Agenda, decisions and minutes

Councillor Mason MSP declared a general interest as a Member of the Scottish Parliament for North East Scotland.

The Council had before it a report by the Chief Executive which presented the Council Delivery Plan for 2020/21.

The report recommended:-

that the Council -

(a)          note the content of the Council Delivery Plan 2020/21; and

(b)          instruct the Chief Executive to realign any of the delivery commitments and performance reporting set out in the Plan that may be required, as a result of any potential Council budget decisions, to meet Council’s instructions.

The Council resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

At this juncture, it was agreed that the reports on the General Fund Revenue Budget and Capital Programme and the Common Good Budget be considered together as the next item of business.

(A)         The Council had before it a report by the Director of Resources which provided details of both the revenue budget for 2020/21 and capital programme for the period 2020/21 to 2024/25 in order that approved budgets and Council Tax value could be set for the year commencing 1 April 2020.

The report recommended:-

that the Council -

Balance Sheet

(a)          note the projected balance sheet position including the reserves as at 31 March 2020, shown at Appendix 1;

(b)          approve the General Fund Capital Programme as at Appendix 2;

(c)          consider the capital projects described in Appendix 3 which were not currently included in the General Fund Capital Programme, and instruct the Director of Resources on any action to be taken;

(d)          approve the Prudential Indicators as attached at Appendix 4;

(e)          instruct the Director of Resources, in consultation with the Convener of the City Growth and Resources Committee, to prepare and submit appropriate bid(s) to the Heat Networks Early Adopters Challenge Fund, announced as part of the Local Government Financial Settlement, and if successful then to finalise relevant terms and conditions to then deliver the projects;

(f)           instruct the Director of Resources to arrange for a partnership agreement to be put in place, and agree terms for the Council, in relation to the mortuary project, including funding mechanism; and

(g)          approve the recommended use of reserves and Reserves Policy for 2020/21 as detailed in Appendix 5.

Medium-Term Financial Projections

(h)          note the forecast medium-term financial projection for the period ending 31 March 2024 as shown in paragraph 3.22; and

(i)            instruct the Chief Officer - Finance to report to the City Growth and Resources Committee no later than December 2020, on options to balance the budgets for financial years 2021/22 and 2022/23, including new discretionary tax raising powers available to the Council.

Revenue Budget

(j)            note that the conditions outlined by the Scottish Government within the Local Government Finance Settlement for 2020/21 were met by the proposals set out in the report;

(k)          approve the redesign of Council services to address demand, in line with the commissioning led approach described in the report, and set at least a balanced budget for financial year 2020/21, having taken into account the following:-

(1)      the budget model as contained in paragraph 3.22 that identified a funding shortfall of £37.9m for 2020/21;

(2)      the impact of service redesign on services and fees and charges described in Appendix 6;

(3)      the Reserves Policy, that set out the Council should maintain uncommitted General Fund balances of £12m;

(4)      the Prudential Indicators and impact of the General Fund Capital Programme on revenue expenditure;

(5)      the savings options and cost of implementation put forward in Appendix 7 and Fees and Charges proposals in Appendix 8;

(6)      the revenue items referred to the budget process, as shown in Appendix 9; and

(7)      due consideration of the equalities impact assessments and screening results provided in the background papers;

(l)            approve the Commissioning Intentions and Service Standards as described  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

The Lord Provost advised that the Council had just been notified that it had been successful in attaining CIPFA’s accreditation in governance excellence. Councillor Lumsden highlighted that this was a significant achievement and thanked all staff for their input.

The Council resolved:-

to note the update and congratulate the staff involved.

Revised page 247 - Heat with Rent calculations for 2020/21

The Council had before it a report by the Director of Resources which provided information to enable the Council to approve a revenue and capital budget for 2020/21, including setting of the rents and other charges on the Housing Revenue Account for the financial year.

The report recommended:-

that the Council -

(a)          approve the budget as attached in Appendix 1, pages 5 to 6, of the report;

(b)          approve the setting of the weekly unrebated rents for municipal houses taking account of proposals outlined for a fixed rent policy, as detailed in Appendix 1, pages 5 to 6 of the report, to take effect from Monday 4 May 2020;

(c)          approve the level of revenue contribution to the Housing Capital budget for 2020/21 as well as note the provisional contribution for the subsequent four financial years as detailed in Appendix 1, pages 19 to 20;

(d)          approve the proposal to maintain the working balances at 10% to meet future contingencies as detailed in Appendix 1, pages 5 to 6;

(e)          approve the level of miscellaneous rents and service charges, including Heat with Rent as detailed in Appendix 1, pages 12 to 13, to take effect from Monday 4 May 2020;

(f)           approve, based on the rental increase of 3% the Base Capital Programme for the financial year 2020/21 Appendix 1, pages 22 to 24;

(g)          note the indicative level of the Base Capital Programme for the financial years 2021/22 to 2024/25 Appendix 1, pages 22 to 24;

(h)          approve as estimated expenditure in terms of Procurement Regulation 4.1.1, in order for work to commence on the Ongoing Capital Programme, the sums shown against each heading of the Housing Capital Expenditure budget for the financial year 2020/21 set out in Appendix 1, pages 22 to 24, without the need for separate Committee approval of each;

(i)            delegate authority to the Director of Resources, following consultation with the Chief Officer - Capital, Head of Commercial and Procurement and Conveners of the Capital Programme Committee and the City Growth and Resources Committee, to approve business cases related to the expenditure approved in terms of recommendation (h) and to undertake or instruct appropriate procedures in accordance with the ACC Procurement Regulations to procure the works referred to in those business cases within the budgets allocated in Appendix 1, pages 22 to 24, for the capital programme for the financial year 2020/21 and to authorise the award of contracts relating thereto;

(j)            approve the transfer of land at market value to the HRA, to deliver Council housing (subject to undertaking all necessary consultations) in respect of the following sites:

2.10.1             Greenferns and Greenferns Landward

2.10.2             Former Kaimhill Outdoor Centre; and

(k)        delegate authority to the Director of Resources, following consultation with the Chief Officer - Finance, Chief Officer - Capital, Head of Commercial and Procurement and the Conveners of the Capital Programme Committee and the City Growth and Resources Committee, to approve business cases and expenditure, undertake all necessary procurement exercises to procure the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

On the occasion of his last Council meeting, Councillor Flynn MP thanked all of the people who had elected him to Aberdeen City Council, the community groups within his ward who worked so hard, and Council officers, who he felt did a remarkable job in often very difficult circumstances, displaying a level of commitment to the city that was second to none.

Councillor Flynn MP thanked all elected members for their work and wished them well in their future endeavours in making Aberdeen the best place it could be.

The Lord Provost thanked Councillor Flynn MP for his kind words and wished him well for the future.