Councillor Graeme Brooks (Inverclyde Council); and Councillor Sam Mullin and Councillor Andy Steel (Renfrewshire Council).

 

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

 

There was submitted the Minute of the meeting of this Joint Board held on 23 February 2024.  

DECIDED: That the Minute be approved.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Auditor relative to the Internal Audit Annual Report on the Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board for 2023/24.
 
The report intimated that the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards required that the Chief Auditor prepare an annual report on the internal audit activity’s purpose, authority and responsibility, as well as performance relative to its plan. The report also required to provide an audit opinion on the overall adequacy and effectiveness of the internal control system of the audited body. 

The Annual Report for the Joint Board was attached as an appendix to the report and outlined the role of Internal Audit, the performance of the Internal Audit Team and the main findings from the internal audit work undertaken in 2023/24 and contained an audit assurance statement. 

DECIDED: That the Internal Audit Annual Report for 2023/24 be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Treasurer relative to the Unaudited Annual Accounts for 2023/24, a copy of which was appended to the report. 

The report intimated that the Annual Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024 would be submitted to Azets in advance of the statutory deadline of 30 June 2024. It was noted that the Joint Board had ended the 2023/24 financial year with a surplus of income over expenditure of £72,000.

The report advised that the management commentary within the accounts provided an overview of the Joint Board’s financial performance during 2023/24 and its outlook for the future. 

DECIDED: 

(a) That the Unaudited Annual Accounts for 2023/24 be noted;

(b) That the Annual Governance Statement be approved; and

(c) That the final budget monitoring and reserves position for 2023/24 be noted.

There was submitted a joint report by the Clerk and the Treasurer relative to remuneration for elected members, including the convener and vice-convener of joint boards, introduced by The Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 (Remuneration) Regulations 2007. 

The report intimated that since 2007, various amendment regulations had amended the yearly remuneration to be paid to elected members, including those elected members who were conveners or vice-conveners of joint boards. The most recent amendment regulations, The Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 (Remuneration) Amendment Regulations 2024, implemented an increase of 6.2% in the yearly remuneration payable to councillors from 1 April 2024 and stipulated that the convener of a joint board shall be paid, from 1 April 2024, a total yearly amount of £26,686 and that the vice-convener of a joint board shall be paid, from 1 April 2024, a total yearly amount of £25,352, both inclusive of any amount payable to them as a local authority councillor under the 2007 Regulations. 

The Regulations state that “remuneration shall be paid by the local authority of which the convener and vice-convener, as the case may be, is a member to one convener and one vice-convener for each joint board”. The remuneration costs for both the Convener and Depute Convener of this Joint Board shall be met in full by Renfrewshire Council for Councillor Audrey Doig and by Inverclyde Council for Councillor Paul Cassidy. 

DECIDED: 

(a) That the revised remuneration levels mandated by The Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 (Remuneration) Amendment Regulations 2024 for the Convener and Depute Convener of this Joint Board be noted; and 

(b) That it be noted that the remuneration costs for each position shall be met by the local authority at which the position holder was an elected member.

Under reference to item 5 of the Minute of the meeting of this Joint Board held on 23 February 2024, there was submitted a report by the Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer providing an update on work undertaken within electoral registration, legislation and electoral events.

The report provided updates since the last meeting of the Joint Board in relation to the 2024 Canvass; future elections; the Elections Act 2022; the Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Bill and the Electoral Management Board of Scotland. 

The Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer provided an update to members in relation to the UK General Election being held on 4 July 2024, which had been called since publication of his report. He further advised that the deadline date for receipt of registration applications was midnight on 18 June; the deadline date for receipt of postal vote applications was 5.00 pm on 19 June 2024; and the deadline date for receipt of Voter Authority Certificate applications was 5.00 pm on 26 June 2024.

DECIDED: That the contents of the report and the update provided be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer relative to the Joint Board’s Strategic Service Plan 2024/27, a copy of which was appended to the report.

The report intimated that the Plan set out, at a high level, the main tasks that would be undertaken in the next three years to fulfil statutory duties. These tasks would be monitored by the management team with an annual update being presented to the Joint Board at the May/June meeting.

DECIDED: That the Strategic Service Plan 2024/27 be approved.

Under reference to item 6 of the Minute of the meeting of this Joint Board held on 23 February 2024, there was submitted a report by the Assistant Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer providing an update to the reporting performance.

The report detailed the performance in Council Tax and Non-domestic Valuation against set targets. In relation to Council Tax valuation, it was noted that the addition of new houses to the Valuation List and the deletion of demolished houses remained a priority with the time taken to enter new houses into the Valuation (Council Tax) List essentially meeting both the target of 95% within three months and the target of 97% within six months, by achieving 94.89% and 98.38% respectively. 

The report advised that the average number of days taken to add a house in each constituent authority area in the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 was 35.68 days, below the target of 38 days, and detailed the deletions from the Valuation (Council Tax) List between 1 April and 31 March during 2022/23 and 2023/24. 

The report set out the time taken to make statutory amendments to the Valuation Roll, excluding appeal settlements and amendments to the prescribed entries, between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024 by constituent authority area, which exceeded both the target of 60% to be actioned within three months and 75% to be actioned within six months, by achieving 63.64% and 81.82% respectively.  

In relation to performance targets for 2024/25, the management team had reviewed the targets for Council Tax and Non-domestic Valuation in light of the pressures on staff, especially the reduced number of qualified staff. The report proposed that the key performance indicators for both Council Tax and Non-domestic Valuation be retained as agreed for 2023/24 and as detailed in the table in paragraph 5.0 of the report. 

The summary of performance returns for 2014/15 to 2023/24 was appended to the report.

DECIDED: 

(a) That the contents of the report be noted; 

(b) That the performance targets for financial year 2024/25 be approved; and

(c) That the publication of the summary report be approved.

Under reference to item 8 of the Minute of the meeting of this Joint Board held on 23 February 2024, there was submitted a report by the Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer relative to developments and expenditure arising from the Barclay Review.

In relation to staffing, the report advised that since the last meeting of the Joint Board, a Senior Valuer had intimated their intention to retire; recruitment processes had begun with a new Trainee Technician and a Property Assistant being recruited; and that discussions were taking place with recruitment agencies in an effort to find suitable candidates for the unfilled Valuer/Senior Valuer roles.

In relation to the 2023 Non-domestic Revaluation, the report advised that a substantial update to the Assessors portal had been carried out on 1 April 2024 to publish the Revaluation Roll; that across the Joint Board area, just under 90% of the published values had a valuation showing the makeup of the value available to view online; that many properties had a rented property list showing rental comparisons used to arrive at the valuation; that 100 Practice Notes had been published  from the Assessors portal detailing how a property type should be valued; and that this upgrade allowed aggrieved proprietors, tenants or occupiers to submit a proposal against the Revaluation entry. The report noted that work was currently underway to evaluate and discuss the 964 Proposals lodged ahead of the statutory deadline of September 2025 and that where agreement could not be reached, the proposer had the right to a further appeal to the First Tier Tribunal. 

In relation to changes to the Appeals System, the report intimated that the Local Taxation Chamber of the First Tier Tribunal for Scotland had begun to hear cases with hearings scheduled up to November 2024.

In relation to self-catering properties, the report intimated that the Scottish Assessors Association (SAA) had developed an online return facility to allow self-catering operators to provide the required evidence electronically via the SAA portal and that the annual request for evidence would commence soon.

In relation to information gathering powers, the report noted that processes in relation to the new information gathering powers would be kept under review and that if any monies were raised by Civil Penalties, the Scottish Government would be advised of the amount due to them via the Consolidated Fund.

 

In relation to the 2026 Revaluation, the report advised that this would be the first Revaluation to be undertaken on a three-yearly cycle and that a project plan was being created and questionnaires and information requests were being reviewed.

 

The report further intimated that development of the IT Valuation System continued with the aim of going live at a suitable time for service delivery.

DECIDED: That the report be noted.

Under reference to item 7 of the Minute of the meeting of this Joint Board held on 23 February 2024, there was submitted a report by the Assistant Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer relative to progress on the disposal of 2017 Revaluation appeals and 2017 Revaluation Running Roll appeals and providing information on the two-stage Proposal and Appeal process which came into effect on 1 April 2023.

The report provided detail in relation to the 2023 Revaluation Proposals; 2017 Revaluation Appeals; the disposal of 2017 Revaluation Appeals; Running Roll Proposals/Appeals; the disposal of 2017 Revaluation Running Roll Appeals; and disposal of other outstanding Appeals. Appendix 1 to the report detailed the number of subjects under appeal by constituent authority and Joint Board area as at 31 March 2024 and Appendix 2 to the report detailed the number of 2017 Running Roll Appeals received on or after 1 March 2020, outlining those disposed of in each constituent authority and the Joint Board area as at 31 March 2024.

DECIDED: That the contents of the report be noted.

Under reference to item 10 of the Minute of the meeting of this Joint Board held on 23 February 2024, there was submitted a report by the Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer relative to the Joint Board’s offices at the Robertson Centre, Glasgow Road, Paisley.

The report intimated that expert advice from a space planner had identified the Joint Board’s needs and discussions had taken place with a number of landlords who had potentially suitable offices available. The management team would review the potential options with a view to seeking Joint Board approval for a preferred option.

DECIDED: That the content of the report be noted.

DECIDED: That it be noted that the next meeting of the Joint Board would be held at 2.00 pm on 13 September 2024 and would be a hybrid meeting in the offices of East Renfrewshire Council.