Agenda Document Pack - Conference Allocation Committee - 11/08/2026
South Lanarkshire Council · 11 August 2026
Back to Conference Allocation Committee — 11 August 2026 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Council Offices, Almada Street Hamilton, ML3 0AA Monday, 03 August 2026 Dear Councillor Conference Allocation Committee The Members listed below are requested to attend a meeting of the above Committee to be held as follows:- Date: Tuesday, 11 August 2026 Time: 09:30 Venue: MS Teams and Committee Room 5, The business to be considered at the meeting is listed overleaf. Yours sincerely Paul Manning Chief Executive Members Gerry Convery (Chair), Gavin Keatt (Depute Chair), Ross Clark, Richard Nelson, Kirsten Robb, David Shearer 1
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BUSINESS 1 Declaration of Interests 2 Minutes of Previous Meeting Minutes of the meeting of the Conference Allocation Committee held on 24 March 2026 submitted for approval as a correct record. (Copy attached) 3 - 4 Item(s) for Decision 3 Elected Member Representation at Conferences, etc Report dated 3 August 2026 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources). (Copy attached) 5 - 6 Item(s) for Noting 4 Representation at Conferences, etc Report dated 9 June 2026 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources). (Copy attached) 7 - 8 Urgent Business 5 Urgent Business Any other items of business which the Chair decides are urgent. For further information, please contact:- Clerk Name: Lynne Wyllie Clerk Telephone: 01698 455361 Clerk Email: lynne.wyllie@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 2
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CONFERENCE ALLOCATION COMMITTEE Minutes of meeting held via MS Teams and in Committee Room 5, Council Offices, Almada Street, Hamilton on 24 March 2026 Chair: Councillor Gerry Convery Councillors Present: Councillor Ross Clark, Councillor Maureen Devlin (Depute), Councillor Kirsten Robb, Councillor David Shearer Councillor’s Apology: Councillor Richard Nelson Attending: Finance and Corporate Resources K McLeod, Administration Assistant 1 Declaration of Interests No interests were declared. 2 Minutes of Previous Meeting The minutes of the meeting of the Conference Allocation Committee held on 28 October 2025 were submitted for approval as a correct record. The Committee decided: that the minutes be approved as a correct record. 3 Elected Member Representation at Conferences, etc A report dated 16 March 2026 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) was submitted providing details of the following conferences which the Council had been invited to attend:- “Youth Engagement in Politics/Navigating Social Media” conference organised by the National Association of Councillors (NAC) to take place in Scarborough between 27 and 29 March 2026 “Next Steps for the Health and Social Care System in Scotland” online conference organised by Scotland Policy Conferences to take place on 18 May 2026 Councillor Clark advised that he would be interested in the outcomes from the “Youth Engagement in Politics/Navigating Social Media” conference. The Committee decided: that the Council be represented by:- Councillor Falconer at the “Youth Engagement in Politics/Navigating Social Media” conference organised by the National Association of Councillors (NAC) to take place in Scarborough between 27 and 29 March 2026 2 3
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Councillors Logan and Walker at the “Next Steps for the Health and Social Care System in Scotland” online conference organised by Scotland Policy Conferences on 18 May 2026 Councillor Shearer joined the meeting during consideration of the above item of business 4 Urgent Business There were no items of urgent business. 4
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Conference Allocation Committee Date of Meeting: 11 August 2026 Report by: Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) Subject: Elected Member Representation at Conferences, etc 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to:- [purpose] provide details on the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) Annual Conference and Exhibition to take place on 19 and 20 November 2026 in St Andrews, which the Council has been invited to attend and to allow elected member representation to be determined 2. Recommendation(s) 2.1. The Committee is asked to:- [recs] (1) approve the nomination of up to 6 delegates to attend the COSLA Annual Conference and Exhibition to take place on 19 and 20 November 2026 in St Andrews. [1recs] 3. Background 3.1. In accordance with procedures for dealing with conferences, etc, details of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) Annual Conference and Exhibition have been issued to the Leaders of the Political Groups. Their comments are available to assist the Conference Allocation Committee with its consideration of this invitation. 3.2. All Business Managers have been asked to nominate delegate(s) from their party to attend this Annual Conference and Exhibition. The cost of attending this conference, which includes one night’s accommodation is £499 per delegate. 4. Employee Implications 4.1. There are no employee implications. 5. Financial Implications 5.1. Delegate fees associated with members’ attendance at conferences can be met from within the existing budget. 5.2. The annual budget for attendance at Conferences and associated travel, subsistence and accommodation is £9,000, actual spend to date is £598 leaving a remaining balance of £8,402. 6. Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Implications 6.1. There are no implications for climate change, sustainability or the environment in terms of the information contained in this report. 3 5
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7. Risk and Other Implications 7.1. Attendance at conferences contributes to individual members’ learning and development profiles. In terms of good governance, it is important that representatives and elected members have the opportunity to attend events which keep them briefed on current developments and reinforce the knowledge and skills required to enable them to fulfil their role. 7.2. There are no other implications in terms of risk or sustainability associated with the content of this report. 8 Integrated Impact Assessment and Consultation Requirements 8.1. There is no requirement to carry out an impact assessment in terms of the proposals contained within this report. 8.2. Other than consultation with the appropriate elected members in terms of the process established for dealing with invitations received to attend conferences and seminars, no formal consultation was required. Jackie Taylor Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) 3 August 2026 Link(s) to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes Accountable, Effective, Efficient and Transparent Previous References ♦ None List of Background Papers ♦ Invitations received in respect of individual conferences, etc Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact:- Lynne Wyllie, Administration Assistant Ext: 5361 (Tel: 01698 455361) E-mail: lynne.wyllie@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 6
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Conference Allocation Committee Date of Meeting: 9 June 2026 Report by: Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) Subject: Representation at Conferences, etc 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to:- [purpose] provide details on the “Local Authority Representatives 2026 Conference” organised by the Church of Scotland on 24 April 2026 in Glasgow, which religious representatives on the Council’s Education Resources Committee had been invited to attend 2. Recommendation(s) 2.1. The Committee is asked to approve the following recommendation(s):- [recs] (1) to note the attendance of Angela Milton at the “Local Authority Representatives 2026 Conference” organised by the Church of Scotland on 24 April 2026 in Glasgow. 3. Background 3.1. The religious representative(s) on the Council’s Education Resources Committee had been invited to attend the above conference. The cost of attending this conference was £40.00 plus VAT. 3.2 Prior notification is normally provided by the Church of Scotland of those representatives who wish to attend this annual conference to allow this Committee to consider attendance. However, due to staffing changes, advance notification was not provided on this occasion. 3.3. Given the nominal fee, and that attendance has been approved in precious years, the cost of the conference has been paid for the attendance of Angela Milton. 4. Employee Implications 4.1. There are no employee implications. 5. Financial Implications 5.1. Delegate fees associated with religious representation attendance at conferences can be met from within the existing budget. 5.2. The annual budget for attendance at Conferences and associated travel, subsistence and accommodation is £9,000, actual spend to date is £598 leaving a remaining balance of £8,402. 4 7
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6. Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Implications 6.1. There are no implications for climate change, sustainability or the environment in terms of the information contained in this report. 7. Risk and Other Implications 7.1. Attendance at conferences contributes to individual members’ learning and development profiles. In terms of good governance, it is important that representatives and elected members have the opportunity to attend events which keep them briefed on current developments and reinforce the knowledge and skills required to enable them to fulfil their role. 7.2. There are no other implications in terms of risk or sustainability associated with the content of this report. 8 Integrated Impact Assessment and Consultation Requirements 8.1. There is no requirement to carry out an impact assessment in terms of the proposals contained within this report. 8.2. Other than consultation with the appropriate elected members in terms of the process established for dealing with invitations received to attend conferences and seminars, no formal consultation was required. Jackie Taylor Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) 9 June 2026 Link(s) to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes Accountable, Effective, Efficient and Transparent Previous References ♦ None List of Background Papers ♦ Invitations received in respect of individual conferences, etc Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact:- Lynne Wyllie, Administration Assistant Ext: 5361 (Tel: 01698 455361) E-mail: lynne.wyllie@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 8