Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

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

Councillor Malik moved as a procedural motion, seconded by Councillor Tissera:-

That the Council do not delete item 4 (Broad Street) from the business planner.

On a division, there voted:-

For the procedural motion  (12)  -  Councillors Ali, Bonsell, Boulton, Crockett, Graham, Grant, Lawrence, Macdonald, Malik, Thomson, Tissera and Watson.

Against the procedural motion  (24)  -  Lord Provost; Depute Provost; and Councillors Al-Samarai, Allard, Alphonse, Bouse, Hazel Cameron, Clark, Cooke, Copland, Cormie, Davidson, Fairfull, Greig, Henrickson, Hutchison, MacGregor, McLellan, McRae, Mennie, Nicoll, Radley, van Sweeden and Yuill.

Declined to vote  (4)  -  Councillors Brooks, Farquhar, McLeod and Massey.

The Council resolved:-

(i)             to reject the procedural motion, and therefore remove item 4 (Broad Street) from the business planner;

(ii)           to note that the Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning would liaise with Councillor Macdonald and the Council’s Masterplan Manager with regard to Councillor Blake’s query in relation to item 20 (City Centre - Streetscape Programme); and

(i)             to otherwise note the business planner.

With reference to Article 2 of the minute of meeting of the Finance and Resources Committee of 6 July 2023, the Council had before it a report by the Interim Director of Children and Families which provided an options appraisal on all potential working arrangements with our ALEOs and an accompanying Outline Business Case and draft Project Plan.

The report recommended:-

that the Council -

(a)          note the process undertaken in order to determine advantageous working  arrangements in collaboration with ALEOs; and note the closer working relationships evident across ALEOs and Aberdeen Sports Village Joint Venture and the potential to realise shared objectives in the longer term by maintaining regular joint working;

(b)          note the exempt Options Appraisal documentation in Appendices B to F;

(c)          in relation to Aberdeen Heat and Power Company Limited, Sport Aberdeen and Aberdeen Performing Arts, agree to maintain current working arrangements;

(d)          in relation to Bon Accord Care (i.e. Bon Accord Care Ltd, and Bon Accord Support Services Ltd), note that the Options Appraisal process highlighted potential benefits in bringing the associated services in-house  and  integrating them into the Council structure;  and instruct the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services,  following consultation with the Managing Director of Bon Accord Care,  to outline the benefits of this potential option and provide indicative delivery milestones within an Outline Business Case for consideration by Council in December 2023; and

(e)          in relation to Aberdeen Sports Village Ltd (ASV), instruct the Council’s Chief Officer - Finance, following consultation with the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services, to explore the potential for the Council and the University of Aberdeen to amend the shareholder agreement and ownership and report back to Council in February 2024 to align with Council budget setting process.

The Interim Director of Children and Families advised that in light of the report not being considered at the meeting on 11 October 2023, the date for reporting back in recommendation (d) had been amended to February 2024.

Councillor Allard moved, seconded by the Depute Provost:-

That the Council approve the recommendations subject to amending the reporting date in recommendation (d) to February 2024.

Councillor Malik moved as an amendment, seconded by Councillor Watson:-

            That the Council -

(1)      note the report and note the recommendations contained within the Prevention and Early Intervention report submitted at the March 2023 budget;

(2)      agree ALEOs play a significant role noting recommendation B within the Prevention and Early Intervention report agreed at the March 2023 budget which already commits the Council to work with Tier 1 ALEOs to prepare a statement of tiered resources;

(3)      agree that nothing should be on or off the table until elected members have seen sight of the statement of tiered resources and how that fits into the approach taken by the Council to embed Prevention and Early Intervention into the Commissioning cycle and shape budget decisions to positively deliver on outcomes for Aberdeen;

(4)      agree any decision taken day would put the ‘cart before the horse’  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

The Council had before it a report by the Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning which presented a summary of the comments received during public consultation on proposed Aberdeen Planning Guidance and Supplementary Guidance to support the Local Development Plan 2023, as well officer responses to the comments and proposed modifications to the relevant documents following the consultation.

The report recommended:-

that the Council -

(a)           note the comments received during the recent public consultation on the proposed Aberdeen Planning Guidance and Supplementary Guidance documents, and approve officers’ responses to the consultation comments, as outlined in Appendix 1;

(b)           note that officers had reviewed the draft Aberdeen Planning Guidance and Supplementary Guidance documents to take account of National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) and had suggested minor technical changes to the documents as a result;

(c)           note the ongoing partnership working between officers within Strategic Place Planning and Public Health Scotland and NHS Grampian to understand how each document relates either directly or indirectly to improving health and wellbeing and working towards achieving the Public Health Priorities for Scotland;

(d)           agree the proposed Aberdeen Planning Guidance documents in Appendix 2 and approve their adoption as non-statutory planning advice to support the Local Development Plan 2023;

(e)           agree the proposed Supplementary Guidance on Planning Obligations in Appendix 3 and adopt it as Interim Planning Advice until such time as it can be formally adopted as statutory Supplementary Guidance in accordance with recommendation (f) below;

(f)             instruct the Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning to submit the proposed Supplementary Guidance on Planning Obligations to Scottish Ministers for ratification and, once this was received, adopt the document as statutory Supplementary Guidance to accompany the Local Development Plan;

(g)           instruct the Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning to update the draft Aberdeen Planning Guidance on Wind Turbine Development in light of consultation responses received and the policy shift within NPF4 and incorporate it within draft Aberdeen Planning Guidance on Renewable Energy Development, a draft of which should be reported to the Planning Development Management Committee within 12 months;

(h)           agree that the following historic non-statutory planning advice notes, which supported the 2017 Local Development Plan, were no longer required and should be revoked:

·        Hillhead Campus Planning Brief

·        Pinewood / Hazledene Planning Brief

·        Murcar Development Framework

·        Fire Station, North Anderson Drive Planning Brief

The Council resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

In accordance with Article 4 of the minute of the Council meeting of 11 October 2023, Councillor Hutchison left the meeting for the following item of business, having previously declared an interest.

With reference to Article 17 of the minute of its meeting of 14 December 2022, the Council had before it a report by the Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning which sought approval of the Finalised Draft George Street Masterplan as the George Street Masterplan being the Council’s ‘place’ strategy for the George Street area.

The report recommended:-

that the Council -

(a)          review the Consultation and Engagement Report (Appendix 1) which recorded and analysed the public and stakeholder consultation and engagement undertaken, and note that the consultation responses had shaped the Finalised Draft George Street Masterplan;

(b)          note the contents of the Strategic Environmental Assessment Environmental Report, and the non-technical summary report (Appendix 5 and 5a), whose findings were recorded in, and had given direction to, the content of the Finalised Draft George Street Masterplan; and

(c)          approve the Finalised Draft George Street Masterplan (Appendix 2) as the George Street Masterplan being the Council’s ‘place’ strategy for the George Street area.

Councillor Henrickson moved, seconded by Councillor Bouse:-

That the Council approve the recommendations contained within the report and agree individual projects or interventions would be subject to consultation as deemed necessary by legislation or by the Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning in consultation with the Co-Leaders.

Councillor Malik moved as an amendment, seconded by Councillor Macdonald:-

            That the Council -

(1)      agree the recommendations contained within the report;

(2)      note with disappointment that the SNP Administration are once again giving the public of Aberdeen false hope with this George Street Masterplan as not one single penny has been allocated to implement any of the 32 projects identified within the Masterplan; and

(3)      agree to refer the report to the budget process for financial year 2024/25, enabling the Council to consider allocating funding towards the George Street Masterplan.

Councillor Massey moved as a further amendment, seconded by Councillor Farquhar:-

That the Council agree that the George Street Masterplan be considered at the 2024 Budget Meeting. Noting that:-

1.    “Norco Place” is a key part of the masterplan. The new ownership of the “Norco Place” building is not considered and therefore there should be engagement with the new owners to first ascertain their potential plans and intentions.

2.    A number of businesses feel that they have not been engaged with, especially the businesses located in Jopp’s Lane.

3.    This Masterplan proposes significant road changes which affect the flow of city centre traffic and would severely restrict West to East traffic. Given the current uncertainty around traffic in the city centre, a period of stability is required to further assess that impact without additional changes

o   The new proposed road layout includes closing West to East traffic on John Street and Blackfriars Street and also closing access between Loch Street and Berry Street

o   Given the traffic restrictions in place on Guild Street, Union Street and Schoolhill this would put huge pressure on Maberly Street/Spring Garden as the first main West to East route in the city centre after Riverside  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

The Council had before it a report by the Chief Officer - Commercial and Procurement which presented the Annual Procurement Report 2022-2023.

The report recommended:-

that the Council note the Annual Procurement Report appended to the report.

The Council resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Council had before it a report by the Chief Officer - Data and Insights which highlighted progress with respect to the Council Delivery Plan for the year 2022/23 which was approved by Council on 7 March 2022.

The report recommended:-

that the Council note the report and provide comments and observations on the information contained in the Annual Review Report at Appendix A.

Councillor Yuill moved, seconded by Councillor Allard:-

          That the Council note the report.

Councillor Malik moved as an amendment, seconded by Councillor Grant:-

          That the Council -

(1)  note the report; and

(2)  agree the following comments from the report -

Council has made significant progress in many key areas during 2022/23. Not lease of these has been the ability of our staff to continue to deliver essential services and care to the people of Aberdeen as the impact of both the pandemic and the ‘cost of living’ crisis continued to be felt, both operationally and through health, social and economic challenges experienced across the city. 

Specific highlights from 2022/23 include: 

• the opening of Union Terrace Gardens, following its refurbishment, a previous Administration achievement

• the launch of the ONE BioHub with laboratory space, office space, incubation facilities, hot desk & co-working space, a previous Administration achievement

• the launch of the National Subsea Centre, part of the Net Zero Technology Centre, in January 2023, providing advanced research to accelerate the transition to net zero, a previous Administration achievement 

• the new Aberdeen South Harbour becoming operational, with the official launch held in September 2023, a previous Administration achievement 

• £27million investment in ONE Seedpod to grow the north East Scotland food and drinks industry, with the aim to increase sector turnover by 5% per annum, a previous Administration achievement 

• £1.9million allocated by the Council towards the Aberdeen Gift Card Scheme, resulting in 14,172 eligible citizens benefiting from £125 gift cards, a previous Administration achievement

• almost 19,000 Scottish Child Payment Bridging Payments made by the Council, before the wider rollout of the Scottish Child Payment 

• the opening of the new Countesswells School, a previous Administration achievement 

• the introduction of Youth Workers, Family Learning and Money Advisors in all schools, a previous Administration achievement

• 65,840 free school meal vouchers delivered to eligible families; 14,564 chrome books; 500 Wi-Fi connections with dongles; and 210 data only SIMs, a previous Administration achievement

• welcoming over 300 children and young people who have been displaced by the war in Ukraine into the city’s schools started under the previous Administration

• the launch of the city’s cycle hire scheme in November 2022, a previous Administration achievement 

• construction works completed for new council housing at Wellheads and Auchmill sites, with further ongoing construction at Summerhill, Kaimhill, Tillydrone and Cloverhill, a previous Administration achievement 

Following various interruptions during the course of debate and summing up, the Lord Provost referred to Section 3.11 of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct under the heading of Respect and Courtesy,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Council had before it a report by the Chief Officer - Data and Insights which presented the 2023 Population Needs Assessment for Aberdeen City.

The report recommended:-

that the Council note the Population Needs Assessment 2023 as contained at Appendix 1.

Councillor Yuill moved, seconded by Councillor Allard:-

          That the Council approve the recommendation.

Councillor Malik moved as an amendment, seconded by Councillor Ali:-

          That the Council -

(1)       note the Population Needs Assessment 2023 as contained at Appendix 1;

(2)       note from the report all households in Scotland will be affected by increases in the cost of living, a report by the Scottish Government suggests that it is those with lower incomes and little or no savings who will be most impacted as they spend a higher proportion than average on energy, food and transport and they therefore have less flexibility in their budget to cope with price rises. Therefore, agree a Council Tax freeze can only be supported if it is fully funded by the Scottish Government;

(3)       note the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report Poverty In Scotland 2023;

(4)       agree with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation that Aberdeen City Council are unlikely to meet its poverty reduction targets without significant additional Scottish Government action; and

(5)       agree without significant longer-term actions planned by the Scottish Government, it is difficult to see how the Aberdeen City Local Outcome Improvement Plan 2016-2026 stretch outcome of “no one will suffer due to poverty by 2026” will be met under current plans.

At this juncture, Councillor Yuill advised that he had a connection in relation to the item by virtue of a friend who worked as a senior manager at the National Records 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.

On a division, there voted:-

For the motion  (27)  -  Lord Provost; Depute Provost; and Councillors Al-Samarai, Allard, Alphonse, Bouse, Brooks, Hazel Cameron, Clark, Cooke, Copland, Cormie, Fairfull, Farquhar, Greig, Henrickson, Hutchison, MacGregor, McLellan, McLeod, McRae, Massey, Mennie, Nicoll, Radley, van Sweeden and Yuill.

For the amendment  (11)  -  Councillors Ali, Bonsell, Crockett, Graham, Grant, Lawrence, Macdonald, Malik, Thomson, Tissera and Watson.

Absent from the division  (2)  -  Councillors Boulton and Davidson

The Council resolved:-

to adopt the motion. 

The Council had before it a report by the Chief Officer - Early Intervention and Community Empowerment which presented the Annual Outcome Improvement Report 2022/23.

The report recommended:-

that the Council approve the Annual Outcome Improvement Report 2022/23 as a representation of the Council’s contribution to partnership working in delivery of the Local Outcome Improvement Plan 2016-26.

Councillor Allard moved, seconded by Councillor Greig:-

          That the Council approve the recommendation.

Councillor Malik moved as an amendment, seconded by Councillor Watson:-

          That the Council -

(1)       approve the Annual Outcome Improvement Report 2022/23 as a representation of the Council’s contribution to partnership working in delivery of the Local Outcome Improvement Plan 2016-26;

(2)       agree with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation that the only way for Aberdeen City Council to meet its targets outlined within the report on poverty is if the UK and Scottish Government act upon the recommendations within the Joseph Rowntree Report which are -

The UK Government should:-

• Adopt the Essentials Guarantee and ensure that Universal Credit provides at the very minimum enough to secure the bare essentials.

• End the most pernicious elements of the Universal Credit such as the two-child cap, the benefit cap and the current sanctions and deductions scheme.

• Raise the local housing allowance to a more realistic reflection of housing costs.

• Consider what additional support families require in the face of the continuing cost-of-living crisis - including a focus on the families at the greatest risk, including low-income families, single parents, large families, minority ethnic families, disabled people and private renters.

The Scottish Government should:-

• Re-commit to their Minimum Income Guarantee project, including considering prioritising groups for initial roll-out or trials, such as families with babies.

• Continue to increase the Scottish Child Payment to assist in meeting the child poverty targets but urgently commit to making it a standalone payment, i.e. separate to Universal Credit, that can taper with individuals’ earnings.

• Bring forward its appraisal of the adequacy of disability assistance payments.

• Re-instate levels of social house building funding.

• Consider repeating the cost-of-living payments they made last year, particularly for families who do not have children (who will already benefit from the Scottish Child Payment).

On a division, there voted:-

For the motion  (28)  -  Lord Provost; Depute Provost; and Councillors Al-Samarai, Allard, Alphonse, Boulton, Bouse, Brooks, Hazel Cameron, Clark, Cooke, Copland, Cormie, Fairfull, Farquhar, Greig, Henrickson, Hutchison, MacGregor, McLellan, McLeod, McRae, Massey, Mennie, Nicoll, Radley, van Sweeden and Yuill.

For the amendment  (11)  -  Councillors Ali, Bonsell, Crockett, Graham, Grant, Lawrence, Macdonald, Malik, Thomson, Tissera and Watson.

Absent from the division  (1)  -  Councillor Davidson.

The Council resolved:-

to adopt the motion.

The Council had before it a report which presented the Annual Reports 2022/23 against the North, South and Central Locality Plans which were published in July 2021.

The report recommended:-

that the Council approve the Locality Plan Annual Outcome Improvement Reports for North, South and Central as a representation of the Council’s contribution to partnership working in delivery of the Locality Plans published in July 2021.

The Council resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Lord Provost advised that item 10.2 (Notice of Motion by Councillor Cooke regarding the Pensions Committee) had been withdrawn from the agenda.

That Council;

1.      Notes the Lord Advocate’s statement “that it would not be in the public interest to prosecute drug users for simple possession offences committed within a pilot safer drugs consumption facility.”

2.      Agrees that safer drug consumption facilities are an important public health measure that could save lives, and supports all options within the existing legal framework being explored to enable the delivery of these facilities to prevent overdoses and reduce harm.

3.      Notes the Minister for Drug and Alcohol Policy, on 19 September 2023 in the Scottish Parliament, stated “In the past two years, the University of Stirling has undertaken work to look at how we could roll out a drug-checking pilot within Scotland. During that research phase, several potential locations were identified. We know that Aberdeen, Glasgow and Dundee have expressed their wish to be part of the pilot. The research was published at the end of July and we are now helping those areas to apply for licences. We await a final communication from the United Kingdom Home Office that will help us to ensure that those licensing applications can go in and will be met with the most sympathetic ear possible.”

4.      Welcomes the Scottish Government’s commitment to tackling drug harm as part of a public health approach and will work with partners to support and assist in applications for drug-checking facilities being made available in Aberdeen.

5.      Instructs the Chief Officer - Health and Social Care Partnership to engage with relevant partners, in particular, the Aberdeen City Alcohol and Drugs Partnership, to support delivery of a drug-checking pilot in Aberdeen.

6.      Encourages all Council Members, where comfortable to do so, to be trained and carry naloxone during their councillor duties, in the event that they encounter a member of the public in an overdose situation and to promote naloxone within their communities.

7.      Instructs the Chief Officer - Health and Social Care Partnership to report to the Aberdeen City Integration Joint Board by March 2024 on the progress of those discussions with partner agencies, the Scottish Government and Home Office.

The Council had before it a notice of motion by Councillor Cooke in the following terms:-

            That Council:

1.      Notes the Lord Advocate’s statement “that it would not be in the public interest to prosecute drug users for simple possession offences committed within a pilot safer drugs consumption facility.”

2.      Agrees that safer drug consumption facilities are an important public health measure that could save lives, and supports all options within the existing legal framework being explored to enable the delivery of these facilities to prevent overdoses and reduce harm.

3.      Notes the Minister for Drug and Alcohol Policy, on 19 September 2023 in the Scottish Parliament, stated “In the past two years, the University of Stirling has undertaken work to look at how we could roll out a drug-checking pilot within Scotland. During that research phase, several potential locations were identified. We know that Aberdeen, Glasgow and Dundee have expressed their wish to be part of the pilot. The research was published at the end of July and we are now helping those areas to apply for licences. We await a final communication from the United Kingdom Home Office that will help us to ensure that those licensing applications can go in and will be met with the most sympathetic ear possible.”

4.      Welcomes the Scottish Government’s commitment to tackling drug harm as part of a public health approach and will work with partners to support and assist in applications for drug-checking facilities being made available in Aberdeen.

5.      Instructs the Chief Officer - Health and Social Care Partnership to engage with relevant partners, in particular, the Aberdeen City Alcohol and Drugs Partnership, to support delivery of a drug-checking pilot in Aberdeen.

6.      Encourages all Council Members, where comfortable to do so, to be trained and carry naloxone during their councillor duties, in the event that they encounter a member of the public in an overdose situation and to promote naloxone within their communities.

7.      Instructs the Chief Officer - Health and Social Care Partnership to report to the Aberdeen City Integration Joint Board by March 2024 on the progress of those discussions with partner agencies, the Scottish Government and Home Office.

Councillor Cooke moved, seconded by Councillor McRae:-

            That the Council -

1.      note the Lord Advocate’s statement “that it would not be in the public interest to prosecute drug users for simple possession offences committed within a pilot safer drugs consumption facility.”

2.      agree that safer drug consumption and drug checking facilities could be an important public health measure that could save lives, and support all options within the existing legal framework being explored to enable the delivery of these facilities to prevent overdoses and reduce harm;

3.      note the Minister for Drug and Alcohol Policy, on 19 September 2023 in the Scottish Parliament, stated “In the past two years, the University of Stirling has undertaken work to look at how we could roll out a drug-checking pilot within Scotland. During that research phase, several  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

The Council considered the following item of business with the press and public excluded

With reference to Article 2 of this minute, the Council had before it exempt appendices relating to the Options Appraisal on Working Arrangements with our ALEOs report.

The Council resolved:-

to refer to the decision at Article 2 of this minute.