Agenda, decisions and minutes

The agenda and reports associated with this minute can be located at the following link:

http://committees.aberdeencity.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=143&MId=2890&Ver=4

Please note that if any changes are made to this minute at the point of approval, these will be outlined in the subsequent minute and this document will not be retrospectively altered.

The Convener advised the Committee of a number of good news stories as follows –

• The new season free lunch break concerts in Cowdray Hall, supported by The Friends of Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums and Vibrant Aberdeen commenced in September. It was noted that no other city in Scotland hosted such a programme which invited both amateur and professional musicians to perform, and brought high calibre national and international artists to the city, and provided an important performance platform for local musicians, including music students and school pupils.
• Adventure Aberdeen, in partnership with the school travel plan team, the sports and physical activity team and with encouragement and direction from Aberdeen’s Bike Champion, Councillor Ross Thomson, had secured a £35,000 grant from Cycle Scotland to take on the Bike Ability scheme (previously known as cycling proficiency). Eight Adventure Aberdeen staff would train the volunteers that would be vital to the scheme. It was hoped that twenty six of Aberdeen’s primaries would join the scheme next spring and summer, with the remainder joining thereafter.
• The research achievements of the Education, Culture and Sport Service were celebrated at the annual Scottish Education Research Association (SERA) annual conference in Glasgow in November. This year’s theme was widening horizons, and the Service’s achievements in engaging young people in literacy through the effective use of information technology were showcased by the city’s Apardion project which involved over 3,500 children and young people in interdisciplinary projects including literacy, expressive arts and social studies.
• Neil McLennan (Quality Improvement Officer) had won the Royal Society of Edinburgh Henry Duncan medal for his outstanding contribution to civic society, creativity and social enterprise, education and the social sciences.
• To celebrate Book Week Scotland, the Library and Information Services, in collaboration with the Accord Card and the catering team, had launched Healthy Body, Healthy Mind, where, in return for purchasing a school meal every day from 18 – 22 November 2013, secondary school students would be entered into a prize draw to win a mini e-reader and be able to access the library e-lending service free of charge.
• Aberdeen City Council was the only Scottish local authority to run The Primary Science Quality Mark, a joint project between the University of Hertfordshire and the Primary Science Training Trust, and twenty four schools gained a bronze or silver award for this year, with thirty one schools hoping to participate next year. The schools had to submit evidence to substantiate their commitment to science teaching and learning.
• Tullos swimming pool would reopen on Saturday 23 November 2013. This long project has had a great deal of community involvement and would hopefully be a well used community facility.
• Table centre pieces made by pupils at Walker Road primary school were on display, and presented as a good example of the business sector working with schools on a cultural collaboration. The Arts and Business Scotland Awards were to take place at the end of October and this was only one of a number of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1.

The Convener proposed that item 9.1 of today’s agenda (Sports Grants - article 18 of this minute refers) be considered with the press and public excluded.

The Committee resolved:

in terms of Section 50(A)(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, to exclude the press and public from the meeting for item 9.1 of the agenda (article 18 of this minute) so as to avoid disclosure of information of the class described in paragraph 4 of Schedule 7(A) to the Act.

The Committee had before it the minute of its previous meeting of 12 September 2013.

The Committee resolved:

to approve the minute as a correct record.

The Committee had before it a statement of pending and outstanding committee business, prepared by the Head of Legal and Democratic Services.

The Committee resolved:

(i)         to remove items 1 (Gaelic Plan), 3 (Progress Report on Proposals to Redevelop Aberdeen Art Gallery and Report on Improving Access to the Museums and Galleries Collections), 4 (Pupil Representation), 5 (Review of Inclusion – Pupil Support Assistants), 6 (Rubislaw Field Committee), 7 (City Campus), 11 (Tullos Swimming Pool) and 15 (Library and Information Management Services) from the business statement; and

(ii)        to otherwise note the updates provided.

Reference was made to article 5 of the minute of meeting of the Planning Development Management Committee of 26 September 2013 at which time members had, amongst other things, agreed to request that this Committee consider finding a suitable venue within the city for the organ from the Capitol theatre to be brought back into use. The Committee had before it on this day, the report as presented to the Planning Development Management Committee and the minute extract relating to this item. The Committee had circulated, a briefing from the Service Manager – Culture, which stated that there were no known Council facilities which would be suitable for the Capitol theatre’s organ to be installed, and that the Education, Culture and Sport Service was responsible for an organ in Cowdray Hall, which was in need of refurbishment. 

Further to officers reiterating that no funds were available to house or maintain the organ, members suggested that the developer or the Aberdeen Theatre Organ Trust might approach the Tivoli Theatre or community halls in Aberdeenshire that may be interested in taking possession of the organ. 

The Committee resolved:

to agree that no action be taken on this matter.

Reference was made to article 21 of the minute of meeting of the Enterprise, Strategic Planning and Infrastructure Committee of 12 November 2013 at which time members approved the Internal Waste Minimisation Plan, and referred this Plan to all Service Committees for endorsement. The Committee had before it on this day, the report as presented to the Enterprise, Strategic Planning and Infrastructure Committee, and the Internal Waste Minimisation Plan, as appended to the report.

The Committee resolved:

to endorse the Internal Waste Minimisation Plan.

With reference to article 11 of the minute of its previous meeting of 12 September 2013, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which detailed the capital spend to date for Service projects included within the non housing capital plan.

An amended version of page 86 of the report (appendix 1) was circulated to members, and this advised that the Head of Asset Management and Operations had authorised an additional spend of £120,000 on the Riverbank project, which was within the 10% allowed for within delegated powers. This spend was as a result of unforeseen costs associated with the diversion of services and the installation of a sprinkler system to the new extension in order to comply with current health and safety regulations. Further works to the existing building had been funded from the conditions and suitability budget and the repairs and maintenance budget; there would also be a contribution from the Education, Culture and Sport revenue budgets towards new equipment such as smart boards and wall mounted basketball hoops.

The report recommended –

that the Committee note the current position.

The Committee resolved:

to approve the recommendation.

With reference to article 10 of the minute of its previous meeting of 12 September 2013, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which advised members of the current year revenue budget to date for the Service, and outlined any areas of risk and management action being taken in this regard.

The report recommended –

that the Committee –

(a)       note the forecast outturn on the revenue budget, and the information on the areas of risk and management action contained therein; and

(b)       instruct officers to continue to review budget performance and report on service strategies.

The Committee resolved:

to approve the recommendations.

With reference to article 17 of the minute of its meeting of 12 September 2013, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport, which provided a summary of performance data and service plan actions to 30 September 2013, as well as the most recent service wide performance indicators from the Education, Culture and Sport Directorate.

The report recommended –

that the Committee –

(a)        approve the Education, Culture and Sport Service Performance report for the period up to 30 September 2013; and

(b)       note the work being undertaken in relation to future progress of actions reporting against the renewed Education, Culture and Sport Service improvement plan.

The Committee resolved:

(i)         in relation to pages 104, 105 and 127 of the report, to request that officers (1) approach Aberdeen Sports Village to ascertain whether it is possible to extract students from the postcode sectors and (2) advise the committee of the outcome of these discussions;

(ii)        to request that officers attempt in future reports to show participation in Active School sessions as a percentage of the year group rather than as the total number of pupils; and

(iii)       to otherwise approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which presented a revised policy and guidance for educational excursions, taking account of new Scottish Government guidance on education visits, which had been published on 31 March 2013.

Members commended the officers involved in this piece of work.

The report recommended –

that the Committee approve the proposed changes to the Council’s Outdoor Learning and Educational Excursions Policy and instruct officers to circulate the new policy to establishments on 5 January 2014, to become live on 1 February 2014.

The Committee resolved:

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which advised members as to how officers were planning to implement the increase in free early learning and childcare provision from 475 to 600 hours every year, in accordance with The Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill, which had a planned implementation date of August 2014.

The report recommended –

that the Committee   –

(a)       approve an increase in free early learning and childcare for all three and four year old children from 2 hours 30 minutes a session to 3 hours 10 minutes a session during school term time from August 2014 (as per appendix 1 table 1 option 1);

(b)       agree to make provision of 600 hours of free early learning and child care for all Looked After two year olds from August 2014; and

(c)        agree to increase the payments made to partner providers to support the statutory increase in free early learning and childcare hours from August 2014.

The Committee resolved:

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which sought approval to refresh and rationalise the ICT server estate of the Council’s educational establishments by means of the development and implementation of a virtualised server infrastructure.

The report recommended –

that the Committee note the following proposals:

(a)       to progress the refresh and rationalisation of the server estate of Council education establishments by means of the development and implementation by the Council of a virtualised server infrastructure;

(b)       the Council’s entry into a framework agreement pursuant to the above recommendation, the particular framework agreement to be selected by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport following consultation with the Council’s ICT, Procurement and Legal teams, with exemption being granted from any of the Council’s Standing Orders relating to Contracts and Procurement in respect of which exemption is required in order to allow the foregoing;

(c)       the estimated expenditure of (1) an initial planned capital investment in the current financial year of £180K (noting that no additional capital is requested), and (2) £500K per annum over 3 years from the existing ICT investment budget in respect of such framework agreement;

(d)       the referral of this report to Finance, Policy and Resources Committee for approval to spend capital and revenue from existing budgets as described in the report.

The Convener noted at this juncture that the above recommendations should be agreed by the Committee, rather than noted as suggested above.

The Committee resolved:

(i)         to progress the refresh and rationalisation of the server estate of Council education establishments by means of the development and implementation by the Council of a virtualised server infrastructure;

(ii)        to approve the Council’s entry into a framework agreement pursuant to the above recommendation, the particular framework agreement to be selected by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport following consultation with the Council’s ICT, Procurement and Legal teams, with exemption being granted from any of the Council’s Standing Orders relating to Contracts and Procurement in respect of which exemption is required in order to allow the foregoing;

(iii)       to approve the estimated expenditure of:

(1)       an initial planned capital investment in the current financial year of £180,000 (noting that no additional capital is requested).

(2)       £500,000 per annum over three years from the existing ICT Investment budget in respect of such framework agreement;

(iv)       to refer this report to the Finance, Policy and Resources Committee for approval to spend capital and revenue from existing budgets as described in the report; and

(v)        in relation to paragraph 4.4 of the report (page 283 ie “Improved management of the schools’ ICT estate will be possible through a single point of management, allowing the secondary schools’ ICT technicians to complement this service by managing local school requirements.  A review of the role of all the technical support staff will be carried out to determine potential changes to job descriptions”), to instruct officers to enter into urgent discussions with affected  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which advised of an imminent change to the schools management information system (MIS) as a result of Pearson Education Limited announcing that it would be withdrawing its MIS product.

The report recommended –

that the Committee –

(a)       note the current contractual position and authorises relevant officers to negotiate and agree with Pearson Education Limited (1) a satisfactory termination to the Council’s contract with that supplier and (2) any ancillary matters;

(b)       approve the Council’s application for membership of SEEMiS Group LLP and the entering into by the Council of all contractual or other legal documentation as may be necessary or desirable in order to facilitate such membership and the receipt by the Council of services from the LLP, with exemption being granted from any of the Council’s Standing Orders relating to Contracts and Procurement in respect of which exemption is required in order to allow the foregoing;

(c)       approve the estimated expenditure of £110,000 per annum over five years in respect of such membership of, and receipt of services from, the LLP, with a further report to be brought to Committee in due course if it is proposed to continue such arrangements beyond that five year period; the subscription funding currently spent with Pearson Education Ltd will be reallocated to SEEMiS Group LLP and this cost will continue to be paid from the existing MIS revenue budget; and

(d)       note that no additional funding is required for the MIS subscription.

The Committee resolved:

to approve the recommendations.

With reference to article 14 of the minute of its previous meeting of 12 September 2013, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which presented the outcome of the public notification in respect of the Library and Information Services Management Rules 2013. 

The report recommended –

that the Committee –

(a)       note the outcome of the public notification which closed on 28 October 2013;

(b)       agree the Library and Information Services Management Rules 2013, as appended to the report; and

(c)        instruct that the Library and Information Services Management Rules be signed and sealed on behalf of the Council, bringing the rules into force for a period of ten years from the date of signing.

The Committee resolved:

to approve the recommendations.

MATTER OF URGENCY

The Convener intimated that she had directed in terms of Section 50(B)(4)(b) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, that the following item of business be considered as a matter of urgency as a decision on this matter was required timeously in order to get the procurement process underway, and to provide the staff with peace of mind prior to the Christmas break.

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

Councillor Townson declared an interest in the subject matter of the following article by virtue of a personal interest, and withdrew from the meeting for consideration of the item.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which provided members with an update on the Competition Commission’s findings in relation to the Belmont Media Centre, and sought approval for the issuing of an Invitation to Tender for the lease and operational contract for the Centre.

The report recommended –

that the Committee –

(a)       note the information regarding the Competition Commission’s findings;

(b)       instruct officers to issue an Invitation to Tender for the lease and operational contract for the Belmont Media Centre; and

(c)        approve the total estimated expenditure as detailed within the report.

The Committee resolved:

to approve the recommendations.

With reference to article 20 of the minute of its meeting of 30 May 2013, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport, which sought approval for revenue funding to be released from existing budgets for the provision of services at Tullos swimming pool, and for the relevant budgets to be transferred from Sport Aberdeen to Aberdeen Sports Village, to support the transfer of the delivery of the performance swimming programme to the 50 metre pool.

The report recommended –

that the Committee –

(a)       agree that up to £146,329 of revenue funding is provided to Sport Aberdeen for the operation of Tullos swimming pool for the remainder of this financial year, to be funded from existing budgets (this amount to be inclusive of the £50,000 already approved through delegated powers and the required preopening start up costs, and to be appropriately adjusted as a result of the pool opening later than 1 November 2013.);

(b)       recommend that £180,838, representing a full year of revenue funding for the operation of Tullos swimming pool, be included in the overall grant for Sport Aberdeen in 2014/15, as part of the budget setting process (not an additional growth item); and

(c)        recommend that, as part of the budget setting process, £110,769 of annual revenue funding is reduced from the grant for Sport Aberdeen and the same amount is added to the grant for Aberdeen Sports Village from 2014/15 onwards, in order to facilitate the change of management of the COAST performance swimming programme from Sport Aberdeen to Aberdeen Sports Village as the operator of the new regional performance swimming centre.

The Committee resolved:

to approve the recommendations.

In accordance with the decision taken at article 2 of this minute, the Committee considered the following item of business with the press and public excluded.

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

Reverend McKenna declared an interest in the subject matter of the following article by virtue of his position as coach to one of the applicants. Reverend McKenna chose to withdraw from the meeting prior to consideration of the report.

With reference to article 16 of the minute of its previous meeting of 12 September 2013, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which presented applications for financial assistance from a number of individuals and organisations.

The report recommended –

that the Committee –

(a)     consider the applications through the club development grants and approves the following recommendations:

(b)     consider the application through the talented athlete grants programme and approves the following recommendations:

- JENNIFER LAING; Convener