Councillors Bibby, Caldwell, E Devine, M Devine, Audrey Doig, Gilmour, Grady, Provost Hall and Councillors J MacLaren, K MacLaren, McGurk, I McMillan, Mylet and Nicolson.

Councillor E Devine, Convener, presided.

S MacDougall, Director of Community Resources; S Allan, Head of Amenity Services, D Gillies, Head of Facilities Management, O Reid, Head of Public Protection, K Anderson, Amenity Services Manager - Waste, D Kerr, Service Co-ordination Manager, K Carr, Site Services Manager, K Markwick, Amenity Services Manager - Roads & Transportation, A Summers, Amenity Services Manager (Streetscene & Land Services), A McNab, Transportation Manager, G Hannah, Strategic Change Manager and E Scott, Building Services Manager (all Community Resources); and D Farrell, Finance Business Partner and D Low, Senior Committee Services Officer (both Finance & Resources).

There were no declarations of interest intimated prior to the commencement of the meeting.

There was submitted a joint revenue budget monitoring report by the Directors of

Finance & Resources and Community Resources for the period 1 April 2015 to 4 March 2016.

DECIDED:

(a)       That the budget position be noted: and

(b)       That it be noted that there had been net budget realignments of £6,815 processed since the last report related to the reallocation of previously agreed savings.

There was submitted a capital budget monitoring report by the Director of Finance & Resources for the period 1 April 2015 to 4 March 2016.

DECIDED: That the report be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Director of Community Resources relative to Best Bar None, a national scheme which aimed to raise standards in the licensed trade sector and reward excellence for venues that attained the Award standard.

The report intimated that Best Bar None Renfrewshire was administered locally by Community Resources, with support provided by partners in other Council services, Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The Renfrewshire scheme had recently completed its fourth cycle of awards, with 13 licensed premises throughout Renfrewshire attaining accreditation standard in 2015/16.

To encourage greater local uptake and provide additional opportunities to showcase the range and quality of premises across Renfrewshire, the report proposed that five new local award categories be introduced for the 2016/17 cycle, due to launch in August 2016 including: Best Restaurant; Best Family Establishment; Most Improved Venue; Best Premises Manager; and People’s Choice.

DECIDED:

(a)  That the proposed new local categories for Best Bar None Renfrewshire 2016/17 be approved; and

(b)  That the progress made to raise the profile of Best Bar None across Renfrewshire be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Director of Community Resources relative to the Community Resources Risk Register 2016/17, a copy of which was appended to the report.

The Risk Management Plan and Risk Register provided the methodology, analysis and evaluation of risks to service delivery and identified management actions to minimise those risks.

DECIDED:     That the Community Resources Risk Register 2016/17 be approved.

There was submitted a report by the Director of Community Resources relative to  the service improvement plan (SIP) outturn report for the Service to 31 March 2016.

The SIP detailed the key challenges facing the service and provided details of the key achievements of the service over this period; progress on implementing the action plan linked to the service improvement plan for 2015/16 – 2017/18; and an assessment of performance in relation to the service scorecard of core performance indicators.  

Councillor E Devine, seconded by Councillor Gilmour, moved (a) that the progress made with the implementation of the 2015/16 to 2017/18 Service Improvement Plan actions and performance indicators be noted; and (b) that progress on the 2016/17 to 2018/19 Service Improvement Plan be reviewed in November 2016.      

Councillor McGurk, seconded by Councillor Nicolson, moved as an amendment that the review planned for November 2016 will contain detailed information and action on services and falling customer satisfaction ratings which are highlighted as of being in persistent decline as a result of this administration’s policies.

On the roll being called, the following members voted for the amendment: Councillors Audrey Doig, K MacLaren, McGurk, Mylet and Nicolson.

The following members voted for the motion: Councillors Bibby, Caldwell, E Devine, M Devine, Gilmour, Grady, Provost Hall and Councillors J MacLaren and I McMillan.

9 members having voted for the motion and 5 members having voted for the amendment, the motion was accordingly declared carried.

DECIDED:

(a)  That the progress made with the implementation of the 2015/16 to 2017/18 Service Improvement Plan actions and performance indicators  be noted; and

(b)  That progress on the 2016/17 to 2018/19 Service Improvement Plan be reviewed in November 2016.

There was submitted a report by the Director of Community Resources relative to the annual health and safety plan for Community Resources, reviewing health and safety performance during 2015 and seeking approval to implement the action plan for 2016/17, a copy of which was appended to the report. The health and safety report set out arrangements for the management of health and safety within the service and demonstrated commitment to continuous improvement in health and safety performance. It summarised the achievements of the service from January to December 2015 and the action plan detailed objectives to be delivered over the 2016/17 financial year.

DECIDED: That the Community Resources annual health & safety report 2015 and action plan for 2016/17 be approved. 

There was submitted an update report by the Director of Community Resources relative to the services and key projects  delivered by Community Resources during the period 1 April 2015 to 4 March 2016.

The report included updates in relation to the Renfrewshire Community Safety Partnership; Regulatory Services; Amenity Services – Waste; Amenity Services – Streetscene & Land Services; Amenity Services – Roads & Transportation (Fleet and Infrastructure); Facilities Management; performance indicators and benchmarking targets; and quality training and development.

DECIDED:     That the report be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Director of Community Resources relative to the progress made in the implementation of universal free school meals which had been introduced by the Scottish Government in January 2016.

The report intimated that the Scottish Government had provided additional revenue funding of £1.8 million, supported by capital funding of £450,000 in order to make significant changes to kitchens and dining areas and purchase additional equipment in order to deliver this enhanced service.  The report detailed the work undertaken by the Council in terms of primary school catering and provided statistical information in relation to the uptake of the policy in its first year of implementation.

DECIDED:     That the progress made in the implementation of universal free school meals since January 2015 and the ongoing work in promoting uptake, particularly in schools with lower uptake figures, be noted.

Under reference to item 11 of page 714 of the Minute of meeting of Renfrewshire Council held on 25 June 2015, there was submitted a report by the Director of Community Resources relative to a review undertaken in relation to dog ownership issues with a view to identifying what further actions could be taken to promote responsible dog ownership in Renfrewshire.

The report intimated that as part of the review Community Resources had developed a strategy which would identify best practice for all dog owners in Renfrewshire.  The proposed strategy would be rolled out throughout 2016/17 and would strive to deliver against five key priority areas: enhancing partnership working; promoting responsible dog ownership in Renfrewshire; tackling persistent offenders; improving enforcement procedures; and tackling dogs dangerously out of control. 

DECIDED:

(a)  That the legislative amendments introduced by the Scottish Government in April 2016 aimed at responding to this issue which occurred across Scotland, including increased penalty notice fines for dog fouling offences from £40 to £80 and the introduction of a requirement for owners to microchip all dogs over eight weeks old from 6 April 2016, be noted;

(b)  That the progress set out in Section 3 of the report on the development of a Promoting Responsible Dog Owning Strategy and the intention to work with the Scottish Government and other national agencies to develop improved regulatory and enforcement procedures be noted;

(c)  That the priority areas, detailed in paragraph 1.8 of the report, for the  Promoting Responsible Dog Owning Strategy be agreed; and

(d)  That further reports be submitted to the Policy Board to provide progress updates with implementation of the Strategy. 

The Board resolved that the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item of business as it was likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted, that if members of the press and public were present, there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 8 and 9 of Part I of Schedule 7A of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.