This meeting was scheduled to include the consideration of a briefing note on economic development, a presentation about the Business Gateway, and reports on complaints performance, the performance of Scottish Borders Council's services, taxi fares, and the allocation of funding for affordable housing.

Second Homes Council Tax Affordable Housing Investment Budget Proposals

The Committee was scheduled to consider a report about the Tweedbridge Court development in Peebles. The report requested that £600k of funding be allocated to the project from the Council’s Second Homes Council Tax Affordable Housing Investment Budget, and authority be delegated to the Director of Finance & Procurement to work with Eildon Housing Association to arrange the timing and payment of the funds.

The development at Tweedbridge Court is to be made up of 8 2-bed colony flats and 14 3-bed colony houses, and the total cost is now estimated to be £6.133M. It is proposed that £2.713M will be provided by Eildon Housing Association as private finance, £2.540M will be provided by the Scottish Government's More Homes grant scheme, and £280k will be provided by recycled grant funding.

The report notes the impact that both increasing construction costs and a challenging financial environment for RSLs is having on the delivery of affordable homes in the Borders. It explains that if the funding were not to be allocated, the development may be unable to proceed.

The report also provides details about the Second Homes Council Tax Affordable Housing Investment Budget, explaining that under Scottish Government Guidance the money can only be used for affordable housing, and that unspent balances can be carried forward into subsequent financial years.

Annual Taxi Fares Review 2023/24

A report was scheduled for consideration that sought approval for a 26.7% increase to taxi fares, and a £30 increase in the vehicle valet charge, to £100. The report included a summary of a public consultation on taxi fares that was undertaken between 24 June and 21 July 2024. It explains that this increase is informed by the increase in operating costs faced by taxi operators, and notes that the established formula for calculating the increase indicates that a 26.7% increase is required.

The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 requires councils to review taxi fares at least once every 18 months, and the report explains that because of delays associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and an appeal to the Traffic Commissioner by taxi operators, the last review was in 2019.

The report also sought authorisation to publish an advertisement in local newspapers inviting representations in writing about the proposed increase, as required under the Act.

Scottish Borders Council's Quarter 2 2024/25 Performance Information

The Committee was scheduled to consider a report providing performance information on the Council’s services, and a report about the activities and impact of the Community Action Team.

The performance report noted a number of updates to the Council's performance indicators. These included new indicators for the electricity, gas, water, oil, LPG and biomass consumption and renewable energy generation of the entire Council estate.

A new performance dashboard for the Council's website was also noted.

Scottish Borders Council's Annual Complaints Performance Report: 2023/24

The Committee was scheduled to consider a report summarising the Council's performance on handling complaints during the 2023/24 financial year. It notes that the report is a statutory requirement under the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010.

The report notes that the number of complaints received by the Council has decreased slightly, and that the percentage of complaints resolved at the initial stage of the complaints procedure has increased, to 87.9%.

However, it also notes that average times for responding to complaints have increased at all stages of the process, and that this is worse than the average performance of other similar councils. In particular, it notes that the average time taken to respond to a complaint that has been escalated from the initial stage is 41.9 working days, compared to an average of 28.2 working days for similar councils, and 20.2 working days for all Scottish councils.

The report contains a number of case studies of improvements made to the Council’s services as a result of complaints.

Education Sub-Committee

The Committee was scheduled to consider the minutes of the Education Sub-Committee meeting that took place on 29 October 2024. These minutes record that the following items were discussed:

• Attainment results for 2023/24, including the percentage of pupils who attained the expected standard in literacy and numeracy.
• The Standards and Quality Report 2023-24 and Education Improvement Plan 2024-25.
• The Scottish Borders Community Learning and Development Partnership Plan 2024/25. This plan is a statutory requirement under the The Requirements for Community Learning and Development (Scotland) Regulations 2013.
• Inspection reports for Halyrude Primary School in Peebles and Leader Valley School in Earlston. These reports were compiled by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIE).

Business Gateway

The Committee was scheduled to receive a presentation about the Business Gateway, a publicly funded service that provides support for businesses in Scotland.

Economic Development Briefing Note

The Committee was scheduled to consider a briefing note by the Director of Resilient Communities. The briefing note has not been published on the Council's website.