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 Committee were advised that two urgent Notices of Motion had been submitted and accepted as urgent by the Convener in terms of Standing Order 12.9. In terms of Standing Order 12.11, the reasons for urgency were provided by members as follows:-

(1)      Urgent Notice of Motion by Councillor Tissera - Energy from Waste

Councillor Tissera believed that refuse collection had failed, and residents were not receiving statutory services they paid council tax for. There had also been no explanation for the closure of the Energy from Waste Plant, which raised serious governance concerns.

Councillor Tissera stated that under Section 45(1)(a) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, the Council had a legal duty to collect household waste. Furthermore, under Section 1 of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003, the Council was also bound to deliver Best Value, that meant transparency and effective service delivery.

Councillor Tissera stated that these were urgent failures of statutory duties and that delaying discussion would put the Council at legal and reputational risk.

(2)      Urgent Joint Notice of Motion by the Convener and Councillor Greig – Tall Ships 2025

The Convener advised that the Tall Ships 2025 Event had concluded out with the deadlines for submitting a Notice of Motion.

The Committee resolved:-

to note the reasons for urgency outlined above in terms of Standing Order 12.11, and that the Convener had also accepted the urgent notice of motion regarding the Tall Ships in terms of Section 50B(4)(b) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.   

There were no declarations of interest or transparency statements intimated.

That the Committee:-

(1)        Agree it was simply outrageous for Elected Members to find out via the press regarding the ongoing closure of the Energy from Waste Plant;  

(2)        Agree it has now been established that Council officers knew about this closure on 27 June 2025, yet despite there being a Council meeting on 2 July 2025, all Elected Members were not informed;  

(3)        Agree that most, if not all of the problems the Council currently has to face such as Bus gates, Energy from Waste, and RAAC has come through either the Net Zero Environment and Transport Committee or through Urgent Business Committee both convened by Councillor Ian Yuill;  ? 

(4)        Agree officers must inform Elected Members when they advised Administration leaders on the closure of the plant and explain why all Elected Members were not appraised of the reasons for closure before it made its way to the press;  

(5)        Agree that changes to staff terms and conditions as part of the 35-hour week may have contributed to bin collections not being undertaken as before and instructs the Chief Officer - Operations to bring forward a report to the relevant committee, into any impacts that the 35-hour week has had on the management of bin collections following its implementation; and  

(6)        Instructs the Chief Officer - Operations to bring forward a report to the Council meeting on 20 August 2025, providing Elected members with information as to how the Council intends to ensure the Energy for Waste Plant gets back up running and the knock-on effects the closure is having on residents and communities throughout Aberdeen.?  

The Committee had before it an urgent Notice of Motion by Councillor Tissera in the following terms:-

that the Committee:-

(1)    agree it was simply outrageous for Elected Members to find out via the press regarding the ongoing closure of the Energy from Waste Plant;  

(2)    agree it has now been established that Council officers knew about this closure on 27 June 2025, yet despite there being a Council meeting on 2 July 2025 all Elected Members were not informed; 

(3)    agree that most if not all of the problems the Council currently has to face such as Bus gates, Energy from Waste, and RAAC has come through either the Net Zero Environment and Transport Committee or through Urgent Business Committee both convened by Councillor Ian Yuill;  ? 

(4)    agree officers must inform Elected Members when they advised Administration leaders on the closure of the plant and explain why all Elected Members were not appraised of the reasons for closure before it made its way to the press;  

(5)    agree that changes to staff terms and conditions as part of the 35-hour week may have contributed to bin collections not being undertaken as before and instructs the Chief Officer - Operations to bring forward a report to the relevant committee, into any impacts that the 35-hour week has had on the management of bin collections following its implementation; and   

(6)    instruct the Chief Officer - Operations to bring forward a report to the Council meeting on 20 August 2025, providing Elected members with information as to how the Council intends to ensure the Energy for Waste Plant gets back up running and the knock-on effects it the closure is having on residents and communities throughout Aberdeen.? 

Councillor Tissera moved her motion and explained the rationale behind it and was seconded by Councillor Malik.

The Convener, seconded by Councillor Greig, moved as an amendment:-

that the Committee:-

(1)    note the North East Scotland Shared (NESS) Energy from Waste Project (EfW) is a shared service between Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeenshire Council and Moray Council to treat the residual waste from the three Councils;

(2)    note that EFW Ness Ltd (Acciona) is the contractor responsible for delivering that service for the three authorities and it has sub-contracted the operation of the facility to Indaver, and that EFW Ness Ltd recently notified Indaver of their intention to terminate the operating sub-contract;

(3)    note the ongoing contractual negotiations between Council officers and Acciona to ensure the Energy from Waste facility is fully operational as soon as possible;

(4)    note that any changes in the delivery of waste management will be reported to the Net Zero, Environment and Transport Committee, through the performance report; and

(5)    instruct the Chief Officer – Operations to provide an update to the Net Zero, Environment and Transport Committee when the Energy from Waste facility is operational, outlining any potential environmental impact and any contractual implications for the Council.

On a division, there voted:- for the motion (4) – Councillors Farquhar,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

That Committee:-

(1)      Celebrates the success of Tall Ships Aberdeen 2025, delivered by Team Aberdeen led by Aberdeen City Council, Port of Aberdeen and Aberdeen Inspired working in partnership, which saw over 400,000 visits to Aberdeen;

(2)      Thanks all the hundreds of staff, volunteers, corporate sponsors, and young people;

(3)      Notes an evaluation report is being prepared to allow partners to fully understand the positive impact the Tall Ships has had on our city; and

(4)      In the meantime, instructs the Chief Officer - City Development and Regeneration, working with the Port of Aberdeen and Aberdeen Inspired, to engage with Sail Training International around the options to bring the Tall Ships back to Aberdeen in the future, noting that an evaluation report  on Tall Ships 2025 will be prepared for November’s Finance and Resources Committee. 

The Committee had before it an urgent Joint Notice of Motion by the Convener and Councillor Greig in the following terms:-

that the Committee:-

(1)    celebrate the success of Tall Ships Aberdeen 2025, delivered by Team Aberdeen led by Aberdeen City Council, Port of Aberdeen and Aberdeen Inspired working in partnership, which saw over 400,000 visits to Aberdeen;

(2)    thank all the hundreds of staff, volunteers, corporate sponsors, and young people;

(3)    note an evaluation report is being prepared to allow partners to fully understand the positive impact the Tall Ships has had on our city; and

(4)    in the meantime, instruct the Chief Officer - City Development and Regeneration, working with the Port of Aberdeen and Aberdeen Inspired, to engage with Sail Training International around the options to bring the Tall Ships back to Aberdeen in the future, noting that an evaluation report  on Tall Ships 2025 will be prepared for November’s Finance and Resources Committee. 

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

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

that the Committee:-

(1)    agree Motion then add;

(2)    agree Aberdeen Labour were the only political party to include bringing the Tall Ships event back to Aberdeen in its political manifesto, therefore congratulates the SNP on delivering on an Aberdeen Labour manifesto commitment that has brought pride and well-being back to the City of Aberdeen; and

(3)    recognise the efforts of the late Richard Sweetnam (Chief Officer – City Growth) and ex-Councillor Willie Young who added the Tall Ships event to the Labour Manifesto.

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

The Committee resolved:-

to adopt the motion.

-         COUNCILLOR ALEX MCLELLAN, Convener