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=3482&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 advised that he proposed to take item 7.2 (Potential Options for the Operation and Management of the New Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre) and item 8.7 (Amendments to the Recruitment Process for Director of Corporate Governance) directly after consideration of the minute of the Business Rates Appeals Sub Committee to enable the Chief Executive to depart the meeting once the reports had been considered.

The Committee resolved:-

to concur with the suggestion of the Convener in relation to the changes to the agenda order.

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 26 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 26 (paragraph 4, 6, 8 and 9), article 27 (paragraph 9) and article 28 (paragraphs 8 and 10).

The Committee had before it the minute of its previous meeting of 18 February, 2015.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the minute as a correct record.

The Committee had before it the minute of the Business Rates Appeals Sub Committee of 10 March, 2015.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the minute as a correct record.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive which outlined the options for the future operation and management models for the new Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.  The report also highlighted the requirement to undertake a market testing exercise of exhibition and conference centre operating and management options.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       instruct the Chief Executive to undertake a market testing exercise on the three viable options identified for the operation and management of the new AECC in the report;

(b)       approve the total estimated expenditure to undertake the market testing exercise; and

(c)        report the findings of the exercise with a recommendation on the most appropriate model to the Finance, Policy and Resources Committee in September 2015.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive which sought approval for proposed amendments to the recruitment process for the post of Director and Corporate Governance.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       suspend Standing Order 47 as necessary to permit the introduction of the proposals contained in this report and amend the normal recruitment process solely for the current recruitment of the Director of Corporate Governance to require the Appointments Panel to determine a long-leet of up to 10 candidates;

(b)       agree to a panel of Senior Managers chaired by the Chief Executive to undertake a screening interview of all long leeted candidates and reduce the long-leet down to up to 6 candidates who would be invited to attend an assessment centre followed by an interview by the Appointments Panel; and

(c)        authorise assessment centre panels, where there was a consensus that a candidate is viewed as “not appointable”, to halt that candidate’s participation in the process and to inform them that they would not proceed to interview by the Appointment Panel.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve recommendation (a) above; and

(ii)        to agree to a panel of Senior Managers chaired by the Chief Executive to undertake a screening interview of all long leeted candidates and reduce the long-leet down to up to 6 candidates, subject to agreement of the Appointment Panel, who would be invited to attend an assessment centre followed by an interview by the Appointments Panel.

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 item 4 (Sponsorship of Roundabouts), item 5 (Business Continuity Arrangements – Corporate Governance), item 7 (Housing Support Services Plan – Implied Contracts), item 10 (Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre) and Item 11 part 1(Aberdeen Japan Strategy) from the statement; and

(ii)        to otherwise note the updates contained therein.

The Committee had before it a report by the acting Director of Corporate Governance which provided information on the review of Corporate Governance Services’ Business Continuity Plans for “critical” public facing services.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note the information contained within the report.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a report by the acting Director of Corporate Governance which provided an overview of key performance information and planned improvement work across the Corporate Governance Directorate.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

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

(b)       agree the action necessary.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the acting Director of Corporate Governance which (1) provided information of the 2014/15 revenue and capital budget’s financial performance for the period to 28 February, 2015 for the services within Corporate Governance; and (2) advised on any areas of risk and management action.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

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

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

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the acting Director of Corporate Governance which provided information on the current financial position for the Council and the forecast outturn for financial year 2014/15, and highlighted areas of risk and management action that had been identified by Directors.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       note the report;

(b)       note that as previously agreed, the Head of Finance would review and consider the overall 2014/15 position of the Council and take the appropriate action necessary to ensure the Council was suitably financially prepared for future revenue and capital investment purposes; and

(c)        agree that following review of the 2014/15 final position and in consultation with the Capital Project Monitoring Group, revisions be made to the capital programme to take account of carried forward commitments from 2014/15 for the continuation of existing projects.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive which provided information (1) of the income and expenditure position of the Common Good Fund for the year to 31 March, 2015; and (2) of a forecast position of the cash balances as at 31 March, 2015.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

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

(b)       note the estimated cash balances as at 31 March 2015 of £6.7million based on current estimates, which was within the recommended levels indicated by the Head of Finance;

(c)        agree to carry forward 2014/15 budget underspends in an earmarked reserve to allow completion of park and property maintenance and development projects in future years; and

(d)       agree that as we approach year end, the Head of Finance would review and consider the overall 2014/15 position of the Common Good Fund and take the appropriate action necessary to ensure the Fund was suitably financially prepared for future revenue and capital investment purposes.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the acting Director of Corporate Governance which presented applications for financial assistance which had recently been received allowing elected members to make a decision on providing funding from the financial assistance budget and to provide information on an event for which funding was previously awarded.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee consider the applications received and agree to award grant funding based on the following recommendations:-

·         Charity event in aid of Alzheimer Scotland and Friends of Anchor – a maximum of £1,500;

·         Courage on the Catwalk 2015 – a maximum of £1,500;

·         Aaron Williams Football Tournament Re-Launch Event – a maximum of £1,500; and

·         Aberdeen Student Charities Campaign – total cost of traffic management, up to £2,500 inclusive of VAT.

The Convener advised that correspondence had recently been received requesting funding of £150 from Mastrick Pensioners for a sound system.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the recommendations; and

(ii)        to award grant funding of £150 to Mastrick Pensioners for a sound system.

The Committee had before it a report by the acting Director of Corporate Governance which provided details of the offer that had been made to the Council to provide the subordinate debt in different Council’s schools projects.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       provide delegated authority to the Head of Finance and the Head of Legal and Democratic Services, in conjunction with the Convenor (and Vice) of Finance and Policy and Resources, to enter an agreement to purchase the subordinated debt in other Council PPP/PFI projects subject to due diligence and the availability of funds; and

(b)       provide delegated authority to the Head of Finance and the Head of Legal and Democratic Services, in conjunction with the Convenor (and Vice) of Finance and Policy and Resources, to enter an agreement to purchase the subordinated debt in the South of the City project for this Council subject to due diligence and the availability of funds; and

(c)        agree that any such investment was reported back to this committee in due course for elected members to be aware of the investment that has been undertaken.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the acting Director of Corporate Governance which outlined the current sickness rates across the Council and the range of measures to get the figures moving on a downward trend.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       note the sickness rates over the past twelve months;

(b)       note the reporting of sickness rates in the current Directorate model; and

(c)        endorse the proposed improvement measures for reducing sickness absence across the Council.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the acting Director of Corporate Governance which sought approval to move the council’s recruitment advertising arrangements form an external provider to in-house provision by the Design and Marketing Team within the Office of the Chief Executive for a trial period of twelve months initially.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       approve the Council’s recruitment advertising arrangements to be brought in-house for a twelve month trial period from 1 May 2015; and

(b)       instruct the Head of Communication and Promotion and Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development to report back to Committee on the experience of the trial period with recommendations of how to deal with recruitment advertising going forward.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the acting Director of Corporate Governance which sought the approval to conduct a procurement process for the provision of Large Print and Audio Books, Supply of Cleaning Equipment and Fruit and Vegetables in collaboration with Aberdeenshire Council.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       approve that the Council enters into collaborative arrangements with Aberdeenshire Council for the Provision of Large Print and Audio Books, Supply of Cleaning Equipment and Fruit and Vegetables; to undertake the procurement processes for the Provision of Large Print and Audio Books, Supply of Cleaning Equipment and Fruit and Vegetables; and

(b)       approve the estimated expenditure for these procurements as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report.

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 the requirement for land acquisition through Compulsory Purchase Order for the land adjacent north of Rob Roy Bridge crossing Culter Burn on the A93 North Deeside Road, Peterculter.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       note the content of the report;

(b)       resolve to make an order in terms of the draft Compulsory Purchase Order attached to the report and authorise the Head of Legal and Democratic Services to implement the statutory procedures following on from the making of the Order; and

(c)        authorise the payment of statutory compensation to the affected proprietors.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which outlined the progress 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 acting Director of Corporate Governance which sought approval of the provision of Data Centre facilities to ensure continuity of ICT Services at the end of the current Managed Data Centre contract in January 2016.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       approve the intention to enter into an arrangement with Aberdeenshire Council for the provision of joint data centre services;

(b)       approve tendering through appropriate frameworks for datacentre facilities and related infrastructure hardware and management software; and

(c)        note that expenditure would be contained within the Capital Budget approved for this project by Council on 5 January 2015.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive in relation to the sponsorship of roundabouts scheme, which was brought in-house on 1 April, 2014 for a trial period of twelve months.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       approve that the scheme continue to be managed in-house; and

(b)       authorise the issuing of two year contracts in order to secure future income levels.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

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

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       approve the following grants from the International Twinning Budget 2015-2016:

(1)       a contribution of £7,000 towards ‘Cultural Connections’ – an event between partners in Aberdeen, Clermont-Ferrand and Regensburg which would be held in Aberdeen, 24-27 September 2015;

(2)       a contribution of £7,000 towards the University of Aberdeen’s Immpact Project which engages audiences in Aberdeen and Bulawayo on maternity care issues faced by mothers in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1 May 2015 – 30 April 2016;

(3)       a contribution of £2,300 towards an exchange by Aberdeen 21st Scouts to Gomel to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the twinning link between the scout group and Gomel, 7-14 October 2015;

(4)       a contribution of £1,500 towards an exploratory visit by three staff from within the Education Department to Regensburg to develop future secondary school partnerships, 17-21 June 2015;

(5)       a contribution of £7,000 towards Grampian Concert Orchestra, an Aberdeen-based amateur orchestra, performing in a concert in Regensburg to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the twinning agreement, 5-10 August 2015;

(6)       a contribution of £1,000 towards the participation of musicians from Aberdeen at Stavanger’s Mai Jazz Festival, 8-11 May 2015; and

(7)       a contribution of £2,500 towards a delegation from Aberdeen attending a civic reception in Regensburg to mark the 60th anniversary of the twinning agreement, 19-22 June 2015; and

(b)       approve the following amendments to the International Twinning Grant:

(1)       that the maximum amount available from the International Twinning Grant was increased from £7,000 to £10,000; and

(2)       that wording of the criteria be changed to enable applications from individuals/organisations which have previously received three grants – and are therefore no longer eligible to apply for funding – to be duly considered if the applicant can demonstrate that funding was being sought for a new project which engaged different audiences.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the recommendations; and

(ii)        that the amended wording of the criteria for applications at (b)(2) above be considered at the next meeting of the Committee.

The Committee had before it a report by the acting Director of Corporate Governance which sought approval to conduct Call-Offs under Scotland Excel Frameworks for Security Services and Janitorial Products and to conduct a Call-Off against the Midlothian Council Framework for First Aid Products.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       approve the undertaking of call-offs for security services, janitorial products and first aid products; and

(b)       approve the estimated expenditure for the procurement of these commodities as detailed in appendix 1 to the report.

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 progress achieved at the end of Year Two of Aberdeen City Council’s Equality Outcomes for 2013-2017.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       approve the Equality Outcomes and Mainstreaming Progress Report for 2013-15 for publication;

(b)       note the progress since publication on 30 April, 2013 of the Equality Outcomes and Mainstreaming report 2013-2017;

(c)        note that several services had actions in place or actions planned todeliver progress to achieving the outcomes and addressing the gaps in provision as identified through the community engagement exercises.  This was so that there are positive outcomes for communities and employees to report and promote in the final report no later than April 2017.  See Appendix 1 of the report;

(d)       note where there were gaps in contributions from services and encourage Heads of Service to use this opportunity to promote the improvements made in service provision which make our services more accessible to all;

(e)       note the examples of contributions from communities at Appendix 2 to the report;

(f)        agree new and revised Equality Outcomes for 2015-17 for publication (Appendix 3 of the report); and

(g)       approve the Council’s Employee Information for publication.  See Appendix 4 to the report.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided details of an invitation received for an Elected Member to attend a Leaders’ meeting in Utrecht on 20 May, 2015 in the framework of the European Conference on Mobility Management taking place on 20-22 May 2015.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee approve the request to send a Councillor to the Leaders’ meeting in Utrecht on 20 May, 2015.

The Committee resolved:-

to agree that Councillor Barney Crockett and an officer attend the Leaders’ meeting in Utrecht on 20 May 2015.

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

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 to enable the Council to meet a planned timescale in relation to the financial arrangements of an organisation.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education and Children’s Services which sought approval for entering into a new annual Bank Guarantee arrangement with the Bank of Scotland in support of Satrosphere’s financial position, linked through the establishment of the Strategic Partnership Agreement, approved by the Committee on 20 February, 2015.  The report also provided information in relation to the property occupied by Satrosphere.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       approve renewal of the Bank Guarantee arrangement with the Bank of Scotland, in support of Satrosphere’s overdraft and card guarantee facility, at a reduced level detailed in the report, from 1 April, 2015 to 31 March, 2016; and

(b)       note that a report providing detail on the outcomes of the property surveys being undertaken at 179 Constitution Street will be presented to a future meeting of this Committee.

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 in relation to the Housing Support Services Commissioning Plan.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee reviews the progress in the update included in the Commissioning Plan and Timeline in Appendices 1 and 2 to the report.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a report by the acting Director of Corporate Governance which provided information regarding 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 ICON payment processing and cash receipting software licences and support.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note the content of the report and the reasoning behind requesting the exemption from the relevant standing orders.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

- COUNCILLOR WILLIE YOUNG, Convener.