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.

Minute pdf icon PDF 99 KB

Approve Minute of Meeting of Community Planning Strategic Board held on 9 June 2016.  (Copy attached.)

Minutes:

There had been circulated copies of the Minute of the Meeting held on 9 June 2016. 

 

DECISION

APPROVED the Minute for signature by the Chairman.

 

2.

Action Tracker pdf icon PDF 74 KB

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

Minutes:

There had been circulated copies of the Action Tracker for Strategic Board decisions.  With reference to the decision at paragraph 4 of the Minute of Meeting of 9 June 2016, it had been anticipated that the Charter for a Tobacco-Free Generation would have been signed by partners at this Strategic Board meeting but this had been postponed due to illness.  In terms of the decision at paragraph 5 of the Minute of 9 June 2016 regarding a report on the process for implementing the key elements of the Guidance and Regulations for Community Planning, members were advised that the finalised Guidance was still to be issued. 

 

DECISION

NOTED. 

 

3.

Alcohol and Drugs Partnership Annual Report pdf icon PDF 111 KB

Consider presentation and report by ADP Chair on the information in the Alcohol and Drugs Partnership Annual Report for 2015/16.  (Copy attached.)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There had been circulated copies of a report by the Chair of the Alcohol and Drugs Partnership advising members of the information in the Borders Alcohol and Drugs Partnership Annual Report for 2015/16 along with a copy of the draft Annual Report and Delivery Plan.  Tim Patterson, Joint Director of Public Health, introduced the paper and Fiona Doig, Strategic Lead – ADP and Health Improvement, gave a presentation highlighting various aspects of the Annual Report.  The Borders Alcohol and Drugs Partnership was a partnership of agencies and services involved with drugs and alcohol, which provided strategic direction to reduce the impact of problematic alcohol and drug use.  Nationally, there had been a reverse in the downward trend in consumption of alcohol, which was more affordable, more available and more heavily marketed than at any time over the previous 30 years.  The effects of alcohol, either within the family or through crime, impacted on 50% of people.  Statistics for the prevalence of alcohol and alcohol related hospital stays and mortality were also given.  In terms of drugs nationally, there had been a change in the heroin market and subsequent decline in treatment demand for heroin, along with a decline in injecting drug use.  The prevalence of new psychoactive substances (so-called ‘legal highs’) was increasing.  Drug related hospital stays were increasing along with an increase in mortality which could be linked to an ageing cohort of drug users.  Details were given of service provision for treatment and recovery.  Adult Services had reported improvements in alcohol/drug use; physical health; emotional health; and meaningful use of time.  Children and Family Services had reported improvements in alcohol/drug use; emotional wellbeing; attending education/employment; and safety.  Early intervention and prevention took a ‘whole population approach’ and included working with the Licensing Board on access and availability, alcohol brief interventions, and workforce development.  The challenges for the Alcohol and Drug Partnership included inequalities, stigma/recovery, and attitudes.  The Board discussed various aspects of the report including the consistency and clarity of the message around recommended drinking levels, funding, cancer risks associated with consumption of alcohol, and the performance measures for intervention and recovery.  The Chairman thanked Ms Doig and Dr Patterson for their presentation and the work of the Alcohol and Drugs Partnership.

 

DECISION

NOTED the Alcohol and Drugs Partnership Annual Report 2015/16.

4.

Care Inspectorate Report - Joint Inspection of Services for Children and Young People in the Scottish Borders pdf icon PDF 132 KB

Consider report by SBC Depute Chief Executive (People) on the key findings of the Care Inspectorate Report, key strengths and areas for improvement, and how these improvements will be delivered.  (Copy attached.)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

With reference to paragraph 8 of the Minute of 3 March 2016, there had been circulated copies of a report by the SBC Depute Chief Executive (People) which provided a summary of the key findings of the Care Inspectorate Report on the joint inspection of services for children and young people in the Scottish Borders, identifying key strengths, along with areas for improvement and how these improvements would be delivered.  The joint inspection took place between December 2015 and February 2016, covering a wide range of partners and services across the Community Planning Partnership which had a role in providing services for children, young people and families.  This was the first such inspection to have taken place in the Borders, covering all service areas involving children and young people, from voluntary agencies delivering play and youth facilities, through to domestic violence, education, health and children protection.  The Children and Young People’s Leadership Group had examined the findings and developed an improvement action plan, detailed in Appendix 1 to the report, which was being actively progressed.  The Depute Chief Executive further advised that no child had been found to be at risk, there were no surprises in the report as areas for improvement had already been identified, and no follow up visit was planned.  In terms of the parenting strategy, this was about bringing everything together and letting parents know what was available to help them and what was acceptable, but this needed a little more articulation.  The Chairman thanked all those involved in the inspection and for their continuing good work. 

           

DECISION

            NOTED:

 

(a)     the key strengths and the improvement work that was being progressed to address the key findings of the Care Inspectorate Report on the Joint Inspection of Services for Children and Young People in the Scottish Borders; and

 

(b)     that an update on the progress of the inspection improvement plan would be given to the Strategic Board meeting within 12 months.

5.

Community Planning Partnership Governance pdf icon PDF 262 KB

Consider report by SBC Corporate Transformation and Services Director 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 2015.  (Report to follow.)

Minutes:

5.1       With reference to paragraph 6 of the Minute of 9 June 2016, there had been circulated copies of a report providing members with the outcome of the review of Community Planning Partnership5.1  With reference to paragraph 6 of the Minute of 9 June 2016, there had been circulated copies of a report providing members with the outcome of the review of Community Planning Partnership governance and proposing amendments to the current structure.  The review was undertaken by officers from the Statutory partners and reported back to the Joint Delivery Team.  It took account of the Scottish Government’s national outcomes along with the requirements of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015.  Nine other Community Planning Partnerships structures were also considered.  Most of these had a lead strategic group which had an overview of the work of the Partnership by agreeing, monitoring and evaluating the Single Outcome Agreement Strategic Plan.  While it was not a requirement of legislation that the Strategic Board should be a formal Council committee, this was a convenient mechanism for the Council as it ensured that decisions of the Strategic Board were in fact formal decisions of Council.  The Community Planning Partnership had no authority – whether it operated as an unincorporated body or as a Council committee – to require organisations to comply with any decisions, although the Statutory partners (the Council, NHS Borders, Scottish Enterprise, Police Scotland, and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service) were required to work together as per the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act.  Some partners raised the issue of the format, style and interaction at Strategic Board meetings, which they felt was contributing to a lack of engagement by members.  This could be addressed within the current working of the Strategic Board and was not an issue in respect of the Board being a formal Council committee. 

 

5.2       In light of the structures of other Community Planning Partnerships, officers concluded that the Scottish Borders Community Planning Partnership would be best served by having two groups – a large consultative group to set the strategic direction, and a smaller decision making group to ensure the strategic direction was being followed.  The Community Planning Partnership Consultative Group would not be a formal committee of Council and would meet a minimum of once per annum for a planning workshop exploring the content and development of the Locality Improvement Plan and the individual Locality Plans, thus preparing the foundation for the work of a smaller Strategic Board.  A revised, smaller Strategic Board would be retained as a decision making group for the Community Planning Partnership.  Membership of this Board would be the 5 Statutory partners plus representatives from Borders College, Registered Social Landlords, and the Third Sector.  While the Strategic Board would remain a formal Council committee, the style and forma of meetings would change to reflect a more open discussion on community planning matters taking account of the outcomes of the Community Planning Partnership Consultative Group planning workshop(s).  The main remit of the Strategic Board would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.

Dates of Next Meetings

·         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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Scottish Borders Council

Council Headquarters Newtown St. Boswells Melrose TD6 0SA

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