The North Yorkshire Council Executive met on 16 September 2025, and among the decisions made, the members agreed to endorse the Crustacean Deaths Working Group's final report, recommend the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2025-30 for adoption by the Full Council, and to make no changes to the current Hackney Carriage Table of Maximum Fares. They also approved a new Regulatory Services Fixed Penalty Notice Policy and agreed to recharge parish councils for scheduled elections.

Hackney Carriage Fares

The Executive decided to make no changes to the current Hackney Carriage Table of Maximum Fares. This followed a report from Councillor Richard Foster, Executive Member for Managing our Environment, which noted that fares in North Yorkshire were already high compared to neighbouring areas and online apps, potentially encouraging the public to use taxis from outside the area, some of which may not be licensed to the same standards.

Three requests to vary the council's Hackney Carriage Table of Maximum Fares had been received from the hackney carriage trade, citing rising costs such as the increase in the minimum wage and national insurance contributions.

The council consulted on the proposals, and the results showed that 70% of the trade and over 92% of residents, visitors or businesses felt that current fares were already too high or about right. The report also noted that fuel prices had decreased by 8.5% since the last review, and the cost of running a petrol or diesel vehicle had decreased by 3%.

In response to the report, three members of the public made statements: Richard Fieldman, Lisa Ridsdale, and Kevin O'Boyle.

Richard Fieldman referred to a fare formula used by Transport for London (TfL), which suggested an 8% uplift to existing fares. He argued that the taxi industry needed to be able to afford the high standards expected by the council, as well as maintain their vehicles to a high standard, and make a decent living to keep up with the cost of living.

Lisa Ridsdale said that Ryedale had experienced a 20% decrease in the running mile, and that it was unjust for fares to remain unchanged given the substantial increase in minimum wage.

Kevin O'Boyle said that Integrated Passenger Transport at North Yorkshire Council had given a 3% increase to vehicles carrying out their school runs, and that the council should recognise that the trade overall is justifiable in asking for a fare increase. He also raised concerns about the cost of living, night time rates, and subsidies for other forms of public transport.

Councillor Richard Foster responded to the statements by thanking the members of the trade for their detailed submissions and continued engagement throughout this process. He said that while the TfL index can provide a useful benchmark, it is designed for a very different operating environment and does not take account of all associated costs. He also noted that recent comparisons with neighbouring authorities indicate that, for many journeys, fares in North Yorkshire are already high in relative terms.

Regulatory Services Fixed Penalty Notice Policy

The Executive unanimously approved the proposed Fixed Penalty Notice charge levels, the use of Penalty Notices under the Animals (Penalty Notices) Act 2022 and the Animals (Penalty Notices) (England) Regulations 2023, and the use of Penalty Notices under the Environment Act 2021, for smoke control offences. They also adopted the Penalty Notice Policy, and agreed for the new charges and policy to be implemented from 1 October 2025.

Councillor Richard Foster introduced the report, explaining that the proposed FPNs would be a useful tool for responding to some offences, whilst still having the ability to proceed straight to court for more serious offences.

Karl Battersby, Corporate Director Environment, said that the creation of a new council had brought a number of regulatory teams together, creating a wider group of staff with the ability to use FPNs. He also said that the council was taking a zero-tolerance policy approach across the county with a standard £400 fee for smaller offences up to £1000 maximum fee, and that there would also be a name and shame approach when cases were taken to prosecution.

The report noted that fixed penalties provide enforcement agencies with an immediate, cost effective, and visible way of responding to low-level environmental crimes, and that the government encourages their use by local authorities.

Report of the Crustacean Deaths Working Group

The Executive unanimously endorsed the final report of the Crustacean Deaths Working Group (CDWG). The CDWG was chaired by Redcar and Cleveland Council and comprised member representation from Hartlepool, Middlesborough, North Yorkshire and Stockton Councils. Councillors Derek Bastiman, David Chance, and Councillor Carl Les OBE were delegates on the working group, with Hugh Clear Hill acting as the link officer for NYC.

Councillor Richard Foster presented the report, acknowledging the severe economic impact of the mass die-off on the fishing industry. He said that no definitive reason had yet been found for the die-off and it was important that environmental testing work continued.

Councillor David Chance referred to the complexity of the investigation and the lack of conclusions following work by the government on this. He supported the recommendation of the Transport, Economy, Environment and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny Committee (TEEE OSC) that it reconsider the peer-reviewed research once it was available.

The final report of the CDWG emphasised the need for a more robust and transparent governance structure for managing the marine environment, and the importance of continued vigilance and proactive measures to protect the marine environment and support local communities.

Draft Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2025 to 2030

The Executive unanimously agreed to recommend the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2025-30 for adoption by Full Council.

Councillor Simon Myers, Executive Member for Culture, Arts and Housing, presented the report and strategy, which highlighted the work done by the Housing team in connecting with other teams within North Yorkshire Council and external partners to deal with the problems of homelessness and rough sleeping. The Executive Member thanked the Housing team of Nic Harne, Andrew Rowe and Kim Robertshaw for their work on this and set out the main points of the strategy, which included:

• Increasing the provision of suitable accommodation, particularly taking into consideration the withdrawal of private landlords from the market
• Building new social housing the second homes council tax premium was being spent on housing and strategies to bridge the affordability gap
• Providing pathways to supported housing
• Reducing rough sleeping and providing more supported accommodation for rough sleepers
• Early engagement with tenants at risk of losing their homes

Executive Members expressed their support for the Strategy. Councillor Michael Harrison referred to the work of the Harrogate Homelessness Project, who were supportive and were aligning their own strategy to this. In response to a question Councillor Simon Myers advised that council house voids were reported quarterly.

Brierley Homes independent Review and Funding Update

The Executive unanimously agreed to note the conclusions and recommendations of the independent external review that has been carried out, and to approve additional loan facility headroom to Brierley Homes of £2m at the usual commercial rate of interest to be reviewed after 6 months to ensure Brierley Homes has appropriate cashflow over the short term. Approval of draw down on this additional loan facility was delegated to the Corporate Director Resources in consultation with the Leader, Deputy Leader (Executive Member for Finance) and Chief Executive and is subject to evidence of need being demonstrated.

Karl Battersby introduced the independent review making the following key points:

• The review had been undertaken by Tony Dodds, an experienced real estate professional who had previously set up and led two local authority owned housing companies.
• The operating model of the company was considered alongside its structures, financial position and options going forward.
• The review had concluded that Brierley Homes was based on a sound operating model with achievable aims of building new homes for profit, and had diversified and was building a high proportion of affordable homes and delivering construction in different ways.
• The company had a positive impact on the County in addition to its core aim of generating Shareholder Value, and could continue to provide a valuable contribution to the economy and environment of the area.
• The review made a number of recommendations and paragraph 4.7 set out the responses and actions of the Shareholder and company which were being progressed to ensure the company would continue to evolve and meet the council's housing needs.

Gary Fielding, Corporate Director Finance, then referred to the financial implications and reported that the company had reported a £3.2m loss for 2024/25 which was due to slower than expected house sales. He also said that there was an existing loan facility of £25m at a commercial rate of interest, with an additional facility of £1.4m at base rate to enable the delivery of affordable homes above policy, and that the proposed additional £2m facility would be at a commercial rate of 6% above base.

Councillor Gareth Dadd reported that the Brierley Group of companies was successful with an overall profit of £3m, and that sensitivity analysis was undertaken for cash flow for the company and the principal sensitivity was housing sales.

Recharging for Scheduled Parish Elections

The Executive unanimously agreed to continue to recharge parish councils for by-elections, to recharge parish councils at scheduled elections (May 2027 + 4 yearly) for the additional costs solely attributable to the parish election, and to introduce the proposed recharges for uncontested parish elections from April 2026.

Councillor Heather Phillips, Executive Member for Corporate Services, introduced the report and advised that recharging would bring fairness across the county as some town and parish councils held frequent by-elections and currently this cost was spread across the whole county.

Closure of Wentworth Street and Back of Micklegate Public Conveniences

The Executive unanimously agreed to defer a decision on the potential closure of Wentworth Street, Malton public conveniences until the refurbishment of the Market Place facilities has been completed and to take into account a review of public conveniences which is to be undertaken by overview and scrutiny, and to defer a decision on the permanent closure of Back of Micklegate, Selby public conveniences, which are temporarily closed, to take into account a review of public conveniences which is to be undertaken by overview and scrutiny.

Councillor Richard Foster introduced the report and advised of a change to the recommendations as printed in the report, and that decisions on closures be deferred until after the review.

Councillor Steve Shaw-Wright advised that should Back of Micklegate, Selby, public conveniences close permanently there was no suitable alternative provision. Councillor Keane Duncan spoke on the Wentworth Street, Malton, public conveniences advising that the local members and the signatories to a petition had objected to the closure.

Forward Plan

The Executive noted the Forward Plan for the period 5 September 2025 to 30 September 2026.