Agenda and minutes

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

https://committees.aberdeencity.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=146&MId=4336&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.

With reference to article 15 of the minute of meeting of the Communities, Housing and Infrastructure Committee of 24 January 2017, the Committee had before it a report by the interim Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided information on the Motion by Councillor Jennifer Stewart which proposed that where there are unreasonable delays in Capital Programmes of Works attributed to the Contractor, that (1) Council tenants and other affected householders should receive an appropriate payment payable by the contractor (to be provided for in the contract between the council and the contractor) to cover their reasonable losses and/or (2) other methods of recompense should be made available.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       note the report and in particular that Council tenants and other affected residents should not receive compensatory payments under the contractual terms for capital works; and

(b)       instruct officers to engage Council tenants and others affected by any future delayed works and contractors to assist negotiation on any remedial actions that can be taken to counterbalance unreasonable delays.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

With reference to article 16 of the minute of its meeting of 20 September 2017, the Committee had before it a report by the Interim Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which presented applications received for financial assistance from the International Twinning Budget 2017-18.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee approve a contribution of £10,000 towards 6 adults and 36 children from the Aberdeen Schools Rowing Association travelling to Regensburg, 6-13 April 2018.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a report by the Interim Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which sought approval for the 2018-19 city events programme and associated budget subject to the normal budget process in February 2018.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee:-

(a)      approve the proposed events programme for 2018 – 2019 as detailed in Appendix 1;

(b)       approve the proposed expenditure of £525,000 (as detailed in Appendix 1) from the existing Economic Development budget subject to the Council’s budgetary process in February 2018;

(c)        delegate authority to the Head Economic Development, in consultation with the Head of Legal & Democratic Services, the Head of Commercial and Procurement and the Head of Finance to apply the criteria agreed by FP&R Committee in December 2016, when considering all future event bids including three years of financial support for Nuart 2018 – 2020 subject to annual Council budget processes;

(d)       note the impact of three key events in 2017 under the Aberdeen 365 strategy - Nuart, The Tour Series and the Great Aberdeen Run;

(e)       approve the proposed expenditure of £100,000 per annum for three years to support the Nuart Festival, subject to the Council’s annual budgetary processes; and

(f)        approve the proposed expenditure of £150,000 per annum for two years to support the Great Aberdeen Run, subject to the Council’s annual budgetary process in February 2018.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)        to approve the recommendations;

(ii)       to request that officers circulate to members a copy of the research undertaken by Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce of Nuart 2017, subject to approval by Aberdeen Inspired; and

(iii)      to request that officers circulate to members a copy of the Economic Impact report for the Tour Series 2017.

With reference to article 35 of the minute of meeting of 9 March 2017, the Committee had before it a report by the interim Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided details on the current and future funds available to support the FCHJU Fuel Bus Cell Commercialisation Project (JIVE).

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       note a confirmed contribution of £3,000,000 from the Scottish Government towards the project;

(b)       note the current position of the Bus Operator’s Agreement and Financial Contribution; and

(c)        approve participation in the Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV)’s HTP Grants Programme to further develop the JIVE Project and, pursuant to such participation:-

(1)       Submission of an application to OLEV to secure additional funding of £1,195,137 to support the development of the JIVE project;

(2)       Expenditure of that grant funding and £1,792,000 from budget approved from the Non-Housing Capital Programme on 23 August 2017; and

(3)       The signing of or entry into legal agreement or other documentation, subject to approval by the Head of Legal and Democratic Services in consultation with the Head of Economic Development.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Head of Finance which provided information and assurance that protective monitoring was performed in line with legislation and best practice.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note, review and agree the following documents attached as appendices to the report, which make up the suite ‘Protective Monitoring’:-

·         Protective Monitoring Policy;

·         Protective Monitoring Privacy Impact Assessment;

·         Protective Monitoring Risk assessment;

·         Protective Monitoring Human Rights Impact Assessment;

·         Protective Monitoring Access to Information Procedure; and

·         Protective Monitoring Guide and Form.

The Committee resolved:

(i)         to defer deliberation of the report until a future meeting of the Committee;

(ii)        to instruct officers to include further details within the report regarding the governance process for officers and elected members;

(iii)       that officers circulate further details in relation to Airwatch regarding due process; and

(iv)       that members contact the Head of IT and Transformation with any additional governance and assurance issues that they would like to be addressed and included within the report.

With reference to article 15 of the minute of meeting of 9 March 2017, the Committee had before it a report by the interim Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which outlined options for enhancing the resources available for enforcement within the private rented housing sector and to draft a business case on how this could be done on a revenue-neutral basis.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       note the contents of the report; and

(b)       agree in principle to the creation of a post of Administration Assistant (Enforcement) on a 1-year fixed-term contract and instruct officers to take forward a detailed business case to implement;

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the recommendations; and

(ii)        that following the appointment of the Administration Assistant (Enforcement), to instruct officers to report back to the Committee in nine months providing progress on enforcement of the private rented housing sector.

The Committee had before it a report by the interim Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which outlined options to reduce the volume of goods taken in to storage, to reduce the period for which goods are stored and to set out options to charge customers for the storage of their belongings where appropriate with a view to reducing the costs incurred by the Council.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       approve option 2, at section 3.4 in the report, as the charging policy for storage of homeless households belongings which is anticipated to achieve a cost reduction of £26,898; and

(b)       implement the charge from 1 April 2018.

The Convener, seconded by the Vice Convener moved:-

            that the Committee approve Option 1 and continue operation as at present and continue to develop other initiatives to reduce the “homeless journey” time which will impact on the time that customers are in temporary accommodation and the length of time required for storage.

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

            that the Committee (1) note that almost 90% of those made homeless in the two periods, 2016/17 and 2017/18 year to date, detailed in the report were classified in the statutory decision as unintentionally homeless; and (2) therefore agree that it would be morally unjustifiable to place an additional financial burden upon them at a time when they face considerable additional burdens due to no fault of their own.

In terms of Standing Order 26.5 and 26.9 and following advice sought from the Head of Legal and Democratic Services, the Convener determined that the amendment was not competent as it did not differ from the motion substantially.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve Option 1 and continue operation as at present and continue to develop other initiatives to reduce the “homeless journey” time which will impact on the time that customers are in temporary accommodation and the length of time required for storage.

With reference to article 7 of the minute of meeting of 9 March 2017, the Committee had before it a report by the interim Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided information on the ‘Food and Fun’ work undertaken in priority localities across the city during the school Summer holidays in 2017.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       note the content of the report and positive impact the provision of food and fun had within the pilot neighbourhoods; and

(b)       request the Head of Communities and Housing to report back to the next Finance, Policy and Resources Committee setting out a plan for providing meals to school children during school holidays and the budget requirements to deliver this.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

With reference to article 20 of the minute of the previous meeting of 20 September 2017, the Committee had before it a report by the interim Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided information on the governance and performance management for tackling poverty and inequality linked to Aberdeen City’s Local Outcome Improvement Plan.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       note the governance arrangements listed in Appendix 1 of the report to 31st March 2018; and

(b)       note that the present governance arrangements will be transferred over into the new governance arrangements once confirmed.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the interim Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided information in relation to projects, partnerships and funding activity.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       note that the Projects, Partnerships & Funding Team has secured approximately £16.5m of external funding to support £29.7m of project activity in Aberdeen in 2016-17; 

(b)       approve the submission of the SMART-HY-AWARE project application;

(c)        approve the development of the FUEL CELL CARGO PEDELECS (FCCP) project application;

(d)       approve the signing of a Clean Bus Declaration, issued by the European Commission, which has no financial implications or commitments;

(e)       nominate an Elected Member to the role of Vice-Chair of the East of Scotland European Consortium (ESEC); and

(f)        approve international travel of an Elected Member and Officer to attend a business familiarisation visit to Brussels in March 2018, organised and part-funded by ESEC and Scotland Europa,

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee were advised that this report had been withdrawn.

The Committee had before it a report by the Head of Finance which sought approval for the Council to participate in a UK government pilot to provide vouchers to local businesses for 1gb full fibre connections.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       approve the Council’s participation in a UK Government funded scheme to provide vouchers to local businesses for 1Gbps full fibre connections subject to approval from the Head of Legal and Democratic Services of the associated grant agreement setting out the terms and conditions of the Council’s participation; and

(b)       note that the Council will be able to recover administration and support costs related to the scheme.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)        to approve the recommendations; and

(ii)       to instruct officers to circulate a Service Update in six months’ time providing information on the progress of the scheme and the uptake of local businesses including those which do not have access to fibre broadband.

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

Councillor Donnelly declared an interest in the following item of business by virtue of his position as a council appointed board member of Aberdeen International Youth Festival, he considered that the nature of his interest required him to leave the meeting and he took no part in the Committee’s deliberations thereon. Councillor Lesley Dunbar substituted for Councillor Donnelly for this item only.

With reference to article 16 of the minute of meeting of the Education and Children’s Services Committee of 16 November 2017, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education and Children’s Services, which sought approval to commit £100,000 for a Year of Young People funding Award Programme for the financial year 2018/19 for groups and organisations to apply for funding for the delivery of youth led cultural projects and events in Aberdeen to celebrate the Year of Young People in 2018.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee approve a sum of £100,000 from contingencies or reserves for a Year of Young People Cultural Award Programme for the financial year 2018/19.

The Convener, seconded by Councillor Houghton moved:-

that the Committee approve a sum of £100,000 from contingencies or reserves within the Council’s 2017/18 budget for a Year of Young People Cultural Award Programme to be made available from 1 January 2018 to coincide with the event.

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

that the Committee:-

(1)       note that the Aberdeen International Youth Festival (AIYF) has been an important part of Aberdeen’s cultural offering for many years;

(2)       note the long term relationship that exists between Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeen International Youth Festival and the importance of maintaining the good brand name of the organisation and the close cultural aspirations of both organisations that have promoted many decades of local, national and international acclaim;

(3)       recognise that AIYF faces substantial reorganisation in the transition to operate as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) to assist in improving the governance and delivery of the organisation’s ambitious aspirations for the future;

(4)       note the AIYF draft Business Plan and additional documents submitted to the Head of Education and Inclusion on the 29th September and asks that a final Business Plan, taking account of the above, is re-submitted to the Head of Education and Inclusion once approved by the AIYF Board of Trustees;

(5)       note that the committee is supportive of continued funding being made available to AIYF as part of the budget setting process for the year 2018/19 in the sum of £100,000 in order to assist the organisation to transition to a SCIO and seek alternative funding streams that will ensure their continued success on a self- sufficient model;

(6)       note that the Committee is supportive of continued funding being made available to AIYF as part of the Budget setting process for the year 2019/20 in the sum of £75,000 for the reason outlined at 5 above;

(7)       recognise that AIYF must move to a position where it does not rely on funding from the council to support its core activities;

(8)       should the Chief Executive of AIYF be agreeable, invite them to a future meeting of the Finance Policy and Resources Committee in order that they may provide feedback of the completed transformation of the organisation; and

(9)       approve a sum of £100,000 from contingencies or reserves for a Year of Young  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education and Children’s Services which sought approval for the approach and actions relating to the resolution of programming and budgetary issues of the cultural programme, with particular regard to the Aberdeen Art Gallery redevelopment and Provost Skene’s House refurbishment incorporating the Hall for Heroes.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       note the amended programme for the Aberdeen Art Gallery redevelopment as presented in paragraphs 3.7 and 3.8 of the report;

(b)       instruct the Head of Finance, following consultation with the Convenor of the Finance, Policy and Resources Committee, to identify funding options for the additional costs of Aberdeen Art Gallery redevelopment and Provost Skene’s House refurbishment as presented in Section 4 of the report and submit to the Council’s budget setting meeting on 19 February, 2018;

(c)       request the Chief Internal Auditor to include the Aberdeen Art Gallery in the internal audit of capital governance;

(d)       approve Option 3 in regard to the refurbishment of Provost Skene’s House as detailed in the exempt Appendix of this report and delegates authority to the Interim Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure, following consultation with the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services, to undertake a tender process for the procurement and thereafter award of contract to undertake internal and external works; and

(e)       approve the total estimated expenditure for Provost Skene’s House refurbishment as detailed in the exempt appendix to this report.

The Committee resolved:

(i)         to defer deliberation of the report until the next meeting of the Committee; and

(ii)        that officers be instructed to incorporate full survey works and financial details within the report.

In accordance with the decision recorded under article 2 of the minute of the adjourned meeting of 1 December 2017, the following items were considered with the press and public excluded.

At this juncture the Clerk intimated that in terms of Standing Order 37(2) Committee meetings shall only continue after four hours from commencement if a decision to that effect is taken by the Committee.  The Committee agreed unanimously to continue the meeting.

With reference to article 10 of the minute of meeting of the Education and Children’s Services Committee of 16 November 2017, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education and Children’s Services which outlined the costs for the options approved by the aforementioned Committee for providing subsidised transport to school for pupils attending the new Lochside Academy from August 2018.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       agree to include a budget provision of the amount outlined in the report to the 2018/19 Public Transport Unit budget to cover the estimated cost of this provision, subject to the annual budget setting process;

(b)       agree a further amount, as outlined in the report to the 2019/20 budget of the Public Transport Unit to cover the fact that this will be the first full financial year of the transport provision, subject to the annual budget setting process; and

(c)       otherwise note the contents of this report.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

With reference to article 47 of the minute of meeting of 9 March 2017, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education and Children’s Services which provided details of the outcome of the review of sports provision across the city in order to present an integrated strategy.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       consider the strategic review of sports organisations undertaken by PRC Leisure Consultants;           

(b)       approve the merger of Sport Aberdeen, Adventure Aberdeen and Garthdee Alpine Sports to form a larger arm’s length external organisation (ALEO) under the legal and governance structure of Sport Aberdeen;

(c)        delegate authority to the Head of Legal and Democratic Services following consultation with the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services to make the necessary arrangements, in compliance with OSCR guidelines, that will bring about the legal merger of the registered charities Sport Aberdeen and Garthdee Alpine Sports;

(d)       delegate authority to the Head of Policy, Performance and Resources following consultation with the Interim Head of HR to commence the consultation process with staff based in Adventure Aberdeen ahead of a TUPE transfer to Sport Aberdeen;

(e)       instruct the Head of Policy, Performance and Resources and Head of Commercial and Procurement Services to report back to the next meeting of this Committee with appropriate recommendations on adjusting and extending Sport Aberdeen’s legal contract, with a view to refocusing the partnership under a new ‘Commissioning Framework Agreement’; and

(f)        request that the Head of Finance report to the next meeting of this Committee setting out the options regarding the long-term future viability of Transition Extreme.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

With reference to article 41 of the minute of meeting of 15 September 2015, the Committee had before it a report by the Head of Human Resources which sought approval to undertake a tender exercise for the provision of occupational health services.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       delegate authority to the Interim Head of Human Resources following consultation with the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services, to undertake a tender process for the procurement and thereafter award of a contract for the provision of occupational health services for an initial duration of 3 years, with the option to extend for a further period up to 24 months;

(b)       delegate authority to the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services, to conclude a contract with the successful bidder(s); and

(c)       approve the total estimated expenditure over the duration of the contract as detailed within the report.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)        to delegate authority to the Interim Head of Human Resources following consultation with the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services, to undertake a tender process for the procurement of a contract for the provision of occupational health services for an initial duration of 3 years, with the option to extend for a further period up to 24 months;

(ii)       to report back to a future meeting of this Committee with appropriate recommendations; and

(iii)      to approve recommendation (c) above.

The Committee had before it a report by the Head of Finance which sought approval to undertake a procurement exercise for the supply of Debt Collection Sheriff Officer Services.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       delegate authority to the Council Tax and Recovery Manager, Revenues and Benefits following consultation with the aligned Category Manager, Commercial and Procurement Shared Service to undertake an EU Procurement for Debt Collection Sherriff Officer Services; and

(b)       approve the total estimated spend over a 5 year period as detailed in the report.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

With reference to article 23 of the minute of meeting of 30 September 2014, the Committee had before it a report by the Head of Finance which sought approval to extend the current Payment Processing contract, including approval expenditure and to undertake a procurement exercise for the supply of Payment Processing Services.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       approve an extension to the current contract due to end on 31 March 2018 until October 2018; 

(b)       delegate authority to the Revenues and Benefit Manager, Revenues and Benefits following consultation with the aligned Category Manager, Commercial and Procurement Shared Service to undertake an EU Procurement for the procurement and thereafter award of a contract for Payment Processing Services;

(c)       approve the total estimated spend as detailed within the report for the extension of the current contract; and

(d)       approve the total estimated spend as detailed within the report over a 5 year period as detailed in the report.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Head of Finance which sought approval to undertake a joint procurement exercise with Aberdeenshire Council for the provision of cash in transit services over a maximum five year term.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       instruct officers to undertake a fully compliant EU tender exercise in collaboration with Aberdeenshire Council; and

(b)       approve a contract duration of up to 5 years with either an initial term of 3 years with the option to extend for up to a further 24 months or an initial term of 2 years with the option to extend for up to a further 36 months and a total estimated spend under the Aberdeen City Council contract as outlined within the report.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)        to approve the recommendations;

(ii)       to request that officers circulate details to members in relation to whether it would be economically viable to equip sheltered accommodation blocks with laundry card machines, given the small number of residents topping up their cards in a given period; and

(iii)      to request that officers also circulate the missing percentage figure and financial details in section 4.5 of the report.

The Committee had before it a report by the interim Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided details in relation to leases and licences for a number of Arm’s Length External Organisations (A.L.E.O).

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       remit it to the Head of Land & Property Assets to enter into a detailed dialogue with each A.L.E.O. to develop a long term asset strategy around maintenance, repair and future capital requirements; and

(b)       remit it to the Head of Land & Property Assets to continue to review individual leases and licenses to ensure properties remain ‘fit for purpose’ and properly maintained, reporting to Committee when leases required to be renewed, to reflect these key priorities.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the interim Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided details of an application submitted by a commercial tenant to acquire the ownership interest in the property leased to them.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       approve in principle, the sale of the property to the tenant at a sale price as outlined within the report; and

(b)       delegate authority to the Head of Legal & Democratic Services to formally conclude  missives for the sale of the property incorporating various qualifications as are necessary to protect the Council’s interests.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the interim Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided details of an application submitted by a commercial tenant to extend the length of ground lease at Cults Business Park, Station Road, Cults.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       approve in principle to give the tenant an unexpired lease term of not more than 120 years, subject to a premium to be paid to the Council of the amount detailed within the report exclusive of V.A.T, LBTT and legal costs; and

(b)       delegate authority to the Head of Legal & Democratic Services to formally conclude the most appropriate documentation to reflect this on such terms and conditions as are necessary to protect the City Council’s interests.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the interim Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which sought authority for the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services in consultation with the Head of Land and Property Assets to complete the tender process for the procurement and award of a building works contract(s) to undertake repair, improvement and refurbishment works to the Property Account industrial property situated at Minto Drive, Altens.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       authorise the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services in consultation with the Head of Land and Property Assets to complete the  tender process for the procurement and thereafter award of a building works contract/s all as necessary to undertake repair and refurbishment works to the Property Account industrial property situated at Minto Drive, Altens, Aberdeen; and

(b)       delegate authority to the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services in consultation with the Head of Land and Property Assets to enter a contract with the successful tender bidder/s for the purpose of the works to a tender sum not exceeding the amount outlined within the report exclusive of V.A.T and consultant fees and costs.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it an exempt appendix relating to the report on Aberdeen Art Gallery Redevelopment and Provost Skene’s House Refurbishment and Museum Progress.

The Committee resolved:-

to note the information contained within the exempt appendix.

- COUNCILLOR DOUGLAS LUMSDEN, Convener