Documents
Agenda
Committee Members
Membership
Councillor Audrey Doig (Convener): Councillor Paul Cassidy (Depute Convener)
Councillor Annette Ireland, Councillor Andrew Morrison, Provost Mary Montague and Councillor David Macdonald (East Renfrewshire Council); Councillor Graeme Brooks, Councillor James Daisley and Councillor Innes Nelson (Inverclyde Council); and Councillor Graeme Clark, Councillor Sam Mullin, Councillor Colin McCulloch, Councillor Bruce MacFarlane, Councillor Kenny MacLaren, Councillor Mags MacLaren and Councillor Andy Steel (Renfrewshire Council).
Standard Items
Hybrid Meeting
Please note that this meeting is scheduled to be held in the Council Chambers. However, it is a hybrid meeting and arrangements have been made for members to join the meeting remotely should they wish.
Members of the Press and Public
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Items Of Business
Apologies
Apologies from members.
Declarations of Interest and Transparency Statements
Members are asked to declare an interest or make a transparency statement in any item(s) on the agenda and to provide a brief explanation of the nature of the interest or the transparency statement.
There were no declarations of interest or transparency statements intimated prior to the commencement of the meeting.
Report by Clerk.
1
There was submitted a report by the Clerk advising that at the meeting of Renfrewshire Council held on 26 June 2025 it was decided that Councillor Colin McCulloch replace Councillor Kevin Montgomery as a member of the Joint Board and further, that Councillor Janis McDonald replace Councillor Jamie McGuire as a substitute member on the Joint Board.
DECIDED: That the appointments be noted.
Minute of meeting of this Joint Board held on 23 May 2025.
2
There was submitted the Minute of the meeting of this Joint Board held on 23 May 2025.
DECIDED: That the Minute be approved.
Report by Treasurer.
3
Under reference to item 2 of the Minute of the meeting of this Joint Board held on 23 May 2025, there was submitted a report by the Treasurer relative to the Annual Audit Report on the Annual Accounts 2024/25. The findings of the appointed auditor, Azets, were presented in the Annual Audit Report, which formed Appendix 1 to the report. The Audited Annual Accounts 2024/25 formed Appendix 2 to the report.
The report provided detail on three 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.
During discussion around the publication of Joint Board polices online it was queried whether the Whistleblowing Policy was publicly available and if so if it was published on the RVJB website. It was noted that this policy was published online and it was agreed that a link to access it would be circulated to all members following the meeting.
DECIDED:
(a) That the findings of the 2024/25 audit, as contained in the Annual Audit Report which formed Appendix 1 to the report, be noted;
(b) That the 2024/25 Audited Annual Accounts, which formed Appendix 2 to the report, be approved for signature; and
(c) That a link to the RVJB Whistleblowing Policy would be circulated to all members following the meeting.
Report by Treasurer.
4
There was submitted a revenue budget monitoring report by the Treasurer in respect of the Joint Board for the period to 22 August 2025. The report intimated that at the end of period 5, the Joint Board had a year-to-date overspend position of £25,000 and was projected to underspend by £123,000 against budget by the end of the financial year, as detailed in section 4 of the report.
The report noted that the method of funding the ongoing additional burdens from the Elections Act had been changed by the UK Government for 2025/26 and would take the form of a Justification Led Bid that would be submitted during 2026/27, for allowable expenditure incurred during 2024/25. The report recommended that in the interim, any costs associated with this activity be funded from reserves, as £114,000 of related funding had been carried forward from 2024/25.
DECIDED:
(a) That the report be noted; and
(b) That the use of reserves for the costs associated with the required update for postal voters be approved.
Report by Assistant Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer.
5
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.
The report noted that the risk in relation to the move from the Robertson Centre had been removed as the relocation to Renfrewshire House had been completed.
DECIDED: That the contents of the report be noted.
Report by Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer.
6
Under reference to item 6 of the Minute of the meeting of this Joint Board held on 23 May 2025, there was submitted a report by the Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer providing updates on Electoral Registration, legislation and electoral events.
The report provided updates since the last meeting of the Joint Board in relation to the 2025 Canvass; elections; the Elections Act 2022; the UK Government publication ‘Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections’; the Absent Voting (Elections in Scotland and Wales) Bill; the second review of Scottish Parliamentary Boundaries; and the UK Parliament review of the 2024 General Election.
DECIDED: That the contents of the report be noted.
Report by Assistant Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer.
7
Under reference to item 9 of the Minute of the meeting of this Joint Board held on 23 May 2025, there was submitted a report by the Assistant Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer providing an update to the ongoing reporting of performance for the first three months of the rating year.
The report advised that the time taken to enter new houses into the Valuation (Council Tax) List met both the target of 95% within three months and 97% within six months, by achieving 99.59% for both targets; that the average number of days taken to add a house in each constituent authority area in the reporting period was 32.56 days, below the target of 38 days; that 157 properties had been deleted from the Valuation (Council Tax) List in the reporting period; and that the time taken to make statutory amendments to the Valuation Roll, excluding appeal settlements and amendments to the prescribed entries, exceeded both the target of 60% to be actioned within three months and 75% to be actioned within six months, by achieving 94.89% and 96.35% respectively.
DECIDED: That the contents of the report be noted.
Report by Assistant Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer.
8
Under reference to item 10 of the Minute of the meeting of this Joint Board held on 23 May 2025, there was submitted a report by the Assistant Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer relative to the 2023 Revaluation and Running Roll proposals and appeals and the disposal of the 2017 Revaluation and Running Roll appeals.
DECIDED: That the contents of the report be noted.
Report by Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer.
9
There was submitted a report by the Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer relative to the next Revaluation of all non-domestic property which would come into effect on 1 April 2026 and which would be the first Revaluation delivered on the new three-yearly cycle. The report advised that work had been undertaken to ensure that local systems were in place to assist in the analysis of rental and other information and the revaluation of approximately 14,600 non-domestic subjects within the Valuation Rolls of East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde and Renfrewshire.
The report provided detail in relation to the progress of the Revaluation; the joint work with other Assessors throughout Scotland via the Scottish Assessors Association (SAA); and the SAA Pre-agreement Framework R2006.
DECIDED: That the report be noted.
Report by Assistant Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer.
10
There was submitted a report by the Assistant Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer relative to the adoption of a Pregnancy Loss Policy, the purpose of which was to help managers provide appropriate practical and emotional support to any employee impacted by miscarriage, ectopic or molar pregnancy. A copy of the Policy as appended to the report.
DECIDED: That the Pregnancy Loss Policy be approved.
Report by Assistant Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer.
11
There was submitted a report by the Assistant Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer relative to trade union facility time reporting in terms of The Trade Union (Facility Time Publication Requirements) Regulations 2017 which 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 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, but 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 2023/24 and 2024/25 was appended to the report.
DECIDED: That the contents of the report be noted.
Report by Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer.
12
There was submitted a report by the Assessor & Electoral Registration Officer providing updates in relation to staffing and property. In relation to staffing, the report noted that the final Principal Valuer vacancy had now been filled; two new members of staff had joined the Administration/Election Team; and provided detail in relation to staff achievements. The report noted that due to current and upcoming work, Joint Board staff would be under pressure in the coming months but that the staffing changes introduced would greatly assist in successfully delivering tasks.
In relation to property, the report noted that the move from the Robertson Centre to Renfrewshire House took place during April/May and that the adaptation works required to the new office had still to take place.
DECIDED: That the report be noted.
Note that the next meeting of this Joint Board will be held on 14 November 2025 at 11.00 am in the offices of Inverclyde Council.
13
DECIDED: That it be noted that the next meeting of the Joint Board would be held at 11.00 am on 14 November 2025 in the offices of Inverclyde Council.
Attendance
Declarations of Interests
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