Agenda Document Pack - Audit and Scrutiny Committee - 14/04/2026

North Ayrshire Council · 14 April 2026
Back to Audit and Scrutiny Committee — 14 April 2026 and its agenda

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North Ayrshire Council, Cunninghame House, Irvine KA12 8EE
Audit and Scrutiny Committee
A Special Meeting of the Audit and Scrutiny Committee of North Ayrshire Council
will be held in the Council Chambers, Ground Floor, Cunninghame House, Irvine,
KA12 8EE on Tuesday, 14 April 2026 at 10:00 to consider the undernoted business.
Meeting Arrangements - Hybrid Meetings
This meeting will be held on a predominantly physical basis but with
provision, by prior notification, for remote attendance by Elected
Members in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government
(Scotland) Act 2003.  Where possible, the meeting will be live-streamed
and available to view at https://north-ayrshire.public-
i.tv/core/portal/home. 
1 Declarations of Interest
Members are requested to give notice of any declarations of interest in
respect of items of business on the Agenda.
2 Call In: Additional Bank Holiday
Submit report by the Head of Democratic Services to consider a call-in
request in respect of the decision taken by Cabinet at its meeting on 17
March 2026 to approve the additional bank holiday for all employees on
Monday 15 June 2026 and authorise the Head of Education to write to
the Scottish Government to obtain approval for one less teaching day
(copy enclosed).
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North Ayrshire Council, Cunninghame House, Irvine KA12 8EE
Webcasting
Please note: this meeting may be filmed/recorded/live-streamed to the
Council's internet site and available to view at https://north-ayrshire.public-
i.tv/core/portal/home, where it will be capable of repeated viewing.  At the
start of the meeting, the Provost/Chair will confirm if all or part of the
meeting is being filmed/recorded/live-streamed.
You should be aware that the Council is a Data Controller under the Data
Protection Act 2018.  Data collected during the webcast will be retained in
accordance with the Council’s published policy, including, but not limited
to, for the purpose of keeping historical records and making those records
available via the Council’s internet site.
Generally, the press and public will not be filmed. However, by entering the
Council Chambers and using the press or public seating area, you
acknowledge that you may be filmed and that any information pertaining to
you contained in the video and oral recording of the meeting will be used
for webcasting or training purposes and for the purpose of keeping
historical records and making those records available to the public. In
making this use of your information the Council is processing data which is
necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest.
If you have any queries regarding this and, in particular, if you believe
that use and/or storage of any particular information would cause, or be
likely to cause, substantial damage or distress to any individual, please
contact dataprotectionofficer@north-ayrshire.gov.uk
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North Ayrshire Council, Cunninghame House, Irvine KA12 8EE
Audit and Scrutiny Committee Sederunt
John Bell (Chair)
Donald Reid (Vice Chair)
Cameron Inglis
Shaun Macaulay
Tom Marshall
Matthew McLean
Davina McTiernan
Donald L. Reid
John Sweeney
Chair:
Apologies:
Attending:
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NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL 
14 April 2026 
Audit and Scrutiny Committee 
Title:    Call In: Additional Bank Holiday 
Purpose:  To allow the Committee to consider a call-in request in respect
of the decision taken by Cabinet at its meeting on 17 March
2026 to approve the additional bank holiday for all employees on
Monday 15 June 2026 and authorise the Head of Education to
write to the Scottish Government to obtain approval for one less
teaching day. 
Recommendation:  That the Committee considers the terms of the call-in and agrees,
or otherwise, to make a recommendation to Cabinet. 
1. Executive Summary 
1.1    In terms of the Scheme of Administration (Section 5), the Audit and Scrutiny Committee
has a remit to consider call-in requests and invite at least one of the Members who has
requested the reference to call-in to attend the Committee to explain the request. 
1.2 This report sets out the background to a call-in request in respect of the decision
taken by Cabinet at its meeting on 17 March 2026 in relation to the report on the
approval of an additional bank holiday for all employees on Monday 15 June 2026. 
2. Background 
2.1 The Cabinet, at its meeting on 17 March 2026, considered a report on the approval of
an additional bank holiday for all employees on Monday 15 June 2026. 
2.2 A request was received in terms of the call-in procedure set out in the Council's
Scheme of Administration and Standing Orders, that the Audit and Scrutiny
Committee examine the decision taken by the Cabinet. 
2.3 The call-in request, which was signed by Councillors Stalker, Gallacher and Murdoch
is in the following terms: - 
Reason for call-in 
“The cost: the report highlights that the cost of the bank holiday to the Council will
be £73,000 in overtime which could potentially rise if staff take the bank holiday
at another time which would require a backfill. Furthermore, productivity costings
show that the bank holiday will cost the council £1.2m in loss of productivity from
Agenda Item 2
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staff not working. At a time when we are asking residents in North Ayrshire to pay
more council tax (8.5% rise for 26/27) we should be prioritising spending money
on services to do those jobs, not a bank holiday that is not necessary.
The necessity of the holiday: The game will kick off at 2am on the 14th of June
which is a Sunday morning. This gives staff members ample time to have all day
to rest and be ready for work on the Monday morning. This shows that the bank
holiday is not necessary for staff to enjoy the game with family, when this can be
done the day before Monday.”
Desired Outcome
“For the bank holiday not to go ahead.”
2.4 A copy of the original report presented to Cabinet on 17 March 2026 is attached as
Appendix 1 to this report. A briefing note has been provided by the Head of Service
People & ICT and is attached at Appendix 2.
2.5 The call-in request is valid for consideration by the Committee. The request was
received within the appropriate timescale, it was requested by three Elected Members
and details were provided on both the reason for the call-in and the desired outcome.
2.6 The Elected Members who have submitted the call-in will be invited to address the
Committee to explain the respective call-in request. The appropriate Cabinet Member
will then be invited to clarify the reasons for the decision. The relevant senior officer
will also be present to provide information on the report presented to Cabinet and on
issues raised by the call-in received. The Committee will have an opportunity to ask
questions of both parties and of those officers in attendance.
2.7 The Committee will then debate the call-in request and decide whether or not it agrees
with the decision of the Cabinet.
2.8 The Audit and Scrutiny Committee:-
i) decides if it agrees or not with the decision of the Cabinet; and
ii) if it does not agree with the decision, considers what alternative action the
Committee would recommend to the Cabinet.
2.9 If the Committee supports the decision of Cabinet and does not accept the call-in, the
original decision of Cabinet remains in effect and no further procedure is required.
2.10 If the Committee accepts the call-in, the matter is referred to Cabinet with a
recommendation. When the matter is considered by the Cabinet, the Chairperson or
another member of the Audit and Scrutiny Committee will have the right to attend the
Cabinet and speak in support of any recommendation.
2.11 In the event that Cabinet declines to accept the recommendation from the Audit and
Scrutiny Committee, the matter will be referred to Council for determination. The
decision of the Council will be final.
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3. Proposals 
3.1 It is proposed that the Committee considers the call-in request. 
4. Implications/Socio-economic Duty 
Financial 
4.1 The financial implications are outlined in the Additional Bank Holiday report attached
at Appendix 1. 
Human Resources 
4.2 The human resource implications are outlined in the Additional Bank Holiday report
attached at Appendix 1. 
Legal 
4.3 The legal implications are outlined in the Additional Bank Holiday report attached at
Appendix 1. 
Equality/Socio-economic 
4.4 The equality/social-economic implications are outlined in the Additional Bank Holiday
report attached at Appendix 1. 
Climate Change and Carbon 
4.5 The climate change and carbon implications are outlined in the Additional Bank
Holiday report attached at Appendix 1. 
Key Priorities 
4.6 The key priorities are outlined in the Additional Bank Holiday report attached at
Appendix 1. 
Community Wealth Building 
4.7 Any community wealth building implications are outlined in the Additional Bank
Holiday report attached at Appendix 1. 
Islands Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) 
4.8 Any ICIA implications are outlined in the Additional Bank Holiday report attached at
Appendix 1. 
United Nations Rights of the Child (UNCRC) 
4.9 Any UNCRC implications are outlined in the Additional Bank Holiday report attached
at Appendix 1. 
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Consumer Duty 
4.10 Any consumer duty implications are outlined in the Additional Bank Holiday report
attached at Appendix 1. 
5. Consultation 
5.1 None concerning this report. 
Craig Hatton
Chief Executive 
For further information please contact Shannon Wilson, Committee Services Officer, on
shannonwilson@north-ayrshire.gov.uk. 
Background Papers 
N/A
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NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL
17 March 2026
Cabinet
Title: Additional Bank Holiday
Purpose: To provide information on the additional bank holiday proposed
by Scottish Government and approved by royal proclamation for
the World Cup.
Recommendation: That Cabinet approves the additional bank holiday for all
employees on Monday 15 June 2026 and authorises the Head
of Education to write to the Scottish Government to obtain
approval for one less teaching day.
1. Executive Summary
1.1 The Scottish Government has announced that Monday 15th June 2026 will be an
additional bank holiday to mark Scotland’s participation in the men’s football World Cup.
His Majesty King Charles has approved this by Royal Proclamation.
2. Background
2.1 North Ayrshire Council has already agreed the local holidays and school term time
calendar for 2026. To amend the school term time calendar, permission must be
sought from Scottish Government as one less teaching day will be provided in the
school term 2025/26.
2.2 The provision of an additional bank holiday will result in additional costs for services
which are required to operate on Monday 15th June 2026.
2.3 Similar to previously agreed additional bank holidays (e.g. the Coronation) where
employees are required to work on this day, costs for additional overtime/backfill costs
will be required to be paid from service revenue budgets. Based on overtime paid on
the Coronation holiday it is anticipated that the costs across the Council for overtime
will be around £73,000, this does not include backfill costs associated with employees
taking the compensatory day at another time.
2.4 The indirect cost is that the Council will continue to pay salaries to employees who are
not at work. This will have an impact on the overall efficiency of the Council and may
result in an increase in wait times as teams will have workload to catch up on from an
additional day off.
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2.5  It is anticipated that the additional day off will have a positive impact on morale and
allow families to enjoy the celebrations associated with the World Cup. 
3. Proposals 
3.1 That Cabinet:
a) Approves the additional bank holiday for all employees on Monday 15th June 2026.
b) Authorises the Head of Service (Education) to write to the Scottish Government to
obtain approval for one less teaching day.
c) Acknowledges that if the additional bank holiday is agreed, the main Council buildings
and Schools will be closed and where employees are required to work on the day,
enhanced rates will be received as per our Terms and Conditions of Employment. 
4. Implications/Socio-economic Duty 
Financial 
4.1 It is anticipated that the additional bank holiday would cost approximately £73,000. 
These indicative costs are based on the enhanced overtime rates on the Coronation
holiday in 2023.   
Human Resources 
4.2 Communications to employees will be issued to ensure that there is awareness of the
additional bank holiday and the change to the Term time calendar for 2026 only. 
Legal 
4.3 Permission should be sought from the Scottish Government by the Head of Education
for an additional school closure day. 
Equality/Socio-economic 
4.4 None. 
Climate Change and Carbon 
4.5 None. 
Key Priorities 
4.6 None. 
Community Wealth Building 
4.7 None. 
Islands Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) 
4.8 None. 
United Nations Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
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4.9 None. 
Consumer Duty 
4.10 None. 
5. Consultation 
5.1 The Trade Unions have been consulted and have indicated that they would support the
additional bank holiday. 
Fiona Walker
Head of Service (People & ICT) 
For further information please contact Jackie Smillie, Senior Manager (People Services),
on by email. 
Background Papers
0
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Audit & Scrutiny: 14 April 2026
Briefing Paper: Additional Bank Holiday 
Overview
An additional bank holiday on Monday 15 June 2026 has been proposed by the Scottish
Government to mark Scotland’s participation in the men’s football World Cup.  This was
considered and agreed by Cabinet on 17 March 2026.
Financial Implications
The additional bank holiday is expected to cost approximately £73,000 in enhanced
overtime payments, based on costs incurred during the Coronation holiday. This
excludes backfill costs for compensatory days. There will also be an indirect cost and
impact on overall efficiency due to staff not being at work that day.  
Education
The Head of Service (Education) is required to request approval from the Scottish
Government for the one-day reduction in the 2025/26 teaching calendar.  This approval
has already been obtained due to the requirement to meet a March deadline set by
Government for requesting this.  
Additional Information
The Council has previously granted additional holidays for events such as the 75th
anniversary of VE day (2020), the Jubilee (2022) and the Coronation (2023). 
NHS Ayrshire and Arran have been granted this additional bank holiday. Granting the
request for the Council would provide consistency, particularly within the Health & Social
Care partnership. 
Fiona Walker
Head of Service (People & ICT)
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