Service updates

SPECIAL MEETING OF STIRLING COUNCIL - THURSDAY 16 SEPTEMBER 2021

Last updated

20 Mar 2023

STIRLING COUNCIL

 

MINUTES of SPECIAL MEETING of STIRLING COUNCIL held as a VIRTUAL MEETING by

MICROSOFT TEAMS on THURSDAY 16 SEPTEMBER 2021 at 2.00 PM

 

Present:

Provost Christine SIMPSON (in the Chair)

 

Councillor Neil BENNY
Councillor Alistair BERRILL
Councillor Margaret BRISLEY
Councillor Robert DAVIES
Councillor Douglas DODDS
Councillor Martin EARL
Councillor Scott FARMER
Councillor Bryan FLANNAGAN
Councillor Danny GIBSON
Councillor Graham HOUSTON

Councillor Jane HUTCHISON
CouncillorChris KANE
Councillor Alison LAURIE

Councillor Alasdair MacPHERSON
Councillor Alastair MAJURY
Councillor Jeremy McDONALD
Councillor Susan McGILL
Councillor Jim THOMSON
Councillor Alasdair TOLLEMACHE

 

In Attendance

 

Carol Beattie, Chief Executive

Lesleyann Burns, Support Officer, Governance
Stephen Clark, Chief Officer - Housing

Martin Dalziel, Team Leader for External Communications
Graeme Forrester, Lead Solicitor - Governance

Lesley Gallagher, Service Manager – Regeneration and Inclusive Growth
Charlie Haggerty, Legal Manager

David McDougall, Governance Officer (Minute Taker)

Isabel McKnight, Chief Operating Officer – Communities & Performance
Coreen McNeil, Accommodation Manager, Housing

Alasdair Macleod, Service Manager – Senior Phase & Youth Participation
Stuart Oliver, Senior Manager – Economic Development & Communities
Brian Roberts, Chief Operating Officer – Infrastructure & Environment
Jonathan Sharp, Support & Integration Officer

David Wilson, Service Manager – Housing Management & Homelessness
Julia McAfee, Chief Officer – Governance (Clerk)

 

Also in Attendance

 

Adam Haahr, External Audit

 

Recording of Meeting started

 

Prior to the commencement of business, the Provost welcomed and thanked everyone for attending the meeting via MS Teams.

 

A statement was read to the meeting providing detail on the procedures related to MS Teams and the protocols that both Members and Officers should adhere to throughout the meeting.

 

The Provost asked the Clerk to carry out a roll call of all Members participating in the meeting. The Clerk confirmed all Members were present.

SC431 APOLOGIES‌‌‌

 

Apologies were submitted for Councillors Bennison, Oxburgh and Tweed

 

SC432 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

 

There were no declarations of interest.

 

SC433 LIVE BROADCASTING OF MEETINGS

 

This report advised Council of the requirement for meetings to be accessible to
members of the public; advised of the proposal to meet this requirement by live broadcast of relevant meetings; and proposed amendment of the existing Protocol enabling recording of meetings to include live broadcasting.

 

The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 provided a general right of access for members of the public to meetings of the Council, and to Committees and Panels, subject to specified exclusions set out in schedule 7 to the 1973 Act.

 

The Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020 added an exclusion which allowed for the
prevention of access to meetings where to allow such would pose a real and
substantial risk to public health due to infection or contamination with coronavirus. This additional exclusion was to be repealed from 1 October 2021. Accordingly, the Council would require to provide access for members of the public to meetings, subject to the pre-existing exclusions in place.

 

There remained limitations on the capacity for the Council to return to physical
meetings as were held prior to the Coronavirus pandemic. These related to the use of buildings, compliance with guidance, and individual health requirements of members and officers.

 

The Council had previously adopted a Protocol for the Recording of Council,
Committee and Panels Meetings, which provided the framework for the recording of these meetings and the provision of these recordings via the Council’s website and Youtube channel. A revised Protocol for the Broadcasting and Recording of Council, Committee and Panel Meetings was attached to the report as an appendix for consideration and approval.

 

In order to provide access for members of the public, it was proposed to broadcast meetings live. Meetings would continue to take place using the established MS Teams system, but in addition to recordings being made available subsequent to the meeting, a live feed of each meeting would be available to watch via the Council’s Youtube channel. Live broadcasting of these meetings would meet the requirements for public access to meetings.

 

Discussion took place regarding the need to promote access to the live broadcasts, and it was confirmed that the Council’s Communications team would be actively promoting the broadcasts for each meeting in advance via social media.

 

Responding to a number of queries from Members regarding ongoing Covid
restrictions and the timescales for returning to physical meetings within Council buildings, the Chief Officer – Governance confirmed that Stirling Council continued to follow Scottish Government guidance which stated that staff should continue to work from home where that was possible. Stirling Council would need to continue to prioritise the safety and wellbeing of staff and Members during the ongoing Covid pandemic. A meeting of the Group Secretaries had been arranged for the following week to discuss ongoing arrangements for Members in terms of home working and queries in this regard.

 

The Chief Officer – Governance also advised that the majority of other local authorities across Scotland continued to operate in the same way, holding meetings either remotely or with a hybrid approach, which allowed a combination of both remote and in person attendance. Proposals for hybrid meetings would be brought to Council.

 

Decision

 

Council agreed to:‌‌‌

 

  1. note that with effect from 1 October 2021 meetings of the Council would
    require to be accessible to members of the public; and

     

  2. adopt with effect from 1 October 2021 the revised Protocol for the
    Broadcasting and Recording of Council, Committee and Panel meetings.

 

(Reference: Report by Chief Officer - Governance, dated 8 September 2021,
submitted).

 

SC434 POLICY ON REFUGEE, LOCALLY EMPLOYED STAFF AND DISPLACED RESETTLEMENT SCHEMES AND ASSOCIATED PROCEDURAL
FRAMEWORK

 

This report introduced a revised Policy on Refugee, Locally Employed Staff and
Displaced Persons Resettlement Schemes and Associated Procedural Framework.

The policy and procedure detailed how the Council would meet its commitment to participate in resettlement schemes currently and in the future as global instability increased and displaced families continued to need sanctuary.

 

The Council committed to resettle families under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme in 2015 followed in 2017 by a further undertaking to provide sanctuary to refugees within the Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme. In 2021, the Council was one of the first Scottish local authorities to resettle families under the ARAP (Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy) and LES (Locally Employed Staff) programmes.

 

The Strategic Framework for Refugee Resettlement approved by the Community Planning & Regeneration Committee in 2018 formalised the strategic and operational context for resettlement. This had been applicable until now. However, the 2018 iteration was developed when the Syrian Refugee crisis was unfolding and was rooted as a response to those events. This had led to the 2018 policy being somewhat inflexible in meeting the challenge of subsequent humanitarian responses to changing global circumstances.

 

Therefore the 2018 Strategic Framework required updating to introduce a degree of flexibility in application which would reflect both the ending of the previous resettlement schemes and the growing levels of uncertainty in many countries which was likely to add to the need for resettlement.

The revised policy and procedure provided a clear strategic commitment and
operational procedure which could apply to any refugee resettlement situation.

The policy and procedure formalised the Council’s commitment to providing a safe haven for refugees. It set out the process to make sure that those provided with sanctuary in Stirling’s communities were provided with person-centred wrap-around support to enable them to settle into their new homes, schools and communities.

 

Responding to questions from Members, Officers advised that the these families would be spread throughout the Stirling Council area in a way that was practical and appropriate in terms of access to support and services. The properties generally used for this purpose would be sourced from temporary accommodation stock. A range of wrap-around support would be provided to try to ensure the families settled in well into their new communities, with work undertaken in advance with the local community to put a network of support in place, with involvement of organisations such as church groups, community councils and charities such as Forth Valley Welcome.

 

Council was advised that the types of families taken by Stirling Council would be based on the properties which the Council could provide, with families of appropriate size being matched to the available properties. In exceptional circumstances there could be a request to resettle a family of a certain size in which case the Council would attempt to identify a suitable property for that family. The intention would always be to avoid use of B&B or hotel accommodation.

 

Members welcomed the report and the proposed policy, noting how important it was that Stirling Council continued to play its part in helping to support those displaced as a result of this type of humanitarian crisis.

 

Decision

 

Council agreed to:

 

  1. approve the draft Policy on Refugee, Locally Employed Staff and Displaced Persons Resettlement Schemes;

     

  2. note that the Council would offer to resettle a proportionate amount of refugee families under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (“ARAP”), the Locally Employed Staff (“LES”) and the current Afghan Resettlement programmes, being an additional 6-10 families over those already resettled;

     

  3. note that if there was a request by the UK Government to resettle more than an additional 10 families, officers would return to Council and report this request prior to any decision being taken and to seek a decision from Council on further participation;

     

  4. approve the amendment of the Council’s Scheme of Delegation to include the power to authorise participation in refugee resettlement schemes as a Non- Statutory Reservation to Council;

     

  5. approve the delegation of power to the Chief Executive to disapply the
    Housing Allocations Policy (“HAP”) solely in circumstances detailed in the
    Legal and Risk Implications section, where this was required to implement the Policy on Refugee, Locally Employed Staff and Displaced Persons Resettlement Schemes; and

  6. note the terms of the associated Refugee, Locally Employed Staff and
    Displaced Persons Resettlement Schemes Procedural Framework.

 

(Reference: Report by Senior Manager- Economic Development & Communities, dated 9 September 2021, submitted).

 

The Provost declared the Meeting closed at 3.05 pm