What is Community Planning?
Community Planning drives public service reform by bringing together local public services with the communities they serve and provides a focus for partnership working to meet the needs of local people, especially those who need the services most.
The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 sets out the legal requirement for Community Planning in each local authority area. This is delivered by Community Planning Partnerships.
What is a Community Planning Partnership (CPP)?
A Community Planning Partnership is made up of representatives from public bodies, these are called Partners. Each CPP must also consider which community bodies can contribute to Community Planning in that area and focus on how Partners' collective efforts and resources can add the most value to their local communities, with particular emphasis on reducing inequality.
The statutory Partners’ who carry out Community Planning in Argyll and Bute, as listed in the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 are:
- Argyll and Bute Council
- Argyll and Bute Third Sector Interface
- Health Board (NHS Highland)
- Highlands and Islands Enterprise
- Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership (HITRANS)
- Historic Environment Scotland
- Integration Joint Board (IJB)
- Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park
- NatureScot
- Police Scotland
- Regional College Board of Management (UHI Argyll)
- Regional Strategic Body for FE & HE (UHI)
- Scottish Enterprise
- Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA)
- Scottish Fire and Rescue Service
- Skills Development Scotland
- SportScotland
- Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT)
- VisitScotland
The legislation also requires that the following organisations facilitate Community Planning and take reasonable steps to ensure that the CPP carries out its functions efficiently and effectively:
- Argyll and Bute Council
- Health Board (NHS Highland)
- Highlands and Islands Enterprise
- Police Scotland
- Scottish Fire and Rescue Service
- Scottish Enterprise
In Argyll and Bute, the voices of community organisations are regarded as being integral to the delivery of Community Planning and the main aim of the Argyll and Bute CPP is to deliver the outcomes within the Argyll and Bute Outcomes Improvement Plan (ABOIP). The outcomes are identified through consultation with the communities in Argyll and Bute. The priority outcomes identified for the 2024 – 2034 ABOIP are Transport Infrastructure, Housing and Community Wellbeing.
The CPP sets, monitors and measures actions to ensure the delivery of the long term obkectives of the ABOIP. We will develop performance information measures for each of the three outcomes across the lifetime of the plan.
The actions of the CPP will contribute to tackling the significant inequalities in our society and will be subject to Integrated Impact Assessments where appropriate.
How is Community Planning delivered in Argyll and Bute?
Regular meetings are held to support the effective operation of the Community Planning Partnership. These are:
- Full Partnership (the Community Planning Partnership) which takes place a minimum of every two years to review progress and set direction.
- Management Committee (the organisations required to manage the delivery of the outcomes) hold quarterly meetings which ensure the effective engagement, joint working, development, planning, prioritisation and performance management of the ABOIP.
- Area Community Planning Groups hold quarterly meetings are held in each of the four administrative areas to ensure that priorities are met through the local delivery plan and any issues addressed, to encourage effective working across community planning partners at an area level.
- Working Groups hold regular meetings focussed on delivery of the outcome actions, involving relevant CPP partners, reporting to the Management Committee.
- Development Days are held regularly for core partners to meet each other and discuss CPP outcomes.
Why get involved in the Community Planning Partnership?
Being a member of the CPP requires time and commitment, both as an individual and as a representative of an organisation. It enables Partners’ and community groups to engage with a wide variety of colleagues working across Argyll and Bute. This provides excellent knowledge of the strategic and local issues for those working and living in the area. The CPP is a great place for working relationships and friendships to form.
New members of the Community Planning Partnership will be given a Buddy for the first 12 months. Buddies will be existing members of the CPP and can provide support and guidance and answer any questions to help you feel comfortable and able to fully engage.
How does the Argyll and Bute CPP communicate with communities?
We work hard to ensure that there is two-way communication between our communities.
We communicate with our communities in a number of ways. We have a Community Planning bulletin which is available on the council website and distributed monthly. This includes information relevant to the priority outcomes such as Partner news, local training events, national level information and any ongoing consultations.
We communicate via each of the four Area Community Planning Groups, and we have a dedicated platform (Basecamp) to distribute and share area-specific information. The Chairs of the four Area Community Planning Groups also sit on the CPP Management Committee where a is a dedicated agenda item raises matters have could not be resolved at an Area level.
We have a monthly podcast, where Partners’ community planning matters in Argyll and Bute, which is available to listen to on the Council website.
We will also produce an Annual Report which contains case studies on how partners within Argyll and Bute are working together to tackling inequalities across our three new priority outcomes.
We are constantly looking at ways to improve and develop our communications, whilst being mindful of digital inclusion and reducing barriers to communication. If you have ideas on how we can better communicate the work of the CPP with your community, business or organisation – or you would like to receive the CPP Bulletin - please contact us at cppadmin@argyll-bute.gov.uk or 01631 567960.
Structure of Community Planning in Argyll and Bute
The Full Partnership sits at the top of the Community Planning structure in Argyll and Bute, with core business conducted by the Management Committee.
The four Area Community Planning Groups (Bute and Cowal, Helensburgh and Lomond, Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands and Oban, Lorn and the Isles) report into the Management Committee. Other themes that report to the Management Committee include climate change, community wealth building, financial inclusion, digital inclusion, the Child Poverty Action Group, Argyll and Bute Economic Forum and the Community Justice Partnership.
Communities in Argyll and Bute feed into the structure by participating in the Area Community Planning Groups (this includes Third Sector, Community Councils, charities and community groups).
The structure works to deliver the actions identified against each priority in the Argyll and Bute Outcomes Improvement Plan.
Examples of Community Planning in Argyll and Bute
Climate Change
The CPP Climate Change Working Group was established in January 2021 to discuss issues and develop actions relating to climate change as one of the main cross-cutting themes for community planning in Argyll and Bute. In November 2023, Andy Macpherson was appointed Climate Change Project Manager with a funding package for the post agreed amongst CPP partners. A Service Level Agreement was established with Argyll and the Isles Coast and Countryside Trust (ACT) to host the position and a Steering Group set up to help coordinate Andy’s work over the following two-year period.
Supported by the Working Group, directed by the Steering Group and CPP Management Committee, and involving wider stakeholder input coordinated by the Project Manager, a CPP climate change strategy for Argyll and Bute was developed and submitted to the CPP Management Committee in April 2025.
Community Wealth Building
The CPP Management Committee agreed in early 2023 that a Community Wealth Building mapping exercise would be commissioned to audit existing practice and activity in Argyll and Bute and help identify gaps and opportunities. A Steering Group comprising CPP Management Committee members commenced in August 2023, and in April 2024 the CPP Management Committee endorsed the final report with an ask that the Steering Group considers practical implementation of the report’s recommendations. The Steering Group continued to meet through 2024 and 2025 to discuss the prioritisation of the report’s 23 recommendations and to develop a set of priorities and a draft local charter for consideration by the CPP Management Committee.
Anti-Fraud measures - Trucall Devices
In 2022, the CPP provided funding to purchase and install 150 TruCall call blocking devices to protect vulnerable residents in Argyll and Bute from telephone based fraud. From an initial £15k investment, the total project benefit (including the value of potential frauds stopped, wellbeing effect and cost saving to involvement of social care/police for fraud victims) was calculated to be £1.5m.
Community Planning Legislation
The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 sets out a series of key principles which Community Planning Partnerships are expected to adhere to. These principles are under the headings of:
- Community participation and co-production
- Tackling inequalities
- Shared leadership
- Governance and accountability
- Understanding of local communities’ needs, circumstances and opportunities
- Focus on key priorities
- Focus on prevention
- Resourcing improvement
- Effective performance management
Read the Community Planning guidance in full.
All levels of Community Planning are responsible for ensuring that they conduct engagement activities in line with the National Standards for Community Engagement.
Contact
We hope you find the information in this welcome pack informative. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the Community Planning team at cppadmin@argyll-bute.gov.uk or 01631 567960.
