Scottish Borders Council

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Council Headquarters, Newtown St Boswells

Contact: Jenny Wilkinson  Tel: 01835 825004 Email:  jjwilkinson@scotborders.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Chairman

Minutes:

In the absence of the Chairman (Councillor Parker), Councillor Brown chaired the meeting.  There followed a round of introductions.

 

2.

Minute pdf icon PDF 98 KB

Approve Minute of Meeting of Community Planning Strategic Board held on 3 March 2016.  (Copy attached.)

Minutes:

There had been circulated copies of the Minute of the Meeting held on 3 March 2016. 

 

DECISION

APPROVED the Minute for signature by the Chairman.

 

3.

Action Tracker pdf icon PDF 64 KB

Consider Action Tracker for Strategic Board decisions.  (Copy attached.)

Minutes:

There had been circulated copies of the Action Tracker for Strategic Board decisions.  The decision at paragraph 4.4(b) of the Minute of Meeting of 3 March 2016, had been that the SBC Communities and Partnership Manager, LSO Farries of the Fire and Rescue Service, and Mr Patterson of the Care and Repair Service take forward the possibility of the Fire and Rescue Service assisting with some minor adaptations as part of their home safety visits.  The SBC Communities and Partnership Manager advised of the successful launch of the ‘Living Safely at Home’ programme which had taken place at the Cheviot Area Forum on 1 June 2016, which included all partners. 

 

DECISION

NOTED. 

 

4.

Scotland's Charter for a Tobacco Free Generation pdf icon PDF 122 KB

Consider paper by Interim Joint Director of Public Health on the actions to support the adoption of the Charter.  (Copy attached.)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

4.1       There had been circulated copies of a paper by Dr Tim Patterson, Interim Joint Director of Public Health, which outlined the requirements of ‘Scotland’s Charter for a Tobacco-Free Generation” and the invitation from ASH Scotland to the Community Planning Partners to adopt the Charter principles.  Dr Patterson commented that overall within Scottish Borders there was 20% smoking prevalence, but this rose to 30% in deprived areas.  The Charter was ambitious but also extremely important.  The Charter comprised six key principles: 

1.    Every baby should be born free from the harmful effects of tobacco;

2.    Children have a particular need for a smoke-free environment;

3.    All children should play, learn and socialise in places that are free from tobacco

4.    Every child has the right to effective education that equips them to make informed positive choices on tobacco and health;

5.    All young people should be protected from commercial interests which profit from recruiting young smokers;

6.    Any young person who smokes should be offered accessible support to help them to become tobacco-free.

                                                     

4.2       By signing the Charter, the partners would be pledging to “review our personal views, policy and practice so we can confidently help protect children from tobacco and so reduce the burden of tobacco on our communities”.  Once an organisation or partnership had signed the Charter pledge, then ASH Scotland would contact them to establish current plans and activities relevant to the Charter principles.  There would also be an expectation to commit to a number of additional actions and provide an update on progress towards these new actions.  A copy of the Charter pledge was attached as Appendix 1 to the report, and a comprehensive list of actions which supported each of the principles which had been developed was attached as Appendix 2 to the report.  For many of these actions, activities were already underway that could support delivery.

 

4.3       The Action Plan aimed to raise awareness of the dangers of second hand smoke across a wide range of settings; provide guidance on smoke free homes for parents and prospective parents; promote smoke free environments where children played, learned and socialised; promoted and supported the development of tobacco policies in nurseries/toddler groups, schools, youth work settings and workplaces; improved referral pathways to smoking cessation support for young people; and supported Trading Standards to reduce the supply of tobacco to young people.  These actions involved supporting and working with a range of individuals, professionals and services which worked with children and families.  Dr Patterson further explained that smoking was still the main cause of avoidable ill health/death so anything which gave prominence to its dangers helped.  As one of the most harmful habits, this was not just a health organisation issue.  Mr Farries commented that smoking was the second highest cause of house fires so any reduction was to be welcomed.

 

DECISION

AGREED:

 

(a)     to support as a Partnership the principles of ‘Scotland’s Charter for a Tobacco-free Generation’ and the associated actions to implement the principles; and

 

(b)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.

Responding to the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2014 - Consultation on Community Planning Draft Guidance and Regulation pdf icon PDF 86 KB

Consider a response to the consultation paper from Scottish Government on Community Planning Draft Guidance and Regulation.  (Copy attached.)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There had been circulated copies of a report by the SBC Chief Executive requesting the Board consider and agree the response to the Scottish Government’s consultation paper on Community Planning Draft Guidance and Regulation.  Community Planning Partnerships would be required to have regard to the guidance in undertaking community planning.  The consultation paper was included at Appendix 1 to the report and comprised nine questions, in particular on whether there were common short/ medium term performance expectations which every Community Planning Partnership and partner should be expected to meet; whether Partnerships should be required to review, and if necessary, revise their plans after a specific period of time in every case; the latest date by which Partnerships had to publish progress reports on their Local Outcomes Improvement Plans and Locality Plans; and the maximum population size of Locality Plan areas, which in the draft guidance was up to 30,000.  A draft response to the consultation was shown in Appendix 2 to the report.  The Board considered the response and commented that it was good to get a composite response from partners to ensure no conflicts with individual responses; the watchword was flexibility as while leadership was required for community planning, the partners needed to have the freedom to carry out the work. Mr McKinnon requested that the response to Question 1 – about the key principles of community planning – should be extended to include an example of cross-border relationships e.g. plans needed to take account of travel to work, etc.  This addition was agreed.

 

            DECISION

            AGREED:

 

(a)     the response to the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 Part 2 Community Planning Consultation on Draft Guidance and Regulations as set out in Appendix 2 to the report, and including the additional example to Question 1 as noted in the narrative above;

 

(b)     that a report be prepared for the Community Planning Strategic Board that would set           out the process for implementing the key elements of the draft Guidance.  This would include the:

 

(i)      creation of a plan with timelines for the development and implementation of the Local Outcomes Improvement Plan and the 5 Locality Plans;

(ii)     establishment of a briefing process to ensure that Community Planning Partners were aware of their responsibilities as set out in the draft Guidance.  This would include briefing notes and presentations to partner governance boards; and

(iii)    identification of community bodies that represent the interests of people experiencing inequalities of outcome, and the ways in which they may wish to be involved, recognising that not all groups would want to be involved and that some groups may present themselves through the participation process.     

 

6.

Community Planning Partnership Governance Review pdf icon PDF 71 KB

Consider report by SBC Chief Executive on proposed amendments to the governance arrangements for the Scottish Borders Community Planning Partnership which are in line with the requirements of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2014.  (Copy attached.)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

6.1       With reference to paragraph 5 of the Minute of 3 March 2016, there had been circulated copies of a paper by the SBC Chief Executive, Chair of the CPP Joint Delivery Team, presenting a membership proposal that aimed to enhance the governance arrangements for the Scottish Borders Community Planning Partnership and support the delivery of its priorities, the management of future business and the new arrangements required under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015.  The governance proposal for the Strategic Board would see it change to a core Board which would meet 4 times per annum, to approve and then scrutinise the progress of the Local Outcomes Improvement Plan and the 5 Locality Plans, as well as receiving presentations or reports from each organisation on how they were contributing to the agreed priorities.  The core Board would ensure that these agreed priorities would be articulated in the corporate planning documents of all partners, and accountability was demonstrated for the delivery of these priorities.  The core Board would consist of representatives from Scottish Borders Council (5), NHS Borders (2) and one each from Scottish Enterprise, Police Scotland, Scottish Fire & Rescue Service, Borders College, the Registered Social Landlords, the Third Sector, and the Health & Social Care Integration Joint Board.  An extended Strategic Board would meet for an annual planning and development day to set out the strategic direction and priorities for the Local Outcomes Improvement Plan, based on an annual strategic assessment, national priorities and other key strategic documents.  The membership of this extended Board would consist of the core Board and a representative from each of Skills Development Scotland, SESTRANS, Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Historic Environment Scotland, Live Borders, Visit Scotland and the Community Council Network). 

 

6.2       The Joint Delivery Team would manage all operational functions of the Partnership, and would oversee the development, publication and the delivery of the Local Outcomes Improvement Plan and the 5 Locality Plans.  The Joint Delivery Team would have delegated authority from the Strategic Board to direct activities, scrutinise performance, evidence change and report progress to the Board regarding the programmes of work undertaken by the Themed Delivery Teams.  It would also oversee and influence the strategic direction of Community Justice, the Children and Young People’s Leadership Group, the CPP Equalities Panel and the CPP Engagement Group.  The current Themed Delivery Teams would continue with their work to deliver the specific priorities within the Local Outcomes Improvement Plan and the 5 Locality Plans and their membership would be extended to include representatives from Skills Development Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Historic Environment Scotland and Visit Scotland on the Economy and Low Carbon Team; Health & Social Care Integration Joint Board on the Reducing Inequalities Team; and Live Borders on an appropriate Team. 

 

6.3       Members were advised that the Registered Social Landlords had discussed the governance structure and had decided that they would have a single representative of the RSL network and this position would rotate amongst the Housing organisations  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.

Draft Strategic Assessment

Presentation of summary and key findings.

Minutes:

7.1       The Board received a presentation from Ms Erin Murray, SBC Research and Policy Officer, on the Strategic Assessment 2016, which would be the evidence base for the Community Planning Partnership’s Local Outcomes Improvement Plan and the 5 Locality Plans.  This was the third edition of the Strategic Assessment which was a 200 page document and would be available on the website for download (6MB).  The Assessment had been highlighted by Audit Scotland as good practice.  The Strategic Assessment also informed the Health & Social Care Integration Locality Plans, the Community Learning & Development Plan, Police Scotland local plans, and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service local plans.  Information was given at a Scottish Borders level and, where possible, at a locality level on demographic and household profiles; economy and income; education and learning; life stages/health and wellbeing; community and environment; and public services.  Some of the findings for each theme were shown.  From 2012 to 2037 the total population of the Scottish Borders was not projected to change significantly compared to a projected 8.8% increase for Scotland.  Life expectancy in the Scottish Borders was higher than Scotland.  The Borders railway usage was 22% above forecast at 6 months; over 30% of A class, and 40% of B class, roads required to be considered for maintenance treatment; and there were 35 public electric vehicle charge points across the region.  GVA per capita was lower compared to Scotland and the UK but there was slightly better growth.  Between 2010 and 2015 the Borders economic turnover increased by £313m, representing a 10.9% increase above the 1.3% increase for Scotland (excluding financial and insurance enterprises).  The Borders had more small enterprises and these contributed more of the turnover compared to Scotland.  Gross weekly pay for full time workers followed a similar pattern to GVA, with workplace based wages in the Borders consistently lower than residence based wages.  Job seekers allowance by locality from 2007 to 2016 was the same pattern for all areas but highest in Teviot and lowest in Tweeddale.  There was wide range of footfall in town centres in 2015 per 1000 town population – from 311 in Hawick to 1445 in Melrose.  Fewer children lived in poverty compared to the rest of Scotland although there was a range across the Borders with the lowest at 4.5% and the highest at 27.8% (average 10.9%).  In 2014/15, the Welfare Benefits Service had 2,364 customers who received advice, advocacy or representation and achieved £6.1m in income gains for these customers.  In 2013/14, the Citizen’s Advice Bureaux supported 629 clients with almost £5.5m of debt that increased to 701 clients with over £6.1m debt for 2014/15.  However, in 2014/15, the Bureaux also recorded over £1.7m of financial gain for their debt clients.  Fuel poverty was 43% in the Scottish Borders compared to 36% for Scotland as a whole.

 

7.2       Between 2011/12 and 2013/14, the proportion of school leavers with the highest SCQF level of 6 or 7 had increased by 5.3% from 58.2% to 63.5%.  In  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Reducing Inequalities in the Scottish Borders 2015 - 2025 pdf icon PDF 652 KB

Consider summary of the Strategic Plan and current position under each of the 5 key inequalities themes, including actions and performance measures.  (Copy attached.)

Minutes:

With reference to paragraph 4 of the Minute of 26 November 2015, there had been circulated copies of the ‘Reducing Inequalities in the Scottish Borders 2015 – 2025 Strategic Plan Summary, June 2016’.   The SBC Depute Chief Executive (People) explained that the actions within the comprehensive draft Plan which had been considered by the Board in November 2015 had required further definition to ensure that the Board would be able to see, over time, the progress being made on reducing inequalities.  The Summary gave the Reducing Inequalities Delivery Team’s current position under each of the 5 key inequalities themes – Employment & Income; Health & Well-being; Attainment, Achievement & Inclusion; Housing & Neighbourhoods; and Keeping People Safe – presenting a set of clear actions and performance measures.  SBC Corporate Performance and Information Manager, Sarah Watters, advised that she had met with each of the lead officers for the 5 key themes to ensure that the key strategies/plans to achieve objectives were in place and how they focussed on reducing inequalities; what more needed to be done; and what outcomes should be achieved.  A further 16 actions were laid out over and above those contained in other plans, along with a set of performance measures.  However, it needed to be recognised that many of these were long-term actions. In response to a question, Ms Watters advised that the Health & Social Care Integration Joint Board was likely to pick up on the outcome of the Scottish Government consultation on social isolation through their dedicated locality officers.  In terms of social isolation experienced by younger people, Ms Smith gave an example of young people in Jedburgh who had attended a recent seminar and made it clear they did not want to rely on their parents for transport and this had been picked up through the Health and Social Care locality officers and the Children and Young People’s Leadership Group. It was anticipated that an action plan would be produced for Cheviot as a pilot locality which would feed in to the Locality Outcomes Improvement Plan.  There was an improvement in reducing inequalities compared to 2 years previously, but more jobs were needed and average house prices did not fit into the 5 locality areas as the Borders housing market areas were different (northern housing market close to Edinburgh; disparity in south and west) which meant that an average Borders house price was not especially meaningful.  In terms of housing inequality, this was reflected more in bad housing and lack of affordable housing.  Ms Watters confirmed there would be further investigation of the housing market area references, and commented that wages had not risen but prices had.  Information should come through the Local Housing Strategy and feed in to the Local Outcomes Improvement Plan.  There was a correlation between house prices and travel to work areas.  The key was disposable income, with fuel poverty often related to private rented accommodation and also linked to child deprivation.    

 

DECISION

NOTED the Reducing Inequalities in the Scottish Borders 2015 – 2025  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

9.

An Introduction to Co-Production pdf icon PDF 61 KB

Consider report by SBC Chief Social Work Officer on the Co-production toolkit entitled “An Introduction to Co-production.” (Copy attached.)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There had been circulated copies of a report by the SBC Chief Social Work Officer which presented a co-production toolkit, which had been developed to support staff to use a co-productive approach when commissioning, designing, delivering and/or assessing services.  Co-production meant people who used services were equally involved alongside professionals from the very beginning in the planning and delivery of services through a collaborative working relationship which shared knowledge, skills, and decision-making, with equality between service users/professionals.  This was not a new concept and there were already areas of good practice across the Partnership, but it had been recognised that the development of guidance to support this approach would be helpful.  ‘An Introduction to Co-production’ had been developed by a Working Group, led by the Chief Social Work Officer, which included representatives from the Council, Public Health and the Third Sector.

 

DECISION

AGREED to adopt the ‘Introduction to Co-Production’ toolkit.

 

10.

Scottish Borders Third Sector Interface Community Planning Improvement Programme pdf icon PDF 84 KB

Consider update on the Improvement Plan.  (Copy attached.)

Minutes:

With reference to paragraph 9 of the Minute of 26 November 2015, there had been circulated a copy of the updated Third Sector Interface Community Planning Improvement Programme.  Third Sector representative, Mrs Hume, gave the background to the Programme which identified improvements required within communication, representation and accountability, and detailed the outcomes, how they would be measured, and target dates.  Mrs Hume further advised that while this was the latest version of the Improvement Plan, it may be overtaken by the outcome of the evaluation of the Third Sector Interface which could provide a template for further improvements.

 

DECISION

AGREED the Third Sector Interface Community Planning Improvement Programme update.

 

11.

Dates of Next Meetings

·         8 September 2016 – 2.00 p.m.

·         24 November 2016 – 2.00 p.m.

·         2 March 2017 – 2.00 p.m.

·         8 June 2017 – 2.00 p.m.

Minutes:

There had been detailed on the agenda the dates for the meetings of the Strategic Board for 2016/17.

 

DECISION

NOTED.

 

 

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