Agenda and draft minutes

The Chair welcomed attendees to the meeting of the Teviot and Liddesdale Area Partnership.

Minute of meeting held on 4 October 2023. (Copy attached.)

There had been circulated the Minute of the meeting held on 4 October 2023.  The Chair confirmed that there were no actions to be taken forward from the previous meeting.  

DECISION

AGREED to approve the Minutes for signature by the Chair.

3.1       The Chair introduced Chief Inspector Stuart Fletcher, who had recently taken over as the Local Area Commander for the Scottish Borders. Chief Inspector Fletcher explained that he had 25 years working in the Police force across the Scottish Borders and Edinburgh.  Particular focus of his work had ben on working in partnership with communities on quality-of-life issues.  Chief Inspector Fletcher confirmed that he was committed to being visible in the community, and that he would be spending 2 days per week at Hawick Police station.  The Chair thanked Chief Inspector Fletcher for his introduction and wished him well in his new role.

3.2       The Chair invited Inspector Robbie Noble to provide an update.  Inspector Noble outlined the Scottish Borders Police resource structure, drawing particular attention to the Community Policing elements such as the 6 School Link Officers, 11 Community Beat Officers and 12 Community Action Team Officers. Hawick High School had one School Link Officer who worked in the area and worked across all of the local feeder schools.  Additional support for Burnfoot came from the officer working in Selkirk.  The work of those officers was focused on education and developing positive relationships with young people.  Police Scotland had assumed a central role in trying to resolve issues regarding anti-social behaviour and violence amongst young people.  Inspector Noble highlighted that the CAT officers were active in Teviot and Liddesdale.  The Chair expressed thanks for the update and the organisational chart which had been displayed.  Inspector Noble confirmed that discussions were ongoing regarding the resourcing of the Common Riding, in response to a question regarding wind farm delivery loads, Inspector Noble explained that because the operation is being undertaken by private companies, Police Scotland were notified of the movements and assisted in such deliveries. 

DECISION

NOTED.

The Chair explained that this item had been withdrawn.  Attendees were encouraged to have their say on the draft strategy online. 

DECISION

            NOTED.

Copy of presentation attached.

5.1       Ralph Roberts, Chief Executive NHS Borders delivered a short presentation, the slides for which had been circulated with the agenda.  This was to be the first of the five Area Partnership sessions to present ‘Time For Change’ a wide ranging conversation with communities to consider the range of NHS services in the Scottish Borders and to feed into a refresh of NHS Borders Medium Term Plan. The scale of challenges in planning and delivering health services to meet need were unprecedented; significant workforce challenges allied with a smaller working age population (45% vs 65% nationally), over a large rural area and a growing financial deficit.  Under the four suggested discussion headings: Services In the Community; Community Bed Based Services; Acute Hospital Services; and Mental Health Services there had been an audit of provision, public feedback, achievements and areas of focus. The input from the public would form the basis of the medium-term plan for the NHS.  The Chair highlighted the considerable budget difficulties faced by the Health Service.  In response to a question regarding patients being sent out of area for treatment, Mr Roberts explained that the rate charged to NHS Borders in such a scenario would depend on where the patient was sent for treatment.  NHS Borders was assigned a proportion of certain budgets, and usage above that would then incur charges.  Mr Roberts stressed sending patients for treatment out of area, with a view to providing more equitable care, would likely form part of the considerations on the future operating model.

5.2    In response to a question regarding how well the region was adopting technology to tackle the challenges that if faced in providing healthcare, Mr Roberts explained that there was no one size fits all way of implementing technology to solve problems.  The use of technology to deliver services in rural areas had the potential to make a large impact, however considerable investment in digital resources would be required to ensure that they were effective.  It was agreed that the timetable for community engagement session would be shared with the attendees.  The Chair confirmed that a session would be held on Wednesday 15^th of December from 2 pm to 6.30 pm at the Heart of Hawick. Attendees highlighted that staff wellbeing had to be taken into account.  The Chair thanked Mr Roberts and his colleagues for their attendance. 

DECISION

NOTED

Overview from SBC Communities and Partnership Team. (Copy attached.)

There had been circulated copies of the Teviot and Liddesdale Funding Table 2023/24 with the agenda.  The Community engagement Officer, Ms Sarah Culverwell, outlined that £86k of the budget of £132k had been awarded through different schemes. Ms Culverwell encouraged any potential applicants to submit an application as soon as possible to ensure that it could be considered before the end of the financial year.

DECISION

NOTED .

Hawick Men’s Shed: Hawick Community Council Pot A (To follow.)

Hawick’s Men Shed had applied for £1.3k as part of a project to replace their computers.  The funding applied for would allow them to purchase 2 laptops; one printer and ink;2 a desktop computer; and computer monitor.  The total value of the application was £1362.62.  Ms Culverwell explained that the Assessment Panel had not been able to prepare a recommendation due to time constraints.  Councillor Ramage, seconded by Councillor McAteer, proposed that the applicant be approved in full which was unanimously approved. 

DECISION

AGREED to approve the application for £1362.62 from Hawick Men’s Shed.

There was a discussion regarding involving young people in Neighbourhood Support Fund Panel meetings as well as wider discussions on Place Making.  Other localities were also trying to involve young people in the decision-making process.  Mr Kerr highlighted that Southdean were working hard to get young people involved, however challenges remained.  It was highlighted that attendees could liaise with the Mr Corrie Patterson, a youth representative on the Children and Young Peoples Planning Partnership for help in boosting the involvement of young people.  The Community Co-ordinator, Ms Gillian Jardine, undertook to check the criteria to be able to join the Assessment Panel, but suggested that there was no restriction regarding the age.

DECISION

NOTED.

The Chair welcomed Mr Gordie Campbell, from the newly formed Denholm and District Place Making Team.  Mr Campbell explained that the group had been formed 2 months previous, and that work had been focused on involving the smaller hamlets in the area.  The core of the group was composed of the local community, the community council, the householder’s council and other smaller organisations such as the horticultural society and the Village Hall.   Work was ongoing to set up a database of contacts and building capacity in the area.  The Group was in the process of understanding Place Making by studying other Place Plans and how different groups had operated.  Mr Campbell highlighted that the Denholm area faced unique challenges due to its rural character, and that work was ongoing to overcome those challenges.  The Chair highlighted that Hawick’s town team was continuing to undertake work as part of Place Making. 

DECISION

NOTED.  

Hobkirk’s survey had gone live, and Mr Kerr confirmed that he was happy to help analyse the results and provide feedback.  Mr Kerr requested that an update on a potential meeting with Scottish Borders Council officers on windfarms.  Ms Culverwell confirmed that she was following up on the request and would provide an update on a potential date as soon as one was available. 

DECISION

NOTED.

Copies of the additional information document had been circulated with the agenda.

DECISION

NOTED.

Councillor McAteer highlighted that a meeting of the Executive Committee on Tuesday, 14 November would consider a report on the Review of Financial Support to Community Councils.  It was agreed that officers would explore whether dates for an additional meeting to be held prior to the end of the financial year to consider any outstanding Neighbourhood Support Fund applications.  The Chair highlighted that an age specific Community Conversations event had been at Hawick High School. 

DECISION

NOTED.