• Agenda

Minutes of Meeting of the Highland and Western Isles Valuation Joint Board held in the Council Offices, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness on Tuesday, 27 March 2007 at 11.0 0 a.m.

 

 

Mr J H Green in the Chair

 

Preliminaries

 

1.              Apologies for Absence

 

An apology for absence was intimated on behalf of Mrs A L Magee.

 

2.              Minutes of Previous Meeting held on  16 January 2007

 

The Minutes of the Meeting of the Board held on 16 January 07 had been circulated and were APPROVED.

 

3.              Revenue Expenditure 2006/07 – Monitoring Statement

 

There had been circulated Report No. VAL 5-07 dated 14 March 2007 comprising a statement on Revenue Expenditure and Income for the period to 28 February 2007 and projecting the year end position. The report showed actual net expenditure of £2,115,000 as against anticipated expenditure for the period of £2,113,000.  The estimated year end position was an overspend of £64,000 attributable to the requirement to carry out a doorstep canvass of households where no response had been received to the postal canvas.  This overspend would be funded by the year end settlement of Government Grant to the Constituent Authorities and subsequent requisitions.

 

The Board NOTED the position.

 

4.              Disability Equality Scheme

 

There had been circulated Report No. VAL 6-07  by the Assessor and Electoral Registration Officer comprising a Draft Disability Equality Scheme for publication by the Board in terms of its obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

 

The Assessor confirmed to Members that the Act required public bodies, including Joint Boards, to have published a Disability Equality Scheme (DES) by 4 December 2006.  While he had previously taken the view that the most practical course for this Board was to follow the Highland Council scheme, which had been acknowledged as one of the best examples published, the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) had recently informed the Clerk that the Board was required to publish its own scheme.  The present draft had been prepared in close consultation with the Highland Council’s Equal Opportunities Officer.  The Clerk’s representative confirmed that the DRC had been sent an advance copy of the report now before Members and that no comment had been received.  The Assessor suggested that, in terms of its specific responsibilities, the focus for this Board should be on its electoral and democratic processes functions and advised that the Highland Council and Western Isles Council would include specific questions on these issues in their future DES consultations.

 

The Clerk’s representative also drew attention to the pending introduction of the Gender Equality Duty.

 

After discussion, the Board APPROVED the draft Disability Equality Scheme, as circulated, for immediate publication and AGREED that, should any legal requirements for fulfilling the Gender Equality Duty fall due before the first meeting of the new Board following the local government elections on 3 May 2007, power be remitted to the Assessor, in consultation with the Clerk and the Highland Council’s Equal Opportunities Officer, to take any necessary action.

 

5.              Departmental Report

 

There had been circulated Report No. VAL 7-07 by the Assessor and Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) advising on the current position of the main activities of the department.  Since the previous meeting of the Board, the department had been concerned with maintenance of the Council Tax list, maintenance of the valuation roll and revaluation appeal clearance, and with preparation for the elections on 3 May 2007.

 

Electoral Registration

 

The Assessor emphasised that the main focus of the department’s work until 3 May 2007 would inevitably be on electoral registration.  The many new aspects of this election, such as the changes in the voting system, the electronic count and the later registration deadline than in previous years, would all contribute to making it particularly complex.  Much of the software, and the contractual arrangements with printers and envelopers, were still in the course of finalisation, particularly in connection with postal voting arrangements.  He was working closely with the Returning Officer in an effort to ensure that the various technological challenges arising would be met.  However, given the various timetable changes, there would be little time available for dealing with any problems if they did arise.

 

The Assessor also reminded Members that the Board now had a legal duty to promote electoral registration and to conduct an annual canvass.  This had been somewhat assisted by the level of other official material published on this matter and media coverage generally.

 

In relation to office accommodation issues, the Assessor expressed his disappointment that his department had not yet been able to occupy the new Dingwall offices.  However, he anticipated that the move would take place in May, following the elections.  In relation to the Wick offices, an approach had been received from the Highland Council concerning the potential for the department to be involvement in the procurement of possible new offices in Wick for the Council as a whole.  The proposal was at a very early stage and it would be necessary to ensure that the department’s particular operational needs were fully addressed before any commitment could be made.  There could, however, be advantages in such an arrangement, and the Assessor suggested that discussions continue with the Highland Council until the detailed proposals became clearer, at which time the matter would be referred to the new Board.

 

The Board NOTED the report and AGREED that the Assessor continue in discussions with the Highland Council in relation to their proposals for new offices in Wick.

 

6.              Exclusion of the Public

 

The Board RESOLVED that, under Section 50A(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1973, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 7A of the Act.

 

7.              Staffing Report

 

There had been circulated to Members only Report No. Val8/07 by the Assessor and Electoral Registration Officer in relation to certain salary issues. 

 

The Board NOTED a revision made to the salary of a post within the department, as set out in the report, and APPROVED the recommendation detailed in the report concerning that general category of post.

 

The meeting concluded at 11.25 a.m.