Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting at the newly refurbished Town Hall in Campbeltown.  He advised that following the pre-agenda meeting and consultation with the Vice Chair and the Head of Governance and Law, a decision had been taken, not to travel to the Isle of Colonsay for this meeting, due to the lack of island relevant business on the agenda. 

There were no apologies for absence intimated. 

There were no declarations of interest intimated. 

The minute of the previous meeting of the Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands Area Committee held on 6 April 2016 was approved as a true record. 

The Chair advised that following consultation with the Head of Roads and Amenity Services, a decision had been taken to withdraw agenda item 7 (Parking Review Consultation Update). Councillor Colville explained that although the parking consultations have been recently concluded, initial analysis from the consultations had been carried out but require further work to enable a comprehensive report to be prepared for the Area Committee.  He further advised that it has been agreed that there would be two area based Member workshops before the end of June 2016 to give informal feedback to the elected Members on the consultation and a detailed report together with recommendations for consideration would be brought to the August Area Committee meeting.

Councillor Horn enquired as to whether there had been any resolution from the Council in respect of the Scottish Government’s financial help for flooded communities Initiative.  The Chair advised of the press release which had indicated a closing date for applications of 31 May 2016.  The Area Committee Manager agreed to seek an update in this regard and advise Members by email.

Councillor Kelly advised of a recent decision to close 4 beds in Campbeltown Hospital, apparently without consultation.  The Area Committee Manager agreed to write to John Dreghorn, Locality Manager to ascertain the current situation and circulate the response to Members by email. 

Councillor Kelly spoke of the ongoing flooding issues in Saddell Street and John Street, Campbeltown noting that his understanding was that a plan of action was to be worked on and ready should finances become available.  The Area Committee Manager agreed to speak to the Head of Roads and Amenity Services about bringing a report outlining mitigation and associated costs to a future meeting. 

Councillor Kelly expressed concern over the governance arrangements in place for bringing a report in respect of the surplus funds in the Campbeltown CHORD budget.  The Chair advised that the Policy and Resources Committee were considering the position around all surplus CHORD funds.  He also advised that following the decision by the Policy and Resources Committee on how the unallocated CHORD funds are to be treated, officers would present suitable projects to the Area Committee for consideration and recommendation. 

Councillor Philand asked whether there had been any update in respect of elected Member representation on the Locality Planning Groups.  The Area Committee Manager advised that Governance and Law had been liaising with the Chief Officer of the Health and Social Care Partnership on this matter, however no formal letter had been received by the Council.  Ms Barton agreed to make further representations to the Chief Officer in this regard.

Councillor McAlpine enquired about the budget information in relation to Amenity Services, specifically the grass cutting and maintenance of cemeteries.  The Area Committee Manager agreed to request that the Head of Roads and Amenity Services provide an update on a ward basis on all amenity cutting to Members by email. 

Councillor Horn asked that her dissatisfaction be recorded in respect of the incident where a large number of old books were removed from Tarbert Library and destroyed.  Councillor Horn explained that she had received an apology from the Culture and Libraries Manager, however she felt that as the Council move forward with the library closures there needed to be a policy in place on how surplus books are dealt with.  She also asked that assurance be sought that this wouldn’t happen again.  The Area Committee Manager agreed to speak with the Culture and Libraries Manager in this regard. 

General discussion took place in respect of the timeous responses from Council officers to Members.  The Area Committee Manager spoke of the new Members Casebook system, which is used to log incidents by or on behalf of Members.  She advised that this system provided a documented timeline of events that made getting responses from departments easier.  Members requested that the Area Committee Manager write to the Chief Executive on behalf of the Area Committee outlining the representation made by Members. 

Report by Executive Director of Customer Services

The Committee considered a report presenting the Area Scorecard, with exceptional performance for financial quarter 4 of 2015-16 (January – March 2016). 

Discussion took place in respect of delayed discharges and the use of the Pyramid system by the Health and Social Care Partnership, with Members expressing concern that the information contained in the Scorecard is not current and does not reflect the true situation.  Councillor Horn, a member of the Integration Joint Board agreed to feedback the concerns of the Committee to the Board. 

Further discussion in relation to the review of the Planning and Policy framework was had with Members pleased to note that the new Chief Executive and the Performance Review and Scrutiny Committee are to carry out reviews.  Members agreed to pass any comments they have to Councillors Taylor, Horn, McAlpine and MacMillan who would feedback to the Performance Review and Scrutiny Committee.  

Decision:

Members agreed to note the exceptional performance presented on the scorecard.

(Ref:  Report by Executive Director of Customer Services, dated 1 June 2016, submitted.)

Report by Executive Director of Community Services

The Committee considered a report outlining the primary school profiles for the Mid Argyll, North Kintyre, South Kintyre, Islay and Jura areas.  The report outlined the achievements of various schools in relation to Health and Wellbeing; Numeracy; Literacy; Expressive and Creative Arts and various interdisciplinary learning projects throughout the area.  The report also contained information on early learning and childcare. 

Discussion took place in respect of the school roll figures provided for the Mid Argyll cluster of schools; the slight increase in school rolls across the South Kintyre area; the percentage national average for free school meals; the recruitment of teaching staff with the ability to teach through the medium of Gaelic; the unauthorised absence figures; the national debate on attainment and the difficulty of collating facts on attainment across the board. 

The Area Education Officer agreed to provide further information to Members in relation to the correct school roll figures for the Mid Argyll cluster of schools; the way in which clothing grants are provided to families; the exclusion rates, particularly in Tarbert Primary and the fall in uptake figures for free school meals. 

The Chair thanked Ms Wilkie for the information provided, and Members expressed their gratitude to Ms Wilkie for her work in preparing and dealing with the recent boundary changes at Achahoish.

Decision:

Members agreed to note the contents of the report.

(Ref:  Report by Executive Director of Community Services, dated 1 June 2016, submitted.)

Report by Executive Director of Development and Infrastructure Services

The Committee considered a report proposing the governance arrangements for the implementation of the first phase of the Campbeltown Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS) Round 6 Small Grants Scheme.

Discussion took place in respect of the old Post Office building; the scoring matix on the Campbeltown CARS  Small Grants Scheme Assessment and the possibility of rates relief during ongoing works. 

Decision:

Members agreed that the Campbeltown CARS Round 6 Small Grants Scheme be governed as detailed in section 4 of the report.

(Ref:  Report by Executive Director of Development and Infrastructure Services, dated 1 June 2016, submitted.)

For noting and updating

Members gave consideration to the item tracker. 

Discussion took place in respect of items 4; 7 and 16 on the item tracker.  The Area Committee Manager agreed to speak with the Area Governance Manager in respect of recent discussions regarding Secondary Schools – Performance and Attainment, and update the tracker accordingly; feedback the comments of Members to the Head of Economic Development and Strategic Transportation in relation to item 7 and to find out if it would be possible for Members to contribute to the consultation on item 16 of the item tracker.

Members further requested that the previous request to the Council regarding naming and shaming those convicted of allowing their dogs to foul be included as an item. 

Decision:

Members agreed to note the item tracker.

(Ref:  Item Tracker, dated 1 June 2016, submitted.)

Report by Executive Director of Customer Services

The Committee gave consideration to a report providing details of offers received in respect of the former Rhoin Roads Depot in Campbeltown. 

Decision:

Members agreed to the recommendations outlined in the report.

(Ref:  Report by Executive Director of Customer Services, dated 1 June 2016, submitted.)