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

There were submitted the Minutes of the meetings of the Procurement Sub-Committee held on 11 November and 2 December 2015 which form Appendices I and II hereto.

DECIDED:    That the Minutes be approved.

There was submitted the Minute of the meeting of the Investment Review Board held on 25 November 2015 which forms Appendix III hereto.

DECIDED:    That the Minute be approved.

There were submitted the Minutes of the meetings of the Joint Consultative Board (Non-Teaching) held on 29 October and 10 December 2015 which form Appendices IV and V hereto.

DECIDED:    That the Minutes be approved.

There was submitted a joint revenue budget monitoring report by the Chief Executive and the Director of Finance & Resources in respect of the Chief Executive’s, Finance & Resources and miscellaneous expenditure for the period to 13 November 2015.

DECIDED:

(a)    That the report be noted; and

(b)    That it be noted that since the last report there had been net budget realignments of £294,061 primarily related to the transfer of IT budgets to Finance & Resources, an adjustment to salary budgets for the impact of the Living Wage, the transfer of Advice Works from Social Work and the reallocation of previously agreed savings.

There was submitted a revenue budget monitoring report by the Director of Finance & Resources relative to an overview of expenditure on general fund services and the Housing Revenue Account for the period to 13 November 2015.

DECIDED:    That the report be noted.

There was submitted a capital budget monitoring report by the Director of Finance & Resources in respect of capital expenditure relative to corporate projects (non-property) for the period to 13 November 2015.

DECIDED:    That the report be noted.

There was submitted a capital budget monitoring report by the Director of Finance & Resources relative to an overview of expenditure on the Housing and Non-Housing Capital Programmes for the period to 13 November 2015.

DECIDED:    That the report be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Director of Finance & Resources relative to the collection of Council Tax and Non-Domestic Rates as at 28 November 2015 and detailing the total amount collected for the last year.

DECIDED:    That the report be noted.

There was submitted a progress report by the Director of Finance & Resources relative to the delivery of Housing Benefit and the Scottish Welfare Fund up to the end of November 2015. The appendix to the report detailed performance of the service against a range of key indicators including the average time to process applications.

DECIDED:    That the report be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Director of Finance & Resources relative to the published findings of the Commission on Local Tax Reform, a copy of which was appended to the report.

The Commission had concluded that the current Council Tax system must end and made no single option recommendation in this regard.  However, the Commission acknowledged that any replacement tax should be progressive, stable, efficient and locally empowering.  The Commission also acknowledged that the distribution of local government funds would need to be reviewed and adjusted should a new tax be introduced.

DECIDED:    That the report be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive relative to the Initial Open Data Strategy for Renfrewshire (the Strategy) which had been approved by the Renfrewshire Community Planning Partnership.  A copy of the Strategy was appended to the report.

The report advised that the Strategy would help take forward the Scottish Government vision that, by 2020, non-personal and non-commercially sensitive data from public services would be recognised as a resource for wider societal use and as such would be made open in an intellegent manner and available for re-use by others.  The Strategy had been developed in accordance with Scottish Government guidance and set out how the Council, together with its community planning partners, would ensure data was made open.  The report also outlined the broad technical architecture that required to be put in place to deliver the Strategy.

DECIDED:    That the Initial Open Data Strategy for Renfrewshire be approved for implementation insofar as it related to Renfrewshire Council.

There was submitted a report by the Director of Finance & Resources relative to the estimated funding available during 2016/17 for disbursal from the Paisley and Renfrew Common Good Funds.

The report indicated that income from both Common Good Funds was used to fund ongoing projects and commitments made previously by this Board and its predecessor Boards. In addition, an annual allocation was made to the relevant Local Area Committees with delegated authority to disburse grants to local organisations from whom they received bids for funding and/or to use the funding to support appropriate projects.

A forecast income and expenditure statement for both Common Good Funds, including the cost of recurring projects, was appended to the report.

DECIDED:

(a)    That the 2016/17 budget allocations to Local Area Committees be approved as follows: 

        Renfrew Common Good - Renfrew & Gallowhill - £67,360 
        Paisley Common Good - Renfrew & Gallowhill - £2,000 
        Paisley Common Good - Paisley North - £13,000 
        Paisley Common Good - Paisley South - £15,000; and

(b)    That the continued funding of recurring projects as outlined in the appendix to the report be approved.

There was submitted a report by the Director of Finance & Resources relative to four applications for grant funding that had been recommended for approval of an award by Local Area Committees (LACs) from either the Renfrew Burgh Citizens Fund, Paisley Burgh Citizens Fund or the Renfrewshire Council Citizens Fund.

The Renfrew & Gallowhill LAC meeting held on 10 November 2015 had recommended that an award of £5,330 be made from the Renfrew Burgh Citizens Fund to cover the cost of removal and re-instatement of an ultra heavy-duty 10 metre fibreglass flagpole and new flag at Ferry Green, Renfrew.

The Paisley South LAC meeting held on 17 November 2015 had recommended that an award of £500 be made from the Paisley Burgh Citizens Fund to Glenburn Seniors Club towards the cost of a excursion.

The Johnstone & The Villages LAC meeting held on 19 November 2015 had recommended that an award of £2,000 be made to Kilbarchan Pipe Band towards the cost of participating in the Anniversary Remembrance Events to mark the Battle of the Somme; and an award of £700 be made to Kilbarchan Community Nursery towards the cost of cloakroom improvements from the Renfrewshire Council Citizens Fund.

DECIDED:    

(a)    That an award of £5,330 from the Renfrew Burgh Citizens Fund to cover the cost of removal and re-instatement of an ultra heavy-duty 10 metre fibreglass flagpole and new flag at Ferry Green, Renfrew, be approved;

(b)    That an award of £500 to Glenburn Seniors Club from the Paisley Burgh Citizens Fund be approved;

(c)    That an award of £2,000 to Kilbarchan Pipe Band from the Renfrewshire Council Citizens Fund be approved; and

(d)    That an award of £700 to Kilbarchan Community Nursery from the Renfrewshire Council Citizens Fund be approved.

There was submitted a report by the Director of Finance & Resources relative to requests received for civic hospitality as undernoted:

(a) Dates-n-Mates Renfrewshire - for civic hospitality in the form of a civic reception on 15 January 2016 in Johnstone Town Hall at a cost of £500 to mark the launch of this new service for people with learning disabilities in Renfrewshire;

(b) Glasgow Kelvin College - for civic hospitality in the form of a civic reception on 22 January 2016 at a cost of £1,000 to mark the Paisley Pattern Fashion Show held at the college, funded by the UK India Education Research Initiative (UKIERI) who, with their partners in India, designed this 'East meets West' fashion show;


(c) The Soroptimists International of Paisley - for civic hospitality in the form of a drinks reception prior to their 70th Anniversary Dinner for around 100 guests at a cost of approximately £400;

(d) Erskine Hospital  - for civic hospitality in the form of a drinks and canapes reception on 29 March 2016 for around 250 guests at a cost of approximately £4,500 in the City Chambers, Glasgow to mark the Centenary of the agreement to form the hospital;

(e) PAs and Secretaries to Chief Executives of Scottish Local Authorities Group - for civic hospitality in the form of a wine reception on 25 August 2016 in the Lynnhurst Hotel for around 20 guests prior to the 19th Annual Seminar networking dinner; and

(f)  Holocaust Memorial Service - to co-host the Service with East Renfrewshire Council on 23 January 2016 and contribute £1,300 towards the Service (which included participation by Renfrewshire schools and Councillors) and hospitality arrangements.
 
DECIDED:

(a)    That the provision of civic hospitality for The Soroptimists International of Paisley; Erskine Hospital and the PAs and Secretaries to Chief Executives of Scottish Local Authorities Group be approved;

(b)    That the action taken by the Director of Finance & Resources, in consultation with the Provost, to provide civic hospitality for Dates-n-Mates Renfrewshire; Glasgow Kelvin College (UKIERI); and the Holocaust Memorial Service held jointly with East Renfrewshire Council be homologated; and

(c)    That it be delegated to the Director of Finance & Resources, in consultation with the Provost, to make any necessary arrangements.

Councillors Bibby, Audrey Doig, Gilmour, Grady, Harte, Henry, Holmes, Lawson, Mack, K MacLaren, M MacLaren, Murrin, Noon and Williams.

Councillor Holmes, Convener, presided.

A Russell, Director of Finance & Resources; K Graham, Head of Corporate Governance, A MacArthur, Head of Finance, R McGrath, Head of Business Services, C Donnelly, Head of HR, OD & Workforce Strategy , E Shields, Business Services Manager and A McNaughton, Senior Committee Services Officer (all Finance & Resources); and P Rub, Lead Data Research & Analysis (Chief Executive's).