Agendas, reports and minutes

25. Notices of Motion  
Brathan Gluasaid

The following Notices of Motion had been received in accordance with Standing Order 10.1 – 

(i) ‘School Estate Investment - 

The Highland Council notes that the School Condition Survey currently categorises 78 Highland schools as being in ‘poor’ condition whilst the condition of only 24 is described as ‘good’ and further notes that 8 primary schools in Inverness are currently capped due to a lack of capacity.

The Council believes that a good physical environment is critical to a successful learning experience and therefore agrees to prioritise the condition and capacity of the Highland school estate when determining its upcoming capital budget’.

Signed:  Ms M Smith, Dr I Cockburn, Mr D Louden, Ms E Knox, Mrs M Cockburn, Mrs L MacDonald and Mrs P Munro.

Prior to discussion, an Amendment was tabled at the meeting from Mr A Christie which read as follows – ‘The Highland Council notes that the School Condition Survey currently categorises 78 Highland schools as being in ‘poor’ condition whilst the condition of only 24 is described as ‘good’ and further notes that 8 primary schools in Inverness are currently capped due to a lack of capacity.

The Council believes that a good physical environment is critical to a successful learning experience and therefore agrees to priorities the condition and capacity of the Highland school estate when determining its upcoming education capital budget.

Highland Council calls upon the Scottish Government to recognise the unique challenges facing the Highland Council in providing, maintaining and sustaining school buildings often in areas of sparse population, in villages and towns that are remote geographically as well as addressing capacity pressures in other schools. Recognition by the Scottish Government of these challenges through increasing our Capital Grant Allocation would allow the Council to start to build or renovate community schools immediately and allow us to meet the educational aspirations of our children, parents and staff. To this end, Council instructs the Chief Executive to arrange an early meeting with the relevant Scottish Government Ministers to discuss our demand for special recognition.’               

During discussion, Members raised the following issues:-

• specifically in relation to the Amendment which had been tabled, it was suggested that it was not appropriate to change the reference to the ‘upcoming capital budget’ to the ‘upcoming education capital budget’ as this was a strategic issue and should be discussed and debated as such;
• it was imperative that additional funds were directed towards the construction and maintenance of school buildings in the Highlands and in this regard it was again suggested that consideration should be given to modular units wherever possible;
• there was an urgent need to address issues connected to the condition of rural schools as a considerable number had been classified as being of a poor standard in terms of the fabric of buildings;
• the potential impact on the learning experiences of pupils across the Highland area on a daily basis was a matter of ongoing concern;
• ensuring the safety of pupils in school buildings had to be paramount in all future discussions on this issue;
• there was a need to recognise the vital links between new housing developments and schools in the Highlands;
• the tabled Amendment had proposed consideration as part of the upcoming education capital budget because it had been felt that this was the correct route for discussion prior to submission to the full Council as part of the wider budget process;
• whilst accepting that urgent action was required on this issue, it should also be noted that twelve new schools had already been delivered in the Highland area in recent years and a number of other buildings were currently undergoing renovation;
• a more appropriate way forward for the Council might be to seek further discussions with the Scottish Government on this issue, including reference to the unique circumstances across the Highlands and perhaps involving all political Group Leaders, as this was likely to be more successful in the long term;
• whilst it was accepted that rural schools were in a poor condition, it had to be highlighted that this was not just a rural problem;
• there had been a consistent pattern across many years of not prioritising the school estate in the Highlands and this had led to many of the problems which were currently being encountered;
• discussion on the issues raised should also be undertaken with CoSLA (as well as the Scottish Government); and
• •there was a need to change the tone and emphasis of the wording in the tabled Amendment (specifically by deleting the second sentence from within the third paragraph and also  replacing the word ‘demand’ with ‘request’ in the last line) prior to discussions being undertaken with CoSLA and the Scottish Government.               

Decision

The Council AGREED the following amended Notice of Motion:-

The Highland Council notes that the School Condition Survey currently categorises 78 Highland schools as being in ‘poor’ condition whilst the condition of only 24 is described as ‘good’ and further notes that 8 primary schools in Inverness are currently capped due to a lack of capacity.

The Council believes that a good physical environment is critical to a successful learning experience and therefore agrees to prioritise the condition and capacity of the Highland school estate when determining its upcoming education capital budget.

Highland Council calls upon the Scottish Government to recognise the unique challenges facing the Highland Council in providing, maintaining and sustaining school buildings often in areas of sparse population, in villages and town that are remote geographically as well as addressing capacity pressures in other schools. To this end, the Council instructs the Chief Executive to arrange an early meeting with the relevant Scottish Government Ministers to discuss our request for special recognition.

(ii) ‘Highland Council is appalled at the circumstances surrounding the future proposed closure of the Inverness Control Room, a facility that has stood the test of time and countless emergencies with distinction. The statement that all the jobs are secure is now in doubt and the promises to bring additional jobs to Highland in a National Database Enquiry Unit are proving false.

The Council and the Highland public demands answers regarding when the decision to recommend to the Scottish Police Authority to remove jobs from Inverness to the Central Belt/Govan was made and by whom.

Repeated representations have proved futile so we ask that we now write to the First Minister and make clear how betrayed we feel with the ongoing centralisation of services away from Highland’.

Signed: Mrs M Davidson, Mr A Baxter 

During discussion, Members raised the following issues:-

• promises had been made in 2014 that additional jobs would be brought to the Highlands through the National Database Enquiry Unit but it was now understood that this would not happen and this was completely unacceptable;
• there was real concern about the potential loss of local knowledge and the fact that the Council had not been consulted on or involved in the decision to recommend the removal of jobs from Inverness to the Central Belt/Govan;
• despite having asked for information on the Business Appraisal, the Leader of the Council had had to submit a Freedom of Information application to receive this information which again was considered unacceptable;
• there was now no confidence in the decision making which had let to this situation;
• the Leader of the Council had already written to all members of the Police Board and was now seeking the consent of the Council to write also to the First Minister to make clear the concerns over this situation;
• as well as the broken promises to the Council, it was felt that this was another example of centralisation of Police Scotland which could potentially involve a risk to life as well as the issues of lack of local knowledge and the loss of local jobs in the future;
• reference was made to the excellent service provided by the staff in the Inverness Control Room despite this team having had to operate with a vacancy rate of almost 25% over recent months;
• the new proposals would see call handlers having to issue a much longer list of questions in future due to a lack of knowledge of local geography and this did not represent an improved quality of service; and
• there was a need for full and detailed information on when and where the original business case from 2014 (which had promised that the National Database Enquiry Unit would be based in Inverness) had been changed. 

Decision

The Council AGREED the terms of the Notice of Motion as detailed.

(iii) ‘Highland Council acknowledges that congestion on the A82, as it passes through Fort William, has reached a point where it is causing unacceptable delays for all road users. Highland Council acknowledges that the economic impact and wider inconvenience caused by the current situation is unacceptable and needs urgent action.

Highland Council urges Transport Scotland to bring forward the proposed Strategic Transport Appraisal of the wider Fort William area. Highland Council will write to the Transport Minister to provide an update on the current position and urge that the appraisal is carried out as a priority.

Concurrent to the appraisal process, short term measures must be investigated and executed by Transport Scotland to bring immediate relief.

The involvement of Elected representatives from the Lochaber area, alongside officials from Transport Scotland and BEAR Scotland, are vital as part of this process’.

Signed: Mr N McLean, Mr A Baxter and Ms M Smith

During discussion, Members raised the following issues:-

• •it had to be recognised that there were many issues associated with congestion/gridlock on the A82 which were severely impacting those who lived and worked in Fort William and the surrounding area;
• •the support of the Scottish Government Minister for Transport and the Islands on this issue, and particularly in relation to the Strategic Transport Appraisal,  was welcomed and appreciated;
• •all Lochaber Members were in support of the terms of this Notice of Motion which addressed a longstanding issue in the area;
• •the current situation was also affecting local businesses in the area and this was a particular concern in terms of the potential impact on future investment in the area; and
• •it was suggested that the wording of the Notice of Motion should be amended to read ‘write again’ to the Transport Minister to provide an update on the current position and urge that the appraisal be carried out as a priority.

Decision

The Council AGREED the terms of the Notice of Motion – with the amendment to the wording to read ‘write again’ to the Transport Minister as detailed.

(iv) ‘Highland Mental Health Services - 

The Highland Council notes with concern recent restrictions on admissions to New Craigs Hospital following “extreme staffing pressures” and further notes concerning feedback at the provision of emergency psychiatric services in the Highlands.

The Council agrees that the Leader invites representatives of NHS Highland, mental health support groups, and interested Members to meet to discuss the future of these vital mental health services’.

Signed: Mr R Laird, Mrs M Cockburn, Ms M Smith

In this regard, there had also been circulated Joint Letter dated 30 August 2017 from the General Manager and Associate Medical Director (Mental Health, NHS Highland.

At this point, Mr Laird shared his own experience and also the personal experiences of two other individuals which were both powerful and distressing in that they highlighted very concerning issues about the current provision of emergency psychiatric services in the Highlands. 

Specifically, examples were given of individuals suffering from serious mental health issues who had been discharged from New Craigs Hospital and effectively left to their own devices and there was real concern in terms of how many other similar cases currently existed in the Highland area. 

As such, it was imperative that a meeting was convened with representatives of NHS Highland to discuss this as a matter of urgency. Ultimately, the aim would be to ensure that in future mental health was treated on the same basis and with the same esteem as physical health.                        

During discussion, Members also raised the following issues:-

• there was currently a high level of anxiety and concern amongst both staff and patients at New Craigs Hospital in relation to the ongoing redesign of mental health services and this had to be brought to the attention of the NHS Highland Board;
• it was imperative that access to help and appropriate services was given the highest priority and made easier than at present for those individuals with mental health issues;
• in terms of the proposed meeting as detailed in the Notice of Motion, it was suggested that the Highland Users Group (HUG) should also be invited to attend in light of the importance of user experiences being highlighted;
• the sharing of personal experience was extremely powerful and the unanimous thanks of all Members in the Chamber was conveyed to Mr Laird for raising this issue;
• there were very many people who currently suffered in silence with mental health issues and by raising this issue at a public level it was hoped that they might now feel able to come forward to receive the help that they needed and deserved;
• this debate had highlighted that there were many people who had reached a ‘point of crisis’ before being able to access help and this was not acceptable; and
• in terms of the need to focus on intervention measures at a much earlier stage, there was a role for a number of agencies across the Highland area and this should be pursued whenever and wherever possible.               

Decision

The Council AGREED the terms of the Notice of Motion as detailed – with the addition that representatives of the Highland Users Group (HUG) would also be invited to attend the meeting.

26. Deeds Executed
Sgrìobhainnean Lagha a Bhuilicheadh

It was NOTED that a list of deeds and other documents executed on behalf of the Council since the meeting held on 29 June 2017 was available in the Members’ Library and on the Council’s Website.

The meeting ended at 5.50pm.