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=146&MId=3956&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 altered retrospectively.

The Convener proposed to take item 7.14 (Aberdeen City Region Deal – Governance Arrangements) earlier on the agenda.

The Committee resolved:-

to concur with the suggestion of the Convener.

The Convener proposed that the Committee consider those reports identified on the agenda as being for determination in private, 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 9.1 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: articles 32 and 36 (paragraph 4), article 33 (paragraph 6), articles 34, 35 and 37 (paragraphs 6 and 9), article 38 (paragraph 9), articles 39, 40, 43, 44 and 45 (paragraph 8), article 41 (paragraph 6, 8 and 10) and article 42 (paragraph 10).

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 in order that governance arrangements could be addressed quickly and to ensure that the two Council’s efforts on the deal were synchronised.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Corporate Governance which outlined the governance arrangements to be established jointly by the City Council and Aberdeenshire Council to lead the delivery of the Aberdeen City Region Deal.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       agree that the proposed governance arrangements outlined in the report be discussed in detail between elected members of both Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council;

(b)       agree that the Head of Legal and Democratic Services collaborates with his counterpart at Aberdeenshire Council to develop the arrangements necessary to allow for the establishment of the proposed Aberdeen City Region Deal Executive as a Joint Committee of the two Councils;

(c)        agree that the Chief Executive and her counterpart at Aberdeenshire Council liaise with the appropriate stakeholders and partners to identify the proposed private sector representatives to join the Executive; and

(d)       agree that the Chief Executive reports to Council once all details and arrangements are finalised in order to seek the Council’s approval for the establishment of the Aberdeen City Region Deal Executive.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve recommendations (a), (b) and (d) above; and

(ii)        to agree the private sector participation in City Deal Governance Group will be through a newly formed private sector led Economic Leadership Board which will take over the role of Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Future (ACSEF).

The Committee had before it the minute of its previous meeting of 9 June, 2015.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the minute as a correct record subject to amending article 7(1) to show that the £10,000 allocation of funding for the Sea Cadets was to be split equally between Bon Accord and Scylla; and

(ii)        that officers investigate whether the grant funding allocation has been issued to the Sea Cadets and to advise Councillor Reynolds in this regard.

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)        in relation to item 3 (Galas and Festive Community Grants) to note that a report was to be considered on today’s agenda and therefore to remove it from the statement subject to the decision taken;

(ii)       in relation to item 8 (Potential Options for the Operation and Management of the new AECC) to note that a report was to be considered on today’s agenda and therefore to remove it from the statement subject to the decision taken;

(iii)      in relation to item 12 (Events Programme – Winter Festival) to note that a report was to be considered on today’s agenda and therefore to remove it from the statement subject to the decision taken;

(iv)      in relation to item 14 (Agency Workers) to note that a report was to be considered on today’s agenda and therefore to remove it from the statement subject to the decision taken; and

(v)        to otherwise note the updates contained therein.

With reference to article 5 of the minute of the previous meeting of 9 June 2015, the Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Corporate Governance which provided an overview of key performance information and ongoing improvement work across the Corporate Governance Directorate and the Risk Register for Corporate Governance.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       note the content of the performance report; and

(b)       note the Corporate Governance Risk Register.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         approve the recommendations;

(ii)       that further details be provided to Councillor Cameron in relation to why there was no data collected against a number of measures within the graphs; and

(iii)       that further details be provided to Councillor Flynn in relation to the reason why the status of certain items were ticked when they were below the target.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Corporate Governance which provided information on the 2015/16 revenue and capital budget’s financial performance for the period to 31 July, 2015, the forecast outturn position for 2015/16 for the services within Corporate Governance and advised 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 that officers continue to review budget performance.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Corporate Governance which provided information on the current financial position for the Council and the forecast outturn for the financial year 2015/16, highlighting assumptions made, areas of risk identified and management action to mitigate these risks.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note the financial position contained within the report.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Corporate Governance which provided information on the income and expenditure position of the Common Good Fund for the year to 31 July, 2015 and the forecast position of the cash balances as at 31 March 2016.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       note the income and expenditure position as at 31 July 2015;

(b)       note the estimated cash balances as at 31 March 2016 of £14.6M based on current estimates, which is within the recommended levels indicated by the Head of Finance; and

(c)       note the position regarding earmarked reserves.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the recommendations; and

(ii)        to instruct officers to commission a feasibility study not to exceed £30,000 to determine how best to proceed with the Art Centre Redevelopment as contained within the Strategic Infrastructure and Capital Plan from the Common Good cash balances.

With reference to article 9 of the minute of the meeting of 9 June 2015, the Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Corporate Governance which sought approval for a proposed revision to the Council’s Counterparty list, the list of financial institutions with which it could undertake short term investments.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee is asked to consider the report and make recommendations to Council for approval of the revised Counterparty list as detailed in Appendix 1 of the report.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Corporate Governance which presented applications for financial assistance which have recently been received allowing elected members to make a decision on providing funding from the financial assistance budget.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

consider the application received and agree to award grant funding based on the following recommendation:-

• The Discovery Award Scotland, over 50’s workshops – a maximum of £200.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided information on a Participatory Budgeting Process for the disbursement funding recently identified by the Council for supporting under 12s clubs and youth work in Aberdeen which would be aligned to the Council’s developing neighbourhood/ locality based community planning approach.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       agree that the funding will be disbursed using a locality community planning participatory budgeting approach;

(b)       endorse the proposed financial allocation for each locality as set out in the report;

(c)       with regard to the communities falling under the remit of Northfield Total Place, to remit to the Northfield Total Place Board the responsibility for progressing an appropriate participatory budgeting process in respect of that locality cluster;

(d)       instruct officers, in conjunction with appropriate key local partners, to progress appropriate participatory budgeting processes for Tillydrone, Torry, Woodside and Seaton; and

(e)       request a future report on the effectiveness and impacts of the process used.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve recommendations (a), (b), (c) and (d); and

(ii)       to instruct officers to bring a report to the June 2016 Committee on the effectiveness and impact of the process used.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Corporate Governance which provided information on the current sickness rates across the Council and outlined a range of measures to get the figures moving on a downward path.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       note the sickness rates over the past 12 months; and

(b)       endorse the proposed improvement measures for reducing sickness absence across the Council;

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the recommendations; and

(iii)       to include benchmarking figures of comparable local authorities in future reports.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Corporate Governance which provided information relating to the revision of a policy and procedure with regards to retirement, namely the Managing Retirement Policy and the Pension Contribution Rate Appeals Procedure, both of which required amendment following the introduction of the new Local Government Pension Scheme and Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee approve the revised versions of the Managing Retirement Policy and the Pension Contribution Rate Appeals Procedure.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Corporate Governance which provided details of the agency usage within the Council.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       instruct Directorates to ensure that the process for authorising Agency Workers is followed, especially ensuring the reason the Agency Worker is required is fully explained on the request form;

(b)       note that Services should ensure that the reasons for agency staff being used on the agency request forms to assist with reporting accuracy; and

(c)       note the actions being taken to ensure that suitable checks are made of agency worker qualifications.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Corporate Governance which provided members with a progress update on the delivery of the Strategic Infrastructure Plan.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note the content of the report and the progress made.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Corporate Governance which proposed the introduction of a revised Use of Locating Systems in Vehicles and Devices Policy.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       approve the revised Use of Locating Systems in Vehicles and Devices policy, as attached, to replace the existing policy; and

(b)       approve that the policy be changed from being a corporate policy to an employment policy located within the suite of Human Resources and Customer Service policies.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Corporate Governance which sought the approval of a new approach to managing fraud, bribery and corruption within the Council.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       approve the Policy and Strategic Response to Fraud, Bribery and Corruption as appended to this report; and

(b)       agree to work towards adopting the National Fraud Authorities checklist as per Appendix A.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Corporate Governance which sought approval of the amended and updated Following the Public Pound Local Code of Practice.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee approve the updated Following the Public Pound Local Code of Practice as appended to the report.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Corporate Governance which provided information on a suite of revised and standardised Information Management policies, in accordance with audit recommendations, as the Council’s framework for implementing the appropriate and effective management of all information throughout its cycle.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       note the detail of, and approve the following revised policies:

·         ICT Acceptable Use Policy;

·         Information Security Policy;

·         Information Asset Register Policy;

·         Information Lifecycle Management Policy;

·         Records Retention & Disposal Policy;

·         Business Classification Scheme Policy; and

(b)       note that the policies are supported by Corporate Managing Information Guidance (Appendix 7), which brings together and replaces all previous corporate guidance around managing records, managing information, information security, ICT good practice and clear desk practice.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Corporate Governance which sought approval for any future gala funding to be administered through the existing small financial assistance grants scheme.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       note the content of the report;

(b)       approve that all future gala funding be administered through the small financial assistance grants scheme; and

(c)       approve that the existing City Events budget of £10,000 for gala funding from the Common Good Fund be transferred to the small financial assistance grants scheme.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

Councillor Donnelly declared an interest in the following item of business by virtue of him being a Trustee and Vice Convener of The Friends of Gomel.  Councillor Donnelly did not consider that the nature of his interest required him to leave the meeting.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Corporate Governance which sought approval of applications for financial assistance from the International Twinning Budget 2015-16.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       to approve a contribution of £10,000 towards an exchange project between Harlaw Academy and Von Mueller Gymnasium in Regensburg, 28 October-1 November 2015 and May 2016;

(b)       to approve a contribution of £1,300 towards a visit by trustees of Friends of Gomel to Gomel to support established projects and develop new partnerships, 6-13 April 2016;

(c)       to approve a contribution of £6,000 towards Kincorth Academy hosting a school exchange programme with Regensburg’s Albertus Magnus Gymnasium in Aberdeen, 4-9 October 2015; and

(d)       to approve a contribution of £2,940 towards the attendance of a civic delegation and music group from Stavanger at Aberdeen’s annual Christmas Tree Light Switch-On Ceremony to celebrate the 25^th twinning anniversary of the two cities, 26 November 2015.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

Please Note that there are Confidential Appendices Relating to the Item Included within the Restricted Section of this agenda.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Corporate Governance which sought approval of a three year Condition and Suitability Programme replacing the current annual programme.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       note the projects completed or legally committed in 2015/16 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 and Suitability Programme projects listed in Appendix C of the report for inclusion in the 3 year programme;

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

(e)       delegate authority to the Head of Land and Property Assets, in consultation with the SIP and Capital Review Group and the Convenor 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 SIP and Capital Review Group 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.

The Convener, seconded by the Vice Convener moved:-

that the recommendations contained within the report be approved.

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

to approve the recommendations in the report with the exception of recommendations (e), (f) and (g)(2).

On a division, there voted:- for the motion (9) – the Convener, the Vice-Convener and Councillors Allan, Donnelly, Grant, Ironside (CBE), Milne, Reynolds and Taylor; for the amendment (8) – Councillors Cameron, Dickson, Flynn, Malone, Noble, Samarai, Jennifer Stewart and Townson.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to adopt the motion; and

(ii)        to ensure that the appendices in future reports are in larger readable print.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which outlined the opportunity for the Council to become a member of Business Loans Scotland, a proposed pan-Scotland partnership initiative bringing together financial contributions from local authorities (30%), banks (30%) and European Regional Development Fund (40%) to create a business loan fund for small and medium enterprises.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       approve Aberdeen City Council’s membership of Business Loans Scotland; and

(b)       approve Aberdeen City Council’s 30% contribution of £75,000 per year for three years from within existing budgets, which would leverage a total loan fund for Aberdeen City companies of £250,000 per year for three years.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education and Children’s Services which provided information on the philanthropic and public fundraising campaign for the Art Gallery redevelopment.

During the discussion which followed, Councillor Dickson sought information from officers relating to the fundraising campaign, however following advice from the Head of Legal and Democratic Services, this information was described as exempt from publication under Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 and therefore could not be provided whist the press and public were in attendance as it related to the financial or business affairs of another organisation.

The Convener moved as a procedural motion, seconded by the Vice Convener:-

that in terms of Section 50(A)(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of this item so as to avoid disclosure of exempt information of the classes described in paragraph 6 of Schedule 7(A) of the Act.

On a division, there voted:- for the procedural motion  (9)  -  the Convener, the Vice-Convener and Councillors Allan, Donnelly, Grant, Ironside, Milne, Reynolds and Taylor; against the procedural motion (8) - Councillors Cameron, Dickson, Flynn, Malone, Noble, Samarai, Jennifer Stewart and Townson.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the procedural motion; and

(ii)        to consider the report as the first exempt item of business on the agenda (article 31 of this minute refers).

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Corporate Governance which sought approval of the revised Aberdeen City Council Corporate Protocol and Procedures on Covert Surveillance and outlined a newly developed Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Act 2000 (RIPSA) training plan.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       approve the revised Aberdeen City Council Corporate Protocol on Covert Surveillance as set out in Appendix 1 of the report;

(b)       endorse the RIPSA Training Plan detailed in Appendix 2 of the report; and

(c)       otherwise note the report.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Corporate Governance which sought approval to a revised Corporate Data Protection Policy and associated Data Protection Procedures.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       approve the Corporate Data Protection Policy contained in Appendix one of the report; and

(b)       approve the various Corporate Data Protection procedure documents appended to the report, namely:

·         Corporate Creating Personal Information Procedure (Appendix two of the report)

·         Corporate Access to Personal Information (Subject Access) procedure (Appendix three of the report)

·         Corporate Access to Personal Information (Third Party Access) procedure (Appendix four of the report)

·         Corporate Sharing Personal Information Procedure (Appendix five of the report)

·         Corporate Data Protection Incidents Procedure (Appendix six of the report).

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Corporate Governance which provided information on the establishment of an in-house officer team to facilitate the implementation of the City Centre Masterplan Delivery Plan.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       note the arrangements as outlined in the report;

(b)       approve the establishment of a City Centre Director post on Chief Official terms and conditions;

(c)        approve the establishment of a City Centre Programme Manager post which may be on Chief Official terms and conditions dependant on the outcome of a review of the job profile for the post;

(d)       approve the establishment of a Communication and Engagement Officer post on Single Status terms and conditions;

(e)       approve the creation of an elected member Appointment Panel (3+3+1+1+1) for the post of City Centre Director which will have authority to approve the job profile and assessed salary for that post;

(f)        set aside standing order 47(2) to allow the appointment of the City Centre Programme Manager to be undertaken by a panel of officers, including the Chief Executive, in lieu of an Appointment Panel in the event that the post is established as a Chief Official; and

(g)       note that under the Scheme of Delegation the Chief Executive would agree all matters relating to the recruitment process for both the City Centre Programme Manager and Communication and Engagement Officer including role profile, person specification and salary, in conjunction with the Head of Human Resources and Customer Service and would provide a progress update to the Finance, Policy and Resources Committee at its meeting on 3 December 2015.

The Convener, seconded by the Vice Convener moved:-

to approve recommendations (a) to (d), (f) and (g) above, and amend recommendation (e) to read “approve the creation of an elected member Appointment Panel from the elected members of the City Centre Masterplan Reference Group only for the post of City Centre Director which will have authority to approve the job profile and assessed salary for that post”; and add the following recommendations:-

(h)       instruct officers to undertake transport modelling taking into account the transport implications associated with Broad Street and Schoolhill / Upperkirkgate and to consider the implications on areas such as Castlegate, Schoolhill Pocket Park, Queen Street, Golden Square and Bon Accord Square and report its findings to the Council in December 2015;

(i)         instruct officers to report back to the Communities Housing and Infrastructure Committee in March 2016 with the results of the city centre wide traffic modelling and interventions; and

(j)         to instruct officers to undertake a development brief of the Station Gateway intervention area and a review of public realm in the city centre and to report back to the Communities, Housing and Infrastructure Committee in January 2016.

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

that Aberdeen City Council re-establishes the Director of Economic Development post and a support team to deliver the City Centre Masterplan, Strategic Infrastructure Plan  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

Councillor Grant declared an interest in the following item of business by virtue of his employment with Aberdeen Inspired.  Councillor Grant considered that the nature of his interest required him to leave the meeting and took no part in the deliberations thereon.

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 bookings of equipment and suppliers for the Winter Festival could be finalised.

With reference to article 16 of the minute of meeting of the previous meeting 9 June 2015, the Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Corporate Governance which provided information on the plans for the Aberdeen Winter Festival 2015 and the Christmas Village on Union Terrace.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       note the content of this report;

(b)       agree the programme of events proposed for the Aberdeen Winter Festival 2015, as detailed in the 9 June, 2015 Finance Policy and Resources Committee City Events report;

(c)        subject to a Service Provision Agreement, approve the payment of £132,350 from the £200,000 previously agreed at FP&R Committee on 9 June 2015 to Aberdeen Inspired to support the delivery of the Christmas Village;

(d)       agree to refer the recommendation to suspend the drinking in public places bye-law to the next available full council meeting on the 8 October 2015;

The Sub Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the recommendations;

(ii)        to instruct officers to forward any surplus from the projected income received from Aberdeen Winter Festival to the Lord Provost’s Charitable Trust; and

(iii)       that officers discuss with Aberdeen Inspired the possibility of reducing the charges for the ice rink and fairground rides and that the possible use of the Access to Leisure – Accord Card scheme be investigated.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education and Children’s Services which provided information on the request, under Standing Order 1 (6)(b), for an exemption from the Council’s Standing Orders relating to Contracts and Procurement in relation to the contract for purchasing and installation of early learning and childcare furniture for the additional nurseries opening between August 2015 and February 2016.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note the contents of the report and the reasons behind requesting the exemption from the relevant standing orders.

The Sub Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

In accordance with the decision recorded under article 25 of this minute, the following item was considered with the press and public excluded.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education and Children’s Services which provided information on the philanthropic and public fundraising campaign for the Art Gallery redevelopment.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee notes progress with the campaign.

The Sub Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the recommendation;

(ii)       to request that an update report be submitted to the Committee in six months’ time;

(iii)       that details relating to the funding allocation from the Marguerite McBey Trust be circulated to Councillor Jennifer Stewart; and

(iv)       that details of the decision to underwrite £10m for a public and Philanthropic fundraising campaign be circulated to Councillor Jennifer Stewart.

In accordance with the decision recorded under article 2 of this minute, the following items were considered with the press and public excluded.

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

Councillors Ironside CBE and Graham declared an interest in the following item of business by virtue of them being board members of Alcohol Support Limited.  They both considered that the nature of their interest required them to leave the meeting and took no part in the deliberations thereon.  Councillor Donnelly also declared a non-pecuniary interest in the item by virtue of him being a board member of Aberdeen Endowment Trust, although he did not consider that the nature of his interest required him to leave the meeting.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Corporate Governance which considered requests received from North East Scotland Pension Fund admitted bodies for Aberdeen City Council to become a guarantor for their pension fund liabilities and agree a process for the approval of any further requests.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       approve that Aberdeen City Council act as guarantor for:

·         Middlefield Community Project;

·         St Machar Parent Support Group;

·         Printfield Community Project/Forum;

·         Alcohol Support Limited;

·         Aberdeen Greenspace;

·         Fersands and Fountain.

(b)       agree to provide delegated authority to the Head of Finance to consider and approve if appropriate any future requests from those bodies detailed in Section 5.6 (of the report) for the Council to act as a guarantor, in conjunction with the Convener of the Committee.

The Sub Committee resolved:-

to approve recommendation (a) only.

With reference to article 12 of the minute of meeting of 30 September 2014, the Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Corporate Governance which sought approval on business rates debts recommended as unrecoverable during 2014/15 and in excess of £25,000 as required in terms of Financial Regulations 5.3.4.  The report also advised that numbers and values, up to £10,000 of Council Tax, Business Rates, Community Charge and Housing Benefit overpayments deemed to be unrecoverable during 2014/15 after all approved recovery procedures have 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, Community Charge 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 Business Rates amounts over £25,000 shown in appendix 5 are also deemed as unrecoverable and be written off.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

With reference to article 8 of the minute of meeting of the Property Sub Committee of 2 September 2015, the Committee had before them by way of referral (a) a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided members with an update on a range of issues in relation to agricultural tenancies; and (b) an extract of the minute outlining the decision taken by the Sub Committee.

The report recommended:-

that the Sub Committee –

(a)       remit it to the Head of Legal & Democratic Services to formally  conclude the sale of Kirkhill Farm steading and house to the tenant Mr Mitchell on terms and conditions as are necessary to protect the City Council’s interests;

(b)       remit it to the Head of Land & Property Assets to negotiate provisional terms and conditions for the renunciation of the relevant field from the farm lease of Fernhill Farm in exchange for the construction of a new larger shed, at the City Council’s cost, on terms and conditions as are necessary to protect the City Council’s interests;

(c)        approve the funding for the waygoing claim to the tenant at Holmhead Farm of circa £75,000; and

(d)       authorise the Head of Land and Property Assets to invite tender prices for the proposed works at Fernhill farm and accept any suitable tenders thereafter.

The Property Sub Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations subject to the Finance, Policy and Resources Committee approving the additional expenditure from the Common Good Fund for a replacement building at Fernhill Farm as outlined in recommendation (b) above.

The Committee resolved:-

to note the decision taken by the Property Sub Committee and approve the additional expenditure from the Common Good Fund for a replacement building at Fernhill Farm.

With reference to article 12 of the minute of meeting of the Property Sub Committee of 2 September 2015, the Committee had before them by way of referral (a) a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided members with information on an area of land owned by the Council which is subject to an agricultural tenancy, and outlines options to bring the site forward for future development; and (b) an extract of the minute outlining the decision taken by the Sub Committee.

The report recommended:-

that the Sub Committee –

(a)       authorise the Head of Legal and Democratic Services to make a formal offer to the tenant of Greenferns Farm to surrender his lease on the terms noted within the Report;

(b)       in the event that this offer is not accepted, offers are instructed to withdraw from all negotiations in relation to the lease surrender; and

(c)        instruct the Head of Land & Property Assets to bring a future report to this Committee on the outcome of these actions.

The Property Sub Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations contained within the report, subject to the Finance, Policy and Resources Committee approving the costs from the Common Good Fund.

The Committee resolved:-

to note the decision taken by the Property Sub Committee and approve the costs from the Common Good Fund.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which sought approval to renew one loan guarantee and an overdraft guarantee to Transition Extreme.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       approve a renewed loan guarantee for Transition Extreme of its one remaining loan until its repayment date of 31 July 2017; and

(b)       approve the renewal of an overdraft guarantee of £200,000 for Transition Extreme until 15 September 2017 when it would be reviewed again.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

Councillors Reynolds, Malone and Donnelly declared an interest in the following item of business by virtue of them being board members of Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.  Councillor Reynolds and Malone considered that the nature of their interest required them to leave the meeting and took no part in the deliberations thereon.  Councillor Donnelly did not consider that the nature of his interest required him to leave the meeting.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Corporate Governance which outlined the findings from the market testing exercise for future operation and management models for the new AECC.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       note the results of the market testing exercise on the three viable options identified for the operation and management of the new AECC;

(b)       instruct officers to carry out a competitive dialogue tendering exercise to identify an operator and management for the new AECC; and

(c)       instruct officers to report the findings of the tendering exercise to this committee in Summer 2016.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided an update on the actions related to the ownership of Glover House.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       authorise officers to commission work to complete the outstanding essential repairs to be undertaken at Glover House and report back to the Committee on other improvements to the property and grounds that may be required;

(b)       instruct officers to explore opportunities to work with VisitScotland and Scottish Enterprise in the development of Glover House going forward;

(c)       instruct officers to commission a feasibility study not to exceed £25,000 to determine alternative uses for the property and maximise benefit for the public pound; and

(d)       request officers to submit a report to a future meeting of the Committee detailing agreed uses for the house and request funding to support this.

The Committee resolved:-

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

(ii)       to instruct officers to commission a feasibility study not to exceed £25,000 to determine alternative uses for the property and maximise benefit for the public pound reporting back to the April 2016 Committee; and

(iii)       instruct the Convener and Vice Convener of Finance, Policy and Resources Committee to write a joint letter to the Scottish Government seeking financial support given the strong and ongoing links between Aberdeen and Nagasaki copying the letter to the Japanese consulate in Edinburgh and Mitsubishi.

The Committee had before it appendices relating to the report which provided sought approval of a three year Condition and Suitability Programme. (article 23 of this minute refers).

The Committee resolved:-

to note the appendices.

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 it would have significant financial implications to the Council not to do so.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided an update on the status of roofing works currently being carried out at the Town House.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       instruct the Head of Land and Property Assets to proceed with Option 1, the preferred option detailed in the report, which recommends that the current contractor is instructed to carry out the phase 2 works to the clock tower; and

(b)       approve that £700,000 be funded from the 2015/16 Non Housing Capital programme contingency sum of £2.5 million which to date has had no call on it.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)        to approve the recommendations contained within the report; and

(i)         that details of the costs incurred as a result of the delay to works be circulated to members of the Committee.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief executive and interim Director of Corporate Governance which provided an update on the recent European Union complaint tender exercise undertaken for the provision of Occupational Health Services and notes the award of the contract under exemption of Standing Order 1(6)(b).

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note the award of contract, under the exemption of Standing Order 1(6)(b) for the provision of Occupational Health services to ATOS IT Services Limited trading as OHAssist commencing on 3 August 2015 for a period of 18 months with an option to extend for a further period of up to 24 months.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Corporate Governance which provided details of a standing order exemption in relation to the procurement of a bulk printing solution which had been obtained.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note the terms of the standing orders exemption approved by the Chief Executive, Head of Finance, Head of Legal and Democratic and Head of Procurement to enter a contract with Capita for the provision of a bulk printing solution for a 5 year period with an estimated financial expenditure of £74,191 for the period of the contract.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which sought approval from members to tender and award school, social work and client transport contracts with a set procurement process.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       instruct the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure to proceed with the combined School and Social Work transport invitation to tender and award for 2016/17; and

(b)       approve the related estimated expenditure of £6.3m for the two, 4 year periods, as set out at paragraph 5.11 of the report.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Corporate Governance which advised on the intention to use Scotland Excel Framework Agreements and sought approval of the estimated expenditure as detailed within the report.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       approve the estimated expenditure under the Scotland Excel Frameworks as detailed in appendix 1 of the report for:-

·         Supply, Delivery and installation of domestic Furniture including White Goods;

·         Asbestos Surveys, removal and Disposal and Analytical services; and

·         Building and Timber Materials.

(b)       approve all potential call offs under these frameworks within the estimated expenditure as detailed in appendix 1 of the report and delegate the approval of any call off over £60,000 to the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services

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 the building requires to be opened as soon as possible as it is detrimental to the young people who use the building.  It is also an important delivery function for the Council in meeting its corporate parent responsibilities.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education and Children’s Services which sought approval to issue a tender for the refurbishment of 311 Clifton Road and approve the estimated expenditure of £750,000.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       approve the issue of a tender for the refurbishment of 311 Clifton Road;

(b)       note that funding of £750,000 has been set aside for the necessary work and agree for the sums identified to be used to meet the estimated capital costs; and

(c)        otherwise note the contents of the report.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

- COUNCILLOR WILLIE YOUNG, Convener