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=504&MId=3456&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 advised the Committee as to a number of good news stories as follows –

·         Your Voice Matters

Aberdeen Communities Youth Worker Sara Duncan was approached by the Chief Executive of the Scottish Youth Parliament to see if Aberdeen would be interested in hosting an event. The event was for Matthew Barzun, the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom to talk to young people and hear their views around certain issues in America.  The event itself was organised by, Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament for Aberdeen.

On 17 October 2014, thirty five young people attended the event at the Credo Centre, John Street. All participated in a question and answer session with the Ambassador. Aberdeen’s two MSYPs thought it was a fantastic opportunity to be involved in and the feedback they and all the others gave about the event had all been very positive.

·         Sport

On Friday, 28 November 2014, Aberdeen Sports Village successfully defended its ‘Regional Gym of the Year (Scotland)’ title at the National Fitness Awards. This was the second consecutive time that Aberdeen Sports Village had been shortlisted as finalists in the National Fitness Awards in two categories – Regional Gym of the Year (Scotland) and Local Authority/Leisure Trust Gym of the Year.

·         Scottish School’s Secondary Road Race Championships

On Saturday, 8 November 2014, a team of three boys from Harlaw Academy won the Scottish Schools’ Secondary Road Race Championships (over 16).  The team trophy was based on the school with the highest placed group of three runners - Callum Simmons (2nd), Matthew Kilner (9th) and Mark Quinn (19th) ensured the national trophy came north.

·         Conversations about Learning for Sustainability

Hazlehead Academy was recently recognised as a participating school in the Education Scotland UNESCO Report which features select schools across Scotland.  The case study of the sustainable development and global citizenship practices in Hazlehead Academy highlighted their sustainability approaches leading to a number of positive outcomes including:

·         Enhanced learning

·         Enhanced reputation of school

·         Improved community spirit and engagement.

The report was also being shared with the international delegates attending the UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.

·         School Self Evaluation

Hanover Primary had had a self-evaluation tool they developed be validated as a piece of good practice by external inspectors through the Joint Inspection. Hanover Street Primary through using an action research approach had developed a colour coded Shanarri Wheel to measure the 8 wellbeing indicators using a five point scale. The Shanarri Wheel was a self-evaluation tool for use with children at an individual, classroom and whole school level. It had been designed to be simple to use and understand.  It was a solution focused approach which encouraged collaborative working between individuals and practitioners.

The information gathered for the classroom would be reviewed on a termly basis to assess any curriculum based strategies that had been implemented. Whole school information would be reviewed periodically through working groups with pupils, staff and parents and also on an annual basis to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1.

The Convener proposed that items 4.9, 6.1 and 6.2 of today’s agenda (articles 14, 21 and 22 of this minute refers) be considered 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 for items 4.9, 6.1 and 6.2 of the agenda (articles 14, 21 and 22 of this minute) so as to avoid disclosure of information of the classes described in the following paragraphs of Schedule 7(A) to the Act: article 14 (paragraph 6), article 21 (paragraphs 8 and 10) and article 22 (paragraphs 6 and 8).

The Committee had before it the minute of the meeting of the former Social Care, Wellbeing and Safety Committee of 28 August 2014, for approval.

The Committee resolved:

to approve the minute as a correct record.

The Committee had before it the minute of the meeting of the former Education, Culture and Sport Committee of 11 September 2014, for approval.

The Committee resolved:

to approve the minute as a correct record.

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

In relation to item 11 (Social Care and Wellbeing Contracts – Workplan), the Committee heard from the Head of Adult Services who provided an update on the current status of the Social Care and Wellbeing contracts workplan.

The Committee resolved:

(i)         in relation to item 4 (Citymoves), to note that a report was to be considered on today’s agenda;

(ii)        in relation to item 6 (Young Women’s Service), to note that an information bulletin report was available;

(iii)       in relation to item 7 (Capital Monitoring – Social Wellbeing Projects) to note that the matter would be considered as part of the budget process and therefore to remove from the statement;

(iii)       in relation to item 9 (Social Care and Wellbeing Service Business Plan 2014-2017), to note that the Business Plan would be aligned to the new Education and Children’s Service Directorate and reported to Committee at that time, and therefore to remove this item from the statement;

(iv)       in relation to item 11 (Social Care and Wellbeing Contracts – Workplan), to note the verbal update; and

(v)        to otherwise note the updates provided.

With reference to article 5 of the minute of the meeting of the former Education, Culture and Sport Committee of 11 September 2014, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport and the Head of Finance which advised members of the current year revenue budget to date for the Service, and outlined any areas of risk, and management action being taken in this regard.

The report recommended –

that the Committee –

(a)       note the report on the near actual figures on the revenue budget and the information on areas of risk and management action that was contained therein; and

(b)       instruct officers to continue to review budget performance and report on service strategies

The Committee resolved:

(i)         to approve the recommendations;

(ii)        to note that a statement providing an update on the position with Tullos Pool would be circulated by the end of the year; and

(iii)       to note that another briefing on inclusion would be arranged for members who had been unable to attend the first session.

With reference to article 9 of the minute of the meeting of the former Education, Culture and Sport Committee of 16 June 2014, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport, which provided a summary of performance data up to and including 30 September 2014.

The report recommended –

that the Committee approve the Education, Culture and Sport Service performance report for the quarterly period July to September 2014 and progress of actions report against the Service Improvement Plan.

The Committee resolved:

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which provided a summary of the 2013/2014 statutory performance indicator outcomes covering the work of the Directorate.

The report recommended –

that the Committee approve the Education, Culture and Sport Service 2013/2014 statutory performance indicator tables as contained in appendix A to the report.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which advised on the outcome of consultation on the school holiday pattern for school session 2015/2016 to 2019/2020.

The report recommended –

that the Committee instruct officers to implement the proposed holiday pattern (option 1) and to widely publicise the holiday pattern to maximise public awareness.

The Committee resolved:

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which advised that the Scottish Government had offered further financial support for the creation of a new secondary school to replace Kincorth Academy and Torry Academy and that if accepted this would release Council capital funding which could be used in the construction of a new build Stoneywood School.

The report recommended –

that the Committee –

(a)       accept the offer of additional funding support from the Scottish Government to assist in the development of a new Academy to replace Kincorth and Torry Academies;

(ii)        agree to the inclusion of a new school building for Stoneywood School, which was estimated at £13 million to be fully funded through the Council’s capital programme; and

(iii)       instruct officers to conduct the necessary public consultation on the proposal to relocate Stoneywood School into a new school building.

The Committee resolved:

to approve the recommendations.

With reference to article 12 of the minute of the meeting of the former Education, Culture and Sport Committee of 22 November 2012, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which advised on the findings and recommendations of the inclusion review and sought approval for the proposed project governance structures for implementing the recommendations from the inclusion review.

The report recommended –

that the Committee –

(a)       note the recommendations of the inclusion review which were contained in appendix 1 to the report;

(b)       instruct officers to implement the recommendations of the inclusion review; and

(c)        approve the proposed project governance structure for oversight of the implementation of the review recommendations.

The Committee resolved:

(i)         to approve the recommendations; and

(ii)        to note that updates on the implementation of the recommendations would be provided as and when appropriate.

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

Councillor Cameron declared a personal interest in the subject matter of the following article of business by virtue of his wife being employed by Citymoves and withdrew from the meeting prior to consideration of this item.

With reference to article 12 of the minute of the meeting of the former Education, Culture and Sport Committee of 16 June 2014, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which informed of progress with and the outcome of the Creative Scotland core funding application for Citymoves and also sought approval to action the transfer of Citymoves to form an independent organisation working to a target date of 1 April 2015.

The report recommended –

that following the completion of the business and transition plans, the Committee –

(a)       instruct officers to action the transfer of Citymoves to an independent organisation working to a target start date of the new organisation of 1 April 2015;

(b)       instruct officers to set up the shadow board as a requirement to effect the transition;

(c)        instruct officers to action the set up of Citymoves as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO); and

(d)       instruct officers to instigate the recruitment process for the role of Director for the new organisation with a target start date of 1 April 2015.

The Committee resolved:

to approve the recommendations.

With reference to article 16 of the minute of the meeting of the former Education, Culture and Sport Committee of 11 September 2014, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which presented applications for financial assistance from various sporting organisations and individuals.

The report recommended –

that the Committee –

(a)       consider the applications through the club development grants and approve the following recommendations:

(b)       consider the application through the significant sporting events grant programme and approve the following recommendation:

(c)        consider the application through the coach and volunteer workforce development grant programme and approve the following recommendations:

The Committee noted that the report contained an error and that the sum being recommended for Beacon Volleyball Club was £1,900.

The Committee resolved:

to approve the recommendations, subject to Beacon Volleyball Club receiving £1,900.

In accordance with the decision taken at article 2 of this minute, the following item of business was considered with the press and public excluded.

MATTER OF URGENCY

The Convener intimated that she had directed in terms of Section 50(B)(4)(b) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and in accordance with Standing Orders, that the following report be considered as a matter of urgency to enable timeous consideration of the request.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which advised on recent developments at the Belmont Filmhouse, which was currently operated by CMI (Centre for Moving Image) on behalf of the Council.

The report recommended –

that the Committee –

(a)       approve the request from CMI for payment to them by the Council of an additional £75,000 from existing Education, Culture and Sport budgets; and

(b)       approve the proposal from Creative Scotland to accept the match funds of £75,000 from their local authority budget, into the Council account and subject to legal and finance guidelines, to disburse the total of £150,000 to CMI.

The Committee resolved:

to approve the recommendations.

With reference to article 2 of the minute of the meeting of the former Social Care, Wellbeing and Safety Committee of 28 August 2014, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Social Care and Wellbeing and the Head of Finance which set out the current year revenue budget performance for the services which fell under the remit of the Social Care, Wellbeing and Safety Committee, and advised on any areas of risk or management action.

The report recommended –

that the Committee –

(a)       note the report on the near actual figures on the revenue budget and the information on areas of risk and management action that was contained therein; and

(b)       instruct officers to 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 Director of Social Care and Wellbeing which presented the annual performance figures for health and safety activities for the Social Care and Wellbeing Directorate covering the period July 2013 to June 2014.

The report recommended –

that the Committee note the contents of the report.

The Committee resolved:

to approve the recommendation.

With reference to article 6 of the minute of the meeting of the former Social Care, Wellbeing and Safety Committee of 28 August 2014, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Social Care and Wellbeing which provided information relating to the performance of the Social Care and Wellbeing Service against its agreed indicators.  Appended to the report was an update on associated performance measures.

The report recommended –

that the Committee –

(a)       note that work was ongoing to develop a new suite of performance indicators, aligned to the outcomes in the Service Business Plan 2014-17; and

(b)       approve the Social Care and Wellbeing performance report.

The Committee resolved:

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Social Care and Wellbeing which (a) advised of developments in relation to the National Care Home Contract (NCHC) by which Social Care and Wellbeing commissioned care home services and (b) recommended a position to the Council in relation to the future arrangements for the Contract or its successor arrangements.

The report recommended –

that the Committee –

(a)       note the content of the report in relation to national negotiations on the NCHC;

(b)       agree that the Council supported the continuing arrangements for the NCHC and fee structure for 2015/16; and

(c)        instruct officers to develop a local Care Home Contract and fee structure as necessary, in the event of any breakdown or at the end of national arrangements for the NCHC.

The Committee resolved:

to approve the recommendations.

With reference to article 8 of the minute of the meeting of the former Audit and Risk Committee of 16 April 2013, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Social Care and Wellbeing which presented details of the arrangements for lone working within social work services.

The report recommended –

that the Committee –

(a)       note the content of the lone working report as appended to the report; and

(b)       instruct officers to arrange its implementation.

The Committee resolved:

(i)         to approve the recommendations; and

(ii)        to instruct officers to bring the report to the attention of other Council Directors.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Social Care and Wellbeing which advised on the future need by Social Care and Wellbeing of the property at 77-79 King Street, Aberdeen, AB24 5AB.

The report recommended –

that the Committee –

(a)       declare 77-79 King Street, Aberdeen surplus to Social Care and Wellbeing’s requirements and confirm its removal from the Social Care and Wellbeing account portfolio;

(b)       instruct officers to remit the property to the Head of Asset Management and Operations and the Corporate Asset Management Group to decide on its future use; and

(c)        otherwise note the content of the report.

The Committee resolved:

to approve the recommendations.

EXEMPT BUSINESS

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

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Social Care and Wellbeing which sought approval to extend an existing contract for a Care Home service for people with complex alcohol misuse problems to allow for appropriate accommodation to be sourced before retendering the service.

The report recommended –

that the Committee –

(a)       note the information contained within this report;

(b)       approve the invoking of Standing Order 1(6) (a) of the Standing Orders Relating to Contracts and Procurement and thereby waive the need for a competitive procurement on the grounds that the exemption was justified by special circumstances as detailed in this report;

(c)        approve an extension of the contract with the existing provider for a period of three years from 30 June 2015; and

(d)       approve the estimated expenditure for the three year extension with the existing provider, as detailed within the report at section 3.2, including the ability to award an inflationary uplift, and that discretion to decide on the issue of inflationary uplift would lie with the Head of Adult and Older People’s Services.

The Committee resolved:

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Social Care and Wellbeing which sought consideration of an increase in funding for a service to people who have severe learning disabilities.

The report recommended –

that the Committee agree to make an offer of a one-off payment of £600,000 to the existing provider, however should this not be accepted, to agree to delegate authority to the Head of Adult Services and the Head of Legal and Democratic Services, in consultation with the Convener and Vice Convener of the Education and Children’s Services Committee and the Convener of the Finance, Policy and Resources Committee, to take the necessary actions to continue the service with the sum of £600,000 available.

The Committee resolved:

to approve the recommendation.

- ANGELA TAYLOR, Convener