New report confirms muddle & incompetence led to Bootham Park closure

Bootham park

A damming independent report into the closure of Bootham Park hospital, and the subsequent confusion for patients, has been published.

The report author John Ransford concludes,

“If all organisations had worked together in partnership to deliver a plan based on the needs of patients and local people, more suitable solutions would still have been difficult, but surely not impossible to achieve”.

The report heavily criticises the Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group together with the former service provider the Leeds and York Partnership Foundation Trust.

The underlying criticism is of lack of leadership and “joined up” working across the many disparate organisations which are now responsible for health care in the City.

The issue will be considered by a Council committee when it meets on 25th April.

Another report, by NHS England lists 18 areas where local health managers and contractors failed patients.

“Healthwatch” the patients watchdog also says that “closure of Bootham Park Hospital has been immensely stressful for many people involved and that the impact will continue to be felt for the months to come”.

NB. Following a Care Quality Commission inspection Bootham Park Hospital was closed for “safety” reasons on 1st October 2015. Some outpatient facilities are being re-established there but it is likely to be 2019 before a new facility is opened to replace the 240-year-old former lunatic asylum

 

Government’s derisory pothole repair allocation for York

The government has announced that York will be given £120,000 to fill in potholes that have arisen during the floods and winter weather experienced over recent months

click to access interactive map

click to access interactive map

The allocation has been described as derisory as it is less that the £180,000 cut from maintenance funding over the last 2 years.

The Dpt estimates that 2,264 potholes in the City can be filled in using their allocation.

Westfield bus services face axe

Foxwood Lane (12 & 14), Gale Lane (20) and Hamilton Drive (16A)  links could be lost

bus-stop1The Council is organising “drop in” sessions at which the scale of the cuts that they plan to local bus services will be revealed.

The Council has decided to cut £350,000 from its public transport support budget so dramatic changes can be anticipated.

The Council says that members of the public will have the opportunity to give their views on the services proposed for withdrawal or alteration between Monday 11 April and Friday 6 May, either by emailing buses@york.gov.uk or through drop-in sessions (“details to be announced nearer the time”).

The Council claims that public feedback will be considered as part of a report which will be taken to an Executive Member Transport and Planning public meeting on Thursday 19 May.

A final decision on the services to be withdrawn or altered will be taken at this meeting and it is anticipated that the changes will take effect from Sunday 28 August.

The services which the council currently subsidises and which may be altered, reduced or withdrawn are:
• Monday to Saturday daytime services: 12, 19, 20, 27, 36, 627, 637 and 647
• Evening services: 10, 11, 14, 18
• Sunday services: 11, 12, 13, 14,16a and 19

For existing timetables click here

So far the Council has not released details of alternative provision. As a minimum, residents who depend on the bus service to get around will expect Dial and Ride services to be expanded. There is also likely to be a call for the option, for pensioners to be able to choose transport tokens (instead of a bus pass), to be reintroduced. The tokens can be used to pay taxi fares.

ftr bus in York

ftr bus in York

Eighty per cent of bus services are commercial in York and are not subsidised by the council. Local authorities across the country have the discretion to provide financial support for local bus services where the commercial bus market does not provide such services, but it is not a statutory duty.

Bus usage in York has increased during recent years following a slump when the last Labour Council pulled out of public transport modernisation plans like the ftr “superbus” project.

The Council has consistently refused to publish weekly reliability stats for bus services in the city

To find out more about the bus travel in York visit www.itravelyork.info 

Major boost for Acomb on way?

The Council is to consider devolving economic development activity management to the Acomb Alive organisation.

Vandalised cycle stands in Front Street

Vandalised cycle stands in Front Street

The decision is due to be made at a meeting taking place on 12th April

The plan is likely to be welcomed by many living and working in Westfield and Acomb who feel that the area has been snubbed in recent years both by the Council and local economic development partners like “Make it York”.

The Front Street neighbourhood badly needs a regeneration intiative and local businesses and residents do have a key role to play in any improvement activity.

Front Street flower tubs 2007

Residents are working to improve the appearance of the area

Occupancy levels of shops have improved with the economic recovery but too many new businesses seem to flounder within their first couple of years of operation.

Ideas like the establishment of an occasional street market have come to nothing while local Councillors have had to resort to collecting petitions aimed at getting local footpaths repaired.

The scale of any investment which may be on offer is not known and any regeneration project will need at least one full time management post over at least 3 years.

Something major does need to happen and quickly.

York Council releases latest – more comprehensive – performance stats

Unemployment low, forecast 12% increase in crime levels, poor housing management performance,

The latest performance figures from the York Council provide a lot more information about public service standards in the City. It is a welcome improvement from the “dark ages” between 2011 and 2015 when little was revealed and Freedom of Information requests flourished

Environment KPIs click to access

Environment KPIs click to access

The Council is reporting a big over-spend on the costs of looking after children from broken homes. Car parking income is already £282,000 below budgeted levels, and the Council has, of course, received no income from ANPR enforcement on Coppergate.

One worrying trend is on crime where “significant increases are forecast in the violent crime, criminal damage and burglary of non-dwellings”. With elections for the role of Police and Crime Commissioner coming up in May, candidates can expect to be questioned closely on their plans to reverse crime trends in the City.

As you would expect, performance in other areas varies. No one expects perfection – just a solid response to any evidence of declining standards.

The only department that still hasn’t adjusted to the new, more open, culture appears to be the Housing department. The Housing Revenue Account looks like it will underspend by £480,000 this year – yet many estate regeneration projects remain on the shelf.

Housing KPIs click

Housing KPIs click

Housing KPIs lack information about contact volumes, complaint levels. repair numbers and customer satisfaction levels.  There is no exception reporting. No “longest outstanding issue” figures are provided.

Housing have also produced a new “business plan” which singularly fails to identify any administrative savings despite a heavy investment in technology. The lamentable condition of many estates – particularly  communal spaces and in garage areas  – together with growing issues like the lack of off street car parking, is largely ignored.

The Council’s Executive when it meets next week should send the housing documents back for a rethink.

Detailed KPIs can be found behind these links:

York Council plans 3% Council Tax increase

Details are emerging this evening of the Council’s budget plans for  2016/17.

D4NT09 Council Tax bill 2013/2014 for property dwelling band F with 25% discount for sole adult resident

Council Tax will increase by 3%, of which 2% will be ring-fenced to help with social care costs.

Council house rents will be reduced by 1% (in line with central government instructions). This will mean cuts in repairs budgets, although the housing account is showing a £20 million accumulated surplus.

The Council is to spend £234,000 more to fund “additional Community Safety Hub officers” to cover additional enforcement around dog fouling, street drinking, licensing infringement and noise enforcement plus ” a reactive service for street services to deal with fly-tipping, graffiti, litter and weeds” which would be a welcome step forward.

Another welcome improvement will be an investment of an additional £100,000 to help tackle mental health issues, while the completion of the Local Plan will cost another £350,000 and an update of the strategic flood risk assessment will cost £60,000.

An extra £74,000 will be used to increase Councillors pay.

Some of the more eye-catching cuts include:

  • £350,000 cut in bus subsidies. Number 20 service to be scrapped.
  • £1.1 million cut in adult social care provision
  • £1.3 million cut in education support (schools are funded directly by the government)
  • Reductions in public garden and tree maintenance
  • Handing over allotment management to  users
  • Theatre Royal (revenue) grants scrapped.
  • Less on Public Health (drugs, alcohol, smoking, dentistry and sexual health)
  • Fewer health checks

Many residents will be looking at the Council capital investment plans to see whether the excesses of the last administration – which doubled the debt per head of population figure in the City – have been reversed.

York Council set to adopt new taxi licensing policies

Users expecting fares to go down in wake of fuel cost reduction
Click to read

Click to read

The York Council is expected to produce a new licensing code for taxi and private hire operations when it meets on 8th February. The proposed regulations include little that is new and will be subject to a consultation period.

Private hire licences will be available for 5 years and some “cross border “working will be allowed.

Compulsory training on child sex exploitation is also being introduced.

Most passengers will be looking with anticipation at the new fares stricture due to be introduced in April.

Fare levels are worked out using an index agreed by the taxi trade several years ago.  A Freedom of information request at this time last year revealed that there should be a small reduction in fare levels, but this was never introduced.

Sustained low fuel cost levels over the last 12 months should mean a more significant reduction is due this year.

NB The same meeting will consider an application to renew a sex establishment license at 53 Micklegate (Mansion club)

Time to report blocked gullies in York – new salt bins arrive just as snow is forecast

As well as the flooding the ongoing rainfall has revealed a number of drainage issues on local highways.  With the first snow of winter now forecast, it is important to get local drainage systems working efficiently as quickly as possible.

As well as arranging special gully cleans, the York Council does have a small budget available to “dig out” drains which are permanently blocked.

It is important to record issues with the York Council using “on line” services such as “Fix My Street“. Dozens of issues have been reported using this service over the last 6 months. Their web site shows which issues have been dealt with and which are outstanding

Blocked gulley on Bellhouse Way reported to Council
Blocked gulley on Bellhouse Way reported to Council
A replacement for the salt bin (removed by the Labour Council 3 years ago) has now been installed in St Stephens Mews courtesy of the Westfield Ward committee
A replacement for the salt bin (removed by the Labour Council 3 years ago) has now been installed in St Stephens Mews courtesy of the Westfield Ward committee

44 crimes reported in Front Street area during November 2015

There was a significant increase in the level of crimes reported in the Front Street area (polling district KB) in November 2015 compared to the same month in 2014. 

A graph shows a steady increase in crime reports over the last year. The figures have been taken from the Police web site 

Most of the reports concern anti-social behaviour – which has increased since the opening of a centralised “hub” in the City centre which appears to have drawn police resources away from the Westfield area.

There have also been a significant number of shoplifting reports.

click to enlarge

click to enlarge

The number of crimes reported by type are:

  • Anti Social behaviour 13 
  • Cycle theft 1
  • Burglary 3
  • Criminal damage and arson 5
  • Drugs 1
  • Theft 4
  • Public order 1
  • Shop lifting 11
  • Vehicle Crime 1
  • Violence and sexual offences 4

This compares with a total of 30 offences reported in November 2014

Crime levels in Acomb remain relatively low compared to most other parts of the country.

The Crime and Policing commissioner Julia Mulligan is consulting on whether to increase the police tax level from April, although no assurances have been given that any extra money raised will be used to increase street level policing resources in west York.

Julia Mulligan faces a re-election ballot on May 5th.