Minutes of Meeting of the Resources Committee held in the Council Chamber, Council Headquarters, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness on Wednesday, 11 June, 2008 at 10.30 a.m.
Present
Mrs C Wilson, Mrs P Munro, Mr R Rowantree, Mrs K MacNab, Mr D Flear, Mrs D MacKay, Mr R Greene, Mrs J Urquhart, Mr P Cairns, Mr I Renwick, Mr A Henderson, Mrs H Carmichael, Mrs M Davidson, Miss J Campbell, Mr P Corbett, Mr N Donald, Mr J Finnie, Mr J Ford, Mr B Wynd, Mr G Marsden, Mr S Park, Mr F D S Black, Mr G Rimell
Non-Members also present:
Mr D Mackay, Mr J Rosie, Mr G Smith, Mr I Ross, Mrs I Campbell, Mrs A Sinclair, Mr R Durham, Mr A Rhind, Mrs I McCallum, Mr J Laing, Mr J Gray, Dr M E M Foxley, Mr B Gormley, Mr B Murphy
Officials in attendance:
Mr A B Dodds, Chief Executive
Mr A Geddes, Depute Chief Executive/Director of Finance
Mr S Barron, Director of Housing & Property
Ms M Morris, Assistant Chief Executive
Mrs H Dempster, Director of Social Work
Mr H Fraser, Director of Education, Culture & Sport
Mr N Gillies, Director of Transport, Environmental & Community Services
Mrs C McDiarmid, Head of Policy & Performance, Chief Executive’s Service
Mr J Batchelor, Head of Personnel, Chief Executive’s Service
Mrs V Nairn, Head of E Government, Chief Executive’s Service
Mr B Williams, Head of Corporate Finance, Finance Service
Mr D Robertson, Head of Accounting, Finance Service
Mr D Lamont, Head of Exchequer, Finance Service
Mr I Murray, Head of Community Learning & Leisure, ECS
Mrs C King, Policy Manager, Chief Executive’s Service
Ms E Barrie, Personnel Manager, Chief Executive’s Service
Mr G Westwater, Head of Construction, Housing and Property Service
Mrs E Kirkham, Principal Staffing Resources Officer, ECS
Mr A Maguire, Head of Housing Development and Estates
Mr A Gunn, Business & Technical Support Manager, Finance Service
Mrs L Johnstone, Senior IS Client Officer, Chief Executive’s Service
Ms R Mackinnon, Equal Opportunities Officer, Chief Executive’s Service
Mr G Robson, Head of Environment, Planning & Development Service
Mr A McCann, Economy & Regeneration Manager, Planning & Dev. Service
Mr G Hamilton, Fisheries Manager, Planning & Development Service
Mr D MacDonald, Principal Administrator, Chief Executive’s Service
Mr A MacInnes, Administrative Assistant, Chief Executive’s Service
Mrs C Wilson in the Chair
1. Apologies for Absence
An apology for absence was intimated on behalf of Mr J MacDonald.
2. Successes
The Committee was advised of the following successes:
Charter Mark Standard – Customer Service
The Highland Council had been awarded the Charter Mark Standard for excellence in customer service delivery for its network of 37 Service Points and its Service Centre at Alness. After first achieving Charter Mark status in 1999, this was the fifth time that the Cabinet Office had presented the Council with this UK Government award which recognised top quality service delivery.
The Committee expressed their congratulations to all employees involved in achieving this Charter Mark Standard.
Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy
Jennifer McGonagle joined the Council in November 2004, having completed a Business Studies degree at The Robert Gordon’s University, Aberdeen. In the last three years with the Finance Service, Jennifer had the opportunity to work in and experience most sections of the Service. Importantly though while gaining that experience she also passed her professional exams. Jennifer had now completed the final part of her course and had qualified as a Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy accountant.
The Committee expressed their congratulations to Ms McGonagle on her exam success.
3. Central Services Revenue Budget Monitoring
There had been circulated Reports No. res-48-08 and res-49-08 by the Chief Executive and Depute Chief Executive/Director of Finance which provided the Revenue Budget Monitoring Statements for Central Services for the period to 30 April, 2008.
The Committee APPROVED the terms of the reports as circulated.
4. Corporate Revenue Monitoring Statement – Period to End April, 2008
There was circulated Report No. res-50-08 dated 30 May, 2008 by the Depute Chief Executive/Director of Finance which presented the revenue budget monitoring position for the period to 30 April, 2008 and the projected year end position.
The General Fund statement showed a total annual budget allocated to Services of £530.283m, year to date actual of £37.372m and an estimated year end position of £530.289m. The predicted overspend was currently showing at £0.006m in this financial year.
The report also showed the Council’s Housing Revenue Account (HRA). Although the net budget was zero, the annual expenditure budget totalled £43.002m, to be met largely from Council House rents.
The Committee AGREED the Revenue Expenditure Monitoring Statement for financial year 2008/09 at 30 April, 2008.
5. Near Final Revenue Monitoring Report
There was circulated Report No. res-51-08 dated 2 June, 2008 by the Depute Chief Executive/Director of Finance which presented the Near Final Revenue Monitoring Statement for the period to 31 March, 2008.
The corporate outturn statement showed that for the General Fund the total annual budget allocated to Services was £474.888m, near final actual expenditure of £472.122m and producing a year end under spend of £2.766m.
The report also confirmed that the Housing Revenue Account had achieved a balanced position at the year end.
The Committee AGREED the near final outturn position for 2007/08 and an under spend of £2.766m.
6. Capital Monitoring Near Final Outturn 2007/08
There had been circulated Report No. res-52-08 dated 2 June, 2008 by the Depute Chief Executive/Director of Finance which provided an overview of the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account (HRA) capital programmes for the year to 31 March, 2008.
The General Fund net capital budget for 2007/08 amounted to £50.767m. With expenditure in the year totalling £35.871m, there had been an under spend of £14.896m on the capital programme for the year. In relation to the HRA, gross expenditure was £12.665m, and had resulted in an overspend of £0.015m for 2007/08.
With reference to the underspend in the Capital budget for 2007/08, the Director of Finance advised that there were a variety of reasons for the underspend and this was not a new scenario for the Council. There had also been a substantial increase in the capital programme that the Council required to manage and in this respect an Officer Working Group had been set up to consider ways to reduce the underspend on Corporate Capital expenditure and a report on this would be submitted to a future meeting. In particular there was a need to redirect capital expenditure to other projects when projects were delayed, and therefore contingency projects were needed at a high state of readiness. It was also advised that individual Services capital monitoring positions for 2007/08 would be reported to the next cycle of Committee meetings. In relation to a query regarding the Aviemore Schools project, the Director of Finance undertook to clarify the current status of this and the Maryburgh/Conon Bridge schools projects
Thereafter the Committee:
i. AGREED the financial position on the General Fund and HRA capital
programmes as at 31 March, 2008;
ii. AGREED that a report would be submitted to a future meeting on the
outcome of the Officers’ Working Group consideration of ways to reduce
the underspend on Corporate Capital expenditure;
iii. NOTED that individual Services capital monitoring positions for the financial
year 2007/08 would be reported to the next cycle of Committee meetings;
iv. NOTED that following examination, clarification would be provided to the
Council on the current status of the Aviemore and Maryburgh/Conon
Bridge schools projects within the capital programme.
7. Property Revenue Maintenance Budget 2008/09
There had been circulated Report No. res-53-08 dated 22 May, 2008 by the Director of Housing and Property which set out the current position with regard to the component parts of the 2008/09 Property Revenue Maintenance Budget.
The Committee NOTED the current position with regard to progress with the 2008/09 Property Revenue Maintenance Budget.
8. Property Capital Monitoring Statement
There had been circulated Report No. res-54-08 dated 29 May, 2008 by the Director of Housing and Property which set out the current position with regard to the 2008/09 Property Capital Programme.
In response to various queries regarding the programme, the Director of Housing and Property undertook to respond to individual Members following the meeting. Further, in relation to a suggestion that there should be greater Member discussion at a local level on Property capital projects, he confirmed that this would be arranged to coincide with Ward business meetings.
Thereafter, the Committee:
i. NOTED the current position with regard to budget allocation and progress
with the 2008/09 Property capital programme;
ii. APPROVED the commencement of investigative works for preparation of
the 2009/10 Strategic Asset Management programme;
iii. APPROVED the allocation of the Energy Management Budget to the
projects identified in Table 1, paragraph 6.2 of the report;
iv. NOTED that the Director of Housing and Property undertook to share
information on Property Capital projects with Members at Ward Business
meetings; and
v. NOTED that responses to various queries in relation to the Property Capital
Programme would be provided direct to individual Members once the detail
of the individual queries had been clarified.
9. Treasury Management: Summary of Transactions
There had been circulated Report No. res-55-08 dated 19 May, 2008 by the Depute Chief Executive/Director of Finance which provided details of the Treasury Management transactions undertaken for March and April, 2008 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 report.
10. Service Plans 2007-11
i. Chief Executive’s Service – Service Plan
There had been circulated Report No. res-56-08 dated 19 May 2008 by the Chief Executive which presented a revised and updated Chief Executive’s Service Plan for the period 2007-2011. A copy of the Service Plan was circulated separately as Booklet A (Chief Executives).
Following consideration, the Committee:
a) APPROVED the draft Service Plan;
b) AGREED to delegate finalisation of the Service Plan, subsequent to
outcome of the Strategic Environmental Assessment, to the Chief
Executive in consultation with the Chairman of the Resources Committee; and
c) NOTED that, when approved, the refreshed and updated Service Plan for
2008/09 onwards would be subject to a review of progress in Autumn 2008.
ii. Finance Service – Service Plan
There had been circulated Report No. res-57-08 dated 20 May 2008 by the Depute Chief Executive/Director of Finance which presented a revised and updated Finance Service Plan for the period 2007-2011. A copy of the Service Plan was circulated separately as Booklet A (Finance).
In discussion, Councillor J Campbell expressed her appreciation to the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Councillor J Finnie for their efforts in ensuring that measures were taken within the Council to improve benefit maximisation take-up in Highland.
Following consideration, the Committee APPROVED the updated Finance Service Plan 2007-2011.
11. Healthy Living Centres
There was circulated Report No. res-58-08 dated 3 June, 2008 by the Director of Education, Culture & Sport which updated Members on the funding issues relating to two Healthy Living Centres in Highland – the Janny’s Hoose and Healthways (projects which promoted health and wellbeing within specific groups in the community). Members were asked to consider two options and agree a way forward.
Following consideration, the Committee AGREED:
i. to progress with Option 2 and withdraw both lottery applications and
submit a new bid under a single banner and which included the Janny’s
Hoose as one of delivery centres;
ii. That an independent review of both Janny’s Hoose and Healthways should
be commissioned to inform future decisions should these be required; and
iii. Officers continue to explore Healthy Living Centres funding with NHS Highland.
12. Suicide Prevention Funding
(Programme for the Administration; Care in the Community “With our Community Planning Partners we will give a high priority to health improvement in the Highlands and will focus on combating drug and alcohol misuse, improving healthy eating and increasing the opportunities for people to stop smoking and take exercise”.)
There was circulated Joint Report No. res-59-08 dated 26 May, 2008 by the Head of Policy and Performance and Dr Cameron Stark, Consultant in Public Health NHS Highland, which provided contextual information on suicide rates in the Highlands, changes to funding arrangements and proposals for allocating funding. It was advised that The Choose Life National Strategy and Action Plan to reduce suicide in Scotland aimed to reduce the suicide rate in Scotland by 20% by 2013 (from the baseline year 2002). Previously ring-fenced funding was allocated to Community Planning Partnerships to implement local Strategies and a multi-agency Choose Life Steering Group had overseen this process in Highland.
In discussion, the Suicide Talk awareness raising session for Members was welcomed, and a request was made for organisations such as the Samaritans to be in attendance to provide feedback on their work and experience in this field. It was also advised that efforts were being made to tackle this issue in Schools and wider children’s services.
Thereafter, the Committee AGREED:
i. Funding for partnership training at £35,000 in year 2008/09 reducing to
£24,500 for years 2 and 3 to meet the Single Outcome Agreement targets
for training and in accordance with the training plan appended to the report;
ii. Funding of £5,000 for 2008/09 reducing to £500 in years 2 and 3 for
website maintenance;
iii. An annual allocation of £30,000 reducing to £20,000 in years 2 and 3 for
funding small grants to voluntary organisations, with delegated authority as
set out in paragraph 4.3 for 2008-9 pending the review of the process for
grants to the voluntary sector;
iv. Retaining £35,000 in 2008/09 reducing to £25,000 in years 2 and 3 for the
Council’s use in supporting mental wellbeing activities;
v. A mid year review of performance and spending with flexibility to adjust
spending across the categories to ensure that suicide prevention targets
were met; and
vi. That a Suicide Talk awareness raising session be arranged for all Elected
Members following a future meeting of the Resources Committee, which
should include feedback from Service providers such as the Samaritans.
13. Local Government Pension Scheme Amendment to Admission Scheme
There was circulated Report No. res-60-08 dated 15 May, 2008 by the Director of Finance which invited Members to agree a change to Admission Agreements currently in place for Highlands and Islands Enterprise Careers Scotland, Highland Careers Service and Western Isles Careers following a restructure of these organisations.
As from 1 April, 2008 the Companies had been restructured and merged into one company. The overall control moved from Highlands and Islands Enterprise to Scottish Development Skills, with operations remaining within the Highlands and Islands Enterprise remit. A request had been made to terminate all the individual Career Admission Agreements and replace them with one closed Careers/Scottish Development Skills Admission Agreement.
Following consideration, the Committee AGREED to one new Careers/Scottish Development Skills Admission Agreement from 1 April, 2008 and to cease all existing Careers Scotland Admission Agreements with effect from 31 March, 2008.
14. Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions - Common Agricultural Policy Health Check Meeting
(Programme for the Administration: Corporate Objectives: “We will work to secure the maximum benefit for the Highlands from European Funding”)
There was circulated Report No. res-61-08 dated 22 May, 2008 by the Corporate Manager (Ross, Skye & Lochaber) which summarised the involvement of the Council in the recent meeting of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR). This was in support of the Programme for Administration Objective that we would “work to secure the maximum benefit for the Highlands from European funding”.
It was noted that many of the issues raised at the CPMR meeting concerned the long-term direction of EU policy for remote and rural regions, rather than the narrower confines of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Healthcheck. It was considered that the Council could play a pivotal role in ensuring dialogue and involvement of Highland & Partners on the wider implications of future changes in EU rural policy, including CAP. Further work was required on the local significance of the detailed changes suggested under the CAP Healthcheck and the requirement for issues of Highland significance to be brought to the attention of Edinburgh and Brussels. The Council might also wish to take further part in the topic sub-groups that were being set up by CPMR.
Following discussion, the Committee AGREED that:
i. The Council commit to full engagement (via the European Team) with CPMR
Health Check sub-groups, focussing primarily on the Regional Governance
and Disadvantaged Areas sub groups;
ii. Reports from the work of these sub-groups be brought to future meetings
of the Resources Committee; and
iii. Cross-Service working should characterise the Council’s involvement with the
CPMR on these important policy themes.
15. European Union Funding: Update on Developments
(Programme for the Administration: Corporate Objectives: “We will work through the Highlands and Islands European Partnership and the Scottish Government to secure the maximum benefit for the Highlands from European funding programmes for the region and play a full part in key European organisations”.)
There was circulated Report No. res-62-08 dated 26 May, 2008 by the Head of Policy and Performance which provided an update on recent developments in European funding programmes. The report updated Members as to the latest developments concerning:- the Structural Funds – European Regional Development Fund around £87m available for the Highlands and Islands over 6 years, and the European Social Fund around £37m available for the Highlands and Islands over 6 years; the Rural Development Programme, including LEADER and convergence funding; the Fisheries Fund; and INTERREG (Inter-regional co-operation) programmes. Members were asked to note the outcome of Round 1 applications for Structural Funds and to consider proposals for the delivery of the LEADER programme.
Following discussion, the Committee: NOTED the outcome of Round 1 submissions for Structural Funds and that various briefings would be carried out by the European Unit to encourage bids to be made for future Rounds. The Committee also AGREED that a briefing for Elected Members on EU funding programmes and networks be arranged to follow a future Resources Committee meeting in 2008.
In relation to the delivery of the Leader programme, the Committee AGREED:
i. With the partners on the draft operating guidelines attached at Appendix 2
of the report;
ii. With the partners on the formula for the area allocations to eligible areas
(based on 2/3 population and 1/3 area by ward, with wards combining
where appropriate);
iii. In consultation with partners an indicative allocation announced for areas up
to the £5m as shown in the amended Appendix 3 to enable the launch of
the programme and the shadow round for this year;
iv. A further report be brought back to Resources Committee to consider the
proposed full area allocation along with allocations for strategic, trans
national / regional projects and administration costs once all partners were
aware of the final Highland award and grant conditions and had identified
their match funding availability;
v. Members participate in local community development groups, with
implementation of projects reported also through Ward Business meetings
and Ward reports (facilitated by the Ward Manager);
vi. An annual financial report is brought to Resources Committee.
Finally, the Committee also NOTED the developments with the European Fisheries Fund and the INTERREG programme, which were likely to be subject to future reports.
16. Equal Opportunities Update
(Programme for the Administration states that it places “equality and fairness at the centre of the way it conducts business”)
There was circulated Report No. res-63-08 dated 26 May, 2008 by the Head of Policy and Performance which updated Members on the Council’s progress in meeting its statutory public sector equality duties. The report provided a summary of progress and issues relating to the Council’s Equal Opportunities Schemes as required by legislation.
In discussion, an undertaking was given to provide clarification to Councillor I Campbell on whether the Council still had a Gypsy/Travelling People Liaison Committee, similar to one that was in existence in the previous Council and which provided a forum for Elected Members to meet with Gypsy/Travelling People.
Thereafter, the Committee:
i. APPROVED Appendix 3 of the report as the current progress report against
the Council’s equalities schemes and noted that this would be highlighted
on the Council’s website as the most recent update on progress, therefore
fulfilling the Council’s reporting duties; and
ii. NOTED that clarification would be provided to Councillor I Campbell in
relation to the status of the Gyspy/Travelling People Liaison Committee.
17. Local Income Tax Consultation
There was circulated Report No. res-64-08 dated 15 May, 2008 by the Director of Finance which provided Members with an opportunity to discuss the Council’s response to the Scottish Government’s Local Income Tax Consultation. It was reported that the consultation was the first step by which the Government was seeking to convince Parliament and wider society that Council Tax should be abolished and replaced by a Local Income Tax. It was advised that the radical nature of these proposals would have far reaching implications, local and national, and would generate significant debate. The proposals would also take time to implement, with a commencement date assumed to be no earlier than 2011/2012.
The report highlighted for Member approval a number of key principles against which any taxation system could be assessed under the headings – Accountability; Fairness; Stability and Predictability; Ease of Understanding. The report also highlighted a number of technical and operational issues relating to the Local Income Tax that would required to be addressed.
It was advised that suggested answers to the questions in the Consultation Paper had been provided at officer level and were attached to the report for Members’ consideration. The answers drew on practical experience of tax collection and fiscal matters, but some fundamental aspects of the new tax were not yet in place and, there may be some questions where a political view would determine the answer.
In discussion it was generally felt that given the lack of detail in the consultation paper, this issue was difficult to consider effectively. There were also fundamental differences in views on the Local Income Tax between the various political parties. In particular, it was suggested that in response to Question 20 - Second Homes Tax, consideration be given to strengthening this response to express the key role Councils should play in setting this tax; that the tax should be set locally, and that any income from the tax should be kept locally.
Thereafter, the Committee whilst acknowledging that the various political parties had different views on the Local Income Tax and that they would be responding to the Consultation exercise separately, nevertheless AGREED:
i. the key principles set out at paragraph 2.1 in the report were reasonable
ones against which any taxation system could be assessed; and
ii. the Draft Consultation Responses attached to the report, subject to
consideration being given to strengthening the response to Question 20 –
Second Homes Tax – to express that local Councils should play a key role in
setting this tax; the tax should be set locally, and income from the tax
should be kept locally for expenditure within Highland.
18. Fujitsu: Performance Report
There was circulated Report No. res-65-08 dated 26 May, 2008 by the Information Systems Client Manager which summarised the performance of the Information and Communication Systems Partnership agreement with Fujitsu Services during the period March and April, 2008.
The Committee NOTED the contents of the report.
19. Pathfinder North Progress Update Report
There was circulated Report No. res-66-08 dated 20 May, 2008 by the Head of E-Government which provided an update on the progress of the Pathfinder North Broadband Project which would provide high capacity broadband links to schools, libraries and other Council buildings throughout the Highlands and Islands.
The Pathfinder North Implementation stage commenced on 21 March, 2007 and 805 sites were currently scheduled to be connected by 20 March, 2009. As of 6th June, 2008 220 Pathfinder North sites were connected.
In particular it was advised that the supplier, Thus, required an extensive expansion of their Core Network to deliver the services to the Pathfinder North areas. Unfortunately, the Core Network activity had been delayed which had consequently meant that a number of sites had not been delivered as expected. Whilst the supplier had assured the Partners that these issues had now been addressed and that they were taking all the necessary steps to ensure a successful and on schedule implementation, the consequence of these delays was still evident from the site connection figures.
In discussion, reference was made to disruption being caused on some roads in Fort William as a result of work on Pathfinder North sites. This had caused unacceptable delays and there seemed to have been no consultation with the relevant authorities prior to the works being carried out. In this respect, the Head of E Government undertook to look into these concerns. It was also advised that a report was to be submitted to a future meeting of the Transport, Environmental and Community Services Committee on the issue of utility companies works affecting the road network and whether this could be better managed.
Thereafter, the Committee NOTED the actions taken and the progress in relation to the Pathfinder North Project to date.
20. Asset Management Update
There was circulated Report No. res-67-08 dated 2 June, 2008 by the Director of Housing and Property which provided an update on asset management planning in Highland Council and introduced proposals for rationalising assets and prioritising capital investment.
The report set out the importance of Asset Management to the Council, highlighted the potential benefits of effective asset management for the Council and advised of the current situation in relation to the information that the Council currently held in relation to its portfolio of assets.
Insofar as the way ahead was concerned, it was advised that the Council’s Corporate Asset Management Plan had been approved by Resources Committee in November, 2007. The report set out an Implementation and Action Plan which would now be taken forward with a high priority. Thereafter the focus would move to development and maintenance of the programme as a permanent feature of Corporate planning processes. While the planning and data gathering work was proceeding it was proposed that the Council should progress the rationalisation of its assets, and use Asset Management as a key component in its Capital Planning processes. This corporate approach would ensure that the optimum balance was found between the development of new assets and the maintenance and upgrading of existing assets.
It was noted that the Director of Housing and Property would directly lead the Asset Management Team until the process and a team was established. It was intended that an Asset Management Team Leader would be appointed to manage this work.
Following a suggestion the Members should receive training on this matter, the Committee:
i. NOTED the progress being made on asset management and the links
between this work, asset rationalisation and capital planning; and
ii. AGREED that training for all Elected Members on asset management should
be arranged.
21. Minutes of Meetings
The Committee APPROVED the following Minutes of Meetings which had been circulated for confirmation:-
i. Early Retirement Sub-committe of 16 April 2008;
ii. Appointment Panel of 1 May 2008;
iii. Appeals Committee of 9 May 2008;
iv. Investment Advisory Group of 23 May 2008;
v. IT Procurement Working Group of 22 May 2008;
vi. Modernising Employment Sub-committee of 23 May 2008.
22. Amendments to Organisational Structures/Establishments
There was circulated Report No. res-68-08 dated 2 June, 2008 by the Assistant Chief Executive which recommended amendments to organisational structures/establishments as a consequence of proposals from Service Directors.
The proposals contained within the report showed an overall net decrease of 3.49 posts and an overall net saving of £103,500 for proposals which had to be met from Service budgets. In addition there was a net increase of 3 posts which were subject to full external funding. There were extensions to 10.07 existing temporary posts at a cost of £35,000 funded by Services and £242,500 by external funding.
Following discussion, an undertaking was given to clarify the impact on Service delivery as a result of the reduction in hours of the post of Team Manager (Hearing Support & Deaf Services), Social Work from full-time to 0.6 FTE and otherwise, the Committee:
i. AGREED the amendments to the staffing establishment and other staffing
changes as detailed in Section 2 and Appendix 1 to the report; and
ii. NOTED the trends shown in Appendix 2 of the report.
23. Property Disposals Requiring Scottish Ministers’ Consent
There was circulated Report No. res-69-08 dated 29 May, 2008 by the Director of Housing and Property which invited Members to approve a property disposal at below market value, subject to receipt of Scottish Ministers consent.
The Committee APPROVED the disposal of the following property interests at below market value, subject to other terms and conditions to be agreed by the Director of Housing and Property in consultation with owning Services:
• the Council sells the subjects at Embo Community Centre to the Embo Community Centre Association on sub-market value terms, subject to the Director of Housing and Property receiving consent for this transaction from the Scottish Ministers under Section 74(2) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.
24. Wick Office Rationalisation
There was circulated Joint Report No. res-70-08 dated 27 May, 2008 by the Director of Housing and Property and Corporate Manager (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) which proposed a change in the approach to office rationalisation in Wick and sought the Committee’s approval to develop detailed design and cost proposals.
It was advised that the provision of new Council offices in Wick, replacing the premises in Market Square, High Street (Social Work) and Rhind House (ECS), was a long-standing Council priority. Previously the procurement procedure - Competitive Dialogue had been initiated and four contractors emerged from the prequalification stage.
A recent review of the current position had placed renewed focus on the economic impact that the Council’s existing presence had on the Town Centre, and had concluded in favour of providing a new office building in the Town Centre to accommodate all Council staff previously located in Market Square, High Street and Rhind House (and possibly others). It was proposed that the Council adopted this new approach and authorised the Corporate Manager (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) to form a Project Team to develop a detailed design and a cost plan. It was advised that a report would be prepared for consideration by a future Resources Committee and the existing Competitive Dialogue process would be kept live while this work was underway.
In discussion, local Members expressed the need for them to be kept regularly updated on this project, and an assurance was given by the Director of Housing and Property that this would happen. The desire to keep the Town Hall, Wick in use was also expressed by local Members and this point was acknowledged by the Director of Housing and Property. It was also questioned whether there was a need to keep the Competitive Dialogue process live and the Director undertook to liaise firstly with local Members before finally closing this process off.
Thereafter, the Committee:
i. APPROVED the new approach to the rationalisation of offices in Wick;
ii. AGREED to authorise the Corporate Manager (Caithness, Sutherland and
Easter Ross) to establish a Project Team to take forward the actions set out
in paragraphs 4.1 and 4.2 of the report;
iii. NOTED that a detailed report on project design, cost and timetable would
come forward to a future Committee;
iv. NOTED that the Director of Housing and Property would liaise with local
Members before the existing Competitive Dialogue process was finally closed
off; and
v. NOTED that local Members would be kept regularly informed with progress
on the project.
25. 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 item on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 6 and 9 of Part 1 of Schedule 7A of the Act.
26. Property Transactions Monitoring Report
There was circulated to Members only Report No. RES/71/08 dated 2 June, 2008 by the Director of Housing and Property which advised on sales targeted for completion within the financial year 2008/09 and summarised progress together with details of the Property Account property transactions approved by the Head of Housing Development and Estates.
The Committee NOTED progress on property sales with anticipated settlement within financial year 2008/09 and the Property Account transactions approved by the Head of Housing Development and Estates.
The meeting ended at 1.25 p.m.