Respecting all voices

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FOI:17308/April 2024
Summary of topics covered
Tobermory Tennis Court & Football Pitch
Ownership documents (some) of the above land. I know have a copy of the deeds which was secured from the Scottish Land Registry

FOI: 17261/June 2024
Summary of topics covered
• Costs of a refurbishment of the school buildings
• Community Benefits of the Mull Campus Project
• Questions of a decant if required while building work is being undertaken
Supporting documents
• Secondary Suitability Assessment
• Primary Suitability Assessment
• Tobermory School Condition Survey – 30-11-2021

FOI: 17707/August 2024
Summary of topics covered
• The Community Sounding Board/origin & membership
• Importance of engagement
• Maintenance & Asset Budget – (reference to this was made when trying to secure what we would be spent maintaining the school)
The Community Sounding Board is almost mirror image of a group formed to meet with the Council in December 2022

FOI: 18266/December 2024
Summary of topics covered
• Spend on the project
• Minutes of meetings (Core Team, Project Team, Strategic Board meetings)
• Scope of Works
• Session details & survey
• Role of Councillors
• (2 attended community engagement sessions)
• Political Sounding Board (Lead Councillor, Jim Lynch, Policy Lead for Education, Audrey Forrest and Councillor & joint leader Ross Moreland
• Potential Additional Support for LEIP Funding
• Project on target/Concerns re project particularly the need to consider a refurbishment
• Long-term strategy for promoting population growth on Mull & Iona
• Empirical data – this includes travel data and journey times (59% of students currently travel in for High School provision, 40 students attend Oban High School – 26 are from Mull
• Risk to the project
• Feedback – teachers/staff input, they would like to be able to feedback anonymously
• No specific budget for maintenance of Tobermory High School – High level budgets are held for primary and secondary schools
• Invitation to tender/ none issued – HubNorth are used – they are a partner
• Scottish Futures Conversations – not officially minuted as I understand it
• 11 sites put forward
Supporting documents
• Mull Campus Community Sounding Board ToR draft V2
• Core Team Minutes Redacted
• Mull Campus Political Sounding Board Update
• Project Team Minutes Redacted
• Strategic Board Minutes
• Email response 07.05.24
• Hnsl Scope combined
• Hub North Scotland – Mull – Redacted
• Hub North Argyll & Bute SSPS
• Scope of Service Tier 1 Contractor Sept 23
• Mull Campus Risk Register

FOI: 18620/January 2025
Summary of topics covered/ some are in draft form so have not yet been released
• Minutes of MEETINGS
• ICIA’s/Scoping – Stantec (ICIA Consultant)
• Issues with emails – no send all function- addresses manually entered
• Section 95 Officer/Finance is part of the Strategic Board so information can be found in those meetings
• Effect on the Hostel if there is a central school
• Impact of new campus outwith Tobermory – no intention to close schools ( very confusing but I note that ANY OTHER is used
• Councillors not advised of travel costs & costs of the hostel
• Community Sounding Board – how it evolved from the group who met the Council in 2022
Supporting documents
• Project Team Minutes
• Strategic Board Minutes
• Highlight Reports
• Mull Campus Project Bullet Points

Scottish Government FOI/April 2024
Response to Willie Rennie, MSP, from Jenny Gilruth, Cabinet Secretary For Education & Skills

Scottish Government FOI/July 2024
Reply from Directorate for Learning to Tracy Mayo, Mull Resident
• Summary of topics covered
• Percentage contributions that have been received for LEIP projects
• Has location been of the same concern for any other communities
• What happens if you pull out of LEIP Funding
• When were funding concerns first reported to Scottish Government
• When was the refurbishment raised – other local authorities have explained this option to communities upfront
• Number of completed LEIP projects
• Is it 50% of construction costs or of capital costs/are these the same thing
• How Councils are briefed/advised on submitting a funding application for LEIP Funding
• Has any local authority expressed concern re adhering to the high building standards
• What happens if a Council pulls out of funding
• Are independent 3rd parties ever appointed to support communities (please note this question has been misunderstood I mean to actually support the community/protect their needs
• Islands Team – are they involved?

Scottish Government FOI/December 2024
Response Learning Directorate to Tracy Mayo, Mull Resident
Summary of Topics Covered
Your request was as follows:
1) The documents suggesting that Argyll & Bute Council should make a bid for LEIP Funding. It is
my understanding that the Scottish Government encouraged Argyll & Bute Council to make a bid for
funding
2) The above statement would suggest the time that the Council had to prepare the bid application
may have been shorter than other participants in this process.
3) Please can you indicate when the 3rd round for LEIP funding opened and when the Council was
contacted by Scottish Government. Please may I have copies of the relevant correspondence back
and forth on this matter. In addition, please can you indicate the reasoning/provisions that preclude
a community representative attending those meeting.
4) It has been indicated that Council Officers meet a representative of the LEIP team monthly.
Please can you tell be how many meetings there has been and can you send me copies of the
minutes please.
5) I know there are mostly likely other meetings with Hub North etc. I would like to see the minutes
of these meeting too.
6) Please can you indicate if there is any flexibility within the LEIP process for islands other than re he construction costs, and in particular how sustainability of island life is considered before
choosing a site. I ask because we are being engaged not consulted at this point, as I understand to
select the site.
7) Where the High School is situated in particular is a KEY consideration for community members. If
it is outwith Tobermory this could lead to statutory consultation and potentially a change to school
catchment areas and closures. There is concern that the wrong sites could be selected for further
consultation and the communities involved have scant information on which to base a decision.
They would like data before committing to any decisions and some guarantees and reassurance.
Please can you advise what data has been collated/impact assessments been undertaken.
8) Have any rural or islands impact assessments been undertaken? If not, when will these be
undertaken and by whom? There have been concerns with how the Council has undertaken these
in the past and thus their value/validity was criticised.
9) It has been indicated to me that only a small number of LEIP projects have been completed. Is
there any reason to be concerned about this?
10) Is there any specialist support for communities going through this process. I ask as our decision
is a very sensitive one and has the capacity to affect the socio-economic development of our island
and depending on what site is chosen there could be a big impact on population, sustainability of
island life, including growing population something that is the Scottish Government aim for islands.
There is also the rite to family life and rites of the child – please can you explain how these will be
accommodated as part of the project.
11) What are Scottish Plans for growing population on Mull is data available, if possible, can I see
the projected figures.
12) I hope you understand we need answers and we need data etc. I believe we need independent
help to resolve the site selection issue but my understanding is that the maximum funding to this
the community can have to do this £500, is that correct?
13) “Scottish Futures Trust have communicated with Argyll and Bute Council on numerous
occasions to discuss project scope and funding for the project. These meetings occurred between
November 2023 and in advance of the Council Members Seminar in April 2024. At these meetings,
the level of potential LEIP funding was discussed, and an indicative funding amount was provided.
These discussions allowed the LA to take a decision on the viability of the project and proceed to
development of the full business case – which is ongoing”. Please can I have a copy of the minutes
of these meetings and of any discussions about the Councils concerns re financial affordability as
indicated to the Scottish Futures Trust on the 21 February 2024 including a copy of the
correspondence.
Supporting Documents
Index of Enclosures | Document 1.0 | Document 1.1 | Document 1.2 | Document 1.3 | Document 2.0 | Document 2.1 | Document 2.2 | Document 3.0 | Document 3.1 | Document 3.2 | Document 3.3 | Document 3.4