Jobless numbers in York down again

Figures released today by the Office for National Statistics have shown a fall of 60 residents claiming Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) and Universal Credit claimants (out of work) in March 2016 compared to last month’s figures, meaning there are now 970 claimants in the city.

The Jobseekers Allowance claimant count for York represents 0.5 per cent of the working population and contrasts to the regional average which stands at 2 per cent. The figures are also much lower than the national average which stands at 1.5 per cent.

Statistics from the Annual Population Survey have shown an increase in the number of people in Employment in January-December 2015 has increased by 5.3 per cent in York compared to the figures for 2014.

The number of people in employment in 2015 was 102,000, representing 76.3 per cent of the working age population, contrasting to the regional average which stands at 72.5 per cent and the national average which is 73.6 per cent.

The figures also showed an increase in the number of residents working full time in the city with an increase of 11.3 per cent compared to 2014.

The news comes after more than 800 people attended the York Jobs Fair earlier this month. The event offered the chance for residents to receive advice and speak to over 60 organisations who were hiring in the city.

York Council QUANGO set new targets

A watchdog committee will be told next week what the targets for the Councils wholly owned “Make it York” (MIY) organisation will be.

York’s image to be improved as alcohol dominates City centre economy

MIY has been the centre of controversy since it took over the management of City centre activities 12 months ago.

It has just reported a £29,000 “profit” for last year …..but only after receiving nearly £1 million from local taxpayers.

Now the Council is saying that the subsidy for 2016/17 must be used to meet a range of targets which include;

Sustaining/creating “high value jobs” (Taxpayer contribution £179k) – This includes inward investment, account management with “500 jobs created above the national median wage”. In 2015/16 MIY claimed to have created 233 new jobs (against a target of 700) of which only 167 (target 500) where “high value”
Cultural/visual identity (£120k) – improving the City’s image (!), a year round creative lighting setup for the city centre, digital signposting and what’s on, city centre public realm enhancement and “the” Eye of York development.
Bring people and businesses together (£39k) – to “enable serendipity to happen” (!)
Community based economic initiatives (£30k) – includes rolling out Bishopthorpe Road “model” to other suburban shopping areas.

In addition, the MIY will promote the Shambles market and stimulate tourism albeit no numeric targets for these activities are included in the proposed “service level agreement”

What would success look like?

Most of these objectives are notoriously difficult to monitor. In particular, most economic growth is organic and would probably happen anyway without third party stimulation.

MIY has already fallen into the trap of measuring inputs (e.g. number of meetings held) rather than outputs. It is reminiscent of the last Councils flirtation with the exotic attractions of Cannes

If the organisation can make a “profit” then they appear to care little that local traders are squeezed out by high rents or that children lose their traditional pastimes.

Performance numbers for 2015/16 will be considered at a “shareholders” meeting next week. They show that MIY missed all of their economic development targets during the last year

However, the number of potential tourists accessing Visit York information did achieve the 2 million target. The organisation also did better on business inquiries and conferences.

There are no customer satisfaction measures for city centre activities or the “markets” experience.

Total tourist numbers and entry numbers at attractions are not reported. Nor are hotel room occupancy figures.

In the wake of the City of York Trading scandal, the Council has promised a root and branch review of how its arm’s length companies and partner organisations are governed.

The sooner that happens the better.

York Jobs Fair showcases local employment opportunities

City of York Council and its partners are inviting residents to the eighth York Jobs Fair, which will be held at York Railway Institute on Thursday 14 April.

Around 70 organisations will be represented at this year’s event. These include a range of different employers who represent the wide variety of jobs and careers available in York.

Those present will include Network Rail, Primark, National Railway Museum, Royal York Hotel, Hiscox, North Yorkshire Police, NHS York Teaching Hospital and organisations attending the Jobs Fair for the first time, such as Hampton by Hilton and Yorkshire Ambulance Service.

(more…)

Westfield to get jobs project funding from Europe

City of York Council is looking for volunteers to identify what would most improve people’s lives in five of the city’s less prosperous communities.

This project – 4CommunityGrowthYork – will benefit Bell Farm, Clifton, Navigation and Walmgate, Tang Hall and Westfield and is underway thanks to the council winning an initial £22,000 funding from the European Structural and Investment Funds, which the council has match-funded to £40k.

Once accepted onto this community-led local development project, the volunteers will focus on the needs of the five communities with special emphasis on supporting the more vulnerable into work. The £40k will go towards their training, research and consultations, as well as seeking expert advice and examples of best practice nationally and locally, such as the Tang Hall Big Local project which has similar objectives.

This feedback will help develop ideas on how to support and offer early help to families in need and to jobseekers and local enterprises. This will be looked at alongside existing work including with ward teams and residents’ associations.

4CommunityGrowthYork’s plans will be developed into a formal strategy which will be submitted to the EU by the end of August 2016, in a bid to win a further £1.29 million. This sum will be match-funded through the council, Government and Tang Hall Big Local funding to a total £2.58m, to realise the strategy and so help improve the quality of life of residents in the five communities.

Councillor Keith Aspden, Deputy Leader of City of York Council with responsibility for Economic Development and Community Engagement, said: “Applications to join the project will be especially welcomed from people living or working in the five key communities, and who have experience of both the private and public sectors. You’ll be warmly welcomed to the information sessions we are holding where you can find out much more. This is a significant project which could make a lasting difference to our communities.”

Information sessions for 4CommunityGrowthYork will be held at West Offices, YO1 6GA on:
• Friday 1 April at 12-1pm
• Tuesday 5 April at 4-5pm and at 5-6pm
• Friday 8 April at 12-1pm.

To book a place on the information sessions, or for more detail on the project, please email mora.scaife@york.gov.uk or call 01904 551834.

Advice on apprenticeships available at York drop-in session

Young people will be able to find out more about apprenticeships, vacancies and alternative routes to higher education at an event on Thursday 11 February.

Advisers will be on hand to speak to young people, parents and carers at the Castlegate Centre between 4pm and 7pm and offer careers advice, including information on apprenticeships.

In York there are currently a wide variety of Apprenticeship vacancies being advertised covering; business and finance, hospitality, lab technicians, construction, creative and cultural, digital marketing and social media, engineering, I.T, health and many more.
(more…)

York Central residents survey.

click to complete

Only two weeks left to give your views.

The York Council is now nearly halfway through its “consultation” on the future of the York Central site.

Sad to say, but the information provided to aid residents in making their choices is pretty hopeless. Most obvious omissions are any financial or value for money metrics.

Basically a survey which offers residents anything they want, but without explaining either costs or sources of funding, is bound to lack credibility. Local developers have already questioned he sanity of a project that depends on speculative office development to repay investment in infrastructure.

Similarly a casual suggestion that through traffic should be removed from Leeman Road is bound to prompt a question about the impact on the rest of the highway network?

Key background facts, like the number of unemployed in the City and the number on the housing waiting list, are not provided, yet respondents are asked to take a stab at the number of new jobs and homes that they think should be provided on the site.

Doubly so, given the sensitivities that still linger on from the Lendal Bridge closure fiasco.

The Council really needs to debate how big they see the City becoming over the next few decades?

Answer that question first and the contribution that the York Central site (which is ideally located) can make, will become more obvious.

York Council indecision on new Chief Executive?

Indecision York seems likely to be without a permanent replacement for its Chief Executive for at least another 6 months.

Papers published for a meeting taking place on 1^st February reveal that a review of the Council’s management structure, commissioned last June, has apparently still not been concluded.

The report blames ongoing financial pressures for the delays, although the Chief Executives post has been filled on a temporary basis (at full salary) for over 6 months.

It now appears that the report on a new structure may now be available in March. A £150,000 a year saving on salary costs is being achieved from 1^st April by deleting a post dealing with “transformation and change”

Staff working in the Chief Executives Department are being transferred to other management groups suggesting that the Council may be thinking of abolishing the role of Chief Executive altogether.

The Council will, however, now move to appoint a permanent Director of Public Health on a salary of around £100,000.

The Council will also make a permanent appointment to the post of “City and Environmental Services”. Essentially this is the role formerly held by Bill Woolley who retired over three years ago. It is responsible for planning and transport policy. The post will also attract a pay level of around £100,000 pa. The Council says that to minimise recruitment costs this post will be “advertised externally on City of York Council Jobs Website and promoted through the Council social media channels”. Minimal advertising of vacancies is usually a tactic that a Council adopts when it has “someone in mind” for the post.

Recent events – including the Councils response to the flooding crisis – suggest that there is a lack of effective leadership in the authority. Taking over 12 months to find a permanent appointment for the post which is responsible for driving the administrative side of the Council is, at best, complacent and at worst negligent.

The York Council is now desperately short of experienced management capacity.

Councillors need to act quickly and decisively to fill the void.

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.
(more…)

Unemployment figures fall in York again

unemployed_queue_benefits_DWP

Figures released today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed there to be 101,000 people in employment in York between October 2014 and September 2015, an increase of 1,600 compared to between July 2014 and June 2015.

The figure represents 75.3 per cent of the working population and contrasts the regional average which stands at 72.4 per cent and the national average which currently stands at 73.4 per cent.

The statistics also showed there are now 945 residents claiming Jobseekers Allowance and Universal Credit in York, a fall of 224 since December 2014 and of 65 claimants in the last month.

The Jobseekers Allowance claimant count for York represents 0.5 per cent of the working population and contrasts to the regional average which stands at 2 per cent. The figures are also much lower than the national average which stands at 1.5 per cent.

Councillor Keith Aspden, Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Economic Development at City of York Council said: “I am pleased that the figures show a reduction in the number of claimants and that more people are in employment across the city. It’s been a tough few weeks for everyone in York and this week’s record visitor numbers and spend figures, announced by Make it York, are really positive to see. We will continue to work with partners across the city to help businesses and residents benefit from this and get back on their feet.”

York Council publishes analysis of numbers made redundant

Over 100 York Council employees have suffered compulsory redundancy since April 2011.

In addition 420 have opted for voluntary redundancy.

The report – being considered by a Council committee tomorrow does not say how much the redundancies have cost taxpayers. However, after taking into account pension contributions, this is thought likely to be a 7 figure number.

Most of the redundancies occurred between May 2011 and April 2015 when Labour were in control of the local Council. Since May 2015 there have been a total of 43 redundancies, the majority of which have been voluntary.

Recent events suggest that the Council has shed too many experienced managers. As a result it struggles to cope with unusual events such as the recent floods.

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