Agenda and minutes

1.1      Copies of the Minute of Meeting held on 20 October 2022 had been circulated.  

DECISION

APPROVED the Minute for signature by the Chair.

1.2      Copies of the Action Tracker for Scrutiny decisions had been circulated.  With reference to item 2 from 9 June 2022, the Clerk to the Council advised that the timeline for the outstanding actions had now been agreed with Directors so this action was now complete.  For the following actions, the dates for presentation to Committee were as follows:

1.    Item 1, 13 January 2022 – Use of school facilities would be considered at the meeting of the Committee scheduled for 20 April 2023.

2.    Item 2, 9 December 2021 – Rural Proofing policy would be considered at the meeting of the Committee scheduled for 12 January 2023.

3.    Item 3, 9 December 2021 – Waste & Recycling communications would be considered at the meeting of the Committee scheduled for 12 January 2023.

4.    Item 1, 29 June 2021 – Public Transport and Communities would be considered at the meeting of the Committee scheduled for 1 June 2023.

DECISION

NOTED the dates where outstanding actions would be considered.

MEMBER

Councillor Sinclair joined the meeting during consideration of the above item.

Consider report by Director Resilient Communities.  (Copy attached.)

2.1      With reference to paragraph 10.3 of the Minute of 14 March 2022, copies of a report by the Director Resilient Communities on the Management and Maintenance of Public Halls had been circulated.  The Director explained that when Halls were referenced in the report this was a catch all phrase covering different sizes and types, town halls, community centres, and village halls.  The report covered the management and funding of halls across the Borders.   Village Halls hosted regular local events and activities, they provided space for local clubs and societies to run activities and play a major role during emergency responses and elections.  Village halls were often run by independent voluntary management committees, taking bookings for the halls, ensuring that they were clean and maintained.  An umbrella organization called the Scottish Borders Village & Community Halls (SBVCH) brought together 4 Federations of Village Halls in the Borders, with 95 Halls having membership of the Federations.  Scottish Borders Council had lease arrangements in place for 45 halls (20 to Live Borders and 25 to local community groups/committees), with the remaining halls owned by their individual communities or held in private trusts.  All halls leased from the Council had a responsibility to run as community enterprises and to fundraise as required.  The duration and annual cost of the leases had been developed over a number of years on a case by case basis, which had led to inconsistency.  The Council provided c.£50k of funding to the 4 Federations using a formula split between the number of halls within the respective Federation and the rural population for each area (excluding certain towns and villages where halls were now run by Live Borders.  The average payment per hall was £526. Further details were given in the report on the management of the halls.  As part of the SBC Council Plan 2022-23, under the ‘Good Health and Wellbeing’ theme, there was an action to review the Cultural Strategy for the Scottish Borders, and it was proposed that this would also explore options to improve consistency in lease, funding and management  arrangements for halls.

MEMBER

Councillor Robson joined the meeting during the above presentation.

2.2         The Communities & Partnership Manager, Ms Smith, explained that the role of the halls during Covid had been exemplary, but since the Covid restrictions had been relaxed it had been a struggle to get volunteers back.  There was an evolving role for halls and it would be useful to review their operation, management and support within communities going forward.  Cllr Anderson raised the matter of those community centres leased to Live Borders, whereby management committees were paying an annual contribution equating to 65% of their income from lets to Live Borders, advising that for Eyemouth this was incorrect as they paid a fee which was much greater than 65% of let income.  Mrs Craig, Director Resilient Communities, undertook to look into this if Cllr Anderson would send on specific details.  Other points raised included the need to be careful so as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

Under Section 50B(4)(b) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, the Chair was of the opinion that the item dealt with in the following paragraph should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency, in view of the need to keep Members informed.

The Chair advised that an item of business would be placed on the agenda of the next meeting of the Committee to consider potential items for the future Scrutiny Work Programme.  Should Members have any items they wished to be included in the programme, they should contact the Clerk to the Council, who would write out to all Members and also Community Councils asking if they had any matters, within the remit of the Council, for a Scrutiny review.

DECISION

NOTED.