Agenda and minutes

Venue: Via Skype

Contact: Hazel MacInnes Tel: 01546 604269 

Items
Note No. Item

The Chair, on behalf of the Committee, welcomed Councillors Jim Findlay and David Kinniburgh to the Policy and Resources Committee.

1.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Aileen Morton.

2.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Minutes:

Councillor Gary Mulvaney declared a financial interest in Item 13 (Scottish Government £30m Discretionary Fund to Support Businesses) of the Agenda due to his ownership of a business that could benefit from the funding, he left the meeting and took no part in the discussion of this item of business.

 

Councillor Jim Findlay declared a non-financial interest in Item 13 (Scottish Government £30m Discretionary Fund to Support Businesses) of the Agenda due to his membership of the Rothesay Pavilion board. He claimed the benefit of the dispensation contained at Section 5.16 of the Standard’s Commission’s Guidance and Dispensation Note to enable him to speak and vote.

3.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 212 KB

Policy and Resources Committee held on 15 October 2020

Minutes:

The Minutes of the meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee held on 15 October 2020 were approved as a correct record.

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4.

FINANCIAL REPORTS MONITORING PACK – 31 OCTOBER 2020 pdf icon PDF 4 MB

Report by Section 95 Officer

Minutes:

The Committee gave consideration to a report providing a summary of the financial monitoring reports as at the end of October 2020.  There were six detailed reports summarised within the executive summary including the Revenue Budget Monitoring Report as at 31 October 2020; Monitoring of Policy Savings Options as at 31 October 2020; Monitoring of Financial Risks as at 31 October 2020; Capital Plan Monitoring Report as at 31 October 2020; Treasury Monitoring Report as at 31 October 2020 and Reserves and Balances as at 31 October 2020.

 

Decision

 

The Policy and Resources Committee –

 

1.     Noted the revenue budget monitoring report as at 31 October 2020 and noted the comments in respect of the Health and Social Care Partnership.

 

2.     Noted the progress with the policy savings options as at 31 October 2020

 

3.     Noted the financial risks for 2020-21.

 

4.     Noted the capital plan monitoring report as at 31 October 2020.

 

5.     Noted the treasury monitoring report as at 31 October 2020.

 

6.     Noted the reserves and balances report as at 31 October 2020.

 

7.     Agreed to recommend to Council that the revenue virements over £0.200m during September and October are approved.

 

(Reference:  Report by Section 95 Officer dated 27 November 2020, submitted)

5.

BUDGET OUTLOOK 2021-22 TO 2025-26 pdf icon PDF 2 MB

Report by Section 95 Officer

Minutes:

The Committee gave consideration to a report providing an update to the budget outlook 2021-22 to 2025-26 which had been reported to the Policy and Resources Committee on 15 October 2020.  The estimates within the report were based on the mid-range scenario with best and worst case scenarios noted in Appendix 1 to the submitted report.

 

Decision

 

The Policy and Resources Committee –

 

1.     Noted the current estimated budget outlook position for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26.

 

2.     Noted that the Scottish Government budget would be announced on 28 January 2020 and that once officers were aware of the Council’s settlement a briefing note would be issued to Members to advise on the impact of the settlement on the Council’s estimated budget gap.

 

(Reference:  Report by Section 95 Officer dated 23 November 2020, submitted)

6.

BUDGET PLANNING 2021/22 pdf icon PDF 2 MB

Report by Section 95 Officer

Minutes:

The Committee gave consideration to a report providing information on savings options identified by officers for consideration for financial year 2021/22 and beyond.

 

Decision

 

The Policy and Resources Committee –

 

1.     Noted the savings options identified by Officers and agreed by the Budget Working Group to be moved forward to the 2021/22 budget process and noted that further information on the options would be brought forward to Council as part of the 2021/22 budget papers.

 

2.     Noted that the savings options developed were aimed at addressing the 2021/22 budget gap but significant savings would be required in future years to address continued significant funding gaps. This would be considered as part of the revision of the medium to long term financial strategy.

 

3.     Noted that officers would continue to identify further savings over the coming months to bridge the gap.

 

4.     Noted that the Head of Customer Support Services would take forward a statutory consultation process with the Trade Unions for those savings options that could have a direct impact on jobs.

 

(Reference:  Report by Section 95 Officer dated 2 December 2020, submitted)

 

Councillor Lorna Douglas joined the Meeting at this point.

7.

FINANCIAL QUARTER 2 PERFORMANCE REPORT pdf icon PDF 278 KB

Report by Executive Director with responsibility for HR and Organisational Development

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee gave consideration to a report presenting the Financial Quarter 2 2020/21 Performance Report for Financial Services, Commercial Services, Legal and Regulatory Support and Customer Support Services in a revised simplified format commensurate with the Covid-19 situation.

 

Decision

 

The Policy and Resources Committee noted the Financial Quarter 2 2020/21 Performance reports as presented.

 

(Reference:  Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Commercial Services and Legal and Regulatory Support and Executive Director with responsibility for Customer Support Services dated 9 November 2020, submitted)

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8.

DRAFT SERVICE PLANS 2021/22 pdf icon PDF 296 KB

Report by Chief Executive and Executive Directors with responsibility for Financial Services, Community Planning & Development, Customer Support Services, Legal & Regulatory Support and Commercial Services

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee gave consideration to a report presenting the Draft Service Plans 2021-22 prior to budget allocation.

 

Decision

 

The Policy and Resources Committee endorsed the Draft Service Plans 2021-22 (no finance) as presented prior to referral to the Policy and Resources Committee and Full Council for budget allocation as part of the 2021/22 Budget pack.

 

(Reference:  Report by Chief Executive and Executive Directors with responsibility for Financial Services, Community Planning and Development, Customer Support Services, Legal and Regulatory Support and Commercial Services dated 10 November 2020, submitted)

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9.

PROCUREMENT STRATEGY 2021/22 AND SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT POLICY 2021/22 - FINAL DOCUMENTS AND CONSULTATION pdf icon PDF 390 KB

Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Legal and Regulatory Support

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee gave consideration to a report that sought approval of the final revised Procurement Strategy 2021/22 and Sustainable Procurement Policy 2021/22.

 

Decision

 

1.     Noted the key changes, as detailed at Section 4.4 of the submitted report, to the Procurement Strategy 2021/22 and Section 4.6 of the submitted report, to the Sustainable Procurement Policy 2021/22; and the outcome of the consultation.

 

2.     Agreed to recommend to Council, the revised final Procurement Strategy 2021/22 and Sustainable Procurement Policy 2021/22 to be published on the Council’s website in April 2021.

 

(Reference:  Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Legal and Regulatory Support dated 1 December 2020, submitted)

 

Councillor Dougie Philand joined the meeting at this point.

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10.

ICT AND DIGITAL STRATEGY 2021-2024 pdf icon PDF 123 KB

 Executive Director with responsibility for Customer Support Services

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee gave consideration to a report that sought approval of the ICT and Digital Strategy for 2021-24.

 

Decision

 

The Policy and Resources Committee agreed to recommend to Council, approval of the ICT and Digital Strategy for 2021-24 attached at Appendix 1 to the submitted report.

 

(Reference:  Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Customer Support Services dated 16 November 2020, submitted)

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11.

PENSION DISCRETIONS POLICY UNDER THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT PENSION SCHEME (SCOTLAND) REGULATIONS 2018 pdf icon PDF 259 KB

Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Customer and Support Services

Minutes:

The Committee gave consideration to a report that sought agreement to amendments to the Pensions Discretions Policy to ensure compliance with the Local Government Pension Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2018.

 

Decision

 

The Policy and Resources Committee agreed to recommend to the Council approval of the proposed amendments to the Pensions Discretions Policy.

 

(Reference:  Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Customer Support Services dated 21 September 2020, submitted)

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12.

PROPOSED SPACE FLIGHT TRIALS COMPETITION AT MACHRIHANISH AIRBASE COMMUNITY COMPANY - REQUEST FOR FUNDING pdf icon PDF 370 KB

Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Development and Economic Growth

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee gave consideration to a report advising of a request for funding made by the Machrihanish Airbase Community Company Ltd (MACC) to support a new initiative “Mach-21; National Spaceflight Education Conference and CanSat Competition”.

 

Decision

 

The Policy and Resources Committee –

 

1.     Noted the content of the report and the future economic possibilities for the Kintyre area.

2.     Agreed to recommend to the Council approval of the funding request for £26,985 from the Rural Resettlement Fund as its contribution to this event.

 

(Reference:  Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Development and Economic Growth dated October 2020, submitted)

13.

SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT £30M DISCRETIONARY FUND TO SUPPORT BUSINESSES pdf icon PDF 126 KB

Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Development and Economic Growth

Minutes:

The Committee gave consideration to a report providing information on the new £30 million discretionary fund, setting out proposed key principles which would be applied when determining how the fund would be managed and a recommended approach to progress the determination of an eligibility criteria.

 

Decision

 

The Policy and Resources Committee –

 

1.     Approved the key principles, as outlined in paragraphs 3.11 – 3.14 of the submitted report which would guide the creation of eligibility criteria to be applied when assessing fund applications.

 

2.     Approved the creation of the eligibility criteria be delegated to the Executive Director with responsibility for Development and Economic Growth in consultation with the Leadership Group with the exception of the Depute Leader.

 

(Reference:  Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Development and Economic Growth dated 4 December 2020, submitted)

14.

RURAL GROWTH DEAL - RESOURCING OF OUTLINE BUSINESS CASES pdf icon PDF 302 KB

Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Development and Economic Growth

Minutes:

The Committee gave consideration to a report seeking approval to commit financial resources for the development of Outline Business Cases and project feasibility, design and work required to secure consents as part of the Rural Growth Deal process.

 

Decision

 

The Policy and Resources Committee agreed -

 

1.     That authority for approving the drawdown of money from the Inward Investment Fund is delegated to the Chief Executive and 2 Executive Directors of the Council up to a maximum value of £150k and subject to them being satisfied that the monies are for the purpose of delivering the Rural Growth Deal.

 

2.     That any funding required in excess of £150k from the Inward Investment Fund would require further approval of the Policy and Resources Committee.

 

(Reference:  Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Development and Economic Growth dated 2 November 2020, submitted)

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15.

EU EXIT: CHARGING REGIME FOR EXPORT HEALTH CERTIFICATES pdf icon PDF 227 KB

Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Development and Economic Growth

Minutes:

The Committee gave consideration to a report which sought agreement of a charging regime for export health certificates.

 

Decision

 

The Policy and Resources Committee agreed to recommend that Council –

 

1.     Note that the existing charging model for export health certificates in 4.5 of the submitted report would be applied to EU certification as of the 1st January 2021.

 

2.     Approve a new fee for attestations either based on the national fee, or in its absence, a local charge of £100 per attestation, plus the full costs recovery for additional interventions or inspections.

 

(Reference:  Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Development and Economic Growth dated 30 November 2020, submitted)

16.

COVID-19 RECOVERY ACTION PLAN pdf icon PDF 414 KB

Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Development and Economic Growth

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee gave consideration to a report that sought approval of the Argyll and Bute Recovery Plan that had been prepared in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

Decision

 

The Policy and Resources Committee approved the Argyll and Bute Recovery Action Plan which was critical in providing a strong foundation for the future economic and social recovery of Argyll and Bute.

 

(Reference:  Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Development and Economic Growth dated 9 November 2020, submitted)

17.

COSTS AND SAVINGS FROM EARLY DEPARTURES FROM COUNCIL EMPLOYMENT FOR YEAR 2019/20 pdf icon PDF 298 KB

Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Customer and Support Services

Minutes:

A report outlining the costs and savings associated with early retirements/redundancies that had taken place between 1 April 2019 and 30 June 2020 was before the Committee for noting.

 

Decision

 

The Policy and Resources Committee noted the content of the submitted report.

 

(Reference:  Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Customer Support Services dated 14 September 2020, submitted)

18.

POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE WORKPLAN pdf icon PDF 308 KB

Minutes:

The Policy and Resources Committee workplan was before the Committee for noting.

 

Decision

 

The Policy and Resources Committee noted the content of the workplan.

 

(Reference:  Policy and Resources Committee Workplan dated December 2020, submitted)

The Chair advised the Committee that the Appendix relating to the following item of business contained exempt information and that if Members wished to discuss the content of that Appendix they would be required to resolve in terms of Section 50(A)(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 to exclude the press and public for the following item of business on the grounds that it was likely to involve the disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 8 of Part 1 of Schedule 7A to the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.

19.

TARBERT AND LOCHGILPHEAD REGENERATION FUND - PROJECTS UPDATE

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee gave consideration to a recommendation from the Mid Argyll, Kintyre and Islands Area Committee in respect of the Tarbert and Lochgilphead Regeneration Fund.

 

Decision

 

The Policy and Resources Committee agreed that Tarbert and Lochgilphead Regeneration Funding of £365,000 is reallocated to the Lochgilphead Front Green project (comprising £110,000 currently allocated to the Argyll Street project which is proposed to be delivered through another funding route and £255,000 underspend in relation to the Barmore Road junction improvement).

 

(Reference:  Recommendation from the Mid Argyll, Kintyre and Islands Area Committee held on 2 December 2020 and report by Executive Director with responsibility for Development and Economic Growth dated 24 November 2020, submitted)

The Committee resolved in terms of Section 50(A)(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 to exclude the press and public for the following item of business on the grounds that it was likely to involve the disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 8 & 9 of Part 1 of Schedule 7A to the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.

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20.

THIRD SECTOR RECYCLING

Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Roads and Infrastructure

Minutes:

The Committee gave consideration to a report in relation to the Council’s contract for the provision of kerbside recycling services in Kintyre. The Executive Director with responsibility for Roads and Infrastructure Services provided an update on the report in respect of the financial position.

 

Decision

 

The Policy and Resources Committee agreed to recommend to Council, the recommendations contained within the tabled Motion.

 

(Reference:  Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Roads and Infrastructure Services dated December 2020, submitted)

E1       Paragraph 8  The amount of any expenditure proposed to be incurred by the authority under any particular contract for the acquisition of property or the supply of goods or services.

E2       Paragraph 8  The amount of any expenditure proposed to be incurred by the authority under any particular contract for the acquisition of property or the supply of goods or services.

Paragraph 9  Any terms proposed or to be proposed by or to the authority in the course of negotiations for a contract for the acquisition or disposal of property or the supply of goods or services.