The CPP is committed to early intervention and prevention. Preventative spend is defined as “Actions which prevent problems and ease future demand on services by intervening early, thereby delivering better outcomes and value for money”. Such an approach is essential if the challenges facing Argyll and Bute are to be addressed successfully and in a sustainable manner. The range of challenges facing Argyll and Bute is significant and wide ranging and a multi-faceted approach to prevention is required.  Rather than identify a specific outcome related to prevention the CPP has embedded prevention in the Community Plan and Single Outcome Agreement. Prevention is a key aspect of each of the long term outcomes.

Inequalities in health, education and employment remain a challenge and some of the problems faced by our communities have been resistant to improvement and have endured for decades. 

The Community Planning Partnership is committed to breaking that cycle through prevention and early intervention. Critical to this is the continued improvements in integrating and sharing information between partners, analysing that information and ensuring that it is used to develop a shared approach to achieve our outcomes.

Strategic Prevention Priorities

The proposals set out in the Single Outcome Agreement seek to address prevention in terms of:       

• Addressing population decline to prevent the difficulties that will arise based on projected demographic change and population reduction.
• Ensuring a more economically active Argyll and Bute that contributes financially
• Improving the skills and attitudes of people to sustain success which will improve resilience and flexibility
• Investing in thriving and sustainable communities which will help reinforce the social, civic and community back up to support a preventative approach
• The commitments on inequalities which will see effort directed to improve the lives of the most vulnerable
• The specific outcomes around children and people living active healthier lives which is consistent with the objectives of prevention and early intervention
• Our commitment and approach to partnership working, working with third sector and co –production which will further embed early intervention and prevention at all level in Argyll and Bute

In line with the Scottish Governments SOA Guidance the Community Planning Partnership will:

• Identify key preventative activities already in place relating to each outcome
• Identify best practice and encourage wider replication
• Measure the resources committed to prevention and the scale of preventative activity; and
• Encourage and support opportunities to identify new approaches, and roll out or increase existing activity

Recent Scottish Government Change Funds have enabled us to develop joint planning and commissioning processes and preventative spending in relation to Early Years and Older People is now a priority.  The recently formed Early Years Collaborative will identify evidence based preventative activities that can be replicated across Argyll and Bute.  We know that by investing in early years we can reduce the potential problems of the future and challenge the link between poverty and poor attainment and achievement. Strategic prevention priorities will respond to the complex needs of adults and children experiencing inequalities. A vital part of improving the social and economic wellbeing of people in Argyll and Bute is to build the capacity within individuals and communities.  Empowering people to help themselves underpins the approach of the Community Planning Partnership.  Through co-production we will provide services for people, with people. By doing this we not only build individual and community capacity but also enable people to secure better outcomes for themselves.

The approach to performance management will provide the evidence to allow us to assess our progress in relation to prevention and where it is necessary to change our approach to achieve better results.