Falkirk Council Agenda - 05 December 2012, 09:30 
A meeting to be held at Municipal Buildings, Falkirk at 09:30 on 05 December 2012.
| Number | Item |
|---|---|
| 1 | SEDERUNT |
| 2 | DECLARATIONS OF INTERESTS Members should declare any financial and non-financial interests they have in any item of business at the meeting, identifying the relevant agenda item and the nature of the interest. |
| 3 | MINUTES AND INFORMATION BULLETIN Submit:- |
| (a) | Minute of Meeting of Falkirk Council held on 26 September 2012 View Papers |
| (b) | Volume of Minutes - Volume 3 2012/2013 View Papers |
| (c) | Information Bulletin - Volume 3 2012/2013 View Papers |
| 4 | FUTURE LAND SUPPLY FOR COUNCIL NEW BUILD (This item has been called in to Council by Councillors Alexander, Chalmers and Turner in terms of the Scheme of Delegation). |
| (a) | Extract of Minute of Meeting of the Housing and Social Care Committee held on 6 November 2012 |
| (b) | Report by the Director of Corporate and Neighbourhood Services submitted to the Housing and Social Care Committee held on 6 November 2012 View Papers |
| 5 | REFERRALS FROM AUDIT COMMITTEE ON 29 OCTOBER 2012 |
| (a) | TERMS OF REFERENCE Submit Report by the Chief Executive View Papers |
| (b) | ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2011/12 Submit Report by the Chief Finance Officer View Papers |
| 6 | REFERRAL FROM LEISURE, TOURISM AND COMMUNITY COMMITTEE ON 20 NOVEMBER 2012 FALKIRK COMMUNITY TRUST MUSEUM AND LIBRARY COLLECTIONS POLICIES Submit Report by the Chief Executive View Papers |
| 7 | DECISION MAKING STRUCTURES Submit Report by the Chief Executive View Papers |
| 8 | STRATEGIC COMMUNITY PLAN - SINGLE OUTCOME AGREEMENT ANNUAL MONITORING STATEMENT 2011/12 Submit Report by the Chief Executive View Papers |
| 9 | MEMBERS' LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT Submit joint Report by the Chief Governance Officer and the Director of Corporate and Neighbourhood Services View Papers |
| 10 | RESERVES STRATEGY UPDATE Submit Report by the Chief Finance Officer View Papers |
| 11 | FINANCIAL POSITION 2012/13 Submit Report by the Chief Finance Officer View Papers |
| 12 | TREASURY MANAGEMENT - INTERIM REVIEW 2012/13 Submit Report by the Chief Finance Officer View Papers |
| 13 | ROUGHCASTING AND ROOFING CONTRACT FOR VARIOUS LOCATIONS, SKINFLATS AND GRANGEMOUTH (GRA7136) Submit Report by the Director of Development Services View Papers |
| 14 | ROUGHCASTING AND ROOFING CONTRACT FOR VARIOUS LOCATIONS, FALKIRK, LAURIESTON, SHIELDHILL AND HALLGLEN (FAL-7123) Submit Report by the Director of Development Services View Papers |
| 15 | APPOINTMENTS TO EXTERNAL ORGANISATION Submit Report by the Chief Governance Officer View Papers |
| 16 | EXECUTION OF DEEDS Submit Report by the Chief Governance Officer View Papers |
| 17 | NOTICES OF MOTION |
| (a) | Christmas Parking "Council notes with concern recent reports showing the decline in High Street shopping due to the current economic downturn. Reports show that the period leading up to Christmas is a vital time for retailers and may be the last opportunity for local and national traders to make enough profit to continue trading next year. Council has previously discussed the difficulties traders in the Falkirk District are experiencing and to help traders and encourage shoppers to shop locally:- Council agrees to suspend parking fees in Council car parking facilities during the second week in December to second week in January. Council also notes that this is the third year this motion has been brought forward and to this effect:- Council further agrees that until further notice of motion this period becomes practice in which car parking charges within Falkirk Council car parks are suspended during this timescale". Proposed by Councillor Steven Jackson. View Papers |
| (b) | School Crossing Patrols "Council agreed some time ago to review the policy for School Crossing patrols and bring reviewed policy back to Council. To date Council has failed to follow its own instructions. Council will note that the School Crossing at Station Road/Salmon Inn Road ceased 23rd November as the patrol officer has resigned following illness and no longer meets Council criteria for School crossing patrols. Council is instructed to reinstate this School Crossing patrol immediately pending the promised review of policy and outcome of review to come to Environmental and Community Safety at the earliest date of completion of review". Proposed by Councillor Steven Jackson. View Papers |
| (c) | Language Assistants "Falkirk Council as a forward thinking authority committed itself to the Lisbon protocol shortly after it was created in the year 2000. In this respect Council is asked to renew its commitment to Lifelong Learning especially through the teaching of foreign languages and the recruitment of foreign language assistants. Council is further asked that a progress report on recruitment procedures enacted in relation to foreign language assistants is presented at the first meeting of the Education Committee in 2013". Proposed by Councillor Gordon Hughes. View Papers |
| (d) | Library Opening Hours "Prior to the inception of the Falkirk Community Trust this council reduced the opening hours of Falkirk's libraries. This was a budget review exercise designed to achieve a potential saving of around £170k. Both the Chief Executive's report to the Best Value Forum of 12th October on the performance of the Community trust and the Trust's own performance report of 18th October produced by the trust's own Business Development Manager highlight a substantial and alarming drop in library usage. The Business Development Manager notes that the trust is unlikely to meet even its revised target for library issues. Members will remember that libraries are a statutory responsibility of this Council. Accordingly, only the Council has the legal authority to alter library hours. I request that this Council instructs officers to restore library opening hours to the level that existed before the inception of the Trust in order to give the Trust the opportunity to meet its targets". Proposed by Councillor Tom Coleman. View Papers |
| (e) | Disposal of Property "At a recent meeting of the Planning Committee, the decision was made to refuse planning permission to an applicant who wished to turn the building into a hot food take-away. At the on-site meeting it was suggested that the applicant could appeal the decision. It was also suggested that Council could withdraw the site from sale. Motion - That Council recognise the unique location of the Stationmaster's house in Denny and reverses its decision of 20 October 2009. The building and adjoining land will therefore be returned to the Development Services Account". Proposed by Councillor Brian McCabe. View Papers |
| (f) | Pay Day Loans "There are serious concerns over the self-regulation of this relatively new financial sector industry which has seen a six-fold increase in the number of short term loan companies on our High Streets. Motion - That Council recognise the alarming rise in the availability of 'Pay Day Loan' facilities and instructs the Directors of Corporate & Neighbourhood Services and Social Work Services to identify the current use and projected impact on residents within the Council's catchment area". Proposed by Councillor Brian McCabe. View Papers |
| (g) | Community Council Funding "It is unanimously recognised that the role played in local governance issues by all of our Community Councils is invaluable under severe economic constraint. Current funding levels have been in place for approximately 10 years. Motion - That Council seek a full financial appraisal with a view to increasing current levels of funding to Community Councils". Proposed by Councillor Robert Spears. View Papers |
| (h) | Public Sector Information Regulations 2005 "The Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005, tasks the authority with establishing an internal complaints procedure relevant to the regulation. Falkirk Council currently does not have such a policy but instead operate an informative leaflet which is flawed. Motion - That Council instruct the Chief Governance Officer to draft up a procedural document that satisfies the requirements of 17.-(1) of The Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005". Proposed by Councillor Brian McCabe. View Papers |
| (i) | Supplementary Planning Guidance "Current Council practice refers all planning applicants to the requirement to have them, or their Environmental Consultant, follow the Falkirk Council Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) Note 'Development of Land Affected by Contamination: Guidance for Applicants and Developers'. The Director of Development Services has recognised that information contained within this guidance document is wrong. As far as I am aware, Councillors on the Planning Committee are advised that compliance with the SPG is a 'material consideration' when arriving at their decisions. Motion - That Council instructs the immediate withdrawal of Supplementary Planning Guidance Note "Development of Land Affected by Contamination: Guidance for Applicants and Developers" until all errors or omissions have been corrected". Proposed by Councillor Brian McCabe. View Papers |
| (j) | Forth Valley Royal Hospital "When permission was granted for the construction of the new Forth Valley hospital at Larbert, a section 75 agreement was put in place with the purpose of encouraging sustainable travel to the hospital. The primary consequence of this was a reduction of the number of parking spaces that would normally have been provided on site. Since the hospital opened in 2010 there has been extensive car parking spillage on to the A9 Stirling Road and five other adjacent streets. The parking deficit at the hospital almost entirely relates to the under provision of staff parking. Consequently, residents have suffered all day obstruction to their properties. Reviews of the on street parking problem and monitoring reports have been produced initially in November 2011 then subsequently in February 2012, March 2012 (revised report) April 2012, May 2012 culminating with a meeting with myself and the hospital facility managers on 31st August. I request that this Council acts to obtain the agreement of Scottish Ministers to remove the conditions of the section 75 placed on the hospital site in order that proper and realistic parking provision can be put in by FVNHS on the hospital site". Proposed by Councillor Tom Coleman. View Papers |
| 18 | Exclusion of Public If so resolved in terms of Section 50A(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, exclude from its meeting the press and public for the following items of business on the ground that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 8, 9, 11 and 12 of Part 1 of Schedule 7A of the Said Act |
| 19 | ACCESSIBLE TRANSPORT SERVICE PROCUREMENT (This item has been called in to Council by Councillors Meiklejohn and Ritchie in terms of the Scheme of Delegation). |
| (a) | Extract of Draft Minute of Meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee held on 13 November 2012 |
| (b) | Report by the Director of submitted to the Policy and Resources Committee held on 13 November 2012 View Papers |
| 20 | REFUSE COLLECTION SERVICES Submit Report by the Director of Corporate and Neighbourhood Services View Papers |