Agenda
West Dunbartonshire Council · 20 December 2023
Back to West Dunbartonshire Council — 20 December 2023 and its agenda
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Agenda West Dunbartonshire Council Date: Wednesday, 20 December 2023 ___________________________________________________________________ Time: 16:00 ___________________________________________________________________ Format: Hybrid meeting ___________________________________________________________________ Contact: Carol-Ann Burns, Senior Democratic Services Officer Email: carol-ann.burns@west-dunbarton.gov.uk committee.admin@west-dunbarton.gov.uk Dear Member Please attend a meeting of West Dunbartonshire Council as detailed above. Members will have the option to attend the meeting remotely or in person at the Civic Space, 16 Church Street, Dumbarton. The business is shown on the attached agenda. Yours faithfully PETER HESSETT Chief Executive
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Distribution:- Provost Douglas McAllister Councillor Michelle McGinty Councillor James Bollan Councillor June McKay Councillor Karen Murray Conaghan Councillor John Millar Councillor Ian Dickson Councillor Lawrence O’Neill Councillor Diane Docherty Councillor Lauren Oxley Councillor Craig Edward Councillor Chris Pollock Councillor Gurpreet Singh Johal Councillor Martin Rooney Councillor Daniel Lennie Councillor Gordon Scanlan Councillor David McBride Councillor Hazel Sorrell Councillor Jonathan McColl Councillor Clare Steel Councillor James McElhill Councillor Sophie Traynor Chief Executive Chief Officers Date of issue: 7 December 2023 Audio Streaming Audio recordings of the meeting (including the attendance or contribution of any party participating or making a contribution) will be published on the Council’s website and the Council’s host’s webcast/audio stream platform. You should be aware that the Council is a Data Controller under the General Data Protection Regulation. Data collected during this audio stream will be retained in accordance with the Council’s Privacy Notice* and Retention Schedules including, but not limited to, for the purpose of keeping historical records and making those records available via the Council’s internet site.
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WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL WEDNESDAY, 20 DECEMBER 2023 AGENDA 1 STATEMENT BY CHAIR 2 APOLOGIES 3 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST Members are invited to declare if they have an interest in any of the items of business on the agenda and the reasons for such declarations. 4 RECORDING OF VOTES The Council is asked to agree that all votes taken during the meeting will be done by roll call vote to ensure an accurate record. 5 MINUTE OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS Submit for approval, as correct records, the undernoted Minutes of Meetings of West Dunbartonshire Council:- (a) 25 October 2023 – ordinary meeting; 9 – 13 (b) 8 November 2023 – requisitioned meeting; and 15 – 17 (c) 29 November 2023 – requisitioned meeting. 19 – 21 6 23 – 31 INVERCLYDE COUNCIL AND WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL SHARED SERVICES JOINT COMMITTEE (a) Report by Chief Officer – Regulatory and Regeneration Submit report by the Chief Officer – Regulatory and Regeneration in relation to the future of shared services arrangements between Inverclyde Council and West Dunbartonshire Council and seeking endorsement of the decision of the Shared Services Joint Committee taken on 23 November 2023 to wind up the joint committee and to pursue a different model of joint working. (b)/
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(b) Minutes of Meeting Submit for information, and where necessary ratification, the Minutes of Meeting of the Shared Services Joint Committee held on 23 November 2023. 7 OPEN FORUM The following Open Forum questions have been submitted:- (a) Question from Drew McEoghainn On WDC's recent cuts consultation, why wasn't there an option for people to tick that they wanted a needs based budget? (b) Question from David Smith, UNISON Should West Dunbartonshire elected councillors set a NO CUTS budget, what would happen? (c) Questions from Cara Thom (i) Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) - have published information on Data Poverty and Digital exclusion. They state that reliance on digital increased exponentially during significant national lockdowns and libraries are at the centre of the collaborative effort to ensure no one is left behind in the new digital landscape as envisioned in A Changing Nation: How Scotland will Thrive in a Digital World (2021). 1 in 7 people across Scotland experience data poverty, rising to 1 in 4 in lower income households. 1 in 5 of those experiencing data poverty depended on libraries for access pre-pandemic. Public libraries will continue to offer vital access and ongoing digital support that embrace both the challenges and the opportunities that the digital world presents. Balloch Library was heralded as the best equipped computer suite offering free Wi-Fi outside Glasgow following the £100,000 investment made to the library in 2017. My question is: - Please explain to the community why, in this area of high deprivation, the Council has made the decision to increase Data Poverty and Digital Exclusion by reducing the number of computers available at Balloch Library, once heralded as the best equipped Computer suite outside Glasgow, from 8 to 3? (ii) At present, Balloch Library has a footprint of 270 square metres, but the plans for Balloch School Campus show that the new library will be roughly 50 square metres (not including toilets) formed from the head teacher’s office, part of the nursery teachers' staffroom and the printer room, all of which are necessary to the running of the school/nursery.
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With a reduction of around 80%, this is a tiny amount of space, totally inadequate for a library. We refer to your public service provision policy and say that the council need to demonstrate that such a percentage decrease is justifiable. We believe that there will be a limit to the number of people who can be in the new library space at the same time, which will affect critical community services, like Bookbug, which is not just for a child's early year's development, but social interaction for children and caregivers. My question is:-Regarding Policy PS 1 - Public Service Provision Section 11.4, do you have data on the number of library users and when they attend? (iii) The letter from the Council in October told parents that all renovations would be completed by the beginning of 2024. They were told the library will open early that year. We the community are very worried about the risk to both children and library users. Our concerns include the following: Scottish Government policy gives guidance on the purpose of Spare Capacity within a School. It is there NOT for the purpose of establishing a public facility like a library within a school estate. It is there to ensure that a school has the capacity to fulfil future rises in population, e.g., new housing like the flats being built on the grounds of The Stables Restaurant. The Chief Officer: Citizen, Culture and Facilities quoted Balloch Primary school at the council meeting on the 8 November as operating at 69% capacity. The current number of pupils in Balloch Primary is 301. This equates to an 81% capacity. My question is: - Can you please investigate, and re-assess, the Chief Officer: Citizen, Culture and Facilities' figure of 69% which we believe is based on data from the previous school year and is now out-of-date. 8 33 – 84 CHIEF SOCIAL WORK OFFICER ANNUAL REPORT 2022-23 Submit report by the Head of Children’s Health, Care and Justice Services, (Chief Social Work Officer) providing the Chief Social Work Officer (CSWO) Annual Report for 2022-23 which provides information on the statutory work undertaken on the Council’s behalf, including a summary of governance arrangements, service delivery, resources and workforce. 9/
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9 REVIEW OF POLLING DISTRICTS AND POLLING 85 – 142 PLACES 2023 Submit report by the Chief Officer – Regulatory and Regeneration advising of the response to the consultation on the review of polling districts and polling places and seeking approval of the final polling scheme. 10 GLASGOW CITY REGION CITY DEAL UPDATE AND 143 – 147 EXXON SITE PROJECT Submit report by the Chief Officer – Regulatory and Regeneration seeking approval for the construction agreements with Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Ltd and Network Rail for the Exxon site infrastructure project, and advising of the progress being made on delivering the projects, and the implementation of the Glasgow City Region programme. 11 FINANCIAL UPDATE 149 – 275 (a) Deputation – Cuts to Services The Council is requested to consider whether or not it wishes to receive deputations from UNISON and EIS in connection with the above. (b) Report by Chief Officer – Resources Submit report by the Chief Officer – Resources providing an update on the financial challenges facing the Council, the estimated 2024/25 – 2028/29 revenue budget gaps and presenting the first tranche of saving options for Members’ consideration to help the Council deliver a balanced 2024/25 budget. 12 GENERAL SERVICES BUDGETARY CONTROL REPORT 277 – 341 TO 31 OCTOBER 2023 (PERIOD 7) Submit report by the Chief Officer – Resources providing an update on the General Services revenue budget and the approved capital programme to 31 October 2023. 13 HOUSING REVENUE ACCOUNT BUDGETARY CONTROL 343 – 362 REPORT TO 31 OCTOBER 2023 (PERIOD 7) Submit report by the Chief Officer – Resources providing members with an update on the financial performance to 31 October 2023 (Period 7) of the HRA revenue and capital budgets for 2023/24. 14/
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14 LONG TERM FINANCIAL STRATEGY 363 – 387 Submit report by the Chief Officer – Resources updating the Council’s long term financial strategy which was last updated in October 2021. 15 TREASURY MANAGEMENT MID-YEAR REPORT 389 – 403 2023/24 Submit report by the Chief Officer – Resources providing Members with an update on Treasury Management to 30 September 2023. 16 TREASURY MANAGEMENT ANNUAL REPORT 405 – 419 2022/23 Submit report by the Chief Officer – Resources providing an update on Treasury Management during 2022/23. 17 NON-DOMESTIC RATES EMPTY PROPERTY 421 – 430 RELIEF POLICY Submit report by the Chief Officer – Resources seeking approval of the amended West Dunbartonshire Council Non-Domestic Rates Empty Property Relief Policy. 18 EXTERNAL AUDIT REPORT: ‘BEST VALUE THEMATIC 431 – 465 WORK IN WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL 2022/23’ Submit report by the Chief Executive advising of the outcome of the External Auditor’s Best Value Thematic Review for 2022/23 and providing a summary of the key points arising. 19 WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE HSCP ANNUAL PERFORMANCE 467 – 551 REPORT 2022/23 Submit report by the Head of Strategy and Transformation, West Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) providing an overview of the HSCPs performance in planning and carrying out integrated functions, including a complaints management overview for the year 2022/23. 20/
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20 NOTICE OF MOTION (a) Motion by Councillor Sophie Traynor – Adoption Leave Policy Council recognises the importance of the role that adoptive parents play within West Dunbartonshire. Very few of the children and young people being placed for adoption come from uncomplicated backgrounds. Local authorities have a duty to provide adequate support to adopters to ensure the best possible outcome for both the parents and the young people involved. As a Council we should be leading the way on this and ensuring we are doing everything possible to make this easier for them. Council notes that aspects of the current Adoption Leave Policy for employees is not sufficient enough for prospective adopters. Therefore, Council requests that a report be brought forward to assess the options we can take to make it easier for West Dunbartonshire Council employees during the adoption process.