Town Twinning
North Lanarkshire Council · 24 April 2023
Back to Communities Committee — 24 April 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Communities Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref AA/KB Date 24/04/23 Town Twinning From Chief Officer (Legal and Democratic) E-mail aitkena@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 1. Background Previous History 1.1 The initial concept of Town Twinning originated in the 1930s and developed rapidly in the UK, following the Second World War, when many communities wished to build up contact and co-operation with communities in other countries. With the arrival of the European Single Market, there was a further surge in twinning activity as some communities extended their links, secured additional partners and formed multi-lateral relationships. 1.2 Following the reorganisation of Local Government in Scotland, a Working Group was established in 1997 in order to review the twinning arrangements and exchange links inherited from the predecessor authorities of North Lanarkshire Council and recommend policies and practices in relation to twinning activities in the future. Executive Summary This report details the current financial arrangements for Town Twinning events and visits and proposes changes to the funding model from 1 July 2023 onwards. Recommendation It is recommended that Committee approves: - (1) the cessation of funding for Town Twinning visits from 1 July 2023 onwards, and (2) the transfer of any remaining 2023/24 Town Twinning funds to the Civic Functions budget. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Enhance participation, capacity, and empowerment across our communities Ambition statement (19) Improve engagement with communities and develop their capacity to help themselves
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1.3 The Working Group developed a series of recommendations in relation to the future of Town Twinning links, which included: - • that the Council’s policy and practice on financial assistance towards the cost of exchange visits to twin towns overseas be revised to £50 per head for the first five days or part thereof of any such visit plus £5 per head per day thereafter, and • that the Council’s current practice on financial assistance towards the costs of exchange visits to North Lanarkshire from twin towns overseas be revised to the provision of a bus or buses as required for a period of up to two days, together with appropriate civic hospitality which would normally involve a civic reception and buffet lunch. 1.4 These recommendations were then submitted for feedback to the Local Area Committees and subsequently approved by the General Purposes Committee at its meeting on 4 March 1998. Current Position 1.5 Presently, North Lanarkshire holds twinning links with the following towns: - Cumbernauld Bron (France) Kilsyth Meulan (France) Monklands Airdrie Alberta (Canada) Monklands Campi Bisenzio (Italy) Monklands St Denis (France) Motherwell Schweinfurt (Germany) Stepps Les Marches (France) It should be noted that a decision was taken at the meeting of the Policy and Strategy Committee on 17 March 2022 to sever town twinning arrangements with Gatchina, Russia, with immediate effect. 1.6 For the most part, the North Lanarkshire towns involved in twinning have established formal contacts with twin towns overseas by way of a Twinning Association, whose membership includes individuals interested in participating in and encouraging twinning links and activities generally. 1.7 The objective of the Twinning Associations includes the promotion of interest and participation in twinning within the town and wider communities, the co-ordination and encouragement of twinning activities, exchange of cultural and sporting events/activities, the promotion of economic opportunities between the two towns and maintaining the contact between local authorities in the twin town and the Council. 1.8 A budget of £3,533 is allocated to Town Twinning, which is split across the four most active t winning arrangements (Bron, Les Marches, Meulan and Schweinfurt). 1.9 During the pandemic there were no visits or exchanges with any of the town twinning locations. Since the lifting of foreign travel restrictions, the following invitations/requests have been received: - • Bron – invitation for a North Lanarkshire delegation to visit in December 2022, which was declined by the Provost due to other commitments and financial considerations. Three members of the Bron Association participated in the event and financial assistance was provided in relation to travel costs.
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• Les Marches – a delegation visited North Lanarkshire in October 2022, with a civic lunch hosted by the Provost. However, a further request for the provision of transport and assistance with the financial cost of hotel accommodation was declined due to budgetary considerations. • Schweinfurt – a delegation visited North Lanarkshire in March 2022 and the Provost hosted a small civic reception. A subsequent request for a delegation from North Lanarkshire to visit Schweinfurt in November 2022 was declined by the Provost due to other commitments and financial considerations. 1.10 The Town Twinning Associations for these four arrangements set out in 1.8 above have highlighted that further events and visits are planned for 2023. For example, a small party from Meulan is already planning to visit in May 2023 and a financial request has been received to assist with transport costs and the hosting of a civic reception. 2. Report 2.1 Given the level of Town Twinning invitations and requests received in the past 12 months and the rising costs associated with the provision of transport and hospitality, it has become evident that the current budget cannot sustain the previously agreed financial provisions. 2.2 The relevant funding is held in a separate budget distinct from the general Civic Functions funding and is ring fenced for the four specific areas within North Lanarkshire involved in Town Twinning. 2.3 With reductions to the Civic Functions budget over the past few years, the opportunities for civic recognition for individuals and organisations throughout North Lanarkshire have been constrained. In order to increase opportunities for civic recognition for all community groups across North Lanarkshire, it is proposed to cease future funding of Town Twinning and transfer the remaining funds into the Civic Functions budget. 2.4 If this proposal is approved by Committee, notification regarding the arrangements will be issued to all Town Twinning Associations. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Increase opportunities for civic recognition across North Lanarkshire. 4. Supporting documentation None. Archie Aitken Chief Officer (Legal and Democratic)
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5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality-and-fairer- scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒
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If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? It is anticipated that if the report is approved that appropriate communications to Town Twinning organisations would follow. 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services.