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EAST COUNCIL

MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY 28 FEBRUARY 2019 AT 1000 HRS IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS, COUNCIL HEADQUARTERS, LONDON ROAD,

PRESENT: Provost Jim Todd and Councillors Ellen Freel, Gordon Jenkins, John McFadzean, John McGhee, Helen Coffey, Ian Grant, Tom Cook, Lilian Jones, Iain Linton, Douglas Reid, Fiona Campbell, John Campbell, Barry Douglas, Jon Herd, Clare Maitland, Sally Cogley, George Mair, Elena Whitham, Depute Provost Claire Leitch, Councillors Neil McGhee, Jim Roberts, Billy Crawford, Jim McMahon, Jacqui Todd, Walter Young, John Bell, Elaine Dinwoodie and Drew Filson.. ATTENDING: Fiona Lees, Chief Executive; Alex McPhee, Depute Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer: Economy and Skills; Katie Kelly, Depute Chief Executive: Safer Communities; Eddie Fraser, Director of Health and Social Care Partnership; Marion McAulay, Head of Children's Health, Care and Justice Service; David Mitchell, Chief Governance Officer; Craig McArthur, Head of Transformation; Joe McLachlan, Acting Head of Finance and ICT; and Julie McGarry, Administration Manager. APOLOGIES: Councillors Maureen McKay, John Knapp and Alyson Simmons CHAIR: Provost Jim Todd, Chair.

DEATH OF PAST PROVOST JIMMY BOYD MBE The Provost opened the meeting by referring to the sad passing of Past Provost Jimmy Boyd MBE. The Provost advised that Jimmy had first become a Councillor in 1982 when he was elected to serve on Strathclyde Regional Council. He was subsequently elected to Council at reorganisation and had served in a wide variety of Committee roles and represented the Council on a number of outside organisations. In 1999, Jimmy was appointed Provost of East Ayrshire, a position he held until his retirement in 2003. The Provost intimated that Jimmy had been a great source of support and had given him good advice when he became Provost. The Provost remarked that everyone would have their own memories of Jimmy and invited colleagues to pay tribute to him before Council observed one minute's silence. Councillor John McGhee then advised that although he didn't know Jimmy that well he had spoken to former colleagues who confirmed that Jimmy had been very well liked in the community and that he had done his very best to represent everyone within his constituency. Councillor Reid then added his comments in that he had known Jimmy since reorganisation in 1995 and always found him helpful and very courteous and that he had brought a wealth of experience from his previous role as an Elected Member within Strathclyde Regional Council. He went on to advise that he took on all his roles with great distinction and worked hard to care for the vulnerable and less privileged. He took particular pride as Chair of the Social Work Committee and then Provost of East Ayrshire Council. Councillor Reid commented that Jimmy was a great ambassador for East Ayrshire and that he enjoyed having a natter with him after Committee meetings. Councillor Reid stated that he would be fondly remembered and sadly missed. Councillor Cook then added his comments in that Jimmy had retired before he was elected to East Ayrshire Council but that he knew him through the inter-authority bowling competitions where he drew with Jimmy on the same rink. Councillor Cook 735

stated that he enjoyed Jimmy's humour and sporting spirit and that he sent his condolences to his sons, daughter and the family. The Provost then stated that the would be sending a letter of condolence to the family, including the comments made at the Council meeting this morning. Council then observed a minute's silence.

PROVOST'S REMARKS 1. Before the Provost began his remarks, he made mention of the sad death of Jim Anderson. The Provost stated that he and the Chief Executive had had the pleasure of having lunch with Jim before his forthcoming trip to the Netherlands, a trip he had been very much looking forward to as it was to a friend he had kept in contact with since his military service and by all accounts had thoroughly enjoyed. The Provost remarked that Jim was a Councillor, former Provost of Kilmarnock and Loudoun District Council and a member of the Ayrshire Educational Trust. The Provost further remarked that some of the Members and officers at the Council meeting would have had the pleasure of knowing Jim and that their thoughts would be with his family and friends at this sad time. The Provost opened his remarks by stating that although it was before Christmas, it had been his pleasure to have hosted a reception and dinner for CoSLA representatives from each Council in Scotland on 13 December, an event that colleagues were still talking about. The Provost advised that the event had been held in the William McIlvaney Campus, Kilmarnock and had been co-sponsored by The Soil Association Scotland. The Provost further advised that the event was in advance of the CoSLA Convention on 14 December, held at in and that a school meal had been provided by the Council's catering staff who had produced a meal promoting the use of organic higher welfare, local produce with an emphasis on fresh cooking and health promotion. The Provost then expressed his delight to have been invited along to help Kilmarnock Football Club celebrate their 150th Anniversary at the Park Hotel in Kilmarnock. The Provost stated that he had received a warm welcome, a lovely meal had been provided and it had been an amazing night where everyone had thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The Provost advised that he had attended this year's Best Bar None Awards which had taken place at the Park Hotel, Kilmarnock. The Provost stated that the scheme, which was supported by Police Scotland, East Ayrshire Council, Scottish Fire and Rescue and the Scottish Government, operated across 58 towns and cities in Scotland, however, this was the only scheme to operate in Ayrshire. The Provost then stated that this year, interest in the scheme had grown and he was delighted that 15 premises had expressed an interest in participating in the scheme. The Provost further stated that all 15 premises had now received an assessment by an independent Best Bar None Assessor and he was happy to report that all premises had met the criteria required to be part of the scheme and had been awarded recognition of either a Gold, Silver or Bronze plaque at the Awards Ceremony, The Provost then went on to say that he had had a lovely evening on 22 January spending time and hearing from families who had settled here as part of the refugee resettlement programme. The Provost advised that the event had provided an opportunity to meet and chat with families who had been welcomed to East Ayrshire and to sample some Syrian and Iraqi taster dishes which had been prepared by Mark Hunter, Catering Manager and his team, along with some of the women from our Syrian 736

and Iraqi families and that there had also been some traditional Scottish dishes on the menu. The Provost expressed his delight that they had made East Ayrshire their home. The Provost then advised that he had been delighted to have been invited along to Poppy Scotland Welfare Centre for an informal chat and to meet with , Scottish Veterans Minister on 28 January. The Provost further advised that Unforgotten Forces Partners, veterans organisations and Ayrshire Provosts had also been in attendance and that the visit had showcased the great work which was being done to support veterans throughout Ayrshire. The Provost then expressed his pleasure to have attended the Disability Darts Competition held at the Tartan Suite on 2 February. The Provost advised that this was the first ever disability darts competition to take place in Scotland and he was delighted that this had taken place in East Ayrshire. The Provost advised that some of the team would be visiting the Park School soon to give the pupils a demonstration of how to play. Finally, the Provost remarked that it was only right to make mention of Talbot's fantastic run in the Scottish Cup where they had been home to Ayr United in January, beating them 1-0 and then away to Hearts in February, unfortunately resulting in a 4-0 defeat. The Provost stated that getting to the fifth round of the Cup was a fantastic achievement by a junior football team and that the players and supporters were a credit to East Ayrshire and that both matches had been played in great spirit. The Provost advised that Auchinleck Talbot had also been delighted with the support provided to them by the Council when they played host to Ayr ensuring a successful event not only on, but off the pitch, in terms of crowd safety and control and event and traffic management.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST 2. Having heard the Chief Governance Officer, declarations of non-financial interests were made from the following Members in respect of Item 3 below:- Provost Todd and Councillors Ian Grant, Elena Whitham, Neil McGhee and Jim Roberts as Trustees of the Kilmarnock Leisure Centre Trust (Galleon). Councillors Iain Linton, Ian Grant, Elena Whitham, Neil McGhee and Clare Maitland as Trustees of the East Ayrshire Leisure Trust. Councillors Tom Cook, Jacqui Todd, John Bell and Lillian Jones in respect of Citizens Advice Bureau as Board Members, with the exception of Councillor Todd who was an employee. All members in declaring a non-financial interest did so in accordance with the Councillors' Code in that the nature of the interest was not deemed significant in each case having considered the terms of the objective test as outlined in Paragraph 5.3 of the Councillors' Code of Conduct and accordingly each Member did not withdraw from the meeting.

TRANSFORMATION STRATEGY 2019/20 - REVENUE BUDGET UPDATE (Item 2E, Pages 729, 17/22) 3.1 Order of Debate and Time Limit for Speeches It was noted that, in accordance with Standing Orders, a mover of a motion or amendment should speak for no more than 10 minutes with succeeding speakers 737

entitled to speak for no more than 5 minutes, with the original mover than having the right to speak for no more than 5 minutes in reply. 3.2 Consideration of Item There was submitted an excerpt from the Cabinet meeting of 27 February 2019 (circulated) together with a report dated 21 February 2019 (circulated) by the Depute Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer: Economy and Skills which presented recommendations for the General Services Revenue Budget 2019/20, the Council Tax Level for 2019/20, fees and charges for Housing Rents for 2019/20 and which sought approval to take forward a range of transformation initiatives which included associated reports in respect of Transformational Review of Parking (B1) and Transformational Fleet Management Strategy (B2). Having heard from the Chief Governance Officer, it was noted that para 2E(ii), fourth bullet point on the excerpt, the words "granted to utility companies" should be deleted as the review would be inclusive to all current charges for roadworks permits. Councillor Reid, having acknowledged that this was a collaborative budget which had been developed along with the Leaders of the Labour group and the Conservative Group, seconded by Councillor Whitham, moved approval of the Cabinet recommendations of 27 February 2019. The Cabinet recommendations to Council were:- (i) that the efficiency savings set out in Appendix 1 of the report be approved; (ii) that the increase to fees and charges set out at Appendix 2 of the report be approved for implementation in 2019/20 subject to the following:-  deletion of the proposed 9.9% increase in relation to Bulky Household uplifts 1-3 items shown under Waste Management;  deletion of the proposed 2.5% increase per week on weekly charges following assessment for Community Alarms Service shown under Health and Social Care;  implementation of the proposed new fee for pre-application advice on Householder proposals be deferred, subject to Cabinet receiving a report setting out the detail of these proposals and their likely impact on different types of Householder applications; and  agreement that consideration be given to reviewing the current charges for Roads Works Permits with a view to those being increased as part of next year's budget setting process; (iii) that the 2019/20 indicative individual school allocations and arrangements for Pupil Equity Fund as highlighted in paragraph 26 and Appendix 3 of the report be noted; (iv) that the Resource Allocation shown at paragraph 37 of the report be approved; (v) that departmental service plans be updated accordingly to reflect the Resource Allocations; (vi) that the Band D Council Tax level for 2019/20 be increased by 4% to £1,311.86; (vii) that council house rents be increased for 2019/20 by 1.5% which equated to £1.08 per week over a 52 week period; 738

(viii) that charges for Lockups and Garage Site for 2019/20 be increased by £0.08 to £5.83 per week over 52 weeks for Lockups and by £0.62 to £42.01 per annum for Garage Sites; (ix) that the Reserves and Balances Strategy set out in Appendix 5 of the report be approved; (x) that the direction of travel for transformation initiatives set out in paragraphs 69 to 90 of the report be approved and further work authorised; (xi) that recommendations in respect of Parking Charges set out within associated report B1 be approved as detailed below; (xii) that recommendations in respect of the Fleet Strategy set out within associated report B2 be approved as detailed below; and (xiii) otherwise, to note the contents of the report.

2E.1 B1 - TRANSFORMATIONAL SERVICE REVIEW OF PARKING (i) to note the proposals considered during the course of the review, as detailed in Appendix 3 of the report, and that these proposals be rejected at this time; (ii) that off street parking charges be increased from 80p to £1 per hour and that multi hour discounts be removed, with a £5 cap for full day parking applied in existing long stay car parks; (iii) the proposed increase in Multi-storey parking charges as follows:- Tariff Duration Charge Proposed Permits Multi Storey Car Park Zone A 1 hour £0.75 Quarter £100 + vat 2 hours £1.50 Annual £340 + vat 3 hours £2.25 4 hours £3.00 Over 4 hrs £3.75 Multi Storey Car Park Zone B All day £1.50 £230 + vat (iv) that existing maximum stay restrictions in our short stay car parks be removed to allow all day parking at a premium daily rate of £8 and that a standalone Traffic Regulation Order be promoted to allow implementation of this small change in tariff structure; (v) that the above increases be included in the Council's 2019/20 budget; (vi) to take forward the remaining proposals as detailed in paragraphs 29 to 52 of the report to inform engagement with the wider community and business interest groups; (vii) the proposal to create a Community Regeneration Fund as outlined within the report to mitigate the impact of parking charges and agreed that views on this be sought during the planned engagement process; (viii) the proposals for engagement with key stakeholders on the parking proposals outlined in the report; (ix) that the Head of Roads and Transportation prepare a further report on the outcome of the engagement process and bring forward recommendations for future implementation; 739

(x) that the future capital infrastructure costs associated with implementation of the parking proposals outlined in the report be met from the Transformation Fund; and (xi) otherwise, to note the contents of the report. 2E.2 B2 - TRANSFORMATIONAL FLEET MANAGEMENT STRATEGY (i) that all fleet management processes, including use, allocation and replacement of vehicles be managed by a new Strategic Transport Hub to be created within the Transport Service; (ii) that in order to optimise the use and size of the fleet, a focussed approach be taken to reduce the fleet size by 10%; (iii) that Heads of Service, supported by colleagues in Transport, as part of their service redesign activity, review current operational protocols and business cases for adopting a place based approach to fleet management; (iv) the implementation of a strategic vehicle replacement programme led by Transport Services; (v) the principle of buying, rather than hiring vehicles that are needed over the longer term; (vi) that for all future fleet requirements, a business case, led by Transport Services and supported by Finance, be undertaken to ensure that best value is always achieved; (vii) that for fleet replacement, electric vehicles, where practicable, be identified and prioritised to improve our local environment and reduce fleet costs; (viii) that £0.15m be allocated from the Transformation Fund for investment in electric vehicle charging infrastructure at key Council sites; and (ix) otherwise, to note the contents of the report. Councillor Jones, having moved an amendment but failing to obtain a seconder, wished her dissent to be recorded in respect of the budget proposals.

COUNCIL APPOINTMENT TO CHAIR OF THE GOVERNANCE GROUP, EAST AYRSHIRE CHURCHES HOMELESSNESS ACTION 4. There was submitted a report dated 15 January 2019 (circulated) by the Chief Governance Officer which invited Council to consider the appointment of an Elected Member as Chair of the Governance Group of the East Ayrshire Churches Homelessness Action. It was agreed: (i) to appoint Councillor Elena Whitham as Chair of the Governance Group of East Ayrshire Churches Homelessness Action; and (ii) otherwise to note the contents of the report.

APPOINTMENT TO COMMUNITY JUSTICE AYRSHIRE BOARD 5. Following a request from the SNP Group, Council agreed that Councillor Jim McMahon become the main member with Councillor Iain Linton being the substitute to the Board.

The meeting terminated at 1051 hrs.