Minutes for Council meeting, Nov 18 2009, 10.30AM official page

The persons aforementioned were admitted into the presence of the Council and passed as Burgesses of Guild in respect of their respective Acts of Admission in the Guild Burgess Book:-

Anthony James Dawson, Solicitor in Aberdeen

Reverend John Hunter Addison Dick, Minister of Religion in Aberdeen

Yvonne Christina Gilbert, Company Director in Aberdeen

Paul Stewart Lawrie, Professional Golfer in Aberdeen

Anne Russell, Retired Personnel Manager in Aberdeen

David Dominic Smart, Minister of Religion in Aberdeen

(A)       The Lord Provost made reference to a variety show which had taken place on 5^th November which had raised £23,000 for Cornerstone, in addition to £10,000 raised for Cornerstone by the Lord Provost’s Charitable Trust. The Lord Provost thanked all those who had been involved and who had given so generously.

(B)       The Lord Provost advised that the Council had finished in second place in the 2009 Aberdeen Corporate Decathlon behind overall winners Shell 1, and that this was the Council’s highest finish in three years of participation. Lesley Coutts had been shortlisted as Captain of the Year for the second year in succession.

            (C)       The Lord Provost advised that he had visited Charleston Primary School to congratulate Dean Sutherland, a primary 7 pupil who had been crowned World Champion in the under 35kg full contact category at the recent Kickboxing World Championships in Spain. Dean had also won a silver medal in a different category.

            (D)       The Lord Provost highlighted that the Council’s City Archivist had been awarded a silver quaich and certificate by Ancestral Tourism Scotland for the work the Council and partners had undertaken in relation to ancestral tourism in the city as part of the national homecoming celebrations.

            (E)       Councillor Milne paid tribute to former Councillor Gordon Adams who had passed away recently, referring to the contribution he had made to the city.

The Council resolved:-

to concur with the remarks of the Lord Provost and Councillor Milne.

The Council had before it the minute of meeting of Aberdeen City Council of 30^th September 2009.

Councillor Young moved as a procedural motion, seconded by Councillor Cooney:-  That Article 13 on page 1432 of the minute be amended to record that the Labour Group had questioned whether the motion put forward by the Administration was ultra vires.

On a division, there voted:-

For the procedural motion  (11)  -  Councillors Adam, Allan, Cassie, Collie, Cooney, Crockett, Donnelly, Graham, Hunter, Laing and Young.

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

Declined to vote  (5)  -  Councillors Boulton, Dean, Farquharson, Milne and Wisely.

Absent from the division  (2)  -  Councillors Clark and Cormack.

The Council resolved:-

(i)                 to reject the procedural motion; and

(ii)               to approve the minute subject to the amendment proposed within the additional circulation, whereby resolution (iii) of Article 13 on page 1434 of the minute be amended to read “otherwise to approve the amendments which were not the subjects of division as indicated in Appendix B to this minute.”

The Council was referred to the minutes of the last cycle of standing committee meetings in the former committee structure, which had been circulated previously.

The Council resolved:-

to approve the minutes.

The Council had before it a pamphlet of standing committee minutes from 29^th July to 8^th October 2009.

The Council resolved:-

to note the minutes.

The Council had before it a statement of Council business which had been prepared by the Head of Democratic Services.

The Council resolved:-

(i)                 to amend the wording of item 2 (Oakbank School Board of Governors) to reflect that the report that had been requested was on the future of Oakbank and whether Council representatives were required; and

(ii)               otherwise to note the statement.

The Council had before it the minute of meeting of The Aberdeen City Alliance of 14^th May 2009, for information.

The Council resolved:-

to note the minute.

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 Chief Executive advised that she had written to the Cabinet Secretary and the President of COSLA requesting that the External Support Group formally stand down, and that dialogue was ongoing with Audit Scotland regarding the schedule of forthcoming audits.

The Council resolved:-

to note the Chief Executive’s remarks.

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

Councillor Jaffrey declared an interest during the course of debate on the following item of business by virtue of a relative having been employed by Glencraft. Councillor Jaffrey did not consider that the nature of her interest required her to leave the meeting.

With reference to Article 13 of the minute of its meeting of 30^th September 2009, the Council had before it a report by the Chief Executive which presented a revised Standing Order 10 on deputations.

The report appended the proposed amended version of Standing Order 10, which, if accepted, would reduce the number of occasions on which repeat deputations could be heard. It also confirmed the Council’s practice of not accepting deputations on anything other than a substantive report and that applications to be heard would not be accepted if they related to the annual budget. The report proposed that where a committee, having heard a deputation, either deferred the report or referred it to Council, no further application to be heard should be accepted but the members of the deputation would be invited to submit their presentation to the Head of Democratic Services who would arrange for it to be issued to members.

The report recommended:-

that the Council agree to the amendment of Standing Order 10 as appended to the report.

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

That the Council approve the revised Standing Order 10 detailed below, following a number of amendments having been made to the version appended to the report.

Councillor Cooney moved as an amendment, seconded by Councillor Young:-

            That the Council maintain the status quo in respect of Standing Order 10.

On a division, there voted:-

For the motion  (32)  - Lord Provost Peter Stephen;  Depute Provost Dunbar; and Councillors Boulton, Cassie, Corall, Cormack, Cormie, Dean, Donnelly, Farquharson, Fletcher, Greig, Jaffrey, Kiddie, Leslie, McCaig, McDonald, Malone, May, Milne, Noble, Penny, Reynolds, Robertson, Jennifer Stewart, John Stewart, Kevin Stewart, Wendy Stuart, John West, Kirsty West, Wisely and Yuill.

For the amendment  (9)  -  Councillors Adam, Allan, Collie, Cooney, Crockett, Graham, Hunter, Laing and Young.

Absent from the division  (1)  -  Councillor Clark.

The Council resolved:-

to adopt the motion, thereby approving the amended version of Standing Order 10 detailed below.

Amended version of Standing Order 10          (Additions in bold text)

*10.     Reception of Deputations

            (1)       Every application for the reception of a deputation must be in writing, duly signed and delivered, faxed or e-mailed to the Head of Democratic Services as early as necessary to ensure that at least one clear day (excluding Saturdays and Sundays or public holidays observed by staff employed at the Town House) is available between receipt of the application and its submission to Council or Committee.  The application must state the subject on which the deputation wish to be heard and the action (if any) which it is proposed that the Council should take.   The application must relate to a substantive report on the agenda and no application shall be accepted which relates to the annual budget or to a planning application except where required by statute.

            (2)       If the subject matter of the application falls within the remit of a Committee of the Council, the application shall be submitted to that Committee and the Committee may, if it so resolved, hear the deputation. If, having heard the deputation, the Committee defers consideration of the report to which the application related, no further application to be heard shall be accepted from the same body or individuals unless a report containing substantial new information is submitted to the meeting at which the matter is next considered.

            (3)       If, as a result of a referral from a Committee, the matter is one upon which a final decision requires to be taken by the Council, it shall be competent for any body or individuals heard by the Committee to be heard by the Council.

            (4)       If the application relates to a substantive report submitted to Council directly, the Council may, if it so resolves, hear the deputation.   If Council defers a decision the procedure in (2) above shall apply.

            (5)       No deputation shall consist of more than three persons.

            (6)       The members of a deputation, or a deputation comprising a single person shall be permitted to address the Council, and they may speak in total for no more than ten minutes.

            (7)       Any member of the Council may put any relevant question to the deputation and with the invitation of the Convener, any officer of the Council shall be entitled to respond to any matter raised by the deputation.  Neither of these interventions shall be permitted until the deputation has concluded its presentation.  The time available for such questions shall not exceed ten minutes (over and above the maximum period of ten minutes allowed to receive the deputation).  No debate or discussion on the subject matter shall take place until the relevant minute or other item falls to be considered in terms of the order of business, or, alternatively until the deputation retires and consideration of the matter resumes in line with Standing Orders.

The Council had before it a report by the Director of Corporate Governance which sought approval for revised Standing Orders relating to contracts and procurement and agreement to the introduction of a separate, stand-alone document entitled ‘Standing Orders relating to Contracts and Procurement’.

The report explained that Part V of the Council’s Standing Orders governed how the Council procured goods, services and works and entered into contracts, and had last been revised in October 2003. Since then, there had been many developments in the field of procurement law and practice, as well as changes to the internal structure of the Council, which necessitated changes to this part of the Standing Orders. The report envisaged that the proposed changes would ensure that the Standing Orders were up-to-date, complied with all relevant legislation, took account of the Council’s internal structure and policies and were fit for purpose and easy to follow. If approved, the report stated that clear procedure notes to assist services in streamlining procurement activity would be produced to supplement the Standing Orders - updated template documentation would also be produced.

The report then summarised the main significant amendments under the following headings:-

·        Thresholds

·        Reporting back to Committee

·        Frameworks

·        Disposal of Surplus Equipment

·        Works Procurement

·        Social Care Contracts

The report proposed that, in order for the Office of the City Solicitor to develop and roll-out training to officers involved in procurement and complete all of the relevant preparatory work, there be a lead-in period with a suggested implementation date of 1^st April 2010, however in order to increase flexibility it was proposed that the new financial thresholds should become effective to all new procurements from 23^rd November 2009.

The report recommended:-

that the Council -

(a)              approve the revised Standing Orders relating to contracts and procurement appended to the report;

(b)              agree that the revised Standing Orders be a separate stand-alone document, as opposed to forming Part V of the main Standing Orders of the Council;

(c)               note that detailed guidance and template documentation was being developed to supplement the new Standing Orders;

(d)              agree that in order to enable the development and roll-out of training to officers involved in procurement that the implementation of the new Standing Orders be delayed until 1^st April 2010; and

(e)              agree that notwithstanding recommendation (d) above that the new financial thresholds shall apply to all new procurements from 23^rd November 2009.

The Council resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Council had before it a report by the City Chamberlain which sought approval for revisions to the Council’s Finance Standing Orders (Part IV) taking account of the revised management and committee structure, and agreement that the revised version be a separate stand-alone document.

The report stated that the Finance Standing Orders would remain principally the same but with a combination, simplification and rationalisation of previous Standing Orders. The main elements proposed which varied from the current Standing Orders were:-

(a)               the proposed process for revenue and capital budget approvals, with the Finance and Resources Committee and the Housing and Environment Committee making recommendations to Council for setting Council tax and housing rents and the respective capital programmes; and

(b)               the proposal that the Financial Regulations be approved by the Finance and Resources Committee based on the recommendations of the City Chamberlain.

The report recommended:-

that the Council -

(a)              approve the revised Standing Orders - Finance appended to the report; and

(b)              agree that those Standing Orders would be a separate stand-alone document.

The Council resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

With reference to Article 11 of the minute of its meeting of 30^th September 2009, the Council had before it a report by the Director of Corporate Governance which provided updates in respect of several outside bodies and their current status and sought to determine whether to retain elected member representation on those outside bodies.

The report set out the following table:-

Outside Body

Status

Current Representation

Recommendation

Aberdeen Airport Consultative Committee

(AACC)

At the request of members, officers wrote to the Committee to ask if they would consider adding Councillor Crockett to the membership of the Committee. 

The AACC advised that they did discuss the matter two years ago and wish to inform the Council that they are unable to make a change to their Constitution (which does not allow for four members) without the full agreement of the Committee.  As a first stage they will discuss it at their Passenger Services Group meeting in December.  If the Group advise a change, the Committee will consider the matter formally at the AACC meeting in March.

Councillor Clark

Councillor McDonald

Councillor Penny

Membership to remain as is at present.

Fersands Area Forum

The Project Coordinator has advised that the Area Forum does not require Councillor representation, but that elected member representation would be required for the Fersands and Fountain Community Project.

Area Forum -

Councillor Adam

Councillor Fletcher

Councillor Kirsty West

That the Council consider the request from the organisation for representation for the Community Project.

Grampian Service Brokerage Ltd

No response received.

Council is asked to consider if it wishes to retain membership of this body.

Kaleidoscope

Council officers have advised that Kaleidoscope no longer receive funding from the Council.  It has been two years since the Council’s Arts Education team has had any contact with the group and although the intention had been to revive it, it no longer exists.

Councillor Jennifer Stewart

Councillor Kirsty West

Councillor Young

Remove from outside bodies list.

Margaret Blackwood Housing Association Ltd

No response received.

Councillor Kevin Stewart

Council is asked to consider if it wishes to retain membership of this body.

Oakbank School of Governors

Details on membership of this outside body will be contained in a separate report which will be reported to a future meeting of the Council.

Councillor Allan

Councillor Donnelly

Councillor Hunter

Councillor Laing

Councillor Young

Printfield Area Forum

The Forum is still in existence and asks that Councillor representation be retained.

Councillor Adam

Councillor Fletcher

Councillor Kirsty West

Retain elected member representation.

Robert Gordon College Board of Governors

Details on membership of this outside body will be contained in a separate report which will be reported to a future meeting of the Council.

Councillor Cassie

Lord Provost Peter Stephen

Councillor Kirsty West

Councillor Yuill

Royal Aberdeen Workshops for the Blind

Details on membership of this outside body will be contained in a separate report which will be reported to a future meeting of the Council.

Councillor Clark

Councillor Crockett

Councillor Hunter

Social Investment North East

Organisation no longer exists.

Councillor McCaig

Remove from outside bodies list.

Techfest

Techfest has changed its constitution and is now a Board, rather than a Committee.  Elected members would therefore have to be a Trustee of the Board to attend meetings.

The organisation has advised that they would be delighted to have a named Councillor who they could contact directly with any information.

It is recommended that the Council decide if they wish to nominate a named representative as a contact point for the organisation.

WEA Reachout Project

Although the project does not have regular meetings which Council representatives attend, they feel that it would be beneficial to have an appointed Councillor to improve the flow of information.  The lead officer advised that she appreciated that there is a high demand from various bodies, but would be grateful if some form of relationship could be maintained with elected members in the form of a named person if at all possible.

Councillor Cooney

It is recommended that the Council decide if they wish to nominate a named representative as a contact point for the organisation.

William Harvey Trust

As the income of the Trust is relatively small, it has only met at intervals of two or three years.  There will be a meeting in the near future to make a distribution to charities which fall within the remit of the Trust and to also take a decision on the future of the Trust.  It is therefore requested that the Council maintain a nominated representative meantime to enable the decision on the future of the Trust to be taken by as many interested representatives as possible.

Councillor Graham

Retain Elected Member representation.

The Council resolved:-

(i)         to remove the following outside bodies from the list:-

·        Grampian Service Brokerage Ltd

·        Kaleidoscope

·        Margaret Blackwood Housing Association Ltd

·        Social Investment North East

·        Techfest

·        WEA Reachout Project; and

(ii)        otherwise to approve the recommendations contained within the table.

The Council had before it a report by the City Chamberlain which advised of the projected base budget position for 2010/11 with the information that had been provided by services in relation to budget movements.

The report advised that the current budget position for 2010/11 could be summarised in the table below with the caveat that a number of factors would most likely change this position. These factors included - Aberdeen City Council’s finance settlement figure, joint board requisitions, the setting of non-domestic rate income poundage, property rates re-evaluation in April 2010, and decisions on the pace of implementation of Concordat and Single Outcome Agreement commitments.

The report cautioned that linking into the Medium Term Financial Plan, services had identified additional costs totalling approximately £9 million. These would need to be scrutinised as part of the budget process to determine which items the Council would wish to add to its cost base. This would increase the above funding gap or savings/efficiencies targets.

In regard to current projected spend, the report appended a spreadsheet which showed how the budget moved from £446.046 million in 2009/10 to produce a base line budget of £466.157 million for 2010/11 based on the known movements that the Council would need to budget for which were also outlined in the appendix to the report. The report highlighted that the major risks related to sports income being considerably down, out of city placements and the increasing demand for adult services.

The report advised that services were reviewing their individual budgets to determine what savings could be proposed to ensure that the Council was in a position to set a balanced budget. It was intended that the savings identified would be presented to the Finance and Resources Committee on 10^th December 2009, after consultation with stakeholders and partners.

In regard to 2011/12 and 2012/13, the report stated that estimated budget positions were being developed, and that these would be reported to the Finance and Resources Committee on 28^th January 2010.

The report concluded that the Council continued to face difficult financial circumstances. The Scottish Government anticipated announcing individual Council settlement figures at the end of November 2009 - once this information had been received and reviewed, a further briefing for elected members would be made available and the final position reported to the Finance and Resources Committee in December.

The report recommended:-

that the Council -

(a)              note the content of the report; and

(b)              instructDirectors to ensure that cost reduction opportunities continued to be identified to ensure that a balanced budget could be presented to Council in due course. 

The Council resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

“Council notes efforts to tackle the massive problems of opiate addiction including a heroin prescription programme in England.

To tackle the substantial and increasing problems of substance misuse in Aberdeen, Council agrees to work and support NHS and other appropriate partners in investigating options for a possible pilot scheme in Aberdeen and to refer the matter ultimately to Government for consideration.”

Councillors Kiddie and Leslie, pursuant to notice, moved:-

“Council notes efforts to tackle the massive problems of opiate addiction including a heroin prescription programme in England.

To tackle the substantial and increasing problems of substance misuse in Aberdeen, Council agrees to work with and support NHS and other appropriate partners in investigating options for a possible pilot scheme in Aberdeen and to refer the matter ultimately to Government for consideration.”

The Council resolved:-

to refer the motion to the Social Care and Wellbeing Committee.

Councillor Cormack, pursuant to notice, moved:-

“In the light of the restoration and reuse of Marischal College, the second largest granite building in the world, and in recognition of the central role that the granite industry has played in the city’s economic development and in its cultural identity, that this Council agrees to the production of a report with options on how the Council and its partners can properly acknowledge the key contribution that the use of granite has made to the built environment of Aberdeen and the wider North East region.”

The Council resolved:-

to refer the motion to the Education, Culture and Sport Committee.

At this juncture, the Lord Provost asked all officers who had an interest in the following item of business to leave the meeting. Accordingly, Susan Cooper (City Chamberlain), Roderick MacBeath (Head of Democratic Services), Jane MacEachran (City Solicitor) and Ciaran Monaghan (Head of Service, Office of Chief Executive) left the meeting as the business in question related to their employment.

            DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

During the course of debate on the following item, Councillors Kiddie, Kevin Stewart and Yuill declared interests as members of UNISON. Councillor Young declared an interest as a member of T&G Unite. None of the members felt it necessary to leave the meeting.

The Council had before it a report by the Chief Executive which made recommendations for the establishment of a revised structure and remits for second tier Chief Officers.

The report explained that the proposals for the completion of the strategic management restructuring were based upon a need to achieve better outcomes and public value for communities, a commitment to achieving best value across the board and the immediate need to complete the establishment of a clear framework for accountabilities and roles and responsibilities for officers. The report emphasised that the overall restructuring had been the subject of considerable consultation and a list of respondents in respect of the consultation was appended to the report. The report then summarised the comments that had been received throughout the course of the consultation.

The report appended structure charts depicting the sixteen new Head of Service posts (as reflected at the end of this Article), as well as the work portfolios for each post and job descriptions and person specifications. The report added that following implementation, de minimus adjustments to work portfolios could require to be made and it was recommended that these would be subject to consultation with the Conveners and Vice Conveners of the relevant service committees.

The report proposed that the recruitment process commence immediately with a view to all appointments being completed by the end of March 2010. In accordance with the arrangements agreed by the Council at its meeting of 24^th June 2009 (Article 9 refers), consultation with the Convener and elected members on the Appointment Panel would inform the interview schedule. The report also proposed that following the successful role of the external stakeholders assessment centre in the appointment of the Directors, the model should be introduced for the Head of Service interview process.

In regard to financial implications, the report explained that in reducing the current second tier management structure from 25.5 posts to 16.5 posts (the 0.5 post being the Head of Procurement shared with Aberdeenshire Council), a saving of £645,256 would be realised based on the full year costs for the posts in 2009/10. The report explained that the current structure was based on a standard salary grade of Chief Officer Grade 30 while the proposed structure was based primarily on a salary grade of Chief Officer Grade spinal column point 34 (£75,285), with the exception of two posts, these being the Head of Finance and the Head of Legal and Democratic Services which would be at spinal column point 36 (£78,639) to reflect the Council-wide statutory functions of the posts.

The report estimated that the overall cost for recruitment and selection of the new posts would be £297,455, which would be met from contingencies. Any severance costs relating to postholders in the current structure would be met from the general fund balances supported by the consent to borrow agreed by Scottish Ministers. Thereafter, the savings would be achieved from the financial year 2010/11, accruing a saving to the Council of £645,256 per annum.

The report emphasised that the recruitment process would be consistent to that which had been used for the Director posts (i.e. advertised externally), and would be open and transparent. The proposed process was without prejudice to the current postholders but reflected the significant changes to the management structure and in many cases job content.

The report recommended:-

that the Council -

(a)              agree to the proposals to establish 16 new posts of Head of Service as appended to the report;

(b)              agree to the revised remuneration proposals for Heads of Service;

(c)               note the proposed recruitment arrangements; and

(d)              otherwise note the report.

Councillor Kevin Stewart moved, seconded by Councillor Fletcher:-

            That the recommendations contained within the report be approved.

Councillor Crockett moved as an amendment, seconded by Councillor Graham:-

That recommendations (a), (b) and (d) be approved but recommendation (c) be not approved in light of the equal pay and modernisation process, and that the new Head of Service posts be remunerated at the same level as the current Head of Service posts, with the exception of the posts of Head of Finance and Head of Legal and Democratic Services which would be graded 2 spinal column points above the other 14 posts.

During the course of debate, Councillor Young apologised to the Chief Executive if she had taken offence at his remark that she had “massaged the report” to overlook resistance to the proposals arising from the consultation. The Council agreed that this be recorded in the minute.

During the course of summing up, Councillor Kevin Stewart made a number of comments in response to remarks by Councillor Young during the debate. Councillor Young had claimed that staff morale was at a low and that members of the Administration had made personal criticisms of members of staff. Councillor Kevin Stewart stated that he was not aware of any SNP Councillors having criticised members of staff, however if Councillor Young had evidence of this then he should bring it to his attention and he would investigate it, and he felt sure that Councillor John Stewart would do the same in respect of the Liberal Democrat Councillors. Councillor Kevin Stewart added that Councillor Young continually being quoted in the local press in respect of all matters relating to the Council did nothing for staff morale and that he had lost count of the number of times members of the business community, members of the public and members of staff had approached him about that Councillor asking if he could “shut him up” - his responses to them had been “if only I could”.

Councillor Crockett requested that Councillor Kevin Stewart’s comments during the course of his summing up be recorded in the minute and this was agreed by Councillor Kevin Stewart.

On a division, there voted:-

For the motion  (32)  -  Depute Provost Dunbar; and Councillors Boulton, Cassie, Clark, Corall, Cormack, Cormie, Dean, Donnelly, Farquharson, Fletcher, Greig, Jaffrey, Kiddie, Leslie, McCaig, McDonald, Malone, May, Milne, Noble, Penny, Reynolds, Robertson, Jennifer Stewart, John Stewart, Kevin Stewart, Wendy Stuart, John West, Kirsty West, Wisely and Yuill.

For the amendment  (9)  -  Councillors Adam, Allan, Collie, Cooney, Crockett, Graham, Hunter, Laing and Young.

Declined to vote  (1)  -  Lord Provost Peter Stephen.

The Council resolved:-

(i)                 to adopt the motion; and

(ii)               to amend the person specification for the post of Head of Planning and Sustainable Development to reflect that membership of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) should be in the essential criteria.

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 class described in paragraph 8 of Schedule 7(A) of the Act.

With reference to Article 12 of the minute of its meeting of 30^th September 2009, the Council had before it a report by the Chief Executive which advised of the decision that had been taken by the City Chamberlain, City Solicitor and Head of Procurement under delegated powers to appoint preferred bidders to the Council’s framework agreement for the provision of recruitment services.

The report advised that fourteen bids had been received in response to the advertisement of the tender. The evaluation process had identified four bidders to participate in the framework agreement - Munro Consulting Limited, Gatenby Sanderson Limited, Veredus Executive Resourcing and SOLACE Enterprises. Accordingly, a decision had been taken by officers, under delegated powers, to grant those bidders a position on the framework. In addition, a call-off contract for the advertisement of the immediate need for the appointment of the Head of Service posts for the second tier management structure had been awarded to Munro Consulting Limited. 

The report recommended:-

that the Council note the decision taken under delegated powers to appoint preferred bidders to the framework agreement for the provision of recruitment services, and to award the first call-off contract for the recruitment of up to 21 Heads of Service (now 16 Heads of Service as per Article 16 of this minute) to Munro Consulting Limited.

The Council resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

- PETER STEPHEN, Lord Provost.