Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

(A)       The persons undermentioned were admitted into the presence of the Council and passed as Burgesses of Guild in respect of their respective Acts of Admission in the Guild Burgess Book:-

Professor Mervyn John Bain, University Professor, Aberdeen

Colin Lawson, Company Director, Aberdeen

(B)       The persons undermentioned were admitted into the presence of the Council and passed as a Burgess of the Burgh of Aberdeen of their own craft only:-

Robert Bain, Shoemaker, Aberdeen

Katie Elder, Shoemaker, Aberdeen

Graham Gray, Flesher, Aberdeen

Lynne Hocking, Weaver, Aberdeen

Nick Sangster, Wright & Cooper, Aberdeen

Councillor Kusznir advised that he had a connection in relation to item 7.2 (Denominational Primary Schools) by reason of his employment by a law firm which did a lot of work for catholic organisations , however having applied the objective test he did not consider that he had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting.

Councillor Yuill advised that he had connections in relation to item 9.4 (City Centre Transport Measures) as a member of Cycling UK and as a member of the AA (Automobile Association), however having applied the objective test he did not consider that he had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting. Councillor Yuill further advised that he had a connection in relation to item 9.7 (North East Population Health Alliance: End of Year One Progress Report) as the Council’s appointed member of the Board of NHS Grampian, however having applied the objective test he did not consider that he had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting.

Councillors Greig, Mrs Stewart, Henrickson and Fairfull advised that they had a connection in relation to item 9.8 (Annual Performance Reports - 2023/2024 for all Tier 1 ALEOs) as Council appointed Directors to the Board of Aberdeen Performing Arts, however having applied the objective test they did not consider that they had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting.

Cllr McLellan advised that he had a connection in relation to item 9.4 as a Council appointed observer to the Board of Our Union Street, however having applied the objective test he did not consider that he had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting.

Councillor Brooks advised that he had a connection in relation to item 7.2 as a member and elder at a non-denominational church in Aberdeen, however having applied the objective test he did not consider that he had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting.

Councillor Cooke advised that he had a connection in relation to item 9.8 as a Council appointed observer to the Board of Sport Aberdeen, however having applied the objective test he did not consider that he had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting.

Councillor Blake and the Lord Provost advised that they had a connection in relation to item 9.8 as Council appointed Directors to the Board of Aberdeen Sports Village, however having applied the objective test they did not consider that they had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting.

Councillor Ali advised that he had a connection in relation to item 7.2 as a trustee and active member at Aberdeen Mosque and Islamic Centre, however having applied the objective test he did not consider that he had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting.

Councillor Grant declared an interest in relation to item 9.4 by reason of his employment by Aberdeen Inspired and advised that he would leave the meeting  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

(A)      The Council received a deputation from John Murray in relation to agenda item 7.2 - Denominational Primary Schools.

Mr Murray thanked the Lord Provost and the Council for agreeing to hear him in relation to such an important matter. He explained that when he spoke at the Education and Children’s Services Committee on 17 September, he made the point that Catholic education in the city could only be successful if it was a joint enterprise based on mutual trust and respect between the Council and the Catholic Church, and he had moved an amendment on that basis in an attempt to work together to plan Catholic education for the benefit of all of the people of Aberdeen.

Mr Murray highlighted his positive experiences as an external member on the Education Committee for the past seven years, and acknowledged the expertise of officers and the great support he had received during that time. He therefore found it surprising and disappointing in terms of how this matter had been handled and responded to. He emphasised that the Partnership had lost the vote at the Education and Children’s Services Committee, and they had lost the argument because the facts in the report did not support the recommendations. He added that all of the external members voted for his amendment - he had not canvassed them before or during the meeting, however the Partnership had failed to persuade them to vote for the motion.

Mr Murray stated that the position of the Catholic Church was that what was in place in Aberdeen in terms of Catholic schools was inadequate, especially compared to what was in place in almost every other part of the country. He stated that Aberdeen was an international city, yet there were limited opportunities for families in terms of Catholic education, particularly with there being no Catholic secondary school, which was impossible to justify. He added that although there were three excellent Catholic primary schools in Aberdeen, this paled into insignificance compared to what was in place in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee, and all three cities had Catholic secondary schools as well.

Mr Murray emphasised the need for mutual co-operation, which was the basis of his amendment - to use the 12-month pause to put people’s heads together to agree an appropriate level of provision and plan accordingly. He argued that a proper consultation needed to be carried out, particularly in terms of the possibility of a Catholic secondary school for Aberdeen, from the whole community. He stated that the figures from the last consultation should not be used as the questions were only put to parents; young people must be consulted too and the views of people from Aberdeenshire had also been excluded. Despite this, Mr Murray highlighted that 82% of respondents said they would put their children to a Catholic secondary school, yet this had been completely rejected which he found remarkable.

Mr Murray concluded that the Council could and should do much better. He noted that there  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

The Council had before it the minute of meeting of Aberdeen City Council of 21 August 2024.

The Council resolved:-

to approve the minute.

The Council had before it the minute of the special meeting of Aberdeen City Council of 2 September 2024.

The Council resolved:-

(i)           to approve the minute; and

(ii)          to note that the Chief Officer - Commercial and Procurement would issue an update on the performance of the Generation Aberdeen branding as had been requested.

With reference to Article 7 of the minute of meeting of the Communities, Housing and Public Protection Committee of 5 September 2024, the Council had before it a referral seeking approval to establish a working group to monitor the progress of the Housing Emergency Action Plan.

The Council resolved:-

to approve the establishment of a cross-party working group to monitor the progress of the Housing Emergency Action Plan, to be chaired by the Convener of the Communities, Housing and Public Protection Committee.

The Lord Provost advised that he was bringing forward agenda item 8.1 to this point.

The Council had before it the business planner as prepared by the Chief Officer - Governance.

With regard to item 10 (City Centre Transport Measures) on the business planner, Councillor Malik asked whether the Council would be given a copy of the legal advice relating to the report. The Interim Chief Officer - Governance (Legal) advised that the legal advice was summarised within the report and that the advice was legally privileged, therefore it was not standard practice to share it in its entirety as there would be increased risk. Following an adjournment, it was agreed that the legal advice would be circulated via hard copy, once the Council reached the relevant point on the agenda, however the hard copies would have to be returned to officers.

The Council resolved:-

(i)             to remove items 7 (Beach Connectivity Project - Full Business Case), 15 (Beach Masterplan Phase 2 Development Framework) and 23 (Aberdeen Market Project Update) from the business planner;

(ii)           to note that the Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning would circulate an update with regard to item 30 (Beachfront Masterplan - Castlegate);

(iii)          to note that item 32 (Energy Transition Zone - Land Options) was likely to be reported at the end of the year, or early next year;

(iv)          to note that item 33 (North East of Scotland Investment Zone Proposal) would be reported to the next Council meeting;

(v)           to note that item 36 (RAAC - Compulsory Purchase) was likely to be reported to Council in early 2025; and

(vi)          otherwise to note the business planner.

With reference to Article 13 of the minute of meeting of the Education and Children’s Services Committee of 17 September 2024, the Council had before it a report by the Executive Director Families and Communities, which  had been referred to it by seven members of the Committee in accordance with Standing Order 34.1, and which provided a summary of the outcomes of a recent feasibility study to assess the options for the long term future of denominational primary school provision in the city, and sought approval of the next steps. The report also detailed the findings of a stakeholder engagement exercise carried out to support the feasibility study.

The report recommended:-

that the Education and Children’s Services Committee note the contents of the report, and instruct the Chief Officer - Corporate Landlord to continue to monitor forecast pupil numbers for the three denominational primary schools, and to include recommendations in next year’s annual school estate plan update report on any required actions to be taken to ensure that the city’s denominational primary school provision continued to be appropriate to meet the expected demand for pupil places.

At this juncture, Councillor Greig advised that he had a connection in relation to the item as an elder and reader with the Church of Scotland, however having applied the objective test he did not consider that he had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting.

Councillor Mrs Stewart advised that she had a connection in relation to the item as a practicing Roman Catholic, however having applied the objective test she did not consider that she had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting.

Councillor Alphonse advised that she had a connection in relation to the item as a member of St Machar Cathedral and as a practicing member of the Church of Scotland, however having applied the objective test she did not consider that she had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting.

Councillor Yuill advised that he had a connection in relation to the item as he was baptised as a member of the Scottish Episcopal Church, he then attended Church of Scotland Sunday School and attended mass with his daughter who was Catholic, and she was educated at Catholic primary and secondary schools, however having applied the objective test he did not consider that he had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting.

Councillor Cooke advised that he had a connection in relation to the item as a practicing Episcopalian, however having applied the objective test he did not consider that he had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting.

Councillor Greig moved, seconded by Councillor Mennie:-

That the Council approve the recommendation contained within the report.

Councillor Blake moved as an amendment, seconded by Councillor McLeod:-

That the Council - 

(a)    notes the content of the report;

(b)    regrets the lack of a proper and open consultation with all the people of Aberdeen  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.