Agenda item

Appendix B – Revised Business Case 2019 – exempt

Appendix D – Inter Authority Agreement 3 – Principles of Agreement – exempt

Appendix F – Procurement Business Case –External Legal Advisors - exempt

Appendix G – Cost Model for IAA3 - exempt

Appendix H – Final Tender Risk Positions – confidential

Appendix I – Project Risk Register – confidential

With reference to Article 13 of this minute, the Council had before it Appendices B, D, F and G to the report which contained exempt information and Appendices H and I which contained confidential information.

Members asked further questions of officers and the Project Director.

Councillor Laing moved, seconded by Councillor Bell:-

            That the Council -

(1)      approve the recommendations contained within the report; and

(2)      instruct the Chief Officer - Capital to report back on a six-monthly basis with a progress report to the Capital Programme Committee, with the first report date being the meeting on 12 September 2019.

Councillor Flynn moved as an amendment, seconded by Councillor Catriona Mackenzie:-

            That the Council -

(1)      note that the procurement process exercise took six months longer to complete than the original programme described;

(2)      agree that the following statement, taken from Appendix F under the Key Area ‘Exiting the European Union’, poses a completely unacceptable level of risk given the complete uncertainty as to whether the UK will actually leave the EU, or indeed whether the UK will leave the EU with a ‘deal’ or not:

“The Council will accept the risk of import duties and tariffs on goods being imported from the EU during the Works phase recognising that some plant items have an EU origin and some do not.”

(3)      therefore agree that a final decision be deferred until such point as the future trading relationship of the UK with the EU is known, however that a Special Council meeting be confirmed before the end of May 2019 to further consider this matter.

Councillor Delaney moved as a further amendment, seconded by Councillor Greig:-

            That the Council -

(1)      instruct the Chief Officer - Capital, following consultation with the Chief Officer - Finance and the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services, to negotiate and conclude Heads of Terms for the heat offtake for the Torry Heat Network with the preferred bidder for the Project Agreement;

(2)      following the conclusion of (1) above, instruct the appropriate officer to finalise the business case for the Torry Heat Network at the earliest possible date;

(3)      instruct the appropriate officer to report back to a Special Council meeting with a report detailing all of the above along with this report thereby ensuring that members have all facts required to take a fully informed decision; and

(4)      agree that a final decision be taken on this matter prior to the date specified in the confidential report in order to protect the Council’s interests.

There being a motion and two amendments, the Council first divided between the amendment by Councillor Flynn and the amendment by Councillor Delaney.

On a division, there voted:-

For the amendment by Councillor Flynn  (19)  -  Councillors Al-Samarai, Allard, Alphonse, Cameron, Cooke, Copland, Cormie, Jackie Dunbar, Flynn, Henrickson, Hutchison, MacGregor, Catriona Mackenzie, McLellan, McRae, Nicoll, Noble, Sandy Stuart and Townson.

For the amendment by Councillor Delaney  (3)  -  Councillors Delaney, Greig and Yuill.

Declined to vote  (23)  -  Lord Provost; Depute Provost; and Councillors Allan, Bell, Boulton, Lesley Dunbar, Duncan, Donnelly, Graham, Grant, Houghton, Hunt, Imrie, John, Laing, Lumsden, Avril MacKenzie, Macdonald, Malik, Mason MSP, Reynolds, Sellar and Wheeler.

The Council then divided between the motion and the amendment by Councillor Flynn.

On a division, there voted:-

For the motion  (23)  -  Lord Provost; Depute Provost; and Councillors Allan, Bell, Boulton, Lesley Dunbar, Duncan, Donnelly, Graham, Grant, Houghton, Hunt, Imrie, John, Laing, Lumsden, Avril MacKenzie, Macdonald, Malik, Mason MSP, Reynolds, Sellar and Wheeler.

For the amendment by Councillor Flynn  (22)  -  Councillors Al-Samarai, Allard, Alphonse, Cameron, Cooke, Copland, Cormie, Delaney, Jackie Dunbar, Flynn, Greig, Henrickson, Hutchison, MacGregor, Catriona Mackenzie, McLellan, McRae, Nicoll, Noble, Sandy Stuart, Townson and Yuill.

The Council resolved:-

(i)           to adopt the motion; and

(ii)          to note that the Chief Officer - Corporate Landlord would provide members with details of the number of Council houses in Torry to have had their heating system upgraded to meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS) and the number of Council houses in Torry that still required their heating system to be upgraded.