More York businesses to get rate relief?

Cabinet to decide individual applications

The York Council is set to make available Business Rate reductions for “young” businesses. The businesses must be independent and less than 2 years old. They would enjoy a 50% reduction in rates payable during the first year.

Tax haven

They must be operating in one of the following sectors.

  1. Bio-medical/sciences
  2. Agritech
  3. Insurance & Professional Services
  4. Rail & related industries
  5. Business software innovation
  6. Creative medicine

The scheme will also apply to proposals to bring empty Listed buildings back into commercial use AND MAY BE EXTENDED TO COMPANIES WISHING TO RELOCATE TO THE CITY.

With the local economy in danger of overheating – early in the economic recovery we are already approaching full employment – the scheme is not targeted on depressed parts of the City.

Local shopping centres like Front Street have fared poorly in recent years. The last thing that businesses in locations like that need is subsidised competition.

The scheme has also been criticised as the plan is for decisions, on which companies will get the award, will be taken by a single party committee (the Councils “Cabinet”).

Companies that apply are not required to reveal what donations to political parties they have made or are planning to make.

The Council has not revealed how much the discounts will cost. The total amount of state aid to an individual company under EU regulations is limited to € 200,000.

York school set to lose rate relief application

The Steiner school in Fishergate is set to have an application for a reduction in its Business Rate liability turned down by the York Council.

The school is a registered charity and a non for profit organisation with any surplus made used for development. The school has recommended fees of ￡6,500 pa per child. The school was seeking a discretionary rebate of £3203 but this is set to be turned down by Labour Councillors apparently on the grounds that it is a fee paying schools.

The York Council currently discounts around £95,000 that charities in the City would otherwise pay in Business Rates. The scale of the relief was reduced when Labour took office in York.

Most charities, and other not for profit organisations, already receive what is known as “mandatory relief” which is paid for by central government.

In York the division of the Discretionary Rate relief is as follows

Category

DRR (total) £

CYC Share £

Not-for Profit

3340

1670

Charities

119931

59966

CASC’s

21925

10962

Rural Discretionary

40605

20303

Rural Top Up

5514

2757

Total Cost

191316

95658

The complete list of organisations recommended to receive Discretionary Rate Relief over the next year can be found by clicking here.

It includes the Tang Hall, Bell Farm and Foxwood Community Centres. Several Church aided schools are also included.

2/3 of the relief is paid by central government.

Narrow vote, but £70,000 “non job” gets York Council “go ahead”

Labour Councillors today voted through (by 3 votes to 2) the appointment of a new £70,000 a year “Interim Assistant Director Transformation and Change”

You did waht

The post has been described as a “non-job” with vague objectives

A variety of questions were asked by opposition Councillors, including why just an internal advert, about the pool of people who could apply, about constituency of recruitment across the council and why if they could save money from a Children’s Services post did they need even more than the £500k set aside for transformation.

The post will be recruited internally. Only existing Council staff will be able to apply.

Two other posts are also to be advertised. An Assistant Directors for School Improvement and Highways/Waste will be advertised externally.

Unlike other Council meetings this committee’s debates are neither transmitted over the web.

Nor is an audio recording made available for residents.

Apparently some agricultural language was used by one of the participants.

Local public service standards threatened by Leeds super authority

Potholes

Liberal Democrats have raised fresh concerns over York’s membership of a new super council after it was revealed that money could be cut from frontline survices to fund the city’s contribution.

Labour run City of York Council has decided to join with Leeds, Bradford and other West Yorkshire metropolitan authorities in a new super council, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, from April 2014. York will be expected to contribute around £4million-a-year to the authority, which will have a range of roles including deciding major local transport schemes and overseeing economic development.

At last week’s Full Council meeting, in response to a question from Lib Dem Councillor Keith Orrell, Labour confirmed that they did not know where the £4million-a-year would come from but they would consider taking it from York’s revenue budget – which funds frontline services.
(more…)

York energy “bulk buy” plan announced

York residents are being offered a FREE service which could lead to big savings on their gas and electricity bills.

electricity-meter

City of York Council has partnered with energy switching expert’s iChoosr to make it easy and simple for residents to consider switching their energy tariffs.

Supported by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, York’s Citizens Advice Bureaux and Age UK York – the Save Money by Switching Energy campaign launches on 10 December and will enable York residents to register to assisted scheme with just four easy steps and help reduce their energy bills by switching their providers.

Step 1) Anyone who pays a household energy bill and who is interested in saving money by switching energy suppliers can register for FREE from the 10 December. Registration is easy but they will need a copy of their recent energy bill to complete the process.

Step 2) Registration closes on the 17 February 2014 and then the council’s switching partner iChoosr will gather everyone who has registered together and invite energy companies to offer their best prices for energy to everyone in the scheme.

Step3) Residents will receive tailored details on the new tariff offer secured by the scheme from 28 February 2014. They will also see exactly how much money they could potentially save by switching if they accept the offer.

Step 4) At this stage residents can choose to accept the offer or not. There is no obligation to accept and there are no fees or charges if they don’t switch. They simply get a new offer that could potentially save them money on their energy bills.

Similar switching schemes run by other councils have seen yearly savings of between £60 – £200 per household. The council also piloted a similar scheme earlier in the year and this helped over 300 people consider switching. On average those that did switch were set to save £140 from the scheme.

The council’s switching partner iChoosr will gather registered users together and invite energy companies to offer their best prices for energy to everyone in the scheme. This is all done independently by iChoosr.

Those who sign up can receive a personalised offer with details on the new tariff secured by the scheme and will see exactly how much money they could potentially save by switching if you accept the offer

To find out more or to register click here . If residents do not have access online please visit City of York Council’s customer service centre at West Offices or call us on 01904 551550.

Hospital “bed blocking” on increase in York

Bed blocking

The number of delayed discharges from hospital is increasing as the York Council struggles to provide care in the community places.

The delays mean that the Council has to pay substantial “fines” and in turn the “blockage” can prevent new patients being admitted to NHS beds.

The delays have reached record levels as the weekly average figures (for patients awaiting discharge to community placements) for the last few years reveal.

  • 2009/10 – 7.98
  • 2010/11 – 10.13
  • 2011/12 – 8.69
  • 2012/13 – 10.67
  • 2013/14 – 11.00 (to September)

The figures were reported to both the York Council’s “Cabinet” on 5th November and its Health Scrutiny Committee on 27th November

Neither minuted any action which they planned take to address the growing crisis.

Some of the delays are being put down to inadequate capacity in the “reablement” unit. This team seeks to train former patients to be more self-reliant.

It is the winter period when demand for NHS beds is at its highest.

The last thing that the City needs is for those that are available to be blocked by people who could, with support

Highways maintenance cuts for York revealed.

The Council has revealed how it plans to spend £2.6 million on highways and footpath resurfacing over the next financial year.

road works

The provisional expenditure is down on the £3.4 million being invested during the current year.

That in turn was well down on the budget agreed by the last Liberal Democrat administration which held power until 2011 and which regularly invested over £5 million a year in the highways network.

Carriageway surfaces are now breaking up and the repairs backlog is growing.

In the Dringhouses and Woodthorpe ward only part of the Moor Lane carriageway will be resurfaced.

No footpaths in the area will be resurfaced.

Behind closed doors logo

A full list of streets where repairs are planned can be downloaded by clicking here

A final Council highways budget for next year will be announced in March.

The decision, on which roads to resurface, was taken in another “behind closed doors” meeting. There was no consultation with residents on the options.

York £83 million transport bid

The government is consulting on a plan to establish a West Yorkshire and York “Super Council”.

The plan could “unlock” a £1 billion transport investment fund for the region as the coalition government pursues a policy of devolution. York might expect to get between £5 and £10 million a year from the devolved transport budget.

The York Council hopes to get £83.5 million in total for major infrastructure from a new “pot”.
Nortern by pass congestion

Of this, £37.6 million would be spent on the northern by pass (not enough for dualling. Would just mean larger roundabouts).

York would be contributing up to £4 million a year into this “pot”. This is additional unbudgeted expenditure and would mean an increase in Council Tax levels and/or the introduction of new/additional charges

The report being considered tomorrow singularly fails to address the financial disadvantages of “pooling” transport income streams. Even the scale of the risk remains unclear.

Under the current proposals, drawn up by Labour Local Authority Leaders, York would not be a full member of the new authority and would not have voting rights.

The key question to be answered therefore is whether the new arrangements will be better for the people of York?

Or are they just a way of underpinning a “high growth” approach to the future of the City? That’s the 25% increase in size during the next 15 years advocated in the Local Plan published by Labour in April.

A West Riding, Labour, dominated super Council would not automatically be any more sensitive to the needs of a City like York than would the present decision taker who is bunkered in Whitehall.

The Authority would be ruled by a Quango. There is no mechanism for giving residents a say in the running of the new “Council”.

With local elections only 16 months away, there is a worrying absence of broad consensus across the political spectrum on whether, and on what terms, participation in the “Super Council” should be pursued.

Views must be sent to the government collaborate@communities.gsi.gov.uk by 2nd January 2014.