POLICY AND STRATEGY COMMITTEE

TUESDAY 27 APRIL 1999 - 3.00 pm

Present:- Provost Allan, Councillors Calvert, Clocherty, O'Rourke, Jackson, McGhee, Robertson (Y), Mulholland, Sir Simpson Stevenson, Mitchell and Finnie, Councillor Mulholland, Convener, in the Chair.

In Attendance:- The Chief Executive, the Depute Chief Executive, the Executive Director Community and Protective Services, the Executive Director Education Services, the Executive Director Legal, Information and Support Services, the Executive Director Resource Services, the Executive Director Social Work and Housing Services, the Director of Central Services, the Director of Leisure and Recreation, the Director of Personnel Services, the Director of Transportation and Roads, the Chief Consumer Protection and Trading Standards Officer, the Chief Environmental Services Officer and the Head of Property Services.

An apology for absence was intimated on behalf of Councillor Morrison (M).

457 REVENUE BUDGET 1998/99 - MONITORING REPORT: CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S 457

OFFICE

SUBMITTED: Report dated 8 April 1999 by the Executive Director Resource Services on the position of the Revenue Budget 1998/99 for the Chief Executive’s Office as at 3 March 1999.

NOTED

458 REVENUE BUDGET 1998/99 - SUMMARY 458

SUBMITTED: Report dated 14 April 1999 by the Executive Director Resource Services on the position of the Revenue Budget 1998/99 as at 3 March 1999. The report advised that the current projection showed an overall underspend of £382,810, a decrease of £539,470 since the last report to the Committee, detailed the major variances which had resulted in the present position and also indicated that the projected General Fund balance at 31 March 1999 was estimated at £4,700,000.

NOTED

459 CAPITAL PROGRAMME 1998/99 - TECHNICAL PROGRESS 459

SUBMITTED: Report dated 1 April 1999 by the Depute Chief Executive on the technical progress of the Capital Programme 1998/99.

NOTED

460 CAPITAL PROGRAMME 1998/99: FINANCIAL POSITION 460

SUBMITTED: Report dated 1 April 1999 by the Executive Director Resource Services on the financial position of current and proposed projects in both the Non-HRA Capital Programme 1998/99 and the Urban Programme 1998/99.

NOTED

461 NON-HRA CAPITAL PROGRAMME 1998/99 461

SUBMITTED: Report dated 7 April 1999 by the Executive Director Resource Services on the financial position of the Non-HRA Capital Programme 1998/99. The report advised that the latest estimated shortfall in the Capital Allocation for 1998/99 was £325,000, a net decrease of £890,000 since the last report, and was the result of a £950,000 decrease in projected receipts more than offset by approximately £1,800,000 slippage in expenditure. It was reported that the latest projected shortfall was within the Scottish Office overspend limit of £430,000 and that any overspend would be deducted from the Capital Allocation for 1999/2000.

NOTED

462 NON-HRA CAPITAL PROGRAMME 1999/2000 462

SUBMITTED: Reports (a) dated 6 April 1999 by the Executive Director Resource Services on the current position of the Non-HRA Capital Programme 1999/2000 in light of the Capital Allowances which have recently been advised and (b) dated 16 April 1999 by the Chief Executive, with amended appendix, setting out the recommendations of the Corporate Management Team for the Non-HRA Capital Programme 1999/2000 onwards with the aim of ensuring that the Scottish Office overspend limit of £277,000 is not exceeded. In particular, attention was drawn to the fact that the cost of completing the 1998/99 Non-HRA Capital Programme was £3,407,000 in excess of estimated resources available in 1999/2000 and that decisions taken during the 1999/2000 Revenue Budget process together with subsequent decisions approved by the Committee had increased the potential shortfall in resources to £4,089,000 which included no allowance for purchasing vehicles in 1999/2000. The report advised that the Scottish Office had confirmed that legal commitments into 2000/2001 cannot exceed £3,900,000 and that this required to be borne in mind when approving projects which will have a financial impact in 2000/2001. It was noted also that the estimated Revenue Balances which can be utilised to offset actual expenditure above the Allocation after deductions for sums used in establishing the Council Tax for 1999/2000 (£1,233,000) and for provision for severance costs (£1,000,000) were £3,000,000 and that any decision regarding the use of the Balances should take into account the potential impact on Council Tax levels in 2000/2001.

Following discussion, Councillor Mulholland moved:-

(a) That the Executive Director Resource Services be authorised to approach Edinburgh City Council with a view to deferring £1,000,000 of the allocation repayment until 2000/2001;

(b) That the projects listed in Appendix 1 be included in the Capital Programme 1999/2000 onwards;

(i) Gourock Primary School replacement

(ii) Traffic management measures/minor works at North/South Roads, Port Glasgow

(iii) Road/lighting improvements at Victoria Road, Gourock

(iv) Binnie Street Community Education Centre improvement works;

(d) That approval from the Policy and Strategy Committee be obtained before any legal commitments are made in respect of other projects to ensure overall control of the spending programme;

(e) That a report be submitted detailing funding options and timescales for progressing necessary improvement works at Bouverie Burn, Port Glasgow; and

(f) That a report be submitted detailing options for delivering Capital Projects outwith the normal Capital Programme.

As an amendment Councillor Finnie moved that the proposals by the Corporate Management Team set out in the report by the Chief Executive and the amended appendix comprise the Non-HRA Capital Programme 1999/2000 onwards.

On a vote 3 Members voted for the amendment and 8 for the motion which was declared carried.

DECIDED:

(a) That the Executive Director Resource Services be authorised to approach Edinburgh City Council with a view to deferring £1,000,000 of the allocation repayment until 2000/2001;

(b) That the projects listed in Appendix 1 be included in the Capital Programme 1999/2000 onwards;

(i) Gourock Primary School replacement

(ii) Traffic management measures/minor works at North/South Roads, Port Glasgow

(iii) Road/lighting improvements at Victoria Road, Gourock

(iv) Binnie Street Community Education Centre improvement works;

(d) That approval from the Policy and Strategy Committee be obtained before any legal commitments are made in respect of other projects to ensure overall control of the spending programme;

(e) That a report be submitted detailing funding options and timescales for progressing necessary improvement works at Bouverie Burn, Port Glasgow; and

(f) That a report be submitted detailing options for delivering Capital Projects outwith the normal Capital Programme.

463 ADDITIONAL CAPITAL CONSENT FOR AIR QUALITY MONITORING 463

SUBMITTED: Report dated 8 April 1999 by the Executive Director Community and Protective Services advising that the Scottish Office had recently announced that additional capital consent would be made available in 1999/2000 for the specific purpose of purchasing additional air quality equipment and that, following consultation, a joint bid had been prepared on behalf of the participating local authorities in the Central and West Scotland Pollution Control Liaison Group to purchase additional analytical equipment for use by Glasgow Scientific Services at a total cost of £105,000 of which Inverclyde Council’s share would be £4,137.

DECIDED: That approval in principle be given to the submission of a joint bid on the basis outlined in the report for specific capital consent for the purchase of air quality monitoring equipment subject to detailed costs being provided and a further report being submitted to the Committee on the financial implications for the Council.

464 INVERCLYDE REGENERATION PARTNERSHIP 464

SUBMITTED: Report by the Executive Director Community and Protective Services on the Inverclyde Regeneration Partnership’s current programme and activities in response to national policy developments and providing details of all programmes and projects currently funded through the Urban Programme and the proposed budgets for 1999/2000 onwards.

DECIDED:

(a) That the Committee note the redesignation of Inverclyde Regeneration Partnership as a Social Inclusion Partnership with effect from 1 April 1999;

(b) That it be remitted to the Executive Director Community and Protective Services to submit a further progress report to the Committee in particular detailing the implications for the Partnership of the Scottish Office announcement of the new Social Inclusion Partnership Fund; and

(c) That the proposed budgets for Social Inclusion Partnership programmes and projects for 1999/2000 onwards as detailed in Appendices 1 and 2 of the report be approved.

465 GRANTS TO VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS 1999/2000 465

SUBMITTED: Report by the Executive Director Community and Protective Services setting out the recommendations of the Sounding Board on requests from voluntary organisations for grant aid during 1999/2000.

DECIDED:

(a) That the grants to various voluntary organisations as detailed in Appendix 1 of the report totalling £132,269 be approved; and

(b) That it be remitted to the Executive Director Community and Protective Services to submit a report to the Committee in September/October 1999 on proposals for the allocation of funding to voluntary organisations in 2000/2001.

466 PROPOSED INTRODUCTION OF ENFORCEMENT CONCORDAT FOLLOWING 466

CONSULTATION EXERCISE

SUBMITTED: Report dated 12 April 1999 by the Chief Executive advising that no comments had been received in response to the consultation exercise undertaken with the business community and other interested parties relative to the draft Enforcement Concordat considered by the Committee at its meeting on 4 February 1999 (para 177).

DECIDED: That the draft Enforcement Concordat be adopted by Inverclyde Council and made available in Council Offices.

467 RESOLUTION: EXCLUSION OF PUBLIC AND PRESS 467

On the motion of the Convener it was agreed unanimously that, in terms of Section 50(A)(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 as amended, the public and press be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the undernoted items of business on the grounds that consideration of the items involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the respective paragraphs of Part I of Schedule 7(A) of the Act as are set opposite each item:-

Item Paragraph

Ashton Esplanade, Gourock - Repairs to Sea Wall 6

Housing Services - Report by Benefit Fraud Inspectorate -

Staffing Implications 1

468 ASHTON ESPLANADE, GOUROCK - REPAIRS TO SEA WALL 468

SUBMITTED: Report dated 21 April 1999 by the Executive Director Legal, Information & Support Services advising that the Economic Development Services Committee at its meeting on 20 April 1999 had remitted it to the Director of Transportation and Roads in consultation with the Chief Executive and other appropriate Officers to negotiate a price with a contractor to carry out repairs to the damaged sea wall at Ashton Esplanade, Gourock and had requested that the Policy and Strategy Committee approve an additional capital allocation of £100,000 from the Capital Programme 1999/2000 for the works required.

DECIDED: That provision of £100,000 be made in the Capital Programme 1999/2000 for the repairs required to the damaged sea wall at Ashton Esplanade, Gourock.

469 HOUSING SERVICES - REPORT BY BENEFIT FRAUD INSPECTORATE - 469

STAFFING IMPLICATIONS

SUBMITTED: Report dated 26 April 1999 by the Executive Director Legal, Information & Support Services advising that the Corporate Business Committee at its meeting on 22 April 1999 had approved proposed revised staffing arrangements within Housing Services arising from recommendations made by the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate, subject to Trade Union consultation, together with the method of funding these proposals and had remitted it to the Policy and Strategy Committee to accommodate the full year additional costs of £17,181 relative to the posts established to undertake the Verification Framework for consideration as part of the Revenue Budget 2000/2001.

DECIDED: That it be agreed to accommodate the additional costs of £17,181 for consideration as part of the Revenue Budget 2000/2001.