Agenda, decisions and draft 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 Convener proposed that the Committee consider item 15.1 (Opportunity to Host the World Rally Championships in North East Scotland - Exempt Appendix) and item 15.2 (Work Plan and Business Cases - Exempt Appendices) with the press and public excluded from the meeting.

The Committee resolved:-

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 the above items so as to avoid disclosure of information of the classes described in the following paragraph of Schedule 7(A) to the Act:- article 17 (paragraph 6) and article 18 (paragraph 8).

Members were requested to intimate any declarations of interest or transparency statements in respect of the items on today’s agenda, thereafter the following was intimated:-

(1)      Councillor Radley advised that she had a connection in relation to agenda items 11.2 (Visitor Levy) and 11.3 (Opportunity to Host the World Rally Championships in North East Scotland) by virtue of her being a Council appointed board member on VisitAberdeensire. Having applied the objective test, she did not consider that she had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting;

(2)      Councillor Cooke advised that he had a connection in relation to agenda item 9.1 (Council Financial Performance – Quarter 1, 2025/26) by virtue of him being a Council appointed member of Sport Aberdeen, as the Vice Chair of the Integration Joint Board and as a member of the Pensions Committee. Having applied the objective test, he did not consider that he had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting;

(3)      Councillor Cooke further advised that he had a connection in relation to agenda item 9.2 (Castlegate Public Realm Update) by virtue of him being a Friend of the Gordon Highlanders Museum. Having applied the objective test, he did not consider that he had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting;

(4)      Councillor Cooke further advised that he had a connection in relation to agenda item 10.2 (Contributing to Your Care and Support (Adult Social Care (Non-Residential) Charging Policy 25-26) by virtue of him being the Vice Chair of the Integration Joint Board. Having applied the objective test, he did not consider that he had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting;

(5)      Councillor Greig advised that he had a connection in relation to agenda items 9.1 (Council Financial Performance – Quarter 1, 2025/26) and 10.2 (Contributing to Your Care and Support (Adult Social Care (Non-Residential) Charging Policy 25-26) by virtue of him being a Council appointed member of the Integration Joint Board. Having applied the objective test, he did not consider that he had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting; and

(6)      Councillor Malik advised that he had a connection in relation to agenda items 9.1 (Council Financial Performance – Quarter 1, 2025/26) and 10.2 (Contributing to Your Care and Support (Adult Social Care (Non-Residential) Charging Policy 25-26) by virtue of him being a Council appointed member of the Integration Joint Board. Having applied the objective test, he did not consider that he had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting.

The Committee had before it the minute of meeting of the Finance and Resources Committee of 7 May 2025.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the minute.

The Committee had before it the minute of meeting of the Special Finance and Resources Committee of 11 July 2025.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the minute.

The Committee had before it the Committee Business Planner prepared by the Chief Officer - Governance.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to remove item 6 (South College Street Phase 2 – Outline Business Case) for the reason outlined in the planner;

(ii)      to note the reasons for deferral in relation to item 9 (Bucksburn and Dyce Long Term Secondary School Provision: Outline Business Case) and item 10 (Wellington Road Junction Improvements – Progress Report); and

(iii)      to otherwise note the Committee Planner.

At this juncture, the Convener advised that he was moving item 7.1 (Notice of Motion by Councillors Allard and Yuill – Aberdeen FC) to the end of the public part of the agenda.

The Committee had before it a report by the Executive Director of Corporate Services which provided the financial position of the Council as at Quarter 1 (30 June 2025) and the full year forecast position for the financial year 2025/26, including:-

·       General Fund and Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and capital accounts; and associated Balance Sheet; and

·       Common Good revenue account and Balance Sheet.

The report recommended:-

that 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’ although there are a range of financial risks that exist for the financial year. Continuing action and controls, as outlined in Appendix 2 will remain in place for the remainder of 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 2025 the uncommitted value of those reserves was £12m, the minimum that the Council Reserves Statement recommends and as approved by the Council;

(e)      approve inclusion of the Den Burn Restoration project in the General Fund Capital Programme as detailed in Appendix 5, with funding being provided from SEPA, additional Scottish Government Capital Grant (Climate Emergency) and Bus Lane Enforcement money received, and instructs the Chief Officer – Capital to ensure the project is delivered;

(f)       note that the HRA full year forecast position, as detailed in Appendix 2, is ‘on budget’, but continues to face challenging cost pressures as outlined in Appendix 2 and the HRA Budget Report 2025/26; and

(g)      note that the forecast for General Fund Capital budget has been updated to include approved in-year virements, carry forward commitments and a reprofiling exercise. General Fund and Housing Capital expenditure is currently forecast to be as per the revised profiles for 2025/26;

The Convener, seconded by Councillor Greig, moved:-

that the Committee approve the recommendations contained within the report.

Councillor Malik, seconded by Councillor Watson, moved as an amendment:-

that the Committee –

(1)    note the report;

(2)    agree that the UK Government provided the Scottish Government with a record £50 billion financial settlement for 2025/26;

(3)    agree the report highlights the risks associated with the IJB, meaning if the IJB has an overspend position, then the deficit will have to be met by the IJB partners. This means that the Council would have to contribute from the General Fund to bring the IJB back to a balanced position; 

(4)    agree the £4m of contingencies could be at risk of being insufficient given the overspend risks confirmed within the report;

(5)    agree with the Labour Group’s view that the Energy from Waste Plant (EfW) fiasco will impact on revenue, given council  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

With reference to article 21 of the minute of meeting of 7 August 2024, the Committee had before it a report by the Executive Director of City Regeneration and Environment which provided an update on the final design and layout for public realm improvements in the Castlegate.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      approve the design and layout of the public realm improvements as detailed in Appendix A; and

(b)      instruct the Chief Officer – Capital, following consultation with the Chief Officer – Commercial & Procurement Services, to negotiate and execute 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 to this committee.

The Convener, seconded by Councillor Greig, moved:-

that the Committee approve the recommendations contained within the report.

Councillor Brooks, seconded by Councillor Farquhar, moved as an amendment:-

that the Committee –

(1)    note the current general lack of maintenance and weed control across the city;

(2)    further note the state of Aberdeen’s Green Spaces and garden areas - namely Union Terrace Gardens;

(3)    instruct the Chief Officer - Capital to report back to the next meeting of the Finance and Resource Committee in November,  the projected additional operational expenditure burden (Operation & Maintenance) of the plant and greenery design as a supplement to the capital expenditure costs outlined in today’s committee papers; and

(4)    thus, agree that any approval of the design and layout of the ‘public realm improvements’ must wait until the projected operational expenditure burden is made available.

On a division, there voted:- for the motion (5) – the Convener and Councillors Allard, Cooke, Greig and Radley; for the amendment (4) – Councillors Brooks, Farquhar, Malik and Watson.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to adopt the motion; and

(ii)      to instruct the Chief Officer – Operations to circulate to Councillor Brooks, a statement of the work planned to be carried out to improve the maintenance in Union Terrace Gardens.

With reference to article 2 of the minute of meeting of the Council of 11 September 2023, the Committee had before it a report by the Executive Directors of Corporate Services and City Regeneration and Environment, which provided final proposed design layouts for the Beachfront Pedestrian Spine.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      approve the final design layout as shown in Appendices 1 to 4 and detailed within this report for the Pedestrian Spine on the Beach Boulevard; and

(b)      instruct the Chief Officer – Capital, following consultation with the Chief Officer – Commercial and Procurement Services, to negotiate and execute contracts for delivery of the construction programme in line with the previously approved total project budget as detailed in paragraph 4, reporting progress through the Chief Officer – Capital’s regular capital programme monitoring reports to this committee.

The Convener, seconded by Councillor Greig, moved:-

that the Committee approve the recommendations contained within the report.

Councillor Brooks, seconded by Councillor Farquhar, moved as an amendment:-

that the Committee:-

(1)    note that the current officer recommendations do not represent what has been agreed for Phase A of the Beach Master Plan;

(2)    note again, as with item 9.2 (Castlegate Public Realm Update), that various plants have been included in the design;

(3)    note that once again, public consultation has been performed as nothing more than a tick-box exercise to satisfy minimum statutory obligations;

(4)    further note that since the publication of these committee papers last week, the public at large are disgusted with spending over £3m on this;

(5)    further note that since the citizens of Aberdeen have become aware of this matter that they are rightly concerned by the Council Administration’s behaviour in this;

(6)    instruct the Chief Officer – Commercial and Procurement to report back to the next meeting of the Finance and Resource Committee in November, the projected additional OPEX burden (O&M) of the plant and greenery design as a supplement to the CAPEX costs outlined in today’s committee papers;

(7)    instruct the Chief Officer – Capital to stop all further progress on these plans until the citizens of Aberdeen have been “fully” consulted, following a process that is designed to engage with the public; and

(8)    agree to reject this ‘Final Design Layout’ until it is clear how vehicular access and good vehicular circulation in the area is maintained (giving consideration of 18,000 visitors from all over Europe coming to the adjacent football stadium).

Councillor Malik, seconded by Councillor Watson, moved as a further amendment:-

that the Committee:-

(1)    agree the Council should not proceed at this time, holding over the decision until the Finance and Resources Committee meeting in November due to the limited legal implications within the report regarding Planning and the Stopping up order;

(2)    agree the report does not provide any evidence as to what was advertised in respect of the Stopping up Notice or if the local authority has granted such a request given Planning is not being requested;  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Committee had before it a report by the Executive Director of Corporate Services which provided the status of (1) key operational performance measures and activity indicators relating to those Functions and Clusters within the remit of the Finance and Resources Committee at conclusion of the 2024/25 fiscal period; and (2) year-to-year comparisons against a series of core data derived from recent national publications, and Statutory Performance Indicators linked to these organisational structures.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note the report and provide comments and observations on the performance information contained in the Appendix to the report.

The Committee resolved:-

to note the performance information contained in the Appendix.

With reference to article 14 of the minute of meeting of 7 August 2024, the Committee had before it a report by the Chief Officer - Aberdeen City Health and Social Care Partnership, which presented a revised Charging Policy for adult non-residential social care services for its approval.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      approve the ‘Contributing to Your Care and Support – Adult Social Care (Non-Residential) Charging Policy 25-26 and agree that it should be implemented as of 01 April 2026;

(b)      agree that a taper of 67% will continue to be applied to an individual’s personal allowance in the application of charges; and

(c)      agree an initial percentage charge on the chargeable elements of an individual budget of 70%, rising 10% each financial year, before reaching an 100% charge in 2029-30.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to approve the recommendations contained within the report; and

(ii)      to note that the Chief Officer - Finance would circulate to Councillor Watson, for context, details of the budgeted income figures regarding non-residential income charges.

With reference to article 17 of the minute of meeting of 7 August 2024, the Committee had before it a report by the Executive Director of City Regeneration and Environment which sought approval of the second annual update to the Development Plan Scheme for the Aberdeen Local Development Plan 2028.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee approve the content of the updated Development Plan Scheme 2025 (Appendix 1) and instruct the Chief Officer – Strategic Place Planning to, subject to any minor drafting changes which he considers necessary, publish it in accordance with relevant legislation.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation contained within the report.

With reference to article 14 of the minute of meeting of 12 February 2025, the Committee had before it a report by the Executive Director of City Regeneration and Environment which sought a decision on whether and how to proceed with the visitor levy in Aberdeen.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      note the public consultations and key stakeholders that have been consulted on the outline proposal in section 3.22;

(b)      note the key points from these consultations in section 3.23-3.25 with a full summary provided in Appendix B - Aberdeen City Council Consultation response July 2025;

(c)      note the absolute earliest date that Aberdeen City Council could introduce a visitor levy is 01 April 2027;

(d)      note the timeline and actions in section 3.5 if a decision is made to proceed with the visitor levy proposals or with modifications to those proposals;

(e)      decide whether or not to take forward a Visitor Levy for Aberdeen and decide upon a rate in the range of 5% to 10% in line with the scheme outlined, or with modifications; and

(f)       instruct the Chief Officer – City Development and Regeneration to take any actions necessary to implement the decision made under recommendation 2.5; and in accordance with the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024.

The Convener, seconded by Councillor Greig, moved:-

that the Committee –

(1)    welcome the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024, which allows local authorities in Scotland to charge a fee on overnight stays in some types of accommodation calculated as a percentage of the chargeable transaction for accommodation;

(2)    note the public and stakeholders consultation carried out by Aberdeen City Council;

(3)    instruct the Chief Officer - City Development & Regeneration to take any actions necessary to introduce the visitor levy across Aberdeen at 7%, in accordance with the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024, from 01 April 2027;

(4)    instruct the Chief Officer - City Development & Regeneration to continue to engage with businesses during the implementation period to better understand the costs of compliance with the Visitor Levy scheme;

(5)    agree as part of the above mentioned engagement, the Council will review the appropriateness of the proposed administrative retention rate to ensure it remains fair, proportionate, and is evidence-based and delegates authority to the Chief Officer - City Development & Regeneration to set the retention rate in consultation with the Convener of the Finance and Resources Committee; and 

(6)    instruct the Chief Officer - City Development & Regeneration to establish a Visitor Levy Forum within six months in line with the requirements of the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024.

Councillor Brooks, seconded by Councillor Farquhar, moved as an amendment:-

that the Committee –

(1)    note that the premise and term “Visitor Levy” makes no exemption for Aberdeen citizens using city accommodation after a night out (Weddings, Xmas parties, etc);

(2)    note in Appendix B, the summary outcome is that a majority of respondents disagreed with Aberdeen City Council implementing a visitor levy, and a plurality of residents were not in favour;  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

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

The Committee had before it a report by the Executive Director of City Regeneration and Environment which informed of the opportunity to host the World Rally Championships across the Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray Council areas for three consecutive years and sought approval to undertake planning and engagement exercises.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      welcome the opportunity for the North East of Scotland to host the World Rally Championships (WRC);

(b)      instruct the Chief Officer - City Development & Regeneration to prepare a detailed project proposal for hosting the WRC, including engagement with relevant partners;

(c)      instruct the Chief Officer - City Development & Regeneration to report the project proposal back to this Committee in November, with detailed costings and partnership feedback, including potential funding options and risk mitigation; and

(d)      authorise the Chief Officer – City Development & Regeneration to approve travel for up to two officers for a scoping visit to a World Rally Championship event, to be funded from the International Trade Budget and/or the City Promotions budget, should the opportunity arise in this financial year.

The Convener, seconded by Councillor Greig, moved:-

that the Committee –

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

(2)    delegate authority to the Chief Officer – City Development & Regeneration, in consultation with Co-leaders, to approve international travel to attend a World Rally Championship event, to be funded from the International Trade Budget and/or the City Promotions budget, should the opportunity arise in this 2025/26 financial year.

Councillor Malik, seconded by Councillor Watson, moved as an amendment:-

that the Committee –

(1)    note the report agreeing recommendations (b), (c) and (d); and

(2)    agree to ask the Chief Executive why Urgent Business Committee was not called in respect of 3.5 of the report, noting Events Scotland must wonder if Aberdeen City Council is serious about this event given it missed a glorious opportunity to understand the logistics in real time.

On a division, there voted:- for the motion (7) – the Convener and Councillors Allard, Brooks, Cooke, Farquhar, Greig and Radley; for the amendment (2) – Councillors Malik and Watson.

The Committee resolved:-

to adopt the motion.

With reference to article 3 of the minute of meeting of Council of 5 March 2025, the Committee had before it a report by the Executive Director of City Regeneration and Environment which provided an update on progress and confirmed future reporting arrangements for Ferryhill School and Harlaw Academy Suitability projects identified within the approved Capital Programme.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      note the advance and enabling development works undertaken to date to reduce risk to the main construction works and mitigate educational disruption;

(b)      note that the works carried out to date remain within the Capital Plan budget envelope and that work continues towards collating the main costs that will allow completion of the full business case; and

(c)      instruct the Chief Officer – Capital to continue to progress all necessary procurements, approvals, permissions, licenses, agreements and consents required to develop and implement the projects within the Capital Programme budget, reporting progress through the regular capital programme monitoring reports to this committee and to circulate for information the full business Cases for each project to committee members once completed.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to approve the recommendations contained within the report; and

(ii)      to note that the Director of City Regeneration and Environment would raise Councillor Watson’s concerns regarding the speeding buses on Caledonian Place at the next meeting of the Aberdeen Bus Partnership, which includes within its membership, representation from FirstBus.

There are exempt appendices in the Exempt Appendices section below.

The Committee had before it a report by the Executive Director of Corporate Services which presented procurement work plans where expenditure was included for the Corporate Services and the Families and Communities Functions for review and sought approval of the total estimated expenditure for the proposed contracts as contained in the work plans and Procurement Business Cases appended to the report.

The Procurement Business Case related to the following:-

·       Employee Benefits;

·       Keyholding & Out of Hours;

·       PIV Installations;

·       Children with Disabilities Support;

·       Strategic Demolitions;

·       Fostering & Continuing Care; and

·       Water Audit 2025

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      review the workplan as detailed in the Appendices for the Corporate Services and Families and Communities Functions;

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

(c)      note the content of Appendix 3 – 3.10 Memo Approvals and Appendix 4 – 4.1.3 Technical Exemption Approvals.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations contained within the report.

This Council congratulates Aberdeen FC on winning the Scottish Cup.

The Committee had before it a Joint Notice of Motion by Councillors Allard and Yuill, Vice Convener in the following terms:-

that this Council congratulates Aberdeen FC on winning the Scottish Cup.

Councillor Allard moved the joint motion and explained the rationale behind it and was seconded by Councillor Greig.

Councillor Malik, seconded by Councillor Brooks, moved as a joint amendment:-

that the Committee:-

(1)    agree the Notice of Motion, adding;

(2)    agree observing over 100,000 citizens in Aberdeen watch with pride as Aberdeen Football Club paraded the Scottish Cup down Union Street to the Town House shows the power of football in this city;

(3)    agree that the second phase of the Masterplan incorporating a new stadium for Aberdeen Football Club with ancillary sporting facilities to ensure any purpose-built sport centre is suitable for local, regional, national and international events is fundamental if Aberdeen is to remain the Energy Capital of Europe; and

(4)    agree to set up a working group comprising the 4 group leaders, Aberdeen Football Club and Senior Officers with terms of reference to be agreed after the first meeting to discuss how best the Council can proceed with phase two of the Beach Masterplan on a consensual basis.

On a division, there voted:- for the joint motion (5) – the Convener and Councillors Allard, Cooke, Greig and Radley; for the joint amendment (4) – Councillors Brooks, Farquhar, Malik and Watson.

The Committee resolved:-

to adopt the motion.

In accordance with the decision taken at Article 1 of this minute, the following items were considered with the press and public excluded.

The Committee had before it an exempt appendix relating to the Opportunity to Host the World Rally Championships in North East Scotland report. (Article 13 of this minute refers)

The Committee resolved:-

to note the information contained within the exempt appendix.

The Committee had before it exempt appendices relating to the Work Plan and Business Cases report. (Article 15 of this minute refers)

The Committee resolved:-

to note the information contained within the exempt appendices.

-         COUNCILLOR ALEX MCLELLAN, Convener