Agenda item

(A)         The Council had before it a report by the Director of Resources which provided details of both the revenue budget for 2020/21 and capital programme for the period 2020/21 to 2024/25 in order that approved budgets and Council Tax value could be set for the year commencing 1 April 2020.

 

The report recommended:-

that the Council -

 

Balance Sheet

 

(a)          note the projected balance sheet position including the reserves as at 31 March 2020, shown at Appendix 1;

(b)          approve the General Fund Capital Programme as at Appendix 2;

(c)          consider the capital projects described in Appendix 3 which were not currently included in the General Fund Capital Programme, and instruct the Director of Resources on any action to be taken;

(d)          approve the Prudential Indicators as attached at Appendix 4;

(e)          instruct the Director of Resources, in consultation with the Convener of the City Growth and Resources Committee, to prepare and submit appropriate bid(s) to the Heat Networks Early Adopters Challenge Fund, announced as part of the Local Government Financial Settlement, and if successful then to finalise relevant terms and conditions to then deliver the projects;

(f)           instruct the Director of Resources to arrange for a partnership agreement to be put in place, and agree terms for the Council, in relation to the mortuary project, including funding mechanism; and

(g)          approve the recommended use of reserves and Reserves Policy for 2020/21 as detailed in Appendix 5.

 

Medium-Term Financial Projections

 

(h)          note the forecast medium-term financial projection for the period ending 31 March 2024 as shown in paragraph 3.22; and

(i)            instruct the Chief Officer - Finance to report to the City Growth and Resources Committee no later than December 2020, on options to balance the budgets for financial years 2021/22 and 2022/23, including new discretionary tax raising powers available to the Council.

 

Revenue Budget

 

(j)            note that the conditions outlined by the Scottish Government within the Local Government Finance Settlement for 2020/21 were met by the proposals set out in the report;

(k)          approve the redesign of Council services to address demand, in line with the commissioning led approach described in the report, and set at least a balanced budget for financial year 2020/21, having taken into account the following:-

(1)      the budget model as contained in paragraph 3.22 that identified a funding shortfall of £37.9m for 2020/21;

(2)      the impact of service redesign on services and fees and charges described in Appendix 6;

(3)      the Reserves Policy, that set out the Council should maintain uncommitted General Fund balances of £12m;

(4)      the Prudential Indicators and impact of the General Fund Capital Programme on revenue expenditure;

(5)      the savings options and cost of implementation put forward in Appendix 7 and Fees and Charges proposals in Appendix 8;

(6)      the revenue items referred to the budget process, as shown in Appendix 9; and

(7)      due consideration of the equalities impact assessments and screening results provided in the background papers;

(l)            approve the Commissioning Intentions and Service Standards as described in Appendices 10 and 11 respectively, subject to any amendments approved as per 2.3.2 above;

(m)        instruct the Chief Officer - Customer Experience to insert the service standards into the system for service requests and complaints;

(n)          instruct the Head of Commercial and Procurement to incorporate community benefit clauses into new contracts let during 2020/21 that increase the contribution of the Council to the Local Outcome Improvement Plan (LOIP) outcomes, and submit a year-end report to the Strategic Commissioning Committee;

(o)          approve the level of funding for the Aberdeen City Community Health and Social Care Integration Joint Board (IJB) in 2020/21 to meet the conditions of the Scottish Government Financial Settlement, described in paragraphs 3.69 and 3.74 to 3.78, and note that it would be for the IJB itself to determine how it would balance its budget;

(p)          approve the fees and charges for the Aberdeen City Community Health and Social Care Partnership IJB, as shown in Appendix 8;

(q)          approve the level of funding for the Council’s other group entities and ALEO, in 2020/21 with reference to paragraph 3.69; and

(r)           instruct the Chief Officer - Finance to recover the full costs associated with being the Administering Authority of the North East Scotland Pension Fund from the Pension Fund.

 

Taxation

 

(s)          approve a Band D equivalent Council Tax rate, with effect from 1 April 2020;

(t)           impose and levy Council Tax assessments for the period 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 on all chargeable dwellings in Aberdeen City to be paid by the persons liable therefor under the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended by the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994;

(u)          note that the Council would implement revisions to National Non-Domestic Rates as defined by the Scottish Government within the relevant Finance Circulars, with effect from 1 April 2020; and

(v)          impose and levy Non-Domestic Rates assessments for the period 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 on all occupiers in Aberdeen City to be paid by those liable.

 

Organisational Structure

 

(w)         note the final organisational structure shown in Appendix 12 including the alignment of Business Intelligence & Performance Management (BI&PM) to Customer, and of Governance, Strategic Place Planning and City Growth to Commissioning, within the approved functional structure;

(x)          approve the amendment to the Chief Education Officer role from a 3^rd tier to a 2^nd tier Chief Officer role; and

(y)          note that appointment panels would be convened to fill vacant posts at tiers 1 and 2.

 

(B)         The Council had before it a report by the Director of Resources which provided details of the draft Common Good budget for 2020/21, to enable the Council to approve a final budget that would take effect on 1 April 2020.

 

The report recommended:-

that the Council -

(a)          approve the Common Good budget for 2020/21 as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report;

(b)          consider and decide on each of the new requests for funding detailed in Appendix 3 to the report, taking account of the affordable funding available for 2020/21; and

(c)          instruct the Chief Officer - Finance to undertake a review of the investment options for the Common Good cash balances, with a report being presented to the City Growth and Resources Committee no later than December 2020.

 

Councillor Lumsden moved, seconded by Councillor Laing:-

            That the Council -

 

(1)      note the significant reduction in capital funding announced by the Scottish Government;

(2)      note the increase in borrowing by the Scottish Government reducing resources available to the public sector;

 

Net Zero Transition

 

(3)      note that the Council was developing a new prioritised Strategic Infrastructure Plan and developing a Net Zero Transition Plan that could be used to support the business case for any future bids to anticipated investment funding from the UK Government and the Scottish Government;

(4)      instruct the Head of Commercial and Procurement to introduce a climate friendly weighting for contracts the Council procures and report back to the Strategic Commissioning Committee on the outcomes achieved annually;

(5)      instruct the Chief Operating Officer to provide the City Growth and Resources Committee, by July 2020, with options on how Carbon Budgeting for Aberdeen City Council could be introduced to support the organisation’s climate transition plans;

(6)      instruct the Chief Officer - Operations and Protective Services to replace all fleet vehicles with alternative powered vehicles (where such vehicles were available in the open market) as part of the rolling programme and within the allocated budget for that programme;

(7)      instruct the Chief Officer - Operations and Protective Services to report back to the Operational Delivery Committee on 21 May 2020 with the Tree and Woodland Strategic Implementation Plan which would be incorporated into the Open Space Strategy to increase tree coverage within the city;

(8)      instruct the Chief Officer - Governance to report to the Licensing Committee on 1 September 2020 with proposals to consult with the taxi and private hire trade on options for transitioning to alternative powered vehicles;

(9)      note that the Council would take delivery of 15 hydrogen fuelled buses during 2020/21;

(10)   note that the Council would take delivery of a hydrogen fuelled refuse vehicle, the first within the UK;

(11)   note the Council’s commitment to invest approximately £100million towards achieving Net Zero emission targets;

 

Local Outcome Improvement Plan

 

People Outcomes

 

(12)   reaffirm the Administration’s commitment to no compulsory redundancies;

(13)   instruct the Chief Officer - Integrated Children’s and Family Services, following consultation with the Chief Officer - Finance, to introduce a supported rent scheme for care experienced young people who were attending further education and report back to the Operational Delivery Committee on 21 May 2020 with details of the scheme;

(14)   instruct the Chief Officer - People and Organisational Development to report to the Staff Governance Committee on 9 June 2020 with a guaranteed interview scheme for any care experienced young person seeking to gain employment with this Council;

(15)   instruct the Head of Commercial and Procurement, following consultation with the Chief Officer - Aberdeen City Health and Social Care Partnership, to report back to the Strategic Commissioning Committee on 11 June 2020 on future operational delivery models for Bon Accord Care and Sport Aberdeen;

(16)   instruct the Chief Officer - Finance to give notice to the Board of Directors of NYOP Education (Aberdeen) Limited to disburse £250,000 to Sport Aberdeen and the balance of funds available, approximately £110,000, to Voluntary Services Aberdeen, both being nominated charities of NYOP;

(17)   instruct the Head of Commercial and Procurement to notify Sport Aberdeen that their funding was contingent to them providing their staff with the same pay award as Council staff, as per SJC negotiated pay awards;

(18)   instruct the Chief Officer - Customer Experience to alter the Customer Contact Centre (excluding Emergency Services which would continue to operate 24 hours a day), Customer Service Centre, Marischal College Corporate Reception and Customer Access Points opening times to 09.00 until 17.00 hours Monday to Friday;

(19)   instruct the Chief Operating Officer to work with schools to ensure that there was a tree for every school within Union Terrace Gardens;

 

Economy Outcomes

 

(20)       instruct the Chief Executive to report back to the City Growth and Resources Committee on 18 June 2020 with a Corporate Business Charter;

(21)       instruct the Chief Officer - City Growth to provide a report on the Transient Visitor Levy to the City Growth and Resources Committee on 28 October 2020 on engagement and options;

(22)       instruct the Chief Officer - City Growth to work with relevant stakeholders and partners to develop and embed an Energy Transition Zone Training and Jobs Plan that ensured local people were able to access employment opportunities from any development that occurred;

(23)       instruct the Chief Officer - City Growth to work with Skills Development Scotland, North East of Scotland College and Opportunity North East on development of energy transition apprenticeships that target local people in the immediate areas around Aberdeen Harbour South;

(24)       instruct the Chief Officer - City Growth to include the Torry Locality Planning Manager, Lochside Academy Head Teacher (or their representative) and an employability officer in the relevant Energy Transition Zone project workstream so that access by local young people to new training and jobs was a central element of development of a Zone, and that the Training and Jobs Plan was delivered;

(25)       instruct the Chief Officer - City Growth to evaluate the Energy Transition Zone Training and Jobs Plan and report back to the City Growth and Resources Committee on 28 October 2020 on the extent to which local people were accessing training or job opportunities that were generated if any development occurred;

 

Place Outcomes

 

(26)       instruct the Chief Officer - City Growth to look at options for the operation of the hydrogen fuelled buses beyond the life of the Aberdeen Hydrogen Bus demonstration project, including potential use in other cities in the UK and the Scottish Cities Alliance as the Council upgraded its fleet;

(27)       instruct the Chief Officer - Corporate Landlord to take forward the proposals for investment works at Riverbank School to accommodate the relocation of St. Peter’s School once Riverbank School relocated, to the City Growth and Resources Committee on 28 October 2020 with an indicative programme;

(28)       instruct the Chief Officer - Corporate Landlord to take forward proposals for a campus model for future school provision to the Education Operational Delivery Committee on 26 November 2020;

(29)       instruct the Chief Officer - Corporate Landlord to take forward proposals for the future anticipated school roll increase at Bucksburn Academy to the Education Operational Delivery Committee on 26 November 2020;

 

Balance Sheet

 

(30)       note the project balance sheet position including the reserves as at 31 March 2020, shown at Appendix 1 of the report;

(31)       approve the General Fund Capital Programme at Appendix 1, circulated separately and available here;

(32)       approve the Prudential Indicators at Appendix 2, circulated separately and available here;

(33)       instruct the Director of Resources, following consultation with the Convener of City Growth and Resources Committee and the Head of Commercial and Procurement, to prepare and submit appropriate bid(s) to the Heat Networks Early Adopters Challenge Fund, announced as part of the Local Government Financial Settlement, and if successful then to finalise, following consultation with the Head of Commercial and Procurement, relevant terms and conditions to then deliver the projects;

(34)       instruct the Director of Resources, following consultation with the Head of Commercial and Procurement, to arrange for a partnership agreement in relation to the mortuary project to be put in place, including the funding mechanism, and thereafter report back to the City Growth and Resources Committee with a draft partnership agreement for approval along with the full business case;

(35)       approve the recommended use of reserves and Reserves Policy for 2020/21 as detailed in Appendix 5 of the report;

 

Medium-Term Financial Projections

 

(36)       note the forecast medium-term financial projection for the period ending 31 March 2024 as shown in paragraph 3.22 of the report;

(37)       instruct the Chief Officer - Finance to report to the City Growth and Resources Committee, no later than December 2020, on options to balance the budgets for financial years 2021/22 and 2022/23, including new discretionary tax raising powers available to the Council;

 

Revenue Budget

 

(38)       note that the conditions outlined by the Scottish Government within the Local Government Finance Settlement for 2020/21 were met by the proposals set out in the report;

(39)       having had due regard to protected characteristics and how the authority could reduce inequalities of outcome caused by socio-economic disadvantage in terms of the Equality Act 2010, approve the use of various savings options to set at least a balanced budget for financial year 2020/21 as detailed in Appendix 3 and the schedule of fees and charges in Appendix 5, circulated separately and available here;

(40)       approve the Commissioning Intentions and Service Standards as described in Appendices 10 and 11 respectively of the report;

(41)       instruct the Head of Commercial and Procurement to incorporate community benefit clauses into new contracts let during 2020/21 that increased the contribution of the Council to the Local Outcome Improvement Plan (LOIP) outcomes, and submit a year-end report to the Strategic Commissioning Committee;

(42)       approve the level of funding for the Aberdeen City Health and Social Care Partnership Integration Joint Board (IJB) in 2020/21, as set out in Appendix 4 circulated separately, which exceeded the conditions included in the Council’s financial settlement and provided the IJB with £3.531 million (100%) of additional funding it would receive in 2020/21, and to note that would be for the IJB itself to determine how it would balance its budget;

(43)       approve the fees and charges for the Aberdeen City Health and Social Care Partnership IJB as shown in Appendix 5, circulated separately and available here;

(44)       approve the level of funding for the Council’s other group entities and ALEO in 2020/21, as set out in Appendix 4, circulated separately and available here;

(45)       instruct the Chief Officer - Finance to recover the full costs associated with being the Administering Authority of the North East Scotland Pension Fund from the Pension Fund;

 

Taxation

 

(46)       approve a Band D equivalent Council Tax rate, with effect from 1 April 2020 of £1,377.30 excluding water charges - an increase of £1.02 per week;

(47)       impose and levy Council Tax assessments for the period 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 on all chargeable dwellings in Aberdeen City to be paid by the persons liable therefor under the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended by the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994;

(48)       instruct the Chief Officer - Finance with immediate effect to extend Council Tax relief for young adults aged 16-26 who were previously looked after in a kinship arrangement and were still living in that arrangement at age 16 but did not qualify for relief as Care Leavers;

(49)       note that the Council would implement revisions to National Non-Domestic Rates as defined by the Scottish Government within the relevant Finance Circulars, with effect from 1 April 2020;

(50)       impose and levy Non-Domestic Rates assessments for the period 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 on all occupiers in Aberdeen City to be paid by those liable;

 

Organisational Structure

 

(51)       note the final organisational structure shown in Appendix 12 of the report, including the alignment of Business Intelligence & Performance Management (BI&PM) to Customer, and of Governance, Strategic Place Planning and City Growth to Commissioning, within the approved functional structure;

(52)       approve the amendment to the Chief Education Officer role from a third tier to a second tier Chief Officer role;

(53)       note that Appointment Panels would be convened to fill vacant posts at tiers 1 and 2.

 

Common Good

 

(54)       approve the Common Good budget for 2020/21 as detailed in Appendix - Common Good, circulated separately and available here;

(55)       instruct the Chief Officer - Finance to undertake a review of the investment options for the Common Good cash balances and to report back to the City Growth and Resources Committee no later than December 2020;

(56)       instruct the Chief Officer - Integrated Children’s and Family Services to organise a Mental Health Awareness Event for the citizens of Aberdeen with the provision of £3,150 and the use of Council facilities; and

(57)       instruct the Chief Officer - City Growth, following consultation with the Head of Commercial and Procurement, and in conjunction with Aberdeen Inspired to support the continued development of the Nuart Project with £125,000 per annum for the financial years 2021/22 to 2023/24.

 

Councillor Alex Nicoll moved as an amendment, seconded by Councillor McLellan:-

            That the Council -

 

            Balance Sheet

 

(1)         note the projected balance sheet position including the reserves as at 31 March 2020, shown at Appendix 1 of the Council report;

(2)         approve the General Fund Capital Programme as at Appendix 1 circulated separately and available here;

(3)         approve the Prudential Indicators as at Appendix 2 circulated separately and available here;

(4)         instruct the Director of Resources, in consultation with the Convener of the City Growth and Resources Committee, to prepare and submit appropriate bid(s) to the Heat Networks Early Adopters Challenge Fund, announced as part of the Local Government Financial Settlement, and if successful then to finalise, in consultation with the Head of Commercial and Procurement, relevant terms and conditions to then deliver the projects;

(5)         instruct the Director of Resources, following consultation with the Head of Commercial and Procurement, to arrange for a partnership agreement in relation to the mortuary project to be put in place, including the funding mechanism, and thereafter report back to the City Growth and Resources Committee with a draft partnership agreement for approval along with the Full business case; and

(6)         approve the recommended use of reserves and Reserves Policy for 2020/21 as detailed in Appendix 5 of the Council report.

 

Medium-Term Financial Projections

 

(7)         note the forecast medium-term financial projection for the period ending 31 March 2024 as shown in paragraph 3.22 of the Council report; and

(8)         instruct the Chief Officer - Finance to report to the City Growth and Resources Committee, no later than December 2020, on options to balance the budgets for financial years 2021/22 and 2022/23, including new discretionary tax raising powers available to the Council.

 

Revenue Budget

 

(9)         note that the conditions outlined by the Scottish Government within the Local Government Finance Settlement for 2020/21 were met by the proposals set out in the report;

(10)      having had due regard to protected characteristics and how the authority can reduce inequalities of outcome caused by socio-economic disadvantage in terms of the Equality Act 2010, approve the use of various savings options to set at least a balanced budget for financial year 2020/21 as detailed in Appendix 3, and the schedule of fees and charges in Appendix 5 circulated separately and available here;

(11)      approve the Commissioning Intentions and Service Standards as described in Appendices 10 and 11 respectively of the Council report;

(12)      instruct the Head of Commercial and Procurement to incorporate community benefit clauses into new contracts let during 2020/21 that increase the contribution of the Council to the Local Outcome Improvement Plan (LOIP) outcomes, and submit a year-end report to Strategic Commissioning Committee;

(13)      approve the level of funding for the Aberdeen City Community Health & Social Care Integration Joint Board (IJB) in 2020/21, as set out in Appendix 4 circulated separately, and to note that it would be for the IJB itself to determine how it would balance its budget;

(14)      approve the fees and charges for the Aberdeen City Community Health & Social Care Partnership IJB, as shown in Appendix 5 circulated separately and available here;

(15)      approve the level of funding for the Council’s other group entities and ALEO, in 2020/21, as set out in Appendix 4 circulated separately and available here;

(16)      instruct the Chief Officer - Finance to recover the full costs associated with being the Administering Authority of the North East Scotland Pension Fund from the Pension Fund;

(17)      instruct the Chief Officer - Operations and Protective Services to submit a report to the Operational Delivery Committee by February 2021 on options for simplifying the system of charging for parking permits with the aim of permits remaining cost neutral, options to include, but not limited to the introduction of a broader city centre inner zone and a single outer zone parking system with on and off street parking charges being aligned to such zoning systems;

(18)      instruct the Chief Officer - Operations and Protective Services to introduce a £20, first year only 6-month garden waste charge, for new households that want garden waste collection to begin between 1^st March and 31^st August, thereafter a full year charge would apply from 1^st September;

(19)      instruct the Chief Officer - Operations and Protective Services to apply an exemption from garden waste bin collection charges in sheltered housing complexes with gardens, up to a maximum of two brown bins, to allow residents to help maintain garden area without charge;

(20)      instruct the Chief Officer - Finance to report to the City Growth and Resources Committee by July 2020 on the options to switch from hard copy newspapers purchased by the Council to alternative sources, such as on-line corporate subscriptions;

(21)      instruct the Chief Officer - Early Intervention and Community Empowerment to secure the efficiency savings in parking administration and enforcement proposed in Appendix 7 of the Council report, and to increase City Warden provision in the City with an investment of £199,000;

(22)      instruct the Chief Officer - Finance to update the Council Travel Policies to only permit international travel if it was fully funded by external sources, noting that as well as financial benefits this would improve the Council’s carbon footprint;

(23)      instruct the Chief Officer - People & Organisation to issue contracts to new start employees, from outside the Council, on the basis of a 35 hour working week;

(24)      instruct the Chief Officer - Finance to give notice to the Directors of NYOP Education (Aberdeen) Limited to make payment of £360,000 to Sport Aberdeen, a nominated charity of NYOP;

(25)      instruct the Chief Officer - Early Intervention and Community Empowerment to distribute increased grant funding, included in the budget, to leased community centres in 2020/21;

(26)      instruct the Head of Commercial & Procurement to submit a report to the Strategic Commissioning Committee on the options to achieve benefit from bringing Bon Accord Care / Support Services back into the Council, taking account of the options, costs and risks of doing so;

(27)      instruct the Chief Officer - Operations and Protective Services to prepare an outline business case, and submit this to the Operational Delivery Committee by July 2020, for the development of the Grove Nursery in collaboration with the community and social enterprises, such that the Council makes a one-off contribution of up to £100,000 to pump-prime the initiative;

(28)      instruct the Chief Officer - Customer Experience to alter the Customer Contact Centre (excluding Emergency Services which would continue 24 hours a day), Customer Service Centre, Marischal College Corporate Reception and Customer Access Points opening times to 09.00 until 17.00 hours Monday to Friday;

(29)      note that there would be:

·           no reduction in public toilet provision

§   no reduction in asset spend within parks

§   no increase in fees and charges for bereavement services

§   no reduction in luminescence for street lamps

§   no reduction in ASBIT service

§   no removal of free breakfast services

§   no removal of free fruit in schools

§   no removal of free milk in schools

§   no removal of free bread in schools

§   no removal of school catering quality assurance

§   no reduction in school cleaning

§   no reduction in staff hours for Janitors

§   no reduction in contracted hours for Grounds Team

§   no reduction in school crossing patrollers

§   no reduction in funding to Sport Aberdeen

§   no reduction in funding to Aberdeen Sport Village

§   no reduction in funding to APA

§   no reduction in funding to Visit Aberdeen/shire

§   no reduction in libraries

§   no reduction in library resources

§   no reduction in non statutory school transport

§   no reduction in supported services to 14,15a and 40 buses

§   no reduction in bus infrastructure upgrades and cleaning and maintenance of park and ride facilities

§   no free parking for elected members

 

Taxation

 

(30)      approve a Band D equivalent Council Tax rate, with effect from 1 April 2020 of £1,364.06, excluding water charges;

(31)      impose and levy Council Tax assessments for the period 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 on all chargeable dwellings in Aberdeen City to be paid by the persons liable therefor under the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended by the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994;

(32)      note that the Council would implement revisions to National Non-Domestic Rates as defined by the Scottish Government within the relevant Finance Circulars, with effect from 1 April 2020; and

(33)      impose and levy Non-Domestic Rates assessments for the period 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 on all occupiers in Aberdeen City to be paid by those liable.

 

Organisational Structure

 

(34)      note the revised organisational structure shown in Appendix 12 of the Council report and instruct the Chief Executive to amend the functional structure to reflect a 3 Director model with the deletion of the Director of Commissioning post;

(35)      agree to delete the vacant Chief Officer - Digital and Technology post;

(36)      delegate authority to the Chief Executive to amend the functional structure and reorganise the remaining Chief Officer roles and reporting structure, as appropriate; and

(37)      approve the amendment to the Chief Education Officer role from a 3^rd tier to a 2^nd tier Chief Officer role.

 

Common Good

 

(38)      approve the Common Good budget for 2020/21 as detailed in Appendix 1 existing projects and services to the report, with the exception of the amendments detailed in Appendix 1 circulated separately and available here;

(39)      approve the new requests for funding as detailed in Appendix 1 circulated separately and available here;

(40)      approve recommendation (c) in the report; and

(41)      instruct the Chief Officer - Finance to submit a report to the City Growth and Resources Committee no later than December 2020 following a review of financial commitments against the Common Good and prepare a business plan.

 

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

            That the Council -

 

            Balance Sheet

 

(1)         note the projected balance sheet position including the reserves as at 31 March 2020, shown at Appendix 1 of the Council report;

(2)         approve the General Fund Capital Programme as at Appendix 1 circulated separately and available here;

(3)         approve the Prudential Indicators as at Appendix 2 circulated separately and available here;

(4)         instruct the Director of Resources, in consultation with the Convener of the City Growth and Resources Committee, to prepare and submit appropriate bid(s) to the Heat Networks Early Adopters Challenge Fund, announced as part of the Local Government Financial Settlement, and if successful then to finalise, in consultation with the Head of Commercial and Procurement, relevant terms and conditions to then deliver the projects;

(5)         instruct the Director of Resources, following consultation with the Head of Commercial and Procurement, to arrange for a partnership agreement in relation to the mortuary project to be put in place, including the funding mechanism, and thereafter report back to the City Growth and Resources Committee with a draft partnership agreement for approval along with the full business case; and

(6)         approve the recommended use of reserves and Reserves Policy for 2020/21 as detailed in Appendix 5 of the Council report.

 

Medium-Term Financial Projections

 

(7)         note the forecast medium-term financial projection for the period ending 31 March 2024 as shown in paragraph 3.22 of the Council report; and

(8)         instruct the Chief Officer - Finance to report to the City Growth and Resources Committee, no later than December 2020, on options to balance the budgets for financial years 2021/22 and 2022/23, including new discretionary tax raising powers available to the Council.

 

Revenue Budget

 

(9)         note that the conditions outlined by the Scottish Government within the Local Government Finance Settlement for 2020/21 were met by the proposals set out in the report;

(10)      having had due regard to protected characteristics and how the authority can reduce inequalities of outcome caused by socio-economic disadvantage in terms of the Equality Act 2010, approve the use of various savings options to set at least a balanced budget for financial year 2020/21 as detailed in Appendix 3, and the schedule of fees and charges in Appendix 5, circulated separately and available here;

(11)      approve the Commissioning Intentions and Service Standards as described in Appendices 10 and 11 respectively of the Council report;

(12)      instruct the Head of Commercial and Procurement to incorporate community benefit clauses into new contracts let during 2020/21 that increase the contribution of the Council to the Local Outcome Improvement Plan (LOIP) outcomes, and submit a year-end report to Strategic Commissioning Committee;

(13)      approve the level of funding for the Aberdeen City Community Health & Social Care Integration Joint Board (IJB) in 2020/21, as set out in Appendix 4 circulated separately, and to note that it would be for the IJB itself to determine how it would balance its budget;

(14)      approve the fees and charges for the Aberdeen City Community Health & Social Care Partnership IJB, as shown in Appendix 5 circulated separately and available here;

(15)      approve the level of funding for the Council’s other group entities and ALEO, in 2020/21, as set out in Appendix 4 circulated separately and available here; and

(16)      instruct the Chief Officer - Finance to recover the full costs associated with being the Administering Authority of the North East Scotland Pension Fund from the Pension Fund.

 

Taxation

 

(17)      approve a Band D equivalent Council Tax rate, with effect from 1 April 2020 of £1,373.86 excluding water charges;

(18)      impose and levy Council Tax assessments for the period 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 on all chargeable dwellings in Aberdeen City to be paid by the persons liable therefor under the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended by the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994;

(19)      note that the Council would implement revisions to National Non-Domestic Rates as defined by the Scottish Government within the relevant Finance Circulars, with effect from 1 April 2020; and

(20)      impose and levy Non-Domestic Rates assessments for the period 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 on all occupiers in Aberdeen City to be paid by those liable.

 

Organisational Structure

 

(21)      note the final organisational structure shown in Appendix 12 of the Council report and instruct the Chief Executive to amend the functional structure to reflect a three Director model, deleting the Director of Commissioning post, realigning the Head of Commercial and Procurement to the Director of Resources and the Chief Officer - Governance, the Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning, and the Chief Officer - City Growth to the Chief Executive;

(22)      approve the amendment to the Chief Education Officer role from a 3^rd tier to a 2^nd tier Chief Officer role; and

(23)      note that Appointment Panels would be convened to fill the vacant post at tier 2.

 

Instructions to Council Officers

 

(24)      instruct the Chief Officer - Finance to give notice to the Directors of NYOP Education (Aberdeen) Limited to make payment of £360,000 to Sport Aberdeen, a nominated charity of NYOP;

(25)      instruct the Chief Officer - Customer Experience to alter the Customer Contact Centre (excluding Emergency Services which would continue 24 hours a day), Customer Service Centre, Marischal College Corporate Reception and Customer Access Points opening times to 09.00 until 17.00 hours Monday to Friday;

(26)      instruct the Chief Officer - Corporate Landlord to report to the May meeting of the Education Operational Delivery Committee on the School Estate Strategy and options for its progression and further instructs that this report should cover:

a.        The refurbishment of Riverbank School to accommodate St. Peter’s School

b.        The extension of Bucksburn Academy

c.         The construction of the second primary school and academy at Countesswells which would be partially funded by developers’ contributions;

(27)      instruct the Chief Education Officer to report to the next meeting of the Education Operational Delivery Committee on how best the £1 million Education Fund could be utilised to support education in nursery, primary, secondary and special schools in Aberdeen;

(28)      instruct the Chief Officer - Corporate Landlord to develop the business case for an extension to Inchgarth Community Centre, and allocating an investment of £2.5 million in the Capital Programme;

(29)      instruct the Chief Officer - Corporate Landlord to report to a future meeting of the City Growth and Resources Committee on the feasibility and costs of installing ground source heat pumps into areas of open ground owned by the Council (such as playing fields and parks), selling the energy generated and so creating both an environmental benefit and a financial return for the Council;

(30)      instruct the Chief Officer - Operations and Protective Services to report to the next meeting of the City Growth and Resources Committee on how best the additional £1 million of capital investment in road, pavement and street lighting resurfacing, replacement and repair could best be utilised;

(31)      instruct the Chief Officer - Operations and Protective Services to report to a future meeting of the City Growth and Resources Committee on how the soft landscaping along the routes of the former trunk roads in Aberdeen could be enhanced to create feature areas, with particular emphasis on rose planting, to provide a sustainable improvement to the visual amenity of those routes and what the capital and revenue implications of this would be;

(32)      instruct the Chief Officer - Operations and Protective Services to report to the City Growth and Resources Committee on how open areas, formerly maintained as close mown grass, could be best be managed to sustainably enhance biodiversity, what impact that would have on the revenue budget in future and how the Sustainable Grounds Maintenance Fund of £500,000 could best be utilised to support this transition;

(33)      note that the Chief Officer - Operations and Protective Services’ budget had been increased by £100,000 to support the street tree maintenance and replacement;

(34)      note that the initial “A Tree for Every Citizen” project was cost neutral for the Council and instruct the Chief Officer - Operations and Protective Services to report to the City Growth and Resources Committee on the feasibility of an “Another Tree for Every Citizen” project, potential sources of funding to support that and the revenue and capital implication for the Council, if any;

(35)      instruct the Chief Officer - Operations and Protective Services to report to the appropriate committees on how the Council’s vehicle fleet could be decarbonised by 2030 and the capital and revenue implications of that; and

(36)      instruct the Chief Officer - City Growth to increase the funding to Visit Aberdeenshire to £310,000 in 2020/21, an increase of almost 20% year on year.

 

Additional Items

 

(37)       to accept parts (3) to (11); (12) but to change Administration’s to Council’s; (14); (20); (21); and (26) of the motion; and

(38)       to accept part (20) of Councillor Alex Nicoll’s amendment.

 

Common Good Budget

 

(39)      to approve the Common Good budget for 2020/21 as detailed in Appendix 1 existing projects and services to the report, with the exception of the amendments detailed in Appendix 1 circulated separately and available here;

(40)      approve the new requests for funding as detailed in Appendix 1 circulated separately and available here; and

(41)      approve recommendation (c) contained within the Council report.

 

During the course of summing up, Councillor Alex Nicoll intimated that he was willing to accept the following parts of the motion within his amendment:- (3) to (11); (12) but to change Administration’s to SNP Group’s; (13) to (15); (17); (19); (20); (22) to (27); (29); (33); (34); (48); (56) and (57).

 

There being a motion and two amendments, the Council first divided between the amendment by Councillor Alex Nicoll and the amendment by Councillor Yuill.

 

On a division, there voted:-

 

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

 

For the amendment by Councillor Yuill  (7)  -  Councillors Bell, Delaney, Greig, MacKenzie, Mason MSP, Sellar and Yuill.

 

Declined to vote  (19)  -  Lord Provost; Depute Provost; and Councillors Allan, Boulton, Cross, Donnelly, Lesley Dunbar, Duncan, Graham, Grant, Houghton, Imrie, John, Laing, Lumsden, Macdonald, Malik, Reynolds and Wheeler.

 

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

 

On a division, there voted:-

 

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

 

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

 

Declined to vote  (3)  -  Councillors Delaney, Greig and Yuill.

 

The Council resolved:-

to adopt the motion.