Agenda item
council priorities
- Meeting of Argyll and Bute Council, Thursday, 28 September 2017 11:00 am (Item 8.)
- View the background to item 8.
Report by Chief Executive
Minutes:
The Council considered a report which invited Members to put in place arrangements to identify the Council priorities for the new 5 year term, articulated in a manner that will allow Officers to deliver them on an operational basis.
Motion
THE ARGYLL, LOMOND & THE ISLANDS GROUP
We
are focused on creating and making the most of opportunities while continuing
to deliver quality services. Like the communities we represent we are ambitious
and we will always be accessible to our constituents and accountable to the
people of Argyll and Bute.
We
are committed to making Argyll and Bute a great place to live, work and do
business and we will work hard to deliver better core services and improved
support for communities.
Local
residents know that all Councils are facing difficult decisions. Where we can’t
always provide, we’ll enable, support and work in partnership to achieve
delivery.
OUR VISION FOR ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL
A Council that grasps opportunities to transform how it delivers services, working in partnership with communities and other public and private sector organisations, with a “can do, will do” attitude, and a strong commitment to community power and to the delivery of first class local services:
·
An
education service which enables all young people to achieve their potential;
·
Support
for the local economy in partnership with local businesses
·
Homes
for all, tackling poverty and building opportunity
·
Greener
and cleaner communities
·
A
determination to ensure that our diverse geographic location with remote, rural
and island communities is fully taken into account and supported in the
distribution of any new funding
OUR PRIORITIES FOR THE
LIFE OF THE COUNCIL, 2017-2022
Education meets the needs
of all our young people and their families:
·
Delivering
improved results at all levels: aiming to build on existing achievements and to
be in the top 25% in Scotland for SQA examination results and positive
destinations; and improving overall levels of literacy and numeracy for all
Argyll and Bute pupils
·
Make
sure pupil equity funding reaches schools to increase attainment for all pupils
and to close the gap that exists between children from poorer backgrounds and
their classmates
·
Work
to deliver access to flexible full-time childcare and early years’ education
that meets the needs of parents and children
·
Support
looked-after children get the most out of education, by developing best
practice as the corporate parent
·
Use
informal education, through community action, to raise attainment, especially
for those young people from disadvantaged backgrounds
·
Evidence
has shown that schools play only a part in educational attainment so we will
work to ensure integrated children’s services are protected
·
Strengthen
community links by promoting the use of school buildings and facilities outwith the school day
Making the most of our
assets to build the local economy:
·
Champion
economic development across the area, working in partnership with businesses
and supporting targeted economic development within local areas as part of a
strategic approach
·
Campaign
for greater levels of infrastructure investment across Argyll and Bute:
o Work to create a rural growth deal that
benefits Argyll and Bute, Scotland and the UK by taking full advantage of the
outstanding potential our area has
o Prioritising future-proof digital and
transport connectivity to maximise the long-term potential of the area; asking
national agencies to look at Argyll and Bute as a whole and deliver
transformational projects
·
Support
the continuing regeneration of local town centres by – for example – using
unused shops for employment training, cultural showcases or residential use
·
Lobby
for Argyll and Bute to be served by a single Enterprise Agency, with HIE taking
on responsibility for the whole of Argyll & Bute in order to simplify our
relationships and provide better outcomes for the entire Council area
·
Ensure
that SMEs continue to have access to the Council’s procurement processes,
building on the good progress already made
·
Work
with local and national partners to provide strategic support to key sectors,
such as tourism where there is significant potential for continued growth
Supporting individual and
community well-being:
·
Argyll
& Bute Council will be a mental health champion, promoting good health and
helping people back into employment when necessary
·
Make
sure the local education service identifies young people with mental health
problems and helps them get early support, and continues to help them as they
transfer to adult services
·
Take
seriously the health and well-being of carers, providing support and respite
·
Support
our new Leisure & Library Trust – Live Argyll – as they take forward
responsibility for delivering and improving these vital local services
·
Work
with the Health & Social Care Partnership as they deliver services across
our area to ensure local people have healthier, longer, and more independent
lives
·
Make
best use of our outstanding environment to support mental and physical wellbeing
Strengthening and
empowering communities:
·
Make
sure the council uses plain English to explain their plans, and that local
people have more chance to be involved at an early stage in decisions that
affect them or their local area
·
Recognising
the outstanding levels of volunteering across Argyll and Bute we will support
local community and voluntary organisations to build their capacity so they can
do more in their areas – including running local facilities and becoming more
involved in delivering and improving services currently run by the Council
·
Use
the power of councils to bring different services and agencies together to
serve local areas better, for example by shared service hubs
·
Help
communities influence the local priorities of Police Scotland and other
Community Planning Partners
·
Work
with community groups to provide support to older or vulnerable people,
strengthening the local community
·
Ensure
that local democracy is effective and available to all - people have a right to
locally elected representation and decisions made at the closest possible level
·
Investigate
how to make the workings of the Council more transparent through improved
communication at all levels – contact centre, website, social media and
broadcasting Council meetings
Homes for all, tackling
poverty and building opportunity
·
Work
with partners and the Scottish Government to deliver new affordable homes
across the Council area, and consider using the resources of pension funds or
developer contributions whenever possible to increase numbers
·
Use
the council’s negotiating and initiating clout to secure lower priced energy
for local people to address the issue of fuel poverty that has a significant
impact locally
·
Support
the provision of fair and affordable banking, insurance and financial services,
and the expansion of credit unions
·
Work
with partners to provide advice, information and support at an early stage for
people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless
Greener and cleaner
communities:
·
We
want to see roads, footpaths and cycle ways in good repair and will make best
use of our investment and resources, using the principle of right-first-time to
improve the quality of repairs
·
Use
the powers and influence of the Council to lobby for better integrated public
transport links, and support communities to create local solutions such as car
sharing
·
Support
measures to make travel to school safer and more child-friendly and to reduce
congestion at school gates
·
Work
to find better solutions to the problems that bring down our communities such
as harsher penalties for those who allow dog fouling
·
Support
the Zero Waste Scotland approach to reduction, reuse and recycling of
materials, and lobby for the funding necessary to enable this approach to be
taken across our remote, rural and island areas
The Council is an employer
of choice:
·
Recognise
that our proactive, responsive and adaptable workforce is one of the greatest
assets we have and ensure training allows employees to progress throughout
their career
·
Make
the most of technology and digital services to increase efficiency and reduce
time/cost
·
We
believe that local people need local services provided through local jobs, and
will work to protect jobs and services within Argyll and Bute Council
·
Support
good employment practice within the council and through contracts to support
equality of opportunity, fair pay, equal pay, youth employment and local
suppliers
Managing our Finances:
·
Prudently
managing the Council’s borrowing costs to support further revenue spending on
core services. Increased capital investment in core council assets and
infrastructure, such as IT, transportation, buildings and roads may assist by
reducing future revenue requirements
Moved by Councillor A Morton, seconded by Councillor Mulvaney.
Amendment
Continue consideration of the priorities to allow communities to be consulted.
Moved by Councillor Freeman, seconded by Councillor Philand.
Decision
On a show of hands vote, the Amendment received 13 votes and the Motion received 18 votes, and the Council resolved accordingly.
(Ref: Report by Chief Executive dated 5 July 2017, submitted)
The Provost adjourned the meeting at 1.20pm and re-convened at 2.10pm.
The Chief Executive and Councillors Freeman, Kelly and Philand left the meeting at this point.
Supporting documents: