Healthcare public meeting

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Patients and members of the public are invited to NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group’s (CCG’s) next Patient and Public Engagement Forum in York.

Full details as follows:
Where: Friargate Meeting House, Friargate, York, YO1 9RL
When: Wednesday 9 July, 6pm

The event is an invitation for patients and members of the public to be part of the conversation with the CCG and local authority representatives about Health and Social Care service delivery with a particular focus on urgent care in the area.
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Residents now asked to pay £20 for “Minster” parking sticker

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The Council’s Labour Leadership are going ahead with their threat to scrap the free “Minster” badge which entitles residents to discounts on car parking charges.

This was introduced some years ago as a way of recognising that residents had paid for the car park to be established in the first place.

Residents will have to apply online to purchase a replacement badge. (Ironically, today, the web site https://www.york.gov.uk/minsterbadge links weren’t working).

The Council says that the charge will go towards making up a £280,000 shortfall on car parking income.

The shortfall has arisen since Labour increased car parking charges, some by as much as 80%, when they took office.

The new scheme means the end of “free” evening parking for residents. Free evening parking was something Labour campaigned for in 2007 when a £1 per evening charge applied for residents.

Now any resident, without one of the new Minster Badges, faces a £2 charge (the same as visitors).

When announcing their plans earlier in the year, Labour claimed that they wanted to provide an incentive for “frequent visitors” to return to the City, but it now appears that those living in the City’s hinterland will NOT be able to buy a badge.

With around £300,000 in car parking income now at risk because of the free morning parking introduced at some car parks on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturday, it seems unlikely that the council has got its sums right.

We predict a strong reaction against the new charges from residents, some of whom may now choose to shop, and play, away from the City Centre.

York gets extra £311,253 to fill in 5000 potholes

Click to access interactive map

Click to access interactive map

The coalition government has allocated York over £300,000 to deal with some of the potholes that blight local roads.

It is estimated that this will allow around 5000 holes to be filled in.

The money is in addition to the £245,719 allocated earlier in the year to repair the worse ravages of the winter weather.

However the central government initiative will do little to address the backlog in highways repairs which has built up over the last two financial years following a decision by the local York Council Labour Leadership to lop a total of £4 million from the highways budgets.

The potholes represents a particular risk for cyclists with highway margin work (the 1 metre band near the highway kerbside) having been given a low priority by the Council over the last 3 years.

Some road humps are also in a particularly poor condition and represent a hazard for all road users.

 

Energise winners

A husband and wife team has won a 6 month Tour de France challenge which was set by Energise for its members in January.

Jack and Jill Whitham were first to successfully complete the 2,271 mile challenge to cycle, run and swim or climb the Tour de France distance prior to the Grand Départ Stage 2 leaving York on Sunday 6 July.

Jill Whitham said: “We thought it would be impossible at first but found that the challenge really gave us the push to increase cardio workouts and achieve our goal weights. It also encouraged us to try more on the bikes and the rower. We will be going out to watch the Tour de France as it is on our doorstep this year.”

Paul Bickle, Manager of Energise said: “All the staff would like to give them our congratulations and we’re glad that the challenge helped them both to achieve their goals. As a prize they have chosen the Go Ape Tree Top adventure at Dalby Forest. The individual winner category is still up for grabs and we are encouraging all our members to have a go.”

Skip Programme

  • 21st June 2014 8:30am Dale Street
    28th June 2014 8:30am Sanderson House Bramham Road 8:30am Bramham Road/Grange Lane junction

    12:30pm Lindsey Ave
    5th July 2014 Don Ave 8:30am North Lane 10:30am
    12th July 2014 8:30am Sanderson House, Bramham Road 10:30am Rogers Court
    19th July 2014 8:30am Lowfields Drive 12:30pm Cornlands Road
  • The skips are funded by the local residents association using their Estate Improvement Grant. The skips are removed once they are full so please make sure you arrive in good time if you intend to make use of them.
  • Please remember to take your waste to the site only on the dates advertised
  • If the skip is full or not on the site, please do not leave your waste. This is classed as fly tipping and is illegal
  • Bulky items including furniture, fridges and freezers are not accepted. To arrange disposal of one of these items please ring York (01904) 551551.

York Council got Freedom of Information costs wrong

A media report, claiming that responding to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests made to the York Council cost on average £700 each, was wrong the authority has admitted.

Ironically it took another FOI request to reveal the real figure of £137.

The Council claims that the mistake was due to an error in a press release that it issued.

£715 was the maximum cost for processing a request.

The Councils FOI web page is poor lacking even an on line form on which to record requests.

Since it was under LibDem control in 2010, the Council has, however, routinely published on its web site the answers to the FOI requests that it has processed.

The Council’s Audit committee is due to consider the FOI processes next Wednesday.

It will hear that the number of FOI requests has escalated since Labour took control of the Council and adopted a “behind closed doors” decision making regime. The number of requests increased from 804 in 11/12 to 1384 in 13/14 (72%).

81% of the requests were responded to within the 20 day deadline.

98 dissatisfied residents asked for their requests to be reviewed and 93 went as far as complaining to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO).

In 40 cases the ICO found against the Council.

The types of information requested from the Council varies a lot.

  • Some is commercially motivated with potential tenderers seeking information on upcoming contracts.
  • Others are routine trawls for information from vested interests. These would include companies flowing up “no next of kin” deaths as well as unclaimed Business rates.

In both these cases the Council should routinely publish on its web site the information that is available. That would be much cheaper than responding to individual request for information.

Many of the requests though reflect the interest that residents have in the way that the Council is being managed.

It would take a sea change in attitude from the present Council if the information needs of residents were to be anticipated and built into monitoring systems rather than have to be dragged from a reluctant, obstructive Leadership.

Residents urged to have their say

 

 

At a public meeting next week local residents will get the chance to have their say on controversial plans to build on Green Belt land north of York.

 

The meeting will discuss proposals by Labour run York Council to build 1,500 houses north of Haxby & Wigginton under its long-term citywide development plan. The event has been arranged by Liberal Democrats as part of their campaign to Save York’s Green Belt.

 

The public meeting comes after it was revealed that York Council is only planning a “limited consultation” on the proposals and will not be organising a meeting for residents in the ward or delivering a leaflet to all houses. The council’s low-key 6 week consultation began last week and focuses on the changes made to last year’s Draft Local Plan.

 

The public meeting will be taking place on 25th June at 7pm at Haxby & Wigginton Methodist Church, The Village, Wigginton,YO32 2JJ. 

 

The Draft Local Plan’s references for the Haxby and Wigginton sites are ST9 & SF4. Details of the proposals can be found here:http://www.york.gov.uk/localplan

Council choir to visit residential homes

City of York Council’s staff choir will be touring council residential homes in York to celebrate the Grand Départ with a good sing with residents.

Cansing! is make up of council staff who enjoy making music, and some 20 choir members will give their time to visit City of York Council’s residential homes at Willow House, Woolnough House and Grove House on Saturday 28 June. They’ll sing a variety of songs to give residents a taste of the build-up to the Tour de France coming to York on 6 July.

Ted Schofield, chair of the choir, said: “We sang at Willow House before Christmas which went down really well with the residents. It gave us the idea of taking part in York: Be Part of It and bringing old favourites like ‘Daisy, Daisy’ and other cycle-themed songs to bring a flavour of the tour to these communities.”

Cansing! was founded in 2010 and has sung in York Minster, on BBC Radio York, at York Carnival as well as in their own concerts.

The choir can be heard rehearsing every Thursday lunchtime in St Helen’s Church, St Helen’s Square, York.

York Council admits democratic governance failings

SecretAn internal review has identified several failings in the way that the York Council takes decisions and makes information available to members of the public.

The report is being presented to a meeting next week. Curiously – given the nature of the subject – the full report has not been published

The audit revealed that “that there is not a consistent understanding across the organisation as to who can take key decisions”.

The audit noted that “the forward plan did not make it clear whether a Cabinet Member intended to hold a public decision making session”.

“A number of Ward meeting minutes were not available on modgov (a Council web site system) when the audit was undertaken”.

The report concludes by saying

“The remaining recommendations related to the wider Council’s use of technology and social media and the use of the website to ensure openness and transparency. Those issues are being explored within the rewiring programme and recently the city’s residents have been invited to participate in the development of a new website and the creation of an open data web portal”.