Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the inaugural meeting of the new Local Area Community Planning Partnership (LACPP). 

Apologies were intimated on behalf of  Councillor John McAlpine, George Harper and Chief Inspector Marlene Baillie.

There were no Declarations of Interest.

Jane Fowler detailed the ethos, key principles, responsibilities and objectives of the Local Area Community Planning Groups (LACPGs).

Resources and responsibilities would be shared and harnessed to enable the Partnership to develop and achieve shared goals and agreed targets.     

Jane stated  that,  in essence, the LACPG would be a coalition of organisations and individuals from more than 1 Sector who would agree to work together for a common aim or a set of compatible aims.

The process of Community Planning would cement and enable Public Agencies to work together with local communities.  Developing and synchronising achievable plans which would deliver better services.

Community Planning was evolved within the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 which places a statutory duty on Argyll and Bute Council to lead the process and for their partners to support community planning.     

Partnership Working would ensure that relevant issues were addressed in the most cost effective way.  The need to identify how groups fed into the Community Planning structure and effectively interfaced was paramount.

Another important element was Third Sector participation and involvement.

Partners would need to develop a high level of trust in conjunction with openness and a regular review of communication channels.

Glenn Heritage stated the benefits of pooling resources to stage community events.

Members agreed that effective communication and attendance of Council officers at meetings would enable objectives to be successfully achieved.      

Jane detailed the structure of the stakeholders and how they would link into the Community Planning Partnership (CPP).

Stakeholders would represent:-

      General Public (Community groups and Service users)

      Third Sector organisations (Voluntary groups, Community groups, Social enterprises)

      Advocacy groups

      CPP Partners

They would all be committed to a willingness to work and consult together; utilising the widest and most effective means of communication to disseminate and gather information.

Enabling the LACPG to make the best decision about what was best for local areas increasing community involvement in the planning process.

Development of the new Community Plan would evolve by means of dialogue and consultation lead by the Thematic leads:-

      Douglas Cowan, HIE

      Andrew Campbell, SNH

      Douglas Hendry, Argyll and Bute Council.

The 4 main themes of the Community Plan would be:-

      Economy

      Environment

      Social Affairs

      Community Engagement

Brian Barker reported that data had been updated since the Needs Analysis which had been undertaken.

However, it was imperative that Partners and Stakeholders share relevant information to pinpoint individuals who are in need. 

One issues for concern across the whole of Argyll and Bute was Homelessness.

Jane reiterated the need for local information to enable more effective decision making and profiling.  

Jane stressed that clarity and openness would enable effective scrutiny and performance management.

Coordination and agreed local objectives would ensure that services were effective and efficient.

Determining who would lead and who would contribute across all partners and communities would result in achievable measures.  

The Area Community Plan would Identify local objectives. These would then be agreed and formulated into a realistic plan and timetable which would be communicated to local communities. 

Partners and stakeholders would share information and engage in relevant consultation to develop a clear framework of responsibility and accountability.  

The Area Community Plan would be facilitated and coordinated by the Council’s Corporate Services Manager.

The Plan would be focused and realistic and would require input from all Partners and Stakeholders.  

The outcome and monitoring system would be through Scorecards on the Pyramid system.

A practical means of  measuring the CPP would be developed and the means to communicate results through appropriate channels.   

The monitoring process would link the CPP work with partner’s mainstream activities to ensure that appropriate linkages are made with strategies that inform and influence the work of the CPP.

The CPP will need to understand and adhere to local objectives.  Focusing on key outcomes and agreed targets with regular assessment and review.

Members discussed potential partners for the CPP and agreed that partners must feed into the process and address local issues and needs. 

Existing partnerships in Argyll are active and robust.  They have knowledge of and are tackling issues pertaining to their local areas/communities.  Their plans may have been formulated over many years of research and experience.

It would be beneficial to use local networks and their community representation.

Iain Jackson advised Members to discuss and agree on a Community Event; local priorities and needs; Other partners and stakeholders to join the CPP.

Members agreed meeting dates for forthcoming LACPG meetings as follows:-

13^th January 2010       -           10.30a.m. Council Chambers, Lochgilphead

3^rd March 2010            -           10.30a.m. Town Hall, Campbeltown

5^th May 2010               -           10.00a.m.  Council Chambers, Lochgilphead

David Hewitt advised the group of the proposals to organise a wider community engagement event to advise community groups of the community planning process and to seek their input and concerns on the process.

Insp Harper advised the group that the Police are currently putting together a Community Engagement Strategy over the next few months. Glenn Heritage confirmed that the third sector intend undertaking similar Community Engagement in the next few months.

It was agreed that Iain Jackson would arrange a meeting of all partners to discuss the opportunities available to them to take this process forward.