Cabinet to consider independent York Fairness Commission recommendations

City of York Council's Cabinet will be asked to respond to recommendations proposed by the independent York Fairness Commission at a meeting on Tuesday 14 February.

The independent York Fairness Commission has recommended ten 'Fairness Principles' to City of York Council to help guide decision making both in terms of overall budget setting and in making choices on priorities for spend.

In what is the most difficult budget in a generation, the independent Fairness Commission's Interim Report outlines a number of key recommendations that could be adopted and make relevant links with this year's budget report.

Each recommendation will be given careful consideration to reinforce a commitment to the existing priorities and initiatives that the council has already started work on and form part of the Council Plan 2011-2015.

Cllr Tracey Simpson-Laing, Deputy Labour Leader of City of York Council, said: "I'd like to thank the members of the independent Fairness Commission for their thought-provoking and often challenging views.

"The Commission's report presents a compelling summary and has provided a direct insight, through the voice of the people of York, into the real deprivation that exists in parts of the city.

"The report has heavily influenced the budget process this year and we'll be looking at how we can adopt these principles in future recommendations. "

The Commission's principles are based on the concept that a more equal society is better for everyone and that given the financial challenges we face we can do one of two things; let events take their course - the budget cuts will happen anyway - in the full knowledge that the people paying the highest price will be those who can least afford it. Or we can work to ensure that the burden is fairer for the benefit of us all. The Commissions recommendations attempt to share the burden by protecting the most vulnerable whilst asking a little more of the better off.

The Commission's initial recommendations were unveiled to senior councillors and city partners at a launch event on 28 November.

The independent Fairness Commission was set up in July, to advise the council how to tackle poverty and injustice in all their forms.

The Commission's challenge was to prepare a report which would help inform City of York Council about local priorities and needs, ahead of the council's budget setting process for 2012-2014. This interim report focuses on what the council can do and paves the way for a final report addressing the contribution other sectors can make to the promotion of fairness in the community more widely.

The Commission's report makes 30 recommendations on how fairness can be improved - some are specific actions and others are broader policy themes. The Commissioners have also outlined where they believe savings could be made to enable the investment that needs to be made in certain key policy areas.

Recommendations include the following 'fairness principles':

Make reducing inequalities a prime focus in policy and decision making
Support and empower the most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups
Adopt a long term view considering long term impacts as well as short term savings
Listen and Engage so as to make budget decisions in a way that is open, transparent and informed by York's people
Generate new income to reduce the scale and depth of the cuts needed to balance the budget
Make budget decisions based on evidence, values and needs, not by applying flat rate percentage cuts or favouring services that have always been provided
Take into account wider factors that affect inequalities in York
Target investments and services geographically where necessary to reduce inequalities and improve life chances in the most disadvantaged areas
Promote/ prioritise economic growth that maximises benefits to people
Ensure a 'best in class' Council that delivers services efficiently and effectively and acts as an influential role model in tackling inequalities
The Commission's recommendations are being considered by the council as part of its ongoing 2012-14 budget process. The Commission will begin a second round of consultation and engagement in early 2012 before producing a final report in June 2012 looking at how the city as a whole can become a fairer place.

A copy of the independent York Fairness Commission's report and details of all the recommendations are available on www.yorkfairnesscommission.org.uk

http://www.york.gov.uk/news

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