Approved Minutes of Meeting
West Dunbartonshire Council · 26 April 2023
Back to West Dunbartonshire Council — 26 April 2023 and its agenda
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WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL At a Hybrid Meeting of West Dunbartonshire Council held in the Civic Space, 16 Church Street, Dumbarton on Wednesday, 26 April 2023 at 4.04 p.m. Present: Provost Douglas McAllister and Councillors Jim Bollan, Karen Conaghan, Ian Dickson, Craig Edward*, Gurpreet Singh Johal, Daniel Lennie, David McBride, Jonathan McColl, Michelle McGinty, June McKay, John Millar, Lawrence O’Neill, Lauren Oxley, Chris Pollock, Martin Rooney, Gordon Scanlan, Hazel Sorrell, Clare Steel and Sophie Traynor. *Arrived later in the meeting. Attending: Peter Hessett, Chief Executive; Alan Douglas, Chief Officer – Regulatory and Regeneration (Legal Officer); Laurence Slavin, Chief Officer – Resources and Section 95 Officer; Peter Barry, Chief Officer – Housing and Employability; Beth Culshaw, Chief Officer – West Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership; Amanda Graham, Chief Officer – Citizen, Culture and Facilities; Gail Macfarlane, Chief Officer – Roads and Neighbourhood; Laura Mason, Chief Education Officer; Victoria Rogers, Chief Officer – People and Technology; Angela Wilson, Chief Officer – Supply, Distribution and Property; Michelle Lynn, Assets Co-ordinator; George Hawthorn, Manager – Democratic and Registration Services, and Carol-Ann Burns, Senior Democratic Services Officer. Apologies: Apologies for absence were intimated on behalf of Councillors Diane Docherty and James McElhill. Provost Douglas McAllister in the Chair STATEMENT BY CHAIR Provost McAllister 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.
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RECORDING OF VOTES The Council agreed that all votes taken during the meeting would be done by roll call vote to ensure an accurate record. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS The Minutes of Meetings of West Dunbartonshire Council held on 31 August 2022 (Ordinary) and 29 March 2023 (Ordinary) were submitted and approved as correct records. Council noted that the Minutes of the Meeting held on 31 August 2022 had previously been approved as a correct record by Council at its meeting on 26 October 2022 and that they had been resubmitted for approval to the present meeting in view of the earlier version having omitted the final item of business. With reference to item under the heading ‘Motion by Councillor David McBride – West Dunbartonshire Council calls for the Immediate Release and Return to the UK of Jagtar Singh Johal, on the Basis of His Continued Arbitrary Detention in India’ in the Minutes of the Meeting held on 31 August 2022. Provost McAllister stated that today marked 2,000 days of the imprisonment of Mr Jagtar Singh Johal. The Provost called upon the duty of the British Government and all political parties at Westminster to make proper representations to do whatever it takes to bring Mr Jagtar Singh Johal home and for the media to highlight this plea. The Council agreed with Provost McAllister’s sentiments. URGENT ITEM OF BUSINESS EMERGENCY MOTION BY COUNCILLOR LAWRENCE O’NEILL – CLYDEBANK FOOTBALL CLUB The Provost advised that he had received a request from Councillor O’Neill for the Council to consider an urgent item of business on Clydebank Football Club. Councillor O’Neill relayed the terms of his motion to the Council, and the Provost advised that it would be considered after the final item of business on the agenda. MINUTES OF OTHER COMMITTEES The Minutes of Meetings of the following Committees were submitted and approved as correct records:- (1) Cultural Committee held on 29 June 2022; (2) Community Alliance held on 29 August 2022; and (3) Dumbarton Trust Committee held on 15 March 2023.
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OPEN FORUM The Council noted that no open forum questions had been submitted by members of the public. SHARED SERVICES UPDATE A report was submitted by the Chief Officer – Roads and Neighbourhood in relation to the above. After discussion and having heard the Chief Officer – Roads and Neighbourhood in further explanation and in answer to Members’ questions, the Council agreed:- (1) to note the findings of the Evaluation of Shared Services; (2) to note the Shared Services Joint Committee had agreed the Shared Services Report on 18 April 2023; (3) to approve the proposed dissolution of shared services within Roads and Neighbourhood Services; (4) to approve the implementation date of 1 June 2023 in relation to the Roads and Neighbourhood Services management structure; (5) to note the proposed employee position set out in paragraph 4.2 of the report; and (6) to note that a future report would be presented for consideration in relation to the future delivery options in relation to Internal Audit. Note: Councillor Edward entered the meeting during consideration of this item. NOTICE OF MOTIONS (a) Motion by Councillor David McBride – Utility Companies Protocol for Emergency & Planned Works Councillor McBride moved:- This Council is extremely concerned about the emergency works by utility companies and the effects this has on the traffic on our local road networks. Whilst emergency work by its very nature, is necessary and can have limited planning time, the utility companies need to ensure there is effective management of emergency works so that they can react to traffic congestion throughout the period of the emergency work.
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Cardross Road Dumbarton is a vital artery road which is the only road available for thousands of residents in Dumbarton West to get to and from their home. Over the last three years, there have been at least twelve occasions, where Cardross Road was subject to emergency work by utility companies. The most recent emergency works in February, March and again in April, resulted in traffic chaos. Over the recent Easter holiday weekend, the Scottish Power emergency works, caused gridlock over the busy holiday weekend affecting local residents and holiday traffic. From an elected member perspective, there appears to be limited engagement by utilities, this leads to ineffective traffic management plans and often no flexibility during the work, even when it is perfectly clear the traffic management arrangements are failing. In addition, the utility companies contractors have failed to provide staff for specific traffic management duties. There appears to be no effective communication channels outside of normal working hours, to cater for when utility companies are carrying out emergency or planned works. Given the above the Council agrees the following:- 1. To ask the Chief Officer for Roads & Neighbourhood Services to draft a Road Works Protocol for Traffic Sensitive Locations, in line with the Coordination of Road Works Code of Practice, to be agreed with utilities, when works are proposed in these locations to ensure awareness of responsibilities. 2. This protocol should be applied for any road works which have to be undertaken on our defined traffic sensitive locations and should incorporate protocols for emergency works. 3. The protocol should take into account:- Minimal traffic management proposals, Discussions on how this will work in tandem with traffic lights in nearby junctions etc; Communication channels throughout the works; An assurance that work will take place every day of the traffic management to ensure the length of disruption is minimized; and The protocol should also include the escalation, intervention and enforcement process where Statutory Undertakers fail to deliver agreed mitigation measures to minimise traffic disruption. The motion was unanimously agreed by the Council.
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(b) Motion by Councillor David McBride – Banning of Single use Disposable Vapes Councillor McBride moved:- This Council notes that in the UK, 14 million single use vapes are bought each month and 5.4 million are thrown away each week. It is estimated that in Scotland this would account for around 432 of these. This is an economic issue with 10 tonnes of lithium being discarded each year which is the equivalent to the batteries inside 1,200 electric cars. This is valuable material that is lost which could have instead been recycled. This is also a public health issue as discarded vapes present a leak risk of toxic chemicals and micro plastics which are harmful to children, pets and water systems. Council notes that a number of Scottish Councils have already passed a motion in support of banning the sale of single use vapes. Council further notes that the Scottish Government is working on a refreshed Tobacco Action Plan which will be published in autumn, 2023, which will consider a range of interventions with an emphasis on reducing smoking and vaping among children and young people. In addition, the Scottish Government is carrying out an urgent review on the impact of disposable vapes on our environment in Scotland. Given the above, the Council requests that the Chief Executive writes to the Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater, MSP expressing our support for a ban on the sale of single use vapes and improved recycling of vapes and other Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment by the sector. The motion was unanimously agreed by the Council. (c) Motion by Sophie Traynor – Lyme Disease Council notes that May marks Lyme Councillor Traynor moved:- Disease awareness month. Lyme Disease UK run an annual campaign called “Wake Up To Lyme” to raise awareness for the disease. Lyme Disease is a bacterial infection that is acquired from the bite of an infected tick.
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Referrals for this disease have increased across the world in recent years. Scotland has a high percentage of the UK Lyme referrals, with over 1/4 of the 8000 cases per year being diagnosed here. Council recognises the need to raise awareness and increase education about Lyme Disease. Therefore, this motion calls on the Council to use the resources being offered from charities, such as the Lyme Resource Centre -Scotland, to implement awareness of Lyme Disease and the prevention of ticks into the school curriculum. The motion was unanimously agreed by the Council. (d) Motion by Councillor Clare Steel – Online Surgeries for Elected Members Councillor Steel moved:- This Council agrees that it is important that elected members are accessible to constituents. The traditional method of surgeries has been to book a meeting room in a school, Community Centre, library or other suitable building. Council agrees that this tried and tested method should continue. However, the world has changed significantly since the creation of West Dunbartonshire Council, the way that the public interact with one another has changed and the advances in technology particularly over the past few years has made on-line communications much faster and can be more effective. On-line meetings have a number of advantages, they save in travel time, they cut emissions, they don’t require buildings to be opened or staffed, and they can be quicker to organise and reduce potential risks to elected members. On-Line surgeries could also be advertised on the council website, Facebook and Twitter page at no additional cost. Given the above, the Council agrees that as well as traditional surgeries, there is merit in developing the option for on-line surgeries for elected members. The Council requests that a report be brought to a future meeting for consideration. The motion was unanimously agreed by the Council. (e) Motion by Councillor Karen Conaghan – Dementia Awareness Councillor Conaghan moved:- This Council agrees to mark Dementia Awareness Week which this year will run from the 29th of May until the 4th of June. Council recognises the impact dementia has on the day to day lives of not only the individual themselves, but also the lives of their families and friends.
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Through greater awareness and education it is possible to live well with dementia but finding the right support is crucial. Council therefore agrees to raise awareness by using our social media channels to highlight the ways in which individuals living with dementia and their families can find support, and to communicate how we might all better support those living with dementia. Council recognises the positive links that have previously been made within our communities to assist those living with Dementia and agrees to work with partners to explore what more we can do and in particular the possibility of establishing a dementia friendly community here in West Dunbartonshire. The motion was unanimously agreed by the Council. (f) Motion by Councillor Lauren Oxley – Pride Month Councillor Oxley moved:- Council agrees to mark Pride Month 2023, which begins on the 1st of June. Pride Month is recognised every year by LGBTI people and their allies through various global events that celebrate, support, and empower members of the community. Acknowledges that as well as being a month-long celebration, Pride is also an opportunity to peacefully protest and raise awareness of current issues that are facing the LGBTI community, both at home and abroad. Notes that whilst we have seen significant progress and advancements in LGBTI equality in Scotland over the last 20 years, recent reports have found that a rising number LGBTI people believe that homophobia and transphobia are on the rise, and that biphobia remains a problem. Asks West Dunbartonshire Council to show solidarity with the LGBTI community by recognising Pride Month through the annual flag-raising ceremony, and on our social media channels, highlighting the importance of the month and why we must continue to support our LGBTI family members, friends, colleagues, and constituents. The motion was unanimously agreed by the Council. URGENT ITEM OF BUSINESS EMERGENCY MOTION BY COUNCILLOR LAWRENCE O’NEILL – CLYDEBANK FOOTBALL CLUB Councillor O’Neill moved:-
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Council congratulates and sends best wishes to Clydebank Football Club, based at Holm Park Community Football Academy, who will play in the Indigo Comms West of Scotland Cup Final this coming Friday at Meadow Park, Irvine against Auchinleck Talbot. Council wishes to collectively convey our message of Good Luck to the UCS Directors led by the Chairperson, Grace McGibbon, and the football team, managed by Gordon Moffat and his coaching staff and all the sponsors and supporters of the Bankies. The motion was unanimously agreed by the Council. The meeting closed at 5.05 p.m