Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were intimated by:-

Councillor Rory Colville

Councillor Douglas Philand

Councillor Anne Horn

Chief Inspector Marlene Baillie – Police Scotland

Margaret Fyfe

Margaret Wallace – AVA

Donnie Cameron – NHS Highland

The Chair ruled, and the Committee agreed to take the agenda items out of sequence in order to facilitate the attendance of Officers and partners.

There were no Declarations of Interest.

The Minute of the meeting of Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands Community Planning Group held on 5 March 2014  was approved as a true and correct record.

The Minute of the meeting of the Mid Argyll Partnership (MAP) meeting held on 12 March 2014 was noted.

The Minute of the meeting of the Kintyre Initiative Group meeting held on 25 April 2014  was noted.

Issue raised by Jura Community Council.

The group gave discussion to the issues raised by Jura Community Council in relation to exchange infrastructure and the rollout of Broadband.

Stuart Green updated the group in regards the close monitoring that Argyll and Bute council were overseeing in regards the future rollout of infrastructure.  He highlighted the various ‘hot spots’ on the plan and drew attention to the fast changing picture. 

Discussion followed and Campbell Cameron reported that BT were confident that the new technology would improve broadband speeds.

Further discussion ensued and consideration was given to whether the injection of additional funding would be more beneficial in the implementation of faster broadband speeds in more rural areas of Argyll and Bute.

Rona Gold, new Community Planning Manager introduced herself to the group and advised that she would take away the group’s comments and concerns in regards  timescales, local areas broadband speeds and financial costings and report back to the group.

Decision

The group agreed to note the report and updates.

Report by Community Development Officer

The group considered a report which informed the Area Community Planning Group on the data gathered at the Area Forum events as part of the engagement on the Single Outcome Agreement 2013.

Rona Gold spoke to the report and illustrated that her intention was to implement more effective communication with partners and local communities, identifying any gaps and issues of concern.  Her aim was to use more simplified and meaningful language in documentation and to

Concentrate on ensuring delivery of a smaller number of actions.

Discussion continued in regards local communities being disengaged and the need to establish stronger links.

Decision

The group agreed to note the report.

(Reference: Report by the Community Development Manager, dated 12 May 2014, submitted)

Report by Area Governance Officer

The group considered a report which updated on the main areas of work undertaken by the Mid Argyll Partnership (MAP).

Decision

The group noted the report.

Report by Area Governance Officer

The group considered a report which updated on the main areas of work undertaken by the Kintyre Initiative Working Group (KIWG).

Decision

The group noted the report.

A report by Anne Paterson, Quality Standards Manager

The group gave consideration to a report which updated the Community Planning Group on the progress being made within Education in Argyll and Bute.

Decision

The group agreed to note the report.

(Reference: Report by Executive Director of Community Services, dated 30 April 2014, submitted)

There was no update for this item.

An update on Food and Healthy Weight – Carol Muir

The group heard an update and presentation by Carol Muir, Senior Health Promotion Specialist – Community Development.

Further discussion followed and Carol Muir outlined another initiative – Beyond the School Gate – whereby parents and teachers would try and encourage children to eat healthier lunches.

Carol Muir updated the group on the Islay and Jura Youth connection (a peer education group – dealing with alcohol and drugs) which had been shortlisted as one of the 8 finalists in the National Youth Scotland Tackling Alcohol and Drugs (STAND) awards at Edinburgh Lyceum Theatre on 10 June.

The group would give a 15 minute presentation on their work with the wider youth community.

Alison Guest updated the meeting with information in regards the strong desire of the local community to have an islands based services integrated services manager come into post.

Decision

The group agreed:

1.                  To note the update.

2.                  That Carol Muir would be invited to attend forthcoming MAP and KIWG meetings with her presentation

(Reference: Report by the Senior Health Promotion Specialist, dated May 2014, submitted)

There was no update from Argyll Voluntary Action.

Inspector Tom Harper reported that there had not been any problems in the recent change in command.  The latest statistics for anti-social behaviour were on a par with last year.

He outlined staffing issues on Islay and advised that a temporary sergeant was in place.  There had been a positive response to a recent advert.

Members expressed concerns at the lack of police attendance at East and West Kintyre Community Council meetings. Whilst appreciating concerns in regards resourcing, they highlighted that representation would be welcome.  Donald  Darroch commented that Jura Community Council had agreed unanimously that they did not require police attendance at their meetings.  

Group Commander Eddie Renfrew confirmed the continual challenge for Scottish Fire and Rescue for both car and motorcycle Road Traffic Accidents.

He highlighted the forthcoming Bikers Breakfast in Inveraray on Sunday, 8 June and anticipated 100 attendees.

He outlined the continuing challenge of unwanted fire alarms and detailed the high level of instances. These were primarily in Sheltered Housing complexes and Eddie stated that Scottish Fire and Rescue were endeavouring to engage with the relevant  Housing Associations who managed them. 

Eddie Renfrew commended the MAKI CPG group as a forum which continued to assist and help Scottish Fire and Rescue.

He verified that recruitment was still proving to be problematic and related the further problem of retained firefighters who were encountering issues with their employers. The issue of funding cadets was raised and Eddie confirmed that Scottish Fire and Rescue did not centrally fund cadets.

Discussion continued and the group enquired if there would be further funding for organised Bonfire nights.  Eddie Renfrew replied that consideration would be given to  funding applications for this year

Report by Area Governance Officer

The group considered a report providing updates on Community Safety Partnership issues which have taken place over the last few months.

Decision

The group agreed to note the report.

Please see Item 5 (a).

This issue was dealt with at Item 4.

There were no issues raised by the Third Sector Partnership.

The next meeting of the Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands Community Planning Group will take place on Wednesday 3^rd September 2014 at 2.00pm in Campbeltown.

The date of the next meeting was scheduled for 3 September 2014 in Campbeltown.