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 (Christmas Village Feedback Report – Exempt Appendices); 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 paragraphs of Schedule 7(A) to the Act:- article 16 (paragraph 6) and article 17 (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 were intimated:-

(1)      Councillor Brooks advised that he had a connection in relation to agenda item 9.4 (UK Shared Prosperity Fund) by virtue of him being a trustee with TLC (SCIO) a partnering organisation with ACVO, however having applied the objective test, he did not consider that he had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting;

(2)      Councillor Greig advised that he had a connection in relation to agenda item 9.4 (UK Shared Prosperity Fund) by virtue of him being a Council appointed member of Great Western Community Trust, however having applied the objective test, he did not consider that he had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting; and

(3)      the Vice Convener declared an interest in item 9.4 (UK Shared Prosperity Fund), by virtue of him being a Council appointed Director of Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group. He considered that the nature of his interest would require him to leave the meeting prior to consideration of the item.

The Committee had before it the minute of meeting of the Finance and Resources Committee of 30 January 2024.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the minute, subject to amending the sederunt to read that Councillor Brooks was in attendance and Councillor Houghton was not.

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

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to remove item 8 (External Transportation Links to Aberdeen South Harbour) from the planner, for the reasons outlined therein;

(ii)      to note the reason for deferral in relation to item 6 (Review of all Grants Awarded by the Council - Alignment to 3 Tier Prevention Approach), item 11 (School Estate Plan: Harlaw Academy Condition & Suitability Improvements – Outline Business Case), item 13 (Denis Law Trail), item 21 (School Estate Plan: Victorian School Building Improvements – Outline Business Case), item 22 (School Estate Plan: Sunnybank School relocation of additional services – Outline Business Case), item 33 (School Estate Plan: Denominational Primary Schools), item 34 (School Estate Plan: Loirston Loch Primary School Provision - Outline Business Case), item 41 (School Estate Plan: Grandhome / Oldmachar / Bridge of Don Secondary School Provision – Outline Business Case) and item 42 (School Estate Plan: Bucksburn and Dyce Secondary School Provision – Outline Business Case); and

(iii)      to otherwise note the Committee Business Planner.

With reference to article 10 of the minute of meeting of 5 July 2023, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Commissioning which provided an update on the Union Street Empty Shops Action Plan, including the improved figures for vacant units and footfall against 2022 benchmarks.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      note the progress made over the last 12 months in forming partnerships with city centre stakeholders to deliver activity in line with the Action Plan, as set out in Sections 3.2 to 3.3; and Section 3.10 to 3.13;

(b)      note the progress made since the launch of the Union Street Empty Shops Grant Scheme in July 2023 as set out in Sections 3.14 to 3.19;

(c)      note that Aberdeen City Council approved an additional £500,000 towards the Grant Scheme at its Budget meeting on 6 March 2024;

(d)      approve the updates to Union Street Empty Shops Grant Scheme Guidance as outlined in Section 3.20;

(e)      note the progress made over the last 12 months in supporting repopulation of empty units on Union Street in line with the Action Plan, as set out in Section 3.6; and Sections 3.21 to 3.26;

(f)       instruct the Chief Officer – City Development and Regeneration to progress the priority activities set out in Section 3.27 over the next 12 months; and

(g)      instruct the Chief Officer – City Development and Regeneration to provide an annual update on progress.

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 recommendations contained within the report; and

(2)    agree that regardless of any incentives, Union Street and our City Centre will never reach its potential without pedestrianisation of the middle section of Union Street.

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

The Committee resolved:-

to adopt the motion.

TRANSPARENCY STATEMENT

At this juncture, Councillor Cooke advised that he had a connection in relation to the following item by virtue of him being a Council appointed observer on the Sport Aberdeen Board. Having applied the objective test, he did not consider that he had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting.

With reference to article 2 of the minute of meeting of Council of 11 September 2023, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Commissioning which provided a progress update of the Beachfront Masterplan Public Realm Phase A Projects: Beach Park, Events Park and Broadhill.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note the update from the Chief Officer – Commercial and Procurement on progress of the Beachfront Masterplan Public Realm Phase A Projects.

The Convener, seconded by Councillor Greig, moved:-

that the Committee approve the recommendation contained within the report.

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

that the Committee:-

(1)    note the contents of the report; and

(2)    agree without actively looking to promote a new Football Stadium at the beach front for Aberdeen Football Club, any proposals contained within this Beach Masterplan report will fail to deliver meaningful community benefit.  

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

The Committee resolved:-

to adopt the motion.

With reference to article 7 of the minute of meeting of 29 March 2023, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Commissioning  which sought approval for the allocation of grant funding from the Place Based Investment Programme (PBIP) fund 2023/24.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      approve an award of up to £23,636 to Aberdeen Archives, Gallery and Museums for the Sharing the Archives project, which focusses on community access to the archives during a period of closure at one of the current locations; and

(b)      approve that any unspent monies which are returned from projects be reallocated to any other previously approved project within the Place Based Investment Programme which may require additional resources, following consultation with the Convener and Vice Convener of the Finance and Resources Committee.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

At this juncture, in accordance with Article 2 of this minute, the Vice Convener left the meeting prior to consideration of the following item of business and Councillor Radley joined the meeting as his substitute.

With reference to article 14 of the minute of the previous meeting of 30 January 2024, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Commissioning which sought approval for the proposed allocation of grant funding of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

UKSPF Communities and Place

(a)      award up to £60,000 to Aberdeen Council of Voluntary Organisations LTD (ACVO) for Aberdeen Third Sector Hub feasibility Study;

(b)      award up to £99,200 to Aberdeen City Council for the Tall Ships Races Aberdeen 2025 Culture Programme 24/25;

(c)      award up to £26,447 to Growing2gether for the Strengthening Communities by Building Local Skills, Wellbeing and Resilience project;

(d)      award up to £63,000 to Look Again in partnership with Culture Aberdeen and northeast based freelancers for the Aberdeen Independents project;

(e)      award up to £37,000 to Soundfestival for the Soundcommunities project;

(f)       award up to £45,228 to St Georges Community Centre for the Saint Georges Community Centre project;

(g)      award up to £108,000 to the Port of Aberdeen Trust Port to support Tall Ships Community Promotion, which includes volunteer recruitment and engaging young people with sail traineeships;

(h)      award up to £116,777 to Avenue for Mental Health and Relationship Support for Families and Individuals in Aberdeen;

UKSPF Local Business Support

(i)       award up to £562,680 to Aberdeen City Council to enable delivery of Business Start-up grants;

(j)       award up to £45,000 to Aberdeen City Council for the Aberdeen Renewable Energy Groups (AREG)’s Enhancing Offshore Wind Renewables through Digital Innovation project;

(k)      instruct the Chief Officer – City Development and Regeneration to develop applications within Local Business Support which will deliver priority activities for approval by Finance and Resources Committee on 8th May 2024;

UKSPF Multiply

(l)       award up to £827,773.44 to ABZ Works for the Core Numeracy Project; and

(m)     approve up to £133,885.36 of revenue funding from the Local Business Support, People & Skills and Multiply strands only be retained by Aberdeen City Council, as per UKSPF regulations which details that 4% of revenue funds can be retained by Local Authorities to ensure robust delivery and monitoring of the UKSPF Programme.

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 recommendations contained within the report;

(2)    agree that the Council are using the UK shared prosperity fund to deliver on projects formerly paid for by the General Fund; and

(3)    agree to encourage an application from VSA Aberdeen to cover the money the administration failed to give them at the Council budget meeting on 6 March 2024.

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 - City  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

With reference to article 8 of the minute of meeting of 22 November 2023, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Resources which (1) summarised the general progress of delivery of key capital expenditure projects identified within the approved Capital Programme from the General Fund and Housing Revenue Accounts; (2) highlighted those issues considered worthy of particular note which were specific to individual programmes/projects; and (3) incorporated a review of any recent reprofiling of the General Fund Capital Programme, which had been carried out to take account of any current project related factors.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      note the status of delivery of the Section 3.0 highlighted programmes/projects contained within the approved Capital Programme: and

(b)      note that this report aligns with the Council Budget report COM/24/060 as reported on 6 March 2024 to Council.

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 contents of the report; and

(2)    agree every project listed within the report with the exception of Clinterty Travellers Site and Complex Care were projects started by the previous administration.

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

The Committee resolved:-

to adopt the motion.

With reference to article 11 of the minute of meeting of the Urgent Business Committee of 30 June 2020, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Commissioning which provided an update on progress made in relation to the Business Charter for Aberdeen City Council.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      note the progress made and lessons learnt in relation to the deployment of the Business Charter;

(b)      agree to continue with the aims and principles as set out in the Business Charter as a basis for the continued interaction between the Council and the city’s businesses;

(c)      agree the virtual “cross services” working group established to support the delivery of the Union Street Empty Shops Grant should be used as the model for the future development and delivery of the Business Charter; and

(d)      instruct the Chief Officer – City Development and Regeneration to report back, via a service update, on progress by May 2025.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to approve the recommendations; and

(ii)      to note that officers would submit a report to a future meeting, should there be a requirement to consider any further recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Commissioning which provided information on the status of key cluster performance measures and activity indicators relating to the Commissioning and Resources Functions and People and Organisational Development Cluster.

The report recommended:-

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

The Committee resolved:-

to note the report and the performance information contained within the Appendix.

There are exempt appendices in the Exempt Appendices Section below.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Commissioning which presented the evaluation of the 2023 Christmas Village and provided an update on the public tender for event delivery in 2024-2026.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      note the findings of the evaluation of the 2023 Christmas Village;

(b)      instruct the Chief Officer – City Development and Regeneration to deliver the Christmas Village 2024 in line with the winning response to tender; and

(c)      instruct the Chief Officer – City Development and Regeneration to report back to the Finance and Resources Committee in March 2025 with the evaluation report of the 2024 event.

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)    agree the recommendations contained within the report;

(2)    agree Aberdeen Inspired have been a valued partner in the delivery, funding and promotion of the Christmas Village over the years; and

(3)    instruct the Chief Officer - City Development and Regeneration to consult with the City Centre Manager, Aberdeen Inspired, to provide any additional information and report to the next Finance and Resources Committee if required.

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

The Committee resolved:-

to adopt the motion.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Resources which provided details of the Terms for the proposed lease of the 3G Sports Pitch at Cloverhill.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      approve the proposal for the Council to enter into a long term ground lease of the subjects; and

(b)      instruct the Chief Officer – Governance to conclude the appropriate legal agreements incorporating various qualifications as are necessary to protect the Council’s interest.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

There are exempt appendices in the Exempt Appendices Section below.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Commissioning which presented procurement work plans where expenditure was included for the Children’s and Family Services, Commissioning, Customer and Resources Functions for review and sought approval of the total estimated expenditure for the proposed contracts as contained in the Procurement Business Cases appended to the report.

The Procurement Business Cases were for the following:-

·       Curo Salus;

·       Young Carers Support Service;

·       Outreach Housing Support & Housing First;

·       Stairlifts and Associated Equipment;

·       Gas Servicing Maintenance Extension; and

·       Treasury Management.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      review the workplan as detailed in the Appendices for the Children’s and Family Services, Commissioning, Customer and Resources Functions;

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

(c)      approve the estimated expenditure on framework agreements as detailed in the Commissioning workplan.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee were advised that this report had been withdrawn and would be submitted for consideration at the next meeting of the Committee.

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 exempt appendices relating to the Christmas Village Feedback report (article 12 of this minute refers).

The Committee resolved:-

to note the information contained within the exempt appendices.

The Committee had before it exempt appendices relating to the Work Plan and Business Cases report. (Article 14 of this minute refers)

The Committee resolved:-

to note the information contained within the exempt appendices.

-         COUNCILLOR ALEX MCLELLAN, Convener