Minutes of Meeting of the Resources Committee held in The Chamber, Council Headquarters, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness on Wednesday, 14 June 2006 at 10.30 a.m.
Present
Mrs E MacRae, Mr D Mackay, Mr T Jackson, Mr A Mackay, Mrs R Finlayson, Mr A Rhind, Mr A Torrance, Mr D Briggs, Mr M M Macmillan, Mrs I McCallum, Dr D Alston, Mr I MacDonald, Mr H Fraser, Mr J Ford, Mr W J Smith, Mrs J Home, Mr A Gordon, Mr F D S Black, Mr C King, Mr B J Murphy, Dr M E M Foxley, Mr A R McFarlane Slack
Non-Members also present:
Mr J H Green, Mr W A Mowat, Mrs I Campbell, Mr J MacDonald, Mr A Milne, Mr B Clark
Officials in attendance:
Mr A B Dodds, Director of Corporate Services
Mr A Geddes, Director of Finance
Dr A W Coutts, Director of Property and Architectural Services
Mr J Batchelor, Head of Personnel, Corporate Services
Ms E Barrie, Personnel Manager, Corporate Services
Mrs C McDiarmid, Head of Policy & Performance, Chief Executive’s Service
Ms V Nairn, Head of E Government, Chief Executive’s Service
Mr D Robertson, Head of Accounting, Finance Service
Mr B Williams, Head of Corporate Finance, Finance Service
Mrs S MacKandie, Local Taxation & Benefits Manager, Finance Service
Mr S Young, Head of Contracts, Property & Architectural Services
Mr J Clarke, Head of Property and Maintenance, Property & Architectural Services
Mr P Winthorpe, Head of Design, Property & Architectural Services
Mrs E Symon, IS Client Officer, Chief Executive’s Office
Mrs C King, Policy Manager, Chief Executive’s Office
Mrs K Lackie, Business Manager, Chief Executive’s Service
Ms A Palmer, Customer Service Manager, Chief Executive’s Service
Mrs L Dunn, Committee Administrator, Corporate Services
Mr A MacInnes, Administrative Assistant, Corporate Services
Mrs E MacRae in the Chair
1. Apologies for Absence
Apologies for absence were intimated on behalf of Mr J N Matheson, Mr D C M Flear (OCB), Mrs H Carmichael and Mrs K Matheson.
2. Revenue Budget Monitoring: 2006/07
Members were advised that the Council’s Financial Information system was being upgraded to a new version of Oracle (11i). As part of that, development work was being undertaken to provide detailed transaction reporting (DTR). Whilst Oracle 11i was introduced on 3 April 2006, other priorities meant that the development work on DTR had been delayed. It was now nearing completion but was not available for the April round of monitoring required to meet this committee deadline. A corporate monitoring report for the period to 30 May 2006 would, instead, be provided at the Council meeting on 29 June 2006.
The Committee NOTED the position.
3. Near Final Revenue Out-Turn Statement 2005/06
There had been circulated Report No res-68-06 dated 2 June, 2006 by the Director of Finance which presented the Near Final Out-turn position in respect of the Revenue Budget for the financial year to 31 March 2006.
The report showed a General Fund annual budget of £437.141m; actual expenditure of £436.114m, with a consequent year end underspend of £1.027m. This was in the main due to savings in Loan Charges and increased income generated by Central Services from non General Fund Clients.
Reference was made to an article in a national newspaper on research carried out into Free Personal Care. Financial information was published on Free Personal Care for most local authorities in Scotland. However, Highland Council were one of a few authorities who had not provided information and a request was made for this information to be made available.
The Committee NOTED:
(i) the near final out-turn statement 2005/06; and
(ii) that the Director of Finance would liaise with the Director of Social Work to consider a request for financial information to be published in relation to Free Personal Care.
4. Near Final Capital Out-Turn Statement 2005/06
There had been circulated Report No res-69-06 dated 2 June, 2006 by the Director of Finance which presented the Near Final Out-turn Position for the General Fund and HRA capital programme in respect of the Financial Year to 31 March 2006.
The General Fund Statement showed actual expenditure to 31 March, 2006 of £47.025m against a budget of £51.975m and a consequent favourable variance of £4.950m. Near final expenditure on the HRA exceeded the original budget by £0.886m. However capital receipts generated exceeded the target by £6.715m, allowing the overspend to be planned and accommodated. As a result of this increase usable capital receipts of £5.404m would now be carried forward to 2006/07.
The Committee NOTED the position.
5. Treasury Management: Summary of Transactions for March and April, 2006
There had been circulated Reports No res-70-06 by the Director of Finance which provided details of the Treasury Management transactions undertaken for March and April, 2006 which were submitted in compliance with CIPFA’s Code of Practice on Treasury Management and the Council’s approved Financial Regulations.
The Committee NOTED the terms of the reports.
6. Property Revenue Maintenance Budget 2006/07
There had been circulated Report No. res-71-06 dated 30 May, 2006 by the Director of Property & Architectural Services which set out both the revised allocation and the current position with regard to the component parts of the 2006/07 Property Revenue Maintenance Budget. It was advised that 15% of the Revenue Maintenance Budget had been spent or legally committed to date in this financial year.
The Committee:
(i) APPROVED the revised allocation of the 2006/07 Property Revenue Maintenance Budget; and
(ii) NOTED the current position with regard to the component parts of the 2006/07 Property Revenue Maintenance Budget.
7. Property and Architectural Services Capital Works Budget Including Strategic Asset Management and DDA Allocation Works 2005/06 and 2006/07
There had been circulated Report No. res-72-06 dated 5 June, 2006 by the Director of Property & Architectural Services which set out the current position with regard to the component parts of the 2005/06 and 2006/07 Property and Architectural Services Capital Works Budget including Strategic Asset Management (SAM) and Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) Projects.
Reference was made to the length of time it took for works to be carried out on certain projects and in this respect particular reference was made to Tain Royal Academy and Fearn Primary School. In general terms, Members were advised that Property & Architectural Services, in conjunction with many organisations within the construction industry, were suffering from the staff shortages that the Director advised that he had been indicating this for the past 18 months. The Director advised that the Service had a number of vacant posts and this was affecting the delivery of projects. External consultants and contractors were in a similar situation and he advised that the construction industry throughout Scotland did not have the staff resources that were required to fully meet the demand for work. The Director indicated that it was inevitable that there would be delays to projects, but efforts were being made to address the situation by looking at different ways of delivering the programme of works including the bundling of projects into much larger pan-Highland contracts and the use of Framework Agreements.
Thereafter the Committee:
(i) NOTED that Officers would update Councillors A Rhind and A Torrance in relation to progress of works at Tain Royal Academy and Fearn Primary School respectively;
(ii) NOTED the current position with regards to the 2005/06 and 2006/07 Property and Architectural Services Capital Programme;
(iii) AGREED to instruct the Director of Property & Architectural Services to continue to maximise expenditure against the approved per annum budgets and to continue to seek to improve the ongoing underspend situation regarding both the SAM and DDA projects;
(iv) APPROVED continued consultation with local Community Groups as a means of ensuring that proposed alterations to public-caller buildings meet the actual needs of disabled people;
(v) APPROVED the allocation of funds against individual projects, for both the DDA and SAM budgets, as listed within the detailed project lists contained in Appendices 2 and 3 of the report; and
(vi) NOTED the anticipated under expenditure within the budgets against the SAM and DDA budgets.
8. Grants to National and Regional Voluntary Organisations
There had been circulated Report No. res-73-06 dated 29 May, 2006 by the Head of Policy and Performance seeking the approval of the Committee to continue grant payments to a range of national and regional organisations which accord with the Council’s corporate priorities. The amount of funding sought was £28,792 for 2006-7 against budget provision of £24,628. Given budget pressures and previous awards, it was recommended that £20,544 be approved.
In discussion, reference was made to the recommendation not to re-instate the grant to the Scottish Low Pay Unit following the Budget Working Group’s decision for 2005-6. A request was made that the information provided by the Scottish Low Pay Unit to the Council, which the Committee had not seen, should be considered instead by the Budget Working Group.
Nominations were also invited for a member to fill a vacancy on the home safety committee of the Scottish Accident Prevention Council (SAPC). In this respect, Mr J Ford was unanimously appointed.
A request was made that consideration should be given to a schedule being prepared for an early meeting of the new Council in 2007 of the various appointments that required to be made to outside bodies. The schedule should give a brief description of what the appointment entails.
Following consideration, the Committee AGREED:
(i) The Council maintain its support for the Scottish Local Government Forum Against Poverty at a cost of £2,100 during 2006/07 and NOTED that Councillor W Fulton and Councillor O J Macdonald represent the Council on the Forum;
(ii) The Council continue its support to Scottish Women’s Aid at a cost of £1,100 during 2006/07;
(iii) The Council continue its support to Crimestoppers at a cost of £4,214 during 2006/07 and NOTED that Councillor J Home represented the Council on this organisation;
(iv) The Council maintain its support of the Grampian Racial Equality Council at a cost of £2,200 during 2006/07, with flexibility kept in the budget in case of increasing costs incurred in racist incident monitoring;
(v) The Council continue its support to Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisation at a cost of £7,885 during 2006/07;
(vi) The Council support Volunteering Highland with a grant of £2,500 during 2006/07;
(vii) The Council continue its recurring support to Scottish Accident Prevention Council at a cost of £555 during 2006/07 and NOTED that Councillors M Macmillan and N M Clark currently represented the Council on two national committees of this organisation. AGREED that Councillor J Ford should represent the Council on the Home Safety Committee of the SAPC; and it was also
(viii) to defer to the Budget Working Group a decision on whether or not to re-instate the grant to the Scottish Low Pay Unit, (request made for £8,248).
The Committee also:
(i) NOTED that work was on-going through the Budget Working Group to continue to scrutinise discretionary funding to local organisations and groups as well as those operating at a regional and national level; and
(ii) NOTED that consideration would be given to a schedule being prepared for an early meeting of the new Council in 2007 of the various appointments to outside bodies.
9. Maintaining a Focus on Equal Opportunities
There had been circulated Report No. res-74-06 dated 5 June, 2006 by the Head of Policy and Performance advising that the recent report by Audit Scotland on Best Value and Community Planning regarding Highland Council’s performance set an improvement agenda with a number of immediate and medium-term priorities. One of the immediate priorities had been to maintain the focus on equal opportunities. The report updated members on legal requirements, highlighted achievements and areas of concern in relation to equal opportunities and set out how the Council’s activities to support equalities could be more performance oriented.
A query was raised as to whether it was still legal under equal opportunities legislation to commence each full Council meeting with a prayer in Presbyterian style. It was understood that many other public bodies who had carried out this practice had now abandoned it. However, a view was also expressed that while it was accepted that Scotland was a multi-cultural society, it was still predominately a Christian society with Christian values and traditions and therefore the Prayer at the start of Council meetings should be retained. It was also noted that the Prayer was a part of Council Standing Orders relating to the conduct of meetings and if any change was to be made, this would require to be decided by the full Council. It was however felt appropriate to explore this issue further with an update being provided at the time of the next progress report on equal opportunities.
Thereafter the Committee NOTED:
(i) the progress made with the current equalities plan from 2004 as outlined in the appendix to the report;
(ii) the Best Value Audit finding that to maintain the focus on equal opportunities the Council should set itself challenging, measurable targets that could be reported to Members and to the public in due course; and
(iii) that a Single Equalities Scheme with base-lines and targets would be developed over the next six months and brought back to Members for consideration. It would be suitable for the Highland context and identify resources for targets to be met. It would also show where work streams could be taken forward with community planning partners.
The Committee also AGREED that for the next progress report on equal opportunities a review be undertaken of whether it was now still appropriate insofar as Equal Opportunities legislation was concerned to commence each full Council meeting with a Prayer in Presbyterian style.
10. Corporate Plan 2004-7: Performance Measures
It was reported that at the last meeting of the Committee a report of mid term progress with the Corporate Plan had been provided. Members noted that the majority of measures showed progress and improvement and that remedial action was in place for those actions where performance required to be improved by the end of the Plan period in 2007. Members also agreed that instead of deleting two measures, further information should be provided on how to measure the ‘Availability of childcare places for 3 and 4 year olds’ and “The increase in home based support services compared with residential services”. It was therefore advised that the following measures could now be included in the Corporate Plan measurement framework and data was being gathered dating from 2004-5.
(i) The number of centres offering wrap around child care
(ii) The number of school sites offering wrap around child care
(iii) The number of children using these services
(iv) The number of community care users receiving an ongoing service (aged 65+ and 18-64) compared to the number of people in care homes (Council and independent sector, aged 65+ and 18-64).
The Committee APPROVED the inclusion of the above performance measures in the Corporate Plan 2004-7.
11. Minutes of Meetings
The following minutes of meetings which had been circulated for confirmation were APPROVED:
(i) Early Retirement Sub-Committee – Minutes of Meeting of 19 April, 2006 and 4 May, 2006 .
(ii) Investment Advisory Group - Minutes of Meeting of 24 May, 2006 .
12. Fujitsu: Performance Report
There had been circulated Report No res-75-06 dated 2 June, 2006 by the Information Systems Client Manager which summarised the performance of the IS Partnership with Fujitsu during the period from March to April, 2006.
The Committee NOTED the contents of the report.
13. Amendments to Organisational Structures/ Establishments
There had been circulated Report No. res-76-06 dated 8 June, 2006 by the Director of Corporate Services which recommended amendments to organisational structures/establishments as a consequence of proposals from Service Directors.
The proposals contained in the report showed an overall net increase of 4.24 posts and an overall net saving of £360 for proposals which had to be met from Service budgets. In addition there was a net increase of three posts which were subject to full external funding and extensions to one existing temporary post costing £12,500 which would be funded by Service Budgets.
In discussion, it was suggested that when considering staffing proposals more information on the service being provided would be helpful to Members. Thereafter, the Committee:
(i) APPROVED the amendments to the staffing establishment and other staffing changes as detailed in Section 2 and Appendix 1 of the report; and
(ii) NOTED the trends shown in Appendix 2 of the report.
14. Energy Management: Monitoring the Operation of the Council’s Energy Efficiency Investment Funds
There had been circulated Report No res-77-06 dated 23 May, 2006 by the Director of Property and Architectural Services which identified the progress to date in the operation of the Central Energy Efficiency fund (CEEF), and the Council’s own Energy Efficiency Investment fund, (EEIF). It also sought authorisation to a phase 2 of Projects.
Having heard the Head of Design advise that any information from Members that would help in the delivery of the programme would be investigated, the Committee:
(i) NOTED the operation of the CEEF and particularly the success in obtaining the second instalment of the fund as noted in paragraph 2.18 of the report;
(ii) NOTED the operation of the Council’s EEIF;
(iii) AGREED the recommendation in item 3.19 of the report that the EEIF should ‘buy out’ the investment made from the CEEF, so the savings could accrue to the Council; and
(iv) AGREED the phase 2 programme of works as noted in item 5.10 of the report.
15. Update on Progress with the Pathfinder Broadband Procurement Project
There had been circulated Report No. res-78-06 dated 7 June, 2006 by the Chief Executive which updated Members on the progress of the Pathfinder Broadband Procurement Project which aimed to provide high capacity broadband links to schools, libraries and other council buildings throughout the Highlands and Islands. Revised bids from BT and Thus were received on 19 May following a period of clarification to develop the initial bids. The plan was to secure Council authority to approve the appointment of a preferred bidder at the full Council meeting on 29 June and conclude negotiations and contractual details by September 2006.
Following consideration, the Committee:
(i) NOTED that bids had been submitted from Thus and BT;
(ii) APPROVED the proposal to present a verbal report requesting authorisation to appoint a preferred supplier at the Highland Council meeting on 29 June, 2006;
(iii) NOTED the progress on Partners signing the Minute of Agreement and that an addendum covering the Service Agreement would be required;
(iv) NOTED the planning for implementation was underway and discussions would be undertaken with Partners and the Executive on how to resource the requirement; and
(v) NOTED that the procurement phase of the project was on schedule for conclusion in September 2006.
16. Local Government Pension Scheme Amendment to Admission Agreement
There had been circulated Report No. res-79-06 dated 5 May, 2006 by the Director of Finance which asked Members to note a change in name of specific admitted bodies currently participating in the Local Government Pension Scheme administered by the Council.
It was reported that currently six Local Enterprise Companies participated in the Local Government Pension scheme as ‘Admitted Bodies’. With effect from 1 April, 2006 the Companies had been restructured and renamed. The renamed companies continued to satisfy the requirements of the Local Government Pension Scheme (Scotland) Regulations for the purpose of an admission agreement.
The Committee NOTED the change in name in respect of Local Enterprise companies but that the renamed companies detailed in paragraph 2.2 of the report continued to satisfy the requirements of the Local Government Pension Scheme (Scotland) Regulations for the purpose of the previously accepted admission agreement.
17. Local Government Pension Scheme – Application for Admitted Bodies Status
Declaration of Interest – Mr B J Murphy declared a non-financial interest in this item as a member of the Highland Housing Association Management Committee. Having applied the test outlined in Paragraph 5.18 of the Councillor’s Code of Conduct, he concluded that his interest did not preclude him from involvement in the discussion.
Members were advised that an application from Highland Housing Association had been made to allow employees to participate in the Local Government Pension scheme administered by Highland Council under an “Admission Agreement”.
Under the provisions of the Local Government Pension Scheme (Scotland) Regulations, the Council, acting in its role as an administrator of the Pension Scheme could enter into an “Admission Agreement” with an approved body to permit employees of that body to participate in the Council’s Pension Scheme.
Highland Council Resources Committee agreed procedures on 17th April 2001 designed to protect the pension rights of Council employees who were transferred to an external provider of services.
These procedures included the right for the successful contractor to become an Admitted Body within the Local Government Pension Scheme administered by the Highland Council, subject to relevant criteria and safeguards being met.
Under the Community Ownership Programme (if it was decided by the Council that this would go ahead) specific Highland Council staff would transfer to the Highland Housing Association, and as a result would have protected pension rights as described above.
It was advised that the transfer would place an additional administrative pressure on the Pension section. Any potential effect on service delivery would be reported to the Director of Finance.
Following consideration, the Committee APPROVED the application from Highland Housing Association to allow employees to participate in the Local Government Pension Scheme administered by Highland Council under an “Admission Agreement”, should the Community Ownership Programme be agreed by the Council.
18. Data Sharing Partnership
There had been circulated Report No. res-80-06 dated 8 June, 2006 by the Director of Social Work which advised of new arrangements being established to promote data sharing between agencies and the funding being made available from the Scottish Executive to take this forward. The report also sought approval to establish a short term, fully funded post of Data Sharing Manager.
The report described new arrangements which would promote effective collaboration across Scotland to deliver key strategic goals in relation to the development and delivery of the electronics to secure the effective sharing of key information. These developments would promote the efficiency of public services and secure more effective protection of vulnerable children.
Following consideration, the Committee:
(i) NOTED the contents of the report,
(ii) APPROVED the approach being taken to develop the Highland partnership, and
(iii) APPROVED the establishment of a temporary post (3 years, grade PO14-17) of Data Sharing Manager to meet the Scottish Executive requirements.
19. Exclusion Of The Public
The Committee RESOLVED that, under Section 50A(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, the public be excluded from the meeting during discussion of the following items on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1, 6, 9 and 11 of Part 1 of Section 7A of the Act.
20. Modernising Service Delivery – Equal Pay
There had been circulated to Members only Report No. RES/81/06 dated 6 June, 2006 by the Director of Corporate Services which provided a further update on Equal Pay and, in particular, progress on an equal pay settlement.
The Committee:
(i) AGREED the final proposal for an equal pay settlement as per Appendix A of the report; and
(ii) NOTED the proposed implementation timescales.
21. Property Transactions
There had been circulated to Members only Report No RES/82/06 dated 31 May, 2006 by the Director of Property and Architectural Services which summarised progress as at 31 May, 2006 on sales targeted for completion within the current financial year, together with a summation of the Property Account property transactions approved by the Director of Property and Architectural Services.
Following discussion, the Committee NOTED progress as at 31 May, 2006 on property sales with anticipated settlement within financial year 2006/07; and Property Account transactions approved by the Director of Property and Architectural Services during the period from 27 March, 2006 until 22 May, 2006, subject to:
(i) Land, Loch Duich Primary School – the sale of this land had now fallen through; and
(ii) Public Conveniences, Campbell Street Thurso – this asset was no longer for sale.
22. Debts Recommended to be Written-Off
There had been circulated to Members only Report No RES/83/06 dated 31 May, 2006 by the Director of Finance relating to outstanding council tax and non-domestic rates recommended for write-off.
The Committee AGREED that the debts detailed in the report should be written-off.