Statement on behalf of Newby & Scalby Town Council
The Town Council is aware of the issues raised by the action group “Friends of Newby and Scalby Wellbeing Hub” and would like to address these now:
There have been issues raised in respect of the following points:
- A parish poll in respect of dissolving the current Town Council.
- Council not responding to allegations of “misbehaviour”
- Failure to respond to resident’s questions
- Provision of wellbeing services
The Council will address these points in the order they appear above:
Parish Poll
The Town Council is aware that the “Friends of Newby & Scalby Wellbeing Hub” have called for a “Parish Poll” to propose the dissolution of the Town Council and it is understood that this POLL will be held on 9th August 2024.
Holding a parish poll is expensive and the subsequent cost is ultimately borne by the local electorate. In accordance with section 150(2) and (7) of the Local Government Act 1972 if a parish poll is called, the local council concerned pays the costs incurred. The cost is subsequently charged as a council tax liability on the local electorate, thus potentially increasing the precept for all residents and electors.
A parish poll is managed by the returning officer at North Yorkshire Unitary Council, and other than having to pay the cost of the parish poll – (estimated to be in the region of £3,500 by North Yorkshire Unitary council), the matter has no jurisdiction over Newby and Scalby Town Council or its Councillors.
A “Parish Poll” cannot remove elected or co-opted Councillors from office, nor does it have the power to force resignation or removal of a Councillor from office.
Newby and Scalby Town Council would like to ensure that residents and the electorate are made properly aware of the impact of the action group Friends of Newby & Scalby Wellbeing Hub, as it is important to understand that whereas a parish poll can enable a local community to have a voice, the resolutions of a meeting or poll are not binding on the local Council.
Allegations of “misbehaviour”
Firstly, and very importantly, the Town Council does not condone bullying in the workplace. This is a matter which the Town Council takes very seriously, and this is reflected in the fact that the Council obtained an independent report on the matters complained of.
These are confidential employment matters and currently subject to litigation and the Council is not prepared, at this stage, to comment on such confidential matters which may concern either existing or previous members of staff and which may prejudice any litigation.
Such matters are the responsibility of the Review and Staffing Committee who considered the issues at the time and are still in the process of doing so, in accordance with their delegated powers.
Failure to respond to resident’s questions
The Council confirms that there has been a reduction in the number of meetings held.
This is entirely due to the disruption being caused by elements of the action group “Friends of Newby & Scalby Wellbeing Hub”, who continue to disrupt the Council Meetings and refuse to allow themselves to be “Called to Order”.
Such has been the disturbance that matters have been reported to the police and the Town Council has been forced to obtain the services of a security company to maintain order at the meetings. The Town Council takes these matters very seriously and sees this as a disruption caused by a minority, which unfortunately affects the majority of parishioners as Town Council business cannot be conducted properly.
Loss of Wellbeing Services
The Town Council understands this to be a reference to the Community Hub facility.
The Community Hub was purchased by the Council in 2020 and more information is available at: https://newbyandscalby-tc.gov.uk/community-hub/. The building has always been available for functions and events, however it is not now and never has been simply a “Wellbeing Hub”. It is a multi-functional Community Hub, available to all.
In January 2024, the Woodsmith Foundation advised Council that the grant which had been intended to support the Community Hub to develop further services for the Support to People over 65, and to better assess and signpost beneficiaries, had not achieved this in 2023. In addition, Council had been unable to meet other conditions of the grant e.g. completing and returning monitoring information and case studies, on time. Woodsmith Foundation therefore did not believe the Council was in a position to run a second year of the programme as detailed in the original grant application so requested the return of some of the funding, approx £16,000. They then closed the grant and advised Council that second year funding would not be available. Once the repayment was made the Foundation considered the matter closed.
The loss of this funding resulted in the Council having to reassess viability of the Community Hub, and resulted in the Head of Hub and Community Support Services post being made redundant in March 2024.
However, the Community Hub facility remains open and is regularly used to host groups and events, they are managed by volunteers and any and all groups are welcome to book use of the facility if it has space available.
The Town Council releases this statement in response to the various matters raised. The Town Council does not consent to the wording of the statement being amended, changed or paraphrased in any way to purport to be the response from the Town Council.