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 Convener proposed that the Committee consider item 13.1 (Workplans and Business Cases – Exempt Appendices) with the press and public excluded.

The Committee resolved:-

in terms of Section 50(A)(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, to exclude the press and public from the meeting during consideration of item 13.1 on today’s agenda so as to avoid disclosure of exempt information of the class described in paragraph 8 of Schedule 7(A) of the Act.

The Committee noted the following declarations of interest intimated at this stage:-

(i)              Councillors Allard and Duncan declared interests in respect of item 9.1 (Aberdeen Performing Arts Annual Report) by virtue of their role as Board members of Aberdeen Performing Arts but did not consider that the nature of their interests required them to leave the meeting during consideration of the item;

(ii)             Councillor Alex Nicoll declared an interest in respect of item 9.2 (Bon Accord Care Annual Report) as he had Power of Attorney for a family member who lived in care provided by Bon Accord Care, but did not consider that the nature of his interest required him to leave the meeting during consideration of the item; and

(iii)           Councillor Lumsden declared an interest due to his role as NHS Grampian Board member in respect of items 9.1, 9.2 and 9.3 (Sport Aberdeen Annual Report) as NHS Grampian was mentioned throughout the reports, however he did not consider that the nature of his interest required him to leave the meeting during consideration of the items.

The Committee had before it the minute of its previous meeting of 27 August 2020 for approval.

The Convener advised that the information requested in respect of Aberdeen Christmas Village and the Spaces for People financing had been circulated to Members outwith the meeting.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the minute as a correct record.

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

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       in relation to item 14 (Collaboration with Businesses), to request that the Head of Commercial and Procurement circulate a service update to Members with further information on the work that had been undertaken with businesses, including the recent event which had been held, and to agree to remove the item from the planner;

(ii)       to note that due to the delay with item 16 (Aberdeen Sports Village Annual Report) that the planner would be amended to move the next report from October 2021 to February 2022;

(iii)      to agree to remove item 16 (Operational Delivery Models – Bon Accord Care and Sport Aberdeen) from the planner, noting that the matter would instead be taken forward as part of the budget setting process; and

(iv)      to otherwise note the planner.

With reference to article 5 of the minute of its meeting of 21 November 2019, the Committee had before it a report by the Head of Commercial and Procurement which presented the Aberdeen Performing Arts annual review report covering financial year 2019/20 in order to provide Committee with an overview of performance of service delivery.

Ms Spiers, Aberdeen Performing Arts, was in attendance and answered questions from Members.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee notes the Aberdeen Performing Arts ALEO Annual Report

appended to the report for the Council’s interests.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to note the Aberdeen Performing Arts ALEO Annual Report;

(ii)       to agree the performance to date met with the clear ambitions of the Regional Economic Strategy 2018-2023 and built on the Culture Aberdeen 2018-2028 Action Plan;

(iii)      to agree the work detailed in the Creative Learning appendix to the report contributed to the delivery of the outcomes detailed in Aberdeen’s Local Outcome Improvement Plan;

(iv)      to congratulate all those involved in delivering APA’s Business Plan objectives as detailed in the annual report; and

(v)      to thank Ms Spiers and her team for their continued hard work particularly due to the pressures of COVID-19.

With reference to article 7 of the minute of its meeting of 21 November 2019, the Committee had before it a report by the Head of Commercial and Procurement which presented the Bon Accord Care annual review report covering financial year 2019/20 in order to provide Committee with an overview of performance of service delivery.

Mrs Woodcock and Mr Gardiner, Bon Accord Care, were in attendance and answered questions from Members.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee notes the Bon Accord Care ALEO Annual Report appended to the report for the Council’s interests.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to note that Mrs Woodcock would discuss the content of the annual report with the Head of Commercial and Procurement to determine if any additional data could be included which the Committee would find of benefit;

(ii)       to note the Bon Accord Care Business Plan Annual Report;

(iii)      to agree the overall performance had contributed to a successful year for Bon Accord Care and, noted amongst other achievements, that: 

·     Care Inspectorate grades continued to increase.

·     they had excellent performance regarding hospital discharges;

·     service delivery was now much more outcomes focused and person-led, giving service users more choice and control over their support

·     there was greater emphasis on early intervention initiatives to keep service users as independent as possible

·     the financial savings target was exceeded, and the organisation had achieved positive results against key performance indicators

·     they had maintained the Gold Award for NHS Healthy Working Lives; and

(iv)           to note the critical role that Bon Accord Care has played in the City’s response to Covid-19, by providing invaluable support to the most vulnerable people in Aberdeen, and agree that the Committee Convener writes on behalf of the Council to the Chair of the Board of Bon Accord Care and the Managing Director of Bon Accord Care thanking the organisation for all their efforts.

With reference to article 5 of the minute of its meeting of 29 August 2019, the Committee had before it a report by the Head of Commercial and Procurement which presented the Sport Aberdeen annual review report covering financial year 2019/20 in order to provide Committee with an overview of performance of service delivery.

Mr Robertson, Sport Aberdeen, was in attendance and answered questions from Members.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee notes the Sport Aberdeen ALEO Annual Report appended to the report for the Council’s interests.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)          to note that the Head of Commercial and Procurement was working with Sport Aberdeen to address how best to ensure all relevant data was captured in the annual report;

(ii)         in relation to the performance indicators contained on pages 95 to 99 of the report, to note that Mr Robertson would provide further information to Members outwith the meeting on projects where funding streams had come to an end which may have affected performance against targets;

(iii)       in relation to the key performance indicators contained on pages 124 and 125 of the report, and the decrease in participation in, for example, athletics,  to note that Mr Robertson would investigate with colleagues if there were specific reasons behind the drop in participation and circulate this information to Members outwith the meeting;

(iv)       in relation to page 127 of the report and the decline in figures from 2017 to 2019 for school club links, to note that Mr Robertson would provide further information to Members outwith the meeting;

(v)        to request that the Chief Officer – Data and Insights discuss with the ALEOs whether the Council could provide any assistance in relation to data gathering;

(vi)       to note the Sport Aberdeen ALEO Annual Report;

(vii)     to congratulate Sport Aberdeen on its receipt of the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a charity or voluntary group could receive in the UK;

(viii)    to note that initial data indicated Sport Aberdeen had generated £7,497,467 of social value in the last 12 months from activities taking place within Sport Aberdeen venues;

(ix)       to recognise the Strategy for an Active Aberdeen 2016 – 2026 had the vision of making Aberdeen the most active city in Scotland and the aims and objectives of this strategy were closely aligned to the Sport Aberdeen Business Plan;

(x)        to note that Sport Aberdeen was fully committed to contributing to the city-wide delivery of the Aberdeen Local Outcome Improvement Plan and to helping Aberdeen City become a UNICEF Child Friendly City; and

(xi)       to congratulate all those involved in delivering Sport Aberdeen’s Business Plan objectives as detailed in the annual report.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Customer Services presenting the Council Delivery Plan 2019-20 Annual Report which built on the summary of progress captured in the Council Delivery Plan 2020/21, which had been presented to Council on 3 March 2020.  The report summarised the deliverables for 2019-20, and outlined outcomes derived from the Council’s Commissioning approach and Intentions, against which the Plan was a key element, representing a statement on how the Council has delivered on its contribution to each.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note the report and provide comments and observations on the information contained in the annual report at Appendix A.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to note the report and welcome the significant achievements and progress highlighted throughout the annual review of the Council Delivery Plan 2019/20;

(ii)       to note that the annual review described the Council’s major contribution, through the approved commissioning approach, to the delivery of the City’s Local Outcome Improvement Plan; and

(iii)      to agree that the Co-Leaders of the Council write to COSLA requesting an update on progress they have made with the Scottish Government regarding the reform of local government finance including business rates and the replacement of Council Tax and for any reply to be discussed at the next meeting of the Strategic Commissioning Committee. 

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Customer Services which presented the third annual progress reports for each of the Community Planning Partnership’s three Priority Localities, namely Torry; Woodside, Tillydrone and Seaton; and Middlefield, Cummings Park, Northfield, Heathryfold and Mastrick.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee endorse each of the three annual progress reports for the Community Planning Partnership’s Priority Localities prior to their submission to the Community Planning Aberdeen Board on 3 December 2020 for final approval.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to approve the recommendation;

(ii)       to congratulate all those involved in the various projects outlined in the reports for the progress made and what had been achieved; and

(iii)      to instruct the Chief Officer – Early Intervention and Community Empowerment to work with the communities involved to ensure that their projects and achievements were promoted widely in the city to raise awareness of the good work being undertaken and to help encourage additional participation in future years.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Customer Services which set out proposed Aberdeen City Council commissioning intentions to provide direction to the design and delivery of services and the allocation of resources for 2021/22.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)      approve, in principle, the commissioning intentions at Appendix A;

(b)      note that, in the light of continuing uncertainty resulting from the ongoing pandemic, that the commissioning intentions will continue to be kept under review and will be represented with any necessary amendments to the Council budget meeting in 2021; and

(c)      instruct the Chief Officer - Finance to review the commissioning intentions and provide assurance that their implementation through the detailed commissioning activity described at paragraph 3.11 is consistent with the Council’s Medium-Term Financial Strategy.

The Committee resolved:-

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

(ii)       to welcome the submission of annual commissioning intentions to the Committee as a key element of the approved Commissioning Approach and implementation of the Council’s Target Operating Model.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Officer – Commercial and Procurement which presented the Annual Procurement Report on procurement activity for 2019/20 in line with the requirement under Section 18 of the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 for every Scottish Local Authority to publish an annual procurement report on its regulated procurement activities.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee approve the content and publication of the Annual Procurement Report 2019/2020 (Appendix A) and Annex A to the report (Appendix B).

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Customer Services which outlined the status of key performance measures relating to the Commercial and Procurement cluster.

The report recommended:-

that 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.

With reference to article 9 of the minute of its meeting of 21 November 2019, the Committee had before it a report by the Chief Officer – Commercial and Procurement which presented the cluster risk register in accordance with the Committee Terms of Reference to provide assurance on the Council’s system of risk management.

The report recommended:-

that Committee note the cluster risk registers and assurance maps as set out in the appendices to the report.

The Committee resolved:-

to note the report.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Operating Officer which (1) presented procurement workplans where revenue expenditure was included for the Operations and Customer functions to Committee for review; and (2) sought approval of each of the procurement business cases listed below, including the total estimated revenue expenditure for each proposed contract, as contained at item 13.1 of the agenda.

The list of procurement business cases was as follows:-

The report recommended:-

that Committee –

(a)      review the workplans as detailed in the Appendices;

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

(c)      approve the direct awards of contract where there are special circumstances outlined in the respective procurement business cases which justify not issuing a tender or calling off from a framework agreement.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the business cases.

The Committee had before it exempt appendices relating to the Workplans and Business Cases Revenue report on the agenda (article 14 of this minute refers).

The Committee resolved:-

to note the exempt appendices.

-      COUNCILLOR JENNIFER LAING, Convener