Another York apprenticeship recruitment event announced for 2nd March

Young people will be able to find out about over 100 apprenticeship vacancies across the city at the latest York apprenticeship recruitment event on 2 March 2017.

The event is coordinated by City of York Council’s York Apprenticeship Hub team.

The recruitment event, which takes place at West Offices between 4.00pm and 7.00pm, looks to highlight both the individual benefits of pursuing an apprenticeship job with training and the business benefits of hiring apprentices.

The event will provide an opportunity for young people aged 16-24 and their parents or carers, to meet with recruiting employers and to find out about alternative routes to Level 3 qualifications and university.

As well as the chance to speak to employers, training providers and current apprentices the event will also offer the opportunity for young people to book one-to-one advice sessions. The guidance sessions can advise people on CVs, job searching, interviews and the different options available to them.

With over 100 apprenticeship vacancies across the city, including accountancy, marketing, engineering and health, the event has lots to offer people who are considering their next step toward a career. Employers, such as Nestlé, Siemens, Portakabin, the Armed services, Marriott Hotel and many more, will be looking to fill vacancies and share information on their apprenticeship schemes. Training providers will also be available to discuss other York based apprenticeship vacancies and training opportunities.
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Guildhall project set to get planning approval

Perhaps not surprisingly, the York Planning Committee is being recommended to approve major changes to the Guildhall complex in York.

The proposals involve alterations to, and the refurbishment of, the Guildhall complex to create conference rooms, meeting rooms and offices.

Guildhall project plans

The existing south range will be refurbished, and part rebuilt, to provide cafe and ancillary accommodation while an extension will be erected on the north side of complex to form a restaurant and office accommodation.

30 objections to the plans – including one from the York Conservation Trust – have been received. Only one letter of support has been lodged.

The proposal is controversial because of the risks to the public purse. The latest estimates suggest that Council taxpayers could be liable for around £12 million if the project flops. It is an investment – and risk – which could have been transferred to the private sector if a more flexible tendering system had been adopted.

York Guildhall

Many of the proposed changes will be welcomed as they open up the river bank and will bring back into use an important historic building which has been largely empty for four years.

One issue to be resolved is the inclusion of units where alcohol will be served.

This – like several other recent proposals for the city centre – is directly in conflict with the cumulative impact policies of the Council and local Police. The policy seeks to limit the number of outlets in the City centre selling alcohol.

guildhall-costsb-july-2016

Police tight lipped about Acomb Police station closure

The Police and Crime Commissioners office (PCC) has refused to reveal details of the proposed move of the Acomb Police station to a new site at Lowfields. They claim “commercial confidentiality” as a reason not to reveal their forward investment programme (other Authorities agree forward capital plans at public meetings).

The PCC does admit that £141,000 was spent in 2013 modernising the existing station on Acomb Road.

The PCC claims that the Police do not hold any notes or the minutes of any meetings which have taken place during the last 2 years at which the expansion or relocation of the Acomb Police Station has been discussed. Nor will they provide details of the costs associated with any proposed changes

The PCCs decision-making process is at best opaque.

A response to an FOI request refers to a decision taken by the PCC in 2015. A report then outlined ways in which around £1.6 million a year will be saved from the police budget by rationalising premises.

Across North Yorkshire, it estimates that total capital costs (including project management costs and costs for digital technologies) would be of the order of £17.6m, and will exceed disposal proceeds (estimated to be £12.4m) by around £5m.

A background paper says that police services will be delivered through three tiers,

Tier 1: Core operational hubs; which will typically include essential core police and back office activities including Force Control Room locations, Custody locations, Investigative Hubs and facilities to store and retain property and exhibits.
Tier 2: Deployment/Response bases, strategically located across the force to supplement the core operational hubs and provide operational coverage to mitigate Threat, Risk and Harm. These bases may be shared with other public services.
Tier 3: Local community “touchpoints” will provide a range of mechanisms to increase and enhance the opportunity for the public to engage with the police, including mobile police stations, online “real time” contact and community based information points. These may include mobile Gateway access via either shared multi-agency public access points or virtual access (online/self service).

It is unclear what role any office in Acomb will fulfil although most residents have supported the idea of providing a police contact desk at the Library rather than go through an expensive new build project at Lowfields.

The annexes to the strategy are exempted on “commercial grounds” meaning that taxpayers do not know which police stations could be affected.

This raises suspicions that financial, rather than operational, needs are driving the change process in Acomb

The PCC declines to say which functions any new Police building at Lowfields would be designed to accommodate. For example it has been suggested that the site will be used for overnight parking.

The FOI response says that “a letter of intent for North Yorkshire Police to work with the City of York Council in respect of the Lowfields site, has been sent to the City of York Council by North Yorkshire Police’s Chief Executive Officer”. The date and content of the letter are not revealed.

Given that it appears that the Police have no idea what kind of facility they hope to build at Lowfields – and at what cost to taxpayers – any letter of intent would seem to be premature.

The PCC has made no attempt to engage with local Councillors or residents on their plans

The PCC is proposing to increase the police precept by 1.99% in April.

PCC FOI response Jan 2017

Good and outstanding children’s services in York says Ofsted

School children

Eleven inspectors spent four weeks at the city council in November and December, examining all areas of services provided to children in the city. They also spoke with groups of children, young people and their parents and carers.

Their inspection report is published today (7 February 2016).

It concludes “A wide range of effective services are in place to help children and families [in York] to access help and protection when they need it”.

Strong leadership, effective and committed front line staff and a well-established culture of listening to the voice of children and young people are features of York’s services singled out for specific praise by the regulator.

York’s Safeguarding Children Board was judged by Ofsted to be outstanding. It is only the second safeguarding board in the country to be given the highest rating.

The children in care council, ‘Show Me That I Matter’ also gets special mention. The inspectors highlight how it works very hard to influence how children in care are understood.
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