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 16 and 29 March 2016 which form Appendices I and II hereto.

DECIDED: That the Minutes be approved.

There was submitted the Minute of the meeting of the Joint Consultative Board (Non-teaching) held on 27 April 2016 which forms Appendix III hereto.

DECIDED:     That the Minute 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 4 March 2016.

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 £2,418,778 primarily related to planned adjustments reflecting anticipated revenue grant releases and the allocation 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 4 March 2016.

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 4 March 2016.

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 4 March 2016.

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 March 2016 and detailing the total amount collected for the last year.

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 March 2016. 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 progress made to deliver the Service Improvement Plan over the period 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016.

The report summarised the main achievements of Finance & Resources over the year to 31 March 2016 and included, at Appendix 1 to the report, an action plan that monitored progress to date and identified areas where significant advances had been made and actions that had been reviewed or delayed.  A range of performance indicators measuring annual progress to deliver key tasks was set out in a scorecard that formed Appendix 2 to the report.

DECIDED:  That performance indicators and progress made to deliver the Finance & Resources Service Improvement Plan 2015/18 over the period 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016 be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive relative to progress made to deliver the Service Improvement Plan over the period 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016.

The report summarised the main achievements of the Chief Executive’s service over the year to 31 March 2016 and included, at Appendix 1 to the report, an action plan that monitored progressed to date and identified areas where significant advances had been made and actions that had been reviewed or delayed.  A range of performance indicators measuring annual progress to deliver key tasks was set out in a scorecard that formed Appendix 2 to the report.

DECIDED:  That performance indicators and progress made to deliver the Chief Executive’s Service Improvement Plan 2015/18 over the period 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016, be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Director of Finance & Resources relative to the Finance & Resources risk management plan 2016.

In keeping with the Council’s risk management strategy, “Risk Matters”, the Finance & Resources risk management plan required to be updated each year and a copy of the risk management plan 2016 was appended to the report.

The report highlighted one very high, eight high and five moderate risks faced by the service and the appended plan set out management actions to prevent and/or mitigate those risks.

DECIDED:  That the Finance & Resources risk management plan 2016 be approved.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive relative to the Chief Executive’s risk management plan 2016/17.

In keeping with the Council’s risk management strategy, “Risk Matters”, the Chief Executive’ risk management plan required to be updated each year and a copy of the risk management plan 2016/17 was appended to the report.

The report highlighted five high and six moderate risks faced by the service and the appended plan set out management actions to prevent and/or mitigate those risks.

DECIDED:  That the Chief Executive’s risk management plan 2016/17 be approved.

There was submitted a report by the Director of Finance & Resources relative to the corporate risk register 2016, the Council’s combined risk management policy and strategy.

In keeping with the Council’s risk management strategy, “Risk Matters”, the corporate risk register required to be updated each year and a copy of the 2016 corporate risk register was appended to the report.

The report highlighted one very high, 12 high and four moderate risks faced by the Council and indicated that the total number of corporate risks had reduced from 20 to 17 since last year.  The appended register set out management actions to prevent and/or mitigate those risks.

DECIDED:  That the corporate risk register 2016 be approved.

There was submitted an update report by the Director of Finance & Resources relative to voluntary redundancy and early retirement schemes.

The report advised that from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016, 127 employees (109.84 fte) had left the Council's service through voluntary redundancy or early retirement.  An appendix to the report detailed full year savings of £3,897,816.86.

DECIDED:  That the report be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Director of Finance & Resources relative to the introduction of a Council Tax – Empty Properties Operational Policy (the Policy) and operational guidance to deliver the discretionary power to remove the empty property discount or set a council tax increase of a maximum 100% on certain properties that have been empty for one year or more, as provided in the Council Tax (Variation for Unoccupied Dwellings) (Scotland) Regulations 2013.

A copy of both the proposed Policy and operational guidance were attached to the report, as Appendices 1 and 2 respectively, and detailed the appropriate circumstances under which discretion could be applied.  The Policy did not set rigid, pre-defined rules and intimated that discretion must always be considered if requested and that decisions would be taken on a case-by-case basis.

A main objective of the Policy was to encourage owners to return long-term empty properties back into use and maintain the supply of housing in Renfrewshire.

DECIDED:

(a)  That the Council Tax – Empty Properties Operational Policy, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report be approved;

(b)  That the operational guidance, as set out in Appendix 2 to the report be noted; and

There was submitted a report by the Director of Finance & Resources relative to the policy and guidelines on surveillance, first introduced in 2001 and subsequently reviewed in 2008, 2011 and 2014.

The report explained that a further review of the policy had been undertaken to update the policy by way of minor amendments, predominately to reflect changes to the Council structure.  A copy of the revised policy and guidelines was attached to the report.

DECIDED :

(a) That the policy and guidelines on surveillance, as set out in the appendix to the report, be approved; and

(b) That the Managing Solicitor (Information Governance) be authorised to update the guidance note as required.

There was submitted a report by the Director of Finance & Resources relative to requests received for civic hospitality and proposals made, following consultation with the Provost, to deliver appropriate hospitality for each event as follows:

(a)  Paisley Pirates Ice Hockey Team – for a civic reception on Friday, 13 May 2016 in the Glynhill Hotel in the form of a 3-course buffet at an estimated cost of £3,000 to celebrate their recent Scottish Cup win and in recognition of their 70^th anniversary.

(b)  Mission Discovery – for a civic reception on Wednesday, 8 June 2016 at a cost of approximately £1,250 to mark the educational programme taking place in Renfrewshire from 6 – 10 June 2016 when astronauts, trainers and scientists will spend the week working at the West of Scotland University with secondary school pupils from across Renfrewshire, Inverclyde and East Renfrewshire with the aim of designing a real-life experiment to be launched into space.

(c)  102 Field Squadron Royal Engineers – for a civic reception at a cost of £1,000 to mark the occasion of the 300^th anniversary of the formation of the First Royal Regiment of Engineers and the 100^th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme at the Army Reserve Centre on 18 June 2016.

(d)  Hallemann Music School, Furth – for a civic reception on Tuesday, 26 July 2016 in Paisley Town Hall for the children at a cost of £1,250 to mark the visit of 55 teachers and pupils from Hallemann Music School in Furth.

(e)  Charity Motorcycle Ride – for civic hospitality in the form of a lunch with the Provost for the motorcycle riders at an approximate cost of £200 on Wednesday, 3 August 2016 in recognition of the visit to Paisley of the charity motorcycle ride around the coast of Scotland, England and Wales.

(f)  Renfrew Community Council - for a civic reception on Thursday, 18 August 2016 at a cost of £400 to mark the unveiling of a new Air Ambulance Memorial in Renfrew and in recognition of the 50^th anniversary of the operation of air ambulance from Glasgow Airport.

(g)  Paisley & District Battalion of the Boy’s Brigade – for a civic reception, at an approximate cost of £700, to mark the presentation of the Queen’s Badge Certificates and Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award Certificates in September 2016.

DECIDED:    

(i)  That the action taken by the Director of Finance & Resources, in conjunction with the Provost, to provide civic hospitality for Paisley Pirates Ice Hockey Team, on Friday, 13 May 2016 in the Glynhill Hotel at an estimated cost of £3,000 be homologated; and

(ii)  That the Director of Finance & Resources, in conjunction with the Provost, be authorised to provide civic hospitality for Mission Discovery, 102 Field Squadron Royal Engineers, Hallemann Music School, Charity Motorcycle Ride, Renfrew Community Council and Paisley & District Battalion of the Boy’s Brigade as detailed within the report.

A Russell, Director of Finance & Resources; D Amos, Head of Policy & Commissioning (Chief Executive’s); and K Graham, Head of Corporate Governance, A MacArthur, Head of Finance, R McGrath, Head of Business Services, C Donnelly, Head of Human Resources, Organisational Development & Workforce Strategy, A Black, Managing Solicitor (Information Governance), K Locke, Risk Manager and A McNaughton, Senior Committee Services Officer (all Finance & Resources).