitution.

There were no public questions received.

Councillor Questions Process:

·         Councillors can ask questions in accordance with rule 11.2 of the Constitution.

·         An answer to a question submitted may take the form of:

(a)          A direct oral answer;

(b)          Where the desired information is in a publication of the Council or other published work, a reference to that publication; or

(c)          Where the reply cannot conveniently be given orally, a written answer circulated later to all members of the Council.

·         A councillor asking a question may ask one supplementary question, without notice, of the councillor to whom the first question was asked. The supplementary question must arise directly out of the original question or the reply.

The following questions have been submitted:

8.1 – Question submitted by Councillor Mary McCartney

To ask the Executive member for Communities and Economic Development

As the Executive member with responsibility for the “access to services agenda and embedding customer focus within services” could you tell me what future the public face of Selby District Council, the Selby town centre “Access Selby” has?

There is a lot of concern amongst residents that the Council plans to shut their only public “front desk”

So, could you please clarify the position and if closure is the preferred option where will residents get that face to face interaction with their local Council?

8.2 – Question submitted by Councillor Mary McCartney

To ask the Executive member for Finance and Resources

As the Executive member with responsibility for the “savings plan” could you please explain how you missed your savings target during the last financial year as highlighted by the Selby Times on Thursday June 27th?

8.3 – Question submitted by Councillor Mary McCartney

To ask the Leader of the Council

During 2018/19,  241 families were allocated social housing in the Selby District.

190 of those families were from the Selby District, with 52 being from outside the Selby District. Yet only 12 Selby families were allocated homes elsewhere in the partnership area.

A net deficit of 39.

So 39 Selby District families lost out on being allocated a home because of Selby District Council being a member of the “North Yorkshire Home Choice” partnership.

Isn’t it time that Selby District Council brought back control of it’s housing policy, left the “North Yorkshire Home Choice” and started putting Selby District families first?

8.4 – Question submitted by Councillor John McCartney

To ask the Executive member for Finance and Resources

Could you please provide the following information in relation to the Programme for Growth Fund; How do you “monitor” this Fund, ensure that this Fund delivers “value for money” and is used “efficiently”? Specifically what is done to ensure that external recipients of the Fund use it appropriately? Can you please update the Council on the current Value of the Fund?

8.5– Question submitted by Councillor John McCartney

To ask the Executive member for Placing Shaping

Section 215 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 gives Councils the power to serve an ‘amenity’ notice on the  ...  view the full agenda text for item 19.

It was noted that six questions had been received from Councillors.

Question One

Councillor Mary McCartney asked question one in relation to the customer contact centre as outlined on the agenda.

The Lead Executive Member for Communities and Economic Development explained that the customer contact centre would be relocating to the Civic Centre. He informed Council that visitor numbers to the Contact Centre had reduced by half in recent years and that the relocation to the Civic Centre would allow customers to be closer to services and for opportunities for efficiencies in service delivery.

For a supplementary question, it was queried how elderly people would visit the Civic Centre. The Lead Executive Member for Communities and Economic Development explained that the Civic Centre was well served on a bus route which dropped visitors right outside the venue.

Question Two

Councillor Mary McCartney asked question two in relation to the savings plan as outlined on the agenda.

The Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources explained that that progress on savings was reported in the 2018/19 quarter four performance report which was considered by the Scrutiny Committee on 4 July 2019. He added that the report showed there was a shortfall of £225k due to delays in the police co-location, contact centre move and channel shift projects which were now expected in 2019/20.

For a supplementary question, it was queried whether the target would be achieved in 2019/20. The Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources stated there were risks however the aim was to deliver on the savings.

Question Three

Councillor Mary McCartney asked question three in relation to the housing policy as outlined on the agenda.

The Lead Executive Member for Housing, Health and Culture explained that the figure of 241 families housed in the district included those who were housed in Council owned housing and those housed with other housing providers in the Council’s area who used North Yorkshire Home Choice.

Council was informed that a report on North Yorkshire Home Choice was presented to the Policy Review Committee in June where the net migration figure had been discussed. It was noted that report advised that City of York Council had made the decision to leave the Home Choice partnership and therefore Selby’s net migration was expected to reduce. 

The Lead Executive Member for Housing, Health and Culture explained that it had been proposed to the Policy Review Committee that a review of the Council’s allocations policy takes place towards the end of 2019/20. It was noted that the review would allow the Council to explore the reasons for the migration and would be an opportunity to ensure that North Yorkshire Home Choice was still meeting the Council’s needs. The Lead Executive Member for Housing, Health and Culture outlined that some of the benefits of remaining a partner of North Yorkshire Home Choice included reducing administration costs related to finance and staffing for singular authorities and providing Selby residents a greater level of customer choice and control, as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

The Leader of the Council, and other members of the Executive, will report on their work since the last meeting of the Council and will respond to questions from Councillors on that work.

Councillor Mark Crane, Leader of the Council

The Leader of the Council presented his update on the work he had recently undertaken, as outlined in his report.

Concern was raised regarding the co-location of the Police at the Civic Centre and in particular the lack of privacy when discussing personal issues at the front reception desk. It was stated that the problem would increase further when the customer contact centre moved into the building. Further concern was raised regarding District Council staff having to speak to members of the public regarding police issues when the police receptionist was not present. The Leader of the Council stated that if the Police had invited someone to the Civic Centre, they should be provided about clear instructions of what to do and where to go. He added that he would raise the issues mentioned.

Concern was raised regarding the moving of the customer contact centre and the effect this would have on elderly and infirm people who would have further to travel to visit the civic centre. The Leader of the Council explained there had been a 50% decrease in visitors to the customer contact centre. He stated that the civic centre was serviced by a bus and had free public parking on site including disabled parking. He added that the move would not result in a decrease in service.

In response to a query concerning the amount of time required to get vacant council properties back into use, the Leader of the Council explained that it had to be ensured the property was fit to be habitable and the necessary work carried out before it could be re-let.

A query was raised regarding Barlby Swimming Pool who had previously received funding from the Council however was now closed. The Leader of the Council stated he would ask officers to have a look as to why the pool was closed.

Councillor Richard Musgrave, Deputy Leader of the Council and Lead Executive Member for Place Shaping

Councillor Musgrave, Deputy Leader of the Council and Lead Executive Member for Place Shaping, provided an update on the work he had recently undertaken, as outlined in his report. Council was informed that the Executive had recommended approval for the writing of a new local plan and that this would be discussed at a forthcoming Council meeting.

In response to queries relating to his visit to Roeselare, the Lead Executive Member for Place Shaping explained that the trip had been paid for by sponsorship and that Roeselare had made excellent progress in revitalising the high street. In response to a further query on lessons learnt from the trip, the Lead Executive Member for Place Shaping explained that one of the key factors for the improvement was leadership which had resulted in positive renovation for the town centre.

In relation to staffing, officers were praised for winning five out of six recent planning appeals and a query was raised regarding how much interest there had been on the recruitment  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

To receive reports from the Council’s committees which need to be brought to the attention of Council. To receive questions and provide answers on any of those reports.

Councillor Steve Shaw-Wright, Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Councillor S Shaw-Wright, Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee provided an update on the work of the Committee and explained that due to the timescales and a combination of officer and member annual leave, it had not been possible to submit a written report to go on the agenda.

The Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee thanked the previous Chairman of the Committee for her work on the Committee. He outlined that the previous meeting of the Committee on 4^th July had included the following items:

• Discussions with the Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group and the Yorkshire Ambulance Service hospital transport and the new assessment process for this.

• An update on the future of Brayton Barff delivered by Yorkshire Water.

• There had also been discussions about the Quarter 4 Corporate Performance Report, the Financial Results and Budget Exceptions Report, the Treasury Management Annual Review and discussions to form a task group to look at Selby District Council Community Centres.

It was noted that the Committee would be looking at items such as the Tour de Yorkshire, Youth Provision and Social Housing and Housing Allocations in the future.

Councillor Andrew Lee, Chairman of the Policy Review Committee

Councillor Lee, Chairman of the Policy Review Committee provided an update on the work of the Committee as outlined in his report.

Concern was raised at the lack of agenda items for the next meeting and it was recommended that a discussion take place on the work programme for the Committee at the next meeting. The Chair of the Policy Review Committee agreed to this proposal.

Councillor K Arthur, Chairman of the Audit and Governance Committee

Councillor Arthur, Chairman of the Audit and Governance Committee provided an update on the work of the Committee as outlined in his report.

In response to a query regarding Parish and Town Councils signing up to the District Council’s code of conduct, the Chair of the Audit and Governance Committee stated that all Parish and Town Councils would be asked to sign up.

RESOLVED:

To receive and note the reports from the Committees.

Motions Process:

• No speeches may be made after the mover has moved a proposal and explained the purpose of it until the motion has been seconded.

• When seconding a motion or amendment, a councillor may reserve their speech until later in the debate.

• Speeches must be directed to the motion under discussion or to a personal explanation or point of order. No speech may exceed five minutes without the consent of the Chairman.

• A councillor who has spoken on a motion may not speak again whilst it is the subject of debate, except:

(a)       To speak once on an amendment moved by another councillor;

(b)       To move a further amendment if the motion has been amended since he/she last spoke;

(c)       If his/her first speech was on an amendment moved by another councillor, to speak on the main issue (whether or not the amendment on which he/she spoke was carried);

(d)       In exercise of a right of reply (see Rule 15.9 of the Constitution);

(e)       On a point of order (see Rule 15.12 of the Constitution); and

(f)        By way of personal explanation (see Rule 15.13 of the Constitution).

• For amendments, please refer to Rule 15.6 of the Constitution.

There have been two motions submitted for consideration:

11.1   Proposed by Councillors Duckett, Franks Jordan, John McCartney, Mary McCartney, Packham and Steve Shaw-Wright.

“That this Full Council agrees that Selby District Council should move from an Executive Structure to a modern Committee based structure that recognises the primacy of the Full Council and in which every elected Councillor plays a full and meaningful part in the Council decision making process.

That a Working Party under the leadership of Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee, working with senior officers, is tasked with putting forward recommendations to this Full Council that enable the changes to occur as soon as possible.”

11.2    Proposed by Councillors Jordan, John McCartney, Mary McCartney, Packham and Steve Shaw-Wright.

This Council agrees that maintenance of Council owned areas, particularly the public areas of housing estates, including: grassed amenity areas and verges; trees; play areas; ginnels; and paved areas, falls far short of reasonable standards, particularly the standards achieved by Town and Parish Councils, and brings the Council into disrepute. 

This is not a criticism of our Contractors, who can only work to the contract agreed with Selby District Council. The contract is clearly deficient in many respects.

The Council therefore instructs Officers to carry out an immediate re-assessment of Council owned land in these areas and the current contractual arrangements for their maintenance and report their findings to Council at the next meeting (September 17, 2019), setting out: the issues that need to be addressed; measures to address the shortcomings; and the costs and necessary amendments to existing maintenance contracts to address this.

It was noted that two motions had been submitted for discussion. The first motion submitted was as follows:

That this Full Council agrees that Selby District Council should move from an Executive Structure to a modern Committee based structure that recognises the primacy of the Full Council and in which every elected Councillor plays a full and meaningful part in the Council decision making process.

That a Working Party under the leadership of Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee, working with senior officers, is tasked with putting forward recommendations to this Full Council that enable the changes to occur as soon as possible.

Councillor Mary McCartney proposed the motion and explained that approving the motion would allow for a more democratic method of governance rather than the current method where decisions were made by only five Members.

Discussion took place on the motion and comments were made by Members in support and against the motion.

In opposition to the motion, Members stated that approving the motion would mean the Council going backwards and that the current systems allowed decisions to be made in an effective way. Concern was raised that moving to a Committee system would result in slower decision making which would hinder the progress of the Council.

In support of the motion, Members stated that there were limited checks and balances to the Executive and that the decision making was restricted to five Members. It was felt that the Committee system would result in the Council performing better for the residents.

Before the motion was put to the vote, a recorded vote was requested in line with rule 19.4 of the Council’s Procedure Rules as outlined in the Council’s Constitution.

For the proposal: Fifteen

Councillors D Brook, S Duckett, J Duggan, K Franks, E Jordan, M Jordan, D Mackay, J McCartney, M McCartney, W Nichols, B Packham, J Shaw-Wright, S Shaw-Wright, P Welburn, and P Welch.

Against the proposal: Sixteen

Councillors K Arthur, D Buckle, J Cattanach, I Chilvers, J Chilvers, M Crane, K Ellis, T Grogan, A Lee, C Lunn, J Mackman, R Musgrave, C Pearson, N Reader, R Sweeting, and M Topping.

The motion was rejected.

RESOLVED:

                        To refuse the above motion. 

The second motion submitted was as follows:

This Council agrees that maintenance of Council owned areas, particularly the public areas of housing estates, including: grassed amenity areas and verges; trees; play areas; ginnels; and paved areas, falls far short of reasonable standards, particularly the standards achieved by Town and Parish Councils, and brings the Council into disrepute. 

This is not a criticism of our Contractors, who can only work to the contract agreed with Selby District Council. The contract is clearly deficient in many respects.

The Council therefore instructs Officers to carry out an immediate re-assessment of Council owned land in these areas and the current contractual arrangements for their maintenance and report their findings to Council at the next meeting (September 17, 2019), setting out: the issues that need to be addressed; measures  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

To consider the appointment of the Monitoring Officer

The Leader of the Council presented the report which asked the Council to appoint Alison Hartley, the newly appointed Solicitor to the Council as the Council’s Monitoring Officer.

The Leader of the Council explained that a recruitment exercise had been undertaken for the Solicitor to the Council post and there had been a unanimous agreement on the panel for the choice of candidate. It was noted that it was a Council decision to appoint the Monitoring Officer.

RESOLVED:

To appoint Alison Hartley as the Council’s Monitoring Officer.

REASON FOR DECISION:

To ensure that the Council appoints a Monitoring Officer as per section 5 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.

The Chief Executive will report on any instances where she has acted in urgent or emergency situations under the functions delegated to her in the Constitution.

It was noted that the Chief Executive had taken the following urgent action since the last meeting:

• On 3 June 2019, appointed a number of Members to different Committees for the 2019/20 municipal year with immediate effect.