Department of Corporate and Community Services
Deputy Chief Executive: Caroline Innes BSc (Hons)
Council Headquarters, Eastwood Park, Giffnock, East Renfrewshire, G46 6UG
Phone: 0141 577 3000 Fax: 0141 577 3834 website: www.eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk
Date:9 October 2020
When calling please ask for: Paul O’Neil (Tel. No 0141-577-3011)e-mail: paul.o’ This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

TO: Councillors T Buchanan (Chair); C Bamforth; D Devlin; A Lafferty; C Merrick; and P O’Kane.

CABINET
A meeting of the Cabinet will be held on

Thursday, 22 October 2020 at 10.00am.

The agenda of business is as shown below.Please note this is a virtual meeting.

Caroline Innes
C INNES
DEPUTY CHIEF EXECUTIVE

AGENDA
1.Report apologies for absence.

2.Declarations of Interest.

3.Joint Consultative Committee (First Tier) – Minute of Meeting of 10 September2020 (copy attached, pages 3 - 6).

4.Annual Procurement Report 2019/20 and Corporate Procurement Strategy2019-2022 – Report by Chief Procurement Officer (copy attached, pages 7 - 48).

5.Environment Department End-Year Performance Report 2019/20 – Report by Director of Environment (copy attached, pages 49 - 68).

6.Estimated Revenue Budget Out-turn 2020/21 - Report by Head of Accountancy(Chief Financial Officer)(copy attached, pages 69 - 108).

7.Sale of HRA Land at Barrhead South – Report by Director of Environment (copy attached, pages 109 - 116).

8.Update on Cleaning Services in PFI Schools - Report by Director of Education(copy attached, pages 117 - 120).

You can read meeting details on Council Website here -

www.eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/cabinet-221020

You can read all papers here -

www.eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/media/4002/C...m=637377693256470000

EAST RENFREWSHIRE COUNCIL
CABINET
22 October 2020
Report by Head of Accountancy (Chief Financial Officer)
ESTIMATED REVENUE BUDGET OUT-TURN 2020/21

£2,082,000 Overspend

Extracts -

Culture and Leisure Services (£1,758,000 overspend)

It is estimated that net additional support will be required to be provided to East Renfrewshire Culture & Leisure (ERCL) based on a phased re-opening of facilities from September (£1,856k).

This is partially offset by savings projected in utility costs arising from the closure of facilities until that time and the removal of the carbon reduction scheme total (£116k).

Additional costs (£72k) will also be incurred by ERCL in connection with the delivery of Saturday Schools to support education recovery and help address the impact of COVID in schools however this cost is offset by additional Scottish Government funding to support this aim (£72k)

As at 31 August 2020, the estimated year end position shows a net overspend of £2,082k based on current information and taking account of additional grant funding confirmed and anticipated to date.



For General Fund services the projected overspend is £1,788k and together with the projected shortfall in Council Tax collection of £450k the total forecast overspend on General Fund services is £2,238k.

This reflects an improved position from that reported to Cabinet on 27 August 2020 and is due to various increases in anticipated grant funding (including assumptions as to Government support for income losses from sales, fees and charges), together with very close expenditure controls across all departments.


The Council’s projected revenue out-turn position is reported as an operational overspend of £2,082k largely as a result of COVID pressures This position has been arrived at after taking account of both confirmed and anticipated additional grant funding in relation to COVID.

The report demonstrates the serious financial implications on operational services arising from the current pandemic and highlights the remaining budget shortfall still to be closed.

Whilst the Council continues to work with COSLA in seeking further grant resources and/or additional fiscal flexibilities, departments must continue to do all they can to avoid non-essential expenditure, to closely monitor and manage the impact of COVID-19 on their operational services and on the probable outturn position and to maintain and increase any operational underspends wherever possible.

Land in Barrhead could be sold for residential development

Land at Barrhead could be sold by the council to a housing developer to fund social homes in Eastwood.

By Drew Sandelands, Local Democracy Reporter

Wednesday, 14th October 2020, 8:26 am

East Renfrewshire Council owns a 56-acre site to the south of Barrhead, off Springfield Road.

Hundreds of homes are expected to be built on the land over the next decade.

Money from the proposed sale could be used to meet the “significant demand” for council housing in the Eastwood area.

Cabinet members will be asked to approve selling the land for residential development at a meeting next Thursday.

The land could be sold in several parcels “dependent upon market demand”.

A council report states: “It is proposed the council disposes of its land holding on the open market for residential development and that the sale proceeds are used to finance the construction of council housing provision elsewhere within the council area.

“This is because the most significant demand for social housing in East Renfrewshire is in the Eastwood side of the authority and provision for affordable housing has been made at Barrhead South.”

The site extends from the Aurs Burn in the west to Aurs Road in the east and is bounded by the Neilston to Glasgow railway line to the south.

It is allocated for housing under the East Renfrewshire Local Development Plan.

An engineering and planning consultancy, Ironside Farrar, has been appointed to develop a masterplan for the site and secure planning permission in principle before the land goes on sale.

A decision on planning permission in principle would be expected in May next year.

There are several constraints which will need to be addressed, including steep slopes, deposited material at the former railway lines which cross the site and potential flooding from the Balgray reservoir.

The report states: “Economically these are unprecedented times and as such there is considerable uncertainty around the eventual receipt.”

More than 950 homes are expected to be delivered in Barrhead South over the next 10 to 15 years, including affordable housing and road improvements. Around 400 will be delivered on this council-owned site.

There are currently four landowners in the area: the council; Miller Homes; Avant Homes and Wallace Land.

The council report adds: “It is understood Wallace Land intends selling its interest to a national housebuilder.

“Miller Homes has 104 house completions at the time of writing and Avant Homes are currently in the process of completing phase one of 26 units and have started on phase two comprising 105 units.

“Both developers have been making steady progress in constructing and selling homes which demonstrates there has been a level of demand for home ownership in the area recently.”

The council intends to “shortly” build 47 homes for social rent on almost 5 acres of land to the south of this site.

You can view the recording of this meeting from the Council Website -

www.eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk/cabinet-221020

Meeting Recording

The recording of this meeting can be viewed on the Council's YouTube channel.