York crime levels up

Figures published today by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) confirm that crime levels in York are increasing.

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The main concern in York will be the violence figures which have crept up.

Also on the increase in recent months have been theft offences, drug misuse, non domestic burglaries and sexual offences,

The largest number of reports received by the Police concern anti social behaviour. ASB offences are not monitored on the national crime report.

The local Police commanders are at pains to point out that North Yorkshire, as a whole, is the safest county in the UK in which to live.

You can find out about crime incidents in your,and neighbouring, streets by clicking here

Independent chair sought for flood inquiry

City of York Council is inviting applications from appropriately qualified individuals to independently chair an inquiry into the recent flooding in York.

It is doing so without any kind of debate in its democratic system (see next story).

Someone has apparently also decided what the terms of reference of the inquiry will be. Again there has been no opportunity for residents to have any input.

The Council say, “The inquiry was called by the council’s leadership earlier this month to look at how the city coped with the recent floods. The inquiry will be chaired by an independent person.

It is expected that representatives from key organisations will be asked to give their account of the floods to the inquiry team but that there will be a wider call for evidence from those who can assist the inquiry.

The criteria for the Independent Chair is to:

Provide leadership and direction to enable the effective participation in the Inquiry of those able to give information of value to it
Lead and conduct the inquiry in accordance with its terms of reference and within an agreed time frame
Produce, in conjunction with the inquiry team, a report which is thorough, comprehensive and accurate and which can be made publicly available.
Skills/experience required, are:
The successful candidate will need to demonstrate the following competencies:
The ability to chair and lead an inquiry team made up of influential people
The ability to command the confidence of councillors, public and private sector agencies those in the voluntary sector and the public of York
A highly skilled public communicator on high-profile and sensitive issues
Strong analytical skills and the capacity to examine issues in an impartial way using a range of methods to engage with those able to give information of value to the inquiry
An outstanding and relevant career track record

How to apply:

The council has already received applications of interest for the role. Individuals who wish to register their interest in being on the inquiry panel, or chair, can do so by the closing date of Friday 12 February, by:

– visiting www.york.gov.uk/floodsinquiry

– calling 01904 551550

– Applications by way of a CV and supporting statement can also be sent to: Chief Executive’s Office, City of York Council, West Offices, Station Rise, York YO1 6GA.

About the Inquiry:

Terms of Reference for the review of the floods in York have also been established. To read these visit: www.york.gov.uk/floodsinquiry

What happens next?

The council will provide administrative support and cover reasonably incurred costs. The independent Chair will report to a meeting of the Full Council and share information with the relevant agencies.

The outcome of the inquiry will be to develop an action plan in response to the recommendations”.

Floods update – No report on York Councils next Executive agenda

New business compensation fund announced

The agenda for the next meeting of the York Councils ruling Executive committee has been published. The anticipated item on the recent floods has been omitted.

It means that confusion continues to surround the promised “public inquiry” into the causes of the flooding and the effectiveness of the response by all agencis.

There had been calls for a special meeting to be called to consider how well the Council itself had addressed the crisis. This had been “put on hold” as officials struggled to deal with remedial work

It would be a major mistake if the Councils main policy making committee at its next meeting did not at least take time to review:

How effectively the Council communicated with residents and businesses particularly over the fateful weekend of the 26^th and 27 December?
Whether flood alleviation arrangements including the distribution of sandbags was effective?
How quickly victim’s needs were assessed and how effectively they were remedied?
How well volunteer efforts were coordinated?
How the clean-up operation has gone?
How effective, and transparent, financial compensation arrangements are?

We are not out of the vulnerable winter period yet so, if refinements to emergency plans are required, then they need to be implemented in days rather than weeks.

Meanwhile the Council has announced yet another separate compensation fund for floods victims. It adds to the already bewildering range of funding channels apparently available to businesses and home owners.

The Council statement reads,

“York businesses are set to benefit from a share of a £5million flood fund, which was endorsed by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Investment Committee yesterday.

The fund will help small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) across York and the Leeds City Region to recover from the effects of recent flooding.

Merchant Adventures Hall

Yesterday’s meeting of the Committee supported a recommendation to invest £5m from the Leeds City Region Growth Deal allocation to establish the Business Flood Recovery Fund. An initial £1.4m will be made available with the full £5m awaiting final approval by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Board at their meeting on 4 February. The new fund will be managed by the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

The Business Flood Recovery Fund is expected to be in place by next week with grants of between £5,000 and £100,000 available. The fund could support SMEs with critical capital investment requirements such as new equipment or hire costs for machinery and premises required to recommence or maintain their operations. It could also go towards implementing internal flood resilience measures such as building a mezzanine floor to move business critical equipment to a higher point. Each application will be reviewed on a case by case basis and will need to be accompanied by a detailed flood recovery plan.

Support will be provided by the LEP’s growth managers, local authorities, Chambers of Commerce and the Manufacturing Advisory Service to help eligible businesses develop the plans and ensure business continuity over the long term.

The fund will operate under the same guidelines as the existing LEP grant funding scheme currently supporting SMEs to grow in Leeds City Region. To be eligible for funding, businesses must be an SME and from one of the LEP’s priority sectors; manufacturing, food and drink, low carbon and environmental, financial and professional services, health and life sciences and digital and creative – although discretion will apply.

The application form will be available from the LEP next week and via local authority growth managers across the region. The LEP has a package of support available to businesses looking to grow and find support to help them realise their full potential. Support for business grants and loans, skills advice, apprenticeships and export are all available through the LEP and businesses are encouraged to get in touch by calling 0113 348 1818 or emailing businessgrowth@the-lep.com to find out more.

Further information about the support available to flood affected businesses can be found at www.the-lep.com/floodsupport.

By supporting the Business Flood Recovery Fund, West Yorkshire Combined Authority is building on the existing support provided by government of up to £7,500 that has been made available to SMEs in Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, Wakefield, York and North Yorkshire to help companies with the immediate clean-up effort and flood resilience”.
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Exam results league tables for York published

Disappointing results at York High

Exam results in York click to access more infromation

Exam results in York click to access more information

The Department for Education has published the results of GCSE exams taken last year. They make grim reading for the York High School where success rates have plunged.

Of course, there may be many reasons for this and parents will be expecting a full explanation from the head teacher and his school governors in due course.

York schools generally performed better than the rest of the UK with 64% of pupils achieving good GCSE results against an a national average of 57%.

From next year, schools in England will be measured on what is known as Progress 8. Progress 8 will replace the five or more good GCSEs, including maths and English, benchmark as the key measure for all secondary schools.

Progress 8 assesses the progress pupils make between Key Stage 2 tests taken at the end of primary school and their performance in a specified mixture of eight subjects at the end of secondary school. Schools will be given a score based on how their pupils have progressed compared to the national average.

This year, schools were given the option to “opt in” for Progress 8 and 327 schools (around 10%) took this up.

Nationally, head teachers have long complained measuring success on the basis of GCSE results alone is unfair as it does not take into account the intake of the school.

But ministers have maintained parents want and need simple and easy-to-digest information about schools.

The difference in achievement by gender is startling, with roughly a fifth fewer boys than girls reaching the end of Key Stage 4 with a good set of GCSEs.

Some 61.8% of girls got five good GCSEs, including English and maths, compared with 52.5% of their male peers.

And fewer boys than girls made at least the expected level of progress – 65.9% of boys opposed to 76.5% of girls.

More girls (29.3%) than boys achieved the English Baccalaureate (EBacc), which requires GCSEs in two sciences, a language, history or geography, as well as English and maths. Only 19.5% of boys obtained it.

Overall, 24.3% of pupils achieved the EBacc.

There was also a marked difference between the performance of disadvantaged pupils (those eligible for the pupil premium) and their more advantaged peers, with just 36.7% getting five good GCSEs, including maths and English, compared to 64.7%.

The poorest performing local authority was Knowsley on Merseyside, where 37.4% of pupils met the required standard, compared to the national average of 57.1%.

Business Improvement District for York city centre – taxpayers asked for £50,000 loan

…..but still no sign of help for sub-urban commercial centres like Front Street

Front Street snubbed again by York Council

The York Council’s Executive will be asked to support the successful implementation of the Business Improvement District (BID) in York at a meeting on Thursday 28 January.

The meeting comes after a ballot in November 2015 saw businesses across the city centre vote in favour of a new Business Improvement District, which will deliver over £800,000 in new investment for the city centre each year.

Executive will be asked to note a draft memorandum of understanding and baseline operating agreement for the Business Improvement District ahead of final terms being reached.

The Executive will also be asked to approve a cash flow loan of up to £50,000 to help support the creation of the Business Improvement District. It’s proposed this loan will be reimbursed in full by Summer 2016.

The business-led BID will take decisions on how to invest in the city centre and will focus on areas such as improving the cleanliness of the city centre, tackling anti-social behaviour and supporting businesses.

However the Council continues to ignore calls for regeneration initiatives in sub-urban retail areas like Front Street. Its Quango partner organisation “Make it York” is also entirely focused on the City centre area.

The Council report also outlines City of York Council’s annual contribution, via levy, of around £28,000 beginning in the 2016/17 financial year. The BID will however reimburse the administrative cost of levy collection up to £25,000.
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