Agenda and minutes

Joe McKay welcomed everyone attending and apologies were noted.  New members were welcomed - Rachael McGruer - Deputy Director for Social Care and National Care Service Development, Scottish Government who is the Community Planning Partnership’s new Place Director and Graham Bell, NHS Highland Board.  Meghan McEwen, observing the meeting from Orkney Community Planning Partnership, was also welcomed.

The June minutes were approved as a true and accurate recording of the last meeting.

Rona Gold gave an update on the following outstanding actions within the action log as follows:

-       Partners can contact Alex Wilde at alex.wilde@improvementservice.org.uk if they would like to benefit from what the Shaping Places project can offer regarding project support. Action complete.

-       Laura Evans from Police Scotland has joined the Shaping Places Project Steering Group and other Partners were reminded that they can contact Rona if they are also interested in joining this group.

-       Climate Change Working Group, Steering Group membership. Stan advised this action is ongoing.

-       Partners are welcome to provide feedback regarding improvements or suggestions to the CPP Bulletin. Action complete. 

-       Money Worries PDF has been circulated to Community Councils. Action complete.

-       Digital Skills Working Group Terms of Reference were circulated to Partners with the agenda pack. Action complete.

-       Findings from Hall Aitken commissioned work to be presented at this meeting. Action complete.

-       Ongoing reminder for CPP MC members to notify Rona Gold of community engagement activities to facilitate collaboration where possible. Action complete.

Shona Barton provided an update and highlights from the August area meetings. These included the excellent partnership work in Helensburgh on youth antisocial behaviour and the mental health and wellbeing website from Males Tales / Females Tales; the cross-community work on the Inveraray Community Action Plan; work integrating new Scots to the area; the Shaping Places for Wellbeing work in Dunoon; and the work on Carer Support Plans with partners across the Oban area.

There was also news that the Island Living Well Network had sourced funding for the 8 Living Well Networks across Argyll and Bute.

Shona noted that all Chair and Vice-Chair positions have now been filled except OLI. In Helensburgh, Sephton MacQuire stepped down as Vice Chair and was replaced by Sarah Davis. In MAKI, Cllr John Armour has stepped in to fill the long vacant Vice Chair role, with the hope that there will be more interest after the Community Council elections. Shona thanked them all for their support in the roles. In OLI, MSYP Ryan MacIntyre expressed interest in the Vice Chair role, and that will be taken forward at the next group meeting.

Shona is looking to set up inaugural meetings with Community Councils within 21 days of the elections and is being supported in this from Governance and other Council services. The intention is to use those meetings to highlight the work of Area Community Planning Groups (ACPGs) and to encourage Community Councils to use the ACPGs as good networks.

Joe thanked Shona for her update and noted the wide range of partners and community groups that have been discussing important topics at these meeting including: electric charging points, community plans and funding improvements for travelling communities. Joe commented that he has downloaded the ‘Discover Helensburgh’ app which was highlighted and recommended to those attending.  Joe also thanked those that have come forward to fill Chair and Vice Chair roles.

Joe thanked Stan Phillips for his excellent leadership in chairing this group and the amount of work by community groups and partners on projects to tackle climate change across Argyll and Bute. 

Stan advised that the Action Plan project is ready to go as they have a good description of what the group wants to do and governance procedures are in place - but there is a funding shortfall of £50k from the £120k target budget to start work on this. Stan thanked the NHS and Argyll and Bute Council as they have contributed, £20k and £50k respectively. The shortfall has resulted in the focus of the Climate Change Working Group (CCWG) being on securing the additional needed funding. Stan understands the financial climate makes it difficult for partners to make contributions at this time and they are now looking at external funding sources, but there is not many opportunities and where there are, the eligibility criteria are not aligned with work of group. Stan queried whether private sector funding could be an option.

ACTION - Partners to contact Stan with any advice on any end of year funds available, ideas on how to secure external funding and how to approach looking for private funding.

Rona advised that she would seek an understanding from procurement on parameters for private sector funding, for example it may be a condition that the private sector funder does not profit from the outcome of what they are funding.

ACTION - Rona to seek advice from Council Procurement and Finance Officer on how Council could be involved in securing private finance.

Janice Kennedy advised there may be a pocket of funding available from Scottish Enterprise but it would not be possible to use that to fund an external post. However, once the project identifies what it will take forward and if those outcomes align with the Scottish Enterprise action plan, it may be possible to secure some funding (but it would need to be used in the Helensburgh area).

Rona asked if there was potential to have a post for a year and utilise the £70k that has already been secured. Stan advised the project budget of 120k over 2 years was required to employ a candidate of suitable calibre as Project Manager to write the action plan (as packages of work over a shorter period would be less attractive, and not as effective for the project). Stan clarified that the outcome of the £120k is not a Project Manager, but a completed action plan - the CCWG does not have the resources to do that internally - and that a timescale to achieve that in less than 2 years was unrealistic. The Project Manager also needs to work collaboratively and build familiarity and strong working relationships to achieve a quality outcome. Alison thanked Stan for the CCWG’s hard work and energy on this.

Takki Sulaiman advised that there are a number of resources from the Council and TSI for funding bids and although some of the CCWG activity will be statutory, any applications will need to be framed in terms of community benefit.

ACTION - Takki to contact Stan regarding advice on funding bids.

Cllr Robin Currie queried why, as this is a climate change action plan for the CPP, all partners were not contributing. Stan agreed the work of the group affected all partners, but he recognised the pressures on partners with the current financial situation.

ACTION - Meetings to be set up with Joe, Rona and Stan with statutory partners to discuss funding opportunities for Climate Change Group. 

Mandy Sheridan provided an update on the previous report to the Committee including:

-          A multi-agency group has been working to ensure Children’s Rights Reports (which need reviewed in 2023) are embedded in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). They are also progressing accreditations for rights respecting schools and an online group has been set up to enable engagement with young carers.

-          An audit tool is being used to identify how ready organisations are to embed the UNCRC, and advice is being given on what this involves. It is hoped the audit tool can be used by the Council and other partners.

-          There is focus to produce a child friendly complaints procedure and the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman is supporting this at a national level. A draft procedure is expected to be available in April 2023.

-          The Child Poverty Action Plan 2021-22 has been completed and was approved at IJB. They are on track to publish this by end October 2022. Argyll and Bute are currently on track to meet the Scottish Government Child Poverty target of “less than 18% of children living in relative poverty” however winter and the cost of living crisis may affect that. There is work to produce a one page visual document for the Child Poverty Review Action Plan with QR codes to scan to be directed to help available.

-          The Child Poverty Action Group are developing an engagement and communication sub-group to map communication pathways for key messages and create an annual calendar for communications, i.e. promote school uniform support in spring. They are looking at different ways to promote Scottish Child Payments to those who should claim it and promote provision of free school meals.

-          Audit Scotland concluded longer joint planning is needed for Child Poverty in Scotland with more focus on tackling impacts rather than prevention. There is also a national effort to provide better data for remote and rural places to identify the different challenges those areas face.

Alison McGrory noted this is an important issue for all as it is whole families that are affected by poverty, although the statutory duty is to address Child Poverty. She added that Impact Assessments are really important tools, not just box ticking exercises. She was hopeful that some hurdles are overcome quickly and they will have a quality impact assessment tool to use. Joe agreed and thanked Mandy for her update, noting it has been a challenging 6-12 months for all families.

Fergus Walker (FW) advised the Financial Inclusion and Advice Group, and a splinter group looking at energy advice, are very busy looking at how to mitigate issues and impacts on citizens in Argyll and Bute. The cost of living report covers work being done by the Council and he hoped to report that wider soon. Some research has shown that inflation has increased the cost of food, travel and clothes by more than 13% (higher in Argyll and Bute than elsewhere), and that 70% of properties in Argyll and Bute would require an income of over £82k to mitigate this, yet the average income in the area is £30k per annum.

The Energy Price Cap is welcome, however the average cost of energy to homes in our area is double the price cap and many properties are off gas grid and rely on oil and electricity. Support for Argyll and Bute is being lobbied at senior levels in Government and there is work with multiple agencies to negotiate with energy companies and provide links to emergency support.

School uniform projects are progressing slower than hoped though FW noted schools in many places have their own schemes in place, so there is coverage available in most areas.

The Flexible Food Fund is ongoing and will administer the roll out of “Loves Local” gift cards to those who are eligible. The cards will have £120 loaded to spend at over 140 local businesses. The total card value is approx. £800k. Once the contract for this has been finalised it is hoped more businesses will join the scheme. The Food Fund has helped 1,350 households with an overall gain to them (customer gain) of £1.8m since January 2021. The poverty training by Poverty Alliance will be delivered to Elected Members in November. Joe asked if a link to the online poverty training is available for partners. FW advised it will be, he is working on access detail as the training requires access to YouTube and creating an account to access.

ACTION - Fergus Walker to provide link to Poverty Training for use by partners.

Crisis Grant applications have increased this year and the team are assessing this alongside the Flexible Food Fund to ensure clients get access to all eligible grants. COVID Self Isolation grants will end in October.

Robin said he attended the inaugural Island Forum in Orkney last week. OFGEM were represented at the meeting and they were engaged and listened to what was being said. He noted the historical higher distribution costs for power in North Scotland and that need to be addressed. Rona added the Council are providing resources and information, and partners are encouraged to get this information out to those in need.

Lorna Gibson asked if there were any plans to provide Community Shops, selling reduced price goods in Argyll and Bute. FW advised that all the area food banks are Community foodbanks, he will ask the Community Food Forum if that initiative is happening. Robin felt this would be a great idea and should be followed up. Ann Kennovin noted there is an app available to sign up to purchase cut price food from businesses as part of a zero waste drive. Meghan advised there are Community Fridges operating in Orkney run by community groups.

ACTION - Fergus Walker to advise if there are any Community Shops operating in the area.

Takki felt this was a timely update after hearing about financial inclusion, energy and child poverty as the CWB approach to local economies is about trying as much as possible to use levers to keep wealth generated in local areas to remain in that local economy.  The group looking at this are keeping a close eye at what is happening within the 5 funded CWB areas. In June there was a successful meeting with the Social Enterprise Network attended by Tom Arthur, Minister for Public Finance, Planning and Community Wealth in the Scottish Government. He was interested to hear what Argyll and Bute wanted from CWB legislation (which is still in the pipeline). Takki advised that as a social enterprise network in this area, CWB needs to address the different pressures across our local economy and the required support needs.

Takki’s report seeks to move the CWB group work from a watching brief. A baseline assessment is needed of where we are at and what good practice, opportunities, strategies and action plans are already in Argyll and Bute that would support or complement CWB, so we can be ready when legislation is introduced. At the June meeting the Clyde Fisherman’s Trust discussed getting access to partners’ supply opportunities – e.g. there are lots of small food providers in the area, and a social enterprise could be set up to host a virtual food market and engage with local producers and large anchor partners to provide a regular supply. The area is a net exporter of energy and there are good examples of local energy schemes in Argyll and Bute generating income for local communities. Can we support other local areas to do this?  The group asks that CWB be included and referenced in all new forthcoming strategies. It was noted that part of the Rural Growth Deal case studies being prepared now include references of benefits from CWB within the business case.

Takki stated that TSI will look to fund the work of a baseline assessment (with partner contributions) and coordinate the commissioning of a CWB baseline report so we are ready to progress when legislation comes.

Rona noted that this is becoming a legislative requirement without funding to support it at a time when funding is restricted and asked if Rachael, CPP representative of the Scottish Government, could take a message back to Government asking that when legislation comes out with no associated funding, it is recognised as an ask for more from existing resources. Discussions with Community Planning Partnerships to discuss what extra funding would look like to support emerging legislation would be helpful.  Rachael agreed to feed that back.

ACTION - Rachel to feedback to Scottish Government the need for funding to accompany roll out of legislation.

Alison suggested the opportunity for CWB to focus on taking advantage of our renewable energy resources. Ian Brodie advised any agreed action for windfarms to provide funding to communities needs to be clarified to ensure that funding use is within legislation and the criteria of what they are able to fund (as laid down by Scottish Government).

Fergus Murray (FM) stated that we are not coming from a standing start on renewable energy and wind farms in Argyll and Bute are a private sector enterprise and community benefit it is not a condition of granting licenses. Some communities have negotiated benefits directly with windfarms. However, there are much better benefits when a community owns the windfarm, there are great examples in Gigha and Loch Fyne, and the community have full control of the monies and how they are used. The Scottish Government have encouraged communities to buy in to windfarms, but that is difficult to do so how can we make that easier? 

Iain MacInnes gave a presentation on social tariffs for phone and broadband. Iain suggested that OFCOM be invited to join the December meeting to talk more on this. OFCOM also has valuable information on reducing the cost of phone, broadband and TV packages  for those meetings certain criteria.

ACTION - OFCOM to be invited to talk to December CPP MC

He advised that the R100 program to install broadband has a budget £30m earmarked to the North region that includes Argyll and Bute. To give an idea of the cost of this program in rural areas, Iain advised that the £30m will connect approximately 1500 premises. The R100 program has installed 63 premises on Mull and 98 in Tiree. 

Nicola Hackett reported on the recent engagement with Hall Aitken. Digital Skills are a critical part of the CLD Partnership plan and to ensure the delivery of core digital skills in Argyll and Bute we need to understand where the gaps are, what our existing assets are and how to take this forward in partnership. Extensive scoping was completed to look at how we can best use our resources. A survey was conducted, however there were not as many responses to that as hoped. Nicola Hackett said the methodology and approach from Hall Aitken was good and they gave clear recommendations on how to work together across partners and the CLD partnership to ensure our work contributes to digital skills. Nicola Hackett asked the CPP if the report was as anticipated and, similar to other pieces of work, the CLD do not have the resources to co-ordinate this work. Nicola Hackett asked the partners to contribute to, or help to apply for, funding for a dedicated officer to take forward the recommendations. 

ACTION - Partners to contact Nicola Hackett with any offers of funding support for Digital Inclusion (nicola.hackett@liveargyll.com).

Rona thanked Nicola for her paper and was keen to understand the detail of the financial ask, and advised letters of support for funding support can be provided, once the details are known. Rona noted that digital skills is a lifeline and we need to reduce digital inequality. The work needs a pace as to how it is to be delivered, Rona asked for the CLD Partnership to advise on potential risks to the pace of delivery and how partners can support that.

ACTION - Nicola Hackett to repost back to CPP MC on any risks identified to the pace of digital roll out.

This item was not discussed at the meeting. The following update note was provided post meeting:

The Building Back Better Officer resigned due to personal matters. The dedicated work, to engage and support community organisations following impacts of Covid-19, are now within a funded post of ‘Community Development Team Lead’, within the council. Kirsty Moyes starts in this role on 7 November and will fulfil the building back better remit over 12 months.

Joe said at the last meeting that MSYP Ryan MacIntyre was talking about going out across Argyll and Bute to ask young people what was important to them. Ann Kennovin gave an update on this advising that the MSYPs had taken a stall at Oban Highland Games where over 100 people stopped to engage with the MSYPs, who explained what the Youth Parliament is about, their roles and the length of their appointment term. About 65% of those who engaged were young people. The MSYPs also created a QR code linking to a survey on issues for young people across Argyll and Bute. This survey is still live, however emerging issues are around transportation and the problems with applying for a free bus pass, access to play areas (that are not part of paid clubs) and the quality of school buildings. The survey will close at the end of October.

There was also presentation at Campbeltown Grammar and there will be follow up with Mid Argyll and island schools (these may be pre-recorded video presentations) and work is ongoing to stay in contact with pupil councils to trickle down information from MSYPs.

The theme of the next MSYP session is “Fast Fashion” and its impact on climate change. Ann was keen to discuss how that could link in with the work of the Climate Change Working Group.

Joe noted he was keen for the MSYPs to go in to any fire station for an engagement session as he thought it would be great to have them on board.

When the survey on youth issues closes, Rona asked for the results to be sent to her so they can be considered with other area-wide issues as part of the engagement being done to consult on priorities for the next 10 year Outcomes Improvement Plan. Ann advised the survey results should be ready in November.

ACTION - Ann to share data from the Argyll and Bute youth issues survey to Rona.

Mark Lines presented a paper to confirm Takki as Chair of the Corporate Parenting Board. The post is currently vacant, and the decision to appoint Takki to the Chair’s role was unanimous due to his skills, experience and interest in the area. He is not part of a statutory agency and can strengthen links between the CPB and the IJB. Joe supported the appointment of Takki as Chair to this board. 

Rona introduced three place based projects that are currently ongoing. These are being brought to the CPP as they are pilot projects on approaches to partnership working to tackle challenging issues. Rona said if any partners see something relevant to their own organisations in any of the presentations, then they can get in touch with the relevant Project Lead to get involved. 

Alex Wilde is the project lead for the Shaping Places for Wellbeing project in Dunoon. Alex gave a presentation on the project which aims to improve wellbeing by reducing inequalities. The project looked at data around inequality in Dunoon and identified areas where input can be given to support plans, policies and decisions impacting Dunoon and to promote the work already being done on the wellbeing outcomes.

Alex introduced the place and wellbeing assessment tool which can be used by partners to review their decision making processes and plans. The project can support partners on Place and Wellbeing assessments by facilitating sessions, writing up reports on the discussions and providing recommendations. This support has been well received in other areas.

Fergus Murray noted the Hub North work in Dunoon should be run through the lens of the wellbeing project.

Action: Any partners interested in a place and wellbeing assessment on their plans and strategies can contact Alex: alex.wilde@improvementservice.org.uk

Sarah Griffin introduced the work of the Coll Collaborative Working Group which aims to ensure person centred, sustainable, affordable and integrated access to care on Coll. It was recognised that a needs assessment was required for the island population to inform work going forward. The survey was undertaken in July 2022.

The needs assessment was an approach which included consideration of a wide range of determinants of health and wellbeing and socioeconomic factors. There are 180 people registered at the Coll GP and 88 survey responses were received. The findings reported the main issues as being Situation and Transport (no public transport), Demographics, cost of living (high food and fuel costs), Housing (second home ownership, no supply), Health and Wellbeing (unpaid carers, good GP access but need to go off island for treatments) and Community (strong community and lifestyle on the island is important to residents). The results of the survey will be made public.

Sarah welcomed suggestions from partners on what can be done in partnership to support the community. The HSCP are also looking at what they can do.

Iain MacInnes advised Sarah that he obtained funds from the Scottish Government Fund for Islands to install digital hubs on Islay, Iona, Tiree and Coll. Iain was keen to tie in with Sarah’s work and will be on Coll on 26 October for a community drop in session with representatives from Telecare and Near Me clinics.

ACTION - Iain and Sarah to discuss further how they can tie up with work on island communities.

Shirley Johnstone advised that as part of the Modern Workspace project to rationalise council assets, it was realised there was a wider scope of work needed for Lochgilphead and Hub North were engaged to interview stakeholders to identify what was needed. 

David Welsh gave a presentation on the action that has been taken so far and next steps. He explained that a place-based review works in a joined up way to look at how people work and live in a place and understand their priorities. The project team spoke to stakeholders in June 2022 (50+ colleague cross partner organisations) and reviewed plans and ran workshops with local people in Mid Argyll. A place narrative was then developed to identify a shared story for change; explaining the context and setting out what makes a place distinct. Lochgilphead is a good place to live, and there has been visible investment to the area in the last year, however there is also a fragility to the area and this needs attention as to how demographic and economic changes can affect it.

Work needs to be done to attract visitors to the town, rather than driving through it on the way to somewhere else. There is also a need for housing stock, extension of childcare and nursery provision, youth activities and social activities - this links to other Argyll and Bute wide themes around digital, transport and wellbeing.  

DW suggested the initial framework for this should be based around principles of improving the attractiveness of the area, positive impacts for the community in the short - medium term, making the area more accessible and making best use of shared resources. These principles should also be used for any future measures and a sense check for any further works.

In terms of next steps, work is continuing on Phase 1 (ends November 2022) and this includes a Place Brief, Place Program, Developing Funding, Determining Governance and Assurance and planning detailed additional engagement (also looking at how this place solution impacts other communities in Argyll and Bute). DW was keen to return to update the CPP on future developments.

Alison asked how the work is joined up nationally with Shaping Places. David advised much of the links come via Hub North to colleagues within Public Health and NHS Scotland and wellbeing is an indicator for this work. Shirley added that before “Our Modern Workplace” started, Hub North did similar place-based reviews in Rothesay and Dunoon so she reengaged with David’s work on this in Lochgilphead. Alison felt a discussion was needed to ensure a high level of oversight, scrutiny and openness to ensure joined up work in addressing this.

Morag Goodfellow felt the place based review coming at this time was important. The impacts of the pandemic on this area are unclear at present, and the direction of travel is that a number of public sector jobs in the area will be reduced.  She welcomes the continuing partnership approach as this particular area in Argyll and Bute may be one of most impacted areas with the unintended consequences from changing how we are working.

Joe drew attention to the draft annual report covering the work of the CPP in 2021/22. He felt it illustrates the achievements and work of the partners well, noting that March 2021 was a pressured time (in the middle of the vaccination roll out and the emergence of the new omicron variant) and it can be easy to forget just how pressured that time was. He said the fact that partners were still able to do such great work is highlighted in the report.

ACTION - Comments on the draft Annual Report can be forwarded to cppadmin@argyll-bute.gov.uk by 15^th October so it can be published online beside other annual reports.

Rona gave a presentation which detailed how Outcomes Improvement Plans are a requirement of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. The previous 10 year plan ends in 2023 and work needs to progress on forming the plan for the next 10 years. In July - September 2022 the CPP team met with multiple partners and other Community Planning Partnerships and reviewed all engagement in with communities in Argyll and Bute over the last 2 years.  There are 9 needs that have emerged from that: Housing, Transport Infrastructure, Digital Inclusion, Climate Change, Financial Inclusion, Skills and Workforce, Diverse Economy, Community Wellbeing and Other (Community Voice, Volunteering).

Consultation will take place to identify the top 3 priorities - this will be in the form of a survey across the population and CPP Partners. The CPP will also be surveyed regarding the existing level of partnership working on those themes. A survey has been chosen as due to feedback from young people which advised that a quick poll increases engagement and also due to people feeling over engaged.

ACTION - Partners are asked to widely promote the Outcomes Improvement Plan survey when it is live.

The interim findings of the survey will be presented to the December CPP MC and focus groups will be set up in the New Year to consider more fully the priorities resulting from the consultation. From March 2023 the CPP will be asked consider and agree actions and governance to deliver the priority themes.

ACTION - Comments on the approach to the new ABOIP or ideas for other themes should be with Rona by 13 October.

Joe noted what has been achieved by the partnership since that current plan was produced nearly 10 years ago and he looked forward to the survey coming out to ask people what their top priorities are, and how all the CPP have a role to promote that.

No items were raised.

The next CPP Management Committee meeting will be on 7^th December 2022 at 1000.

Joe thanked partners for attending and providing papers covering progress across the area. The next meeting will be on 7 December 2022 at 1000.