Council Meeting and trams ...

Full Council Meeting earlier today was, as expected, totally dominated by the tram report ...

... sadly, the Labour Amendment wasn't passed, and the eventual Lib-Dem/Green Motion that was is, in my mind at least, considerably weaker on the two key issues of 'Business Case transparency' and the 'primacy of the Council in decisions about TEL structures' :-(

Here's the full text of what was actually approved:


8.1 Edinburgh Tram Update Report – Decision of City of Edinburgh Council of 14.10.10

1) To note the position regarding the Business Case and discharge the motion of 24 June 2010.

2) To note the disappointing lack of progress in relation to the negotiations and progress of physical works.

3) To endorse rigorous application of the contract by tie.

4) To note that in the absence of robust remediation plans from the consortium and a change of behaviour in relation to progressing the works, serious consideration will need to be given to termination of the contract and re-procurement.

5) To note the recent governance developments and future work streams.

6) To note that a report would be prepared for the December Council (or possibly an earlier special meeting) on the next steps.

7) To agree that the provision of commercially sensitive information on the current and future patronage and profits of Lothian Buses would represent an unnecessary risk to the company irrespective of whether or not there was a combined bus and tram operation in future.

8) To agree that a more detailed account of the updated Business Case, including further options as requested, will be made available to all members for the Council meeting in December (or earlier if there is a Special Meeting) while protecting the commercial interests of Lothian Buses but that members of each political group would be provided with access to the full update for scrutiny, subject to written undertakings by those individuals that they will not disclose commercially sensitive detail to any other individual or organisation.

9) To note that the report(s) to Council on 17th December 2009 referred specifically (Item 7.3a - para 2.20) to 'remuneration matters for TEL and all other arms-length Council owned companies' and that the decision that day (8) was to report '(on the remuneration matters for TEL and all arms length Council owned companies)'.

10) To further note that the report before the Council today did not recommend any changes in remuneration.

11) To reaffirm the undertaking given in the report, detailed above, that a report will be provided on remuneration matters for Council owned arms length companies and to instruct the Chief Executive to ensure that a report was provided to Council on remuneration matters at TEL before there was any change to remuneration for the Chief Executive or Chief Operating Officer positions at TEL.

12) To agree that the updated Business Case and the report on governance issues would also include detailed information not considered to be commercially sensitive about the impacts, specifically on Lothian Buses, of the different options for moving forward with the Tram Project.

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