Agenda item

The Council had before it a report by the Chief Officer - Commercial and Procurement which presented the annual performance reporting of the Council’s four tier one Arm’s Length External Organisations (ALEOs) covering financial year 2022/23: Aberdeen Performing Arts; Aberdeen Sports Village; Bon Accord Care; and Sport Aberdeen.

The report recommended:-

that the Council note the annual performance reports for each of the tier one ALEOs.

Councillor McLellan moved, seconded by the Depute Provost:-

          That the Council approve the recommendation.

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

          That the Council -

(1)       note the Annual Performance Reports for each of the tier one ALEOs;

(2)       note the comments of the Bon Accord Care Managing Director “Whilst acknowledging the current challenges for Bon Accord Care and the wider Health and Social Care sector, I remain optimistic that there are great opportunities to grow and develop as a key partner and expert provider in the delivery of services across the city.”;

(3)       note the positive contribution Aberdeen Performing Arts plays to the wellbeing of Aberdeen with its three magnificent venues - Music Hall, His Majesty’s Theatre and the Lemon Tree;

(4)       note the positive impact Aberdeen Sports Village has had on our communities right across the city of encouraging healthy and active lifestyle choices for all; continually identifying and developing relationships with those from varied backgrounds and groups of individuals with health concerns; and supporting wider social issues such as child obesity, underprivileged families, and adult loneliness;

(5)       note the comments of the Sport Aberdeen Managing Director in relation to Bucksburn Swimming Pool where the company board faced a challenging set of decisions regarding the sustainability of all the facilities and services, which regrettably led to the withdrawal of service management at both the Beach Leisure Centre and Bucksburn Swimming Pool (BSP), with the latter giving rise to the formation of the Save BSP Campaign Group; and

(6)       agree the decision by Aberdeen City Council and Sport Aberdeen in respect of the closure of Bucksburn Pool is entirely the fault of the SNP budget which was delivered by Councillor McLellan and approved by majority in March 2023.

During the course of debate, Councillor Yuill advised that he had a connection in relation to the matter by virtue of his appointment by the Council to the Board of NHS Grampian, however having applied the objective test he did not consider that had had an interest and would not be withdrawing from the meeting.

On a division, there voted:-

For the motion  (24)  -  Lord Provost; Depute Provost; and Councillors Al-Samarai, Allard, Alphonse, Bouse, Hazel Cameron, Clark, Cooke, Copland, Cormie, Davidson, Fairfull, Greig, Henrickson, Hutchison, MacGregor, McLellan, McRae, Mennie, Nicoll, Radley, van Sweeden and Yuill.

For the amendment  (21)  -  Councillors Ali, Blake, Bonsell, Boulton, Brooks, Crockett, Cross, Farquhar, Graham, Grant, Houghton, Kusznir, Lawrence, Macdonald, McLeod, Malik, Massey, Mrs Stewart, Thomson, Tissera and Watson.

The Council resolved:-

(i)             to adopt the motion;

(ii)           to note that the Managing Director of Sport Aberdeen would discuss matters regarding opening hours at the Beacon Centre with Councillor Lawrence outwith the meeting;

(iii)          to note that the Managing Director of Sport Aberdeen would circulate information to elected members following the meeting with regard to Sport Aberdeen’s Health Intervention Partnership Programmes; and

(iv)          to thank the representatives of the ALEOs for their attendance and contributions.