18 June 02 (7.00 pm)

COMHAIRLE NAN EILEAN SIAR

Minute of Meeting held in the Council Offices, Stornoway, on Tuesday 18 June 2002 at 7.00 pm

PRESENT

Mr Alex A MacDonald (Chairman)

Mr Roderick J Murray (Vice-Chairman)

Mr Norman M Macleod

Mrs Katie M Mackenzie

Mr Donald J Macsween

Mr Malcolm J Macleod

Mr Donald M Mackay

Mr Iain Morrison

Mrs Morag Munro

Mr Roderick Morrison

Mr Donald Macdonald

Mr Malcolm J Graham

Mr Archie K Campbell

Mr Ian M Macleod

Mr Donald Maclean

Mr George Lonie

Mr Martin C Taylor

Mr Murdo Macleod

Mrs Mary Bremner

Mr Norman L Macdonald

Mr Ronald J Mackinnon

Mr Alasdair G Macrae

Mr David Blaney

Mr Angus Campbell

Mr Donald Manford

Mr Donald I Nicholson

APOLOGIES

Mr Norman A Macdonald

Mr Philip R McLean

Mr Angus Nicolson

Prayer

The Meeting was opened with Prayer led by Mr Donald M Mackay.

Tribute: Mr Donald Murray

The Chairman referred to the recent death of Mr Donald Murray who had served as Member for the Blackwater Ward between 1995 and 1999. Mr Murray had been Chairman of the Contract Services Committee and Vice-Chairman of the Social Work Committee. The Chairman paid tribute to Mr Murray's work as a Councillor and within the community of the Western Isles, and on behalf of the Comhairle, conveyed sympathy and condolences to Mr Murray's widow and family in their sad loss.

Tribute: Mr David O'Loan

The Chairman referred to Mr David O'Loan, Director of Corporate Services, who was leaving the Comhairle to take up a post of Head of Strategic Finance and Chief Finance Officer at Waltham Forest Council. On behalf of the Comhairle, the Chairman thanked Mr O'Loan for his hard work for the Comhairle and conveyed best wishes to him in his new post.

Tribute: Mr Kenneth Morrison

The Chairman referred to Mr Kenneth Morrison, Ospadal Uibhist agus Bharraidh, who had celebrated his 100^th birthday on 26 May 2002 and, on behalf of the Comhairle, conveyed best wishes to Mr Morrison.

Tribute: Dr John A J Macleod MBE

The Chairman referred to Dr John A J Macleod of Uist who had been awarded the MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List and, on behalf of the Comhairle, congratulated Dr Macleod on receiving this honour.

Tribute: Mr William Kenneth Maciver CBE

The Chairman referred to Mr William Kenneth Maciver, formerly of Westview Terrace, Stornoway, who was awarded the CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to Aerospace and, on behalf of the Comhairle, congratulated Mr Maciver on receiving this honour.

Tribute: Stornoway Rugby Club

The Chairman referred to Stornoway Rugby Club who had celebrated their 50^th anniversay and, on behalf of the Comhairle, congratulated the Club on reaching this milestone and on their success in the field this season, having won the District League Cup and being runners up in the Highland League.

Tribute: The Nicolson Institute

The Chairman, on behalf of the Comhairle, congratulated the football teams of The Nicolson Institute who had been successful in recent tournaments. He stated that the Nicolson Institute Boys Under-15, Girls Under-15 and Senior Girls Teams had all won the North of Scotland Cup in their respective competitions.

Tribute: Mr Jim Keenan

The Chairman, on behalf of the Comhairle, congratulated Mr Jim Keenan, a pupil of The Nicolson Institute who had won the 800 metre and 1500 metre races in the Scottish Schools Athletics Championship.

Tribute: Sir E Scott School, Tarbert

The Chairman, on behalf of the Comhairle, extended congratulations to pupils from Sir E Scott School, Tarbert, who had won the Scottish Final of The Royal Bank of Scotland Young Enterprise Awards and conveyed best wishes to the Team for success in the Young Enterprise Final which will be held in July.

MINUTES

Comhairle

1

The Minute of Meeting of 23 April 2002 was approved.

QUESTIONS

Written Questions to the Convener and Chairmen of Committees

2

Written Questions to the Convener and Chairmen of Standing Committees were submitted as follows:

(1) Correspondence

Mr Donald M Mackay asked why letters to the Chairman of Transportation Committee on 9 November 2001 and 21 February 2002 had not been answered or acknowledged.

Mr Donald Manford replied on behalf of the Chairman of the Transportation Committee that with regard to the letter of 9 November, the Chairman confirmed with the Director that the agreed works would proceed in that financial year and the Chairman had conveyed this information to Mr Mackay orally. He also agreed with Mr Mackay that the further work requested was constrained by the inadequacy of the budget which was a matter which the Comhairle had an opportunity to address at the time of budget setting.

With regard to the letter of 21 February 2002, with which Mr Mackay had enclosed copies of correspondence from Pairc Community Council, it had been understood that the correspondence relating to safety issues at Gravir was acknowledged on 13 December 2001 and a detailed response issued on 17 December.

The matter relating to the Saturday bus timetable for South Lochs was referred to the Integrated Passenger Transport Sub-Committee and a letter was sent on 26 February 2002 setting out the Sub-Committee's decision.

The letter to the Chairman of 20 February 2002 had also been sent to the Chief Executive and it was assumed that he would reply to Mr Mackay's concerns.

(2) Decentralisation

Mr Donald M Mackay asked what progress had been made by Departments in implementing the Comhairle's decision regarding decentralisation of staff from Stornoway

Mr Roderick J Murray replied that the Comhairle had agreed to seek the decentralisation of jobs from the Comhairle Headquarters in Stornoway. The target is 10% of posts. To assist in this process, a Working Group was established. The Working Group has not met for some time. However, a number of actions had been taken within Departments to disperse jobs outwith Stornoway in particular, and to provide work facilities in outlying areas.

The Comhairle has established a "hot desk" facility in Lochboisdale which provides facilities to work away from their office base. There has been a successful home working pilot carried out in the Finance Department and two posts in the Council Tax Section of that Department have been relocated to Benbecula. Also, there have been increased inter-departmental working, particularly in Castlebay, where staff provide services for a number of Departments that would otherwise have been provided from Stornoway or Balivanich. In addition, when a vacant post is put forward to be released and filled, the Department management must indicate whether the post can be decentralised. It is intended to build on these initiatives in particular as part of the ongoing decentralisation process.

Specific recent developments of decentralisation are to be found in the new community schools initiative in Education, where the majority of posts are located outside Stornoway and the development of the Handyman Service in Housing where employees are now located in Harris and Barra - this provides employment in these areas and removes the previous need for staff to travel from Stornoway or Uist to undertake this work. A further example is the development of the fixed hours contracts for Home Carers which aims to improve the quality of these jobs by giving the full security of employment awarded to other posts and introducing new training opportunities. The first 18 posts had been advertised, for internal recruitment from the existing workforce. As this aspect of the service develops, it is almost certain that there will be further dispersal of jobs from the central areas.

Mr Murray stated that, although there had not been any headlined decentralisation of posts, there had been progress. He was conscious that Members were interested in this issue and in the progress made. In light of that he would be seeking a Report on the matter to be presented at an early meeting of the Policy and Finance Committee.

Mr Donald M Mackay asked as a supplementary question did it demonstrate a commitment when the working group had only met twice in three years.

Mr Roderick J Murray replied that although the working group had not met, it could be seen from his previous answer that the work was ongoing.

CONSTITUTION

Joint Resourcing and Management of Community Care Services: Appointments to Joint Committee

3

The Director of Social Work submitted a Report regarding the establishment of joint resourcing and joint management arrangements for Community Care services. It was noted that previous approval had been given in principle to the establishment of a Joint Committee of equal representation from the Comhairle and the NHS Eilean Siar to oversee and lead the development process for joint management. It was indicated that the NHS Board had made appointment of five Executive Directors to the Committee. The Comhairle was invited to appoint five Members to serve on the new Joint Committee.

It was agreed:

(1) to appoint five Members to serve on the Joint Committee with NHS Eilean Siar; and

(2) to note the detailed programme for the Joint Committee, with recommendations for its adoption of full Committee functions for Community Care Services across the Comhairle and the Health Board, would be brought to the Comhairle for approval at a later stage.

The Chairman called for nominations to the Joint Committee.

The following Members were proposed, each being duly moved and seconded:

Mr Roderick Morrison

Mr Angus Campbell

Mrs Morag Munro

Mr David Blaney

Mr Roderick J Murray

Mr Norman M Macleod

Mr Donald Manford

Mrs Katie M Mackenzie

On a vote being taken by ballot, there voted as follows:-

Mr Roderick Morrison - 17 votes

Mr Angus Campbell - 13 votes

Mrs Morag Munro - 19 votes

Mr David Blaney - 13 votes

Mr Roderick J Murray - 15 votes

Mr Norman M Macleod - 16 votes

Mr Donald Manford - 8 votes

Mrs Katie M Mackenzie - 12 votes

The Chairman declared that Mr Roderick Morrison, Mrs Morag Munro, Mr Roderick J Murray and Mr Norman M Macleod had been duly elected to serve on the Joint Committee and that lots be drawn between Mr Angus Campbell and Mr David Blaney to determine the fifth Member of the Committee.

Prior to lots being drawn, Mr Angus Campbell withdrew and the Chairman declared that Mr David Blaney had been elected to serve on the Joint Committee.

Community Councils

4

The Chief Executive submitted a Report regarding proposals to suspend Community Council elections in 2002, to re-schedule these elections into 2003 and to undertake consultation on possible revisions to the Scheme for the Establishment of Community Councils. It was noted that the terms of Community Councils and of the Comhairle had been the same and it was suggested that, in order to continue this practice, the Community Council elections due to be held in 2002 be re-scheduled into 2003 in light of the extension of the Comhairle's term. The Report addressed a number of issues relating to the number of Community Councils in the Western Isles, the funding of Community Councils with particular reference to Comhairle administrative funding and the timing of elections and the method of voting.

It was agreed that:

(1) the elections for Community Councils due to be held in 2002 be suspended and the elections held in 2003, to bring the terms of the Comhairle and the Community Councils into line;

(2) consultations be undertaken with Elected Members and Community Councils with a view to preparing a revised Scheme for the Establishment of Community Councils with the consultation to focus in the first instance on the following general principles:

(a) that consideration be given to a reduction in the number of Community Councils; and

(b) that Community Council areas be aligned as far as practicable with the Sustainable Community areas identified in the Draft Western Isles Structure Plan;

(c) that the budgetary provision for Community Councils for Administrative and Social Grants and the Challenge Fund be consolidated into a single Community Councils budget;

(d) that the consolidated budget be allocated across Community Councils to provide increased core funding to every Community Council;

(e) that the term of Community Councils be four years with elections held in the same year as local government elections, but at a later date in the year; and

(f) that Community Council elections be conducted on the basis of postal voting.

(3) the target date for presenting a revised Scheme for approval to proceed to statutory consultation be the meeting of the Comhairle due to be held on 10 September 2002.

COMMITTEES

Committee Decision Reports

5

Committee Decision Reports were submitted as undernoted.

The Comhairle noted the decisions of the Committees and approved the recommendations in those Items from Committees, unless otherwise indicated:

(1) Arts and Leisure Committee - 28 May 2002

(2) Housing Committee - 28 May 2002

(3) Education Committee - 28 May 2002.

It was agreed to approve the recommendations in Item 19 of the Decision Report - Comhairle Agreement - Local Negotiating Committee.

(4) Environmental Services Committee -

(a) 29 May 2002; and

(b) 13 June 2002.

It was agreed to approve the recommendation in Item 1(4) of the Decision Report - Lingerbay: Decision on Status of 1965 Planning Permission that the Comhairle meet on the same day as any meeting of the Environmental Services Committee to consider any recommendation from the Committee in relation to a letter from the Scottish Executive on the proposed superquarry at Lingerbay, Isle of Harris.

(5) Transportation Committee - 29 May 2002

(6) Sustainable Development Committee - 29 May 2002

(7) Social Work Committee - 30 May 2002

(8) Standards and Scrutiny Committee - 17 June 2002.

It was agreed to approve the recommendations in the following Items of the Decision Report.

Item 2 - Minute of Meeting of the Audit Panel of 5 June 2002.

Item 3 - Scheme of Delegation to Officers, recommendation (1) only.

Item 4 - Guide to Contract Regulations.

Item 6 - Departmental Business Plans.

(9) Policy and Finance Committee:

(a) 27 May 2002; and

(b) 18 June 2002.

It was agreed to approve the recommendation in Item 38 of the Decision Report - E-Work in Europe: Ninth Annual European Assembly on Teleworking and New Ways to Work.

NOTICE OF MOTION

Correspondence

6

In accordance with Standing Order 31, Mr Donald M Mackay, seconded by Mr Donald Macdonald, submitted a Notice of Motion in the following terms:

That a Report be brought to the next meeting of the Standards and Scrutiny Committee giving a clear indication of the timeframe within which correspondence received from the public be acknowledged and replied to.

It was agreed in terms of Standing Order 32 that the Notice of Motion be deferred to the next meeting of the Standards & Scrutiny Committee.

ADDITIONAL ITEMS

The Chairman ruled in terms of Standing Order 8 that the following item be considered as a matter of urgency to enable officers to take action on the matter before a statutory deadline which fell before the date of the next scheduled meeting of the Comhairle and its committees.

Draft Abstract of Accounts 2001/2002

7

The Director of Finance submitted a report regarding the Draft Abstract of Accounts for the financial year 2001/2002. The Draft Abstract of Accounts was appended to the report. Authority was sought to submit the accounts for audit.

It was agreed that the Director of Finance be authorised to submit the Draft Abstract of Accounts 2001/2002 for audit.

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PRESENT	Mr Alex A MacDonald (Chairman)
	Mr Roderick J Murray (Vice-Chairman)	Mr Norman M Macleod
	Mrs Katie M Mackenzie	Mr Donald J Macsween
	Mr Malcolm J Macleod	Mr Donald M Mackay
	Mr Iain Morrison	Mrs Morag Munro
	Mr Roderick Morrison	Mr Donald Macdonald
	Mr Malcolm J Graham	Mr Archie K Campbell
	Mr Ian M Macleod	Mr Donald Maclean
	Mr George Lonie	Mr Martin C Taylor
	Mr Murdo Macleod	Mrs Mary Bremner
	Mr Norman L Macdonald	Mr Ronald J Mackinnon
	Mr Alasdair G Macrae	Mr David Blaney
	Mr Angus Campbell	Mr Donald Manford
	Mr Donald I Nicholson


APOLOGIES	Mr Norman A Macdonald	Mr Philip R McLean
	Mr Angus Nicolson

Prayer		The Meeting was opened with Prayer led by Mr Donald M Mackay.
Tribute: Mr Donald Murray		The Chairman referred to the recent death of Mr Donald Murray who had served as Member for the Blackwater Ward between 1995 and 1999. Mr Murray had been Chairman of the Contract Services Committee and Vice-Chairman of the Social Work Committee. The Chairman paid tribute to Mr Murray's work as a Councillor and within the community of the Western Isles, and on behalf of the Comhairle, conveyed sympathy and condolences to Mr Murray's widow and family in their sad loss.
Tribute: Mr David O'Loan		The Chairman referred to Mr David O'Loan, Director of Corporate Services, who was leaving the Comhairle to take up a post of Head of Strategic Finance and Chief Finance Officer at Waltham Forest Council. On behalf of the Comhairle, the Chairman thanked Mr O'Loan for his hard work for the Comhairle and conveyed best wishes to him in his new post.
Tribute: Mr Kenneth Morrison		The Chairman referred to Mr Kenneth Morrison, Ospadal Uibhist agus Bharraidh, who had celebrated his 100^th birthday on 26 May 2002 and, on behalf of the Comhairle, conveyed best wishes to Mr Morrison.
Tribute: Dr John A J Macleod MBE		The Chairman referred to Dr John A J Macleod of Uist who had been awarded the MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List and, on behalf of the Comhairle, congratulated Dr Macleod on receiving this honour.
Tribute: Mr William Kenneth Maciver CBE		The Chairman referred to Mr William Kenneth Maciver, formerly of Westview Terrace, Stornoway, who was awarded the CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to Aerospace and, on behalf of the Comhairle, congratulated Mr Maciver on receiving this honour.
Tribute: Stornoway Rugby Club		The Chairman referred to Stornoway Rugby Club who had celebrated their 50^th anniversay and, on behalf of the Comhairle, congratulated the Club on reaching this milestone and on their success in the field this season, having won the District League Cup and being runners up in the Highland League.
Tribute: The Nicolson Institute		The Chairman, on behalf of the Comhairle, congratulated the football teams of The Nicolson Institute who had been successful in recent tournaments. He stated that the Nicolson Institute Boys Under-15, Girls Under-15 and Senior Girls Teams had all won the North of Scotland Cup in their respective competitions.
Tribute: Mr Jim Keenan		The Chairman, on behalf of the Comhairle, congratulated Mr Jim Keenan, a pupil of The Nicolson Institute who had won the 800 metre and 1500 metre races in the Scottish Schools Athletics Championship.
Tribute: Sir E Scott School, Tarbert		The Chairman, on behalf of the Comhairle, extended congratulations to pupils from Sir E Scott School, Tarbert, who had won the Scottish Final of The Royal Bank of Scotland Young Enterprise Awards and conveyed best wishes to the Team for success in the Young Enterprise Final which will be held in July.
		MINUTES
Comhairle	1	The Minute of Meeting of 23 April 2002 was approved.
		QUESTIONS
Written Questions to the Convener and Chairmen of Committees	2	Written Questions to the Convener and Chairmen of Standing Committees were submitted as follows: (1) Correspondence
		Mr Donald M Mackay asked why letters to the Chairman of Transportation Committee on 9 November 2001 and 21 February 2002 had not been answered or acknowledged. Mr Donald Manford replied on behalf of the Chairman of the Transportation Committee that with regard to the letter of 9 November, the Chairman confirmed with the Director that the agreed works would proceed in that financial year and the Chairman had conveyed this information to Mr Mackay orally. He also agreed with Mr Mackay that the further work requested was constrained by the inadequacy of the budget which was a matter which the Comhairle had an opportunity to address at the time of budget setting.
		With regard to the letter of 21 February 2002, with which Mr Mackay had enclosed copies of correspondence from Pairc Community Council, it had been understood that the correspondence relating to safety issues at Gravir was acknowledged on 13 December 2001 and a detailed response issued on 17 December. The matter relating to the Saturday bus timetable for South Lochs was referred to the Integrated Passenger Transport Sub-Committee and a letter was sent on 26 February 2002 setting out the Sub-Committee's decision. The letter to the Chairman of 20 February 2002 had also been sent to the Chief Executive and it was assumed that he would reply to Mr Mackay's concerns.
		(2) Decentralisation Mr Donald M Mackay asked what progress had been made by Departments in implementing the Comhairle's decision regarding decentralisation of staff from Stornoway
		Mr Roderick J Murray replied that the Comhairle had agreed to seek the decentralisation of jobs from the Comhairle Headquarters in Stornoway. The target is 10% of posts. To assist in this process, a Working Group was established. The Working Group has not met for some time. However, a number of actions had been taken within Departments to disperse jobs outwith Stornoway in particular, and to provide work facilities in outlying areas.
		The Comhairle has established a "hot desk" facility in Lochboisdale which provides facilities to work away from their office base. There has been a successful home working pilot carried out in the Finance Department and two posts in the Council Tax Section of that Department have been relocated to Benbecula. Also, there have been increased inter-departmental working, particularly in Castlebay, where staff provide services for a number of Departments that would otherwise have been provided from Stornoway or Balivanich. In addition, when a vacant post is put forward to be released and filled, the Department management must indicate whether the post can be decentralised. It is intended to build on these initiatives in particular as part of the ongoing decentralisation process. Specific recent developments of decentralisation are to be found in the new community schools initiative in Education, where the majority of posts are located outside Stornoway and the development of the Handyman Service in Housing where employees are now located in Harris and Barra - this provides employment in these areas and removes the previous need for staff to travel from Stornoway or Uist to undertake this work. A further example is the development of the fixed hours contracts for Home Carers which aims to improve the quality of these jobs by giving the full security of employment awarded to other posts and introducing new training opportunities. The first 18 posts had been advertised, for internal recruitment from the existing workforce. As this aspect of the service develops, it is almost certain that there will be further dispersal of jobs from the central areas.
		Mr Murray stated that, although there had not been any headlined decentralisation of posts, there had been progress. He was conscious that Members were interested in this issue and in the progress made. In light of that he would be seeking a Report on the matter to be presented at an early meeting of the Policy and Finance Committee.
		Mr Donald M Mackay asked as a supplementary question did it demonstrate a commitment when the working group had only met twice in three years. Mr Roderick J Murray replied that although the working group had not met, it could be seen from his previous answer that the work was ongoing.
		CONSTITUTION
Joint Resourcing and Management of Community Care Services: Appointments to Joint Committee	3	The Director of Social Work submitted a Report regarding the establishment of joint resourcing and joint management arrangements for Community Care services. It was noted that previous approval had been given in principle to the establishment of a Joint Committee of equal representation from the Comhairle and the NHS Eilean Siar to oversee and lead the development process for joint management. It was indicated that the NHS Board had made appointment of five Executive Directors to the Committee. The Comhairle was invited to appoint five Members to serve on the new Joint Committee.
		It was agreed: (1) to appoint five Members to serve on the Joint Committee with NHS Eilean Siar; and (2) to note the detailed programme for the Joint Committee, with recommendations for its adoption of full Committee functions for Community Care Services across the Comhairle and the Health Board, would be brought to the Comhairle for approval at a later stage.
		The Chairman called for nominations to the Joint Committee.
		The following Members were proposed, each being duly moved and seconded: Mr Roderick Morrison Mr Angus Campbell Mrs Morag Munro Mr David Blaney Mr Roderick J Murray Mr Norman M Macleod Mr Donald Manford Mrs Katie M Mackenzie
		On a vote being taken by ballot, there voted as follows:- Mr Roderick Morrison - 17 votes Mr Angus Campbell - 13 votes Mrs Morag Munro - 19 votes Mr David Blaney - 13 votes Mr Roderick J Murray - 15 votes Mr Norman M Macleod - 16 votes Mr Donald Manford - 8 votes Mrs Katie M Mackenzie - 12 votes
		The Chairman declared that Mr Roderick Morrison, Mrs Morag Munro, Mr Roderick J Murray and Mr Norman M Macleod had been duly elected to serve on the Joint Committee and that lots be drawn between Mr Angus Campbell and Mr David Blaney to determine the fifth Member of the Committee.
		Prior to lots being drawn, Mr Angus Campbell withdrew and the Chairman declared that Mr David Blaney had been elected to serve on the Joint Committee.
Community Councils	4	The Chief Executive submitted a Report regarding proposals to suspend Community Council elections in 2002, to re-schedule these elections into 2003 and to undertake consultation on possible revisions to the Scheme for the Establishment of Community Councils. It was noted that the terms of Community Councils and of the Comhairle had been the same and it was suggested that, in order to continue this practice, the Community Council elections due to be held in 2002 be re-scheduled into 2003 in light of the extension of the Comhairle's term. The Report addressed a number of issues relating to the number of Community Councils in the Western Isles, the funding of Community Councils with particular reference to Comhairle administrative funding and the timing of elections and the method of voting.
		It was agreed that: (1) the elections for Community Councils due to be held in 2002 be suspended and the elections held in 2003, to bring the terms of the Comhairle and the Community Councils into line;
		(2) consultations be undertaken with Elected Members and Community Councils with a view to preparing a revised Scheme for the Establishment of Community Councils with the consultation to focus in the first instance on the following general principles:
		(a) that consideration be given to a reduction in the number of Community Councils; and (b) that Community Council areas be aligned as far as practicable with the Sustainable Community areas identified in the Draft Western Isles Structure Plan;
		(c) that the budgetary provision for Community Councils for Administrative and Social Grants and the Challenge Fund be consolidated into a single Community Councils budget; (d) that the consolidated budget be allocated across Community Councils to provide increased core funding to every Community Council; (e) that the term of Community Councils be four years with elections held in the same year as local government elections, but at a later date in the year; and (f) that Community Council elections be conducted on the basis of postal voting.
		(3) the target date for presenting a revised Scheme for approval to proceed to statutory consultation be the meeting of the Comhairle due to be held on 10 September 2002.
		COMMITTEES
Committee Decision Reports	5	Committee Decision Reports were submitted as undernoted. The Comhairle noted the decisions of the Committees and approved the recommendations in those Items from Committees, unless otherwise indicated:
		(1) Arts and Leisure Committee - 28 May 2002
		(2) Housing Committee - 28 May 2002
		(3) Education Committee - 28 May 2002.
		It was agreed to approve the recommendations in Item 19 of the Decision Report - Comhairle Agreement - Local Negotiating Committee.
		(4) Environmental Services Committee - (a) 29 May 2002; and (b) 13 June 2002.
		It was agreed to approve the recommendation in Item 1(4) of the Decision Report - Lingerbay: Decision on Status of 1965 Planning Permission that the Comhairle meet on the same day as any meeting of the Environmental Services Committee to consider any recommendation from the Committee in relation to a letter from the Scottish Executive on the proposed superquarry at Lingerbay, Isle of Harris.
		(5) Transportation Committee - 29 May 2002
		(6) Sustainable Development Committee - 29 May 2002
		(7) Social Work Committee - 30 May 2002
		(8) Standards and Scrutiny Committee - 17 June 2002.
		It was agreed to approve the recommendations in the following Items of the Decision Report. Item 2 - Minute of Meeting of the Audit Panel of 5 June 2002.
		Item 3 - Scheme of Delegation to Officers, recommendation (1) only. Item 4 - Guide to Contract Regulations. Item 6 - Departmental Business Plans.
		(9) Policy and Finance Committee: (a) 27 May 2002; and (b) 18 June 2002.
		It was agreed to approve the recommendation in Item 38 of the Decision Report - E-Work in Europe: Ninth Annual European Assembly on Teleworking and New Ways to Work.
		NOTICE OF MOTION
Correspondence	6	In accordance with Standing Order 31, Mr Donald M Mackay, seconded by Mr Donald Macdonald, submitted a Notice of Motion in the following terms: That a Report be brought to the next meeting of the Standards and Scrutiny Committee giving a clear indication of the timeframe within which correspondence received from the public be acknowledged and replied to.
		It was agreed in terms of Standing Order 32 that the Notice of Motion be deferred to the next meeting of the Standards & Scrutiny Committee.
		ADDITIONAL ITEMS
		The Chairman ruled in terms of Standing Order 8 that the following item be considered as a matter of urgency to enable officers to take action on the matter before a statutory deadline which fell before the date of the next scheduled meeting of the Comhairle and its committees.
Draft Abstract of Accounts 2001/2002	7	The Director of Finance submitted a report regarding the Draft Abstract of Accounts for the financial year 2001/2002. The Draft Abstract of Accounts was appended to the report. Authority was sought to submit the accounts for audit.
		It was agreed that the Director of Finance be authorised to submit the Draft Abstract of Accounts 2001/2002 for audit.
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