Agenda and decisions

to note that in terms of Standing Order 12.9, an urgent Notice of Motion had been added to the agenda and would be considered at item 7.3.

in terms of Section 50A(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, to exclude the press and public from the meeting during consideration of item 14.1 (Disposal of Former Milltimber School – Options Appraisal), item 15.1 (UK Shared Prosperity Fund – Exempt Appendix), item 15.2 (Tall Ships Aberdeen 2025 – Exempt Appendices) and item 15.3 (Work Plan and Business Cases – Exempt Appendices).

(1)      Councillor Brooks advised that he had a connection in relation to agenda item 7.3 (Urgent Notice of Motion by the Convener) by virtue of him being a technical authority in an oil and gas discipline, and a company member of OEUK (Offshore Energy UK), however having applied the objective test, he did not consider that he had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting; and

(2)      Councillor Radley advised that she had a connection in relation to agenda item 9.2 (UK Shared Prosperity Fund) by virtue of her being a Council appointed member of VisitAberdeenshire however having applied the objective test, she did not consider that she had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting.

to approve the minute.

(i)       to remove item 9 (School Estate Plan: Sunnybank School Relocation of Additional Services - Outline Business Case), item 13 (Disposal of Former Offices at 1 Queens Gardens) and item 44 (Developer Obligations - Asset Plans) from the planner, for the reasons outlined therein; and

(ii)      to note the reason for deferral in relation to item 12 (Fair Tax Mark).

That the Committee:-

1.      Notes the resignation of the Rt Hon Humza Yousaf MSP as First Minister of Scotland;

2.      Considers that as First Minister Humza Yousaf spent little time in Aberdeen beyond attending SNP Conference and never formally met with the Council Co-Leaders; and

3.      Therefore agrees to instruct the Chief Executive to write to the new First Minister of Scotland:-

(i)      reconfirming the Council’s willingness to work with the devolved administration in delivering projects of benefit to the people of Aberdeen;

(ii)    outlining the contribution of Aberdeen to Scotland and the UK’s economy;

(iii)   noting the historic underfunding of Aberdeen City Council by Holyrood and calling for remedial action; and

(iv)   asking them to meet with the Co-Leaders at the earliest opportunity, given the failure of both previous First Ministers to meet the Co-Leaders.

in terms of Standing Order 12.12, this item would be placed on the agenda for consideration at the next meeting of the Committee.

That the Committee:-

1.      Notes with concern Stagecoach's announcement on 13 June 2024 of the proposed cancellation of its 22A and 22B bus routes which service Torry and Lochside Academy with the 21A bus route from Cove to Lochside Academy also facing being scrapped;

2.      Recognises that this follows on from Aberdeen City Council cutting its subsidy of the route for pupils; and

3.      Instructs the Chief Executive to (a) write to Stagecoach's North Scotland Managing Director David Beaton noting the impact on local pupils; and (b) respond to the consultation noting the negative impact on the Torry community; and

4.      Instructs the Executive Director of Families and Communities to prepare an impact report to be submitted to the Education and Children's Services Committee with proposed actions to ameliorate.

in terms of Standing Order 12.12, this item would be placed on the agenda for consideration at the next meeting of the Committee.

(a)      note the cash position that has been achieved for the General Fund and HRA to the end of Quarter 1 as detailed in Appendix 1;

(b)      note the Common Good financial performance to the end of Quarter 1 as detailed in Appendix 3;

(c)      note that the General Fund full year forecast position remains on track to achieve a full year outturn of ‘on budget’. Continuing action, as outlined in Appendix 2 will remain in place for the financial year;

(d)      note that the Council maintains financial resilience with the resources available on the Council Balance Sheet, the General Fund Reserves in particular. As at 31 March 2024 the uncommitted value of those reserves was £12m, the minimum that the Council Reserves Statement recommends and as approved by the Council;

(e)      note that the HRA full year forecast position, as detailed in Appendix 2, is forecasting a deficit of £3.1m at this time and continues to face challenging cost pressures as outlined in Appendix 2 and the HRA Budget Report 24/25;

(f)       note that the Council relies on the Integration Joint Board (IJB) achieving a balanced budget, and that the IJB retains reserves to mitigate unplanned additional costs arising during the year, the Chief Officer – Finance has received assurance that the IJB does not expect to require additional funding from the Council for 2024/25; and

(g)      note that the forecast for General Fund Capital budget has been updated to include agreed adjustments and carry forwards from 2023/24. Housing Capital expenditure is currently forecasting on budget for 2024/25.

There is an exempt appendix in the Exempt Appendices Section below.

UKSPF Local Business Support

(a)      note that Committee have previously approved an in-house or procured delivery model for the Local Business Support strand, as outlined in 3.3, and subsequently;

(b)      award up to £137,592 to Aberdeen City Council for delivering the Energy Pilot Project in partnership with SCARF;

(c)      award up to £40,000 to Aberdeen City Council for the Learning Journey Support for SMEs in Tourism, Digital Tech and Food and Drink project;

(d)      award up to £48,740 to Aberdeen City Council for AI Upskilling for SMEs project;

(e)      award up to £55,000 to Aberdeen City Council for the Tall Ships Creative Makers Programme;

(f)       award up to £100,000 to Aberdeen City Council to deliver the Vibrant & Sustainable City Centre Pilot; and

(g)      approve that any underspend from projects be reallocated to any other previously approved project supported by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund within the same priority, which may require additional resources, following consultation with the Convener and Vice Convener of the Finance & Resources Committee;

UK Shared Prosperity Fund Update

(h)      note that should the recommendations above be approved the full amount of £7.15m from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund is now fully allocated; and

(i)       note an update on all approved UK Shared Prosperity Fund projects to date.

There is an exempt appendix in the Exempt Appendices Section below.

(a)      note the City-wide opportunities for the Tall Ships Races, Aberdeen 2025, the progress made and the expected economic benefits;

(b)      note that the outline budget included in the Event Proposal agreed at the Urgent Business Committee on 21st October 2022 (COM/22/251, section 4) has been updated to reflect 2024 costs and is referred to as the Core Contractual Programme, and notes the two additional programmes Commercial Entertainment Programme and Culture and Education Programme;

(c)      note the Tall Ships Partners objective to raise income from sponsorships, grants, patron support and commercial activities, including the optional development and implementation of the Commercial Entertainment Programme at the event site;

(d)      recognise the considerable time and effort already given by volunteers sitting on project working groups, as well as the support of staff from external agencies and organisations which has already contributed to the success of the Festival of the Sea 2024 as part of the wider Tall Ships programme, Appendix E;

(e)      note the sponsorship packages in Appendix A with which officers, elected members, individuals, community groups and businesses can support fundraising;

(f)       approve the revised budget for the Tall Ships Races Aberdeen 2025 Core Contractual Programme;

(g)      approve the budget for the Commercial Entertainment Programme;

(h)      approve the Culture and Education Programme option to underwrite a high-quality Tall Ships Souvenir Programme from the Extended Programme Option set out in Table 4; and

(i)       instruct the Chief Officer – City Development and Regeneration to implement other Culture and Education Programme options, subject to direct funding support from individuals, grants and sponsors.

note the performance information contained in the report Appendix.

note the Cluster Risk Registers and Assurance Maps set out in Appendices A to N.

approve the Contributing to Your Care and Support – Adult Social Care (Non- Residential) Charging Policy and agree that this should be implemented as of 8 August 2024.

(a)      note the process of developing the Culture Investment Framework, including stakeholder engagement and public consultation;

(b)      approve the new Culture Investment Framework, its principles, priorities and criteria;

(c)      note the current levels of funding allocation to external cultural delivery sourced through the Common Good Fund; and

(d)      agree with respect to the Common Good Fund, that future proposals for noncapital creative projects and cultural funding support are directed through the Culture Investment Programme.

(a)      note the projected end date of the current Union Street Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS) project in September 2024 (with final reporting to HES up to one quarter after the project end date) and note the disestablishment of the Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS) Board at the completion of the project; and

(b)      approve the proposed Heritage and Place Programme Area Partnership Board Terms of Reference and approvals process for grants and awards (as detailed in Appendix 1), the Heritage and Place Programme Area Partnership Advisory Group Terms of Reference (as detailed in Appendix 2), and the Heritage and Place Programme governance structure (as detailed in Appendix 3), and instruct the Chief Officer – Strategic Place Planning to submit the Heritage and Place Programme governance structure and Terms of Reference as part of the second round (Delivery Phase) applications to Historic Environment Scotland (HES) and the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) in February 2025.

approve the content of the Development Plan Scheme 2024 (Appendix 1) and instruct the Chief Officer – Strategic Place Planning to, subject to any minor drafting changes, publish it in accordance with relevant legislation.

(a)      note the Visitor Levy Bill has become law as the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024 having received Royal Assent on 5 July 2024;

(b)      note the various stages including the outline proposal, consultation, and public report that local authorities are required to engage in prior to a decision on whether to proceed;

(c)      note the absolute earliest a VL scheme can come into effect is Spring 2026, with a proposed timeline that Aberdeen could introduce a visitor levy in paragraph 3.9;

(d)      note the estimated costs and revenues of implementing a Visitor Levy scheme in Aberdeen and the benefits for both city residents and tourists; and

(e)      instruct the Chief Officer - City Development and Regeneration to develop the Visitor Levy scheme proposal with key stakeholders and report back to Finance and Resource Committee in Autumn 2024 with plans for wider consultation.

(a)      approve “Aberdeen City Council Historic Building Downtaking Policy” as a new Aberdeen City Council policy; and

(b)      note that responsibility for the approval of the sale of any historic building downtakings above the value of £10,000 would be with the Finance and Resources Committee.

(a)      note the progress made to advance the design concept for an urban park, as part of the wider City Centre Masterplan Queen Street project;

(b)      instruct the Chief Officer – Capital to develop the detailed and technical design for the Urban Park and, following consultation with the Chief Officer – Commercial & Procurement Services, to proceed with the negotiation andexecution of contracts for delivery of the construction programme in line with the previously approved total project budget as detailed in paragraph 4.1, reporting progress through the Chief Officer – Capital’s regular capital programme monitoring reports; and

(c)      note progress regarding the internal strip-out programme elsewhere on the Queen Street site, and instruct the Chief Officer– Capital to fully scope and cost the demolition of the former Police headquarters, reporting progress through the Chief Officer – Capital’s regular capital programme monitoring reports.

instruct the Chief Officer - Capital to develop the detailed and technical design for the Castlegate element of the City Centre Masterplan Streetscape programme and, following consultation with the Chief Officer – Commercial & Procurement Services, proceed with the negotiation and execution of contracts for delivery of the construction programme in line with the previously approved total project budget as detailed in paragraph 4.1, reporting progress through the Chief Officer – Capital’s regular capital programme monitoring reports.

(a)      instruct the Chief Officer - Corporate Landlord to undertake the consultation process as required under the terms of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 for this Common Good site; and

(b)      instruct the Chief Officer - Corporate Landlord on completion of the above, providing he considers it to be appropriate in the circumstances, to advertise the property seeking offers to purchase or enter into a long lease and to report the outcome of the process to a future meeting of the Finance and Resources Committee.

There are exempt appendices in the Exempt Appendices Section below.

(a)      review the workplan as detailed in the Appendices for the City Regeneration & Environment and Families and Communities Functions;

(b)      approve the procurement business cases, including the total estimated expenditure for the proposed contract; and

(c)      note the content of Appendix 3 – 3.10 Memo Approvals and Appendix 4 – Technical Exemption Approvals.

Instruct the Chief Officer – Corporate Landlord to advertise the property for residential use seeking offers to purchase, and report the outcome of the process to a future meeting of the Finance and Resources Committee.

to note the information contained within the exempt appendix.

to note the information contained within the exempt appendices.

to note the information contained within the exempt appendices.