Agenda Document Pack - Environment and Climate Change Committee - 01/05/2024
North Lanarkshire Council · 1 May 2024
Back to Environment and Climate Change Committee — 1 May 2024 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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22 April 2024 Members of the Environment and Climate Change Committee Chief Executive’s Office Archie Aitken 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, 01 May 2024 at 14:00 PM which you are requested to attend. The agenda of business is attached. Archie Aitken Chief Officer (Legal & Democratic) Members : Clerk Name: Clare Louise McDonald Clerk Telephone: 01698 302058 Clerk Email: mcdonaldcl@northlan.gov.uk H Loughran, J McPhilemy, T Carragher, P Di Mascio, K Duffy, F Fotheringham, W Goldie, K Harmon, J Leckie, A Masterton, M McBride, B McCulloch, M McCulloch, F McKay, C McManus, L Mitchell, L Nolan, J Reddin, L Roarty, A Smith, A Stubbs, A Thomas, C Williams, N Wilson, G Woods. Page 1 of 66
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Agenda 1 Declarations of Interest In Terms of the Ethical Standards In Public Life Etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 2 Terms of Reference - Environment and Climate Change Submit a copy of the remit/delegated functions of the Committee following agreement of the Policy and Strategy Committee on 7 December 2023 5 - 6 Operational 3 Core Paths Plan Review - Progress Report Submit report by the Chief Officer (Community Operations) providing an update on the current Core Path Review and seeking approval for the proposed process for assessment and consultation 7 - 16 4 Proposal to Prohibit the Release of Sky Lanterns and Helium Balloons from all Council Land and Premises Submit report by the Chief Officer (Community Operations) seeking approval to prohibit the release of sky lanterns and helium balloons from all Council land and premises and from Council licensed events 17 - 22 5 Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Submit report by the Depute Chief Executive providing an update on work undertaken to develop a collaborative approach to expanding the public electric vehicle charging infrastructure (EVCI) network across the 8 local authorities of Glasgow City Region 23 - 36 Performance 6 Strategic Performance Framework - Latest Performance Results for Community Operations Submit report by the Chief Officer (Community Operations) providing an update of the latest results for the suite of performance indicators within Community Operations 37 - 50 Page 3 of 66
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7 Strathclyde Partnership for Transport and Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Scheme 2022/23 Submit report by the Chief Officer (Place) providing an overview of performance in 2022/23 by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) and the Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Scheme (SCTS) 51 - 58 Contracts 8 Contract Variation - A73 Carlisle Road, Junction Improvements Submit report by the Chief Officer (Place) informing of the variation in costs for the design and construction of the A73 Carlisle Road junction improvements in Airdrie 59 - 66 Page 4 of 66
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ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE COMMITTEE (1) To plan, set targets for, and monitor the performance of all services, including those delivered through partners and external bodies, within the remit of this Committee and to be responsible for the supervision and oversight of those services. (2) To direct and supervise and discharge the functions of the Council:- • in relation to open spaces, parks, nurseries, playground, playing fields, allotments and war memorials; • with regard to the countryside and landscape management, and • as Environmental Health and as Trading Standards Authority. (3) To oversee the management of arrangements and provision of facilities for the collection and disposal of waste and recyclate in terms of previously approved estimates. (4) To oversee the management of the maintenance and cleaning of buildings, streets, public toilets and other areas in terms of previously approved estimates. (5) To supervise arrangements for management and oversight of an internal transport service in relation to all functions of the Council. (6) To provide and manage cemeteries in terms of previously approved estimates. (7) To provide facilities in relation to recycling. (8) To be responsible for the supervision and oversight of the Council’s:- • Building Cleaning Operations; • Schools Catering Services Operations; • Cleansing Operations; • Grounds Maintenance Operations, and • Transport Operations and to monitor the trading accounts in relation thereto. (9) To approve expenditure and capital schemes coming within the remit of this Committee within the approved Capital Programme and within approved Council objectives and to accept tenders for previously approved projects within the responsibility of this Committee. (10) To formulate, for the consideration of the Council, of policies in relation to Nuclear Free Zones and to keep such policies under review. (11) To supervise and implement the Council’s activities in relation to energy conservation. (12) To direct and supervise and discharge the functions of the Council:- • as Roads Authority; • in relation to the lighting of roads and streets etc, and Item 2 Page 5 of 66
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• in relation to transportation, and to advise and represent the Council in relation to transportation matters and the operation of the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport. (13) To consider road safety and accident prevention matters and the safety of public passenger transport operated under the Council’s control or with the benefit of subsidy from the Council. (14) To consider periodic reports from:- (a) the appropriate Service after consultation, where appropriate, with the Chief Constable, on road safety, accident prevention and other matters within the terms of their shared responsibilities; (b) the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, on the safety of public transport operations, and (c) the appropriate Service on safety of transport infrastructure under his jurisdiction. (15) * To consider the transportation policies and programmes of the Council. (16) To consider and determine on behalf of the Council all traffic management proposals in terms of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 together with all associated legislation and regulations, to determine Orders and to deal with associated matters. (17) To oversee the operation of the Roads and Transportation Services. (18) To consider and agree action in relation to petitions received by the Council relative to the business of the Committee. (19) To monitor and approve expenditure falling within the remit of this Committee consistent with approved Council objectives. (20) To grant authority to Members to attend seminars, conferences and other visits concerning matters within the areas of responsibility of this Committee. (21) To accept tenders for previously approved projects within the responsibility of this Committee. (22) To exercise the functions of the Council in relation to resilience planning, including the preparation and review of the Council's Corporate Resilience Plan and oversight and monitoring of the Council's resilience planning business continuity arrangements. (23) Oversee the Council’s management and approach towards decriminalised car parking enforcement. (24) To invite representatives (Board members and/or senior management) of ALEOs to attend to provide information and assurance on relevant matters as requested. Page 6 of 66
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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/MCK Date 01/05/24 Core Paths Plan Review – Progress Report From Lyall Rennie, Chief Officer, Community Operations E-mail renniely@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07855 193500 Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to provide an update on the current Core Path Review and seek approval for the proposed process for assessment and consultation. The council has a statutory duty to prepare a core path plan and may undertake reviews periodically. North Lanarkshire’s Core Paths Plan was formally adopted in 2011. This is the first full review of this plan, and the scope will include. (1) Proposed additional Core Paths (2) Proposed amendments to Core Paths (3) Core Paths proposed for removal from the plan. Following this review and consultation, and any ministerial direction, the revised core path plan will be brought to committee for approval to adopt. Recommendations It is recommended that the Environment and Climate Change committee: (1) Recognise the considerable work that has been undertaken up to and including phase 1 (evidence and assessment) of the Core Path Review. (2) Endorse the approach for phase 2 (public consultation) of the Core Path review to continue this year including seeking ministerial determination if any objections are made and not withdrawn during the public consultation phase. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve the health and wellbeing of our communities Ambition statement (15) Encourage the health and wellbeing of people through a range of social, cultural, and leisure activities Programme of Work Statutory / corporate / service requirement Item 3 Page 7 of 66
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1. Background 1.1 The introduction of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 established statutory public rights of responsible access to most land and inland water. 1.2 The act specifically established a right to land for recreational, educational, and certain other purposes and a right to cross land. Local authorities are the access authority for their area and have specific duties and powers under the Act including the development of a Core Paths Plan and establishing a local access forum. 1.3 The rights apply to any non-motorised activities, including walking, cycling, horse-riding and wild camping. They also allow access to inland water for canoeing, rowing, sailing, and swimming. 1.4 Section 20 of the Act places a duty to prepare a Core Paths Plan and ensure it is reviewed periodically. 1.5 The legislation also requires local authorities to set up a Local Access Forum. Since the Core Paths Plan was produced the North Lanarkshire Outdoor Access Forum have played a key role in providing a local voice on behalf of residents and working with the council to ensure the network fulfils the obligations of the Act. 2. Report 2.1 North Lanarkshire Council’s Core Paths Plan Core paths in North Lanarkshire | North Lanarkshire Council was formally adopted in October 2011. It established a network of paths sufficient for the purpose of providing reasonable non-motorised access to allow residents to travel across the whole of the local authority area. 2.2 Following extensive consultation, meetings with landowners and those raising objections during the consultation process, a total of 304 core paths were identified with a total length of 378 miles, the majority of which, 254 miles are within council ownership. 2.3 The core path network is now firmly established across North Lanarkshire linking communities with and between places that are important to their everyday needs and providing an opportunity for people to make a choice to leave the car behind and travel actively to local destinations. 2.4 Since coming into being, changes to the plan have been made at appropriate intervals e.g. following planning decisions to divert core paths. There has also been a significant level of development, which includes new paths (e.g. Ravenscraig and M8/M74 upgrades), and new communities, which have not been included thus far as part of the core path network. To ensure the path network remains accessible, fit for purpose and up to date, the service has instigated a review of the Plan under section 20 of the Act. Page 8 of 66
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Core Paths Plan Review Process 2.5 Amendments to the Land Reform (Scotland) Act in 2016 gave local authorities to ability to make minor or single changes to the Core Paths Plan. Details of the process to be followed are covered in various parts of section 20 (A - D) of the Act. Larger scale alterations (multiple changes) to the Core Paths Plan and periodic review of the plan require a full review, the process for which is defined in the legislation. 2.6 This review will consider any suggestions of amendments, additions, or deletions to the network. These suggestions will be gathered during 2 phases of internal and external consultations. Appendix 1 provides an overview of the review process. Evidence and Assessment (Phase 1) 2.7 New criteria to assess core paths (appendix 2) have been developed with the North Lanarkshire Outdoor Access over approximately 1 year. The criteria were adopted by all stakeholders via an online vote in November 2022. The new criteria reflect the changes within the council area over the 10 years since the original plan was adopted. This includes the local and national prioritisation to encourage more walking and cycling as alternatives to traveling by car, both as a positive approach of reducing carbon emissions and the benefits shown for mental health and physical wellbeing. 2.8 A Condition Survey was undertaken in 2021 to assess the status of the existing network and to answer the question ‘are the core paths fit for purpose’? The survey provided data on the condition of the current path network at that time, taking consideration of the following characteristics: • Gradients (slope and slope duration) • Material make up of each path • Condition of the path • Details of obstacles to use (path furniture) • Width (including pinch points) • Supporting information e.g. major issue (landslip / path not evident on the ground) 2.9 Funding from Smarter Choices, Smarter Places has enabled the council to employ a specialist contractor to assess the existing network against the revised core path criteria and results from the condition survey. 2.10 The results allow us to understand and identify the condition of the paths to help inform decisions and focus the very limited funding available. Core paths must form a part of the delivery of the Council’s Active Travel Strategy fundamental to connecting those strategically identified routes to recreational and local opportunities for the people of North Lanarkshire. Consultation Phase (phase 2) 2.11 Internal consultation was initiated at the beginning of January 2024 and the results have been reviewed by Community Greenspace Officers. Page 9 of 66
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2.12 During March the consultant assessed the existing network against the new criteria, alongside the results from the condition survey and feedback from the internal consultation to produce updated maps. This work has provided us with a baseline to undertake a 12-week public consultation on proposed changes to the core path network. It is anticipated that the external consultation will take place during the summer months (June, July & August 2024). 2.13 The consultation will be via an online survey which will ask respondents to suggest any additions, deletions, or amendments to the proposed network. A draft network map will be available online for public and stakeholder organisations inviting objections and representations (there will also be non-digital opportunities to gather feedback). The Community Boards have been made aware of the upcoming consultation. 2.14 Following the 12-week formal consultation officers will review any objections and if appropriate, make contact to try and resolve these. Following that process the council will be able to either: a) Adopt the new plan as set out as no objections were received (or those received were subsequently withdrawn) and give public notice of its adoption. b) Send outstanding objections to ministers for determination and adopt the plan as directed to do so thereafter. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Core Paths Plan is reviewed and formally adopted under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 – North Lanarkshire Core Path Plan Review Process Appendix 2 – New North Lanarkshire Core Path Plan Criteria Lyall Rennie Chief Officer (Community Operations) Page 10 of 66
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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 council have a duty to keep Core paths free from obstruction, but do not have to maintain core paths to a particular standard. Core path inspection and ad hoc improvements will continue to be managed through existing budgets. 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? Adopting the reviewed core paths plan will ensure we continue to fulfil our statutory duties under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 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 11 of 66
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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 Core Path Plan continues to support the council’s ambitions linked to climate change and reaching net zero. The network provides routes across North Lanarkshire for non-motorised travel to encourage alternatives to travel by car to help reduce our carbon output. Having a ‘fit for purpose’ path network also contributes our Active Travel Strategy and contributes to the success of the Scottish Government’s National Walking Strategy and links to the Walking, Wheeling, and Cycling Policy. 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? Phase 2 will invite representations and objections through the 12-week formal consultation with stakeholder organisations and the public. Once adopted, the Core Path network will be available to access on the council website. 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 review may raise expectations for path improvements that are beyond the council’s financial resources in terms of available budget. 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 12 of 66
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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 13 of 66
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Core Path Plan Review Process Appendix 1 Local authority decides to review Core Path Plan Scottish Government direction to review Core Path Plan Identify proposed changes. CP Removal(s) or Diversion(s) only Several new CPs proposed (with or without any diversions or removals) Single change proposed for one new CP inclusion No substantive changes Launch of review and start to gather evidence. Check information and evidence against agreed core path criteria (phase 1) Amend the plan by removing or diverting these paths. Section 20A procedure – full review Section 20C procedure Adopt the amendment or amended plan Note - once the plan is adopted the council must • Give public notice • Amend maps and list • Keep available for inspection Evidence example: • Condition survey results • Access Forum input • NLC Local Active Travel Strategy • Upgrades & ‘problem’ areas • Creation of new paths through development Phase 2 – 12-week formal consultation Page 14 of 66
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Appendix 2 New Core Path Criteria 1. The core path provides a link between and within communities. (a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality and often have a common cultural or historical heritage). 2. The core path links existing attractions and/or desirable destinations? (e.g., green spaces, viewpoints, tourist destinations, built & cultural heritage features, and points of local interest). 3. The core path provides a link to essential local services. (e.g., trains, buses, schools, shops, health centres, sports centres). 4. The core path is fit for non-motorised use by one or more of types of user groups. (e.g., horses, cycles, runners, walkers). This is not an exhaustive list and other user groups may be included. 5. The core path links into other long distance strategic routes. (e.g., John Muir Way, National Cycle routes, canals). 6. The core path broadly supports North Lanarkshire Councils strategy for routes for Active Travel which can be utilised for everyday journeys such as travelling for employment, education or meeting essential needs, as well as recreation. 7. The core path links into existing North Lanarkshire Council Town and Community Hubs. For a route to be considered a Core Path then it should meet at least 4 of the 7 criteria. A core path may be considered for removal or deletion if it no longer meets the criteria of being a core path or part of that route is served by another core path in close proximity. Page 15 of 66
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Environment & Climate Change Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref PB Date 01/05/24 Proposal to prohibit the release of sky lanterns and helium balloons from all council land and premises From Lyall Rennie, Chief Officer (Community Operations) E-mail RennieLy@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07855 193500 1. Background 1.1 The Council has been contacted by Animal Concern, a Scottish based animal welfare charity, to seek our support in prohibiting the release of sky lanterns and helium balloons from all council land and premises. 1.2 The ban on releasing sky lanterns and helium balloons is supported by a wide and diverse number of bodies, including the National Farmers Union Scotland, the SSPCA, the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service, Keep Scotland Beautiful and the majority of Scottish local authorities. Executive Summary The Council has been contacted by Animal Concern, a Scottish based animal welfare charity, to seek our support in prohibiting the release of sky lanterns and helium balloons from all council land and premises. These products can pose risks to domestically farmed animals as well as wildlife and marine life, constitute a fire risk, and result in environmental blight of the land. The ban on releasing sky lanterns and helium balloons is supported by a wide and diverse number of bodies, including the National Farmers Union Scotland, the SSPCA, the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service, Keep Scotland Beautiful and the majority of Scottish local authorities. Recommendations It is recommended that the committee: • Approve the proposal to prohibit the release of sky lanterns and helium balloons from all council land and premises and from council licensed events. 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 Transforming Places Item 4 Page 17 of 66
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2. Report 2.1 The release of helium balloons and sky lanterns can pose risks to domestically farmed animals as well as wildlife and marine life, constitute a fire risk and result in environmental blight of the land. 2.2 The primary risk to animal life is through ingestion: • The wire or bamboo frame of a sky lantern may puncture or perforate a vital organ, the oesophagus or stomach, resulting in bleeding or organ failure; • If part of a sky lantern or helium balloon became lodged in the throat of an animal, it could cause death by asphyxiation; • The fuel sources used in sky lanterns can be toxic and damaging to animal, plant and marine life. 2.3 Animals may also become entangled in parts of sky lanterns or the strings and ribbons attached to helium balloons. The frames of lanterns once they have landed and rest on open land may constitute a risk of ensnaring animals which cannot subsequently extricate themselves. 2.4 Releasing sky lanterns constitutes a dangerous and inappropriate release of a naked flame into the sky. When the lantern returns to the ground, it poses a fire risk to whatever place it falls upon, whether that is open grassland, farmed crops, or property. 2.5 The website of the animal welfare charity, Animal Concern, includes a map indicating which Scottish local authorities have already prohibited the release of kay lanterns and/or helium balloons from their land: https://www.animalconcern.org/news-posts/scottish-councils-sky-lanterns-helium- balloons North Lanarkshire is currently within a minority of councils that does not have any prohibitions in place at the present time. 2.6 The other main issue that remains unaddressed in respect of the release of helium balloons and sky lanterns is the resultant problem of environmental blight as the practice is, by its very nature, postponed littering. Whilst it does not comfortably fit into the definition of littering found in Section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 as enforced by our Environmental Protection Officers in the Pollution Control & Public Health team, we would suggest that the practice does constitute littering and should be viewed as unacceptable by the council. 2.7 Helium balloons coming to rest after their release will constitute plastic waste. Allowing the continued release of sky lanterns and helium balloons from council land and premises would be in direct contradiction of the stated aims of the council’s Environment Strategy and Biodiversity Action Plan, the latter of which aims to safeguard vulnerable species and protect and enhance key habitats. 2.8 The prohibition on the release of sky lanterns and helium balloons will require to be incorporated into the council’s licensing and policy framework, particularly in relation to the granting of public entertainment licences under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 where sky lantern or helium balloon releases may be planned as part of a licensed event. Page 18 of 66
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3. Measures of success 3.1 The eradication of environmental blight and the associated risks to animals and property caused by the release of sky lanterns and helium balloons from council land and premises including as part of an event holding a public entertainment licence. 4. Supporting documentation N/A Lyall Rennie Chief Officer (Community Operations) Page 19 of 66
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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? There may be some financial outlay required to display signage in council parks and open spaces advising the public of the prohibition. 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? The prohibition on the release of sky lanterns and helium balloons would require to be incorporated as a core condition within the council’s public entertainment licensing process under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982. 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 20 of 66
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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 reinforcement of the council’s environment strategy and biodiversity action plan. 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 21 of 66
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Environment and Climate Change Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref AM Date 01/05/24 Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Update From Andrew McPherson, Depute Chief Executive E-mail mcphersona@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 280467 Executive Summary This report provides Committee with an update on work undertaken to develop a collaborative approach to expanding the public electric vehicle charging infrastructure (EVCI) network across the 8 local authorities of Glasgow City Region and seeks approval for the next steps required to progress towards a commercial delivery arrangement. Recommendations It is recommended that Committee: 1. Note the content of the report and the collaborative work undertaken to date; 2. Approve the participation in a collaborative procurement to engage a commercial partner via a concession type contract through a partnership with all 8 local authorities in Glasgow City Region, to deliver the benefits set out in the report; 3. Agree in principle to entering into an Inter Authority Agreement (IAA) among the 8 local authorities, and delegate the subsequent nomination of a lead authority for the service delivery period as well as procurement and commercial decisions relating to the commencement and conclusion of the procurement process to the Depute Chief Executive; 4. Agree that Glasgow City Region Programme Management Office (PMO), through Glasgow City Council, will utilise local authorities Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund allocations to engage programme management and expert technical consultancy support, that will assist in taking a GCR proposition to market and subsequent appointment of a commercial partner; and, 5. Instruct officers to provide update reports on the progress of the work to Committee as required throughout the development of the project. Such reports will be at the most appropriate frequency, but will also include specific and immediate reports if at any point the financial implications for this proposal differ from that outlined within the report - that there is no/very limited capital or revenue costs to the Council associated with the proposal. Item 5 Page 23 of 66
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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. 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 has engaged the Scottish Futures Trust to support local authorities in the development of their EVCI strategies and is 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 SEP, presented to the GCR Cabinet in May 2023, the GCR Electric Vehicle Senior Officers’ Group (‘the Senior Officers’ Group’) was established, chaired by Colin Park, Head of Roads, Transportation and Fleet Services at South Lanarkshire Council, and with senior officer representation from each of the 8 GCR MAs. 1.7. The Senior Officers’ Group oversaw a Prior Information Notice (PIN), published in June 2023, to engage with the Charge Point Operators (CPOs), explore market appetite and inform GCR’s approach to the expansion of EVCI. There was significant private sector interest with 33 responses received and a clear preference expressed by most CPOs to engage collaboratively with all 8 GCR local authorities as part of a planned and strategic approach. 1.8. In August 2023, GCR Cabinet agreed that a collaboration between the local authorities to expand the EVCI network should be based upon a clear set of agreed principles: a) To deliver a just transition, we must ensure equitable access to electric vehicle charging infrastructure, with a clear recognition of geographical characteristics and the different solutions that may be applicable. b) Ensure that all residents are able to access electric vehicle charge points close to their home. 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 Page 24 of 66
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c) Align with the priorities of the Sustainable Travel hierarchy to ensure that public transport, walking, wheeling and cycling options are prioritised wherever possible. d) Collaborate across the GCR member authorities to identify cost savings and ways to deliver a high standard of customer experience. e) Work together to identify and overcome grid capacity issues. f) Identify opportunities to develop joint public and fleet EVCI projects, and where there are opportunities to align with HGV, hydrogen refuelling and the introduction of rapid and ultra-rapid charging stations. 1.9 At the request of the GCR Chief Executives’ Group (CEG), further commercial and financial analysis was undertaken during the summer of 2023, to more fully understand the risks and opportunities of the different arrangements that local authorities could use to expand EVCI. Three proposals were considered in detail – land lease, concession and fully publicly owned and operated. On 7 November 2023, the Cabinet was advised of the outcome from this options appraisal exercise (following consideration by the GCR Finance Directors) and that the CEG proposed a preferred approach to progress through a continued collaboration among the 8 local authorities on the basis of a concessionary- type commercial mode. Further details showing the outcome from the SWOT analysis arising from the options appraisal exercise are contained within Appendix 1. 2. Report Objectives and Benefits of GCR Collaboration 2.1 The work to date indicates clear advantages of progressing with the expansion of the public EVCI network as a collaboration of GCR’s 8 local authorities and these are described in the following paragraphs. 2.2 Leveraging Private Sector Investment: Proceeding with a collaborative concession type contract provides the opportunity to maximise the amount of private sector investment to pay for the majority or totality of the new EVCI. The PIN exercise (see 1.7 above) indicated an appetite from a number of chargepoint operators to fully fund the expansion of the network, with none of the capital costs being provided by the local authorities (this was dependent on other contract conditions, such as the contract term). 2.3 The additional chargepoints forecast in the Strategy and Expansion Plan indicated a total capital cost of £71 million across the City Region. There will be an amount of capital grant available from the EVIF to assist in the delivery. The amount has not yet been agreed by Transport Scotland. It will be an objective to develop a proposal that can be fully funded by the commercial partner along with any EVIF grant from Transport Scotland with no requirement upon the local authorities to fund the infrastructure and service delivery costs. It should also be noted that Transport Scotland have advised that no EVIF would be available to those local authorities pursuing a publicly owned and operated model. This was a contributing factor in pursuing the recommended concessionary type commercial model. 2.4 Financial & Commercial Risks: A concession-type commercial arrangement would allow the local authorities to transfer the potentially significant commercial, financial, technical, and regulatory risks to a commercial partner. It is proposed that a private sector partner would be invited to take on the operation, maintenance, and ownership of the existing network of 600 (approx.) local authority owned chargepoints in GCR, as well Page 25 of 66
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as providing the investment required to significantly expand the number and location of chargepoints equitably across the City Region. 2.5 Generating an Income Stream: Allowing a commercial partner to operate EVCI on local authority land and assets has the potential to generate an income stream for the GCR local authorities. This could be through a variety of different arrangements – e.g. income share, revenue share, a rental fee, or a combination. The amount and type of income stream will be influenced by the broader commercial arrangements of a contract, such as the contract term and where the risks and responsibilities are assigned between the local authorities and private partners. Collaborating regionally will allow the GCR local authorities to pool resources generated through revenue to meet ongoing contract management costs, as described later in this report. However, as detailed within paragraph 2.4 above, the intention would be to transfer most of the risk to the private partner and as a consequence the level of income potential for the Council must take this into account. Although it is not possible to determine at this stage what level of income could potentially be delivered, what must be recognized is that the principle intention of this proposal is to increase, at pace, the level of EVCI across the GCR which in turn will encourage the shift to electric vehicles. This will by default assist with the Council’s net zero ambitions. In summary therefore, although there may be a level of income generated from the proposal it will not be at a level which will significantly address any future saving requirements for the Council. 2.6 Economies of Scale and Reduced Duplication of Effort: While the objective of this project is to expand the EVCI network at no/minimal cost to the local authorities, collaboration offers significant economies of scale and financial savings during the developmental and delivery phases. The cost of technical consultancy support, procurement, and programme management will be shared among the 8 local authorities. Discussions between the PMO and consultants during initial soft market testing prior to going to the market, indicate that this saving could be in the region of £500,000 across the authorities. 2.7 There will be other, currently unquantified, savings in an arrangement where one lead local authority, acting on behalf of all 8, enters into a contract with a commercial partner, avoiding the need for 8 individual procurement and contracting exercises and the costs associated with this. It is also proposed the long-term contract management arrangements could be undertaken by a central team, with the ongoing costs of this met through the pooling of an element of the local authority income stream generated by the contract. 2.8 Ensuring All Communities Can Access the Chargepoint Network: Through collaboration we can take a strategic approach to locating EVCI. CPOs will be able to make commercial decisions looking across a much larger number of chargers and will be able to balance high usage sites against lower usage areas. The scale of a GCR collaboration will enable private investment in the network where individual local authority initiatives on their own may be too small to be commercially attractive. 2.9 Collaborating will also offer benefits to service users through opportunities to establish a consistent approach across GCR to service delivery and ‘back-office’ functions such as payment mechanisms, charging policy, etc. 2.10 Taking a package of sites across all local authority areas to the market will also avoid a situation where local authorities are going individually and competing for CPOs – a situation where GCR local authorities were competing to secure engagement with CPOs would disadvantage those areas seen as less attractive and wouldn’t meet the objective of making EV chargers available to all, especially more disadvantaged communities Page 26 of 66
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within the City Region. Taking a GCR collaborative approach will allow GCR to go to the market at scale, giving a stronger voice in the sequencing of installation and the locations in which chargers are sited, ensuring that no communities are neglected. 2.11 Community and Supply Chain Benefits: Responses to the PIN, issued in June 2023, indicated that given the scale and commercial attractiveness of a GCR collaboration, some CPOs were explicit in their intention to work with local supply chains during the installation and the ongoing maintenance of such a large EVCI network. These opportunities will be explored during the procurement process. As with all major contracts, there will be a requirement for the inclusion of community benefit clauses in the tender and procurement process. 2.12 Charge Place Scotland: At present the back-office support (payments, fault reporting, mapping etc) for all the current publicly owned EVCI is managed by the publicly funded Charge Place Scotland. The Scottish Government have made it clear that this funding will cease in December 2025 and all back-office support will be removed. It is critical therefore that an appropriate solution is in place for this time and the consortium approach being proposed would include the provision of this support and avoid each individual local authority needing to deliver their own back-office solution. Potential Shape of a GCR EVCI Collaboration 2.13 In early January 2024, the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) and officers from GCR Programme Management Office undertook a series of workshops with officers from each of the eight local authorities. The workshops were structured around discussion of key issues relating to potential: • commercial arrangements with a private sector partner; • joint working arrangements between the local authorities; and • procurement options and routes to market. 2.14 A number of the key technical aspects of a future commercial arrangement with the private sector were discussed at the workshops, providing a firm basis to develop joint tender documents that would be used in the procurement process to identify a private partner. 2.15 The total number of residential, destination, and journey chargepoints that were forecast in the GCR SEP are set out in the table below and broken down by local authority. Residential AC (7kW) Destination AC (7 – 22kW) Journey - Rapid DC (50kW +) East Dunbartonshire 105 66 17 East Renfrewshire 143 122 29 Glasgow City 1,317 207 53 Inverclyde 172 93 36 North Lanarkshire 481 276 34 Renfrewshire 405 258 51 South Lanarkshire 467 242 33 West Dunbartonshire 141 81 9 GCR Totals 3,231 1,345 262 Page 27 of 66
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2.16 Following discussions among the local authorities, SFT and Transport Scotland, and informed by the consultation with the market through the PIN issued in June 2023, the proposed approach discussed with the EV Senior Officers’ Group and the GCR Chief Executives’ Group, is to split the total number of forecast chargepoints into a series of phases. This pragmatic approach will help to align EVCI installation with the capacity of the market and of local authorities to deliver across the proposed sites. Prior to going to market we are unable to put a time on when works will be completed but anticipate that works will be completed in a 3-year period from commencement. 2.17 The proposed approach, based on discussions with officers from the local authorities, is that the first phase of chargepoints should include: - all existing EVCI (approximately 600); - all destination AC (7-22kW) chargepoints (approximately 1,345); - all rapid DC (50kW) chargepoints (approximately 262); and, - 20-25% of the forecast residential chargepoints (approximately 650-800). 2.18 In addition, it is also proposed that the first phase will also include sites where there is the opportunity to install Ultra Rapid Charging (100kW to 350kW). The SEP identified potential sites that met a set of basic criteria where they may be attractive as ultra-rapid charging stations. Further work will be required to identify which of these sites can be progressed. At present North Lanarkshire has identified approximately 8 sites: • Main Street, Cumbernauld Village • Broadwood Loch, Cumbernauld • South Muirhead Rd, Cumbernauld • Stepps Centre • Drumpellier Country Park • Strathclyde Park (x2) • Glebe Street, Bellshill 2.19 The exact number of EVCI locations and chargepoints will be determined during the site selection process. Each local authority will require to undertake their own analysis about the suitability of the proposed locations for EVIF included in the SEP and to provide a list of sites within their area to be included in the package that is offered to a commercial partner. Each local authority will also be asked to prioritise these sites. CPOs may suggest alternative sites based upon experience in delivering EV Hubs and this may assist the local authorities in identifying and agreeing alternative charging locations as required. 2.20 It is anticipated that subsequent phases will be weighted towards the remaining residential charging infrastructure, and any additional journey and destination sites that are identified. During the development of the procurement documents a strategy for bringing future phases to the market will also be considered. Joint Working and Procurement Options 2.21 The feedback from the officer workshops demonstrated support for a collaboration across GCR through the planning, procurement and delivery stages. There was also a recognition of the need to put in place an Inter-Authority Agreement to facilitate this collaboration. 2.22 There was a consensus view expressed in the workshops that one local authority should contract with a commercial partner on behalf of all 8 MAs, with a preference for a single Page 28 of 66
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procurement, rather than establishing a framework for local authorities to draw down from. This learning has been taken from the successful Clyde Valley Residual Waste partnership. Draft Timeline 2.23 If the approach to progress the collaboration is approved by Committee then the GCR PMO will work with the EV Senior Officers’ Group to monitor the operational timeline for delivery of the project. Current key dates are set out below: Action/Milestone Estimated Date/Timescale Finalise EVIF arrangements for consultancy support February 2024 Engage Consultancy Support for the Procurement Stage February to April 2024 Secure Local Authority Agreements to Collaborate on EV through an IAA March to May 2024 Appoint Consultants to Support Development of Tender and GCR Proposal May/June 2024 Preparation of Tender Documents June to November 2024 Commence Procurement December 2024/January to April 2025 Evaluation of Tenders May to June 2025 Contract Awarded to CPO July to August 2025 Charge Place Scotland Transition Network Planning & Mobilisation September to December 2025 New Chargepoint Installations January 2026 onwards 2.24 The most pressing issue is Transport Scotland’s decision not to renew the Charge Place Scotland (CPS) contract. This will require all local authorities (and other chargepoint owners currently using the CPS system) to put in place an alternative arrangement for the back-office and maintenance of their chargepoints before December 2025. GCR’s ambition is to have these 600 (approx.) existing chargepoints included within the scope of the first lot, however there is a significant risk that the timing of this new arrangement being in place will fail to align with TS’s ending of the Charge Place Scotland service. The GCR PMO is liaising closely with TS to identify potential mitigations for this risk. The concession approach is a key opportunity for GCR to deal with the requirement for a new ‘back-office’ system for CPS. Governance and Support Arrangements 2.25 A collaboration of the 8 GCR local authorities will require a clear governance and decision-making process. In addition to endorsement by the Glasgow City Region Cabinet, the key decisions will require the approval through the relevant local governance structures of each of the 8 authorities. Page 29 of 66
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2.26 The collaboration will also require an Inter Authority Agreement to be put in place and signed off by all 8 GCR local authorities. In order to allow the project to meet the proposed timeline set out above, this report proposes that: • the approval of the Inter Authority Agreement; • issuing of the tender documents; and, • approval of the preferred bidder and agreement to enter into a contract. is delegated to the Depute Chief Executive on behalf of the Council. 2.27 All 8 local authorities will require to approve the proposed approach through their own local governance structures prior to any contract being entered into. A longer-term agreement between the 8 GCR local authorities will be finalised at the point of entering into a contract with a commercial partner and this will include the ongoing contract management arrangements. 2.28 In order to support the development of the tender documents, site selection process, and development of the GCR EVCI proposal, Glasgow City Region PMO will continue to provide support to the EV Senior Officers’ Group. Expert technical consultancy support will be engaged by the GCR PMO and funded by contributions from each local authority through their allocations from Transport Scotland’s EVIF. 2.29 To ensure each local authority is engaged in the development process and able to influence the development of the tender, officer support groups will be established to provide expert advice and to update their own organisations as required. In addition to the existing EV Senior Officers’ Group, it would also require groups with a focus on legal, procurement, and technical aspects. Financial and Revenue Implications 2.30 The intention is to utilise Transport Scotland’s EVIF to meet the costs of the development of the GCR proposal, development of the procurement documents, specialist external legal advice, and other costs associated with the development of the collaboration. Each local authority will contribute a portion of their grant award which will be pooled by the GCR PMO who will engage the required consultancy and advice services on behalf of the 8 local authorities as required. 2.31 The overarching aim of the approach set out in this report is to leverage private sector investment so that no/or minimal capital investment is required from the local authorities to deliver the expansion in EVCI. On this basis there is not anticipated to be any requirement for capital investment. 2.32 It is anticipated that the long-term contract management of the commercial arrangement will be met by the collective income stream that is generated. It is suggested that the income stream from a commercial partner is pooled to meet the central contract management costs, with the surplus income then being distributed among the local authorities based upon an agreed formula. 2.33 Overall, there should be no cost to the local authorities from this proposed approach. However, this will depend on the market appetite to engage with GCR and can only be confirmed on conclusion of the procurement process. Should there be any significant change in this financial position, then a further report will be brought to Committee prior to proceeding to any final contract award. Page 30 of 66
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Legal Implications 2.34 The main legal requirement will be the establishment of an Inter Authority Agreement that allows one local authority to act as lead in the process to procure and contract with a commercial partner on behalf of the other 8 authorities. 2.35 There will be a requirement for expert external legal advice to support the development of the GCR proposal and this will be engaged by the GCR PMO. 2.36 A legal support group, consisting of solicitors from each of the 8 local authorities, will be established to support the development of the project. 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 documents Appendix 1 - Comparative SWOT Analysis of Delivery Models Andrew McPherson (Depute Chief Executive) Page 31 of 66
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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? As detailed in the report, any costs associated with the current preparatory work will be met from existing resource provided to the authority through Transport Scotland’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund. Further, the intention is also to place the whole costs for delivery of the EV infrastructure with the commercial partner, so in summary there should be no/ very minimal capital or revenue costs for the Council. However, should this position change then the report is clear that a further report will be presented to Committee outlining any proposed change. 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? Representatives from Legal Services are included in ongoing discussions and will be part of the proposed legal sub-group as outlined at paragraphs 2.34 to 2.36 of the report. 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? Page 32 of 66
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Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Provision of an effective charging network will have a positive impact on North Lanarkshire’s carbon emissions and will support the Council’s net zero ambitions. 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The Council’s Corporate Communications team are/ will be involved in future discussions. 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? No impact at present but will be determined when final proposal is known. 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 Page 33 of 66
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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 34 of 66
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Appendix 1 – Comparative SWOT Analysis of Delivery Models Land Lease Concession Own and Operate Strengths • Comparable VfM with other models • Low council risk • Limited risk of significant capital misallocation • Rapid deployment • Operational efficiency • Technological innovation • Comparable VfM with other models • Limited capital or revenue risk to local authority • Low local authority resource commitment • Increasingly established commercial model in private sector • Rapid deployment • Efficient operation (and risk transferred to private sector) • Comparable VfM with other models • Public sector collects all revenues • Procurement and delivery of EVCI likely simpler and quicker • Public sector has flexibility over payment tariffs Weaknesses • Least local authority control • Long agreements or exclusion areas • Commercial motive by private sector likely to clash with public policy goals • Quality of service and maintenance may vary among operators • Quality of services and maintenance varies among operators; less provision for local authority to influence outcomes. • Less control by local authority, relative to own and operate model • Commercial motive by private sector may clash with public policy goals • Quality of services and maintenance may vary among different operators • Public sector carries all financial, commercial and management risk • Public sector takes on all reputational risk, and risk of unexpected costs • Political risk on the public sector through accountability to taxpayers, and constrained by public sector capital controls. • Public sector required to cover expected higher operating costs of the EVCI network Opportunities • Rental agreements provide guaranteed income to landowner (e.g. local authority) • Potential to share revenue upside (whilst minimising downside risk) • Potential to respond to changes in EV market trends • Potential for fixed income stream • Potential to increase scale and coverage of EVCI at faster rate • Ability to take on charging assets at the end of the term, if desired. • Potential to share revenue upside • Potential to increase scale and coverage of EVCI at faster rate relative to other models • Can suit joint procurement approaches across multiple local authorities • Potentially better positioned to respond to changes in EV market trends • Can utilise procurement frameworks to streamline the process and benefit from economies of scale. • Flexibility over back office means the public sector is not constrained to a single operator. • The public sector can determine chargepoint locations irrespective of commercial viability. Page 35 of 66
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Land Lease Concession Own and Operate Threats • Issue of low or unknown commercial viability reducing propensity to invest relative to other models. • More challenging to migrate existing assets to structure than under concession model. • Exclusion areas may prevent authorities from installing chargepoints through other delivery models, limiting overall rollout. • Restrictions on land use, and the need to compensate should the public sector terminate agreement. • Private operator control over data privacy and security. • Private operator control over data privacy and security • Equity concerns, private operator may prioritise areas with higher profit (and may want to limit significant direction from local authority in locational decisions) • Expected IRR is low, between 3%- 10% • Profit margin is highly susceptible to income and/or cost risk • Most significant capital burden on the public sector compared with other models. • The level of uptake and demand for EVCI will have direct financial impacts on the public sector. • High cost of ultra-rapid charging infrastructure and other opportunities through hydrogen refuelling a barrier to entry. • At the end of the operating term, the local authority will potentially be in the ownership of redundant equipment. Page 36 of 66
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Environment and Climate Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref LR/SL Date 01/05/24 Strategic Performance Framework - latest performance results for Community Operations From Lyall Rennie, Chief Office (Community Operations) E-mail Rennie Ly@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07855 193500 Executive Summary Following the structural realignments in the One Place One Plan - Governance update report approved at Policy and Strategy Committee in December 2022, a single Community Operations service was created to strengthen the council’s delivery of community operations and put people and communities at the heart of the change that The Plan for North Lanarkshire aims to achieve. This realignment brought a wide range of community facing services in relation to the council’s environmental assets (i.e. Street Cleaning, Grounds Maintenance, Cemetery Services, Roads Maintenance Operations, and Country Parks for the Future) together with regulatory services (i.e. Environmental Health and Trading Standards), and services in respect of Waste Solutions, Fleet Resources, and the Built Environment. A substantial range of performance indicators are in place within Community Operations to assess efficiency and effectiveness in terms of service delivery and case management on a day to day basis. A suite of statutory indicators also enables costs and satisfaction to be assessed and compared nationally. The service monitors performance in various ways, including subject matter specific review meetings as well as regular management meeting discussions. These meetings make use of the evidence provided by the performance results to inform discussions around the best use of resources, to decide priorities in this respect, to highlight areas requiring improvement, and to agree remedial actions which require to be implemented. For strategic overview and scrutiny purposes, this report provides Members of the Environment and Climate Change Committee with an update of the latest results for the suite of performance indicators within Community Operations. Recommendations It is recommended that the Environment and Climate Change Committee: (1) Review the high-level performance overview presented in Appendix 1, and the supporting data contained within the linked Excel spreadsheet, and identify where further information is required to understand or investigate performance further. Item 6 Page 37 of 66
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1. Background 1.1 There are six inter-related strategic frameworks which are key to assessing the success of The Plan for North Lanarkshire and monitoring delivery towards achieving the overall vision by ensuring each stage is appropriately aligned, planned, guided, implemented, monitored, and governed. 1.2 The six frameworks focus on ensuring a corporate one council approach in respect of Policy, Governance, Performance, Self-Evaluation, Project Management, and Demonstrating Improved Outcomes for Communities. 1.3 The Strategic Performance Framework comprises performance measurement at three levels (as per the diagram on the right). This aims to collectively provide an overview of performance to help understand the impact of council activities on improving services and outcomes for the people and communities of North Lanarkshire. The measures in this Framework allow for day to day activities, and progress towards achieving the long-term vision set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire, to be regularly monitored, reported, assessed, and scrutinised. 1.4 The Strategic Performance Framework is aligned to the Accounts Commission’ Statutory Direction which places a requirement on councils to report a range of information in terms of (1) improving local services and outcomes, and (2) demonstrating Best Value. Key points of note in this respect are that the Accounts Commission also expect to see: (a) A balance in terms of reporting that captures highlights of good performance as well as areas of performance requiring improvement. (b) Reporting that is undertaken in a timely manner. (c) Easy access to performance information for all citizens and communities. (d) Comparisons of performance (i) over time (e.g. compared to previous years), and (ii) with others (e.g. other local authorities or the national average (where available and appropriate). The council’s comparative performance in Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) indicators can be viewed through the Improvement Service’s online dashboard: https://www.improvementservice.org.uk/benchmarking/explore-the-data 1.5 A Performance Reporting Schedule supports the timely submission of a range of performance information to ensure fully informed review, reporting, scrutiny, and decision making processes by Elected Members and senior management. This Schedule, endorsed by the Audit and Scrutiny Panel in February 2024, includes Chief Officer’s individual Performance Reviews at Service Committees in line with the Strategic Performance Framework. 1.6 This report therefore presents the Environment and Climate Change Committee with The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement All ambition statements Programme of Work Statutory / corporate / service requirement Page 38 of 66
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the latest performance results for Community Operations for Members’ further review and scrutiny. 2. Strategic Performance Framework Environment and Climate Change Committee responsibilities 2.1 In line with the terms of reference outlined in the Scheme of Administration, the Environment and Climate Change Committee is responsible for monitoring and reviewing performance information for the following Ambition Statements from The Plan for North Lanarkshire: 14. Ensure the highest standards of public protection. 16. Transform our natural environment to support wellbeing and inward investment and enhance it for current and future generations. 17. Ensure we keep our environment clean, safe, and attractive. 2.2 The high-level performance overview in Appendix 1 presents Members with a summary of the latest results for each performance indicator within the remit of the Chief Officer (Community Operations). 2.3 The information in Appendix 1 comprises the following: • An ideal direction arrow - this indicates whether a higher or lower figure is the preferred direction of travel. • Measurement unit - for example whether the result is a %, a number, a unit cost (in £), or a ratio. • Performance results for the most recent financial years (depending on availability of data) along with the latest year’s target and corresponding RAG status (for indicators where it is appropriate to set targets). • The most recent monthly or quarterly results, along with the corresponding target and RAG status. Note the inclusion of this information is dependent on the measurement frequency of the indicator and availability of data as at the time of reporting. • A trend graph - this captures the direction of travel achieved over the years and includes the most recent monthly or quarterly results where available. • Comments - narrative summarising the current position and providing an explanation for any significant variations in performance. Where applicable, this narrative also highlights any internal or external factors impacting on service delivery as well as any residual effects of the pandemic, e.g. any increase or decrease in the volume of transactions or enquiries processed. 2.4 A large volume of data supports the high-level performance overview in Appendix 1. This is outlined in the latest performance results for Community Operations Excel spreadsheet which is available through the following link for Members to carry out a deep dive and review and scrutinise each performance indicator further. The Menu on the second tab of the spreadsheet contains built in hyperlinks that automatically take the user to a tab for each performance indicator and therefore provides a useful A higher figure is better A lower figure is better Key to RAG status Green Performance is on target and/or within acceptable thresholds Red Performance does not meet target and is outwith acceptable thresholds Blue Performance surpasses the target and exceeds expectations Page 39 of 66
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navigation aid to review the contents of the file. • Latest performance results for Community Operations Current context 2.5 The service’s operating environment has changed significantly in recent years and, as such, the performance information presented in Appendix 1 should be considered within the context of the following: • The extent to which the service has supported the council in terms of responding to and recovering from the pandemic over the three years from 2020 to 2022, while maintaining service delivery of critical areas of public health and safety in line with legislation, and then resuming business as usual activities at pace which involved dealing with significant volumes in terms of a backlog. • In resuming business as usual activities, many areas of the service have experienced a subsequent increase in the volume of business which has added to the caseloads which require to be dealt with (e.g. in environmental health). • The food law recovery plan and related inspection regime implemented in the aftermath of the pandemic has impacted on food business inspection visits and required changes to processes and ways of working. • A significant rationalisation exercise across the waste service has allowed consolidation of the service within key depot facilities. It is intended that this will result in overall efficiencies for the service space being freed up for other service areas to consolidate their own facilities and ultimately provide a capital receipt for the council through the sale of any depot deemed surplus to requirements. • There is currently an ongoing review of the overall structure of the Community Operations service to ensure that any opportunities and service efficiencies with the recent amalgamation of the two service areas are highlighted and maximised. Recent performance highlights 2.6 The council’s performance in respect of A class roads (i.e. major and strategic roads) and B class roads (i.e. roads serving a local purpose and connecting to strategic roads) which are considered to require maintenance treatment continues to remain lower than the averages for Scotland and the family group of similar councils: • Less than a quarter (21.3%) of A class roads in North Lanarkshire are considered to require maintenance treatment compared to the Scottish average (27.4%) and the family group of similar councils (23.6%). • 22.5% of B class roads in North Lanarkshire are considered to require maintenance treatment compared to the Scottish average (31.5%) and the family group of similar councils (24%); this is the eighth lowest in Scotland. Performance for the council’s refuse service shows a positive picture in the round with refuse disposal costs remaining low, satisfaction levels in terms of the refuse collection service showing improvement, and recycling rates increasing. Recent years have seen an increase in the proportion of household waste that is recycled in North Lanarkshire, with rates reaching 43% in 2022 and 46.6% in 2023. Recycling rates in North Lanarkshire are now higher than the national average (43.3%) and show improvement over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire (from a baseline rate of 41.1% in 2016/17). Refuse collection costs in North Lanarkshire (£88.62) remain lower than the council’s target as well as the national average (£95.28). While satisfaction levels in NL had shown a downward trend up to 2021, this has subsequently seen two consecutive years improvement; this trend is also reflected in the family group average. Areas of performance requiring improvement Page 40 of 66
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2.7 The volume of requests for high priority pest control visits continued to remain high during 2021/22 and 2022/23 prior to the end of the provision of the free rodent control service. Volume levels in 2023/24 to date have subsequently decreased in respect of private homes, for which the pest control service charge was reintroduced, but still remain above previous years’ trends for service requests in respect of council housing stock. Performance for 2023/24 to date in respect of completion certificates and building warrants remains below target, however both these service areas have experienced a significant improvement over the year. This follows a prolonged period of high demand volumes combined with increased customer expectation around the completion of projects and extent of on-site activities as well as challenges around the recruitment process, long-term absences, support issues, and system outages all contributing to lower than target performance. It is anticipated this level of improved performance will continue but this will be monitored. The service’s indicator for the cost of maintenance per kilometre of roads (prepared by the Improvement Service through the Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF)) reported an increase in spend during 2021/22 and 2022/23 that is counter to the long-term downward trend pre-pandemic. This trend is also recognised across Scotland for roads and the national LGBF overview publication reports that it is expected that increased expenditure reflects a resumption in activity that had been deferred during the pandemic. Overall, the performance results available through the LGBF suite of indicators represents a mixed picture across all councils in Scotland. This LGBF overview publication recognises general trends across Scotland, for example, in terms of a growing cluster of statutory local government professional roles facing workforce shortages, with complex structural issues within the skills system in Scotland now directly impacting on a range of critical statutory areas, including planning, environmental health, trading standards, and building standards. In addition, in some instances councils have sustained and strengthened improvement trends in a number of policy critical areas. In other areas (particularly those community related services) there has been a decline which has often been caused, or exacerbated, by the pandemic; this includes areas which were previously improving pre-pandemic (such as street cleanliness levels). For North Lanarkshire the street cleanliness score has recently shown improvement, increasing from 86.1% in 2022/23 to 91.2% in 2023/24; national comparisons however are not yet available. Next steps 2.8 As noted in paragraph 1.5, the Strategic Performance Framework is supported by a Performance Reporting Schedule. This sets out the arrangements for service, statutory, and Strategic Performance Framework reporting to committee. In this respect the relevant Committee can expect to receive the following in respect of Community Operations areas of work for 2024 to 2025. Report Description Committee Committee cycle Food law service plan All local authority regulators of food safety are required to plan their enforcement and advisory activities and, in accordance with independent auditor preference, present that plan (with an update on performance achieved to date) before a relevant committee for its approval. Environment and Climate Change Committee Cycle 3 in 2024 Page 41 of 66
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• Latest report in August 2023: link to report Annual Building Standards performance There is a statutory requirement to produce and publish on the council website an Annual Building Standards Verification Performance Report. The report includes a broad range of performance and service improvement information, and it looks back at the previous 12 months, as well as looking forward to the next period. • Latest update for 2022/23: link to website. n/a, published on the council’s website in the autumn each year Cycle 2 in 2024 Scottish Road Works Commissioner annual road works performance review The Scottish Road Works Commissioner oversees improvements to the planning, co- ordination, and quality of road works by both local authorities and statutory undertakers in Scotland. The council has a statutory duty under section 118(1) of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991, to co-ordinate the execution of works of all kinds in roads for which they are responsible: (a) In the interests of safety. (b) To minimise inconvenience to persons using the road. (c) To protect the structure of the road and integrity of apparatus in it. This report will present details of the Scottish Road Works Commissioner’s annual performance review in terms of how well the council is meeting its statutory obligations. • Latest report in August 2023: link to report Environment and Climate Change Committee Cycle 3 in 2024 2.9 Following the realignment of specific service functions across the council to sit within Community Operations (which was approved at the Policy and Strategy Committee in December 2023), the suite of performance indicators will be reviewed to ensure these remain effective in assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery and case management on a day to day basis as well as can contribute to assessing progress against delivering The Plan for North Lanarkshire. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Measures of success include: • Regular oversight and monitoring of performance across the organisation to gain assurances in terms of governance and accountability. • Regular review and challenge processes to scrutinise the performance of the council to ensure effective use of resources and that resources are directed in accordance with agreed policy and according to priorities, while ensuring sound decision making and clear accountability for the use of resources in achieving improved outcomes for service users and the local community. • Performance monitoring, management, and reporting arrangements that support the demonstration of improved performance in local services and outcomes, and the delivery of Best Value. 4. Supporting documentation Page 42 of 66
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Appendix 1 - High-level performance overview Lyall Rennie Chief Officer (Community Operations) 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 Page 43 of 66
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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? Monitoring and managing service performance supports the ongoing review of the service’s risk register. 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services. 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 44 of 66
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Appendix 1 Community Operations High-level performance overview - as at March 2024 (Note, yearend data (i.e. for 2023/24) becomes available from April and June each year depending on the indicator and its data source) 2023/24 ytd (for monthly or quarterly monitored indicators only) Building warrant first reports - % issued within 20 working days i019 higher figure is better % 91.6 90.8 97.4 70.6 70.4 94.0 red red 91.1 94.0 green green Latest results for 2023/24 show 91.1% of building warrant first reports were issued within 20 working days; this is an improvement on the previous two years and is within the current target and thresholds. The volume of build warrants received for which the council is required to make an initial assessment and provide applicants with a first report on their application has shown a decrease in recent years. Latest figures as at March 2024 show the volume to be 1,852 applications. The volume as at the same period in 2019 was 1,647 increasing to 1,826 in 2020 before dropping to 2,180 in 2021/22 and 1,755 in 2022/23. Completion certificates - % requests responded to within 14 days i021 higher figure is better % 90.4 89.4 77.8 53.3 61.6 95.0 red red 87.6 95.0 red red Latest results for 2023/24 show 87.6% of completion certificates were issued within 14 working days; this is an improvement on the previous two years. It should be noted that the measurement for this indicator changed from 6 working days to 14 working days from April 2023. The volume of completion certificates to be processed has shifted towards pre-pandemic levels, with the latest figures showing 1,005 completion certificates requests processed. The volume from 2020 to 2022 was lower than this. This is reflective of the post pandemic resurgence in the construction industry where the service has seen increased customer expectation around the completion of projects and on-site activities which has placed an additional burden on the team and steps have been taken to manage this situation. Challenges around the recruitment process long-term absences, support issues, and system outages have impacted on the latest performance results achieved. In addition the migration to a hosted and managed approach to the maintenance of key IT systems appear likely to have a medium term impact on performance. Building warrants - % released within 6 working days i020 higher figure is better % 83.3 54.0 95.7 57.8 77.6 97.0 red red 90.5 97.0 red red Latest results for 2023/24 show 90.5% of building warrants were issued within 6 working days; this is an improvement on the previous two years. This improvement reflects the additional resource provided in terms of support. Demand for building warrants has increased significantly with 863 processed to date in 2023/24. This compares to 185 (in 2022), 197 (in 2021), 572 (in 2020), and 120 (in 2019) as at the same period. Pest control requests, high priority - % visits made within 2 working days i044 higher figure is better % 96.4 98.0 98.4 96.7 98.9 95.0 blue blue 96.7 98.0 red green Performance in 2021/22 and 2022/23 saw a significant rise in service demand as a result of the free rodent service, with 4,948 and 4,389 requests received respectively. The volume has decreased to 2,749 in 2023/24 as at December 2023. Pest control requests, low priority - % visits made within 5 working days i045 higher figure is better % 97.5 97.7 98.2 96.1 99.2 96.0 blue blue 96.0 96.0 green green Performance has remained consistently within or above target. trend commentsIndicator id ideal direction unit of measurem ent 2018/19 2023/24 RAG status (for monthly or quarterly monitored indicators only) 2021/22 RAG status2022/232019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 target 2023/24 target 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 ytd 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 ytd 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 ytd 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 ytd 80.0 85.0 90.0 95.0 100.0 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 ytd Page 45 of 66
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Trading standards, consumer complaints - % dealt with within 14 days of receipt i047 higher figure is better % 95.9 91.5 99.2 95.8 94.5 96.0 green green 98.0 96.0 green green The volume of consumer complaints dealt with in 2020/21 (1,890) doubled from the previous year (993). This arose from an increase in the number of complaints received alleging non-compliance with covid legislation. Demand has since reduced to 1,139 in 2021/22 and 786 in 2022/23 to date. This indicator has continued to perform within the target and threshold levels. Trading standards, business advice requests - % dealt with within 14 days of receipt i048 higher figure is better % 97.1 97.2 97.5 96.9 98.6 97.0 green green 98.8 97.0 green green The volume of business advice requests dealt with in 2020/21 (441) more than doubled from the previous year (177). This arose from an increase in the number of business advice requests seeking advice and guidance on compliance with covid legislation. Demand has since reduced to 129 in 2021/22 and 73 in 2022/23 to date. This indicator has continued to perform within the target and threshold levels. Private sector housing regulation and enforcement - % responses to requests for assistance or advice within 5 working days of receipt i116 higher figure is better % 95.0 96.2 97.1 95.8 96.0 95.0 green green annual indicator 95.0 green green Private sector housing regulation and enforcment activity aims to improve standards in private sector housing, ensuring that all privately rented accommodation is well managed, properly maintained, safe, and habitable. In 2022/23, 96% of all requests for assistance or advice in this respect were responded to within 5 working days (619 out of 645 enquiries). This continues a positive trend in performance against the target, but is an increase in the volume of service requests received from 441 in 2020/21 530 in 2021/22 (during the pandemic) to 645 in 2022/23 which is higher than the pre-pandemic volume of 605 in 2019/20. Food safety standards - % of eligible premises achieving the national Food Hygiene Information Scheme (FHIS) pass award i046 higher figure is better % 94.3 94.1 94.3 94.2 94.8 65.0 blue blue 95.6 80.0 blue blue During the height of the pandemic most premises were shut down, and/or only able to provide a take away service so food hygiene checks were paused accordingly. These recommenced on 1st October 2021 under advisement from Food Standards Scotland and now incorporate the Food Law Rating Scheme (FLRS) which combines the rating systems for Food Hygiene and Food Standards into one Food Law Intervention scheme based upon a new Food Business performance model that will target resources on high to medium risk and non- compliant businesses. Latest results as at quarter 3 in 2023/24 show that 95.6% of eligible premises (2,458 out of 2,570) achieved the national Food Hygiene Information Scheme (FHIS) pass award. Refuse collection complaints, all categories - number of complaints per 1,000 household visits i075 lower figure is better number 2.2 1.7 2.1 1.5 1.3 2.1 blue blue 2.0 Refuse collection complaints show a year on year decrease in volume from the transformation to 3 weekly service delivery in 2017/18. Throughout the pandemic to date, North Lanarkshire has been one of very few councils to maintain a full kerbside waste collection, allowing residents to continue to dispose of all their waste as usual. 15,410 complaints were received in 2022/23 out of 11.8m household visits - this equates to 1.3 complaints per 1,000 household visit. This is a decrease in the volume of complaints in the previous year (17,773 out of 11.8million household visits) which equated to 1.5 complaints per 1,000 household visits. Recycling - % household waste collected during the year that was recycled i074 higher figure is better % 43.7 40.3 39.4 43.2 43.0 41.0 green green 46.6 43.0 green green Recent years have seen an increase in the proportion of household waste that is recycled in North Lanarkshire, with rates reaching 43% in 2022 and 46.6% in 2023. Recycling rates in North Lanarkshire are now higher than the 2022 national average (43.3%) and show improvement over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire (from a baseline rate of 41.1% in 2016/17). National (and family group) comparisons for are not yet available for 2023. Nationally recycling rates had plateaued in recent years - this certainly reflects the impact of the pandemic and with more people staying at home there was increase in residual waste, while recycling tonnages remained similar. 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 ytd 90.0 92.0 94.0 96.0 98.0 100.0 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 ytd 90.0 92.0 94.0 96.0 98.0 100.0 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 ytd 0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 85.0 90.0 95.0 100.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 Page 46 of 66
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2023/24 ytd (for monthly or quarterly monitored indicators only) Satisfaction - % of adults satisfied with refuse collection ENV7a higher figure is better % 68.3 60.3 59.9 68.0 72.0 n/a; indicator for benchmarking purposes only annual indicator n/a; indicator for benchmarkin g purposes only ** Satisfaction indicators in the LGBF are drawn from the Scottish Household Survey as this is the only source of comparable information for all 32 councils in this respect. It has some limitations when used at individual council level as the survey questions do not fully distinguish views of the whole adult population from views of the direct users of services and the sample size at council level becomes a subset of the overall national sample - to improve the robustness of the information data at a council level is therefore presented as 3 year rolled averages. The methodology for this indicator changed for the 2018/21 data and this approach as well as data collection methods in subsequent years were impacted by the pandemic. Recent comparisons should therefore be viewed with caution. While satisfaction levels in NL had shown a downward trend up to 2021, this has subsequently seen two consecutive years improvement; this is also reflected in the family group average, although the national average hasn't experienced the same dip in performance over the same period. Refuse collection - net cost of disposal per premise ENV2a lower figure is better £ £95.23 £93.64 £108.15 £85.50 £88.62 £108.99 blue blue annual indicator £113.35 Latest cost figures for NLC (£88.62) show a small increase from last year but remain lower than previous years and the council's current target. Costs remain lower than the Scottish average (£95.28) and remain closer to to the family group of similar councils (£87.27). Refuse collection - net cost of collection per premise ENV1a lower figure is better £ £66.58 £67.78 £77.30 £74.37 £91.43 £76.96 red red annual indicator £80.04 Latest cost figures for NLC (£91.43) are higher than previous years as well as the Scottish average (£75.64) and the family group of similar councils (£73.35). Environmental health - cost per 1,000 population ENV5b lower figure is better £ £11,403 £10,121 £11,382 £13,284 £12,862 n/a; indicator for benchmarking purposes only annual indicator n/a; indicator for benchmarkin g purposes only Latest cost figures for NLC (£12,862) show a decrease on the previous year, however costs remain lower than the Scottish average (£15,239) and the family group of similar councils (£15,273). In many service areas covered by the Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) indicators, the increased expenditure in 2021/22 reflected a resumption in activity that had been deferred during the pandemic - this was certainly the case in environmental health where caseload volumes had increased signifcantly in the aftermath of the pandemic, although this has now seen a decrease in 2022/23. Roads - cost of maintenance per kilometre of roads ENV4a lower figure is better £ £15,918 £14,825 £14,712 £20,464 £23,110 n/a; indicator for benchmarking purposes only annual indicator n/a; indicator for benchmarkin g purposes only Prior to the pandemic costs for NLC had been decreasing year on year. Latest costs (£23,110) show an increase, but remain lower than the family group of similar councils (£26,884). The location of NLs roads in central Scotland makes them very heavily used, with the heavier volume and density of traffic having a greater impact on wear and tear of the road network than a council in a rural area. NLs family group (comprising the 8 most densely populated council areas) are a more comparable figure than average costs across Scotland (£12,844) which include many rural councils. Road network - % all roads that should be considered for maintenance treatment Pi101 lower figure is better % 30.5 30.6 31.8 29.1 31.6 33.0 green green annual indicator 33.0 The latest figures show that 31.6% of all of North Lanarkshire's roads are considered to require maintenance treatement; this is a small increase from the previous year but still maintains the consistent trend over the years of less than a third of all roads requiring maintenance treatment. Performance also remains below (and therefore better than) target. Road network - % A class roads that should be considered for maintenance treatment ENV4b lower figure is better % 18.0 17.3 19.7 17.0 21.3 n/a; indicator for benchmarking purposes only annual indicator n/a; indicator for benchmarkin g purposes only 21.3% of A class roads in North Lanarkshire (i.e. major and strategic roads) are considered to require maintenance treatment. The council's performance in this respect remains lower than the Scottish average (27.4%) and the family group of similar councils (23.6%). Road network - % B class roads that should be considered for maintenance treatment ENV4c lower figure is better % 22.5 20.3 25.7 23.0 22.5 n/a; indicator for benchmarking purposes only annual indicator n/a; indicator for benchmarkin g purposes only 22.5% of B class roads in North Lanarkshire (i.e. roads serving a local purpose and connecting to strategic roads) are considered to require maintenance treatment. The council's performance in this respect remains lower than the Scottish average (31.5%) and the family group of similar councils (24%) and is the eighth lowest in Scotland. trend commentsIndicator id ideal direction unit of measurem ent 2018/19 2023/24 RAG status (for monthly or quarterly monitored indicators only) 2021/22 RAG status2022/232019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 target 2023/24 target £0 £20 £40 £60 £80 £100 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 £0 £20 £40 £60 £80 £100 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 2016-19 2017-20 2018-21 2019-22 2020-23 9,500 10,500 11,500 12,500 13,500 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 2017-19 2018-20 2019-21 2020-22 2021-23 0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 2017-19 2018-20 2019-21 2020-22 2021-23 10,000 12,500 15,000 17,500 20,000 22,500 25,000 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 Page 47 of 66
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2023/24 ytd (for monthly or quarterly monitored indicators only) Road network - % C class roads that should be considered for maintenance treatment ENV4d lower figure is better % 26.1 25.1 28.8 27.0 26.9 n/a; indicator for benchmarking purposes only annual indicator n/a; indicator for benchmarkin g purposes only 26.9% of C class roads in North Lanarkshire (i.e. mainly rural inter- connecting roads) are considered to require maintenance treatment. The council's performance in this respect remains lower than the Scottish average (32.7%) but slightly higher than the family group of similar councils (24.3%). Each council prioritises which class of roads to focus resources on depending on the level of maintenance and repairs required and available budget; in North Lanarkshire the council focusses on primary routes as this is the main road network. Road network - % Unclassified roads that should be considered for maintenance treatment ENV4e lower figure is better % 34.7 35.6 35.4 32.4 35.7 n/a; indicator for benchmarking purposes only annual indicator n/a; indicator for benchmarkin g purposes only 35.7% of Unclassified roads in North Lanarkshire (i.e. roads in residential areas) are considered to require maintenance treatment. The council's performance in this respect remains lower than the Scottish average (36.4%) but higher than the family group of similar councils (32.8%). Each council prioritises which class of roads to focus resources on depending on the level of maintenance and repairs required and available budget; in North Lanarkshire the council focusses on primary routes as this is the main road network. Roads - % customer enquiries / requests for service closed off within council own response times i069 higher figure is better % 88.3 91.5 88.5 82.0 80.8 90.0 red red annual indicator 90.0 The latest results show that performance has dipped to 82% in this indicator; this can mainly be attributed to the number of potholes reported by the public due to inclement weather. The volume of enquiries in 2022/23 was 8,839 compared to 6,961 in the previous year. Roads - number of third party claims received i068 lower figure is better number 171 195 70 97 192 300 blue blue annual indicator 300 192 third party claims for roads were received during 2022/23; higher than the previous two years. This follows a decrease in the volume of claims during the pandemic as there were less vehicles on the road network at the height of the lockdown and surface defects were remedied where possible as all planned works were suspended at the outset of the pandemic. Prior to the pandemic this indicator had shown consistent year on year decreases in the number of third party claims made against the council relative to roads and footways; this reflected the introduction, and continued operation, of the safety inspection regime undertaken on the road and footpath network. Road casualties - number of fatal and serious casualties Pi102 lower figure is better number 81 105 82 58 85 n/a annual indicator n/a Road casualties - number of fatal and serious casualties involving children Pi103 lower figure is better number 7 12 22 5 14 n/a annual indicator n/a trend comments Overall road casualties saw a drop from 82 in 2020 to 58 in 2021, with an increase to 85 in 2022. Casualties involving children decreased from 22 in 2010 to 5 in 2021, with an increase in 2022 to 14. While figures for 2020, 2021, and 2022 are likely to have been influenced by the pandemic restrictions, there are many aspects that contribute to the number of recorded serious and fatal road casualties. From a council perspective this includes road maintenance, road safety interventions, and working with the Community Safety Partnership to deliver educational raising programmes for children in primary schools, communities, and vulnerable road users to help promote road safety. Wider aspects such as national speeding campaigns, driver behaviour, police intervention, improved car design, and car safety can all contribute to recorded casualty numbers as can fewer vehicles on the road due to the effects of pandemic. Indicator id ideal direction unit of measurem ent 2018/19 2023/24 RAG status (for monthly or quarterly monitored indicators only) 2021/22 RAG status2022/232019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 target 2023/24 target 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 2017-19 2018-20 2019-21 2020-22 2021-23 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 2015-19 2016-20 2017-21 2018-22 2019-23 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 0 50 100 150 200 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 0 25 50 75 100 125 150 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 0 5 10 15 20 25 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Page 48 of 66
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2023/24 ytd (for monthly or quarterly monitored indicators only) Street cleaning - net cost per 1,000 population ENV3a lower figure is better £ £17,891 £15,816 £15,196 £13,316 £14,558 n/a; indicator for benchmarking purposes only annual indicator n/a; indicator for benchmarkin g purposes only Latest cost figures for NLC (£14,558) show an increase from the previous year but this remains lower than the Scottish average (£16,068) but higher than the family group of similar councils (£14,746). Satisfaction - % of adults satisfied with street cleaning services ENV7b higher figure is better % 63.4 56.4 52.7 51.3 51.7 n/a; indicator for benchmarking purposes only annual indicator n/a; indicator for benchmarkin g purposes only ** See above comments on satisfaction indicators from the LGBF. Street cleanliness score - % areas assessed as clean ENV3c higher figure is better % 88.8 87.7 86.2 84.5 86.1 n/a; indicator for benchmarking purposes only 91.2 n/a; indicator for benchmarkin g purposes only Latest published figures for NLC (86.1%) show an improvement from the previous year (84.5%) and are now more in line with the average for the family group of similar councils (86.4%). NLs family group (comprising the 8 most densely populated council areas) are a more comparable figure than the average across Scotland (90.6%) which includes many rural councils. More recent results for North Lanarkshire's street cleanliness score show further improvement, with performance increasing from 86.1% in 2022/23 to 91.2% in 2023/24; national comparisons however are not yet available. Street lights - % repairs completed within 7 days i070 higher figure is better % 97.9 96.8 97.0 97.0 95.7 95.0 green green 99.2 95.0 green green Performance in street light repairs has remained steady over the years and in line with, or above, target. Latest year to date figures in 2023/24 show 99.2% of street light repairs were completed within 7 days. Street lighting columns - % that are over 40 years old i071 lower figure is better % 24.0 27.6 33.8 14.6 14.8 30.0 blue blue annual indicator 30.0 This indicator had seen a year on year increase over the last three years as the ageing of the asset will have contributed to the decrease in performance. Figures for 2021/11 reflect a change in the way the indicator is being calculated in order to align to the APSE measurements; this now shows sreet lighting columns that are over 40 years old which accounts for the reduction in the latest figure to 14.6% in 2021/22 and 14.8% in 2022/23. Street lamps - energy usage i073 lower figure is better kilowatt hours (kWh) 20,434,586 17,188,615 14,361,955 16,529,645 15,741,653 n/a annual indicator n/a Annual energy usage on street lamps and other lighting supplies had previously shown a year on year decrease up to 2021/22 when an increase was experienced. Since then, a meter reading company is now in place which provides more accurate readings, suggesting that previous figures may have been under reported. Moving forward, a more consistent data trend will be able to be reported. The latest figures for 2022/23 show an decrease in usage. Parks and open spaces - cost per 1,000 population CL4 lower figure is better £ £21,574 £20,983 £19,649 £38,822 £24,839 n/a; indicator for benchmarking purposes only annual indicator n/a; indicator for benchmarkin g purposes only Prior to the pandemic costs for NL had continued to show a year on decrease in line with national and family group trends. Latest cost figures for NLC (£24,839) show a decrease from the previous year (£38,822) although this has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. NL costs are higher than the Scottish average (£23,311) but lower than the family group of similar councils (£26,070). Satisfaction - % of adults satisfied with parks and open spaces CL5b higher figure is better % 76.5 73.5 75.8 78.7 81.3 n/a; indicator for benchmarking purposes only annual indicator n/a; indicator for benchmarkin g purposes only ** See above comments on satisfaction indicators from the LGBF. trend commentsIndicator id ideal direction unit of measurem ent 2018/19 2023/24 RAG status (for monthly or quarterly monitored indicators only) 2021/22 RAG status2022/232019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 target 2023/24 target 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000 40,000 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 2016-19 2017-20 2018-21 2019-22 2020-23 10,000 12,500 15,000 17,500 20,000 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 2016-19 2017-20 2018-21 2019-22 2020-23 80.0 85.0 90.0 95.0 100.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/2323/24 ytd 80.0 85.0 90.0 95.0 100.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 0 5,000,000 10,000,000 15,000,000 20,000,000 25,000,000 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 Page 49 of 66
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2023/24 ytd (for monthly or quarterly monitored indicators only) Lair certificates - % turned around within 28 calendar days i060 higher figure is better % 97.6 95.3 96.7 98.5 97.0 97.0 Latest performance shows that 98.5% of lair certificates (984 oiut of 999) were turned around within 28 calendar days. The availability of 2021/22 figures was impacted by the move of the recording database to M365. Country parks - % operating expenditure met from income i058 higher figure is better % 25.9 21.2 26.2 31.2 27.5 29.0 green green Performance had remained steady over the years and in line with, or above, target, latest figures for 2022/23 (27.5%) do however show a decrease from the previous year (31.2%). Get Walking Lanarkshire - number of walkers per week in the programme Pi097 higer figure is better number 8,345 8,957 2,440 7,016 6,298 700 blue blue annual indicator Get Walking Lanarkshire runs a programme of weekly health walks covering both North and South Lanarkshire, it is a Dementia Friendly Walking accredited health project which also works in partnership with Macmillan's Move More project. Walks were only available for 20 weeks during 2020/21 due to the pandemic (ususally walks are available on average for 50 weeks), this has picked up again in 2021/22 and 2022/23. Volunteering in greenspace development - cash equivalent of number of hours delivered Pi118 higer figure is better £ £20,425 £21,881 £4,106 £45,590 £58,120 £23,000 blue blue annual indicator This measures the cash equivalent of the number of volunteering hours delivered within greenspace development; unfortunately the pandemic had a significant impact on volunteer hours accrued due to to groups and walks not being permissable under national guidance. This has picked up again in 2021/22 and 2022/23. Greenspace - external investment in sites i068 higer figure is better £ £702,006 £2,327,679 £342,000 £705,000 £1,588,677 £300,000 blue blue annual indicator Latest investment reflects implementation of projects within a 5 year externally funded project in Cumbernauld (Living Landscapes) and increased investment in country parks development since a dedicated team has been put in place. trend commentsIndicator id ideal direction unit of measurem ent 2018/19 2023/24 RAG status (for monthly or quarterly monitored indicators only) 2021/22 RAG status2022/232019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 target 2023/24 target 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2022/23 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 0 2500 5000 7500 10000 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 £0 £10,000 £20,000 £30,000 £40,000 £50,000 £60,000 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 £0 £500,000 £1,000,000 £1,500,000 £2,000,000 £2,500,000 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 Page 50 of 66
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Environment and Climate Change Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref PH/SMcD Date 01/05/24 Oversight Report – Strathclyde Partnership for Transport and Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Scheme 2022/23 From Pamela Humphries, Chief Officer (Place) E-mail Mcdougalls@northlan.gov.uk Telephone Susan McDougall, 07977060701 Executive Summary This report provides Members with an overview of performance in 2022/23 by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) and the Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Scheme (SCTS). SPT is the Regional Transport Partnership for the west of Scotland and has a statutory duty to develop a transport strategy for its region. The SCTS oversees the operation of the concessionary fares scheme for public transport within the SPT area, and is responsible for determining the criteria and eligible routes for concessionary fares. The Council appoints Elected Members to serve on the boards of these 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 given the wider governance arrangements that exist and the likely level of risk to the Council. The appendices to this report summarise the 2022/23 performance for SPT and the Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Scheme. They also set out the oversight arrangement in place to confirm that both organisations operate satisfactory governance and scrutiny processes. Recommendations It is recommended that the Committee: (1) Acknowledge the ongoing governance and scrutiny arrangements currently in place within SPT and the Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Scheme. (2) Note both organisations’ 2022/23 performance. (3) Identify areas of activity requiring further consideration by the Council. 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 7 Page 51 of 66
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1. Background 1.1 The ALEOs and External Bodies Monitoring Committee previously approved the Performance Monitoring Framework in respect of the Council’s arm’s length bodies in May 2016 and agreed that monitoring and reporting should be proportionate to the scale of activity and likely level of risk to the Council. Members noted that bodies such as SPT, although jointly funded by the Council and other local authorities, are statutory bodies, already subject to significant levels of public scrutiny and accountability. Accordingly, the Committee determined that an annual composite oversight report covering all statutory bodies would sufficiently address the Council’s ‘Following the Public Pound’ obligations. 2. Report 2.1 This report provides oversight of the following statutory bodies: • SPT (Appendix 1). • Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Scheme (SCTS) (Appendix 2). 2.2 The Council appoints representatives to each of the above organisations’ Boards, and membership on 31 March 2023 is included in the relevant Appendices. As statutory bodies in their own right, the individual bodies are required to prepare and publish annual Statements of Accounts and to report publicly on their performance. To this end, significant public scrutiny already existing in respect of each of these organisations. 2.3. The Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Scheme is overseen by its Joint Committee and subject to external audit in line with Audit Scotland’s ‘Code of Audit Practice’. 2.4 Appendices 1 and 2 provide the following information in respect of each organisation: • Remit • Statutory powers • Board membership • Principal activities • Key performance indicators • Contribution to Council Business Plan; and, • Financial overview 3. Measures of success 3.1 This report provides Members with information in relation to the statutory bodies’ operational and financial performance in furtherance of the Committee’s remit to, ‘monitor the performance of all services, including those delivered through partners and external bodies, within the remit of this Committee and to be responsible for the supervision and oversight of those services’. 3.2 Appendices 1 and 2 also demonstrate where the individual statutory bodies’ activities impact on the Plan for North Lanarkshire. 4. Supporting documentation Appendix 1 - Strathclyde Partnership for Transport Overview 2022/23 Appendix 2 - Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Scheme Overview 2022/23 Page 52 of 66
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Pamela Humphries Chief Officer (Place) 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? Page 53 of 66
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5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 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. Page 54 of 66
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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 55 of 66
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Appendix 1: Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) Overview 2022/23 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 Powers Through the Transport (Scotland) Act 2005, SPT has a statutory duty to develop a Transport Strategy for its region, taking into account demographics, meeting the needs of all inhabited places, enhancing social and economic well- being, promoting public safety and sustainable development. Board Membership SPT’s Partnership Board is made up of 20 elected members representing 12 constituent councils. Current NLC Members (at 31/3/23): Cllr Adam Smith Cllr Gordon Currie Cllr Helen Loughran Principal Activities SPT subsidises socially necessary bus services, operates bus stations and maintains bus shelters 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). Responsibility for the provision of school transport rests with local authorities. NLC contracts SPT to undertake this on their behalf. In 2022/23 SPT approved a new Regional Transport Strategy (RTS) 2023- 2028. The new RTS sets out a new vision and objectives for transport to help bring about a transport system that prioritises low carbon and resource efficient ways of travelling and makes it easy and convenient to choose walking, wheeling and public transport for everyday journeys. Key Performance Indicators 2021/22 2022/23 NLC pupils transported per day 8673 8603 No of supported services operating in North Lanarkshire 45 35 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 In 2022/23 SPT provided funding of £1.975m to the council to support delivery of active travel, road safety and bus infrastructure improvements as outlined below. Page 56 of 66
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Financial Overview 2021/22 Actual £000s NL Council Contribution (£5.453M in 2021/22) (£5.425M in 2022/23) 2022/2023 Actual £000s 28,815 Subway operations 31232 19,184 Bus operations 19908 1,379 Operations - other 1189 4,334 Business support 3784 15,826 Corporate 18332 69,538 Total Cost of Services 74,445 (19,530) Subway operations income (19,905) (2,652) Bus operation income (2,490) (356) Business support (390) (1,358) Corporate (1,323) (23,896) Total Gross Income (24,108) (51,769) Taxation and Non-specific grant income (52,283) 45,642 Total Net Cost of services 50,337 (40) Other operating expenditure 5310 (1,001) Financing and Investment Income and Expenditure (5931) (7,168) Surplus on the provision of services (2,567) 0 Revaluation on non-current assets (9,485) (34,019) Actuarial (Gains)/Losses pension liabilities 26,169 0 Other comprehensive income and expenditure 0 (41,187) Total Comprehensive Income and Expenditure 14,117 SPT Website: www.spt.co.uk SPT Capital funding secured by the Council in 2022/23 Project SPT Capital Funding secured Ravenscraig Active Travel Link £500,000 Motherwell Station Active Travel Links £225,000 Coatbridge junction improvements £250,000 Bus Infrastructure Improvements £175,000 A73 Carlisle Road Junction Improvements £375,000 A71 Junction Improvements £450,000 Total secured funding £1,975,000 Page 57 of 66
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Appendix 2: Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Scheme (SCTS) Overview 2022/23 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. 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. The scheme is administered by SPT. Statutory Powers 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. Members of the Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Joint Committee 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. Current NLC Member: Cllr William Goldie Principal Activities Administering concessionary travel for the over 60s and disabled persons (and in certain cases, concessionary travel for companions). Key Performance Indicators 2021/22 2022/23 Disabled National Entitlement Card on Issue to NLC residents 8,688 8,207 Disabled National Entitlement Card Renewals (NLC residents) 2,793 2,659 Disabled National Entitlement Card First Time applications (NLC residents) 469 918 Contribution to The Plan for North Lanarkshire • Improve the health and wellbeing of our communities • Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Financial Overview 2021/22 Actual £000s NL Council Contribution 2021/22 (£573k) 2022/23 (£572k) 2022/23 Actual £000s 2,645 Payment to operators 3,415 302 Corporate costs 319 2,947 Cost of Services 3,734 Financed by: (7) Financial and investment income and expenditure (104) (4,076) Taxation and non specific grant income (4,059) (1,136) Deficit on provision of services (429) 0 Other comprehensive income and expenditure 0 (1,136) Total comprehensive income and expenditure (429) Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Scheme Website: www.spt.co.uk/travelcards/concessions Page 58 of 66
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Environment and Climate Change Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref AR/JPM/PH Date 01/05/24 Contract Variation – A73 Carlisle Road, Junction Improvements From Pamela Humphries, Chief Officer (Place) E-mail robertsonala@northlan.gov.uk Telephone Alastair Robertson, 07852378642 1. Background 1.1 The council’s Financial Regulations detail the threshold variances where reporting of contract variation is required. 1.2 A design service contract was awarded on 1 October 2021, for the A73 Carlisle Road/ Petersburn Road / Brownsburn Road Junction Improvement works. The total tender value was £47,663.37 and the contract was completed on 24 January 2024. 1.3 A construction contract was awarded on 3 August 2022, for the A73 Carlisle Road/ South Biggar Road / Craigneuk Avenue Junction Improvement works. The total tender value was £521,857.37 and the works were completed on 15 December 2023. Executive Summary In accordance with the council’s Financial Regulations, any variation where the outturn exceeds the tendered contract price by the higher of £25,000 or 5%, should be reported by the appropriate budget holder to the relevant spending committee. The purpose of this report is to inform the committee of a variation in costs against the tender contract price incurred for the design and construction of the following A73 Carlisle Road junction improvements in Airdrie: • Design service contract, A73 Carlisle Road / Petersburn Road / Brownsburn Road. • Construction contract, A73 Carlisle Road / South Biggar Road / Craigneuk Avenue. Recommendations It is recommended that the Environment and Climate Change Committee: (1) Acknowledges the contents of this report and the accompanying Appendix 1 The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve the health and wellbeing of our communities Ambition statement (2) Refocus our town centres and communities to be multi- functional connected places which maximise social, economic, and environmental opportunities Item 8 Page 59 of 66
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1.4 The overall cost for delivering these projects has exceeded the original contract sum for various reasons. 2. Report Design Service Contract, A73 Carlisle Rd / Petersburn Rd/ Brownsburn Rd 2.1 Several design modifications were required to enable the successful delivery of the junction improvements project and meet the programmed completion. These were due to the need to upgrade the existing street lighting network; prolonged engagement with utility companies; difficulties in acquiring privately owned land; and feedback from consultations with project stakeholders. In addition, funding became available from the Active Travel Transformation Fund for improved active travel infrastructure, and this was added to the design service contract. The reasons for the design modifications and resultant fee increases are summarised below. Upgrade of the street lighting network 2.2 A design review identified the need to upgrade the existing street lighting network to meet the required standards for the proposed scheme. This was a critical safety element of the project due to the proposed changes to existing road layout. This required the preparation of lighting class risk assessments, design calculations, layout plans and contract documentation. Prolonged engagement with utility companies 2.3 Utility companies were not responsive to requests from our consultant for detailed cost estimates of the necessary diversion of their apparatus. This prolonged period of engagement extended well beyond what was allowed for in the scope of services and delayed the consultant’s programme by several months. This resulted in additional project management costs. Acquisition of privately owned land 2.4 It was not possible to conclude the voluntary acquisition of a small parcel of privately owned land. To enable the proposed safety improvements and active travel infrastructure to be delivered within the reduced footprint, it was necessary to undertake some amendments to design drawings and contract documentation. Feedback from project stakeholders 2.5 Following consultation feedback from project stakeholders, including local elected members, it was decided to relocate the proposed traffic signal-controlled pedestrian crossing on the A73 Carlisle Road. This required some amendments to design drawings and contract documentation. In addition, the consultant required to undertake further engagement with utility companies regarding the modifications to the design. Page 60 of 66
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Improved Active Travel Infrastructure 2.6 The decision to relocate the proposed traffic signal-controlled pedestrian crossing on the A73 Carlisle Road and the availability of funding from the Active Travel Transformation Fund, provided an opportunity to create a new active travel connection to the bus terminus and the recently constructed active travel facilities along Minch Way. This additional link will provide a much-improved connection across the A73 Carlisle Road for bus users and pupils travelling to local schools. The consultant was required to undertake a topographical survey, ecological assessment, and options review, prior to developing design drawings and specifications. Cost Change 2.7 The tender value for this project was £47,663.37, with a final total cost of £88,291.91. This equates to a £40,628.54 increase in cost. However, the project was delivered within the overall budget allocation. Construction works, A73 Carlisle Road / South Biggar Road/ Craigneuk Avenue Project Acceleration 2.8 Supplier commitment issues were raised during the tender evaluation stage of this project, which in turn delayed the construction start date from July 2023 to September 2023. To recover this time, ensure delivery prior to the statutory road embargo period, and meet funding constraints, a project acceleration compensation event was implemented. Without this compensation event, the works would have been required to stop for a minimum period of one month. Such a delay would have increased construction costs by around £60,000 to £80,000. There was also a risk that the contractor could have decided not to undertake the works and the contract may have had to be terminated and retendered. Having considered all available options, the decision was taken to accelerate these works and the road restricted elements were completed on schedule. This minimised disruption to the road network, including the removal of operational restrictions to the adjacent supermarket. Additional works 2.9 To ensure that the contract remained on programme, disruption was minimised, and all project objectives were met, 19 minor variations to contract were instructed. These included: • Additional tree removal. • Hand excavation in restricted working areas. • Additional directional and advisory road signs. • Additional road related construction works relating to drainage improvements and relocation of utility services. Page 61 of 66
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Cost Change 2.10 The tender value for this project was £521,857.37 with the final total cost of £626,656.23. This equates to a £104,798.86 increase in cost. However, the project was delivered within the overall budget allocation. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Successful delivery of the A73 Carlisle Road / South Biggar Road / Craigneuk Avenue junction improvement construction works. 3.2 Successful delivery of the design works for the A73 Carlisle Road / Petersburn Road / Brownsburn Road improvements, including the delivery of the Minch Way active travel link. 4. Supporting documentation Appendix 1 – Detail of Project Costs Pamela Humphries Chief Officer (Place) 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? Total additional £145,427.4 of expenditure over the tender values for these contracts, but delivered within available funding. Page 62 of 66
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5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts 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 ☐ 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? Page 63 of 66
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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 64 of 66
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Appendix 1: Detail of Project Costs Project Consultant/ Contractor Contract Award Date Contract Start Date Completion of Service/ Works Date Contract Sum Final Account Cost Increase Main Reasons for Additional Costs Design service contract A73 Carlisle Road / Petersburn Road/ Brownsburn Road Stantec 01/10/21 04/10/21 24/01/2024 £47,663.37 £88,291.91 £40,628.54 The need to upgrade the existing street lighting network, prolonged engagement with utility companies, and difficulties in acquiring privately owned land. Construction works A73 Carlisle Road / South Biggar Road/ Craigneuk Avenue Maclay Civil Engineering Ltd 03/08/22 05/09/22 15/12/23 £521,857.37 £626,656.23 £104,798.86 Incorporation of additional works which could not be foreseen when the construction contract was awarded. Page 65 of 66
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