Minutes for Council meeting, Sep 30 2009, 10.30AM official page

ABERDEEN CITY COUNCIL

                                                                                                        Town House,

                                                                          ABERDEEN, 30^th September, 2009

MINUTE OF MEETING OF ABERDEEN CITY COUNCIL

S e d e r u n t :

Lord Provost Peter Stephen, Chairperson;

Depute Provost Jacqueline Dunbar;  and

                                                            COUNCILLORS

GEORGE ADAM

YVONNE ALLAN

MARIE BOULTON

SCOTT CASSIE

NORMAN COLLIE

NEIL COONEY

JOHN CORALL

IRENE CORMACK

WILLIAM CORMIE

ALAN DONNELLY

JAMES FARQUHARSON

NEIL FLETCHER

GORDON GRAHAM

MARTIN GREIG

JAMES HUNTER

LEONARD IRONSIDE

MURIEL JAFFREY

JAMES KIDDIE

JENNIFER LAING

GORDON LESLIE

CALLUM McCAIG

MARK McDONALD

AILEEN MALONE

ALAN MILNE

JIM NOBLE

GEORGE PENNY

JOHN REYNOLDS

RICHARD ROBERTSON

JENNIFER STEWART

JOHN STEWART

KEVIN STEWART

WENDY STUART

JOHN WEST

KIRSTY WEST

JILLIAN WISELY

WILLIAM YOUNG

    and 

IAN YUILL  

Lord Provost Peter Stephen, in the Chair

The Lord Provost reminded members that today’s meeting was the third in a row to begin at 10.30am rather than 2.00pm, and invited comment on how this experiment was being viewed.  Although it was acknowledged that a 10.30am start caused difficulties for members with full-time jobs, there was broad feeling that the new starting time had been preferable.  Councillor John Stewart reminded Councillors that a review of the committee and management structure would be forthcoming in around four months’ time, and that the question of when Council meetings started deserved closer consideration at that juncture, a view with which all members concurred.

The Lord Provost next made reference to successes for the Council in the recent Association of Public Service Excellence awards and Shona Manson and Allen Small came forward to receive the awards in respect of Social Work and Housing respectively, and the Lord Provost, on behalf of the Council, extended congratulations to all staff who had contributed to these achievements.

The Lord Provost then invited the Chief Executive to introduce the new Corporate Management Team, whom he had agreed should in future sit at the top table at all Council meetings, and concluded by welcoming back Councillor Allan, who had been convalescing from an operation.

The Council had before it the Minute of Meeting of Aberdeen City Council of 19 August, 2009.

The Council resolved:-

to approve the Minute.

The Council had before it the Minute of Meeting of the Urgent Business Committee of 29 July, 2009.

The Council resolved:-

to approve the Minute.

The Council had before it the Minute of Meeting of the Urgent Business Committee of 5 August, 2009.

The Council resolved:-

to approve the Minute.

The Council had before it a pamphlet of Standing Committee Minutes from 1 July to 23 July, 2009.

The Council resolved:-

to note the Minutes.

The Council had before it the Minute of Meeting of the Marischal College Advisory and Monitoring Working Group of 1 September, 2009. 

The Council resolved:-

to approve the Minute.

There had been circulated in advance of the meeting a report by the Chief Executive providing details on progress on corporate and service-specific issues throughout the Council since July 2009.

The Council resolved:-

to note the information contained in this report.

The Council heard an oral report by the Chief Executive providing an update on the actions taken by the Leadership Board to address the findings and recommendations of the Accounts Commission for Scotland on Aberdeen City Council:  Reports by the Controller of Audit on the Audit of Best Value and Community Planning and on the Property Sales Investigation.

The Council resolved:-

to note the Chief Executive’s remarks, which had been to the effect that the main business of the Leadership Board in the present cycle had been made the subject of reports elsewhere on today’s agenda.

There had been circulated a report by the Chief Executive bringing before the Council on behalf of the Leadership Board consideration of the Accounts Commission’s findings detailed in Audit Scotland’s Progress Report (published on 30 July 2009) on the City Council’s arrangements for best value and community planning.  The Commission’s findings had been as follows:-

(1)       When the Accounts Commission published its findings on the Best Value audit on Aberdeen City Council in May 2008 following a public hearing, it requested a further report from the Controller of Audit in twelve months’ time. The Commission accepts this report as fulfilling that requirement.  We recognise that the report gives a broad picture of the Council’s performance based on the work of Audit Scotland and service inspectorates and does not attempt a comprehensive review of all service delivery.  We acknowledge the co-operation and assistance given to the audit process by elected members and officers of the Council.

(2)       The Commission is encouraged by the prompt and decisive action taken by the Council, and taking into account the timescale, commends the Council on its progress across a range of activity.  We welcome in particular the steps taken to establish new management structures and a new senior management team, the early signs of change in organisational culture and the progress in implementing a corporate performance management process.

(3)       We are also pleased to note that the Council has started to improve budget setting.  It now needs to build on this to establish robust and sustainable financial management and monitoring, which will be vital in addressing the challenging financial position it continues to face.  This is a key issue in any circumstances and will be all the more challenging for the Council given the recession and the financial pressures facing local government.

(4)       In aggregate, the Council has made a good start in addressing our findings on the initial Best Value audit report, and we believe that there is a very promising base for further improvement.  Inevitably at this stage the Council still has much to do and it needs to ensure that the progress is sustained and supported throughout the organisation.  In doing so, it needs to mitigate the risks to its ambitious improvement programme arising from dependence on a small number of elected members and officers.  The Council also needs to maintain a broad consensus to support the overall direction of travel and pace of change.

(5)       As part of the streamlining of scrutiny that the Scottish Government has asked the Accounts Commission to be involved in, Audit Scotland is currently working closely with other scrutiny bodies to deliver a shared risk assessment of Councils.  The Controller of Audit’s report and these findings, showing a picture of encouraging initial progress but with some way to go, will feature in the next risk assessment of Aberdeen City Council which will, in turn, inform the nature and timing of future external scrutiny.

At the meeting of the Council on 19 August, 2009 - Article 9 of the Minute refers - it had been noted that the Leadership Board had welcomed these findings, and that the Chief Executive would now report (to this meeting) on action to be taken to address the issues raised by both the Commission and by Audit Scotland.

Relevant statutory provisions required the Council to consider the Commission’s findings at a meeting of the Council within three months of receiving them, a duty to be discharged by the full Council and not by a Committee, Sub-Committee or officer.  After the Council had met, the Commission were to be notified of any decisions made. 

In this respect, the Chief Executive was recommending that the following considerations and proposals be reported to the Accounts Commission, all as originally recommended by the Leadership Board, and as outlined in the circulated report; namely,

• new management structures

            The Council meeting on 30 September marks the end of the first cycle of meetings of the Council’s new committee structure, introduced to clarify relationships, responsibilities and accountabilities within the Council.  Work continues on the development of new Standing Orders, Financial Regulations, Schemes of Delegation and Codes of Conduct to underpin the new management structures and the Council has agreed that a review should be undertaken following the first six months of operation of the new committee structure.

• new senior management team

             The Director of Corporate Governance took up his post with the Council on 1 September 2009 completing the appointment process for the Council’s new Directors.  The Chief Executive and the Directors are now working jointly to agree and bring forward to Council recommendations for the sub-structure of Heads of Service across the five Directorates and the Office of Chief Executive.  The Chief Executive will liaise directly with the Leadership Board and elected members to discuss the rationale behind the sub-structure as it is developed.  The Council has agreed that the number of Heads of Service posts will be reduced from the current 25 to a maximum of 21 and that the posts will be advertised externally.  It is envisaged that appointments will be made during November and December 2009.

• changes in organisational culture

             The Chief Executive and the Directors acknowledge the importance of setting and maintaining the Council’s ‘cultural tone’ (as it is described in Audit Scotland’s report).  Work continues at both a corporate and directorate level to develop and actively make use of a range of communication tools to ensure that the Council’s organisational culture is a positive influence in ensuring that the Council delivers the desired outcomes for those it serves. The structure agreed by the Council at its meeting on 25 March 2009 saw communications transferred to the Office of Chief Executive, a clear indication of the importance of this work as the Council moves forward.  A survey of all Council staff is due to take place in the coming months; this will establish a new baseline on staff views and opinions and indicate where work should be concentrated in order to enhance a positive cultural tone within the organisation.

• corporate performance management process

             Given the centrality of clear responsibility and accountability in the Council’s new organisational structures at both Committee and Directorate level, and given the fundamental requirement for robust self-assessment as national scrutiny arrangements are transformed the importance of the Council’s corporate performance management processes are fully appreciated both by elected members and officers.  In seeking to deliver against timescale and within budget the priorities enshrined within the Single Outcome Agreement and Vibrant, Dynamic and Forward Looking it is recognised that performance management arrangements within the Council must be kept continually under review.  Each of the new Committees, the Corporate Management Team and each of the new Directorates will regularly receive, analyse and act on robust performance information.

• improved budget setting

             The Finance and Resources Committee on 17 September received a report by the City Chamberlain on the proposed arrangements for setting the 2010/2011 budget. The intention is to ensure that the improvements noted by the Accounts Commission in the findings are secured and built upon.

• robust and sustainable financial management and monitoring

             It is recognised that the quality of budget setting within the Council will be enhanced both by augmented day-to-day financial management and monitoring and by improved medium to longer term financial planning.  Work is underway on both.  In particular on the former, the roll out across the Council of the Collaborative Planning tool will afford budget holders and those they report to at both officer and elected member level a much clearer insight into the operation of the budgets for which they are responsible and earlier opportunities to deal effectively with variances as they begin to occur.

• progress to be sustained and supported throughout the organisation

             The Leadership Board, on behalf of the Council welcomed the Accounts Commission’s findings when they were received on 30 July 2009.  The Leadership Board, the Chief Executive and the Corporate Management Team are united in seeking the means by which the progress to date is built upon and owned throughout the Council in order to ensure that appropriate outcomes are successfully delivered to those the Council serves.

• mitigate the risks of dependence on a small number of elected members and officers

             The establishment of the new committee structure with Conveners, Vice-Conveners, Group Spokespeople and committee members all with clarified responsibilities and accountabilities for a defined range of services assists in mitigating any risk there may have been in this regard.  Similarly, with the new Director group now complete and working to a shared corporate agenda with the Chief Executive any risk on the officer side is nullified.

• maintain a broad consensus to support the overall direction of travel and pace of change

       The Leadership Board was established by the Council to work on its behalf to own and drive forward the Council’s improvement programme. The Board continues to fulfill this role.

Work was now underway on the development of a new corporate plan for the Council which would bring together the Single Outcome Agreement and the Council’s policy statement Vibrant, Dynamic and Forward Looking and the current Council Improvement Plan, clearly setting out for the period from 2010/2011 onwards how the Council would deliver for the people it served.  The intention was to embed within this plan the work required to ensure that the issues highlighted by the Accounts Commission in its findings continued to be addressed by the Council.  The draft corporate plan would be brought to the Council in December 2009.

The report recommended:-

that the Council note progress to date and instruct the Chief Executive to report to the Accounts Commission in line with the above considerations and proposals.

The Council resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Council had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure presenting the Aberdeen Local Development Plan Main Issues Report and background documents.

It was recalled that on 19 March 2009 the Planning Committee had approved the development plan scheme, a detailed timetable and programme for the preparation of the plan, and that the main issues report - the second stage in the preparation of the plan - would be the focus for public engagement on the future growth of Aberdeen.

The report recommended:-

that the Council –

(a)       note the contents of the Aberdeen Local Development Plan main issues report;

(b)       agree to the publication of the main issues report for an eight-week consultation period between 16 October and 11 December 2009, with the outcomes to be reported to the Enterprise,  Planning and Infrastructure Committee in due course; and

(c)        agree to the publication of the monitoring report, the environmental report, development options assessment report and brownfield urban potential study to support that consultation.

The Council resolved:-

to approve these recommendations, and to request the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure to take account of concerns expressed by Councillor Graham about whether the advertising of the process was sufficient and concerns expressed by Councillor McCaig about typographical and spelling errors. 

The Council had before it a report by the Director of Corporate Governance presenting a list of outside bodies to which the Council made appointments.

The report recommended:-

that the Council –

(a)       delegate powers to the Head of Democratic Services (in consultation with the Group Leaders) to make changes to the named elected member representatives (where a political composition had been agreed) on the outside bodies list as detailed in the appendix to the report (this being not relevant where an appointment was required to be made at Council or Committee level);

(b)       review the extent of its representation on the outside bodies list (again, as detailed in the appendix to the report); and

(c)        note that future changes to the composition of representation on outside bodies and any changes to individually-named Councillors where only one representative was required, would be considered at meetings of the Council.

The Council then divided on the following appointments:-

Aberdeen Cyrenians

Councillor Cooney, seconded by Councillor Laing, moved:-

            That Councillor Hunter be appointed to the single position here.

As an amendment, Councillor Wisely, seconded by Councillor Milne, moved:-

            That Councillor Donnelly be appointed.

On a division, there voted:-

For the motion (12) – Councillors Adam, Allan, Cassie, Collie, Cooney, Graham, Hunter, Ironside, Laing, Reynolds, Young and Yuill.

For the amendment (26) – Lord Provost Stephen;  and Councillors Boulton,  Corall, Cormack, Cormie, Donnelly, Dunbar, Farquharson, Fletcher, Greig, Jaffrey, Kiddie, McCaig, McDonald, Malone, Milne, Noble, Penny, Robertson, Jennifer Stewart, John Stewart, Kevin Stewart, Wendy Stuart, John West, Kirsty West and Wisely.

Declined to vote (1) – Councillor Leslie.

The Council resolved:-

to adopt the amendment.

COSLA Best Value Elected Members Network

Councillor John Stewart, seconded by Councillor Kevin Stewart, moved:-

            The appointment of Councillor John Stewart to the COSLA Best Value Elected Members Network.

As an amendment, Councillor Cooney, seconded by Councillor Laing, moved:-

            The appointment of Councillor Graham.

On a division, there voted:-

For the motion (29) – Lord Provost Stephen;  and Councillors Boulton,  Corall, Cormack, Cormie, Donnelly, Dunbar, Farquharson, Fletcher, Greig, Jaffrey, Kiddie, Leslie, McCaig, McDonald, Malone, Milne, Noble, Penny, Reynolds, Robertson, Jennifer Stewart, John Stewart,  Kevin Stewart,  Wendy Stuart, John West, Kirsty West, Wisely and Yuill.

For the amendment (10) – Councillors Adam, Allan, Cassie Collie, Cooney, Graham, Hunter, Ironside, Laing and Young.

The Council resolved:-

to adopt the motion.

NESTRANS

In respect of the single opposition place on NESTRANS (currently held by Councillor Boulton), Councillor Cooney, seconded by Councillor Laing, moved:-

            The appointment of Councillor Young instead.

As an amendment, Councillor Milne, seconded by Councillor Farquharson, moved:-

            That Councillor Boulton be retained as the opposition representative.

On a division, there voted:-

For the motion (10) – Councillors Adam, Allan, Cassie Collie, Cooney, Graham, Hunter, Ironside, Laing and Young.

For the amendment  (27) – Lord Provost Stephen;  and Councillors Boulton,  Corall, Cormack, Cormie, Donnelly, Dunbar, Farquharson, Fletcher, Greig, Jaffrey, Kiddie, Leslie, McCaig, McDonald, Malone, Milne, Noble, Penny, Robertson, Jennifer Stewart, John Stewart,  Kevin Stewart,  Wendy Stuart, John West, Kirsty West and Yuill.

Declined to vote  (2) – Councillors Reynolds and Wisely.

The Council resolved:-

to adopt the amendment.

Museums Council

Councillor John Stewart, seconded by Councillor Fletcher, moved:-

            The appointment of Councillor Cormack to the Museums Council.

As an amendment, Councillor Cooney, seconded by Councillor Laing, moved:-

            The appointment of Councillor Crockett.

On a division, there voted:-

For the motion (24) – Lord Provost Stephen;  and Councillors  Corall, Cormack, Cormie, Dunbar, Fletcher, Greig, Jaffrey, Kiddie, Leslie, McCaig, McDonald, Malone, Noble, Penny, Reynolds, Robertson, Jennifer Stewart, John Stewart,  Kevin Stewart,  Wendy Stuart, John West, Kirsty West and Yuill.

For the amendment (13) – Councillors Adam, Allan, Cassie, Collie, Cooney, Donnelly, Farquharson, Graham, Hunter, Ironside, Laing, Milne and Young.

Declined to vote (2) – Councillors Boulton and Wisely.

The Council resolved:-

to adopt the motion.

The Council otherwise resolved:-

(i)         to make a number of amendments to the list of appointments to outside bodies as set out in the Appendix to this minute;

(ii)        to instruct the Head of Democratic Services to reiterate its previous request that all four local members in the Dyce, Bucksburn and Danestone Ward be permitted to be members of the Aberdeen Airport Consultative Committee;

(iii)       to instruct the City Solicitor to report on the process to be followed to reduce the number of Council representatives on the Oakbank School Board of Governors and the cost thereof and to defer the filling of vacancies meantime;

(iv)       to instruct the City Solicitor to clarify if the appointment of representatives to the Robert Gordon’s College Board of Governors could be changed or if they were appointed for a specified period;

(v)        to instruct the Head of Democratic Services to ascertain the status and clarify the names of a number of organisations as set out in the Appendix;

(vi)       to delete Careers Scotland, Grampian Health and Social Care Partnership, Home Choice (Aberdeen) Limited and the Tyrebagger Trust Company;  and

(vii)      otherwise, to approve the recommendations.

The Council had before it a report by the Chief Executive providing an account of the recent collaborative tender exercise undertaken on behalf of the City Council and Aberdeenshire Council for the provision of recruitment services. 

The report recommended:-

that the Council (i) note the action taken by the Head of Procurement to undertake a tendering process to appoint up to three or four external companies by way of framework agreements to provide recruitment services to the Council, Aberdeenshire Council, and other North East Scotland public sector bodies, all as outlined in the circulated papers;  (ii) agree to suspend standing orders 75 and 76 to the extent necessary to permit the delegation of powers to award such contracts (subject always to full compliance with Standing Orders in all other respects);  (iii) delegate power to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the City Chamberlain, City Solicitor and Head of Procurement, to accept the most economically advantageous tender(s) for the provision of recruitment services;   and (iv) instruct the Head of Procurement to submit a report to the next appropriate Committee of the Council on the outcome of the tendering process.

The Council resolved:-

to suspend Standing Order 75 and 76 and approve thereby the recommendations contained in the report.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Executive recommending a range of amendments to Parts I, II and III of the Council’s Standing Orders to take account of the new management and committee structure and to address a number of issues raised by elected members since the last revision in 2007.

The report included an attachment drawing attention to proposed additions and deletions, along with minor linguistic amendments to which attention had not been drawn since they did not amend the intent behind the wording. 

The Council then divided on the following matters:-

Councillor John Stewart, seconded by Councillor Kevin Stewart, moved:-

The addition of a new Standing Order 12(3) (the Convener may rule a motion or amendment incompetent if it would require the incurring of expenditure and the source of such funding is not identified), the  re-numbering of subsequent sub-sections in Standing Order 12, and the affirmation of the recommended amendment of Standing Order 21(2).

As an amendment, Councillor Graham, seconded by Councillor Donnelly, moved:-

That no such additional be made under Standing Order 12 and that the recommended change to Standing Order 21(2) be abandoned.

On a division, there voted:-

For the motion (24)  - Lord Provost Stephen;  and Councillors Corall, Cormack, Cormie, Dunbar, Fletcher, Greig, Jaffrey, Kiddie, Leslie, McCaig, McDonald, Malone, Noble, Penny, Reynolds, Robertson, Jennifer Stewart, John Stewart,  Kevin Stewart,  Wendy Stuart, John West, Kirsty West and Yuill.

For the amendment (12) – Councillors Adam, Allan, Collie, Cooney, Donnelly, Farquharson, Graham, Hunter, Ironside, Laing, Milne and Young.

Declined to vote (2) – Councillors Boulton and Wisely.

Absent from the division (1) – Councillor Cassie.

The Council resolved:-

to adopt the motion.

Councillor John Stewart, seconded by Councillor Kevin Stewart, moved:-

            In respect of Standing Order 20, that urgent questions be not accepted, and also that the Lord Provost be empowered to rule on whether an answer provided by an officer to a question was satisfactory.

As an amendment, Councillor Graham, seconded by Councillor Young, moved:-

That the recommended new Standing Order 21(9) (a motion submitted outwith the deadline specified in this Standing Order, that is, one identified as an urgent motion, shall be accepted onto the agenda at the discretion of the Lord Provost) be altered so that the word motion be replaced by the word question and that it be added to Standing Order 20.

On a division, there voted:-

For the motion (26)  - Lord Provost Stephen;  and Councillors Corall, Cormack, Cormie, Dunbar, Fletcher, Greig, Jaffrey, Kiddie, Leslie, McCaig, McDonald, Malone, Milne, Noble, Penny, Reynolds, Robertson, Jennifer Stewart, John Stewart,  Kevin Stewart,  Wendy Stuart, John West, Kirsty West, Wisely and Yuill.

For the amendment (12) – Councillors Adam, Allan, Boulton, Collie, Cooney, Donnelly, Farquharson, Graham, Hunter, Ironside, Laing and Young.

Absent from the division (1) – Councillor Cassie.

The Council resolved:-

to adopt the motion.

Councillor John Stewart, seconded by Councillor Kevin Stewart, moved:-

            That Standing Order 36(3) be amended so that the numbers needed for referral to Council were increased to one-third.

As an amendment, Councillor Graham, seconded by Councillor Donnelly, moved:-

That no change be made to Standing Order 36(3).

On a division, there voted:-

For the motion (24) – Lord Provost Stephen;  and Councillors Corall, Cormack, Cormie, Dunbar, Fletcher, Greig, Jaffrey, Kiddie, Leslie, McCaig, McDonald, Malone, Noble, Penny, Reynolds, Robertson, Jennifer Stewart, John Stewart,  Kevin Stewart,  Wendy Stuart, John West, Kirsty West and Yuill.

For the amendment (14) – Councillors Adam, Allan, Boulton, Collie, Cooney, Donnelly, Farquharson, Graham, Hunter, Ironside, Laing, Milne, Wisely and Young.

Absent from the division (1) – Councillor Cassie.

The Council resolved:-

to adopt the motion.

The Council otherwise resolved:-

(i)         in respect of the recommendation to remove Standing Order 10, to instruct the Head of Democratic Services to report back on options for managing the process for receiving deputations rather than dispensing with them altogether;

(ii)        to replace the references to working days in Standing Orders with clear days;  and

(iii)       otherwise, to approve the recommendations set out in the report.

• Corporate Policy and Performance Committee – Councillor Donnelly in place of Councillor Kiddie

• Finance and Resources Committee – Councillor Kiddie in place of Councillor Donnelly

Following a request from Councillor Kevin Stewart, the Council agreed to suspend Standing Order 22(1) to allow consideration of changes to the allocation of seats to groups in respect of the Committees as outlined below.

The Council resolved:-

that Councillor Donnelly take the place of Councillor Kiddie on the Corporate Policy and Performance Committee and that Councillor Kiddie take the place of Councillor Donnelly on the Finance and Resources Committee, and that the allocation of seats to each party on each of the two committees be amended accordingly.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

            Councillor Leslie declared an interest in the following item of business by virtue of his associated with Voluntary Services Aberdeen, which arose in the course of Councillor Young’s questions to the Convener of Social Care and Wellbeing.

The Council had before it seven questions, of which due notice had been given in terms of Standing Order 20(2), the original responses to which Councillors Graham, Hunter and Young respectively had indicated they believed were unsatisfactory, in consequence of which they wished the questions placed on today’s agenda in order that more in-depth answers could be provided.

Councillor Graham

QUESTION -

To the Convener of Finance and Resources

            To ask the Finance and Resources Convener to provide details of how many Secondary School Teaching staff Aberdeen City Council employed in 2006/07, 2007/08 and 2008/09.

ANSWER -

            As per the Mid Year Education Staffing report which went to Policy and Strategy on 21 January 2009, the figure for 2 of the years would be –

September                 September

2007                           2008

FTE                             FTE

Primary           817.91                        774.8

Secondary     855.46                        798.54

            At this time, no figures are available for the current school year which began in August. The teaching FTE which follows from pupil rolls and formulae entitlements will not be available until the September 2009 census is complete, which is likely to be at the end of this month.

The Council resolved:-

to note the details.

QUESTION -

To the Convener of Finance and Resources

            To ask the Finance and Resources Convener to provide details of how many Primary School Teaching staff Aberdeen City Council employed in 2006/07, 2007/08 and 2008/09.

ANSWER -

            As per the Mid Year Education Staffing report which went to Policy and Strategy on 21 January 2009, the figure for 2 of the years would be –

September                 September

2007                           2008

FTE                             FTE

Primary           817.91                        774.8

Secondary     855.46                        798.54

            At this time, no figures are available for the current school year which began in August. The teaching FTE which follows from pupil rolls and formulae entitlements will not be available until the September 2009 census is complete, which is likely to be at the end of this month.

The Council resolved:-

to note the details and that the information from the September, 2009 census would be sent to Councillor Graham when available.

Councillor Hunter

QUESTION -

To the Convener of Housing and Environment

(1)       To ask the Housing and Environment Convener when the application was submitted by Aberdeen City Council for 2009-10 for a share of the £15 million Home Insulation Scheme open to all Local Authorities and how much of a share of the fund did Aberdeen City Council receive?

(2)     To ask the Housing and Environment Convener when the application was submitted by Aberdeen City Council for 2010-11 for a share of the £15 million Home Insulation Scheme open to all Local Authorities and how much of a share of the fund did Aberdeen City Council receive?

(3)     To ask the Housing and Environment Convener which committee, if any, or which Elected Members if any, was consulted on the decision to apply or otherwise for a share of the £15 million Home Insulation Scheme open to all Local Authorities.

ANSWER -

Aberdeen City Council did not apply for funding in 2009-10 to the Scottish Government’s Home Insulation Scheme (HIS).

Over the past 10 - 12 years the Council’s Home Energy Team have identified and accessed the most appropriate grants, from a number of sources, in order to improve the basic insulation levels of the homes across Aberdeen.  As a result of the high level of work that has already been carried out in the city, we were not able to identify areas of Aberdeen that met all the criteria for the HIS.  One of the specific criteria for HIS is that a high proportion of dwellings in the target area can be treated with loft insulation and cavity fill.  To quote:  HIS will focus on the delivery of insulation measures available under CERT (such as loft and cavity wall insulation).  Households living in "hard to treat" properties (for example, tenement flats with solid walls) would also be assisted under the scheme through energy audits and benefits advice.  However, the main uptake of actual insulation measures is likely to be through loft and cavity wall insulation.  We therefore would prefer to target areas that offer significant potential for these measures.  Please provide what information you can on the potential for installing measures such as loft insulation and cavity fill in the selected areas.

We have already covered all cavity wall construction areas in the city with insulation programmes, in most cases fully funded through various grants.  Essentially the HIS is most useful to those Local Authorities that have done little work under the Home Energy Conservation Act (HECA).  Aberdeen has been at the forefront of implementing HECA for many years.  Councillor Hunter may be pleased to know that we are about to roll out a Warm Zone approach in the George Street and Harbour wards, following the success of the Warm Zone pilot carried out last year in George Street itself.  For this we have secured £55,000 of external funding from one of the fuel utilities under the Carbon Emission Reduction Target (CERT) scheme.  We did approach the Scottish Government to ask whether the HIS could apply in this Warm Zone but unfortunately this was not accepted, mainly because the area we are targeting does not consist predominantly of dwellings of cavity wall construction.  The Warm Zone approach tackles fuel poverty through a combination of maximising income and reducing fuel costs by improving the energy efficiency of the dwellings in the target area and encouraging the take up of social tariffs.  In line with what we have been doing for the past 12 years, we apply for a wide range of what we consider to be the most promising grants, without reporting on each separate funding stream to elected members.  There is little possibility of us applying for HIS in the next financial year unless the basic criteria changes.

The Council resolved:-

to note the details.

Councillor Young

QUESTION -

To the Convener of Social Care and Wellbeing

            To ask the Social Care and Wellbeing Convener what effect if any has the Council decision to withdraw funding from Aye Can had on the service users?

ANSWER -

            Aye Can has been closed for over a year and all the service users who previously attended and met our Eligibility Criteria have been found alternative placements.

The Council resolved:-

to note the details.

QUESTION -

To the Convener of Social Care and Wellbeing

         To ask the Social Care and Wellbeing Convener what advocacy provision have been put in place for those suffering from dementia following the decision of VSA to close the Woodgrove Unit thanks to the Political Administration’s failure to provide adequately for this provision within its budget?

ANSWER -

            The Council's care management service will work closely with VSA, the Care Commission and the residents’ families to ensure that alternative arrangements are made for people's care and the closure happens as smoothly as possible.

            Most residents will have family members or other representatives to support them or act on their behalf. Where there is an indication of a need for independent advocacy, for instance if a resident has no representative, the family is not able to help or there is disagreement about the care plan, we will arrange for the support of an advocate, as appropriate.

The Council resolved:-

to note the details.

Members are requested to note that there will be an information briefing session immediately before consideration of this item.

EXEMPT INFORMATION

The Council resolved in terms of Section 50(A)(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 to exclude the press and public from the meeting during consideration of the following item of business so as to avoid disclosure of exempt information of the classes described in paragraphs 8, 10 and 11 of Schedule 7(A) of the Act.

            DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

            Councillors Fletcher, Young and John West declared interests in the following item of business by virtue of their involvements with Sport Aberdeen and left the meeting. 

            Councillor Kirsty West declared an interest in the following item of business by virtue of her partner’s membership of the Institute of Groundsmanship, but did not consider it necessary to leave the meeting.

            Councillors Noble, Kevin Stewart and Kiddie declared interests in the following item of business by virtue of their trades union involvement, but none of the members referred to considered it necessary to leave the meeting.

With reference to Article 18 of the Minute of Meeting of the Continuous Improvement Committee of 18^th April, 2009, the Council considered circulated papers on the process and outcomes of the recent procurement and market-testing process for grounds maintenance services for sports grounds, playing fields and housing amenities, including an evaluation and ranking of bids received.  Arising from this, the Council heard a presentation by CIPFA Adviser, Richard Whiter, Jan Falconer (Strategist, Sustainable Development) and Andrew Win, (Senior Sustainable Development Officer), on the detail of how market-testing supported the Council’s current policy objective to ensure high-quality and well-managed sports facilities in Aberdeen.  Furthermore, it was a requirement that all local authorities provided best value services under the provisions of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 2003, and the current procurement exercise aimed to meet requirements of testing competitively the Council’s services as recommended in Audit Scotland’s Best Value report 2008.

After discussion, Councillor Cooney, seconded by Councillor Adam, moved as a procedural motion:-

            That the level of detail in the circulated papers was such that the meeting be adjourned until Friday.

On a division, there voted:-

For the motion (6) - Councillors Adam, Collie, Cooney, Hunter, Ironside and Laing.

Against the motion (27) – Lord Provost Stephen;  and Councillors Boulton,  Corall, Cormack, Cormie, Donnelly, Dunbar, Farquharson, Greig, Jaffrey, Kiddie, Leslie, McCaig, McDonald, Malone, Milne, Noble, Penny, Reynolds, Robertson, Jennifer Stewart, John Stewart,  Kevin Stewart,  Wendy Stuart, Kirsty West, Wisely and Yuill.  

Absent from the division (6) – Councillors Allan, Cassie, Fletcher, Graham, John West and Young.

The Council resolved:-

to not approve the motion.

Councillor Cooney entered his dissent.  Thereafter, it was agreed to suspend Standing Order 17(1) and adjourn for 30 minutes.

Upon resumption of the meeting, Depute Provost Dunbar took the Chair, whereupon Councillor Kevin Stewart, seconded by Councillor John Stewart, moved:-

            That the content of the circulated papers be noted, that Contractor E be awarded preferred bidder status.

In this respect, it was noted that if the Council were to be unable to progress discussions with the preferred bidder to the stage of invoking contract award procedures in accordance with regulation 32 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2006, officers be authorised to award preferred bidder status to the next most economically advantageous response, subject always to that bidder’s acceptance of the same contractual terms and conditions which, again, would be non-negotiable, and that this process be replicated if necessary vis-à-vis the next bidder in line, subject always to the same requirements, until the Council was in a position to make a contract award in accordance with the 2006 Regulations, subject to the required standstill period being adhered to in accordance with Regulation 32(3) thereof, and that the Housing and Environment Committee would receive a report on this process by March, 2010.

As an amendment, Councillor Cooney, seconded by Councillor Adam, moved:-

            That the entire matter be deferred until the next meeting of the Council.

On a division, there voted:-

For the motion (25)  -  Depute Provost Dunbar;  and Councillors Boulton, Corral, Cormack, Cormie, Donnelly, Farquharson, Greig, Jaffrey, Kiddie, Leslie, McCaig, McDonald, Malone, Milne, Noble, Penny, Reynolds, Robertson, Jennifer Stewart, John Stewart, Kevin Stewart, Wendy Stuart, Kirsty West and Yuill.

For the amendment (6) - Councillors Adam, Collie, Cooney, Hunter, Ironside and Laing.

Absent from the division (8) – Lord Provost Stephen;  and Councillors Allan, Cassie, Fletcher, Graham, John West, Wisely and Young.

The Council resolved:-

to adopt the motion, whereupon members heard a reminder from the City Solicitor that, notwithstanding the decision newly taken, this matter remained strictly confidential at this stage.

-  PETER STEPHEN, Lord Provost.