ARGYLL AND BUTE COMMUNITY PLANNING PARTNERSHIP - WELCOME PACK

All you need to know to be part of an effective Community Planning Partnership delivering for our communities.

Introduction
Partners and People
Our Objectives
Values
Support and Mentoring
Customer and Community
Membership and Structure
Management Committee
Area Community Planning
Context
Contact

INTRODUCTION

This document provides you with the information you need to take part in the Argyll and Bute Community Planning Partnership (CPP).

What is a Community Planning Partnership (CPP)?

The organisations who carry out community planning for the purpose of improving the achievement of outcomes (Transport Infrastructure, Housing and Community Wellbeing) are called the Community Planning Partnership and these 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

Further to this, the organisations who are to facilitate Community Planning and take reasonable steps to ensure that the CPP carries out its functions efficiently and effectively are:
•	Argyll and Bute Council
•	Health Board (NHS Highland)
•	Highlands and Islands Enterprise
•	Police Scotland
•	Scottish Fire and Rescue Service
•	Scottish Enterprise

The following pages outline how we will do this and the importance of your commitment to the Argyll and Bute CPP, so that together we can ensure successful delivery of the Argyll and Bute Outcomes Improvement Plan 2024-2034.

Being a member of the CPP requires time and commitment, both as an individual and as a representative of your organisation, with regular development days held for core partners to meet each other and discuss our CPP outcomes.

We hope that you find the information in this welcome pack useful and informative and if you have any outstanding questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

You can contact the Community Planning team through cppadmin@argyll-bute.gov.uk or call 01631 567960.

PARTNERS AND PEOPLE

We hold regular meetings to support the effective operation of the Community Planning Partnership.

Full Partnership (the Community Planning Partnership)
A meeting that takes place at a minimum of every two years to review progress and set direction.

Management Committee (the organisations required to manage the delivery of the outcomes)
A quarterly meeting which is responsible for ensuring there is effective engagement, joint working, development, planning, prioritisation and performance management of the Argyll and Bute Outcomes Improvement Plan.

Area Community Planning Groups 
Quarterly meetings in each of the four administrative areas to oversee the implementation of the localised delivery plan for the respective area, encouraging effective working across community planning partners at an area level, and acting as a conduit to ensure that local priorities are met and any issues addressed.

Working Groups
Regular meetings focussed on delivery of actions on the three outcomes. These are set up to take forward specific actions and involve relevant CPP partners. A lead from each working group reports to the Management Committee.

Key positions/roles
•	Chair and Vice Chair of the CPP Management Committee	
•	Partners at CPP Management Committee 
•	Chair of the CPP Full Partnership	
•	Leads of Working Groups
•	Chair and Vice Chair of the Bute and Cowal Area Community Planning Group
•	Chair and Vice Chair of the Helensburgh and Lomond Area Community Planning Group
•	Chair and Vice Chair of the Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands Area Community Planning Group
•	Chair and Vice Chair of the Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Community Planning Group
•	Community Planning Team / Support Staff

OUR OBJECTIVES

Everything we do as a CPP is based on the Argyll and Bute Outcomes Improvement Plan (ABOIP) 2024-2034 and how we are expected to work as a Community Planning Partnership, is set out in the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. 

Activity
Argyll and Bute Community Planning Partnership will focus its activities on delivering the three outcomes set out in the Argyll and Bute Outcomes Improvement Plan.

1.	Transport Infrastructure
2.	Housing
3.	Community Wellbeing

These are our partnership objectives and the way in which we set out to meet these:

Our Objectives	How we meet these	
Deliver improvements to suit the ask and needs of our communities.	Create actions for area community planning action plans based 
On needs identified through engagement with communities.

Deliver on these through partnership working locally, reporting 
to the Area Community Planning Groups.	
Support the development of active and informed communities that can 
engage with, and have an influence on, the community planning process.	We have a Community Development team who actively 
Encourage community groups to participate in Area Community 
Planning Groups and to raise any issues they may have.

The Third Sector Interface has a role in the new Scottish 
Government framework to ensure the Third Sector voice is 
heard in all local planning and build that capacity. 

We encourage community members to take key roles within 
Area Community Planning Groups such as Chair and Vice-Chair. 	
Develop a clear and shared long term vision for Argyll and Bute that sets 
out joint priorities, performance indicators and targets.	We have performance indicators for each of the three outcomes 
within the Argyll and Bute Outcomes Improvement Plan 
and measure these over the life of the plan.

We agree joint priority areas for the coming year within the three 
outcome areas and have a delivery plan to achieve these 
priorities.	
Develop joint approaches to improving service delivery and the quality of 
life for the citizens of Argyll and Bute.	We work closely with our partner agencies and listen to 
concerns our communities may have to find solutions.	
Partnership working in the area is coordinated and cohesive.	We ensure the Chief Officers of all partner agencies sit on the 
CPP Management Committee.	
Negotiate directly and collectively to the Scottish Government and other 
bodies on national policy and resource issues.	We nominate a lead officer to liaise with the Scottish 
Government and ensure responses from the CPP are 
co-ordinated and included.	
Develop ways of working within the Community Planning Partnership that 
supports the values of openness, parity between partners and achieving 
progress through consensus.	We hold annual Development Days and regularly undergo a 
self-assessment process.	

VALUES

Values	Argyll and Bute Council corporate values	How the CPP demonstrates these values	
	We are one council, one place, working across professional and service boundaries, collaboratively for the greater good of the population they serve. Reducing silo working and increasing joint activity across organisations and with partners to improve outcomes.		
	We focus on our purpose and mission, clearly prioritising politically agreed objectives to achieve the greatest possible impact with limited resources, with shared ownership of efforts to achieve common goals.		
	Our employees are empowered, delegating decisions against agreed objectives to speed up decision making and problem solving, harnessing employees’ skills and increasing staff satisfaction.		
	We take decisions informed by data, targeting resources to where they are most needed and evaluating the effectiveness of what we do.		
	We are a learning council, a consistent approach to external and self-evaluation to realise continuous improvement.		
	We are agile and adapt to change.		
	We maximise opportunities that technology offers.		

SUPPORT AND MENTORING

What’s in it for you?
Being part of the CPP enables you to engage with a wide variety of partners working across Argyll and Bute, including representatives of the community. This will give you an excellent knowledge of the variety of strategic issues and local issues that intertwine to challenge those working and living in the area.

Working together as part of the CPP is a great way to avoid the frustrations that working independently can produce.
Together, we aim to encourage and inspire you in your new role.

The CPP can be a place for great working relationships and friendships to form.

Buddy System
As a new member of the Community Planning Partnership – whichever meeting(s) you attend as part of this – you will be given a Buddy for your first 12 months. Your Buddy will be a member of the CPP and will be able to support and guide you with any questions you have and help you feel comfortable and able to fully engage.

CUSTOMER AND COMMUNITY

We work hard to ensure that there is two-way communication between our communities and the CPP Management Committee and we do this through our Area Community Planning Groups.

The Chairs of the four Area Community Planning Groups sit on the CPP Management Committee and there is a dedicated agenda item at each meeting where issues are raised to the Management Committee which have not been able to be resolved at Area level.

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 through email approximately every 4 weeks. This includes information that may be of interest such as local training events as well as information at a national level and any ongoing consultations. Each of the four Area Community Planning Groups also has their own distribution lists for area-specific information through the Basecamp online platform.

You can be removed at any time from any distribution list by contacting us.

We will also produce an Annual Report which contains case studies across our three new priority outcomes on how partners within Argyll and Bute are working together to tackling inequalities. This format of Annual Report has been recognised as best practice and we believe it is an engaging and user-friendly way for communities to see community planning in action. 

See our previous annual reports here.

We are constantly looking at ways to improve and develop our communications, whilst being mindful of digital inclusion and reducing barriers to communication, and this will include a new community planning podcast starting in Spring 2025.

If you wish to receive the CPP Bulletin, or if have ideas on how we can better communicate on the work of the CPP with your community, business or organisation please contact us at cppadmin@argyll-bute.gov.uk or 01631 567960.

Planning and Performance Management Framework
We will develop performance information measures for each of the three outcomes which we will measure across the lifetime of the plan.

All performance information will be found online.

Outcome 1 Transport Infrastructure
Outcome 2 Housing
Outcome 3 Community Wellbeing

The Management Committee will review a full financial years’ worth of data annually.

Equality and Socio-Economic Impact Assessments (EqSIAs) and Island Communities Impact Assessments (ICIAs)
The actions of the CPP will contribute to tackling the significant inequalities in our society and will be subject to impact assessments where appropriate. These assessments will be completed for the Outcomes Improvement Plan development and overall delivery and by the partner(s) responsible for delivery of an action.

EqSIAs and ICIAs will be reviewed as required by the CPP or appropriate CPP group.

Membership and Structure

The Full Partnership sits at the top of the community planning structure in Argyll and Bute with the Management Committee directly underneath.  Reporting into the Management Committee are the four Area Community Planning Groups (Bute and Cowal; Helensburgh and Lomond; Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands; Oban, Lorn and the Isles) and the three Outcome leads and associated delivery plans.  Communities in Argyll and Bute feed into the structure by participating in the Area Community Planning Groups.

CHAIR OF THE CPP MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
Pippa Milne was appointed as Chief Executive of Argyll and Bute Council in November 2019. Prior to that Pippa was Executive Director of Development and Infrastructure.  In that capacity Pippa led on Outcome 1 and Outcome 2 and has been a member of the management committee for over 5 years. With 28 years’ experience working for councils across the UK, Pippa brings with her wide ranging experience to take forward the organisation’s vision that Argyll and Bute is a place people choose to live, learn work and do business. As Chief Executive Pippa is responsible for providing a diverse range of public services with a dedicated team of about 4000 people and her focus is on working in partnership to deliver the best possible outcomes for our communities. Pippa is passionate about Argyll and Bute’s potential and promotes the many and varied opportunities there are here whenever possible.

VICE CHAIR OF THE CPP MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
TBC

CHAIR OF THE CPP FULL PARTNERSHIP
Vacant – is the Chair of the CPP Full Partnership. 

OUTCOME LEADS
Outcome 1 – Transport Infrastructure
Outcome 2 – Housing
Outcome 3 – Community Wellbeing

Joe McKay - Joe joined the Fire Service in 1997 and has worked in various strategic roles including the role as deputy commander for the City of Glasgow. In July 2020 he was transferred to Argyll and Bute and East and West Dunbartonshire as SFRS Local Senior Officer. He is a MCR Pathways mentor for disadvantaged young people. Joe has a BA from Glasgow Caledonian University and an MSc. He also enjoys sports and is a keen golfer.

Fergus Murray is currently the Head of Development and Economic Growth at Argyll and Bute Council with a responsibility for delivering a range of council services including the delivery of Argyll’s Rural Growth Deal. A town planner to trade and member of the RTPI and also SLAED, Fergus moved to Argyll and Bute in 2004 to take up the role as Development Policy Manager before starting as a Chief Officer of the council in January 2013. 

Morag Goodfellow is Highlands and Islands Enterprise Area Manager for Argyll and the Islands. Her role is focused on driving regional economic and community growth across the diverse geography of Argyll and its many islands. Prior to taking up this role in October 2019, Morag was Head of Regional Development within the Argyll and the Islands Team for a number of years. With a professional background in property and development, Morag is passionate about creating the economic conditions to make Argyll a thriving place to live, work, study and invest. 

Susan MacRae is the Area Manager for Skills Development Scotland covering Argyll & Bute and Eilean Siar. Her role involves overseeing
local authority wide service delivery, delivery of high-quality career interventions, promoting work based learning opportunities and fostering partnerships with local businesses, educational institutions and community organisations to support workforce development and economic growth. A qualified careers adviser, with over 26 years experience, she believes in the transformative power of informed career
choices and is committed to providing the resources and support needed for people to reach their full potential.
From the Isle of Lewis, Susan has a personal and professional understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities that face rural
communities and is dedicated to the principles of community planning and working collaboratively with stakeholders to create a vibrant, inclusive and sustainable future for our people to reach their full potential.

David Gibson joined Argyll & Bute following 4 years working for Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar as Head of Children’s Service and as Chief Social Work Officer. Originally from Islay, He spent his school years in Edinburgh and qualified as a social worker in 1989. Over the last 30 years he has practiced in the third, public and private sectors across practice team social work, residential settings, and employee assistance roles. He is passionate about involving communities, and the people who live in them, in shaping solutions for Argyll & Bute. Solutions relevant to our urban areas and to our remote and island communities.

Alison McGrory has worked in Public Health in Argyll and Bute since 2010. Her role involves leading health and wellbeing activity and developing capacity in our partners through Community Planning structures. Her skills lie in the collaborative and empowerment realms of public health and is passionate about enabling people to be healthy and well. She has a special interest in the effects of loneliness on health outcomes. She is registered with the UK Public Health Register. Outwith work she loves taking advantage of our great outdoors and enjoys paddle boarding along Kintyre’s coastline. 

Area Community Planning Group Chairs

Jean Moffat is the chair of the Bute and Cowal Area Community Planning Group.
Sarah Davies is the Chair of the Helensburgh and Lomond Area Community Planning Group.
Cllr Anne Horn is the Chair of the Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands Area Community Planning Group.
Colin Buchanan is the Chair of the Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Community Planning Group.
Management Committee 

Takki Sulaiman is the Chief Executive of Argyll and Bute Third Sector Interface. Since 2006 he has worked for the English family court service and 3 local authorities as a Chief Officer.  In Greenwich he steered a new approach to working with the voluntary sector through ensuring co-production with the third sector was at the heart of commissioning local services.  In addition, he was responsible for tourism, culture and heritage and was project owner for development of a £41m Creative District. Latterly he led the multi-agency task group for Greenwich’s Community Hub response to Covid-19. In Aberdeen City Council he was responsible for work with stakeholders to deliver the City Centre Masterplan, City Region Deal and a new events and culture strategy, Aberdeen365. He is a trustee of the Friends of St.Conan’s Kirk, Lochawe and a trustee with SafeLives, a domestic violence prevention and training charity. He has an MSc. in Social Policy and Planning from the London School of Economics and a BA(Hons) in Politics from the University of Warwick.

Principal and Chief Executive of Argyll College, University of the Highlands & Islands – to be advised.

Tricia Dowd - Department for Work and Pensions

Elizabeth is the Operations Manager for NatureScot in Argyll and Bute. Liz`s career with SNH/NatureScot has spanned over 20 years. Liz`s key areas of expertise include protected site management, planning and development (particularly renewables and aquaculture),
engagement with land managers and communities on land management practices involving forestry and agriculture. Liz is a qualified zoologist and runs a busy family farm on Cowal with its fold of highland cows to benefit nature.

Evan Beswick – Health and Social Care Partnership

Gary I’Anson – Police Scotland

Graham Bell - Graham was appointed to the NHS Highland Board in January 2021 and has lived in Argyll for the past 35 years. Originally from 
Glasgow his early career included working as a hospital porter, youth and community worker and night care officer with older people. Qualifying as a social worker he spent most of his career in working with young people at risk, initially in the local authority and latterly as Chief Executive of Kibble, a third sector organisation. Now semi-retired he continues to work in cross-sectoral leadership development. He is also a board member of Community Justice Scotland and Cove Burgh Hall. He has extensive international experience in social and economic development and in 2019 was awarded an OBE for services to residential care, education, and social enterprise

Rachel McGruer - Scottish Government.

Sophie Bennie, Alasdair Paisley and Mariska Silkowski - 3 Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament occupy two seats on the management committee and attend meetings on rotation. 

Community Planning Team / Support Staff

Rona Gold joined Local Government over 16 years ago and has enjoyed a wide range of experiences through varied roles, from waste management to regeneration, primarily focussed on leading change. Prior to her role at Argyll and Bute, Rona was Policy Manager for the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) helping to shape Scottish Government policy on Waste, Carbon and Climate Change. Rona also manages the Community Planning Partnership of Argyll and Bute Council and Community Development work across the Council’s four administrative areas. Rona has an MSc in Urban and Regional Planning from Heriot Watt University and is a member of the RTPI.

John McLuckie is the Partnerships Lead, providing comprehensive support to the work of the Community Planning Partnership, having previously worked for Argyll and Bute Council’s Development Planning team for 18 months. Prior to joining the Local Authority, John worked for 18 years within the UHI partnership in a variety of project management, equality and diversity, curriculum management/development and employer engagement roles with a focus on STEM subject areas. John was educated at the Universities of Glasgow, Ulster and the Highlands and Islands.

Nicola Reaney provides organisational and administrative support to the Community Planning Team and CPP. Nicola has over 25 years’ experience supporting executive boards and senior managers across public and private sector. Nicola spent 15 years in the Ministry of Defence, culminating in a 5 year appointment to the British High Commission, Ottawa, Canada and was a Regional Support Manager for the global accountancy firm, Ernst and Young before joining the Council in 2014. 
MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

Purpose, role and remit
The Management Committee is responsible for ensuring there is effective engagement, joint working, policy development, planning and prioritisation and performance management of the Argyll and Bute Outcomes Improvement Plan.

The role of the Management Committee is to:
•	Ensure delivery of the ABOIP through robust scrutiny, and performance management.
•	Report on performance to the public.
•	Develop policy across community planning partners that supports the delivery of the ABOIP.
•	Ensure widespread engagement and empowerment of communities in community planning.
•	Respond to national policy developments at a strategic level.
•	Ensure partners are equipped to lead and work effectively in community planning.
•	Direct resources to enable effective delivery of the ABOIP.
•	Provide strategic direction to areas of reform to support delivery of the ABOIP.
•	Consider matters arising from area community planning, third sector and businesses, prevention activity and public sector reform.
•	Negotiate directly and collectively with the Scottish Government and other bodies on national policy and resource issues.

Membership of the Management Committee is as follows:
•	A representative from all bodies named in Scottish Government legislation as those required to work with each other in community planning.
•	The Outcome Leads for the three ABOIP outcomes.
•	Representatives from Area Community Planning Groups, namely the Chair of each group plus the Area Governance Manager. 
•	Communities and Partnership Manager and members of team to support and record the meeting.
•	Others as deemed necessary for delivery of specific areas of business.

Therefore membership comprises a representative from:

•	Argyll and Bute Council
•	UHI Argyll
•	Police Scotland
•	NHS Highland
•	Highlands and Islands Enterprise
•	Historic Environment Scotland
•	Integration Joint Board (Argyll and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership)
•	Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park (LLTNP)
•	Scottish Enterprise
•	Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)
•	Scottish Fire and Rescue Service
•	NatureScot
•	Sportscotland
•	Skills Development Scotland (SDS)
•	Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership (HITRANS)
•	Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT)
•	visitscotland

Additionally, there are a number of other groups and organisations represented on the Management Committee:

•	Argyll and Bute Third Sector Interface (TSI)
•	Scottish Ambulance Service
•	Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
•	Bòrd Na Gàidhlig
•	Argyll and the Isles Coast and Countryside Trust (ACT)
•	LiveArgyll
•	Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament (MSYPs)

	Attendance
If a partner representative is not able to attend a meeting a suitable deputy should be nominated to attend.

Chair
The Management Committee will select a chair and vice-chair from its membership to service for a 2-year period. Where neither Chair nor Vice Chair are present, the Management Committee will select from the membership present someone to chair the meeting.

Quorum
The quorum for a meeting of the Management Committee will be 5 representatives from separate organisations. If a quorum is not present within 10 minutes of the scheduled start of a meeting or if at any point a meeting has commenced attendance falls below the quorum, the meeting will be declared inquorate.

Frequency of meetings	
The Management Committee will meet four times each year with one of these meetings being the meeting of the Full Partnership (on each alternate year). Where business requires, further meetings can be called with agreement of the Chair subject to the required notice being given.

Full Partnership - Purpose, role and remit
The Full Partnership is responsible for the overall development of community planning in Argyll and Bute. It does this
by delegating responsibility for individual aspects of community planning to Area Community Planning Groups, Management Committee and CPP Chief Officers Group.

The Full Partnership of the CPP will normally meet at a minimum of every two years to:
•	Review progress to date for the current year.
•	Set direction.
•	Ensure responsibilities of Community Planning sit with the appropriate forum (Management Committee, Chief Officers Group and      
      Area Community Planning Groups).

Membership of the Full Partnership is as follows:
A representative of each organisation, partnership and groups taking an active part in partnership working for the delivery of the Argyll and Bute Outcomes Improvement Plan.

The organisation, partnership and group will therefore be named within the membership of either the:
•	Management Committee
•	Lead Officer Group
•	Area Community Planning Groups
•	Delivery Plans of the Argyll and Bute Outcomes Improvement Plan

Therefore, membership comprises a representative from:
•	Argyll and Bute Council
•	UHI Argyll
•	Integration Joint Board (Argyll and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership)
•	Highlands and Islands Enterprise
•	Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park
•	NHS Highland
•	Police Scotland
•	Scottish Fire and Rescue Service
•	Scottish Ambulance Service
•	Bord Na Gàidhlig
•	NatureScot
•	Scottish Enterprise
•	SEPA
•	Skills Development Scotland
•	sportsScotland
•	Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT)
•	Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership (HITRANS)
•	Visit Scotland
•	Community bodies
•	Argyll and Bute Third Sector Interface
•	Association of Argyll and Bute Community Councils
•	Strategic Housing Forum
•	Health and Wellbeing Network
•	Department of Work and Pensions (DWP)
•	Fyne Homes
•	ACHA
•	West Highland Housing Association
•	Dunbritton Housing Association
•	Crofters Commission
•	Forestry and Land Scotland
•	CALMAC
•	CMAL
•	Scottish Water
•	Ministry of Defence

Attendance
If a partner representative is not able to attend a meeting a suitable deputy should be nominated to attend.

Chair
The Full Partnership will be chaired and vice-chaired by a nominated representative. As the Full Partnership is a conference-style meeting rather than a formal board meeting, the role of Chair for this meeting can be more of a Master of Ceremonies function.

Quorum
The quorum for a meeting of the Full Partnership will be 5 representatives from separate organisations. If a quorum is not present within 10 minutes of the scheduled start of a meeting or if at any point a meeting has commenced attendance falls below the quorum, the meeting will be declared inquorate.

Frequency of meetings
The Full Partnership will normally convene at a minimum of every two years. Where business requires, further meetings can be called with agreement of the Chair subject to the required notice being given.

Issue of Papers	
The agenda for the Full Partnership will be issued 7 days prior to the start of the meeting.
	
Conduct of Meetings
Meetings of the Full Partnership will normally be held in public but members of the Full Partnership can decide to hear and discuss any item of business in private session.
The format of the meeting is usually a conference style to enable information to be shared with large numbers of partners.

Outcome Leads - Purpose, role and remit
•	Mitigating issues in partnership
•	Focus on same issue at same time –collective input
•	Review key strategies and see how outcome leads can take it forward
•	Focus on trends and the long-term
•	Receive direction from Management Committee, Area Community Planning Groups and the Argyll and Bute Outcomes Improvement Plan

The role of the Outcome Leads is to:
Put together and be accountable for strategic delivery plans with leadership from the Management Committee and informed by a needs assessment.
Recognise the long-term objectives for their outcome and prioritise areas for action.
Blend community feedback on issues with officer input to create solutions e.g. Area plans.

Membership
The meeting will be open to the three outcome leads and members of the Community Planning Partnership they invite.

Frequency of Meetings
Meetings will be held quarterly and on the same day as the Management Committee

Conduct of Meetings
This meeting will be held in private.

Attendance
If an Outcome Lead is not able to attend, they should ensure that the Depute Outcome Lead is able to attend.
Area Community Planning

Purpose, role and remit
Each of the four Area Community Planning Groups are a sub group of the Argyll and Bute Community Planning Partnership.

They are an unincorporated partnership of agencies and organisations with membership drawn from the public sector, third sector, private sector, community organisations and partnerships that have an interest in the relevant administrative area.

Argyll and Bute is a large and diverse area where communities inevitably have different issues, even within the overall umbrella of a community plan for the whole area.

Area Community Planning Groups are the vehicle to ensure that there is effective community planning delivery at a local level by:
•	Acting on behalf of the Full Community Planning Partnership via the Management Committee to oversee the implementation of Area Community Planning Action Plans which contribute to the delivery of the Argyll and Bute Outcomes Improvement Plan.
•	Acting on behalf of the community to ensure that local concerns and priorities are highlighted to the Full Community Planning Partnership via 
the Management Committee.

The role of the Area Community Planning Group is to:
•	Oversee the implementation of the localised delivery plan for the respective area.
•	Encourage effective working across community planning partners at an area level.
•	Act as a conduit to ensure that local priorities are met and local issues addressed.

The Area Community Planning Group has the authority to:
•	Contribute to the development of an Area Community Planning Action Plan for the respective area.
•	Monitor progress of the Area Community Planning Action Plan with regard to the agreed outcomes on what is being done within the respective area.
•	Provide the scrutiny role for the Full Community Planning Partnership within the respective area, consider regular performance monitoring reports and provide information to the Argyll and Bute Community Planning Partnership Management Committee by submitting written reports. A nominated member may also attend a meeting of the Management Committee with prior agreement from the Chair to provide additional information should a specific issue of concern to the group be scheduled as an agenda item.
•	Form short term working groups to undertake defined pieces of work as required by the group.
•	Engage with communities within the respective area to understand their needs and requirements.
•	Inform and consult on issues relating to Community Planning at an area level.
•	Contribute to an annual report on progress on the agreed outcomes.

Membership
Membership is open to all organisations public sector, third sector, private sector, community organisations and partnerships operating within the respective area with an interest in at least one of the three outcome areas of activity identified in Argyll and Bute Community Outcomes Improvement Plan.

In order to obtain a balanced representation of the above and to ensure a community focused approach, a ratio of no more than 50% public sector membership should be maintained throughout the lifetime of the group.

Organisations can self-nominate, be invited to join or have a statutory obligation to participate.

In order to ensure democratic accountability, the Chair and Vice Chair from the Argyll and Bute Council Bute and Cowal Area Committee and one other Elected Member from an Argyll & Bute Council Bute and Cowal Area Committee Ward not already represented by the Chair or Vice Chair will sit as members of the group.

In order to ensure democratic accountability, community councils situated within the administrative area will sit as a member of the group. Subject to local needs, this may be individual community councils, or by way of a caucus arrangement agreed by the community councils situated within the administrative area, or alternatively one community council representing all of the community councils on a rotational basis.

The community council undertaking this role will be nominated by the other community councils within the area on an annual basis or more frequently if agreed locally.

In order to comply with legislation which governs community planning in Scotland, some organisations have a statutory obligation to participate in community planning. The organisation will nominate the most appropriate person within their organisation to sit as a member of the group.
In order to reflect the needs of the community and range of activities covered by the Area Community Planning Action Plan, other organisations and partnerships operating within the local area are also able to sit as members of the group.

The representatives should be in a position to speak on behalf of their organisation and where appropriate, commit funding and other resources to local partnership activity. Membership should reflect the needs of the community and can therefore change, subject to approval by a simple majority vote of the other members of the group.

Attendance
If a partner representative is not able to attend a meeting a suitable deputy should be nominated to attend.

Chair
The Chair and Vice Chair of the Area Community Planning Group will be elected by the members of the group and will be appointed for a 
period of two years.

The elected Chair, or in their absence, the Vice-Chair shall preside over the meeting. If both are absent, partners will choose a member from 
the floor to preside.

Quorum
The quorum for a meeting will be 5. If a quorum is not present within 10 minutes of the scheduled start of a meeting or if at any point after a meeting has commenced attendance falls below the quorum, the meeting will be declared inquorate. If a quorum is not present, at the Chairperson’s
/ Vice-Chairperson’s discretion, the meeting shall proceed and any decisions taken will be homologated at the next meeting. For purposes of the quorum, participation of partners by video-conferencing or telephone conference links will be considered as present.

Frequency of meetings
The Area Community Planning Groups of the CPP will normally meet once each quarter (4 times each year). These meetings will normally be held in February, May, August and November.

Issue of Papers
The agenda and papers for the Area Community Planning Groups will be issued 7 days prior to the start of the meeting. The Chair can agree to accept late papers. The agenda and papers will be published on the Council’s website as well as  circulated electronically to all members of each Area Community Planning Group.

Conduct of Meetings
Meetings of the Area Community Planning Groups will normally be held in public but the members of the Area Community Planning Groups can decide to hear and discuss any item of business in private session. 
	
Members must declare any financial or non-financial interests at the start of a meeting and take no part in the consideration of the relevant item.
All meetings will be minuted and a minute will be made available through the Council’s website.

Context

Legislation
The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 provides a vision for community planning. This supersedes the Statement of Ambition which COSLA and the Scottish Government agreed in 2012 and the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 which previously provided the statutory basis for Community Planning.

Under the 2015 Act, community planning is about how public bodies work together and with the local community to plan for, resource and provide or secure the provision of services which improve local outcomes in a local authority area, with a view to reducing inequalities.

The Act 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

The Community Planning guidance in full can be found here.

Community Engagement
All partnerships at all levels are responsible for ensuring that they conduct engagement activities in line with the National Standards for Community Engagement. The below diagram shows our approaches to engagement and participation.

Contact

You can contact the Community Planning Partnership team through cppadmin@argyll-bute.gov.uk or call 01631 567960

This document was updated in March 2025.