Policy And Resources Committee - 23/03/2009

At a MEETING of the POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE held at Dundee on 23rd March, 2009.

Present:-

BAILIES

COUNCILLORS

Councillor Kevin KEENAN, Convener, in the Chair.

The minute of meeting of this Committee of 9th March, 2009 was held as read.

Unless marked thus * all items stand delegated.

I MINUTES

(i) SUPERANNUATION INVESTMENT SUB-COMMITTEE OF 23RD FEBRUARY, 2009

(ii) PERSONNEL APPEALS SUB-COMMITTEE OF 9TH MARCH, 2009

The minutes of meetings of the above Sub-Committees, copies of which are appended hereto (Appendices I and II), were submitted for information and record purposes.

II REVENUE MONITORING

There was submitted Report No 186-2009 by the Head of Finance providing the Committee with an analysis of the 2008/2009 Projected Revenue Outturn as at 31st January, 2009 monitored against the adjusted 2008/2009 Revenue Budget.

The Committee:-

(i) noted that the overall General Fund 2008/2009 Projected Revenue Outturn as at 31st January, 2009 showed an overspend of 545,000 against the adjusted 2008/2009 Revenue Budget;

(ii) noted that the Housing Revenue Account was projecting an overspend of 105,000 against the adjusted HRA 2008/2009 Revenue Budget;

(iii) instructed the Head of Finance to take every reasonable action to ensure that the 2008/2009 revenue expenditure was below or in line with the adjusted Revenue Budget; and

(iv) instructed the Head of Finance, in conjunction with all Chief Officers of the Council, to continue to monitor the Council's 2008/2009 Projected Revenue Outturn.

III CAPITAL MONITORING

There was submitted Report No 146-2009 by the Head of Finance appraising members of the latest position regarding the Council's capital expenditure programme for 2008/2009.

The Committee noted the contents of the report.

IV TREASURY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 2009/2010

There was submitted Report No 160-2009 by the Head of Finance relative to the above.

The Committee:-

(i) noted that in terms of the Treasury Policy Statement, the Head of Finance was obliged to present the annual Treasury Management Strategy at the start of each financial year; and

(ii) approved the strategy proposed by the Head of Finance for 2009/2010 as set out in the document "Treasury Management Strategy 2009/2010".

V RELIEF OF RATES - CHARITY RELIEF

Councillor Keenan declared a non-financial interest by virtue of being the Council's representative on the Carolina House Trust and Ardler Village Trust.

Councillors McCready, Duncan and Hay declared a non-financial interest by virtue of being the Council's representatives on the Board of the Dundee Repertory Theatre.

Councillor Lynn declared a non-financial interest in Transform Furniture by virtue of his employment with Dundee Cyrenians.

There was submitted Report No 174-2009 by the Depute Chief Executive (Finance) seeking authorisation to grant charity relief on the undernoted non-domestic properties.

The Committee approved accordingly.

VI COMMON GOOD

There was submitted Report No 193-2009 by the Head of Finance providing details of the Council's Common Good Fund Revenue Budget for 2009/2010.

The Committee approved the Common Good Fund 2009/2010 Revenue Budget as detailed in Appendix A to the report.

VII REINTRODUCTION OF MORTGAGES FOR COUNCIL HOUSE SALES

There was submitted Report No 118-2009 by the Head of Finance and Director of Housing relative to the reintroduction of mortgages for Council house sales and surplus housing that had been sold by the Council for first-time buyers in Dundee.

The Committee:-

(i) approved the reintroduction of first-time buyer mortgages for Council house sales and private housing as a way of boosting the local economy in the current "credit crunch";

(ii) agreed that mortgages be made available at a maximum loan repayment period of 25 years to Council house tenants at 100% of net purchase price after right to buy discount and 100% of purchase price for private purchasers buying the last property in a block of three or more properties which had been withdrawn from the letting pool and marketed for sale on the open market;

(iii) authorised the Head of Finance to assess the income verification evidence submitted with the mortgage application form for the purpose of assessing the maximum amount of loan to be offered. Also the maximum loan repayment period would be determined taking account of the individual's likely future period of employment leading up to normal retirement age;

(iv) agreed that appropriate publicity material be made available through the Housing Division promoting the availability of mortgage funding for initially a period of one year to prospective Council house purchasers and private purchasers buying the last property in a block of three or more which had been withdrawn from the letting pool; and

(v) agreed that a further report be submitted to this Committee within one year to assess the implications of the changing economic climate and the impact of the recommendations in this report.

VIII HAZARDOUS MATERIALS EMERGENCY PLAN 2009

After considering Report No 187-2009 by the Depute Chief Executive (Support Services) relative to the above, the Committee noted the contents of the report and approved the Hazardous Materials Emergency Plan 2009.

IX CUSTOMER CONTACT CENTRES - UPGRADE

There was submitted Agenda Note AN75-2009 intimating that the equipment that supports the Council's Contact Centres required to be upgraded to continue to allow expansion and development in providing a quality customer service.

It was recommended this upgrade be approved as it would allow for greater flexibility in call handling in the event of a major emergency in the City. The upgrade would also allow the integration of the Council's main telephone switchboard staff into the Corporate Customer Service Team, providing a greater and more flexible pool of resource for telephone call handling.

The Committee approved the cost of the upgrade from British Telecom amounting to 39,200, it being noted that maintenance costs savings would amount to 2,000 per annum.

X ACHIEVING OUR POTENTIAL - A FRAMEWORK TO TACKLE POVERTY AND INCOME INEQUALITY IN SCOTLAND

There was submitted Report No 158-2009 by the Assistant Chief Executive introducing the Scottish Government's framework for tackling poverty and income inequality in Scotland and recommending the development of an action plan derived from the Single Outcome Agreement for Dundee.

The Committee:-

(i) noted the recommendations contained in the Scottish Government's Achieving our Potential: a framework to tackle poverty and income inequality in Scotland;

(ii) noted that a range of measures to tackle poverty were underway across the Council and the Dundee Partnership; and

(iii) remitted to the Corporate Planning Department to produce a revised financial inclusion strategy and action plan while ensuring that the broader causes of poverty were addressed within the Single Outcome Agreement delivery plans.

XI FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (SCOTLAND) ACT 2002 - PUBLICATION SCHEME

There was submitted Agenda Note AN76-2009 intimating that the Council was required under the Freedom of Information Act 2002 to maintain a Publication Scheme which had been approved by the Scottish Information Commissioner. Approval for the Council's current scheme would shortly expire.

The Commissioner had developed a model Publication Scheme for Local Authorities which was being adapted for use in Dundee. Once finalised, this required to be submitted to the Commissioner by 4th April, 2009.

Given that this was the last meeting of the Committee before the recess, it was recommended that the Depute Chief Executive (Support Services) be given delegated authority to submit the Scheme by the due date. She would circulate a draft to all Group Leaders and Depute Lord Provost Borthwick for comments before it was submitted.

The Committee approved accordingly.

XII SINGLE STATUS APPEAL RESULTS AND IMPLEMENTATION

There was submitted Report No 63-2009 by the Head of Personnel advising the Committee of the results of the Single Status Job Evaluation Appeals.

The Committee:-

(i) noted the outcome of the Single Status Job Evaluation Appeals and the notification to the employees concerned and implementation of grade adjustments, where applicable; and

(ii) acknowledged the excellent work of the Appeals Panel Chairs, management and trade union members and support staff in arranging and conducting the appeals.

The Convener agreed that the undernoted item be considered as a matter of urgency in terms of Standing Order No 17(b) in view of the timescales involved.

XIII CONTRIBUTION TO V & A PROJECT LEGAL COSTS

There was submitted Agenda Note AN82-2009 intimating that the V & A Steering Group, which comprised representatives of the City Council, Scottish Enterprise and the two universities, now wished to appoint external legal advisers in order to set up the corporate governance structure necessary to take that project forward. The V & A Steering Group required 20,000 to implement the corporate governance structure, eg company limited by guarantee with charitable status and each of the partners were being requested to commit 5,000.

The Committee approved accordingly.

The Committee resolved under Section 50(A)(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 that the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the undernoted items of business on the grounds that they involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1 and 6 of Part I of Schedule 7A of the Act.

XIV DUNDEE ICE ARENA

Councillors McCready, Duncan and Bailie Scott declared a non-financial interest by virtue of being the Council's representatives on the Board of Dundee Ice Arena.

On a reference to Article XIV of the minute of meeting of this Committee of 27th October, 2008 and, after considering Agenda Note AN80-2009, the Committee approved the recommendation detailed therein.

XV PERSONNEL APPOINTMENTS SUB-COMMITTEE

After considering Agenda Note AN81-2009 the Committee remitted to the Head of Personnel to initiate appropriate measures and agreed that for the purpose of the appointment detailed in the note, the composition of the Sub-Committee be two members of the Labour Group, two members of the SNP Group, one member of the Conservative Group, one member of the Liberal/Democrat Group, the Independent member and the Lord Provost.

Kevin KEENAN, Convener.