Agenda item

With reference to Article 4 of the minute of its meeting of 14 April 2014, the Sub Committee had before it a report by the Dean of Guild which provided an update on possible uses of the Guildry funds.

The report put forward the following requests for funding for consideration:-

(1)          approximately £2,000 towards the cost of an anniversary dinner on 27 February 2015 to mark the 800^th anniversary of the granting of a Royal Charter to the Burgesses of Aberdeen;

(2)          up to £4,000 for the commissioning of a coat of arms for the Burgesses of Guild, and approximately £10,000 towards an event marking the formal presentation of the coat of arms;

(3)          approximately £2,000 towards the production costs of leaflet on the history of the march stones;

(4)          up to £5,000 towards the cost of developing a new website for the Burgesses of Guild, reproducing a booklet on the 800 year history, and the replacement of four missing assessors’ medals; and

(5)          between £10,000 and £20,000 to create a permanent feature in Aberdeen to recognise the 800^th anniversary and the long-standing connection between the Burgesses and the city.

The Dean of Guild spoke in furtherance of the report, advising that he had since met with officers in Finance and Legal and Democratic Services in relation to the appropriateness of the various requests for funding in terms of the qualifying criteria.  He added that the anniversary dinner on 27 February 2015 was fully subscribed and would be self financing; therefore the request for £2,000 was withdrawn.  Furthermore, the proposed event marking the formal presentation of the coat of arms was not considered to be an appropriate use of the Guildry funds, and it could also be self financing, and therefore the request for £10,000 was also withdrawn.  Lastly, he explained that the final request for funding towards a permanent feature in the city was at a very early stage, and therefore a further report would be submitted at a later date.

The Sub Committee discussed the various requests for funding and emphasised the need for the Burgesses of Guild to have a formal constitution.  The Sub Committee also discussed the Burgess Awards and noted that discussions were ongoing with various organisations vis-à-vis the establishment of a form of scholarship.

The Sub Committee resolved:-

(i)           to approve the following requests for funding:-

·                up to £5,000 for the commissioning of a coat of arms; and

·                up to £5,000 towards the cost of developing a new website, reproducing a booklet on the 800 year history, and the replacement of four missing assessors’ medals;

(ii)          to not approve the request for funding in respect of the march stones, noting that this was the responsibility of the relevant service;

(iii)         to note that a report would be submitted to a future meeting regarding the establishment of a permanent feature in terms of (5) above;

(iv)         to note that the remaining requests for funding had been withdrawn;

(v)          to request the Dean of Guild to report back on progress with the establishment of a constitution for the Burgesses of Guild;

(vi)         to request the Dean of Guild to arrange a meeting with officers and the relevant partners in terms of the Burgess Awards and other possible initiatives; and

(vii)       otherwise to note the report.