Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Amanda Hampsey, Daniel Hampsey, Mark Irvine, Jennifer Kean, Julie McKenzie, Dougie Philand and Andrew Vennard.

There were no declarations of interest intimated.

The Provost ruled and the Council agreed that to facilitate a smooth running of the Agenda, to vary the order of business and to take Agenda items 16 and 17 as the last items of the meeting. This was to allow the Council to deal with all of the business which could be taken in public before moving into private session. 

Argyll and Bute Council held on 25 February 2026

The Minutes of the meeting of Argyll and Bute Council held on 25 February 2026 were approved as a correct record.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Community Services Committee held on 5 March 2026 were noted.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee held on 19 March 2026 were noted.

Arising from item 9 of these Minutes (Public Convenience Door Access Control Project) the Council agreed the recommendation that the remaining five sites revert to free access supported by honesty boxes, on the basis that this provides a proportionate, low cost means of maintaining a public contribution mechanism at locations where charging infrastructure is not commercially viable.

Report by Leader of the Council

The Council gave consideration to a report providing an update on the activities of the Council Leader, Councillor Jim Lynch, since the last report provided to Council in November 2025 and up to 17 April 2026.

Decision

The Council –

1.    noted the content of the submitted report; and

2.    noted that any reports, briefings or copy correspondence referred to in the report could be requested as appropriate through the Leadership Support Manager, noting that some confidential reports provided by external organisations such as COSLA may be restricted.

(Reference: Report by Leader of the Council dated 17 April 2026, submitted)

Report by Policy Leads

The Council gave consideration to a report providing an update on key areas of activity for each Policy Lead Councillor since the previous update provided to Council on 26 November 2025.

Decision

The Council noted the content of the submitted report.

(Reference: Report by Policy Lead Councillors dated 16 April 2026, submitted)

Report by Section 95 Officer

The Council gave consideration to a report seeking approval to establish a charge of £5 per week for the responder service starting in September 2026, and to raise the social care weekly fee cap from £145 to £167.

Decision

The Council –

1.     approved the introduction of a £5 per week charge for the responder service and noted that the Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) expected to implement the charge from September 2026 to allow sufficient time to implement and communicate the change; and

2.     approved the increase in the social care weekly charging cap from £145 to £167 from 6 July 2026.

(Reference: Report by Section 95 Officer dated 2 April 2026, submitted)

Report by Chief Executive

The Council gave consideration to a report seeking agreement of proposed governance arrangements for engagement between the Council, HM Naval Base (HMNB) Clyde and the Scotland Office in support of the Clyde Transformation Programme, following consideration by the Helensburgh and Lomond Area Committee at their meeting in March 2026.

Decision

The Council –

1.     agreed the governance arrangements for the Clyde Transformation Programme as set out in the report attached at Appendix 1;

2.     agreed, subject to the agreement of the Scotland Office, that the Council Leader / Policy Lead for Economic Development (Councillor Jim Lynch) be added to the membership of the Clyde Transformation Programme governance arrangements;

3.     noted that regular liaison would be undertaken with the Area Committee Chair to ensure that local issues are appropriately represented; and

4.     noted that agreement to the revised membership change, would be sought with HMNB Clyde.

(Reference: Report by Chief Executive dated 7 April 2026, submitted)

Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Legal and Regulatory Support

The Council gave consideration to a report setting out the updated political composition of the Council.

Decision

The Council noted the updated political composition of the Council.

(Reference: Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Legal and Regulatory Support dated 10 April 2026, submitted)

Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Legal and Regulatory Support

The Council gave consideration to a report setting out how recommendations from the Budget in February 2026 relating to the Council Priority of building stronger connections and collaborations with communities would be taken forward.

Decision

The Council agreed –

1.     that officers arrange for Area Committee Business Days to take place to allow for discussion on the proposed Area Committee Priorities;

2.     that a report would be submitted to the June Council meeting which would outline for agreement the process for dealing with applications to the Fund; and

3.     the distribution mechanism for the additional Community Council funding as detailed in paragraph 4.4 of the submitted report.

(Reference: Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Legal and Regulatory Support dated 16 April 2026, submitted)

Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Customer Support Services

The Council gave consideration to a report proposing a joint statement be released to demonstrate both Council and Joint Trade Unions support of a zero-tolerance approach to abuse, including verbal abuse, threats, intimidation, harassment, or physical violence directed towards employees. The statement had been approved by the Employee Joint Consultative Committee at the meeting held on 20 February 2026.

Decision

The Council –

1.     noted the national situation and the importance of making the position clear on the expectation on the treatment of staff while they are delivering essential public services; and

2.     approved the joint statement contained at Appendix One to the submitted report.

(Reference: Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Customer Support Services dated 3 March 2026, submitted)

Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Development and Economic Growth

The Council gave consideration to a report providing information on a potential social and economic opportunity for Argyll and Bute and seeking agreement for the Leader of the Council, or his nominee, and the Chief Executive to attend the People’s Meeting held annually in Denmark.

Decision

The Council –

1.    noted the content of the submitted report; and

2.    approved sending the Leader of the Council, or his nominee, and the Chief Executive to the festival, who would report back on their findings to the Council at its June meeting prior to taking a decision on whether to support a bid, or not to proceed.

(Reference: Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Development and Economic Growth dated 26 March 2026, submitted)

Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Development and Economic Growth

The Council gave consideration to a report providing an update on the work being taken forward by the Shadow Visitor Levy Forum and associated recommendations to date on local exemptions and draft funding model scenarios.

Decision

The Council –

1.     agreed the recommendations from the SVLF on local exemptions for inclusion in a revised draft Visitor Levy Scheme (VLS) for Argyll and Bute;

2.     noted the proposed funding models being considered by the SVLF with a revised model to be included in a revised draft VLS;

3.     endorsed the further work of the SVLF on the proposed visitor levy revenue spend to bring forward suggestions, within a revised VLS, on clearly defined and specific project themes with understandable costs, outcomes and associated delivery timescales; and

4.     agreed that a further report come back to the Council in June to consider and approve a further public consultation on a revised visitor levy scheme informed by the work of the SVLF and amended legislation.

(Reference: Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Development and Economic Growth dated 27 March 2026, submitted)

Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Roads and Infrastructure

The Council gave consideration to a report informing Members of the use of emergency powers in relation to works at Iona Breakwater and seeking agreement that additional costs be built into the Marine Asset Management Plan which is ultimately funded via prudential borrowing and a percentage uplift in fees and charges. The increased cost would be considered as part of the 2027-28 fee uplift.

Decision

The Council –

1.    noted the forecasted overspend on the Iona Breakwater project of circa £1.5m;

2.    agreed that additional costs would be built into the Marine Asset Management Plan which ultimately was funded via prudential borrowing and a percentage uplift in fees and charges; and

3.    noted the increased cost would be considered as part of the 2027-28 fee uplift.

(Reference: Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Roads and Infrastructure dated March 2026, submitted)

Recommendation from meeting of the Planning, Protective Services and Licensing Committee held on 18 March 2026

The Council considered a recommendation from the meeting of the Planning, Protective Services and Licensing Committee held on 18 March 2026 in relation to land contamination risk assessment and ground investigation reports for developments in Argyll and Bute, and associated fees and charges.

Decision

The Council approved the associated fees and charges detailed in paragraph 4.22 of the submitted report.

(Reference: Recommendation from the meeting of the Planning, Protective Services and Licensing Committee held on 18 March 2026; and report by Executive Director with responsibility for Regulatory Services dated 24 February 2026, submitted)

As previously agreed, the Council re-ordered the Business at this point and took item 18 of the Agenda, before the exclusion of the press and public for items 16 and 17 of the Agenda.

The Council resolves and agrees as follows:

1. Notes and agrees that Argyll and Bute Council is a welcoming community and has an established track record supporting the resettlement of refugees from a number of overseas conflicts;

2. Rejects and condemns in the strongest terms possible that “Scotland is at breaking point” in relation to policies concerning immigration and asylum.

Proposed by Councillor Andrew Vennard

Seconded by Councillor Kieron Green

The following Notice of Motion Under Standing Order 13 was on the Agenda for consideration by the Council –

The Council resolves and agrees as follows:

1.     Notes and agrees that Argyll and Bute Council is a welcoming community and has an established track record supporting the resettlement of refugees from a number of overseas conflicts;

2.     Rejects and condemns in the strongest terms possible that “Scotland is at breaking point” in relation to policies concerning immigration and asylum.

Proposed by Councillor Andrew Vennard

Seconded by Councillor Kieron Green

The Executive Director with responsibility for Legal and Regulatory Support advised that as the mover of the Motion, Councillor Andrew Vennard, was not in attendance, the Motion would fall and the Motion was therefore not considered by the Council.

The Provost advised that in terms of Section 50(A)(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, that Appendix C relating to the following item of business would require the exclusion of the press and public should any Member wish to discuss the content of that appendix 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.

The Council gave consideration to a report providing an update on the Council’s Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP) project which aimed to develop a new 2-18 Campus to replace the existing facility in Tobermory, Mull.

Decision

The Council –

1.     recognised the verdict of the Judicial Review as outlined in paragraph 4.9 of the submitted report;

2.     noted the consequential impacts upon Programme and Budget as outlined at paragraph 4.12 - 4.20 of the submitted report;

3.     agreed to resume the project as directed by Council on 7th March 2025 but to the updated programme as outlined at paragraph 4.12 - 4.20 of the submitted report;

4.     noted the capital and revenue implications of the Tobermory Campus project were of a strategic financial nature and that the Outline Business Case would be reported back to a Special Council meeting in December 2026 in advance of the 2027/28 Budget for Members to determine in light of the financial information provided and wider context, whether they consider the project to be affordable at that time; and

5.     noted the project continued to carry risk as outlined at paragraph 4.21 of the submitted report.

(Reference: Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Education and Commercial Services; and Executive Director with responsibility for Financial Services dated 30 March 2026, submitted)

The Council 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 Paragraph 8 of Part 1 of Schedule 7A to the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.

Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Commercial Services and Section 95 Officer

The Council gave consideration to a report providing the latest forecast in respect of the Programme and Anticipated Final Cost (AFC) for completing the construction works under the Stage 2b/2c Contract.

Decision

The Council agreed the recommendations as detailed within the submitted report.

(Reference: Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Commercial Services; and Executive Director / Section 95 Officer dated 20 April 2026, 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.