Agenda item

(A)      The Council had before it a report by the Chief Officer - Finance which provided information on both the revenue budget for 2021/22 and capital programme for the period 2021/22 to 2025/26 in order that approved budgets and Council Tax value could be set by the Council for the year commencing 1 April 2021.

 

The report recommended:-

that the Council -

 

Balance Sheet

 

(a)           note the projected balance sheet position including the reserves as at 31 March 2021, shown at Appendix 1;

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

(c)           consider the capital projects described in Appendix 3 and earlier on the agenda, referred to at paragraph 3.125 in this report, which are 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)           approve the recommended use of reserves and Reserves Policy for 2021/22 as detailed in Appendix 5;

 

Medium-Term Financial Projections

 

(f)             note the forecast medium-term financial projection for the period ending 31 March 2026 as shown in paragraph 3.34;

(g)           instruct the Chief Officer - Finance to refresh the Medium-Term Financial Strategy and report it to the City Growth and Resources Committee on 3 November 2021;

(h)           instruct the Chief Officer - Finance to report to the City Growth and Resources Committee, no later than December 2021, on options to balance the budget for financial year 2022/23;

(i)             instruct the Chief Officer - Data and Insight to report to the Strategic Commissioning Committee, no later than December 2021, on draft commissioning intentions, aligned to 2.2.3 above;

 

Revenue Budget

 

(j)             note that the conditions outlined by the Scottish Government within the Local Government Finance Settlement for 2021/22 are met by the proposals set out in the report;

(k)           note the ongoing exceptional operating environment created as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and that there are known and unknown risks that arise as described in the report.  Approve the inclusion of an ‘exceptional uncertainty provision’ in the budget for 2021/22 to the value of at least £1.5m, and delegate the authority for its use to the Chief Officer - Finance;

(l)             approve the redesign of Council services to address demand, in line with the commissioning led approach described in the report, and to set at least a balanced budget for financial year 2021/22, having due regard to:-

1)    The Budget Model as contained in paragraph 3.34 that identifies a funding shortfall of £30.4m for 2021/22;

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

3)    The Reserves Policy, that sets 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 funding announced by the Scottish Government referred to in paragraphs 3.16 and 3.17;

7)    The revenue items referred to the budget process, as shown in Appendix 9;

8)     The Council’s Risk Appetite Statement; and

9)    Integrated impact assessments and screening results provided in the background papers.

(m)         approve the Commissioning Intentions and Service Standards as described in Appendices 10 and 11 respectively, subject to any amendments approved as per 2.3.3 above, noting that the Chief Officer - Finance has confirmed that the Commissioning Intentions being implemented are consistent with the draft budget for 2021/22 and Medium Term Financial Strategy;

(n)           instruct the Head of Commercial and Procurement to incorporate community benefit clauses into new contracts so far as possible with a view to increasing the contribution of the Council to the Local Outcome Improvement Plan (LOIP) outcomes, and submit a year-end report to Strategic Commissioning Committee;

(o)           approve the level of funding for the Aberdeen City 21/22 to meet the conditions of the Scottish Government Financial Settlement, described in paragraphs 3.92 and 3.97 to 3.101, and to note that it will be for the IJB itself to determine how it will balance its budget;

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

(q)           approve the level of funding for the Council’s other group entities and Arm’s Length External Organisations (ALEOs), in 2021/22 with reference to paragraphs 3.85 to 3.111;

(r)            delegate authority to the Chief Officer – Finance to approve the allocation of Covid-19 related funding distributed by the Scottish Government, described in paragraphs 3.16 and 3.17, and any further sums distributed to the Council, to meet need and demand or to cover for lost income where it arises during 2021/22, reporting the use of funds to the City Growth and Resources Committee in the quarterly financial performance reports;

(s)           approve the extension of financial guarantees for Aberdeen Science Centre and Transition Extreme for a period of 18-months, starting 1 April 2021.  Terms to be the same as those in place for 2020/21, as referred to in Appendix 9;

(t)             approve the procurement business cases, and direct awards of contract where noted, including the total estimated expenditure for the proposed contracts as contained in Appendix 9;

(u)           delegate Authority to the Chief Officer – Finance, in consultation with the Head of Commercial and Procurement, to agree the timing for reinstatement of payment of suppliers reverting to Council terms;

(v)           instruct the Chief Officer – Finance to give notice to the Board of Directors of NYOP Education (Aberdeen) Ltd to disburse £805,000 to Sport Aberdeen, being a nominated charity of NYOP;

(w)          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

 

(x)           approve a Band D equivalent Council Tax rate, with effect from 1 April 2021;

(y)           impose and levy Council Tax assessments for the period 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 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;

(z)           note that the Council implements revisions to National Non-Domestic Rates as defined by the Scottish Government within the relevant legislation and Finance Circulars, with effect from 1 April 2021; and

(aa)        impose and levy Non-Domestic Rates assessments for the period 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 on all occupiers in Aberdeen City to be paid by those liable.

 

(B)      The Council also had before it a report by the Chief Officer - Finance which provided details of the draft Common Good budget for 2021/22, to enable the Council to approve a final budget that would take effect on 1 April 2021.

 

The report recommended:-

that the Council -

(a)           approve the Common Good budget for 2021/22 as detailed in Appendix 1;

(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 2021/22; and

(c)           approve the proposed Investment Strategy as detailed in Appendix 4 for a Multi-Asset Income Fund investment and delegate authority to the Chief Officer - Finance to procure and appoint a Fund Manager and to invest up to £30m of Common Good funds with that Fund Manager.

 

(C)      With reference to Article __ of the minute of meeting of the City Growth and Resources Committee of 3 February 2021, the Council also had before it a report by the Director of Resources, which had been referred to it simpliciter, which presented the Full Business Case for the proposed North East Scotland Joint Mortuary as prepared by NHS Grampian and Aberdeen City Council.

 

The report recommended:-

that the City Growth and Resources Committee -

(a)           approve the Full Business Case and instruct the Director of Resources to formally approach the various partners for funding contributions; and

(b)           agree in principle to underwrite the capital costs for construction of the proposed mortuary, subject to inclusion in the Capital Programme to be presented to Council at the budget meeting on 10 March 2021.

 

Councillor Lumsden moved, seconded by Councillor Laing:-

          That the Council -

         

Balance Sheet

 

(i)             note the projected balance sheet position including the reserves as at 31 March 2021, shown at Appendix 1 of the report;

(ii)           approve the recommended use of reserves and Reserves Policy for 2021/22 as detailed in Appendix 5 of the report;

(iii)          note that the Council remains in a strong financial position, able to meet its obligations and liabilities and has strengthened its financial resilience through the most challenging of years, the report advising the Council that it will end the year in a balanced position.  Note that the Council will move into 2021/22 retaining an uncommitted General Fund Reserve of at least £12m, taking the advice of the Chief Officer - Finance, will be setting aside as part of the budget a sum of over £14m to support the recovery from the covid-19 pandemic, and the financial implications.  Note that the prudential indicators are in place to assess the affordability and sustainability of meeting the capital financing requirement and for the General Fund repayments of debt are not forecast to reach 10% of net revenue over the next 5 years, closer to 6% of gross revenue;

(iv)          note the agreed position of the City Growth and Resources Committee on 3 February 2021 regarding the review of the Masterplan to incorporate appropriate surrounding areas including the area known as the beach;

(v)           agree therefore to include within the General Fund Capital Programme £150million over financial years 2021/22 to 2025/26 to ensure the Council transforms our city centre and much loved beach area;

(vi)          approve the General Fund Capital Programme as attached at Appendix 1 circulated separately;

(vii)        note that also included within the General Fund Capital Programme is:

 

·     £500,000 for the relocation of St Peters RC School to the current Riverbank School site is added to the Capital Plan and instruct the Chief Officer - Corporate Landlord to take forward design development to allow the full business case and construction costs to be reported to the City Growth and Resources Committee in advance of the 2023 budget process;

·     £75,000 for ‘The Woodies’ project to be added to the General Fund Capital Programme, and instruct the Chief Officer - Corporate Landlord to initiate the process to clear ‘The Woodies’ site and thereafter procure without the need for further approval from any other committee of the Council and instruct environmental improvements works;

·     The transfer of the Byron Square Car Park from the Housing Revenue Account to the General Fund at market value and approval of £50,000 to undertake the works required at the car park, funded from the contingency within the Condition and Suitability programme;

·     £675,000 to manage, procure without the need for further approval from any other committee of the Council and install charge points as outlined in the Exemplar Scenario to 2025 within the Framework.  This follows the approval of the Electric Vehicle Framework at City Growth and Resources Committee and ongoing commitment to maximise opportunities for reducing carbon emissions within Aberdeen. In addition, encourage other partners, particularly private landowners and operators, to install chargers and ensure planning guidance and developer obligations reflect the ambition to maximise EV infrastructure;

·     £19million gross in relation to enhancing the Hydrogen refuelling infrastructure and bus programme within the city and authorise the Chief Officer - City Growth, in consultation with the Head of Commercial and Procurement, to undertake a procurement exercise for the appointment of a partner to deliver the Hydrogen Hub programme and to instruct the Chief Officer - City Growth to report back to the City Growth and Resources Committee on the outcome and progress;

·     Agree in principle to a sum of £19.4million over the financial years 2021/22 and 2022/23 for a Hydrogen Production facility on completion of the procurement exercise to secure a joint venture partner for the Hydrogen Hub programme per recommendation above; and

·     £120,000 for Core Path 8, Auchmill Community Woodland Path, the business case and procurement processes having been approved at the Capital Programme Committee on 23 May 2018, the Strategic Commissioning Committee on 7 June 2018 and the City Growth and Resources Committee 19 June 2018.

 

(viii)       instruct the Chief Officer - Operations and Protective Services, in conjunction with the Chief Officer - Capital to bring forward a report to the City Growth and Resources Committee on 11 May 2021 on proposals to spend the remaining £6.4 million of the additional £10 million roads investment as part of the Administration budget in 2018 to advance the delivery of roads improvements included in the capital programme;

(ix)          instruct the Director of Resources to report back to the City Growth and Resources Committee on 11 May 2021 on the negotiations that have taken place to secure a suitable funding package to enable the progression of the Joint Integrated Mortuary project;

(x)           given the significant impact on the development industry in the last 12 months, instruct the Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning to report to the City Growth and Resources Committee by the end of 2021 on the legally binding developer obligations that have been signed with the Council;

(xi)         instruct the Chief Officer - Capital to review the Berryden Corridor project and report back to the meeting of City Growth and Resources Committee on 10 August 2021 with updated costs and the implications for the Capital Programme;

(xii)        note that by reviewing the Berryden Corridor project this supports the application to the Bus Partnership Fund for bus priority measures; and

(xiii)       approve the Prudential Indicators as attached at Appendix 2 circulated separately.

 

Medium-Term Financial Projections

 

(xiv)       note the forecast medium-term financial projection for the period ending 31 March 2026 as shown in paragraph 3.34; and

(xv)        instruct the Chief Officer - Finance to refresh the Medium-Term Financial Strategy and report it to the City Growth and Resources Committee on 3 November 2021.

 

Revenue Budget

 

(xvi)       note the ongoing exceptional operating environment created as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and that there are known and unknown risks that arise as described in the report.  Approve the inclusion of an ‘exceptional uncertainty provision’ in the budget for 2021/22 to the value of £1.5m, and delegate the authority for its use to the Chief Officer - Finance, in consultation with the Convener of the City Growth and Resources Committee;

(xvii)     having taken advice from the Chief Officer - Finance in relation to the use of non-recurring funding, capping the use of £13m of grant funding receivable by the Council (paragraphs 3.16 and 3.17 in the report) to 50%; and 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 2021/22 as detailed in Appendix 3 (circulated separately, amending Springfield Play Park to Springvale Play Park and including CFINE in the recurring spend) and the schedule of fees and charges in Appendix 5 (circulated separately);

(xviii)    approve the Commissioning Intentions and Service Standards as described in Appendices 10 and 11 respectively of the report, subject to any amendments approved as per 17 above, noting that the Chief Officer - Finance has confirmed that the Commissioning Intentions being implemented are consistent with the draft budget for 2021/22 and Medium Term Financial Strategy;

(xix)       instruct the Head of Commercial and Procurement to incorporate community benefit clauses into new contracts so far as possible with a view to increasing the contribution of the Council to the Local Outcome Improvement Plan (LOIP) outcomes, and submit a year-end report to the Strategic Commissioning Committee;

(xx)        approve the level of funding for the Aberdeen City Health and Social Care Partnership IJB 2021/22 to meet the conditions of the Scottish Government Financial Settlement, described in paragraphs 3.92 and 3.97 to 3.101, and to note that it will be for the IJB itself to determine how it will balance its budget;

(xxi)       approve no increase in the fees and charges for the Aberdeen City Health and Social Care Partnership IJB, as shown in Appendix 5 circulated separately;

(xxii)     approve the level of funding for the Council’s other group entities and Arm’s Length External Organisations (ALEOs), in 2021/22 with reference to paragraphs 3.85 to 3.111 and as shown in Appendix 4 circulated separately;

(xxiii)    approve the extension of the financial guarantee, of up to £356,000, for Aberdeen Performing Arts for the financial year ending 31 March 2022.  Terms to be the same as those in place for 2020/21;

(xxiv)    delegate authority to the Chief Officer - Finance to approve the allocation of Covid-19 related funding distributed by the Scottish Government, described in paragraphs 3.16 and 3.17, and any further sums distributed to the Council, to meet need and demand or to cover for lost income where it arises during 2021/22, reporting the use of funds to the City Growth and Resources Committee in the quarterly financial performance reports;

(xxv)     approve the extension of financial guarantees for Aberdeen Science Centre and Transition Extreme for a period of 18-months, starting 1 April 2021.  Terms to be the same as those in place for 2020/21, as referred to in Appendix 9 of the report;

(xxvi)    approve the procurement business cases, and direct awards of contract where noted, including the total estimated expenditure for the proposed contracts as contained in Appendix 9 of the report;

(xxvii)  t delegate authority to the Chief Officer - Finance, in consultation with the Head of Commercial and Procurement, to agree the timing for reinstatement of payment of suppliers reverting to Council terms;

(xxviii)instruct the Chief Officer - Finance to give notice to the Board of Directors of NYOP Education (Aberdeen) Ltd to disburse £600,000 to Sport Aberdeen and £205,000 to VSA, being nominated charities of NYOP;

(xxix)    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;

(xxx)     instruct the Chief Education Officer to report to the first meeting of the Education Operational Delivery Committee in 2022 on the suitability of the provision of 1,140 hours of Early Learning and Childcare in the city;

(xxxi)    reject the £200,000 saving for the Music Service and instruct the Chief Education Officer to report to the Education Operational Delivery Committee by September 2021 on how the Music Service could use digitalisation to offer a more affordable offer to families and extend the reach of the service. As part of any redesign the Music Service should explore opportunities to collaborate to establish an online Music Service to ensure opportunities are open for all wanting to use the Music Service;

(xxxii)  approve £25,000 to support our care experienced young people in relation to digital connectivity (wifi/broadband) and instruct the Chief Officer - Integrated Children’s and Family Services to report to the Operational Delivery Committee on 27 May 2021 with details of a suitable scheme to deliver this;

(xxxiii)approve £100,000 and instruct the Chief Officer - Early Intervention and Community Empowerment to work with partners and community groups towards eradicating food poverty including hard to reach groups, maximising income and investigating the establishment of further community pantries and report back to the Operational Delivery Committee no later than November 2021;

(xxxiv) approve £90,000 and instruct the Chief Officer - Early Intervention and Community Empowerment to develop, with partners, a targeted learning package for those whose employment opportunities have been hardest hit by Covid-19, and report back to Operational Delivery Committee in September detailing the package identified and how it is being implemented;

(xxxv)  approve £18,000 to support weekend burials, including registration, and instruct the Chief Officers for Operations and Protective Services and Customer Experience to design, consult on and implement suitable arrangements;

(xxxvi) instruct the Chief Executive to recruit to the vacant position of Director of Commissioning through a recruitment process to consider internal and external applications together, in accordance with the process described in Standing Orders for the Appointment and Employment of Chief Officers and appoint a recruitment panel of 5 Administration and 4 Opposition elected members with Councillor Laing as chair; and

(xxxvii)      reaffirm the Administration’s commitment to no compulsory redundancies.

 

          Taxation

 

(xxxviii)       approve a Band D equivalent Council Tax rate, with effect from 1 April 2021 of £1,377.30 excluding water charges - freezing the Council Tax rate for financial year 2021/22;

(xxxix)          impose and levy Council Tax assessments for the period 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 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;

(xl)                   note that the Council implements revisions to National Non-Domestic Rates as defined by the Scottish Government within the relevant legislation and Finance Circulars, with effect from 1 April 2021; and

(xli)                  impose and levy Non-Domestic Rates assessments for the period 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 on all occupiers in Aberdeen City to be paid by those liable.

 

Other

 

(xlii)                note the Levelling Up Fund prospectus issued by the UK Government and note that the funding will be delivered by local authorities. Instruct the Chief Executive to work up funding proposals, in conjunction with the Co-Leaders, and submit these proposals to the UK Government for consideration; and

(xliii)               note the UK shared Prosperity Fund set up by the UK Government, noting that the funding will be available to local authorities. Instruct the Chief Executive to bring forward a report to the next City Growth and Resources Committee on how best the Council should work with the UK Government to ensure the Council receives its fair share of funding.

 

Common Good

 

(xliv)               approve the Common Good budget for 2021/22 as detailed in the Common Good budget report, modified as detailed in Appendix 6 circulated separately, and instruct the Chief Officer - Finance to amend the budget to include recurring spend for Castlegate Arts Ltd; and

(xlv)                approve the proposed Investment Strategy, as detailed in Appendix 4 of the Common Good report, for a Multi-Asset Income Fund investment and delegate authority to the Chief Officer - Finance to procure without the need for further approval from any other committee of the Council and appoint a Fund Manager and to invest up to £30m of Common Good funds with that Fund Manager.

 

(Budgets associated with Councillor Lumsden’s motion are available here)

 

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

          That the Council -

 

Balance Sheet

 

1        note the projected balance sheet position including the reserves as at 31 March 2021, shown at Appendix 1 of the report;

2        approve the General Fund Capital Programme as attached at Appendix 1 of the Amendment;

3        note that included in the Capital Programme over the 5 years is:

·       £5m to undertake the necessary works for St Peter’s School relocation to the Riverbank School site;

·       £13.75m gross cost to build the extension at Bucksburn Academy, recognising the future revenue costs that will have to be committed for changes to the unitary charge, under the 3Rs schools contract;

·       The transfer of the Byron Square Car Park from the Housing Revenue Account to the General Fund at market value and approval of £50,000 to undertake the works required at the car park, funded from the contingency within the Condition and Suitability programme;

·       £75,000 for the ‘woodies’ project to be added to the General Fund Capital Programme, and instruct the Chief Officer – Corporate Landlord to initiate the process to clear the ‘woodies’ site and thereafter procure without the need for further approval from any other committee of the Council and instruct environmental improvements works;

·       £675,000 to manage, procure without the need for further approval from any other committee of the Council and install Electric Vehicle (EV) charge points as outlined in the Exemplar Scenario to 2025 within the Framework and instruct the Chief Officer – Strategic Place Planning to prepare Aberdeen Planning Guidance in respect of the minimum requirements for EV charging points on new developments in line with the anticipated growth in the number of electric vehicles under the ‘Exemplar Scenario’; and report back to the Planning Development Management Committee within two cycles and to include EV charging within the future revision to the Supplementary Guidance: Transport and Accessibility; and

·       £1.68m for underwriting the cost of the extension to the Inchgarth Community Centre, in the event that funding from other sources is not available, enabling this project to proceed.

 

4        instruct the Director of Resources to report back to the City Growth and Resources Committee on 11 May 2021 on the negotiations that have taken place to secure a suitable funding package to enable the progression of the Joint Integrated Mortuary project;

5        in relation to the Hydrogen Hub, agrees the allocation of capital funding subject to the approval of full business cases for the Hydrogen Hub projects by the City Growth and Resources Committee;

6        approve the Prudential Indicators as attached at Appendix 2 of the Amendment;

7        approve the recommended use of reserves and Reserves Policy for 2021/22 as detailed in Appendix 5 of the report.

 

Medium-Term Financial Projections

 

8        note the forecast medium-term financial projection for the period ending 31 March 2026 as shown in paragraph 3.34;

9        instruct the Chief Officer - Finance to refresh the Medium-Term Financial Strategy and report it to the City Growth and Resources Committee on 3 November 2021;

10       instruct the Chief Officer - Finance to report to the City Growth and Resources Committee, no later than December 2021, on options to balance the budget for financial year 2022/23;

11       instruct the Chief Officer - Data and Insight to report to the Strategic Commissioning Committee, no later than December 2021, on draft commissioning intentions, aligned to 10 above;

 

Revenue Budget

 

12       note that the conditions outlined by the Scottish Government within the Local Government Finance Settlement for 2021/22 are met by the proposals set out in the report;

 

13       note the ongoing exceptional operating environment created as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and that there are known and unknown risks that arise as described in the report.  Approve the inclusion of an ‘exceptional uncertainty provision’ in the budget for 2021/22 to the value of £1.5m, and delegate the authority for its use to the Chief Officer - Finance;

14       having taken advice from the Chief Officer - Finance in relation to the use of non-recurring funding, capping the use of £13m of grant funding receivable by the Council (paragraph 3.16 and 3.17 in the report) to 50%; and 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 2021/22 as detailed in Appendix 3 of the Amendment and the schedule of fees and charges in Appendix 5 of the Amendment; 

15       approve the Commissioning Intentions and Service Standards as described in Appendices 10 and 11 respectively, subject to any amendments approved as per 14 above, noting that the Chief Officer - Finance has confirmed that the Commissioning Intentions being implemented are consistent with the draft budget for 2021/22 and Medium Term Financial Strategy;

16       instruct the Head of Commercial and Procurement to incorporate community benefit clauses into new contracts so far as possible with a view to increasing the contribution of the Council to the Local Outcome Improvement Plan (LOIP) outcomes, and submit a year-end report to Strategic Commissioning Committee;

17       approve the level of funding for the Aberdeen City Health and Social Care Partnership IJB 2021/22 to meet the conditions of the Scottish Government Financial Settlement, described in paragraphs 3.92 and 3.97 to 3.101, and to note that it will be for the IJB itself to determine how it will balance its budget;

18       approve the fees and charges for the Aberdeen City Health & Social Care Partnership IJB, as shown in Appendix 5 to the Amendment;

19       approve the level of funding for the Council’s other group entities and Arm’s Length External Organisations (ALEOs), in 2021/22 with reference to paragraphs 3.85 to 3.111 and as shown in Appendix 4 of the Amendment;

20       delegate authority to the Chief Officer - Finance to approve the allocation of Covid-19 related funding distributed by the Scottish Government, described in paragraphs 3.16 and 3.17, and any further sums distributed to the Council, to meet need and demand or to cover for lost income where it arises during 2021/22, reporting the use of funds to the City Growth and Resources Committee in the quarterly financial performance reports;

21       approve the extension of financial guarantees for Aberdeen Science Centre and Transition Extreme for a period of 18-months, starting 1 April 2021.  Terms to be the same as those in place for 2020/21, as referred to in Appendix 9 of the report;

22       approve the procurement business cases, and direct awards of contract where noted, including the total estimated expenditure for the proposed contracts as contained in Appendix 9 of the report;

23       delegate authority to the Chief Officer – Finance, in consultation with the Head of Commercial and Procurement, to agree the timing for reinstatement of payment of suppliers reverting to Council terms;

24       instruct the Chief Officer – Finance to give notice to the Board of Directors of NYOP Education (Aberdeen) Ltd to disburse £500,000 to VSA and £305,000 to Sport Aberdeen, being nominated charities of NYOP;

25       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;

26       instruct the Chief Officer – Early Intervention and Community Empowerment to increase support to the community centres to aid covid recovery, with a total budget of £350,000;

27       approve an increase in the Fairer Aberdeen Fund to £1.8m; and an additional sum of £100,000 for community projects;

 

Taxation

 

28       approve a Band D equivalent Council Tax rate, with effect from 1 April 2021 of £1,377.30 excluding water charges – freezing the Council Tax rate for financial year 2021/22;

29       impose and levy Council Tax assessments for the period 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 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;

30       note that the Council implements revisions to National Non-Domestic Rates as defined by the Scottish Government within the relevant legislation and Finance Circulars, with effect from 1 April 2021;

31       impose and levy Non-Domestic Rates assessments for the period 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 on all occupiers in Aberdeen City to be paid by those liable;

 

          Common Good

 

32            approve the Common Good budget for 2021/22 as detailed in the Common Good budget report, modified as detailed in Appendix 6 of the Amendment; and

33            approve the proposed Investment Strategy, as detailed in Appendix 4 of the Common Good report, for a Multi-Asset Income Fund investment and delegate authority to the Chief Officer – Finance to procure, without the need for further approval from any other committee of the Council and appoint a Fund Manager and to invest up to £30m of Common Good funds with that Fund Manager.

 

(Budgets associated with Councillor Alex Nicoll’s amendment are available here)

 

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

          That the Council -

 

Balance Sheet

 

1        note the projected balance sheet position including the reserves as at 31 March 2021, shown at Appendix 1 of the report;

2        approve the General Fund Capital Programme as attached at Appendix 1 of the Amendment;

3        note that included in the Capital Programme over the 5 years is:

·       £5m to undertake the necessary works for St Peter’s School relocation to the Riverbank School site;

·       £13.75m gross cost to build the extension at Bucksburn Academy, recognising the future revenue costs that will have to be committed for changes to the unitary charge, under the 3Rs schools contract;

·       The transfer of the Byron Square Car Park from the Housing Revenue Account to the General Fund at market value and approval of £50,000 to undertake the works required at the car park, funded from the contingency within the Condition and Suitability programme;

·       £75,000 for ‘The Woodies’ project to be added to the General Fund Capital Programme, and instruct the Chief Officer – Corporate Landlord to initiate the process to clear the ‘The Woodies’ garages site and thereafter procure without the need for further approval from any other committee of the Council and instruct environmental improvements works;

·       £2m to enhance and supplement the programme to manage, procure, subject to further committee approval, and install Electric Vehicle (EV) charging points and associated infrastructure, and instruct the Chief Officer – Strategic Place Planning to report to the City Growth and Resources Committee on the delivery of this;

·       instruct the Chief Officer – Strategic Place Planning to prepare Aberdeen Planning Guidance in respect of the minimum requirements for EV charging points on new developments in line with the anticipated growth in the number of electric vehicles under the ‘Exemplar Scenario’; and report back to the Planning Development Management Committee within two cycles and to include EV charging within the future revision to the Supplementary Guidance: Transport and Accessibility;

·       £1.68m for underwriting the cost of the extension to the Inchgarth Community Centre, in the event that funding from other sources is not available, subject to 5. below;

·       £10m of additional funding to support the ongoing resurfacing and upgrading of city roads and pavements over the next 5 years and instruct the Chief Officer - Operations and Protective Services to report to the 11^th May meeting of the City Growth and Resources Committee on how best this additional investment could best be utilised in 2021/22;

·       £130,000 for additional snow clearing and gritting equipment to support the annual winter maintenance programme.

4        in relation to the Hydrogen Hub, agree the allocation of capital funding subject to the approval of full business cases for the Hydrogen Hub projects by the City Growth and Resources Committee;

5        in relation to the extension of Inchgarth Community Centre, instruct the Chief Officer – City Growth to continue to work with the Inchgarth Community Centre Management Committee to obtain updated costings for the extension project and secure external funding for this project, and to report to the City Growth and Resources Committee on this;

6        in relation to the Integrated Mortuary Project, agrees the allocation of capital funding in principle subject to satisfactory legal agreements being reached with partners on their contributions to the capital and ongoing revenue costs of this project and these then being approved by the City Growth and Resources Committee and instruct the Director of Resources to report back to the City Growth and Resources Committee on 11th May 2021 on the negotiations that have taken place to secure such an agreement;

7        approve the Prudential Indicators as attached at Appendix 2 of the Amendment;

8        approve the recommended use of reserves and Reserves Policy for 2021/22 as detailed in Appendix 5 of the report;

 

Medium-Term Financial Projections

 

9        note the forecast medium-term financial projection for the period ending 31 March 2026 as shown in paragraph 3.34;

10       instruct the Chief Officer – Finance to refresh the Medium-Term Financial Strategy and report it to the City Growth and Resources Committee on 3 November 2021;

11       instruct the Chief Officer – Finance to report to the City Growth and Resources Committee, no later than December 2021, on options to balance the budget for financial year 2022/23;

12       instruct the Chief Officer – Data and Insight to report to the Strategic Commissioning Committee, no later than December 2021, on draft commissioning intentions, aligned to 11 above;

 

Revenue Budget Recommendations

 

13       note that the conditions outlined by the Scottish Government within the Local Government Finance Settlement for 2021/22 are met by the proposals set out in the report;

14       note the ongoing exceptional operating environment created as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and that there are known and unknown risks that arise as described in the report.  Approve the inclusion of an ‘exceptional uncertainty provision’ in the budget for 2021/22 to the value of £1.5m, and delegate the authority for its use to the Chief Officer - Finance;

15       having taken advice from the Chief Officer – Finance in relation to the use of non-recurring funding, capping the use of £13m of grant funding receivable by the Council (paragraph 3.16 and 3.17 in the report) to 50%; and 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 2021/22 as detailed in Appendix 3 of the Amendment and the schedule of fees and charges in Appendix 5 of the Amendment; 

16       approve the Commissioning Intentions and Service Standards as described in Appendices 10 and 11 respectively, subject to any amendments approved as per 15 above, noting that the Chief Officer – Finance has confirmed that the Commissioning Intentions being implemented are consistent with the draft budget for 2021/22 and Medium Term Financial Strategy;

17       instruct the Head of Commercial and Procurement to incorporate community benefit clauses into new contracts so far as possible with a view to increasing the contribution of the Council to the Local Outcome Improvement Plan (LOIP) outcomes, and submit a year-end report to the Strategic Commissioning Committee;

18       approve the level of funding for the Aberdeen City Health and Social Care Partnership IJB 2021/22 to meet the conditions of the Scottish Government Financial Settlement, described in paragraphs 3.92 and 3.97 to 3.101, and as shown in Appendix 4 of the Amendment, noting that it will be for the IJB itself to determine how it will balance its budget;

19       approve the fees and charges for the Aberdeen City Health & Social Care Partnership IJB, as shown in Appendix 5 to the Amendment;

20       approve the level of funding for the Council’s other group entities and Arm’s Length External Organisations (ALEOs), in 2021/22 with reference to paragraphs 3.85 to 3.111 and as shown in Appendix 4 of the Amendment;

21       delegate authority to the Chief Officer – Finance to approve the allocation of Covid-19 related funding distributed by the Scottish Government, described in paragraphs 3.16 and 3.17, and any further sums distributed to the Council, to meet need and demand or to cover for lost income where it arises during 2021/22, reporting the use of funds to the City Growth and Resources Committee in the quarterly financial performance reports;

22       approve the extension of financial guarantees for Aberdeen Science Centre and Transition Extreme for a period of 18-months, starting 1 April 2021.  Terms to be the same as those in place for 2020/21, as referred to in Appendix 9 of the report;

23       approve the procurement business cases, and direct awards of contract where noted, including the total estimated expenditure for the proposed contracts as contained in Appendix 9 of the report;

24       delegate authority to the Chief Officer – Finance, in consultation with the Head of Commercial and Procurement, to agree the timing for reinstatement of payment of suppliers reverting to Council terms;

25       instruct the Chief Officer – Finance to give notice to the Board of Directors of NYOP Education (Aberdeen) Ltd to disburse £805,000 to Sport Aberdeen, being a nominated charity of NYOP;

26       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;

27       note that the General Fund Revenue Budget includes:

·       The abolition of the Garden Tax;

·       Increased funding available for grass cutting and maintaining Aberdeen’s green spaces;

·       Increased funding for tree maintenance and replacement;

·       Increased the funding of leased community centres by £2,500 each per annum;

·       No increase to fees and charges for parking; and

·       Enhanced funding for supported bus services.

 

Further instructions to Officers

 

28      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;

29      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;

30      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 and what impact that would have on the revenue budget in future years;

 

Taxation

 

31       approve a Band D equivalent Council Tax rate, with effect from 1 April 2021 of £1,377.30 excluding water charges – freezing the Council Tax rate for financial year 2021/22;

32       impose and levy Council Tax assessments for the period 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 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;

33       note that the Council implements revisions to National Non-Domestic Rates as defined by the Scottish Government within the relevant legislation and Finance Circulars, with effect from 1 April 2021;

34       impose and levy Non-Domestic Rates assessments for the period 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 on all occupiers in Aberdeen City to be paid by those liable;

 

Common Good

 

35       approve the Common Good budget for 2021/22 as detailed in the Common Good budget report, modified as detailed in Appendix 6 of the Amendment; and

36       approve the proposed Investment Strategy, as detailed in Appendix 4 of the Common Good report, for a Multi-Asset Income Fund investment and delegate authority to the Chief Officer – Finance to procure, without the need for further approval from any other committee of the Council and appoint a Fund Manager and to invest up to £30m of Common Good funds with that Fund Manager.

 

(Budgets associated with Councillor Yuill’s amendment are available here)

 

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, Henrickson, Hutchison, MacGregor, McLellan, McRae, Mennie, Alex Nicoll, Audrey Nicoll, Noble, Radley and Townson.

 

For the amendment by Councillor Yuill  (4)  -  Councillors Delaney, Donnelly, Greig and Yuill.

 

Declined to vote  (22)  -  Lord Provost; Depute Provost; and Councillors Allan, Bell, Boulton, Cross, Lesley Dunbar, Duncan, Graham, Grant, Houghton, Imrie, John, Laing, Lumsden, Macdonald, MacKenzie, Malik, Mason MSP, Reynolds, Sellar and Wheeler.

 

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

 

On a division, there voted:-

 

For the motion  (22)  -  Lord Provost; Depute Provost; and Councillors Allan, Bell, Boulton, Cross, 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, Henrickson, Hutchison, MacGregor, McLellan, McRae, Mennie, Alex Nicoll, Audrey Nicoll, Noble, Radley and Townson.

 

Declined to vote  (4)  -  Councillors Delaney, Donnelly Greig and Yuill.

 

The Council resolved:-

to adopt the motion.