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=3805&Ver=4

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

The Convener proposed that the Committee consider those reports identified on the agenda as being for determination in private, with the press and public excluded.

Councillor Nicoll moved as a procedural motion, seconded by Councillor Townson:-

            that the Committee consider item 8.1 (Pension Fund Guarantee Request) in public.

On a division, there voted:- for the procedural motion (6) – Councillors Cameron, Dickson, Jackie Dunbar, Flynn, Nicoll and Townson; against the procedural motion (11) – the Convener, the Vice-Convener and Councillors Allan, Crockett, Donnelly, Laing, Milne, Reynolds, Jennifer Stewart, Taylor and Yuill.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)            to reject the procedural motion; and

(ii)       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 19 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 19 (paragraphs 4 and 6), articles 20, 21 and 23 (Paragraph 8) and article 22 (paragraph 1).

The Committee had before it the minute of its previous meeting of 3 December, 2015.

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:-

to remove item 2 (Aberdeen Japan Strategy), item 11 (Sustainable Food Cities) and item 12 (Provision of Executive Recruitment Services) from the statement.

This Council, in light of the Council’s recent decision to relax the Aberdeen City Council Bye-law Prohibiting Drinking in Public Places in Union Terrace for the duration of the Aberdeen Christmas Village (25^th November 2015 to 3^rd January 2016), agrees to review the Bye-law, which has been in place since 2009, for its effectiveness. The review to include consultation with Police Scotland, the Licensed Trade in Aberdeen, NHS Grampian, and the public of Aberdeen with a report on the findings of the review to come back to the Council in six months.

With reference to article 25 of the minute of Council of 16 December 2015, the Committee had before it a motion in the following terms by Councillor Cameron:-

“This Council, in light of the Council’s recent decision to relax the Aberdeen City Council Bye-law Prohibiting Drinking in Public Places in Union Terrace for the duration of the Aberdeen Christmas Village (25^th November 2015 to 3^rd January 2016), agrees to review the Bye-law, which has been in place since 2009, for its effectiveness. The review to include consultation with Police Scotland, the Licensed Trade in Aberdeen, NHS Grampian, and the public of Aberdeen with a report on the findings of the review to come back to the Council in six months”.

Councillor Cameron spoke in support of his motion, explaining the rationale behind his request. Councillor Cameron was seconded by Councillor Flynn.

The Convener, seconded by the Vice-Convener moved as an amendment:-

that the status quo remain.

On a division, there voted:- for the motion (8) – Councillors Cameron, Dickson, Jackie Dunbar, Flynn, Nicoll, Jennifer Stewart, Townson and Yuill; for the amendment (9) – the Convener, the Vice-Convener and Councillors Allan, Crockett, Donnelly, Laing, Milne, Reynolds and Taylor.

The Committee resolved:-

to adopt the amendment for the status quo.

The Committee had before it a report by the Interim Director of Corporate Governance which outlined proposals to change the structure in Legal Services.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note the proposals for the new Legal Services Structure.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the recommendation; and

(ii)        that post holder details be circulated to all members of the committee once the structure is in place.

The Committee had before it a report by the Interim Director of Corporate Governance which provided information on (1) the 2015/16 revenue and capital budget’s financial performance for the period to 31 December 2015; and (2) the forecast outturn position for 2015/16 for the services within Corporate Governance.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

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

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

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the recommendations; and

(ii)        that officers investigate whether the £91,000 underspend in Occupational Health could be used to relieve staff absences.

The Committee had before it a report by the Interim Director of Corporate Governance which outlined the current financial position of 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 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, 2016.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

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

(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:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Interim Director of Corporate Governance which outlined the Treasury Management Policy and Strategy for 2016/17 to 2018/19.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee consider the report and make recommendations to Council for approval as follows:-

(a)       consider and approve the Council’s Treasury Management Policy Statement for 2016/17 to 2018/19 as detailed at Appendix 1;

(b)       consider and approve the Council’s Borrowing and Investment Strategy for 2016/17 to 2018/19 as detailed at Appendix 2;

(c)        approve the Counterparty list as detailed at Appendix 3;

(d)       note the Council’s proposed Prudential Indicators for 2016/17 to 2020/21 as detailed at Appendix 4; and

(e)       note the progress against the actions from the recent Audit Scotland report on Borrowing and Treasury Management in Councils as detailed at Appendix 5.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

Councillor Yuill declared an interest in the subject matter of the following item by virtue of his position as a member of one of the affected Credit Unions.  He considered that the nature of his interest required him to withdraw from the meeting and took no part in the Committee’s deliberation thereon.

The Committee had before it a report by the Interim Director of Corporate Governance which sought approval of an amendment to the current operational policy for Non Domestic Rates relief to enable charitable relief to be awarded to Credit Unions.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       approve the amendment to the Non Domestic Rates relief operational policy to award charitable relief to Credit Unions;

(b)       note that the amendment applies from 1^st  April 2015; and

(c)        continue to decline requests from other Not for Profit organisations.

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 so that the item could be considered timeously.

The Committee had before it a report by the Interim Director of Corporate Governance which outlined details of the management arrangements for the developer obligations and an update on the current position for non-housing developer contributions.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       note the content of this report; and

(b)       instruct officers to include a summary update on developers funding within future reporting of the Non Housing Capital Programme.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the recommendations; and

(ii)        that Councillor Nicoll receive details of the flowchart which outlines the process followed by the service when determining developer contributions.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided 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.

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 community groups were requiring funding to be in place before the next committee cycle.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive which sought approval of applications for financial assistance from the International Twinning Budget 2016-17 and to make recommendations, subject to the approval of budget at the Full Council meeting on 25 February 2016.

The report recommended:-

(a)          that the Committee approve the following grants from the International Twinning Budget 2016-17:-

(b)          contribution of £7,000 towards an arts in healthcare project between organisations in Aberdeen and Bulawayo, March-October 2016;

(c)          Contribution of £2,325 towards an exchange by staff from Aberdeen City Libraries to Regensburg to develop future events and programmes, 4-7 April 2016;

(d)          Contribution of £5,950 towards a visit by teachers and pupils from School 56 in Gomel to Aberdeen, 2-9 May 2016;

(e)          Contribution of £10,000 towards a visit by Culter Youth Football Club to Regensburg in a reciprocal exchange with youth football club SG Walhalla, 3-7 June 2016;

(f)           Contribution of £4,000 towards a visit by scouts and leaders from Stavanger Scout Association to Aberdeen, 1-13 July 2016;

(g)          note that a Twinning Annual Review Bulletin Report will be submitted to the Finance, Policy & Resources Committee on 19 April 2016.

The Committee resolved:-

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

(ii)          that officers provide clarification on the project costs in terms of the arts and healthcare project between organisations in Aberdeen and Bulawayo (March-October 2016) and that the details to include what monies are normally spent on be submitted to Council at its meeting on 2 March 2016;

(iii)         that officers provide bank transfer process details to Councillor Townson;

(iv)         that officers submit details of the budget balance figures to all members of the Committee; and

(v)          that a Twinning Annual Review Report be submitted to the Finance, Policy & Resources Committee on 19 April 2016.

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 so that the City Events programme 2016-17 could commence and be delivered on time.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive which sought approval for the city events programme 2016-17 detailed in appendix 1 of the report, and included issues relevant to the city’s ambition to grow its existing events portfolio.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)          note the content of this report;

(b)          approve the proposed events programme for 2016 – 2017, and a budget of £510,000 subject to the normal budgetary process;

(c)          confirm their continued support for the international street market to be held in the city centre and instruct officers to procure a market operator to deliver this activity;

(d)          instruct officers to undertake an events review to support the development of a 3-5 year events strategy;

(e)          instruct officers to explore the creation of an events bid fund to support the attraction of larger/signature events as outlined in Aberdeen 365 City Centre Masterplan theme; and

(f)           instruct officers to develop a report on sponsorship to be presented to a future committee for consideration.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve recommendations.

With reference to article 18 of the minute of meeting of 18 February 2015, the Committee had before it an annual report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure in relation to the Aberdeen Japan Strategy.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       note the activity delivered in Year 1 of the 2-year Strategy (2015) and the proposed next steps for Year 2 (2016); 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:-

(i)         to approve recommendation (a) above;

(ii)        to instruct Officers to proceed with organising the “Glover Club” as outlined within the strategy for local businesses interested in trading with Japan and report back to this committee in April;

(iii)       to instruct officers to liaise with Visit Aberdeen and the Aberdeen-Japan strategy author to develop a plan to promote Aberdeen to Japanese visitors and to report back to this committee;

(iv)       to accept a 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;

(v)        to welcome the launch of the Glover whisky, which was contained within Aberdeen’s Engagement Strategy with Japan and has attracted a huge amount of interest; and

(vi)       to welcome the on-going, council supported, health and life-science project between RGU and Japan, which was also a significant theme in the strategy. Committee Notes the Council’s ambition to see Aberdeen as a world-leader in life sciences research.

With reference to article 22 of the minute of the previous meeting of 3 December 2015, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided an update on the Sustainable Food Cities approach.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note the report and that a detailed proposal will be developed and brought back to the committee in six months.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve recommendation.

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 item has been an outstanding issue for the Committee.

With reference to article 22 of the minute of the previous meeting of 3 December 2015, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure in relation to the Anti-Poverty Strategy.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note this report and agree an update is brought back for consideration in nine months.

The Committee resolved:-

that the Committee note this report and agree an update is brought back for consideration in six months.

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, given the timing of the signing of the Head of Terms and the developments of the proposals and next steps, it was important that members have the opportunity to contribute.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided an update that the Council had signed a ‘Heads of Terms’ Agreement with the UK Government and the Scottish Government for a City Region Deal.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee notes the ‘Heads of Terms’ Agreement and the next steps.

The Convener, seconded by the Vice-Convener moved:-

to instruct the Chief Executive to bring a report to the next meeting of Council on 2nd March, 2016 detailing how the Aberdeen City Region Deal can be strengthened to meet our economic objectives through the use of additional powers devolved from the Scottish Government to the Council. The City Region Deal is not just about accelerated investment; giving Aberdeen further decision making tools in fiscal and non-fiscal areas such as Non-Domestic Rates, Council Tax setting, Air Passenger Duty, Tourism Charge and Land and Buildings Transaction Tax to name but a few will help change the way we work to stimulate growth within the economy of Aberdeen and the wider North East.

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

that the Committee -

(1)       note and welcome the first steps which have been made towards the City Deal;

(2)       instruct the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Scotland calling on the UK Government to match the additional investment the Scottish Government announced at the same time as the City Region Deal; and

(3)       call for council officials to continue to work with both the Scottish and UK Government to secure further investment in the years to come.

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

The Committee resolved:-

to adopt the motion.

In accordance with the decision recorded under article 1 of this minute, the following items were considered with the press and public excluded.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Councillors Milne and Jennifer Stewart declared an interest in the subject matter of the following item by virtue of their position as a representative of SCARF and a Committee member of Aberdeen Foyer respectively.  They both considered that the nature of their interest did not require them to withdraw from the meeting.

The Committee had before it a report by the Interim Director of Corporate Governance which received a request from Aberdeen Foyer, an admitted body of the North East Scotland Pension Fund, for Aberdeen City Council to become a guarantor for their pension fund liabilities.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee approve that Aberdeen City Council act as guarantor for Aberdeen Foyer in respect of their North East Scotland Pension Fund liabilities.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

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 Health, Safety and Wellbeing development to fulfil legal requirements and address key strategic considerations.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       agree that a competitive tendering exercise is undertaken in line with Council Standing Orders, Financial Regulations and EU Legislation for the provision of a health, safety and wellbeing development and support programme;

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

(c)        agree 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.

The Committee had before it a report by the Interim Director of Corporate Governance which provided an update on the current position in relation to the tender process for Executive Recruitment Services for Chief Officer posts and sets out the timescale for the forthcoming tender process.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       approve the estimated expenditure on Executive Recruitment Consultancy Services as detailed in Section 3 in the report;

(b)       approve the tender process with a view to the contract being let on a three plus one year extension basis; and

(c)        note the timescales involved in the forthcoming tender process.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a business case by the Chief Officer for the Health and Social Care Partnership which sought the creation of a Senior Management Team for the Adult Health and Social Care Partnership.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

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 given the high level risk if the report was not to be considered timeously.

With reference to article 20 of the minute of meeting of 9 June 2015, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which sought an allocation of funding from the Capital Contingency Fund in order to deliver the Middlefield Community Hub.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       approve the revised budget for the project as outlined within the report, and authorise officers to accept a tender up to this value.

(b)       note the existing funding arrangements from the Scottish Government regeneration capital fund and Corporate Property Condition and Suitability programme.

(c)        authorise up to £315,332 to be transferred from the existing contingency budget within the non-housing capital plan to complete the funding arrangements for the project.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

COUNCILLOR WILLIE YOUNG, Convener