Agenda pack
North Lanarkshire Council · 12 May 2023
Back to Enterprise and Fair Work Committee — 12 May 2023 and its agenda
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Our Ref: Your Ref: Contact: Tel: Fax: E-Mail: Date: Clare Louise McDonald 01698302190 mcdonaldcl@northlan.gov.uk 2 May 2023 Members of the Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Chief Executive’s Office Archie Aitken Chief Officer (Legal and Democratic) Civic Centre, Windmillhill Street Motherwell ML1 1AB DX 571701, Motherwell 2 www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk Notice is given that a Meeting of the ENTERPRISE AND FAIR WORK COMMITTEE is to be held within the Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Motherwell on Friday, 12 May 2023 at 10:00 am which you are requested to attend. The agenda of business is attached. Chief Officer (Legal and Democratic) Members : Councillors: A Bustard, K Docherty, K Duffy, H Dunbar, J Hume, L Jarvie, A Khan, J Leckie, J Logue, A Magowan, A Masterton, F McNally, M McPake, L Nolan, P Patton, D Robb, G Robinson, A Smith, K Stevenson, R Sullivan, J Toner, S Watson, C Williams. Page 1 of 147
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AGENDA (1) Declarations of Interest in terms of the Ethical Standards in Public Life Etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 OPERATIONAL (2) City Deal Update Report (page 5 - 14) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Place) providing an update on the current status of North Lanarkshire City Deal Infrastructure Sub-Projects (copy herewith) (3) Community Wealth Building Update (page 15 - 26) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Place) setting out the proposed approach to Community Wealth Building in North Lanarkshire (copy herewith) (4) Business Grants Update (page 27 - 42) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Place) seeking approval to establish a Business Start Up Fund, a Small Business and Self Employment Support Fund and a Business Growth Fund (copy herewith) (5) Parental Employment Support 2023/24 (page 43 - 52) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Education - South) seeking approval, following a significant increase in funding, for the development of a Parental Employment Investment Plan for 2023/24 (copy herewith) (6) UK Shared Prosperity Fund - Employability (page 53 - 62) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Education - South) seeking approval for the delivery of the employability programmes within the People and Skills theme of the Shared Prosperity Fund (copy herewith) (7) Tourism Strategy Update Report (page 63 - 74) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Place) providing an update on recent progress of North Lanarkshire Tourism Strategy and Action Plan 2022-2026 and seeking approval for the proposed UK Shared Prosperity Fund activity to deliver Tourism Marketing and a Tourism Challenge Fund (copy herewith) (8) Social Enterprise Framework and Action Plan Update (page 75 - 84) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Place) informing of progress relating to actions in the North Lanarkshire Social Enterprise Framework and Action Plan 2021-2026 seeking approval for the proposed UK Shared Prosperity Fund activity to deliver Social Enterprise Development Support in North Lanarkshire (copy herewith) (9) External Funding Update (page 85 - 92) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Place) providing an update on progress made in developing and securing external funding for physical regeneration and economic development projects across North Lanarkshire (copy herewith)Page 3 of 147
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2 PERFORMANCE (10) Strategic Performance Framework - Latest Performance Results for Place (page 93 - 104) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Place) setting out the latest performance results for Place (copy herewith) (11) Strategic Performance Framework - Latest Performance Results for Employability (page 105 - 114) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Education - South) setting out the latest performance results for Employability related performance measures (copy herewith) (12) Routes to Work Ltd - Performance and Finance (page 115 - 130) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Education - South) detailing Routes to Work Ltd operational performance and finance for Quarter 1 2021/22 to Quarter 3 2022/23, along with wider achievements during the period (copy herewith) (13) Fusion Assets Limited - Performance Monitoring Report to 31 March 2023 and Financial Performance 2022/23 (page 131 - 147) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Place) outlining the operational performance of Fusion Assets Ltd during 2022/23 and also details the financial performance of Fusion Assets between 1 April to 31 December 2022, their overall current financial standing and future financial projections and the planned revisions to Articles of Association (copy herewith) Page 4 of 147
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref LN/PH Date 12/05/23 City Deal Update Report Programme of Work PO21 From Pamela Humphries, Chief Officer (Place) E-mail NobleLy@northlan.gov.uk Telephone Lyndsay Noble 07970016256 Executive Summary The North Lanarkshire City Deal Programme Update report seeks to inform the Enterprise and Fair Work Committee of the current status of North Lanarkshire City Deal Infrastructure subprojects. Recommendations It is recommended that the Committee: 1) Note the status and recent progress of North Lanarkshire City Deal infrastructure subprojects. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Ambition statement (5) Grow and improve the sustainability and diversity of North Lanarkshire's economy AGENDA ITEM 2 Page 5 of 147
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1. Background 1.1 The Glasgow City Region (GCR) City Deal is an agreement between the UK and Scottish Governments and the eight GCR Local Authorities, with the sole focus of creating additional economic growth. The 20-year GCR Deal was accepted by GCR Council Leaders on 20 August 2014 and incorporated: • implementing a £1.13bn Infrastructure Fund to improve the regional transport network, regenerate sites for economic use and improve public transport provision; • supporting growth in the life sciences sector; • helping small and medium enterprises to grow and develop; • establishing programmes to support the unemployed; and • piloting new ways of boosting the incomes of low wage employees. 1.2 The City Deal programme for North Lanarkshire as part of the Infrastructure Fund comprises the following projects: • A8/M8 Corridor Access Improvements o Strategic Active Travel o Orchard farm Roundabout • Glenboig Link Road (complete) • Pan-Lan Orbital Transport Corridor o East Airdrie Link Road o Ravenscraig Access Infrastructure o Motherwell Town Centre Transport Interchange 2. Report 2.1 Motherwell Town Centre Transport Interchange (MTCTI) 2.1.1 The redevelopment of Motherwell Rail Station by ScotRail’s appointed contractor, Balfour Beatty, is now substantially complete. The station has undergone transformational change with the improvements providing a high quality experience for rail passengers and railway employees at Motherwell. Transport and public realm investment at Muir Street, led by the council, is substantially complete. These works complement and support the major investment in Motherwell Rail Station, provide a new access road to the station and taxi rank, expanded bus stop capacity on Muir Street and public realm improvements. 2.1.2 Together, the station investment and Muir Street improvements have created a transport hub in the heart of Motherwell. This provides an improved gateway into Motherwell and the Glasgow City Region by public transport and is a key part of regeneration plans for Motherwell town centre. The Partnership between Scotrail, NLC, SPT and Transport Scotland in delivering the joint project has been a success and is now driving forward related active travel projects to connect Motherwell Rail Station and surrounding communities to leisure facilities, employment and training opportunities at Strathclyde Country Park, Braidhurst Industrial Estate and Ravenscraig. 2.1.3 Both the Motherwell Rail Station and Muir Street contracts were scheduled to be complete by July 2022. However, primarily due to unforeseen structural issues with the station building, completion of the station contract experienced a number of delays. Interfaces with the station works, drainage and public utility issues within the Muir Street Page 6 of 147
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works area, also impacted on completion of the Muir Street works. Both contracts will therefore be completed in May 2023. Throughout the project, joint communication group meetings have been held to ensure that communication updates are coordinated. Planning is currently underway for a joint opening event in the summer. 2.1.4 Community Benefit outcome delivery by both Balfour Beatty and ScotRail is now complete. A number of skills, employability and training initiatives and community projects have been delivered through community benefit commitments within the Muir Street contract and through a funding agreement with ScotRail. ScotRail have also engaged in an initiative to promote opportunities within the rail industry. 2.2 Ravenscraig Access Infrastructure 2.2.1 The Ravenscraig Access Infrastructure project comprises three projects: • a new road connection between Motherwell and Ravenscraig from Airbles Road, passing under the West Coast Main Line railway, and on to the Regional Sports Facility • completing the dualling of Airbles Road between Airbles Farm Road and Hamilton Road and improving facilities pedestrians and cyclists • upgrading the A723 for three kilometres from the New Craig Road junction at Ravenscraig to the M8 at Holytown to create a dual carriageway and shared footway/cycleway 2.2.2 Significant progress has been made by Story Contracting, with the construction of the new bridge structure. Following its pre-construction during 2022 and early 2023, the bridge was successfully installed in the railway during the 10-day track closure at the start of April with the works completed and the railway re-opened on time. 2.2.3 Story will now complete the works for Network Rail during May and June before commencing the advance preparatory road works for the new dual carriageway within the bridge structure on behalf of the Council. These works simplify the contractual relationship with Network Rail and the Council during our main works and ensure progress continues on site. 2.2.4 In preparation for the next phase of works, the project team: • have issued the Invitation to Tender (ITT) for the Construction of the dual carriageway into Ravenscraig. The outcome of the procurement will be reported to committee in due course. It is intended that the contractor will be appointed in the autumn following City Deal and Committee approval with advance notices and preparation for works commencing before the end of 2023 and works getting underway in early 2024 and • commissioned the diversion of some public utilities in advance of the main works. 2.2.5 Related to this part of the project, works have progressed well for the relocation of the Evans Halshaw Ford car dealership with the demolition and clearance completed and construction works now commenced for the replacement showroom on the nearby former Taggarts site. The new dealership will occupy the front part of the site with the rear part of the site being made available for residential development, potentially as part of the council’s new supply programme. Page 7 of 147
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2.2.6 For the upgrading of the A723 the project team has completed the refinement of the detailed proposals for the dualling of the A723 from Ravenscraig to the M8 at Holytown. Information will be provided to the communities and the planning authority during May and June, to confirm the proposed improvements to the earlier planning permission. Following this the team will commence the preparation of the specifications and documents for procurement during 2024. 2.3 East Airdrie Link Road 2.3.1 East Airdrie Link Road will provide a new strategic link between the M8 and south Cumbernauld. 2.3.2 As previously reported, a section of the preferred route has been realigned to accommodate the proposed Monklands Hospital replacement project. The project team continue to liaise with NHS Lanarkshire to ensure coordination, secure efficiencies and to maximise benefits. 2.3.3 In line with previous approvals, the procurement for professional services for the development of the preliminary design for the road, preparation of the planning application and the collation of the outline Business Case has commenced. The ITT for Stage 3 has been issued and it is intended to award the services contract in August 2023. Approval for this contract award will be sought from the Depute Chief Executive and the outcome of this procurement activity will be brought back to Committee in line with General Contract Standing Orders. 2.3.4 As reported to Committee, the programme for the development and delivery of the EALR has been reviewed. This is to accommodate complex design and planning requirements and to allow for technical approvals and implementation of the land acquisition strategy. It is intended that the Outline Business Case is brought to committee in February 2024 and subject to approval, is submitted to the GCR Cabinet to secure further funding. 2.4 Orchard Farm Roundabout 2.4.1 The ‘A8/M8 Corridor Access Improvements’ Outline Business Case (OBC) including the Orchard Farm Roundabout was approved by the GCR Cabinet on 30 August 2022. As reported, the scope of the Orchard Farm Roundabout project comprises a financial contribution of £2m to the developer for the construction of the junction on the A8. 2.4.2 The Orchard Farm Roundabout is a new junction on the A8 All Purpose Distributor Road and critically supports the development of the Mossend International Rail Freight Park (MIRP) and provides important access to a number of development sites to the north of the A8/M8. 2.4.3 The proposed Full Business Case (FBC) for the new junction will be underpinned by a funding agreement between the council and the developer/s and will establish funding arrangements, obligations and key milestones. The remainder of the costs and any associated delivery risks relating to the delivery of the infrastructure will be met by the developer/s. The infrastructure will form part of the strategic road network and will fall under the responsibility of Transport Scotland. 2.4.4 It is proposed to submit the Full Business case (FBC) for the Orchard Farm Roundabout for approval to the GCR Chief Executive’s Group in August 2023, subject to sufficient procurement progress by the developers. The FBC will report on the procurement outcome of the new junction and associated works and is the final stage in the funding Page 8 of 147
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approvals to allow for contract award and the delivery of the infrastructure to progress. Agreement will be sought from Committee to submit the FBC to the GCR Chief Executives Group for approval. This would allow for works to commence in late autumn 2023, with the intention that the works would be complete by late 2024. 2.5 A8/M8 Corridor Strategic Active Travel 2.5.1 The provision of Strategic Active Travel Links, connecting Eurocentral/Maxim Office Park/Newhouse and Mossend to surrounding local communities and local rail stations was approved by GCR Cabinet on 30 August as the new preferred option for the Eurocentral sub-project. 2.5.2 The routes identified are to the south of Eurocentral between Bellshill Rail Station/town centre and the M8 cycle route at North Road; Bellshill town centre, Mossend and Holytown, connecting into Eurocentral from Holytown and between Holytown and Newhouse. To the north of Eurocentral, a route has also been identified from Whifflet rail station to the M8 cycle route at Shawhead. These routes are designated as Strategic Network Routes within the North Lanarkshire Active Travel Strategy. 2.5.3 In total, it is aimed to deliver 10km of shared use walking and cycling routes with City Deal investment. The routes link with other planned active travel route improvements as part of the Ravenscraig Infrastructure Access and East Airdrie Link Road projects and with other projects being developed by the Infrastructure and Transportation team. There are also opportunities to seek match funding from other external funding sources to expand the scope of the project to connect more communities to employment opportunities. 2.5.4 Due to the scale of the project, a phased approach will be taken to design and delivery. It is planned to appoint consultants to progress feasibility and design work for the first phase of the project in Q1 2023. This will focus on the route into Eurocentral from Holytown and between Holytown and Newhouse. Design work will be progressed over 2023 with it then intended, subject to Committee approval, to submit a sub-project Full Business Case in Summer 2024 and commence work on site in Autumn 2024. 3. Measures of success 3.1 As the second largest Local Authority within the GCR, North Lanarkshire’s residents and businesses will directly benefit from the City Deal through: • creation of 2,000 new workplace jobs, representing a 1.6% uplift in the future jobs growth forecast for North Lanarkshire; • a significant share of some 15,000 temporary construction jobs anticipated to be generated by the development of the Infrastructure Investment Fund projects – construction being a predominant local employment sector; • estimated 9.2% of North Lanarkshire working age residents having heightened access to employment opportunities within the wider GCR area; • additional tender opportunities as a result of GCR City Deal investment for North Lanarkshire Business and SME’s; • community benefits derived from all GCR City Deal contracts awarded over £50,000; and • a proportionate share of the £2.2bn per annum Gross Value Added (GVA) increase in the GCR area over the lifetime of City Deal, equivalent to 4% uplift in the region. Page 9 of 147
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4. Supporting documentation 4.1 No supporting document presented. Pamela Humphries Chief Officer (Place) 5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 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? The City Deal Cabinet has agreed that Inclusive Growth is to be fully embedded within the GCR City Deal programme delivery and that it is also committed to supporting the delivery of the Fairer Scotland Action Plan. Future NLC subproject OBC/FBC development will be scrutinised to ensure it meets the duties of the Fairer Scotland Action Plan. 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? The North Lanarkshire Council City Deal Programme approved funding allocation across the 3 headline projects is as: • A8/M8 Corridor Access Improvements £6,478,521 • Glenboig Link Road (complete) £6,223,205 • Pan-Lan Orbital Transport Corridor £215,696,493 The City Deal funding comprises funding from the GCR City Deal Infrastructure Fund (£148,956,293) and North Lanarkshire Council (£79,441,926). The financial implications of the City Deal Programme are incorporated within the Council’s Page 10 of 147
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Long-term Financial Plan and to date budgetary implications have been approved by the Policy and Strategy Committee. Page 11 of 147
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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? The City Deal Team work closely with Legal Services on all sub projects focusing on land acquisition and CPO, procurement and contract preparation and management, funding agreements and any other related matters. 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 ☒ 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? All infrastructure projects developed by the Council as part of the GCR City Deal will be subject to relevant environmental and sustainability appraisal and as part of subsequent planning application approvals and procurement. Page 12 of 147
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Furthermore, to adhere with HM Treasury Greenbook best practice, each iteration of project business case seeking GCR City Deal funding will include a review of the sustainability considerations, this will include carbon management, involving categorisation, assessment and mitigation. 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? The City Deal programme and the delivery of the projects will continue to be promoted through Corporate Communications and the Glasgow City Region’s Communications team. Specific to Muir Street Improvements, a joint communications group with Scotrail, Transport Scotland and North Lanarkshire Council has been set up to coordinate communication and promote the Motherwell Station redevelopment and the City Deal Muir Street improvements. In terms of East Airdrie Link Road, a joint communication plan will be developed with NHS Lanarkshire and North Lanarkshire Council to coordinate communication, stakeholder engagement and promote the projects as they develop. 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? A key risk for the City Deal Programme is the current global economic climate and its short and long term impacts on the delivery of the city deal projects. This risk is becoming a live issue for the Programme and will be assessed and recorded within the City Deal Issues Register. This is not unique to City Deal and the approach to this risk and issue management will be carried out in conjunction with Finance and the Glasgow City Region Project Management Office. Risk management of North Lanarkshire’s City Deal activity is incorporated within the council’s City Deal programme risk register which is reviewed by the City Deal Manager and reported to the council’s City Deal Board. The City Deal risks are also integrated in the Planning and Regeneration Service Risk Register. Each City Deal sub project has a detail risk register and is managed by the Project Manager. 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. Page 13 of 147
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref Date 12/05/23 Community Wealth Building Update From Pamela Humphries, Chief Officer (Place) E-mail weiry@northlan.gov.uk pollockle@northlan.gov.uk Telephone Yvonne Weir/Leanne Pollock 07508001238/ 07814916564 Executive Summary The report outlines the background to Community Wealth Building as an approach to economic development, improving outcomes for and empowering communities. The report outlines opportunities and the proposed approach to Community Wealth Building that can be applied in North Lanarkshire through the establishment of a Community Wealth Building Commitment Statement in support of a number of key programme of work areas and workstreams thereby ensuring that the council embeds the Community Wealth Building model of economic development into its relevant plans and wider strategies. Recommendations It is recommended that the Enterprise and Fair Work Committee: (1) Note the content and background to the Report; and (2) Endorse the proposed approach to Community Wealth Building in North Lanarkshire, the establishment of a Commitment Statement, and associated development and implementation actions. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement (5) Grow and improve the sustainability and diversity of North Lanarkshire's economy AGENDA ITEM 3 Page 15 of 147
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1. Background 1.1 Community Wealth Building (CWB) is an internationally recognised approach to economic development designed to tackle long-standing economic challenges. It seeks to transform local and regional economies by considering the ways in which the public sector, in partnership with the private, third and community sectors, can ensure more wealth is generated, circulated and retained in communities and localities. The approach is focussed on growing the influence communities have on the economy and ensuring communities receive more of the benefits from the wealth they help to generate. 1.2 The CWB approach is focussed on five pillars of activity which play a complementary role in the retention of wealth in local places and regions for the benefits of communities. All of the pillars play a complementary role in the retention of wealth in local places and regions for the benefit of communities. Increased spend with local businesses and higher levels of inclusive or community forms of ownership means that more money stays in the communities that create the wealth through higher incomes, fairer employment opportunities and a greater say over the use of local and regional assets. The five pillars of CWB are as follows: 1.2.1 Spending Pillar definition: Maximising community and business benefits through procurement and commissioning, developing good enterprises, Fair Work and shorter supply chains. Overview of activity: This includes a focus on ways to achieve greater economic, social and environmental benefits such as growing investment in local businesses, supplier development and innovation, and ensuring the delivery of tangible community benefits. What this will achieve: Higher levels of spend with Small to Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs), micro-businesses and inclusive business models resulting in business growth and improved, resilient local and regional economies. 1.2.2 Workforce Pillar definition: Increasing Fair Work and developing local labour markets that support the prosperity and wellbeing of communities. Overview of activity: Ensuring public sector anchor organisations and other employers embed Fair Work principles, promoting the payment of the real Living Wage; recruiting locally, from groups who face inequalities and are furthest from the labour market; and promoting work that is secure, provides flexible working and training opportunities and supports the workforce to have an effective voice. What this will achieve: Access to local and fair employment opportunities, fairer wages, skills development opportunities and improved wellbeing of employees. 1.2.3 Land and Property Pillar definition: Growing social, ecological, financial and economic value that local communities gain from land and property assets. Page 16 of 147
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Overview of activity: Productive use of anchor organisation land and property, for example through diversified ownership models including community ownership, and tackling vacant and derelict land and buildings. What this will achieve: Land and property are used for the common good and benefit communities, SMEs and micro-businesses and the environment. 1.2.4 Inclusive Ownership Pillar definition: Developing more local and inclusive enterprises which generate community wealth, including social enterprises, employee-owned firms and co- operatives. Overview of activity: Promoting greater diversity in the business base by encouraging formation and development of inclusive business models which support the local retention of wealth. What this will achieve: More inclusive and democratically owned enterprises and assets which means the wealth created locally and by local people stays in those communities in the form of incomes and profits rather than being extracted out. 1.2.5 Finance Pillar definition: Ensuring that flows of investment and financial institutions work for local people, communities and businesses. Overview of activity: Increasing investment and re-circulating wealth within local economies including through access to affordable credit and business finance. What this will achieve: Money and investment stays in a local area and is available to support communities and businesses. 1.3 CWB seeks to use the economic levers available to “anchor organisations” to support their local and regional economies. Anchor organisations are typically large employers with a strong local presence in an area. Examples of anchor organisations are local authorities, health and social care bodies, housing associations, further and higher education institutions, enterprise agencies and large private sector employers. It is recognised that anchor organisations can exert influence through the commissioning and purchasing of goods and services, through their workforce and employment capacity and by use of their facilities and land assets to affect social, economic and environmental change. 1.4 In addition, it is recognised that third sector organisations, community organisations, development trusts and micro-businesses can also play a key role in driving forward CWB and have a range of levers through their spend, employment, assets and local relationships. 1.5 The Scottish Government has adopted the internationally recognised Community Wealth Building (CWB) approach to economic development as a key practical means by which progress can be made towards realising our wellbeing economy vision outlined in the National Strategy for Economic Transformation (NSET). 1.6 The Programme for Government 2022-23 committed to the facilitation of a consultation on Community Wealth Building legislation to invite the views of a wide range stakeholders on the changes that are required to grow local wealth and give Page 17 of 147
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communities a greater stake in the economy. The consultation took place between 31st January and 25th April 2023. The consultation is exploring which new powers, abilities and duties will enable local authorities, public bodies, wider community planning partners and Regional Economic Partnerships to have more individual and collective influence in taking action to support CWB in their local area or region. 1.7 The Scottish Government has also been working with local authorities and other partners to build capacity to help drive forward the implementation of CWB at the local and regional level, including supporting five CWB pilot areas: Clackmannanshire, Fife, Glasgow City Region, South of Scotland and the Western Isles, and investment in CWB in Ayrshire through the Ayrshire Growth Deal which builds on the CWB work of North Ayrshire Council. Notable wider examples of CWB which are regularly cited are Cleveland, Ohio and Preston, England. 1.8 As reported to the Communities Committee in October 2022, and endorsed at the Community Empowerment Committee in January 2022, the council has agreed the need for: • a shared understanding and definition for community wealth building; • mapping to understand the breadth of work that contributes to wealth building and any further opportunities to enhance • development of a corporate community wealth building statement to be embedded across several policy and strategy areas; and • potential to consider regular reporting to committee on a range of wealth building activity. 1.9 The report outlines opportunities and a proposed approach to CWB that can be applied in North Lanarkshire in support of a number of key programme of work areas and workstreams thereby ensuring that the council embeds the CWB model of economic development into its relevant plans and wider strategies. 2. Report North Lanarkshire Council Current Approach to Community Wealth Building 2.1 Whilst the council has not produced a formal CWB strategy or action plan, across the 5 pillars of CWB the council has already adopted and embedded CWB principles across a range of strategies, plans, programme of work areas and workstreams. 2.2 Appendix 1 of this report highlights a selection of the key areas where CWB principles are already embedded or being delivered through council led activities and programmes of work. This has been listed under the 5 Pillars. Further mapping is underway to capture additional areas of activity. Partnership Approach to Community Wealth Building in North Lanarkshire 2.3 Similar to the position within the Council there has been much discussion at various levels across the Community Planning Partnership around the best approach to CWB in North Lanarkshire. Community Wealth Building is referenced and approaches are evident across a number of partnership priorities and delivery mechanisms. There is a desire to ensure that any approaches developed internally within individual public Page 18 of 147
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sector agencies reflect, support and operate within a wider partnership framework that is codesigned not only across agencies but at a grass roots level through involvement of local third sector organisations. 2.4 In addition to being threaded throughout specific thematic partnership priorities such as tackling poverty and Climate Change, CWB is prominent in targeted work to strengthen the partnership and empower local communities through for example: • The 9 Community Boards as a vehicle for local people to come together in partnership with public sector, third sector organisations and elected members to drive delivery of the LOIP’s and ensure local people have a voice. • Creation of 9 Local Outcome Improvement Plans (LOIP’s) articulating local priorities and ensuring partnership resources are targeted to working with communities around these priorities. Thematic approaches are emerging in each locality unlocking opportunities to look at maximising delivery through existing shared resource, attraction of additional external funding or income generating opportunities. A management, monitoring and partnership delivery framework has been established. • CommUnity Agreement using asset based and Appreciative Inquiry approaches to codesign an agreement, based on a core set of values and principles between the Third Sector, public sector agencies for working together to improve outcomes for local people. • Fair Funding Charter: Voluntary Action North Lanarkshire (VANL) is currently consulting on the development of a charter that builds on CWB approaches to funding the third sector in a way that is sustainable and asset based. • North Lanarkshire Social Enterprise Framework and Action Plan: aims to support the social enterprise sector to become more enterprising, more connected and more sustainable to provide support and opportunities to those in the greatest need and facilitate the wider social and environmental changes to improve our communities. • North Lanarkshire Volunteering Strategy: was developed by the North Lanarkshire Volunteering Partnership during 2022 to strengthen volunteering across North Lanarkshire for the benefit of volunteers; residents and communities supported by volunteers; and volunteer-involving organisations. North Lanarkshire Volunteering Partnership includes representatives from North Lanarkshire community planning partnership partner agencies. • Participatory Budgeting and local project delivery: There are many local examples of how resources from across the partnership are used to lever in additional resources to deliver key projects and initiatives with and for local communities. For example: joint funded participatory budgeting exercises, working with local groups to jointly fund play provision and supporting groups to take on assets for delivery of key services to meet shared outcomes. Page 19 of 147
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Proposed North Lanarkshire Council Approach to Community Wealth Building 2.5 The proposed North Lanarkshire Council approach to ensuring that Community Wealth Building principles and approaches are embedded across the priorities for North Lanarkshire is the adoption of a Community Wealth Building Commitment Statement whereby any relevant projects, Programmes of Work, Strategies and action plans must demonstrate how CWB principles and approaches are applied. 2.6 Rather than a separate strategy with accompanying separate performance, governance and reporting, it is suggested that a commitment statement could have more impact as it can be applied across a number of relevant agendas and strategies with agreed CWB improvement actions. This would ensure an integrated, corporate approach, avoid duplication and ensure evidence of implementation in the reporting of a number of other key and linked agendas. The statement would need to be built into existing reporting and assessment mechanisms and should be accompanied by an implementation and improvement plan with clearly defined actions and timescales. Partnership and Stakeholder Delivery Approach 2.7 A partnership CWB working group has recently been established to consider Community Wealth Building at a North Lanarkshire Partnership level. The group is made up of representatives from key public sector agencies and the third sector. 2.8 Initial work of the group has included: • Sharing information on internal organisational approaches and opportunities around CWB • Mapping of current individual and partnership activity under the 5 pillars • Responding to and considering the potential impact of the Scottish Government CWB consultation • Scoping out an approach to developing an overarching partnership CWB Framework 2.9 The next steps for the partnership work under development is to continue with mapping of activity and engagement with national dialogue around this agenda while planning stakeholder and community engagement, the outcome of which will inform both the development of a partnership framework and the North Lanarkshire Council statement and delivery plan. Stakeholder and Community engagement is planned for late summer 2023 and needs to be carefully planned and coordinated with other key engagement and consultations for example the CommUnity Agreement and the Open Space Strategy. The timeline below outlines the steps required to move towards this. 2.10 It is anticipated that this partnership approach can strengthen the Council’s internal approach, inform the development of the Council’s statement and provide an opportunity to identify joint actions and make best use of shared resource areas that can be most effectively delivered collaboratively. Members are asked to support the partnership actions and timeline. Glasgow City Region Approach to Community Wealth Building 2.11 Community Wealth Building is recognised as a key enabler of the Glasgow City Region Economic Strategy. By using the assets, power and wealth of anchor organisations across the Region to redress inequality, the approach will support the Region to be more productive, and more sustainable. A key component of the delivery approach of the Strategy will be to use a CWB approach to maximise the local impacts of investment Page 20 of 147
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in programmes and projects across the Region. Work has already begun on a Regional approach across all 5 Pillars including the establishment of an Anchor Network and the approval of a new Sustainable Procurement and Community Benefit Strategy which included a commitment to introduce a Regional Community Wish List scheme to meet the needs of local communities via suppliers. Timeline and Next Steps 2.12 The following timeline and next steps have been identified to support the development of both a partnership framework and NLC statement: • Partnership planning and development meetings scheduled to progress CWB in North Lanarkshire – 6-weekly from April 2023 to August 2023 • Further mapping of CWB activities in North Lanarkshire – August 2023 • Engagement with Elected Members – August 2023 • Stakeholder engagement session – August 2023 • Survey and community focus groups – October/November 2023 • Draft partnership framework for consultation with stakeholders – December 2023/January 2024 • Adoption by the North Lanarkshire Partnership Strategic Leadership Board - early 2024 • Adoption of partnership framework and draft NLC statement February/March 2024 3. Measures of success 3.1 Adoption of a Community Wealth Building Statement by North Lanarkshire Council. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 No supporting documentation. Pamela Humphries Chief Officer (Place) Page 21 of 147
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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? Adopting a CWB statement and approach would have a positive impact on the Public Sector Equality Duty and the Fairer Scotland Duty. A full EQIA will be undertaken. 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 ☐ Page 22 of 147
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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 ☒ 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? A positive environmental/carbon impact is anticipated through a CWB approach whereby wealth is generated, circulated and retained in communities and localities. 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? Positive impact is anticipated. 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. Page 23 of 147
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Appendix 1 – Examples of Current Activities undertaken by North Lanarkshire Council The undernoted examples were gathered through an initial mapping exercise to highlight key existing areas of activity aligned to Community Wealth Building. More detailed mapping will take place as part of the next steps up to August 2023. Pillar 1 – Spending Activity includes: NLC Procurement Strategy 2023-2024 – one of the three overarching purposes of the strategy is to t procure the Supplies, Works and Services that we need in a lawful and ethical manner which encourages participation and supports sustainable economic growth for our communities and Scotland as a nation. Supplier Development Programme – the council actively participates in the Programme which provides free support to local businesses to assist them to become tender ready. Delivery of Community Benefits in Procurement – A wide range of community benefits are already achieved through contracts delivered on behalf of the council in areas such as employment opportunities, work experience, apprenticeships, supply chain development and community project contributions. A working group is in place to review the council’s approach to delivering community benefits to maximise opportunities moving forward. Community Wish List – The council is working with Glasgow City Region on the development of the Community Wish List approach. Working with NHS Lanarkshire on the delivery of community benefits through the New Monkland Hospital Delivery of Lanarkshire Meet the Real Buyer events and participation in National Meet the Buyer Events. These events linked to the Supplier Development Programme. They enable local businesses to meet key council buyers to learn more about council procurement opportunities. Exploration of a Social Value Approach to measure the contribution to the local economy of procurement. Increased adoption of Fair Work First Principles within Procurement Pillar 2 – Workforce Activity includes: Real Living Wage – the council is a Real Living Wage Employer Disability Confident Leader – the council is a Disability Confident and is a champion for Disability Confident within the local and business communities. North Lanarkshire Employer Charter – The charter contains key principles, which are aligned to drive positive improvements in outcomes in the North Lanarkshire labour market, and which are reflected in the four pillars of the Charter. Business must meet with at least two Pillars of the scheme to achieve an Award under the Charter: • Fair Pay – increasing our average weekly wage in line with the Fairer Scotland Duty • Employ North Lanarkshire – ensuring that job opportunities go to North Lanarkshire residents • Buy North Lanarkshire – enhancing supply chain / procurement / community benefits • Be the Best – ensuring fair work practices which attract and retain employees Employability Support – delivery of a range of programmes and activities to support North Lanarkshire residents to improve their skills and secure employment. Supported Employment - holistic support tailored to individual needs in order to help people with disabilities and/or multiple barriers to gain and sustain employment. Page 24 of 147
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Support for Living Wage Accreditation – the council encourage business to become accredited and can provide financial support towards accreditation. Employer Support – Tailored recruitment support for local employers including financial assistance through wage subsidy support. Delivery of the Workforce for the Future Strategy – the strategy is underpinned by six strategic commitments which are intended to leverage the full range of our vocational education offerings, our employability and skills programmes and funding, and our employer and other partnership working capabilities to improve outcomes within our labour market and within key sectors. Delivery of the Tackling Poverty Strategy which seeks to ensure that our residents are offered opportunities, support, advice and information that will address the three main drivers of poverty: increasing income from employment; maximising income via social security benefits; and reducing the cost of living. Developing the Young Workforce Plan – the ambitious plan sets out how the council, along with schools and partners will continue to work together to improve employability experiences and increase the number of young people entering positive and sustained post-school destinations. Pillar 3 – Land and Property Activity includes: Continued support to communities to facilitate and assist Community Asset Transfer to enable local organisations to gain ownership of assets to delivery local services and activities. Support for Community Ownership and Management – this includes community leases and partnerships agreements Delivery and support for schemes to address issues of Vacant and Derelict land to bring land back into productive use, and maximising funding through Vacant and Derelict Land Fund projects Securing funding through the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund which supports locally developed place-based regeneration projects that involve local communities, helping to tackle inequalities and deliver inclusive growth in deprived and disadvantaged communities. Delivery of the Open Market Purchase Scheme to enable the council to buy homes in areas where there is demand for that type and size of property, and to bring empty properties back into use that have been lying empty or derelict for some time to increase the supply of homes The continued delivery of the council’s ambitious New Supply Programme, which aims to provide 5,000 new affordable homes by 2035. Ongoing Town Centre Regeneration activity bringing town centre properties and land back into productive use and the delivery of Town Visions. Ongoing development of property and regeneration projects by Fusion Assets to increase the volume of commercial property and industrial units in the area Development and delivery of Town and Community Hubs to provide services for education and wider sport, leisure, culture and community uses and services. Delivery of the Food Growing Strategy which aims to increase access to affordable, healthy, sustainable food by increasing opportunities for people in North Lanarkshire to ‘grow-your-own’ through allotments and other community growing models. Page 25 of 147
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Pillar 4 – Inclusive Ownership Activity includes: Development and delivery of the North Lanarkshire Social Enterprise Framework and Action Plan which seeks to grow and strengthen social enterprises in North Lanarkshire. Delivery of support through the Lanarkshire Business Gateway to support businesses to set-up and grow to provide local employment opportunities and to increase local wealth. Delivery of activities to increase levels of entrepreneurialism across North Lanarkshire. This includes the Lanarkshire Women In Business initiative to encourage more women to set-up in business, Dragons’ Lair which seeks to work within schools to highlight the opportunities of setting up businesses and social enterprise to young people and engagement between schools and the Social Enterprise Academy. Provision of grant funding to support businesses to set-up and grow. The council provides a range of financial support to assist businesses to set-up and grow. Pillar 5 – Finance Activity includes: Delivery through the Community Boards and development/creation of 9 Local Outcome Improvement Plans (LOIP’s) articulating local priorities and ensuring partnership resources are targeted to working with communities around these priorities. Thematic approaches are emerging in each locality unlocking opportunities to look at maximising delivery through existing shared resource, attraction of additional external funding or income generating opportunities. Actions within the Tackling Poverty Strategy to widen access to affordable credit within communities and provision of debt and fuel poverty advice. Capacity Building and Third Sector support to assist organisations to access external funding and develop other income streams. Development of the Fair Funding Charter: The NLP Community and Voluntary Sector Partnership Group (CVSPG) is currently consulting on the development of a charter that builds on CWB approaches to funding the CVS in a way that is sustainable and asset based. Ongoing development and delivery of Participatory Budgeting and levering in additional resources to deliver key projects and initiatives with and for local communities. Implementation of the North Lanarkshire Volunteering Strategy Ongoing delivery of Business Support grants and funding to support growth and sustainability of the business sector Ongoing leverage and delivery of external funding to support local economic development and regeneration projects e.g. through Regeneration Capital Grant Fund, Vacant and Derelict Land fund, Levelling up Fund, UK Shared Prosperity Fund to deliver outcomes for local residents, communities, town centres, third sector and businesses. Delivery of Community Grant funding through GAP, Councillor grants, Recover NL Ongoing development and delivery of Commissioning Approaches with the third sector. Page 26 of 147
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref PH/YW Date 12/05/23 Business Grants Update From Pamela Humphries, Chief Office (Place) E-mail weiry@northlan.gov.uk Telephone Yvonne Weir, Enterprise Manager, 07508 001238 Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to seek approval for proposals to establish a Business Start Up Fund, a Small Business and Self Employment Support Fund, and a Business Growth Fund part-funded by the council’s allocation from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), remaining Local Authority Covid Economic Recovery Fund (LACER) and North Lanarkshire Council’s Recovery Fund. The report also details proposals to use UKSPF funding to establish bespoke business start-up and growth support for under-represented groups in North Lanarkshire, including women and Black, Asian, and other Minority Ethnic (BAME) people and communities. Recommendations It is recommended that the Enterprise and Fair Work Committee: (1) Considers and notes the contents of the report. (2) Approves the proposals to establish a Business Start Up Fund, a Small Business and Self Employment Support Fund, and a Business Growth Fund; and (3) Approves the proposals to deliver targeted entrepreneurial support for women and BAME people. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Ambition statement (5) Grow and improve the sustainability and diversity of North Lanarkshire's economy AGENDA ITEM 4 Page 27 of 147
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1. Background 1.1 North Lanarkshire Council’s Enterprise Team delivers a wide range of support to businesses based in North Lanarkshire or those looking to locate to the area. Support is focused on broad areas where companies tend to experience challenges, such as funding, procurement, business advice, or where there is a lack of provision for a service within the local area, such as business events and networking opportunities. Figure 1 outlines a summary of these main areas of business support. A wider review of business support services, including an evaluation of all grant schemes, will be brought back to a future committee. Figure 1: Overview of North Lanarkshire Council Business Support 1.2 Whilst the wide range of Covid-related business funds delivered by both the council and other external parties on behalf of the Scottish Government focussed on supporting cash flow, fixed costs and loss of income, the council put in place a Start- up Grant, a Back to Business Fund and a Business Recovery and Growth Fund to support businesses requiring financial assistance to adapt and grow in order to realise their growth ambitions aligned to the council’s Economic Regeneration Delivery Plan and Economic Recovery Plan. These funds have a combined budget of approximately £2.68m which includes £0.544m European Regional Development Fund resources. Further details of these funds are set out below: Business Start-Up Fund 1.3 In February 2022 North Lanarkshire Council’s Enterprise and Growth Committee approved the creation of a Start-Up Grant Fund to provide funding to people with a robust, viable business idea who need funding to start trading. It was run by North and South Lanarkshire Council, with investment of £350,000 from each council and was delivered in partnership with Business Gateway Lanarkshire to address a lower business start-up rate in North Lanarkshire Council compared to the Scottish average. Page 28 of 147
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1.4 Grants of between £1,000 and £2,500 were available for essential business purchases such as IT equipment, infrastructure costs, website design and stock costs. The scheme closed on 31 March 2023 and resulted in spend of £167,500 with the award of 107 grants. Back to Business Fund 1.5 The Back to Business Fund (BBF) was funded through residual funds remaining from North Lanarkshire Council’s Covid-19 Discretionary Fund which was from a one-off Scottish Government block grant for business support during the pandemic. BBF had a total budget of £253,622 to help businesses address specific, immediate priorities in direct response to the Covid-19 pandemic. This enables them to adapt or modify their premises or operating model to address new challenges in their trading environment. 1.6 The BBF focusses on providing grant funding as a contribution towards specific projects or investments being undertaken by applicants in direct response to Covid- 19 and is not geared towards addressing working capital requirements or day-to-day cashflow issues. BBF grants will provide 100% of eligible project costs (excluding VAT), up to a maximum grant award of £2,500 with one application per business. To-date the BBF has awarded grant to 49 businesses, totalling £134,865.77 of grant awards. Business Recovery and Growth Fund 1.7 North Lanarkshire Council’s Business Recovery and Growth Fund (BRGF) currently provides grants of up to £50,000, targeted at existing Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) to support their strategic, longer-term sustainability and growth. This grant fund’s specific activities to help businesses adapt and grow through Capital Expenditure, Infrastructure Improvements, Training Support, Consultancy Support and Exhibition Support. 1.8 The financial support available from the Council continues to be a valuable mechanism to help businesses de-risk the business case to adapt, grow, and recover from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, and helps them take advantage of new business opportunities at a time when increasing economic, inflationary and energy cost pressures are creating financial barriers to growth. 1.9 As the BRGF fund is match funded with European Regional Development Funds (ERDF) the BRGF scheme was closed on 31st March 2023 to enable the reconciliation of ERDF funds to take place as the UK Government’s structural successor funding scheme (UK Shared Prosperity Fund) will need to be used to match fund any future business grant schemes. 1.10 There has been significant demand for BRGF support from North Lanarkshire’s business community since its launch in 2021. To 31st March 2023, BRGF has seen 83 types of grant support awarded to 61 unique North Lanarkshire businesses with actual and committed spend of £1,427,656.59. This has resulted in forecasts from the businesses supported of 114 jobs created immediately, with a further 240 jobs being created after 12 months, and 684 jobs safeguarded. Businesses are also forecasting an increase in their turnover of £23.1 million after 12 months through BRGF support. Page 29 of 147
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2. Report 2.1 With the approval of the £13.87m funding for North Lanarkshire through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), a series of Interventions for North Lanarkshire were approved to support local businesses and investment in the area up to 31 March 2025. These specific interventions are noted in the table below. Intervention Proposed Activity 2023/ 2024 (£) 2024/ 2025 (£) Total UKSPF Allocation (£) S15 Grant funding and support for businesses to help increase start-ups, growth and investment and employment opportunities, including support to introduce new digital technology and advanced manufacturing technology 350,000 950,000 1,300,000 (of which £1,000,000 grants and £300,000 for advanced manufacturing) S19 Targeted support to help increase business start-ups and encourage entrepreneurs in excluded/under-represented groups 122,624 172,738 295,362 2.2 This report seeks approval to commence activity within interventions S15 (grant funding) and S19 (targeted support for entrepreneurialism). UKSPF Intervention 15 – Grant Funding Support 2.3 To deliver on Intervention S15, it is proposed that a series of business grant schemes will be set up to support the establishment and growth of new and existing businesses in North Lanarkshire to complement the wider business support available. This will include a range of targeted support for start-ups, micro businesses, and small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) undertaking growth projects, with an additional focus on helping businesses invest in digital transformation and net zero projects. 2.4 The proposed indicative baseline budget for the funds including UKSPF is noted in the table below. Where there is increased demand in one area, it is proposed the funding be moved between Funds. Should there be any grants not claimed by businesses through previous schemes, this funding will also be recycled within these Funds: Page 30 of 147
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Grant Scheme Total Budget (£) UKSPF (£) Scottish Government Discretionary Fund (£) NLC Recovery Fund (£) Local Authority Covid Economic Recovery Fund (£) Business Start-Up Fund 100,000 100,000 Small Business and Self-Employed Support Scheme 500,000 500,000 Business Growth Fund 1,234,058 325,000 118,756 81,170 709,132 Grant Staffing and Administration 75,000 75,000 TOTAL 1,909,058 1,000,000 118,756 81,170 709,132 Business Start-Up Fund 2.5 The latest data shows that North Lanarkshire continues to generate fewer business start-ups per 10,000 working age population relative to the Scottish and Glasgow City Region averages. Therefore, it is proposed to re-establish a Start Up Grant Fund to provide financial support to those who have a viable business idea but do not have the funds to start. 2.6 The grant fund will support ventures which are at the pre-start/pre-trading/feasibility stage. It will provide financial support to help these pre-start businesses with a robust and viable business idea to commence trading earlier than would otherwise be possible, if at all. It is proposed that a grant of up to £1,000 will be available for home- based enterprises with employee headcount of less than 1 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) in addition to the proprietor. It is proposed that businesses that operate from commercial premises and/or have a minimum of 1 FTE in addition to the proprietor will be able to apply for a grant of up to £2,500. 2.7 Grants shall be made available to start-up businesses basis subject to: • A fully completed application form • Robust and viable business/project plan • Completion of a Business Gateway Planning to Start Review • Start-up balance sheet and 12-month cashflow which demonstrates a reasonable financial need for grant assistance • Detail of what the grant shall fund, to be considered acceptable to the Council. Eligible items may include, IT equipment, infrastructure costs, website design and stock purchases. • Commitment to engage with Business Gateway • Operating a business bank account • Businesses who are proposing to operate in sectors reputationally damaging to the Council will be excluded from applying • Compliance with UK subsidy control requirements 2.8 Robust checks will be put in place to evidence the businesses status which may include but is not limited to; analysis of bank statements, financial statements including debtors/creditors lists, marketing presence, work in progress, lease agreements and wage payments. Page 31 of 147
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Small Business and Self-Employed Support Scheme 2.9 Feedback from businesses highlighted a gap in current grant provision during their first year of operation which can often be the most challenging. 2.10 It is proposed that a Small Business Support Scheme will be designed to help micro and small sized businesses fund costs associated with training, consultancy, capital expenditure and infrastructure improvements for a new project that creates or safeguards jobs and improves the viability of the business. It is anticipated that this will provide 100% grant support up to £3,000 for businesses with more than one full- time employee. For self-employed individuals with no employees, it is anticipated that a maximum one-off grant will be made available up to £1,000. This scheme will be open to small businesses operating across a wide range of sectors, including retail businesses. 2.11 To be eligible, businesses must be able to meet all the following criteria: • The business is based in North Lanarkshire (inc. home-based businesses) • The business is a micro or small business directly employing no more than 49 full time equivalent employees. • The business has been trading for no more than 12 months. • The business can clearly evidence why financial assistance from North Lanarkshire Council is essential. • The business is viable and can provide evidence to validate this as part of the application. • The business has not incurred any project-related expenditure until after a formal decision on the grant application has been received. • The business owns the business premises or has more than 12 months remaining on a commercial lease at the date of application. • The business is not connected to a tax haven • Compliance with UK subsidy control requirements 2.12 Businesses will need to provide the following evidence to support their application: • A fully completed application form. • Evidence of a business/project plan. A summary of the project and detail how the Scheme will help the businesses address specific, immediate priorities. • Evidence of Incorporation - any one of the following: o Company (inc. SCIO): Certificate of Incorporation or Companies House registration number. o Partnership: Partnership agreement or HMRC registration. o Sole Trader Self Employed and Freelancers: HMRC registration, Self- assessment documents or valid business insurance document. o Community Interest Company: Certificate of Incorporation o Trust: Constitution documents, HMRC registration or VAT registration document. • Evidence of Business bank statements dated within three months of the application clearly showing the name, address, sort code and account number. Personal bank accounts will only be accepted where they clearly show business transactions. • Evidence of ownership/commercial lease (if applicable). This could be a copy of i) premises lease summary or ii) e-mail from landlord confirming duration of tenancy agreement, or iii) proof of ownership. • Evidence of projected project costs. This should include formal supplier quote(s) for all eligible items/works seeking grant support. Page 32 of 147
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Business Growth Fund 2.13 Given the success of the Business Recovery and Growth Fund and continuing requests for support from North Lanarkshire’s businesses, it is proposed to re-launch a Business Growth Fund which will be a competitive, discretionary grant fund targeted at new and existing businesses based in North Lanarkshire to support their strategic, long-term sustainability and growth. 2.14 Grants will contribute up to 50% towards eligible project costs (excluding VAT) for Capital Expenditure, Infrastructure Improvement, Consultancy Support, Training Support and Exhibition Support, up to a maximum grant award of up to £50,000. 2.15 This fund will be geared towards assisting specific activities to help businesses grow, innovate, and diversify their operations (including net zero/carbon reduction measures and digital transformation projects), all with the core aims of encouraging business growth (key measures include increase in turnover and job creation). 2.16 Applicant businesses will be required to complete a full application and comply with the following eligibility criteria. The Council may carry out further checks on the applicant business by consulting sources of business information such as Companies House, Business Gateway, Scottish Enterprise, and similar databases: i. Business type & location: The applicant business must be either a start-up or an existing business based in North Lanarkshire and operating within a recognised legal structure (see www.gov.uk/business-legal- structures/overview). Private individuals cannot apply for grant support. Ventures at the pre-start/pre-trading/feasibility stage will typically be ineligible and should instead consider the Business Start Up Fund for support. ii. Place of business: If the applicant business only has a ‘registered office address’ or a ‘virtual office address’ within North Lanarkshire but conducts its actual business or trade from an operational base out with North Lanarkshire, then the business will not be eligible to apply. The company’s invoicing and business correspondence address must be within North Lanarkshire. The business must also be able to demonstrate that it pays non-domestic rates (if applicable) to the council. iii. Business size: The fund is aimed at micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SME’s) defined by the European Commission as enterprises which employ fewer than 250 people and which have and annual turnover not exceeding £44.2m (EUR 50 million), and/or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding £38m (EUR 43 million). iv. Sectors Supported: The types of applicant businesses and industry sectors we propose to consider for grant support will be aligned to the Council’s Plan for North Lanarkshire and the Economic Regeneration Delivery Plan. Therefore, priority will be given to businesses operating in the following sectors: − Manufacturing − Logistics − Food & Drink − Heath & Social Care − Life Sciences − Creative Industries Page 33 of 147
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− Tourism − Construction − Social Enterprise − Energy Where businesses applying do not fall into these sectors, their applications will be reviewed on a case-by-case business to demonstrate economic impact and fit with the Plan for North Lanarkshire and the Economic Regeneration Delivery Plan. v. Business structure: If the applicant is part of a larger group of businesses or franchise with a headquarters out with North Lanarkshire, or has direct/indirect links to other businesses, it can only apply if it is a wholly autonomous cost/profit centre responsible for its own day-to-day management and producing its own management accounts and audited accounts. Applicants which fall into this category may be asked to produce evidence of their autonomy from the parent company/group. vi. Business turnover: Applications will only be considered where the business turnover is expected to reach a minimum level equivalent to the current VAT registration threshold of £85,000 (at least) within 12 months of the date of application. Where the current business turnover is below this level, financial projections, and evidence of pending orders/contracts/letters of interest from customers will be required to support the anticipated increase in turnover. vii. Need for grant: Applicants must be able to demonstrate a funding gap that is preventing, delaying, or limiting business growth. We will also actively encourage other sources of funding to be explored first - Council funding should be regarded as a ‘last resort’ once all other funding options have been exhausted. Other funding routes can be investigated at www.mygov.scot/funding-opportunities. viii. Business premises: Applicant businesses can be home-based or operating from dedicated commercial premises. In the case of rented commercial premises a minimum 12-month lease is preferred, although month to month or rolling leases will be considered by exception based on merit. A copy of the lease agreement may be requested in support of the grant application. Home- based businesses are generally ineligible for Capital Expenditure or Infrastructure Improvement grants except where a dedicated manufacturing unit exists on-site which is separate from the residence. ix. Previous grant support: There is a limit to the number of successful applications that a business may submit to the Business Growth Fund in a rolling 24-month period, as well as the total amount of grant funding that they can apply for within the same period, as follows: Page 34 of 147
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Type of grant Maximum number of grants in a 24-month period Maximum grant award within a 24-month period – NEW APPLICANTS Maximum grant award within a 24- month period - PREVIOUS APPLICANTS Capital Expenditure 2 £50,000 £50,000 minus previous BRGF award Infrastructure Improvement 2 £50,000 £50,000 minus previous BRGF award Combined Capex + Infrastructure 2 £50,000 £50,000 minus previous BRGF award Consultancy Support 1 £5,000 £5,000 Exhibition Support 1 £4,000 £4,000 Training Support 1 £4,000 £4,000 Commencing from the launch of the 2021/2022 Business Recovery and Growth Fund, the maximum cumulative grant awarded to any one business within a 24-month period will continue to be limited to £50,000. Note that this includes all capital expenditure, infrastructure, consultancy support, exhibition support and training support funding for which the applicant may apply. The total amount of public sector funding support for the project in question will not exceed 50% of total project costs (exclusive of VAT). x. Subsidy Control: All funding awarded will require to ensure compliance with the new UK Subsidy Control regime. UKSPF Intervention 19 - Targeted Entrepreneurial Support 2.17 The introduction of UKSPF has afforded the opportunity to develop a new and enhanced strand of business support that was unable to be delivered at scale with previous structural funds for Black, Asian, and other Minority Ethnic (BAME) people and Lanarkshire Women in Business (LWIB) respectively. 2.18 According to National Statistics, North Lanarkshire has typically seen lower than the national average rates of women and BAME people starting up businesses. This support seeks to provide community-based advice and support to individuals who typically experience structural barriers to entrepreneurship, self-employment or running their own business. 2.19 A total of £295,362 has been identified within the UKSPF to support women in business and BAME activity. Support will be procured and tailored to client groups who do not typically engage with mainstream business support services. The support is summarised in the table below: Page 35 of 147
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Activity UKSPF BAME Business Support £155,362 Women In Business • Events £10,000 • Training and Development £60,000 • Women’s Business Centre £50,000 • Community Outreach £10,000 • Digital Reach £10,000 TOTAL £295,362 Black, Asian, and other Minority Ethnic (BAME) Business Support 2.20 In 2022 the Council commissioned research to begin to understand the lived experiences and future needs of North Lanarkshire’s BAME people. This research was undertaken by the University of the West of Scotland. The research findings are available on North Lanarkshire Council’s website here: Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Research Findings | North Lanarkshire Council. 2.21 The findings highlighted a range of specific barriers to employment and skills, such as occupational segregation, perceptions of racial discrimination leading to a lack of employment opportunities, language, and skills and qualifications obtained overseas not being formally recognised in the UK. Importantly, self-employment was an attractive option for many BAME people as it provided a route out of unemployment and low paid jobs and compensated for the lack of educational qualifications. The Council’s Wellbeing and Tackling Poverty Committee was presented with the research findings at its meeting in February 2023 and agreed that a collective, partnership response to the findings was required. 2.22 To support these findings, it is proposed that £155,362 is used to deliver tailored business start-up content to the BAME community in North Lanarkshire. This support will be procured and will seek to address language, cultural, perception, and confidence barriers to business start-up that cannot be delivered in-house or via Business Gateway Lanarkshire. This is intended to provide bespoke multi-year support for BAME people and groups and will form part of the council’s response to address the employment and skills barriers identified in the research. 2.23 Specifically, the key deliverables will be: 1. Provision of support which is anticipated to consist of a mix of one to one, group, and bespoke programmes to support the development and growth of business start-ups from BAME people across North Lanarkshire. Types of support in key topic areas include (but not limited to): mindset, confidence, life coaching, idea generation, funding, trading, and income generation, tendering and procurement (to complement Supplier Development Programme), marketing, recruitment of employees and business planning. 2. Support the creation of new businesses led by BAME people in North Lanarkshire 3. Support the growth of businesses led by BAME people who are already trading in North Lanarkshire 4. Delivery of bespoke business-focused thematic or sectoral events for BAME communities. Page 36 of 147
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2.24 To supplement delivery, BAME businesses will be referred and supported to apply for the council’s range of business grant schemes to aid the growth of their businesses. Grant fund budgets will be managed to ensure there is capacity for BAME businesses to apply for grants following the procurement and delivery of the proposed support. Lanarkshire Women in Business (LWIB) 2.25 LWIB is a partnership initiative led by North and South Lanarkshire Councils, Business Gateway Lanarkshire, New College Lanarkshire, and the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) that delivers female-focused business support. It was set up to address Lanarkshire’s lower levels of female entrepreneurship. According to National Statistics Annual Population Survey, in North Lanarkshire 5.6% (6,100) of all females aged 16-64 were self-employed in 2022, compared to 7.6% (8,800) of males. 2.26 Subsequently, LWIB was set up in 2021 as a year-long pilot and was hugely successful with a total of 547 women registered for the 4 pilot events with 300 women attending. Subsequent events in webinar format have continued to be well received through Covid with 425 registering for and 216 accessing a further 7 online events. The initiative has since continued delivered by North Lanarkshire Council and is equally match funded by South Lanarkshire Council and partners also provide in-kind contributions to support the delivery of the initiative. Feedback from women entrepreneurs and existing business leaders attending LWIB events has informed the UKSPF proposals to undertake the following interventions: 2.27 Events - Events formed a critical part of the delivery of support to women entrepreneurs as it provides a unique opportunity to learn from gender-specific experiences of women business leaders in the area and the ability to network. It is proposed that up to £10,000 will be allocated to deliver 4 events in 2023/24, with South Lanarkshire Council providing the same contribution, to deliver a further 4 events in 2024/25 that will champion the role of women in business through thematic, quarterly events. These will rotate across the Lanarkshire area, be headlined by inspiring speakers and open to women who are thinking of starting a business, those who are starting up and those who already are trading in business. 2.28 Training and Development - To support the LWIB ambition of increasing the number of female entrepreneurs a £48,000 procurement was undertaken to provide specialist leadership training and facilitation of a mentorship programme tailored for women in business. The aim of the Leadership Training is to support females in Lanarkshire to start new businesses, grow existing businesses and pursue career opportunities by helping attendees to: • Set and achieve goals • Increase productivity • Improve resilience • Increase influencing and negotiation skills The services augmented the in person bi-monthly thematic events delivered by the Local Authorities (and partners) via the Lanarkshire Women in Business Brand. 4 leadership training sessions were held over 6 months with 35 women attending. Each of these women were assigned a mentor who they were able to work with to accelerate their professional development. It is proposed that a further £60,000 is allocated to continue this support for North Lanarkshire over the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years with South Lanarkshire Council providing the same contribution to support activity in their local authority area. Page 37 of 147
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2.29 Business Space Provision - Through extensive engagement from Women’s Enterprise Scotland, a research-led, not-for-profit Community Interest Company which champions women-led and women-owned businesses, and feedback from LWIB attendees, there is an appetite to create and develop a dedicated workspace in North Lanarkshire for women to ‘test trade’, start and grow businesses. Through the UKSPF it is proposed that £50,000 is used to support the development of a new Women’s Business Centre in Airdrie, subject to securing match funding, as part of its emerging plans for the heritage-led regeneration of Airdrie town centre. This contribution of £50,000 will pilot a new approach, providing business support alongside co-working and incubator space to support women to start-up, sustain and grow their businesses in a vacant historic building at the heart of the town centre. Further information on the regeneration proposals is contained within the External Funding Update paper in this committee cycle. 2.30 Community Outreach - Whilst LWIB has been successful in attracting a wide number of women business leaders to engage, there is still the need to develop a community-led, outreach approach that would see LWIB activity in all North Lanarkshire’s towns and also in outlying and rural areas of North Lanarkshire which would aim to raise awareness of LWIB and to stimulate and support women who may not think starting a business is for them, those who have already decided to start a business and also those women who wish to grow their existing business. Up to £10,000 will be allocated to support the delivery of this programme. 2.31 Digital Reach - To ensure accessibility and connections amongst LWIB members it is proposed up to £10,000 is used to establish a digital interface for LWIB which can promote ongoing support for women interested in starting or growing their business in North Lanarkshire. This could be a LinkedIn group for example which would require external consultancy support to enable effective moderation and marketing of support to ensure LWIB users are engaged and interact with the interface. 3. Measures of success 3.1 A range of Key Performance Measures will be in place for the activities outlined above. These will include: • Numbers of businesses supported (financial support) • Numbers of businesses supported (non-financial support) • Number of grants awarded • Amounts of grants awarded • Investment by businesses to support grants awarded (match funding) • Number of jobs created • Numbers of jobs safeguarded • Number of new businesses created • Number of events delivered • Number of attendees at events • Number of businesses introducing new products to the firm • Number of businesses introducing new to the firm technologies or processes • Number of firms with improved digital connectivity 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 None Page 38 of 147
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Pamela Humphries Chief Officer (Place) Page 39 of 147
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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? Equalities Impact Assessments will be undertaken for each of the projects outlined above. The proposals contained in this report will specifically help to address inequality by supporting women and BAME people to start their own businesses. 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? North Lanarkshire has received an allocation of £13,871,047 from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) including £1.295m to support the business support activity set out in this report. The funding allocated through the LACER fund and the NLC Recovery Fund will be committed by 31st March 2024. 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? With any business grant awards North Lanarkshire Council must ensure all provisions contained within the Subsidy Control Act 2022 legislation are adhered to. Processes will be developed in consultation with the Council’s Legal and Internal Audit Services to ensure compliance before any business grant schemes are launched. 5.5 Data protection impact Page 40 of 147
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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 ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Through the support outlined in the report, small to medium-sized businesses in North Lanarkshire will be able to receive support to assess and procure enhanced digital technology to that currently in use. This can include consultancy support to redesign services, business change processes, manage data more effectively and improve their digital connectivity. 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? Through the support outlined in the report, small to medium-sized businesses in North Lanarkshire will be able to receive financial and advisory support to assess and procure energy saving and emission-reducing technologies and consultancy support. 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? Promotion of the range of business support outlined will be undertaken with Corporate Communications and published on the council’s website and promoted on social media channels. 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? Page 41 of 147
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The key risks which are assessed and recorded in the Service Risk Register are as follows: - Fraud: The council has robust grant processes in place. - Eligibility of grants for the UK SPF: All grants are checked for compliance prior to payment to ensure there is no risk of non-compliance with funding rules and regulations. 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. Page 42 of 147
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref JO’N/PK Date 12/05/23 Parental Employment Support 2023/24 From Janie O’Neill, Chief Officer (Education-South) E-mail oneillja@northlan.gov.uk Telephone Executive Summary The Scottish Government has indicated a significant increase in funding for parental employment support will be made available in 2023/24 as part of its measures to address child poverty. North Lanarkshire Council, in its role as Lead Accountable Body and as chair of the Local Employability Partnership, will have a key part to play in the delivery and design of employability programmes that utilise this funding. This expected increase in funding will complement and enhance existing strategies and programmes of work. The Scottish Government, in return for the increase in funding, expect an investment plan to be submitted and steps have already been taken to begin drafting proposals. Recommendations It is recommended that the Enterprise and Fair Work Committee: (1) Endorse the acceptance of increased funding for parental employment support; (2) Approve the development of a Parental Employment Investment Plan for 2023/24. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Ambition statement (11) Increase economic opportunities for adults by understanding, identifying, and addressing the causes of poverty and deprivation and barriers to financial inclusion AGENDA ITEM 5 Page 43 of 147
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1. Background 1.1 Since March 2020, the Scottish Government has provided funding to local authority employability services, under its No One Left Behind policy, to support specific groups of unemployed and under employed parents into work as a contribution to the Council’s Child Poverty Action Plan. The Council designed and led Prospects for Parents, which offers a wraparound, individually tailored, support service to parents. Delivered with Routes to Work Ltd it works closely with the Council’s Tackling Poverty team and other public and third sector partners and has, until March 2023, supported 167 parents from specific target groups into work since April 2020 with direct costs of £409,048. 1.2 In March 2022 the Scottish Government published Best Start, Bright Futures, its Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2022-2026, which detailed a range of measures including a significant increase in its proposed investment in parental employment to address child poverty through increased funding in local employability services. Employability is a key pillar of the plan and builds on current interventions through the No One Left Behind approach to help ensure that work offers an effective and sustainable route out of poverty for families. It proposes that local authorities would act as the Lead Accountable Bodies for this investment on behalf of Local Employability Partnerships and that a collaborative approach to delivery of local investment is utilised. 1.3 In recent weeks the Scottish Government has indicated that this increased investment is to be delivered in 2023/24 with North Lanarkshire allocated £3.9 million to support parental employment programmes using the No One Left Behind principles, with projects to be delivered by March 2024. 2. Report 2.1 Investment Plan 2.1.1 The Scottish Government has indicated two key terms and conditions will be within the potential offer of grant of £3.9 million for parental employment support. These include: The submission of an Investment Plan which sets out proposals for delivery of services and support in 2023-24 that must take into account identification of local needs as evidenced by local statistical data. Funding is allocated to create a new co-ordination role within the Investment Plan to support the delivery of the employability commitments set out in the above plan and to drive alignment and integration with existing services and is a temporary role for the period of funding. Given the range of barriers parents may face to entering the labour market or increasing income from employment, eligibility criteria has been set at a high level. However, specific attention should be paid to the 6 priority family groups: • Lone Parents • Parents with a disability or families with a disabled child • Parents who have 3 or more children • Parents from a minority ethnic background • Parents who have a youngest child under one • Families with a young parent (under 25) Page 44 of 147
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Some parents may require support despite not neatly fitting into one of these groups. Therefore, individuals who are parents and not part of these priority family groups, but are unemployed, or on low- income would be eligible for support. In this context “Parent” should be taken to mean any adult residing in Scotland with responsibility for the care of children. For example, parents who do not live with their children permanently and kinship carers would also be eligible for support. 2.1.2 Delivering this level of investment in the period specified will require a step change and while there is a challenge in widening and deepening the level of provision at pace, it brings an opportunity to have a real impact on levels of parental employment in North Lanarkshire. Alongside this opportunity there are several local strategies, structures and factors which are already in place and will support the development of a comprehensive delivery plan for this investment. These include: (i) The Plan for North Lanarkshire – Programme of Work to 2028: The newly developed Programme of Work items; Resilient People - deliver whole family support locally, when families need it, in a way that addresses the impacts of poverty and reduces inequality. Brighter Futures - support and improve educational attainment, employment opportunities, entrepreneurship, and volunteering. (ii) Workforce for the Future Strategy: Building a skilled workforce for the future plays a significant part in delivering our ambition for North Lanarkshire. In economic terms, making sure that we have a skilled workforce will support a more sustainable place that will help the council and its partners to continue to grow its economy and create better opportunity for our residents and young people. (iii) Tackling Poverty Strategy: aligns and coordinates resources across the Council and partners to ensure effective delivery so that together we can achieve our shared ambition. In addition, the strategy encompasses the requirement of the Council to publish a Local Child Poverty Action Report for North Lanarkshire. (iv) Economic Regeneration Delivery Plan 2023-2028: The North Lanarkshire ERDP sets out a high-level framework for improving economic opportunities and outcomes for all. (v) North Lanarkshire Local Employability Partnership: with a membership drawn from the key employability stakeholders in North Lanarkshire this group supports a more aligned approach to employability support in North Lanarkshire, reflecting the need to shape coherent and inclusive employability and skills provision locally. (vi) North Lanarkshire Labour Market: The current context is North Lanarkshire has changed markedly in recent years with positive economic growth, low unemployment and increased average earnings all benefitting our residents and communities. Alongside this though, we also have increased levels of economic inactivity and labour and skills shortages being reported by employers and particularly in key sectors such as health and social care. Page 45 of 147
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2.2 Proposed Investments 2.2.1 In anticipation of the grant offer being forthcoming an Investment Plan is being drafted based on experience of delivery of previous parental support programmes and recent discussion with key stakeholders and the Local Employability Partnership. The North Lanarkshire Investment Plan is being developed with three key factors in mind: (1) Reach - broad and intensive engagement is critical to ensure parents are provided with opportunities and ongoing work will be undertaken to ensure this is the case with existing Council services, other public sector organisations such as NHS Lanarkshire and with third sector organisations in our communities. (2) Service Provision – all services must be individually tailored to the needs of parents, aimed at increasing their earnings from employment and deliverable within the timescale of the grant offer. (3) Creating Opportunities – build on existing employer engagement activity to identify flexible progression opportunities for parents alongside the creation of new vacancies. 2.2.2 The overall programme has the draft title Working for Families and proposed investments are outlined in Appendix 1 and are not exhaustive. A number are evolutions of existing and effective initiatives which are either enhanced and/or increased in scale to meet the aims of this programme. Detailed costing and performance measures are being developed alongside compliance with Council financial regulations and Scottish Government grant eligibility criteria. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Parents in North Lanarkshire have increased access to support to secure employment and increase their earnings. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 Working for Families Investment Proposals March 2023 Janie O’Neill Chief Officer (Education - South) Page 46 of 147
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 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? Parental Employment is aimed at improving economic outcomes for residents of North Lanarkshire and play a role in reducing inequality. 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? Increased grant funding can be used to bolster existing employability staffing and infrastructure without increasing NLC core funding. 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? As a condition of funding a new temporary post to co-ordinate its delivery is to be created (Working for Families Manager) until March 2024 – see section 2.1.1. 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 ☐ Page 47 of 147
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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 ☒ 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? Programme to be developed with Corporate Communications. 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? This new source of external funding will be covered by existing risks attached to grant funding for employability services. 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. Within all Council employability programmes veterans are immediately eligible for support alongside other priority groups. Page 48 of 147
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APPENDIX 1 Working for Families Investment Proposals March 2023 Number Investment Activity Description Delivery 1 Prospects for Parents Dedicated case worker support allocated to parents on mainstream employability programmes and previous clients of these programmes who are in employment and looking to increase their earnings. Existing provision delivered via Employability Services and Routes to Work Ltd. 2 Place based support targeting economic inactivity with a major focus on parents (Co- funded with UK Shared Prosperity Funding) Place based employability support for economically inactive residents of North Lanarkshire with intensive and wrap-around support to move those furthest from the labour market closer to mainstream provision and employment, supplemented by additional and/or specialist life and basic skills. Key lessons from the approach utilised within the UK CRF Airdrie Central Community Engagement Project will be drawn upon to ensure the project has an impact. These are the use of peer mentors, life coaches and financial wellbeing advice to engage and move people toward better economic, health and social outcomes that match their individual needs and promote increased community cohesion. The project would also draw on the lessons of the Action Lone Parents project delivered in North Lanarkshire from 2013-2016 which used this community-based approach in targeting lone parents. There is already a commitment to a UK Shared Prosperity Fund project to address economic inactivity in 2023/24 and this additional investment would target economically inactive parents. Partners will include Employability Services/ Routes to Work Ltd/ Tackling Poverty Team/ Community Learning & Development/ Third Sector providers 3 Employer Recruitment Incentive (ERI) Financial Incentive for private sector employers that create vacancies for eligible parents based on current Scottish Government Employability Services Page 49 of 147
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guidelines of 50% of Real Living Wage for at least 6 months. 4 Parental Inclusion New programme based on recent study of the BAME communities in North Lanarkshire and their needs including employment. Rather than treating BAME as a homogeneous group there will be specific programmes of support targeted at those groups most prevalent in North Lanarkshire and who all have varied employability needs and barriers. These communities are the: - Polish - Congolese - Syrian - Black African and Caribbean - Indian Sub-continent - Chinese - BAME groups not identified above New approach based on findings of study to address employment needs of parents in these communities either through grants process with local representative groups or employment of representatives from these communities. 5 Parental Work Placement Programme Placing parents into at least 6-month paid work placements in public and third sector jobs including NLC and NHS Lanarkshire. Infrastructure support to NHS Lanarkshire to deal with support for all placements and recruitment of eligible parents. This has been piloted in the last year for long term unemployed residents over 25 years of age and has been effective both in NHS and NLC in terms of clients securing employment. Eligible for parents with prolonged unemployment, economic inactivity, or precarious employment i.e., not fair work, zero hours, short term contracts. Employability Services (Working for Families team) Page 50 of 147
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6 Tackling Poverty 3.5 x dedicated financial inclusion advisors for all parental support programmes across North Lanarkshire. Based on previous allocation of advisor time 3 fte staff would be allocated across the programmes with 0.5 allocated to any work with Disabled Parents. Tackling Poverty targeted engagement programmes to increase referrals for parental employment support to providers. Tackling Poverty Team 7 Childcare Childcare costs for parents engaged on programme All delivery agents. 8 Grants Programmes Challenge Fund for providers to test new innovation whole system/person approaches to support parents and family units – aimed primarily at third sector providers. Grants to employers to support in work progressions (This could incorporate bespoke packages of support to employers such as ERI’s upskilling/re-skilling support, In Work Mentoring Costs, paid work placements etc) Self Employed – Start Up grants to support parents with new start- up businesses – identify how existing Business Gateway provision could be enhanced. Employability Services (Working for Families team) Employability Services and partners. Employability Services/ Enterprise Team 9 Childminding Start up support Start-up grants to childminders from eligible parental groups to cover fees and adaptations to home. Employability Services and partners. Page 51 of 147
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10 Working for Families team Includes the role specified by the Scottish Government as a condition of funding and provides capacity to effectively manage increased investment and its delivery. 1 x Working for Families Manager 1 x Employability Development Officer 1 x Data Collection staff 1 x finance/admin staff 1 x engagement assistant Working for Families team 11 Marketing & Branding A comprehensive and coherent campaign to highlight this investment and its delivery by the Council will be required to support its delivery. Corporate Communications Page 52 of 147
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref JO’N/PK Date 12/05/23 UK Shared Prosperity Fund - Employability From Janie O’Neill, Chief Officer (Education-South) E-mail oneillja@northlan.gov.uk Telephone Executive Summary The UK Shared Prosperity Fund replaces the European Union Structural Fund which come to an end in June 2023. North Lanarkshire Council was allocated £13.871m from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) to deliver projects across four key themes (Communities and Place, People and Skills, Supporting Local Business and Multiply) for spend between 2022/23 and 2024/25, subject to approval of a UKSPF Investment Plan. North Lanarkshire’s Investment Plan, approved by the Enterprise, Growth and Fair Work Committee on 29 August 2022, formed part of the wider Glasgow City Region Investment Plan, which was approved by the UK Government on 5 December 2022. Information is provided on the proposed Employability projects within the People and Skills theme and seeks approval to deliver these within the funding framework outlined in the report. Recommendations It is recommended that the Enterprise and Fair Work Committee: (1) Approve the delivery of the employability programmes within the People and Skills theme of the Shared Prosperity Fund; The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Ambition statement (11) Increase economic opportunities for adults by understanding, identifying, and addressing the causes of poverty and deprivation and barriers to financial inclusion AGENDA ITEM 6 Page 53 of 147
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1. Background 1.1 As reported to this Committee in August 2022 and February 2023 the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda. It succeeds the EU Structural Funds (primarily European Social Fund and European Regional Development Fund) within the UK. A total of £212m has been allocated to Scotland (8.4% of the UK total). The eight authorities in the Glasgow City Region have received a combined allocation of £73.9m which is approximately 34.9% of the Scottish allocation. North Lanarkshire has received a conditional allocation of £13,871,047 of which £11,475,646 is core UKSPF funding and £2,395,402 is ringfenced for delivery of activity under “Multiply” (i.e. activity to support adult numeracy activities for individuals aged 19+). 1.2 The objectives of the People and Skills Investment Priority are below with b) and c) those closely aligned to Council employability support previously delivered by the European Social Fund: a) To boost core skills and support adults to progress in work by targeting adults with no or low-level qualifications and skills in maths and upskill the working population, yielding personal and societal economic impact and by encouraging innovative approaches to reducing adult education barriers. b) To reduce levels of economic inactivity through investment in bespoke intensive life and employment support tailored to local need. Investment should facilitate the join- up of mainstream provision and local services within an area for participants, using one-to-one keyworker support, improving employment outcomes for specific cohorts who face labour market barriers. c) To support people furthest from the labour market to overcome barriers to work by providing cohesive, locally tailored support including access to basic skills; and d) To support local areas to fund gaps in local skills provision to support people to progress in work, and supplement local adult skills provision e.g., by providing additional volumes; delivering provision through wider range of routes or enabling more intensive/innovative provision, both qualification based and non- qualification based. This should be supplementary to provision available through national employment and skills programmes. 1.3 £5,389,830 is allocated to North Lanarkshire’s People and Skills theme with £3,439,830 designated to the successor programmes to EU funded employability programmes until March 2025. This is split between two interventions known as S31 and S35. Broadly speaking S31 targets those who are economically inactive and S35 targets those who are unemployed but who have barriers to entering a job. Intervention Summary of Proposed Activity Total UKSPF Allocation Currently EU Funded S31 and S35 Employability support, programmes and funding to support those furthest from the labour market £3,439,830 Yes S36 and S38 Support to develop skills academies to support North Lanarkshire residents seeking employment – focus will be on digital skills, construction and health and social care £1,050,000 No Page 54 of 147
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S29 Support to expand support programmes to help vulnerable young people achieve positive post-school destinations £900,000 No TOTAL £5,389,830 2. Report 2.1 Intervention S31 – Economic Inactivity interventions 2.1.1 S31 will provide place based employability support for economically inactive residents of North Lanarkshire with intensive and wrap-around support to move those furthest from the labour market closer to mainstream provision and employment, supplemented by additional and/or specialist life and basic skills. Key lessons from the approach utilised within the UK Community Renewal Fund Airdrie Central Community Engagement Project will be drawn upon to ensure the project has an impact until March 2025. This project has continued from its end in December 2022 and is funded in its current form with Shared Prosperity Funding until March 2023. It is proposed that there will be a marked broadening and targeting in the level of support offered using the Shared Prosperity Fund when it is matched with Scottish Government Parental Support funding in 2023/24. While support will be available to all economically inactive residents in each community there will be an additional and large-scale focus on engaging and supporting parents as part of the Council’s work on addressing child poverty through increased earnings for parents through employment. 2.1.2 This work will also use the same principles and, in addition, draw on lessons learned from supporting parents through the Action Lone Parents project delivered across North Lanarkshire. The delivery model used will bring together engagement activity, caseworker support, and a range of tailored interventions that have proven to be effective. Delivered by the core partnership of the Council’s employability delivery partner, Routes to Work Ltd, and supported by the Council’s Employability team the project will also make use of new and existing partnerships across the public and local third sector to ensure the project has a sustained impact within those communities targeted. These are the use of peer mentors, life coaches and financial wellbeing advice to engage and move people toward better economic, health and social outcomes that match their individual needs and promote increased community cohesion. 2.1.3 North Lanarkshire (Oct 2021-Sep 2022) has 69,100 (31.2%) people who are economically inactive (Scotland 22.8%) with 11,000 wanting a job according to the latest figures. There is a clear challenge for all stakeholders in the area to draw a significant number from that group into the labour market. Therefore, the project will provide: - Engagement, through a range of direct and indirect means - Deliver a variety of pre-employability, personal and social development training interventions. - Referral on to mainstream employability programmes. The project will be delivered by a multi-disciplinary team involving a range of inputs and roles including intergenerational peer mentors, community engagement workers, trainers, caseworkers, and specific partner inputs and aims to: Page 55 of 147
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(i) Reduce the number of economically inactive residents in North Lanarkshire (ii) Increase income from employment for residents with an emphasis on parents. (iii) Support the work across the area on reducing child poverty. (iv) Improve social cohesion in the most deprived areas of North Lanarkshire 2.1.4 The proposed total cost of the project is £1,256,830 with a Shared Prosperity Fund contribution of £718,830 and match funding from Scottish Government Parental Employment funding of £538,000. £269,000 of this match is expected to be confirmed by the Scottish Government for 2023/24 in the coming weeks and contingency plans to change the project, if necessary, in 2024/25 will be put in place in the event that similar match is not available in the final year. The table below outlines the funding profile. 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 TOTAL Shared Prosperity Fund 136,000 259,854 322,976 718,830 Match Funds (Scottish Government Parental Employment) 0 269,000 269,000 538,000 Total 136,000 528,854 591,976 1,256,830 2.1.5 S31 will engage 375 economically inactive residents on its support programmes with 90 entering employment with targeted areas determined by local health and child poverty data. All engaged will receive support with physical and mental health as well as training. Appendix 1 gives a detailed description of outputs and outcomes. 2.2 S35 – Unemployed and Under-employed interventions 2.2.1 S35 will deliver large scale employability programmes across all communities, and these will be targeted on supporting those unemployed and underemployed residents who face additional barriers to entering or progressing in the labour market. Driving up the employment rate in North Lanarkshire is a cornerstone of The Plan for North Lanarkshire and ensuring employability support is available to all is recognised as a major contributor to tackling poverty and local economic development. These programmes will support a range of groups, and all have the aim of securing fair and sustained work for residents. Reducing poverty is central to each of these programmes and including all residents in the economic growth of our area is viewed as central to the work on employability. The project is scheduled to begin in July 2023 as EU funds ends in June 2022. 2.2.2 The programme will be led and co-ordinated by the Council’s Employability team, within the Education and Families service, which also provides the key function of engaging employers onto the programme. Routes to Work Ltd will provide specialised case worker support to unemployed residents as well as support with accessing vocational training and the short-term costs associated with moving from benefits to employment such as childcare and travel. They will also provide in-work support for up to 6 months for those participants that require it. In addition, a challenge fund will be used in 2024/25 to ensure that local employability providers have an opportunity to add their efforts to meeting the employment needs of our communities. The North Lanarkshire Local Employability Partnership, which has representation from key stakeholders, will also play a role in ensuring complementarity of funding to meet area objectives. Page 56 of 147
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2.2.3 In recent years employability support has also been significantly bolstered by increased levels of funding from the Scottish Government through its No One Left Behind funding and this will be integrated and aligned with the UKSPF to broaden its range and deepen its penetration into under-represented groups in the labour market. 2.2.4 The proposed total cost of the project is £7,662,300 with a Shared Prosperity Fund contribution of £2,721,000 and match funding from North Lanarkshire Council and Scottish Government funds of £4,941,300. 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 TOTAL Revised SPF 0 1,021,000 1,700,000 2,721,000 Match (NLC Employability & SG Funds) 0 2,084,000 2,857,300 4,941,300 Total 0 3,105,000 4,557,300 7,662,300 2.2.5 S35 will engage 3,000 unemployed and underemployed residents with 1,550 entering employment. Appendix 2 gives a detailed description of outputs and outcomes. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Economically inactive, unemployed and underemployed residents of North Lanarkshire are supported by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 S31 Economically Inactive Performance 4.2 Appendix 2 S35 Unemployed and Underemployed Peformance Janie O’Neill Chief Officer (Education -South) Page 57 of 147
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 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? UKSPF is aimed at improving economic outcomes for residents of North Lanarkshire and play a role in reducing inequality. An assessment will be carried out on the whole UKSPF programme. 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? Match funding for UKSPF projects for 2023/24 is confirmed. 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 ☐ Page 58 of 147
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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 ☒ 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 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? This new source of external funding will be covered by existing risks attached to grant funding for employability services. 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. Within all Council employability programmes veterans are immediately eligible for support alongside other priority groups. Page 59 of 147
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APPENDIX 1 S31 Economic Inactivity Performance Annual outputs and outcomes to be achieved. Outputs 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 TOTAL P&S - Number of economically inactive people engaging with keyworker support services 35 170 170 375 P&S - Number of economically inactive people supported to engage with the benefits system 0 10 10 20 P&S - Number of socially excluded people accessing support 17 89 89 195 P&S - Number of people supported to access basic skills courses 25 100 100 225 P&S - Number of people accessing mental and physical health support leading to employment 10 37 38 85 P&S - Number of people receiving support to gain employment 15 55 55 125 P&S - Number of people receiving support to sustain employment 0 40 45 85 Outcomes 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 TOTAL P&S - Number of economically inactive individuals in receipt of benefits they are entitled to following support 0 7 8 15 P&S - Number of people reporting increased employability through development of interpersonal skills funded by UKSPF 10 85 85 200 P&S - Number of people with basic skills (English, maths, digital and ESOL) 5 47 48 100 P&S - Number of people in supported employment 0 10 20 30 P&S - Number of people engaging with mainstream healthcare services 4 23 23 50 P&S - Number of people sustaining engagement with keyworker support and additional services 20 140 140 300 P&S - Number of people engaged in job-searching following support 5 97 98 200 P&S - Number of people in employment, including self- employment, following support 0 40 50 90 P&S - Number of people sustaining employment for 6 months 0 22 50 72 Page 60 of 147
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APPENDIX 2 S35 Unemployment and Underemployment Annual outputs and outcomes to be achieved. Outputs 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 TOTAL P&S - Number of people supported to participate in education 21 29 50 P&S - Number of people retraining 21 29 50 P&S - Number of people in employment engaging with the skills system 21 29 50 P&S - Number of people supported to gain a qualification 252 348 600 Outcomes 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 TOTAL P&S - Number of people in employment, including self- employment, following support 664 886 1,550 P&S - Number of people in education/training 37 53 90 P&S - Number of people gaining qualifications, licences and skills 714 986 1,700 Page 61 of 147
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref PH/YW Date 12/05/23 Tourism Strategy Update Report (POW 23.1 Marketing and Tourism) From Pamela Humphries, Chief Officer (Place) E-mail weiry@northlan.gov.uk Telephone Yvonne Weir, Enterprise Manager: 07508001238 Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to inform the Enterprise and Fair Work Committee of activity and progress relating to the actions identified in the North Lanarkshire Tourism Strategy and Action Plan 2022 – 2026, to provide an update tourism marketing activity and to seek approval for projects proposed to be taken forward through interventions identified within the UK Shared Prosperity Fund which align to the action plan, tourism marketing and the growth and development of the sector. The Action Plan has been updated with activity which has taken place during the first year of the Strategy with input from the Tourism Strategy Steering Group. Actions delivered continue to work toward achieving the shared vision outlined in the Tourism Strategy which is for North Lanarkshire to be a sustainable, resilient tourist destination by 2026 offering a range of authentic and memorable experiences which provide value for money and are accessible to all. Recommendations It is recommended that the Enterprise and Fair Work Committee: (1) Acknowledges progress with delivery of the North Lanarkshire Tourism Strategy and Action Plan 2022 – 2026; (2) Approves the proposed use of UK Shared Prosperity Funding to help support tourism marketing and deliver a Tourism Challenge Fund. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Ambition statement (4) Market and promote North Lanarkshire as the place to live, learn, work, invest, and visit AGENDA ITEM 7 Page 63 of 147
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1. Background 1.1 The North Lanarkshire Tourism Strategy and Action Plan 2022-2026 was approved on 3rd February 2022 by the Enterprise and Growth Committee and is the first North Lanarkshire focussed tourism strategy. Previous strategies and action plans were delivered on a pan-Lanarkshire basis. The Strategy is fully aligned with Scotland’s national tourism strategy: Scotland Outlook 2030 and was developed with the support of VisitScotland. Tourism and attracting visitors to North Lanarkshire remains a key part of Plan for North Lanarkshire and the ‘visit here’ pillar states that North Lanarkshire offers distinctive, authentic experiences which provide value for money and are accessible to all. 1.2 The shared vision of the North Lanarkshire Tourism Strategy and Action Plan is: “By 2026 North Lanarkshire will be a sustainable, resilient tourist destination offering a range of authentic and memorable experiences which provide value for money and are accessible to all.” The purpose of the Strategy is to ensure collaboration between relevant council services and local, regional and national agencies in supporting the recovery of the tourism sector. 1.3 The Strategy identifies 3 priority themes to support the vision, and the recovery and growth of the sector. They capture the main opportunities and challenges facing the tourism sector in North Lanarkshire, and are as follows: • Priority 1 – Business - We will build business resilience, sustainability, and profitability. • Priority 2 – People and Skills - We will attract, develop, and retain a flexible, resilient, and skilled workforce. • Priority 3 – Place - We will create and develop an attractive, competitive, and sustainable destination that offers authentic and memorable experiences. 1.4 The strategy sets the strategic direction, nature and scale of the opportunities and challenges involved in realising the overall strategic vision and against the 3 priority themes. A detailed Action Plan has also been developed which sets out how outcomes against each of these priority themes will be achieved and which partners will be involved in delivering against each action. 1.5 A North Lanarkshire Tourism Strategy Steering Group is in place chaired by the council’s Enterprise Manager. The Group meets quarterly with a remit to act as custodians of the Strategy and to oversee the development and implementation of the Action Plan. The Group includes representatives from across key services in the council including: Enterprise (lead service), Roads, Country Parks, Active and Creative Communities, Employability, Education and Families, Development Planning, Growth Team, Corporate Communications and Marketing, and the Communities Team. The steering group also includes representatives from Visit Scotland and the Lanarkshire Business Gateway Service. Members of the Steering Group collaborate with South Lanarkshire Council, New College Lanarkshire, Scottish Enterprise and Skills Development Scotland in the ongoing delivery of the activities which support the sector. 1.6 The marketing and communication elements of the Strategy and for tourism growth in Lanarkshire are led by the council’s Corporate Communications team supported by the Enterprise teams in both North and South Lanarkshire Councils. VisitLanarkshire is the established brand for this pan-Lanarkshire activity and continues to deliver seasonal marketing campaigns including the development of the new www.visitlanarkshire.com website and associated social media activity. Page 64 of 147
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1.7 The approved UK Shared Prosperity Fund Investment Plan for North Lanarkshire has identified funding through two Interventions to support the marketing, promotion and development of the sector in North Lanarkshire with a total of £270,000 allocated to these activities up to 31st March 2025: • S7: Funding for the development and promotion of wider campaigns which encourage people to visit and explore the local area - £120,000 has been allocated to this intervention to provide support for local tourism marketing to increase visitors and support employment in the sector. • S14: Funding for the development and promotion (both trade and consumer) of the visitor economy, such as local attractions, trails, tours and tourism products more generally - £150,000 has been allocated to this intervention to deliver a challenge fund in 2024/25 to support the development of tourism facilities in North Lanarkshire. 1.8 The report highlights activities being developed in relation to these two interventions and seeks approval to take these activities forward. 2. Report Tourism Sector Performance Data 2.1 Tourism remains a key sector in North Lanarkshire. Whilst the sector is recovering from the massive impact of Covid, it remains affected by the current cost of living crisis, rising energy costs and the ability to attract and retain staff to work within the sector. 2.2 Global Tourism Solutions (UK) Ltd provide data on the performance of the tourism sector in North Lanarkshire. At the time of writing, the figures for 2022 have not yet been published but there was a strong recovery in the 2021 statistics compared to the 2020 statistics: o Visitor numbers increased by 75.2% from 505,150 in 2020 to 885,040 in 2021. o Visitor Spend increased by 101.7% from £48.61 million to £98.07 million However, the 2021 statistics also showed that the tourism sector in North Lanarkshire is still in a period of recovery with visitor numbers down 51.4% and spend down 42.7% on 2019 pre pandemic levels. 2.3 Through the Regional Skills Assessment information gathered and published by Skills Development Scotland the future employment requirements for the tourism sector in North Lanarkshire remain positive. It should be noted that this forecast data should be viewed as a direction of travel. For the period 2022-2025, there is forecast to be a total requirement of 900 job openings of which 200 is expansion demand and 700 is replacement demand. Looking forward to the period 2025-2032, there is forecast to be a total requirement of 1,900 of which 100 is expansion demand and 1,800 is replacement demand. The total requirement figure is made up of expansion demand and replacement demand to show the total number of job openings. Expansion demand is the measure of an increase/decrease in people require to fill jobs, as a result of economic growth or contraction. Replacement demand is the number of job opening generation by people leaving the labour market (i.e. those who retire, move away or change jobs). Page 65 of 147
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Action Plan Progress to April 2023 2.4 As outlined above, the Strategy and Action Plan are split across the 3 priority themes which are in place to support the vision, and the recovery and growth of the sector. 2.5 The Tourism Strategy Steering Group has met quarterly since the Strategy and Action Plan was approved and oversees the implementation of the Action Plan. Key achievements of the first year of the action plan under the three priorities are as follows: Priority 1 - Business 2.6 During 2022, work was undertaken to research and identify a baseline of businesses within the sector. The baseline has identified that in North Lanarkshire there are a minimum of: • 31 Hotels • 21 Bed and Breakfast/Self-catering establishments • 3 campsites • 46 visitor attractions (including 6 parks and gardens) Work will continue to add to the database and baseline of new known establishments. This has not included wider hospitality sector businesses such as restaurants and cafes at the current time. 2.7 During the development of the Strategy and as part of wider 2021/22 activities, Business Gateway Lanarkshire supported by the council’s Enterprise Team held a Tourism focussed month in September 2021 during which four workshops were held focussing on customer care, performance online booking and digital marketing. 2.8 Outwith the focus month, eleven tourism / hospitality businesses have been supported by Business Gateway Lanarkshire. The support includes Digital Boost to improve digital capabilities, start-up support, and growth support. Ongoing support through the free services offered by Business Gateway continues to be actively promoted to the sector. 2.9 VisitLanarkshire marketing activity through new updated website, social media and campaigns promotes individual tourism businesses as well as the area overall. To date, half of accommodation providers and more than half of attractions in North Lanarkshire have taken the free opportunity to list their business on VisitLanarkshire.com. The improved design and content of the website and continued activity to drive visitors will increase awareness of the tourism offering by businesses in North Lanarkshire. 2.10 VisitScotland in partnership with Digital Boost held a programme of ten Tourism Digital boost webinars which took place March/April 2023. These can be accessed on visitscotland.org and this information is promoted as a resource to tourism businesses. 2.11 Quality Assurance is Scotland’s official grading system which aims to drive up standards and encourage businesses to invest in quality and improve the visitor experience. VisitScotland has confirmed that 24 North Lanarkshire businesses are participating in the scheme with no reduction in numbers since 2022. Page 66 of 147
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Priority 2 - People and Skills 2.12 The sector is continuing to face labour and skills shortages. Work is underway aligned to the Develop Young Workforce Delivery Plan and Workforce for the Future Strategy to increase pathways in opportunities in sectors which have demand and labour shortages. 2.13 Education and Families are delivering the Level 4 Foundation Apprenticeship in Hospitality which is designed to provide learners from S3 and senior phase, S4, S5 and S6 skills and knowledge for a career in the sector. The course includes the development of practical and technical skills alongside project based learning. North Lanarkshire pupil numbers on the course were 27 per annum in 2021/22 and 27 in 2022/23. 2.14 Education and Families are also carrying out a review of school facilities to identify areas to develop BGE/Senior/ASN phase curriculum in support of industry awareness and pathways into the sector. 2.15 North Lanarkshire’s Working employability programmes support people with barriers to employment to find work. In 2021 – 12 hospitality roles were filled and in 2022 this increased to 18 hospitality roles filled. 2.16 The North Lanarkshire Supported Enterprise Service provides support to disabled people and those furthest from the labour market to enter employment. Over the last two years the service has supported twenty-nine people into various roles with businesses within the sector including: Hotels; Fast food restaurants; Cafes; Leisure Centres; Pubs/restaurants and a Golf Club 2.17 The Supported Enterprise Service has also developed the Sunnyside Training Café @Volvo, an innovative programme commenced in May 2022 in Volvo Construction’s staff restaurant on Newhouse Industrial Estate. The ethos behind the initiative was to create a training kitchen where ASN young people would be supported by a job coach to gain training, development, and work experience. The service has partnered with New College Lanarkshire to deliver industry recognised training in catering and hospitality. 2.18 Business within the tourism sector will be encouraged to adopt fair work practices including paying the real living wage, joining the Disability Confident Scheme and signing up to the new North Lanarkshire Employer Charter The NL Employer Charter - North Lanarkshire's Working (northlanarkshiresworking.co.uk) which recognises businesses who meet two or more of the 4 pillars: Fair Pay, Employ North Lanarkshire, Buy North Lanarkshire and Be the Best. 2.19 Further work will also take place during 2023/24 to work with businesses in the sector to identify skills shortages, pathways into the sector, and placement and job opportunities for young people and adults so that they can experience work within the sector and understand the types of careers available. Priority 3 – Place 2.20 Through the Place theme, the council is seeking to further develop the potential of council owned venues to provide first class facilities and enhanced customer experience. The following are 3 examples of Place activities and works that have taken place which contribute to this Priority: Page 67 of 147
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2.21 The Big Family Festival was held in Strathclyde Country Park on 6th and 7th August 22. The event was supported by Big Feed Street Food Social, a travelling street food collective and featured music, 8 activity zones and food and craft market. The event was a success and an estimated 20,000 people attended over the weekend. 2.22 As part of the Strathclyde Country Park Masterplan, a new Velo Park funded by £1.6 million of investment from the Cycling Facilities Fund opened at Bellshill Gateway and is now one of the largest pump tracks in Scotland and the first free to use publicly accessible mountain bike trial area in Scotland. The track was designed to address a lack of local cycling facilities and improve the connection between Strathclyde Country Park and Bellshill. Counters are being installed which will assist in identifying visitor numbers to the facility. 2.23 A new £200,000 play facility opened in Auchenstarry in November 2022 as part of the Rediscovering the Antonine Wall Project, which spans five local authorities and promotes the wall’s fascinating history and status as part of a UNESCO World Heritage site. The play facility includes a Roman Fort with multiple levels and slides and wheelchair accessible items such as a trampoline and roundabout, as well as a rope swing and embankment slide. The play area was delivered by North Lanarkshire Council’s Community Partnership Team with additional funding from the Local Development Programme and Place Based Investment Programme. Marketing and Promotion 2.24 An important element of Priority 3: Place is the marketing and promotion of North Lanarkshire as a place to Visit. 2.25 The marketing and communication elements of the Strategy and for tourism marketing in Lanarkshire are led by North Lanarkshire Council’s Corporate Communications team supported by the Enterprise teams in both North and South Lanarkshire Councils. VisitLanarkshire.com 2.26 Following tendering on Public Procurement Scotland, Internet Creation were appointed on 13th September 2022 to develop and host an updated VisitLanarkshire.com website. The new website has a more modern design, functionality and all out of date content from the old site has been removed with new photography added. 2.27 All local tourism businesses were directly contacted to take up a free listing on the site and half of accommodation providers and more than half of attractions in north Lanarkshire have taken the free opportunity to list on visitlanarkshire.com. 2.28 The website launch was supported by the campaign activity noted below. New products on the website include: • A cycling guide developed with the Herald • Updated events feed from Data Thistle (previously The List) • Articles with suggested day trip itineraries • Local town history • Routes and guides; and • Themed ‘inspire me’ articles featuring local businesses. The new website enables the council to feature relevant new developments in local tourism provision including council run attractions and venues. Page 68 of 147
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2.29 The website and campaigns are supported by three social media accounts. The VisitLanarkshire Facebook page has 5,700 followers and the twitter account (@vsitlanarkshire) has 5005 followers. A new Instagram account (@officialvisitlanarkshire) has been set up and has 205 followers with numbers growing. Marketing Activity 2.30 VisitLanarkshire marketing campaign activity takes place in Autumn and Spring to increase visitor numbers and spend outwith the busier summer months. As the new website was in development the Autumn campaign was of a smaller scale in 2022. 2.31 A bigger Spring campaign is being delivered based around the concept of: ‘Need a Break? press pause – take a day’. The campaign was live during March and April 2023 with marketing featured on train and subway passenger panels, radio adverts with Clyde 1, digital and social media, railway billboards in Falkirk and Stirling and a floor panel in Glasgow Central Station. 2.32 VisitLanarkshire has also carried out social media marketing campaign with VisitScotland and distributed promotional flyers via Direct Distribution across central Scotland. VisitScotland Connect 2.33 VisitScotland Connect is the new travel trade event aimed at bringing Scottish suppliers together with international and UK buyers in 2023. The event was held at P and J Live in Aberdeen on 19th and 20th April 2023. A council Enterprise Development Officer attended the event with a South Lanarkshire Council Officer to promote Visit Lanarkshire. Around 80 direct face to face appointments took place with travel trade buyers to create ‘warm leads’ for partner businesses who have a suitable product for this market. Fifteen businesses will feature in the VisitLanarkshire travel trade guide (8 hotels and 7 attractions). VisitScotland has also met with Summerlee to provide advice and support on attracting international visitors and tour groups. UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) 2.34 The approved UK Shared Prosperity Fund Investment Plan for North Lanarkshire has identified funding through two Interventions (S7 and S14) to support the marketing, promotion and development of the sector in North Lanarkshire with a total of £270,000 allocated to these activities up to 31st March 2025. 2.35 Intervention S7: Funding for the development and promotion of wider campaigns which encourage people to visit and explore the local area. A total of £120,000 has been allocated to this intervention (2023/24 - £40,000 and 2024/25 - £80,000) to provide support for local tourism marketing to increase visitors and support employment in the sector. 2.36 Proposed activities under S7 include the continued and enhanced delivery of marketing of North Lanarkshire as a must visit destination to increase visitor numbers and spend. This aligns with the development and promotion of the area to the benefit of local communities and is directly in line with the Tourism Strategy, specifically Priority 3 – Place. As part of this proposal, consideration is being made to developing an App for visitors to the area. Page 69 of 147
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2.37 The proposed outputs/outcomes for Intervention S7 are: • Number of people reached - 10,000 • Number of organisations receiving non-financial support other than grants – 21 • Increase in visitor numbers – 5% • Increase in number of web searches for a place – 80% 2.38 Intervention S14: Funding for the development and promotion (both trade and consumer) of the visitor economy, such as local attractions, trails, tours and tourism products more generally. A total of £150,000 has been allocated to this intervention to deliver a Tourism Challenge Fund in 2024/25 to support the development of tourism facilities in North Lanarkshire. 2.39 The fund will be designed and promoted in the current financial year, and intends to fund up to 15 projects which will be delivered in 2024/25. It is anticipated that successful bidders will receive up to £10,000 each to improve tourism facilities. A call for applications will be made with a set deadline. Applications will be scored by a panel against set criteria. The set criteria will include requirements to demonstrate deliverability, value for money, realistic and achievable outputs/outcomes, and alignment with both the priorities of the UKSPF and to the vision and priority themes of the North Lanarkshire Tourism Strategy. It will be structured using a Challenge Fund template established to ensure a degree of consistency and transparency across all UKSPF backed Challenge Fund interventions North Lanarkshire Council operates. 2.40 The proposed outputs/outcomes for S14 Tourism Challenge Fund are: • Number of businesses receiving grants – 15 • Number of Tourism, Culture or Heritage assets created or improved – 15 • Jobs created – 10 • Increased footfall – metrics to be agreed • Increased visitor numbers – metrics to be agreed • Increase in visitor spending – metrics to be agreed Future Activity 2.41 The first 12 plus months of the delivery of the North Lanarkshire Tourism Strategy and Action Plan has resulted in good progress towards delivery of the identified priority themes and actions. Focus for the next 12 months will be building on the co-ordinated delivery of business support to the sector, further development of skills and pathways into the sector, building on and further developing communication with the sector, and the continued marketing of the area to the benefit of local tourism businesses. 2.42 Over the next 2-years, the North Lanarkshire Tourism Steering Group will also oversee the delivery of the UKSPF projects around Tourism Marketing and the implementation of the Challenge Fund and the agreed deliverables noted above. 3. Measures of success 3.1 North Lanarkshire tourism businesses benefit from sectoral business support and VisitLanarkshire area marketing activity. Page 70 of 147
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3.2 The funding from UK Shared Prosperity Fund creates new opportunities to market North Lanarkshire as a must visit destination. 3.3 Increasing visitor numbers, visitor spend and employment in the sector. 4. Supporting documentation • Copies of the North Lanarkshire Tourism Strategy Action Plan Update – April 2023, and the Marketing Overview of VisitLanarkshire can be provided to members on request. Pamela Humphries Chief Officer (Place) Page 71 of 147
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 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? There is no identified detrimental socio-economic impact resulting from the proposals contained within this report. The North Lanarkshire Tourism Strategy and Action Plan 2022 2026 includes commitment to supporting accessible tourism, supported employment and promotion of fair work practices. Proposed UK Shared Prosperity Fund Projects, Marketing and Challenge fund will not impact adversely on minority groups. An EQIA was carried out during the strategy development and is published on the council’s website. 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 ☐ Tourism Development and Marketing activity is funded by North Lanarkshire Council with budgets agreed on an annual basis. The current North Lanarkshire Council budget for tourism £37,000 marketing from Corporate Communications. Funding has also been secured from UK Shared Prosperity Fund, £120,00 Tourism Marketing (2023/24 - £40,000 and 2024/25 - £80,000) and £150,000 for the establishment of Tourism Challenge Fund in 2024/25. If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Financial Solutions? 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 and Organisational Development? 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 Solutions? Page 72 of 147
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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 ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? There is no direct impact on technology, or the digital transformation programme. Tourism businesses through the Strategy and Action Plan will be supported to adopt digital technologies and digital marketing. Where the impact identifies a requirement for technology, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) 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? Ongoing marketing and communications is essential for the delivery of this Strategy. The Corporate Communications and Marketing Team is actively involved and engaged in the delivery of the Strategy and the provision of marketing and communication support for VisitLanarkshire. 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☒ Risks are managed in accordance with the council’s agreed Risk Management Strategy to ensure that risks are managed at the appropriate level. There are no significant organisational risks associated with this strategy. Page 73 of 147
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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? A project risk register for the UKSPF projects will be developed. 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 x 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 Page 74 of 147
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref PH/YW Date 12/05/23 Social Enterprise Framework Action Plan Update (PO22.1(2)) From Pamela Humphries, Chief Officer (Place) E-mail weiry@northlan.gov.uk Telephone Yvonne Weir, Enterprise Manager: 07508001238 Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to inform the Enterprise and Fair Work Committee of activity and progress relating to actions in the North Lanarkshire Social Enterprise Framework and Action Plan 2021 – 2026. The report also highlights and seeks approval for how funding allocated through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) is proposed to assist the development and growth of the Social Enterprise sector in North Lanarkshire. Recommendations It is recommended that the Enterprise and Fair Work Committee: (1) Notes the status and recent progress of North Lanarkshire Social Enterprise Framework and Action Plan 2021 - 2026 (2) Approves the proposed UKSPF activity to deliver Social Enterprise Development Support in North Lanarkshire The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Ambition statement (5) Grow and improve the sustainability and diversity of North Lanarkshire's economy AGENDA ITEM 8 Page 75 of 147
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1. Background Definition of Social Enterprise 1.1 Social enterprises trade in many markets – selling goods and services to individual consumers, local authorities, government and private businesses. They aim to make a profit just like any private sector business. However, their profits or surpluses are reinvested back into their social and/or environmental purpose. 1.2 There is no single, legal definition of social enterprise in the UK. Within the North Lanarkshire Social Enterprise Framework the definition adopted is from the Voluntary Code of Practice for Social Enterprise in Scotland. This sets criteria for the definition of a social enterprise and 5 key values/behaviours. The Code can be viewed at: www.senscot.net/projects/se-code/read-the-code/. Social Enterprise in Scotland: Census 2021 1.3 The Social Enterprise sector in North Lanarkshire is considered to be growing, but considered to be significantly underreported in the Social Enterprise census figures. The Social Enterprise in Scotland: Census 2021 was published in early 2023. It is undertaken every 2 years and is a comprehensive account of social enterprise activity in Scotland. The 2021 Census notes there are 114 organisations in North Lanarkshire, which is an increase from 109 organisations in the 2019 census. This represents 2% of the social enterprise in Scotland and 3 social enterprises per 10,000 population. This is the lowest percentage in Scotland where there is an average of 11 social enterprises per 10,000 population. Higher percentages are in general more prevalent in rural and island local authorities across Scotland. 1.4 The partners in the Strategy Group believe the Census is under-representing activity and organisations in North Lanarkshire and work is underway to raise awareness of the sector, to encourage more organisations who meet the definition to identify as a social enterprise and to take actions to grow the number of social enterprises operating in the area. The Technical Report which accompanies the Census provides the names of all 114 organisations identified in North Lanarkshire which will enable the partners to identify any organisations not captured. 1.5 The North Lanarkshire Social Enterprise Framework 2021-2026 was developed by the North Lanarkshire Social Enterprise Framework Strategy Group alongside consultation with the sector and Social Enterprise Network Scotland (SENScot) and was approved on 3rd February 2022 by the Enterprise and Growth Committee. The full Strategy and Action Plan can be viewed at: Social Enterprise Framework.pdf (northlanarkshire.gov.uk) 1.6 The Strategy Group is a partnership consisting of Voluntary Action North Lanarkshire (VANL), North Lanarkshire Social Enterprise Network (NLSEN), Inspirent (formerly Lanarkshire Enterprise Services Ltd), Lanarkshire Business Gateway and North Lanarkshire Council. The Strategy Group is also supported as required by Social Enterprise Scotland which is the representative body for social enterprise in Scotland. North Lanarkshire Council is also a member of Social Enterprise Scotland. 1.7 The shared vision within the Framework is for a competitive and dynamic Social Enterprise sector in North Lanarkshire which supports inclusive and green growth, delivering innovative solutions and proactive responses to local needs and to maximise local public and private procurement opportunities. Page 76 of 147
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1.8 The Framework recognises that achievement of this vision will improve economic opportunities and outcomes; contribute to net zero carbon emissions by 2030; and enhance participation, capacity and empowerment across our communities to achieve our shared ambition of a place where: • Social enterprise is a well-known, understood and respected sector delivering valued services within North Lanarkshire • Opportunities are developed in partnership with the sector • We have a clear understanding of the contribution that social enterprises make to their communities and to the local economy • Social enterprises are able to make the most of locally important assets, and procurement opportunities and act as a catalyst for wider community regeneration • Social enterprise development is supported by the council, its partners, the wider community and voluntary sector 1.9 The North Lanarkshire Social Enterprise Framework 2022-26 and associated Action Plan seek to support the direction and delivery of Scotland's Social Enterprise Strategy 2016-2026; the Plan for North Lanarkshire, and our joint vision for social enterprise clearly setting out the methodology utilised to stimulate, develop and grow the sector in North Lanarkshire. The development and delivery of the Framework was also a key action identified within the North Lanarkshire Economic Recovery Plan and will align with ongoing Community Wealth Building activities. 1.10 The Framework identifies the following three key themes which are aligned to Scotland's Social Enterprise Strategy 2016-2026: 1 Stimulating the Sector • Grow the social enterprise sector in North Lanarkshire by stimulating an enterprising community and voluntary sector 2 Developing Stronger Organisations • Develop stronger social enterprise organisations 3 Realising Market Opportunities • Help the social enterprise sector to respond to market opportunities which support an inclusive and green economic recovery 1.11 An action plan was put in place around the 3 themes and is reviewed annually by the Strategy Group to ensure it continues to achieve the vision outlined in the Framework in the short, medium and long-term. This report updates on actions delivered since the launch of the strategy. 1.12 The approved UK Shared Prosperity Fund Investment Plan for North Lanarkshire has identified funding through Intervention 22: “Support for growing the local social economy, including community businesses, cooperatives and social enterprises.” A total of £210,000 (£140K in 2023/24 and £70K in 2024/25) has been allocated within the Investment Plan to help support the growth and capacity building of social enterprise in North Lanarkshire. This report highlights the procurement activity being developed in relation to this intervention to engage an organisation to work with the Strategy Group to deliver the support to further develop the social economy. 2. Report North Lanarkshire Social Enterprise Strategy Action Plan 2022/2023 2.1 An update to the action plan for the period 2022/2023 has been undertaken and the key achievements are presented below. A copy of the action plan can be provided to members on request. Page 77 of 147
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Theme 1: Stimulating the Sector 2.2 The partners have supported new and existing social enterprises. A total of 8 social enterprises have been supported through the Lanarkshire Business Gateway service including new starts, growth advisory activity and delivery of expert help support. VANL has also provided guidance and advice to 12 new start social enterprises in areas such as funding, legal structures, and asset transfer (5 in 2021/22 and 7 in 2022/23). Inspirent through its work with the Just Enterprise programme has also supported 6 social enterprise start-ups. This support includes strategy development, business plans and marketing plans. Inspirent has also provided 8 social enterprises with business support, 3 with leadership and 11 with learning. 2.3 To increase awareness of the services offered, Business Gateway Lanarkshire and the council’s Enterprise Team delivered presentations on the Framework and support available to the North Lanarkshire Social Enterprise Network on 11 May 2022. 2.4 Business Gateway Lanarkshire delivered a Social Enterprise focus month in November/December 2022. The topics covered were: Starting a Social Enterprise, Digital Marketing and Tendering. 2.5 The council’s Business Recovery and Growth Fund and Back to Business Fund both offered support to social enterprises and although application numbers were low, the Strategy Group continues to promote this support to local organisations. 2.10 The council’s Education and Families service has been working closely with the Social Enterprise Academy, a society which provides learning and development training to social entrepreneurs as well as access to infrastructure, finance and networks, to raise awareness of the social enterprise model across North Lanarkshire schools. This has included the Social Enterprise Academy delivering sessions in all 23 secondary schools during Future Fridays. Plans are being developed to invite all secondary schools to a preliminary event in June 2023 to challenge each school to create and develop a social enterprise. They will be given a year to do this and will present their models at an event in June 2024. A social enterprise event similar to Dragons’ Den is also planned for 150 young people in primary schools in May 2023. 2.11 In addition to the Social Enterprise Academy, all S3 pupils are also encouraged to form teams to participate in the council’s annual Dragons’ Lair initiative which is aimed at encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship in our young people. It introduces them to the world of business, its importance to the economy and as a possible career option they may not have considered. S3 pupils are asked to think of an innovative business idea and create a business plan for it. The business plans are scored and the top six plans are invited to the Dragons Lair final where the pupils present their ideas to the panel of Dragons who select a winner. In recent years, there has been a rise in the number of entries described as a social enterprise as opposed to a traditional business operating model. The 2022 winning entry was from Airdrie Academy for a proposed social enterprise operating an electrical charging station within schools that is powered by renewable energy. Theme 2: Developing Stronger Organisations 2.12 Social Enterprise Scotland (SES) were chosen by the Scottish Government to be the new Single Enhanced Intermediary (SEI) for Scotland from 1st July 2023. The Strategy Group are working closely with SES and the organisation was represented at the networking launch event on 26th October 2022. North Lanarkshire Council is a supporter member and benefits from regular newsletters, events and webinars Page 78 of 147
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providing insight to the sector. The council and Strategy Group will continue to work closely with Social Enterprise Scotland to disseminate information (via newsletter communications) on local support for the sector and promote information from SES on their 4 key areas: Community Wealth Building, Fair Work, Equality Inclusion and Diversity and Climate emergency. 2.13 A Social Enterprise Networking Launch Event was held in the Glo Centre in Motherwell on 26th October 2022. The event was highly successful with 49 attendees from 30 organisations. There were presentations on the North Lanarkshire Social Enterprise Framework and Action Plan, the North Lanarkshire Social Enterprise Network and Social Enterprise Scotland. Two speakers were invited to present their experiences of running social enterprises. The speakers were from Social Track and Glenboig Development Trust. There were also three breakout sessions held covering: Staffing and Training, Network and Business Resilience and Growing Market Opportunities. The feedback from the event has been very positive and will be used to shape activity being delivered in 2023/24 and beyond. 2.14 A North Lanarkshire Social Enterprise Network (NLSEN) has been established which plays a vital role in supporting new, established or aspiring Social Enterprises in North Lanarkshire to grow and develop. Membership is open to any organisation or group who can adopt the values and behaviours listed in the social enterprise code. The NLSEN’s Vision Statement is: “At North Lanarkshire Social Enterprise Network (NL SEN) we believe that by being connected, we can improve lives for a just and equitable Community.” 2.15 The NLSEN holds regular meetings (in person and online) and membership is growing. It has 5 key aims: • Fill gaps in services to meet local need. • Raise awareness of what Social Enterprise is and promote the Social Enterprise Code • Provide support for small scale initiatives. • Encourage collaboration in line with The North Lanarkshire Social Enterprise Framework 2021 – 2026. • Increase access to information and support to established, new or aspiring Social Enterprises who deliver enterprising community activity. Theme 3: Realising Market Opportunities 2.16 One of the key areas within Theme 3 is to support social enterprises to access procurement and other commissioning opportunities. One of the council’s procurement Category Managers is now represented on the Strategy Group. Support is available through the Supplier Development Programme, Just Enterprise and Lanarkshire Business Gateway to support social enterprises to improve their capability and skills in tendering for procurement opportunities. 2.17 Lanarkshire Meet the Real Buyer – Businesses were invited to Lanarkshire Meet the ‘Real’ Buyer event on 22nd February 2023. The event was hosted by North and South Lanarkshire Council’s and supported by Supplier Development Programme. The purpose of the event is to allow businesses to learn about upcoming contracts they could tender for. This was promoted to social enterprises via contacts, social media and shared by partners. Page 79 of 147
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2.18 Realising Market Opportunities for social enterprise is also a key component of Community Wealth Building. A report has been developed which considers opportunities and a proposed approach to Community Wealth Building that can be applied in North Lanarkshire through the establishment of a Community Wealth Building Commitment Statement. This will support a number of key programme of work areas and workstreams thereby ensuring that the Community Wealth Building model of economic development is embedded into relevant plans and wider strategies. 2.19 North Lanarkshire has held authority wide Fairtrade Zone status for 3-years with a number of towns also holding Fairtrade status. A Fairtrade Steering Group is in place to promote fair trade across North Lanarkshire. This year Scotland is celebrating 10 years as a Fairtrade Nation. A series of activities were undertaken during Fairtrade fortnight (27th February to 12th March 2023) to raise awareness including activities within Schools, New College Lanarkshire, community and faith groups. UK Shared Prosperity Fund 2.20 The approved UK Shared Prosperity Fund Investment Plan for North Lanarkshire has identified funding through Intervention 22: “Support for growing the local social economy, including community businesses, cooperatives and social enterprises.” A total of £210,000 (£140K in 2023/24 and £70K in 2024/25) has been allocated with the Investment Plan to specifically help support the growth and capacity building of social enterprise in North Lanarkshire. 2.21 It is proposed to engage an organisation to work with the Strategy Group to deliver this support in line with the themes and actions identified in the North Lanarkshire Social Enterprise Framework. 2.22 The services to be procured utilising UKSPF include business support and expert help to social enterprises in North Lanarkshire. The key deliverables will be: 1. Provision of support (one to one, group, programmes) to support the development and growth of 100 social enterprises across North Lanarkshire. (minimum 120 people attending sessions). Types of support in key topic areas include (but not limited to): governance, funding, trading and income generation, tendering and procurement (to complement Supplier Development Programme), marketing, recruitment of volunteers/employees and business planning. 2. Identify additional social enterprises in North Lanarkshire (Any organisations not captured in 2021 census – 114 social enterprises) 3. Support the creation of 30 new social enterprises in North Lanarkshire 4. Support the capacity, development and growth of the North Lanarkshire Social Enterprise Network (NLSEN). This could include a development and growth plan for the NLSEN, to increase membership, peer to peer support / mentoring programme. 5. Delivery of 4 themed sectoral events for the sector. 2.23 This procurement will be a new agreement (not previously funded) and will complement local and national support for social enterprises and be aligned with the work of the Social Enterprise Framework Strategy Group to deliver the aims and actions within the Framework and Action Plan. Page 80 of 147
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3. Measures of success 3.1 The key measure of success for the North Lanarkshire Social Enterprise Framework will be the achievement of and progress towards the Action Plan, and an increase in the number of sustainable social enterprises operating in North Lanarkshire. 3.2 Delivery of key outputs and outcomes funded through the UKSPF. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 There is no supporting documentation. 4.2 The full North Lanarkshire Social Enterprise Framework and Action Plan can be viewed at: Social Enterprise Framework.pdf (northlanarkshire.gov.uk) Pamela Humphries Chief Officer (Place) Page 81 of 147
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 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? The North Lanarkshire Social Enterprise Framework and Action Plan 2022 2026 includes commitment to, supported employment and promotion of fair work practices. Proposed UK Shared Prosperity Fund Project Social Enterprise support will not impact adversely on minority groups. An Assessment was undertaken during the establishment of the Framework but has still to be published on the council’s website. 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 ☐ Funding has been secured from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund of £210,00 to provide support to develop and grow the Social Enterprise sector in North Lanarkshire. The funding is split: £140K in 2023/24 and £70K in 2024/25 If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Financial Solutions? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The impact is positive with additional resources made available to the council. 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 and Organisational Development? 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 Solutions? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 82 of 147
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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 ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? There is no direct impact on technology, or the digital transformation programme. Where the impact identifies a requirement for technology, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) 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? Ongoing marketing and communications is essential for the delivery of this Strategy. Corporate Communications are engaged in the delivery of the Framework and the provision of marketing and communication support. 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ Risks are managed in accordance with the council’s agreed Risk Management Strategy to ensure that risks are managed at the appropriate level. There are no significant organisational risks associated with this strategy. Risk management has been carried out in line with procurement procedures for Social Enterprise support funded through UKSPF. 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? Page 83 of 147
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A project risk register will be established for the UKSPF project. This will focus on contract management and achievement of spend and deliverables to maximise the outcomes from UKSPF activity. 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 X 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 Page 84 of 147
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref PH/DG Date 12/05/23 External Funding update From Pamela Humphries, Chief Officer (Place) E-mail GreerD@northlan.gov.uk Telephone David Greer, Growth Programme Manager, 07582 059816 Executive Summary This report updates Committee on the Council’s progress made in developing and securing external funding for physical regeneration and economic development projects across North Lanarkshire since the previous update in February 2023. Recommendations It is recommended that committee acknowledges: 1) The acceptance of UK Government Levelling Up Fund grant for Cumbernauld and work to secure funding for associated traffic management study. 2) The increase in, and reallocation of, European Regional Development Fund monies to provide increased grant funding for businesses. 3) The update on arrangements for distributing the Council’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund allocation in North Lanarkshire. 4) The submission of a final Green Growth Accelerator Business Case for the low carbon redevelopment of Strathclyde Park, for Scottish Government approval. 5) The council’s bid for funding for the heritage-led regeneration of Airdrie, which awaits a final decision 6) The submission of a bid to National Lottery Heritage Fund for the redevelopment of Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life. 7) Progress in developing funding bids for the Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme 8) The allocation of funds set out in the council’s Vacant and Derelict Land Fund Local Delivery Plan. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Ambition statement (21) Continue to identify and access opportunities to leverage additional resources to support our ambitions AGENDA ITEM 9 Page 85 of 147
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1. Background 1.1 The Council aims to secure external funding to support the physical, social and economic regeneration of North Lanarkshire. This work is subject to regular reporting to committee, including an update at the last committee. 1.2 There has been significant recent activity across a range of funding streams, since the previous update to Committee in February 2023. This report provides an update on progress towards securing a range of funds to support the social, physical and economic regeneration of North Lanarkshire. 2. Report 2.1 This report provides an update on current external funding activity, including recent funding bid submissions and decisions. Levelling Up Fund 2.2 The council was successful in securing £9.225m from the UK Government Levelling Up Fund (LUF) to acquire The Centre Cumbernauld and demolish Fleming House, enabling the later redevelopment of Cumbernauld Town Centre in line with the Cumbernauld Town Vision. 2.3 The acquisition of The Centre Cumbernauld is progressing and the council has received £8.73m in funding towards the acquisition and associated fees. The balance of funding will be provided following the demolition of Fleming House, which is expected to take place during 2023/24. 2.4 The UK Government advises that a further round of LUF will be launched later in 2023. A fuller update will be provided to committee when further details are available. Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) Capital Programme 2.5 The council is currently liaising with SPT with the aim of securing funding to conduct traffic management surveys and to review the transport and travel impacts of the two current concept design proposals for the wider redevelopment of Cumbernauld Town Centre. A bid to secure funding for this work is likely to be submitted later in 2023. European Regional Development Fund 2.6 The Council has received European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for economic development activity since October 2015. This support will continue until December 2023, when the Fund will formally close following the UK’s exit from the European Union. ERDF funds can be used for business advisory services, business grant schemes and related staffing costs. The Council acts as the delivery agent for both North and South Lanarkshire Councils and is seeking to maximise activity and drawn down of ERDF funding prior to its closure. 2.7 In November 2022, the council submitted a formal ‘Change Request’ on behalf of both Lanarkshire authorities, requesting a further £970,000 in funding (£497,739 for NLC) from earlier programme underspend. This underspend was a consequence of both Brexit and Covid, as services were unable to be delivered (and some salary costs were ineligible for the fund as staff were reassigned to work on Covid business grant schemes rather than ERDF). This change request was approved in February 2023. The Page 86 of 147
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Council is required to provide 60% match funding for all ERDF allocations, which means that it will match the additional funding during this period with its own contribution of £298,644. See Table 1 below for further information. Table 1: Original and revised ERDF budgets NLC Grants NLC Grants salaries* NLC Total budget Original £2,016,343 £257,318 £2,273,661 60% match £1,209,803 £154,393 £1,364,196 Revised £2,501,343 £270,057 £2,771,850 60% match £1,500,806 £162,034 £1,662,840 Increase in ERDF £485,000 £12,739 £497,739 Increase in match £291,003 £7,641 £298,644 *for staff posts related to administration of grants only 2.8 Additional match for salaries is being met from the existing staff budget, while the additional match for grants is provided from the Council’s Local Authority Covid-19 Economic Recovery (LACER) allocation. UK Shared Prosperity Fund 2.9 North Lanarkshire’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) Investment Plan was approved as part of the Glasgow City Region (GCR) UKSPF Investment Plan in December 2022. A pass-down agreement and associated assurance framework between GCR and the eight member authorities was approved by GCR Chief Executive’s Group in March 2023 and signed by relevant parties in April, enabling the council to receive £2.116m of its total UKSPF allocation of £13.871m. 2.10 On 2nd May, GCR submitted a report to UK Government requesting that unspent funds are reprofiled from year 1 (2022/23) into year 2 (2023/24), as a result of the delayed approval from UK Government. The activities and the distribution of funds will remain in line with that previously approved by Committee. 2.11 Detailed reports on progress in developing and delivering North Lanarkshire’s UKSPF Investment Plan will be presented to Policy and Strategy Committee. Green Growth Accelerator 2.12 The Scottish Government’s Green Growth Accelerator (GGA) programme will support local authorities to deliver innovative green infrastructure projects which contribute to Net Zero objectives and can stimulate the green economy. 2.13 The Council made a successful application for GGA pathfinder support for the low- carbon redevelopment of Strathclyde Country Park during 2021, enabling the council to commission design works and technical support to inform a full application for up to £10m in GGA funding. 2.14 Following this work and further engagement with Scottish Government, the council submitted its application (by way of a full GGA Business Case) in February 2023. A decision on this application is expected by June 2023. Historic Environment Scotland/National Lottery Heritage Fund 2.15 The council awaits a formal decision on its bids to both Historic Environment Scotland’s (HES) Heritage and Place Programme and National Lottery Heritage Fund’s (NLHF) Page 87 of 147
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Grants for Heritage fund for a project aimed at delivering the heritage-led regeneration of Airdrie. It is expected that an announcement on successful projects will be made on 16 May. 2.16 The Council’s bids are for a combined £150,000 in ‘development phase’ funding, which will be used to support community engagement, feasibility works and pilot new approaches and enable the Council to develop full ‘delivery phase’ bids for £2.65m in external funding (£1.2m from HES, £1.45m from NLHF). If these bids are successful, the project will deliver a range of physical interventions in the historic built environment and community-based heritage activities between 2024 and 2028. In its ‘development phase’ bid the Council outlined a variety of projects which could be undertaken, and which will be subject to further development prior to submitting a delivery phase application, including: Celebrating Airdrie’s contribution to culture, literature and sport (for example, in the development of football, public libraries and the revival of the Scots language) Improving the Public Observatory at Airdrie Library, providing a ‘whole sky’ viewing platform Establishing a ‘Made in Airdrie’ brand, connecting with the town’s weaving past and supporting local makers to grow their businesses Repurposing historic buildings to establish new business hubs for the creative sector and for women in enterprise. 2.17 The council has also submitted a bid to NLHF for up to £3.49m in funding towards the redevelopment of Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life, comprising £90,000 ‘development phase’ funding and £3.4m at ‘delivery phase’. This funding will support community engagement (to develop the final proposals), with the development phase bid identifying establishing a new miners’ village (extending the collection and providing opportunities for social enterprises and SMEs to trade) and miners’ welfare hall (which will become a health and wellbeing hub for local groups) as key potential interventions. 2.18 Other match funders for the estimated £6.45m project have been identified and further bids will be taken forward, subject to NLHF award. A decision on the development phase bid is expected in June 2023. Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme 2.19 The Scottish Government’s Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme (VDLIP) provides funding to bring long-term vacant and derelict land sites back into productive use. 2.20 Following review of North Lanarkshire’s Vacant and Derelict Land Register and engagement with landowners, the council has identified three prospective projects for VDLIP located in Cumbernauld (to develop new wetland area, addressing flooding issues at Cumbernauld Village), Glenboig (to provide community greenspace) and in Wishaw (to enable the development of a social housing site). 2.21 These projects will be further developed, including through further feasibility work where required, prior to VDLIP Stage 1 deadline in June 2023. As with the Scottish Government’s Regeneration Capital Grant Fund (which NLC will also be preparing bids for this year), the VDLIP is a two-stage process. Both funds have broadly similar timescales, with decisions on Stage 1 bids expected in late summer, with deadlines for Stage 2 bids expected to be in mid-autumn with funding decisions to be announced next winter. Page 88 of 147
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Vacant and Derelict Land Fund 2.22 In February, Committee was advised of the Council’s allocation of £1.841m from the Scottish Government’s Vacant and Derelict Land Fund (VDLF) during 2023/24, subject to its approval of a Local Delivery Plan (LDP), and approved the submission of NLC’s LDP for three identified projects: Feasibility studies (including ground investigation works) to support the potential future development of vacant and derelict sites by Fusion Assets Further enabling works at Condor Park (at Eurocentral) to support the first phase of industrial development of the site Further enabling works at Ravenscraig Business Park to support the first phase of industrial development of the site 2.23 Committee was advised that a further update on the allocation of VDLF funding to each of these projects would be provided. Please be advised that the Council’s LDP for 2023/24 allocates VDLF funding as follows: £40,000 for feasibility studies £420,000 for Condor Park enabling works £1,381,000 for Ravenscraig Business Park enabling works. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The primary measure of success arising from the work and updates outlined in this report is to maximise external funding for investment in the regeneration of North Lanarkshire and its places. 4. Supporting documentation n/a Pamela Humphries Chief Officer (Place) Page 89 of 147
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 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? The funding programmes outlined in this report are very much focused on promoting inclusive growth and a fairer Scotland and will do so by: Delivering physical regeneration projects that will improve the local environment and tackle problems which continue to constrain community regeneration Creating infrastructure that will help improve health and well-being and provide North Lanarkshire’s most disadvantaged communities with new leisure, learning and economic opportunity, and Ensuring that our place-based investments are shaped by the needs and aspirations of all of our local communities. Consideration will also be given to equalities issues as part of the bids and projects developed in response to the identified funding opportunities whilst the council will also work closely with ALEOs, partners and third-party organisations involved in the delivery of these to ensure that equality considerations remain core throughout. Delivery of support to strengthen local communities, support local businesses and support people to increase their employability and skills through the UKSPF. 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 Financial Solutions? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Any external funding applications are prepared in liaison with Financial Solutions, particularly where any match funding is required. 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 and Organisational Development? 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 ☒ Page 90 of 147
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If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic Solutions? 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 Work is underway with Legal Services to complete a DPIA for the UKSPF Investment Plan 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 ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The UKSPF contains interventions which seek to improve connectivity for community organisation, support digital transformation for businesses and to delivery digital skills. Where the impact identifies a requirement for technology, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) 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? Success in securing GGA, LUF, VDLF and other funding can enable environmental improvement. Subject to funding, the GGA project will provide a flagship low carbon project for North Lanarkshire. 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? The Council’s success in securing external funding for priority regeneration projects is promoted and coordinated by Corporate Communications. Page 91 of 147
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Strict guidelines are in place for the promotion of funding through the UKCRF and UKSPF. 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? External funding programmes do bring a measure of risk to the council particularly in relation to potential budget overspend for projects and/or the requirement to repay funds due to failure to deliver projects properly (a risk which is increased where delivery is through a third party). To help reduce and mitigate risk, a full risk assessment is undertaken for all funding programmes and/or externally funded projects as part of the council’s project management process and where complex/high risk projects are being developed or delivered, risk workshops will be set up to ensure all service and partner risks are identified. 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. Page 92 of 147
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref SL/PH Date 12/05/23 Strategic Performance Framework - latest performance results for Place From Pamela Humphries, Chief Officer (Place) E-mail HumphriesP@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 280710 Executive Summary Following the structural realignments in the One Place One Plan - Governance update report approved at Policy and Strategy Committee in December 2022, a single Place based service was created that aims to strengthen place based operations across North Lanarkshire and focus on creating local conditions that support inclusive and green growth and enable people to thrive. This realignment brought together a range of place related services in order to further focus efforts on the physical and economic regeneration of North Lanarkshire and create new opportunities that benefit all residents and help reduce poverty and disadvantage. Activity within the realigned Place service therefore comprises the following - Planning, Enterprise, Growth, New Supply, City Deal and Enterprise Projects, and Infrastructure and Transportation. A range of performance indicators are in place within the Place service to assess efficiency and effectiveness in terms of local regeneration, service delivery, and case management on a day to day basis. A suite of statutory indicators also enables performance to be assessed and compared nationally. In this respect Strategic Performance Framework reports in relation to Place are also considered by the Planning Committee and the Housing Committee in line with the terms of reference set out in the Scheme of Administration. The Place service monitors performance in various ways, including subject matter specific review meetings as well as regular management and Board meeting discussions. These meetings make use of the evidence provided by the performance results to inform discussions around the best use of resources, to decide priorities in this respect, and to highlight areas requiring improvement. For strategic overview and scrutiny purposes, this report provides Members of the Enterprise and Fair Work Committee with an update of the latest results for the suite of performance indicators within Place that fall within the remit of this committee. AGENDA ITEM 10 Page 93 of 147
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Recommendations It is recommended that the Enterprise and Fair Work Committee: (1) Review the high-level performance overview presented in Appendix 1, and the supporting data contained within the linked Excel spreadsheet, and identify where further information is required to understand or investigate performance further. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement All ambition statements Page 94 of 147
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1. Background 1.1 There are six inter-related strategic frameworks which are key to assessing the success of The Plan for North Lanarkshire and monitoring delivery towards achieving the overall vision by ensuring each stage is appropriately planned, guided, implemented, and governed. 1.2 The six frameworks focus on ensuring a corporate one council approach in respect of Policy, Governance, Performance, Self-Evaluation, Project Management, and Demonstrating Improved Outcomes for Communities. 1.3 The Strategic Performance Framework comprises performance measurement at three levels (as per the diagram on the right). This aims to collectively provide an overview of performance to help understand the impact of council activities on improving services and outcomes for the people and communities of North Lanarkshire. The measures in this Framework allow for day to day activities, and progress towards achieving the long- term vision set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire, to be regularly monitored, reported, assessed, and scrutinised. 1.4 The Strategic Performance Framework is aligned to the Accounts Commission statutory direction which places a requirement on councils to report a range of information in terms of (1) improving local services and outcomes, and (2) demonstrating Best Value. Key points of note in this respect are that the Accounts Commission also expect to see: (a) A balance in reporting areas of improvement that have been achieved and not achieved. (b) Reporting that is undertaken in a timely manner. (c) Easy access to performance information for all citizens and communities. 1.5 A Performance Reporting Schedule supports the timely submission of a range of performance information that facilitates Elected Members and senior management to undertake regular performance reviews that inform scrutiny, challenge, and decision making processes. This Schedule, endorsed by the Audit and Scrutiny Panel in February 2023, includes Chief Officer’s individual six monthly Performance Reviews at Service Committees in line with the Strategic Performance Framework. 1.6 This report therefore presents the Enterprise and Fair Work Committee with the latest performance results for Place for Members’ further review and scrutiny. 2. Strategic Performance Framework Enterprise and Fair Work Committee responsibilities 2.1 In line with the terms of reference outlined in the Scheme of Administration, the Enterprise and Fair Work Committee is responsible for monitoring and reviewing performance information for the following Ambition Statements from The Plan for North Lanarkshire: 1. Ensure a housing mix that supports social inclusion and economic growth. 2. Refocus our town centres and communities to be multi-functional connected places which maximise social, economic, and environmental opportunities. Page 95 of 147
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3. Maximise the use of our marketable land and assets through improved development in business and industrial infrastructure. 4. Market and promote North Lanarkshire as the place to live, learn, work, invest, and visit. 5. Grow and improve the sustainability and diversity of North Lanarkshire’s economy. 2.2 The high-level performance overview in Appendix 1 presents Members with a summary of the latest results for each performance indicator within the remit of the Chief Officer (Place). 2.3 The information in Appendix 1 comprises the following: • An ideal direction arrow - this indicates whether a higher or lower figure is the preferred direction of travel. • Measurement unit - for example whether the result is a %, a number, a unit cost (in £), or a ratio. • Performance results for the last four financial years (depending on availability of data) along with the latest year’s target and corresponding RAG status (for indicators where it is appropriate to set targets). • The most recent monthly or quarterly results, along with the corresponding target and RAG status. Note the inclusion of this information is dependent on the measurement frequency of the indicator and availability of data as at the time of reporting. • A trend graph - this captures the direction of travel achieved over the four financial years and includes the most recent monthly or quarterly results where available. • Comments - narrative summarising the current position and providing an explanation for any significant variations in performance. Where applicable, this narrative also highlights the effect of the pandemic on service delivery, e.g. any increase or decrease in the volume of transactions or enquiries processed. 2.4 A large volume of data supports the high-level performance overview in Appendix 1. This is outlined in the latest performance results for Place - economic regeneration and growth Excel spreadsheet which is available through the following link for Members to carry out a deep dive and review and scrutinise each performance indicator further. The Menu on the second tab of the spreadsheet contains built in hyperlinks that automatically take the user to a tab for each performance indicator and therefore provides a useful navigation aid to review the contents of the file. • Latest performance results for Place - economic regeneration and growth.xlsx Current context 2.5 As well as meeting its statutory planning responsibilities, the Place service delivers the council’s physical regeneration and infrastructure projects and strives to attract new investment and employment to North Lanarkshire. The UK’s exit from the European Union, the pandemic, the Russia/Ukraine conflict (including significant increases in the price of oil, gas and many other natural resources) - followed by inflationary pressures and the cost of living crisis - have had a significant impact on service provision and the A higher figure is better A lower figure is better Key to RAG status Performance is on target and/or within acceptable thresholds Performance does not meet target and is outwith acceptable thresholds Performance surpasses the target and exceeds expectations Page 96 of 147
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delivery of projects and the capital programme in line with original plans and timescales. Supply chain pressures (availability and costs) are expected to continue, and economic forecasters generally do not expect inflation to return to lower levels in the near future. Current pressures are resulting in increasing prices, delays and/or non-availability of certain items and there is no indication these pressures will disappear in the short-term. The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019, and the recently adopted National Planning Framework 4, also bring new challenges for the Place service, principally for the Planning service but also potentially impacting on the delivery of council projects which will need to meet the new requirements. During the pandemic the council played a key role in delivering a range of short-term actions and activity (including the administration of a range of grant schemes, advisory services, and employability and business support programmes) to support businesses and people at risk of becoming unemployed or economically inactive. While continuing to provide support to businesses to help local businesses access available funding and survive the immediate impacts of the pandemic, the council (working with partners) is now striving to support economic recovery in the medium to longer term - within the added context of an increasingly competitive employment market which adds to the challenge. This support aims to not only help businesses to survive, but enable existing businesses to adapt and grow, attract new business growth, and create a more resilient and inclusive economic base for the future. Recent performance highlights 2.6 The number of new businesses per 10,000 population in North Lanarkshire supported by Business Gateway activity remains above national and family group averages. This level of performance is encouraging in the aftermath of the pandemic as it is also reflected in the council’s measure which shows that 579 new businesses were supported through financial and non-financial assistance (through both council funded and Business Gateway activity) in 2021/22. New business formation is a good indicator of how helpful the council is in enabling entrepreneurship in the business environment. The long-term impacts of the pandemic in terms of survival rates for businesses surviving for at least five years does not yet show a decrease in the number of businesses surviving, the impact to date appears to be more on the creation of new enterprises. Development work is underway to further enhance recording, monitoring, and reporting of the extent of the council’s business support and engagement; new indicators in this respect will be introduced into Strategic Performance Framework reporting for 2024/25. The Economic Regeneration Delivery Plan (ERDP) seeks to co-ordinate and maximise the economic impact of the council’s place-based investment in housing, town centres, infrastructure and industrial developments. In addition to the direct benefits that these programmes bring to local communities, the council’s investment also provides construction employment opportunities, which, for the period 2019/20 - 2021/22 is estimated at 1,040 jobs as a result of ERDP related investment. Areas of performance requiring improvement 2.7 Town vacancy rates remains higher than the national and family group averages. However, this is a short-term measure that can only be impacted upon by long-term activities and the council already has in place a large-scale transformation programme Page 97 of 147
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for North Lanarkshire’s town centres, including, for example, ambitious plans to re- develop Cumbernauld town centre. The most recent update in this respect was reported through the ERDP performance framework annual progress report in August 2022. The ERDP aims to create vibrant mixed-use towns where people live, work, shop, eat, and access local services. As such, recognition needs to be given to the fact that vacancies may temporarily increase where vacant possession of redundant retail centres or land assembly is required to enable transformative change. Next steps 2.8 As noted in paragraph 1.5, the Strategic Performance Framework is supported by a Performance Reporting Schedule. This sets out the arrangements for service, statutory, and Strategic Performance Framework reporting to committee. In this respect the relevant Committee can expect to receive the following in respect of Place areas of work during 2023/24. Report Description Committee Committee cycle Planning performance framework This report updates on the Scottish Government’s feedback on the performance of the planning and place service for the latest year based on the Planning Performance Framework (PPF) submitted each year. Planning Committee Cycle 1 in 2024 Economic Regeneration Delivery Plan (ERDP) Performance Framework The ERDP Performance Framework was approved by Committee in February 2021. This comprises a group of performance indicators at three levels. These indicators aim to collectively provide an overview of how the North Lanarkshire economy is performing as well as help to understand the impact that the delivery of the ERDP is having on improving economic opportunities and outcomes for all. Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Cycle 3 in 2023 Fusion Assets Fusion Assets is a wholly owned subsidiary of the council. It focuses on delivering physical economic regeneration projects across North Lanarkshire and in particular industrial development - a market where there is currently limited speculative development. Unlike more traditional council owned property companies, Fusion Assets is more similar to an urban regeneration company whose role is focused on the redevelopment of vacant and derelict land and brownfield sites rather than commercial property management. Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Cycles 2 and 4 in 2023 New supply programme update on progress This report aims to provide an update regarding progress with the delivery of the new supply programme which aims to deliver 5,000 new homes by 2035. Housing Committee Cycle 4 in 2023 3. Measures of success 3.1 Measures of success include: • Regular oversight and monitoring of performance across the organisation to gain Page 98 of 147
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assurances in terms of governance and accountability. • Regular review and challenge processes to scrutinise the performance of the council to ensure effective use of resources and that resources are directed in accordance with agreed policy and according to priorities, while ensuring sound decision making and clear accountability for the use of resources in achieving improved outcomes for service users and the local community. • Performance monitoring, management, and reporting arrangements that support the demonstration of improved performance in local services and outcomes, and the delivery of Best Value. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 - High-level performance overview Pamela Humphries Chief Officer (Place) Page 99 of 147
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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 ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 100 of 147
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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? 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? Managing and monitoring service performance supports the ongoing monitoring of the service’s risk register. 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. Page 101 of 147
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Appendix 1 Place High-level performance overview - as at March 2023 Note, the figures for vacant and derelict land, kilometres of active travel routes, and estimated jobs created are cumulative and therefore the 2021/22 figures in the table below refer to the period from 2019/20 to 2021/22. Page 102 of 147
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-North Lanarkshire Council Report Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref SL/JON Date 12/05/23 Strategic Performance Framework - latest performance results for Employability From Janie O’Neill, Chief Officer (Education, South) E-mail ONeillJa@northlan.gov.uk Telephone Executive Summary With the Strategic Performance Framework being stood back up in accordance with Council and service recovery plans, this report continues the arrangements implemented across service committees in 2019 and 2020 in terms of reporting performance in line with the Strategic Performance Framework. It reaffirms the responsibilities of the Enterprise & Fair Work Committee in this respect and sets out the latest performance results for Employability related performance measures. Trends from previous years performance results are presented to enable an assessment of the impact of the pandemic on the delivery of council services over time. Latest results, based on available information at the time of reporting, are also included to provide as live a picture of performance as possible. Members will recall as one of five inter-related corporate frameworks - which are key to assessing the success of The Plan for North Lanarkshire and monitoring delivery of the Programme of Work (while ensuring each stage of delivery towards achieving the overall ambitions is appropriately planned, guided, implemented, and governed) - the Strategic Performance Framework enables progress against strategic priorities and day to day operations to be regularly reported to service committees. This allows Elected Members to monitor, assess, and scrutinise performance to identify areas requiring improvement and inform future decision making. Recommendations It is recommended that the Enterprise and Fair Work Committee: (1) Review the high-level performance overview presented in Appendix 1, and the supporting data contained within the linked Excel spreadsheet, and identify where further information is required to understand or investigate performance further. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement All ambition statements AGENDA ITEM 11 Page 105 of 147
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1. Background 1.1 There are six inter-related strategic frameworks which are key to assessing the success of The Plan for North Lanarkshire and monitoring delivery towards achieving the overall vision by ensuring each stage is appropriately planned, guided, implemented, and governed. 1.2 The six frameworks focus on ensuring a corporate one council approach in respect of Policy, Governance, Performance, Self- Evaluation, Project Management, and Demonstrating Improved Outcomes for Communities. 1.3 The Strategic Performance Framework comprises performance measurement at three levels (as per the diagram on the right). This aims to collectively provide an overview of performance to help understand the impact of Council activities on improving services and outcomes for the people and communities of North Lanarkshire. The measures in this Framework allow for day to day activities, and progress towards achieving the long-term vision set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire, to be regularly monitored, reported, assessed, and scrutinised. 1.4 The Strategic Performance Framework is aligned to the Accounts Commission statutory direction which places a requirement on councils to report a range of information in terms of (1) improving local services and outcomes, and (2) demonstrating Best Value. Key points of note in this respect are that the Accounts Commission also expect to see: (a) A balance in reporting areas of improvement that have been achieved and not achieved. (b) Reporting that is undertaken in a timely manner. (c) Easy access to performance information for all citizens and communities. 1.5 A Performance Reporting Schedule supports the timely submission of a range of performance information that facilitates Elected Members and senior management to undertake regular performance reviews that inform scrutiny, challenge, and decision making processes. This Schedule, endorsed by the Audit and Scrutiny Panel in February 2023, includes Chief Officer’s individual six monthly Performance Reviews at Service Committees in line with the Strategic Performance Framework. 1.6 This report therefore presents the Enterprise and Fair Work Committee with the latest performance results for a range of Employability measures for Members’ further review and scrutiny. 2. Strategic Performance Framework Enterprise and Fair Work Committee responsibilities 2.1 In line with the terms of reference outlined in the Scheme of Administration, the Enterprise and Fair Work Committee is responsible for monitoring and reviewing performance information for the following Ambition Statements from The Plan for North Lanarkshire: 5. Grow and improve the sustainability and diversity of North Lanarkshire’s economy. Page 106 of 147
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6. Raise attainment and skills for learning, life, and work to enhance opportunities and choices. 2.2 The high-level performance overview in Appendix 1 presents Members with a summary of the latest results for each performance indicator within the remit of the Chief Officer (Education, South) relating to a range of Employability measures. 2.3 The information in Appendix 1 comprises the following: • An ideal direction arrow - this indicates whether a higher or lower figure is the preferred direction of travel. • Measurement unit - for example whether the result is a %, a number, a unit cost (in £), or a ratio. • Performance results for the last four financial years (depending on availability of data) along with the latest year’s target and corresponding RAG status (for indicators where it is appropriate to set targets). • The most recent monthly or quarterly results, along with the corresponding target and RAG status. Note the inclusion of this information is dependent on the measurement frequency of the indicator and availability of data as at the time of reporting. • A trend graph - this captures the direction of travel achieved over the four financial years and includes the most recent monthly or quarterly results where available. • Comments - narrative summarising the current position and providing an explanation for any significant variations in performance. Where applicable, this narrative also highlights the effect of the pandemic on service delivery, e.g. any increase or decrease in the volume of transactions or enquiries processed. 2.4 A large volume of data supports the high-level performance overview in Appendix 1. This is outlined in the latest performance results for Employability Excel spreadsheet which is available through the following link for Members to carry out a deep dive and review and scrutinise each performance indicator further. The Menu on the second tab of the spreadsheet contains built in hyperlinks that automatically take the user to a tab for each performance indicator and therefore provides a useful navigation aid to review the contents of the file. • Latest performance results for Employability.xlsx Current context 2.5 The labour market in North Lanarkshire has significantly changed in the post pandemic period with several positive trends emerging. These include low unemployment, increases in average pay and sustained levels of participation in the labour market for young people. The key challenge that has emerged in the wake of the pandemic is the increase in economic inactivity, particularly in the numbers classified as long-term sick in North Lanarkshire which has risen from 16,500 in March 2020 to 28,400 in September 2022. A combination of these factors has also led to some local employers and sectors finding it difficult to recruit and retain employees. Also within the context of employability is the challenge of persuading unemployed and economically inactive residents that they can be better off in work and the current cost of living crisis has A higher figure is better A lower figure is better Key to RAG status Performance is on target and/or within acceptable thresholds Performance does not meet target and is outwith acceptable thresholds Performance surpasses the target and exceeds expectations Page 107 of 147
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intensified that challenge. Therefore, the existing cross service work with the Tackling Poverty team and other services will continue to be integral to the work of the employability team. 2.6 North Lanarkshire Council funded employability programmes have always been adept at aligning any sources of external funding available to Council plans and strategies and to increase their scale and reach. The current external funding environment has been considerably bolstered in recent years by additional resources from the Scottish Government to support their No One Left Behind policy and Young Person’s Guarantee in order to alleviate the impact of the pandemic restrictions on the labour market. These sources have been used alongside the long term support the Council has gained from the European Social Fund. The external funding environment is now changing with the end of EU funding and the introduction of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. In parallel to this change, there is the introduction by the Scottish Government of significant funding in 2023/24 for local employability services to support parents into employment will create further opportunities. Therefore, work is underway to finalise contracts with current external funders and integrate and align new sources of funding into Council priorities and plans. For 2021/22 it is likely that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic affected the choices made by some young people with some impact on school leaver destinations resulting from the effect of alternative approaches to certification of SQA qualifications since 2020. In addition, school leaders have highlighted increased non-attendance and mental health issues as a result of the pandemic having an impact on post-school destinations. Whilst there was a percentage drop of 0.3% on previous year, a significantly higher number of young people left school and entered a positive destination. The percentage of young people entering Higher Education was above the national average, with Further Education and employment both higher than the previous year. Notwithstanding this, 130 young people left school and entered the negative destination of ‘unemployed and seeking employment’. Recent performance highlights 2.7 With respect to the numbers of unemployed residents accessing Council support these have grown in tandem with the increased external funding that was available in recent times. All Council funded programmes are targeted at people who are not only unemployed, but who have additional barriers to getting a job. Alongside this the numbers supported into employment have been high with the conversion from engagement to job entry remaining consistent, despite the fast-changing labour market. Most importantly, the percentage of people supported into employment that have sustained employment is 70% or over. This performance has consistently benchmarked North Lanarkshire Council programmes of support above the national and family group of similar councils. 2.8 In terms of the work to close the disability employment gap in North Lanarkshire, the Supported Employment team continued to work with over 200 disabled people every year using their person-centred model of support, with consistently higher rates of employment sustainability at 6 months after job entry than mainstream programmes. In recent years the team have expanded their work in the supporting the transition from school of young people who have additional support needs or who are care experienced, into long term work placements leading to employment. An example of this is the new Sunnyside Café based at the Volvo Trucks site in Newhouse Industrial Estate which offers work experience and training to these young people. Page 108 of 147
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2.9 In 2021/22, our nationally recognised Pathways Programme supported 145 S4-6 young people with multiple barriers to learning (including school non-attenders, care experience young people, young people with additional support needs and those living in areas of highest socio-economic deprivation) – those most at risk of entering a negative post-school destination. Of the 145, 134 are in a positive post school destination or remain in continued support. 54 are in employment with a further 39 in further education or training. Areas of performance requiring improvement 2.10 Together with the continued delivery of large-scale employability support to all unemployed and underemployed residents there is some evidence to suggest that programmes which are more targeted on thematic groups can be more effective, based on work undertaken with Routes to Work Ltd in the last 12 months. Therefore, within employability programmes funded by the Council there will be increased targeting of specific groups where employment levels or engagement with mainstream programmes is not reflective of their representation in our communities. Alongside this, an increased focus on supporting parents into employment or into better paid work will be undertaken as part of the drive to reduce child poverty. 2.11 Clearly the current demand for labour for some sectors and employers will not be met without additional measures. Therefore, new programmes to address the sharp increase in economic inactivity are planned for implementation, using a model piloted by Routes to Work Ltd in 2022 along with the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The aim of these is to draw economically inactive residents into or to return to the labour market. Next steps 2.12 As noted in paragraph 1.5, the Strategic Performance Framework is supported by a Performance Reporting Schedule. This sets out the arrangements for service, statutory, and Strategic Performance Framework reporting to committee. In this respect the relevant Committee can expect to receive the following in respect of Employability areas of work during 2023/24. Report Description Committee Committee cycle Routes to Work Routes to Work, established in 2002, is a company limited by guarantee with charitable status which is wholly owned by the council. The organisation provides a range of free employability services to North Lanarkshire residents and specialises in providing case worker support to unemployed residents as well as support with accessing vocational training and the short-term costs associated with moving from benefits to employment, such as childcare and travel. Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Cycles 2 and 4 in 2023 3. Measures of success 3.1 Measures of success include: • Regular oversight and monitoring of performance across the organisation to gain assurances in terms of governance and accountability. Page 109 of 147
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• Regular review and challenge processes to scrutinise the performance of the council to ensure effective use of resources and that resources are directed in accordance with agreed policy and according to priorities, while ensuring sound decision making and clear accountability for the use of resources in achieving improved outcomes for service users and the local community. • Performance monitoring, management, and reporting arrangements that support the demonstration of improved performance in local services and outcomes, and the delivery of Best Value. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 - High-level performance overview - Employability Chief Officer (Education, South) Page 110 of 147
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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 ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 111 of 147
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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? 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? Managing and monitoring service performance supports the ongoing monitoring of the service’s risk register. 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. Page 112 of 147
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Appendix 1 Employability High-level performance overview - as at March 2023 Page 113 of 147
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref JO’N/PK Date 12/05/23 Routes to Work Ltd – Performance & Finance Report From Janie O’Neill, Chief Officer (Education -South) E-mail oneillja@northlan.gov.uk Telephone Executive Summary Routes to Work Ltd.’s performance was previously considered by the former ALEOs and External Bodies Monitoring Sub Committee. Following changes to North Lanarkshire Council’s Scheme of Administration, responsibility for oversight of service delivery by arm’s length bodies now rests with the relevant service committee. The functions delivered by Routes to Work on behalf of the Council fall within the Terms of Reference of the Enterprise and Fair Work Committee and a performance report is submitted in line with the Strategic Performance Framework considered by members in November 2019. This report outlines Routes to Work Ltd.’s performance against its charitable objectives and Council priorities for Q2 2021/22 to Q3 2022/23. This report also provides commentary in respect of the charity’s governance arrangements to provide assurance that Council obligations are being satisfied. The financial performance of Routes to Work Ltd. for Q2 2021/22 to Q3 2022/23 and overall financial standing is also included within this report. Future reports will be submitted on a 6 monthly basis to committee. Recommendations It is recommended that Committee: (1) Note Routes to Work operational performance and finance for Q2 2021/22 to Q3 2022/23, along with wider achievements during that period. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Ambition statement (11) Increase economic opportunities for adults by understanding, identifying, and addressing the causes of poverty and deprivation and barriers to financial inclusion AGENDA ITEM 12 Page 115 of 147
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1. Background 1.1 Routes to Work, established in 2002, is a company limited by guarantee with charitable status which is owned by North Lanarkshire Council. The organisation provides a range of free employability services to North Lanarkshire residents and specialises in providing case worker support to unemployed residents as well as support with accessing vocational training and the short-term costs associated with moving from benefits to employment, such as childcare and travel. They also provide in-work support for up to 6 months for those participants that require it. 1.2 In 2017 the company amended its Memorandum and Articles of Association to extend its area of operation into other local authority areas thereby enabling Routes to Work to bid to deliver national employability programmes in these areas. This is intended to support the long-term sustainability of the company. While joint delivery of the Council’s EU funded programme has been and is currently the major source of income for Routes to Work, in the past the organisation has delivered a wide range of other programmes on behalf of the Council or in conjunction with the Council’s Employability team. 1.3 Routes to Work’s Board of Directors consists of up to ten members – two are Category A members appointed by North Lanarkshire Council (one an elected member, and one a senior Council officer) and up to eight Category B directors, who bring specialist expertise to the company and are selected through a formal nominations procedure. The Board currently has 7 independent directors with interests and/or experience in local community development and engagement, lifelong learning and skills, business development and support, HR and Law. The Board of Directors has responsibility for ensuring that Routes to Work’s services are delivered in accordance with approved Service Level Agreements and charitable objectives and meets quarterly to fulfil these duties. Council funded activities delivered by Routes to Work are also aligned to The Plan for North Lanarkshire and Council Programme of Work areas. 1.4 Finally, Routes to Work were comprehensively reviewed in 2019 with the outcomes from the review considered by the Policy and Strategy Committee at its meeting in September 2019, where it was noted that the charity is performing well and delivering on its key objectives. The options appraisal confirmed that retaining Routes to Work as an arm’s length provider remained the best option for the council. In addition to contractual performance monitoring by this committee, the Audit and Scrutiny Panel is responsible for ensuring the effectiveness of each entity’s governance arrangements, including financial governance. The Policy and Strategy Committee retains responsibility for considering the outputs from reviews by the council into its arm’s length delivery arrangements, including recommendations in relation to Best Value and potential future delivery options. 2. Report Operational Performance Q2 2021/22 to Q3 2022/23 2.1 The operational performance overview for employability initiatives delivered by Routes to Work in the reporting period are attached at Appendix 1. The following points are service delivery highlights which are not included within the performance measures. Page 116 of 147
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Service Delivery Highlights 2.2 Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) – Social Value Framework Routes To Work became an organisational member of Social Value UK, which will give their staff valuable resources and opportunities to learn about social value evaluation and continuously improve the impact they have on the world around us. As part of their ambition to create a social value evaluation framework, they established a strategic partnership with the University of the West of Scotland through their Knowledge Transfer Partnership. With guidance from a multidisciplinary team of nine Academics from the Schools of Business & Creative Industries and Health & Life Sciences, they are working on embedding social value throughout their organisation's decisions and services. In the upcoming months, the forecast evaluation will be submitted for assurance from SVI. With the framework of data collection and stakeholder engagement completed as part of their initial social value analysis, RTW will conduct evaluative analyses of its SROI on an annual basis, with a view to consultancy and/or creation of a digital product. 2.3 New Programmes During the reporting period the company designed and implemented two new programmes. These programmes had minimal lead in time and were expected to be fully operational at short notice. These were: Community Renewal Fund Airdrie Central Community Engagement Project - This project was funded from the UK Government to prepare for the introduction of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The project began in February 2022 and delivered a place- based engagement service to people who are unemployed, economically inactive or in insecure or unstable work who reside in Ward 9 – Airdrie Central. The project supported the local community through piloting a new approach of concentrated and intense engagement, pre-employability and personal development activities, on their doorstep. The project demonstrated innovative practice and was aligned with the Community Renewal Fund Investment Priority of ‘supporting people into employment.’ The project ended on 31st December 2022. Tailored Training Programme – This programme was funded by the Council through its Local Employability Partnership No One Left behind Phase 2 grant funds from the Scottish Government. The programme began in April 2022 and was aimed at providing a vocational / industry training and brokerage package to residents who faced redundancy or had been made redundant. In addition to this the programme also delivers a personalised case management option to allow participants to access support to overcome barriers in relation to identifying and accessing training. Further support is provided to enable participants to secure Fair Work. The programme will continue beyond the reporting period until 30th June 2023. 2.4 Activities with Schools Routes to Work Ltd continues to support in the delivery of the Pathways Programme led by Education & Families and the company has also been carrying out a range of support to 11 North Lanarkshire secondary schools, supporting young people to access vocational certified training and employability skills training. This training is designed to engage the young people on their first steps to their employability pathway focused on the next steps to achieve a successful future with 80 young people achieving a recognised SQA or industry specific qualification. Page 117 of 147
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2.5 Hybrid Working The Company recognises the importance of helping employees to balance their work and home lives by offering flexible working arrangements and have introduced a Hybrid working policy from November 2022, on a trial basis. It will be reviewed in the second half of the operational year 2023 – 2024. The aims of this policy are to increase the rate of retention, reduce absence, attract new talent, promote work-life balance and reduce stress and travel costs. In supporting employees with providing flexible working this will also improve the Company’s efficiency, productivity and competitiveness. 2.6 NHS Demonstrator Programme The company piloted a partnership programme with NHS Lanarkshire and North Lanarkshire Council Employability Team to provide long term unemployed residents access to a 6-month paid work placement within various NHS roles. The result was that 16 long term unemployed residents commenced a placement with 5 securing permanent employment with the NHS, 3 undertaking temporary roles with the NHS, 1 securing employment out with the NHS and a further 2 awaiting outcomes of interviews to secure an NHS permanent post. Therefore, the programme is on track to achieve 73% positive outcome rate. Financial Performance Q2 2021/22 to Q3 2022/23 Public Accountability Obligations 2.7 To satisfy the Council’s duty to ensure the organisation delivering employment and training services on its behalf is financially sound, the Council’s Section 95 Officer maintains appropriate and proportionate processes and procedures for scrutinising Routes to Work’s financial performance. 2.8 The Council’s Legal Agreements with Routes to Work specify the financial information which must be submitted to the Council including an annual business plan, quarterly management accounts, audited financial statements etc. to enable Financial Solutions to assess and report any financial risk likely to arise as a result of the Council using Routes to Work to deliver these services. 2.9 The Council expends revenue resources annually with Routes to Work to deliver services which assist the Council in achieving its priority outcomes therefore has a duty to ensure this money is being properly used to deliver both the Council’s and Routes to Work objectives. 2.10 Financial Outturn to 31st March 2022 The Financial outturn to 31 March 2022, per the Annual Accounts and approved at the AGM on 9 November 2022, reports a break-even position which is a favourable movement of £0.043m against budget. There was a significant impact on income against budget due to COVID19 which was offset by corresponding underspends in expenditure. Further details on the Financial Outturn to 31 March 2022 is outlined in Appendix 2. For financial year 2022/23, the Council approved revenue spend equating to £4.099m. This represents 96% of the organisations budgeted income of £4.249m with the balance of income of £0.150m being primarily generated through other trading activities. Page 118 of 147
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Forecast Financial Performance to 31 March 2023 2.11 The outturn to 31 March is projected to be on budget at an operational deficit of £0.111m. A detailed comparison of projected outturn to the 2022/23 Budget are provided in Appendix 2. Balance Sheet at 31 December 2022 2.12 Key balances are set out in Appendix 4 to provide members with an update on the overall financial standing of the company, as at 31 December 2022, along with the comparator figures as at 31 March 2022. The acid test ratio which is the ratio of liquid assets to liabilities is 2.90 to 1 which indicated that the company has positive liquidity. However, there are some concerns regarding cash balances as noted in section 2.13 below. Projected Cash flow to 30th June 2023 2.13 The cashflow for the year projected at 31st December 2022 to 30th June 2023 is attached per Appendix 5. However, this position excludes the traditional advance payment from NLC against core activity. Clarification is being sought with regards to funding for 2023/24 as cashflow projections beyond June 2023 are currently unavailable. Cash balances for the reported period vary from a high of £0.672m to a low of £0.062m throughout the year. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Routes to Work Ltd. continue to provide an effective employability service on behalf of the Council to support unemployed and underemployed residents of North Lanarkshire. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 Routes to Work – Q2 2021/22 to Q3 2022/23 Operational Performance 4.2 Appendices 2 - 5 Routes to Work – Q2 2021/22 to Q3 2022/23 Financial Performance Janie O’Neill Chief Officer for Education (South) Page 119 of 147
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 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? The activities of Routes to Work Ltd are aimed at improving economic outcomes for residents of North Lanarkshire and play a role in reducing inequality. 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? The financial performance of Routes to Work is closely monitored by the council’s Section 95 Officer and the financial performance as detailed above, along with other key financial information presented in the report. 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 ☐ No ☐ Page 120 of 147
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Yes 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 ☒ 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? 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? Routes to Work maintain a detailed risk register which is presented to each Board meeting. In terms of the Council, the risk of Routes to Work and the wider employability programmes being deemed non-compliant with external funders is present. 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. Within all Council employability programmes veterans are immediately eligible for support alongside other priority groups. Page 121 of 147
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APPENDIX 1 Routes to Work – 2021/22 Q2 – Q4 Operational Performance Employability Programme Indicator Target Outcome/Purpose 2021/22 Q2 – Q4 Target 2021/22 Q2 – Q4 Actual Blue Red Amber Green Comments North Lanarkshire’s Working Employability Pipeline (European Social Fund) The number of job entries Job entries secured 622 502 R This is the Council’s main EU funded employability programme which from September 2018 became an all-age programme. This programme also supports the Education and Families Pathways Programme. Sustainment in Employment In work 26 weeks after starting employment 70% 76% B Employability Fund (Skills Development Scotland Starts Engaged on programme 60 59 A The contract was awarded by SDS for coverage across 2 Local Authority areas. Most Training Providers closed their operations for many months due to Covid, therefore training was extremely limited, this affected the full delivery of the contract. Qualifications Accredited qualification 41 28 R Job Starts Entered employment – 4 weeks 42 45 B Sustainment Sustained in work at 26 weeks 44 35 R No one Left Behind (NOLB) Number of starts Engaged on programme 146 143 A This funding from Scottish Government. Delivery is available to enhance support to specific groups and this service is for people aged 50+, the BAME community and people with a mental health issue. Number of Job Entries Job Entries secured 77 65 R 26-week sustainment Jobs sustained at 26 weeks 76% 81% B Number of starts Engaged on programme 97 53 R Page 122 of 147
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Parental Employment Support Fund Number of Job Entries Job Entries secured 39 71 B Funding from the Scottish Government to support employed and underemployed parents who may be at risk of poverty. 26-week sustainment Jobs sustained at 26 weeks 70% 73% G Young Persons Guarantee Programme (YPG) Achieved qualification Accredited qualification 162 105 R Funding from the Scottish Government to protect young people aged 16 -24 years from the economic impact of COVID -19 by offering them the opportunity of a job, apprenticeship, further or higher education, training programme or volunteering. Targeting particularly excluded groups of 16-24 yr olds. Entered FE/HE/Training Moved into full time education or training programme 30 13 R Job entries (including MA’s) Job entries secured 257 174 R Commenced Volunteering Moved onto a volunteering programme 15 0 R Sustainment Post destination sustained at 26 weeks 70% 80% B Routes to Work – 2022/23 Q1 – Q3 Operational Performance Employability Programme Indicator Target Outcome/Purpose 2022/23 Q1 – Q3 Target 2022/23 Q1 – Q3 Actual Blue Red Amber Green Comments North Lanarkshire’s Working Employability Pipeline (European Social Fund) The number of job entries Job entries secured 663 470 R This is the Council’s main EU funded employability programme which from September 2018 became an all-age programme. This programme also supports the Education and Families Pathways Programme to September 2022. Sustainment in Employment In work 26 weeks after starting employment 70% 68% A Employability Fund (Skills Qualifications Accredited qualification 12 5 R The contract was awarded by SDS for coverage across 2 Local Authority areas. Most Training Page 123 of 147
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Development Scotland Job Starts Entered employment – 4 weeks 9 13 B Providers closed their operations for many months due to Covid, therefore training was extremely limited, this affected the full delivery of the contract. Sustainment Sustained in work at 26 weeks 9 26 B No one Left Behind (NOLB) Number of starts Engaged on programme 115 85 R This funding from Scottish Government. Delivery is available to enhance support to specific groups and this service is for people aged 50+, the BAME community and people a mental health issue. Number of Job Entries Job Entries secured 47 56 B 26-week sustainment Jobs sustained at 26 weeks 76% 71% R Parental Employment Support Fund Number of starts Engaged on programme 81 85 B Funding from the Scottish Government to support employed and underemployed parents who may be at risk of poverty. Number of Job Entries Job Entries secured 56 56 G 26-week sustainment Jobs sustained at 26 weeks 70% 69% A Young Persons Guarantee Programme (YPG) Achieved qualification Accredited qualification 54 79 B Funding from the Scottish Government to protect young people aged 16 -24 years from the economic impact of COVID -19 by offering them the opportunity of a job, apprenticeship, further or higher education, training programme or volunteering. Targeting particularly excluded groups of 16-24 yr olds. This programme also supports the Education and Families Pathways Programme from October 2022. Entered FE/HE/Training Moved into full time education or training programme 6 8 B Job entries (including MA’s) Job entries secured 113 121 B Commenced Volunteering Moved onto a volunteering programme 3 0 R Sustainment Post destination sustained at 26 weeks 70% 75% B Community Renewal Fund Registration Engaged on programme 156 201 B Funding from the UK Government to help local areas prepare for the introduction of the UK Shared Page 124 of 147
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Achieved Qualification Accredited qualification 47 46 A Prosperity Fund. The aim was to support project proposals that align with long-term strategic plans for local growth, target people most in need and support community renewal. Entered FE/HE/Training Moved into full time education or training programme 16 14 R Job Searching Engaged in job searching activities 12 38 B Life Skills Improved life skills 49 65 B Engaging with benefit system Accessing benefits 5 1 R Job Entries Job entries secured 24 49 B Tailored Training Solutions (NOLB Grant Funding Programme) Registration Engaged on programme 48 22 R Funded from Scottish Government the North Lanarkshire Employability Grant Programme aims to support unemployed people to move towards and into work. It is a new initiative which recognises that to help local people to develop the skills and confidence employers are looking for we all need to work together at a local level to provide the best possible services to those who need them most Qualifications Accredited qualification 38 10 R Job Starts Entered employment – 4 weeks 32 1 R Key: - B - Blue (above threshold) ≥5% of target G - Green (within threshold and on target) = to or + 5% of target A - Amber (within threshold but below target) R - Red (below threshold) ≤ 5% of target Page 125 of 147
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Appendix 2 Routes to Work Limited Outturn to 31 March 2022 Income & expenditure 2021/22 2021/22 2021/22 Commentary Revised Annual Budget - COVID Outturn to 31 March 2021 Revised Budget vrs Outturn £'000 £'000 £'000 Income from NLC ESF Pipeline 2,764 2,296 468 No one left behind 153 164 (11) Prospects for Parents 103 125 (22) National Training Transition Fund (NTTF) 52 41 11 Youth Enhanced Care Worker 625 369 256 CRF 0 68 (68) 0 0 0 Total Income from NLC 3,697 3,063 634 Skills Development Scotland 149 145 4 DWP Kickstart 225 365 (140) Development Income 24 16 8 Other Income 371 281 90 Total Incoming Resources 4,466 3,870 596 There was an under-recovery in income due to the continuing impact of COVID19 coupled with delays in start dates for new projects. Under-recovery was offset by corresponding underspends within expenditure. Expenditure: Charitable Activities (4,509) (3,870) (639) Total Resources Expended (4,509) (3,870) (639) The underspend in expenditure was due to the continuing impact of COVID19 and delays in start dates for new projects.This was predominantly offset by a corresponding under-recovery in income. Operational surplus / (deficit) (43) 0 (43) Page 126 of 147
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Appendix 3 Routes to Work Limited Projected Outturn to 31 March 2023 Income & expenditure 2022/23 2022/23 Year to date 2022/23 2022/23 Commentary Variance Budget vrs Projected Outturn Budget Budget Actual Variance Projected Outturn to 31 March 2023 Variance Budget vrs Projected Outturn £'000 £ £ £ £'000 £'000 Income from NLC ESF Pipeline 2,886 2,139 1,837 (302) 2,886 0 No one left behind 188 141 126 (15) 188 0 Prospects for Parents 208 153 126 (27) 208 0 Youth Enhanced Care Worker 407 300 275 (25) 407 0 CRF 291 291 338 47 291 0 TTS 119 88 36 (52) 119 0 Total Income from NLC 4,099 3,112 2,738 (374) 4,099 0 Skills Development Scotland 14 14 21 7 14 0 DWP - Kickstart 60 60 56 (4) 60 0 Development Income 12 9 5 (5) 12 0 Other Income 64 47 54 7 64 0 Total Incoming Resources 4,249 3,242 2,874 (368) 4,249 0 Expenditure: Charitable Activities (4,360) (3,324) (2,890) 433 (4,360) 0 Total Resources Expended (4,360) (3,324) (2,890) 433 (4,360) 0 Operational surplus / (deficit) (111) (81) (16) 65 (111) 0 Page 127 of 147
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Appendix 4 Routes to Work Limited Overall Financial Standing - Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2022 Balances/ Indicator 31 March 2022 31 December 2022 Variance Commentary £ £ £ Fixed Assets 4,566 933 3,633 Net Book Value of ICT equipment has reduced since 31st March 2022 due to end of life of assets. Current Assets: Trade Debtors 63,087 11,573 51,514 Movement in trade debtors due to improvements in payment processes. Prepayments 486,492 522,803 (36,311) Movement is a result of increased grant claims. Bank / Cash 870,693 1,046,788 (176,095) Increase largely attributed to receipt of ESF grant funding in advance from NLC. This is matched by an increase in current liabilities below. 1,420,272 1,581,165 (157,259) Current Liabilities: Creditors inc. Advanced payments, VAT & other taxes (371,930) (545,681) 173,751 Increase within creditors balances as a result of the ESF advanced payment from NLC reflected by an increased bank/cash balance above. (371,930) (545,681) 173,751 Defined scheme pensions liabilities 16,000 16,000 0 FRS102 actuarial valuation Net Asset / (Liabilities) 1,068,908 1,052,416 16,492 Financed by Reserves:- Designated Reserves 350,380 325,457 24,923 Reduction in reserves is due to the utilisation of the following funds: Future Development, Knowledge Transfer Partnership ,Office Dilapidations and Strategic Growth. Unrestricted funds 803,308 704,547 98,761 Decrease is offset by a correlating increase in restricted funds Unrestricted Pension Fund 16,000 16,000 0 Restricted Funds (100,780) 6,413 (107,193) Increase is offset by a correlating decrease in unrestricted funds Total Reserves 1,068,908 1,052,416 16,492 Page 128 of 147
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Jul-22 Aug-22 Sep-22 Oct-22 Nov-22 Dec-22 Jan-23 Feb-23 Mar-23 Apr-23 May-23 Jun-23 £860,476 £1,225,991 £1,008,020 £852,682 £1,258,552 £960,767 £671,700 £566,208 £487,337 £475,237 £390,166 £61,566 Page 129 of 147
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref PH/SH/KY Date 12/05/23 Fusion Assets Limited – Performance Monitoring Report to 31 March 2023 and Financial Performance 2022/23 From Pamela Humphries, Chief Officer (Place) E-mail HumphriesP@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 280710 Executive Summary This report provides details of the operational performance of Fusion Assets Ltd. (Fusion Assets) during 2022/23 (up to 31st March 2023), outlines a range of economic outputs and outcomes being delivered through this Arm’s Length Organisation (ALEO) and details key highlights achieved during 2022/23. The report also details the financial performance of Fusion Assets between April 1st 2022 and December 31st 2022, their overall current financial standing and future financial projections and the planned revisions to Articles of Association. Recommendations The Enterprise and Fair Work Committee is requested to: 1) Note the content of this report and the operational targets set for Fusion Assets during 2022/23 and performance against these to 31st March 2023 (as outlined in Appendix 1); 2) Note the financial performance of Fusion Assets (April 1st 2022 to December 31st 2022), their overall current financial standing and future financial projections as detailed in 2.3 onwards; 3) Endorse the key highlights achieved during 2022/23. 4) Note the work underway to review the existing company Articles of Association and agree that a further report, detailing the proposed changes to the Articles and seeking council consideration and approval of these will be submitted to this Committee in due course. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Ambition statement (3) Maximise the use of our marketable land and assets through improved development in business and industrial infrastructure AGENDA ITEM 13 Page 131 of 147
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1. Background 1.1. Fusion Assets is a wholly owned subsidiary of the council. It focuses on delivering physical economic regeneration projects across North Lanarkshire and in particular industrial development – a market where there is currently limited speculative development. Unlike more traditional council owned property companies, Fusion Assets is more similar to an urban regeneration company whose role is focused on the redevelopment of vacant and derelict land and brownfield sites rather than commercial property management. 1.2. It should be noted that Fusion Assets does not receive an on-going or recurring management fee from the council for the delivery of services but rather uses grant funding from the council’s annual Vacant & Derelict Land Fund (VDLF) allocation from the Scottish Government as enabling investment for the acquisition and redevelopment of vacant and derelict land sites. In taking this forward, Fusion Assets has developed a unique and innovative development model where the value of acquired/remediated land sites, together with other loan funding and Fusion’s reserves, is used as equity to set up joint venture partnerships with the private sector that will fund and manage the commercial redevelopment of sites for industrial use. Once industrial units are complete and let/partially let, unless restricted by the terms and conditions of any grant funding, this asset is sold to a private sector investor with returns used to pay off loan funding and re-invested in future regeneration projects. 1.3. Fusion Assets’ operational and financial performance was previously considered by the former ALEOs and External Bodies Monitoring Sub Committee. Following changes to the council’s Scheme of Administration, responsibility for oversight of service delivery by arm’s length bodies now rests with the relevant service committee. The functions delivered by Fusion Assets on behalf of the council fall within the Terms of Reference of the Enterprise and Fair Work Committee. 1.4. In addition to performance monitoring by service committees, the Audit and Scrutiny Panel holds responsibility for ensuring the effectiveness of the administrative and financial governance of all of the council’s ALEOs (including Fusion Assets) whilst the Policy and Strategy Committee retains responsibility for considering the outputs from reviews by the council into its arm’s length delivery arrangements, including recommendations in relation to Best Value and potential future delivery options. 2. Report Operational Performance Indicators 2.1 Fusion Assets’ 2022/23 annual targets and performance indicators are shown in Appendix 1. These indicators have been developed to show this company’s contribution to North Lanarkshire’s wider economy as well as the council’s strategic priorities. 2.2 Appendix 1 also details the external funding leverage secured by this company in relation to completed industrial developments. Financial Performance Indicators Financial Performance 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 2.3 The company’s audited annual accounts to 31 March 2022 reports a projected net surplus of £0.510m. This has moved slightly from what was provisionally reported in Page 132 of 147
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November 2022. In respect of the underlying operational performance, this was a net surplus of £0.063m, which is a favourable variance of £0.213m on a net operating expenditure budget of £0.153m. Accounting adjustments resulted in additional £0.450m surplus, primarily due to impacts of updated land valuations. A summary is provided at Appendix 2 along with previous year comparator outturn position. Overall Financial Standing as of 31 December 2022 2.4 Appendix 4 gives an update on the overall financial standing of the company, as of 31st December 2022, together with further information and previous year’s comparator figures. As can be seen, a healthy current asset to liability ratio of 2.04 is reported which gives assurance the company has sufficient resources to meet its commitments. Financial Performance 1 April 2022 to 31 December 2022 2.5 The company has approved a 2022/23 operating budget with projected net operating cost of £0.135m, which is a decrease of £0.017m on the 2021/22 budget. This is primarily due to projected increased income of £0.026m partly offset by increased expenditure of £0.009m. For 2022-23 the company has been successful in securing VDLF funding via the council of £1.938m. 2.6 Based on their financial statements to 31 December 2022, Fusion Assets is currently projecting a minor underspend of £0.007m against budget. A summary is provided at Appendix 4 along with previous year comparator outturn position. 2.7 Reflecting the regeneration and project-based nature of Fusion Assets, the company’s project (capital) development expenditure is monitored cumulatively with spend on all projects fully tracked back to each project’s inception. The summary financial position of the projects is outlined in table 1 below. Table 1 – Capital development expenditure Budget Actual Projection Variance (Budget v Projection) £ £ £ £ Expenditure (VDLF & Non VDLF) (19,142,930) (17,893,474) (19,443,221) (300,292) Income (VDLF & Non VDLF) 23,631,295 17,517,817 24,324,483 693,188 Net (Cost)/Surplus 4,488,365 (375,657) 4,881,261 392,896 2.8 As outlined above, cumulative expenditure of £19.143m has been approved by Fusion Asset’s board, which will be met from budgeted income of £23.631m, a combination of VDLF grant, Regeneration Capital Grant funding, anticipated capital receipts and Fusion Assets own resources. An overall surplus of £4.881m is currently projected. These are estimates reflecting current valuations of land transfers and receipts from onward sales, which may fluctuate, impacting the surplus projected. 2.9 As of 31 December 2022, net surpluses of £0.393m are reported, with a projected £1.550m of expenditure still to be incurred on pre-development and building works. Further receipts of £6.807m are still anticipated, mainly from the onward sale of developments and VDLF funding. Page 133 of 147
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2.10 Members are reminded the total development investment of the current portfolio is in the order of £46m, which predominantly rests with the joint venture companies and excludes some £10m of predevelopment works funded through VDLF grants. Fusion Assets’ share of total development costs will be in the order of £8m and will consist of a mixture of land, cash contributions and recycled receipts. Cash Flow Forecast to December 2024 2.11 Fusion Assets requires effective cash management to support its development programme therefore the cash position is closely monitored, with the cash balance as at 31 December 2022 totalling £2.466m. The cash flow forecast to December 2024 is shown in Appendix 5. Based on estimated expenditure and receipts the forecast demonstrates there is sufficient funding available to carry out the proposed development programme. The lowest cash balance is forecast at £2.150m in February 2023, with the balance reaching a high of £3.556m in May 2023. Financial impact 2.12 Fusion Assets does not receive an on-going or recurring management fee from the council for the delivery of services but rather uses grant funding from the council’s Vacant & Derelict Land Fund (VDLF) allocation as enabling investment for the acquisition and redevelopment of vacant and derelict land sites. 2.13 The council did, however, award Fusion Assets £1.388m through the 2021/22 VDLF Programme and a further £1.938m through the 2022/23 Programme for a variety of industrial development projects. Key Achievements & Highlights (22/23 Q3 & 4) 2.14 During 2022/23 Fusion Assets carried out a sustainability review of its activities and adopted a new ESG (Environmental Social and Governance) Policy to reduce its carbon footprint and transition to a net zero operational model. As a demonstration of its commitment to embed sustainability principles within its regeneration activities, Fusion Assets has appointed Muir Construction to build a new flagship Net Zero development at Newhouse. 2.15 The 16,000 sq ft speculative industrial building will incorporate a community benefits programme during construction and feature a wide range of energy saving measures to make it net zero carbon enabled during operation. The new building is expected to be completed and available to let by the end of 2023. Its development is being financed through a mixture of grants from the Scottish Government’s Vacant and Derelict Land Fund and recycled receipts from the sale of the new Co-Op Facility on adjacent land which has been completed under a development agreement between Fusion Assets and Tulchan /Newlands. 2.16 Following the acquisition of a further nine acres of land at Gartcosh Industrial Park, Fusion Assets appointed Advance Construction to undertake a programme of enabling works including a new access road, platforming and site servicing. The works are scheduled for completion by the end of March 2023 which means the site could accommodate a further 102,000 sqft of industrial and commercial floorspace which equates to approximately 200 FTE jobs. Also at Gartcosh, a second industrial unit is now under offer with a target date of entry targeted of 31st March 2023. This means that there is only one unit remaining under the first phase of development built by Gartcosh Estates LLP (a joint venture between Fusion Assets and J Smart & Co). Page 134 of 147
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Planned Revisions to Articles of Association 2.17 As the incorporation governance document, Fusion Assets’ Articles of Association outline the purpose of the company, the rights and responsibilities of its members and directors and the way in which the company must operate as a whole. 2.18 The existing Articles of Association were approved in June 2008 when, following the withdrawal of Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire, Fusion Assets was restructured as a wholly owned subsidiary company of North Lanarkshire Council with responsibility for promoting industrial and commercial regeneration and encouraging economic development in areas of established market failure where there is little speculative development by the private sector. 2.19 As sole shareholder the council is responsible for appointing Directors to serve on Fusion Assets’ Board of Directors and the Articles of Association make provision for up to eight directors comprising five Council directors (Partner Directors) and up to three Co-opted Directors drawn from the private sector who bring expertise, skills and business specialisms to the company. 2.20 The Partner Director roles comprise three elected members and the positions of Chief Officer (Financial) and Chief Officer (Place). 2.21 The existing Articles of Association stipulate that the quorum for meetings of Fusion Assets’ Board of Directors is four Partner Directors – the Co-opted Directors are not included in constituting the quorum. This requirement, which is not reflected in existing or former arm’s length service delivery arrangements where the council is sole shareholder, has on occasion resulted in Fusion Assets’ Board meetings being inquorate with business deferred. 2.22 In response the Board of Directors agreed at their meeting on 24 November 2022 to review the Articles of Association to address the limitations imposed by the current quorum clause and also to conduct a wider review and update of the Articles to ensure that they remain robust, fit for purpose and reflect the increasing and enabling role of digital technology to support virtual and hybrid meetings. 2.23 This review activity is currently underway, in conjunction with the council’s Legal and Democratic Service and it is anticipated that a further report detailing the proposed changes to the Articles and seeking council consideration and approval of these will be submitted to this Committee at its meeting on 1 September 2023. 3 Measures of success 3.1 Fusion Assets’ measures of success are reflected in the level of physical regeneration works which they deliver together with economic outcomes achieved from investment made. For 2022/23 this includes: • the acquisition, remediation and improvement of Phase 3 and 4 of Gartcosh Business Interchange (3.67ha) which has been completed; • the acquisition of Plot 1 at Ravenscraig Industrial Park (circa. 2 ha) - planning permission has been received and the site acquisition is in legals; and • the procurement of a Joint Venture Partnership to take forward the redevelopment of Condor Park, Eurocentral – legals are agreed and the deal is subject to funding. Page 135 of 147
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4 Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1: Fusion Assets Ltd - 2022/23 Operational Performance Measures, Targets and Outcomes 4.2 Appendix 2: Fusion Assets Ltd - Financial Performance as at 31st March 2022 4.3 Appendix 3: Fusion Assets Ltd - Overall Financial Standing as at 31st Dec 2022 4.4 Appendix 4: Fusion Assets Ltd - Financial Performance as at 31st Dec 2022 4.5 Appendix 5: Fusion Assets Ltd - Cashflow Forecast as at 31st Dec 2022 Pamela Humphries Chief Officer (Place) Page 136 of 147
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 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? 5.1.1 Promoting inclusive growth sits at the heart of the council’s Ambition Programme. Fusion Assets will contribute towards this goal through the delivery of activity that supports the council to meet its Fairer Scotland Duty and address socio-economic disadvantage by: • promoting and enabling investment that will create and improve access to new and better employment opportunity; and • working as part of North Lanarkshire’s ERDP Business &Industry Group to ensure effective linkage between economic opportunity, skills and work-force development. 5.1.2 Fusion Assets also aim to ensure that any potential adverse equalities impacts as a result of policy and/or plans developed are minimised or negated where possible. 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 Financial Solutions? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Fusion Assets does not receive an on-going or recurring management fee from the council for the delivery of services but rather uses grant funding from the council’s Vacant & Derelict Land Fund (VDLF) allocation as enabling investment for the acquisition and redevelopment of vacant and derelict land sites. The council did, however, award Fusion Assets £1.4M through the 2021/22 VDLF Programme and a further £1.938M through the 2022/23 Programme for a variety of industrial development projects. 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 and Organisational Development? 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)? Page 137 of 147
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Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic Solutions? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Legal and Democratic Services provide Fusion Assets with third party Vacant & Derelict Land Fund grant agreements. Legal and Democratic are also liaising with Fusion Assets and the company’s solicitors to revise and update the Articles of Association for consideration by the council. 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 ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for technology, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) 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 ☐ The environmental impact of any projects progressed by Fusion Assets has/will be assessed as part of the business case process. 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? 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? Fusion Assets’ risk register review has been uploaded to the council’s Fig Tree Risk Register and is reviewed annually. Page 138 of 147
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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. Page 139 of 147
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Appendix 1 Fusion Assets Ltd - 2022/23 Operational Performance Measures, Targets and Outcomes Area of Activity Performance Indicator 2022/23 Target Outcome Outcome Achieved Comments Cumulative Total (Since 2011) Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Support development of strategic investment sites, Enterprise Areas and industrial parks Number of infrastructure works to support strategic industrial sites 2 1 The infrastructure works on Gartcosh Phase 3 & 4 was completed at the end of March 2023. Planning approval for the first phase of infrastructure works at Ravenscraig Plot 1 has been obtained, but site needs to be acquired before works contract can be let – currently in legals and subject to Fusion Assets Board Approval. 9 Area of Activity Performance Indicator 2022/23 Businesses Accommodated by Site as at 31 March 2023 Comments Cumulative Total (Since 2011) Support businesses in expansion and development Number of new gross businesses re-located T A R G E T Dundyvan Enterprise Park N/A A C T U A L Dundyvan Enterprise Park N/A Dundyvan was sold in early 2018 and Western Campus in October 2019. Businesses accommodated at these sites have not been counted from after the date of sale. Link Park : The 47,500sqft building on Plot A2 is complete and handover scheduled for 31st March 2023. Gartcosh - building 2 under offer with date of entry targeted at 31st March 2023. Building 3 still to be let 13 Western Campus N/A Western Campus N/A 12 Drumpellier N/A Drumpellier N/A 4 Link Park 1 Link Park 1 4 Gartcosh (Phase 1) 2 Gartcosh (Phase 1) 1 2 Total Number of businesses accommodated when properties under ownership of Fusion Assets/Fusion Assets JV. 35 Page 140 of 147
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Area of Activity Performance Indicator 2022/23 Number of Gross Jobs Created by Site as at 31 March 2023 Comments Cumulativ e Total (Since 2011) Enhance the number of direct, indirect and induced jobs Number of new direct gross jobs created (FTE) TARGETS ACTUAL Dundyvan Enterprise Park N/A Dundyvan Enterprise Park N/A Dundyvan sold in 2018 and Western Campus in 2019. Jobs created since date of sale have not been included. New Tenant at Drumpellier has resulted in more jobs 119 Western Campus N/A Western Campus N/A 166 Drumpellier N/A Drumpellier N/A 53 Link Park 50 Link Park TBC New Tenant to confirm 63 Gartcosh (Phase 1) Buildings 2 & 3 80 Gartcosh (Phase 1) Buildings 2 & 3 TBC New Tenant to confirm 25 Total Number of gross jobs created when properties under ownership of Fusion Assets/Fusion Assets JV. 426 Area of Activity Performance Indicator 2022/23 Target Outcome (ha) Actual Outcomes as at 31st March 2023 Comments Cumulativ e Total - ha (Since 2011) Improve the health and wellbeing of our communities Improve brownfield and vacant & derelict land Total of vacant and derelict land improved (ha) 3.18 3.18 Target – Gartcosh Phase 3 & 4 developable land 15.8 Vacant & derelict land sites removed from register Total of vacant and derelict land taken off register (ha) 1.04 1.04 Previous land removed to date includes from Dundyvan Enterprise Park, Western Campus, Link Park (part) and Drumpellier Business Park (part) and Gartcosh Phase 1 (part). Remainder of Gartcosh Plot 1 to be removed from register in 2022/23 4.8 ha V&DL acquired for commercial development V&DL acquired (ha) 2.0 0 Actual site is 2.32 ha under consideration but missives not yet agreed at Ravencraig Plot 1 15.54 Page 141 of 147
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Area of Activity External Funding Leverage by Fusion Assets (Completed Projects) Comments Cumulative Total (Since 2011) Improve North Lanarkshire’s Resource Base Leverage on Council Investment Project Dundyvan Western Campus Gartcosh Phase 1 Drumpellier Link Park – excluded until full development completed / financed Gartcosh Phase 1: Excludes VDLF investment made in Phase 2 as this not currently financed. NLC secured an additional £108,000 capital receipt from SE following Fusion’s purchase of site for Gartcosh Phase 2. NLC received a further £213,000 receipt from SE as a result of Fusion Assets purchase of the Phase 3 & 4 land. Total Total Project Spend £2,985,993 £4,209,915 £5,541,621 £1,646,596 £14,384,125 VDLF £162,917 £748,564 £976,000 £300,000 £2,187,481 NLC N/A £99,351 N/A N/A £99,351 RCGF N/A N/A N/A £1,116,591 £1,116,591 Private Sector £387,750 £631,000 £857,000 £115,000 £1,990,750 Fusion £530,326 £631,000 £524,000 £115,000 £1,800,326 Loan Finance £1,905,000 £2,100,000 £3,184,621 N/A £7,189,621 Ratio of Leverage achieved from NLC investment (including VDLF Funding) 18:1 5:1 6:1 5:1 6:1 Page 142 of 147
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Forecast GVA & Employment Impact of Projects Completed to Date Development Name Construction Spend *1 Construction Jobs (PYE) Construction Impact – GVA (£) *2 Employment By 2030*3 GVA Impact By 2030 *3 Local Economy Value Dundyvan Enterprise Park £2,823,000 18.8 £983,860 312 jobs + 0.5% £37M Western Campus £3,362,000 22.4 £1,172,259 357 jobs + 0.7% £50M Gartcosh Industrial Park Ph 1 (Building 1) £1,310,000 8.7 £455,297 175 jobs + 0.1% £7M Gartcosh Industrial Park Ph1 (Buildings 2 & 3) £3,091,076 20.5 £1,074,318 413 jobs +0.2% £16M Enterprise House, Drumpellier Business Park £1,046,000 7.0 £366,331 65 jobs + 0.02% £2M Link Park, Newhouse (Building 1) £1,100,000 7.3 £382,030 156 jobs + 0.1% £8M TOTAL £9,641,000 72.9 £4,434,095 + 1478 jobs + 1.62% £120M *1 Excludes site acquisition and remediation costs *2 Person Year Equivalent (PYE) construction impacts are reported as gross impacts and as such do not take account of displacement or leakage to the local economy. Source: Scottish Annual Business Statistics 2019 *3 Employment and GVA impacts take in to account direct impacts (changes in employment and GVA as a direct result of these commercial developments), indirect impacts (impacts on supply chains) and induced impacts (household spending as a result of wages earned both via direct and indirect impacts). The uplifts in GVA and employment figures are based on a number of assumptions around the occupancy rates and types of businesses occupying these premises as well as macro-economic factors such as Brexit. The model on which 10 year Employment and GVA forecasts were produced was developed before the Covid-19 global pandemic and therefore may prove optimistic. Source: NLC oxford Economics Model 2019 Page 143 of 147
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Appendix 2 Fusion Assets Limited Financial Performance as at 31st March 2022 Income & expenditure 2020/21 Commentary Budget Final Outturn Variance Final Outturn £ £ £ £ Rental Income 135,342 134,275 (1,068) 94,835 Minor under-recovery in income at Newhouse Building due to lease agreements Bank Interest 1,000 1,537 537 923 Minor increase in interest due to market impacts Investments 0 207,200 207,200 10,000 Receipts from development sale of Newhouse A2 Misc 0 0 0 10,295 Total Income 136,342 343,011 206,669 116,053 Expenditure: Staff costs (173,960) (167,294) 6,666 (105,939) Underspend due to delay in recruitment Board Costs (15,000) (15,000) 0 (15,008) Operating Costs (89,300) (78,608) 10,692 (60,289) Decreased expenditure in project/development costs Running Costs (10,900) (21,837) (10,937) (5,105) Overspend as a result of small P&L write-offs Total Expenditure (289,160) (282,739) 6,421 (186,341) Net Surplus/Deficit (152,818) 60,273 213,090 (70,288) Accounting adjustments: Release of deferred grant income 0 873,049 873,049 699,643 Unrealised gain/(loss) on investment property 0 (5,905) (5,905) 195,225 Impairment 0 (251,185) (251,185) (446,102) Tax provision 0 (165,945) (165,945) (77,885) Increase / (Utilisation) of Reserves (152,818) 510,286 663,104 300,593 2021/22 Page 144 of 147
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Appendix 3 Fusion Assets Overall Financial Standing - Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2022 Balances/ Indicator as at 31 December 2022 as at 31 March 2022 Movement Commentary £'000 £'000 £'000 Fixed Assets: Investments 1,040 990 50 Increased investment in Gartcosh Estates LLP Investment Property 1,995 1,995 0 Newhouse Building 1 3,035 2,985 50 Current Assets: Stocks 3,502 2,884 618 Work in progress Trade Debtors 565 1,351 (786) Debtors, VAT recoverable, deferred taxation, accrued income, prepayments Bank 2,467 2,563 (96) Short-Term Investments 0 0 0 6,533 6,798 (265) Current Liabilities: Other Creditors inc. VAT & other taxes (3,265) (3,333) 69 Deferred income (VDLF), accruals, tax (3,265) (3,333) 69 Net current Assets/(liabilities) 3,268 3,464 (196) Creditors: Amounts falling due over 1 year (2,396) (2,417) 21 Deferred income (Boots) Net Asset / (Liabilities) 3,907 4,032 (125) Current Ratio 2.00 2.04 (0.04) A comparison of current assets, current liabilities and short term loan obligations, gives a net current asset position of £3.268m, and a healthy current ratio of 2.00, which gives assurance the company has sufficient resources to meet its current commitments Page 145 of 147
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Appendix 4 Fusion Assets Limited Financial Performance as at 30th December 2022 Income & expenditure 2021/22 Commentary Annual Budget Projected Outturn Variance Final Outturn £ £ £ £ Rental Income 161,707 158,554 (3,153) 134,275 Bank Interest 700 5,266 4,566 1,537 Investments 0 0 0 207,200 Misc 0 1,565 1,565 0 Total Income 162,407 165,385 2,979 343,011 Expenditure: Staff costs (182,570) (182,570) 0 (167,294) Board Costs (15,000) (15,000) 0 (15,000) Premises Costs (9,250) (9,289) (39) 0 Operating Costs (79,000) (74,522) 4,478 (78,608) Running Costs (12,000) (12,165) (165) (21,837) 0 0 0 0 Total Expenditure (297,820) (293,546) 4,274 (282,739) Net Surplus/Deficit (135,414) (128,161) 7,253 60,273 Accounting adjustments: Release of deferred grant income 0 0 0 873,049 Unrealised gain/(loss) on investment property 0 0 0 (5,905) Impairment 0 0 0 (251,185) Tax provision 0 0 0 (165,945) Increase / (Utilisation) of Reserves (135,414) (128,161) 7,253 510,286 2022/23 Page 146 of 147
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Appendix 5 0.000 0.500 1.000 1.500 2.000 2.500 3.000 3.500 4.000 Jan- 23 Feb- 23 Mar- 23 Apr- 23 May- 23 Jun- 23 Jul-23 Aug- 23 Sep- 23 Oct- 23 Nov- 23 Dec- 23 Jan- 24 Feb- 24 Mar- 24 Apr- 24 May- 24 Jun- 24 Jul-24 Aug- 24 Sep- 24 Oct- 24 Nov- 24 Dec- 24 balance 2.445 2.150 3.044 3.505 3.556 2.987 3.419 2.992 2.988 3.093 3.130 3.106 3.095 3.144 3.061 3.058 3.090 3.085 3.046 3.079 3.069 2.995 3.033 3.022 Forecast Cash Balances to December 2024 Page 147 of 147