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 were no declarations of interest.

The Committee had before it the minute of its meeting of 10 October 2018 for approval.

The Committee resolved:

(i)               to approve the minute as a correct record; and

(ii)             in relation to resolution (ii) of article 10 (Police Scotland Hate Crime Thematic Report), to request the Chief Officer - Governance to ensure that an update, by way of email, from the North East Division, on the recruitment of LGBT+ candidates; and the delivery of training programmes which aimed to increase awareness of LGBT+ issues for all serving police officers be provided to the Committee.

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

The Committee resolved:-

(i)               in relation to item 18 (Police Scotland Thematic Report), to request that the Police Scotland thematic report to be submitted by the Chief Superintendent to the Committee on 24 April 2019 cover serious and organised crime in the city, and in particular that it describe how Police Scotland liaised with Council Functions i.e. licensing, and other partners in relation to investigation of serious and organised crime; and

(ii)             to otherwise note the committee business planner.

With reference to article 10 of the minute of the meeting of the Public Protection Committee of 9 May 2018, the Committee had before it a report by the Chief Officer – Governance which presented the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service local performance report to provide assurance on progress against local priorities, outcomes and actions as set out in the Aberdeen City Local Fire and Rescue Plan.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee note the report.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Officer – Integrated Children’s and Family Services which advised of the appropriate systems and process in place to respond to local and national Significant Case Reviews for the Committee’s assurance.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee

(a)             note the role and function of the Significant Case Review Sub-Committee; and

(b)             endorse the work of the Significant Case Review Sub-Committee to ensure the learning of all local and national Significant Case Reviews was embedded into local practice to improve the outcomes for children and young people who require care and protection.

The Chief Officer – Integrated Children’s and Family Services advised that an EHRIA form had been completed and submitted.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)               to approve the recommendations; and

(ii)             to request the Chief Officer – Integrated Children’s and Family Services, to advise the Committee, by way of email, of the role of The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in relation to the Care Inspectorate.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Officer – Integrated Children’s and Family Services which advised of the involvement of Aberdeen City’s Chief Officers Group and Child Protection Committee in progressing, in this area, the expectations of the national Child Protection Improvement Programme, for the Committee’s assurance.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee

(a)             note the content of the report; and

(b)             endorse the work of the Aberdeen City’s Chief Officer Group and Child Protection Committee in relation to the Child Protection Improvement Programme.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)            to approve the recommendations; and

(ii)          to note that the Child Protection Committee annual report to be considered by the Committee in 2019 would contain an update on the work of the Aberdeen City’s Chief Officer Group and Child Protection Committee in relation to the national Child Protection Improvement Programme.

With reference to article 15 of the minute of the meeting of the Public Protection Committee of 9 May 2018, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Customer Services which provided an update on the progress made against the Prevent Peer Review's 18 recommendations and the national context.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee

(a)          note progress made against the Prevent Peer Review recommendations as requested by the Committee on 9May 2018;

(b)          note the appointment of Fraser Bell as the new lead officer for CONTEST; and

(c)          note the commendation from the Scottish Government regarding the partnership working of the Prevent Delivery Group.

At this juncture, the Convener advised the Committee that this was Alana Nabulsi, Statutory Homeless Team Leader’s last meeting reporting to the Committee prior to taking up a new role and she thanked her for her support to the Committee and wished her well in her future endeavours.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)            to approve recommendations (a) and (c);

(ii)          to note and endorse the appointment of Fraser Bell as the new lead officer for CONTEST;

(iii)         to instruct the Chief Officer – Governance to submit a report detailing the progress made against the 18 recommendations from the Prevent Peer Review to the Committee at its meeting on 24 April 2019;

(iv)         to request that the Statutory Homeless Team Leader clarify and advise the Committee, by way of email, that the Council’s IT systems had a virtualprivatenetwork (VPN) that created a safe and encrypted connection for all; and

(v)          to thank Alana Nabulsi, Statutory Homeless Team Leader, for her support to the Committee and to wish her well in her future endeavours.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Operating Officer whichsought approval to submit the proposed response in relation to the enforcement elements of the consultation as appended to the report.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee –

(a)          approve the consultation response at Appendix A;

(b)          instruct the Chief Operating Officer to submit the consultation response on behalf of Aberdeen City Council; and

(c)          acknowledge that additional financial resources might be required in order to deliver this proposal to address the potential impact on other public health controls currently delivered by the Environmental Health Service.

The Convener, seconded by the Vice Convener moved:-

            That the Committee -

(1)          approve recommendations (a) and (b); and

(2)          acknowledge COSLA’s position that additional financial          resources would be required from the Scottish Government in order to deliver the proposal to address the potential impact on other public health controls currently delivered by the Environmental Health Service.

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

That the Committee approve the recommendations contained within the report.

On a division, there voted:- for the motion (6) – the Convener; the Vice Convener, and Councillors Bell, Delaney, Donnelly and Duncan; for the amendment (3) – Councillors Alphonse, Cameron and Townson.

The Committee resolved:-

to adopt the motion.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Officer – Strategic Place Planning which provided an overview of Council responsibilities in relation to securing dangerous buildings and protecting public safety, as well as information of activity on unauthorised building work and unauthorised occupation of buildings, for the Committee’s assurance.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee note the contents of the report and Appendix.

The Committee resolved:-

to note and endorse the contents of the report and Appendix.

The Committee noted that its next meeting would be held on 20 February 2018 at 10am.