Agenda, decisions and minutes

The agenda and reports associated with this minute can be located at the following link:-

https://committees.aberdeencity.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=504&MId=5984&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 Committee received a presentation regarding Aberdeen Care Experienced (ACE) which gave young people a voice to share what had been good and bad through their time in care at their Champions Board which was set up in 2014 and relaunched in November 2016.

The Committee resolved:

to thank the young people for the informative presentation.

The Committee was requested in terms of Section 50(A)(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 to determine that items 12.1 (Early Learning and Childcare Financial Template - Exempt Appendix), 12.2 (Subsidised Transport and Safe Walking Routes to Lochside Academy - Exempt Appendix), 12.3 (Garthdee Alpine Sports – Internal Audit Report) and 12.4 (Aberdeen International Youth Festival Updated Business Plan 2017-2020) on today’s agenda 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 during consideration of items 12.1 (Early Learning and Childcare Financial Template - Exempt Appendix), 12.2 (Subsidised Transport and Safe Walking Routes to Lochside Academy - Exempt Appendix), 12.3 (Garthdee Alpine Sports – Internal Audit Report) and 12.4 (Aberdeen International Youth Festival Updated Business Plan 2017-2020) so as to avoid disclosure of exempt information of the classes described in paragraphs 6 and 8 of Schedule 7(A) of the Act.

Members were requested to intimate any declarations of interest in respect of the items on today’s agenda.

Thereafter, the following declarations of interest were intimated:

1.            Councillor Nicoll declared an interest in relation to item 12.3 (Garthdee Alpine Sports – Internal Audit Report) by virtue of his position as a Council appointed Director to the Board of Garthdee Alpine Sports but chose to remain in the meeting as Garthdee Alpine Sports was a body being a company established wholly or mainly for the purpose of providing services to the local authority, and which had entered into a contractual arrangement with the local authority for the supply of goods and/or services to the local authority, as set out in paragraph 5.18(2)(d)(i) and (ii) of the Councillors' Code of Conduct;

2.            Councillor Lumsden declared an interest in relation to item 12.3 (Garthdee Alpine Sports – Internal Audit Report) by virtue of being proposed as a Director to the Board of Garthdee Alpine Sports but chose to remain in the meeting;

3.            Councillors Boulton, Donnelly, Duncan and Imrie declared interests in relation to item 12.4 (Aberdeen International Youth Festival Updated Business Plan 2017-2020) by virtue of their position as Council appointed members of the Aberdeen International Youth Festival Trust, and all chose to leave the meeting prior to consideration of the report; and

4.            Mrs Stephanie Brock declared an interest in relation to item 11.3 (St Peter’s School – Long Term Educational Provision) by virtue of being a member of the St Peter’s School Parent Council and having children attending the school but chose to remain in the meeting.

The Committee had before it a number of requests for deputation as follows:

1.            Request by Ms Lesley-Anne Yeats, Walker Road Parent Council, in relation to item 11.2 (Subsidised Transport and Safe Walking Routes to Lochside Academy);

2.            Request by Ms Julie Pose, in relation to item 11.2 (Subsidised Transport and Safe Walking Routes to Lochside Academy);

3.            Request by Mr Andy Finlayson, in relation to item 11.2 (Subsidised Transport and Safe Walking Routes to Lochside Academy); and

4.            Request by Ms Anna Rist, St Peter’s School Parent Council, in relation to item 11.3 (St Peter’s School – Long Term Educational Provision).

The Committee resolved:

(i)            to agree to hear deputations 1, 2 and 3 detailed above immediately prior to consideration of the report on the agenda; and

(ii)          to note that the request for deputation from Ms Anna Rist, St Peter’s School Parent Council had been withdrawn.

The Committee had before it the minute of its meeting of 14 September 2017, 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.

The Committee resolved:

(i)            to delete items 2 (Children and Young People (Scotland) Act), 3 (New Primary School Provision with Early Education and Childcare Facilities in Tillydrone), and 5 (ALEO Funding 2017/2018), 8 (Feasibility Study on a Safe Route to the New Lochside Academy); 9(i) (Early Learning and Childcare Delivery Plan) subject to the decisions taken later on the agenda; and

(ii)          to otherwise note the updates provided.

The Committee had before it a tracker of future committee business.

The Committee resolved:

to note the information contained in the committee report tracker.

With reference to article 6 of the minute of the meeting of the Education and Children’s Services Committee of 14 September 2017, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education and Children’s Services which provided (a) a briefing paper in respect of the first release Insight data relating to the 2017 SQA examination diet, and (b) a summary of the Education and Children’s Services (E&CS) Directorate performance improvement measures.

The report recommended –

that the Committee

(a)          acknowledge the hard work and dedication of pupils and staff which had resulted in continued progress and successes in 2017, as reflected in the report content; and

(b)          note the content of the report.

The Committee resolved:

(i)            to approve the recommendations;

(ii)          with regards to the percentage of looked after children with an allocated social worker to request that narrative on the wider context of the allocation be included in future performance reports; and

(iii)         to request the Head of Children’s Services to clarify to the Committee by way of email the figures for the number of looked after children over the year.

With reference to article 9 of the minute of the meeting of the Education and Children’s Services Committee of 14 September 2017, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education and Children’s Services which presented an updated Early Learning and Childcare Delivery Plan including the completed indicative financial template.

The report recommended –

that the Committee

(a)          note the content of the current version of the Early Learning and Childcare Delivery Plan including the indicative financial template contained at the exempt appendix to the report;

(b)          instruct the Head of Education and Inclusion to present a further updated Early Learning and Childcare Delivery Plan to the appropriate Committee once notification of capital and revenue grants were received from Scottish Government;

(c)          endorse the interim Memorandum of Understanding between Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Council in relation to the provision of Early Learning and Childcare for Cross Border Split Placements as detailed at section 3.8 of the report; and

(d)          delegate authority to the Head of Education and Inclusion to allocate the 17/18 early years expansion revenue and capital grants, and in utilising the grant to instruct the Head of Education and Inclusion to ensure that the many assumptions made in the financial template were rigorously tested to support more accurate financial planning.

The Committee resolved:

to approve the recommendations.

In accordance with article 4 of this minute, the Committee heard the following deputations:

(A)         The Committee received a deputation from Ms Lesley-Anne Yeats, Walker Road Parent Council.

Ms Yeats advised of the Walker Road Parent Council’s participation to date in the consultation events regarding the school and that throughout this period they had continuously campaigned for it to be recognised that from their view the only safe route to Lochside Academy from Torry was free, dedicated transport.

She referred to Section 51 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 which stated “make arrangements for the provision of school transport for pupils attending their schools and to have regard to the safety of those pupils” and therefore the Parent Council was of the view that the Council had a duty of care to provide free transport from Torry to Lochside Academy.

She went on to advise of their concerns regarding the safety ofthe proposed safe walking route from Torry and advised that in order to address these concerns, the Parent Council wished the Committee to:

1.            Approve Free Transport to Lochside Academy from Torry;

2.            Request amendments to further investigate that free bus provision whether it be through:

a)        a dedicated service; or

b)        fully supported service picking up all Torry children within the community and dropping off within the school grounds; and

3.            Request an amendment to further investigate available funding to ensure the accessibility of the school and community facilities outwith the proposed recommended 7am-6pm bus pass provision.

(B)       The Committee received a deputation from by Ms Julie Pose, Chair of the Charleston Primary School Parent Council.

Ms Pose advised of concerns regarding the safety of the proposed walking route to the new Academy from Cove, advising that she did not consider that a reasonable or safe walking route had been identified.  In particular she highlighted the concerns the Parent Council had for pupils crossing the dual carriageway and stated that they did not accept that the central reservations available were sufficient.  In this regard she referred to the safe walking and cycling route which was agreed by the Planning Development Management Committee in 2015, wherein the addition of a toucan crossing on Wellington Road was agreed, including the said route along the A956 dual carriageway along which there were no safety barriers other than at the Sainsbury's junction.  She did not believe that this was either reasonable or safe as a designated safe route for children to walk or cycle along at any time.  She also highlighted that Cove children would need to cross a crossing which did not currently exist and therefore had not been tested as fit for purpose and walk along the A956 which had no safety barriers along its entire length other than at its junctions.  Therefore, she felt that Cove parents would have to hope that the route would be safe for their children and she did not believe that this was acceptable.

She then referred to Section 3.3.6 of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

With reference to article 12 of the minute of the meeting of the Education and Children’s Services Committee of 1 June 2017, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education and Children’s Services which provided details and conclusions of the option appraisals carried out in relation to the planning of future options to be considered for the delivery of the long term education provision at St. Peter’s Roman Catholic School in Aberdeen.

The report recommended –

that the Committee

(a)       consider the outcome of the option appraisal work to date which concluded that:

·                     the current Riverbank School site was the most viable site for a new build replacement for St. Peter’s School; and

·                     the current Riverbank School building was the most suitable existing school building for the long term delivery of RC educational provision at St. Peter’s, and that within currently available resources this was the most viable option for the future of St Peter’s School.

(b)       instruct the Director of Education and Children’s Services to commence a programme of formal consultation in accordance with the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act, the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 and section 22D of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 regarding the proposal to relocate St. Peter’s RC School to the current Riverbank School building, once the New Tillydrone Primary School became operational, and

(c)        instruct the Director of Education and Children’s Services to report back to a future meeting of the Committee regarding the outcome of the consultation, which would take place in early 2018.

The Convener, seconded by Councillor Cameron moved:-

that the Committee

(a)       note the outcome of the option appraisal work to date; and

(b)       instruct the Head of Policy, Performance and Resources to undertake a feasibility study to identify improvements to Riverbank School and the associated costs, including the costs of bringing up to category A and to report to the Committee at its meeting in January 2018.

Councillor Greig, seconded by Councillor Samarai moved as an amendment:-

that the Committee –

(1)       note the outcome of the option appraisal work to date; and

(2)       instruct the Head of Policy, Performance and Resources to undertake a feasibility study to identify: (1) improvements to Riverbank School and the associated costs, including the costs of bringing up to category A; and (2) the cost of a new build replacement school for St Peters on the cleared Riverbank School site, and to report to the Committee at its meeting in January 2018 with the view to considering what option(s) goes to out to statutory consultation.

On a division, there voted:- for the motion (23) – the Convener; the Vice Convener and Councillors Allan, Boulton, Cameron, Copland, Donnelly, Flynn, Greig, Henrickson, Imrie, Lumsden, McLellan, Catriona Mackenzie, Malik, Nicoll, Samarai, Jennifer Stewart, Mrs Stephanie Brock, Mrs Louise Bruce, Mr John Murray, Mr Colm O’Riordan, and Miss Pamela Scott; and for the amendment (1) – Councillor Greig.

The Committee resolved:

to adopt the motion.

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

The Committee had before it an exempt appendix presenting the indicative early learning and childcare financial template referred to at article 9 of this minute.

The Committee resolved:

to note the indicative financial template contained in the exempt appendix.

The Committee had before it an exempt appendix detailing the estimated expenditure of the proposal contained in the subsidised transport and safe walking routes to Lochside Academy report referred to at article 10 of this minute.

A further exempt appendix detailing the estimated cost of the proposal approved by the Committee at article 10 of this minute in respect of the decision approved by the Committee in relation to the subsidised transport and safe walking routes to Lochside Academy report was tabled.

The Committee resolved:

to note both exempt appendices.

The Committee had before it a report by the Head of Legal and Democratic Services which sought approval of the Aberdeen Performing Arts (APA) 2018-2021 Business Plan.

The report recommended –

that the Committee

a)            note the contents of the Internal Audit report which was attached as Appendix 1 of the report;

b)            note that a report would be submitted to the 22 February 2018 meeting of the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Committee providing an update on the organisation’s response to the Internal Audit findings;

c)            note that a report would be submitted to the Finance, Policy and Resources Committee meeting of 1 December 2017 which reviewed the future management arrangements of Garthdee Alpine Sports and other sports providers; and

d)            otherwise note the content of the report.

The Committee resolved:

to approve the recommendations.

The Convener proposed that the Committee suspend Standing Order 37.2 (Length of Meetings) to enable the meeting to continue beyond four hours.

The Committee resolved:

to agree to suspend Standing Order 37.2 (Length of Meetings).

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

In accordance with article 3 of this minute, Councillors Boulton, Donnelly, Duncan and Imrie left the meeting prior to consideration of the following item of business.  Councillor Sellar substituted for Councillor Imrie for this item only.  Councillor Houghton substituted for Councillor Boulton for this item only.  Councillor Graham substituted for Councillor Duncan for this item only.

During consideration of the following item Councillor Catriona Mackenzie declared an interest by virtue of her position as a Council appointed Director to the Board of Aberdeen Performing Arts but chose to remain in the meeting as Aberdeen Performing Arts was a body being a company established wholly or mainly for the purpose of providing services to the local authority, and which had entered into a contractual arrangement with the local authority for the supply of goods and/or services to the local authority, as set out in paragraph 5.18(2)(d)(i) and (ii) of the Councillors' Code of Conduct.

With reference to article 25 of the minute of the meeting of Council of 21 June 2017, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education and Children’s Services which presented the Aberdeen International Youth Festival (AIYF) 2017-2020 Business Plan including their plans for transitioning to a SCIO (Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation) and also reports on current festival activity.

The report recommended –

that the Committee

(a)       note the AIYF draft Business Plan and additional documents submitted to the Head of Education and Inclusion on 29 September 2017 and ask that the final Business Plan was re-submitted to the Head of Education and Inclusion once approved by the Board of Trustees; and

(b)       request the Head of Education and Inclusion to consider the documents referred to in (a) above in the context of the annual cultural programme as part of the Council’s 2018/19 budget setting process.

The Committee resolved:

(i)         to note that the Committee was not supportive of funding being allocated to Aberdeen International Youth Festival as part of the financial year 18/19 budget setting process;

(ii)        to note that the Committee was supportive of funding of £100,000 from contingencies or reserves being approved by the Finance, Policy and Resources Committee at its meeting to be held on 1 December 2017 for a Year of Young People funding Award Programme for the financial year 18/19 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;

(iii)       subject to the funding being approved by the Finance, Policy and Resources Committee on 1 December 2017:

1.         to instruct the Head of Education and Inclusion, following consultation with the Head of Finance, to set up a Year of Young People funding Award Programme for the financial year 18/19 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;

2.         to delegate authority to the Head of Education and Inclusion, following consultation with the Convener and Vice Convener of the Education and Children’s Services Committee, to set the criteria for the awarding of funding from the Award Programme;

3.         to delegate authority to the Head of Education and Inclusion to review and allocate the awards accordingly;

(iv)       subject to approval of recommendation (ii), to refer the approved recommendations in the report together with appropriate background detail by way of a report to the Finance, Policy and Resources Committee at its meeting to be held on 1 December for consideration of funding allocation for the Award Programme, with the recommendation that (1) a sum of £100,000 from contingencies or reserves be allocated to the Award Programme for a one year period; and (2) that the Head of Finance be delegated the power to account for this funding as appropriate; and

(v)        to instruct the Head of Finance and Head of Education and Inclusion to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

At this juncture, the external members of the Committee departed.

With reference to article 18 of the minute of the meeting of the Education and Children’s Services Committee of 17 November 2016, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Education and Children’s Services which provided an update on the anticipated financial and service implications of the implementation of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 as it affected children’s social work.

The report recommended –

that the Committee

(a)       note how children’s social work had taken forward the implementation of the new duties contained within the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014; and

(b)       note the request by the Education and Children’s Services Committee in June 2017 to provide a report in March 2018 on the project costs of implementing Part 11 – Continuing Care.

The Committee resolved:

to approve the recommendations.

The Convener reminded members that this would be Mrs Gayle Gorman, the Director of Education and Children’s Services last meeting before taking up her new post as Chief Inspector of Education for Scotland.  He thanked Mrs Gorman for her hard work, passion and commitment to improving all areas within the Service’s remit and for her support to the Committee throughout her tenure.

The Committee resolved:

to concur with the Convener’s comments.

- COUNCILLOR JOHN WHEELER,Convener