Agenda and draft minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. Apologies had been received and noted accordingly.

(a)        Consider Minute of 7 September 2023. (Copy attached.)

(b)        Consider Action Tracker. (Copy attached.)

2.1       Copies of the Minute of the Meeting held on 7 September 2023 had been circulated.

DECISION

AGREED to approve the Minute for signature by the Chair.

2.2       Copies of an updated Action Tracker had also been circulated. Clare Malster, Participation Officer provided an update to the Action Tracker.

            DECISION

            NOTED the update.

Presentation from G. Robson.

Greig Robson, Skills Development Scotland gave a presentation, the purpose of which was to provide an overview of the Regional Skills Assessments Regional Report – Borders.  The report had been published online on 24 October and could be located at https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/media/12hm3u2e/rsa-regional-report-borders.pdf . The report provided medium (2023-26) and long term (2026-33) estimates on the future workforce demand in both industry and occupation.  A summary of key points was provided as follows:

·   Health, retail and manufacturing were the largest employers with no significant change.

·   Health was forecast to grow in jobs numbers, medium and long-term.

·   Manufacturing was forecast to decline in medium and long-term.

·   Sectors which decline or stay the same can have a large replacement demand and would need skilled workers.

·   Replacement demand means opportunities exist across a wide range of sectors.

·   Sectors may appear stable but beneath the surface of the figures, the skills needs can change quickly e.g. health workers will need more digital skills.

·   RSAs provided high level indications around the direction of travel but were only one part of the evidence jigsaw.

·   RSAs need to be supplemented with other evidence e.g. directly from local employers about future skills needs.

·   Forecasts are subject to change.

There followed a brief discussion during which the impact of migrant workers, home working patterns and retired people was acknowledged. The absence of the third sector from the report was also highlighted, with an admission that though related data had been captured, it was still to be drawn together.  Members were reminded that the report was to be viewed as trends and statistics, and was policy neutral.

DECISION

NOTED the presentation.

Presentation from A. Scott and S. Smith.

Alasdair Scott delivered a presentation to attendees, the purpose of which was to provide the background to the Local Employability Partnership (LEP), its vision, membership and terms of reference.  The LEP comprised five themed sub-groups: 1. ‘Transitions’ led by SDS; 2, ‘Barriers’ led by DWP; 3. ‘Skills’ led by Borders College; 4. ‘Employer Engagement’ led by SOSE and DYW; and 5. ‘Leadership’.  The employability landscape had changed over the past few years.  2019-2022 had seen an increase in the number of funding sources due to Covid -19 support while 2023 had seen funding sources condensed into fewer pots.  This had resulted in more focussed and cross collaborative work.  A list of current employability funding was provided along with a summary of how SBC Employability was delivered; from the initial stage of reaching out to support people into regular activity and connecting with others through to the final stage of in-work support.  An overview of client numbers and their outcomes from 2022-23 and current levels was provided.  Looking forward, several challenges and opportunities were highlighted: the next phase of No One Left Behind; LEP Membership and Communication; Third sector and private sector engagement; Scottish Government annual funding levels which impacted staff retention and delayed the delivery of interventions; and alignment of Employability Services in the future.  It was confirmed that Armed Forces had been included in the literature and marketing, and the website and subsequent communications were to be updated to reflect this.  The importance of marketing the service and support available was noted, as was the need to tie in with Locality officers to enhance outreach to villages and towns and to go beyond reliance on thoughts of current service users alone.  A brief explanation of ‘No One Left Behind’ was shared with confirmation that specific branding for the policy was to be forthcoming.

DECISION

NOTED the presentation.

Presentation from S. Mitchell.

Shona Mitchell (Skills Development Scotland) presented an overview of the Annual Participation Measure (APM) Report for the Scottish Borders which detailed the education, training and employment activity of 16–19-year-olds, including those at school. This report marked the ninth release of data on the participation of that cohort at both a National and Local Authority level.  The Borders APM for 2023 was 95/6%, the highest ever APM and an increase of over 1% on 2022.  SBC was 8^th top, with the 10^th biggest increase out of 32 Local Authorities.  In contrast, Scotland’s APM for 2023 was 94.3%, a 1.9% increase on 2022.  The Borders also reported its lowest ever ‘Unconfirmed’ status of 1.4% while Scotland’s ‘Unconfirmed’ status was 2.1%.  In terms of Borders, ‘Not Participating’ had a figure of 3%, an increase of 0.3% on 2022.  This compared to a figure of 3.6% across Scotland and a decrease of 0.4%.  The Borders APM gap between SIMD Quintile 5 and SIMD Quintile 1 had narrowed by 0.7% on 2022 to 11.1% and needed to be considered as a local priority.  Scotland’s APM Gap sat at 8.3%, narrowed by 1% on 2022. The progress made demonstrated the effectiveness of improved collaboration and partnership working.  It was confirmed that SDS had now moved into DWP New Reiver House and further partnership activity was anticipated.

6.2     A summary of partnership activity was provided: SDS had a weekly Careers Advisor based at the Burnfoot Hub; the targeting of ‘unknowns’ had been a focus, aided by HMRC uploads; and targeted provision by geography and a flexibility of approach e.g. NOLB2 delivery in Eyemouth school leavers.  SDS footfall data highlighted the benefit of the outreach programme in taking the service out to those who need it.  In relation to the progress made at Burnfoot Hub with their pop-up employability events and careers advisor, it was confirmed that a short life working group had met to develop ideas around poverty, debt and employability.  </AI7>

DECISION

NOTED the report.

Copy attached.

There had been circulated copies of Theme 2 progress report.

DECISION

NOTED the report.

Presentation from C. Robertson.

Gillian Jardine and Norrie Tait presented the CLD Partnership Plan 2021-24 update.  The aim of the CLD Partnership was to improve outcomes for learners and communities through the provision of coordinated, collaborative and targeted interventions. A brief overview of the three objectives and six improvement priorities was shared.  It was reported that a single agency approach had been taken rather than a collaborative and cohesive approach.  There had been changes in key leadership positions along with secondments and long-term absence, all of which had significantly affected partnership working.  Data was currently being collated to assess progress against the plan’s Improvement Priorities and to inform the improvement planning process – 13 actions had been highlighted to continue into a new plan.  Across the six priority areas, partnership activity had supported a range of activities: Employability Hubs; Eyemouth Whole Systems Approach; Digital Learning; Holiday Program planning; and local assessment panels.  Going forward there was to be an update to the Terms of Reference and the development of concise and shared actions within the new plan.  There was to be a focus on the delivery of outcomes that were partnership focussed and which supported and empowered the community through joint programmes and learning opportunities.  Partners were NHS, Police Fire & Rescue, Borders College, Skills Development Scotland, Borders Community Action, Youth Borders and Department of Work and Pensions.

DECISION

NOTED the report.

An update from Director Resilient Communities.

Director Resilient Communities reported that a further workshop was to be held in January 2024.  An update and proposals were to be brought to the next meeting on 7 March 2024.

(a)     Theme 1 – Enough money to live on

(b)     Theme 3 – Enjoying good health and wellbeing

(c)     Theme 4 – A good place to grow up, live in and enjoy a full life, incl. Briefing on the Independent Strategic Review of Funding and Commissioning of Violence Against Women and Girls Services

(Copies attached.)

There had been circulated copies of work plan progress reports which related to Themes 1, 3 and 4. 

DECISION

NOTED the reports. 

Update from F. Doig and P. Oliver.

There had been circulated copies of a cover paper and a summary report on the Eyemouth Whole Systems Approach (WSA).  Fiona Doig and Penny Oliver presented.  Scottish Borders had been invited to participate as a pilot area for the Whole Systems Approach through its involvement in the East of Scotland Partnership for the Prevention and Remission of Type 2 diabetes and was one of eight early adopter areas.  The Community Planning Partnership had approved a proposal to take forward this work in Eyemouth, with a focus on child healthy weight and inequalities.  The Covid-19 pandemic had stalled initial progress and the report outlined work undertaken between March 2021 and March 2023.  Implementation had been supported by a £60k grant which had funded staffing costs in Third sector agencies, training and resources/logistics.  The report outlined the considerable achievements in delivering the key actions for each of the priority themes: Communication; Participation and Learning; and Outdoor Activities.  Achievements included a ‘big cook, little cook’ programme to support healthier family cooking on a budget; completion of a’ Visual Map’; installation of new cycling racks; and junior parkrun had celebrated its first anniversary.  A stakeholder event had taken place in May 2023 and highlighted important factors in taking forward a Whole Systems Approach: identification of key stakeholders at an early stage; adequate time and resources/funding; governance structures; mapping of community resources; effective engagement to support the development of projects; and working with a defined community of appropriate size.  The report detailed next steps to share the report with key stakeholders and to build on the success of the Eyemouth WSA.  The report recognised that in Eyemouth it had been shown that it was possible to make a difference to some levels in the system.  However a bigger scale, sustainable change was likely to need higher level influence, possibly legislation to create the conditions for health and wellbeing.  Members expressed their gratitude for the work undertaken.  In response to a question about lessons learned to be taken forward, Ms Doig stated that it was important that dedicated time and staff were allocated to any future rollout, as was a clear governance structure to allow for appropriate and timely support and connections.

DECISION

NOTED the report.

The theme for the next meeting was to be Theme 4 – A good place to grow up, live in and enjoy a full life

The theme for the next meeting was noted as Theme 4: A good place to grow up, live in and enjoy a full life.

Copy attached.

There had been circulated copies of the Forward Planner which Members noted.

7 March 2024, 2pm

6 June 2024, 2pm

The next meeting of the Community Planning Strategic Board was scheduled for 7 March 2024, 2pm.