Issue - meetings

Additional pages that were requested by the Committee on 1 December 2016.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive which provided information on the Aberdeen 365 Events Strategy and sought approval for the 2017-18 City Events Programme.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       approve the Events Strategy detailed in Appendix 1, to allow officers to develop an operational plan and budget to implement it;

(b)       Instruct officers to report to the February Finance, Policy & Resources Committee with a recommended operational plan and budget to implement the Strategy;

(c)        agree the appraisal criteria detailed within this report to inform which events Aberdeen should target;

(d)       applying these, delegate authority to officers with the Head of Legal & Democratic Services and the Head of Finance to negotiate the delivery of a three-year programme of events with SweetSpot and EventScotland to host [an annual] Tour Series Event in Aberdeen; and to develop plans for the Nuart Festival;

(e)       approve the events programme for 2017 – 2018 as detailed in Appendix 2;

(f)        Approve expenditure of £530,000 from the existing Communications & Promotion budget subject to the Council’s budgetary process, to be funded as follows:-

(1)       from the events budget - approximately £140,000 for Security Services per annum for three years with the option to extend for a further year on the 3rd and 4th anniversary of the commencement of the contract ,

(2)       from the Beach Ballroom budget - £20,000 for Security Services per annum for three years with the option to extend for a further year on the 3rd and 4th anniversary of the commencement of the contract ; and

(3)       from the events budgets already detailed within Appendix 2 of this report - approximately £110,000 for Production Services per annum for three years with the option to extend for a further year on the 3rd and 4th anniversary of the commencement of the contract .

(4)       from the existing approved events budgets to meet costs associated with additional events previously approved by committee - additional contractual stewarding spend of £30,000 for the remainder of 2016-17;

(g)       approve the undertaking of competitive tendering exercises via Public Contracts Scotland for both Production Services and Security Services related to the safe organisation and delivery of events in Aberdeen; and

(h)       approve aggregate expenditure of £73,039.51, increased from £55,000 on event security services from Showsec for 2016/17.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the recommendations contained within the report;

(ii)        to agree that if the Council and its partners within the City of Aberdeen are to undertake a compelling and sustainable events strategy which supports the Regional Economic Strategy and the City Centre Masterplan, Aberdeen City Council cannot deliver this alone;

(iii)       to note the decision taken by Council unanimously in August 2016 regarding additional powers for Local Government and notes that one way to help contribute for a compelling events strategy is for a tourism levy to be introduced and instructs officers to report back with an analysis of the costs and benefits of a tourism levy; and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20