Leader's Report
North Ayrshire Council · 26 June 2024
Back to North Ayrshire Council — 26 June 2024 and its agenda
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Official Information Official Information LEADER’S REPORT For the period covering: 6 May – 16 June 2024 The attached report gives a summary and brief details to Council, of meetings and events attended by the Leader of North Ayrshire Council, Councillor Marie Burns.
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LEADER’S REPORT • • • 1 Official Information Official Information LEADER’S REPORT For the period covering: 6 May – 16 June 2024 AYRSHIRE ECONOMIC JOINT COMMITTEE SUB-COMMITTEE, AYRSHIRE SKILLS INVESTMENT FUND (ASIF), 7 May On 6 May, following Ayrshire Economic Joint Committee (AEJC) approval of the governance for the Ayrshire Skills Investment Fund (ASIF) Sub-committee, I took up the position of Chair of this sub-committee. Councillor Bob Pollock from South Ayrshire Council is now Vice Chair. Attendees received updates on various streams of work, including: • an ASIF Sub Committee Report Update • Ayrshire Skills Investment Fund Delivery Model Review • Ayrshire College ASIF Programme • ASIF Employer Grants • ASIF Research Proposal: EKOS • AGD Projects & Timescales The Committee will now ask the ASIF Evaluation Panel to review the recommendations and develop options for consideration at the next ASIF Sub Committee meeting. NHS AYRSHIRE AND ARRAN AUDIT AND RISK COMMITTEE, 16 May On 16 May, I attended an NHS Audit and Risk Committee (ARC) meeting where attendees discussed various Audit and governance papers. The Committee also received an assurance report on the National Finance System which was approved and will be circulated to NHS Scotland Boards. The Committee also discussed and agreed any risk issues arising from the Risk and Resilience Scrutiny and Assurance Group. ARDROSSAN TASK FORCE MEETING, 16 May Later on 16 May, I attended a meeting of the Ardrossan Task Force (ATF) together with North Ayrshire Council’s Chief Executive, Craig Hatton, Transport Scotland and various Arran ferry stakeholders. Chaired by the Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Fiona Hyslop MSP, members shared their views on the review of the business case for the project.
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LEADER’S REPORT • • • 2 Official Information Official Information This allowed them to highlight key areas where the review could be strengthened to better reflect the needs of the communities who rely on the service. Scottish Ministers have been clear that the business case to support the harbour upgrade needs to be robust to give greater certainty on the project costs and financial packages required. A review of the business case is ongoing and this Taskforce meeting was an opportunity for project partners to emphasise their position. The business case will be considered by Transport Scotland’s investment decision making board in early June, before being considered by Ministers ahead of the summer recess. HOUSING SERVICE ELECTED MEMBER DEVELOPMENT SESSION, 20 May On 20 May, I attended an Elected Member Development session on North Ayrshire Council’s Housing service. The session gave an informative overview of the Housing system including factors which increase housing supply and housing demand. Also included were some of the key points from the Housing (Scotland) Bill 2024 and a summary of the work that has been done since the Allocation Policy Review began in August 2023. My thanks to our senior Housing officers, Janeine Barrett and Andrea Elliot for delivering the presentation and for answering Members’ questions. MEETING OF THE AYRSHIRE ECONOMIC JOINT COMMITTEE, 20 May Later on 20 May, I chaired a meeting of the Ayrshire Economic Joint Committee (AEJC) where attendees received updates on various Ayrshire Growth Deal (AGD) projects. There was also a presentation from East Ayrshire Council on the Ayrshire Manufacturing Investment Corridor (AMIC) and Ayrshire Engineering Park (AEP) projects, following confirmation from both Scottish and UK Governments that the change request (proposing the co-location of both projects at Moorfield and the renaming of the site as the Ayrshire Innovation Park) has been approved. A joint Full Business Case for Infrastructure Works will be prepared for submission, to allow works to commence by January 2025. NHS AYRSHIRE AND ARRAN BOARD MEETING, 21 May
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LEADER’S REPORT • • • 3 Official Information Official Information On 21 May, I attended an NHS Ayrshire and Arran Board meeting where attendees received presentations on various corporate Governance annual reports covering the following Committees: • Audit and Risk Committee • Healthcare Governance Committee • Information Governance Committee • Integrated Governance Committee • Performance Governance Committee • Staff Governance Committee The Board also received the annual reports from the Pharmacy Practices Committee and the Corporate Equalities Committee. Minutes from Integration Joint Board meetings held for East, South and North Ayrshire Councils in February and March 2024, were also agreed. COSLA LEADERS’ MEETING, 31 May On 31 May, I attended a meeting of COSLA Leaders’. It was another packed agenda which included the following items for discussion: • Investing in Planning Consultation • Historic Child Abuse Redress Scheme – Finance Report • Verity House Agreement • VHA Dispute Resolution Procedure • Pay Negotiations Update • Creating Hope Together Year 1 Annual Report and Year 2/3 Delivery Plan • National Care Service • Teacher Numbers Funding • Asylum Dispersal • Local Government Finance Update • Minimum Service Levels • Draft Equally Safe Delivery Plan 2024-26 Paul Johnston, Public Health Scotland Chief Executive, and Angiolina Foster, Chair of the Board, also began with addressing COSLA Leaders at the start of the meeting in May. This follows on from some keys areas of work that have been undertaken by COSLA and Public
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LEADER’S REPORT • • • 4 Official Information Official Information Health Scotland (PHS). COSLA continues to engage regularly with Public Health Scotland at both officer and political level. COSLA officers contribute to PHS’ strategic and delivery planning including Annual Delivery Plans and long-terms Operating and Strategic Plans. Scottish Ministers are accountable to the Scottish Parliament for the functions and performance of Public Health Scotland. In February 2024, Leaders endorsed the intention to develop a 10-Year Population Health Framework, a cross-government and preventative approach, focused on addressing the primary drivers of population health. The Framework will be co-designed by COSLA, Public Health Scotland, Directors of Public Health and Scottish Government. The current timeline is to publish a draft in June for wider discussion, before the final version is published in Autumn. ARRAN PRIDE, 1 June On 1 June, together with North Ayrshire Council’s Young People’s Champion, Councillor Chloé Robertson, I attended Arran Pride. The event was well attended with some excellent speeches, entertainment and stalls. Thank you to everyone involved in organising this event and to all those who took part to show their support. NHS AYRSHIRE AND ARRAN HEALTHCARE GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE, 3 June On 3 June, I attended an NHS Ayrshire and Arran Healthcare Governance Committee where attendees received reports on patient safety and patient experiences. Attendees were also provided with an assurance report on referrals made to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO). The Committee also received a presentation on Dental Services before going on to discuss and note various Quality Improvement and Corporate Governance reports, including the Care Home Governance report which details ongoing work within Care Homes across Ayrshire and Arran over the last six months by the Care Home Professional Support Team and future planned work. IRVINE LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP MEETING, 3 June
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LEADER’S REPORT • • • 5 Official Information Official Information Later on 3 June, I attended an Irvine Locality Partnership at the Fullarton Hub. The Partnership were asked to consider several applications made to the Irvine Common Good Fund including one from the Irvine Incorporated Trades to help with Marymass-related activities for this year and another one from the Irvine Joint Wards Old Folks Committee asking for financial support to help provide social activities for seniors in all six wards covering the Irvine area. The Partnership were also asked to consider eight new street names for the residential area at the site of the former Ayrshire Central Hospital (Maternity Unit) on Kilwinning Road, Irvine. Several updates were received verbally covering the following items: • Townend Skills Hub Update • Youth and Education Overview • Police Scotland and Scottish Fire and Rescue Wellbeing Partnership Working • KA Leisure • Irvine Community Council • Locality Officer Update SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT PLACE AND WELLBEING BOARD MEETING, 4 June On 4 June, I attended a meeting of the Scottish Government Place and Wellbeing Board. Discussion focused predominately on a report analysing NHS Board Anchor Baselines. As part of the NHS Scotland Delivery Plan Guidance, issued in February 2023, all NHS Boards were asked to develop and submit a baseline in March 2024 of their Anchor activity in relation to the following key strands: workforce; local procurement; and use or disposal of land and assets for the benefit of the community. A review will be completed in the autumn, and then further guidance will be issued to NHS Boards with an ask to update their baselines with data from 2023/24 to assess any progress. Health and local partners have the support and resources to effect change and achieve fairer health and wellbeing outcomes through the coordinated efforts of Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs). COMMUNITY WEALTH BUILDING STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEW, 4 June
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LEADER’S REPORT • • • 6 Official Information Official Information Also on 4 June, I attended a Community Wealth Building Stakeholder interview with Neil McInroy, formerly of CLES and now Managing Director of Community Wealth Builders and Global Lead for CWB at the Democracy Collaborative. The 2024-2027 Community Wealth Building Strategy includes the following action: ‘Informed by our commitment to place-making, we will explore options for developing Community Wealth Building approaches at a locality level including consideration of unique island contexts’ The research will help us develop a locality level approach to CWB that will maximise the unique opportunities within our locality areas and ensure that CWB is developed in a way which supports the needs, interests and economic aspirations of our local communities. Following on from a request from Arran residents around the potential of Arran to pilot a locality-based approach to CWB, the research will involve a deeper look at Arran, however it is expected that the process will produce a framework and recommendations that will allow a similar approach to be adopted within the other localities. The research will also consider the role of community anchor organisations within the overall strategic approach to CWB. 1ST TIER JOINT CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE & CORPORATE HEALTH AND SAFETY GROUP MEETING, 5 June On 5 June, I chaired a meeting of the 1st Tier Joint Consultative Committee and the Corporate Health and Safety Group. Attendees received Health and Safety reports from various Directorates. The 1st Tier Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) were also asked to agree Joint Secretary arrangements on the Trade Union side for the period June 2024 until March 2025. The Joint Secretaries require to be represented from the Council and the Trade Unions. It was agreed at the 1st Tier JCC in February that Jackie Smillie, Senior Manager (People Services) would undertake this position representing the Council. The Committee therefore agreed to the proposal that David Livingstone from the GMB Union would be the representative from the Trade Unions covering the period June 2024 until March 2025. AYRSHIRE SHARED SERVICES COMMITTEE, 7 June
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LEADER’S REPORT • • • 7 Official Information Official Information On 7 June, I attended a meeting of the Ayrshire Shared Services Committee to discuss the Ayrshire Civil Contingencies Plan. The Ayrshire Civil Contingencies Team (ACCT) has provided civil contingencies services on behalf of the three Ayrshire Councils since it was established in 2008. The Team has a responsibility to ensure the provision of the following key requirements on behalf of North, South and East Ayrshire Councils: • Operation of an on-call service to provided 24/7 response for Civil Emergencies as the Duty Officer(s) on behalf of any of the affected Councils. • Preparation of a consistent Civil Contingencies Response and Recovery Plan for approval and implementation by each of the three Councils. • Maintenance of an accurate and up to date Emergency Contact Directory for each of the three Councils. • Development and delivery of training programmes to ensure key staff within each Council know and understand their emergency roles and are prepared to respond to major incidents and civil emergencies. • Preparation and maintenance of Contingency Plans for specific sites, which are also tested on a multi-agency basis at three -early intervals. • Maintenance of a range of plans to cover the response to emergencies of non-site- specific risk. The committee received a progress update covering each of the key requirements as noted above. COMMUNITY PLANNING PARTNERSHIP BOARD MEETING, 11 June On 11 June, I chaired a meeting of the Community Planning Partnership (CPP) Board held at Fullarton Connexions. Members were split into three groups for workshop sessions which will allow closer discussion, increase understanding of partners areas of work and provide opportunities for partnership working and support. The Board also received presentations and updates on the following areas of work: • Green Health Framework, Greenspace Scotland • Climate Change Steering Group, North Ayrshire Council • Community Justice Outcomes Improvement Plan, Community Justice Ayrshire
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LEADER’S REPORT • • • 8 Official Information Official Information There was also some partner discussion and sharing of key developments and working opportunities. As we approach the summer holidays, I would like to thank officers, partners and fellow Elected Members for their continued support and to wish them a good break over the recess period. Councillor Marie Burns Leader of North Ayrshire Council