The Council has published a review of its response to the Coronavirus crisis. It will be discussed at a “virtual” Executive meeting next week.
The review mostly looks backwards and therefore contains little that is new.
The report does, however, say, “Further work is needed to accurately assess the impact, then to identify and plan the city’s response. It should be noted that, based on the financial information in this report, and the expected increase in demand for services as we start to move out of lockdown, this work will involve reprioritising council budgets, focussing resource on where there are greatest challenges and providing a new strategic plan for the council to work to over the coming months. It is quite possible that there will be some previous priorities that can’t be delivered in the same way in the light of our new operating context.
A Recovery Plan is being developed (aligning with regional recovery activity through the LRF) which will outline the risks and challenges of the emerging situation, with actions in response and opportunities based on lessons learned during the emergency response. Clearly, this plan will take into consideration and align with Government advice and national plans for recovery. It will be used to inform a review of the existing Council Plan in order to produce an Operational Recovery Plan to guide the council over the next 6 – 9 months”.
That is the right approach.
There needs to be an immediate moratorium on taking on new expenditure. An “approvals committee” should be set up which can publicly test any new expenditure proposals.
The Councils initial assessment of its financial position may produce accusations that it is very much a “worst case” scenario. The government has today confirmed that in total it will grant £10.5 million to help the Council offset its estimated £35 million exposure. Much of the defict assumes a high level of non payment of Council Tax and business rent.
There is a stark warning of cash flow problems later in the year “the Council would have to concentrate on providing statutory services only”. That would be bad news for services like leisure, with some facilities likely to close.
On its capital programme the Council promises a project by project review. “this will include considering the overall purpose of the scheme and whether they are still financially viable given the risk to the overall economy. This is particularly crucial for those schemes that assumed the generation of capital receipts to fund expenditure”.
The report is silent on the consequences of some schemes that area now past the point of no return.
Recent increases in the Council’s commercial portfolio are not analysed but there are fears of a forced “fire sale”.
Empty offices at the community stadium site (underwritten by the Council) could remain empty for years, while the pipeline sales of empty former social care buildings could also fall through. Options for cutting back on the £20 million Guildhall refurbishment project will need to be considered.
The Community Stadium itself, although outsourced, is dependent on other activities on the site to cover its running costs.
It seems certain that there will be delays on the York Central regeneration project while the £14 million new multi storey car park on St Georges Field will no doubt be shelved together with the rest of the Castle Gateway project.
Other cherished capital investment projects, which involved increased debt, and therefore increase the day to day running costs of the Council, will have to go “on hold”.
No new contracts should be let unless they direct address the adverse consequences of the health crisis.
Much more on this and the implications for other public services in the City will become apparent over the next few weeks.
Families and couples experiencing homelessness are set to benefit from new apartments built by City of York Council.
An exciting new development of 57 apartments is now being furnished ready to give homeless households additional high quality accommodation and support to help them transition from becoming homeless to finding a new settled home.
Families and couples experiencing homelessness will benefit from the self-contained apartments together with its staff offices and flexible training spaces. All of the spacious apartments have separate bedrooms and living space, plus a shower room and generous stle can be safely and comfortably accommodated at this city-centre location which is owned and managed by City of York Council.
The apartments will be allocated to people who the council has been unable to prevent becoming homeless. They will then be found more settled accommodation, usually in social housing or suitable private rented accommodation. For the duration of the coronavirus emergency, existing temporary accommodation at Ordnance Lane, Crombie House and Howe Hill Hostel will also continue to be used to support homeless households.
The council is continuing to run services for people who are concerned about becoming homeless and need advice on their options. This is being done online or by telephone on 01904 554500.
Work to support our tenants also includes halting the first three months of this year’s annual housing rent increase. This is in addition to ongoing work to help people avoid homelessness through, for example, financial hardship, relationship breakdown or issues with private landlords. We’re also working with landlords across the city to support them and minimise evictions.
We’re prioritising our building services’ work to prepare empty council homes for re-letting and plan to continue working with hotels and bed and breakfasts for the duration of the lockdown to keep people safely accommodated until they are allocated more permanent housing.
Speculation is mounting that the government will ask local Councils to reopen civic amenity (recycling) sites where they have been closed. York’s Hazel Court facility has been closed for several weeks now – something which has been a particular issue since green waste bin emptying was also suspended. There are problems with fly tipping in some neighbourhoods.
Several local authorities have kept their amenity sites open and have also continued green waste collections.
Elsewhere some other public services such as street cleaning have generally been improved since the lockdown with hand sweeping being reintroduced on some estates.
We’ve reported several issues for attention
NB. We have been told that the York Council will be publishing its highway programme for the current year “in the near future”.
The number of recreational (fitness) cyclists has increased since the coronavirus lock-down started. Some cycle stores have even sold out of popular models.
Unfortunately the City is ill equipped to deal with additional demands on its creaking cycling infrastructure. Maintenance programmes have simply not been adequate in recent years. That neesd so chn ge in future.
We look forward to seeing what the new highway maintenance programme – which should have been published in March – will have to offer.
Hopefully those who left a pile of cans halfway down the path over the weekend will return and remove them.
The York Council has announced that 3 carriageways in the City will be resurfaced starting next week.
They are;
The Council has still not announced its full highways repair programme for the forthcoming 11 months. The Council is now in breach of its own code of conduct. It recently agreed click to make available programme and performance information in a transparent way.
While the current health crisis may have delayed some aspects of the Councils work, there is no excuse for the lack of any communication with stakeholders.
Last year the programme was published in March although those documents have still not been listed on the Councils Open Data site (which includes only the 2018 list).
The Council has also removed programme details from its – constantly updated – GIS mapping system.
At the same time the Council’s “report it on line” system is proving to be unreliable. Intermittently it is preventing a “flag” being dropped onto its GIS map indicating the location of potholes and, health related, cleansing issues. The issue is being followed up by a local Councillor. It is important to restrict the use of alternative communication channels – such as telephone and email – as Council resources need to be concentrated on the coronavirus response.
An FOI will be submitted to obtain the highways list. It would be better if officials/Councillors simply offered a progress report.
*Assumed to be Moor Lane Dringhouses
Sick absence hits York Council staffing levels.
Being reported that 31% of the York Councils waste staff are currently on sick leave. This compares to a “normal” figure of 21%
Coronavirus deaths
FIVE more patients with coronavirus have died at hospitals run by York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, taking the total number of such fatalities to 91.
Learning together in York
City of York Council’s community learning team, York Learning, is posting daily challenges online, together with virtual courses, to help keep York learning.
York residents are being encouraged to keep mentally active by getting involved in lifelong learning activities during the coronavirus lockdown.
City of York Council’s community learning team, York Learning, is posting daily challenges online, together with virtual courses, to help keep York learning.
#CommunityLearningTogether sets short challenges and ongoing courses to inspire, teach a new skill, or help with relaxation. Courses and activities currently available online include pilates and dancefit; dressmaking, crafts, fine arts, computer skills, maths tasters and modern foreign languages.
York coronavirus testing centre to open for key workers
A drive-through coronavirus testing facility is to open at Poppleton Park and Ride in York, as part of the Government’s UK-wide drive to increase testing for thousands more NHS and other key workers.
The site sits alongside a rapidly expanding network of testing sites being set up around the UK, and is operating on an appointment-only basis for NHS staff and other key workers. The facility will be piloted for its first few days of operation.
This follows the launch of the Government’s partnership with universities, research institutes and companies to begin rollout of the network of new labs and field testing sites across the UK, with 28 regional testing sites opened to date.
This network will provide thousands more PCR swab tests – which are used to identify if you currently have the virus – for critical key workers, starting with NHS front line staff. This means those who test negative for coronavirus can return to work as soon as possible, and those who test positive are able to recover.
City of York Council has teamed up with the RSPCA in York to offer advice and reassurance about how residents can help look after their pets during the Coronavirus pandemic.
The council has a responsibility to ensure animal welfare is protected in York, including helping with dog related issues, animal licences (such as for exotic animals), providing wildlife advice and much more.
Together with the RSCPA, the council has provided a range of advice for residents below, including dog walking services, what to do if your pet is unwell and how to keep your pets entertained.
Good to see the North Yorkshire County Council levelling potholes on roads near Healaugh today. The roads are seeing increased use by Corona exercisers (cyclists and walkers) at present, many of whom are from York.
The potholes are mainly on the margins – an area mostly used by cyclists. Obstructions there can present a hazard.
The situation within the York Council area is less clear. Some highway defects have been marked up but it is unclear when repairs will actually be completed.
There has been no announcement by the Council on when the additional pothole filling team will start work although this may be influenced by the current health crisis.
Similarly there has been no announcement of a list of roads and paths that will be resurfaced during the current (financial) year. Resurfacing work is, of course, even less likely to restart before the health restrictions are lifted, but normally a list of roads would have been published by now.
One piece of good news is that contractors have been seen treating weeds around the Honeysuckle House amenity area on Chaloners Road today. It seems that the Council may be able to keep on top of weed growth on paths this year.
Corona virus cases in York increases
THE number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the City of York Council area has risen by nine, from 189 to 198. Another five patients with coronavirus have died at York Hospital, taking the total number of such fatalities there to 55
Football season ends for York City
The National League have announced that clubs have voted to formally end the 2019/20 football season. Details here: https://www.thenationalleague.org.uk/national-league-statement-remaining-league-matches-61884
It remains unclear which division York City will play in next season.
Council leaflets
After several weeks without any written communication the Council have now arrange to for two leaflets to be delivered in the space of 48 hours.
The first – an edition of “Our City” – was generally welcomed although it relied too much on recipients being users of electronic communications (It referred to web sites and gave email contact addresses).
Three more leaflets have now been delivered by Royal Mail in the same envelope. One is another letter from the Council leadership which adds little to the similar foreword that they provided earlier in the week.
The second is another copy of the “orange” volunteer leaflet first delivered 3 weeks ago.
A third leaflet claims to provide “ward information”. In reality, the only “new” information are the mobile telephone numbers of the local Councillors. There is no information about local shops or delivery arrangements. A missed opportunity.
Recovery figures
Fifty York Hospital patients with coronavirus have now died – but York NHS trust bosses say admissions are falling and more than 130 patients have already been discharged.
Home Learning
The DfE has updated guidance on supporting children to learn at home which includes links to a variety of learning apps for parents to use with their children as well as guidance and advice for parents at home with their children during the current situation.
The BBC has unveiled its biggest push on education in its history supported by DfE- ensuring that every child in the UK has the opportunity to continue to follow the appropriate core parts of their national school curriculum in these challenging times. There are also some useful resources for pre-schoolers. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize.
School qualifications
The latest information for schools, students and parents on GCSEs, AS and A level awarding for summer 2020 is now available.
Warning about online radicalisation
North Yorkshire Police and its community safety partners are supporting a campaign to tackle the threat of online radicalisation during the coronavirus emergency.
Co-ordinated by Prevent and with a focus on its “Let’s Talk About It” website https://www.ltai.info/, it is aimed at young and vulnerable people who could be at risk of being groomed by extremist individuals and groups online.
As with crimes such as fraud, child abuse and child sexual exploitation, the closure of schools and colleges has increased the chances of young people falling victim to online radicalisation while following the current social distancing and self-isolation rules.
If you have an immediate concern that you need to share with a trained professional who will treat your enquiry with understanding and discretion, please call North Yorkshire Police on 101.
If you see or hear something suspicious, trust your instincts and ACT. Report it in confidence at www.gov.uk/ACT. Your actions could save lives.
