Agendas, reports and minutes

In relation to the agenda and papers circulated for the above Meeting of the Highland Council, please find attached the undernoted which it was indicated would follow:-

AGENDA ITEM 4

Minutes of Meetings of Committees

Black Isle, Dingwall & Seaforth Committee, 13 October
Tourism Committee, 14 October
Wester Ross, Skye & Lochalsh Committee, 15 October

**Caithness Committee, 22 October – 

**Starred Items as follows - 

*Item 5 – Notice of Motion  

(i)‘Caithness Area Committee recognises the fundamental strategic importance of Wick John O’Groats Airport to the economy of the region and the energy, business and tourism sectors in particular. 

Caithness Members confirm their full support for the Public Service Obligation and their commitment to working with stakeholders and partners to deliver this as a matter of urgency. 

Caithness Area Committee further calls on Highland Council to identify financial support to secure the onward sustainability of the Airport.’

*Item 7 – Presentation – Simec Atlantis

(ii)‘Caithness Area Committee recognises that the MeyGen project has positioned Caithness and Scotland as a world leader in the development and deployment of marine energy. The award winning and pioneering project has already produced more tidal stream power than anywhere else in the world, creating highly skilled jobs both direct and throughout the supply chain.
Caithness Members confirm their full support for the development of the project to realise its full potential in terms of tidal energy generating capacity and the establishment of the McCloud Data Centre creating an integrated subsea, terrestrial, data centre and renewables project to provide Scotland with world class digital infrastructure and the necessary tools to attract Hyperscale availability zone requirements.
Caithness Area Committee further calls on Highland Council to lobby the support of the UK Government for a 100MW minima for tidal energy in the next CFD auction round’.

AGENDA ITEM 8

Question Time                                                                                              

There are circulated Questions/Responses which it was indicated would follow:-

(i)Mr A Baxter

To the Leader of the Council

‘What assurance can you give Elected Members, and the residents they represent, that the Highland Council will never again employ a consultant, or any other employee, on a salary or fee equivalent to £100,000 more than the £150,000 approximately (index linked equivalent) that is currently paid to the Prime Minister, the First Minister of Scotland or the Council's own Chief Executive?’

The response is circulated

Mr Baxter will be entitled to ask a supplementary question which will be answered by the Leader.

(ii)Mr A Baxter

To the Leader of the Council 

‘What assurance can you give that in future any severance packages intended to be paid to exiting staff members from the Highland Council valued above £75,000 are first disclosed to all Elected Members of the Highland Council, before they are published and printed in the publicly available annual accounts?’

The response is circulated

Mr Baxter will be entitled to ask a supplementary question which will be answered by the Leader.

(iii)Mr A Baxter

To the Leader of the Council    

‘To which Ministers within the Scottish or UK Government have you written to since the last meeting of the Council on 10th September 2020, when did you write and what was the topic of each correspondence?’

The response is circulated

Mr Baxter will be entitled to ask a supplementary question which will be answered by the Leader.

(iv)Mr A Baxter

To the Leader of the Council

‘In response to Councillor Mackie on 30th July, you stated that further enquiries would be made as to why the Council had not used the Furlough Scheme. Will you publish the details of the enquiries you made and the additional information you indicated would be provided to Members?’

The response is circulated

Mr Baxter will be entitled to ask a supplementary question which will be answered by the Leader.

(v)Mr A Baxter

To the Chair of the Corporate Resources Committee  

‘What was the outcome of the discussion between you and the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Audit and Scrutiny Committee as outlined on Page 131 of the Council Minutes and when will this report come to Full Council for consideration?’

The response is circulated

Mr Baxter will be entitled to ask a supplementary question which will be answered by the Chair of the Corporate Resources Committee.

(vi)Mr A Baxter

To the Chair of the Corporate Resources Committee

‘How many staff have been employed through the Transformation Change Fund, how many in each grade band and what is the total employment cost to the Council?’

The response is circulated

Mr Baxter will be entitled to ask a supplementary question which will be answered by the Chair of the Corporate Resources Committee.

(vii)Mr A Baxter

To the Chair of the Corporate Resources Committee

‘When will Members receive the detailed information on severance payments to Senior Management detailed in the Annual Accounts, as you promised at the meeting of your Committee on 20th August 2020?’

The response is circulated

Mr Baxter will be entitled to ask a supplementary question which will be answered by the Chair of the Corporate Resources Committee. 

(viii)Mr A Baxter

To the Leader of the Council

‘How many non-disclosure agreements have been entered into with staff recruitment agencies in each of the last five financial years and what is the total contract value relating to those agreements?’

The response is circulated

Mr Baxter will be entitled to ask a supplementary question which will be answered by the Leader. 

(ix)Mr D Macpherson

To the Chair of the Corporate Resources Committee

‘At the September Full Council Meeting, I asked a question regarding the total number of staff employed by the Highland Council and I also asked for a breakdown of the number of employees by each Executive Chief Officer (E.C.O) department. 
You stated in your reply to my question that, “The E.C.O Service employee breakdown will follow”. Do you have that breakdown in staffing numbers yet and can you share that information now with Elected Members? 
I also asked in my reply to you, “What is the ideal target number of Highland Council employees required to carry out all of the Council Services effectively?” 
As you were not in a position to answer that question on the day of the last Full Council meeting on September 10th, can you please answer that question today?’

The response is circulated

Mr Macpherson will be entitled to ask a supplementary question which will be answered by the Chair of the Corporate Resources Committee. 

(x)Mr D Macpherson

To the Leader of the Council  

‘Commitment to review the workings of all public CCTV under the executive powers or jurisdiction of Highland Council for Inverness and throughout the Highlands. 
Can you please give a commitment that a full review will take place of the workings of all CCTV cameras and their recordings in Inverness and throughout other Highland towns to ensure that they are working correctly and are being maintained effectively, to give public confidence in preventing crime and helping Police Scotland Officers to solve crimes committed in these places. 
And can you provide regular up-to-date information regarding the switch over from the obsolete analogue (black & white picture equipment), to the modern digital (colour picture equipment with zoom facilities), including those working and non-working of the CCTV cameras, to Elected Ward Members and can the review include the staffing levels and the times that the camera control rooms are being staffed and non-staffed in these locations, so that there can be no repeat of certain CCTV cameras being out of service with blackout spots for months and sometimes years on end, without local Ward Councillors being made aware of this concerning situation?’

The response is circulated

Mr Macpherson will be entitled to ask a supplementary question which will be answered by the Leader.

(xi)Mr D Macpherson

To the Leader of the Council   

‘Regarding future Community Council Elections across Highland: 
Can you give an assurance that your stated commitment and the Highland Council’s stated commitment to ‘Localism’ is fully met. 
Allowing the several Community Councils in abeyance and all the many vacant Community Councillor posts to be effectively advertised, (including on lamppost posters and across the broad range of media and social media channels available today, as currently happens in other Scottish local authorities). 
In so doing the Highland Council will be promoting and encouraging participation by the broadest cross-section of citizens, including a complete range of ages (from 16+ years) and all demographics of people in their communities, to participate in local decision making and thereby helping to better shape developments and improvements to their local areas, and only then will the Highland Council be able to demonstrate a genuine reinforcing of its stated desire for ‘Localism’ and to greater community participation in decisions affecting each community’s local environment.’

The response is circulated
Mr Macpherson will be entitled to ask a supplementary question which will be answered by the Leader. 

(xii)Mr A Graham

To the Chair of the Economy and Infrastructure Committee

‘In the 2019-20 financial year, how many Residents Permits,  Residents Visitor Permits, Business Permits, and Business Visitor Permits were sold, what was the full annual charge for each of these, and what was the total income earned In the year? - please provide information for each area e.g. Inverness , Lochaber etc’

The response is circulated

Mr Graham will be entitled to ask a supplementary question which will be answered by the Chair of the Economy and Infrastructure Committee. 

(xiii)Mr C Fraser 

To the Chair of the Housing & Property Committee 

‘The Scottish Government are bringing in fire, heat, smoke and carbon monoxide alarm legislation in response to the Grenfell Tower disaster. By February 2021, all homes in Scotland must have these alarms in their properties.  What process is planned to make sure our social housing estate meets this new legislation?’

The response is circulated

Mr Fraser will be entitled to ask a supplementary question which will be answered by the Chair of the Housing & Property Committee.

(xiv)Ms E Roddick

To the Leader of the Council

‘Do you think it is appropriate that meetings about local resilience and third sector COVID response have gone ahead between yourself, Area Chairs and registered community groups without the knowledge and inclusion of other Councillors?’

The response is circulated

Ms Roddick will be entitled to ask a supplementary question which will be answered by the Leader.

(xv)Mr B Boyd

To the Leader of the Council

‘Can you please provide an up-to-date status of the project known as “The Gathering Place”, in Inverness, with particular reference to spend-to-date on the project, which budget is paying for it, what the anticipated final total spend on the project will be and the date for completion?’

The response is circulated

Mr Boyd will be entitled to ask a supplementary question which will be answered by the Leader.

(xvi)Mr D Louden

To the Leader of the Council

You have been requested on a number of occasions at the Climate Change Panel to write to OFGEM to request a meeting to discuss a range of issues affecting the Highlands. Have you drafted and sent the letter to OFGEM and if not can you send one like this in the next four weeks? 

The response is circulated

Mr Louden will be entitled to ask a supplementary question which will be answered by the Leader.

(xvii)Mr A Jarvie

To the Leader of the Council 

‘At the last Council meeting during the debate on the Depute Chief Executive post recruitment, you accused my Group of lacking respect. A point further reiterated by yourself on BBC Radio Scotland. Can I ask where the respect for Members was when this post was advertised without our knowledge?’

The response is circulated

Mr Jarvie will be entitled to ask a supplementary question which will be answered by the Leader.

(xviii)Mr A Jarvie

To the Chair of the Education Committee

‘At the City of Inverness Area Committee on 27 July, I asked for a copy of the ASN allocations by school and had not received it by the 30 September Education Committee when I asked again. I was latterly sent an email in which an Officer stated this couldn’t currently be provided as the relevant Officers are on leave. Is this Council deliberately dodging the release of this information, or are the data systems and/or policy so ineffective that they hinder staff in doing their jobs or an Officer being on leave means that no one can get essential and basic information?’

The response is circulated

Mr Jarvie will be entitled to ask a supplementary question which will be answered by the Chair of the Education Committee.

(xix)Mr A Jarvie

To the Chair of the Corporate Resources Committee

‘At the 30 July Full Council, all of the financial returns as submitted to CoSLA were agreed to be released but this information is still not forthcoming. What is the reason for this delay and just when will Members have that information?’

The response is circulated

Mr Jarvie will be entitled to ask a supplementary question which will be answered by the Chair of the Corporate Resources Committee.  

AGENDA ITEM 9

Notices of Motion – Financial Impact Assessments

Members are advised that the Executive Chief Officer, Resources & Finance, has confirmed that there are no financial implications arising from any of the Notices of Motion which were detailed on the agenda circulated on 19 October.  
  
Stewart Fraser
Head of Corporate Governance