Agenda item

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.

A query was raised regarding the devolution proposals in North Yorkshire including the Local Government review and whether the review would still occur. The Leader of the Council stated that the Government were working on a number of different issues and it remained to be seen whether the review would still happen or whether it would be delayed.

In response to a query concerning consultation on the KPMG report, the Leader of the Council agreed that there should be wider consultation on the proposals.

A query was raised regarding the costs for the KPMG report. The Leader of the Council explained that each district had placed £25k in a joint fund which had resulted in a fund of £175k overall and the cost of the report had been met from that fund.

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

Councillor Musgrave provided an update on the work he had recently undertaken, as outlined in his report.

In addition to the report, the Lead Executive Member for Place Shaping informed Council that he had agreed with the Director of Economic Regeneration and Place to publish the five year housing land supply figure for the authority which was currently 7.7.

In response to a query concerning enforcement cases, the Lead Executive Member for Place Shaping explained that there had been an increase in cases reported over the last six months along with changes issued by the Government. He added that discussions had taken place with officers on how to reduce the backlog.

A query was raised regarding the appointment of the Project Manager and what areas were covered by the High Street Heritage Action Zone Project as the map of the project seemed to only cover half of Gowthorpe. The Lead Executive Member for Communities and Economic Development stated the post would be funded by the grant received for the project and agreed to get clarification on the areas covered by the project.   

Councillor Cliff Lunn, Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources

Councillor Lunn provided an update on the work he had recently undertaken, as outlined in his report.

A query was raised regarding whether there had been any issues of fraud with the Government grants relating to Covid-19. The Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources explained that there had been no reported cases of fraud to date however Veritau were looking at possible cases of fraud and rejecting application if necessary. Additionally, Council was informed that if there were any prosecutions then these would be reported.

In response to a query concerning the New Homes Bonus, the Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources explained that it was the expectation that the funding would finish and that the Council would have to be meet the money lost from the Business Equalisation Reserve.

Councillor David Buckle, Lead Executive Member for Communities and Economic Development

Councillor Buckle provided an update on the work he had recently undertaken, as outlined in his report.

The Lead Executive Member for Communities and Economic Development reported that the Council had received £500k from the High Streets Fund.

Concern was raised at the condition of the Sustrans cycle route between Selby and York. The Lead Executive Member for Communities and Economic Development stated that he would ask officers to look into this.

With regard to the Sherburn draft town centre action plan, it was queried who would be invited to the Stakeholder meeting. The Lead Executive Member for Communities and Economic Development explained that the Council was awaiting the report from Chris Wade before holding the meeting and that stakeholders invited would include representatives from Town Councils, businesses, town centre groups, North Yorkshire County Council and Selby College.

Councillor Chris Pearson, Lead Executive Member for Housing, Health and Culture

Councillor Pearson provided an update on the work he had recently undertaken, as outlined in his report.

A query was raised regarding how many fixed penalty notices and prosecutions had there been from the Council in relation to breaches of Covid-19. The Lead Executive Member for Housing, Health and Culture agreed to look into this and reply. 

In response to a query concerning funding for Welcome to Yorkshire, the Leader of the Council explained that the Council had provided £10k of funding to Welcome to Yorkshire.

Concern was raised that the Council were not monitoring licenced premises in the district to ensure they were complying with Covid-19 guidance such as for track and trace. The Lead Executive Member for Housing, Health and Culture reported that licenced premises had been visited and materials such as signage had been provided. It was also noted that North Yorkshire Police had separately been in touch with premises as well.

In response to a query concerning no food hygiene checks being carried out in the last six months, the Leader of the Council stated that food hygiene checks had been carried out.

RESOLVED:

To receive and note the reports from the Executive.