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Coronavirus York updates; 31st May 2020

Deaths & Cases

ONE more patient with coronavirus has died at a hospital yesterday within the York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. A further four died today. The five further deaths takes the total number of Covid-19 related fatalities within the trust to 210. The trust includes York Hospital and Scarborough Hospital.

There are 456 confirmed cases in the city

Council urges caution

Following changes to the government’s coronavirus advice, social distancing and lockdown measures, we are encouraging residents to continue follow the guidance, protect the NHS and save lives.

New guidelines are set to come into action on 1 June which allow the opening of car showrooms, outdoor markets and permit groups of up to six people to meet outdoors, as long as social distancing is followed. The revised national guidance can be found here: www.gov.uk/coronavirus.

We are continuing to advise people who may want to visit to keep their trip to York on hold for now, so they can instead see the city and enjoy our attractions in full when it is safe to do so.

Leader of City of York Council, Cllr Keith Aspden, said:

“As certain lockdown restrictions are starting to be eased, it’s of course encouraging that people will be able to see some of their family and friends again. It’s also positive to see more local businesses putting plans in place and reopening as we start on the road to recovery.

“We are continuing to look at the new ways that services right across the Council will be delivered in the coming weeks and months, as we all work together to help York recover from this pandemic.

“As part of our recovery, it is vital that residents continue their great work in following these national guidelines; especially social distancing and continuing to frequently wash hands.”

Deputy Leader of City of York Council, Cllr Andy D’Agorne, said:

“It has been great to see how York’s residents and business have pulled together over the past weeks and months to help fight coronavirus. This next easing of restrictions signals another step on the road to recovery.

“That being said, it is vital that we all continue to be vigilant. It is only through each of us playing our own small part that we can continue to reduce the number of infections and ultimately save lives going forward.”

For more information about coronavirus in York visit www.york.gov.uk/coronavirus

York’s small businesses reminded to prepare for extension to grants scheme

City of York Council is reminding small and micro businesses which have missed out on government support that its grant scheme will be extended from Monday (June 1).

City of York Council is reminding small and micro businesses which have missed out on government support that its grant scheme will be extended from Monday (June 1).

The council is using an additional £2.2m discretionary government fund to expand its own small and micros grant scheme, which has already supported over 1000  local businesses affected by the coronavirus.

The grants will benefit 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 will also be eligible.

The council is also now able to welcome new applications for grants from people who are self-employed with fixed property costs after the government removed a restriction on the use of the funds.

The grants will be between £1000 and £10000 depending on the size and nature of the business, with the following available:

  • Small business and childcare nurseries                        up to  £10000
  • Micro business                                                                  up to    £5000
  • B&Bs and market traders who live in York                   up to   £2,500
  • Self-employed with fixed property costs                       up to    £1000

Businesses must have been trading before 11 March 2020, have a rateable value or annual mortgage of below £51,000, and demonstrate both an ongoing fixed property cost and significant financial impact of the coronavirus. It is not available to any business eligible for any other government COVID grant.

We expect these grants to be in high demand, so please visit our  www.york.gov.uk/COVIDMicroGrant to understand if your business is eligible and what evidence you’ll need to make a successful application.

Businesses can get a message as soon as the form goes live by signing up to an e-newsletter https://www.york.gov.uk/form/EmailUpdates

The council has continued to process applications for the existing scheme in order to ensure no eligible business misses out on any funding. All outstanding applicants and previous grantees will be contacted by the council next week, as many will be eligible for a top-up under the enhanced scheme.

The council acted quickly to distribute £110m of grants and rates relief to over 3000 York businesses, and created its own £1m grant scheme to benefit over 1000 more which did not qualify for government support.

Under the discretionary fund, local authorities have been given an additional 5% of the total value of grants already distributed in York, together with some government rules and outline guidance on which businesses should benefit. However, this means councils have to use local knowledge to decide how to fairly distribute the money to benefit as many businesses as possible.

Depending on the volume of applications and the amount of additional checking and verification required, the council aims to pay all grants within four weeks.

Schools

Advice from York Council

 

Following recent announcements from the government, City of York Council has confirmed the arrangements and work that is taking place to safely welcome more pupils to return to school from next week.

The Government has advised that from Monday 1 June a phased return for early years settings and schools should take place where it is possible to do so safely, with pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 returning to school in smaller classes.

The city is taking a partnership approach to ensure that the changes are gradual and are based on robust risk assessments. As part of the York Schools and Academies Board (YSAB), the council is supporting schools and engaging with unions. All are prioritising the health, safety and wellbeing of pupils and staff.

Risk assessments have been being carried out at every school in the city to determine whether they can safely increase attendance from 1 June. Cleaning regimes are being put in place as part of those risk assessments, and personal protective equipment (PPE) has been delivered to Early Years settings and schools.

Schools will be guided by the number of staff they have available, size of their buildings and any other relevant issues when taking decisions about how many children they can have on site to maintain social distancing requirements.  York’s schools will continue to prioritise places for the children of key workers and vulnerable children – numbers in these groups will determine the pace of re-opening for additional year groups from 1 June. In practice, this will mean that not all schools in the city will be admitting additional year groups on 1 June, but all will continue to be open for vulnerable and key workers’ children who are encouraged to attend school.

Any decision to extend the opening of schools to additional year groups is being taken by headteachers, schools’ governing bodies or trustees following their risk assessments. They will be in contact with parents and carers to confirm the arrangements for their school including any changes to the timing of the school day.

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York Council still not processed all grants for micro businesses

The Council says that it has made fewer than 800 grants as part of its support scheme for small and “micro” businesses launched nearly 2 months ago.

The Council is not saying what is causing the delays to the grants which were intended to provide £1000 for up to 1000 York businesses.

Despite this slow progress, the Council has now said that it is extending the scheme to take advantage of an additional £2.2 million in government support funding.

“Top up” grants could be available to a total value of up to £10,000 for those who have already received help as well as to new applicants.

In a statement the Council says,

“Council Coronavirus scheme upgraded to provide support to more of York’s businesses

Local businesses which have so far missed out on government support could benefit from grants of up to £10,000, as the council extends its scheme for small and micro businesses in the City.

The grants aim to benefit 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 will also be eligible.

Shortly after lockdown was implemented, City of York Council acted quickly to create its own £1m grant scheme for businesses which do not qualify for government support. To date, this scheme has helped nearly 800 local businesses.

Following lobbying efforts, the government has recognised the additional need for financial support and has provided a discretionary fund to local authorities. City of York Council received £2.21m of this funding and has agreed to use it to deliver more grants to the city’s small and micro businesses.

The grants will be staggered between £2500 and £10000, depending on the size and nature of the business, with the following available:

  • Small business and childcare nurseries set to receive: £10000
  • Micro business: £5000
  • B&Bs and market traders who live in York able to apply for: £2,500

Businesses must have been trading before 11 March 2020; have a rateable value or annual mortgage of below £51,000; demonstrate an ongoing fixed property cost and significant financial impact of the coronavirus. It is not available to any business eligible for any other government COVID grant.

The council will open applications for the enhanced grants from Monday 1 June and in the meantime, the Council will continue to process applications for the existing scheme, in order to ensure no business misses out on any funding, unless they do not meet the criteria. All outstanding applicants and previous grantees will be contacted by the council next week, as many will be eligible for a top-up under the enhanced scheme.

Businesses are advised to check the criteria closely and visit www.york.gov.uk/COVIDMicroGrant to prepare key information to apply online.

Councillor Keith Aspden, Leader of City of York Council, said:

This is an exceptionally tough time for so many businesses, especially the small and micro enterprises that characterise York’s creative and independent economy.

“From the very beginning of this crisis, we have worked to ensure our local businesses received swift support from the Council, particularly those who did not meet the criteria for government support.

I am pleased that City of York Council has been recognized as one of the fastest local authorities in the country to distribute grants and rates relief, totaling £110m. We want to go further to support our business community and that is why we have set up this fund to give vital cash injections to small and micro businesses in the city.”

Councillor Andrew Waller, executive member for the economy and strategic planning, said:

I’m extremely proud that we acted quickly to provide a lifeline to many who fell through the cracks of the government support, with nearly 800 small businesses receiving grants so far. Now the government has recognised this need, we can use the funds to give more support to help our businesses survive and adapt.

“We know there are still many York businesses who need more support, and we will continue to press government for more action on their behalf while looking at the local support we can offer.”

The council acted quickly to distribute £110m of grants and rates relief to over 3000 York businesses, and created its own £1m grant scheme to benefit around 800 more which did not qualify for government support.

Under the discretionary fund, local authorities have been given an additional 5% of the total value of grants already distributed in York, and some outline guidance on which businesses should benefit. However, this means councils have to use local knowledge to decide how to fairly distribute the money to benefit as many businesses as possible.

Depending on the volume of applications and the amount of additional checking and verification required, the council aims to make weekly batches of payments starting on 8 June, and hope to pay all grants within four weeks

Coronavirus York updates; 5th May 2020

Waste tips to reopen. Green bin emptying and bulky waste removal services also to restart

Cllr Paula Widdowson, Executive Member with responsibility for waste services said: “I’m pleased to announce that all of our waste services will resume over the next two weeks.
“Today we have agreed changes which mean:

• Household Waste and Recycling Centres will reopen from 11 May by appointment only to residents and commercial waste customers for essential use.
• Bulky waste collections will restart on 11 May
• Garden waste collections will start on 18 May.

“The decision we took back in April wasn’t one we took lightly, however it was crucial we were able to keep residents and staff safe. I would like to thank residents for their understanding and also our incredible staff who have continued to collect household waste and recycling in these challenging times.

“The wellbeing of residents and our staff has been our number one priority and following resident feedback, we explored options to restart all waste collection services, including garden waste collections. In addition, these services can now be opened safely as staff absences have stabilised and we have developed new ways of working.

“Following my letter to the Secretary of State seeking further support and guidance to resume our services as soon as possible, the government released updated guidance today. The guidance advises that journeys to tips must only be undertaken if your waste or recycling cannot be stored at home safely or disposed of safely by other means.

“The household waste and recycling centres will also have social distancing measures in place in addition to our booking system. We will announce further details of the changes, including the booking system tomorrow.”

Confusion over grants to micro businesses

The City of York Council says it is gearing up to deliver a new government grant scheme aimed at local businesses, small charities, B&Bs and market traders.

It is unclear whether the grants will be in addition to any made under the Council’s own micro business grant scheme launched on 3rd April. The Council has not said how much of the £1 million, that they said they had put aside for those grants, has actually been spent.

York is set to receive around £2.2 million to support small and micro businesses that do not qualify for the existing grants or the self-employed income support. Council staff will work to ensure that the grants are received as rapidly as possible once details of the scheme are announced.

The figure represents the 5% ‘uplift’ promised to councils on the amount received through the coronavirus grants for small businesses and those in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors.

Local authorities have to wait for final details from the government but the scheme aims to help:

  • Small businesses in shared offices or other flexible work spaces
  • Science parks and incubators which do not have their own business rates assessment
  • Regular market traders who do not have their own business rates assessment
  • B&Bs which pay Council Tax instead of business rates
  • Charity properties in receipt of charitable business rates relief which would otherwise have been eligible for Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rate Relief

It is available to businesses with fewer than 50 employees and facing ongoing fixed building-related costs. Applicants must have been trading since before 11 March, and able to demonstrate that they have suffered a significant fall in income due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

Councillor Andrew Waller, executive member for the economy and strategic planning, said:

These are extremely challenging times for the people who run York’s businesses.

“From day one it’s been our priority to get relief into business’ bank accounts as securely and quickly as possible, with over £105 million distributed in a matter of weeks, nearly 90% of previous grant announcements. We’ll do the same with these grants, and are working with neighbouring councils to make sure that, as resources allow, there is as much consistency as possible.

We hope that the Government will provide regulations to councils quickly so that we can announce details of how to apply early next week.”

Because the scale of the financial award to local authorities has been fixed, but the number of qualifying businesses and charity properties will emerge and vary, the council cannot immediately say how much each grant will be worth.

Full details of the scheme are expected to be announced by the Government later this week. Grants will be distributed by an application process. It is acknowledged that it will take a little time to set up this process to ensure all the correct checks are made.

Almost 90% of previously announced grants have now been processed with City of York ranking 12 out of 314 local authorities for the quickest payments to local businesses. Officers are continuing to work through these, as well as the micro grants.

Coronavirus York updates – 10th April 2020

Food

The council says, it “is connecting residents with a wide range needs, from those unable to get an online delivery slot to those who would normally rely on food banks, to food suppliers. Where possible we are supporting local businesses by highlighting those in operation.

This involves a regular check with local suppliers to connect people with the means to pay to the businesses still operating in their area. We use this list to signpost callers who reach us through the COV-19 helpline. We are finding that the information on which businesses operate and their capacity is changing on a daily basis, so printed lists will be out of date very quickly, and for larger print runs before they are distributed.

Those suppliers with confidence in their stocks and delivery arrangements are encouraged to add their listing to the council-sponsored listings at www.yorkmix.com/yorkbiz . This listing is growing daily”.

The list referred to still falls short of requirements.

It is framed as mini adverts which maybe fine for the businesses themselves but not for customers.

It falls short in not providing a comprehensive database – which gives all options for contactless ways of buying and having doorstep deliveries of food and medicines.

Pharmacies and supermarkets are a key part of the supply chain.

Funerals

Changing the way York Crematorium provides cremation services has been a very difficult and sad decision for the City of York Council to make, but necessary in light of public health concerns. We have listened to the advice around increasing numbers of Coronavirus cases in York, regionally and nationally, having yet reached the peak period of infection for the Yorkshire and Humber region.

Following further discussions with funeral directors and clergy, we will now be allowing one celebrant or minister to perform a short service, that will be filmed free of any charge.

We have attached our statement and updated FAQs for your information.

Micro-grants for businesses

A £1m City of York Council support fund for small and micro businesses which don’t qualify for government support has now been fully launched, with applications now open.

The City of York Council micro business grants scheme will deliver grants of up to £1000 into 1000 self-employed, micro and small businesses who need it most. 

Applications can be made through https://www.york.gov.uk/COVIDMicroGrant and are available to businesses which:

  • have 50 or fewer employees, including one person business/self-employed;
  • need support adapting to new trading arrangements;
  • are experiencing financial hardship due to coronavirus, and
  • do not qualify for any other government grant or rate relief support packages.

The latest information for business is available at www.york.gov.uk/BusinessSupport.

PPE business ask

We are appealing to the Government for additional personal protective equipment (PPE), and asking local businesses for any spare PPE, so it can be used by the authority’s care workers.

Although the council’s care teams currently have sufficient PPE, stocks nationally are running low, and priority is being given to NHS staff.

All our care workers are following national government guidance on the PPE they need to wear. In a similar way to NHS staff, care staff need to use PPE to keep themselves safe from the risk of infection. The items we need are disposable plastic aprons, gloves, black bags, masks, eye protection goggles, alcohol based hand sanitiser and hard surface wipes.

Anyone who thinks they may have useful PPE is asked to email PPE@york.gov.uk. We thank everyone for their support. In fact a number of businesses have stepped forward already, to whom we are incredibly grateful of what is another demonstration of York’s community spirit.

An update on homelessness

From 23 March we have provided 11 households and 12 single homeless people temporary accommodation. While very few of these cases were connected to coronavirus, as a precaution and with support from local organisations, their accommodation meets social distancing criteria.

All the rough sleepers we are supporting are already known to us. The vast majority have accepted the accommodation which each and every one is being offered. We continue to work hard to persuade them all to come into accommodation and to stay in it while the emergency continues.

We have not yet received any additional Government money relating to homelessness to date, nor have we been told how much York will receive.

Virtual libraries

Thanks to £17K of extra funding from City of York Council, Explore is now able to extend the current range of virtual services to support individuals, families and communities of York during the Coronavirus emergency to help people whilst they stay at home.

The extra funding means Explore can now extend what is on offer:

  • Press Reader. Explore will buy a 12 month subscription to Press Reader This will provide  access to over 7000 daily newspaper and magazine titles from more than 100 countries.  
  • More e-books and e-audiobooks
  • Specialist conferencing software to bring people together in a virtual space and invite them to challenge their imagination in new ways.
  • Support with getting online

More help for York small and micro businesses announced

York Council has issued more details of a £1 million scheme to support businesses falling through safety net of government support

  • 1000 businesses are set for grants of up to £1000, with up to 1000 set for free access to FSB support
  • Council acting to put £110 m of government support into York businesses’ accounts – first grants to land in bank accounts next week

City of York Council has released details of further support for York businesses, including its £1 million scheme to help York’s small and micro businesses who are set to miss out on government support.

City of York Council’s micro business grants scheme will deliver grants of up to £1000 to 1000 self-employed, micro and small businesses who need it most. 

Applications for the grants will open before Easter, and will be available to businesses which:

  • have 50 or fewer employees, including one person business/self-employed;
  • need support adapting to new trading arrangements;
  • are experiencing financial hardship due to coronavirus, and
  • do not qualify for any other government grant or rate relief support packages.

In addition, the council has created a new fund to give up to 1000 businesses free membership of the Federation of Small Business. Also set to launch before Easter, these will be available to businesses with 30 or fewer employees. This will give each business access to a range of services, covering everything from legal and advice to cyber protection and insurance.

Grants will be issued to the first 1000 businesses which meet the criteria, so businesses are advised to prepare evidence in advance.

 The council will open an online application form, which will require company details, an outline of what the grant is needed for and the following evidence to demonstrate eligibility:

  1. proof of hardship and ineligibility for other schemes
    • for self-employed applicants: Business must have a Unique Tax Reference Number UTRN from HRMC with retrospective check
    • Registered business – must provide Company Number, or details from other registration schemes
  2. Evidence that the business is trading, for example adverts, web site or accounts

The council will contact businesses to review the effectiveness of grants and collect evidence of the impact of our funding. 

The council has also negotiated a deal which will allow 1,000 one person businesses, or 500 ten person businesses to join and access the free helpline for business advice.

Carolyn Frank, Development Manager North Yorkshire, Federation of Small Businesses, said:

“We are seeing more demand than ever for our services as small businesses and the self-employed find themselves needing advice and guidance, financial support and a powerful collective voice with government.

“We are very grateful to City of York Council for funding free FSB memberships for microbusinesses from their emergency funding, which is helping us reach even more businesses in York with specialist 1-2-1 advice and support.

“Our benefits in higher than normal demand due to the emergency situation include employment advice and protection, legal helpline and documents hub, FSB care medical advice line, cyber protection checks, FSB funding platform and cash advance and insurance services. 

“I’d encourage businesses to apply quickly to take advantage of this special scheme, because it is strictly limited to first come, first served. Of course businesses who miss out on the free scheme can still ask for our help, we have many free resources and a full priced membership starts from only £147 a year.” 

Fresh light shed on York’s mysterious QUANGOs

Some of the affairs of York’s taxpayer funded but independently managed organisation are to be subject to public review next week. The Councils first comprehensive “Shareholder” committee meeting is to look at the results being obtained by several organisations.

These include

  • Make it York (The tourism and marketing body)
  • Veritau Ltd – An audit body
  • City of York Trading – A recruitment and temporary staff agency
  • Yorwaste/SJB Recycling (Process local waste and refuse)

In the past these bodies have been subject to intermittent “light” scrutiny with many background details contained in “confidential” annexes. Several private annexes are still being reported to next Tuesday’s meeting but fewer than in the past

The meeting is being chaired by Cllr Nigel Ayre who was also responsible for bringing into the public domain reports on the Councils major contracts letting processes.

Make it York (MIY) plans to appoint a new post of “Head of Commercial and Revenue Generation” at a basic salary of £60,000 a year. Performance bonuses could bring the remuneration up to £80.000 pa. MIY failed to recruit to the post at a lower salary earlier in the year. The post has the objective of increasing MIY’s revenues over time such that the company can, in the first instance, become self-funding (relieving the council of its ongoing financial contribution to the business) and, beyond that, increasing the sums available to reinvest in the city.

It is unclear how potential conflicts between commercial targets and York’s traditional values will be reconciled. There have been too many disputes between local traders, visitors and residents in the past few years.

Separately MIY reports an expected £248,063 loss in the year. This is 6304 above budget expectations. Increased overheads are blamed together with poor merchandise sales in the tourist centre.  The organisations new Chair Greg Dyke is due to take over the role in January.

The report touches on the Christmas Market and ongoing difficulties with access for traders (see below).

Veritau Ltd, a company jointly owned by North Yorkshire County Council and the City of York Council, wants to expand. It hopes in future to provide audit services for several additional Council and other public bodies.

City of York Trading Ltd (trading principally as WorkwithYork and WorkwithSchools) was formed in 2011 with the intention of supplying temporary staff to CYC, to schools (in and around the York area) and to other outside organisations. Through City of York Trading Ltd, the reductions in cost to CYC and the return of the profit achieved are designed to assist CYC’s financial position. If CYC had to source staff in the open market, the cost would be substantially higher than current rates paid to the Company.

Unfortunately the reports from this organisation continue to be largely opaque. The shareholder committee is being asked to approve a business plan which is enclosed in a confidential annex. Similarly, the committee is being asked to endorse the appointment of a n additional company director but without the name of the candidate being revealed.

The net cost/return to the Council of this body is not revealed.

Yorwaste/SJB Recycling. The York Council owns 23% of this company. Yorwaste operates Waste Transfer Stations (WTS), Materials Recycling Facilities (MRF), Green Waste Composting, and HWRCs for both NYCC and CYC. It also manages the closed landfill aftercare obligations at several sites including Harewood Landfill (which closed to general waste in March of this year). SJB currently operates three sites (based at Yorkshire Water waste plants) providing green waste composting services to local authorities.

The company is forecasting a loss of over £300,000 on the year. The company blames the impact of a facility closure (Seamer); external commodity prices; and two waste fires for the downturn in its fortunes.

SJB is forecasting a reduced level of profit (£159,000). With 2 of its three operational sites closing it is heavily dependent on achieving a new contract before the end of the year.

£66,676 spent on temps at York Council contact centre

A Freedom of information response has revealed that the City of York Council’s contact centre spent £66,676.88 on temporary agency 
staff between 3rd September 2018 to 1st September 2019

The staff were recruited using City of  York Trading Limited as the  preferred supplier.  They are a wholly owned Council subsidiary.   

The information has come to light as questions are being asked about the effectiveness of the issue reporting systems at the Council.

On two occasion recently the contact centre has claimed that litter reports concerned “private” land, for which the Council had no responsibility.

It turned out that the cases concerned garage forecourt areas which are in the ownership of the Councils own housing department!

Council claims garage areas are “private”

Not so black Friday for shoppers in York

York drop-in event for National Consumer Week 26 November to 2 December

York Christmas market is popular this year

City of York Council is working with partners to host a special drop-in event at West Offices, aimed at providing advice and support to consumers.

The event falls on National Consumer Day on 28 November, which is during National Consumer Week from 26 November to 2 December. It also falls in the same week as Cyber Monday on 26 November, which follows Black Friday on 23 November.

City of York Council’s Trading Standards team will be available on Wednesday 28 November 10am until 4pm alongside Age UK York and approved garage traders Jax motorcycles.

They will be on hand to provide advice and support on a range of services, including:

Age UK York:

  • Their Firstcall Information service, which is the first point of contact for information and advice for the over 50s in York.
  • Home Service Directory, which contains the names of local approved tradesmen vetted by trading standards.
  • A new cost-effective service offering the preparation of Wills and Power of Attorney.

Approved Garage Scheme:

  • The trading standards scheme checks and approves York garages, so customers know they are trustworthy and competent.
  • Jax motorcycles will be on-hand to talk to people about how to get into biking safely and will be displaying a new four-wheel scooter from Yamaha that’s ideal for novice riders and commuters. Garages in the scheme include Copmanthorpe Motors, Fulford Auto Service, Leeman Road Auto Services, York MOT Centre, Osbaldwick Motors, West End Garage in Haxby and Jax Motorcycles/Technical Car Services.

Cold Calling Controlled Zones:

  • The council’s trading standards team will be available to talk about Cold Calling Controlled Zones. They’re aimed at deterring cold callers and giving residents more information about their rights when they buy at the door and the confidence to say no.
  • Door step crime includes bogus traders who cold call homes, offering to carry out unwanted or unnecessary work at grossly inflated prices.
  • There are currently 216 zones across the city, which have been implemented at the request of residents.

Scams and advice

  • The officers will be on hand to talk to residents about scams and provide them with information about how not to get caught out. Consumers can also talk to officers about any other consumer complaints they may have.

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Safeguarding Week 2018 in York

From the 25 to the 29 June, York will be promoting Safeguarding Week 2018, organised by the  Safeguarding Adults Board and Local Safeguarding Children’s Board in collaboration with a variety of local organisations. This is an opportunity to raise awareness and share in a city wide conversation about the work of safeguarding partnerships across the region and the prevention of dangers concerning vulnerable individuals in the 21st century.

This year the Safeguarding Adults Board. and City of York Council have chosen to focus awareness on financial abuse. Over the course of the week, there  will be a variety of opportunities to learn about available support and preventative measures you can take  at events across the city and via our social media channels.

Cllr Carol Runciman, Executive Member for Adult Social Care and Health said:
“It is so important for all of us to educate ourselves as to the risks of financial scams and the realities of financial abuse. Safeguarding Week is an opportunity to inform our residents of how to protect themselves and their loved ones from the devastating effects of this kind of abuse and to safeguard the most vulnerable in our communities.”

Financial abuse can show itself in a multitude of ways; from financial control within a relationship, to the targeting of vulnerable individuals from organised crime groups in the form of financial scams. It is important to stay informed and educated in order to notice when something doesn’t look quite right.

The month of June also marks Scam Awareness month, an annual opportunity to both raise public awareness and stand against crimes and predatory practices which impact the lives of millions across the country.

Visit citizensadvice.org.uk for more information and resources on preventing, spotting and reporting scams.  (more…)

York Central access road decision next week

Construction of the access road to unlock the potential of York Central – one of Europe’s largest brownfield sites – could start next year if senior councillors approve plans next week.

2015 plan

The council’s executive could give the green light to find a contractor to build the bridge and spine road into the site from Water End.

A new access road has long been established as crucial to opening up the 72 hectare York Central site, which can drive the city’s economy and create vital jobs, housing and quality public spaces.

The positioning of the road was decided following extensive public consultation by the York Central Partnership, which is delivering the regeneration of the site, last year.

The Council will take the lead on the design and construction of the access road before 2021, in order to take advantage of available funding from the West Yorkshire Transport Fund.

Councillor Andrew Waller, acting leader of City of York Council, said:
“Regenerating this site is vital to grow our economy and provide housing.

“Thanks to the efforts of the York Central Partnership, we are overcoming the barriers to take this once in a lifetime opportunity to unlock York Central’s potential as an exemplar sustainable development.

“I welcome the news that the partnership is improving the community engagement on the project. This will help to make sure York Central is a place in which we all want to live, work and spend time.”

The construction partner would deliver key infrastructure, including the access bridge and spine road, while the contract could potentially be extended to deliver public open space (parkland, urban drainage and public
realm) and the rail link to the national rail museum.

The York Central Partnership has announced a special consultation which will help to develop the masterplan, which will be considered by the council’s Executive in June. The ‘Festival of York Central’ will begin on Monday 19 March, and will go beyond conventional community consultation.  It will use social media, ‘Pechakucha’ conversation evenings, walk’n’workshop site tours, web and blog content and speaking events. There will also be opportunities to meet with the four partners, the consultant team behind the evolving masterplan and local councillors.

The executive will also be asked to:

  •  dispose of the freehold of the 5% of council land holding on York Central to Homes England at market value to simplify land ownership on the site and to use this capital receipt to fund the York Central project costs. This land includes the Fermatol trading estate off Leeman Rd and the private car park near to Carlisle St.
  •  to commit £907k further funding from the £10m allocated budget to take the project through to planning determination.