Agenda, decisions and minutes

The agenda and reports associated with this minute can be found here.

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 had before it the minute of the previous meeting of 11 March, 2021, for approval. 

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the minute as a correct record.

The Committee had before it the committee business planner as prepared by the Chief Officer – Governance. 

The Committee resolved:-

(i)              to agree to remove items 30 (Smart Bins and Digitalisation of Waste Containers), 31 (Use of Plastic Based Materials in Roads Construction), and 32 (Motion by Councillors Boulton and Delaney – Suitable Bus Laybys on the Hazlehead to Westhill Road;

(i)              to agree to remove items 4 (Performance Report), 5 (Review of Winter Maintenance Plan 2020/21), 6 (Autism Strategy and Action Plan), 7 (Review of Learning Centres) and 8 (Various Small Scale Traffic Management Stage 2), subject to the decisions taken in respect of items 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 later on the agenda; and

(ii)             to otherwise note the information contained the Committee Business Planner.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Operating Officer and the Director of Customer Services, which presented Committee with the status of key performance measures relating to the Operations function. 

Members discussed the performance report in detail and offered various observations. 

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)            provide comments and observations on the performance information contained in report Appendix A; and

(b)            approve the reduction in the target for Service Standard ‘% Foster carers and adopters approved within a timescale of 6 months from application’ from 90% to 75%.

The Convener, seconded by the Vice Convener, Councillor Macdonald:-

           that the report recommendations be approved.

Councillor Radley, seconded by Councillor Cameron, moved as an amendment:-

(1)            that members provide comments and observations on the performance information contained in report Appendix A; and

(2)            that the Committee approve the reduction in the target for Service Standard ‘%  Foster carers and adopters approved within a timescale of 6 months from  application’ from 100% to 75%; but on the basis that, once the target of 75% is met, the target should be increased by the Chief Officer - Integrated Children’s and Family Services to 82%, and then increased incrementally as required until a target of 100% is met.

On a division, there voted:- for the motion (7) – the Convener, the Vice Convener Councillor Macdonald, and Councillors Lesley Dunbar, Graham, MacKenzie, Mason and Stewart, the Depute Provost; for the amendment (6) – Councillors Cameron, Cormie, Delaney, Henrickson, Hutchison and Radley. 

The Committee resolved:-

(i)              to note that in relation to the target for the percentage of unclassified roads that should be considered for maintenance treatment, that the indicator should be green and not amber as stated in the report;

(ii)             to note that the target for Child Protection Conferences held within 21 days had previously been agreed to be reduced from 100% to 80% and to ensure this was reflected in the next Performance Report;

(iii)            to request that officers provide information by way of a Service Update with further information about the performance of the Customer Contact Centre;

(iv)           to request that officers provide more information in future reports in relation to the Financial Inclusion team with details on cases per month;

(v)             to request that officers provide more information to members by way of email, in regard to the satisfaction survey issued to new tenants;

(vi)           in relation to the cost of Environmental Health per 1000 of population, to request that officers look at comparative local authorities and their performance and data, rather than a comparative with Scotland as a whole;

(vii)          in relation to the target for the number of school lunches served through the year for primary ages children for 2020/21, to request that officers circulate information to members by way of email on the breakdown of meals provided for each quarter of the year;

(viii)        in relation to the target for total number of complaints received (stage 1 and 2) - Building Services, that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Officer – Early Intervention and Community Empowerment, which provided Committee with the outcome of the review, instructed by Committee on 9 January 2020, of the Council’s operational agreements with learning centre associations and sought authorisation for the approval of new operational agreements.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)            note that the learning centre associations are satisfied with the proposed new operational agreement as appended to this report;

(b)            authorise the Chief Officer – Early Intervention and Community Empowerment to approve the operational agreement for each individual learning centre association; and

(c)             authorise the Chief Officer – Early Intervention and Community Empowerment to approve any alterations to the operational agreements as may be required from time to time.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)              to request that a Service Update be issued to members with details on Leased Community Centres; and

(ii)             to otherwise approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Officer – Operations and Protective Services, which provided Members with an overview of the strategy that the roads operations operated throughout the city during the winter of 2020/21.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)            note the content of this report; and

(b)            instruct the Chief Officer of Operations and Protective Services to bring back a further report to this Committee in September 2021 incorporating a revised Roads Winter Service Plan in advance of the 2021/22 winter period.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)              to request that officers work with the media team to ensure communications were issued in relation to the correct use of grit bins;

(ii)             to thank officers for their continued efforts in delivering the winter maintenance operations; and

(iii)            to otherwise approve the recommendations contained in the report.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Officer, Integrated Children’s and Family Services, which provided an update on the implementation of the Aberdeen City Autism Strategy and Action Plan 2019-22.

The report recommended:--

that the Committee note the report and the information on progress against the action plan as presented in appendix A.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)              to request that officers circulate information to all elected members in relation to data available on the locality of autistic school age learners; and

(ii)             to otherwise approve the recommendation contained in the report.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Officer – Operations and Protective Services, which considered objections and comments received as part of the statutory consultation period with respect to proposed Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs).

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)            acknowledges the objections received as a result of the public advertisement for “The Aberdeen City Council (Deeside Drive Area, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 202(X)”; and

(b)            approves the proposed order should be made; albeit modified, with a section of prohibition of waiting at any time on Deeside Drive removed from the proposed order (thereby approving the plan shown in Appendix 2).

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations contained in the report. 

-        Councillor Philip Bell, Convener