Agenda and minutes

Venue: Virtual Meeting - via Microsoft Teams

Contact: Jamie Macrae  Louise Williamson

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Order of Business

Including any notices of motion and any other items of business submitted as urgent for consideration at the meeting.

Additional documents:

2.

Declaration of Interests

Members should declare any financial and non-financial interests they have in the items of business for consideration, identifying the relevant agenda item and the nature of their interest.

Additional documents:

3.

Deputations

If any

Additional documents:

4.

Minute of Policy and Sustainability Committee of 11 June 2020 pdf icon PDF 327 KB

Minute of Policy and Sustainability Committee of 11 June 2020 – submitted for approval as a correct record

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Decision

 

The approve the minute of the XXXX Committee of XXXX as a correct record.

5.

Policy and Sustainability Committee - Work Programme pdf icon PDF 129 KB

Policy and Sustainability Committee – Work Programme

Additional documents:

6.

Policy and Sustainability Committee - Rolling Actions Log pdf icon PDF 374 KB

Policy and Sustainability Committee – Rolling Actions Log

Additional documents:

7.

Adaptation and Renewal Programme Update pdf icon PDF 943 KB

Additional documents:

8.

Schools Re-opening pdf icon PDF 2 MB

Additional documents:

9.

Revenue Budget 2020/21 Update pdf icon PDF 183 KB

Additional documents:

10.

Capital Budget Update - 2019/20 Provisional Outturn and 2020/21 COVID-19 Forecast pdf icon PDF 299 KB

Additional documents:

11.

Council Support to Small Businesses pdf icon PDF 262 KB

Council Support to Small Businesses – Report by the Executive Director of Resources

 

(Councillor Cameron has been called for this item)

Additional documents:

12.

Scottish Citizens Basic Income Feasibility Project Final Report pdf icon PDF 156 KB

Additional documents:

13.

South East of Scotland Regional Transport Transition Plan pdf icon PDF 277 KB

Additional documents:

14.

Disciplinary Policy pdf icon PDF 323 KB

Additional documents:

15.

Health and Social Care Contracting Update pdf icon PDF 257 KB

Additional documents:

16.

Adult Sensory Impairment Services Contracts – Extension and Awards pdf icon PDF 204 KB

Additional documents:

17.

Renewal of NHS Service Level Agreements pdf icon PDF 87 KB

Additional documents:

18.

Temporary Accommodation - Off Contract Waiver Report pdf icon PDF 234 KB

Additional documents:

19.

Report

If any

Additional documents:

20.

By Councillor Burgess - Schools Re-opening

By Councillor Burgess - Schools Re-opening

“Committee:

Welcomes planning by the Council for the reopening of schools on 12 August;

Understands the significant challenges for the council in reopening schools including the requirement to maintain social distancing, maintaining good hygiene, providing school transport and staff availability;

However, recognises the concern from parents about the current plan, as communicated to them, for children and young people to spend only one-third of a four-day week in school;

Further recognises the likely equalities impact on children whose parents are struggling to provide much home learning;

Notes the statement by Scottish Government Education Secretary, that he will consider council plans for returning to school;

Therefore agrees that:

1)       Every possible measure will be explored to maximise teaching time spent in schools - for example, recruitment of more teaching staff including using teaching assistants, requisition of additional teaching space, outdoor learning and online lessons by teachers;

2)       That plans requiring additional expenditure by the Council be costed and communicated to the Scottish Government Education secretary;

3)       That Council plans should include the ability to quickly respond to further changes in Scottish Government guidance on social distancing in order to be able to maximise time in school;

And that a report will be provided to the meeting of City of Edinburgh Council on 30 June 2020.”

Additional documents:

21.

By Councillor Laidlaw - Back to School

By Councillor Laidlaw - Back to School

“Committee:

1)       Recognises the significant efforts of teaching staff and Council officers for their work to date in supporting at home learning during the lockdown period, and for the work-to-date in planning for schools to re-open on 11 August 2020, but notes that at-home learning provision has varied significantly from school-to-school and that a number of limitations of technology delivered learning have been identified.

2)       Notes initial plans are for a ‘blended’ learning model, combining at-home and classroom learning with 33% of pupils to be in-school time at one time and with closure of schools on Fridays; and that this means, in practice pupils, attending schools for not much more than a day a week.

3)       Recognises the potential negative impact on those without adequate at home learning resources and the likelihood this will have on increasing the poverty related attainment gap as well as the pressure such a model puts on parents who have returned to the workplace and those who are trying to work from home.

4)       Instructs a report from the Executive Director for Communities and Families in one cycle on how classroom time can be increased for the return to school in August, noting this is a key element of the Council’s response to the Coronavirus epidemic.

The report should include, but not be limited to, the following:

a)       Providing detail on how at-home learning will be delivered through technology and physical resources to allow parents and schools a greater understanding of what resources they may require and how CEC can support their delivery e.g. video delivery for at-home pupils, virtual tutorials and tailored support, utilisation of chat functions etc.

b)       Cost and feasibility of utilising under-capacity schools, and repurposing other Council and Edinburgh Partnership buildings to support additional classes and establishing the teaching resource required.

c)       Expanding the time school buildings are available for students to learn; including opening on Fridays and extending the school day, to include not only teaching time but supervised individual study.

d)       Offering secondments to any qualified teachers to support school learning that are currently employed by the Council but are not working as teachers.

e)       Inviting volunteers from qualified individuals, including teachers who have left the profession, those with other UK or international qualifications and those close to completing their teaching qualifications, to assist in supporting learning.

f)        Establishing the increase in classroom time that could be delivered if social distancing was reduced to 1.5m or 1m.

g)       Determining what additional hygiene measures may reduce contagion in the school environment, e.g. provision of sanitizer on entry/exit of classrooms, mandatory handwashing, mandatory wearing of face-masks etc.

h)       Proportion of City of Edinburgh teaching and support staff falling into the shielding category or living in shielding households.”

Additional documents:

22.

By Councillor Young - Blended school proposals and maximising classroom time

By Councillor Young - Blended school proposals and maximising classroom time

 

“Committee recognises the extraordinary circumstances in which teachers, pupils and parents have been operating a unique homeschool structure over the last three months. This has required teachers to work under extremely challenging conditions to create relevant, attainable and accessible learning, which can be delivered by parents who themselves may also be supporting other children or family members, and while sustaining a ‘work from home’ for their own employment.

 

Committee commends the staff across our school estate and the dedication shown by parents to sustain their children’s learning.

 

Committee also recognises the huge challenges being faced by council officers, especially given current social distancing requirements, and the limited excess capacity in many schools, and commends their efforts to find a workable solution.

However, committee also recognises the significant criticism from parents and from members of the Scottish Parliament, on the council’s proposals for 33% in-school attendance, relative to other proposals in other Scottish local authorities. Should the 2m social distancing guidelines continue then creative thinking is required to maximise classroom time – both for the sustained benefit to children’s education, and to support working families who are at risk of losing their jobs if they are unable to return to work for significant periods.

 

Committee therefore agrees:

 

1.         To instruct officers to develop proposals to open up appropriate community centres, church halls and other safe spaces to provide extra classroom capacity.

 

2.         To instruct the Council Leader to write to the Scottish Government requesting new funding which would allow additional qualified teachers to be recruited to provide further capacity across the city and also to fund extra classroom capacity.

 

3.         To support and facilitate, when national health and scientific advice allows, families of children from the same class to share childcare and allow more parents to work.

 

4.         To explore school partnerships/hubs in locality areas in order to share capacity and stop any geographical ‘lottery’ on the teaching of our children due to individual school excess capacity.

 

5.         To call on the Scottish Government to amend national movement restrictions and associated guidance, when it is considered safe to do so, in order to allow close family members to help with childcare and home learning.”

Additional documents:

23.

By Councillor Webber - Rural Roads Speed Review (Spaces for People)

By Councillor Webber - Rural Roads Speed Review (Spaces for People)

“Committee:

1)       Recognises that across the suburban parts of the city the rural road network plays a pivotal role in connecting communities and in the working life of the many farms that we are fortunate to have within our city boundary. As such we should not close these routes to vehicular traffic.

2)       Recognises that many adjacent arterial routes have speed restrictions with limits ranging from 30mph to 50mph. These roads are often wider with better visibility offering relative increased safety for all road users.

3)       Recognises that, right now, many rural roads are experiencing higher use from both pedestrians and cyclists.

4)       Recognises that many Community Councils and local groups have submitted requests to reduce the speeds on specific rural roads to make walking safer through the “Safe Spaces for People” website but that as yet, none of these have progressed beyond submission.

5)       Requests a report in one cycle outlining progress on the temporary review of speed limits on the identified rural roads as part of the “Safe Spaces for People” initiative within the city boundary where the current restriction is the national speed limit and seeks to accelerate temporary implementation plans.”

Additional documents:

24.

Resolution to Consider in Private

The Committee, is requested under Section 50(A)(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, to exclude the public from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it would involve the disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs [xx] of Part 1 of Schedule 7A of the Act.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee, under Section 50(A)(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, excluded the public from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involved the disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs [xx] of Part 1 of Schedule 7(A) of the Act.

 

25.

Provision of Land Stabilisation Works at Dean Path Slope

Provision of Land Stabilisation Works at Dean Path Slope – Report by the Executive Director of Place

 

(Ward Councillors Barrie, Mitchell and Osler have been called for this item)

 

26.

Outcome of the Statutory Consultation Process on the Proposal to Establish an Annexe to Kirkliston Primary School at Kirkliston Leisure Centre pdf icon PDF 261 KB

Outcome of the Statutory Consultation Process on the Proposal to Establish an Annexe to Kirkliston Primary School at Kirkliston Leisure Centre – Report by the Executive Director for Communities and Families

 

(Ward Councillors Lang, Work and Young have been called for this item)

Additional documents: