Agenda item

(Copies attached).

Copies of the Berwickshire Locality Plan and Action Plan had been circulated.  The Locality Development Co-ordinator, Ms Pringle, advised that the Plan showed that the Area Partnership was about creating a space where the aspirations and ideas of the community could be heard, and community planning could be strengthened through communities and public bodies working together; the Locality Plan was part of that process.  The Plan outlined the priorities of the Berwickshire area with a focus on reducing inequalities to improve the area for those who lived, worked and visited there.  The Plan linked to the Scottish Borders Community Plan and set out the priority improvements over the next five years and the commitment to work in partnership and use shared resources.  The Plan was structured around 4 themes: Economy, Skills and Learning; Health, Care and Wellbeing; Quality of Life; and Environment and Place.  Ms Pringle explained that comments and feedback gathered at previous Area Partnership meetings were incorporated into the Plan and reflected the prioritisation of outcomes and the difference sought by local individuals, groups, organisations and businesses.  It was the intention of the Area Partnerships to involve as wide a group of people as possible to ensure the Plan reflected the needs of the community.  In developing the Plan further there was an aim to increase participation and create more opportunities for people to attend the Area Partnership meetings, to talk in person to the Communities and Partnership team and also to take part in surveys or contact could be made online.  Any suggestions or views would be welcomed either by e-mail:communityengagement@scotborders.gov.uk or through the SBC website: www.scotborders.gov.uk/community councils.  A further discussion was then held on the Locality Plan which clearly showed each of the priorities, the associated actions, delivery, timeline and progress made, and the following questions were answered.

Questions/Comments

(a)       Question – what happens to the Plan now?

Response – the Plan was a reference tool which will help drive change across the public, private and third sector.  The Action Plan was now being compiled to take the priorities and assign what activities were happening.  This would be delivered across the community planning partners and an explanation was also given on the monitoring process of the plan.  If there was no progress with the Action Plan then it would be cascaded up to the Community Planning Partnership Strategic Board.

(b)       Question – what about accountability?  Who owns the process?  There was a gap in the resource being put in for implementation of the Plan.

Response – the Action Plan gave details on who is doing what and the associated timelines which would enable a level of accountability.  The Action Plan was a first start, and would be a fluid document which would change on an ongoing basis.  The Plan would be on the SBC website and copies would be going out to partners to see what activity was being undertaken and then it would be brought to the Area Partnerships to consider progress. 

(c)       Question – what about funding for activity?

Response – the Action Plan does not have a specific budget assigned but aims to influence organisational expenditure at a local level.  Councils across Scotland have given a commitment to 1% of their Council budget being allocated to participatory budgeting; the specifics of how this would be done has not been determined but gives scope to influence spend in accordance with the Locality Plan. This was not just a wish list for the Council, but a Plan that included other CP partners, with activities for them to do out of their budgets.  It was a great record of what the people in Berwickshire wanted to happen or see in the area.  The Plan could be used in a number of different meetings and everything mentioned within it would be the combined responsibility of all partners with one partner taking the lead.

(d)     Comment – it was not known in advance that the Locality Plan needed to be approved at this meeting.

          Response – apologies were given if it was not clear from the agenda that approval was being sought.  The Plan represented a snapshot in time and would be brought back to the Area Partnership if it needed any substantive changes.  The Area Partnership needs to drive that and the Plan acted as the voice of the community so the community needed to say what changes it wanted.

          Comment – I felt that the Plan had been very much an officer-led process at the time with little chance to add in more. 

          Comment – this should be so dynamic that the formal approval process was not as important as getting on and doing something.

(e)     Question – how up to date are the statistics as some dates are 3 years old?

Response – the figures were the most up to date data available at a locality level and were the last published statistics available.  If things do change, the information would be updated.  It was noted that the Action Plan would continually be changing as things progressed.

(d)       Question – can it be arranged to have a focus on a particular theme for a future review day and to not try to do everything at once?

Response – it was agreed to assess the Plan theme by theme as that would give more focus and to review any progress achieved in the action plan and to follow up if no progress had been made.

The Chair advised that the Locality Plan needed to now be approved and asked if more time was required for further consultation with communities.  After a further discussion, the Plan was approved and it was agreed that it would be further reviewed at a single meeting in the Autumn, if possible, on a theme by theme basis. 

DECISION

AGREED:

(a)     to approve the Berwickshire Locality Plan and Action Plan; and

(b)     to review the Locality Plan and progress with the Action Plan at a single meeting (if possible) of the Area Partnership in the autumn on a theme by theme basis.