Agenda and decisions

N/A

to note that the Lord Provost had accepted the urgent notice of motion by Councillor Boulton onto the agenda as a matter of urgency in terms of Section 50B(4)(b) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.

No exempt business

None at that point in the meeting

No deputation requests

to approve the minute.

to approve the minute.

to approve the minute.

to approve the minute.

to approve the minute.

None

to note the business planner.

Carried forward from December and February Council meetings

To be considered at a later date.

Carried forward from February Council meeting

to approve the Council’s Treasury Management Policy, including the Treasury Management Policy Statement, Borrowing Policy, Investment Policy and Counterparty list, for 2025/26 to 2027/28 as detailed at Appendix 1.

Carried forward from March Council meeting

(i)             to note the content of the Council Delivery Plan 2025/26 as detailed in Appendix 1;

(ii)           to instruct the Chief Executive to realign any of the delivery commitments set out in the Plan that may be required, as a result of budget decisions made at the Council budget meeting, to meet Council’s instructions;

(iii)          to instruct all Chief Officers to report performance improvement priorities for 2025/26 and progress towards improvement through the arrangement set out within the Council’s Performance Management Framework; and

(iv)          to instruct the Chief Officer - Data Insights (HDRCA) to liaise with University College London’s Institute of Health Equity, led by Professor Sir Michael Marmot, and Public Health Scotland, who are in partnership with the Council, through the “Collaboration for Health Equity in Scotland”, on further embedding the wider determinants of health and the application of preventative planning as outlined in the Delivery Plan.

(i)             to approve Appendix C, Committee Terms of Reference, with effect from 21 April 2025;

(ii)           to approve Appendix D, Powers Delegated to Officers, with effect from 17 April 2025, and delegate authority to the Chief Officer - Governance to make any further changes to Appendix 1 of that document which are necessary to reflect such approval;

(iii)          to approve Appendix E, Standing Orders for Council, Committee and Sub-Committee Meetings, with effect from 21 April 2025, subject to the following amendment:-

29.4    Motions and amendments submitted in accordance with Standing Order 29.1 will be circulated to all Members (of Council, the Committee or Sub-Committee) by 4pm on the working day prior to the relevant meeting, providing they have been finalised and determined by the Convener to be competent. However, if such motions and amendments are not finalised and determined by the Convener to be competent by the said 4pm deadline, they will not be circulated unless with the consent of the Convener.

and to instruct the Chief Officer - Governance to make any other amendments to the Scheme of Governance  which may, in that Chief Officer’s opinion, be necessary to reflect the above amendment; and

to instruct the Chief Officer - Governance to report back to the July Council meeting with further proposed revisions concerning meeting structure and motions and amendments for requisitioned meetings, utilising further input from the Governance Reference Group, as described in paragraph 4.3.4;

(iv)          to approve Appendix F, Financial Regulations, with effect from 21 April 2025;

(v)           to approve Appendix G, Procurement Regulations, with effect from 21 April 2025;

(vi)          to approve Appendix H, Member - Officer Relations Protocol, with effect from 21 April 2025;

(vii)        to approve Appendix I, General Fund Budget Protocol and Appendix J, Housing Revenue Account Budget Protocol, with effect from 21 April 2025 and instruct the Chief Officer - Governance to schedule an additional meeting of Council to consider the Housing Revenue Account in December of each year;

(viii)       to note Appendix K, the Councillors’ Accessing Information Procedure Note, and instruct the Interim Chief Officer - Governance to issue and implement the proposed mechanism for elected members to request information from officers, effective from 21 April 2025;

(ix)          to note that no changes are required to the Local Code of Corporate Governance at this time;

(x)           to note the minutes of the Governance Reference Group of 18 October and 22 November 2024, and 22 January, 19 February and 12 March 2025, as contained at Appendix A;

(xi)          to note the cross-party/independent working groups which are in place, including the addition of a Future Libraries Group, as outlined in paragraph 4.1.4; and

(xii)        to instruct the Chief Officer - Governance and Chief Officer - People and Citizen Services to put in place a programme of officer and elected member training and development on scrutiny, as outlined in paragraph 4.17.

to approve the committee places as set out in paragraph 3.2 of the report, noting there were now four Independent Councillors rather than five.

(i)             to note the content of the written decision; and

(ii)           to note that the Standards Commission for Scotland held that there had been no breach of the Code of Conduct by Councillor van Sweeden.

“That Council:

1.    Acknowledges the importance of the United Nations Summit of the Future held on 22 September 2024, when world leaders adopted a Pact for the Future that includes a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations.

2.    Agrees that, by adopting the Pact, countries demonstrate that they are committed to an international system with the United Nations at its centre where Leaders set out a clear vision of a multilateralism that can deliver on its promises, is more representative of today’s world and draws on the engagement and expertise of governments, civil society and other key partners.

3.    Commends the Aberdeen Branch of the United Nations Association for organising an event to discuss the Pact in the St Nicholas Room, Town House, on 27March 2025.

4.    Endorses the spirit of the Pact for the Future.

5.    Instructs the Chief Officer - Education and Lifelong Learning to bring a report to a future Council meeting outlining what the Council can do to promote the involvement of our young people in expanding and strengthening youth participation in global decision-making.”

To be considered at a later date.

“That the Council:

1.    Instruct the Chief Officer - City Development and Regeneration to continue to provide support to Castlegate Arts to help them to achieve the cultural investment framework requirements and meet the Council’s criteria for Following the Public Pound, and provide them with a monthly funding stream up to an annual amount in 2025/26 of £100k, to be taken from the General Fund Contingencies budget;

2.    Note that an offer of a long-term lease remains available to Castlegate Arts on current terms;

3.    Instruct the Chief Officer - Corporate Landlord to instruct and update the building condition survey (previous version has been shared with Castlegate Arts) and make these costs available to Elected Members to assist budget setting process for 2026/27. The General Fund Contingencies budget will provide funding of up to £15k to secure any specialist or other works required  in completing the survey work; and

4.    Agree that the above measures are needed to ensure that the charity Castlegate Arts can continue its good work in the city for a wide range of our citizens.”

To be considered at a later date.

No exempt/confidential business