Council staff are reporting that casual workers – some apparently on the notorious zero hours contracts – have been brought in to reduce the backlog in waste bin emptying.
Precisely what such an action will have on the Councils hopes for expenditure reductions in this activity area remains to be seen.
The Council publishes lists of those bins not emptied on its web site each day. Click this link http://www.york.gov.uk/info/200184/recycling_rubbish_and_waste
Labour’s controversial decision to close Lendal Bridge may be open to legal challenge according to opposition councillors.
With the Council showing reluctance to admit how much is being raised in fines, arising from the use of ANPR cameras installed on Lendal bridge and Coppergate, a new threat to the controversial project is emerging.
Liberal Democrat Councillors have revealed that the decision to close the city-centre bridge was taken before an assessment of the impact it would have on disabled residents was completed.
City of York Council’s own guidelines say that ‘Community Impact Assessments’ (CIAs) should be done at the development stage of any policy and before any decision is taken. However, the CIA on the closure of Lendal Bridge was only completed on the 12th September – a full two weeks after the closure started and months after the decision was originally taken in May.
The York Council has published details of the rent arrears owed by its Council house tenants during this year.
• Jan-13 £631,225 (households in arrears 2785)
• Feb-13 £709,637 (3196)
• Mar-13 £491,835 (2142)
• Apr-13 £637,442 (2877)
• May-13 £697,883 (2958)
• Jun-13£741,570 (3090)
• Jul-13 £779,029 (3149)
Although arrears have increased since Labour took control of the Council there is little evidence to suggest that the spare room subsidy (sometimes referred to as the bedroom tax) has had a major effect on levels of rent arrears.
