Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

The Lord Provost welcomed a group of students from the University of Aberdeen who were observing the meeting, along with their lecturer, as part of their MSc Sustainability Transitions course.

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

That the Council suspend Standing Order 14.5.3 to hear the deputation from Aberdeen Trades Union Council.

On a division, there voted:-

For the procedural motion   (14)  -  Councillors Ali, Blake, Bonsell, Boulton, Crockett, Graham, Grant, Lawrence, Macdonald, Malik, Nicoll, Thomson, Tissera and Watson. 

Against the procedural motion  (23)  -  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, Radley, van Sweeden and Yuill.

Declined to vote  (7)  -  Councillors Brooks, Cross, Farquhar, Houghton, Kusznir, McLeod and Massey.

The Council resolved:-

to reject the procedural motion. 

Councillors Ali, Blake, Bonsell, Crockett, Graham, Grant, Lawrence, Macdonald, Malik, Nicoll, Thomson, Tissera and Watson intimated their dissent against the foregoing decision in accordance with Standing Order 32.8.

Councillor Blake and the Lord Provost advised that they had a connection in relation to the budget by reason of being 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.

There followed an understanding that there was no requirement for Councillors to intimate transparency statements in relation to the budget as there would be so many, and that only declarations of interest were required.

·       Common Good Budget 2025/26 - CORS/25/049  (pages 219 to 238)

·       Carbon Budget 2025/26 - CR&E/25/037 (pages 239 to 256)

The Council had before it a report by the Chief Officer - Finance which provided the Council with information on both the revenue budget for 2025/26 and the capital programme for the period 2025/26 to 2029/30. It aimed to enable the Council to set the approved budgets and Council Tax rate for main and second homes for the year commencing 1 April 2025. In addition, it addressed the need for the Council to decide on an Empty Property Relief Scheme following the devolution of Non-Domestic Rates Empty Property Relief to Local Government. 

The Council also had before it a report by the Chief Officer - Finance which provided details of the draft Common Good budget for 2025/26, to enable the Council to approve a final budget that would take effect on 1 April 2025. 

The Council also had before it a report by the Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning which sought approval for the Council Carbon Budget for the financial year 2025-26, to support the Council Climate Change Plan.

The reports recommended:-

that the Council -

          Balance Sheet

(1)           note the projected balance sheet position including the reserves as at 31 March 2025, shown at Appendix 1;

(2)           agree that the Council needs to find recurring funding solutions to meet recurring costs while retaining prudent reserves that will be available should they be needed, particularly given the wide range of financial risks that remain outside the control of the Council;

(3)           note that the Council’s Risk Appetite Statement reflects a cautious appetite for longer term capital and financial investment, and remains averse to risks associated with impairing financial stewardship, internal controls, and financial sustainability;

(4)           give due regard to the Council’s Financial Resilience Framework measures, included at Appendix 2, and Prudential Indicators, at Appendix 3, when setting Council Tax and the Revenue and Capital budgets;

(5)           approve the Prudential Indicators as attached at Appendix 3 and agree to limit the annual Cost of Financing Capital at 11% of projected Net Revenue;

(6)           approve the General Fund Capital Programme as attached at Appendix 4;

(7)           consider the capital projects described in Appendix 5, which were referred to the General Fund Capital Programme;

(8)           approve the Revenue and Capital Reserves Statement for 2025/26 as detailed in Appendix 6;

(9)           approve the use of the Capital Fund to support any financial implications arising from Council’s support to owners of properties affected by RAAC, see Section 8;

(10)       continue to retain the Service Concession Reserve to support the commitment to no compulsory redundancies, as a funding source for continued use of the voluntary severance/early retirement scheme (VSER);

Medium-Term Financial Projections

(11)       note the forecast medium-term financial projection for the period ending 31 March 2030 as shown in paragraph 5.18;

(12)       instruct the Chief Officer - Finance to refresh the Medium Term Financial Strategy and report to the Council by the end of September 2025 in line with the requirements of the budget protocol;

Risks

(13)       note the Aberdeen City IJB is forecast to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

The Council had before it a report by the Chief Officer - Data Insights which presented the Council Delivery Plan for 2025/26.

The Council resolved:-

to defer consideration of the report to the Council meeting on 16 April 2025.