Agenda Document Pack - Environment and Climate Change Committee - 29/10/2025
North Lanarkshire Council · 29 October 2025
Back to Environment and Climate Change Committee — 29 October 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Clerk Name: Karen Swan Clerk Telephone: 07919 730272 Clerk Email: committee@northlan.gov.uk 20 October 2025 Members of the Environment and Climate Change Committee Chief Executive’s Office Rachel Blair Chief Officer (Legal & Democratic) Civic Centre, Windmillhill Street, Motherwell ML1 1AB www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk Notice is given that a Meeting of the Environment and Climate Change Committee is to be held in the Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Windmillhill Street, Motherwell, ML1 1AB on Wednesday, 29 October 2025 at 14:00 PM which you are requested to attend. The agenda of business is attached. Des Murray Chief Executive Members : H Loughran, J McPhilemy, T Carragher, P Di Mascio, K Duffy, A Duffy-Lawson, F Fotheringham, W Goldie, K Harmon, J Leckie, F MacGregor, A Masterton, M McBride, B McCulloch, M McCulloch, F McKay, C McManus, J Reddin, L Roarty, G Robinson, A Smith, A Thomas, S Watson, C Williams, N Wilson. Page 1 of 104
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Agenda 1 Declarations of Interest In Terms of the Ethical Standards In Public Life Etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 Operational 2 Sustainable Future - Live Labs 2 Decarbonising Roads 2025 Submit report by Chief Officer (Community Operations) providing an update on work undertaken to develop a Centre of Excellence for Decarbonising Roads. 5 - 18 3 Non-Domestic Energy Efficiency Project Submit report by Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) providing an update of the work undertaken in the current phase of the Non-Domestic Energy Efficiency Project. 19 - 26 4 Sustainable Futures - Climate Resillient Greenspaces Submit report by Chief Officer (Community Operations) providing an overview of projects being undertaken by the Greenspace and Country Park's team to improve the health and wellbeing of communities. 27 - 38 5 Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Update 2025-26 Submit report by Chief Officer (Community Operations) providing an update on progress made on the Glasgow City Region Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure (EVCI) project. 39 - 48 6 Sustainable Futures - Tree Risk Asset Management Update Submit report by Chief Officer (Community Operations) providing an update on the delivery of the Tree Risk Asset Management (TRAM) Strategy. 49 - 64 7 Review of Country Parks Management rules to incorporate Land Reform Scotland Act 2003 Submit report by Chief Officer (Community Operations) outlining advice received regarding incorporating reference to the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 in the Country Parks Management Rules. 65 - 74 Performance Page 3 of 104
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8 Performance Monitoring Report - Strathclyde Partnership for Transport 2023-24 and 2024-25 Submit report by Chief Officer (Place) providing an overview of service delivery and the financial performance of Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) for 2023/24 and 2024/25. 75 - 86 Contracts 9 Contract Award for Purchase of 12 x 26t RCVs Submit report by Chief Officer (Community Operations) homologating action taken to award a Contract for 26t Refuse Collection Vehicles to Faun Zoeller UK Limited. 87 - 96 10 Contract Award for the Purchase of 32 Seat Minibuses Submit report by Chief Officer (Community Operations) homologating action taken to award a Contract for the Purchase of 32 Seat Minibuses to Woodall-Nicholson Limited t/a Mellor Bus Limited. 97 - 104 Page 4 of 104
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Environment and Climate Change Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref LR/SW Date 29/10/25 Sustainable Future - Live Labs 2 Decarbonising Roads 2025 From Lyall Rennie, Chief Officer (Community Operations) E-mail renniely@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07979009151 Executive Summary This report provides Committee with an update on work undertaken to develop a Centre of Excellence for Decarbonising Roads, developing, identifying and sharing best practice for low-carbon material deployment on local roads in North Lanarkshire Council (NLC) and the wider UK as part of the ADEPT Live Labs 2: decarbonising local roads programme. The contents of this reports set out recommendations to ensure the maximisation of carbon reduction, collaboration and communications benefits from the project led by NLC. Recommendations It is recommended that the Environment and Climate Change Committee: (1) Acknowledge the content of the report and the carbon, collaboration and communications work undertaken to date for the Live Labs 2 project; and (2) Acknowledge that officers will continue to promote the use of appropriate low-carbon materials trialled through the Live Labs 2 programme into business-as-usual activities for road maintenance, where appropriate. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve North Lanarkshire's resource base Ambition statement (17) Ensure we keep our environment clean, safe, and attractive Programme of Work Sustainable Futures Item 2 Page 5 of 104
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1. Background 1.1 Live Labs 2 is a three-year, £30million, UK-wide programme funded by the Department for Transport, (DfT), through the Association for Directors of Environment, Planning and Transport, (ADEPT), that will run until March 2026, with a 5-year subsequent monitoring and evaluation period. 1.2 The ADEPT programme consists of seven projects, grouped by four interconnected themes, all being led by local authorities working alongside commercial and academic partners. 1.3 Following the success of the ADEPT SMART Places Live Labs 1 programme and its focus on innovation across local roads, Live Labs 2 concentrates on how to decarbonise local road infrastructure and assets, bringing innovation to a sector that is traditionally risk adverse. 1.4 North Lanarkshire Council, working with Amey Public Services LLP, submitted a bid in November 2023 to develop a Centre of Excellence for the Decarbonising Local Roads (CEDR). Following the submission of an Outline Business Case in April 2023, North Lanarkshire Council (NLC) were awarded £4.56m to be joint lead authority on the CEDR theme, working alongside Transport for West Midlands (TfWM). 1.5 This is an update to the Sustainable Future - Live Labs 2 Decarbonising Local Roads submitted and approved at the Environment & Climate Change Committee on 30 October 2024. 2. Report 2.1 The construction, renewal, adaptation, and maintenance of the UK’s local roads assets make a significant and ongoing contribution to our greenhouse gas emissions, climate change impacts and future resilience. Materials are at the heart of everything we do and embodied carbon in materials represents 40% of the total carbon yield in roads, with additional carbon from scopes 2 and 3 significantly adding to the whole life carbon cost of the materials on our roads. 2.2 Despite rapid advancements in materials and manufacturing, The industry has been slow to adopt new innovations, especially on low caron materials. There are many reasons for this, including restrictions placed on contractors and suppliers by the specifications of long-term contracts. The industry has added to this through uncoordinated trials, and siloed working practises which leads to wasted resources, duplication work and stagnated progress. This dramatically limits value for the taxpayer, and scalability, with individual councils tasked with evaluating unproven methods and balancing upfront investments with payoffs in resilience and de-carbonisation. 2.3 This Live Lab theme consists of two core elements: • Development of a UK Centre of Excellence for materials decarbonisation in local roads, comprising standards, knowledge management, a cloud-based database, global network scanning, and systematic carbon measurement and, • A materials testing programme identifying and trialling the top global innovations on the North Lanarkshire Public Road network. Page 6 of 104
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2.4 In 2023, NLC procured Amey OW Ltd to provide the professional services to coordinate numerous workstreams that achieve the core objectives identified in the Outline Business Case, including: • Identification of leading low-carbon materials for use across the local roads sector, from asphaltic solutions to line-marking; • Live trials of low-carbon materials on the NLC road network to build industry confidence and provide the data required for robust technical, carbon and operational assessments; • Development of a carbon and technical evaluation framework to enable widespread industry adoption of low-carbon materials and determine whole lifecycle carbon savings potential, and; • Address barriers to innovation and decarbonisation in the local roads sector, such as behavioural change, standards and specifications, procurement and siloed working between local authorities. 2.5 Achievements to date on the critical workstreams are outlines below. Communications 2.6 One of the key aims of the project is to develop resources that will provide the opportunity to share knowledge and tools across the UK local roads sector. Raising awareness of the project is a key first stage in achieving this. 2.7 Working with colleagues from the Communications Team within NLC and our Partners, achievements to date include:- • Creation of the CEDR website at decarbonisingroads.co.uk; • Launch of a LinkedIn page with over 1,075 followers, and consistent marketing campaigns ; • Presentations at industry events including Road EXPO Scotland, SCOTS Annual Conference, PIARC World Road Congress, Live Labs 2 EXPO, APSE Highways and Winter Conference, IAT Training days, LCRIG Innovation Expo, Eastern Pavement Forum, NAPA The Road Forward International Summit, Transport Scotland Pavement Forum and LCRIG Strictly Highways; • Press releases on live trials, website launch, funding disbursement, trials and the Knowledge Bank release; • Quarterly newsletters published on the CEDR website; • Attendance at the Scottish Transport Awards as finalists for Excellence in Technology and Innovation; • Winners of the Net Zero category at the Highways UK Excellence Awards, showcasing our unique approach to comparable material testing. Innovation Scanning 2.8 Live Labs funding provides an opportunity to trial the most promising innovative materials in live scenarios, where local authorities would not normally take risk due to limited budgets. This project allows trials of more innovative approaches where there is a higher risk of both success and failures. 2.9 In 2024, two methods were implemented to ensure that CEDR has knowledge of the most relevant innovations available: Page 7 of 104
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• Inclusion of an Innovators area within the CEDR website where suppliers can register details of their products • Employment of Connected Place Catapult (CPC), proven specialists in sourcing and identifying low-carbon innovations from across the globe. 2.10 In 2025 NLC engaged with SafetyTech Accelerator who have successfully completed an additional comprehensive market scanning exercise, identifying over 300 lower technology readiness level (TRL) materials and Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SME’s) with potential to support decarbonisation and innovation in highways infrastructure. Market Scanning 2.11 Materials identified through supplier engagement and / or global scanning have been assessed though an innovation funnel developed for the project. Engineers from NLC and Amey were supported by a partnership network, including material specialists from Transport Scotland, Nottingham University and Aston University; to ensure relevant screening was undertaken and only the most promising innovations were considered for live trials. 2.12 Technical and carbon innovation reviews have been undertaken for pothole materials, road marking, surface treatments, signage, resurfacing materials and footways. These reviews consider a number of key elements including strategic alignment, scalability and adaptation, risk and safety, and value for money. Carbon Baselining 2.13 Development of a carbon baseline for NLC’s Roads and Infrastructure activities undertaken in 2022/23 was required for future benchmarking purposes. Working with the Future Highways Research Group (FHRG), accounting for carbon emissions across Scopes 1,2 and 3 for sites & premises; staff & contractors; vehicles and plant; and purchased products and services, was undertaken in line with the FHRG’s Carbon Calculation and Accounting Standards (CCAS). 2.14 The ongoing partnership with the FHRG has also enabled whole-life carbon profiles to be created for any low carbon materials which are taken to trial. To date, the Carbon team have created profiles for the following materials, employing carbon accounting software such as OneClick LCA and collecting on-site operational carbon data • Pothole repair • Low-carbon signpost materials • Road markings including biogenic thermoplastic, MMA, and water-based paint • Rejuvenators – anti-aging treatment for pavement • Biogenic binders 2.15 Further analysis of North Lanarkshire Council’s Roads and Infrastructure activities will be carried out in 2026, allowing sufficient time to evaluate the most promising innovative materials and techniques. This will enable our term maintenance contractor, Hochtief, the opportunity to integrate successful innovations into their standard operational practices. Further carbon literacy training will be provided to our engineering teams through the resources developed by FHRG and partners. Behavioural Change Page 8 of 104
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2.16 In early 2024, NLC employed Thinks Insight & Strategy to undertake in-depth behavioural research to identify barriers to change and the adoption of low-carbon innovation in local authorities. Further evidence was provided through an FHRG roundtable exercise. Key learnings were that decision makers and engineers are currently focused on (in priority order) cost; effectiveness / longevity; business change required to innovate; and ease of procurement. 2.17 Building on this previous research, NLC engaged Thinks Insight & Strategy in 2025 to conduct ‘on-the-ground’ behavioural change research. Their task is to explore barriers and solutions to implementing low-carbon materials from the perspective of operatives and inspectors. This involves on-site observations and digital ethnographies, with the aim of developing interventions to address challenges in driving behavioural change. 2.18 So far this year, Thinks have completed interviews and on-site visits with NLC and Coventry Council, and they are scheduling interviews with Lincolnshire County Council to obtain data from a range of local authorities. 2.19 CEDR has worked with Connected Places Catapult to develop information and tools, including an international market scanning report; future foresights report on material decarbonisation; and a local-authority industry playbook promoting an increased emphasis on whole lifecycle carbon reduction within the decision-making process. 2.20 A further workstream commenced in April 2025 with SafetyTech on developing Barriers to Decarbonising Roads Sandbox (BDRS) to identify and tackle blockers for suppliers and to further develop industry standards for scaling of successful innovations. BDRS has made significant progress this year; key activities to date have included • SME Selection - Prioritisation based on strategic alignment, preparedness, innovativeness and breadth of barriers (complete); • Mentor Matchmaking - Identification of mentors across the sector including NLC structures and road maintenance officers; • Barrier Exploration - phase for SMEs to discuss and explore barriers with industry mentors; 2.21 The 6-8 week phase of mitigation exploration and identification, including trial planning and feasibility, is now underway, with final recommendations expected in October. 2.22 The six SMEs that have been taking part in the Sandbox include : • PRG Scotland (based in Hamilton) – recycling tyres to derive bitumen and other reusable materials; • Sima - Asphalt additive from a plastic-derived granulation; • Ecopals – Berlin based and have developed modifiers for asphalt from recycled plastic; • Uberbinder – road binder derived from sulphur byproducts as opposed to bitumen. Initial trials in the US are underway, with further trials planned in Spain and then North Lanarkshire; • Biozeroc - 100% cement-free concrete developed at Oxford University; • DMAT – Italian based company, who with Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have developed self-healing concrete. Page 9 of 104
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Knowledge Bank 2.23 The key infrastructure supporting the objectives of CEDR is a Knowledge Bank. The Service has been working in partnership with Transparity and Amey IT to develop a new open-source digital platform that supports local authorities in decarbonising roads by providing them with the tools to share learning and make evidence-based decisions. The platform offers a suite of features including a carbon calculator, a material comparison tool, advanced search, local authority case studies, carbon information, and supplier contact information. The platform is set for its official launch on 15th October 2025 at Highways UK. 2.24 We are currently planning a Phase Two development of the Knowledge Bank, building on valuable initial user feedback gathered during soft launches and early engagement. This next phase will focus on enhancing functionality through AI, refining user experience, and introducing new tools to better support local authorities in their decarbonisation efforts. Live Demonstrators 2.25 Over the lifespan of the project, over £2m has been allocated to undertaking live trials of low carbon materials on the Public Road network within North Lanarkshire. 2.26 The first live trials were carried out last year by Amey LLP and are summarised as follows: 2.26.1 Pothole materials – five different low carbon materials were used for permanent repairs at trial sites on six A, B and C class roads across North Lanarkshire. A standard permanent repair material (hot rolled asphalt) was used as a benchmark. The work was carried out between February and April. Regular inspections are ongoing to monitor condition and performance. One of these new products is now used by Hochtief on the North Lanarkshire network as ‘business as usual’. 2.26.2 Road surface rejuvenator – trials of a surface treatment material were undertaken in May 2024 and May 2025. The manufacturer claims this preventative treatment rejuvenates the bitumen within the asphalt and thereby extends the life of the carriageway. Typical treatment is required at year 7 after the surface has been laid and then again at five year intervals. Cores were taken before and after this treatment has been undertaken and have been assessed by the University of Nottingham. 2.26.3 Push-off insulated asphalt trailer – the vehicle has higher levels of insulation than traditional vehicles used to transport hot materials from quarry to site. In addition the wagon pushes the material from the wagon, improving the consistency of the mix temperature thereby reducing the risk of the formation of cold spots (likely future defects) when laying. 2.26.4 Biogenic (bio-based) binder in asphalt - an asphalt solution that reduces the carbon footprint of road surfacing. The integration of biogenic materials into the bitumen captures and stores CO2, even when recycled, acting as a carbon sink. This asphalt requires less energy to produce, can be laid at lower temperatures for enhanced safety, and may offer an extended lifespan. 2.26.5 Road marking materials – trials of a variety of the latest road marking products, including water based, biogenic thermoplastic and MMA, were undertaken at a number of locations across North Lanarkshire during July and August 2024. Evaluation of their performance is ongoing. Page 10 of 104
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2.27 Hochtief have supported NLC and Amey OW Ltd in delivery of the live demonstrators carried out in 2025 including: 2.27.1 Carriageway resurfacing ‘Supersite’ trial, Scotland’s first of its kind, was successfully completed in early August along a two-kilometre stretch of Hirst Road, Shotts. Designed to compare innovative surfacing materials against traditional materials, The Service engaged with several suppliers including Colas, Holcim, Stabilised Pavement Limited and Miles Macadam. The site was selected for its high HGV traffic, relatively straight and level nature, and exposure to harsh winter conditions, ensuring rigorous real-world testing • The binder course was split into two different in-situ recycling methods. • Due to increased wear, the crossroads just off M8 junction 5 was resurfaced with a hard wearing cementitious grouted macadam. • Four different surface course innovative materials were trialled against a benchmark hot rolled asphalt (HRA) section. • The evaluation phase now continues through to December 2025, incorporating academic research, lab testing, and operational insights. A five-year monitoring period will follow, assessing durability, carbon footprint, and lifecycle costs. Video linked below. 2.27.2 Carbon negative aggregate - Carpark trials were completed in September of a carbon- negative aggregate, designed to reduce the carbon footprint of asphalt. This material permanently sequesters carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, locking it within the aggregate. 2.27.3 Anti-icing additive to asphalt – two footpath resurfacing schemes have been completed using an additive that prevents the formation of ice on the surface, reducing the need for gritting during winter. 2.27.4 Additional rejuvenator and preservative trials – in 2025, further sites of both a rejuvenator and preservative were trialled and are now being considered for implementation into a preventative maintenance regime, extending the life and value for money from road maintenance whilst reducing whole-life carbon. 2.28 Trials still to be carried out before the end of the project in March 2026: • Pothole Phase 2 – learnings from the first pothole trials undertaken earlier in 2024 have been evaluated, with the highest-performing and lowest carbon materials integrated into a pothole treatment matrix within the works management system. This will be piloted in the coming months to enhance existing operational performance data; • Resurfacing with biochar derived from grass cuttings via verge maintenance within the West Sussex and South Gloucestershire Live Lab is due to take place in October. • Plant based materials – trial of reed-based signage material in November 2025. 2.29 Nottingham and Aston Universities, acknowledged as leaders in road materials field, are providing support for these demonstrator trials and also testing / assessment of materials for lifecycle analysis. This provides an additional layer of expertise and confidence in any outputs. Page 11 of 104
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2.30 The Service is collaborating with Hochtief to develop a digital twin of North Lanarkshire Council’s road network using their EDGITAL tool. This innovative approach will enable officers to monitor the performance of materials used in the Live Labs trials, as well as assess the effectiveness of resurfacing works carried out in 2025 through the Council’s capital programme. 2.31 A digital twin provides a powerful means of monitoring road material performance by creating a dynamic, virtual model of the physical network. It allows engineers to track how materials behave and deteriorate over time under real-world conditions, supporting better decision-making around future material choices and maintenance strategies. This leads to improved road durability, enhanced safety, and greater long-term cost efficiency. Partner Network 2.32 NLC and TfWM are operating a one programme, two hub approach to deliver the objectives of the Live Lab. NLC are supported in the North Hub, with TfWM working with Colas in the South Campus. TfWM are simultaneously undertaking a further £2 million of live trials. 2.33 The involvement of a wide range of Partners from across all corners of the local authority roads sector, industry and beyond to harness the best from a network of advisors, industry experts, suppliers, innovators, and academic partners, is critical to the delivery of a project of this scale. 2.34 The key Partners in the North Hub include Transport Scotland, the Scottish Collaboration of Transport Specialists (SCOTS), FHRG, Mineral Products Association (Scotland), Office of the Scottish Road Works Commissioner, Nottingham University, Aston University, National Highways, Thinks Insight, Eastern Pavement Forum, Transparity and Safetytech Accelerator. Overview of Governance Arrangements 2.35 In July 2024, Arup were awarded the five-year contract which will continue beyond the three-year programme, to examine whether programme objectives have been met and to understand the effectiveness and efficiency of each Live Lab and its knowledge sharing with the wider sector. 2.36 Both Arup and the ADEPT Commissioning Board are reviewing progress in all Live Labs regularly to ensure the funding is committed appropriately. 2.37 NLC and TfWM hold monthly Steering Board meetings to review progress, budgets and to provide strategic direction to the programme. 2.38 All Live Labs will be requested to support Arup and ADEPT in any post-project monitoring and evaluation through provision of regular feedback on NLC’s embedding of materials into business-as-usual; any long-term organisational learnings and/or change; any carbon or technical insights from the 5-year monitoring and evaluation period. Benefit Realisation 2.39 The medium-term objective is to transition successfully trialled whole-life lower carbon materials into business as usual wherever possible. Scalability is a factor considered Page 12 of 104
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within the evaluation criteria and the balance between cost versus reward is critical, particularly with the current pressures on resources. 2.40 Therefore while the initial trial results are now being filtered back, further analysis and academic work is required to be undertaken to provide confidence that manufacturer claims are accurate. This relates to both material performance (longevity) and environmental product declarations (EPDs). 2.41 The provision of EPDs is an evolving industry, and the Department for Transport recognise the challenges involved to both suppliers and material purchasers. 2.42 CEDR has been actively exploring options to extend funding beyond March 2026, when the project formally ends. We are currently in discussions with ADEPT, who have expressed interest in a four-nations governance model that would support cross-border collaboration. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The deployment of low-carbon materials across North Lanarkshire roads and the wider UK which furthers the sector’s transition to decarbonisation which in turn will contribute to delivery of the council’s net zero ambition. 3.2 The continued knowledge exchange between North Lanarkshire, other LAs, SMEs and the wider sector to enhance the council’s ability to decarbonise and the accelerate other LAs’ adoption of low-carbon materials. 4. Supporting documentation The following documents support this report: 4.1 Outline Business Case submitted to ADEPT and the Department for Transport: https://www.adeptnet.org.uk/documents/north-lanarkshire-council-live-labs-2- strategic-outline-business-case 4.2 Website for Live Labs 2 programme developed for North Lanarkshire Council and Transport for West Midlands: www.decarbonisingroads.co.uk 4.3 Update blog published by the Project Manager on the ADEPT website: https://www.adeptnet.org.uk/news/live-labs-2-blog-%E2%80%93-update-north- lanarkshire-and-centre-excellence-decarbonising-roads 4.4 Interim behavioural change report commissioned as part of the NLC Live Labs 2 project: https://decarbonisingroads.co.uk/news/behaviour-change-to-fight-climate- change-mapping-the-behavioural-journey-of-material-decarbonisation/ 4.5 Trial protocols published by CEDR: Trial Protocols 4.6 Update blog published on the CEDR website: Rejuvenation and Preservatives 4.7 Carbon baseline reports published on the CEDR website: Carbon Baseline Report 4.8 Future foresights report published by CPC: CPC Future Foresights Page 13 of 104
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4.9 Quarterly newsletters: Q1 Reflection - Quarterly Newsletter 2025, Q2 Reflection - Quarterly Newsletter 2025 4.10 Trial supersite video: https://youtu.be/BEXmBS1Egcg Lyall Rennie Chief Officer (Community Operations) Page 14 of 104
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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 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 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 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 15 of 104
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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? The purpose of this project is to reduce carbon on NLC Roads & Infrastructure activities. 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 Service has ongoing engagement with the Communications Team to ensure all comms are appropriate and to ensure all significant press releases are circulated accordingly. 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 16 of 104
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5.11 Children’s rights and wellbeing impact Does the report contain any information regarding any council activity, service delivery, policy, or plan that has an impact on children and young people up to the age of 18, or on a specific group of these? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact and the provision that has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the relevant Articles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 17 of 104
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Environment and Climate Change Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref JMcK/LS Date 29/10/25 Non-Domestic Energy Efficiency Project From James McKinstry, Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) E-mail McKinstryJ@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 281102 Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to provide Committee with a summary of the work undertaken in the current phase of the Non-Domestic Energy Efficiency Project (NDEE) which was managed by the Climate & Energy Team. With an expectation of savings of £369,480.79, the Monitoring and Evaluation Phase will commence shortly allowing the Team to begin their site selection for the next phase. The report also highlights key dates for the next iteration of the Framework which will be known going forward as Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Framework (SPSHD). Recommendations It is recommended that Environment and Climate Change Committee: (1) Acknowledge the scale of the current phase of the Non-Domestic Energy Efficiency Project in terms of sites and energy conservation measures as well as the Monitoring & Evaluation phase. (2) Acknowledge the timescales of the next iteration of the Framework which will coincide with the Team’s preparation for the next NDEE/SPSHD project. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement (21) Continue to identify and access opportunities to leverage additional resources to support our ambitions Programme of Work Sustainable Futures Item 3 Page 19 of 104
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1. Background 1.1 In January 2017 a paper was brought before the Education Committee by the Head of Resource Solutions introducing the Scottish Government’s new framework, the Non- Domestic Energy Efficiency Framework. 1.2 The Non-Domestic Energy Efficiency (NDEE) Framework was developed by the Scottish Government to support energy efficiency retrofits in public sector buildings. It was created over three years by the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) with support from Mott MacDonald, and input from public bodies. The framework helps public bodies reduce their building related emissions through progression of the installation of energy conservation measures. 1.3 Users of the framework have benefited from grant funding of up to £50,000 in Scottish Government funding to access the support from the Project Support Unit (PSU), delivered by Mott MacDonald to enable additional project support and contract management. 1.4 Projects using the Framework adhere to its project management process: 1.5 There are several benefits realised through the continued use of this framework: • Provides a fast and efficient route to implement energy efficiency improvements. • Maximises staff resources • Projects will be delivered via Energy Performance Contracts with guaranteed savings. • Contractor payments are linked to verified energy savings. Final payments (15%) are withheld until savings are independently validated. • Reduced energy consumption results in avoided utility costs and avoided project management expenses. • Lower energy consumption leads to reduced greenhouse gas emissions, helping the council meet its climate responsibilities. Project Identification & Feasibility Define Goals and Scope Assessment and feasibilitiy studies Confirm funding Procurement & Supplier Selection Select Lot & Sublot from Framework Mini competition or Direct Award Evaluation of tenders Design & Planning Energy audits and retrofit assessments Ensure compliance Installation & Delivery Mobilisation of works Installation of measures Monitor progress Handover & Commissioning Inspection and testing handover of documentation and warranties User training Monitoring & Evaluation Performance monitoring Evaluation of savings and reductions Report outcomes Page 20 of 104
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2. Report 2.1 This report provides an update on the current Non-Domestic Energy Efficiency project (NDEE Project 3) which has progressed to Practical Completion. NDEE Project 3 2.2 The Council’s third NDEE project commenced in July 2023 with the signing of the Investment Grade Proposal which contained the finalised project detail. Twenty-six sites were included in the project due to their comparative consumption to their size. 2.3 Energy Conservation Measures ranged from improvement of software and policies of building energy management systems, ‘quick wins’ such as upgrading of lighting to LED (Light Emitting Diode) Lighting, through to larger scale installations such as solar panels. A complete list of measures is shown below. Building Bms Optimisation + Upgrades Led Lighting Boiler Upgrades Electric Boilers Combined Heat & Power Fridge + Freezer Optimisation Solar Pv Pool Ahu Optimisation Insulation Ac Optimisation Voltage Optimisation Airdrie Leisure Centre x x x Airdrie Library x x x x Braidhurst Hs x x x x Broadwood Stadium x x x x x x Broadwood Leisure x x x x Broadwood College x x x Calderbridge Primary School x x x x Cathedral & Firpark Primary School x x x x x x Chapelside Community Education Centre x x Coltness High School x x x x x Corpus Christi Primary School x x x Dalziel Building x x x Drumpellier Visitor Centre x x x x x x Glenmanor Primary School x x x Hilltop Primary School x x x x x Motherwell Integrated Day Centre x x x x Our Lady’s High School Cumbernauld x x X x x Shawhead Primary School x x x Sir John Mann Centre x x x x St Ambrose High School x x x x x x St Dominic's Primary School x x x x Page 21 of 104
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St Edward's And Tollbrae Primary School x x x x x St Helens Primary School x St Serfs Primary School x x x Summerlee Heritage x x x x Tryst Leisure Centre x x x x x x 2.4 The project value was £3,337,661.82 and is expected to generate an annual financial savings of £369,480.79 via an energy consumption reduction of approximately 2,794,102 kilowatts. This is the detail that will be monitored during the Monitoring and Evaluation phase. It will run for a minimum period of twelve months and will conclude when the savings is realised. Next Steps 2.5 The current Framework ended in 2024; a new one is under development. The Scottish Government have commenced procurement of the Project Support Unit aspect with an expectation that it will be awarded during September 2025. The Framework will be renamed Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Framework (SPSHD) and will be restricted to projects over £1m. It is expected that the contract notice will be published by the end of November. Meanwhile working alongside Repairs & Maintenance Team, the Climate & Energy Team will commence the site identification process, with an initial review of the internal criteria to ensure the Council is targeting its investment to have the greatest impact along with a ‘lessons learned’ exercise. 2.6 The new SPSHD Framework will continue to facilitate the decarbonisation of public buildings by focusing on existing buildings through the retrofitting of: • Building fabric • Building Management Systems • Renewables • District Heat connections 3. Measures of success 3.1 At the completion of the Monitoring and Evaluation phase, the Project will have realised the savings noted within the report. 4. Supporting documentation No supporting documentation. James McKinstry Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) Page 22 of 104
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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 been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Financial impacts are positive and will be tracked via budget monitoring. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts 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 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 23 of 104
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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? The final carbon reduction is expected to be approximately 578 carbon tonnes equivalent. 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? The Project is now complete in terms of delivery and will continue until the savings have been realised or a monetary or other solution is offered by the Contractor. 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 24 of 104
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5.11 Children’s rights and wellbeing impact Does the report contain any information regarding any council activity, service delivery, policy, or plan that has an impact on children and young people up to the age of 18, or on a specific group of these? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact and the provision that has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the relevant Articles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 25 of 104
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Environment and Climate Change Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref LR/VA/HA Date 29/10/25 Sustainable Futures – Climate resilient Greenspaces From Lyall Rennie, Chief Officer (Community Operations) E-mail renniely@northlan.gov.uk 1 Nature Towns & Cities Executive Summary This report provides an overview of the abundance of important projects being undertaken by the Greenspace and Country Park’s team to improve the health and wellbeing of our communities. The examples provided show delivery against our local action plans and strategies, the Sustainable Futures Programme of Work deliverables and they also illustrate the contribution that Greenspace improvements can have locally in tackling the dual climate and biodiversity crises. This report also sets out how through perseverance in applying to limited sources, the team are consistently successful in attracting external funding to support these valuable enhancements to our greenspace assets. Recommendations It is recommended that the Environment and Climate Change Committee: (1) Recognise the impact that delivery of NL Nearer to Nature, our Nature Towns and Cities1 project, will have on addressing inequalities in accessing greenspace in North Lanarkshire. (2) Acknowledge the continued and significant progress being made on delivering on the Sustainable Futures Programme of Work, particularly through developing nature- based adaptations to climate change. (3) Acknowledge the continued success in delivering positive greenspace projects, that bring benefits across many other service drivers including; health, education, active travel and climate change and their link to the delivery of the wider goals of local and national strategies. (4) Recognise that commitment to delivery year on year remains largely dependent on continued success in accessing external funding streams Item 4 Page 27 of 104
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1. Background 1.1 This report provides an overview of how funding secured both internally and externally since the last report to this committee in October 2024 has been used to deliver towards priorities in the Sustainable Futures programme of work and the wider aims of Scottish Government strategies including the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy2. 1.2 The Scottish Government Population Health Framework 2025-20353 sets out the requirement for a renewed and long term focus on prevention across all areas that affect health. The Framework is structured around the 5 Prevention Drivers of Health & Wellbeing, those drivers being the essential building blocks of health. The drivers are interconnected and much of the work of Community Greenspace focuses primarily around two of those five drivers: • Places and Communities – Create healthy and sustainable places by working in and with communities • Enabling Healthy Living – Develop supportive environments that promote health and wellbeing and reduce health harming activities 1.3 Many of our own council led projects described in this report demonstrate our contribution to these drivers. Through our work with the Lanarkshire Green Health Partnership4 we aim to take these two prevention drivers (Places & Communities and Enabling Healthy Living) and align them to green health and greater use of our greenspaces to improve health and wellbeing. The partnership includes NHS Lanarkshire colleagues, North & South Lanarkshire Council Officers, Voluntary Action North Lanarkshire, Sport Scotland, Voluntary Action South Lanarkshire and Clydesdale Community Initiative. 2. Report Countryside Ranger Service 2.1 The Countryside Rangers have once again led a calendar of greenspace diary events seeing many individuals, families and interested groups undertake activities including: invasive species removal, litter picks, looking for bats and badgers during evening walks, building bird boxes and hedgehog houses, creating natural artwork, learning about pollinators and birds of prey and spotting wild mammals by the tracks and signs that they leave behind. These events help us to promote our work to a wide audience and to engage with individuals and groups to aid a greater understanding of the importance of looking after our environment both for now and for the future to help tackle the dual nature and climate crises. 2 Scottish Biodiversity Strategy to 2045: Tackling the Nature Emergency in Scotland 3 Scotland’s Population Health Framework 2025-2035 4 Lanarkshire Green Health Partnership The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve the health and wellbeing of our communities Ambition statement (16) Transform our natural environment to support wellbeing and inward investment and enhance it for current and future generations Programme of Work Sustainable Futures Page 28 of 104
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2.2 The team have also undertaken regular stewardship visits to the 30 priority greenspace sites that are North Lanarkshire’s areas of local importance for wildlife and people, this includes our 9 Local Nature Reserves and some of our sites of importance for nature conservation (SINCs). Site stewardship ensures any maintenance or anti-social behaviour issues are recorded at these sites ensuring a safe environment for users and reducing council liability risk. It also provides reassurance to users and encourages local use of these special places. 2.3 Work has been continuing with regular volunteer groups at Greenhead Moss and Palacerigg Country Park, together with 7 Lochs volunteers, in carrying out practical conservation tasks as well as some path and small bridge construction projects. Figures reported as part of the Greenspace KPI’s show that the equivalent cash value for the 2783 hours spent volunteering would be £27,830 (an 18% rise on the previous year) These volunteers gain huge benefits in mental wellbeing and physical health from being involved in these projects, often they are individuals who have struggled with their mental health and these opportunities provide a chance to reconnect with society and their environment. 2.3 Educational visits across our greenspaces continue to be offered as schools and other educational establishments are welcomed into nature to have a diverse and stimulating outdoor learning environment. We have been working with New College Lanarkshire providing students with experiences such as tree and hedge planting across several of our greenspace sites. We have also supported the Virtual Schools programme through a bird box building event in early 2025. A new programme of activities for a group of young people identified by the Pathways Programme begins in October for 12 weeks. The programme will be based at Drumpellier Country Park and will see the Countryside Ranger Service guiding young people to transform the garden area on site, work includes path improvements, new planting, tree works, and pond improvements with the aim of providing skills that will aid employability and grow the confidence of those taking part. 2.4 The Service was involved in presenting some of our outstanding greenspace projects to Chief Executives and their colleagues from across the country at the SOLACE conference in early September. Leading tours of participants on guided walks showcasing native meadows and other projects including the Bellshill Community Garden, which showcased examples of our work to improve local greenspaces for local communities and wildlife. 2.5 The Countryside Ranger service is continuing to deliver successful Branching Out sessions across our Country Parks. Branching Out is an outdoor therapeutic programme for adults who use mental health services in Scotland. Trained Countryside Rangers lead the group in various activities, including: • conservation activities such as rhododendron clearance and bird box construction • bushcraft such as fire lighting and shelter building and • environmental art such as photography and willow sculptures 2.6 Autumn programmes have recently begun at Drumpellier and Palacerigg Country Parks. 2.7 Testimony from one of the Clinical Support Workers attending with clients from a recent programme stated: Page 29 of 104
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"Our patients experience difficult to manage symptoms and social isolation is common. Branching Out gives people who do not feel able to access community groups the opportunity to build skills and confidence. The Rangers provide a space where participants feel at ease, and sessions boost mood, moral and self-esteem. Attending can often be a lifeline for our patients and they always feel more positive about what they could achieve in the future." 2.8 The following quotes are from those individuals who are attending, showing the profoundly positive impact this group can have on people’s lives: "I find it hard to get up in the morning but today I was up and ready and at the bus stop early as I was so looking forward to coming again." "Attending the group has encouraged me to physically visit shops. I believe it has also helped with my confidence in such a way that I agreed to also join the swimming group, and the conservation group" Nature Restoration Fund 2.9 This funding is received as a part of the Scottish Government’s investment in Scotland’s natural environment, to fund projects that address the biodiversity and climate crisis by putting Scotland's species, woodlands, rivers and seas back on the road to recovery. Nature Restoration projects contribute to an increase in habitat protection, maintenance and creation; delivery against our Local Biodiversity Action Plan (LBAP) and helping us to strengthen our Nature Networks5. They also provide an opportunity to increase people's understanding and awareness of the importance of local biodiversity through working directly with us on projects by getting involved in consultations in their local greenspaces and in volunteering in project delivery, and in the wider context, by interacting with signage and interpretation introduced on sites where improvements have been made. 2.10 In financial year 24/25 a total of £270k was directly allocated to North Lanarkshire and together with an additional £401k allocated to capital projects this financial year, the following projects have been activated: 2.10.1 Places for People and Nature – Wildflower Meadows: This project is working with local and internal partners in the creation of new, native, wild flowering areas in public open spaces, with the aim of delivering optimum management of pollinator habitat and raising awareness of Pollinators and their conservation in North Lanarkshire. Some sites have already been identified with communities, further consultation will be undertaken during the winter months, with meadows being planted in spring 2026. 2.10.2 Bringing Biodiversity to School Grounds: This project aims to develop biodiversity plans for up to 5 schools, to raise awareness and knowledge of biodiversity, and encourage educational opportunities, especially amongst pupils, parents and school staff. The project will promote that school grounds within North Lanarkshire are appropriately managed to conserve and enhance biodiversity. Consultation with schools will take place in winter 2025. 2.10.3 Invasive Non-native Species Eradication – Making Space for our Native Wildlife: 5 A Nature Network is a joined-up system of places important for wild plants and animals, on land and in water. National Planning Framework 4 Page 30 of 104
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This project is building on the back of work undertaken since 2022 mapping the extent of Invasive Non Native Species (INNS) within our important greenspace sites. A contract has now been let to target and control any spread of these species, to enable eradication in the long term. 2.10.4 Places for People and Nature – Connecting Local Nature Reserves: This project will take forward biodiversity improvements in our Local Nature Reserves as a first step in strategically developing and improving Nature Networks in North Lanarkshire. This project is implementing management prescriptions identified in site surveys carried out across sites in 2024 with earlier Nature Restoration Funding. 2.10.5 Reviewing our Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation: A complete review of North Lanarkshire SINCs has not taken place for over 10 years. This first phase of surveys will incorporate 124 current sites within the Glasgow City Region Green Network where opportunities have been identified to enhance and expand on grassland, woodland, and wetland Nature Networks. Surveys are taking place from September 2025 to September 2026. 2.11 This year a further £120k was allocated as revenue budget. This new revenue element of the funding is supporting a National Heritage Lottery Funded (NHLF) project NL Nearer to Nature, which was reported to this committee in August 2025. Further detail on this project can be found at paragraph 2.15. No further funding (capital or revenue) has yet been confirmed by the Scottish Government. Continuation of reduced mowing to benefit Biodiversity 2.12 Working with colleagues in Land and Waste, the six no mow sites that were successful in their first year have been moved onto a 1 cut regime for future maintenance. This enables the areas to flourish during the summer months, supporting native wildlife and important pollinators, and then enhance the natural seed bank through a late cut in early October to enable a successful growth again the following year. More sites have been trialled this year to continue to explore areas where a 1 cut regime may be suitable, we will understand if these have been a success next spring. This project also fulfils actions from the North Lanarkshire Biodiversity Action Plan, which supports the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy. Get Walking Lanarkshire 2.13 Our Health Walk Programme, as well as benefiting people’s physical health, is equally important for encouraging positive mental health. Meeting like-minded people helps participants to build their confidence and foster changes in their perceptions of their local area helping them to consider other transport options for getting to the walks or during their everyday lives. The programme offers 36 Health Walks per week, departing from venues across the heart of our communities. More than 12,540 people took part in a health walk with the project over the last year, a rise of 10% from the previous year. This growth shows that even after 10 years the project is continuing to thrive and to make a positive difference to people in their everyday lives. 2.14 Walks in the programme are led by trained volunteer health walk leaders and without them the walks would not be sustainable. Over the last year walk leaders have given 3707 hours of their time, with a cash equivalent of £74,140, which is testament to what they get back from being part of such a successful project. Many leaders start as walkers themselves and then progress on to being walk leaders as they gain confidence, often joining the walk as they recover from injury or illness. The quotes Page 31 of 104
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below give an insight into what the walks mean to those taking part and a walker’s story is provided at appendix 1: “Going to the weekly walk is very important for my mental wellbeing.” “The group is very supportive of all the members. Health walks are not only great for physical health but also for my mental health.” “Helping with my mental health status and boosting my confidence.” 2.15 This programme has been funded through NHS Lanarkshire and Walking Scotland support and recently LADA funding, but the service continues to seek external funds annually to ensure continuation. Dumbreck & Garrell project 2.16 The end of November 2025 marks the conclusion of the National Lottery Heritage Funded Dumbreck & Garrell Project. This project has seen two years of positive enhancements to the site, both in physical terms and through education and outreach work, some of the achievements across the 3 main project themes are mentioned below: 2.16.1 Natural Heritage: A conservation group has been set up and has seen local volunteers upskilled to take on practical conservation tasks and habitat management on site, works have included: lapwing scrapes, sand martin wall repairs, path works and tree & wildflower planting. New paths and path repairs have been carried out, together with the installation of new benches to allow the site to become more accessible to the wider community. 2.16.2 History: A Salmon Homecoming artwork project and an Oral History project with the production of a film have been developed over the lifetime of the project, with multigenerational input from the local community. 2.16.3 Community Engagement: A physical and digital history trail has also been designed, engaging people to discover more about the mining history of the site. There has been a lot of positive work with schools, New College Lanarkshire and community groups throughout the project. 2.17 A celebration event showcasing the work that has been achieved during the project will take place on 12 November 2025 and a final report to the funders will be submitted early 2026. Nature Towns & Cities 2.18 The national Nature Towns and Cities initiative is a growing coalition with a shared mission to enable everybody to experience nature in their daily lives. The national programme is a partnership of National Heritage Lottery Fund, National Trust & Natural England (plus devolved partners including Nature Scot) working together and learning from one another to deliver lasting change. The Community Greenspace team submitted a bid for revenue funding to NHLF in April and has been successfully received 72% of our project costs, to the value of £639,035 (total project value £893,035). Page 32 of 104
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2.19 Over the next 30 months we will employ a Programme Manager and Project Development Officer to: • Co-create with our communities a 10 year Greenspace Infrastructure plan to improve access to and quality of our greenspaces in the most deprived areas of North Lanarkshire, as part of this we will create a digital platform to enable engagement. The plan will set out 2 costed projects in each of our 9 Community Board areas. • The project will also look to develop a sustainable funding model for future greenspace management. • Upskill local people to look after and maintain their spaces and give back to their community through volunteering, opening opportunities for all the benefits this brings, like physical health and mental wellbeing as well as creating a local sense of community. • We will further develop understanding of nature based and social needs within our greenspaces through data collection and community consultation to create a report and accompanying Environmental Justice Map to show areas of greatest need. • We will also be able to contribute to and learn from the network of projects that forms the Nature Towns & Cities movement across the UK. Health & Wellbeing events in our Country Parks 2.20 Our 3 country parks (Palacerigg, Drumpellier and Strathclyde) play host to many events throughout the year. Those mentioned below highlight the benefits of the Country Parks teams work facilitating and supporting internal and external partnerships to enable the smooth delivery of a wide range of health and wellbeing activities for the public to engage with and benefit from. • Weekly senior Park Run events at all three country parks and a weekly junior Park Run at Drumpellier Country Park • Annual Spring Regattas and Scottish Rowing Championships in June in association with Scottish Rowing attracting athletes from all over the UK and some from further afield. • Paddle Scotland sprint race regattas • Various events to support St Andrews Hospice from Zip-slide, “It’s a knockout”, 6km run, Santa Dash, Wear Yellow Day (3000 NLC school children participated in 6km walk at Strathclyde Country Park) raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for the hospice as well as offering health benefits for the participants. • Hosting the Cancer Research UK Pretty Muddy event, which raised over £400,000. • Socialtrack Pump Track Session (where hundreds of children develop their cycling proficiency). • There is also a wide range of community events which are supported by the Country Parks team, from fun runs, sponsored walks and partnership events with Police Scotland and Scottish Fire and Rescue raising awareness for water safety to bike marking and Farmers Markets. • Palacerigg Community Trust through a successful Community Asset Transfer now hold a 10 year lease for the Palacerigg Visitor centre and our successful partnership working has allowed a variety of events to take place from Family Fun at Easter to Pride events and the Big Bounce. • A close working relationship with Watch Us Grow, Downs Syndrome Scotland, and the Country Park’s team has led to the relocation of one of this year's Chelsea Flower Show gardens to Palacerigg Country Park with an opening scheduled in the Spring of 2026. Page 33 of 104
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3. Measures of success 3.1 Continued success in securing external funding to support a wide range of greenspace projects in country parks and open spaces. 3.2 An improved understanding of the disparity in access to quality greenspaces in North Lanarkshire and a costed approach to improving this over the 10 years following the completion of the NHLF funded NL Nearer to Nature Project (to 2037). 3.3 An improved public perception of greenspaces throughout North Lanarkshire and a wider knowledge of the importance they play in combatting the negative effects of the climate and nature crises on our local communities. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 – Get Walking Lanarkshire Walker’s story. Lyall Rennie Chief Officer (Community Operations) Page 34 of 104
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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? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts 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 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 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 35 of 104
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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? Positive impact of meadow creation and changes to grassland management and other habitat and species restoration noted in the main report. 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? 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 36 of 104
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5.11 Children’s rights and wellbeing impact Does the report contain any information regarding any council activity, service delivery, policy, or plan that has an impact on children and young people up to the age of 18, or on a specific group of these? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact and the provision that has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the relevant Articles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Consultation through the NL Nearer to Nature project will include children to enable them to have their say on potential projects to improve the quality of greenspaces in their area. A CRWIA will be undertaken as part of project development If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☐ No ☒ Page 37 of 104
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Appendix 1 Get Walking Lanarkshire Case study: Kathleen’s story I already did as much walking as I was able to, depending on the state of my health. Flare- ups of Lupus meant lack of time outside was depressing. Other exercise had to revolve around having someone along to assist. This was particularly true of swimming, as getting ready for the pool and getting dressed after, was a bit of a problem. Walking, on the other hand was a good choice, since I could use a stick or not, depending on my mobility at the time. I got involved as a walk leader as I wanted to help others experience the joy of being out walking, which I knew from experience is excellent for physical improvement, lifting spirits and relieving stress. Initially I was walking twice a week. But as my fitness improved and my weight was more normal, both the ability to walk more and an improvement in my blood pressure score were apparent. It is amazing how health can be improved by such a simple change in behaviour. I now walk every day even when my Lupus flares. I just vary the speed and am mindful of the terrain. Walking can’t cure my Lupus, but it certainly helped me. My mental health in particular has been so much better. Just being out and walking in green spaces is a major stress buster. My experience has also been similar to many of those walkers who come with us each week. I try to leave the car unless it is needed and walk to places, I feel able to go to. The health walks have been a godsend to me, and I know to others walking with us as they tell me each week. Apart from the health aspect there is a camaraderie between people who come and a chance to share with others their concerns, stresses, and joys. Page 38 of 104
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Environment and Climate Change Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref LR/SW Date 29/10/25 Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Update 2025/26 From Lyall Rennie, Chief Officer (Community Operations) E-mail renniely@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07979009151 Executive Summary This report presents Elected Members with a summary of the progress made to date on the Glasgow City Region Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure (EVCI) project and provides an update on the process to engage a commercial charge point operator (CPO) to expand the network of electric vehicle charging infrastructure (EVCI) across North Lanarkshire. Recommendations It is recommended that the Environment and Climate Change Committee: (1) Acknowledge the content of the report; and (2) Endorse the recommended methodology to distribute future revenue share as set out in 2.30 for inclusion within the Inter Authority Agreement. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve North Lanarkshire's resource base Ambition statement (4) Market and promote North Lanarkshire as the place to live, learn, work, invest, and visit Programme of Work Invest in North Lanarkshire Item 5 Page 39 of 104
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1. Background 1.1 This section summarises the work that has been undertaken to date to support the expansion of the EVCI network across the 8 local authorities in Glasgow City Region. This is an update to the Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Report submitted and approved at the Environment & Climate Change Committee on 1 May 2024. 1.2 In January 2022, the Scottish Government launched the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund (EVIF) with the objective of unlocking private sector investment to expand the publicly accessible charging network on local authority land and assets. 1.3 Transport Scotland engaged the Scottish Futures Trust to support local authorities in the development of their EVCI strategies and also actively encouraging local authorities to collaborate in their strategy and delivery activity to expand the charging network. 1.4 In December 2021, the Glasgow City Region Cabinet agreed to progress an initial report into current electric vehicle charging provision, tariffs, and forecast future needs of the 8 Glasgow City Region (GCR) local authorities, jointly funded using the EVIF allocations from Transport Scotland for each local authority. The report was concluded in June 2022. 1.5 It was further agreed by the GCR Cabinet in August 2022 that the GCR Programme Management Office (‘the PMO’) would engage consultants on behalf of the local authorities to develop more detailed Strategy and Expansion Plans (SEP). 1.6 Building upon the Strategy & Expansion Plan (SEP), presented to the GCR Cabinet on 9 May 2023, the Glasgow City Region Programme Management Office (‘the PMO’) has been working with the GCR Electric Vehicle Senior Officers’ Group (‘the Senior Officers’ Group’), which is chaired by the Director for Regional Economic Growth with a membership consisting of senior officers from each Member Authority (MA), to develop the project. 1.7 On the 13 February 2024, the GCR Cabinet endorsed the Preferred Way Forward with GCR PMO and the MAs collaborating to procure a Charge Point Operator (CPO) to expand the EVCI. This approach offers many advantages including pooling resources to develop the procurement, providing a more attractive market offering as a larger collaboration and ensuring consistency across the region in terms of delivery and approach. 1.8 The MAs entered into an Inter-Authority Agreement (“IAA”) which came into effect on 3rd October 2024. This IAA appointed Glasgow City Council as Lead Authority, acting on behalf of MAs, with responsibility to conduct and manage the procurement process for the appointment of a CPO up to (and including) contract award. 1.9 A subsequent IAA will be agreed between the MAs to formalise the ongoing arrangements between the MAs following contract award, including but not limited to; contract mobilisation requirements, the role of the Lead Authority and responsibilities of all MAs, ongoing contract management arrangements, as well as commercial elements such as revenue/income share, and the deployment programme. 1.10 To support the development of the suite of procurement and technical documents, GCR PMO has appointed Jacobs as technical consultants to support the MAs. 1.11 The development of the GCR EV network has been guided by the EV Principles approved by GCR Cabinet on 8 August 2024. The principles aim to deliver a just Page 40 of 104
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transition for the region, delivering equitable, affordable, and accessible electric vehicle charging infrastructure, with a recognition of the need for all residents to access electric vehicle charge points close to their home, as well as providing a comprehensive network that supports journey and destination charging. 1.12 A Prior Information Notice (PIN) was issued to potential suppliers in April 2025 to gather feedback on the draft project specification. When the PIN closed on 12 May there was a clear indication of strong market interest in the project from CPOs. 2. Report Charge Place Scotland – Back Office 2.1 The existing back-office system for public MA owned charge points is through the Charge Place Scotland (CPS) system provided by Transport Scotland (TS). The provision of CPS is scheduled to cease on 31 December 2025. 2.2 Following discussions with GCR PMO, TS has agreed to provide an extension to the availability of the CPS system until the end of December 2026, allowing GCR to progress with the appointment of a CPO without having to make alternative back-office arrangements. 2.3 The projected timescales for the project will vary depending on the progress of the procurement process and whether there is a requirement to negotiate with suppliers. 2.4 The programmes submitted to TS in relation to the extension of the CPS back-office system offered two scenarios. The scenario which does not require supplier negotiation indicates: • Contract Award: August 2026 • Completion of Migration of Existing Assets: End of November 2026. 2.5 GCR PMO has advised TS should supplier negotiation be required, then a further extension into early 2027 will be required. 2.6 It should be noted that this extension only relates to public charge points. Some MAs use CPS for their fleet back-office systems. The availability of CPS for fleet will end on 31 December 2025 unless the MA seeks an extension from TS. This has been communicated to the MAs individually by TS. 2.7 GCR MAs have advised the PMO that they have a small number of new charge points to be added to the existing network prior to entering the new concession contract. TS have asked GCR to set a date after which no new charge points can be added to CPS. Following consultation with the MAs, GCR PMO will advise TS that the final commissioning date for CPS is 31 October 2025. 2.8 The previous update reports that were taken through the local governance processes of the 8 MAs in the spring/summer 2024 asked each MA to delegate to a senior officer the authority to: • approve the IAA referred to at paragraph 1.3 above; and • agree the appointment of the successful CPO in accordance with its terms. Page 41 of 104
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2.9 Under the IAA, Glasgow City Council, as Lead Authority, will undertake the procurement process and, on behalf of all 8 MAs, award a contract to the successful CPO. Site Selection Process 2.10 Over recent months, officers from all MAs have worked with GCR’s technical consultant, to identify the list of sites within their area suitable for inclusion in the project. The site selection process remains live and changes to the site list will continue to be made until the procurement process starts. 2.11 Further changes will be made based upon additional detailed site information provided by MAs, the outcome of grid capacity analysis being undertaken for GCR by Scottish Power Energy Networks (SPEN), and subsequent engagement with the successful CPO at the conclusion of the procurement process. 2.12 The site selection process has entailed a thorough review of the list of potential EVCI sites based upon: • Network Connectivity: ensuring an even spread of charge points to ensure a comprehensive network; • Car Park Locations: in most instances owned by the local authorities or where there is another lease arrangement in place; • Equity and SIMD: sites that will offer equity of access to new EVCI and the needs of communities within the lower percentiles of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD). • Flood Risk: an updated assessment of the flood risk in relation to proposed sites • Other policy considerations: e.g. not siting public EVCI in school car parks. 2.13 While the feasibility of where new charge points are located will be informed by the selection criteria above, and with by other technical constraints (e.g. grid capacity, ground conditions, etc), it is the responsibility of officers from each MA on the EV SOG to confirm the list of sites that are included within the procurement process. 2.14 Following the appointment of a CPO, any further changes to the siting of charge points will be undertaken through an agreed change control process and will require the agreement of the relevant local authority. 2.15 The draft specification includes a mechanism to allow MAs to propose the installation of additional EVCI, in addition to the charge points identified in the initial ITT. Scale of the Project 2.16 While the site selection process is ongoing, MA officers are adding and removing sites based on emerging technical information, the final number of charge points will be included in the tender documents. 2.17 The current indicative numbers for the number of new charge points for inclusion in the project is in the region of a minimum of 3,050 new charge points (of which around 480 will be within North Lanarkshire). With the inclusion the existing assets this takes the minimum number of charge points within the scope of the project to be 3,700. Page 42 of 104
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2.18 It should be noted that the charge point numbers and locations will be subject to change during the deployment period to take into account technical and physical constraints of each site, and any changes to market conditions. The contract with the CPO will include the provision of a robust change control process that will allow both the CPO and MAs to propose changes to the delivery plan. Charge Point Deployment Timescale 2.19 The recent market feedback from the PIN has indicated that the installation of the proposed 3,150 new charge points over a 3-year period is unrealistic. Taking into account the market feedback, the project specification has been amended to propose a 5-year deployment period. Deployment Phases 2.20 Taking into account the 5-year deployment period and the number of charge points within scope of the project, the proposed deployment phasing is as follows: 2.20.1 Part One: Existing Assets Transfer of existing EVCI (316 distinct locations with existing 629 charge points currently) and migrate these from CPS onto a new back-office service and providing a full ongoing maintenance service. 2.20.2 Part Two: Primary Charge Point Locations Supply, financing, installation, maintenance and back-office services for new charge points to be installed early in the Delivery Programme. These will mainly be in MA owned car parks but will include some initial on-street sites. These will be prioritised by the MAs in the site selection process. 2.20.3 Part Three: Secondary Charge Point Locations Supply, financing, installation, maintenance and back-office services for new EVCI charge points based upon a list of proposed localities identified by the MAs. The precise locations of these charge points and the configuration of EVCI on such sites will be agreed in partnership between the relevant MA and the appointed CPO following contract award. 2.21 The equitable deployment of new charge points across all MAs will be a principle of the project that is expressed within the procurement documents, with the successful CPO expected to ensure that this is reflected in their deployment plan. Private Sector Investment & Project Funding 2.22 The estimated level of funding required to install the volume of EVCI proposed through this project will be in the region of £50 million. 2.23 As the proposed approach for this project is to enter a concession agreement with a commercial CPO, the capital costs of sourcing and installing the infrastructure will be entirely met by private sector investment and a small amount of grant funding from Transport Scotland. The concession contract will not require the GCR MAs to contribute funding towards the infrastructure costs. 2.24 GCR has secured £3.6 million of Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Funding (EVIF) from Transport Scotland to support the expansion of the EVCI network. This funding will be used in the deployment of the new charge points, ensuring that there is an equitable Page 43 of 104
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distribution throughout the City Region, and supporting the installation of charge points in less commercially viable areas. Key Project Elements 2.25 The final character of the project will be determined by the outcome of the procurement process, reflecting any areas of negotiation that require to be undertaken following the publication of the Invitation to Tender (ITT). However, there are key project elements that have been discussed and agreed with MA officers on the GCR Technical Officers’ Group (TOG) and Senior Officers’ Group (SOG). These are summarised below: a) Local authority fleet charging arrangements will not be within the scope of this procurement and MAs would take this forward separately. Discussions have been facilitated by the PMO with the National Wealth Fund and MAs to consider potential future opportunities. b) Ultra Rapid Charge Points (100kw+) will not be within the scope of this procurement process due to the different commercial and technical requirements. It is expected that MAs would engage individually with CPOs in relation to specific sites within their areas. c) The ability to set and vary the tariff will sit with the concessionaire. However, GCR MAs expect the tariff to offer value for money to users. It is anticipated that this will be achieved through a combination of margin cap (maximum cost per kWh above the cost of electricity to the Concessionaire) and benchmarking. This will be monitored and enforced using KPIs. The margin cap shall be proposed by CPOs as a part of their tender submission and shall be evaluated accordingly. d) The Route to Market for the project will be through the Competitive Procedure with Negotiation process. At the conclusion of the procurement process, Glasgow City Council will enter into a contract with the successful CPO, and the terms of the contract will be reflected in the signing of an Inter Authority Agreement with all 8 MAs. e) Overstay fees should not be enforced by the new CPO for on-street chargepoints between 8pm-8am. In all other cases the CPO will have discretion on the overstay charging policy. f) Ensuring high accessibility standards by including an assessment of compliance with PAS1899 Electric Vehicles Accessible Charging standards and “Inclusive Mobility - A Guide to Best Practice on Access to Pedestrian and Transport Infrastructure" (2021) in the tender evaluation process. g) Advertising on chargepoints will not be required however where a CPO wishes to use advertising the MAs should receive a percentage of revenue share. 2.26 The TOG and SOG have considered a number of technical issues that will be included in the project specification, such as the appearance of chargepoints, lineage and marking of parking bays, approach to Traffic Regulation Orders, chargepoint branding, inclusion of additional passive provision of electricity supply. Revenue share 2.27 CPOs will be required to bid back a gross Revenue Share in p/kWh - this will be a percentage of the revenue generated by the project that will be payable to the GCR Page 44 of 104
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MAs. The draft Inter Authority Agreement that all MAs will be asked to sign will include a methodology for the distribution of revenue share received from the concession contract. During the procurement process, 2.28 The revenue share from the CPO will be received by the Contract Management Team for the project, located within Glasgow City Council, and then distributed to the MAs. 2.29 The three options for the distribution revenue share methodology presented to the Chief Executives’ Group on 7 August are set out below: • Option 1 – Distribution Based upon the Number of Charge Points Located in a Local Authority. • Option 2 – Distribution Based upon the Charge Point Usage (kWh) of the Charge Points within a Local Authority. • Option 3 – Distribution Based upon the Existing City Region allocation formula based upon population. 2.30 Following discussion at the Chief Executives’ Group, it was agreed that Option 2, the distribution of revenue share based upon charge point usage within each MA area, would be the preferred approach for inclusion with the IAA. This would involve an assessment of the kWh of electricity used by the charge points within each MA as a percentage of the overall usage within GCR. 2.31 The recommendation to this report invites Cabinet to endorse the decision of the Chief Executives’ Group to include distribution of revenue share among the 8 GCR MAs to be based upon charge point usage within the Inter Authority Agreement. 2.32 Entering into the Inter Authority Agreement will subsequently be signed off using the delegated authority described at 2.8 above. Contract Management Costs 2.33 There is an identified need for a central, dedicated Contract Management Team (CMT) to oversee activities across the 20-year contract period. It has been identified that Glasgow City Council will host the CMT on behalf of all eight member authorities – details of the CMT will be set out in the Inter Authority Agreement. 2.34 The staff requirement to operate the CMT is still under discussion, but it is estimated to be 2/3 FTE staff and costs required by other corporate functions (Legal, Finance, Audit etc) to deliver the project. 2.35 The expectation is that the appointed CPO will meet contract management costs throughout the contract term. It is proposed that CMT costs are met by a fixed payment from the CPO to GCR. 2.36 This fixed payment to meet dedicated CMT costs will be separate to the revenue share arrangement. During the initial years of the contract, when the new charge points are being deployed, it is expected that the revenue generated by the CPO will be low and potentially insufficient to cover the CMT costs. It is proposed that GCR MAs adopt a position where they accept either the annual fixed payment to cover the CMT costs OR the revenue share, whichever is greater in any year. Page 45 of 104
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Next steps 2.37 The immediate next steps will include: a) Continuing the development of the procurement and technical documents. b) Development of the Inter Authority Agreement among the MAs. c) Development of a draft concession contract. d) Acceleration of the work to acquire certificate of title for the existing and new EVCI sites. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The delivery of electric vehicle charging infrastructure across North Lanarkshire and the wider Glasgow City Region which allows the transformative shift to net zero emission vehicles which in turn will contribute to delivery of the council’s net zero ambition. 4. Supporting documentation No supporting documentation. Lyall Rennie Chief Officer (Community Operations) Page 46 of 104
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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 been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Possible cost sharing to cover CMT is revenue income costs are low at start of project. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts 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 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 104
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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? 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. 5.11 Children’s rights and wellbeing impact Does the report contain any information regarding any council activity, service delivery, policy, or plan that has an impact on children and young people up to the age of 18, or on a specific group of these? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact and the provision that has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the relevant Articles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 48 of 104
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Environment and Climate Change Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref LR/VA/PC Date 29/10/25 Sustainable Futures - Tree Risk Asset Management update From Lyall Rennie, Chief Officer (Community Operations) E-mail renniely@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07979009151 Executive Summary This report provides an update on the continued delivery of the Tree Risk Asset Management (TRAM) Strategy. It highlights the early completion of the first full inspection cycle, progress on high-risk tree remediation, and the evolving response to Ash Dieback Disease. The report also outlines the operational impact of Storm Eowyn, which caused significant disruption to service delivery, and notes the revised timeline for the Woodland & Forestry Operational Framework. Additionally, it confirms the approval of the Palacerigg Country Park Long Term Forest Plan and associated grant funding for woodland improvements in Cumbernauld. Recommendations It is recommended that the Environment and Climate Change Committee: (1) Recognise the completion of the first cycle of TRAM inspection ahead of schedule and that all wards have been inspected. (2) Recognise that all tree risk remediation is on schedule to be completed before end of March 2026. (3) Recognise the excellent service response to the challenges posed by Storm Eowyn and note the associated impact on service delivery timescales and ash dieback roadside tree removal programme and revised timescales for the development phase of the Woodland & Forestry Operational Framework (4) Acknowledge the approval of Palacerigg Country Park Long Term Forest Plan and success in grant funding to deliver large scale woodland improvement works in Cumbernauld. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve the health and wellbeing of our communities Ambition statement (17) Ensure we keep our environment clean, safe, and attractive Programme of Work Sustainable Futures Item 6 Page 49 of 104
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1. Background 1.1 Since the last report to this committee in October 2024, significant progress has been made in delivering our Tree Risk Asset Management (TRAM) Strategy. The TRAM Strategy was endorsed in April 2022 and was developed to implement a proactive approach to tree asset management and balancing the risk and benefits of council tree assets and ensuring our legal obligations are met in respect to tree safety. 1.2 Over the past year, the service has not only maintained momentum but has also demonstrated resilience in the face of considerable challenges. The impact of Storm Eowyn in January 2025 was significant, causing widespread damage and diverting resources from scheduled works and Tree Assets projects. 1.3 Ash Dieback continues to be a significant issue for the service. The disease’s progression across Scotland is widespread and its impact on North Lanarkshire’s tree stock remains substantial. The Council’s Ash Dieback Action Plan has evolved in response with new data-driven tools such as heat map analysis now guiding prioritisation of roadside interventions. 1.4 The Woodland & Forestry Operational Framework introduced last year to guide the sustainable management of Council-owned woodlands has entered its development phase. While progress has been delayed due to storm-related disruptions, the framework remains a cornerstone of the Council’s long-term strategy to enhance biodiversity, climate resilience, and community access to green spaces. 2. Report Tram inspections and remediation 2.1 Since the last committee report, significant progress has been made in delivering our Tree Risk Asset Management (TRAM) Strategy. All trees within Environmental Assets portfolio in all wards have now been inspected, meaning that the first cycle of surveys for both high and medium risk zones is complete which is well ahead of the original schedule. When the TRAM Strategy was established, it set out that high risk zones would be inspected every three years and medium risk zones every five years. Achieving full inspection of both categories within three years is a substantial accomplishment and demonstrates the effectiveness of our proactive approach. This milestone provides us with a comprehensive baseline of the health and condition of our tree assets, enabling us to plan and prioritise future inspections and interventions with greater confidence. This allows us to target resources where they are most needed, avoid unnecessary works and maintain robust records for audit and review. By completing the first inspection cycle ahead of schedule, we are well placed to maintain the inspection frequencies set out in the strategy and to demonstrate that the Council is fulfilling its duty of care in a balanced and reasonable manner. This proactive management not only reduces the likelihood of incidents but also supports the long- term sustainability and value of our trees for the community. The next round of inspection will increase the scope of trees inspected to include trees in other service portfolios as previously agreed. Remediation of high risk trees 2.2 Tree removal has been completed in wards 1, 2, 3*, 4, 7, 10, 11, 14, 15, 17, 18 & 20. * Ward 3 is partially remediated. Appointed contractor was unable to deliver works on schedule therefore remaining works to be retendered. Page 50 of 104
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2.3 Remediation of remaining wards are either underway or due to be completed before the end of March 2026. Wards to be remediated this winter are: Ward 8 Airdrie North Ward 9 Airdrie Central Ward 12 Airdrie South This will be let as 1 contract with 160 trees to be removed. Ward 5 - Stepps, Chryston and Muirhead Ward 6 - Gartcosh, Glenboig and Moodiesburn Ward 13 - Fortissat Ward 21- Wishaw This will be let as 1 contract with 265 trees to be removed Ward 16 – Mossend & Holytown Tree works within this ward will be carried out by the Arbor service due to the low number of trees identified for removal (4 trees) Ward 19 Motherwell South, East and Ravencraig Ward 3 Cumbernauld South This will be let as 1 contract with 135 trees to be removed 2.4 In total 2205 trees were deemed to be of high risk and will be removed by March 2026. Approximately 86% (1904) of trees identified to be removed are diseased ash. The total number of trees actioned for remedial pruning across all wards is 42. The total number of trees actioned for re-inspection across all wards is 183.The total spend to date to undertake tree remediation work is £395,369. This represents an average cost of £216.00 per tree. 2.5 It’s important to note that most of the ash trees removed so far were in the later stages of infection from Ash Dieback Disease. Specifically, these were trees classified as Stage 3 or Stage 4, meaning they had lost more than half of their canopy and were structurally compromised posing a safety risk. These are the most severely affected trees and are prioritised for removal. However many ash trees in our greenspaces are currently in the early stages of infection (Stage 1 and Stage 2), where symptoms are less severe but likely to worsen over time. Based on national trends and scientific evidence, it is expected that a large proportion of these trees will deteriorate and eventually reach the higher-risk stages. This means that Ash Dieback will continue to place significant pressure on Council resources for the foreseeable future. Monitoring, removing, and replacing affected ash trees will remain a major focus of our tree management programme as we move into the second cycle of TRAM inspections. Ash Dieback progress 2.6 Ash dieback is now widespread across Scotland, with 50–75% of Scotland’s 11 million mature ash trees expected to die over the next two decades. 2.7 We have been actively implementing the recommendations outlined in the most recent update from the Tree Council, which marks a shift from awareness to action. Our approach has evolved from initial planning to active management and recovery, informed by practical experience. In line with the Council’s stronger emphasis on the unique hazards of working with diseased ash, we have adopted their guidance on mechanisation and reducing manual operations. Contractors working with our service Page 51 of 104
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have invested in specialist machinery to enable whole tree removal of large diseased ash trees, which we are now utilising as part of our operational strategy. 2.8 Since the last committee report, further progress has been made in advancing the Ash Dieback Action Plan. Building on the roadside survey data previously commissioned, a heat map analysis has now been completed. This analysis has enabled the Tree Asset team to prioritise areas of roadside ash trees based on risk severity and proximity to key infrastructure. However, it is important to note that progress has been delayed due to significant service disruption caused by Storm Eowyn in January 2025. The storm resulted in widespread damage across North Lanarkshire, diverting operational resources and delaying scheduled tree remediation works. Despite these challenges, two priority sites have now been selected for targeted intervention: • Main Road, Condorrat • Brownsburn Road, Airdrie 2.9 These sites were identified through the heat map analysis as containing a high concentration of Class 3 and Class 4 ash trees, as defined in the original survey (trees with 50% or less remaining canopy). Works at both locations are scheduled to be completed before the end of March 2026, aligning with the Council’s commitment to mitigate risk and maintain public safety. The prioritisation and planned remediation of these sites demonstrate continued progress under the Ash Dieback Action Plan, despite unforeseen delays. Storm Eowyn 2.10 Storm Eowyn, which struck in January 2025, caused significant disruption across North Lanarkshire, resulting in a surge of tree-related enquiries. The service received 670 storm-related enquiries, which represents a substantial portion of the 2,020 total enquiries recorded for the year to date - the highest annual figure in the past six years (See Table 1). It is also worth noting that Storm Isha in January 2024 resulted in 368 storm related enquiries. This has resulted in a significant strain placed on operational capacity due to the volume and urgency of storm-related incidents. As a result of recent storm events the Arbor service is experiencing a backlog of routine requests for service to action and the figure currently sits at approximately 400. 2.11 Table 1: 5 year annual total for arbor related requests for service. Year Total Arbor Enquiries 2020 1327 2021 1369 2022 1342 2023 1248 2024 1665* *368 of which were enquiries due to Storm Isha 2025 2020* *670 of which were enquiries due to Storm Eowyn 2.12 It is expected that as climate change continues to drive more frequent and intense storm events, this will result in spikes in enquiries and highlights the increasing vulnerability of tree assets to extreme weather events and underscores the need for continued investment in proactive resource planning for the Council’s Arbor service. Page 52 of 104
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2.13 It is important to formally recognise the exceptional efforts of the Arboricultural Team during this period. Despite the unprecedented volume of enquiries and the operational disruption caused by Storm Eowyn, the team worked tirelessly to respond to emergency call-outs, assess damaged trees, and maintain public safety across North Lanarkshire. Their resilience, professionalism, and commitment to service delivery under pressure have been instrumental in ensuring continuity of operations. 2.14 The Council will need to embed resilience planning into all aspects of tree and woodland management. This includes reviewing inspection cycles, prioritising vulnerable sites, and ensuring that emergency response protocols are fit for purpose. A cross-service lessons learned exercise from Storm Eowyn will help inform future service planning and contribute to a more adaptive and informed response from the Arbor service. Replanting 2.15 To ensure no net loss of trees following the removal of diseased or dangerous trees through TRAM, replanting has been carried out in wards following completion of remediation works. Once all scheduled tree planting has been completed a total of 3,322 will be replanted and consist of a mixture of whip planting and standards. This demonstrates the Council’s commitment to ensuring urban canopy restoration and biodiversity enhancement and aligns with the objectives of the Clyde Climate Forest. Replanting is not always in the same location as the removed trees and follows the principles of right tree right place. Woodland and Forestry Framework -Woodland Audits 2.16 As outlined in the original report from October 2024, the Council Woodland & Forestry Framework was established to sustainably manage North Lanarkshire Council’s key woodland sites, enhancing biodiversity, public access, and climate resilience. 2.17 Development Phase Delay: The initial two-year development phase (2025–2027), focused on woodland audits, has been delayed due to the impact of Storm Eowyn, which required emergency site responses and additional assessments. 2.18 Revised Completion Date: As a result, the scheduled completion date has been extended from December 2026 to April 2027, ensuring the audits are completed to the required standard before progressing to the operational phase. Palacerigg LTFP 2.19 Palacerigg Country Park Long Term Forest Plan (LTFP) 2012 – 2031 has been renewed and approved by Scottish Forestry. 2.20 The first two phases were implemented in 2014/15 and the plan is now approved for the next two phases. 2.21 The LTFP focuses on enhancing the condition of the park’s woodlands by improving tree quality, increasing species and structural diversity, and boosting overall biodiversity. Key actions include thinning to promote healthy tree growth and removing conifers vulnerable to wind damage, which helps create a more resilient and diverse forest ecosystem. 2.22 Delivery of phase 3 and 4 will be carried out between 2025 and 2030 and funded through Nurturing Natural Connections which is a National Heritage Lottey funded Page 53 of 104
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partnership project and Scottish Forestry grant scheme funding. This award will continue the work of the Cumbernauld Living Landscape partnership with Scottish Wildlife Trust and other partners on sites around Cumbernauld. In addition, through this partnership woodland improvement works will be undertaken in Abronhill. 2.23 In total, funding from Nurturing Natural Connections and grant funding from Scottish Forestry will deliver £97,377 of woodland improvement works in Cumbernauld. This further reflects our success in bringing in grant funding for woodland enhancement projects as detailed within the October 2024 report. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Progress toward full remediation of high-risk trees by March 2026, and continued delivery of replanting to ensure no net loss of canopy cover. 3.2 Effective response to extreme weather events, including Storm Eowyn, with lessons learned now informing future resilience planning and operational readiness. 3.3 Ongoing implementation of the Ash Dieback Action Plan, including the use of heat map analysis to prioritise high-risk roadside sites and the commencement of targeted interventions. 3.4 Continued alignment with the Clyde Climate Forest initiative, with over 3,000 trees scheduled for replanting and further woodland creation sites identified for future delivery. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1: TRAM Remediation by Ward Lyall Rennie Chief Officer (Community Operations) Page 54 of 104
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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 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 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 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 55 of 104
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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? TRAM remediation will have a short tern negative impact on our carbon emissions but this is remediated in the long term by our replanting programme. 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? The TRAM strategy is delivering a key action to reduce identified risk from Ash die back. 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 56 of 104
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5.11 Children’s rights and wellbeing impact Does the report contain any information regarding any council activity, service delivery, policy, or plan that has an impact on children and young people up to the age of 18, or on a specific group of these? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact and the provision that has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the relevant Articles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 57 of 104
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Appendix 1 APPENDIX 1: TRAM Remediation By Ward WARD 1 – KILSYTH ACTION NUMBER OF TREES ASH NON- ASH SURVEY DATE REMEDIATION COMPLETE Whole Tree Removal 105 74 31 JAN - MAY 2023 YES DEC – MAY 2023 Remedial Pruning 2 0 2 JAN - MAY 2023 DEC – MAY 2023 Re- inspection 15 0 15 JAN - MAY 2023 RE-INSPECT 2026 WARD 2 – CUMBERNAULD NORTH ACTION NUMBER OF TREES ASH NON- ASH SURVEY DATE REMEDIATION COMPLETE Whole Tree Removal 544 491 53 MAY - JUNE 2022 YES DEC 2022 – MAY 2023 Remedial Pruning 1 0 1 MAY- JUNE 2022 DEC 2022 – MAY 2023 Re- inspection 23 13 10 MAY- JUNE 2022 RE-INSPECT 2025 WARD 3 – CUMBERNAULD SOUTH ACTION NUMBER OF TREES ASH NON- ASH SURVEY DATE REMEDIATION COMPLETE Whole Tree Removal 429 379 50 AUG- SEP 2022 PART COMPLETE DEC – MAY 2023 COMPLETE WINTER 2025 Remedial Pruning 0 0 0 AUG- SEP 2022 N/A Re- inspection 83 80 3 AUG- SEP 2022 REINSPECT 2025 Page 58 of 104
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WARD 4- CUMBERNAULD EAST ACTION NUMBER OF TREES ASH NON- ASH SURVEY DATE REMEDIATION COMPLETE Whole Tree Removal 341 308 33 SEP – NOV 2022 YES MARCH 2024 Remedial Pruning 0 0 0 SEP- NOV 2022 N/A Re- inspection 0 0 0 SEP – NOV 2024 N/A WARD 5 – STEPPS, CHRYSTON & MUIRHEAD ACTION NUMBER OF TREES ASH NON- ASH SURVEY DATE REMEDIATION COMPLETE Whole Tree Removal 50 47 3 SEP 2024 2025/2026 Remedial Pruning 0 0 0 SEP 2024 N/A Re- inspection 0 0 0 SEP 2024 N/A WARD 6 – GARTCOSH, GLENBOIG & MODDIESBURN ACTION NUMBER OF TREES ASH NON- ASH SURVEY DATE REMEDIATION COMPLETE Whole Tree Removal 74 71 3 APRIL 2024 2025/2026 Remedial Pruning 0 0 0 APRIL 2024 N/A Re- inspection 0 0 0 APRIL 2024 N/A Page 59 of 104
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WARD 7 – COATBRIDGE NORTH ACTION NUMBER OF TREES ASH NON- ASH SURVEY DATE REMEDIATION COMPLETE Whole Tree Removal 134 64 70 JUL- AUG 2023 YES DEC 2024 Remedial Pruning 9 1 8 JUL- AUG 2023 DEC 2024 Re- inspection 0 0 0 JUL- AUG 2023 N/A WARD 8 – AIRDRIE NORTH ACTION NUMBER OF TREES ASH NON- ASH SURVEY DATE REMEDIATION COMPLETE Whole Tree Removal 64 35 29 MAY 2024 2025/2026 Remedial Pruning 0 0 0 MAY 2024 2025/2026 Re- inspection 2 0 2 MAY 2024 RE-INSPECT 2027 WARD 9 – AIRDRIE CENTRAL ACTION NUMBER OF TREES ASH NON- ASH SURVEY DATE REMEDIATION COMPLETE Whole Tree Removal 48 30 18 MAY - JUNE 2024 2025/2026 Remedial Pruning 0 0 0 MAY/- JUNE 2024 N/A Re- inspection 2 2 0 MAY- JUNE 2024 RE-INSPECT 2027 Page 60 of 104
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WARD 10 – COATBRIDGE WEST ACTION NUMBER OF TREES ASH NON- ASH SURVEY DATE REMEDIATION COMPLETE Whole Tree Removal 9 2 7 MARCH 2024 YES DEC 2024 Remedial Pruning 0 0 0 MARCH 2024 N/A Re- inspection 0 0 0 MARCH 2024 N/A WARD 11 – COATBRIDGE SOUTH ACTION NUMBER OF TREES ASH NON- ASH SURVEY DATE REMEDIATION COMPLETE Whole Tree Removal 15 5 10 MARCH 2024 YES DEC 2024 Remedial Pruning 0 0 0 MARCH 2024 N/A Re- inspection 0 0 0 MARCH 2024 N/A WARD 12 – AIRDRIE SOUTH ACTION NUMBER OF TREES ASH NON- ASH SURVEY DATE REMEDIATION COMPLETE Whole Tree Removal 48 24 24 NOV 2024 – MAR 2025 2025/2026 Remedial Pruning 5 1 4 NOV 2024 – MAR 2025 2025/2026 Re- inspection 5 1 4 NOV 2024 – MAR 2025 RE-INSPECT 2028 Page 61 of 104
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WARD 13 – FORTISSAT ACTION NUMBER OF TREES ASH NON- ASH SURVEY DATE REMEDIATION COMPLETE Whole Tree Removal 84 66 18 SEP- OCT 2024 2025/2026 Remedial Pruning 0 0 0 SEP- OCT 2024 N/A Re- inspection 0 0 0 SEP- OCT 2024 N/A WARD 14 – THORNIEWOOD ACTION NUMBER OF TREES ASH NON- ASH SURVEY DATE REMEDIATION COMPLETE Whole Tree Removal 89 30 59 JUNE 2023 NOV 2024 - MAR 2025 Remedial Pruning 4 1 3 JUNE 2023 NOV 2024 – MAR 2025 Re- inspection 5 0 5 JUNE 2023 RE-INSPECT 2026 WARD 15 – BELLSHILL ACTION NUMBER OF TREES ASH NON- ASH SURVEY DATE REMEDIATION COMPLETE Whole Tree Removal 56 6 50 APR- MAY 2024 JAN 2024 Remedial Pruning 1 0 1 APR- MAY 2024 JAN 2024 Re- inspection 17 9 8 APR- MAY 2024 RE-INSPECT 2027 Page 62 of 104
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WARD 16 – MOSSEND & HOLYTOWN ACTION NUMBER OF TREES ASH NON- ASH SURVEY DATE REMEDIATION COMPLETE Whole Tree Removal 4 2 2 OCT 2024 ARBOR TEAM TO REMOVE DUE TO LOW NUMBERS Remedial Pruning 0 0 0 OCT 2024 N/A Re- inspection 0 0 0 OCT 2024 N/A WARD 17 – MOTERWELL WEST ACTION NUMBER OF TREES ASH NON- ASH SURVEY DATE REMEDIATION COMPLETE Whole Tree Removal 59 18 41 MAR – APRIL 2022 DEC 2022 – MAY 2023 Remedial Pruning 17 6 17 MAR – APRIL 2022 DEC 2022 – MAY 2023 Re- inspection 22 0 22 MAR – APRIL 2022 RE-INSPECT 2025 WARD 18 – MOTHERWELL NORTH ACTION NUMBER OF TREES ASH NON- ASH SURVEY DATE REMEDIATION COMPLETE Whole Tree Removal 202 174 28 MAY 2023 MAR 2025 Remedial Pruning 1 0 1 MAY 2023 MAR 2025 Re- inspection 0 2 2 MAY 2023 RE-INSPECT 2026 Page 63 of 104
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WARD 19 – MOTHERWELL SOUTH, EAST & RAVENSCRAIG ACTION NUMBER OF TREES ASH NON- ASH SURVEY DATE REMEDIATION COMPLETE Whole Tree Removal 27 13 14 MAR 2025 WINTER 2026 Remedial Pruning 1 0 1 MAR 2025 WINTER 2026 Re- inspection 3 0 3 MAR 2025 RE-INSPECT 2028 WARD 20 – MURDOSTOUN ACTION NUMBER OF TREES ASH NON- ASH SURVEY DATE REMEDIATION COMPLETE Whole Tree Removal 52 21 31 DEC 2022 MAR 2025 Remedial Pruning 1 0 1 DEC 2022 MAR 2025 Re- inspection 6 0 6 DEC 2022 RE-INSPECT 2025 WARD 21 – WISHAW ACTION NUMBER OF TREES ASH NON- ASH SURVEY DATE REMEDIATION COMPLETE Whole Tree Removal 71 44 27 JUN – SEP 2024 2025/2026 Remedial Pruning 0 0 0 JUN – SEP 2024 N/A Re- inspection 0 0 0 JUN – SEP 2024 N/A CONCLUSION ACTION ALL WARDS Whole Tree Removal 2,205 Remedial Pruning 42 Re-Inspection 183 Page 64 of 104
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Environment and Climate Change Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref LR/VA Date 29/10/25 Review of Country Parks Management rules to incorporate Land Reform Scotland Act 2003 From Lyall Rennie, Chief Officer (Community Operations) E-mail Renniely@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07979009151 Executive Summary This report outlines legal advice received by the service regarding incorporating reference to the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 and associated advice in the Country Parks Management rules. Recommendations It is recommended that the Environment and Climate Change Committee: (1) Acknowledges the legal advice provided. (2) Agrees that no further review of the Country Parks Management rules is required. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve the health and wellbeing of our communities Ambition statement (17) Ensure we keep our environment clean, safe, and attractive Programme of Work Sustainable Futures Item 7 Page 65 of 104
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1. Background 1.1 At the Environmental and Climate Change Committee held on 20th August 2025, a recommendation was made as follows: “that the Chief Officer (Community Operations) would liaise with Legal to ascertain whether parts of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 could be included in the management rules for country park and open spaces around fires and fire setting” 2. Report 2.1 Further discussions have been had between Legal services and Community Operations and a briefing note is provided at Appendix 1. 2.2 The service accept the recommendation that no further changes to the management rules are required. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Management rules continue to be used to encourage responsible behaviour in our greenspaces with support sought from Police Scotland where criminal fire raising is encountered. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 - Briefing note Lyall Rennie Chief Officer (Community Operations) Page 66 of 104
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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 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 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 been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? See Appendix 1. 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 67 of 104
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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? Comms working with service on relevant communications strategy around wildfire risk. 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? Wildfire in parks identified as a service risk and 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 68 of 104
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5.11 Children’s rights and wellbeing impact Does the report contain any information regarding any council activity, service delivery, policy, or plan that has an impact on children and young people up to the age of 18, or on a specific group of these? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact and the provision that has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the relevant Articles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 69 of 104
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Appendix 1 BRIEFING NOTE Subject: Environment and Climate Change Committee Recommendation – Legal Advice To: Lyall Rennie, Chief Officer (Community Operations) Vicky Abernethy, Business Manager, Greenspace & Country Parks Author(s) of Report: Jane Kirkhope, Legal Manager, Litigation Date: 29.08.2025 Purpose of Briefing Note At the Environmental and Climate Change Committee held on 20th August 2025, a recommendation was made as follows: “that the Chief Officer (Community Operations) would liaise with Legal to ascertain whether parts of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 could be included in the management rules for country park and open spaces around fires and fire setting” The purpose of this note is to provide a legal opinion on the recommendation as set out above. Background and Context North Lanarkshire Council has Management Rules regulating the use of Country Parks and Open Spaces “the management rules”. At full council on 19th June 2025 a motion was passed as follows: “Council notes with concern the recent spate of fires which have occurred locally, including the significant wildfire in Cumbernauld in April. Council also notes the current Country parks and open spaces management rules do not mention fires, with no guidance or prohibition around fire setting. Council therefore agrees to request that a review of the management rules be undertaken, with a view to revising them to explicitly address the issue of fire raising. This review should also consider the resource implications of implementing and enforcing such changes. A report outlining proposed revision, along with an assessment of associated resources requirements, should be brought to a forthcoming Environment and Climate Change Committee meeting for consideration and approval.” Further to the council meeting, a report was tendered by the Chief Officer (Community Operations) at the Environment and Climate Change Committee on 20th August 2025 detailing the service review of measures in place to reduce the risk of wildfire in country parks and open spaces. The recommendation of the report was that adequate provision already exists in the current management rules and legislative framework therefore no changes to the rules are required to address the concerns around fire setting in country parks and open spaces. Page 70 of 104
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Following consideration of the report, the Environment and Climate Change Committee wished further clarification of the question raised in the motion from full council as they felt that the Chief Officer’s report did not fully address that question as set out in the motion. The committee accordingly made the following recommendation: “that the Chief Officer (Community Operations) would liaise the Legal to ascertain whether parts of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 could be included in the management rules for country park and open spaces around fires and fire setting.” Legal Opinion on the Recommendation Prior to the committee on 20th August 2025, representatives from Legal had already provided advice to Chief Officer, Lyall Rennie and Vicky Abernethy, Business Manager, on the potential for amendments being made to the management rules specifically to address fire setting in public parks and outdoor spaces. The management rules do not make specific reference to lighting of fires, but they do have general prohibitions on managing anti-social behaviour, and they also prohibit damage to any part of the flora of the country park, which Legal felt could reasonably include setting fires. There is also a general requirement within the management rules to adhere to the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, and it should be noted that the code specifically allows for responsible lighting of fires so a blanket ban within the management rules would not be appropriate. Legal advice was that the management rules as they stand already allow for this issue to be addressed. The parts of the management rules that Legal felt can be used to address issues around fire setting are: “Part 2 Behaviour 2.1 No person shall behave in a disorderly or offensive manner in a Facility, or use violent, abusive or obscene language therein, or prevent the proper use or regulation of a Facility. 2.8 No person shall bring into or leave in any Facility: i. any substance or article likely to cause injury or damage to any person or property, or ii. any substance or article which might place a child at risk or other person finding or handling same, or iii. any waste or other harmful matter” and “Part 3 Flora 3.1 No person shall damage, injure, displace, remove, or destroy any part of a Facility including any tree, bush shrub, plant, hedge, fence or building, wall, fence, gate barrier, railing or any other fixture situated in or ancillary to a Country Park or other Facility, or deface or destroy the same by cutting, writing or otherwise. Any person so doing will be held responsible for the cost of any replacement or repair. Page 71 of 104
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3.4 No person shall damage a Country Park or other Facility, any part thereof or anything thereon or therein, including a fence, wall or gate. No person must also dig or otherwise disturb the ground surface, by carrying out activities, including but not limited to using metal detectors or carrying out magnet fishing.” In addition to the above provisions, the management rules contain a general requirement to adhere to the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, as well as a requirement that the public adhere to the provisions of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003.The general requirement is set out as follows: “1.3 The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 gives the public the right of responsible access to most land and inland water. People using any Country Park or Facility in North Lanarkshire should comply with their responsibilities under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003; the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 and the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.” I note the recommendation that Legal are to provide advice as to whether parts of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 (“the 2003 Act”) could be included in the management rules…...around fires and fire setting. The only reference to fires in the 2003 Act is in Section 12. Section 12 provides that local authorities may “in relation to land in respect of which access rights are exercisable make byelaws.” One of the areas in respect of which byelaws may be made under the Act is in relation to “ the lighting of fires and the doing of anything likely to cause a fire, on the land.” The Act does not make any suggestions about inclusion of provisions on fire setting in relation to management rules, nor does it set out any specific rules or guidance on the issue of fires or fire setting. The 2003 Act also makes provision for the creation of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. Local authorities have a duty to publicise and raise awareness of the code, but failure to follow the code is not an offence in and of itself. The code contains some guidance around responsible fire setting but no definitive set of rules. The code states that: “..if there is a problem, the Code is expected to be a reference point for determining whether a person has acted responsibly. For example, where a dispute cannot be resolved and is referred to the Sheriff for determination, the Sheriff will consider whether the guidance in the Code has been disregarded by any of the parties. In this sense, the Code may be said to have evidential status” Therefore, if someone was setting fires in a manner which was felt to be dangerous, or anti- social or damaging to the flora of a park, then the Code could be used as a reference point for the reasonableness in a decision to in any challenge to an exclusion or expulsion under the management rules as they currently stand. Page 72 of 104
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Conclusion The questions as set out in the recommendation from committee is whether parts of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 could be included in the management rules. The view of Legal is that the management rules already do mention the 2003 Act, in that they state that persons using parks or open spaces much comply with the Act and the Code. The 2003 Act does not refer to how fires should be managed so there is nothing in the Act which could be included in the management rules over and above what is already there. Page 73 of 104
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Environment and Climate Change Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref PH/GW Date 29/10/25 Performance Monitoring Report – Strathclyde Partnership for Transport 2023/24 and 2024/25 From Pamela Humphries, Chief Officer (Place) E-mail woodg@northlan.gov.uk Telephone Gary Wood, 07939284954 Executive Summary This report provides Members with an overview of service delivery and the financial performance of Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) for 2023/24 and 2024/25. SPT is the Regional Transport Partnership for the west of Scotland and has a statutory duty to develop, and deliver actions from, a transport strategy for the region. SPT also plans and delivers transport solutions for various modes of transport across the region and administers the Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Scheme (SCTS). The report includes an overview of financial and service delivery performance in respect of subsidised bus services; agency contracts, such as school transport provision and bus shelter maintenance; concessionary travel, and council projects delivered with part SPT funding. Recommendations It is recommended that the Committee: 1. Acknowledge the services provided by SPT to support delivery of statutory obligations and The Plan for North Lanarkshire. 2. Note SPT’s governance and scrutiny arrangements, service outcomes for 2023/24 and 2024/25 and the Council’s financial contribution towards these. 3. Endorse the Council’s ongoing collaboration with SPT to help meet statutory obligations and support delivery of The Plan for North Lanarkshire objectives. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Ambition statement (2) Refocus our town centres and communities to be multi- functional connected places which maximise social, economic, and environmental opportunities Programme of Work Statutory / corporate / service requirement Item 8 Page 75 of 104
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1. Background 1.1 The Council appoints Elected Members to serve on the boards of ALEOS and external bodies and must therefore maintain oversight of performance to ensure compliance with ‘Following the Public Pound’ obligations. The former Arm’s Length External Organisations (ALEOs) and External Bodies Monitoring Committee, at its initial meeting in May 2016, considered the reporting frequency and determined that annual reporting was appropriate and proportionate for statutory bodies such as SPT, which are already subject to significant levels of public scrutiny and accountability given the wider governance arrangements that exist. 2. Report 2.1 This report provides oversight of the following areas of activity: • SPT core services (subsidised bus services and strategy development) - Appendix 1 • SPT Agency Services (school transport provision and bus stop/shelter maintenance) - Appendix 2 • Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Scheme (SCTS) - Appendix 3 • SPT funded NLC projects - Appendix 4 2.2 The council has appointed representatives to the SPT Board and the Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Joint Committee. Membership to 31 March 2025 is included in the relevant Appendices. As a statutory public body, SPT is required to prepare and publish Annual Statements of Accounts and to report publicly on their performance. To this end, significant public scrutiny already exists in respect of each of these organisations. 2.3 The Appendices provide the following information in respect of each area of activIty. • Remit • Statutory duty • Committee membership • Principal activities • Key performance indicators • Contribution to The Plan for North Lanarkshire; and, • Financial overview 2.4 The council will continue to collaborate and support SPT and other key stakeholders in relation to the implementation of the provided services and will continue to contribute to the development of major strategies and schemes such as the Strathclyde Regional Bus Strategy (SRBS) and Clyde Metro. 2.5 The final draft SRBS, which proposes the move to a franchised model of bus service, was approved at the SPT Partnership Committee on 19 September. A costed programme and timeline for SPT to deliver a Franchise Framework Assessment, as required by the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019), and a progress update on the other actions in the SRBS Delivery Plan, will be presented for approval to the Partnership in December 2025. The SRBS estimates that between £45m - £85m per annum of additional funding is required to deliver the aspirations proposed, which has yet to be identified. The implementation date is estimated to be between 4 and 5.5 years from publication of the Franchising Route Map. Page 76 of 104
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3. Measures of success 3.1 This report is intended to give Members an insight into how the ALEO statutory body is performing and where it is supporting delivery or adding value to statutory obligations and the Council’s priorities. 4. Supporting documentation Appendix 1 – SPT Core Services Overview 2023/24, 2024/25 Appendix 2 – Agency Services Overview 2023/24, 2024/25 Appendix 3 – Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Scheme Overview 2023/24, 2024/25 Appendix 4 – SPT Funded Council Projects Overview 2023/24, 2024/25 SPT Annual Reports – Annual reports | SPT | Strathclyde Partnership for Transport SPT Financial Reports – Finance | SPT | Strathclyde Partnership for Transport Pamela Humphries Chief Officer (Place) Page 77 of 104
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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? Statutory responsibilities under the Fairer Scotland Duty apply to the relevant bodies in their own right and as such each entity is responsible for ensuring that strategic decision making and service delivery proposals take due cognisance of the duty to reduce the inequalities of outcomes caused by socio-economic disadvantage. 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 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 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 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 Page 78 of 104
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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? 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? 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. 5.11 Children’s rights and wellbeing impact Does the report contain any information regarding any council activity, service delivery, policy, or plan that has an impact on children and young people up to the age of 18, or on a specific group of these? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact and the provision that has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the relevant Articles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☐ No ☒ Page 79 of 104
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Appendix 1: SPT Core Services Overview 2023/24 and 2024/25 Remit SPT is the largest of Scotland’s regional transport partnerships, planning and delivering transport solutions for all modes of transport across the west of Scotland, in conjunction with member councils, industry partners and other key regional stakeholders. Statutory Duty Through the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005, SPT has a statutory duty to develop and deliver a Regional Transport Strategy (RTS) for its region, considering demographics, meeting the needs of all inhabited places, enhancing social and economic well-being, promoting public safety and sustainable development. Committee Membership SPT’s Board is made up of 20 elected members representing 12 constituent councils. NLC Members at 2023/24: Convener Loughran, Cllr Adam Smith, Cllr Gordon Currie NLC Members at 2024/25: Convener Loughran, Cllr Adam Smith, Cllr Sandy Watson Principal Activities SPT core services subsidises socially necessary bus services, operates bus stations across the Strathclyde Region as well as operating the Glasgow subway. In addition, it administers the ZoneCard (a flexible season ticket) and other tickets and is a partner in JourneyShare (a car sharing scheme). SPT core services also covers strategy development for initiatives that align with the Regional Transport Strategy including the emerging Clyde Metro mass transit scheme and the Strathclyde Regional Bus Strategy. Outcomes 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 No. of supported socially necessary bus services operating in North Lanarkshire (excludes school transport provision) 40 (1.25 million total passengers) 43 (1.58 million total passengers) 43 (1.44 million total passengers) Clyde Metro Case for Investment Stage 1A: Case for Change & Initial Option Development Complete Strathclyde Regional Bus Strategy Draft strategy recommending a franchising model taken to public consultation March 25 and final strategy approved at SPT Board 19 Sep 2025 Contribution to The Plan for • Support all children and young people to realise their full potential • Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Page 80 of 104
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North Lanarkshire • Improve the health and wellbeing of our communities Income and Expenditure 2023/24 Actual £000s 2024/25 Actual £000s Subway operations 36,353 38,485 Bus operations 22,466 23,857 Operations - other 1,014 1,160 Business support 3,915 4,079 Corporate 20,749 15,745 Total Cost of Services 84,497 83,326 Subway operations income (21,929) (22,670) Bus operation income (3,721) (4,130) Business support (409) (383) Corporate (15,331) (8,389) Total Gross Income (41,390) (35,572) Total Net Cost of services 43,107 47,754 Taxation and Non-specific grant income* (69,534) (70,124) Other operating expenditure (88) (20) Financing and Investment Income and Expenditure (9,491) (9,429) Surplus on the provision of services (36,006) (31,819) Revaluation on non-current assets 0 (396) Actuarial (Gains)/Losses on pension liabilities 4,189 (2,996) Other comprehensive income and expenditure 0 0 Total Comprehensive Income and Expenditure (31,817) (35,211) Page 81 of 104
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*Taxation and non specific grant income 2023/24 Actual £000s 2024/25 Actual £000s 12 Constituent Council funding (36,326) (35,949) NLC contribution to above (5,528) (5,482) Scottish Government revenue grant (650) (617) Scottish Government capital grant (32,522) (28,338) Other (36) (5,220) Total (36,976) (70,124) Page 82 of 104
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Appendix 2: Agency Services Overview 2023/24, 2024/25 Remit SPT is the largest of Scotland’s regional transport partnerships, planning and delivering transport solutions for all modes of transport across the west of Scotland, in conjunction with member councils, industry partners and other key regional stakeholders. Statutory Duty Sections 42 and 51 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 require education authorities to provide free transport to a child's catchment school depending on the children’s age and distance to the school. Principal Activities Agency services are carried out by SPT on behalf of councils, based on the services requested by each council. The total cost of these services is fully funded by the relevant council. As part of this service SPT oversees the provision of School Transport, and bus stop and shelter maintenance, across North Lanarkshire. Outcomes 2023/24 2024/25 NLC pupils transported per day 6345 6660 Bus Stops maintained in North Lanarkshire 213 163 Bus Shelters maintained in North Lanarkshire 40 43 Contribution to The Plan for North Lanarkshire • Support all children and young people to realise their full potential • Improve economic opportunities and outcomes • Improve the health and wellbeing of our communities Agency costs 2023/24 Actual £000s 2024/25 Actual £000s School and vocational transport (NLC costs) 9,936 9,114 Bus shelter/stop maintenance (NLC costs) 74 88 Page 83 of 104
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Appendix 3: Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Scheme (SCTS) Overview 2023/24 and 2024/25 Remit The Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Scheme Committee was set up in 1999 to determine concessionary fares and criteria applicable for concessionary travel on subway, rail services and on ferry services within the Strathclyde scheme area. These concessions are over and above those available via the national concessions in relation to bus travel. It determines which of those services and routes qualify for a concessionary fare. The SCTS is open to people aged 60 over, plus many disabled people if they live permanently in the area covered by the scheme, and in 2024/25 enabled qualifying persons to travel on subway, rail and ferry services for £1 single and £1.50 return. The scheme is administered by SPT. Statutory Duty Founded on the provisions of the Transport Act 1985, which allows transport authorities to make concessionary transport schemes in certain circumstances, the Committee is required to make arrangements for the proper administration of the Scheme and its financial affairs, manage its affairs to secure economic, efficient and effective use of resources and to safeguard its assets and approve the Statement of Accounts. Committee Membership The joint Committee consists of 13 Elected Members representing the 12 constituent unitary authorities in the west of Scotland, together with the Chair of SPT. NLC Member 2023/24 and 2024/25: Cllr William Goldie Principal Activities Administering concessionary travel for the over 60s and disabled persons (and in certain cases, concessionary travel for companions) on subway, rail services and on ferry services within the Strathclyde scheme area. Outcomes North Lanarkshire Residents 2023/24 2024/25 Total National Entitlement Card on Issue 84,879 85,463 Total National Entitlement Card Renewals 2,302 2,875 Total National Entitlement Card First Time applications 1,198 6,557 Contribution to The Plan for North Lanarkshire • Improve the health and wellbeing of our communities • Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Income and Expenditure 2023/24 Actual £000s 2024/25 Actual £000s Payment to operators 4,077 5,451 Corporate costs 406 390 Cost of Services 4,483 5,841 Financial and investment income and expenditure (280) (283) Taxation and non specific grant income* (4,138) (4,095) Deficit on provision of services 65 1,463 Other comprehensive income and expenditure 0 0 Page 84 of 104
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Total comprehensive income and expenditure 65 1,463 *Taxation and non specific grant income 2023/24 Actual £000s 2024/25 Actual £000s 12 Constituent Council (4,138) (4,095) NLC contribution to above (583) (570) Total (4,138) (4,095) Page 85 of 104
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Appendix 4: SPT Funded Council Projects Overview 2023/24 and 2024/25 Remit SPT funding towards Local Authority projects is distributed via the Capital Plan and People and Place programme (capital/revenue mix). Note that active travel and bus infrastructure funding was distributed direct via Transport Scotland in 2024/25. Statutory Duty Through the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005, SPT has a statutory duty to develop and deliver a Regional Transport Strategy (RTS) for its region, considering demographics, meeting the needs of all inhabited places, enhancing social and economic well-being, promoting public safety and sustainable development. Committee Membership SPT’s Partnership Board is made up of 20 elected members representing 12 constituent councils. NLC Members at 2023/24: Convener Loughran, Cllr Adam Smith, Cllr Gordon Currie NLC Members at 2024/25: Convener Loughran, Cllr Adam Smith, Cllr Sandy Watson Principal Activities The Capital Plan seeks to progress projects that help to deliver the RTS policies and objectives. The projects included in the capital plan were assessed for deliverability and affordability considerations. Outcomes NLC funded projects 2023/24 2024/25 Bus Infrastructure Improvements £400,000 A73 Carlisle Road Junction Improvements £400,000 Motherwell Station Active Travel Links £400,000 Airbles Station Active Travel Links £75,000 North and South Lanarkshire Cross Boundary Connections (Regional Active Travel Grant) £80,000 North Lanarkshire Active Travel Hub digital information screens (People & Place programme) £102,000 Total £1,355,000 £102,000 Contribution to The Plan for North Lanarkshire • Improve the health and wellbeing of our communities • Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Page 86 of 104
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Environment and Climate Change Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref: NLC-SLP-25-070 Date: 29 October 2025 Contract Award for Purchase of 12 x 26t RCVs From Lyall Rennie, Chief Officer (Community Operations) E-mail RennieLy@northlan.gov.uk Telephone: John McElhinney, Business Manager (Fleet) – 07977 705015 Executive Summary In accordance with the councils General Contract Standing Orders (GCSOs), the Committee is asked to acknowledge the award of a contract for the Purchase of 26t Refuse Collection Vehicles (the ‘Agreement’) following the undertaking of a procurement procedure as detailed within this report below. In accordance with GCSO 21.3.2, the Agreement was awarded outwith Committee to expedite its award due to an imminent price increase that took effect on 05 August 2025 therefore generating a cost avoidance saving of circa £900,000. The Agreement was approved for award in accordance with GCSO 21.3.2 by the Depute Chief Executive on 04 August 2025 and the Agreement formally awarded on 04 August 2025. Recommendations It is recommended that the Environment and Climate Change Committee: (1) Acknowledge the award of the Agreement in accordance with GCSO 21.3.2 to Faun Zoeller UK Limited (the “Contractor”) at the maximum value of Two Million Nine Hundred and Eighty- Nine Thousand Seven Hundred and Forty-Eight pounds and Forty Pence Sterling (£2,989,748.40) exclusive of VAT for a period of 18 months that commenced on 05 August 2025. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition Statement (17) Ensure we keep our environment clean, safe, and attractive Programme of Work Sustainable Futures Item 9 Page 87 of 104
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1. Background 1.1 The council has an ongoing requirement to purchase various vehicle types including but not limited to cars, vans, trucks, refuse collection vehicles (RCV), tractors, buses / coaches, road sweepers, trailers etc. Historically the Council has had various iterations of its “vehicle Replacement Programme” which programmes the purchase of vehicle types years in advance however there has been often instances where vehicles have been purchased on an ad-hoc basis i.e. a vehicle has been written off by insurers due to damage. 1.2 Accordingly, this Agreement is for the purchase of 12 x 26t RCVs to replace the aging fleet of RCVs. 1.3 RCVs are a key element of the council’s vehicle fleet and are utilised in various ways. The main function will be to carry out statutory and no statutory front line collections services from the councils 161,854 domestic properties. 1.4 The Agreement was procured via the Scotland Excel Heavy Vehicles framework agreement (0321), Lot 10 – Bodies for Refuse Collection (the “Framework”) 1.5 To enable appropriate development and execution of the procedure required to form the Agreement, a panel of technical and procurement representatives (the “User Intelligence Group (UIG)”) was formed. 1.6 The UIG were responsible for developing the required internal contract strategy (the “Contract Strategy“) for the Agreement. The Contract Strategy sets out the parameters and approaches the council would apply within the procurement, tendering, contracting and end of life stages of the Agreement following appropriate analysis, research and investigation to ensure the council achieves maximum benefit where possible. 2. Report 2.1 The procurement procedure was undertaken as a “Direct Award”. A Direct Award is a procurement procedure where an overarching framework agreement allows the council to directly engage and contract with an appointed contractor that has already went through a full competitive procurement procedure in a more efficient manner as per the Frameworks terms and conditions. 2.2 Within the associated Contract Strategy for the Agreement, the Framework, and determination of whether Best Value was achievable via the Direct Award procurement, the recommended Contractor was identified, engaged and issued an invitation to tender to formalise the Agreement. 2.3 The tender received from the recommended Contractor underwent appropriate appraisal to ensure it was complete / compliant with the council’s requirements and demonstrated Best Value. 2.4 Appendix 1 provides a summary of the procurement procedure undertaken including the key considerations and outcomes. Financial / Budget Consideration 2.5 The pre-tender wholelife estimate budget for the Agreement was £2,977,405.56. The costs associated with delivery of the Agreement will be contained within the Vehicle Replacement capital budget for the Fleet Services team within Community Operations. Page 88 of 104
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2.6 Following completion of the procurement procedure, the Agreement will cost Two Million, Nine Hundred and Eight Nine Thousand, Seven Hundred and Forty-Eight Pounds and Forty Pence Sterling (£2,989,748.40) exclusive of VAT. 2.7 The cost of the Agreement demonstrates a cost increase of £12,343 against the initial budget. This was due to a negotiation to increase the chassis warranty from 1 year (which is the minimum requirement of the Framework) to 3 years. The increase is equivalent to circa £1,028 per vehicle however shall provide benefit to the each RCV’s operation and a reduction in cost to the council for maintenance, servicing parts etc. across the extended warranty period. 2.8 In July 2025, Scotland Excel approved an uplift in prices to the Framework by an average of circa 38.35% for requirements to be purchase within the Agreement. These price increases went live on 05 August 2025 and by awarding the Agreement before then, generated a cost avoidance saving to the council of circa £900,000 across the 12 RCV’s. Price Stability 2.9 Prices within the Agreement are fixed and unchangeable for its entire duration. It is anticipated the vehicles will be delivered in batches of 6, with the first 6 due in June 2026 and the remainder due in December 2026. Community Benefits 2.10 The council is committed to maximising the delivery of community benefits. The procurement included a community benefit requirement, this approach is designed to deliver local community benefits where possible. 2.11 As per the Frameworks terms and conditions, the recommended Contractor is required deliver community benefits given the value of the Agreement as detailed within Appendix 1 of this report. 2.12 The community benefits committed as part of the Agreement does not include the creation of jobs or apprenticeships. Fair Work First and Payment of the Living Wage 2.13 As part of their appointment to the Framework, the Contractor had to demonstrate the application of fair working practices within their organisation. 2.14 Further information on the Living Wage status of the recommended Contractor is detailed in Appendix 1. Contract Management 2.15 Officers from the Fleet Services team within Community Operations will be responsible for managing the Agreement which will be undertaken in accordance with the contract and supplier management conditions applied within the Agreement. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The agreement will deliver the following outcomes: • Best Value will be demonstrated as outlined in Appendix 1. • The appointment of a Contractor who has the experience and capability to provide the required RCV’s to a suitable build quality and within the timescales required. Page 89 of 104
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• The procurement procedure is compliant with the procurement legislation, the Framework and internal procedures. • The Agreement secures a range of community benefits; and • A collaborative approach to the procurement of the requirement, minimising the burden on internal resource and leveraging the economies of scale. 4. Supporting documents 4.1 Appendix 1 Summary of Procurement Procedure Lyall Rennie Chief Officer (Community Operations) Page 90 of 104
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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? 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 been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The cost has been identified as part of the VRP Capital Allocation. Depute Chief Executive has approved the spend. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts 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 been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? All procurement procedures will have potential legal implications however throughout this Agreement, compliance with the councils General Contract Standing Orders and the relevant procurement regulations has been maintained with advice from colleagues in Corporate Procurement and Legal Services sought as and when required. 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 91 of 104
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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? The new trucks will run on the latest Euro 6 Engines and be more efficient. 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? 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. 5.11 Children’s rights and wellbeing impact Does the report contain any information regarding any council activity, service delivery, policy, or plan that has an impact on children and young people up to the age of 18, or on a specific group of these? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact and the provision that has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the relevant Articles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 92 of 104
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Appendix 1 – Summary of Procurement Procedure Overview Reference NLC-SLP-25-070 Title Purchase of 12 x 26t RCVs Classification Supplies Responsible Chief Officer and Position Lyall Rennie, Chief Officer (Community Operations) Competition Governance by Value Overarching Framework Agreements terms and condition in accordance with the Councils General Contract Standing Orders Route to Market Direct Award from a Third-Party Framework Agreement Framework Agreement Title, Ref and Lot Info Scotland Excel Heavy Vehicles framework agreement (0321), Lot 10 – Bodies for Refuse Collection Interest No. of Lot / Framework Agreement Appointments 8 Date Invitation to Tender Package Issued 01 August 2025 Tenders Received Total No. of Tenders Received 1 No. of Tenders From SME’s 1 No. Tenders from NLC Based Businesses 0 No. of Tenders from Supported Businesses 0 Direct Award Basis Best Value Assessment of Framework Contractors in Accordance with the Framework Agreement How Has “Best Value” Been Demonstrated? • The council awarded a Direct Award from the Scotland Excel 0321 Framework Heavy Vehicles, Lot 10 Bodies for refuse Collection) which was determined to be the optimum route to market for the Agreement. • New RCVs shall be more fuel efficient and will require less maintenance than the current fleet. • The commonality of the RCV fleet will bring consistency and service efficiencies in terms of vehicle technician / mechanic knowledge and purchase of consumables e.g. vehicle parts, tyres etc. • Replacing the older fleet also reduces the risk of reputational damage should these vehicles fail to carry out key and statutory service delivery due to faults etc. • The Agreement has resulted in a cost avoidance of circa £900,000 pending a price increase due to go live from 5 August on the Scotland Excel Framework. Page 93 of 104
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Award Details General Overview Total / Maximum Value £2,989,748.40 Contract Duration (Months) 18 Months Contractor Registered Name(s) Faun Zoeller UK Limited Contractor Overview Registered Local Authority Area Worcestershire Contractor(s) Size Medium Living Wage Paying the Living Wage Yes Living Wage Accredited No Overview of Community Benefits Given the value of the Agreement, the Contract has committed (as required as per the Framework) to deliver a minimum of 250 Community Benefit Points from the benefits set out by Scotland Excel as detailed in the table below. Given the award of the Agreement is being expeditated to avoid additional cost, the Contractor has confirmed that they would agree their community benefit offering, timescales etc. as part of the Agreements implementation procedure. Page 94 of 104
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Impacts Summary, Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty ☐ HR Policy Impact ☐ Data Protection Impact ☐ Environment / Carbon Impact ☒ Risk Impact ☐ Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact ☐ Financial Impact ☒ Legal Impact ☒ Technology / Digital Impact ☐ Comms impact ☐ Armed Forces Covenant Duty ☐ Page 95 of 104
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Environment and Climate Change Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref: NLC-CPT-24-145 Date: 29 October 2025 Contract Award for the Purchase of 32 Seat Minibuses From Lyall Rennie, Chief Officer (Community Operations) E-mail RennieLy@northlan.gov.uk Telephone: John McElhinney, Business Manager (Fleet) – 07977 705015 Executive Summary In accordance with the councils General Contract Standing Orders (GCSOs the Committee is asked to acknowledge the award of a contract for the Purchase of 32 Seat Minibuses (the ‘Agreement’) following the undertaking of a procurement procedure as detailed within this report below. Permission to award outwith the committee cycle in accordance with GCSO 21.3.2 was sought to expedite the delivery of requirements by obtaining early entry to the Contractors manufacturing build slots. Within this market, the delivery timescale is estimated to be eight to twelve months from order therefore by adopting the approach to award outwith committee, it is hopeful that some of the required minibuses can be delivered by the end of this financial year. Agreement was approved for award in accordance with GCSO 21.3.2 by the Depute Chief Executive on 22 July 2025 and the Agreement formally awarded on 12 August 2025 following the application of a voluntary 10-day “standstill” period. Recommendations It is recommended that the Environment and Climate Change Committee: (1) Acknowledges the award of the Agreement to Woodall-Nicholson Limited t/a Mellor Bus Limited (the “Contractor”) at the maximum value of Two Million Six Hundred and Twenty-Three Thousand One Hundred and Forty Pounds Sterling (£2,623,140) exclusive of VAT for a period of eight months anticipated to commence on 11 August 2025. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition Statement (17) Ensure we keep our environment clean, safe, and attractive Programme of Work Sustainable Futures Item 10 Page 97 of 104
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1. Background 1.1 The council has an ongoing requirement to purchase various vehicle types including but not limited to cars, vans, trucks, refuse collection vehicles (RCV), tractors, buses / coaches, road sweepers trailers etc. Historically the Council has had various iterations of its “vehicle Replacement Programme” which programmes the purchase of vehicle types years in advance however there has been often instances where vehicles have been purchased on an ad-hoc basis i.e. a vehicle has been written off by insurers due to damage. 1.2 Accordingly, this Agreement is for the purchase of 18 x 32 seat minibuses to replace the aging fleet of 64 plate (nine-year-old) 26 seat minibuses. 1.3 Minibuses are a key element of the council’s vehicle fleet are utilised in various ways. The buses main function will be to provide ASN transport to 579 pupils across 52 buses across North Lanarkshire. The utilisation of these buses will also consider the mainstream school provision which has 6 routes to be covered over the 25/26 school year. 1.4 To enable appropriate development and execution of the procedure required to form the Agreement, a panel of technical and procurement representatives (the “User Intelligence Group (UIG)”) was formed. 1.5 The UIG were responsible for developing the required internal contract strategy (the “Contract Strategy“) for the Agreement. The Contract Strategy sets out the parameters and approaches the council would apply within the procurement, tendering, contracting and end of life stages of the Agreement following appropriate analysis, research and investigation to ensure the council achieves maximum benefit where possible. In accordance with GCSO 4.4, the Contract Strategy for the Agreement was approved on 23 April 2025. 2. Report 2.1 The procurement procedure was undertaken as a “Mini Competition”. A Mini Competition is a streamlined competitive procurement procedure where an overarching framework agreement is already in situ thus allowing the council access to companies that have already went through a full competitive procurement procedure to gain appointment to the overarching framework agreement. Accordingly, a Mini Competition enables the council to award from the overarching framework agreement in a more efficient manner whilst enabling competition. 2.2 Based on the evaluation criteria and scoring methodology set out in the procurement procedure, an evaluation of tenders received was completed by members identified by the UIG as having the technical knowledge and experience to evaluate tenders in a professional and fair manner. 2.3 Following completion of the procurement procedure in accordance with the overarching framework agreement, the recommended Contractor has been evaluated as submitting the most economically advantageous tender. 2.4 Appendix 1 provides a summary of the procurement procedure undertaken including the key considerations and outcomes. Financial / Budget Consideration 2.5 The pre-tender whole life estimate budget for the Agreement was £2,750,000. The costs associated with delivery of the Agreement will be contained within the capital budget for the Fleet Services team within Community Operations. Page 98 of 104
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2.6 Based on costs committed to by the recommended Contractor within their Tender, the Agreement is anticipated to generate a financial saving of circa £126,860 against the pre- tender budget. Price Stability 2.7 Prices within the Agreement are fixed and unchangeable for its entire duration. Community Benefits 2.8 The council is committed to maximising the delivery of community benefits. The procurement included a community benefit requirement; this approach is designed to deliver local community benefits where possible. 2.9 Within their tender, the recommended Contractor failed to commit to the delivery of community benefits for the council. Whilst the Contractor demonstrated commitment to community benefits delivered in their own local area within their Tender, the council shall seek community benefits for the council as part of the Agreements mobilisation and ongoing contract management. Fair Work First and Payment of the Living Wage 2.10 Within their tender submission to obtain appointment to the overarching framework agreement, the Contractor intimated that they would commit to a variety of fair working practices as required by the owner of the overarching framework agreement. 2.11 Further information on the Living Wage status of the recommended Contractor is detailed in Appendix 1 Contract Management 2.12 Officers from the Fleet Services team within Community Operations will be responsible for managing the Agreement which will be undertaken in accordance with the contract and supplier management conditions applied within the Agreement. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The Agreement will deliver the following outcomes: • Best Value will be demonstrated as outlined in Appendix 1. 4. Supporting documents 4.1 Appendix 1 Summary of Procurement Procedure Lyall Rennie Chief Officer (Community Operations) Page 99 of 104
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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 been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The Financial Impact of this report is as detailed within sections 2.5 – 2.7 above and is attributed to the councils ongoing Vehicle Replacement Programme. The Vehicle Replacement Programme is a 5-year plan which is monitored closely by the Fleet Business Manager and Finance teams at the regular financial monitoring meetings. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts 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 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 100 of 104
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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? Within their Tender, the Contractor demonstrated the following environment / carbon commitments, initiatives etc. • Carbon reduction plan in place that is compliant with PPN 06 / 21 • Confirmed alignment to the council’s ambition to achieve net zero by 2030 • Aim to reduce emissions at every stage of production and delivery and encouraging waste reduction 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? 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. The overarching framework agreement has conditions within encouraging all appointed suppliers and their supply chains to “to sign the Corporate Covenant, declaring their support for the Armed Forces community by displaying the values and behaviours set out there in via the Armed Forces Covenant Page 101 of 104
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5.11 Children’s rights and wellbeing impact Does the report contain any information regarding any council activity, service delivery, policy, or plan that has an impact on children and young people up to the age of 18, or on a specific group of these? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact and the provision that has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the relevant Articles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 102 of 104
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Appendix 1 – Summary of Procurement Procedure Overview Reference NLC-CPT-24-145 Title Purchase of 18 x 32 Seat Minibuses Classification Supplies Responsible Chief Officer and Position Lyall Rennie Chief Officer (Community Operations) Competition Governance by Value Overarching Framework Agreement's terms and condition in accordance with the Councils General Contract Standing Orders Route to Market Mini Competition from a Third-Party Framework Agreement “Framework Agreement “Title, Ref and Lot Info Crown Commercial Service (CCS) framework agreement for the Purchase of Standard and Specialist Vehicles (RM6244), Lot 8 - Buses and Coaches (over 17 Seats) Interest No. of Lot / Framework Agreement Contractors 12 Date Invitation to Tender Package Published 23 May 2025 Tenders Received Total No. of Tenders Received Two (2) No. of Tenders From SME’s One (1) No. Tenders from NLC Based Businesses Zero (0) No. of Tenders from Supported Businesses Zero (0) Award Criteria Quality Weighting 40.00% Price Weighting 60.00% Evaluation Scoring Contractor(s) Score 97.32% Unsuccessful Tenderer Scoring Range 91.96% How Has “Best Value” Been Demonstrated? • The council conducted a mini competition from the CCS Framework RM6244 Purchase of Standard and Specialist Vehicles, Lot 8: Buses and Coaches (over 17 Seats) which was determined to be the optimum route to market for the Agreement. • New minibuses shall be more fuel efficient and will require less maintenance than the current fleet. • The commonality of the minibus fleet will bring consistency and service efficiencies in terms of vehicle technician / mechanic knowledge and purchase of consumables e.g. vehicle parts, tyres etc. Page 103 of 104
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• Service users will benefit from being transported in the new vehicles. Replacing the older fleet also reduces the risk of reputational damage should these vehicles fail to carry out key service delivery due to faults etc. • The Agreement has resulted in a saving of circa £126,860 against the pre-tender budget of £2,750,000. Award Details General Overview Total / Maximum Value £2,623,140 Contract Duration (Months) Eight (8) Contractor Registered Name(s) Woodall-Nicholson Limited t/a Mellor Bus Limited Contractor Overview Registered Local Authority Area Greater Manchester Contractor(s) Size Large Living Wage Paying the Living Wage Yes Living Wage Accredited No Impacts Summary, Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty ☐ HR Policy Impact ☐ Data Protection Impact ☐ Environment / Carbon Impact ☒ Risk Impact ☐ Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact ☐ Financial Impact ☒ Legal Impact ☐ Technology / Digital Impact ☐ Comms impact ☐ Armed Forces Covenant Duty ☒ Page 104 of 104