template for minutes

COMHAIRLE NAN EILEAN SIAR

ARTS AND LEISURE COMMITTEE

Minute of Meeting held in the Council Offices, Stornoway, on Tuesday 25 October 2005 at 9.00am.

PRESENT	Mr Malcolm J Graham (Chairman)
	Mr Iain Morrison (Vice-Chairman)
	Mr John Mackay
	Mr Alex A MacDonald	Mr Angus Campbell
	Mr George Lonie	Mr Angus McCormack
	Mr Norman L Macdonald	Mr Donald I Nicolson
	Mr Keith Dodson	Mr Angus Macdonald

Tribute: Mr Malcolm Burr		The Chairman, on behalf of the Committee, welcomed Mr Malcolm Burr, who had recently been appointed as the new Chief Executive of the Comhairle and wished him every success in his new post.
Tribute: Mr Bill Howat		The Chairman, on behalf of the Committee referred to Mr Bill Howat, Chief Executive, who was leaving the Comhairle, thanked him for his contribution to the Comhairle over the years and wished him well in his next venture.
Tribute: An Lanntair		The Chairman referred to the Board of An Lanntair and on behalf of the Committee congratulated them on a tremendous new arts facility, which had opened in time for the Mod and with which the Comhairle looked forward to a close partnership to deliver a range of cultural services including community outreach, to bring a blend of quality arts to island communities.
Tribute: Royal National Mod		The Chairman referred to the Royal National Mod which had been held in the Western Isles and on behalf of the Committee, congratulated the Mod on such a successful event, which was due particularly to the enormous amount of work done by the Mod Committee, the volunteers and all the competitors.
		MINUTES
Minute of Meeting of 30 August 2005	1	The Minute of Meeting of 30 August 2005 was approved.
Declaration of Interest	2	There were no declarations of interest.

BUILDINGS

Capital Works: Programme and Progress

PR33.01.12

With reference to Item 6 of the Minute of Meeting of 30 August 2005 the Director of Technical Services submitted a Report concerning Programme and Progress in respect of properties held on the Arts and Leisure Account.

It was agreed to recommend that the Comhairle note the Report.

Arising out of consideration of the Item is was agreed that in relation to the scheme on Sports Changing Rooms – Various School Pitches that a further Report be submitted by the Director for Sustainable Communities to the December 2005 meeting on the solutions to the changing rooms issue for the projects not currently the subject of Sports Scotland applications for project funding, but currently on the list for further consideration, the work to be done as a matter of priority, being mindful of: the local groups who have funds available which they are not currently able to spend; the design and build solution being investigated by the Technical Services Department for separate facilities or units similar to those in Shetland and including all the range of options for the existing changing rooms in schools for which there is an outlining scheme; the potential to access Iomairt Aig an Oir funding for local groups, in the relevant areas and the necessary publicity for such potential funding; the need to raise with Sports Scotland the issue of the correlation between their specification and the information they require on the application form, particularly the extensive information on potential usage; the details of the specification required by Sports Scotland which would highlight the difference between a changing facility in a rural situation and that required in a urban situation, together with a copy of the Shetland “model” specification which could be “adequate for need”, on a case by case basis; and a detailed analysis of value for money, in terms of what funds are available, with particular reference to the level of grant available, from Sports Scotland for their specification, in relation to the total cost of the Shetland “model” specification

Repairs and Maintenance (Revenue) Programme 2005/06 – Quarterly Expenditure to 30 September 2005

PR33.01.12

With reference to Item 7 of the Minute of Meeting of 2 November 2004 the Director of Technical Services submitted a Report detailing expenditure on Repairs and Maintenance of properties held on the Arts and Leisure Account in the current financial year to 30 September 2005.

It was agreed to recommend:

(1) that the Comhairle note the Report;

(2) that the Comhairle note that further Reports on the repairs and maintenance of properties held on the Arts and Leisure Account will continue to be placed before Committee at quarterly intervals; and

(3) that all Reports, in future, which indicate an increase in expenditure over the budget give details of the reasons for the expenditure additional to the budget.

Stornoway Town Hall – Feasibility Study

LB35.01

With reference to Item 6 of the Minute of Meeting of 15 June 2004 the Director for Sustainable Communities submitted a Report concerning the future use of Stornoway Town Hall. A summary of the consultants report was included as an appendix with details of the five options outlined in the consultants report. It was highlighted that the Town Hall Member/Officer Working Group had recommended option 4 as the preferred option.

It was agreed to recommend that:

(1) Option 4 be adopted as the preferred option for the re-development of the Town Hall; and

(2) the Director for Sustainable Communities be authorised to develop a funding package for option 4 for presentation to a future meeting of the Committee.

Adult Learning Classes 2004/05

AL04.01

With reference to Item 17 of the Minute of Meeting of 25 November 2003 the Director for Sustainable Communities submitted a Report concerning the provision of Adult Learning Classes in the Western Isles during Winter 2004 and Spring 2005 and seeking approval of the continuation of the partnership work in this area. An Adult Learning Classes Action Plan for 2005/06 was appended to the Report.

It was agreed to recommend that the Comhairle:

(1) support the continuation of the partnership agreement with Lews Castle College for the management and delivery of Adult Learning Classes in Lewis and Harris;

(2) support the development of a partnership approach with local training providers in Uist and Barra; and

(3) approve the Action Plan as detailed in Appendix 1.

Revenue Support for the Comann Eachdraidh

AL09.02

With reference to Item 7 of the Minute of Meeting of 14 June 2005 the Director for Sustainable Communities submitted a Report considering a revised Scheme of Administration for the Comainn Eachdraidh which would increase the levels of financial assistance available to them. The Scheme of Administration would include a revised per capita grant scheme, a revenue project fund and an independent museum grant.

It was agreed to recommend:

(1) that the Comhairle agree to a new Scheme of Administration for giving financial assistance to the Comainn Eachdraidh as outlined in sections 5, 6 and 7 of the Report, subject to the following amendments: at paragraph 7 the Registered Independent Museums be awarded an annual grant of £750, with the total cost of this aspect of the scheme in 2005/06 being £4500; the sum of £1500 resulting from this amendment be applied at paragraph 5.1 under the Per Capita Scheme where the banding be extended, in order to encourage the increase in membership, by awarding a maximum grant of at least the previous maximum grant awarded of £352; and at paragraph 6.2 the project grant scheme be widened to specifically include all types of projects in order not to discriminate against projects which do not involve archaeology;

(2) that the budget allocations to the new Scheme of Administration be as outlined in section 2.3 of the Report; and

(3) the budget transfers to create the Scheme of Administration be as outlined in section 8.1 of the Report.

		PERFORMANCE REVIEW
Statutory Performance Indicators (SPIs) 2004/05	8	The Chief Executive submitted a Report giving information on the Arts and Leisure Performance Indicators (SPIs) for 2004/05. The Report stated that the majority of indicators in this service area had improved between 2003/04 and 2004/05. It was agreed to recommend that: (1) the Committee note the performance of services as measured by SPIs in 2004/05; and (2) a further Report be brought to the Committee on the collection of library service data once a date for the availability of Broadband is known.
Reports Outstanding: Progress PR33.01.12	9	With reference to Item 14 of the Minute of Meeting of 30 August 2005 the Director of Corporate Services submitted a Report concerning Reports Outstanding arising from decisions of the Arts and Leisure Committee. It was agreed to recommend that the Comhairle note the Report.