Approved Minutes of Meeting
West Dunbartonshire Council · 16 August 2023
Back to Corporate Services Committee — 16 August 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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CORPORATE SERVICES COMMITTEE At a Hybrid Meeting of the Corporate Services Committee held in the Civic Space, 16 Church Street, Dumbarton on Wednesday, 14 August 2023 at 2.00 p.m. Present: Councillors Karen Murray Conaghan, Ian Dickson, Daniel Lennie, David McBride, Jonathan McColl, James McElhill, Michelle McGinty, June McKay, Lawrence O’Neill, Martin Rooney and Clare Steel. Attending: Peter Hessett, Chief Executive; Alan Douglas, Chief Officer – Regulatory and Regeneration; Angela Wilson, Chief Officer – Supply, Distribution and Property; Laurence Slavin, Chief Officer – Resources; Victoria Rogers, Chief Officer – People and Technology; Arun Menon, Business Support Manager; James Gallacher, Service Manager – ICT; Alison McBride, Strategic People and Change Manager; Michelle Lynn, Asset Co- ordinator; Adrian Gray, Finance Business Partner; Lisa MacGregor, People and Change Partner; Leeanne Galasso, People and Change Partner and Ashley MacIntyre and Nicola Moorcroft, Committee Officers. Apology: An apology for absence was intimated on behalf of Councillor Gordon Scanlan. Councillor Daniel Lennie in the Chair STATEMENT BY CHAIR – AUDIO STREAMING Councillor Lennie, Chair, advised that the meeting was being audio streamed and broadcast live to the internet and would be available for playback. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST It was noted that there were no declarations of interest in any of the items of business on the agenda. RECORDING OF VOTES The Committee agreed that all votes taken during the meeting would be carried out by roll call vote to ensure an accurate record. ITEM 5
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MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING The Minutes of Meeting of the Corporate Services Committee held on 24 May 2023 were submitted and approved as a correct record. MINUTES OF JOINT CONSULTATIVE FORUM The Minutes of Meeting of the Joint Consultative Forum held on 8 June 2023 were submitted and all decisions contained therein were approved. OPEN FORUM The Committee noted that no open forum questions had been submitted by members of the public. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) STRATEGY 2023-28 A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – People and Technology setting out the ICT Strategy which provides a framework for the design, sourcing, and delivery of ICT services to support new ways of working and enable service area digital transformation. After discussion and having heard the Manager of ICT in further explanation of the report, the Committee agreed to approve the proposed ICT Strategy 2023-28, Appendix 1 to the report. APPRENTICE REMUNERATION – PROPOSAL A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – People and Technology seeking approval for the proposed change to Apprentice remuneration in line with West Dunbartonshire Council’s commitment as a Scottish Local Government Living Wage (SLGLW) employer. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – People and Technology in further explanation of the report and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed:- (1) to approve a starting rate equivalent to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) of £9.18 applicable to apprentices in year 1 for Levels 2 and 3; (2) to approve incremental progression for Level 3 apprentices over years 2, 3 and 4 (reflected in current Spinal Column Points (SCP) of hourly rates £10.85, £11.41 and £12.76 respectively);
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(3) to note that rates would be reviewed annually in line with the application of the pay award and delegated to the Chief Officer People and Technology in the same manner as other collective bargaining awards; (4) to note variation to apprentice contracts, current (with undernoted exception) and future, to a standard 35 hours per week; (5) to note that to avoid pay detriment, retention of 37 hour working for those currently in year 4 of their training; and (6) to approve the implementation from 1 October 2023 and that the Chief Officer – People and Technology would be authorised to enact. GENDER BASED VIOLENCE POLICY A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – People and Technology providing an update on, and seeking approval for, the new Gender Based Violence Policy. After discussion and having heard the People and Change Partner in further explanation of the report and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed to approve the Gender Based Violence Policy, Appendix 1 to the report. REDUNDANCY PROCEDURE AND GUIDANCE A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – People and Technology providing an update on, and seeking approval for, the new Redundancy Procedure and Guidance. After discussion and having heard the People and Change Partner in further explanation of the report, the Committee agreed to approve the Redundancy Procedure and Guidance, Appendix 1 to the report. UPDATE OF VOLUNTARY GRANTS 2022/23 A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Resources providing an update of the voluntary grants administered and awarded by West Dunbartonshire Community & Volunteering Services (WDCVS) in 2022/23 in respect of Community Chest, Playschemes, Cultural and Social Transport Support Funding Grants on behalf of the Council. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – Resources in further explanation of the report, the Committee agreed:- (1) to note the position of the grants paid out by WDCVS, the Provost’s Fund and the Dumbarton Common Good Fund; and (2) to approve a top-up payment of £2,429.64 to be made to the Provost’s Fund as detailed in paragraph 4.6 of the report.
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GRANT APPLICATION TO DUMBARTON COMMON GOOD A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Resources providing details of one grant application to Dumbarton Common Good for consideration. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – Resources in further explanation of the report and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed:- (1) to approve a grant of £16,250.62 for 2023/24; (2) to approve a grant of £15,000 for 2024/25 and 2025/26 with the award being subject to review in 2026 to consider if the grant should be continued further; and (3) to note that the grant to Food for Thought SCIO would be to cover rental costs for their premises which is located in Dumbarton. CORPORATE SERVICES BUDGETARY CONTROL REPORT TO 30 JUNE 2023 (PERIOD 3) A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Resources advising on the performance of the Corporate Services budget for the period to 30 June 2023. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – Resources in further explanation of the report and in answer to Members’ questions, the Committee agreed:- (1) to note that the revenue account currently shows a projected annual adverse variance of £0.034m (0.1% of the total budget); (2) to note that the capital account shows a projected in-year overspend of £0.011m (0.2% of in-year budget) due to 9 projects showing projected variances as a result of delays to these projects with explanations for delays detailed in Appendices 5 and 6 to the report; and (3) to note that the project life projection shows a projected underspend of £- 0.068m (- 0.53% of project life budget). VALEDICTORY ANGELA WILSON, CHIEF OFFICER – SUPPLY, DISTRIBUTION AND PROPERTY Councillor McGinty, Vice-Chair advised that this was the last meeting of the Corporate Services Committee that Angela Wilson, Chief Officer – Supply, Distribution and Property would be attending as she would be leaving Council service. On behalf of all Members of the Corporate Services Committee, she
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thanked Mrs Wilson for her outstanding service, work and commitment to making West Dunbartonshire a better place to live and wished her well for the future. Councillor Murray Conaghan acknowledging Mrs Wilson’s leadership and professionalism and referred to how much she will be missed by all. Councillor Lennie, Chair concurred with the previous sentiments and acknowledged Mrs Wilson’s approachability, support and help over the years. In response, Mrs Wilson thanked everyone for their kind words and noted thanks to all current and past Members of the Corporate Services Committee for their leadership and support. Mrs Wilson thanked all Members, staff and Trades Unions she has worked with over the years for working together to achieve the best for West Dunbartonshire. The meeting closed at 3.00 p.m.