Our priorities
The Council Plan has 7 priorities:
- priority a) Health and wellbeing: A health generating city, for children and adults
- priority b) Education and skills: High quality skills and learning for all
- priority c) Economy and good employment: A fair, thriving, green economy for all
- priority d) Transport: Sustainable accessible transport for all
- priority e) Housing: Increasing the supply of affordable housing
- priority f) Sustainability: Cutting carbon, enhancing the environment for our future
- priority g) How the council operates
The 4 Core Commitments run through each priority.
5 of the priorities are aligned to the priorities in the 10-year plan.
Housing (priority 'e') is a new priority; it's included because we know it is one of the 3 key building blocks of good health: good housing, jobs, and education.
Finally, 'How the council operates' (priority 'g') describes how we'll improve customer experience by working together to make a positive difference, building on our strong relationship with the city and our partners, stakeholders, communities and residents.
Our priorities provide structure and guide our actions. They align with the 10-year plan and the core strategies that underpin it, with one addition: housing.
As we work with partners, allocate resources and implement policies to focus on these seven priorities, we will seek to ensure the 4 Core Commitments are demonstrated in the outcomes the council and the city achieve.
To deliver our ambitious vision we have identified over 100 different actions. We know we cannot deliver all of these without working together to harness the city’s whole income generating and investment potential, not relying on the council resources alone, and working hand in hand with partners, investors, businesses, communities, residents and the voluntary sector.
We will start where we can make the biggest difference, prioritising and focusing on those actions we can deliver to meet our critical priorities that are most important to the city, and where funding supports delivery.
How our core commitments are delivered within our priorities
These tables illustrate how the 4 Core Commitments are delivered and considered in each of our priorities. We will take this approach when delivering the detailed ambitions in the rest of the Council Plan.
Core commitment: equalities and human rights
| Priority | What we'll deliver and consider |
|---|---|
| A health generating city, for children and adults | Listen and learn from those who have direct experience of poverty and caring responsibilities. |
| High quality skills and learning for all | Celebrate being a Human Rights City with an Anti-Racism Action Plan. |
| A fair, thriving, green economy for all | Promote the Good Business Charter and Living Wage Foundation for public good. |
| Sustainable accessible transport for all | Review Blue Badge accessibility by rolling back restrictions to those in place before November 2021 Introduce family friendly foot streets and place-making that give young people confidence in their future. |
| Increasing the supply of affordable good quality housing | Describe how we will help people live in the right home for their circumstance. |
| Cutting carbon, enhancing the environment | Ensure the financial burden of climate action is not carried by those who can least afford it. |
| How the council operates | Be recognised by Local Government Association (LGA) as 'excellent' in Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion including implementing the Social Model of Disability across the Council. Deliver good and outstanding children’s services with the voice of the child heard throughout. |
Core commitment: affordability
| Priority | What we'll deliver and consider |
|---|---|
| A health generating city, for children and adults | Start the journey towards becoming an anti-poverty city within a decade, including supporting young people and families, reducing food insecurity and exploring the benefits of free school meals for all primary school children. |
| High quality skills and learning for all | Create pathways to learning and skills development leading to good quality jobs and improved life chances. |
| A fair, thriving, green economy for all | Realise the economic opportunity provided by devolution, York Central and the bioeconomy. |
| Sustainable accessible transport for all | Provide affordable transport for residents to access education, jobs, health and wellbeing support. delivering fare concessions identified in the Bus Services Improvement Plan. |
| Increasing the supply of affordable good quality housing | Increase the percentage of affordable homes (exploring opportunities through planning, travellers’ sites, community led projects, social housing) and seeking to exceed Planning policy on affordable homes. |
| Cutting carbon, enhancing the environment | Reduce energy consumption and generate more local sources of renewable energy. |
| How the council operates | Understand how the decisions we make can improve or reduce the affordability of the city. Target a range of funding sources and service delivery to where they are most needed. |
Core commitment: climate
| Priority | What we'll deliver and consider |
|---|---|
| A health generating city, for children and adults | Improve air quality beyond the UK’s national guidelines. Prioritise safe active travel in our Movement plan and in routes to school. |
| High quality skills and learning for all | Showcase renewable energy and retrofit expertise, with a 'Green Skills Village' at its heart. |
| A fair, thriving, green economy for all | Ensure the benefits of a low carbon society are shared widely, while also supporting those who stand to lose economically. |
| Sustainable accessible transport for all | Develop a movement plan as a statement of intent to make it easier to move through the city, reducing traffic around primary schools and making significant progress towards reducing carbon by 71% and traffic by 20% for discussion with the new Mayor. |
| Increasing the supply of affordable good quality housing | Take decisive action to reduce emissions improving the quality of existing council housing and launch a onestop shop to support households retrofitting their properties. |
| Cutting carbon, enhancing the environment | Increase biodiversity and plant an additional 4,000 trees across the city. |
| How the council operates | Understand and consider the climate and biodiversity impacts when taking council decisions. Work with city partners to adapt the city to withstand extreme weather events. |
Core commitment: health
| Priority | What we'll deliver and consider |
|---|---|
| A health generating city, for children and adults | Reverse the current trend of widening health inequalities by supporting people manage their health conditions. |
| High quality skills and learning for all | Provide access to good health and social care opportunities, training and skills. |
| A fair, thriving, green economy for all | Create higher paid jobs and encourage better working conditions. |
| Sustainable accessible transport for all | Encourage healthy travel options to maintain healthy lifestyles. |
| Increasing the supply of affordable good quality housing | Support people with additional needs get the right support at the right time. |
| Cutting carbon, enhancing the environment | Take bold action to reduce air pollution beyond national regulations and aim to meet World Health Organisation targets. |
| How the council operates | Understand the health impacts of council decisions. Improve customer experience across council operations. |
