Councillor James Daisley (Inverclyde Council) and Councillor Kevin Montgomery (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 24 May 2024.  

DECIDED: That the Minute be approved.

Under reference to item 3 of the Minute of the meeting of this Joint Board held on 24 May 2024, there was submitted a report by the Treasurer relative to the Annual Audit Report on the Annual Accounts 2023/24.

The report intimated that the Local Authority Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2014 required the audited accounts to be approved for signature no later than 30 September each year. Section 10 of the Regulations required the Joint Board to consider any report made by the appointed auditor before deciding whether to sign the audited accounts. The findings of the appointed auditor, Azets, were presented in the Annual Audit Report, which formed Appendix 1 to the report. 

The report provided detail on the two adjustments identified during the audit, which had no impact on revenue reserves, and which were now reflected in the Audited Accounts. There were also minor presentational changes. 

The report advised that following approval, the audited accounts would be submitted to the Convener, Treasurer and Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer for secure digital signature. 

DECIDED: 

(a) That the findings of the 2023/24 audit, as contained in the Annual Audit Report which formed Appendix 1 to the report, be noted; and 

(b) That the 2023/24 Audited Annual Accounts, which formed Appendix 2 to the report, be approved for signature.

Under reference to item 5 of the Minute of the meeting of this Joint Board held on 24 May 2024, there was submitted a report by the Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer providing an update on work undertaken within electoral registration, legislation updates and electoral events.

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

DECIDED: That the contents of the report be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Assistant Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer and the Public Records (Scotland) Act Assessment Team relative to the Joint Board’s Progress Update Review (PUR) Report, a copy of which was appended to the report. 

The report intimated that in January 2024, the Public Records (Scotland) Act Assessment Team invited the Joint Board to complete the annual PUR which enabled authorities to be credited for the process in any future developments identified in the Records Management Plan (RMP) and also ensured the RMP was kept under review in line with section 5(1)(a) of the Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011. 

The report advised that the PUR set out the findings of the Assessment Team and that it had been published on the Joint Board’s website. 

DECIDED: That the report be noted.

Under reference to item 7 of the Minute of the meeting of this Joint Board held on 24 May 2024, there was submitted a report by the Assistant Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer providing an update to the reporting performance for the first three months of the rating year.

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 meeting both the target of 95% within three months and the target of 97% within six months, by achieving 95.53% and 97.21% 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 to 30 June 2024 was 31.84 days, below the target of 38 days, and detailed the deletions from the Valuation (Council Tax) List between 1 April and 30 June 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 and 30 June 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 94.03% for both.  

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 24 May 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 that since the last meeting, discussions had advanced significantly. The management team would continue to engage with landlords to enable viable options to be considered by the Joint Board.

DECIDED: That the content of the report be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Assistant Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer relative to trade union facility time reporting. 

The report intimated that The Trade Union (Facility Time Publication Requirements) Regulations 2017 required public sector employers who had full time equivalent employee numbers of more than 49 to publish information relating to facility time taken by union representatives. 

The report advised that although the Joint Board was not, at present, legally required to publish this information, as the number of full-time equivalent staff was below the required level, it had been considered appropriate to voluntarily publish the information in the interests of transparency. Data had been collated under the relevant regulations and information relating to facility time for 2022/23 and 2023/24 was appended to the report.

DECIDED: That the contents of the report be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer relative to the Paisley Business Improvement District (BID) renewal ballot.

The report intimated that Paisley First was the name of the BID covering much of Paisley town centre and every five-years the BID required to renew its mandate via a ballot of non-domestic property occupiers within the area. The Joint Board offices at 16 Glasgow Road, Paisley fell within this area and as such the Joint Board had the right to vote in the ballot.

The report provided detail on the BID ballot and information on the BID together with the Business Plan were appended to the report.

DECIDED: That the Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer be instructed to vote yes in the ballot on behalf of the Joint Board.

Under reference to item 9 of the Minute of the meeting of this Joint Board held on 24 May 2024, there was submitted a report by the Assistant Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer relative to progress on the disposal of 2017 Revaluation and Running Roll proposals and the 2023 Revaluation and Running Roll proposals and appeals.

The report provided detail in relation to the 2023 Revaluation Proposals; the disposal of 2017 Revaluation Appeals; Running Roll Proposals/Appeals; the disposal of 2017 Revaluation Running Roll Appeals; and disposal of other outstanding Appeals. 

DECIDED: That the contents of the report be noted.

Under reference to item 8 of the Minute of the meeting of this Joint Board held on 24 May 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 resigned; a Principal Valuer had retired; a Trainee Valuer, a Technician/Trainee Technician, Property Assistant and a Principal Valuer had been recruited; and the positions of qualified Valuers/Senior Valuers remained vacant.

In relation to the 2023 Non-domestic Revaluation, the report advised that work was 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 December 2024.

In relation to self-catering properties, the report intimated that the annual request for evidence from self-catering operators had been completed and changes required to the Valuation Roll and Council Tax List had been actioned.

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 the first Revaluation to be undertaken on a three-yearly cycle had begun 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.

There was submitted a report by the Assistant Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer relative to the Joint Board’s Corporate Risk Register, a copy of which was appended to the report. 

The report intimated that the Corporate Risk Register had been reviewed in line with the Joint Board’s agreed review cycle and that the risks had been evaluated in line with the Joint Board’s Risk Management Strategy. The evaluation of each risk shown reflected the significance of each risk’s impact and the likelihood of occurrence combined with the mitigations and controls identified by the Management Team. 

DECIDED: That the contents of the report be noted.

DECIDED: 

(a) That it be noted that the next meeting of the Joint Board would be held at 2.00 pm on 15 November 2024 and would be a hybrid meeting in the offices of Inverclyde Council; and

(b) That the Clerk be requested to submit a report to the next meeting of the Joint Board to allow consideration to be given to the start time of future meetings of the Joint Board.