Times are changing

Many may feel that the PCC elections, due to take place on 15th November, will prove to be an unhelpful diversion for a Police force which has a good record in reducing crime in York and North Yorkshire at a levy of £200 per for the average household.

The Force has a achieved this under the general guidance of a broadly based “Police Authority” which included Councillors from all over the area, and with differing political views, together with several magistrates.

The structure of Police Authorities is far from perfect. They include no directly elected representatives and therefore accountability with the electorate is at best indirect. So a refinement of its membership, roles and responsibilities may have been overdue.

Nor have all Chief Constables always shown sensitivity and respect for the concerns of local residents. Several examples of apparently unnecessary expenditure have emerged over the last few decades, while recently there have been reports of inappropriate nepotism in recruitment processes.

However, electing a single politician to take responsibility for addressing crime issues is an over-reaction to the perceived weaknesses of the present system. At worst it could bring into question the political impartiality of the Police.

At a salary of £70,000, plus significant on costs, it may also be a role that the taxpayer simply can’t afford.

Over the last few days other concerns have emerged.

2 Labour candidates for the posts (elsewhere in the country) have been forced to stand down. They had committed offences in their younger days and, although not jailed, it was judged that their “experience” was inappropriate for someone towards the top of the justice system. They have been forced to stand down although the Labour party has yet to explain how they came to be selected in the first place.

Last week a judge ruled that existing JPs (magistrates) must resign before they can take up a PCC job. Initially the Judge had said that the ban on JPs would apply to anyone standing as a CANDIDATE, although this view was apparently quickly reversed. The revised guidance says that, for this first round of elections, as long as they undertake not to sit on the bench while the campaign is in progress, candidates will not have to resign as JPs unless they are elected.

Stranger still – according to The Guardian – is the presumption now that members of the – largely advisory – Police and Crime Panels may also have to resign if they also serve as a JP. The Police and Crime Panel (PCP) will have the ability to veto the Commissioner’s plans for the police’s share of council-tax bills and their proposed candidates to be Chief Constable, as long as it has a two-thirds majority on any vote.

The membership of the York and North Yorkshire Police and Crime Panels was announced a couple of weeks ago. It includes at least 1 J.P.

Only 2 candidates have so far been announced for the PCC post in York and North Yorkshire. They are Julia Mulligan a Conservative (http://juliamulligan.org.uk/) and Ruth Potter Labour: (http://www.yorklabour.org.uk/police/)

Other potential candidates may be discouraged by the £5000 deposit that each will have to find.

There will be no postage paid election address delivered so many residents will have to trawl the internet to get details of the candidates and their policies.

City of York Council, York Pullman and East Coast Mainline are working in partnership to open a new bus and information point in York Railway Station.

The new information desk is located in the station’s Travel Centre and will be officially opened on Tuesday 14 August.

Commuters and visitors will get access to up to date and accurate answers to their queries about local bus services as well as general visitor information.

The customer-facing counter will be operated by York Pullman and has been developed with thanks to £30,000 funding from the Better Bus Area Fund – a grant provided by the Government. (more…)

The York Council spent £1.2 million on employing consultants during the last financial year. The expenditure is broadly in line with previous years (09/10 – £1.3M, 10/11 – £1.2M).

The Council uses consultants to undertake work when either it doesn’t have the internal capacity &/or the skills to deliver specialist projects.

The figures would, therefore, be unsurprising were it not for the fact that in December last year the “Cabinet” member with responsibility for corporate decisions of this sort (Coun Julie Gunnell) was quoted in the local newspaper as saying, “Since taking control of the council from the Lib Dems we have sought to rebalance the use of consultants and now only use them where absolutely necessary!”

So everyone seems to be agreed then that expenditure of around 0.5% of the total budget on the use of external companies is about what might be expected?

In reality there is a conflict between Labour’s grand expenditure plans and the reduced capacity of the Council workforce now that many managers have been sacked.

The top 5 consultancy contractors employed by the York Council during the last year were:
1. Sweet Group, £201,115, quantity surveying services
2. Amtel Consulting, £125,133, management consultancy and specialist interim services
3. Halcrow, £77,539, Highway design consultants
4. Crosby Interim Consultancy Services, £77,474, specialist interim services
5. V4 Services, £26,075, management consultancy and specialist interim services

Foxwood Lane/Woodthorpe to Monks Cross click to enlarge

Copmanthorpe to Haxby Click to enlarge

First are expected to move quickly to register revisions to local bus services, following the announcement by Labour Councillors made earlier in the week about cuts.

Details will shortly be available here. http://tinyurl.com/bus-service-registrations

There are a number of changes to frequencies and several major re-routings.

The most significant is probably for the Number 12 which will now run from Foxwood/Woodthorpe to Monks Cross (not Haxby). This is a shorter journey and will, claim First, improve reliability. The Foxwood loop is retained and there are no plans to change the route through Woodthorpe.

Haxby will be serviced by the number 13 running from Copmanthorpe via Tadcaster Road. This frequency on this service will be cut to hourly.

Other service changes affect the Hollybank link to Acomb and the station, the Dodsworth service to the City Centre and Monks Cross, Bishopthorpe to York and Skelton to York.

A new service to the Sports Village on Hull Road will be started. The new swimming pool there opens on Tuesday.

Many areas will lose out under the new arrangements but the main concern is the continued reluctance of the York Council to publish route by route reliability figures on a regular basis.

Reliability on services such as the number 4, has suffered since the Council started to draw up plans for a statutory bus contract system in the City.

A classic case of “taking your eye off the ball”?

The Council has issues a media release saying, “To celebrate the end of the London 2012 Games and the success of Team Yorkshire’s athletes – such as Jack Laugher and Joanne Jackson – children in York will be able to swim for free this summer”.

The announcement comes a few days after it was revealed that Olympic legacy preparations in York had stalled. The Active York organisation had failed to finish designing its web site despite the Games approaching a climax while the Councils own web site was littered with out of date information.
See: http://stevegalloway.mycouncillor.org.uk/2012/08/06/new-swimming-pool-opens-next-tuesday-but-york-olympic-legacy-at-risk/

Children under 16 will go free from Monday 13 August to Sunday 2 September on production of a YorkCard or Yozone Card at Yearsley and Energise pools.

Free entry is for open swim sessions only. Swim timetables for both pools are available at www.york.gov.uk/fit or by calling 01904 552424.

The cost to taxpayers of the concession has not yet been revealed

The Sheriff, Guild of Scriveners and many Serjeants will all take part in the annual medieval-themed York charity event, Assize of Ale, this weekend.

In the middle ages Sheriffs were concerned that the ale of York should be of a suitable quality and brought it upon themselves to appoint Serjeants to test the quality of ale in the city.

This Saturday (11 August) at 1.50pm, members of the Guild of Scriveners, friends and supporters will be summoned and then sworn in as Serjeants by the Sheriff of York, Councillor Paul Firth, in the historical Mansion House, where they will then take part in the medieval custom by visiting the cities alehouses to ensure it is palatable.

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Families can enjoy a full day of medieval fun this Saturday (11 August) as part of the Medieval Summer and York 800.

York’s Merchant Adventurers’ Hall will play host to a range of activities from 10:30 – 4:30, including juggling, comic performances, games, crafts and have-a-go battle drills for children with the Wars of the Roses Federation.

Visitors can also meet experts from the York Archaeological Trust, come face to face with characters from the middle ages, witness amazing birds of prey and enjoy music played by the wandering minstrel.

Tickets cost £6 per adult, £4 per child or £12 for a family of three, £18 family of four £22 family of five and a ticket includes access to the entire site for the whole day.

To pre-book call 01904 615505.

City of York Council will be carrying out essential resurfacing works on Heslington Road from Monday 13th August.

The programme of works is due to take two-weeks to complete, working Monday to Friday between 9.15 am and 4pm. (more…)

Residents will be able to see the Paralympic torch arriving in York on 24th August as part of a national relay in the run up to the start of the Games on 29th August.

At around 3pm it will arrive at Acomb Explore Library by bus with the Lord Mayor and Civic Party and will then be cycled to Energise.

Paralympic Organisers were so impressed with the work done at Energise, to make it inclusive for all, that they wanted the centre to be part of the torch relay (and therefore York is one of the few places in the country to see both the Olympic and Paralympic torches).

More details available here http://www.london2012.com/paralympics/torch-relay/ & http://www.york.gov.uk/content/leisure/sport/yorkgold/celebratingabilityday2012.pdf

Liberal Democrats are attempting to overturn a controversial decision to cut social care in York.

Under the council’s plans its community care service will be available only to those with substantial or critical needs, rather than those with “moderate” needs. The moderate group includes nearly 200 residents who receive support to help with home care services or are supported to attend day activities.

The Liberal Democrat Group has decided to formally call-in the decision meaning that it will now go to the Council’s corporate scrutiny committee on Monday 13 August to be reassessed. The Group has said continuing the current levels of care support is affordable and have raised concerns about the consultation carried out and the viability of the council’s plans.

Councillor Keith Aspden, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Adult Social Services, commented:

“We believe that Labour has made the wrong decision and we hope that they will reassess their plans. These unnecessary cuts will affect some of the most vulnerable residents in York and we have raised genuine concerns about the consultation carried out and the viability of the council’s plans.

Despite their claims, Labour has choices on spending. These cuts are not a necessity and if Labour cut things like the Leader’s £1 million personal slush fund they could afford to maintain the current levels of frontline social care. We hope the Council will reconsidered this decision at Monday’s meeting.”

Notes:

The full wording of the calling-in from Cllrs Aspden, Cuthbertson and Runciman is:

‘The Liberal Democrat Group formally oppose the decision made by the Cabinet Member and believe that the eligibility criteria should remain unchanged at Moderate, Substantial and Critical. The Cabinet Member has failed to take into account any of the representations made by the Group, prior to taking her decision:

• The consultation was misleading as it failed to tell residents that there are alternatives to withdrawing care provision from York residents. Therefore we believe the results should be treated with extreme caution.

• The consultation exercise was also poorly conducted and an investigation needs to be undertaken to determine why mistakes were made. As the report states, 200 residents were sent the wrong information and feedback from residents said the consultation was “confusing”, “patronizing”, contained “wrong” information, was “very poor”, that “questions were impossible to answer”, and complained questions were “ambiguous”.

• The 31% response rate means that of residents sent consultation packs only 20% agreed with the change in eligibility levels, with 10% disagreeing and the overwhelming majority either not answering that specific question or not taking part in the consultation. In other words, only 1-in-5 people have actively supported these proposals and even these did so through a misleading consultation document. This means that the Council can not claim there is a proper mandate for the changes. For such a vital issue, we do not believe that this flawed consultation exercise is good enough or can form the basis for an informed decision.

A number of concerns raised by partners particularly the York Older People’s Assembly:

• Low level intervention at modest needs level can help sustain independence for longer and any short-term financial gains should be set against the costs of having more people fall into the ‘substantial’ and ‘critical’ needs bands because they lose this crucial support.

• The ability of the voluntary sector in York to provide the level of personal support envisaged in this report. The report provides no detailed evidence from the voluntary sector on this point.

• The report states that the £150,000 cost of not introducing the changes can not be found elsewhere in the Council’s Budget:
“There is no indication at this stage of the year that other areas of the council budget are able to make additional savings to avoid the need for this proposal.”
The Liberal Democrat Group believes that savings could be made elsewhere to protect social care. In our February Budget proposal, we outlined how reversing some of Labour’s planned spending increases and making savings elsewhere could fund this area.’