WEST OF SCOTLAND ARCHAEOLOGY SERVICE JOINT COMMITTEE'SMINUTES.
By video conference, 25th November 2021.
West of Scotland Archaeology Service Joint Committee.
Present:Apologies:

Also present:

Rhiannon Spear (Convener)
Alistair Fulton
Iain McLaren
Lawrence Fitzpatrick
Iain Linton
Gordon Jenkins
Rosie O’Neil
Stewart Miller
Ian Clarkson
Brian McGinley
Mary Donnelly
Hugh McBrien
Chris Alcorn
David Hearton
James Miller
Laura McLetchie
Gwen McCracken
Maureen Hughes (Clerk)

Glasgow City Council
South Lanarkshire Council
West Dunbartonshire Council
West Lothian Council
East Ayrshire CouncilEast Ayrshire Council
East Dunbartonshire Council
East Renfrewshire Council
North Ayrshire Council
South Ayrshire Council
South Lanarkshire Council
West of Scotland Archaeology
ServiceWest Lothian Council
South Ayrshire Council
North Ayrshire Council
East Dunbartonshire Council
South Lanarkshire Council
Glasgow City Council

Appointment of Councillor Rhiannon Spear as Convener approved
unanimously.
1
The Clerk advised the Joint Committee that in terms of its Minute ofAgreement it required to appoint a Convener. Councillor McLaren, seconded byCouncillor Fitzpatrick moved that Councillor Rhiannon Spear be appointedConvener. There being no other nominations, the joint committee agreed
unanimously to appoint Councillor Spear as Convener.

Appointment of Councillor Lawrence Fitzpatrick as Vice-convener approved
unanimously.
2The Clerk advised the Joint Committee that in terms of its Minute ofAgreement it required to appoint a Vice-convener. Councillor Spear, seconded byCouncillor McLaren, moved that Councillor Lawrence Fitzpatrick be appointed Viceconvener. There being no other nominations, the joint committee agreed
unanimously to appoint Councillor Fitzpatrick as Vice-convener.

Minutes approved.

Glasgow City Council, City Chambers, Glasgow G2 1DU

3
The minutes of the Joint Committee of 25th February 2021 were submittedand approved.

Annual Report of West of Scotland Archaeology Service 2020/21 approved.
4
There was submitted a report by the Manager of the West of Scotland
Archaeology Service detailing the activities of the Service for the year from 1st April
2020 to 31st March 2021, confirming that(1)

the Service had dealt with 1,535 new casework items, which represented adecrease of 22% in casework and noted that the greater part of the fall-off incasework occurred during the period of most severe pandemic restrictions.

(2)the monitoring of the weekly lists, along with direct referrals from planning
officers, had identified 774 new planning applications that required further
detailed assessment, a 24% reduction on the previous year, while a further
134 new casework items in other categories also arose in the reporting
period, the lowest number in any reporting year since the creation of theService;(3)

in addition to the identification of new casework and responding toconsultations from planning officers, the Service carried forward work on 173
planning cases, which had been initiated in previous years;(4)53 new site records had been added to the HER database, 67 existing site
records were amended, 40 archaeological events records were added, andthe HER was informed of the commencement of 57 new fieldwork events andfollowing the receipt of reports on previous archaeological projects, 45 archiverecords had been created;(5)

the Service’s engagement with the public had been seriously compromised by
the nature of the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic, however theService assisted or liaised with 2 local amateur archaeological or historicalgroups and 1 university department in preparation of heritage projects; and(6)the balance of the Service’s reserve account stood at £150,465, which was
higher than had been predicted in budget forecasts and would be kept underannual review as specified in the Service’s approved Reserves Policy.

After consideration, the Joint Committee approved the report, which gave details
regarding(a)planning applications for each of the joint committee's local authorities;(b)

the running of the service;(c)Historic Environment Record Maintenance and Development;(d)advice provided to other local authorities and organisations;

Glasgow City Council, City Chambers, Glasgow G2 1DU(e)information and advice to developers/agents and to statutory undertakers;(f)agri-environment advice;(g)the annual performance statistics for 2020/21; and(h)the revenue account for the year ended 31st March 2021.

West of Scotland Archaeology Service – 2020/21 draft Annual Audit report –Consideration continued.
5The Joint Committee, having heard a report by the WoSAS Manager advising thatthe WoSAS 2020/21 draft audit report by Audit Scotland had still to be finalised,agreed to continue consideration of the matter to its next meeting.

West of Scotland Archaeology Service risk register noted.
6
There was submitted and noted a report by the WoSAS Manager detailing theWest of Scotland Archaeology Service risk register as at November 2021.

Glasgow City Council, City Chambers, Glasgow G2 1DU