Grand Departy heading for huge loss?

With Groupon now advertising Grand Departy tickets for £20 each (a 32% discount) there are growing concerns that the “10,000” capacity event could be a major flop.

Concert organiser Cllr Crisp facing difficult questions

Concert organiser Cllr Crisp facing difficult questions

Councillors are understood to be asking just how big a bill taxpayers may have to pick up?

The event – to be held at the Huntington Stadium on 4th July – always looked to be an afterthought.

It is sadly too typical of a council that has over-extended itself once too often.

They need to come clean about how many tickets have actually been sold?

York Council got Freedom of Information costs wrong

A media report, claiming that responding to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests made to the York Council cost on average £700 each, was wrong the authority has admitted.

Ironically it took another FOI request to reveal the real figure of £137.

Behind closed doors logo

The Council claims that the mistake was due to an error in a press release that it issued.

£715 was the maximum cost for processing a request.

The Councils FOI web page is poor lacking even an on line form on which to record requests.

 Since it was under LibDem control in 2010, the Council has, however, routinely published on its web site the answers to the FOI requests that it has processed.

The Council’s Audit committee is due to consider the FOI processes next Wednesday.

It will hear that the number of FOI requests has escalated since Labour took control of the Council and adopted a “behind closed doors” decision making regime. The number of requests increased from 804 in 11/12 to 1384 in 13/14 (72%).

81% of the requests were responded to within the 20 day deadline.

98 dissatisfied residents asked for their requests to be reviewed and 93 went as far as complaining to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO).

In 40 cases the ICO found against the Council.

The types of information requested from the Council varies a lot.

  • Some is commercially motivated with potential tenderers seeking information on upcoming contracts.
  • Others are routine trawls for information from vested interests. These would include companies flowing up “no next of kin” deaths as well as unclaimed Business rates.

In both these cases the Council should routinely publish on its web site the information that is available. That would be much cheaper than responding to individual request for information.

Many of the requests though reflect the interest that residents have in the way that the Council is being managed.

It would take a sea change in attitude from the present Council if the information needs of residents were to be anticipated and built into monitoring systems rather than have to be dragged from a reluctant, obstructive Leadership.

Fabulous Festival of food and drink

Food And Drink Festival

Date:Fri 20 June – Sun 29 June

Time:Various

Venue:Across York but focused in Parliament Street

Cost:Free entry to the market, some special events will be charged for.

The annual Festival of Food and Drink returns to refresh parts you never knew needed it.  Beer, and burgers, cheese and chardonnay what ever tickles you taste buds you will find it here.

More

Council choir tours residential homes

City of York Council’s staff choir will be touring council residential homes in York to celebrate the Grand Départ with a good sing with residents.

Cansing! is make up of council staff who enjoy making music, and some 20 choir members will give their time to visit City of York Council’s residential homes at Willow House, Woolnough House and Grove House on Saturday 28 June. They’ll sing a variety of songs to give residents a taste of the build-up to the Tour de France coming to York on 6 July.

Ted Schofield, chair of the choir, said: “We sang at Willow House before Christmas which went down really well with the residents. It gave us the idea of taking part in York: Be Part of It and bringing old favourites like ‘Daisy, Daisy’ and other cycle-themed songs to bring a flavour of the tour to these communities.”

Cansing! was founded in 2010 and has sung in York Minster, on BBC Radio York, at York Carnival as well as in their own concerts.The choir can be heard rehearsing every Thursday lunchtime in St Helen’s Church, St Helen’s Square, York.