Minutes of Meeting of the Education, Culture and Sport Committee held in the Council Chamber, Council Headquarters, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness on Thursday 16 March 2006 at 10.30 a.m.

 

Present

 
Mr A Anderson, Mr A M Millar, Mr R Saxon, Mr T Jackson, Mr W Mowat, Mrs A L Magee, Mr D Allan, Mrs J Urquhart, Mr R Durham, Mrs M E Paterson, Mr D Chisholm, Mrs A MacLean, Mrs I McCallum, Mr H Fraser, Mrs I Campbell, Mr P Corbett, Mr R A C Balfour, Mrs M C Davidson, Mr W J Smith, Mr A Milne, Mrs M A MacLennan, Mr A J Dick, Mr J S Gray, Mrs J N Home, Mr L Fraser, Mrs S Slimon, Mr G Rimell, Mr T MacLennan, Dr M E M Foxley, Mr N Clark, Mr J McDonald, Rev A Sinclair
 

 

Non-Members also Present

 
Mr D Mackay, Mr D C M Flear, Mr J H Green, Mr G M Smith, Mr W J Ross, Mrs R Finlayson, Mr D W Briggs, Dr D Alston, Mr B Barclay, Mr J Laing, Mr W Fulton, Mr R Lyon, Mrs G McCreath, Mr B Clark, Mr A R McFarlane Slack

 

Officials in attendance:

 

Mr B Robertson, Director of Education, Culture and Sport, Mr H Fraser, Head of Support Services, Education, Culture and Sport, Mr I Murray, Head of Community Learning and Leisure, Education, Culture and Sport, Mr R MacKenzie, Finance Manager, Education, Culture and Sport, Mr C Phillips, Lifelong Learning Manager, Education, Culture and Sport, Mr G Watson, Community Development Manager, Education, Culture and Sport, Mr B Hemming, Schools Estate Strategy Manager, Education, Culture and Sport, Mrs J Graham, External Funding Manager, Education, Culture and Sport, Mr G Bowie, 2007 Capital Programme Manager, Education, Culture and Sport, Mr R Campbell, Project Manager, Property and Architectural Services, Mr J Allison, Principal Administrator, Corporate Services, Miss J Maclennan, Committee Administrator, Corporate Services

 

Mr A Anderson in the Chair

Business

An asterisk in the margin denotes a recommendation to the Council.  All decisions with no marking in the margin are delegated to the Committee

 

Preliminaries

 

Mr J McDonald opened the meeting with prayer.

 

1.  Apologies For Absence

 

Apologies for absence were intimated on behalf of Ms K MacNab and Rev A Glass.

 

2.  Successes

 

The Committee NOTED a list of recent successes, including the following, and AGREED that their congratulations be conveyed to those concerned:-

 

• Two teams from P5/6/7 pupils at North Kessock Primary won through to the SIGEN Science Challenge National Final where schools were asked to design and make something powered by a hydrogen cell.  The teams were placed second and third. 
• Kirsty Lobban, North Kessock Primary won the Under 11 Scottish Squash Singles title.
• Kyle Gribben, St Joseph’s Primary represented Scotland at the French Junior Squash Open in Marseilles, winning three out of his five games.
• Vocational Pathways
• Ten pupils from Highland schools recently cooked and served a lunch to teachers, college and Highland Council staff and college board members.
• Fred McKandie, Cromdale and Ben Watt, Grantown, amongst the youngest full-time pupils attending Inverness College as part of the Vocational Pathways Programme, were now employed by DHM Blacksmiths Ltd, Inverness and were undertaking a Fabrication and Welding Modern Apprenticeship.
• Lochaber High School
• Jennifer MacCallum, Kirsten Colman and Geum Chrystal had been successful in recent auditions for the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland.
• The String Quartet had been successful for the third year in reaching the National Chamber Music National Finals and was to perform in St John Smith Square, London.
• The Under 18 boys hockey team won the Scottish Cup Final in Edinburgh, an achievement warmly welcomed by Members.
• Robert Morrison, Fortrose Academy was runner up in the Scottish Finals of the Prince’s Trust School Achievers Award in Edinburgh.
• Kingussie High School
• Calum Morrice, Shaun Allan and Dominique MacKlin were selected for the Irish Open International Kickboxing event in Dublin.
• Fergus Leith, Callum Andean and Ashley Smith were to take part in the World Junior Snowboarding Championships in Topolino, Italy.
• Rosebank Primary School
• David Behrendt and Jamie MacDonald, represented Highland at the Scottish Finals of the Norwich Union Sporthall Athletics in Dundee.
• Daisy Eccleshall, as a member of Forres Gymnastics’ Club Senior Display Team, was to take part in a week long tour of displays in the Czech Republic in June.
• Elgol Primary, Skye was the first school in the Highlands to win the Green Flag environmental award three times.
• Nikita MacLennan, Dingwall Academy had been selected to represent Scotland in the Under 16 girls’ hockey fixtures against Ireland and Belgium.
• Community Learning Strategy and Development partnership’s third annual Celebration of Learning Awards Ceremony had taken place in Dingwall at the end of February.
• sportscotland had confirmed funding of £993,629 for 2006/07 to support the Active Schools’ network.

 
3. Revenue Budget

 

(i) Revenue Budget 2005/06 - Monitoring

 

There had been circulated Report No ECS17/06 dated 8 March 2006 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport on Revenue Expenditure on the Education, Culture and Sport Service for the period 1 April, 2005 to 31 January, 2006 and the projected year end position.

 

The Committee APPROVED the continuing policy of financial restraint to achieve a balanced budgetary position by the end of the financial year.

 

(ii) Revenue Budget 2006/07

 

There had been circulated Report No ECS18/06 dated 7 March 2006 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which outlined the Education, Culture and Sport 2006/07 Budget proposals.  The Council on 2 February, 2006 had approved a budget target for the Service of £189.664m.  The report showed how this target was derived, showed the movement in the budget from 2005/06 and indicated that savings of £6.863m were required between the budget target provided by the Council and the projected Education, Culture and Sport budget for 2006/07.  The savings measures put forward to close this gap were detailed and whilst every effort had been made to protect front-line delivery, it had been impossible to avoid this completely. An explanation was given of changes required to three policy changes required to achieve the savings.  Members were also informed further savings of £5.119m required to be found for 2007/08.  As a result, a Budget Implementation Group had been established to look at ways of reducing expenditure and progress would be reported regularly to Members. 

 

During detailed discussion, particularly in relation to the proposals requiring policy decisions, the following points were made by Members:-

 

Qualifying Criteria for Clothing Grants

by raising the eligibility criteria for Clothing Grants in line with Free School Meals, the most vulnerable were being targeted; and
the present amount of the grant was not significant but had a positive impact.

 

Review of the Library Service

the reducing frequency of mobile library rounds from two to three weeks would have a significant effect on rural areas and a plea was made that it was not targeted again in future years;  and
the closure of the small libraries suggested would allow a better service to be provided as a result of alternative local measures being adopted.

 

Grant Payments for External Organisations

the exceptional work done by the voluntary sector, and in particular the Workers’ Educational Association, was acknowledged;
a Council wide internal review of voluntary sector support was being carried out and discussions with the voluntary sector would be held soon to discuss proposals;
despite delivering key parts of the service, many of the organisations affected knew nothing of the proposed cuts/discontinuation in grants;
an equitable approach had to be adopted;
the discontinuation of funding to Dingwall Community Centre would require discussion at Area level;
there was a need for a clear rationale to explain the 33% reduction in payment to Youth Groups in Inverness and Sutherland;
there were historic anomalies in relation to levels of funding between organisations, Ross and Cromarty examples being cited, but Area Committees would be able to explore these in detail; and
although Highland 2007 would provide revenue assistance to arts organisations, many might not recover from substantial cuts in funding.

 

During general discussion of the budget, Members referred to the benefits gained by pupils from Special Education.  Although it was suggested savings could be found elsewhere, it was explained the Special Education Needs budget had grown considerably in recent years with the Council’s expenditure in the top quartile in Scotland.  Significant additional Scottish Executive grants had also been targeted towards the measures arising from the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004. However, assurance was given that the situation would be closely monitored and if Services could not be implemented within the budget allocation the position would be re-examined.

 

After hearing the Director respond to various other points raised, the Committee NOTED the measures required to balance the 2006/07 Education, Culture and Sport Revenue Budget and AGREED:-

 

(a)    the amendments to policy as follows:-
• the qualifying criteria for Clothing Grants and Free School Meals be harmonised with effect from August 2006 with the qualifying criteria currently applying to free school meals being adopted as the single set of eligibility criteria for both benefits;

•  the reduction in the frequency of mobile library rounds from two to three weeks and closure of Newtonmore, Applecross and Portmahomack libraries, three of the smaller libraries; and

•  the grant payments to external organisations budget be reduced by £300,000 per annum achieved through either a reduction in the level of support for specific organisations and discontinuing funding to some organisations.

 

(b) the effect of the decision on grants be presented to each Area Committee;

(c) a report in relation to the support to Village Halls, and in particular to the Duthac Centre, Tain, be submitted to the Ross and Cromarty Area Committee; and

(d) at each Education, Culture and Sport Committee, detail on how the Service savings measures were progressing be reported.

 
4. Capital Expenditure

 

(i) Capital Expenditure 2005/06 - Monitoring

 

There had been circulated Report No ECS19/06 dated 6 March 2006 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport on capital expenditure on the Education, Culture and Sport Service for the period 1 April, 2005 to 31 January, 2006 as per the revised Capital Plan of 11 August 2005.

The Committee NOTED:-

 

(a) the content of the report;
(b) the specific project under spends identified were either legally committed or had been approved through the Education, Culture and Sport Committee; and
(c) the expectation that a significant element of the under spend would be addressed by the end of the current financial year.

 

(ii) Education, Culture and Sport Service Capital Plan 2006/07 to 2009/10

 

There had been circulated Report No ECS20/06 dated 6 March 2006 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which provided an update on the outcome of the Capital Flexibility bids approved by the Budget Working Group and thereafter by the Highland Council on 2 March 2006.  The report also identified a proposed Service Capital Programme for 2006/07 to 2009/10.

 

On 11 August 2005, the Committee had agreed a revised 5-year Capital Programme based on a Service Floor Allocation of £18.52m.  Also, Capital Flexibility bids to the Budget Working Group totalling £23.54m had been approved and the Scottish Executive Building Improvement Fund had contributed £17.40m resulting in a total Capital Programme of £59.46m.  Members were advised how it was proposed the resources be spent on both Primary and Secondary schools, taking into account the PPP2 programme and 2007 Legacy Projects, as well as Community Learning and Leisure facilities.  It was important to ensure projects and costs were managed carefully and accordingly it was intended that a detailed programme would be reported to a future meeting.

 

In welcoming the programme, Members asked that scoping exercises to be undertaken on “spend to save” in terms of amalgamations, refurbishment and energy costs of existing buildings.  In view of restrictions in the capacity of the building industry, it was important a tracking mechanism was put in place, including timescales, to allow careful monitoring of projects and for remedial action, if necessary, to be taken.

 

The Committee:-

(a) NOTED the content of the report;
(b) APPROVED the proposed  capital programme;
(c) AGREED:-
scoping exercises on “spend to save” options examining potential on refurbishments, energy efficiency and school combination projects;
a reporting mechanism be implemented on critical stages of achieving Capital Projects; and
that a detailed 21st Century Primary and Secondary School Programme was presented to a future meeting of the Education, Culture and Sport Committee.

 
5. Highland 2007 Capital Community Grants

 

There had been circulated Report No ECS21/06 dated 7 March 2006 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport on proposed changes to the distribution of Highland 2007 Capital Grants to enable earlier Area decision making to allow more time for projects to be delivered.  Area Community Learning & Leisure Managers would advise and encourage prospective applications of the proposed changes to ensure all were aware of the revised timetable.

 

The Committee AGREED that:-

 

(i) instead of a cross community fund for Highland 2007 Capital Grants, the whole community capital grants fund be made available for distribution by Area Committees; and
(ii) Area Committees, if they so wished, distribute the remaining funds available to them in the Highland 2007 Capital Grants Programme from 2006, rather than having to wait until 2007 for the final tranche.
 

6. Proposed Review of Provision at Kinlochleven Primary School – Gaelic Medium Education
 

Arising from parents’ requests, the Director of Education, Culture and Sport had recommended that, in terms of the Council’s agreed procedures, a consultation process commence on providing Gaelic Medium Education at Kinlochleven Primary School for pupils in the South Lochaber area.

 
The Committee AGREED:-

 

(i) that a consultation be undertaken on the provision of Gaelic Medium Education at Kinlochleven Primary School; and
(ii) in order that locally based consultation could commence, consultation papers be drawn up for the consideration of the Lochaber Area Committee, in consultation with the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Education, Culture and Sport Committee.

 
* 7. Outcome of Consultation on Gaelic Medium Provision at Millbank Primary School, Nairn

 

There had been circulated Report No ECS22/06 dated 21 February 2006 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport detailing the outcome of the statutory consultation undertaken with regard to the proposal to establish Gaelic Medium provision at Millbank Primary School.

The Committee:-

(i) NOTED the outcome of the formal consultation process as detailed in the report; and
(ii) AGREED that Gaelic Medium Education be introduced at Millbank Primary School in August 2006, subject to the availability of additional accommodation and teacher staff, but, if the target date of August 2006 was not possible, Gaelic Medium provision be established as soon as reasonably practicable thereafter.

 
8. Outcome of Consultation on the Delineated Areas of Holm, Lochardil, Cradlehall and Smithton Primary Schools

 

There had been circulated Report No ECS23/06 dated 21 February 2006 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport detailing the outcome of the statutory consultation undertaken with regard to proposals to alter the delineated areas of Holm and Lochardil Primary Schools and Cradlehall and Smithton Primary Schools.

 

The Committee NOTED the outcome of the formal consultation process and AGREED that:

 

(i) the boundary between the delineated areas of Holm and Lochardil Primary Schools be  altered so the delineated area of Lochardil was extended to include the major housing development at Culduthel and that the existing boundary of the west between the two schools was extended southwards along Essich Road to the boundary with the delineated area of Aldourie Primary Schools; and

(ii) the boundary between the delineated areas of Cradlehall and Smithton Primary Schools be altered so all of the housing development at Woodside was zoned into the delineated area of Smithton Primary School with the existing Smithton/Cradlehall boundary along the B9006 to the south of the Burn Brae estate and the housing developments at Woodside extended north eastwards along the B9006 to the Balloch Primary School boundary.

 
9. Future of Educational Provision in Brae, Lochaber

 

There had been circulated Report No ECS24/06 dated 8 March 2006 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport providing information on the current position of the draft Statutory Consultation paper relating to the future of education provision in Brae, Lochaber. 

 

At its meeting on 10 November 2005, the Committee agreed to the principle of progressing a Statutory Consultation and, in terms of the Council’s agreed procedures on Changes to Education Provision, the Lochaber Area Committee had considered a draft Statutory Consultation paper.   However, as they had been unable to agree its content, it fell to the Education, Culture and Sport Committee to determine the terms of the statutory consultation paper.

 

During discussion, a request was made to explore new information and clarify existing data, particularly on Grant Aided Expenditure (GAE), before a decision was made.  However, others emphasised the need to adhere to procedures.  The Chairman indicated that considerably more information had been provided in the consultation paper than had appeared in others and there would be opportunity for all issues, including the community initiative to replace Roy Bridge Primary, to be explored in greater detail during the consultation which could also seek views informally on the introduction of Gaelic Medium provision in the Brae, Lochaber area.  Whilst it would be useful to examine generally how GAE in small schools was used and what the Council spent over and above GAE, this could be examined as a separate exercise. 
 
 

Mr T MacLennan, seconded by Mr A Milne, MOVED that Standing Orders be suspended to enable further consideration on whether to progress a statutory consultation in light of information on the GAE funding figures.

 

On a vote being taken the outcome was as follows:-
 

For the Motion

 

Mr T C Jackson, Mr W A Mowat, Mr D Allan, Mr R W Durham, Mrs M E Paterson, Mr P Corbett, Mr R A C Balfour, Mr W J Smith, Mr A Milne, Mrs M A MacLennan, Mr L Fraser, Mrs S Slimon, Mr G Rimell, Mr T J MacLennan, Dr M E M Foxley
 

 

Against the Motion

 

Mr R Saxon, Mr A Anderson, Mrs A MacLean, Mrs I McCallum, Mr A M Millar, Mr H Fraser, Mrs I M Campbell, Mrs M C Davidson, Mr A J Dick, Mr J S Gray, Mr N M Clark, Mr J McDonald, Rev A Sinclair
 

Accordingly, as less than two-thirds of those Members voting had given consent, the Committee DID NOT suspend Standing Order 20.

 

Thereafter, the Committee AGREED:

 

(i) the terms of the statutory consultation on the future of Education provision in Brae, Lochaber as set out in the report;
(ii) the statutory consultation period commence on 23 March 2006 and terminate on 2 May 2006; and
(iii) the outcome of the statutory consultation be reported to the meeting of the Education, Culture and Sport Committee on 25 May 2006. 

 
10. 2012 London Olympics/2014 Commonwealth Games

 

There had been circulated Report No ECS25/06 dated 7 March 2006 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which recommended that steps be taken to investigate and develop the potential opportunities for children and families in Highland that might arise from the London Olympic Games in 2012 and the Commonwealth Games which might take place in Glasgow in 2014.

 

During discussion, the following points were raised:-

• the need to provide support for athletes, whether or not it was a “core” sport, the example of fencing being highlighted;
• the opportunities for Highland’s young people to be involved in the Games, given the proximity of London and Glasgow;
• support be given to Glasgow’s bid to hold the 2014 Commonwealth Games;
• the need for additional resources from the Scottish Executive to provide specialised sport facilities in all parts of the country; and
• the possible danger of little money being directed to the Highlands if the Commonwealth Games took place in Glasgow.

 

Members were informed that, following a meeting with sportscotland, a mapping exercise was being undertaken gauging where gaps in provision existed in Highland and how this could be addressed.  The Sports 21 Review Body was also looking at a National Sports Strategy and Highland would, as a result of its membership, have input into this.  Assurance were given too that academically gifted pupils would not be disadvantaged by the proposals and evidence supporting this was provided.

 

The Committee AGREED:-

 

(i) steps be taken to investigate and develop the potential opportunities for children and families in Highland that might arise from the London Olympic Games in 2012 and the Commonwealth Games which might take place in Glasgow in 2014;
(ii) the need for a different approach in the lead up to the London Olympic Games in 2012 and possible Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014 for positive action from the Scottish Executive for Special Sport facilities in all areas of the country; and
(iii) additional sources of funding for non core sports be investigated with sportscotland.

 
11. Scottish Executive Response to the Report by the Cultural Commission Reviewing Culture in Scotland

 

There had been circulated Report No ECS26/06 dated 7 March 2006 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which summarised the Scottish Executive’s response to the work of the Cultural Commission and highlighted the issues most relevant to the Highland Council.

 

The Committee AGREED, through COSLA, to continue to work closely with the Executive to ensure that culture continued to contribute to the wellbeing of the people in the Highlands.

 
12. Teacher Numbers and Scottish Executive Funding for Reduction in Class Contact and Class Size

 

There had been circulated Report No ECS27/06 dated 6 March 2006 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which provided information on the Scottish Executive distribution of additional funding for Class Contact Reduction, Class Size Reduction and Additional Teachers.  The report also provided information on the delivery of an element of Class Contact Reduction through the work of Visiting Specialist Teachers.

 

Highland Council’s funding in 2006/07 000 to allow teachers’ class contact time to be reduced to 22.5 hours from August 2006 was £769,000.  £1,880,000 had would also be provided in 2007/08 for Class Size Reduction and Additional Teachers so that, from August 2007, class sizes in Maths and English in Secondary 1 and 2 would be limited to 20 pupils and Primary 1 classes limited to 25 pupils.  The Scottish Executive had also given a commitment that by 2007 there should be a total of 53,000 teachers in Scotland, Highland Council’s target being 2,750.  The targets would also be achieved by Visiting Teachers taking full responsibility for the delivery of their specialist element of the curriculum and Probationer Teachers being used in subject areas where there was difficulty in achieving the Class Reduction target.

 

Following discussion where Members were assured the proposals would not result in the removal of Advanced Highers but could allow the curriculum to be widened, the Committee NOTED:-

(i) the 2007 target number of Teachers Allocated to Highland Council;
(ii) the distribution of additional funding in respect of Class Contact Reduction and Class Size Reduction; and

 

AGREED the proposals on the use of visiting teachers.
 

13. Statutory Performance Indicators Comparison With Other Councils 2004/05

 

There had been circulated Report No ECS28/06 dated 20 February 2006 by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport which provided Members with information on comparison of Education, Culture and Sport Service Statutory Performance Indicators with other Scottish Councils for the financial year 2004/05.  It also identified areas where the Service performed well and those where performance needed to be improved.

 

The Committee NOTED the Service’s Statutory Performance Indicator outcomes for 2004/05.
 

14. Minutes of Meetings

 

The Committee dealt with the following Minutes of Meetings, copies of which had been circulated, as follows:-

 

(i) APPROVED Meeting of the Local Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff
    held on 7 February, 2006; and
(ii) NOTED Meeting of the Education Transport Appeals Committee held on 28
    February, 2006.
 

The meeting ended at 1.10 p.m.