A Council official has nullified the controversial decision taken by Green Councillor who agreed to spend over £1 million bringing 8 Council houses up to ENerPhit standard and around 30 homes up to EPC ‘C’. click for report.
Cllr Craghill turned down an alternative which would have seen 66 properties benefit from a similar investment. Overall this scheme would have produced greater CO2 savings, and lower energy bills, for many more tenants. It was better value for money and had a bigger impact on the environment.
Not surprisingly the seemingly perverse decision was due to be “called in” for further explanation. Tory, Independent and Labour Councillors backed the call in. Privately some LibDem Councillors are understood to have expressed similar concerns.
Now a Council official has decided to bin the decision.
The Councils – increasingly controversial – “monitoring officer”, Janie Berry, says that
” I have concerns in relation to the legal, finance and equalities implications cited within the original report, in that I do not believe they provided Cllr Craghill with the sufficient details she required to assist her in making a proper fully informed decision”.
“In my capacity as the Monitoring Officer I have revoked the original decision made by Cllr Craghill and have instructed the Housing Department to re-draft a report in respect of this issue and re-present a revised report to a future meeting of the Executive Member Decision Session. Members will still be able to call-in any future report in respect of the Energy Accelerator”.
Now whatever you may think of the decision – and it was a strange one – officers overruling Councillors, without democratic endorsement, sets a dangerous precedent. It is as close to a local coup as you are likely to witness.
Reports normally go through a series of checks before being made public. These checks certainly are aimed at ensuring proposals are affordable, legal and fair.
Something has gone seriously wrong in this case. Taxpayers will want to know how this could happen.
The delegation scheme – where individuals can spend very large sums of money – has always been controversial. The blunder will add weight to those advocating a return to all party committee decision making.
In the meantime, the controlling coalition needs to find some internal mechanism where extreme or perverse proposals can be moderated before they become public.
If such a process were in place then some recent transport decisions might also have never seen the light of day.
Is this the most frequently damaged mini roundabout keep left sign. Located at the junction of Askham Lane and Ridgeway, no sooner is it repaired and another large vehicle – or careless driver- knocks it over again. York Council needs to come up with a better solution. Thistles are now partly blocking the cycle path at Knapton. Not sure whether this is on the York Council weed killing programme? It should be. It would be a shame to lose this, increasingly well used, cycle link to Rufforth for lack of maintenance. It would be a shame if the York Council was to be allowed to continue to neglect the Front Street area. More must be invested in improving maintenance standards. However, there are now new opportunities for regeneration. The Councils decision to (effectively) evict disabled drivers (blue badge holders) from the City centre could prompt the reopening of Front Street, for this category of motorists, on at least a couple of days each week. They would then be free to park nearer the shops (disabled parking spaces are currently limited). Cyclists would also benefit. “Social distancing” is made easier because of the shop forecourts. Add in some music/entertainment, street stalls and a high profile marketing campaign and the area could soon be buzzing again. .
A report due to be considered by a Council committee next week reveals continuing concerns about the security of personal data held by the Council.
The auditor says,
“Whilst good progress continues to be made (on Information Security & GDPR) , further improvements are required to ensure compliance with the council’s policies for handling and storing personal and confidential information. There are also a number of issues still outstanding, relating to actions agreed in July 2019, following a GDPR readiness audit. These actions relate to policies, guidance, contract clauses; the information asset register; privacy notices; mandatory data protection training; management information on data security incidents”.
No further details are provided and the level of vulnerability of Council customers to data breaches is not explored.
On the impact of Coronavirus on the Councils activities the auditor is similarly vague. He says,
“This opinion is however qualified, in light of the current coronavirus pandemic and the impact of this on the council. The opinion is based on internal audit work undertaken, and substantially completed, prior to emergency measures being implemented as a result of the pandemic.
These measures have resulted in a significant level of strain being placed on normal procedures and control arrangements. The level of impact is also changing as the situation develops.
It is therefore not possible to quantify the additional risk arising from the current short term measures or the overall impact on the framework of governance, risk management and control”.
NB. Another report, to the same meeting, claims to address the impact of the health crisis on the Councils activities. Unfortunately, it adds little to what has already been published and singularly fails to quantify the exposure that the Councils projects and revenue finance actually face.
Nearly 6,000 York residents are set to receive reduced council tax bills this week, as the council continues to provide support to residents facing financial hardship during the coronavirus pandemic.
Those who are eligible for council tax support will receive a £150 reduction on their account, spread over the remainder of the year, utilising a government grant awarded to the council.
The grant totals over £950,000, with £868,000 already being allocated. The remaining money will be availablefor new customers until 31 March 2021.
Executive Member for Finance and Performance, Cllr Nigel Ayre, said:
“The coronavirus pandemic has posed significant financial challenges for many residents and that is why we are investing further funding to help support those who need it the most during this difficult time
This council tax support grants will help people who may be worrying about their financial situation. It is also another way in which we are helping the most vulnerable people in York, which has been one of our key priorities throughout the pandemic.
I would encourage anyone facing financial difficulties to access the help and support that is on offer by calling 01904 551550 or emailing COVID19help@york.gov.uk.”
Help is available if you are struggling to pay Council Tax, due to Covid-19 or other reasons
You can ask for any payments missed since April 2020 to be spread across the rest of the year up to March 2021 by e-mailing tax@york.gov.uk or calling 01904 551556
If your income has changed please let us know so we can update your Council Tax Support. You may be entitled to an increased amount. Please complete the change of circumstances form at york.gov.uk/benefits/change-circumstances-benefits
You may be eligible for more help by applying to the discretionary council tax reduction scheme at york.gov.uk/TaxReductionScheme.
Advice and support services in the City can help you stem the tide and get the right support for you. Please see a helpful list of contacts overleaf for those who can help you.
One additional positive Coronavirus test result has been added to the government stats. This brings the cumulative total to 902.
There has been one additional Coronavirus related death in a York care home during the last week (26/6/20) according to ONS published figures
There have been no additional deaths at York Hospital Trust sites
Council expenditure on marketing hits £350,000
The Councils expenditure figures for June have now been published. All accounts for amounts exceeding £250 can be viewed byclicking here.
Taxpayers will be taking a particular interest in the amount being spent on COVID-19 related marketing.
The total has now reached £354,326.65 since February.
City centre signs
This includes ££68,659.00 spent in June.
By far the largest supplier was the York based marketing company “Ideas Group” who were responsible for the Councils post pandemic PR strategy. This included some of the signs that can be seen round the City centre.
They submitted bills for £43,000 in June.
Libraries reopening
Many of York’s libraries and reading cafes have reopened. Those wanting to borrow books must make an appointment before visiting.
Museum opening plans
York Castle Museum and York Art Gallery will both open to the public again on August 1st. According to the York Museums Trust the Yorkshire Museum will remain closed.
The Merchant Adventurers Hall coffee room will be reopening on Thursday 9th July.
Minster School
The authorities have confirmed that the Minster School will close permanently from the end of its summer term.
Hand sanitisers
The York BID has installed hand sanitiser stations on some streets in the city centre
Park and Ride
The Askham Bar park and ride site – which reopened at the weekend – was very quiet today
Better bus services announced by First York from this weekend
First have issued notifications of the following service changes
Askham Bar Park & Ride has now re-opened; services will operate every 15 minutes at weekends, every 10 minutes Monday-Friday during peak times and every 15 minutes throughout the day.
Timetables
From Sunday 12th July, the following changes will take place to help with safe, socially-distanced travel for necessary journeys. Full details of the changes and timetables can be found in the‘Forthcoming’ section of our timetables page.The changes are being made to help manage continued capacity restrictions on buses due to social distancing as further lockdown measures are eased.
City Services
Service 1 – there will be changes to early evening services, and late evening services will be operating to a revised timetable (up to every 30 minutes). Sunday daytime services will be increased to run up to every 20 minutes during busy periods.
Service 4 – there will be changes to early evening services, and late evening services will be operating to a revised timetable (up to every 30 minutes). Sunday daytime services will be increased to run up to every 20 minutes during busy periods.
Service 5/5A – minor timetable changes will be occuring. The 22:00pm and 23:00pm from Strensall will now operate at 21:50pm and 22:50pm respectively, and the 22:55pm from Acomb will now operate at 22:45pm.
Service 6 – there will be changes to early evening services, and late evening services will be operating to a revised timetable (up to every 30 minutes) for the majority of the late evening period. Services will leave Clifton Moor during the evening at 00/30 minutes past the hour, and from Campus East at 15/45 minutes past the hour. Sunday daytime services will be increased to run up to every 20 minutes during busy periods.
Service 10/10A – service timetable has been updated to reduce the amount of time spent waiting at bus stops, due to the current reduced traffic levels.
Service 11 – these buses will run every 30 minutes for the majority of the day.
Service 11S – this service will not operate.
Service 12 – these buses will run every 30 minutes for the majority of the day.
Service 200 – this service will continue to operate 3 early morning services.
University Services
Service 66 – evening and Sunday services will be increased to every 40 minutes.
66A, 66X – will not operate. Alternative journeys will be provided by Service 10, 10A and 66.
Service N66 – will not operate.
Park and Ride Services
Service 2A – service frequency will be increased to every 10 minutes for the majority of the day Monday – Saturday, and every 12 minutes during Sunday daytime. Evening frequency will be restored to every 30 minutes.
Service 3 – will not operate. Alternative journeys will be provided by service 12 between Askham Bar Tesco and York.
Service 7 – service frequency will be increased to every 10 minutes for the majority of the day Monday – Saturday, and every 12 minutes during Sunday daytime. Evening frequencywill be restored to every 30 minutes.
Service 8, 66A, 66X – will not operate. Alternative journeys will be provided by Service 10, 10A, 66.
Service 9 – service frequency will be increased to every 10 minutes for the majority of the day Monday – Saturday, and every 12 minutes during Sunday daytime.
No consultation prior to “behind closed doors” decision
Pedestrian hours in York City centre will be extended from 10:30am to 8:00pm, 7 days a week. Currently they end at 4:00pm each day.
The scheme will extend to include Fossgate and Goodramgate.
Cyclists will be able to slalom through some of the affected streets.
The Council leadership claims the move is aimed at helping “traders” and says cafes and pubs will be able to “set up tables on the public highway more easily”. The change was agreed yesterday only hours after alcohol fuelled disorder returned to City centre streets.
Disabled people will be badly affected. They can no longer access the City centre streets and have so far snubbed the additional parking spaces – and free taxi service – set up at the Monk Bar car park
The Council have also failed to address the confusion over their “free parking” offer which applies to some car parks in July and August. It got off to a confused start at the weekend.
The Council says that the following public toilets are now offering a contactless payment option and will be open until 10pm
St George’s Field
Coppergate Shopping Centre –
Exhibition Square
Silver Street (contactless from next week)
There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that the Councils recent transport and other decisions reflect the wishes of either the majority of residents or of the business community. Not surprisingly out of town shopping centres seem to be recovering much more quickly from the lock-down recession, leaving the city centre vulnerable to fanciful and ill considered social engineering experiments.
New pedestrian rules imposed by Junta
What is increasingly intolerable is the failure of the Councils democratic systems. There is no reason why notice of this proposal could not have been published in advance with a decision subsequently taken at a publicly accessible meeting.
Instead it exploited an emergency delegation scheme which was intended to take the City through the worst phase of the lock-down.
The Council own “scrutiny” system has also once again been found wanting with meetings, which took place yesterday, failing to effectively challenge the decisions of the secretive “junta” which now dictates to York residents.
Changes to pedestrian hours may well be something that York people would want to trial. This option could have been included on a list as part of the Councils so called “big conversation” survey.
It wasn’t, so we don’t know peoples views.
However, given the failures of the last few weeks, they will not forgive quickly those who chose to impose their views in such a discourteous and arbitrary way.
Crime levels in York gradually increased during the lock-down period. The latest figures cover the period up to the end of May.
Police UK stats
Those for “York Outer”, which excludes the City centre, revealed that 1689 crimes were reported during May.
This was a 12 month high.
Crime levels in the City centre fell significantly during the same period. Despite this, during May, the Guildhall ward had the 19th highest crime incidence of any unitary authority ward across England & Wales
In total 1849 crimes were recorded within the York Council area during May.
Over half the reports involved anti-social behaviour. There were also significant numbers of complaints about violence/sexual offences suggesting that social isolation might have adversely impacted on the domestic violence numbers.
Lock-down eased during June so observers will be watching carefully to see whether the crime trend continues.
Bachelor Hill looking very smart including the wildflwoer meadow.We’ve reported the damaged fence at the Cornlands park play area. The play area is due to officially reopen later this week following the health lock-down.. The fencing was provided to prevent fouling by dogs.Another shopping trolley has made a break for freedom. This one on Tennent RoadWe are still waiting for the goal posts on the Westfield park to be repainted. Been outstanding for three years now. Pitch also needs remarking before the new season starts. Lots of weed growth as a result of the weather this week. Particular problems in Chapelfields and on Askham Lane.Weeds overgrowing the bus shelter on Foxwood Lane again. The Council owned shelter is now looking very shabby now.Damaged utility marker sign on Grange Lane is still lying on the verge despite being reported in January.More snickets now obstructed by overhanging trees.
There have been no further deaths at York Trust hospitals The total (3/7/20) remains at 214. The last death was recorded on 18th June.
The cumulative total of positive test results (public + private centres) remains at 898 (2/7/20).
Modest increase in visitor numbers today
There appears to have been a small increase in the numbers of people on City centre streets today compared to last Saturday. Some pubs have opened and there are outside cafe tables available on Parliament Street. Most visitors seem to be adopting a cautious approach and are observing social distancing requests. Few are wearing face masks.
There has been come criticism of the Councils “2 hours of free parking” initiative which one trader described as impenetrably complex. The deal doesn’t apply to the main shopper car parks like Castle and Marygate.
Births, deaths and marriages
York Council announces changes at York Register Office and York Crematorium
In line with the easing of government restrictions from 4 July, York Register Office will reopen for weddings and civil partnerships and the Crematorium will welcome more people from this weekend.
Since government restrictions were imposed in March, the council has regularly kept how services at the crematorium can continue under review, with the health and safety of mourners, funeral directors and staff our priority.
Recent government advice means that we are delighted that weddings are able to resume from 4 July the council has been working on plans so that the Register Office can safely hold marriages.
York Crematorium
As part of the updated government advice and taking into account social distancing measures required as well as the ever-present risks relating to the spread of Coronavirus, the Crematorium can now welcome up to eighteen people excluding the funeral director and clergy or celebrant in the main crematorium chapel.
Due to the size of the small chapel and the need to maintain social distancing, the number in the small chapel is being kept at five.
Numerous safety measures remain in place.
The council will also be working with funeral directors and staff to review how the changes to the 2m rule may work in practice to potentially allow higher numbers of mourners to attend.
Once the restrictions have been fully lifted, the council will ensure that services of remembrance at York Crematorium will be offered to all families and a city-wide multi-faith remembrance ceremony will be held, supported by local faith leaders and the Council.
York Minster has also confirmed that a special memorial service to comfort relatives and friends bereaved during the Coronavirus pandemic will take place at the Minster, when such events can take place.
York Register Office
Weddings are returning to York Register Office this weekend.
Initially the Register Office have and will sort bookings for those who booked a wedding or civil partnership before the pandemic struck and will be in touch with all couples to offer them the opportunity to get married.
As with other Register Offices in the region that are able to reopen and in line with government advice, the council is maintaining the 2m social distancing. This means initially 8 guests (excluding the couple and officiants) will be allowed in the large room in use, in addition to the small witness only weddings which remain as two witnesses only as normal.
While it is not possible to safely accommodate higher numbers at the register office the council is actively seeking alternative venues that would allow 30 people to attend and will make further announcements should this be possible.
Six weddings are booked for this weekend and we hope the couples have a fantastic day and happy marriage.
Playgrounds in York will start reopening from July 8th
About 80 play areas and outdoor gyms across the city have been closed since mid March. The council will start a phased reopening of playgrounds – with social distancing and risk assessments
Safety barriers have already been removed from some of the equipment on Chesneys Field.
Household waste site appointments being scrapped.
The Council has said that it will shortly discontinue the requirement to book an appointment before a resident visits a household waste site
Council writes to Blue Badge holders
The York Council says that it has written to all 7,500 York Blue Badge Holders this week. The mailing provides details on what support is available to help badge holders access the city centre, including the 40 replacement Blue Badge bays in Monk Bar car park
UPDATED Deaths and test results
1700 hrs UPDATE – The government has now changed the figures on its web site. The cumulative total (at 2/7/20) is now 898 with two additional cases recorded on 29th June and one on 1st July.
The government has finally updated its web site to include “pillar 2” test results. These are the tests carried out at centres like the Poppleton Park and Ride site.
The good news is that, as of 1/7/20, there had been no new positive test results for 4 days in York.
That is the longest period with only negative results since early March.
The source data can be viewed by clicking here. An extract is reproduced below.
The failure of the authorities to make this information available promptly is one of the most disappointing aspects of the current health crisis.
NB. Tests in the UK are carried out through a number of different routes:
Pillar 1: swab testing in Public Health England (PHE) labs and NHS hospitals for those with a clinical need, and health and care workers
Pillar 2: swab testing for the wider population, as set out in government guidance
Pillar 3: serology testing to show if people have antibodies from having had COVID-19
Pillar 4: serology and swab testing for national surveillance supported by PHE, ONS, Biobank, universities and other partners to learn more about the prevalence and spread of the virus and for other testing research purposes, for example on the accuracy and ease of use of home testing
Attention is now likely to switch to the accessibility of information on pillar 3 and 4 data.
We also await the York Councils comments on the success, or otherwise, of local contact tracing arrangements.
As well as the absence of recent positive test results, another piece of good news is that there have been no further deaths at local hospitals (1/7/20) as a result of COVID-19. The last death was recorded on 18th June.
How busy is the City centre?
The “footfall” information for York City centre camera sites is still being updated on the “open data” web site. The data has been criticised over recent months when it was discovered that some cameras had been disconnected and the data company responsible had extrapolated data from other cameras to fill in the gaps.
It is unfortunate that this issue wasn’t remedied before lock-down occurred
Nevertheless it, together with mobile phone activity, is the only measure that we have of the numbers of people visiting the City centre.
The data suggests that, during June, the number of visitors to the City centre had fallen by 84% compared to the same month in 2019.
However, by the final day of the month that reduction had fallen to 62%.
That probably reflects the gradual reopening of shops and other facilities, together with the launch of an embryonic marketing campaign.
Tomorrow will see sections of the hospitality trade reopening with some cafes hoping to provide outdoor tables, while pub beer gardens may be popular if the weather improves.
So a critical weekend ahead for the City.
Micro grant scheme puts over £2m into small York business accounts
City of York Council’s extended small and micro business grant scheme is on course to deliver another £2.2m to York businesses which fell through the cracks of government support packages.
The scheme closed earlier this week and has now awarded a total of just over £1.92m to 558 businesses, with another 113 applications pending or yet to be processed.
The grant extension follows an earlier £1m grants scheme which gave vital financial aid or access to services through membership of the Federation of Small Businesses to 800 York businesses.
Grants payments were offered to support a wide variety of small businesses, including those in shared offices and flexible work spaces, science parks and incubators, regular market traders without a business rates assessment, nurseries, B&Bs paying council tax instead of business rates, and charity properties which all missed out under previous schemes are also eligible.
Council policy on business rent payments
Plans are in place for financial support to continue for those businesses and residents who pay council fees or rents.
Since the Coronavirus pandemic started the council has been committed to supporting businesses and residents through this unprecedented time. Plans are being put in place to ensure support continues for those who need it most.
Three months on from announcing the first financial assistance schemes, the council wants to reassure people that the existing support will still be available for those who require it. Detailed plans are being finalised and will be taken to a decision session later this month.
In April the council announced:
a three-month freeze on the council housing rent increase
the extension of the York Financial assistance scheme for residents
a £1m emergency fund for businesses
a three-month deferral of commercial rents
plus a raft of other measures to help residents and businesses.
In order to support more residents in need from this month (July), a new hardship fund will be established for council tenants affected by rent increases. An initial sum of £80,000 is being set aside and will be kept under review should further funds be required. Council housing tenants who can pay rent as usual, will be asked to pay the agreed increased rent charge. Those who can’t will be encouraged to talk to housing officers and will be able to apply to the hardship fund.
Commercial tenants will be able to benefit from a deferral of rent for a further three months, if required. The council will also ensure repayments can be made over an extended period of up to two years.
From July, the council will write to all its commercial tenants to discuss any financial support available to them.
