Agenda, decisions and minutes

The agenda and reports associated with this minute can be found at:-

http://committees.aberdeencity.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=146&MId=3866&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.

Prior to the commencement of the meeting, the Committee received a briefing from Marc Cole, City Centre Director and Mike Cheyne, Roads Infrastructure Manager in relation to the road surface on Windmill Brae, Aberdeen.  A briefing note on the issue was also circulated to members of the Committee.

The Convener advised that an emergency notice of motion had been received from Councillor Ross Grant and that in accordance with Standing Order 21(9), he was accepting it on the agenda today at item 3.3 (see article 6 below).

The Committee heard from the Convener and Councillor Crockett who made the following announcements:

(1)       that Aberdeen’s H2 Bus Project won the Low Carbon Road Transport Initiative of the Year at the annual Low Carbon Champions awards in recognition that the project has introduced Europe’s largest fleet of hydrogen fuel cell buses; and the UK’s largest production and bus refuelling station.  Bus operators reported greater efficiency of these vehicles compared to diesel powered ones;

(2)       that Aberdeen also won the overall award – The Grand Prix Award for Outstanding Achievement in Low Carbon Transport.  This recognised the overall H2 bus project, the H2 Strategy to introduce cleaner, hydrogen-powered transport to Aberdeen with the overall aim of cutting emissions to public transport and the Council’s fleet by running hydrogen fuel cell electric buses, vans and cars.  Over the four years of the project’s life, the buses would save over 1,000 tonnes of carbon emissions; and

(3)       that the Council’s H2 Strategy & Action Plan was also shortlisted for the National Transport Awards in October 2016. 

The Committee resolved:-

to thank all the officers involved in the projects.

The Convener proposed that the Committee consider items 8.1 (Council General Fund Monitoring – Appendix D), 8.2 (Unrecoverable Debt – Appendix 4), 9.1 (Post of Interim Depute Chief Executive (Director of Corporate Governance), 10.1 (Suspension of the Aberdeen City Council Procurement Regulations 2016 in Relation to Efficiency Analysis and Commercial Strategy), 10.3 (Condition and Suitability 3 Year Programme - Appendices), 10.4 (Property Update Report), 10.5 (Hillhead of Pitfodels – Proposed Site of Farm House – Redevelopment of Derelict Farm Building), 10.6 (Aberdeen Sports Village – Funding Arrangements), 10.7 (Environmental and Flood Prevention Works to Heathryfold Park) 11.1 (Aberdeen Car Club Tender) and 11.2 (Permission to Tender – Employee Assistance Service) 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 from item 8.1 of the agenda (article 32 of this minute) onwards so as to avoid disclosure of information of the classes described in the following paragraphs of Schedule 7(A) to the Act: article 32 (paragraph 4), article 33 (paragraph 6), article 34 (paragraph 1), article 35 (paragraphs 8 and 10), article 36 (paragraph 8), articles 37 and 38 (paragraphs 6 and 9), article 39 (paragraphs 4, 6, 8 and 9) article 40 (paragraph (9), article 41 (paragraphs 6, 8 and 9), and article 42 (paragraph 8).

The Committee had before it the minute of its previous meeting of 7 June 2016.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the minute as a correct record.

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

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to remove items 4 (City Region Deal – Financial Implications), 8 (Satrosphere – Outcome of Surveys), 9 (Complaints Against Officers), 10 (Scottish Government Grant Per Head of Population) and 15 (South of the City Academy);

(ii)        to remove items 1 (Review of Access to Leisure Scheme), 5 (Aberdeen Japan Strategy), 6 (Sustainable Food Cities), 7 (Opportunities for Tackling Poverty and Inequality) and 11 (Being Digital) subject to the decision taken later on today’s agenda;

(iii)       that in relation to item 22 (Site at Beach Esplanade/King Street), to instruct officers to take forward the agreed recommendations of the Property Sub Committee on 17 November 2015 with the founding trustees of the Aberdeen Islamic Charitable Trust and to report back to Council on progress at the meeting on 21 June 2017; and

(iv)       to otherwise note the updates contained therein.

With reference to article 1 above, the Committee had tabled the following emergency notice of motion by Councillor Grant:-

that the Committee:-

(1)       instruct the Chief Executive to write to the Minister for Transport and the Islands Humza Yousaf MSP requesting an urgent meeting to discuss the unacceptable position that citizens of Aberdeen now find themselves in where First Bus appear to be putting profit before the needs of Aberdeen citizens who rely on regular services throughout Aberdeen; and

(2)       further instruct the Chief Executive to write to the new chair of the Disability Equity Partnership asking this group for information on how the withdrawal of bus services affects those with disabilities and seeks their support in inviting the chair of said group to any meeting involving the Minister.

Councillor Grant spoke in support of his motion and explained the rationale behind his request.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to adopt the motion; and

(ii)        that the Chief Executive also be instructed to write to First Bus on behalf of the Council highlighting members concerns.

With reference to article 9 of the minute of the meeting of the Finance, Policy and Resources Committee of 7 June 2016, the Committee had before it a report by the Interim Director of Corporate Governance which presented key performance information for the Corporate Governance Directorate.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note the performance report for the Corporate Governance Directorate and the information contained therein.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the recommendation; and

(ii)        that in relation to the issue of the reasons for the submission of late committee reports, to refer this matter to the Governance Reference Group to consider.

Please note that appendix D to this report is included within the private section of the agenda.

The Committee had before it a report by the Interim Director of Corporate Governance which (1) provided an opportunity to consider the current financial position and the forecast outturn for the financial year 2016/17; and (2) highlighted assumptions made, areas of risk identified and management action to mitigate these risks.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(i)         note the financial position contained within the report;

(ii)        approve that a procurement process be undertaken for specialist financial advice as and when required to support specific projects as per paragraph 3.4 of the report; and

(iii)       approve the amendment to the guarantees as stated in Appendix D (confidential paper).

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a report by the Interim Director of Corporate Governance which advised (1) on the 2016/2017 revenue and capital budget’s financial performance for the period to 31 July 2016 for the services within Corporate Governance; and (2) on any areas of risk and management action.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       note the report and the information on management action and risks that was contained therein; and

(b)       instruct officers to continue to review budget performance.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Interim Director of Corporate Governance which outlined the current year’s revenue budget performance for the Common Good Fund and provided a forecast position of the cash balances as at 31 March 2017.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       note the report and the information on management action and risks that was contained therein;

(b)       note the forecast surplus of £94k, a favourable variance of £22k;

(c)        note the estimated cash balances as at 31 March 2017 of £17 million based on current estimates, which was within the recommended levels indicated by the Head of Finance; and

(d)       note the position regarding earmarked reserves.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

With reference to article 14 of the minute of the Finance, Policy and Resources Committee of 7 June 2016, the Committee had before it a report by the Interim Director of Corporate Governance which presented recent applications for financial assistance from the financial assistance/gala budget.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee consider the applications received and agree to award funding based on the recommendations contained within the highlighted column in part A of the table below:-

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to agree to award small financial assistance grant funding to:-

·         Wings for Warriors - £2500;

·         Royal Caledonian Curling Club/Aberdeen Ladies Centre/Curl Aberdeen - £500;

·         Aberdeen Muslims - £2500;

·         13^th Aberdeen Guides and Brownies (Northfield) - £2500;

·         Granitehill House Residents Association - £430;

·         Auchmill Golf Club - £2500

(ii)        to agree to award community gala grants to:-

·         Mastrick Community Centre - £1100;

·         Friends of Hazlehead - £468; and

(iii)       to also agree to award small financial assistance grant funding of £2500 to Aberdeen for a Fairer World.

The Committee had before it a report by the Interim Director of Corporate Governance which outlined the means by which the Gomel Trust transferred money to Belarus to fund Trust projects.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       note the report and the information action and risks contained therein; and

(b)       instruct that officers continue to work with the Gomel Trust.

The Convener, seconded by the Vice Convener moved:-

            that the recommendations contained within the report be approved.

Councillor Flynn, seconded by Councillor Nicoll moved as an amendment:-

(1)       commend the work undertaken by members of the Trust to promote long standing good relationships between the City of Aberdeen and Gomel;

(2)       instruct the Depute Chief Executive (Director of Corporate Governance) to decline to forward monies by BACS transfer to recipients in Belarus, due to the punitive taxation of 13% imposed by the Belarus Government on all such transactions except where tax exemptions apply; and

(3)       instruct the Depute Chief Executive (Director of Corporate Governance) to bring forward an options appraisal to the meeting of Finance, Policy and Resources Committee on 1 December 2016 outlining the best practice of transferring money abroad in line with the principles of ‘Following the Public Pound’.

On a division, there voted:- for the motion (11) – the Convener, the Vice Convener and Councillors Allan, Carle, Crockett, Greig, Ironside, Laing, Milne, Reynolds and Jennifer Stewart; for the amendment (6) – Councillors Cameron, Dickson, Flynn, Hutchison, Nicoll and Townson.

The Committee resolved:-

to adopt the motion.

Please note that appendix 4 is confidential and is included within the private section of this agenda.

The Committee had before it a report by the Interim Director of Corporate Governance which (1) sought approval on business rates debts recommended as unrecoverable during 2015/16 and in excess of £25,000 as required in terms of financial regulations 5.3.4; and (2) advised on numbers and values of Council Tax, Business Rates and Housing Benefit Overpayments deemed to be unrecoverable during 2015/16 after all approved recovery procedures had been followed, as required in terms of financial regulations 5.3.4.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       note the value of Council Tax, Business Rates and Housing Benefit Overpayments deemed by the Director of Corporate Governance as unrecoverable and shown in Appendices 1 to 4; and

(b)       approve that the in excess of £25,000 amounts for Business Rates shown in Appendix 5 of the report were also deemed as unrecoverable and be written off.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Interim Director of Corporate Governance which sought approval for the implementation of a revised Career Break Policy.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee approve the revised Career Break Policy to replace the existing policy.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation, subject to amending the wording at page 7 of the policy to ensure that there was two way dialogue between the line manager and employee in relation to contact, and that the wording be agreed by the Convener, Councillor Nicoll and the Head of Human Resources in this regard.

With reference to article 19 of the minute of the meeting of the Finance, Policy and Resources Committee of 7 June 2016, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which (1) provided a progress update on the delivery of the Strategic Infrastructure Plan; and (2) sought approval for specific actions for funding release from the City Centre Regeneration budget to progress projects within the City Centre Masterplan (CCMP).

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       note the content of the report and the progress made;

(b)       approve expenditure of up to £100k to procure specialist consultants to prepare a Development Framework for Queens Square as a CCMP project;

(c)        approve expenditure of up to £100k to procure specialist consultants to carry out a strategic car parking study including the CCMP identified City Centre Parking Study;

(d)       approve expenditure of up to £200k to support a European Structural Fund Employability project that embraced the Aberdeen Works Project in the CCMP;

(e)       approve a contribution of £150k towards the cost of the Great Aberdeen Run, planned for September 2017, as a key part of the Aberdeen 365 Events project in the CCMP;

(f)        approve expenditure of £60k to implement a CCMP communication and engagement programme to support delivery of the CCMP;

(g)       delegate authority to the City Centre Director in consultation with the Deputy Leader of the Council, the Convener of Finance Policy and Resources and the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services to implement the above proposals and award of contracts, following fully compliant tendering exercises; and

(h)       agree that the combined expenditure of £610k above be taken from the City Centre Masterplan budget as agreed at the Council meeting in February 2016;

The Convener, seconded by the Vice Convener moved:-

            that the recommendations within the report be approved.

Councillor Dickson, seconded by Councillor Cameron moved as an amendment:-

            that the recommendations within the report be approved with the exception of recommendation (g) above.

On a division, there voted:- for the motion (11) – the Convener, the Vice Convener and Councillors Allan, Carle, Crockett, Greig, Ironside, Laing, Milne, Reynolds and Jennifer Stewart; for the amendment (6) – Councillors Cameron, Dickson, Flynn, Hutchison, Nicoll and Townson.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to adopt the motion;

(ii)        that information relating to the opening of the Aberdeen Treasure Hub (Museums Collection Centre) be provided to the Committee by way of email when it was known;

(iii)       that costs relating to the damage caused by water ingress at the Art Gallery be provided to the Committee by way of email;

(iv)       that information relating to partner contributions with regards to Queens Square be submitted to the Committee by way of email; and

(v)        that a breakdown on the committed spend from the combined expenditure referred to at (h) above be outlined in a future report to Committee.

With reference to article 17 of the minute of meeting of 16 February 2016, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided an update in relation to opportunities for tackling poverty and inequality.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       note the proposed establishment of a short term working group of officers and community partners to provide advice and guidance on the activities that were being undertaken to alleviate poverty and inequality in Aberdeen under the key themes of Fuel Poverty; Food Poverty; Child Poverty; Income Maximisation; and Housing; and

(b)       ask officers to report back to Finance Policy and Resources Committee on the 16 February 2017 with an Anti-Poverty strategy on these key themes and provide an action plan to tackle poverty and inequality.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the recommendations;

(ii)        to agree to add a representative from the Disability Equity Partnership to the Working Group; and

(iii)       to instruct the Director of Corporate Governance to ensure that the recommendations if approved contained in agenda item 7.3 (Sustainable Food Cities Tackling Food Poverty) (article 17 below refers) were adopted within the Anti- Poverty strategy that was being reported to the Committee in February.

With reference to article 16 of the minute of meeting of 16 February 2016, the Committee had before it an amended report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided an update in relation to Sustainable Food Cities – Tackling Food Poverty.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       agree that Aberdeen City Council adopt the ‘Sustainable Food Cities’ approach to develop a cross-sector partnership and implement a food policy in the city as a means of tackling food poverty;

(b)       instruct officers to progress membership of the ‘Sustainable Food Cities’ network and appropriate accreditation;

(c)        agree that Aberdeen City Council work in partnership with Business in the Community and Children in Scotland to tackle child food poverty;

(d)       instruct officers to progress a joint approach with Aberdeenshire Council and NHS Grampian in addressing food poverty and seek to secure joint funding for the actions set out in this report;

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the recommendations;

(ii)        to note the letter received by the Council Leader from The Rt Hon Frank Field MP DL with regard to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hunger;

(iii)       to note the comments of the Deputy First Minister; and

(iv)       to instruct the Director of Corporate Governance to bring a report back to the next Finance Policy and Resources Committee on how the Council can help to ensure no child was exposed to hunger during the school holidays and to write to the Rt Hon Frank Field MP DL confirming Council’s position.

With reference to article 15 of the minute of meeting of 16 February 2016, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided information on the progress with the delivery of the Aberdeen Japan Strategy.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       note the activity outlined in the report and the proposed next steps; and

(b)       accept one further (final) report in January 2017 at the conclusion of the Strategy period, detailing the activity delivered in Year 2 (2016) and evaluating the impact of the Strategy overall.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

With reference to article 21 of the minute of the meeting of the Finance, Policy and Resources Committee of 7 June 2016, the Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive which presented applications received for financial assistance from the International Twinning Budget 2016-2017.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

approve the following grants from the International Twinning Budget 2016-2017 -

(a)       a contribution of £8,200 towards a visit by Bucksburn Academy pupils to Stavanger in a STEM-based educational exchange, 10-15 February 2017; and

(b)       a contribution of £2,000 towards the attendance of a civic delegation and musicians from Stavanger at the lighting of the Christmas Tree, 24-25 November 2016.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

Councillor Dickson declared an interest in the following item of business by virtue of his position as a Council appointed Director to the Board of Sport Aberdeen but chose to remain in the meeting as Sport Aberdeen was a body being a company established wholly or mainly for the purpose of providing services to the local authority, and which had entered into a contractual arrangement with the local authority for the supply of goods and/or services to the local authority, as set out in paragraph 5.18(2)(d)(i) and (ii) of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct.

With reference to article 27 of the minute of meeting of 6 May 2014, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education and Children’s Services which provided information on the progress by the Access to Leisure (A2L) Working Group which was established to identify the recommended operational charges to the current A2L Scheme.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       note the work undertaken by the Access to Leisure Working Group in preparing for, and identifying the required actions, of the policy changes as previously recommended;

(b)       note that further work in relation to the implications of free swimming is required and would be brought back to this committee;

(c)        note that further work was required on simplifying the application and administrative processes and this would be brought back to this committee;

(d)       note that enhanced monitoring of A2L card use would be enforced by all operators, ensuring that all usage is recorded, misuse of A2L cards minimised to provide a more robust framework for the measurement of the success and outcomes of the revised A2L scheme;

(e)       note that further work on identifying the implications of restricting eligibility in the future to those over the national state retirement age in receipt of benefits related to income and / or disability was to be undertaken and brought back to this committee;

(f)        note that further work in linking the A2L scheme to a robust, evidenced GP Referral scheme was to be undertaken;

(g)       approve the deletion of the following categories from the eligibility criteria: those in receipt of bereavement allowance, those with a hearing / vision impairment, those receiving a home education, those receiving widow’s allowance, asylum seeker, bereavement allowance, guardians allowance, industrial injuries disablement benefit, learning disability and physical disability;

(h)       approve the provision of subsidised teas and coffees only be provided by partners ‘Loyalty Card’ arrangements;

(i)         approve the reduction in discount for crèche and childcare related activities to 25% across the services and the discount for crèche provision in sports centres should only be applicable when the parent/carer was taking part in sport and physical activity;

(j)         approve the proposal that those residents who had current A2L entitlement at the age of 60 should retain this entitlement;

(k)        approve the proposal that future eligibility was specifically related to the national state retirement age ie age of entitlement was automatically phased in accordance with the current legislation;

(l)         approve the proposal that the revised A2L scheme be applicable during all public opening hours of the facilities and services.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to note the recommendations contained within the report originates from the Working Group led by Sport Aberdeen;

(ii)        to instruct Officers to pass the report in its entirety to the Disability Equity Partnership for their comments and recommendations and also to Grampian Regional Equality Council for their views;

(iii)       to instruct the Director of Education and Children’s Services to bring a final report to the Finance  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

The Committee had before it a report by the Interim Director of Corporate Governance which (a) provided details in relation to the move to a managed print service, which would deliver smarter printing solutions across the Council’s estate by March 2017; and (b) had appended, the Print Policy and Guidance for approval.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee approve the Managed Print Services and Bulk Print and Mailing Services Policy, Policy Guidelines and Parameters.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a report by the Interim Director of Corporate Governance which sought approval for a shared Commercial and Procurement Service with Highland Council.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       support the creation of a Shared Commercial & Procurement Service with Highland Council; and

(b)       approve delegation of the Business Case for the restructure of the Commercial and Procurement Service (which will be cost neutral to Aberdeen City Council) to the Director of Corporate Governance and the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services in consultation with the Convener of Finance, Policy and Resources Committee.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the recommendations; and

(ii)        to thank officers for the work they had undertaken in relation to the proposal.

The Committee had before it a report by the Interim Director of Corporate Governance which sought approval for the digital strategy, attached to the report, for Aberdeen City Council.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       approve the digital strategy for the Council as outlined in Appendix 1 of the report; and

(b)       note the investment of £4.5m already approved through the capital programme agreed at Council on 25th February 2016.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the recommendations; and

(ii)        to delegate authority to the Head of IT & Transformation, in consultation with the Head of the Commercial and Procurement Service and the Head of Legal and Democratic Services, to approve the expenditure and enter into contracts for any supplies and services required for the Digital Strategy regardless of value, as and when required, provided that the procurements were undertaken in accordance with the Aberdeen City Council Procurement Regulations and the total budget approved within this report was not exceeded.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided an update in relation to the regeneration grant project at Station House Community Centre occupied by Station House Media Unit.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       approve the inclusion of additional land totalling 0.081 hectares for the development as shown in the plan attached to the report as appendix A; and

(b)       note the progress of the regeneration grant project.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Interim Director of Corporate Governance which outlined the Statutory Performance report for 2015/16 and highlighted the approach to future statutory reporting in order to meet the Accounts Commission 2016-2019 direction.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       note the content of Appendix 1, detailing the outturn of the Statutory Performance Indicators for 2015/16;

(b)       note that further information and analysis on specific SPIs was available on request and that Service Committees would receive also receive analysis of SPIs as part of the regular service performance reporting process;

(c)        agree that the SPI outturn performance for 2015/16 be published on the Council’s website as part of the Public Performance Reporting arrangements; and

(d)       note the revised direction for the Accounts Commission for 2016/17-2019/20 and the work under way to support compliance.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided information on a revised format for property asset management strategic documentation with the implementation of a Property Policy and Framework.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       approve the Property Asset Management Policy and Framework; and instruct the Head of Land and Property Assets in conjunction with the Strategic Asset and Capital Board to develop an associated strategy;

(b)       note the content of the provisional action plan; and

(c)        that a report on the Property Asset Management Strategy be brought to this committee in due course.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the recommendations; and

(ii)        that officers be instructed to report back to the Committee on 8 June 2017 in relation to the Property Asset Management Strategy.

Please note that there are confidential appendices in the private section of this agenda.

With reference to article 23 of the minute of meeting of 15 September 2015, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which sought approval of an updated three year Condition and Suitability Programme.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       note the projects completed or legally committed in 2016/17 as shown in Appendix A of the report;

(b)       note the currently approved projects and approve amended budgets as shown in Appendix B of the report;

(c)        approve the new Condition & Suitability Programme projects listed in Appendix C of the report for inclusion in the 3 year programme;

(d)       instruct the Head of Land & Property Assets to implement the detailed 3 year programme;

(e)       delegate authority to the Head of Land and Property Assets, in consultation with the Strategic Asset & Capital Board and the Convener and Vice Convener of this Committee, to amend the Programme should priorities change due to unforeseen circumstances during the year, with such changes to be reported to the Committee as a bulletin report;

(f)        delegate authority to the Head of Land and Property Assets, in consultation with the Strategic Asset & Capital Board and the Convenor and Vice-Convener of this Committee, to allocate projects or additional budgets to/from a £500k contingency fund, with such allocations to be reported to the Committee as a bulletin report;

(g)       (1)       authorise the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure, the Head of Land and Property Assets and the Asset Management Manager, in connection with the Programme, to undertake or instruct tendering procedures or competitive quotes procedures as appropriate and the awarding of contracts following thereon, subject to the necessary funding being available in the approved Non-Housing Capital Budget; and

(2)       exempt all such procedures and contracts from Standing Order 1(3) of the Council’s Standing Orders relating to Contracts and Procurement; and

(h)       note the future condition and suitability projects listed in Appendix D of the report.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations subject to (1) amending recommendation (g)(2) above to read ‘exempt all such procedures and contracts from 4.1.1 of the Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council Procurement Regulations; and (2) amending recommendations (e) and (f) above to instruct officers to submit a full reports rather than bulletin reports to the Committee.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

The Vice Convener and Councillor Dickson declared an interest in relation to the following item of business by virtue of their position as Council appointed Directors to the Board of Sport Aberdeen.  The Vice Convener considered that the nature of his interests did not require him to leave the meeting. Councillor Dickson considered that the nature of his interests required him to leave the meeting and he took no part in the Committee’s deliberations thereon.  Councillor Dickson was substituted by Councillor Copland for this item of business only.

The Committee had before it a joint report by the Director of Education and Children’s Services and the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided a summary of the findings to date of the current review of the Council’s Bookings and Lettings procedures for schools and learning centres and outlined the proposed actions to be taken to improve the procedures.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       approve the proposal to develop a full online booking and payments system for the letting of schools and learning centres, as part of the Council’s Digital Platform project, and for officers to make appropriate changes to the administrative procedures for bookings and lettings to align with the new online system;

(b)       instruct officers to investigate the feasibility and implications of transferring responsibility for administering the bookings and lettings system from Sport Aberdeen to an appropriate team within Aberdeen City Council, and to report their findings and recommendations to  Committee in September 2017;

(c)        instruct officers to carry out a detailed analysis of the current charges for bookings and lettings of schools and learning centres, and to report to Committee in February 2017 with recommendations on any required changes to the scale of charges, to ensure the financial viability of the bookings and lettings system; and

(d)       approve the introduction of charges for bookings and lettings at the new 3G artificial pitches at Northfield and Dyce, as outlined in Appendix 1 (as amended), with immediate effect.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve recommendations (a) and (d);

(ii)        to instruct officers, in partnership with Sport Aberdeen, to investigate the feasibility and implications of transferring responsibility for administering the bookings and lettings system from Sport Aberdeen to an appropriate team within Aberdeen City Council, and to report their findings and recommendations to  Committee in September 2017;

(iii)       to instruct officers, in partnership with Sport Aberdeen, to carry out a detailed analysis of the current charges for bookings and lettings of schools and learning centres, and to report to Committee in February 2017 with recommendations on any required changes to the scale of charges, to ensure the financial viability of the bookings and lettings system;

(iv)       to agree it was also appropriate to ensure that the charges for use were not prohibitive and therefore the fee structure proposed in Appendix 1 (as amended)  would be the maximum chargeable. Therefore instruct Sport Aberdeen to have the scope to vary prices downwards only based on organisational circumstances, particularly when linked to the community sports hubs initiative; and

(v)        to approve the transfer of the pitches to Sport Aberdeen to operate and manage and that this be reflected in the revision of the company’s funding and service agreement.

The Committee had before it a report (replacement) by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which (1) provided an update on the work of the Projects, Partnerships and Funding Team; (2) sought agreement to participate in projects; and (3) provided evidence of the benefits to Aberdeen of participating in external funding projects.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       approve the Council’s participation in the ‘Blue Green Infrastructure through Social Innovation’ (BEGIN) and, pursuant to such participation;

(1)       the making by the Council of an application to Interreg North Sea Region for grant funding of €300,000;

(2)       expenditure by the Council of that grant funding and the additional sum of €300,000 (£257,908) from existing flood management budgets (revenue and capital) towards the abovementioned project;

(3)       overseas travel for partner meetings and annual conferences connected with this project; and

(4)       the signing of or entry into any legal agreement or other documentation (whether same are governed by the law of Scotland or the law of another country) which may be necessary or desirable for the purposes of the abovementioned project, subject to approval of the terms by the Head of Legal;

(b)       approve the Council’s participation in the project ‘UseIT’ and, pursuant to such participation;

(1)       the making by the Council of an application to Interreg North Sea Region Programme for grant funding of €180,150;

(2)       expenditure by the Council of that grant funding and the additional sum of €180,150 (£154,894) from the relevant Council service budget towards the abovementioned project;

(3)       overseas travel for partner meetings and annual conferences connected with project; and

(4)       the signing of or entry into any legal agreement or other documentation (whether same are governed by the law of Scotland or the law of another country) which may be necessary or desirable for the purposes of the abovementioned project, subject to approval of the terms by the Head of Legal;

(c)        approve the Council’s participation in the project ‘Hydrogen Transport Economy in the North Sea Region 2’ (HyTrEc 2) and, pursuant to such participation;

(1)       the making of the Council of an application to Interreg North Sea Region for grant funding of €789,831;

(2)       expenditure by the Council of that grant funding and the additional sum of €789,831 (£679,041) from the relevant Council service towards the abovementioned project;

(3)       overseas travel for partner meetings and annual conference connected with project;

(4)       the signing of or entry into any legal agreement or other documentation (whether same are governed by the law of Scotland or the law of another country) which may be necessary or desirable for the purposes of the abovementioned project, subject to approval of the terms by the Head of Legal;

(d)       approve the Council’s participation in the project ‘Accelerating Condominium Energy Retrofitting’ (ACE Retrofitting) and, pursuant to such participation;

(1)       the making of the Council of an application to Interreg North West Europe for grant funding of  €242,632.80;

(2)       Expenditure by the Council of that grant funding and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

MATTER OF URGENCY

The Convener intimated that he had directed in terms of Section 50(B)(4)(b) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, that the following item be considered as a matter of urgency as approval was required to be included within the City Centre Masterplan timeously.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education and Children’s Services which sought approval to note the work undertaken to prepare the refurbishment brief, to include the refurbishment of Provost Skene’s House within the overall City Centre Masterplan and to allocate capital funding from the City Centre Masterplan.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       note the work undertaken to prepare the brief for the refurbishment of Provost Skene’s House;

(b)       include the refurbishment of Provost Skene’s House within the City Centre Masterplan;

(c)        allocate £1.5 million from the City Centre Masterplan resources to facilitate the refurbishment of Provost Skene’s House;

(d)       otherwise note the contents of the report; and

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the recommendations; and

(ii)        to note that a report would be submitted to the Education and Children’s Services Committee in November 2016 relating to the cultural aspects of the refurbishment.

Please note that due to and administrative error, this report was listed under the private section of the original agenda.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which sought approval for the process to tender for a contractor to provide rating advice in relation to the revaluation of the assessment of the rateable value of commercial properties.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       authorise the Head of Land and Property Assets to initiate a tender process for the procurement and award of a contract for property rating advice services in order to deal with the rating revaluation; and

(b)       remit the outcome of the tender process to the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services to formally conclude the term contracts, on terms and conditions necessary to protect the Council’s interests.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

In accordance with the decision recorded under article 3 of this minute, the following items were considered with the press and public excluded.

The Committee had before it an appendix relating to the Council General Fund Monitoring 2016/17 report referred to at article 8 above.

The Committee resolved:-

to note the appendix.

The Committee had before it an appendix relating to the Unrecoverable Debt report referred to at article 13 above.

The Committee resolved:-

to note the appendix.

With reference to article 42 of the minute of meeting of 19 April 2016, the Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive which sought to ensure, as far as practicable, that the duties of the post of Depute Chief Executive (Director of Corporate Governance) would continue to be covered appropriately up to 30 April 2017, regardless as to whether or not the Council successfully recruited to the vacancy over the coming weeks.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee approve that the contract of the Interim Depute Chief Executive (Director of Corporate Governance) be extended until 30 April 2017.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a report by the Interim Director of Corporate Governance which provided details in relation to a request under internal Procurement Regulation 3.10, for suspension of the Council’s internal Procurement Regulations 2016 in relation to the urgent appointment of consultants to undertake Efficiency Analysis to inform Commercial Strategy.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       note the contents of this report; and

(b)       note the reasoning behind requesting the exemption from the relevant standing orders.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it appendices relating to the Condition and Suitability Three Year Programme report referred to at article 27 above.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to note the information contained within the appendix;

(ii)        to instruct that officers provide information to Committee members in relation to repairs and cost issues affecting Community Centre Management Committees; and

(iii)       to instruct that officers provide details on the condition of Braeside Nursery Infant School to members of the Committee.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided members with an update on issues affecting the Council’s property portfolio in particular, activities in relation to properties which had been declared surplus to the Council’s requirements or were currently vacant or unoccupied.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       note the position in relation to all the vacant and surplus assets, as identified in Appendices A, B and C of the report;

(b)       note the concluded leases of properties held on the Tenanted Non Residential Portfolio (TNRP) since the Property Sub Committee on 3 February 2016:-

(c)        note the current position regarding 77-79 Bon Accord Street;

(d)       note that discussions are continuing with the tenant of the Bon Accord and St Nicholas Centre over the surrender of the lease of the Indoor Bowling Centre;

(e)       note the position with the Broadhill Bar, Golf Road; and

(f)        approve that a site in Greyhope Bay be set aside for Greyhope Bay Limited for a period of 12 months to allow a full business case to be developed with the council entering into an exclusivity agreement and confidentiality agreement for the project.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided information in relation to the proposed sale of a farm house and redevelopment of a derelict farm building at Hillhead of Pitfodels.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       remit to the Head of Legal and Democratic Services to formally conclude the sale of the farmhouse at Hillhead of Pitfodels to the tenant, Aberdeen & Northern Marts Group (A.N.M.), on terms and conditions as are necessary to protect the City Council’s interests; and

(b)       remit to the Head of Land & Property Assets to tender for the refurbishments works to the semi-derelict house and to implement a works programme to convert the property into A.N.M. staff accommodation, with the costs to be funded from the proceeds of the sale of the farmhouse.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

MATTER OF URGENCY

The Convener intimated that he had directed in terms of Section 50(B)(4)(b) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, that the following item be considered as a matter of urgency as approval was required so that funding was set for the next three years to align with funding from Aberdeen University.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Prior to consideration of the following item, the Convener and Councillor Cameron declared an interest in relation to the following item of business by virtue of their position as Council appointed Directors to the Board of Aberdeen Sports Village.  Both Councillors considered that the nature of their interests required them to leave the meeting and they took no part in the Committee’s deliberations thereon.  Councillor Cameron was substituted by Councillor Copland for this item of business only.

At this juncture, the Vice Convener assumed the Chair for this item only.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education and Children’s Services which sought approval for the proposed three year financial funding plan for the Aberdeen Sports Village (ASV) and sought agreement on the officer response to the ASV request to contribute additional funding to meet the overspend in the Aquatics Centre.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       commit the Council to provide funding levels as set out in paragraph 3.3 of this report;

(b)       note that this would ensure that both partners provided the same level of funding over a three year period and that a Minute of Agreement setting the funding strategy out would be completed;

(c)        delegate the Head of Policy, Performance and Resources to write to ASV that the Council was not in agreement to the ASV request to provide additional funding outlined within the report to contribute to the overspend or the construction of the Aquatics Centre; and

(d)       otherwise note the contents of this report.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations

MATTER OF URGENCY

The Convener intimated that he had directed in terms of Section 50(B)(4)(b) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, that the following item be considered as a matter of urgency because if it is approved, this would allow time for the Council to submit an application to the Scottish National Heritage: Green Infrastructure Strategic Fund forming part of the 2014-2020 European Regional Development Fund Programme on 31 October 2016.

Please note that this item has been moved to the private section of the agenda at 10.7

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided details in relation to proposals for environmental and flood prevention works at Heathryfold Park, Aberdeen.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

instruct the Head of Land and Property Assets to:-

(a)       approve instructions for the Head of Legal and Democratic Services to conclude the appropriate legal agreement in respect of the lease of 1.67 hectares of land owned by Heathryfold Allotment Holders’ Association, on behalf of the Council for a minimum term of 99 years;

(b)       implement and maintain the proposed flood alleviation scheme;

(c)        make an allowance of £9,100, subject to a periodic rent review and inflationary costs, within the HRA annual budget;

(d)       develop the enhanced environmental improvements proposals, in consultation with the community;

(e)       seek grant funding for the enhanced environmental proposals; and

(f)        report to committee on the outcome of the grant applications, and partnership options, prior to delivery of enhanced improvements.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which sought approval to undertake a tendering process for an operator to run the Aberdeen Car Club from 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2020 with an option to extend to 31 March 2022.  The current tender agreement was due to come to an end in March 2017.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       instruct officers of the Transport, Strategy and Programmes and Commercial and Procurement Services to proceed with a tendering exercise in order to select an operator for the Car Club in the City, and

(b)       instruct officers of the Transport, Strategy and Programmes and Commercial and Procurement Services to identify and award the contract to the preferred bidder.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Interim Director of Corporate Governance which sought approval to conduct a tender exercise for the provision of essential employee assistance service to support employees with lives challenges and address key strategic considerations.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       approve that a competitive tendering exercise was undertaken in line with the Council’s Procurement Regulations, Financial Regulations and EU Legislation for the provision of an Employee Assistance Service (EAS);

(b)       approve the estimated expenditure as outlined in the report (over a 3 year contract with an option to extend for up to 2 years); and

(c)        approve the award of the contract, following a fully compliant tendering exercise, to the bidder who submitted the most economically advantageous tender in accordance with the award criteria stated in the Invitation to Tender and subject to the satisfactory conclusion of the contractual documentation.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

- COUNCILLOR YOUNG, Convener