Agenda Pack - Finance and Resources Committee
North Lanarkshire Council · 13 September 2023
Back to Finance and Resources Committee — 13 September 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Our Ref: Your Ref: Contact: Tel: Fax: E-Mail: Date: Andrew Rose 07951 409714 rosean@northlan.gov.uk 4 Sep 2023 Members of the Finance and Resources Committee Chief Executive’s Office Archie Aitken Chief Officer (Legal and Democratic) Civic Centre, Windmillhill Street Motherwell ML1 1AB DX 571701, Motherwell 2 www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk Notice is given that a Meeting of the FINANCE AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE is to be held within the Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Motherwell on Wednesday, 13 September 2023 at 10:00 am which you are requested to attend. The agenda of business is attached. Chief Officer (Legal and Democratic) Members : Councillors: A Beveridge, M Boyd, G Brennan, A Bustard, A Campbell, T Carragher, C Costello, S Coyle, D Crichton, G Currie, K Duffy, A Duffy-Lawson, H Dunbar, T Fisher, F Fotheringham, J Hume, L Jarvie, D Johnston, T Johnston, J Jones, P Kelly, J Keltie, G Lennon, J Logue, H Loughran, F MacGregor, A Masterton, P McDade, R McKendrick, J McLaren, M McPake, L Mitchell, L Nolan, P Patton, L Roarty, D Robb, G Robinson, L Stubbs, R Sullivan, S Watson. Page 1 of 295
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AGENDA (1) Declarations of Interest In Terms of the Ethical Standards In Public Life Etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 Minutes (2) Minute of Meeting of Joint Consultative Committee for Local Government Employees dated 13 June 2023 (page 9 - 10) Submit Minute of Meeting of Joint Consultative Committee for Local Government Employees dated 13 June 2023 for approval (copy herewith) Operational (3) Electric Vehicles Salary Sacrifice Scheme (page 11 - 26) Submit report by the Chief Officer (People Resources) providing the final plan to introduce an electric car scheme through the salary sacrifice employee benefits programme (copy herewith) (4) UK Shared Prosperity Fund - Brighter Futures, NL Academies (page 27 - 40) Submit report by the Chief Officer (People Resources) seeking approval to deliver the NL Academy projects within the People and Skills theme of the UKSPF (copy herewith) Financial (5) Revenue Monitoring Report Council Summary 1 April to 21 July 2023 (page 41 - 50) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Finance) (1) providing an update on the overall position for the General Fund Account, Housing Revenue Account and Adult Health and Social Care, for the financial year to 31 March 2024; (2) consolidating the budget monitoring position of all Services, and (3) highlighting and explaining major variances as per the Council’s approved Financial Regulations (copy herewith) (6) Revenue Budget Monitoring Report; Chief Executive’s Service 1 April to 21 JUly 2023 (Period 4) (page 51 - 62) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Finance) (1) providing a summary of the Chief Executive’s Service financial performance for the period 1 April to 21 July 2023 (Period 4), and (2) illustrating the provisional outturn as at 31 March 2024, with major outturn variances highlighted and explained per the Council’s approved Financial Regulations (copy herewith) (7) Chief Executive Service - Capital Monitoring Report 1 April to 21 July 2023 (Period 4) (page 63 - 68) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Finance) highlighting the financial performance and projected outturn of 2023/24 Chief Executive capital programme for the period ended 21 July 2023 (Period 4) (copy herewith) Page 3 of 295
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2 (8) Capital Programme 2023/24 Monitoring Report (page 69 - 78) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Finance) (1) providing an update on the 2023/24 resources and expenditure for the Council's Strategic Capital Investment Programme, and (2) detailing the 2023/24 projected outturn position and the resultant variances (copy herewith) (9) Treasury Management Monitoring Report for Quarter Ended 30June 2023 (page 79 - 94) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Finance) informing on the quarterly Treasury Management activity for the period 1 April to 30 June 2023 and compliance with the mandatory treasury and prudential indicators (copy herewith) (10) Treasury Management Annual Activity Report - 2022/2023 (page 95 - 120) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Finance) (1) outlining the treasury management activity undertaken during 2022/2023 and the resulting impact on the Council’s borrowing and investment strategy; (2) reporting on the Council’s performance in complying with the mandatory prudential indicators, and (3) providing a detailed summary of the Council’s performance, making reference to those targets and prudential indicators set at the start of the year within the approved strategy (copy herewith) (11) 2022/23 Annual Outturn (page 121 - 126) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Finance) (1) informing that the annual statutory accounts of the Council for the year ended 31 March 2023 were reported to the Audit and Scrutiny Panel at its meeting of 29 June and subsequently submitted to the Council’s External Auditors, Audit Scotland, by the statutory date of 30 June before being published on the Council’s website, and (2) providing an update on the overall position for the General Fund Account and explains any major variations against the Council’s annual budget for the year 2022/23, together with a summary on the Housing Revenue Account (copy herewith) (12) Revenues and Benefits Update (page 127 - 134) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Finance) providing an update on the performance within the Revenues and Benefits functions of Finance as at 30 June 2023 (copy herewith) (13) Review of 2023/24 to 2025/26 Budget Savings (page 135 - 142) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Finance) providing an update on the achievement of the three-year financial savings total approved as part of the 2023/24 budget setting process (copy herewith) (14) General Debtors Write-Off 2023/24 (page 143 - 148) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Finance) presenting a summary of outstanding debtor accounts which are deemed uncollectable following all attempts at recovery or are not economically viable to pursue (copy herewith) Page 4 of 295
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3 Remits (15) Remit from Housing Committee held on 30 August 2023 - General Debtors Write-Off 2023 (page 149 - 154) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Housing Management) presenting a summary of outstanding debtor accounts which are deemed uncollectable following all attempts at recovery or are considered uneconomically viable to continue pursuing, and remitted to the Finance and Resources Committee for approval (copy herewith) (16) Remit from the Adult Care and Social Work Committee held on 5 September 2023 - Sundry Debt Write Off 2023 (page 155 - 160) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Adult Social Work Services) presenting a summary of outstanding debtor accounts which are deemed uncollectable following all attempts at recovery or are considered uneconomically viable to continue pursuing, and remitted to the Finance and Resources Committee for approval (copy herewith) (17) Remit from Education, Children and Families Committee - Annual Bad Debt Write-Off Exercise (page 161 - 166) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Education - North) presenting a summary of outstanding debtor accounts which are deemed uncollectable following all attempts at recovery or are considered uneconomically viable to continue pursuing, and remitted to the Finance and Resources Committee for approval (copy herewith) Performance (18) Strategic Performance Framework - latest performance results for Business and Digital (page 167 - 180) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Business and Digital) providing an update of the latest results for the suite of performance indicators used by Business and Digital to inform service delivery and underpin operational decisions (copy herewith) (19) Strategic Performance Framework - latest performance results for Finance (page 181 - 192) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Finance) presenting the six-monthly Performance Review for Financial Solutions across a range of measures (copy herewith) (20) Strategic Performance Framework - latest performance results for Legal and Democratic (page 193 - 200) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Legal and Democratic) presenting a summary of the performance of Legal and Democratic (copy herewith) (21) Strategic Performance Framework - latest performance results for People Resources (page 201 - 208) Submit report by the Chief Officer (People Resources) summarising performance across People Resources (copy herewith) Page 5 of 295
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4 (22) Strategic Performance Framework - latest performance results for Assets and Procurement (page 209 - 220) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) providing an update of current performance reflecting the service’s key areas of activity across Assets and Procurement (copy herewith) Leases (23) Lease of Land at Allan Street/Draffen Street, Motherwell (page 221 - 226) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) advising of the action taken by the Depute Chief Executive, following consultation with the Convener of the Finance and Resources Committee, to approve a 175-year lease agreement for a new substation, associated equipment and servitudes for rights of access on land at Allan Street and Draffen Street, Motherwell (copy herewith) (24) Substation Lease for NLC Bellshill Transport Depot, Old Edinburgh Road, Bellshill (page 227 - 232) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) seeking approval to grant a lease for a new substation, associated equipment, and servitudes for rights of access on land within the Council's Bellshill Transport Depot, Old Edinburgh Road, Bellshill (copy herewith) Procurement (25) Annual Procurement Report 2022/23 (page 233 - 260) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) providing the Annual Procurement Report covering the Council’s procurement activity during financial year 2022/23, as well as a summary of performance against the Council’s Procurement Strategy 2022/23 (copy herewith) Contracts (26) Contract Award for The Immersive Experience (page 261 - 272) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Business and Digital) asking the Committee to acknowledge the award of a contract for The Supply and Installation of Immersive Pods for an initial period of sixty months anticipated to commence on March 31st, 2023, ending 31 March 31 2028, with a maximum value of £2,000,000 exclusive of VAT (copy herewith) (27) Contract Award for General Office Supplies (page 273 - 282) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Assets & Procurement) seeking approval to award a Call off Contract for General Office Supplies for a period of 48 months anticipated to commence on 14 September 2023 with a value of £2,052,215.00 exclusive of VAT (copy herewith) (28) Contracts with Variations (page 283 - 288) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) notifying the Committee of contracts completed between 1 January and 30 June 2023, where the expenditure levels have exceeded the contract award levels by greater than 5% or £25,000 (copy herewith) Page 6 of 295
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5 (29) Contracts Awarded Below Committee Approval Threshold (page 289 - 296) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) notifying of the contracts awarded between 1 April 30 June 2023 with a value below the financial threshold requiring Committee approval. (copy herewith) EXCLUSION OF PUBLIC The Committee is asked to consider passing the following resolution: "That under Section 50A(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 6 & 9 of Part 1 of Schedule 7A of the Act." (30) NL Properties Refinancing - Update (page 297 - 304) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Finance) informing the Committee that under the powers delegated by it on 24 May 2023 she had approved NL Properties' loan agreement terms and borrowing undertaken on behalf of the Council and reaffirmed the Council’s previously approved position as guarantor (copy herewith) (31) Proposed Purchase of Affordable Houses at Gartferry Road, Chryston (page 305 - 312) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) concerning the increase in price for the proposed acquisition of 22 new houses at Gartferry Road, Chryston to support the council’s new housing supply programme (copy herewith) (32) Disposal of Kilbowie House Site, Gallanach Road, Oban (page 313 - 318) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Assets & Procurement) seeking consent to sell the site of the former Kilbowie Outdoor Centre, known as Kilbowie House Site, Gallanach Road, Oban to the highest bidder at the closing date following a remarketing campaign (copy herewith) (33) Transforming Places: Proposed Land Acquisition to the North East of the West Coast Mainline Railway, Motherwell (page 319 - 326) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Assets & Procurement) seeking consent to acquire an area of land as part of the Glasgow City Region City Deal Ravenscraig Access Infrastructure Project (copy herewith) (34) Transfer of Commercial Units at South Bridge Street, Airdrie to North Lanarkshire Properties (page 327 - 332) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Assets & Procurement) seeking consent to transfer the two ground floor commercial units created as part of the former Orr’s building re-development at South Bridge Street, Airdrie to North Lanarkshire Properties (copy herewith) (35) Proposed Ground Lease Extension at Caledonian Retail Park, Glasgow Road, Wishaw ML2 7SN (page 333 - 338) Submit report by the Chief Officer (Assets & Procurement) seeking approval for a 50-year extension of the ground lease of an area of land at Caledonian Retail Park, Wishaw (copy herewith) Page 7 of 295
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JOINT CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES - 13 JUNE 2023 1 13 June 2023 at 2 pm. A Meeting of the JOINT CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES PRESENT Councillor Boyd, Vice-Convener; Councillors Currie, Jarvie and Smith. D. Whelan, GMB, and J. Rooney and V. Thompson, Unite (T & G). CHAIR Councillor Boyd (Vice-Convener) presided. IN ATTENDANCE Chief Officer (People Resources); Employee Service Centre Manager, Employment and Policy Manager, and Administrative Officer, Legal and Democratic. ALSO IN ATTENDANCE B. Rankin, GMB. APOLOGIES Councillors Ballinger, Barclay, Brannan-McVey, Duffy, and Logue, and M. Quigley, J. Hannigan, W. Shearer and J. Watson, Unison. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST IN TERMS OF THE ETHICAL STANDARDS IN PUBLIC LIFE ETC. (SCOTLAND) ACT 2000 1. There were no declarations of interest. INTRODUCTION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT POLICY, MENOPAUSE AND HORMONAL CHANGE POLICY, AND DISABILITY IN EMPLOYMENT POLICY 2. There was submitted a report by the Chief Officer (People Resources) (1) informing that three new policies were being introduced which would enable employees to continue to receive support to allow them to work in a safe and healthy environment whilst aiming to promote the Council as an employer of choice; (2) advising (a) that the Council was working towards providing standalone policies in respect of Sexual Harassment and Menopause and Hormonal Change, and (b) that the new policies would enhance the current provisions available, further help to protect employees from unwanted sexual advances and inappropriate conduct, and make sure that the correct procedures and support were in place to help staff affected by the menopause or any form of hormonal change; (3) intimating that consultation would be undertaken with Trade Unions prior to the policies being finalised, and (4) indicating that, following a request from the Trade Unions, a standalone Disability in Employment Policy was being developed, which would be issued to the Trade Unions for comment prior to being finalised. AGENDA ITEM 2 Page 9 of 295
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JOINT CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES - 13 JUNE 2023 2 Decided: (1) that the proposal to introduce three new policies be noted; (2) that the implementation of the policies be supported; (3) that the intention to develop a standalone Disability and Employment Policy be noted, and (4) that the report be otherwise noted. CORE CONDITIONS – HIGHER DUTIES GUIDANCE NOTE AND CHANGES TO APPROVAL PROCESS FOR OVERTIME 3. There was submitted a report by the Chief Officer (People Resources) regarding proposals to introduce a Higher Duties Guidance Note for Single Status Employees and changes to the approval process for overtime; (1) outlining the background to the existing Higher Duties Guidance Note and the current process for approving overtime; (2) advising (a) that the revised Guidance Note on Higher Duties would provide managers with a consistent approach to the application of higher duties and the flexibility required to ensure a stable workforce at all times, particularly with front line services, and (b) that there would be no requirement to change the Core Conditions of Service; (3) intimating that the changes to the approval process would be more reflective of the current practices and structure of the Council, and (4) informing that the revised Higher Duties Guidance Note, and the amended Core Conditions, would be issued to the Trade Unions for comment before being submitted to the Corporate Management Team and, thereafter, the final version would be issued to all managers, and made available on MyNL for employees. Decided: (1) that the proposals to revise the Higher Duties Guidance Note, and to amend the Council’s Core Conditions of Service, be noted, and (2) that the report be otherwise noted. Page 10 of 295
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Finance and Resources Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref FW/PM Date 13/09/23 Electric Vehicles Salary Sacrifice Scheme From Fiona Whittaker, Chief Officer (People Resources) E-mail WhittakerF@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07973 729532 Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to provide Committee with the final plan to introduce an electric car scheme through our salary sacrifice employee benefits programme. This follows a report to Finance and Resources Committee in March 2022, where the Committee agreed in principle to move forward with the procurement and development of a full scheme, subject to a further report outlining the procurement and contractual process involved. Since the approvement of the scheme in principle, work has been underway to secure a contract to provide an Electric Vehicles scheme and this report details how the contract has been awarded via our existing employee benefits contract arrangements and the timescales for the full implementation of the Council’s first electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance and Resources Committee: (1) Endorse and approve the variation to our existing call-off contract award for employee benefits to include the electric car scheme, awarded via Edenred (through Crown Commercial Services RM6133) to bring all employee benefits together under one contract for an Online Employee Benefits Platform to include Employee Discounts, Childcare Vouchers, Cycle to Work and a Green Car Scheme. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve North Lanarkshire's resource base Ambition statement (23) Build a workforce for the future capable of delivering on our priorities and shared ambition AGENDA ITEM 3 Page 11 of 295
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1. Background 1.1 Committee will recall that a report was submitted to Finance and Resources Committee in March 2022 detailing plans to enhance our employee benefits offering to include an electric car scheme for employees and seeking a mandate to proceed with the development of a full scheme. 1.2 The Council is committed to maintaining an employee benefits package which is valued and supports us to attract, retain and engage our staff. It is also important that our employee benefits package is aligned to our ambition and priorities, workforce policies and management practices. 1.3 Our employee benefits package is therefore underpinned by the following principles: it is fair and inclusive by having a range of options to accommodate the diversity of the workforce, it support staff to have a good work life balance, it provides choice to staff based on their needs and personal circumstances, it is attractive and supports the attraction and retention of staff and finally it is both easy to understand and easy to access. 1.4 Taking this into account whilst also ensuring we align with national policy drivers and the Climate Plan (ACT2030), it was proposed that the employee benefits scheme be enhanced to offer employees the opportunity to participate in an electric car salary sacrifice scheme. 1.5 The report updates Committee on the work that has been undertaken to introduce this scheme, focussing on the procurement process and the full plans and benefits associated with the implementation of the scheme. 2. Report 2.1 Following the report to committee in March 2022, extensive work has been undertaken by the Talent and OD team (TOD), Procurement and Legal to identify the most suitable procurement process to implement the electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme. 2.2 A number of options were identified for route to market including direct award from a 3rd party framework, open tender and varying our current employee benefits call-off contract to include electric vehicles. 2.3 The Council currently has in place a call-off contract with Edenred (through Crown Commercial Services) for the provision of our online Employee Benefits Platform, Childcare Vouchers and Employee Discount schemes. This contract has run successfully for many years with employees realising many benefits from both schemes. In addition to this, the Council also provides a call-off contract to Halfords to provide our Cycle to Work scheme. The contract with Halfords expired on 31 March 2023. 2.4 After evaluating the options above and conducting research to identify a suitable provider of an Electric Vehicle Scheme, it was agreed with our Legal and Procurement teams that the most efficient route to market was to progress with a contract variation to our existing Employee Benefits Platform, Childcare Voucher and Employee Discount schemes call- off contract. This variation would extend the contract to include a Green Car Scheme and incorporate the Cycle to Work Scheme. This approach brings all benefits under one contract. 2.5 On the expiry of the existing call-off contract we would propose to undertake a re- procurement exercise to consolidate all of our required Employee Benefit Schemes into a single contract for a 3-to-4-year period. The contract can be re-tendered together at the expiry date. Page 12 of 295
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Proposed Benefits 2.6 Introducing an Electric Car Salary Sacrifice Scheme enables the Council to support the reduction of transport CO2 emissions and to provide employees with a brand new fully maintained and insured green energy car at a lower cost than they could normally achieve in the retail market. 2.7 The scheme enhances our financial well-being support for employees to help maximise their income and it develops our reward package in line with good practice across local authorities to support employee engagement and retention by ensuring that financial wellness is an integral part of our overall well-being offer. 2.8 The scheme also allows the Council to realise significant savings from reduced payments for National Insurance and pension contributions. Projected Council savings are detailed in the table below based on a 1% annual employee uptake of EV and ULEV cars. There are currently around 10,000 employees who are eligible to participate in the scheme and we expect uptake to be very positive within the first year. Table 1 – Projected Council savings – 1% annual employee uptake on EV and ULEV cars Car Year 1 employee participants Year2 employee participants Year 3 employee participants NLC cumulative savings EV- 80% uptake 81 163 244 £1,019,078 ULEV – 20% uptake 20 41 61 £188,765 Total 101 204 305 £1,207,841 2.9 Appendix 1 provides a further modelling based on a 0.3% uptake. This low uptake still outlines overall predicted savings in the next three years of up to £363k with a vehicle split of 80% EV and 20% ULEV. Modelling for 0.3% uptake and an equal split of EV 50% and ULEV 50% still outlines overall predicted savings in the next three years of up to £332k. Considerations linked to the scheme 2.10 Elected Members should note that due to the nature of the scheme, there are some qualifying criteria and consideration for employees to be eligible. Firstly, employees must hold a permanent employment contract and secondly, an employee’s position must have a full-time equivalent salary over £26,000 to allow for salary sacrifice deductions which will not take their net salary below current national minimum wage requirements. On that basis, the total estimated employees eligible to apply for the scheme is c10,500. Following the settlement of any future Local Government pay award, this number will likely increase. 2.11 In addition, participating employees will pay Benefit in Kind (BIK) tax in line with HMRC guidelines. The amount paid is set by the CO2 emissions, electric range of the car and an individual’s tax band. Employees participating in the scheme will also receive lower reimbursement payment for business mileage as it is classed as a company car. The current HMRC advisory fuel rates are 4p for electric, 9-13p diesel and 11-19p petrol. 2.12 The scheme is fully flexible, and employees can choose a car from all leading manufacturers and at the end of the agreement will have the opportunity to purchase the car in full, by settling the final payment on the value of the car. Risks 2.13 As outlined in the previous report, the main risks of the scheme sit with the employee through possible additional charges which include but are not limited to installation of an Page 13 of 295
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electric charging facility on a private driveway, parking tickets, excess mileage above agreed contract levels, insurance excess of £250 and early termination charges. 2.14 The risks to the Council are mitigated primarily by the provider and provisions are available to provide protection against unplanned costs for an employee terminating their contract early including resignation, redundancy, retirement, loss of licence, death in service, terminal illness, TUPE, maternity, paternity, adoption, career break, dismissal etc. Procurement process and implementation timescales 2.15 The majority of the work which has taken place has revolved around the procurement process. In the initial report to Committee in March 2022, it was proposed that the Council would procure the scheme through the NHS North of England Commercial Procurement Collaborative. This framework is used by other Scottish Local Authorities to provide employee benefits. 2.16 On further investigation of this framework and in line with recommendations from our Legal team, it was agreed that this was not a viable option. There were fundamental concerns around use of the framework in Scotland and no scope to align the terms of the framework to Scots Law. Furthermore, as the framework can be classed as a Speculative Framework this is viewed as unsuitable for use as per the Scottish Public Procurement Policy. 2.17 After extensive discussions with our procurement and legal teams and the framework provider Edenred, and in line with the core terms and conditions of the framework, it was mutually agreed to progress with the variation of the existing call-off contract to incorporate the two additional employee benefits. The Contract Variation and Supplier Agreement documents have now been signed off by all parties. 2.18 Each benefit will be subcontracted by Edenred to their approved subcontractor who will deliver and administer our Green Car Scheme and our Cycle to work scheme via our online Employee Benefits Platform. Tusker Direct Limited will our provider for the Green Car Scheme and Halfords Limited for Cycle to Work. 2.19 Collaborative working groups have been established with subject matter representatives from Procurement, Legal and People Resources along with external representatives from Edenred, Tusker and Halfords to jointly develop the implementation plans for each benefit and to establish the necessary operational processes, reporting arrangements and any further development of the online benefits platform to accommodate the new benefits and to ensure their success when they are made available to council employees. 2.20 It should be noted that there are no direct costs to the Council for this contract and the savings which can be realised from this scheme still apply. As mentioned in 2.7 the projected savings and illustrative employee car costs are contained in Appendix 2 and 3 for information. 2.21 The proposed timeline for the Cycle to Work benefit to be available to council employees is w/c 21 August 2023 with the launch of the Green Car Scheme proposed from early October 2023 which is the earliest opportunity following final approval at Committee on 13 September 2023. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The measures of success for this contract include: • all employee benefits can be accessed via one online platform. • numbers of employees taking benefits from the contract increasing. • savings realised by the Council through reduction payments for National Insurance and pension contributions. Page 14 of 295
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4. Supporting documentation Appendix 1 – Modelling examples Appendix 2 – Projected Council employer savings per car Appendix 3 - Illustrative employee car costs Appendix 4 – FAQ’s Fiona Whittaker Chief Officer (People Resources) Page 15 of 295
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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 are financial savings lined to the provision of this scheme for employees and a projected positive financial impact to the Council. Operational running costs of the scheme will be covered through existing resources. 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? Employees taking a car through this scheme will receive a reduced mileage rate in line with HMRC guidelines 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 ☒ Page 16 of 295
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If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The scheme will form part of the incremental change required to enable a reduction of on-road emissions in North Lanarkshire and make progress towards the challenging ambition of net zero emissions by 2030. 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? A full communications plan is being developed to promote the scheme to employees 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 17 of 295
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Appendix 1 – Modelling Example for 0.3% uptake 80:20 vehicle type split with low 0.3% uptake Car Year one employee participants Year two employee participants Year three employee participants NLC cumulative savings EV – 80% uptake 24 29 73 £305,723 ULEV – 20% uptake 3 12 18 £56,629 TOTAL 30 61 91 £362,352 50:50 vehicle type split with low 0.3% uptake Car Year one employee participants Year two employee participants Year three employee participants NLC cumulative savings EV – 50% uptake 15 30 45 £191,077 ULEV – 50% uptake 15 30 45 £141,573 TOTAL 30 61 91 £332,350 Page 18 of 295
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Appendix 2 – Projected council employer savings per car The projected NLC savings detailed below are broken into two parts – Electric Vehicle (EV) and Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle (ULEV) EV Example (Peugeot e-2008 SUV) Tax year Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 P11D value* £34,825 £34,825 £34,825 CO2 & vehicle scale charge 0g/km = 1% 0g/km = 2% 0g/km = 2% Gross salary reduction £470 £470 £470 Class 1 National Insurance saved on salary reduction £64 £71 £71 Pension contribution saving £90 £90 £90 Class 1A National Insurance payable on benefit in kind tax £4 £9 £8 Monthly net saving £150 £152 £147 Annual net saving £1800 £1824 £1764 *P11D values if the taxable value of the car that HMRC base its calculations on. The taxable value of a car is not the same as its cost ULEV Example (Mercedes A Class 24g/km) Tax year Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 P11D value* £32,925 £32,925 £32,925 CO2 & vehicle scale charge 24g/km = 7% 24g/km = 8% 24g/km = 8% Gross salary reduction £481 £481 £481 Class 1 National Insurance saved on salary reduction £66 £72 £66 Pension contribution saving £92 £92 £92 Class 1A National Insurance payable on benefit in kind tax £27 £33 £30 Monthly net saving £131 £131 £131 Annual net saving £1572 £1572 £1536 Page 19 of 295
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Appendix 3 – Illustrative employee costs The examples below provide a cost comparison of one of the most popular EV and ULEV cars (with other Scottish Local Authorities) available on the scheme and the open market costs. Peugeot 2-2008 SUV 0.0 Electric 50kWh 136 Allure Auto Page 20 of 295
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Mercedes A250e Hatch 5Dr 1.3PiH 15.6kWh 218 SS AMG Line 8G-DCT Page 21 of 295
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Appendix 4 Electric car scheme salary sacrifice Frequently asked questions – an introduction Page 22 of 295
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How do I benefit from a salary sacrifice car scheme? A salary sacrifice car scheme is where employees can sacrifice a fixed amount of their salary each pay day in exchange for a brand new car. This supports a greener, more environmentally friendly lifestyle and cost savings. The fixed amount for a car is taken before your income tax and National Insurance deduction which creates significant savings for you. What other impacts does salary sacrifice car scheme have? Most important to note is that participation in salary sacrifice car scheme reduces both employee and employer pension contributions. If you have any concerns regarding the impact that the car scheme salary sacrifice might have on your pension contributions or benefits, you should consult an independent financial advisor. Participation in scheme also means that if you claim mileage expenses this would be at a lower rate of HM Revenue & Customs advisory fuel rates. This is due to the tax implications of the change in the vehicle ownership that you drive. This is again the reason why if you receive the designated user car allowance payment this would end. Who can participate in our salary sacrifice car scheme? All colleagues on a suitable contract length. In addition colleagues salary must be £27,000 or greater so they still earn over the National Living Wage after the sacrificed salary has been taken. This includes any other deductions on top of a car scheme salary sacrifice such as bought leave, childcare, cycle2work or additional voluntary contributions to your pension. What is included with a salary sacrifice car? Fully comprehensive insurance, vehicle tax, replacement tyres, routine servicing, MOTs, break- down cover and lifestyle protection for ending the agreement early under certain circumstances. What isn’t included in the scheme? The car scheme is designed to offer you a fixed price motoring package out with: fuel/charging, fines, engine oil top-ups outside of servicing, insurance excess, personal number plate transfers, damage due to misuse or excess mileage. Is a deposit required for a salary sacrifice car? No deposit is required. The first amount is deducted from the driver’s salary in the delivery month. Your salary sacrifice deduction amounts and timings will be confirmed with you. What's the process for ordering a car? You’ll be provided with access to an online driver portal where you’ll be able to see the cars available, delivery timescales and costs. Once you submit a car request, our Employee Service Centre will get it all set up and approved with the car scheme provider. 20230808Electric car scheme salary sacrifice Page 23 of 295
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What’s the delivery timescale after my car order approval? The car scheme provider will place the order with the manufacturer who will give an estimated delivery timescale. You’ll be able to monitor the status of your car and will be contacted once the car is in stock and ready for delivery. An average delivery time for a car that’s being built to your specification is 28 weeks. If you’ve ordered one of the cars that’s already in stock then it’s a much quicker process as it doesn’t need to wait for a production slot or shipping date so can often be delivered in as little as 3 weeks. How many makes and models are there? There is a huge selection with almost all manufacturers offering a full range of electric cars. How long can I keep my car? When ordering your car you can choose the length you want the car (24 to 48 months). This commits you to the agreement for that time period. If during the agreement you decide you simply no longer want the car you will be responsible for an early termination charge. What happens if my circumstances change while I have a car? The car scheme includes a level of lifestyle protection. This provides protection for employees experiencing certain lifestyle events. If you resign from NLC your agreement will end and you will be responsible for an early termination charge if you have had your car less than 4 months. Is there a limit on how much mileage I can do? You’ll select the most suitable annual mileage you think you’ll do as part of the order process. If this changes during the agreement, it can easily be updated after 12 months. What happens at the end of the salary sacrifice car agreement? There are 3 options; order a new car, return the vehicle, or to purchase the car for a open market value set in the last three months of the agreement. Can I get a domestic charger installed? We would encourage anyone thinking of ordering an electric car to check with an approved domestic charger installer if one can be connected at your address. This installation can be up to £1,000 which in most cases you will need to cover yourself. We strongly recommend you get three quotes to ensure value for money. See here for domestic chargers funding information. Page 24 of 295
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Who is our salary sacrifice car scheme provider? Tusker. They’re a carbon neutral, award winning car leasing company who have been providing car benefit schemes for 15 years. Tusker offer over 1000 cars to choose from all by leading manufacturers via an industry leading intuitive online driver portal that enables you to create instant quotes. 20230808 More FAQs on the scheme specifics coming soon Page 25 of 295
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Finance and Resources Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref FW/LS Date 13/09/23 UK Shared Prosperity Fund – Brighter Futures, NL Academies From Fiona Whittaker, Chief Officer (People Resources) E-mail WhittakerF@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07973 728628 Executive Summary The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) replaces the European Union Structural Fund which ended in June 2023. North Lanarkshire Council was allocated a total of £13.871m from the UKSPF to deliver projects across four key themes (Communities and Place, People and Skills, Supporting Local Business and Multiply) for spend between 2022/23 and 2024/25, subject to approval of a UKSPF Investment Plan. North Lanarkshire’s overall investment plan, approved by the Enterprise, Growth and Fair Work Committee on 29 August 2022, formed part of the wider Glasgow City Region Investment Plan, which was approved by the UK Government on 5 December 2022. Within the next phase of this work, and to ensure that we are meeting required timescales for the spending of funding aligned to the different themes of the UKSPF, plans are now being reported for approval through relevant service committees, and accordingly, this report provides information on those elements which sit within the governance of the People Resources service. These include the proposed NL Academy projects within the People and Skills theme of the UKSPF and we are now seeking approval to deliver these within the timelines and funding framework outlined in the report. Going forward, the NL Academy projects will fall under the remit and governance of the Brighter Futures Programme of Work and as such future reports on progress of the elements outline here, including development and delivery will be reported to relevant future committees aligned to this programme of work. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance and Resources Committee: (1) Approve the delivery of the NL Academy projects within the People and Skills theme of the UKSPF. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve North Lanarkshire's resource base Ambition statement (23) Build a workforce for the future capable of delivering on our priorities and shared ambition AGENDA ITEM 4 Page 27 of 295
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1. Background 1.1 As reported to this Committee in August 2022, February 2023 and March 2023, the UKSPF is a central pillar of the UK Government’s Levelling Up agenda. It succeeds the EU Structural Funds (primarily European Social Fund and European Regional Development Fund) within the UK. 1.2 A total of £212m has been allocated to Scotland (8.4% of the UK total). The eight authorities in the Glasgow City Region have received a combined allocation of £73.9m which is approximately 34.9% of the Scottish allocation. North Lanarkshire has received an allocation of £13,871,047 of which £11,475,646 is core UKSPF funding and £2,395,402 is ringfenced for delivery of activity under “Multiply” (i.e., activity to support adult numeracy activities for individuals aged 19+). 1.3 The objectives of the People and Skills Investment Priority are below: (a) To boost core skills and support adults to progress in work by targeting adults with no or low-level qualifications and skills in maths and upskill the working population, yielding personal and societal economic impact and by encouraging innovative approaches to reducing adult education barriers. (b) To reduce levels of economic inactivity through investment in bespoke intensive life and employment support tailored to local need. Investment should facilitate the join- up of mainstream provision and local services within an area for participants, using one-to-one keyworker support, improving employment outcomes for specific cohorts who face labour market barriers. (c) To support people furthest from the labour market to overcome barriers to work by providing cohesive, locally tailored support including access to basic skills. (d) To support local areas to fund gaps in local skills provision to support people to progress in work, and supplement local adult skills provision e.g., by providing additional volumes; delivering provision through wider range of routes or enabling more intensive/innovative provision, both qualification based, and non-qualification based. This should be supplementary to provision available through national employment and skills programmes. 1.4 £5,389,830 is allocated to North Lanarkshire’s People and Skills theme with £1,050,000 aligned to develop the skills academies to support North Lanarkshire residents seeking employment with a focus on digital skills, construction and health and social care. This is split between two interventions known as S36 and S38. 1.5 A summary of the People and Skills intervention is highlighted in table 1: Table 1 Intervention Summary of proposed activity Total UKSPF allocation Currently EU funded S29 Support to expand support programmes to help vulnerable young people achieve positive post- school destinations. £900,000 No S31 and S35 Employability support, programmes and funding to support those furthest from the labour market. £3,439,830 Yes S36 and S38 Support to develop skills academies to support North Lanarkshire residents seeking employment – focus will be on digital skills, construction and health and social care. £1,050,000 No TOTAL £5,389,830 Page 28 of 295
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2. Report Intervention S36 2.1 Intervention S36 of the UKSPF is described as “support for local areas to fund local skills needs. This includes technical and vocational qualification and courses up to level 2 (SCQF level 5) and training for vocational licences relevant to local area needs and high-value qualification where there is a need for additional skills capacity that cannot be met through mainstream funding”. 2.1.1 Within the council, the funding aligned to intervention S36 is for the progression of the Built Environment Academy and Care Academy. Built Environment Academy 2.2 The Built Environment sector is a key component of North Lanarkshire’s current economy and is key to future economic growth, however it is an industry where recognised skills shortages exist and where there is a lack of new entrants across a range of trades and occupations within the sector. The Built Environment sector is also key to achieving Net Zero, therefore there needs to be a focus on both current and future skills required to ensure a suitably skilled workforce exists across North Lanarkshire. 2.2.1 Within the Built Environment Academy part of this fund, the following sub-projects will be delivered; Scottish Power Energy Networks (SPEN) and NLC – training academy, North Lanarkshire Low Carbon Learning: Next Generation, Upskilling for Refugees, Upskilling for Veterans. Sections 2.3 to 2.6 of this report cover some summary details of each project. 2.2.2 It should be noted that the recently approved Built Environment Sector Board is due to hold its first meeting in late Summer 2023. The Board will be updated on the content of these proposals which may lead to some change in volumes and scope. 2.3 Scottish Power Energy Networks (SPEN) and NLC – training academy 2.3.1 SPEN has identified significant skills gaps within the “Jointing” and “Civils” areas which have the potential to impact upon their service partners (supply chain) and could hinder delivery of their sizeable future programmes of work within (and out with) North Lanarkshire. The SPEN training academy seeks to match underemployed people to jobs within the engineering sector by providing individuals with a fully funded education and training programme. The target group is over 50’s, including BAME groups, women, disabled people, veterans, and refugees. 2.3.2 The aims of this project are to enhance the employment opportunities of the target group and attract suitably qualified individuals to the sector. Candidates will gain enduring, green skills along with literacy and numeracy qualifications across a combination of practical and theory training. Service partners will be engaged with SPEN and subject to candidates meeting the requirements of the course and being successful at interview, service partners will commit to employing the trainee after the programme. 2.3.3 The UKSPF monies will be used to add additional value to the training academy in partnership with SPEN. Candidates from within North Lanarkshire (identified by Page 29 of 295
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partners Routes to Work) will participate in a circa nine-month long programme to develop skills in the identified gap areas and during the programme will be paid a training allowance at Scottish minimum wage. The proposed total cost and description of the spend for this sub project is detailed in table 2 – it should be noted that funds will be required to be sourced to supplement UKSPF funds to fully deliver the programme. Table 2 – funding breakdown, Built Environment Academy sub project 1 2023/24 2024/25 TOTAL Delivery of training allowance and expenses – 20 candidates per cohort £320480 £320480 £640960 TOTAL £320480 £320480 £640960 2.4 North Lanarkshire Low Carbon Learning: Next Generation 2.4.1 This project is available to young learners aged 16-24 interested in the Built Environment with the provision of workshops suitable for aspiring young people with an interest in the sector. The sessions cover knowledge and training in retrofit, passivhaus, digital construction and modern methods of construction and cover theory, interactive learning, and practical sessions. 2.4.2 The target group is those young people who are currently carrying out a Foundation Apprenticeship in Construction or Civil Engineering or who have an interest in construction / the built environment. This includes those on Pathways Programmes, Care Experienced Young People, those with Additional Support Needs and those engaged with Supported Employment. The programme will include 6 bespoke events including two workshop days for each of 150 learners. It will make use of specialist tutors from Partner providers BE-ST (Built Environment – Smarter Transformation) who have partnered in the development of the programme. 2.4.3 The proposed total cost and description of the spend for this sub project is detailed in table 3. Table 3 – funding breakdown, Built Environment Academy sub project 2 2023/24 2024/25 TOTAL Delivery of NL Low Carbon Learning: Next Generation course (150 learners p.a.) £35,000 £35,000 £70,000 TOTAL £35,000 £35,000 £70,000 2.5 Upskilling for refugees 2.5.1 This project will provide support and upskilling opportunities for refugees across North Lanarkshire in basic Built Environment certificates, for example CSCS card, Health and Safety, Manual Handling. It will also cover life skills such as English as a second language and entrepreneurship skills. This project aligns to the council’s proud and compassionate record of ensuring a welcoming environment to refugees and providing support to build new lives. 2.5.2 Employer and employment opportunities will also be explored around placements following course completion. These can be accessed via existing council connections and via community benefits. 2.5.3 The target group for this project is all refugees based within North Lanarkshire including BAME groups, women and disabled people. Page 30 of 295
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2.5.4 The proposed total cost and description of the spend for this sub project is detailed in table 4. Table 4 – funding breakdown, Built Environment Academy sub project 3 2023/24 2024/25 TOTAL Delivery of upskilling support for refugees £10,000 £20,000 £30,00 TOTAL £10,000 £20,000 £30,000 2.6 Upskilling for veterans 2.6.1 This project is similar to what is described at section 2.5, however the target group here is veterans based within North Lanarkshire which also includes BAME groups, women and disabled people. This project aligns to the council’s commitment to supporting the military community, veterans and their families in the areas of education, employment opportunities and careers advice. 2.6.2 The project will provide support and upskilling opportunities for veterans across North Lanarkshire in basic built environment certificates (CSCS cards, health and safety and manual handling) and entrepreneurship skills and similar to the above, employer and employment work placement opportunities will be explored. 2.6.3 The proposed total cost and description of spend for this sub project is detailed in table 5. Table 5 – funding breakdown, Built Environment Academy sub project 4 2023/24 2024/25 TOTAL Delivery of upskilling support for veterans £10,000 £20,000 £30,000 TOTAL £10,000 £20,000 £30,000 Care Academy 2.7 Despite being the largest employment sector within North Lanarkshire, the Health and Social Care sector has experienced significant increases in demand and ongoing workforce challenges over the past few years, however it is a fundamental sector to foster inclusive growth by contributing to place based economic development, and community wealth building. 2.7.1 The most recent Sectoral Skills Assessment from Skills Development Scotland (SDS) notes that attraction and retention of the workforce, job-changers or returners should remain a priority for the sector, building on the positive public perceptions around the economic and social value to the health and care sector. 2.7.2 Within the Care Academy part of this fund, the following sub-projects will be delivered, Trainee Social Worker Scheme, Upskilling for Home Care Workers and Upskilling of Support Staff. The following sections of this report provide some summary detail on these projects. 2.8 Trainee Social Worker Scheme 2.8.1 The Trainee Social Worker Scheme offers opportunities across Health and Social Care to train to become a fully qualified Social Worker. Staff on the scheme become Trainee Social Workers in our Student Social Worker Hub and are placed on a programme where they attend university part time whilst working with the Social Work Service. Recruitment of Social Workers is in crisis and NLC find it very difficult to attract and Page 31 of 295
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retain qualified Social Workers. The trainee programme allows us to tackle some of the recruitment challenges faced. 2.8.2 They are given exposure to real cases and in first and second year, assist in these cases and in third and fourth year, they will be allocated cases to manage. The programme allows us to grow our own Social Workers and start to tackle the recruitment challenges we face in this area. 2.8.3 The employee costs for this programme are covered by the council, and the UKSPF monies will be used to cover the cost of the qualification. Some of our existing workforce have demonstrated their commitment to a career in social work by studying, funding and completing course work in their own time. The UKSPF would allow NLC to fast-track students to qualify in less than 2 years when the normal BA in Social Work can take 4 years to complete. The cost per person for this qualification is approximately £10,000 and the estimated number of candidates would be 5. 2.8.4 The proposed total cost and description of spend for this sub project is detailed in table 6. Table 6 – funding breakdown, Care Academy sub project 1 2023/24 2024/25 TOTAL Delivery of qualification for Trainee Social Workers (x5 staff) £25,000 £25,000 £25,000 TOTAL £25,000 £25,000 £50,000 2.9 Upskilling for Home Care Workers 2.9.1 As part of the commitment to professional development and requirements as set out by the (Scottish Social Services Council) SSSC, Home Support Workers require to have a basic qualification in Health and Social Care at SVQ level 2 (SCQF level 6) or SVQ level 3 (SCQF level 7). Recruitment into these roles remains challenging, therefore the service recently made the requirement for this qualification “desirable” instead of “essential”, allowing potential candidates with significant levels of experience to gain employment. 2.9.2 The SVQ level 2 is a work-based qualification and is the level Home Support Workers are currently required to achieve. However, going forward, some workers will require to complete an SVQ level 3 within a specified timescale. The details of this are still to be fully confirmed, however the council will start to put relevant staff through this qualification, demonstrating our investment in workforce development and highlighting the council as an employer of choice. 2.9.3 The proposed total cost and description of spend for this sub project is detailed in table 7. Table 7 – funding breakdown, Care Academy sub project 2 2023/24 2024/25 TOTAL Delivery of qualification for Home Care Workers (x40 staff) £16,000 £16,000 £32,000 TOTAL £16,000 £16,000 £32,000 2.10 Upskilling support staff 2.10.1 Support staff are key to the successful operation of the Health and Social Care service. It is therefore key to ensure that alongside the upskilling of the frontline staff, that those Page 32 of 295
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performing a support role are also upskilled and supported to do so. An early qualification in health and social care can create a pathway to future employment opportunities within the service, which again support the recruitment challenges faced within this area. 2.10.2 The qualification is designed for individuals who either want to gain skills and knowledge to progress further in a career in care. It costs approximately £600 per person to complete based on information from the People Resources team. It is expected that we will offer 5 places for this opportunity in 2023/24 and 5 in 2024/25 (subject to the entry requirements of the appropriate college). 2.10.3 The proposed total cost and description of spend for this sub project is detailed in table 8. Table 8 – funding breakdown, Care Academy sub project 3 2023/24 2024/25 TOTAL Delivery of qualification to support staff (x10 staff) £3000 £3000 £6000 TOTAL £3000 £3000 £6000 2.11 Resources required to support the delivery of the NL Academy model 2.11.1 To support the delivery of the NL Academy Model, a temporary Senior Project Officer post (NLC12) is proposed to support the Brighter Futures Manager with the governance and management of all activity under the NL Academy theme and also provide programme support to the Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) for the Brighter Futures Programme. 2.11.2 A further NL Academy Delivery Manager (NLC14) will be created and will be offset against the budget for the current HR Programme Manager (NLC12). This post will directly support the onward development and delivery of the NL Academy model. 2.11.3 The proposed total cost and description of spend for this post is detail in table 9. The 2023/24 figures assume these posts are filled from January to March 2024. Table 9 – funding breakdown, resources required to support the NL Academy model 2023/24 2024/25 TOTAL 1x NLC12 Senior Project Officer post £15,372 £61,487 £76,859 1x NLC12 NL Academy Delivery Manager (offset by the HR Programme Manager) £2,277 £9,107 £11,384 TOTAL £17,649 £70,594 £88,243 Intervention S38 2.12 Intervention S38 of the UKSFP is described as “funding to support digital skills” with the objectives “to support local areas to fund local skills needs and supplement adult skills provision, e.g., by providing additional volumes, delivering provision through wider range of routes or enabling more intensive / innovative provision, both qualification based, and non-qualification based”. Digital Academy 2.13 The need for digital skills has never been more important. Prioritising and supporting the development of digital economy skills will help foster a prosperous, higher skilled Page 33 of 295
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and higher wage economy. Digitally skilled employees benefit from higher salaries, and this is essential inward investment, tackling poverty, achieving net zero and improving the health and wealth of our communities in North Lanarkshire.1 2.13.1 As reported within Skills Development Scotland’s most recent Regional Skills Assessment and Sectoral Skills Assessment’s published in November 2022, within Scotland, research suggests that the pandemic has accelerated digital transformation, and digital skills gaps are already being felt by employers across the labour market with jobs in software development, artificial intelligence, and cyber security in high demand. 2.13.2 Digital skills shortages and gaps are felt by employers across all industries and in addition to technical digital skills, softer skills such as meta skills and enhanced life skills can support individuals with re-skilling or up-skilling to enhance their opportunities within the labour market. 2.13.3 The UKSPF can go some way to start to address these issues. Within intervention S38 of the fund, 3 sub projects will be delivered, Digital Labs, NL Digital Youth Academy and Career Pathways. The following sections of this report provide some summary detail on each sub project. 2.14 Digital Labs 2.14.1 “Digital Labs” will see flexible, community-based labs set up across North Lanarkshire to provide local adults aged 16+ with the relevant skills, confidence, and motivation to get online. Support will be given to all no matter whether they have their own device or not. Learners will be encouraged to drop into their local lab to learn how to use tablets, laptops, and smartphones through both Public Access Computing (PAC) and “bring your own device” (BYOD) approaches. 2.14.2 Standard lab sessions will operate throughout the year across each of the 9 community board locations across North Lanarkshire to ensure local coverage and will be available for drop in or pre booked sessions. Bespoke sessions will also be arranged for groups with similar needs, i.e., unemployed, school leavers, families, refugees, or those with additional support needs. 2.14.3 Learning outcomes will cover the following: • operation of devices • access to internet • email • creating and printing documents • social media • search engines • online safety 2.14.4 Accreditation will be available via formal SQA units, Adult Achievement Awards, but wider achievement will also be recognised via provision of ‘Digital Badges’. Pathways to further learning will be in place via the council and its partners across the Digital North Lanarkshire partnership. As the sessions are being led by staff from both Libraries and Community Learning and Development teams, this will also ensure access to a much wider range of community-based adult skills provision, from basic core skills, such as literacy and numeracy, through to formal training and qualifications. 1 Digital Economy Skills Action Plan 2023-2028, Skills Development Scotland Page 34 of 295
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2.14.5 The expected benefits of this project are engaging adults in entry level digital learning, leading to wider learning opportunities, enhanced life skills (e.g., internet banking, online shopping, price comparison websites, online energy tariffs, communication tools, health management tools and cyber security, overall improving the quality of life for participants. This project also aims to support pathways towards education, employment, training, and volunteering via the provision of digital life skills. 2.14.6 The proposed total cost of this sub project and a description of spend for this sub project is detailed in table 10. These costs cover the temporary employment 5 members of staff, 1x NLC12, 2x NLC7 and 2x NLC6 up to 31 March 2025 and covers the costs of delivery (training and upskilling, digital resources and equipment and programme costs / accreditation). Table 10 – funding breakdown, Digital Academy sub project 1 2023/24 2024/25 TOTAL Staff costs (including on costs) £115,765 £202,481 £318,246 Delivery costs £13,000 £2,000 £15,000 TOTAL £128,765 £204,481 £333,246 2.15 NL Digital Youth Academy 2.15.1 The NL Digital Youth Academy will provide a 4-week training course for 16–24-year- olds to develop skills required to enter the workforce and potentially earn a high paying wage. The course will enable young people in North Lanarkshire without any specific qualification or previous experience to learn specific skills and gain a recognised qualification. This sub project will reduce barriers to employment or onwards education either in the technology sector or any sector where these digital skills are required. Work placement opportunities will also be sought for participants on completion of this course and while these cannot be guaranteed, efforts will be made to enhance the employment opportunities of the candidates. 2.15.2 Following successful completion of this course signposting will be made towards Modern Apprenticeship opportunities both within the council and within wider industry in North Lanarkshire. 2.15.3 The proposed total cost of this sub project is detailed in table 11. These costs cover the delivery of a 4-week course for 50 participants across 2 years (25 per cohort). Table 11 – funding breakdown, Digital Academy sub project 2 2023/24 2024/25 TOTAL 20 days of teaching for 50x NL Digital Youth Academy participants (including all charges) £87,500 £87,500 £175,000 TOTAL £87,500 £87,500 £175,000 2.15.4 It is proposed that this sub project is procured following the councils agreed procurement procedures. 2.16 Career Pathways 2.16.1 Career pathways is an internal project developed to create opportunities for young people across North Lanarkshire who are interested in business strategy, digital transformation, and ICT infrastructure. Page 35 of 295
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2.16.2 This sub project will employ a temporary coordinator graded at NLC12 to oversee the career pathway from work placements to officer. This will include work placements, interns, undergraduates, graded units for existing staff, foundation, modern and graduate apprenticeships and building knowledge, skills, and experience to further career prospects through entry level jobs into more senior roles. 2.16.3 Taking each of the proposed elements of this sub project, below is some more information on each: • Work Placements will develop formal processes, tasks and expected achievement of work placements, generally assumed to be 0.5 days per week over a minimum 3-month period. • Foundation and Modern Apprentices: a formal programme of onboarding, training, tasks and expected achievements will be designed and implemented for Apprentices. • Undergraduates will be supported through a full time HND or degree qualification working 1-2 days per week with the council and holiday periods, leading to a fixed term contract of 2-3 years following qualification. • Interns will have the possibility of an up to 23-month fixed contract position for newly qualified individuals, who will gain valuable industry experience. 2.16.4 The proposed total cost of this sub project is detailed in table 12. Table 12 – funding breakdown, Digital Academy sub project 3 2023/24 2024/25 TOTAL Staff costs – 1x NLC12 Pathways Coordinator £30,743 £30,744 £61,487 TOTAL £30,743 £30,744 £61,487 2.17 Summary 2.17.1 In summary, the projects outlined under interventions S36 and S38 will deliver benefits to the people of North Lanarkshire across various groups, 16–24-year-olds, veterans, refugees, and many others in the wider community. The skills being provided range from basic skills in built environment, digital skills to green built environment and basic web development and within the Care Academy, upskilling opportunities will be created across key sectors (Social Workers, Home Care Workers, and support staff). 2.17.2 All of this activity, under the NL Academy model enables those who undertake the training to potentially enter employment or progress within their current career. Economically, the advantages to industry within North Lanarkshire are cohorts of upskilled people available for work. Socially, there is the potential for these projects to encourage people back to work or to enter employment and enhance socially, breaking down potential barriers to entering employment and building confidence. 2.17.3 The total spend across both interventions is detailed in table 13. It should be noted that there is a slight overspend in both interventions S36 and S38 which will be covered by working with partners to secure supplementary finding such as SPF Multiply funds. Page 36 of 295
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Table 13 – intervention S36 and S38 funding breakdown Budget 2023/24 Budget 2024/25 Budget total TOTAL S36 – Built Environment Academy and Care Academy £300,000 £437,129 £400,000 £510,074 £700,000 £770,960 S38 – Digital Academy £150,000 £247,008 £200,000 £322,725 £350,000 £545,093 TOTAL £450,000 £684,137 £600,000 £832,799 £1,050,000 £1,516,936 2.17.4 The intended outcomes and outputs from these interventions are detailed within appendix 1. Next steps 2.18 The immediate next steps will be to conclude relevant procurements, recruit to the positions outlined within this report and begin tracking outcomes and outputs across the projects identified. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The measures of success for the UKSPF spend within NL Academies are and increase in learners engaged in the core digitals skills, and in increase in learners gaining a recognised qualification and moving onto onwards education, learning opportunities or employment following support. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 – S36 and S38 expected outcomes and outputs. Fiona Whittaker Chief Officer (People Resources) Page 37 of 295
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5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 38 of 295
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Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Communications will be required to advertise the opportunities described above. A comms plan will be developed in conjunction with colleagues within Strategic Communications. 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? 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 39 of 295
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Appendix 1 – expected outputs and outcomes S36 – Built Environment Academy and Care Academy (note: the Built Environment Academy outputs and outcomes have been estimated at this stage) Outputs 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 TOTAL P&S - Number of people receiving support to gain a vocational licence 100 200 300 P&S - Number of people supported to gain a qualification 100 200 300 Outcomes 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 TOTAL P&S - Number of people in employment, including self- employment, following support 50 150 200 P&S - Number of people in education/training 25 75 100 P&S - Number of economically active individuals engaged in mainstream skills education and training 50 150 200 P&S - Number of people engaged in life skills support following interventions 100 200 300 S38 – Digital Skills Academy Outputs 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 TOTAL P&S - Number of people supported to engage in life skills 50 165 215 P&S - Number of people supported to gain a qualification 50 165 215 Outcomes 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 TOTAL P&S - Number of people engaged in life skills support following interventions 50 165 215 P&S - Number of people gaining a qualification or completing a course following support 50 165 215 Page 40 of 295
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Finance and Resources Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref EK/KS Date 13/09/23 Revenue Monitoring Report Council Summary 1 April 2023 to 23 June 2023 From Elaine Kemp, Chief Officer (Finance) E-mail KempE@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 280601 Executive Summary This report updates the Finance and Resources Committee on the overall position for the General Fund Account, Housing Revenue Account and Adult Health and Social Care, for the financial year to 31 March 2024. The report consolidates the budget monitoring position of all Services, highlighting and explaining major variances as per the Council’s approved Financial Regulations. The Council approved its General Fund Revenue Budget on 23 February 2023. Following notification from Scottish Government of further funding made available to local authorities the budget has been revised to £940.090m. The Council is currently projecting a small surplus of £0.855m against this budget which will be used to support future budget pressures. The 2023/24 budget incorporates £7.486m of net savings. It is projected that £7.418m of the savings (99%) will be delivered within the financial year, with replacement savings of £0.068m identified to fully address the shortfall. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance and Resources Committee: (1) Acknowledge the financial position of the 2023/24 revenue budget; and (2) Otherwise endorse the contents of this report. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement (25) Ensure intelligent use of data and information to support fully evidence based decision making and future planning AGENDA ITEM 5 Page 41 of 295
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1. Background 1.1. The Council’s approved Financial Regulations require services to remain within their approved budgetary provision, and to report all significant deviations - defined as the higher of £100,000 or 5% - within their budget monitoring reports. Where significant deviations are identified, services must provide explanatory commentary, outline the action required to rectify such deviations and where relevant, must also highlight the impact this has on other budget headings. 2. Report Summary of General Fund Financial Position 2.1 At its meeting of 23 February 2023, the Council approved a General Fund Revenue Budget of £978.624m which included spend offset by ring fenced grants of £50.586m and capital grant funding in lieu of pay award funding of £7.726m. Additional funding has since been confirmed as part of the Scottish Government budget setting, including additional directed funding for Pay Awards, resulting in an overall total budget of £940.090m. 2.2 Following the budget setting in February the Council has an approved savings target of £7.486m for 2023/24. Further detail can be found in Section 2.7 below. 2.3 Table 1 below summarises the projected income and expenditure position, which illustrates a projected surplus of £0.855m is currently envisaged at this early stage in the financial year. Annual Budget (£m) Projected Outturn (£m) P3 Variance (£m) Expenditure Net Service Expenditure 943.521 942.666 0.855 Financing Costs (44.490) (44.490) - Other Budgetary Issues 41.059 41.059 - Total Expenditure 940.090 939.235 0.855 Income Aggregate External Finance 755.566 755.566 - Local Tax Collection 166.849 166.849 - Use of Balance 17.675 17.675 - Total Income 940.090 940.090 - Projected variance: (Surplus)/Deficit at 31 March 2024 - (0.855) 0.855 Table 1 Analysis of Significant Variations 2.4 Table 2 overleaf analyses Services’ projected outturn financial positions, which illustrates an underspend in the Enterprise and Communities Service: Page 42 of 295
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Service P3 Outturn (£m) Education Children and Families - On Budget Enterprise and Communities 0.855 Underspend Chief Executives and Other Corporate Services - On Budget Social Work (Non-Integrated) - On Budget Executive Services Total 0.855 Underspend Total 0.855 Underspend Table 2 2.5 Enterprise and Communities is reporting a projected underspend of £0.855m. This is primarily as a result of employee vacancy savings across the service of £2.312m, together with savings in administration costs of £0.809m primarily linked to grant received in advance of need for free school meals. This is partially offset by an under recovery in income of £1.891m mainly due to reduced special uplift income and cemetery fees, increased transport costs of £0.262m, due to increased fleet material costs and increased plant hire costs. 2.6 Education, Children and Families are reporting a breakeven position overall. However, Committee should note the service is forecasting an underspend in employee costs of £2.209m, largely due to vacancy management. This is offset by an overspend of £1.116m transport costs arising from ASN cost pressures and increased market prices. There is also an overspend of £0.299m within Payments to Other Bodies primarily due to external placements within the ASN sector and payments aligned to Gaelic provision In addition, there is a net under-recovery in income anticipated of £0.773m primarily in relation to membership fees and admissions charges, within the Active & Creative Communities, along with reduced cross-boundary ASN placements within NLC educational settings. 2.7 A review is currently underway to assess the effect of increased interest rates on loans charges and interest on revenue balances. This is not included in the figures presented within this report but is expected to have a favourable impact on the Council’s overall position. An update will be provided to members in due course. 2023/24 Budget Savings 2.8 As outlined in paragraph 2.2 above, the Council has approved net savings of £7.486m for 2023/24. Each Service reports on the achievement of their savings within the relevant Services’ monitoring report. It is projected that £7.418m of savings (99%) will be achieved in the current year, with the in-year gap of £0.068m being fully mitigated by replacement savings. Earmarked Reserves and Change Management Fund 2.9 The Council’s audited annual accounts highlight a General Fund reserve balance of £249.872m. This balance includes £8.000m for the Contingency Fund, with a further £202.845m earmarked for specific future commitments including £28.115m allocated to the Change Management Fund to support future budget pressures, one-off costs of existing approved savings and to ensure the Council has a resilient and sustainable strategic financial plan. The remaining £39.027m of funds represent balances that were unallocated as at 31 March 2023. A total of £0.110m has subsequently been allocated Page 43 of 295
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in relation to 5 additional posts to facilitate the transition to iTrent recruitment, resulting in a revised earmarked reserve balance of £202.955m, and unallocated balances of £38.917m. 2.10 A total of £98.082m of earmarked reserves are profiled for use in 2023/24 with a further £104.873m profiled for use in future years. It is currently projected that £96.277m of the 2023/24 earmarked reserves will be spent during this financial year with £106.563m anticipated to be required in future years and reserves of £0.115m deemed no longer required. A summary position is shown in Appendix 2. Taking into account the projected surplus of £0.855m together with a drawdown from the Capital Fund of £2.608m and earmarked reserves no longer required noted above, it is expected that at the end of the financial year the General Fund will include unallocated balances of £42.495m as detailed in Appendix 3. Risks and Uncertainty 2.11 All activities undertaken by the Council are subject to risk, and in acknowledging the Council’s approved Risk Management Strategy, Services manage these as part of their overall corporate and service planning processes. The current economic climate, and pay and non-pay inflation continuing at historically high levels, are some of the key factors that have the potential to impact upon the Council’s ability to provide quality services within approved budget levels. Housing Revenue Account 2.12 The Housing Revenue Account is currently projecting a breakeven position for the financial year and anticipate that £0.070m of savings (100%) will be delivered by the year end. Adult Health and Social Care 2.13 Council Adult Health and Social Care provision to the Integration Joint Board (IJB) is projecting a breakeven position. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The Council continues to operate within approved budgeted resources. 4. Supporting documentation Appendix 1 Summary by Division Appendix 2 Anticipated Commitments – Earmarked Reserves Appendix 3 Availability of One-Off Funds – Change Management Fund Elaine Kemp Chief Officer (Finance) Page 44 of 295
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5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 45 of 295
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Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? 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 46 of 295
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LINE SERVICE ACCOUNT ANNUAL PROVISIONAL NO. BUDGET OUTTURN (1) (2) (3) (4) £ £ £ 1 Education & Families 503,341,377 503,341,377 - 2 Early Years 33,450,680 33,450,680 - 3 Primary Schools 139,792,706 139,792,706 - 4 Secondary Schools 133,129,660 133,129,660 - 5 Special Schools 22,748,238 22,748,238 - 6 Education & Families Service Delivery 93,760,855 95,267,770 (1,506,915 ) 7 Childrens Services Social Work 41,021,683 39,821,683 1,200,000 8 Justice Services 97,399 (102,601 ) 200,000 9 Active and Creative Communities 27,861,906 27,743,156 118,750 10 Employability 4,114,328 4,131,425 (17,097 ) 11 Community Learning 5,407,040 5,401,778 5,262 12 Tackling Poverty 1,956,882 1,956,882 - 13 Enterprise & Communities 153,119,449 152,264,228 855,221 14 Assets & Procurement 41,694,381 41,365,704 328,677 15 Trading Accounts (550,542 ) (542,220 ) (8,322 ) 16 Community Operations 88,908,014 88,797,472 110,542 17 Housing Management 5,652,817 5,652,817 - 18 Housing Property Services 8,823,633 8,823,633 - 19 Place 8,591,146 8,166,822 424,324 20 Chief Executives & Other Corporate Services 93,198,265 93,198,265 - 21 Directorate & Support 448,144 448,144 - 22 Financial Solutions 45,102,514 45,102,514 - 23 Audit & Risk 614,959 614,959 - 24 Legal & Democratic Solutions 2,600,521 2,768,878 (168,357 ) 25 Business & Digital 22,301,722 22,133,365 168,357 26 People & Organisational Development 8,582,504 8,582,504 - 27 Strategic Communication 5,108,472 5,108,472 - 28 Other Corporate Services (4,301,622 ) (4,301,622 ) - 29 Joint Boards 12,741,051 12,741,051 - 30 Social Work (non Integrated) 193,862,112 193,862,112 - 31 GENERAL FUND SERVICES 943,521,203 942,665,982 855,221 32 FINANCING COSTS (44,490,145 ) (44,490,145 ) - 33 Reversal of Capital Charge (77,069,073 ) (77,069,073 ) - 34 Loan Charges and Interest on Revenue Balances 32,578,928 32,578,928 - 35 OTHER BUDGETARY ISSUES 41,059,407 41,059,407 - 36 Assumptions not yet Realised 41,059,407 41,059,407 - 37 Drawdown from Reserves - - - 38 TOTAL EXPENDITURE 940,090,465 939,235,244 855,221 39 SOURCES OF FUNDING 940,090,465 940,090,465 - 40 Aggregate External Finance 755,566,000 755,566,000 - 41 Council Tax 166,849,465 166,849,465 - 46 Use of balances 17,675,000 17,675,000 47 (SURPLUS) / DEFICIT - (855,221 ) 855,221 48 HOUSING REVENUE ACCOUNT (SURPLUS) / DEFICIT - - - 49 ADULT HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE (SURPLUS) /DEFICIT - - - Appendix 1 NORTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL SUMMARY BY DIVISION FOR PERIOD ENDING 23 June 2023 (PERIOD 3) PROVISIONAL VARIANCES Page 47 of 295
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Appendix 2 Total Total Opening Reserve Balances In-Year Adjustment Revised Reserve Balance 2023/24 Revised Earmarked Reserve 23/24 Projected Spend Anticipated Year End Balance Anticipated Future Year Use No Longer Required Profiled for Future Years Anticipated Future Year Use No Longer Required No Longer Required £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 Change Management Fund 28,115 - 28,115 83 83 - - - 28,032 28,032 - - Earmarked & One Off Resources Schools Future Contractual Obligations 56,684 - 56,684 - - - - - 56,684 56,684 - - 2023/24 - 2024/25 Budget One-off Use of Balances 21,075 - 21,075 17,675 17,675 - - - 3,400 3,400 - - Strategic Workforce Planning 13,000 - 13,000 13,000 13,000 - - - - - - - Temporary Teachers 10,928 - 10,928 10,928 10,928 - - - - - - - Temporary Accommodation 9,288 - 9,288 - - - - - 9,288 9,288 - - Early Years & Childcare Expansion 7,312 - 7,312 7,312 7,312 - - - - - - - Refugee Resettlement Programmes 5,699 - 5,699 5,699 5,699 - - - - - - - Loans Charges - one-off mitigation 5,000 - 5,000 - - - - - 5,000 5,000 - - Non-Pay Inflation Mitigation 4,902 - 4,902 4,902 4,902 - - - - - - - Unmanaged burdens within Education, Children & Families 4,755 - 4,755 4,755 4,755 - - - - - - - Other E&C Service developments 4,184 - 4,184 3,484 2,212 1,272 1,175 97 700 700 - 97 Pupil Equity Fund 3,851 - 3,851 3,851 3,851 - - - - - - - Balances held by Schools under Devolved School Management 3,724 - 3,724 3,724 3,724 - - - - - - - Economic Recovery 3,554 - 3,554 3,554 3,554 - - - - - - - Whole Family Wellbeing 2,584 - 2,584 2,584 2,584 - - - - - - - Winter Reserve 1,500 - 1,500 1,500 1,500 - - - - - - - Business Gateway and Business Recovery 1,379 - 1,379 899 899 - - - 480 480 - - Rapid Rehousing 1,081 - 1,081 1,081 1,081 - - - - - - - Other Earmarked Funds 14,230 110 14,340 13,051 12,518 533 515 18 1,289 1,289 - 18 Earmarked & One Off Resources Total 174,730 110 174,840 97,999 96,194 1,805 1,690 115 76,841 76,841 - 115 Total Reserves 202,845 110 202,955 98,082 96,277 1,805 1,690 115 104,873 104,873 - 115 Contingency Reserve 8,000 - 8,000 Unallocated Balance 39,027 110- 38,917 General Fund Surplus at 31 March 2023 249,872 - 249,872 NORTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL ANTICIPATED COMMITMENTS AGAINST EARMARKED RESERVES AS AT 23 June 2023 (PERIOD 3) 2023/24 Future Years Page 48 of 295
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Appendix 3 £000 £000 Total Balance B/f per 2022/23 Annual Accounts 28,115 39,027 Approved commitments (110) 28,115 38,917 Period 3 reported variance 855 Earmarked Reserves no longer required 115 Total Balance 2023/24 before commitments 28,115 39,887 Known Commitments :- Revised one - off costs of approved savings (83) Draw down from Capital Fund 2,608 Total Balance 2023/24 28,032 42,495 Known Commitments :- Revised one - off costs of approved savings (7,688) Estimated future Capital Fund Drawdown to 2024/25 8,981 Forecast Balance 20,344 51,476 NORTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL AVAILABILITY OF GENERAL FUND BALANCES AS AT 23 June 2023 (PERIOD 3) Change Management Fund Unallocated General Fund Page 49 of 295
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Finance and Resources Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref NL/PF Date 13/09/23 Revenue Budget Monitoring Report; Chief Executive’s Service 01.04.23 – 21.07.23 (Period 4) From Elaine Kemp, Chief Officer (Finance) E-mail kempe@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 01698 302408 Executive Summary This report provides a summary of the Chief Executive’s Service financial performance for the period 1 April 2023 to 21 July 2023 (Period 4). The report illustrates the provisional outturn as at 31 March 2024, with major outturn variances highlighted and explained per the Council’s approved Financial Regulations. The Council approved its General Fund Revenue Budget on 23 February 2023, of which £93.198m currently represents the Net Revenue Budget for the Chief Executive’s Service. The Service is currently projecting a favourable position of £0.147m for the financial year predominately due to underspends within employee costs and contract costs. In addition, the 2023/24 budget incorporates £0.127m savings approved by Council in relation to the Transitional Rates Relief budget, which has been fully achieved as at Period 4. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance and Resources Committee: (1) Acknowledge the financial position of the 2023/24 Chief Executive’s Service revenue budget. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve North Lanarkshire's resource base Ambition statement (25) Ensure intelligent use of data and information to support fully evidence based decision making and future planning AGENDA ITEM 6 Page 51 of 295
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1. Background 1.1 The Council’s approved Financial Regulations require the Chief Executive to remain within the approved budgetary provision, and to report all significant deviations - defined as the higher of £100,000 or 5% - within budget monitoring reports. Where significant deviations are identified, the Chief Executive must provide explanatory commentary, outline the action required to rectify such deviations and where relevant, must also highlight the impact this has on other budget headings. 2. Report 2.1 Summary of Financial Position 2.1.1 The Council approved its General Fund Revenue Budget on 23 February 2023, of which £93.198m (9.48%) represented the approved Revenue Budget for the Chief Executive’s Service. 2.1.2 The overall projected outturn is an underspend of £0.147m. As detailed in Appendix 2 there is a projected underspend in employee costs offset by minor overspends across other expenditure areas and an under recovery of income. 2.1.3 As at Period 4 the position on Council Tax Reduction Scheme remains under review along with other elements of the Council Tax Product including household numbers and council tax collection for the year. The Council Tax Product will then be assessed as part of the year end process. It is currently anticipated there will be no material variance. 2.1.4 The 2023/24 budget incorporates £0.127m savings in relation to Transitional Rates Relief, which has been fully achieved as at Period 4. Further information regarding savings is included in Appendix 5. 2.2 Analysis of Significant Variances 2.2.1 The service currently anticipates a projected underspend of £0.423m within Employee costs as a result of actual and projected vacancies. 2.2.2 The projected outturn for income is an under-recovery of £0.107m within legal insurance, licensing and registrars partially offset by higher than anticipated income in relation to rent allowances / rent rebates overpayments. 2.2.3 There are various minor variances across other budget areas resulting in the Service forecasting a favourable position of £0.147m at 31 March 2024. 2.3 Earmarked and One-off Reserves 2.3.1 In finalising the Council’s draft accounts to 31 March 2023, the service was given approval to earmark £4.771m of resources to fund key projects and initiatives. This has been profiled as £4.728m required in 2023/24 with the balance of £0.043m in 2024/25. It is anticipated that £4.140m of the reserves balances will be utilised in 2023/24. A total of £0.535m will be required for future years with a balance of £0.053m of reserves to be returned. Details of the Service’s earmarked funds are provided in Appendix 4. 2.3.2 The Service has incurred £0.138m VRS costs relating to previous year savings/restructures. Therefore, there is a requirement to utilise the Corporate Change Management fund at this time. Any further costs arising will be reported in future Page 52 of 295
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reports as they are incurred. These costs are not included in the Service outturn position. 2.4 2023/24 Budget Savings 2.4.1 The Council approved savings of £0.127m savings in relation to Transitional Rates Relief, which has been fully achieved as at Period 4. Further information regarding savings is included in Appendix 5. 2.5 Management Actions 2.5.1 The Service is being pro-active to ensure expenditure is contained within its approved 2023/24 budget. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The Service continues to operate within approved budget resources. 4. Supporting documentation Appendix 1 Objective Summary Appendix 2 Subjective Summary Appendix 3 Payments to Other Bodies Appendix 4 Earmarked Reserves Appendix 5 Budget Savings Elaine Kemp Chief Officer (Finance) Page 53 of 295
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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 stated within the main body of the report. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 54 of 295
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5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? All activities undertaken by the Council are subject to risk, and in acknowledging the Council’s approved Risk Management Strategy, Services manage these as part of their overall corporate and service planning processes. The current economic climate, in particular, has the potential to impact upon the Council’s ability to provide quality services within approved budget levels. Reflecting the risk analysis matrix included within the Risk Management Strategy, the Service considers delays or amendments to savings proposals could present an ongoing risk to the financial outturn for 2023/24. To minimise risk this report has been prepared by service based Financial Solutions personnel in consultation with budget managers, in accordance with the Financial Regulations. Page 55 of 295
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5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services. 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 56 of 295
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APPENDIX 1 [1] [2] [3] [5] [6] [7] DIRECTORATE & SUPPORT 412,144 412,144 0 0.0% 0 FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS 45,118,514 45,118,514 0 0.0% 0 AUDIT & RISK 614,959 581,813 33,146 FAV 5.4% 33,146 Underspends within Employee costs as a result of vacancies LEGAL & DEMOCRATIC SOLUTIONS 2,624,054 2,782,840 (158,786) ADV (6.1%) 9,571 Under-recovery in income within insurance, licensing and registrars plus charges in relation to building costs offset by underspends within employee costs BUSINESS & DIGITAL 22,301,722 22,029,513 272,209 FAV 1.2% 103,852 Underspends within Employee costs as a result of vacancies, ICT contracts and over-recovery of income associated with the recycling of IT equipment PEOPLE RESOURCES 8,582,504 8,582,504 0 0.0% 0 STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS 5,104,939 5,104,939 0 0.0% 0 OTHER COPORATE SERVICES (4,301,622) (4,301,622) 0 0.0% 0 JOINT BOARDS 12,741,051 12,741,051 0 0.0% 0 NET EXPENDITURE 93,198,265 93,051,696 146,569 FAV 0.2% 146,569 NORTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL Revenue Budget Monitoring Report - Objective Analysis Chief Executives Service Period 04 (01 April 2023 - 21 July 2023) DIVISION OF SERVICE ANNUAL BUDGET PROJECTED OUT-TURN PROJECTED OUT- TURN VARIANCE % [4] PERIOD MOVEMENT ANALYSIS Page 57 of 295
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APPENDIX 2 [1] [2] [3] [5] [6] [7] EMPLOYEE COSTS 43,223,575 42,800,909 422,666 FAV 1.0% 195,993 Underspends relate to vacancies across all services PROPERTY COSTS 2,141,495 2,180,486 (38,991) ADV (1.8%) 1,009 SUPPLIES & SERVICES 10,787,850 10,791,504 (3,654) ADV (0.0%) (3,654) TRANSPORT & PLANT 164,093 161,693 2,400 FAV 1.5% 2,200 ADMINISTRATION COSTS 6,793,919 6,864,329 (70,410) ADV (1.0%) 387 PAYMENTS TO OTHER BODIES 17,111,430 17,136,786 (25,356) ADV (0.2%) 0 TRANSFER PAYMENTS 105,923,287 105,923,287 0 0.0% 0 CAPITAL FINANCING COSTS 5,048,700 5,048,700 0 0.0% 0 REVENUE FINANCING COSTS 0 0 0 0.0% 0 OTHER EXPENDITURE 3,870,294 3,903,649 (33,355) ADV (0.9%) 453 TOTAL EXPENDITURE 195,064,643 194,811,343 253,300 FAV 0.1% 196,388 INCOME (101,866,378) (101,759,647) (106,731) ADV 0.1% (49,819) Under-recovery in legal insurance, licensicng and registrar income offset by over-recoveries within Rent Allowances and Rent Rebates Overpayments NET EXPENDITURE 93,198,265 93,051,696 146,569 FAV 0.2% 146,569 NORTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL Revenue Budget Monitoring Report - Subjective Analysis Chief Executives Service Period 04 (01 April 2023 - 21 July 2023) CATEGORY ANNUAL BUDGET PROJECTED OUT-TURN PROJECTED OUT- TURN VARIANCE % [4] PERIOD MOVEMENT ANALYSIS Page 58 of 295
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APPENDIX 3 [1] [2] [3] [5] [6] [7] PAYMENTS TO OTHER BODIES GENERAL 382,596 382,596 0 0.0% 0 MEDICAL FEES 9,359 9,359 0 0.0% 0 AGENCY FEES 81,542 123,898 (42,356) ADV (51.9%) 0 Recruitment agency costs which are being offset by vacancies within Employee Costs TOWN TWINNING 0 0 0 0.0% 0 CHILDRENS PANEL 25,035 25,035 0 0.0% 0 COSLA ANNUAL LEVY 195,000 195,000 0 0.0% 0 COMMUNITY COUNCIL GRANTS 158,629 158,629 0 0.0% 0 GRANTS TO ORGANISATIONS 822,505 805,505 17,000 FAV 2.1% 0 EXTERNAL AUDIT FEE 529,389 529,389 0 0.0% 0 ELECTION PROVISION 0 0 0 0.0% 0 TOURISM - VISIT NORTH LANARKSHIRE 37,000 37,000 0 0.0% 0 SCOTTISH WELFARE FUND 4,277,844 4,277,844 0 0.0% 0 SUB-CONTRACTOR PAYMENTS 1,869 1,869 0 0.0% 0 LOCAL TAX PAYPOINT COMMISSION 35,000 35,000 0 0.0% 0 COSLA MIGRATION SCOTLAND 150,000 150,000 0 0.0% 0 LANDS VALUATION CONTRIBUTION 2,105,910 2,105,910 0 0.0% 0 SPT CONTRIBUTION 5,556,198 5,556,198 0 0.0% 0 SPT CONCESSIONARY FARES CONTRIBUTION 572,943 572,943 0 0.0% 0 CUSTOMER FIRST CONTRIBUTION 2,700,000 2,700,000 0 0.0% 0 TOTAL EXPENDITURE 17,640,819 17,666,175 (25,356) ADV (0.1%) 0 [4] PROJECTED OUT-TURN VARIANCE PROJECTED OUT- TURN % PERIOD MOVEMENT ANALYSIS NORTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL Revenue Budget Monitoring Report - Payments to Other Bodies Chief Executives Service Period 04 (01 April 2023 - 21 July 2023) CATEGORY ANNUAL BUDGET Page 59 of 295
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APPENDIX 4 Value % Service Specific Earmarked Reserves: Administration of Covid and Cost of Living related support scheme 25,000 25,000 25,000 25,000 100.0% 0 0 25,000 Pensioners Fuel Grant Payment 38,247 38,247 38,247 38,247 100.0% 0 0 38,247 Cost of Living Grant 310,593 310,593 30,004 310,593 100.0% 0 0 310,593 DHP Additional Admin (Benefits Cap) 35,313 35,313 35,313 35,313 100.0% 0 0 35,313 Modern Apprentices 43,000 43,000 86,000 0 43,000 50.0% 0 0 43,000 Scottish Welfare Fund 1,518,000 1,518,000 0 1,518,000 100.0% 0 0 1,518,000 Digitisation 771,381 771,381 143,194 771,381 100.0% 0 0 771,381 One-off resourcing following insourcing of CLNL 18,557 18,557 11,847 15,795 85.1% 0 2,762 15,795 £2k has been idenitifed as no longer being required. One-off resourcing following insourcing of CLNL (ICT Development) 84,704 84,704 24,997 84,704 100.0% 0 0 84,704 B&D - NLC10 posts 99,132 99,132 15,772 80,456 81.2% 18,676 0 80,456 £18k is required in 2024/25 to support ongoing commitments. Learning Academy 100,000 100,000 0 100,000 100.0% 0 0 100,000 Construction Academy 300,000 300,000 0 300,000 100.0% 0 0 300,000 Resources 63,000 63,000 27,901 63,000 100.0% 0 0 63,000 One-off resourcing following insourcing of CLNL 109,608 109,608 19,719 109,608 100.0% 0 0 109,608 ESC Staffing 109,840 109,840 39,285 109,840 100.0% 0 0 109,840 CSH (NLC16 and NLC11 post) 141,616 141,616 34,581 137,572 97.1% 4,044 0 137,572 Delays in the implementation of the single number contact point in the Customer Service Hub has resulted in a requirement to reprofile this reserve to future years. Recover NL - CSH extension of staff 172,521 172,521 49,893 63,049 36.6% 109,472 0 63,049 Delays in the implementation of the single number contact point in the Customer Service Hub has resulted in a requirement to reprofile this reserve to future years. CSH Recover NL 2022/23 (Single Number) 489,218 489,218 50,168 85,945 17.6% 403,273 0 85,945 Delays in the implementation of the single number contact point in the Customer Service Hub has resulted in a requirement to reprofile this reserve to future years. Cumbernauld Theatre 35,000 35,000 0 35,000 100.0% 0 0 35,000 Recover NL Grants 172,294 172,294 0 172,294 100.0% 0 0 172,294 Cost of Living Grant 41,242 41,242 180 41,242 100.0% 0 0 41,242 Councillor Surgeries 50,000 50,000 0 0 0.0% 0 50,000 0 Council (Mar 2023) approved advertising of surgeries via the Council's exisiting social media channels and websites. SUB-TOTAL 4,728,266 43,000 4,771,266 546,101 4,140,039 86.8% 535,465 52,762 4,140,039 TOTAL 4,728,266 43,000 4,771,266 546,101 4,140,039 86.8% 535,465 52,762 4,140,039 No Longer Required Reserves Required In Year Commentary Regards Usage NORTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL Revenue Budget Monitoring Report - Status of Earmarked Reserves Chief Executives Service Period 04 (01 April 2023 - 21 July 2023) FINANCIAL YEAR - 2023/24 DESCRIPTION OF EARMARKED RESOURCE Reserve Allocation 2023/24 Profiled in Future Years Approved Reserve Total Spend to Date Projected Spend Reprofile to Future Years Page 60 of 295
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APPENDIX 5 £000 £000 £000 CEBB01 Removal of Residual Transitional Rates Relief Budget 127 127 0 TOTAL 127 127 0 APPROVED SAVINGS Ref. DESCRIPTION OF APPROVED SAVING Target Value Value Deliverable Savings Gap Reasons for Savings Gap NORTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL Revenue Budget Monitoring Report - Savings Chief Executives Service Period 04 (01 April 2023 - 21 July 2023) Page 61 of 295
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Finance and Resources Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref EK/NL/PF Date 13/09/23 Chief Executive Service – Capital Monitoring Report 1 April to 21 July 2023 (Period 4) From Elaine Kemp, Chief Officer (Finance) E-mail kempe@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 01698 302408 Executive Summary This report highlights the financial performance and projected outturn of 2023/24 Chief Executive capital programme for the period ended 21 July 2023 (Period 4). In summary the Service has a total capital budget of £15.707m, comprising of £11.509m within Business and Digital and £4.198m within Strategic Communications and Engagement. This budget reflects the budget approved by the Policy and Strategy Committee in March 2023 and balances carried forward from previous years. The Service is currently projecting a break-even position at this stage of the financial year. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance and Resources Committee: (1) Considers the financial position of the 2023/24 Chief Executive capital programme. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve North Lanarkshire's resource base Ambition statement (25) Ensure intelligent use of data and information to support fully evidence based decision making and future planning AGENDA ITEM 7 Page 63 of 295
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1. Background 1.1 This report provides a summary of the Chief Executive Service financial performance for the period 1 April 2023 to 21 July 2023 (Period 4). The report illustrates the projected outturn as at 31 March 2024, with major outturn variances highlighted and explained per the Council’s approved Financial Regulations. 1.2 The Council approved its Capital programme at Policy and Strategy Committee on 16 March 2023 with an allocated budget £14.345m for the current year. In addition, carry forwards from the previous year have resulted in a revised Capital Programme of £15.707m for the 2023/24 Financial Year as detailed in Appendix 1 of this report. 1.3 The Council’s approved Financial Regulations required the Chief Executive to remain within his approved budgetary provision, and to report all significant deviations – defined as the higher of £0.100m or 5% - within their budget monitoring reports. Where significant deviations were identified, Executive Directors must provide explanatory commentary, outline the action required to rectify such deviations and where relevant, must also highlight the impact this has on other budget headings. 2. Report 2.1 Summary of Financial Position The Service is projecting break-even for the financial year 2023/24 of the Capital Programme. Capital budgets and expenditure are detailed in Appendix 1 of this report. 2.2 Management Action 2.2.1 The Service will closely monitor all activities to ensure available budgets are maximised whilst monitoring and actively managing the ongoing external challenges in delivery of projects. The Service will continue to review the programme with updates being provided to the SCDG and Committee. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The Service aim is to operate within approved budget resources over the term of the capital programme. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 Summary Expenditure by Project / Theme Elaine Kemp Chief Officer (Finance) Page 64 of 295
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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 stated within the main body of the report. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts 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? Page 65 of 295
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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? 5.9.1 All activities undertaken by the Council are subject to risk, and in acknowledging the Council’s approved Risk Management Strategy, Services manage these as part of their overall corporate and service planning processes. The current economic climate, in particular, has the potential to impact upon the Council’s ability to provide quality services within approved budget levels. 5.9.2 To minimise risk this report was prepared by Finance personnel in consultation with budget managers, in accordance with the Financial Regulations. 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services. 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 ☒ Page 66 of 295
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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 67 of 295
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Appendix 1 Theme Budget £ Actual £ Committed £ Uncommitted £ Projected Outturn £ Outturn variance £ Digitisation & Innovation 7,820,059 2,420,655 4,055,448 3,764,611 7,820,059 - Line of Business (LOB) System Portfolio 2,062,205 29,006 34,076 2,028,129 2,062,205 - End User Device (EUD) Refresh 1,627,007 - 106,105 1,520,902 1,627,007 - TOTAL BUSINESS and DIGITAL 11,509,271 2,449,661 4,195,629 7,313,642 11,509,271 - Strategic Communications and Engagement Community Board Project Investment Fund 4,198,054 207,349 885,266 3,312,788 4,198,054 - TOTAL STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS AND ENGAGEMENT 4,198,054 207,349 885,266 3,312,788 4,198,054 - TOTAL CHIEF EXECUTIVES 15,707,325 2,657,010 5,080,895 10,626,430 15,707,325 - YTD OUTTURN Chief Executives Capital Programme 2023/24 Summary Expenditure by Thematic Categories 1st April 2023 - 21st July 2023 (Period 4) Page 68 of 295
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Finance and Resources Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref EK/GT/RMcN Date 13/09/23 Capital Programme 2023/24 Monitoring Report From Elaine Kemp, Chief Officer (Finance) E-mail kempe@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 280 601 Executive Summary The purpose of the report is to provide an update on the 2023/24 resources and expenditure for the Council's Strategic Capital Investment Programme. The report also shows the 2023/24 projected outturn position and the resultant variances. The capital programme continues to face challenges in relation to the wider economic climate linked to availability of materials, contractors and inflationary pressures. It is currently anticipated that the General Fund programme will have a projected programme variance during 2023/24 of £55.049m, which primarily relates to Town and Community Hubs as the expenditure profile has been reviewed across the multi-year programme for live projects, and also projects in development. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance and Resources Committee: (1) Acknowledges the financial position of the Council’s Strategic Capital Investment Programme as at 21 July 2023. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve North Lanarkshire's resource base Ambition statement (25) Ensure intelligent use of data and information to support fully evidence based decision making and future planning AGENDA ITEM 8 Page 69 of 295
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1. Background 1.1 The Strategic Capital Investment Programme 2021/22 to 2025/26 was originally approved at Policy and Strategy Committee in March 2021, with an updated programme profile for 2023/2024 to 2025/2026 approved in March 2023 and represents the total Community Investment Programme incorporating the General Services Capital Programme and HRA Capital Programmes. The programme was developed in conjunction with Services and led by the Strategic Capital Delivery Group (SCDG) using the principles established by the Council’s Capital Strategy. 1.2 The General Services Capital Programme supported by General Services resources demonstrates to communities that the place making visions for towns remains a priority, and that the Council considers the approved 5-year capital investment plan to be a major boost to assist the recovery of the local economy. It is also a clear statement that the Council is planning beyond the pandemic to deliver on the long-term needs and aspirations of communities. The programme includes additional investment in Town and Community Hubs, the City Deal programme, and external grant funding. 1.3 In addition, the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) resources support several HRA Capital Investment Programmes including Mainstream, Ambition, New Build and Council Buy Back scheme. 1.4 The 2023/2024 General Services Capital Programme is £228.083m with a £125.392m investment programme in relation to the Housing Revenue Account. The budget reflects the approved budget in March 2023 at Policy and Strategy Committee and subsequent decisions made at the Strategic Capital Delivery Group (SCDG) in accordance with the SCDG terms of reference and where appropriate either by the individual service committees, Finance and Resources Committee or the Policy and Strategy Committee per the Scheme of Administration. Appendix 1 provides a breakdown of the overall 2023/24 budget by Service Programme and associated approved budget movements. 1.5 Committee will be aware that the Community Investment Fund Annual Update was presented to Policy and Strategy Committee on 29 September 2022. The report highlighted a reduction in projected CIF resources as a result of higher borrowing costs and lower than anticipated Council Tax growth. Consequently, there was a requirement to reduce the current 5-year capital investment programme by £22.076m. The budget reductions were approved at Policy and Strategy Committee on 1 December 2022. On 7 February 2023, the SCDG considered the profile of these budget reductions, including any impact on 2023/24. The 2023/24 strategic investment capital programme and indicative budgets for the remainder of the current five-year planning period was approved at Policy and Strategy Committee on 16 March 2023. 2. Report 2.1 Overall Council Strategic Capital Investment Programme 2.1.1 The overall Council Strategic Capital Investment programme for 2023/24 and the projected outturn to the 31 March 2024 is summarised in Table 1 as follows: Page 70 of 295
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Table 1 2.1.2 On a budgeted programme of £353.475m expenditure is anticipated to be £54.801m lower than current programme at this stage of the financial year. Further financial performance information regarding each of the programmes is discussed in section 2.2 and 2.3 below. 2.2 General Services Capital Programme and Projected Outturn by Service/ Programme 2.2.1 The financial performance of the overall General Services Investment programme at 31 March 2024 is detailed in Appendix 2 and summarised below. Community Capital Investment Programme Summary 2023/24 Current Programme £000s Projected Outturn £000s Outturn Variance £000s Enterprise & Communities 210,187 155,138 55,049 Chief Executives 15,708 15,708 0 Adult Health & Social Care 2,188 2,188 0 General Services: Total Capital Investment 228,083 173,034 55,049 General Services Resources: General Fund External Grants & Contributions 2023/24 47,707 47,707 0 External Grants & Contributions b/f 2022/23 16,466 16,466 0 External Grants & Contributions Unapplied 0 0 0 Net External Grants & Contributions 64,173 64,173 0 Capital Receipts 1,000 4,279 3,279 Capital Receipts -Transfer to Capital Fund 0 (3,279) (3,279) CFCR 1,588 1,588 0 General Services: Total Resources 66,761 66,761 0 General Services : Borrowing Requirement 161,322 106,273 (55,049) HRA : Total Capital Investment 125,392 125,640 (248) HRA Resources: Net External Grants & Contributions 19,385 27,153 7,768 Capital Receipts 0 1 1 CFCR 27,146 19,427 (7,719) HRA : Total Resources 46,531 46,581 50 HRA : Borrowing Requirement 78,861 79,059 198 Summary Total Council : Capital Investment 353,475 298,674 54,801 Total Council : Resources 113,292 113,342 50 Total Council : Borrowing Requirement 240,183 185,332 (54,851) Page 71 of 295
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General Services Total Resources 2.2.2 The revised programme approved by the SCDG is £228.083m with total resources available to meet the current programme forecast to be £66.761m, resulting in a borrowing requirement of £161.322m. 2.2.3 In 2023/24 net external grants and contributions of £64.173m will be utilised. This capital resource primarily includes the Scottish Government (SG) General Capital Grants receivable of £24.152m and other specific SG Grants including City Deal (£3.000m), Vacant and Derelict Land Fund (VDLF, £1.841m), the Place Based Investment Programme (PBIP, £1.698m), and Cycling, Walking and Safer Streets (CWSS, £2.180m) and also NHS developer contributions of £4.933m. In addition, capital grants received in 2022/23 have been added to the programme to match expenditure in 2023/24 including £8.730m for Levelling Up Fund (LUF), £3.291m for VDLF, £2.283m for PBIP, £1.235m for Regeneration Capital Grant Fund, £0.289m for Shared Prosperity Fund, £0.272m for CO2 Monitors and £0.230m for Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme. Whilst at Period 4 it is anticipated that all capital grant funding will be utilised in 2023/24, this will be monitored closely as the year progresses. 2.2.4 Receipts from the sale of assets are currently projected to be £4.279m, which is £3.279m greater than the budget of £1.000m. In accordance with the approach agreed within the Strategic Capital Investment Programme 2021/22 to 2025/26, capital receipts above the budgeted level of £1.000m will be transferred to the Capital Fund and drawn down to support the Council’s future revenue budget strategy. General Services Total Expenditure 2.2.5 As indicated in Table 1 the General Services investment programme is £228.083m. At Period 4, the final outturn spend is anticipated to be £55.049m lower than current programme. This is primarily due to the outcome of updated programming projections for Town and Community Hubs. The Council’s SCDG continues to monitor the situation closely. Further analysis by service/ programme is outlined below and summarised within Appendix 2. 2.2.6 Enterprise and Communities are projecting outturn expenditure of £155.138m, which is a £55.049m variance from current programme. This is primarily attributable to the outcome of an exercise undertaken to reassess the expenditure profile of the Town and Community Hubs theme for projects at Stages 1 and 2 of completion. This has resulted in reprofiled expenditure of £60.383m with an offset £2.796m of accelerated expenditure on current live projects. City Deal project cashflows and anticipated grant payments from Scottish Government and UK Government have also been reviewed. This has resulted in a need to reassess the Council’s immediate borrowing requirements which represents the need for acceleration of £11.528m of Council Funding within the current financial year. Within Economic Regeneration LUF funding has been utilised for the purchase of Cumbernauld Town Centre and therefore results in Council funding of £8.513m being required to be carried forward to future years for the next phases of the Cumbernauld Town vision. Within Enterprise projects additional active travel grant funding has been received which results in Council funding of £0.297m being required to carry forward to future years. In addition, across the service there are a number of compensating variances arising from the multi-year programme of activity across Assets and Procurement with in-year Page 72 of 295
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overspends within Maintaining Existing Assets (£0.504m), Leisure Development (£0.444m) and Demolitions (£0.373m). These are offset by in-year underspends in Office Rationalisation (£0.842m), Carbon Management (£0.479m) and Rationalisation including ASN (£0.105m). To ensure available resources more closely reflect operational activity across themes, requests to reprofile budget to future years of the programme will be presented for approval at future meetings of the SCDG and Housing Committee and will be incorporated in future reports. Committed expenditure of £85.490m is currently reported, which represents 55.11% of the targeted expenditure, and actual expenditure is £35.516m. 2.2.7 Chief Executives are projecting total expenditure of £15.708m, which is on target with current programme. Committed expenditure of £5.081m is currently reported, which represents 32.35% of the targeted expenditure, and actual expenditure is £2.657m. 2.2.8 Adult Health & Social Care are projecting outturn expenditure of £2.188m, which is on target with current programme. Committed expenditure of £0.391m is currently reported, which represents 17.87% of the targeted expenditure, and actual expenditure is £0.332m. 2.3 HRA Capital Investment 2.3.1 The financial performance of the HRA Capital Programme is reported in detail to the Housing Committee. A summary of performance as at 21 July 2023 is provided at Appendix 3. Total expenditure of £125.640m is forecast for 2023/24 which is an increase on programmed expenditure of £0.248m. Committed expenditure of £122.585m is currently reported, which represents 97.52% of the targeted expenditure, and actual expenditure is £34.768m. 2.4 Service Re-profiling Requests 2.4.1 As mentioned in paragraph 2.2.6, to ensure available resources more closely reflect operational activity across themes, requests within the Enterprise and Communities service to reprofile budget to future years of the programme will be required and these will be presented for approval at future meetings of the SCDG and Housing Committee and will be incorporated in future reports. 3. Measures of success 3.1 N/A 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1: Strategic Capital Investment Programme 2023/24 budget movements Appendix 2: General Services Capital Investment Programme Summary 2023/24 Appendix 3: HRA Capital Investment Programme Summary 2023/24 Elaine Kemp Chief Officer (Finance) Page 73 of 295
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5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☒ No ☐ The financial impact is outlined within the report. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 74 of 295
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Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ Despite the updated programme phasing approved at Policy and Strategy Committee on 16 March 2023 the capital programme continues to face ongoing delivery risks and challenges. These are currently being managed by services and Project Boards associated with specific programme delivery and will continue to be monitored throughout the year in accordance with the SCDG Terms of Reference. 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 75 of 295
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2023/24 Strategic Capital Investment Programme – budget movements Appendix 1 Enterprise & Communities Chief Executives Adult Health &Social Care Corporate Total General Services Investment Programme Total HRA Investment Programme Total Community Investment Programme £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s 23/24 Opening programme approved Policy& Strategy Committee 16 March '23 190,795 14,346 2,200 0 207,341 130,990 338,331 22/23 Overs/Unders Carry Forward 20,366 616 (12) 0 20,970 (5,598) 15,372 23/24 Budget adjustments approved by SCDG 5,416 746 0 0 6,162 0 6,162 Increase/(Decrease) in Externally Funded Projects (4,599) 0 0 0 (4,599) 0 (4,599) Increase/(Decrease) in Council Funded Projects (3,379) 0 0 0 (3,379) 0 (3,379) CFCR 1,588 0 0 0 1,588 0 1,588 Revised Capital Programme 2023/24 210,187 15,708 2,188 0 228,083 125,392 353,475 Page 76 of 295
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General Services Capital Investment Programme Summary 2023/24 - as at 31 March 2024 Appendix 2 Investment Current Programme 2023/24 £000s Projected Outturn 2023/24 £000s Outturn Variance 2023/24 £000s Committed Expenditure @ P4 £000s Committed Expenditure % of Projected Outturn Actual Expenditure @ P4 £000s Enterprise & Communities 210,187 155,138 55,049 85,490 55.11% 35,516 Chief Executives 15,708 15,708 0 5,081 32.35% 2,657 Adult Health & Social Care 2,188 2,188 0 391 17.87% 332 Total General Services Investment 228,083 173,034 55,049 90,962 52.57% 38,505 General Services Resources; External Grants & Contributions 2023/24 47,707 47,707 0 External Grants & Contributions b/f 2022/23 16,466 16,466 0 External Grants & Contributions Unapplied cfwd to 2024/25 0 0 0 Net External Grants & Contributions 64,173 64,173 0 CFCR 1,588 1,588 0 Capital Receipts 1,000 4,279 3,279 Capital Receipts - Transfer to Capital Fund 0 (3,279) (3,279) Total Resources 66,761 66,761 0 Borrowing Requirement: General Services 161,322 106,273 (55,049) Total General Services Borrowing Requirement 161,322 106,273 (55,049) Total Resources incl Borrowing Requirement 228,083 173,034 (55,049) Page 77 of 295
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HRA Capital Investment Programme Summary 2023/24 - as at 31 March 2024 Appendix 3 Investment Current Programme 2023/24 £000s Projected Outturn 2023/24 £000s Outturn Variance 2023/24 £000s Committed Expenditure @ P4 £000s Committed Expenditure % of Projected Outturn Actual Expenditure @ P4 £000s Mainstream Programme 55,347 55,537 (190) 53,296 95.96% 14,277 New Build Programme 59,995 59,995 0 59,995 100.00% 17,761 Council Buy Back Scheme 10,050 10,108 (58) 9,294 92.68% 2,730 Total HRA Investment 125,392 125,640 (248) 122,585 97.52% 34,768 HRA Capital Resources; External Grants & Contributions 19,385 27,153 7,768 External Grants & Contributions Unapplied 0 0 0 Net External Grants & Contributions 19,385 27,153 7,768 CFCR 27,146 19,427 (7,719) Capital Receipts 0 1 1 Total Resources 46,531 46,581 50 Borrowing Requirement: HRA - Mainstream 32,871 32,987 116 HRA - New Build 40,236 40,318 82 HRA - Buyback Scheme 5,754 5,754 0 Total Borrowing Requirement 78,861 79,059 198 Total Resources incl Borrowing Requirement 125,392 125,640 248 Page 78 of 295
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Finance and Resources Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref EK/KS/RM/GM Date 13/09/23 Treasury Management Monitoring Report for quarter ended 30 June 2023 From Elaine Kemp, Chief Officer (Finance) E-mail mcnameer@northlan.gov.uk Telephone Ryan McNamee, Finance Manager Executive Summary This report fulfils the key requirements of the Council’s reporting procedures for Treasury Management in accordance with the CIPFA Code of Practice on Treasury Management and the CIPFA Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities. It informs on the quarterly Treasury Management activity for the period 1 April 2023 to 30 June 2023 and compliance with the mandatory treasury and prudential indicators. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance and Resources Committee: (1) Acknowledges the Treasury Management Activity for the quarter ended 30 June 2023 including the performance against the key treasury and prudential indicators. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve North Lanarkshire's resource base Ambition statement (25) Ensure intelligent use of data and information to support fully evidence based decision making and future planning AGENDA ITEM 9 Page 79 of 295
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1. Background 1.1 The Council manages its treasury activities in line with the CIPFA Code ‘Treasury Management in the Public Services’. The Code requires the Council to produce reports on its Treasury Management policies, practices and activities on a regular and ongoing basis. The Council fulfils these obligations, in part, by the preparation of this Treasury Management Monitoring report produced on a quarterly basis, encompassing a review of performance. 1.2 The Council’s “Treasury Management Strategy 2023/2024 and Treasury and Prudential Indicators 2023/2024 to 2025/2026” was approved by Committee at its meeting on 1 March 2023. The Treasury activity undertaken in the first quarter of 2023/24 reflects the key requirements of the Council’s 2023/24 Treasury Management Strategy, with the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) and Long-term Money Market being the prime source of long-term funds. In terms of investment activity, this is conducted in accordance with the approved 2023/24 investment strategy. 2. Report 2.1 Summary Position 2.1.1 The net overall borrowing position to 30 June 2023 is £866.7m, which is an increase of £28.3m from the position at the 31 March 2023. A detailed breakdown of the net cash movement is shown in column (6) within Appendix 1. 2.2 Borrowing 2.2.1 At the end of the quarter, total external debt amounted to £912.8m which is a reduction of £3.4m, which was primarily due to a reduction in PWLB debt of £4.5m, a £0.1m reduction in energy efficiency loans, and a reduction in lease payments under existing finance lease and PPP obligations of £1.7m falling due for repayment. These were partially offset by additional net temporary borrowing of £3.0m, due to £67.5m of new borrowing being offset by £64.5m falling due for repayment. 2.2.2 The Council’s approach to borrowing is in line with the approved strategy which aims to source long-term borrowing and take advantage of temporary (short-term) borrowing at attractive rates, where possible, as well as using internal cash balances, to meet the principal repayments, daily revenue account requirements and the capital financing requirement, in lieu of future borrowing for capital purposes. The strategy adopted considers interest rate forecasts, the management of carrying costs and the retention of cash balances at appropriate levels, whilst managing the associated investment, interest, and liquidity risk. 2.2.3 The Council made a successful application to the PWLB to access the certainty rate which allows a 20-basis point (bps) (0.20%) discount on loans from the PWLB under the prudential borrowing regime. This will continue to provide the Council with an opportunity to borrow from the PWLB at more beneficial rates until 30 April 2024. 2.2.4 The CIPFA Prudential Code stipulates that local authorities cannot borrow to invest primarily for financial return, deeming it imprudent to make investment or spending decisions which will increase the capital financing requirement resulting in new borrowing, unless it is directly and primarily related to the functions of the Council. The Council is compliant with this requirement. Members should note also that Page 80 of 295
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PWLB loans are no longer available to local authorities planning to buy investment assets primarily for yield. 2.2.5 Members will be aware interest rates have risen significantly over the past 18 months, increasing materially the cost of both short and long term borrowing. In this quarter, the Bank of England base rate rose from 4.25% at the beginning of April to 5.0% at the end of the quarter, significantly higher than the 1.25% level at the end of June 2022. The rate rose further on 3 August by 0.25% to 5.25% and our advisors forecast this to peak at 5.5% in September 2023. It should be noted that the Council’s short-term borrowing also continued to increase, with the rise in the base rate and short-dated market rates. The average rate on the Authority’s short-term loans at 30th June 2023 was 3.68%. 2.2.6 Gilt yields faced upward pressure since early April following signs that UK growth has been more resilient and inflation stickier than expected. Consequently, PWLB borrowing rates continued to rise over the quarter. On 30th June, the PWLB certainty rates for maturity loans were 5.25% for 10-year loans, 5.36% for 20-year loans and 4.95% for 50-year loans. The equivalent rates at 31st March 2023 were 4.33%, 4.70% and 4.41% respectively. 2.2.7 A new PWLB HRA rate, which is 0.4% below the certainty rate, has been made available from 15th June 2023. This is initially available for a period of one year, to borrow for Housing capital purposes or refinancing existing loans. In conjunction with our treasury advisors, we are undertaking a review of the requirements, to assess the borrowing opportunity for the Council. 2.3 Debt Restructuring 2.3.1 In conjunction with our Treasury advisors, we monitored the economic climate in relation to our financial targets and Treasury Management strategy, for the quarter under review. The interest rates prevailing throughout the period resulted in no beneficial opportunities for debt restructuring/rescheduling of the existing PWLB debt portfolio arising. 2.3.2 The Council continues to hold £3.0m of LOBO (Lender’s Option Borrower’s Option) loans where the lender has the option to propose an increase in the interest rate at set dates, following which the Authority has the option to either accept the new rate or to repay the loan at no additional cost. The rise in market interest rates increases the probability of LOBOs being called, however, no lender exercised their option during the quarter. 2.3.3 Further reports regarding future activity will be presented to Committee as appropriate. 2.4 Investments 2.4.1 Treasury management investments are those that arise from cash flows or treasury risk management activity, that results in balances that need to be invested, until the cash is required for use in the course of business. 2.4.2 At the end of the first quarter of 2023/24, the Council held total investments of £46.0m, which is a net decrease of £31.6m in cash and cash equivalents, primarily due to a £32.0m decrease in short-term investments, as shown within column 6 of the attached Appendix 1. The decrease in short term investments reflects Page 81 of 295
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repayment of maturing temporary borrowing of approximately £619.7m and undertaking new short-term investments of £587.7m. 2.4.3 At quarter end, the bank overdraft including cash in transit was £7.1m which is a net overdrawn position, a reduction of £0.4m compared to the position of £7.5m reported at the end of the previous quarter. The positive net cash movement primarily reflects a decrease in the value of BACS creditor payment runs compared with the previous period. The bank overdraft primarily represents amounts drawn on the account at the 30 June 2023 comprising £7.0m of net BACS payments outstanding due for clearance within 3 days of the quarter end date, cheques unpresented of £0.3m, partly offset by a balance of £0.2m of cash in transit. 2.4.4 In line with the approved strategy to manage liquidity, the Council maintained a minimum balance of £3.0m available on an overnight basis (instant access), ensuring a prudent level of funds is maintained to meet all service requirements. 2.4.5 On 10 May 2023, the Bank of England base rate increased from 4.25% to 4.50% and then by a further 0.50% to 5.00% on 21 June 2023, to help combat ongoing high inflation and wage growth. The increases in the rate over the period under review, resulted in short-dated cash rates rising commensurately with rates ranging between 4.2% - 4.9% at the beginning of April, a rise of 0.7% for overnight/7-day maturities. There is little noticeable difference between the 7 day and 1-month SONIA (Sterling Overnight Rate) bid rates and generally available investment rates offered by financial institutions and money market funds. Despite this, the Council will endeavour to achieve good performance levels in investment activity. 2.4.6 Overall the Treasury Management team continues to take a prudent approach to investing surplus funds in line with the approved 2023/24 Investment Strategy. Security of investment followed by ensuring sufficient liquidity are key investment criteria governing Council investment decisions. This approach is aligned to the prudent management of liquidity to meet current commitments and future cash demands based on the latest cashflow projections. 2.4.7 However, as demonstrated by the liability benchmark reported at (xi) below and appendix 3 attached, it is anticipated the Council will be a long-term borrower and therefore new treasury investments are primarily made to manage day-to-day cash flows using short-term low risk instruments. The existing portfolio of strategic pooled funds will be maintained to diversify risk into different sectors and boost investment income. Non-Treasury Management Investments 2.4.8 During the quarter, repayments of £0.01m were made in respect of third-party advances in connection with the Cumbernauld Academy DBFM and Greenfaulds DBFM. 2.5 Interest Rate Movements & Other Economic Updates 2.5.1 As advised by our treasury management advisors from the start of the year until May it looked like peak interest rates were in sight as inflation continued to ease. However, only a few weeks later, stronger and more persistent inflation data, particularly in the UK, changed the picture. The UK situation was not welcome news for the Bank of England. GDP growth was weak, confirmed at 0.1% in Q1, although more recent monthly GDP data has somewhat improved. The housing market has stalled, consumer demand is weak but appearing to recover despite Page 82 of 295
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higher interest rates, labour demand remained strong, with repercussions for wage growth which is accelerating. 2.5.2 As a result of a sharp rise in interest rate expectations, with clearly serious implications for mortgage markets due to higher inflation and wage data, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) reaccelerated monetary policy tightening over the period as per para 2.4.5. The Councils’ treasury advisor has revised its interest rate forecast to reflect further monetary tightening, which would take base rate up to 5.5% in 2023. However, there remains a risk the rates could be even higher, with financial markets forecasting policy interest rates above 6%. June inflation figures were positive, with higher decreases in annual rates than market expectations, however, further increases in the base rate remain likely, but perhaps not to the extent that financial markets were previously pricing. In August, the base rate was subsequently increased by an additional 0.25% to 5.25%. 2.5.3 UK inflation fell from its peak of 11.1% reached in October 2022, but annual headline CPI in May 2023 was higher than the consensus forecast at 8.7% (8.4% expected), largely driven by services inflation, while the annual measure of underlying core inflation rose to 7.1% from 6.8%. Inflationary pressures eased slightly in June with year-on-year headline CPI reported below forecasts at 7.9%, down 0.8% from May, mainly due to fuel price deflation and an easing in food price inflation. Inflation remains high but there are reasons to be hopeful about the near future. The headline CPI rate is forecast to fall further in July figures as the reduction in the retail energy price cap feeds into the equation. Reductions in producer price inflation should also start to feed through to the consumer over the next six months. 2.5.4 April data showed the unemployment 3 month/year rate increased to 3.8%, increasing further to 4.0% in May. Pay growth for April was 6.5% for total pay (including bonuses) and 7.2% for regular pay. However regular pay growth increased further in May to 7.3%, Once adjusted for inflation, growth in total pay and regular pay remains negative. Our treasury advisors view is that May’s data represented a mixed bag for the labour market, but the MPC will likely focus on continuing strong wage growth. In line with recent survey evidence, most signs pointed to looser market conditions; employment growth slowed, and inactivity fell sharply, resulting in a rise in unemployment, and vacancies also continued to decline. While looser conditions should lead to easing wage growth over the rest of the year, MPC members may feel that they don’t have the luxury of waiting and may further increase Bank Rate to dampen demand. 2.5.5 With many mortgages at low fixed rates now systematically being re-set over the next 12-24 months at higher rates at the end of their fixed rate period, it is reported there has been a lagged effect of the feed through of monetary policy on households’ disposable income. The economic slowdown is expected to develop over time and therefore, despite consumer confidence rising, it is likely confidence will be negatively affected at some point. The manufacturing sector contracted during the quarter according to survey data, which will eventually feed into services, whose expansion is slowing. 2.5.6 Financial market sentiment and bond yields remained volatile, the latter continuing their general upward trend as uncertainty and concern over higher inflation and higher interest rates continued to dominate, with concerns over elevated inflation and higher interest rates, as well as the likelihood of the UK entering a recession and for how long the Bank of England would continue to tighten monetary policy. Page 83 of 295
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2.5.7 Over the period the 5-year UK benchmark gilt yield rose from 3.30% to 4.67%. Over the same timeframe, the 10-year gilt yield rose from 3.43% to 4.39%, whilst the 20-year yield rose from 3.75% to 4.51%. The Sterling Overnight Rate (SONIA) averaged 4.37 over the period. This resulted in the standard PWLB 10 year borrowing rate increasing from 4.53% at the start of the quarter to 5.45% at the end of the quarter, showing a spread of 1.08% between the highest and lowest interest rate which were 4.40% and 5.48% respectively, averaging 4.98%. 2.5.8 Following the increases in the base rate in May and June, short-term borrowing interest rates increased with the short term 7-day offer rate ranging between 4.30% and 5.08% over the period. Taking account of the increase in borrowing rates and advice from our treasury management advisors, it was considered more cost effective in the near term to use a combination of internal resources or to borrow rolling temporary / short-term loans at lower interest rates where possible rather than long term borrowing. This will result in increased temporary borrowing costs for the Council partially offset by increased investment income earned on surplus balances. 2.5.9 The Treasury Management Section will continue to monitor financial and economic policy and their impact upon the Council’s investment and borrowing activity. 2.6 The Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities 2.6.1 The Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 requires the Council to undertake its Treasury activities in line with the Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities. 2.6.2 Committee, at its meeting on 1 March 2023, approved a report titled, “Treasury Management Strategy 2023/2024 and Treasury and Prudential Indicators 2023/2024 to 2025/2026”. This report detailed a variety of mandatory and local indicators aimed at assisting members to determine that proposed capital investment levels and treasury management decisions satisfied the key requirements of affordability, prudence and sustainability. Performance against key prudential indicators for 2023/24 to date is detailed within Appendix 2. (i) Indicator 1(a) illustrates planned investment on capital expenditure is forecast to be lower than initially anticipated by £3.6m in 2023/24. This reflects an increase of £1.8m in the General Fund capital investment and a reduction of £5.4m for the HRA Mainstream and New Build programmes, primarily due to opportunities presented to buy land and ‘off the shelf’ developments earlier than anticipated during 2022/23. For further information, this is monitored in detail as part of the Council's capital programme reporting mechanisms which will provide spend details including any revisions to the estimates approved in 2023/24. (ii) The mix of resources used to finance the capital expenditure in 2023/24 reflect the updates to the forecast capital investment outlined above. Therefore, the level of in-year borrowing is anticipated to be lower by £12.0m due to a reduction in General Fund and HRA programmes of £9.5m and £2.5m respectively. The forecast level of borrowing also reflects a net increase in capital grants and external contributions of £15.3m with additional funds available to the General Fund and HRA programmes of £10.5m and £4.8m respectively. A reduction of £6.9m of CFCR is also anticipated, an increase in government grants of £7.7m in HRA, and an increase of £0.8m in General Fund. Page 84 of 295
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(iii) As a result of accounting issues arising from the pandemic recovery, the implementation of IFRS 16 Lease Accounting has been further delayed. Therefore, a restatement of existing liabilities for operating leases to the credit arrangement category will be applied in 2024/25 with an estimated impact of £3.5m. In addition, implementation of the Service Concessions flexibility in 2023/24 on PPP liabilities, and subsequent impact of IFRS16 implementation in 2024/25, is estimated to result in capital investment of £71.4m being recognised in the period to 2024/25. It should be noted that this does not represent cash expenditure and is offset by recognition of associated credit arrangements financing. (iv) Indicator 1(b) – The Council’s cumulative outstanding amount of debt finance is measured by the capital financing requirement (CFR). The CFR is essentially a measure of Council’s underlying borrowing need i.e. capital expenditure which is not resourced by capital grants, receipts or CFCR - and any new borrowing will increase the CFR. (v) The Prudential Code requires the Council’s capital investment to be affordable and prudent. To demonstrate this, a Prudential Margin (the need to borrow versus actual borrowing) is calculated. Indicator 1(c) demonstrates a healthy prudential margin of £293.1m as at 30 June 2023. The timing and profile of external borrowing to replenish cash reserves and balances are being managed, giving full consideration to liquidity, interest rate and refinancing risk, whilst minimising the potential carrying costs. (vi) Indicator 1(d) illustrates that both the overall Authorised Limit and Operational Boundary limits for borrowing and long-term liabilities have not been exceeded, with the maximum borrowing undertaken within the period being well below the approved boundaries. (vii) Indicator 1(e) illustrates the financing costs forecasts as at 30th June for both general fund and HRA as a proportion of net revenue stream. Although capital expenditure is not charged directly to revenue, interest payable on loans, and loan fund and long-term liability repayments are. The net annual charge is known as financing costs; this is compared to the net revenue stream i.e. the amount funded from Council Tax, NDR and government grants. (viii) Indicator 2(a) highlights the proportion of external interest payable by the Council which is fixed and external interest payable which may vary over the term of the borrowing, and which exposes the Council to the effects of interest rate changes. At 30 June 2023 the level of borrowing subject to variability is deemed to be within acceptable levels. (ix) Indicator 2(b) highlights a projected loan charge overspend of £7.2m compared to the initial prudential estimates for 2023/24. This projection takes into account treasury management activity, internal Interest On Revenue Balances (IORB) recharges due to increasing market interest rates, the loans fund holiday flexibility adopted in 2022/23 and decisions of the Policy and Strategy Committee and the Strategic Capital Delivery Group to reprofile the capital programme in response to the significant delivery related challenges. This current loan charge variance is made up of: • A net treasury management overspend of £7.8m is projected (£4.1m General Fund, HRA £3.7m), which is a primarily a reflection of increased internal IORB charges, and incorporates cashflow management techniques adopted, e.g. directing the timing of new borrowing, managing investment security, liquidity Page 85 of 295
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and interest rate risk. • In 2023/24 it is anticipated there will be reduction in anticipated loans fund advance repayments of £0.6m (£0.5m and £0.1m for the General Fund and HRA respectively). This is primarily due to lower final outturn capital borrowing in 2022/23 than previously forecast. (x) Indicator 2(c) relates to the level of fixed debt due to mature within time periods. The level of debt maturing remains within the upper limits set for each category at the beginning of the financial year. (xi) The Liability Benchmark at Appendix 3 is a new indicator. The Treasury Management Code states that organisations should evaluate the amount, timing and maturities needed for new borrowing in relation to planned borrowing needs, in order to avoid borrowing too much, too little, too long or too short. The liability benchmark is an important tool to help establish whether the Council is likely to be a long-term borrower or long-term investor in the future, and so shapes its strategic focus and decision making. Essentially this benchmark identifies the projection of external debt/borrowing required over the long term to fund approved revenue & capital budgets, while keeping treasury investments at the minimum level required to manage day-to-day cash. (xii) This represents the comparison of the Council’s actual borrowing against an alternative strategy. This utilises the forecasts for Capital Financing Requirement, long-term liabilities, current external borrowing, balance sheet resources i.e. reserves, and that cash and investment balances are kept to a minimum of £30.0m at each year-end to maintain sufficient liquidity but minimise credit risk. (xiii) The Loans CFR (solid light blue) represents the total cost of the capital expenditure plans based on the current profile of the 5-year Capital Programme 2020/2021 to 2025/2026. This reduces over time as scheduled principal repayments are made to the loans fund. The Net Loans Requirement (dotted red line) represents the minimum external borrowing required to fund the current capital expenditure plans assuming all cash reserves and balances are utilised to offset borrowing requirements. The Liability Benchmark (solid red line) represents the estimated borrowing required, taken account of liquidity allowance required of £30.0m to be held to maintain liquidity and to manage day-to-day cashflows. (xiv) The solid grey section shows the maturity profile of current borrowing. The gap between the grey section and the liability benchmark line represents the estimated additional borrowing that is forecast will be required to fund the current capital expenditure plans, via long-term and short-term borrowing options. 31/3/23 Actual £m 31/3/24 Forecast £m 31/3/25 Forecast £m 31/3/26 Forecast £m Loans CFR 1,052.7 1,215.7 1,451.7 1,591.3 less Balance Sheet Resources (387.4) (408.7) (399.5) (401.6) Net Loans Requirement 665.3 807.0 1,052.2 1,189.7 plus: Liquidity Allowance 30.0 30.0 30.0 30.0 Liability Benchmark 695.3 837.0 1,082.2 1,219.7 Existing Borrowing 749.2 593.1 455.1 432.7 New Borrowing Required 0.0 243.8 627.1 787.0 Page 86 of 295
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3. Measures of success 3.1 Overall the approach adopted by the Council’s Treasury Management team during the quarter under review met the key requirements of the 2023/24 Treasury Management Strategy. Prudential indicators have remained in accordance with those approved by Committee on 1 March 2023. The projected final outturn illustrates a healthy prudential margin and borrowing levels that are below sustainable limits, ensuring that the projected capital investment levels remain affordable and sustainable. However, the current financial volatility and increased borrowing costs has resulted in an assessment being undertaken of the potential impact on future years of the current capital programme. This will continue to be monitored to determine if any further review of the programme is required to ensure that it remains sustainably affordable. 4. Supporting documents 4.1 Appendix 1: Loans, Long term Liabilities & Investments as at 30 June 2023 Appendix 2: Summary of Treasury and Prudential Indicators as at quarter ended 30 June 2023 Appendix 3: Liability Benchmark as at quarter ended 30 June 2023 Elaine Kemp Chief Officer (Finance) Page 87 of 295
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5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Financial impacts are outlined in the report 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 88 of 295
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Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ As the Council borrows and invests significant sums of money it is exposed to financial risks including the loss of invested funds and the revenue effect of changing interest rates. Therefore, successful identification, monitoring and control of risk remains central to the Council’s treasury management strategy. Treasury Management activity by its very nature has a number of inherent risks including interest rate, liquidity and refinancing risks. To minimise risk for its treasury management activities the Council adopts and operates in accordance with the guidelines for best practice prescribed within the CIPFA “Treasury Management in the Public Services” Code of Practice and the CIPFA Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities. 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 89 of 295
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LOANS, LONG TERM LIABILITIES & INVESTMENTS AS AT 30 JUNE 2023 Appendix 1 DEBT RESTRUCTURING BALANCE 1-April-23 EARLY REDEMPTION REFINANCING NEW BORROWING / LONG-TERM LIABILITIES PRINCIPAL REPAYMENTS NET CASH MOVEMENTS BALANCE 30-June-23 (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) LONG-TERM LOANS PWLB 449,233,305 0 0 0 (4,530,375) (4,530,375) 444,702,930 MONEY MARKET LOANS 57,000,000 0 0 0 0 0 57,000,000 ENERGY EFFICIENCY LOAN 977,636 0 0 0 (98,006) (98,006) 879,629 507,210,940 0 0 0 (4,628,381) (4,628,381) 502,582,559 SHORT-TERM LOANS TEMPORARY 242,000,000 0 0 67,500,000 (64,500,000) 3,000,000 245,000,000 MUNICIPAL BANK 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 INTERNAL LOANS 6,280 0 0 0 0 0 6,280 242,006,280 0 0 67,500,000 (64,500,000) 3,000,000 245,006,280 LONG -TERM LIABILITIES FINANCE LEASE OBLIGATIONS 1,507,226 0 0 0 (217,922) (217,922) 1,289,305 LONG TERM LIABILITY 165,402,470 0 0 0 (1,534,783) (1,534,783) 163,867,687 166,909,697 0 0 0 (1,752,705) (1,752,705) 165,156,992 TOTAL EXTERNAL DEBT 916,126,917 0 0 67,500,000 (70,881,086) (3,381,086) 912,745,831 INVESTMENTS THIRD PARTY ADVANCES 1,178,234 0 0 0 (9,983) (9,983) 1,168,251 BANKS & OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS 83,941,470 0 0 0 0 (31,968,026) 51,973,444 BANK OVERDRAFT INCL CASH IN TRANSIT (7,452,861) 0 0 0 0 357,220 (7,095,641) CASH & CASH EQUIVALENTS 77,666,843 0 0 0 (9,983) (31,620,790) 46,046,053 NET BORROWING 838,460,074 0 0 67,500,000 70,871,103 28,239,704 866,699,778 Page 90 of 295
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Appendix 2 Summary of Treasury and Prudential Indicators as at quarter ended 30 June 2023 1. Prudential Indicators (a) Capital Expenditure Initial Estimate 2023/2024 (£m) Projected Outturn 2023/2024 (£m) Variance 2023/2024 (£m) Forecast 2024/2025 (£m) Forecast 2025/2026 (£m) Capital Expenditure: General Services 167.4 169.2 1.8 216.1 103.7 Capital Expenditure: HRA 131.0 125.6 (5.4) 146.7 153.8 Total spend : Capital Expenditure 298.4 294.8 (3.6) 362.8 257.5 Total spend : Credit Arrangement 49.3 49.3 0.0 13.0 9.1 Total Capital Investment 347.7 344.1 (3.6) 375.8 266.5 Financed By: Capital Grants & Other External Contributions 73.7 89.0 15.3 74.1 61.5 Capital from Current Revenue 27.1 20.2 (6.9) 27.1 27.1 Capital receipts 1.0 10.0 9.0 1.0 1.0 Capital receipts transfer to Capital Fund 0.0 (9.0) (9.0) 0.0 0.0 CFR : Borrowing - General Services 114.7 105.2 (9.5) 163.5 64.3 CFR : Borrowing - HRA 81.9 79.4 (2.5) 96.9 103.6 Credit Arrangements 49.3 49.3 0.0 13.0 9.1 (b) Capital Financing Requirement (CFR) Initial Estimate 2023/2024 (£m) Projected Outturn 2023/2024 (£m) Variance 2023/2024 (£m) Forecast 2024/2025 (£m) Forecast 2025/2026 (£m) General Services 948.5 921.8 (26.7) 1,082.2 1,137.7 HRA 519.5 507.4 (12.1) 591.2 679.9 Total CFR 1,468.0 1,429.2 (38.8) 1,673.4 1,817.6 Movement in CFR 220.9 182.1 244.2 144.2 (c) Gross Debt and the Capital Financing Requirement Initial Estimate 2023/2024 (£m) Projected Outturn 2023/2024 (£m) Variance 2023/2024 (£m) Forecast 2024/2025 (£m) Forecast 2025/2026 (£m) Gross Borrowing : Loan Debt 961.5 922.6 (38.9) 1,195.1 1,348.3 Long-term Liabilites 213.5 213.4 (0.1) 221.4 225.6 Gross Debt 1,175.0 1,136.1 (38.9) 1,416.5 1,573.9 Capital Financing Requirement 1,468.0 1,429.2 (38.8) 1,673.4 1,817.6 Prudential Margin 293.0 293.1 0.1 256.9 243.7 (d) Authorised Limit and Operational Boundary Initial Authorised Limit 2023/2024 (£m) Initial Operational Boundary 2023/2024 (£m) Maximum Borrowing Level Q1 2023/2024 (£m) Borrowing 1,350.0 1,300.0 755.1 Other Long-term Liabilities 235.0 235.0 165.2 Total Debt 1,585.0 1,535.0 920.2 (e) Proportion of Financing Costs to Net Revenue Stream Initial Estimate 2023/2024 (£m) Projected Outturn 2023/2024 (£m) Variance 2023/2024 (£m) Forecast 2024/2025 (£m) Forecast 2025/2026 (£m) General Fund Loan Charges 34.5 38.1 3.6 48.8 55.8 General Fund Finance Lease/PPP Costs 18.0 17.9 (0.0) 16.3 15.3 General Fund : Capital Financing Costs 52.5 56.0 3.5 65.0 71.1 General Fund : Net Revenue Stream 896.2 896.2 0.0 896.2 896.2 Proportion of Financing Costs to Net Revenue Stream - GF 5.9% 6.3% 0.4% 7.3% 7.9% Proportion of Financing Costs to Net Revenue Stream Initial Estimate 2023/2024 (£m) Projected Outturn 2023/2024 (£m) Variance 2023/2024 (£m) Forecast 2024/2025 (£m) Forecast 2025/2026 (£m) HRA Loan Charges 28.0 31.6 3.6 39.6 43.6 HRA Finance Lease/PPP Costs 0.3 0.3 (0.0) 0.3 0.3 HRA : Capital Financing Costs 28.4 31.9 3.6 39.9 43.9 HRA : Net Revenue Stream 148.2 148.2 0.0 155.7 164.8 Proportion of Financing Costs to Net Revenue Stream - HRA 19.1% 21.6% 2.4% 25.6% 26.7% Page 91 of 295
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Appendix 2 (cont) Summary of Treasury and Prudential Indicators as at quarter ended 30 June 2023 2. Treasury Management Indicators a) Interest Rate Exposures on External Interest Payments Position as at 30/06/2023 (£m) % External Interest Payable on Fixed Rate Loan Debt 34.7 98.1% External Interest Payable on Variable Rate Loan Debt 0.3 1.9% b) Loans Fund Revenue Account Initial Estimate 2023/2024 (£m) Projected Outturn 2023/2024 (£m) Variance 2023/2024 (£m) %age Loans Fund Interest Payments 41.3 49.8 (8.5) (20.6%) Loans Fund Expenses 0.4 0.4 0.0 7.0% Total Loans Interest Payments & Expenses 41.7 50.2 (8.5) (20.3%) Loans Funds Investment Income (1.3) (2.0) 0.7 (53.8%) Total Loans Fund Interest Payments Investment Income & Expenses 40.4 48.2 (7.8) (19.2%) Allocated as follows : Loans Fund Interest Payments Investment Income & Expenses:General Fund 24.0 28.1 (4.1) (16.9%) Loans Fund Interest Payments Investment Income & Expenses:HRA 16.4 20.1 (3.7) (22.9%) Capital Advances Repayments - General Fund 10.5 10.0 0.5 4.7% Capital Advances Repayments - HRA 11.7 11.6 0.1 0.6% Total Capital Advances 22.2 21.6 0.6 2.5% Total Loan Charges 62.6 69.8 (7.2) (11.5%) c) Maturity Structure of Borrowing <12months 12 months to 2 years 2 to 5 years 5 to 10 years 10 to 20 years 20 to 40 years >40 years Upper Limit maturing :Fixed & Variable Rate Debt 15.0% 15.0% 25.0% 30.0% 35.0% 45.0% 30.0% Lower Limit maturing :Fixed & Variable Rate Debt 0.0% 0.0% 5.0% 5.0% 5.0% 10.0% 10.0% Maturity structure at the start of Q1 6.1% 4.1% 13.6% 15.3% 21.7% 34.1% 5.1% Maturity structure at the end of Q1 5.6% 4.3% 13.6% 16.7% 20.3% 34.4% 5.1% Page 92 of 295
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Appendix 3 0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400 1,600 1,800 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037 2038 2039 2040 2041 2042 2043 2044 2045 2046 2047 2048 £m Liability Benchmark - North Lanarkshire Fixed rate loans LOBO loans Loans CFR Liability benchmark Net loans requirement Page 93 of 295
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Finance and Resources Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref EK/KS/RMcN Date 13/09/23 Treasury Management Annual Activity Report – 2022/2023 From Elaine Kemp, Chief Officer (Finance) E-mail KempE@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 280 601 Executive Summary This report fulfils the key requirements of the Council’s reporting procedures for Treasury Management in accordance with the CIPFA Code of Practice on Treasury Management and the CIPFA Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities in that it: • Outlines the treasury management activity undertaken during 2022/2023 and the resulting impact on the Council’s borrowing and investment strategy. • Reports on the Council’s performance in complying with the mandatory prudential indicators. • Provides a detailed summary of the Council’s performance, making reference to those targets and prudential indicators set at the start of the year within the approved strategy. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance and Resources Committee: (1) Acknowledges the Treasury Management Activity undertaken during 2022/2023 and its resulting impact on the Council’s borrowing and investment strategy set out within Appendix 1 to this report. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve North Lanarkshire's resource base Ambition statement (25) Ensure intelligent use of data and information to support fully evidence based decision making and future planning AGENDA ITEM 10 Page 95 of 295
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1. Background 1.1 The Council is required to meet a number of key reporting requirements for Treasury Management in accordance with the CIPFA Code of Practice on Treasury Management and the CIPFA Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities. 1.2 This report fulfils one of these requirements, outlining the treasury management activity undertaken during 2022/2023 and the resulting impact on the Council’s borrowing and investment strategy and the Council’s performance in complying with the mandatory treasury and prudential indicators. 2. Report 2.1 The Treasury Management Strategy Statement 2022/2023 approved by Committee on 10 March 2022, set out the Treasury Management policies, practices, and activities to be undertaken by the Treasury Management function during 2022/2023 2.2 Appendix 1 provides a detailed summary of the Council’s performance, referencing those targets and prudential indicators set at the start of the year within the approved strategy. 2.3 It focuses on the key areas of Treasury Management activity during 2022/2023 including: • External Borrowing • Interest Rates & Payments • Debt Maturity Profile • Investment Performance • Sources of Borrowing • Leasing • Regulatory Framework, Risk and Performance 2.4 The Council’s Treasury Management activity continued to be managed in the light of the market conditions, to take advantage of lower interest rates for borrowing where possible, while minimising the level of investment balances held, with the Council’s average loans pool rate increasing from 2.55% to 2.98% due to increasing interest rates throughout 2022/23. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Overall the approach adopted by the Council’s Treasury Management team met the key requirements of the 2022/2023 Treasury Management Strategy. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1: Treasury Management Annual Activity Report 2022/2023 Page 96 of 295
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Elaine Kemp Chief Officer (Finance) Page 97 of 295
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5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Financial impacts are outlined in the report 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 98 of 295
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Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ Treasury Management activity by its very nature has a number of inherent risks including interest rate, liquidity and refinancing risks. To minimise risk for its treasury management activities the Council adopts and operates in accordance with the guidelines for best practice prescribed within the CIPFA “Treasury Management in the Public Services” Code of Practice and the CIPFA Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities. 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 99 of 295
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Appendix 1 Treasury Management Annual Activity Report 2022/2023 Page 100 of 295
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Appendix 1 Index 1. Introduction 2. Background 3. Borrowing Requirement 2022/2023 4. Economic Background & Interest Rates 2022/2023 5. Interest Payments 2022/2023 6. Debt Maturity Profile 7. Sources of Borrowing 8. Debt Rescheduling 9. The Prudential Code for Capital Finance 10. Temporary Funds Investment Performance 11. Leasing 12. Soft Loans 13. Financial Guarantee 14. Treasury Management Advisory Service 15. Policy on Repayment of Loans Fund Advances 2022/2023 16. Regulatory Framework, Risk and Performance Page 101 of 295
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Treasury Management Annual Activity Report 2022/2023 Appendix 1 1. Introduction 1.1 Treasury Management deals with the borrowing and investment activity of the Council and is an integral part of the Council’s Financial Strategy. It seeks to ensure that both capital borrowing requirements and day to day revenue transactions are fully funded. Its importance has increased as a result of the additional freedoms provided by the Prudential Code. 1.2 The Council’s treasury activities are strictly regulated by statutory requirements and a professional code of practice. Revised editions of the CIPFA Prudential Code and CIPFA Treasury Management Code of Practice were issued in December 2021. In accordance with the Council’s financial regulations, the Council adopts the fully revised CIPFA “Treasury Management in the Public Services” Code of Practice (the Code) including the key principles and the Treasury Management Policy statement. 1.3 Within the Council, the Audit and Scrutiny Panel ensures the effective scrutiny of the treasury management strategy and policies, while the Finance and Resources Committee remains responsible for the development of the Strategy, its implementation and monitoring. The Council also promotes members’ responsibility in this area, requiring greater member scrutiny of treasury management activity. 1.4 The Code of Practice requires the Council to produce reports on its Treasury Management policies, practices and activities, including, as a minimum, an annual strategic plan at the beginning of the financial year, a mid-year review, followed by an annual report on the measurement of success at the year-end. To ensure compliance with the Code of Practice, Treasury Management procedures are continually reviewed with any amendments reported to Committee as appropriate. Prudential arrangements and treasury management performance information is submitted to Committee on a quarterly basis. 2. Background 2.1 The Council has adopted the CIPFA Code of Practice in Treasury Management and operates its treasury services to mitigate the effect of possible risk in this function, while undertaking borrowing and investment activities that are prudent, affordable and sustainable. 2.2 As noted in 1.4 above, the Code of Practice requires the Council to produce reports on its Treasury Management policies, practices and activities on a regular and ongoing basis. This includes the preparation of an annual activity report providing a detailed summary of the Council’s performance, making reference to those targets, limits and indicators set at the start of the year within the approved strategy. 2.3 In accordance with the Council’s Treasury Management policy, the report focuses on activities undertaken during the year in the following key areas:- 3. Borrowing Requirement 2022/2023 Capital Borrowing Requirement 3.1 The Strategy Statement for 2022/2023, approved by the Finance & Resources Committee on 10 March 2022, indicated a capital programme of £296.5m. The capital expenditure programme was budgeted to be funded by external grants & contributions of £62.1m and capital contributions from revenue of £27.1m, resulting in a projected increase in the capital financing requirement of £207.2m. • External Borrowing • Interest Rates • Interest Payments • Debt Maturity Profile • Sources of Borrowing • Debt Rescheduling • Temporary Investments • Leasing • Compliance with the Prudential Code • Regulatory Framework, Risk and Performance Page 102 of 295
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Treasury Management Annual Activity Report 2022/2023 Appendix 1 3.2 The actual total investment in council assets during 2022/2023, amounted to £234.6m, which was partially funded by external grants and receipts of £79.4m and capital contributions from revenue of £34.6m, resulting in a capital financing requirement totalling £120.5m to support this capital investment, which is £86.7m less than the initial estimate and £27.6m less than the revised estimate at Q3. 3.3 This reduction in capital expenditure and reduced capital financing requirement is primarily a result of the Council experiencing challenges in delivering the Strategic Capital Investment Programme in light of a number of external factors affecting the wider economy including availability of materials, contractors and inflationary pressures, and increases in the Bank of England base rate impacting the Council’s cost of borrowing. As a result, decisions were taken by the Policy & Strategy Committee on 1st December 2022 and Strategic Capital Delivery Group (SCDG) at its meetings on the 15 September 2022, 6th October 2022 and 2nd February 2023, to reduce the overall capital programme by £22.1m and re-profile the capital programme to reflect revised delivery timescales. This resulted in a reduction in the capital programme in 2022/23 of £45.6m. 3.4 The revised estimates contained within this report when compared to the initial estimates reflect the impact of Policy & Strategy and SCDG decisions and were approved within the Treasury Management Strategy 2023/2024 and Prudential Indicators 2023/24 to 2025/2026, approved by the Finance & Resources Committee on 1 March 2023. For comparison of the estimate to actual outturn, unless otherwise stated, the comparator adopted within this report is the actual outturn to the revised estimate at Q3. 3.5 Members have received reports throughout the year advising them of anticipated variations to the capital expenditure programmes and resource levels. 3.6 As highlighted in Table 3 included within Section 9 which outlines the Prudential Code for Capital Finance requirements, the resource mix to finance the 2022/2023 capital expenditure programme varied from the original estimate, primarily due to an increase in net capital grants and external contributions available of £17.2m, CFCR contributions of £7.5m and Credit Arrangements of (£3.5m). Capital Financing Requirement 2022/2023 3.7 The 2022/2023 capital financing requirement of £120.5m was funded primarily by a combination of internal balances/reserves, short-term borrowing(<1year) and long-term borrowing from the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB). A full summary is provided within Section 7 Sources of Borrowing. 4. Economic Background & Interest Rates 2022/2023 4.1 The war in Ukraine continued to keep global inflation above central bank targets and the UK economic outlook remained relatively weak with the chance of a mild recession. The economic backdrop continued to be characterised by high energy and commodity prices, high inflation, and the associated impact on household budgets and spending. The Bank of England, US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank all increased interest rates over the period and committed to combatting inflation, even in the face of potential recession. 4.2 The Bank of England increased the official Bank Rate to 4.25% during the financial year. From 0.75% in March 2022, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) pushed through rises at every subsequent meeting over the period, with recent hikes of 50bps in December and February and then 25bps in March, taking Bank Rate to 4.25%. The MPC in March again noted that domestic inflationary pressures remain elevated with growth stronger than was originally forecast in February’s MPC report. 4.3 Starting the financial year at 5.5%, the annual CPI measure of UK inflation rose strongly to hit 10.1% in July and then 11.1% in October. Inflation remained high in subsequent months but appeared to be past the peak, before unexpectedly rising again in February and then falling slightly in March. Annual headline CPI registered 10.4% in February, up from 10.1% in January, and falling back to 10.1% in March, with the largest upward contributions coming from food and housing. RPI followed a similar pattern during the year, hitting 14.2% in October. In February RPI measured 13.8%, up from 13.4% in the previous month, and then falling slightly to 13.5% In March. Page 103 of 295
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Treasury Management Annual Activity Report 2022/2023 Appendix 1 4.4 The labour market remained tight albeit with some ongoing evidence of potential loosening at the end of the period. The unemployment rate 3mth/year eased from 3.8% April-June to 3.6% in the following quarter, before picking up again to 3.7% between October-December. The most recent information for the period January-March showed an unemployment rate of 3.8%. Nominal earnings were robust throughout the year, with earnings growth in January-March at as 5.9% for both total pay (including bonuses) and 6.6% for regular pay. Once adjusted for inflation, however, both measures were negative for that period and have remained so throughout most of the year. 4.5 Reflecting the impact of the economic volatility throughout 2022/23, the graph below illustrates lending interest rates rose continuously throughout the year anticipating and reflecting Bank of England base rate increases announced in throughout the year to stand at 4.25% in March 2023. The spike in market rates for lending in September and October was a result of volatility in financial markets which was significantly exacerbated by the fiscal plans of the then UK government (under Liz Truss), leading to an acceleration in the rate of the rise in gilt yields and decline in the value of sterling. However, the subsequent change of government leadership to Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt led to gilts yields falling in November and December, albeit at higher levels compared to earlier in the period. The fluctuation in the short- term borrowing rates payable by the Council for temporary funds (less than 1 year) is influenced by the prevailing market lending rates, the margin representing the relative supply and demand on any given day for local authority to local authority borrowing, and the term of borrowing profiled to the Council’s cashflow requirements. 4.6 Uncertainty continued to be a key driver of financial market sentiment and bond yields remained relatively volatile due to concerns over elevated inflation and higher interest rates, as well as the likelihood of the UK entering a recession and for how long the Bank of England would continue to tighten monetary policy. Towards the end of the year, fears around the health of the banking system following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in the US and purchase of Credit Suisse by UBS caused further volatility. 4.7 Over the period the 5-year UK benchmark gilt yield rose from 1.41% to peak at 4.70% in September before ending the financial year at 3.36%. Over the same timeframe the 10-year gilt yield rose from 1.61% to peak at 4.51% before falling back to 3.49%, while the 20-year 0.000 1.000 2.000 3.000 4.000 5.000 6.000 Interest Rate % 2022/2023 Monthly Average market lending rates for 7 day, 3 months, and 12 months Base rate 7 day 3 Mths 12 Mths Page 104 of 295
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Treasury Management Annual Activity Report 2022/2023 Appendix 1 yield rose from 1.82% to 4.96% and then declined to 3.82%. The Sterling Overnight Rate (SONIA) averaged 2.24% over the period. 4.8 The change in the perception as to how the economy is progressing is more readily explained by an analysis of the fluctuations in the PWLB medium to long term rates as per the graph below. 4.9 The spread between the highest and lowest daily interest rates payable for PWLB 10, 25 and 50 year borrowing periods throughout 2022/2023 were almost 3.09% for the 10 year range, 3.36% for 25 year range and 3.26% for the 50 year range. 4.10 A new HRA PWLB rate of gilt yield plus 0.4% (0.4% below the currently available certainty rate) was announced on 15th March 2023, and was later confirmed to be available from 15th June 2023. Initially available for a period of one year, this discounted rate is to support local authorities borrowing for the Housing Revenue Account and for refinancing existing HRA loans, providing a window of opportunity for HRA-related borrowing during this time frame. A detailed review is being undertaken in conjunction with our treasury management advisors to confirm the requirements to ensure that this is a borrowing opportunity that the Council is aiming to access for HRA purposes during 2023/24. 5. Interest Payments 2022/2023 5.1 The Council made interest payments in 2022/23 of £27.6m (£22.3m in 2021/2022). This includes both the external and internal elements of interest payable and the annual write-off associated with premiums and discounts. This increase of £5.3m from 2021/2022 levels represents additional net interest costs of £6.6m, comprising an increase in external interest payable of £0.8m and internal interest on revenue balances charges of £5.6m, partly offset by increased investment income of £1.3m due to increasing interest rates throughout the year. Whilst an increase in costs from previous year, total costs are primarily managed using a combination of internal balances/reserves and short-term borrowing(<1yr) which was sourced at lower interest rates, to meet the in-year capital financing requirement and the refinancing of long-term debt maturing, in lieu of future long-term borrowing where possible. This reflecting the borrowing strategy adopted in 2022/2023, which is complimented by efficient cashflow management and balance sheet analysis and ensures the nature and timing of new borrowing remains efficient and effective, achieving value for money. 0.000 1.000 2.000 3.000 4.000 5.000 6.000 Interest Rate % 2022/2023 Monthly Average PWLB rates or periods up to 10, 25 and 50 years up to 10 years up to 25 years up to 50 years Page 105 of 295
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Treasury Management Annual Activity Report 2022/2023 Appendix 1 5.2 The Council’s average cost of servicing its debt and investment portfolio has fallen consistently over the last ten years, however has started to increase this year due to rising market interest rates with the weighted average loans fund pool rate for 2022/2023 being 2.96%, an increase of 0.41% when compared to the average rate of 2.55% for 2021/2022. 5.3 Given the term structure of interest rates prevailing throughout the year, the borrowing strategy adopted minimised carrying costs (see paragraph 9.13 below), whilst managing liquidity. Whilst the weighted average loans fund pool rate of the Council’s loan portfolio rose slightly this year, debt costs were retained at prudent levels despite the significant increase in prudential borrowing rates. However, with interest rates forecast to continue to increase in 2023/24 and possibly thereafter, this will become more challenging whilst maintaining the current capital investment programme. 6. Debt Maturity Profile 6.1 Debt maturity profiles are continually monitored in the management of Treasury Management risk and in particular refinancing, liquidity and interest rate risk. 6.2 A summary of the current debt maturity profile is contained in Table 1 below. Maturity Profile 2022/2023 2021/2022 £m % £m % Temporary Borrowing < 1yr 242.0 32.30% 193.1 28.24% Long term borrowing: Maturing in less than 1 Year 31.1 4.15% 50.6 7.40% Maturing in 1 - 2 Years 21.0 2.80% 26.6 3.89% Maturing in 2 - 5 Years 68.8 9.18% 56.5 8.27% Maturing in 5 - 10 Years 77.3 10.32% 54.5 7.97% Maturing in 10 - 20 Years 109.9 14.67% 106.7 15.61% Maturing in 20 - 40 Years 173.3 23.13% 169.9 24.85% Maturing in more than 40 Years 25.8 3.44% 25.8 3.77% 749.2 100.00% 683.7 100.00% Table 1 6.3 A graphical presentation of the current debt maturity profile on an annual basis is shown below. Page 106 of 295
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Treasury Management Annual Activity Report 2022/2023 Appendix 1 6.4 It should be noted that the maturity profile includes variable rate debt which can be repaid in whole or part at any time up until the maturity date without penalty, further increasing the flexibility within the repayment profile. It is currently assumed this debt will be held to maturity, subject to certain conditions. 6.5 The graph highlights that for the period 2028/2029 until 2031/2032, the average debt maturing is lower than earlier years, and after these periods and in a number of later years there is little or no debt due to be repaid. This may offer opportunities for sourcing debt within this maturity spectrum as part of future capital financing or debt restructuring/replacement strategies, dependent upon interest rates and in compliance with the overall Treasury Management strategy. 6.6 The graphical presentation of the debt maturity profile excludes short-term borrowing which was originally sourced to be repaid within 12 months (temporary borrowing < 1 year) per Table 1 above. It also includes principal outstanding for LOBO (Lender’s Option Borrower’s Option) loans based on their maturity date as opposed to the potential maturity date in the year where options or calls exist. A LOBO is called when the lender exercises its right to amend the interest rate on the loan at which point the Council can accept the revised terms or reject them and repay the loan. 6.7 At 31 March 2023 the Council had an exposure of £3.0m to LOBO loans, all of which have call dates falling within less than one year, with interest rates payable ranging from 10.625% to 10.937%. This balance of £3.0m, taken out in the mid 1980’s to early 1990’s, having an average interest rate of 10.73%. Based on the current and the forecast interest rates the likelihood of these loans being called has been assessed as minimal. In the event that the call option were to be exercised, the default position will be the repayment of the LOBO without penalty with the associated treasury management risks (refinancing/interest rate/liquidity) managed in line with the borrowing strategy for other maturing debt. 6.8 The graphical presentation below provides a further analysis of the average annual rate of interest payable on maturing long-term debt. This analysis highlighting possible opportunities for savings in interest costs over the coming years, as the refinancing strategy adopted, will look to replace these loans at lower average interest rates than the historic interest rates currently being paid on the respective debt reaching maturity. In the years where no loans fall due for repayment this shows as 0.00% within the graph below. 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Millions FINANCIAL YEAR Forecast Long term Debt Maturity Profile as at 31 March 2023 Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) Market Loans Page 107 of 295
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Treasury Management Annual Activity Report 2022/2023 Appendix 1 7. Sources of Borrowing 7.1 At the 31 March 2023 the Council’s total external debt, defined as actual gross borrowing (excluding interest accrued) plus obligations outstanding in respect of finance leases and PPP liabilities had risen from £857.7m to £916.1m, an increase of £58.1m as shown in Table 2 below. Sources of Finance 2022/2023 2021/2022 £m % £m % Public Works Loan Board 449.2 60.0% 407.4 59.6% Money Market Loans 57.0 7.6% 67.0 9.8% Other Local Authorities - -% 15.0 2.2% Temporary Borrowing 242.0 32.3% 174.0 25.4% Energy Efficiency Loan – Salix 1.0 0.1% 1.2 0.2% Municipal Bank - -% 19.1 2.8% Total Debt Outstanding 749.2 100.0% 683.7 100.0% Finance Lease Liabilities 1.5 0.9% 1.7 1.0% PPP Liabilities 165.4 99.1% 172.3 99.0% Total Long-term Liabilities 166.9 100.0% 174.0 100.0% Total External Debt 916.1 857.7 Annual Movement 58.1 Table 2 7.2 The increase in external debt of £58.1m is primarily due to movements in the total debt outstanding of £65.5m with PWLB borrowing increasing by £41.8m, due to new PWLB borrowing of £77.4m offset by PWLB repayments of principal for PWLB of £35.5m falling due for repayment in 2022/2023 per the terms of the original loan agreements, an increase of £68.0m in temporary borrowing, (with transactional activity in terms of temporary borrowing 0.00% 2.00% 4.00% 6.00% 8.00% Average Interest Rate of Interest Payable on Maturing Long term Debt Page 108 of 295
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Treasury Management Annual Activity Report 2022/2023 Appendix 1 being £468.0m in total, comprising £268.0m of cash received and £200.0m of cash being repaid during 2022/2023), repayment of market loans of £10.0m, repayment of other long-term loans by local authorities of £15.0m and repayment of £0.2m in respect of energy efficiency loans from Salix. 7.3 In addition, during the year the municipal bank balances available to the Council on a temporary borrowing basis decreased by £19.1m due to the closure of the municipal bank in September 2022 and customers transferring their accounts to other banking providers. This was replaced by additional external temporary borrowing as per para 7.2. 7.4 In 2022/23 there was a decrease total in long term liabilities of £7.1m which was due to principal repayments in respect of the finance lease liabilities for buildings, vehicles, plant and equipment and PPP liabilities. 7.5 The above approach to borrowing in 2022/2023 was underpinned by: • interest rate expectations; • the management of carrying costs; • the spend profile of the Capital Investment programme; and • managing reserves and balances at prudent levels in lieu of external borrowing. 8. Debt Rescheduling 8.1 Debt rescheduling is defined as the reorganisation of existing debt in such a way as to amend the debt repayment profile of the authority, reduce the principal sum borrowed, alter the degree of volatility of the debt or vary the interest charge payable. 8.2 During 2022/2023, the economic climate in relation to our financial targets and Treasury Management strategy was monitored. The interest rates prevailing throughout the period resulted in no beneficial opportunities for debt restructuring/rescheduling of the PWLB debt portfolio. 8.3 A decision taken by the PWLB in October 2010 to increase interest rates, by an average of 0.90% above UK Government gilts, across the whole maturity spectrum for new PWLB fixed and variable rate loans from 1 year up to 50 years continues to significantly limit opportunities. 8.4 At the start of the year, the Council continued to hold £13.0m of LOBO (Lender’s Option Borrower’s Option) loans where the lender has the option to propose an increase in the interest rate at set dates, following which the Authority has the option to either accept the new rate or to repay the loan at no additional cost. However, on assessment of the LOBO portfolio by our treasury advisor, Arlingclose, loans from some banks presented restructuring opportunities. Therefore, a full options appraisal exercise was undertaken to assess the risks and benefits, including reducing the exposure to medium/long-term optionality and potential restructuring savings. As a result, a £10.0m LOBO loan was repaid. 8.5 Arlingclose were instructed to act on the Councils behalf to arrange and negotiate terms for early redemption. The financial appraisal undertaken detailed the total redemption cost, replacement loan options and financial benefits. Successful discussions resulted in an agreed exit on 6th April 2022, with beneficial redemption terms offered by the lender. The agreement reached results in estimated net financial savings to the Council of £2.4m on a Net Present Value basis, when assessed over the remaining loan period of the original loan i.e. to 2060. Therefore, it was deemed prudent to redeem the loan and replace with new funding of £17.4m, which was secured from PWLB. 9. The Prudential Code for Capital Finance Prudential Indicators 9.1 Following the introduction of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 and the Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities, the Treasury Management Strategy Statement 2022/2023 detailed the mandatory prudential indicators, essential for ensuring that the Council's capital programmes were affordable, prudent and sustainable. 9.2 The Council approved a variety of indicators, including revised estimates for the financial years 2022/2023 through to 2025/2026. The total capital investment in 2022/2023 was £234.6m. A summary as to how this was financed is provided in Table 3 below. Page 109 of 295
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Treasury Management Annual Activity Report 2022/2023 Appendix 1 Table 3 9.3 The Capital Financing Requirement (CFR) which is a measure of the Council’s underlying borrowing need, comprising borrowing and credit arrangements, was £32.4m less than anticipated as at 31 March 2023, compared to the revised estimate as shown in Table 4. The CFR is split between General Services and HRA which reflects actual debt outstanding as at 31 March 2022. Capital Financing Requirement 31 March 2023 Initial Estimate (£m) 31 March 2023 Revised Estimate (£m) 31 March 2023 Actual (£m) Variance (£m) General Services 833.1 799.3 779.8 19.5 HRA 488.7 429.3 439.8 (10.5) Total CFR 1,321.8 1,228.6 1,219.6 9.0 Table 4 9.4 This 2022/2023 decreased borrowing requirement (CFR) of £9.0m per Table 4 above comprises the reduced borrowing for capital expenditure on assets of £27.6m, offset by reduced loan charge amortisation of £18.6m due to the implementation of the flexibility to defer statutory repayment of loans fund advances payable within 2022/23 available through Finance Circular 5/2022 (Statutory Repayment of Debt – Short Term Financial Flexibility). This flexibility resulted in a deferral of loan charges and will be repaid depending on the specific loan advances by the shorter of wither the remaining period of the loans fund advance, or a maximum of twenty years from the end of 2022/23. 9.5 Per Table 5 below, the external debt position of the Council at the 31 March 2023 was £13.1m less than expected compared to the revised estimate. The total debt outstanding was lower than anticipated and healthy cash balances resulted in a reduced requirement for PWLB borrowing of £13.1m to meet daily cashflow requirements and manage liquidity risks. Capital Expenditure 2022/2023 Initial Estimate (£m) 2022/2023 Revised Estimate (£m) 2022/2023 Actual (£m) Variance (£m) Expenditure on assets 296.5 260.3 234.6 25.7 Credit Arrangements 3.5 - - - Total Capital Investment 300.0 260.3 234.6 25.7 Financed by Borrowing 207.2 148.1 120.5 (27.6) Capital receipts 1.0 1.0 1.0 - Grants & External Contributions 61.2 79.5 78.4 (1.1) CFCR 27.1 31.8 34.6 2.9 Credit Arrangements 3.5 - - - Page 110 of 295
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Treasury Management Annual Activity Report 2022/2023 Appendix 1 Sources of Finance 31 March 2023 Initial Estimate 31 March 2023 Revised Estimate 31 March 2023 Actual Variance £m £m £m £m Public Works Loan Board 747.1 462.4 449.2 13.1 Money Market Loans 67.0 57.0 57.0 - Other Local Authority - - - - Energy Efficiency Loan –Salix 1.0 1.0 1.0 - Municipal Bank - - - - Temporary Borrowing 242.2 242.0 242.0 - Total Debt Outstanding 1,057.1 762.3 749.2 13.1 Finance Lease Liabilities 4.1 1.5 1.5 - PPP Liabilities 165.5 165.4 165.4 - Total Long-term Liabilities 169.6 166.9 166.9 - Total External Debt 1,226.6 929.2 916.1 13.1 Table 5 9.6 As a result of the movements in the capital financing requirement and the external debt position described above, there is a healthy prudential margin of £303.5m (the need to borrow versus actual borrowing) at the end of 2022/2023, as shown in Table 6 below. This is consistent with the Council approach to use internal reserves and balances to fund the cumulative capital financing position at the 31 March 2023 as an alternative to undertaking additional external borrowing. 31 March 2023 Initial Estimate (£m) 31 March 2023 Revised Estimate (£m) 31 March 2023 Actual (£m) Total CFR 1,321.8 1,228.6 1,219.6 Total External Debt 1,226.6 929.2 916.1 Prudential Margin 95.2 299.4 303.5 Table 6 9.7 Table 7 below shows the ratio of capital financing costs to total income for General Services and HRA were lower than anticipated due to the profile for interest and principal repayments on borrowings and long-term liabilities being lower than anticipated. The significant reduction is primarily a result of the implementation of Finance Circular 05/2022 (Statutory Repayment of Debt – Short Term Financial Flexibility) resulting in significantly reduced loans fund repayments in 2022/23 outlined within Section 15 below, whilst it also reflects the efficient management of investment and borrowing activity demonstrated throughout this report. Proportion of Financing Costs/Income 31 March 2023 Initial Estimate 31 March 2023 Actual General Services 6.13% 4.28% HRA 16.56% 7.56% Table 7 9.8 The Authorised Limit is the ‘Affordable Borrowing Limit’ required by S35 of the Local Government Act 2003. The Council does not have the power to borrow above this level. The Operational Boundary is the expected borrowing position of the Council during the year. Page 111 of 295
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Treasury Management Annual Activity Report 2022/2023 Appendix 1 Periods where the actual position is either below or above the Operational Boundary are acceptable subject to the Authorised Limit not being breached. 9.9 Table 8 below shows in 2022/2023 the Council has maintained its gross borrowing and its long-term liabilities within the Authorised Limit and Operational Boundary. Approved Limit 2022/2023 (£M) Maximum held per 2022/2023 Activity (£M) Limit Breached (Yes/No) Authorised Limit : Borrowing 1,250.0 749.2 No : Long-term Liabilities 185.0 168.7 No Operational Boundary : Borrowing 1,240.0 749.2 No : Long-term Liabilities 185.0 168.7 No Total Gross Borrowing at 31.03.2023 749.2 Total Long term Liabilities at 31.03.2023 166.9 External Debt at 31.03.2023 916.1 Table 8 9.10 The external debt includes both the actual gross borrowing and long-term liabilities held at a specific point in time (i.e. 31 March 2023). Treasury Management Indicators 9.11 The Council approved a variety of Treasury Management indicators for the financial years 2022/2023 through to 2024/2025. Tables 9 and 10 below provide a comparison of the estimated and actual 2022/2023 Treasury Management indicators. Interest Category Estimate 2022/2023 (£m) Actual 2022/2023 (£m) Variance (£m) % Interest payable on Fixed Rate Debt 26.3 20.5 5.8 22.1% Interest payable on Variable Rate Debt 1.2 0.4 0.7 61.7% Total External Interest Payments 27.4 20.9 6.5 23.7% Interest Receivable Funds Invested (0.2) (1.5) 1.3 647% Net Loan External Interest Charges 27.2 19.4 7.8 28.7% Table 9 9.12 Table 9 above provides prudential information in respect of external payments due and income receivable only as these are under the direct control of the Treasury Management section. In 2022/2023 there was a reduction of £7.8m in net loan external interest payments compared to initial estimates for 2022/2023. This favourable variance was achieved due to the borrowing strategy adopted to meet the approved General Services and HRA Capital Programme for 2022/23. 9.13 This interest saving representing the difference between the estimated cost of new long term and temporary borrowing based on an interest rate of 2.75% and 1.00% respectively compared to the actual average interest rates of approximately of 3.56% and 2.90% for respectively undertaken throughout 2022/2023. Although, the actual average rates are higher than original estimates, it results in an overall saving due to the level of long-term borrowing being significantly less than expected as £77.4m long-term borrowing was undertaken compared to an anticipated initial estimate of £276.0m for 2022/23, and previously assumed borrowing of £76.0m in latter part of 2021/22, this being due to cash balances and reserves, in line with TM Page 112 of 295
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Treasury Management Annual Activity Report 2022/2023 Appendix 1 Strategy, being utilised in lieu of future long-term borrowing where possible and the impact of the challenges to the Capital Investment programme due to external supply and inflationary pressures. 9.14 Table 10 below provides a summary of the Capital Financing charges for both General Fund and HRA in respect of the loans fund which includes; • external payments due and income receivable per Table 9 above • the annual premium/discount written off for historic and new rescheduling/refinancing • the internal interest payable on revenue balances • the capital advance repayments made in the year Capital Financing Charges Initial Estimate 2022/2023 (£m) Final Outturn 2022/2023 (£m) Variance (£m) % Loans Fund Interest Payments 30.7 28.7 1.9 6.3% Loans Fund Expenses 0.4 0.4 0.0 0.0% Total Loans Interest Payments & Expenses 31.1 29.1 2.0 6.4% Loans Funds Investment Income (0.2) (1.5) 1.3 647.2% Total Loans Fund Interest Payments Investment Income & Expenses 30.9 27.6 3.3 10.6% Loans Fund Advances Repayments 18.9 - 18.9 100.0% Total Loans Fund Charges 49.8 27.6 22.2 44.6% Table 10 9.16 The table above highlights a loan charge saving of £22.2m compared to the prudential estimates for 2022/2023 taking into account the implementation of Finance Circular 05/2022 (Statutory Repayment of Debt – Short Term Financial Flexibility), treasury management activity, and the decisions of the P&S Committee and SCDG to reduce and reprofile the capital programme in response to the significant delivery challenges as per para 3.3. 9.17 Overall a treasury management saving of £3.3m was achieved reflecting the cashflow management techniques adopted, directing the timing of new borrowing, managing investment security, liquidity and interest rate risk and the identification of short-term borrowing opportunities. This resulting in reduced loans fund interest payments and expenses. 9.18 The reduction in the Loans Fund advance repayments of £18.9m is the result the Council benefiting from the implementation of Finance Circular 05/2022 (Statutory Repayment of Debt – Short Term Financial Flexibility). 9.19 The Council sets interest rate exposure limits to manage the Council’s exposure to the effects of interest rate changes by limiting the amount of total loans whose interest rate is not fixed. Table 11 shows the interest exposure at 31 March 2023. During 2022/2023 at no point were the limits breached with the average levels being below the upper limits for fixed rate exposure. Maturity Structure of Borrowing <12m 12m to 2yrs 2 to 5yrs 5 to 10yrs 10 to 20yrs 20 to 40yrs >40 yrs Upper Limit on Fixed Rate debt 15.0% 15.0% 25.0% 30.0% 35.0% 45.0% 30.0% Lower Limit on Fixed Rate debt 0.0% 0.0% 5.0% 5.0% 5.0% 10.0% 5.0% 2022/2023 Average Profile 7.6% 4.6% 12.4% 13.0% 20.9% 36.0% 5.4% Maturity Structure at 31/03/2023 6.1% 4.1% 13.6% 15.3% 21.7% 34.1% 5.1% Table 11 Page 113 of 295
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Treasury Management Annual Activity Report 2022/2023 Appendix 1 10. Temporary Funds Investment Performance 10.1 During 2022/2023 the primary principle governing Council investment criteria was the security of the investment. After this, the Council ensured that it held sufficient liquidity in its investments, carefully selecting the maximum periods for which funds could prudently be committed whilst also applying the Council’s prudential and treasury management indicators covering the maximum principal sums invested. 10.2 The Council complied fully with the ratings criteria outlined within the 2022/2023 Treasury Management Strategy, minimising risk in this area by adopting a Lowest Common Denominator (LCD) approach having a criteria-based counterparty list. This restricted the Council to only using those counterparties that met a pre-determined credit-rating level, to which monetary limits were applied. This meant that the counterparty had to meet all the relevant rating requirements being assessed by its weakest set of ratings, rather than the strongest. 10.3 Throughout 2022/2023 the Council continued to utilise the research of the world’s foremost providers of independent credit ratings (Fitch, Moodys and Standard & Poors). The ratings provided by these bodies define the likelihood of an investor such as the Council receiving their money back on the terms in which it was invested. 10.4 The credit ratings of counterparties were monitored regularly. The Council receives credit rating information from Arlingclose (the Council’s advisors) as and when ratings change and the counterparties are checked promptly. If a ratings change results in a counterparty failing to meet the Council’s strict criteria they are removed immediately from the list. Similarly if a counterparty rating is updated and they meet the Council’s strict criteria they would be added to the list. 10.5 To supplement credit rating information the Council used other operational market information in line with good practice identified within the Code of Practice this includes: • Credit Default swap prices • Quality financial press • Share prices • Government support status • Annual Reports • Statements to the market 10.6 In 2022/2023 the Council’s borrowing strategy assisted in minimising counterparty exposure to the financial markets, the Council strategically deciding the timing of temporary borrowing and longer term borrowing, taking into account the levels of liquidity in conjunction with efficient cashflow management techniques and balance sheet analysis. 10.7 The approved 2022/2023 Treasury Management Strategy enabled investment activity for a period up to a maximum limit of 364 days and for certain types of investment up to 30 years, for permitted investments per the investment strategy. In ‘normal’ market circumstances the Council, would identify its liquidity requirements and the core funds within its daily balances that could be locked in over a longer period, thus achieving the optimum performance, spreading investment periods and security of return, subject to the overriding credit counterparty security. 10.8 During 2022/2023, the Council, restricted its maximum investment periods to approximately three months, with in reality this period being even shorter. In terms of investment types the Council primarily deposited funds in call, instant access accounts and money market funds, dealing directly with approved UK financial institutions. These accounts offered greater liquidity whereby the Council is allowed instant access whilst still being offered relatively attractive interest rates compared to sector averages. 10.9 A comparison of North Lanarkshire Council investment performance for the period April 2022 to March 2023 is shown in the graph below. Page 114 of 295
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Treasury Management Annual Activity Report 2022/2023 Appendix 1 10.10 As shown in the graph above, the overnight market bid rates rose steadily through the year in response to the increasing of the Bank of England Bank Rate which peaked at 4.25% at the end of March. Short-dated cash rates, which had ranged between 0.7% - 1.5% at the beginning of April, rose by around 3.5% for overnight/7-day maturities. By end March 2023, the rates on DMADF overnight deposits was 4.05%. The return on the Council’s sterling Low Volatility Net Asset Value (LVNAV) Money Market Funds ranged between 0.55% - 0.68% at end April and between 3.99% and 4.08% at the end of March. As a result, the Council managed to achieve a positive return on its investments. With security and liquidity key factors considered when determining cash-flow requirements and investment opportunities, the Council only utilised overnight investment options during 2022/23 using its approved counterparties. Despite this, the Council continued to demonstrate good performance levels in investment activity when compared to these reliable benchmarks for assessing performance on temporary investments. 10.11 During 2022/2023, positive cashflows enabled short-term investments in total of £1.418 billion to be undertaken whilst during the same period, £1.454 billion of short-term investments matured representing over £2.827 billion in investment activity. 10.12 The graph below shows the average level of investment balances held throughout 2022/2023, managed on a weekly basis in accordance with the investment strategy, adhering to the underlying principle of security liquidity and yield supported by robust cashflow management. -0.15% 0.35% 0.85% 1.35% 1.85% 2.35% 2.85% 3.35% 3.85% 4.35% Interest Rate 2022/23 Comparison of NLC Average Interest Rates to the average Overnight, and 7 Day Bid rates NLC Interest Rate OVERNIGHT SONIA Rate 7 Day SONIA BID Rate Page 115 of 295
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Treasury Management Annual Activity Report 2022/2023 Appendix 1 10.13 Investment balance levels, forming part of the cash and cash equivalents, are influenced by a number of factors. Liquidity is monitored in conjunction with the Councils cashflow management reporting system, to manage and forecast future cash balances available to support the investment and borrowing strategy. 10.14 The Council prides itself on its cashflow management approach with receipts and payments data recorded daily with forecasts of cash balances readily available. The cashflow incorporating actual and estimated diary entries for a number of variables including: 10.15 At 31 March 2023, the total balance of cash and cash equivalents amounted to approximately £75.6m, a decrease of £38.7m from last year’s position. A detailed breakdown is provided below in Table 12, elements of which have been referenced throughout this report. Cash and Cash Equivalents at 31/03/2022 £114.3m 2022/2023 Borrowing for Capital Expenditure purposes (£120.5m) Cash Outflow Repayments of Maturing Long-term debt (£60.7m) Cash Outflow Finance Lease Principal repayments (£7.0m) Cash Outflow Scheduled principal repayments from service departments £7.0m Cash Inflow New Long-term borrowing £77.4m Cash Inflow Increase/(Decrease) in Temporary borrowing (<1yr) £49.9m Cash Inflow Increase/(Decrease) in Revenue Reserves & Cash Balances £16.3m Cash Inflow Cash and Cash Equivalents at 31/03/2023 £75.6m Movement in year (£38.7m) Table 12 10.16 Cash and cash equivalents are represented by cash in hand and deposits held with financial institutions repayable without penalty on notice of not more than 24 hours including call £0 £20,000,000 £40,000,000 £60,000,000 £80,000,000 £100,000,000 £120,000,000 £140,000,000 1 5 9 13 17 21 25 29 33 37 41 45 49 Weeks 1 - 52 Average Weekly Investment Balances held during 2022/2023 • Payments to Suppliers • Precept Payments • House Rents • Staff Salaries & Wages • Loan Repayments and Interest • Council Tax • General Government Grants • Sales Fees & Charges • DWP Payments Page 116 of 295
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Treasury Management Annual Activity Report 2022/2023 Appendix 1 accounts and money market funds. This also includes investments that mature in three months or less from the date of acquisition provided they are assessed as readily convertible to known amounts of cash with an insignificant risk of a change in value. The Council’s bank overdraft is also included as this is treated as an integral part of the council’s day to day cash management procedures. 11. Leasing 11.1 During 2022/23 the Council used external borrowing to fund its vehicle requirements with no vehicles, plant and equipment being acquired under operational leasing agreements in 2022/23. 11.2 At 31 March 2023, the Council is committed to making minimum lease payments of approximately £1.9m under finance leases with £0.3m due in the next 12 months. These payments comprise settlement of the long-term liability for the interest in the asset and the finance costs that will be payable by the Council in future years while the liability remains outstanding. 11.3 During the year, the Council, for the remaining operating leases for vehicles, plant and equipment, made actual payments of £3.9m, met from the revenue budget. 12. Soft Loans 12.1 Within the Council’s 2022/2023 annual accounts, the Council has recorded a net amount receivable of £2.494m from service users receiving Social Care for which a charging order has been placed on the recipient’s property as a method of recovering the debt. 12.2 For these amounts payable the Council is charging interest at less than the market rate applicable for similar advances and as such these balances are notionally recognised as soft loans. However, on grounds of materiality, no adjustment for loss of interest has been made to the balances reported within the annual accounts. 13. Financial Guarantee 13.1 In 2013/2014 the Council agreed to provide North Lanarkshire Properties LLP (NLP LLP) with a financial guarantee, underwriting the debt service costs of the NLP LLP loan of £45.0m to the lender, up to a limit of 80% of the total debt service costs. The Council considers the likelihood of the guarantee being called as minimal. However, the Council, in recognition of this financial guarantee made an initial provision of £1.1m which is assessed annually with a prudent provision being £0.055m at 31 March 2023. 13.2 The financial impact upon the Council of providing this guarantee is negated as the Council has agreed with the NLP LLP that a premium is payable to the Council for providing this guarantee, paid in annual instalments, on a fair value basis, over the term of the loan. The Council has therefore included a short-term debtor of £0.055m within the Balance Sheet to reflect this arrangement. 14. Treasury Management Advisory Service 14.1 During 2022/2023 the Council in line with the recommendations of the CIPFA Code of Practice for Treasury Management continued to use Arlingclose Ltd to provide, as required, additional specialist skills and resources in managing the Council’s loan debt and investment portfolio including strategic, economic advice and assistance with the investment policy. The current contract due to run until 1 July 2024 after the Council exercised its the option of a one-year extension. 15. Policy on Repayment of Loans Fund Advances 2022/2023 15.1 The Local Authority (Capital Finance and Accounting) (Scotland) Regulations 2016 within Regulation 13 require the Council to make a loans fund advance equal to the amount of capital expenditure that the Council has determined will be financed by borrowing. The timing of the borrowing being in accordance with treasury management principles with the timing not informing when a loans funds advance has been made. The Capital Expenditure definition being that adopted by proper accounting practice, the statutory control framework and the Prudential Code. Page 117 of 295
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Treasury Management Annual Activity Report 2022/2023 Appendix 1 15.2 The statutory guidance requires the Council to approve a policy on loans fund repayments each year. After carrying out an in-house review of the existing Loans Fund Advance Repayment Policy, in light of the legislation, towards the end of the financial year 2019/2020, it was decided that to support this exercise that the Council appoint Link Asset Services (LAS) to carry-out a fuller review of the Council’s loan fund repayment model in 2020/21. LAS had specific expertise in this area and had carried out similar process for a number of other Scottish Local Authorities. 15.3 The main objective of the review was to explore options to re-profile loans fund repayments in order to assist with a prudent, sustainable and deliverable medium-term financial plan, whilst ensuring that the provision remains prudent and appropriate to the benefits that accrue to the community from the associated expenditure and is consistent with the prudential framework. 15.4 Following the review exercise being completed, a revised approach was recommended which was approved at the Finance and Resources Committee on the 26 November 2020 with further updates provided within the Treasury Management Strategy 2023/24 and Prudential Indicators 2023/2024 to 2025/2026 report approved at the Finance and Resources Committee on the 1 March 2023. 15.5 The revised approach adopts provisions within the 2016 Regulations which allow a local authority to subsequently vary either the period or the amount of the repayment (or both) if it considers it prudent to do so. Loans Fund Repayment Holiday 15.6 The statutory arrangements for the repayment of borrowing in Scotland, requires the Council to make an annual repayment of debt which it considers prudent. As an exceptional measure the Scottish Government had confirmed they would allow Councils to take a loans fund repayment holiday, the maximum permitted being the planned repayment for 2022/23, which the Council would be required to repay within the period of the loan fund advance, but where the loan period exceeds 20 years, within 20 years. 15.7 This flexibility was confirmed through Finance Circular 5/2022 (Statutory Repayment of Debt – Short Term Financial Flexibility) which afforded the Council the flexibility to defer statutory repayment of loans fund advances payable within 2022/23 available. This flexibility resulted in a deferral of loan charges of £18.6m across General Fund and HRA and will be repaid depending on the specific loan advances by the shorter of either the remaining period of the loans fund advance, or a maximum of twenty years from the end of 2022/23. 16. Regulatory Framework, Risk and Performance 16.1 The Council’s treasury management activities are regulated by a variety of professional codes and statutes and guidance. 16.2 The Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 (the Act) provides the powers to borrow and invest as well as providing controls and limits on this activity. The Act permits Scottish Ministers to set limits either on the Council or nationally on all local authorities restricting the amount of borrowing which may be undertaken (although no restrictions were made in 2021/2022). 16.3 Statutory Instrument (SSI) 29 2003 develops the controls and powers within the Act. The SSI requires the Council to undertake any borrowing activity with regard to the CIPFA Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities. It also requires the Council to operate the overall treasury function with regard to the CIPFA Code of Practice for Treasury Management in the Public Services. 16.4 The Council continues to meet the conditions to opt up to professional status and has done so in order to maintain this MiFID II status. The Council’s ability to opt up is due to it having an investment balance of at least £10 million and the person(s) authorised to make investment decisions on behalf of the authority have at least a year’s relevant professional experience and the expertise, experience and knowledge to make investment decisions and understand the risks involved. This status allows the Authority to access a greater range of products including money market funds, pooled funds, treasury bills, bonds and shares. 16.5 The Council has complied with all of the above relevant statutory and regulatory requirements. This limits the levels of risk associated with its treasury management activities. In particular, Page 118 of 295
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Treasury Management Annual Activity Report 2022/2023 Appendix 1 its adoption and implementation of both the Prudential Code and the Code of Practice for Treasury Management means that its capital expenditure is prudent, affordable and sustainable and its treasury practices demonstrate a low risk approach. 16.6 The Council is aware of the risks of passive management of the treasury portfolio and has proactively managed its treasury management position. The Council has continued to monitor movements in interest rates and has complied with its internal and external procedural requirements. There is little risk of volatility of costs in the current debt portfolio as the interest rates are mainly fixed, however new borrowing to support capital investment will result in higher borrowing costs due to increasing interest rates. Shorter-term rates and likely future movements in these rates predominantly determine the Council’s investment return. Since these returns can be volatile, accurately forecasting future returns can be difficult and the treasury management section monitor and manage the surplus balances available for investment by efficient cashflow and liquidity management. 16.7 Overall the approach adopted by the Council’s Treasury Management section throughout the year under review met the key requirements of the 2022/2023 Treasury Management Strategy with the performance and results described above demonstrating the effectiveness of the Council’s Treasury Management activity. Page 119 of 295
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Finance and Resources Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref EK/KS Date 13/09/23 2022/23 Annual Outturn From Elaine Kemp, Chief Officer (Finance) E-mail kempe@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 01698 302408 Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to inform Committee that the annual statutory accounts of the Council for the year ended 31 March 2023 were reported to the Audit and Scrutiny Panel at its meeting of 29 June and subsequently submitted to the Council’s External Auditors, Audit Scotland, by the statutory date of 30 June before being published on the Council’s website. This report also updates Committee on the overall position for the General Fund Account and explains any major variations against the Council’s annual budget for the year 2022/23. An overall summary on the Housing Revenue Account is also provided. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance and Resources Committee: (1) Acknowledge the contents of the report. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement (25) Ensure intelligent use of data and information to support fully evidence based decision making and future planning AGENDA ITEM 11 Page 121 of 295
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1. Background 1.1. The Annual Accounts demonstrate the Council’s stewardship of the public funds with which it is entrusted. The Annual Accounts are prepared in accordance with the Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the United Kingdom. The Local Authority Accounts (Scotland) Regulations, require the Council to submit a set of unaudited accounts to its external auditors, Audit Scotland, by 30 June following the end of the financial year. 1.2. In addition, the Council’s approved Financial Regulations require Council Services to remain within the approved budgetary provision, and to report all significant deviations within their budget monitoring reports. 2. Report 2.1 The 2022/23 Unaudited Accounts were presented to Audit and Scrutiny Panel on 29 June 2023. Following the meeting the accounts were submitted formally to Audit Scotland and subsequently published on the Council’s website for public inspection. 2.2 The General Fund outturned with a surplus of £13.608m which has been added to the surplus of £236.264m brought forward from 2021/22, resulting in an overall surplus to be carried forward into 2023/24 of £249.872m. 2.3 The carried forward General Fund Surplus is represented by £28.115m held in the Change Management Fund in order to provide for the anticipated one-off costs of approved savings, £174.730m of earmarked funds held for specific future service commitments and a balance of £8.000m maintained as the approved contingency fund. This leaves an unallocated balance of £39.027m. 2022/23 Earmarked Funds £m £m Change Management Fund 28.115 Schools Future Contractual Obligations 56.683 2023/24 Budget One-off Use of Balances 21.075 Strategic Workforce Planning 13.000 Temporary Teachers 10.928 Temporary Accommodation 9.288 Early Years & Childcare Expansion 7.312 Refugee Resettlement Programmes 5.699 Loans Charges – One-off Mitigation 5.000 Non-Pay Inflation Mitigation 4.902 Unmanaged burdens within Education, Children & Families 4.755 Other E&C Service Developments 4.185 Pupil Equity Fund 3.851 Balances held by Schools under Devolved School Management 3.724 Economic Recovery 3.554 Whole Family Wellbeing 2.584 Winter Reserve 1.500 Business Gateway and Business Recovery 1.379 Rapid Rehousing 1.081 Other Earmarked Funds 14.230 174.730 Contingency Fund 8.000 Unallocated Balance 39.027 General Fund Surplus as at 31 March 2023 249.872 Page 122 of 295
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2.4 The provisional outturn report indicated a General Fund surplus of £22.228m. When compared with a final outturn surplus of £13.608m there has been a movement of £8.620m. This is largely represented by the use of 2022/23 earmarked reserves of £48.834m which includes the £6.000m use of balances approved as part of the 2022/23 budget setting process. This is offset by approved earmarked reserves for use in future years of £33.519m. Further to this, the movement includes an increased surplus is relation to Loan Debt Holiday impact of £8.727m. This leaves a further movement from the provisional outturn position of £2.032m which relates to a number of smaller movements across all services. 2.5 In addition, the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) reported a £2.067m surplus position at provisional outturn. This position differs from the final outturn of £6.822m surplus which recognises the use of earmarked reserves in year of £5.037m and the impact of the Loan Debt Holiday of £9.792m. The in year surplus has increased the balance brought forward resulting in a cumulative surplus of £26.318m. Of this surplus, £11.304m has already been approved for specific purposes including £4.385m for Council Ambition; £2.500m for the HRA capital energy efficiency programme; and £1.470m set aside for an approved contingency fund. This leaves an unallocated balance of £15.014m. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The Council continues to operate within approved budgeted resources. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 No appendices Elaine Kemp Chief Officer (Finance) Page 123 of 295
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5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 124 of 295
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Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? 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 125 of 295
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Finance and Resources Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref EK/GT Date 13/09/23 Revenues and Benefits Update From Elaine Kemp, Chief Officer (Finance) E-mail kempe@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 01698 302408 Executive Summary This report provides an update on the performance within the Revenues and Benefits functions of Financial Solutions as at 30 June 2023. Key points to note include: • As at 30 June 2023, 28.89% of Council Tax due for 2023/24 had been collected. This is a decrease of 5.34% on the same period last financial year linked to the Cost of Living award of £150 received by many households during 2022/23. • Non-Domestic Rates collection has shown a year-on-year increase from 16.32% to 30 June 2022 to 20.65% to 30 June 2023. • The service continues to meet statutory timescales for administering benefits applications and changes of circumstance. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance and Resources Committee: (1) Acknowledges the content of the report. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Ambition statement (21) Continue to identify and access opportunities to leverage additional resources to support our ambitions AGENDA ITEM 12 Page 127 of 295
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1. Background 1.1 The Finance service is responsible for the administration and collection of all local taxation in North Lanarkshire in the form of Council Tax and Non Domestic Rates. 1.2 In addition, the service administers a number of Benefits for residents of North Lanarkshire including Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction, Scottish Welfare Fund, Discretionary Housing Payment, Free School Meals, and Clothing Grants. 2. Report Council Tax 2.1 The graph below shows the cash collected at 30 June for each financial year. It is worth noting that cash is allocated to specific Council Tax years so the graph represents cash received against the initial billing year (i.e. billed and received in 2023/24) and does not include cash collected in subsequent years (i.e. billed in 2022/23 but received in 2023/24). This ensures a like for like comparison. 2.2 The collection figure for the current financial year of 28.89% is 5.34% lower than the same period last financial year. However, the prior year collection figure benefited from the impact of the Scottish Government’s Cost of Living Award of £150 for eligible households with total cash received of £18.6m improving the in year collection figure. A comparison with 2021/22 shows a marginal decrease of 0.02% with the current year collection rate trending above that seen in 2019/20 and 2020/21. 2.3 It should be noted that in-year collection of Council Tax is a Statutory Performance Indicator. However, it does not reflect the overall collection rate of Council Tax which includes collection of prior year arrears. This latter measure has a greater bearing on the Council’s finances and is reflected in the regular budget monitoring reports to Committee. Non-Domestic Rates 2.4 The following graph shows the cash collected at 30 June for each financial year: 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Percentage of annual billing collected (%) Financial Year Council Tax Collection Rate at 30 June Page 128 of 295
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2.5 The collection figure for 2023/24 at 30 June is 20.65%; 4.33% higher than the same period last financial year; demonstrating greater in year collection for NDR during 2023/24. Revised recovery processes for Non-Domestic Rates were implemented during 2022/23 which has led to earlier recovery action in the financial year. This earlier engagement with businesses has improved overall collection rates. Housing Benefits 2.6 The data below highlights the Statutory Performance Indicators measuring the speed of processing for new Housing Benefit claims and for changes in circumstances. The table shows the cumulative figures for the year to 30 June 2023. The Scottish average comparator is based on the latest information published by DWP at Q4 2022/23. Days to Process 2022/23 2023/24 Latest available Scottish average New Claims 13 16 17 Change of Circumstances 6 9 3 2.7 The service continues to perform well in the speed of processing for new claims compared to the most recent Scottish average. The service also continues to meet statutory requirements for the speed of processing changes of circumstance. Performance so far is the current financial year has been affected by both increasing demand and a number of staff vacancies. To further improve efficiency the service is progressing a number of digital related improvements such as development of the Landlord Portal and robotic process automation for a number of high-volume tasks. Once live it is anticipated that these actions will improve processing times. Council Tax Reduction Scheme 2.8 As at 30 June 2023 a total of £25.852m in Council Tax Reduction has been awarded for the 2023/24 financial year. This compares to £24.525m to the same period during 2022/23, representing an increase of £1.327m (5.4%). 2.9 The service received 1,965 applications between 1 April and 30 June 2023 compared with 1,899 during the same period during 2022/23, representing an increase of 3.5%. 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24Percentage of annual billing collected (%) Financial Year Non Domestic Rates Collection Rate at 30 June Page 129 of 295
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2.10 The service received an increased number of notifications for changes in circumstances. From 1 April to 30 June 2023 a total of 35,755 changes were processed compared to 33,465 during the same period in 2022/23; an increase of 6.8% albeit below historical levels. Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) 2.11 From 1 April 2017 funding for DHP has been devolved to Scottish Government. This funding supports both the Scottish Government’s commitment to fully fund the implications of the Bedroom Tax and an additional sum available for other reasons such as the Benefit cap and the restrictions on Local Housing Allowance rates. 2.12 From 1 January 2023 the Scottish Government is fully funding the implications of mitigating the benefit cap. This was announced as part of the tackling child poverty delivery plan ‘Best Start, Bright Futures’ in March 2022. Local authority Leaders have agreed to fuller benefit cap mitigation through the DHP scheme from 1st January 2023. For 2023/24 the Scottish Government has provided funding of £0.301m to mitigate the benefit cap. As at 30 June 2023 the amount paid and committed in respect of the benefit cap was £0.072m 2.13 As at 30 June 2023 the total paid in respect of Bedroom Tax was £5.135m. In comparison this sum was £4.948m as at the same point in 2022. 2.14 In addition the Council also receives £0.467m in respect of non-bedroom tax related issues. A further £0.122m has been carried forward from the previous financial year and an additional £0.109m has been received for 2023/24 bringing the total budget for the current financial year to £0.698m. As at 30 June 2023 £0.167m (24%) has been paid or committed from the fund. 2.15 The Service will continue to liaise with colleagues in Housing Solutions and Housing Associations to encourage applications to the fund. Scottish Welfare Fund 2.16 The Council has administered the Scottish Government’s Scottish Welfare Fund (SWF) since 1 April 2016. 2.17 The Scottish Government provides an annual award budget of £2.760m to North Lanarkshire Council. A further £1.518m one-off funding has been allocated following a decision of the Wellbeing and Tackling Poverty Committee on 5 May 2023. Therefore, the total award budget for 2023/24 is £4.278m. It is hoped that this additional one-off allocation will allow the fund to remain at Medium priority level for much of 2023/24 but this will be kept under continual review. 2.18 There are two grant schemes and their relative performance during 2023/24 and prior year comparison is as follows: 2023/24 Applications Assessed Awards Unsuccessful Applications Acceptance Rate Crisis Grants 4,940 3,411 1,529 69.0% Community Care Grants 1,533 1,143 390 74.6% Total 6,473 4,554 1,919 70.4% Page 130 of 295
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2022/23 Applications Assessed Awards Unsuccessful Applications Acceptance Rate Crisis Grants 4,315 3,078 1,237 71.3% Community Care Grants 1,115 765 350 68.6% Total 5,430 3,843 1,587 70.8% 2.19 As at 30 June 2023, the total financial value of grants paid from the Scottish Welfare Fund amounted to £1.412m which represents 33% of the total budget for the current financial year. 2.20 During 2023/24, the Scottish Welfare Fund has seen a significant increase in demand with an increase of 14% Crisis applications and 37% Community Care Grant applications assessed to 30 June in the current financial year compared to the previous financial year. 2.21 Despite increasing demand, the Service continues to assess applications within the timescales outlined within Scottish Government guidance. Crisis applications are assessed within the two working day time limit and Community Care Grants within the fifteen working day limit recommended by the Scottish Government. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Continuous improvement in processing and collection rates. 4. Supporting documentation None Elaine Kemp Chief Officer (Finance) Page 131 of 295
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5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 132 of 295
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Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? 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 133 of 295
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Finance and Resources Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref EK/KS Date 13/09/23 Review of 2023/24 to 2025/26 Budget Savings From Elaine Kemp, Chief Officer (Finance) E-mail kempe@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 280601 Executive Summary This report provides the Finance and Resources Committee with an update on the achievement of the three-year financial savings total of £15.143m approved as part of the 2023/24 budget setting process (£7.486m 2023/24, £4.047m 2024/25 and £3.610m 2025/26). It is projected that £7.418m of the 2023/24 savings (99%) will be delivered within the financial year, with replacement savings identified to fully address the shortfall of £0.068m. In addition, it is currently anticipated that there will be no recurring savings gap arising from the 2023/24 to 2025/26 approved savings. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance and Resources Committee: (1) Acknowledge the contents of this report. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement (25) Ensure intelligent use of data and information to support fully evidence based decision making and future planning AGENDA ITEM 13 Page 135 of 295
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1. Background 1.1. At its meeting of 23 February 2023, the Council approved a General Fund Revenue Budget of £978.624m which included spend offset by ring fenced grants of £50.586m and capital grant funding in lieu of pay award funding of £7.726m. Additional funding has since been confirmed as part of the Scottish Government budget setting, including additional directed funding for pay awards, resulting in an overall total budget of £940.090m. 1.2. Net savings totalling £7.951m were agreed at the budget set on 23 February 2023, with £0.976m incorporated into the 2023/24 budget and the balance £6.975 over 2024/25 and 2025/26. The budget also includes £7.192m of base budget adjustments over the three-year period, £6.510m of which will be realised in 2023/24. 1.3. Services are required to monitor the delivery of their target savings to ensure they remain within approved budgets and provide periodic progress updates within individual Service revenue monitoring reports, identifying alternative solutions to any in-year shortfall envisaged. In addition, Services are required to monitor whether the original approved saving has been implemented and if not, provide an explanation along with alternative action required to ensure the recurring financial saving will be achieved going forward. 1.4. This report summarises the progress in achieving the three-year approved savings for 2023/24 to 2025/26. 2. Report Update on Approved 2023/24 to 2025/26 Savings 2.1 A summary of the three-year approved savings is provided at appendix 1 along with the current forecast of savings achievable for each of the years. 2.2 It is currently anticipated that £7.418m (99%) of approved 2023/24 savings of £7.486m will be achieved in the current financial year, leaving an in-year savings gap of £0.068m. Replacement Savings had been identified to fully address the shortfall this includes management action such as control of vacancies and curtailment of spend in other budgets. More information on the savings unachievable within 2023/24 are detailed at appendix 2. It should be noted that there is no anticipated recurring budget impact as a result of the in-year savings gap. 2.3 At this early stage there is no anticipated delay or shortfall expected in relation to future year savings, however these will continue to be monitored with updates reported to Committee as appropriate. 2.4 However, it should be noted that in order to support the transition to the new Early Years operating model (total approved savings of £3.000m across 2024/25 and 2025/26), the Service will recruit up to 98 temporary staff on short term contracts during 2023/24. The recruitment of these temporary staff will ensure there will be no diminution of statutory staff: pupil ratios during the vacancy gap that will occur as a result of existing staff who have elected to take VRS departing the Service, and new permanent employees being appointed. This action will ensure nursery provision will continue on a business as usual basis for pupils and parents. The cost of the temporary staff will be met from the Early Years earmarked reserve. Page 136 of 295
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3. Measures of success 3.1 The Council continues to operate within approved budgeted resources. 4. Supporting documentation Appendix 1 Approved 3 Year Savings Summary Appendix 2 Budget Savings by Exception 2023/24 Elaine Kemp Chief Officer (Finance) Page 137 of 295
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5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 138 of 295
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Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? 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 139 of 295
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Service Approved Saving £m Projected Savings £m In-year Savings Gap £m Recurring Gap £m Approved Saving £m Projected Savings £m In-year Savings Gap £m Recurring Gap £m Approved Saving £m Projected Savings £m In-year Savings Gap £m Recurring Gap £m Approved Saving £m Projected Savings £m In-year Savings Gap £m Recurring Gap £m Chief Executive's 0.127 0.127 0.000 0.000 0.125 0.125 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.252 0.252 0.000 0.000 Enterprise & Communities 2.133 2.065 0.068 0.000 0.230 0.230 0.000 0.000 0.210 0.210 0.000 0.000 2.573 2.505 0.068 0.000 Education & Families 1.226 1.226 0.000 0.000 3.692 3.692 0.000 0.000 3.400 3.400 0.000 0.000 8.318 8.318 0.000 0.000 Other Corporate 4.000 4.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 4.000 4.000 0.000 0.000 Total Service Savings 7.486 7.418 0.068 0.000 4.047 4.047 0.000 0.000 3.610 3.610 0.000 0.000 15.143 15.075 0.068 0.000 Appendix 1 North Lanarkshire Council Approved 3 Year Savings Summary Service Savings Monitoring TOTAL2025/262023/24 2024/25 Page 140 of 295
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Appendix 2 North Lanarkshire Council Review of Budget Savings by Exception 2023/24 Service Division Saving Detail Approved Saving £m Projected Savings £m In Year Savings Gap £m Recurring Gap £m E&C Community Operations Countryside Rangers - Income Generation 0.022 0.000 0.022 0.000 E&C Community Operations Greenspace Income - Increased charging for services 0.031 0.026 0.005 0.000 E&C Community Operations Protective - Reduction in Environmental Health resources 0.041 0.000 0.041 0.000 Total Savings 0.094 0.026 0.068 0.000 2023/24 Page 141 of 295
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Finance and Resources Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref EK/NL Date 13/09/23 General Debtors Write-Off 2023/24 From Elaine Kemp, Chief Officer (Finance) E-mail kempe@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 01698 302408 Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to present to Committee a summary of outstanding debtor accounts which are deemed uncollectable following all attempts at recovery or are not economically viable to pursue. The total value of these accounts is £382,567.06 which is an increase of £290,075.38 on the previous year. This increase is due to debt recovery activity returning to a business- as-usual model. For 18 months the staff in this area had been utilised to support the administration of Self Isolation Support Grants, the return of the team has enabled a full review of outstanding debt across the service. In accordance with financial guidelines a provision for expected credit losses has previously been established for the outstanding accounts highlighted in the report. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance and Resources Committee: (1) Acknowledge the decision of the Chief Officer (Finance) under delegated responsibilities to write off £62,781.21 for debts under £500. (2) Approve the write off of £319,785.85 which includes debts greater than £500. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve North Lanarkshire's resource base Ambition statement (21) Continue to identify and access opportunities to leverage additional resources to support our ambitions AGENDA ITEM 14 Page 143 of 295
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1. Background 1.1 The Council issues invoices annually with an approximate value of £106m. Of this approximately £6m relates to Finance, which mainly consists of: - • Strategy & Corporate Resources; • Home Insurance; and • Housing Benefits Overpayments 1.2 There will continue to be an appraisal of the outstanding balances to assess those which are deemed uncollectible. This annual process conforms to Best Practice and is underpinned by a systematic approach to recovery and a realistic assessment of the expected collection of outstanding balances. 2. Report 2.1 An analysis of the outstanding balances has been conducted and £382,567.06 has been identified as uncollectible. The write-off can be analysed and compared to the prior year as shown in the table below: 2022/23 2021/22 Benefit Overpayment £328,442.06 £92,491.68 Other Services £54,125.00 £00.00 Total £382,567.06 £92,491.68 2.2 The Chief Officer (Finance) has exercised powers under the Scheme of Delegation to write-off those balances which are under £500, which represents £62,781.21 of the sum identified in paragraph 2.1. 2.3 The increase in the debt proposed for write-off for 2023/24 compared to prior years is reflective of the increased debt recovery activity following the height of the Council’s Covid response. The Council’s focus has switched from supporting business grants and administering individual supports such as the Self Isolation Support Grant to return to a business as usual model, which has enabled a full review of outstanding debt including Housing Benefit Overpayments. 2.4 An analysis of the total write-off proposed is included in Appendix 1. As you will note there are a number of reasons why the outstanding balances are being written off and these are summarised below: • Deceased. The debtor is deceased and there have been insufficient funds within the estate to meet the sum due. • Liquidation/Sequestration. The debtor/business has been liquidated/sequestrated etc., and there is no prospect of recovery of funds. • No Trace/Gone Away. The debtor has been unable to be located and there is no prospect of recovery of funds. • Small Balances/Uneconomical to pursue. There are insufficient funds or no realisable assets that are available to meet the debt and it is uneconomical to continue to seek recovery of the sum due. Page 144 of 295
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• Recovery Exhausted. There are insufficient funds or no realisable assets that are available to meet the debt and all appropriate recovery opportunities have been exhausted. 2.5 Whilst approval is sought to write-off the sums within our financial systems the Council will continue to monitor the situation and if circumstances change then recovery of the sums due will be reassessed. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Debt recovery will remain a priority for the service however where necessary adequate provisions will be made for uncollectable debt to ensure there is no budgetary impact. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 – Debt Write-Off Summary Elaine Kemp Chief Officer (Finance) Page 145 of 295
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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 are no additional financial implications for the current year because a corresponding provision for expected credit losses has been included in previous year’s accounts. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 146 of 295
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5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services. 5.11 Children’s rights and wellbeing impact Does the report contain any information regarding any council activity, service delivery, policy, or plan that has an impact on children and young people up to the age of 18, or on a specific group of these? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact and the provision that has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the relevant Articles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 147 of 295
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APPENDIX 1 DEBT WRITE-OFF SUMMARY Cause Analysis £ Deceased 18,198.92 Liquidation/Sequestration etc. 31,279.77 Gone Away/No Trace 9,682.06 Small Balance/Uneconomic to pursue 3,964.00 Recovery Exhausted 319,442.31 Total 382,567.06 Value Analysis £ < £500 62,781.21 >£500 319,785.85 Total 382,567.06 Page 148 of 295
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Housing Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref GT / WO23 Date 30/08/23 General Debtors Write-Off 2023 From Derek Brown, Depute Chief Executive E-mail telferg@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07583 010692 1. Background 1.1 During 2022/23, the Council issued invoices with an approximate value of £106.643m. 1.2 Within Enterprise and Communities there are a number of chargeable services including: • Building cleaning • Fleet • Waste collection and disposal Executive Summary This report presents a summary of outstanding debtor accounts which are deemed uncollectable following all attempts at recovery or are considered uneconomically viable to continue pursuing. In accordance with financial guidelines a provision for expected credit losses has previously been established for the outstanding accounts. The total recommended for write-off for 2023/24 is £504,654.30. Recommendations It is recommended that Committee: (1) Acknowledges the decision of the Depute Chief Executive and the Chief Officer (Finance) to write-off debts under £500, totalling a figure of £191,846.20 under delegated responsibility; (2) Approves the write-off of all items over £500 to the value of £312,808.10; and (3) Remits this report to the Finance and Resources Committee. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve North Lanarkshire's resource base Ambition statement (21) Continue to identify and access opportunities to leverage additional resources to support our ambitions AGENDA ITEM 15 Page 149 of 295
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• Burials • Land rental charges • Rechargeable property repairs, and • Owner/occupier recharges 1.3 The value of Enterprise and Communities invoices raised during 2022/23 financial year was approximately £40.325m. In conjunction with the corporate debt recovery team, every effort is made to recover any unpaid debt including reminder letters, the use of collection agents and legal action. 1.4 However, despite these steps there are a number of debts that are deemed uncollectible or are considered not economically viable to engage further collection activities and costs. This annual process of assessing the likelihood of debt non- recovery conforms to accepted best accounting practice and is a reasonable assessment of expected income. 1.5 The Council will continue to seek collection of the outstanding balance if the circumstances of the debtor alter and recovery is deemed practical. 2. Report 2.1 Analysis of the outstanding balances has been conducted and £504,654.30 has been identified as uncollectable. 2.2 There are a number of reasons why the outstanding balances are being written off and these are summarised below:- a) Deceased. The debtor is deceased and there have been insufficient funds within the estate to meet the sum due. b) Liquidation/Sequestration. The debtor/business has been liquidated/sequestrated etc, and there is no prospect of recovery of funds. c) No Trace/Gone Away. The debtor has been unable to be located and there is no prospect of recovery of funds. d) Small Balances/Uneconomic to Pursue. There are insufficient funds or no realisable assets that are available to meet the debt and it is uneconomic to continue to seek recovery of the sum due. 2.3 The following tables categorise the value of debt recommended for write off by cause and value: Page 150 of 295
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Cause Analysis Total Number of accounts £ Deceased 64,412.75 100 Liquidations/Sequestrations etc 462.21 4 Gone Away/No Trace 49,713.11 114 Small Balances/Uneconomic to Pursue 125,676.73 880 Recovery Exhausted 264,389.50 676 Total 504,654.30 1,774 Value Analysis £ < £500 191,846.20 1,572 > £500 312,808.10 202 Total 504,654.30 1,774 2.4 The value of accounts identified for write-off represents a small proportion of the accounts raised annually by Enterprise and Communities (approximately 1.25%). This is reflective of a number of strategies adopted by the service including payment in advance for services where possible, withdrawal of services for non-paying debtors, facilitating payment by direct debit and, where appropriate, payment arrangements. 2.5 For comparison purposes, the total write-offs approved for Enterprise and Communities over the last three years were £173,976.02 for 2020, £282,580.61 for 2021 and £462,352.29 for 2022. The increase in the current write-off proposals can be largely attributable to the wider economic climate. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The Service continues to engage in a number of activities aimed at improving collection rates, reducing debt arising and streamlining the recovery process. These include: • Application of the approved Debtors Policy and associated debt recovery procedures • Performance management reports • Payment arrangements • Payment by direct debit • Payment in advance • Cessation of service provision 3.2 The Council will continue to seek collection of the outstanding balance if the circumstances of the debtor alter and recovery is deemed practical. Page 151 of 295
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4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Not applicable Derek Brown Depute Chief Executive Page 152 of 295
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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 are no additional financial implications linked to this report for the current financial year because a corresponding provision for expected credit losses has been included in the previous year’s annual accounts. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 153 of 295
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5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services. 5.11 Children’s rights and wellbeing impact Does the report contain any information regarding any council activity, service delivery, policy, or plan that has an impact on children and young people up to the age of 18, or on a specific group of these? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact and the provision that has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the relevant Articles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 154 of 295
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Adult Care and Social Work Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref DF/PMcA/AB Date 05/09/23 Sundry Debt Write Off 2023 From Diane Fraser, Chief Officer (Adult Social Work Services) E-mail fraserdi@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 01698 332001 1. Background 1.1 During 2022/23 the Council issued invoices with the approximate value of £105m. 1.2 Within Adult Health & Social Care there are a number of chargeable services mainly in the following areas: • Home Care Charges • Nursing Home and Residential Home Accommodation Charges • Community Alarms • As well as chargeable services, invoices are raised to other local authorities, health, and universities. Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to present to Committee a summary of outstanding debtor accounts which are deemed uncollectable following all attempts at recovery or are considered uneconomically viable to continue pursuing. In accordance with financial guidelines a bad debt provision has previously been established for the outstanding accounts highlighted below. Recommendations It is recommended that the Adult Care and Social Work Committee: (1) Endorse the decision of the Chief Accountable Officer and Head of Financial Solutions under delegated responsibilities to write off £9,013.89 for debts under £500. (2) Approve the write off of £167,917.13 which includes debts greater than £500. (3) Remit this report to Finance & Resources Committee. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve North Lanarkshire's resource base Ambition statement (21) Continue to identify and access opportunities to leverage additional resources to support our ambitions AGENDA ITEM 16 Page 155 of 295
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1.3 The value of Adult Health & Social Care invoices raised during 2022/23 was £64m. This figure includes invoices raised to other local authorities, health, and universities (£63m). 1.4 In conjunction with the corporate debt recovery team, every effort is made to recover any unpaid debt including reminder letters, the use of collection agents and legal action. However, despite these steps there are a number of debts that are deemed uncollectible or are considered not economically viable to engage further collection activities and costs. This annual process of assessing the likelihood of debt non- recovery conforms to accepted best accounting practice and is a realistic assessment of expected income. 1.5 The Council will continue to seek collection of the outstanding balance if the circumstances of the debtor alter, and recovery is deemed practical. 2. Report 2.1 Analysis of the outstanding balances has been conducted and £176,931.13. has been identified as uncollectable. 2.2 There are a number of reasons why the outstanding balances are being written off and these are summarised below: • Deceased. The debtor is deceased and there have been insufficient funds within the estate to meet the sum due. • Small Balances/Uneconomic to Pursue. There are insufficient funds or no realisable assets that are available to meet the debt and it is uneconomic to continue to seek recovery of the sum due. • Gone Away. The debtor has moved address and cannot be located. • Recovery exhausted. Despite all efforts the service has now been informed that these accounts will not be recovered. 2.3 The following tables categorise the value of debt recommended for write off by cause and value: Deceased 38 48,882.43 Small Balances/Uneconomic to Pursue 21 5,889.22 Gone Away 0 0 Recovery Exhausted 30 122,159.48 Total 89 176,931.13 Value Analysis < £500 62 9,013.89 > £500 27 167,917.24 Total 89 176,931.13 2.4 The value of accounts identified for write off represents a very small proportion of the accounts raised annually by Adult Health & Social Care. This is reflective of a number Page 156 of 295
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of activities aimed at improving collection rates, reducing debt arising and streamlining the recovery process. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The Service continues to engage in a number of activities aimed at improving collection rates, reducing debt arising and streaming the recovery process. 3.2 These include: • Implementation of Debt Recovery Procedures • Performance Management Reports • Payment Arrangements • Payment by Direct Debit 3.3 The Council will continue to seek collection of the outstanding balance if the circumstances of the debtor alter, and recovery is deemed practical. 4. Supporting documentation n/a Diane Fraser Chief Officer (Adult Social Work Services) Page 157 of 295
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5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 158 of 295
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Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? 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 159 of 295
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Education, Children and Families Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref: GMcL / TO’H Date 12/09/23 Annual Bad Debt Write-Off Exercise From: Gerard McLaughlin E-mail: McLaughlinG@northlan.gov.uk Telephone: 01698 812269 1. Background 1.1. Under delegated responsibilities, North Lanarkshire Council’s approved Financial Regulations require Chief Officers and the Chief Officer for Finance to approve the write-off of outstanding accounts of less than £500. In addition, the aligned parent Committee is required to approve the write-off of outstanding accounts due to the Council which are greater than £500. Executive Summary This report provides a summary of outstanding debtor accounts relating to previous financial years which are deemed either to be uncollectible following all attempts at recovery or, are not economically viable to continue pursuing. In accordance with Council’s Financial Regulations, a provision for expected credit losses has previously been established for the outstanding accounts. The total recommended for write-off for 2023/24 is £26,167.28. Recommendations It is recommended that the Education, Children and Families Committee: 1) Acknowledge the decision of the Chief Officer (Education North) and Chief Officer for Finance, under delegated responsibilities, to write-off a total of £5,567.07 for outstanding debtors accounts under £500. 2) Approve the write-off of £20,600.21 for outstanding debtors accounts over £500. 3) Remit the content of this report to the Finance and Resources Committee. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve North Lanarkshire's resource base Ambition statement (25) Ensure intelligent use of data and information to support fully evidence based decision making and future planning AGENDA ITEM 17 Page 161 of 295
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2. Report 2.1. Chargeable Activities and Recovery Actions 2.1.1. The Education, Children and Families Service provide a range of chargeable activities such as, but not limited to, membership and venue admission charges within the Active & Creative Communities estate; cross boundary and / or inter-authority charges for service provision within educational sectors; and educational leadership and training courses. 2.1.2. For context, during the 2022/23 financial year, the Education, Children and Families Service raised 733 invoices which had an aggregate total value of £2.993m. In conjunction with the Corporate Debt Recovery Team, every effort has been made by the Service to fully recover outstanding accounts including reminder correspondence, use of collection agents, and legal action. The value of the accounts identified for write- off in this report represent a small proportion (less than 1%) of the total value of invoices raised each year by the Service. 2.1.3. Despite these proactive actions, there are several accounts that have been deemed uncollectible and/or are considered not economically viable to engage in further collection initiatives. The annual process of assessing the likelihood of the non- recovery of debt conforms to accepted accounting best practice and is a realistic assessment of expected levels of future payment. 2.2. Analysis of Write-Off 2.2.1. A critical and in-depth analysis of the outstanding balances was conducted resulting in a write-off total of £26,167.28 represented by £5,567.07 (accounts < £500) and £20,600.21 (accounts > £500) respectively. 2.2.2. There are several reasons why the outstanding balances have been identified for the purposes of the annual write-off process. These are aggregated as follows: 1) Deceased The debtor is deceased and there have been insufficient funds within the estate to meet the outstanding sum due. 2) Recovery Exhausted All available avenues have been pursued and there is no prospect of recovery of funds. 3) Uneconomic to Pursue There are insufficient funds and/or no realisable assets that are available to meet the debt and it is uneconomic to continue to seek the outstanding sum due. 2.2.3. For additional information, the tables below provide an analysis of the proposed write- off by value (Table 1) and cause (Table 2) in line with the categories described previously. Page 162 of 295
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Table 1 VALUE £ No of Accounts < £500 5,567.07 23 > £500 20,600.21 6 TOTAL 26,167.28 29 Table 2 CAUSE £ No of Accounts Deceased 0 0 Recovery Exhausted 20,668.65 25 Uneconomic to Pursue 5,498.63 4 TOTAL 26,167.28 29 2.2.4. There are no new financial implications linked to this report in relation to the current financial year. The write off costs will be supported via the relevant financial provision outlined in the Council’s Annual Accounts. 3. Measures of success 3.1. The Corporate Debt Recovery Team and the Service will continue to monitor and review the volume and value of outstanding debts and seek recovery of all sums owed to the Council. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1. Not Applicable. Gerard McLaughlin Chief Officer (Education North) 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 Page 163 of 295
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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 stated within the main body of the report. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts 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? Page 164 of 295
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5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? The approach outlined in this report supports the Council’s actions in managing financial sustainability and financial management risks. Financial pressures and risks are reviewed on a regular basis by the Service Management Team (SMT), Business Management Team (BMT), Corporate Management Team (CMT) and Committee. 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 165 of 295
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Finance and Resources Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref KH/SL Date 13/09/23 Strategic Performance Framework - latest performance results for Business and Digital From Katrina Hassell, Chief Officer (Business and Digital) E-mail HassellK@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07903 096121 Executive Summary Business and Digital comprises two areas of activity that work corporately across the council: • Technology Strategy Solutions, who are responsible for the live delivery and operational management of technology solutions required to support services and schools in delivering front line day to day operations and in progressing activities which facilitate delivery of the council’s strategic place-based ambition. A key aspect of this area of activity is also the development of the technology estate, its solutions, and integrations with third party suppliers. • Business Strategy, who are responsible for driving business change, improvement, and service redesign in order to provide efficient and effective services in line with the council’s, and the North Lanarkshire Partnership’s, strategic aims and plans. This area of activity also includes measuring success against The Plan for North Lanarkshire and ensuring the established frameworks and supporting governance remains relevant and up to date. Business and Digital maintains a range of performance indicators which are monitored in various ways, including subject matter specific monthly review meetings as well as quarterly business management meeting discussions. These meetings make use of the evidence base provided by the performance results to inform discussions around the best use of resources and decide priorities in this respect, as well as to highlight areas requiring improvement. The service’s four weekly risk management meetings also consider the impact of performance achieved within critical areas of the service. For strategic overview and scrutiny purposes, this report provides Members of the Finance and Resources Committee with an update of the latest results for the suite of performance indicators used by Business and Digital to inform service delivery and underpin operational decisions. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance and Resources 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. AGENDA ITEM 18 Page 167 of 295
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The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement All ambition statements Page 168 of 295
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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, and governed. 1.2 These frameworks focus on ensuring a corporate one council approach in respect of Policy, Governance, Performance, Self-Evaluation, Project Management, and Demonstrating Improved Outcomes for Communities. 1.3 The Strategic Performance Framework comprises performance measurement at three levels (as per the diagram on the right). This aims to collectively provide an overview of performance to help understand the impact of council activities on improving services and outcomes for the people and communities of North Lanarkshire. The measures in this Framework allow for day to day activities, and progress towards achieving the long- term vision set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire, to be regularly monitored, reported, assessed, and scrutinised. 1.4 The Strategic Performance Framework is aligned to the Accounts Commission statutory direction which places a requirement on councils to report a range of information in terms of (1) improving local services and outcomes, and (2) demonstrating Best Value. Key points of note in this respect are that the Accounts Commission also expect to see: (a) A balance in reporting areas of improvement that have been achieved and not achieved. (b) Reporting that is undertaken in a timely manner. (c) Easy access to performance information for all citizens and communities. 1.5 A Performance Reporting Schedule supports the timely submission of a range of performance information that facilitates Elected Members and senior management to undertake regular performance reviews that inform scrutiny, challenge, and decision making processes. This Schedule, endorsed by the Audit and Scrutiny Panel in February 2023, includes Chief Officer’s individual six monthly Performance Reviews at Service Committees in line with the Strategic Performance Framework. 1.6 This report therefore presents the Finance and Resources with the latest performance results for Business and Digital for Members’ further review and scrutiny. 2. Strategic Performance Framework Finance and Resources Committee responsibilities 2.1 In line with the terms of reference outlined in the Scheme of Administration, the Finance and Resources Committee is responsible for monitoring and reviewing performance information for the following Ambition Statements from The Plan for North Lanarkshire: 18. Ensure our digital transformation is responsive to all people’s needs and enables access to the services they need. 24. Review and design services around people, communities, and shared resources. Page 169 of 295
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25. Ensure intelligent use of data and information to support fully evidence based decision making and future planning. 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 (Business and Digital). 2.3 The information in Appendix 1 comprises the following: • An ideal direction arrow - this indicates whether a higher or lower figure is the preferred direction of travel. • Measurement unit - for example whether the result is a %, a number, a unit cost (in £), or a ratio. • Performance results for the last five 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 five financial years and includes the most recent monthly or quarterly results where available. • Comments - narrative summarising the current position and providing an explanation for any significant variations in performance. Where applicable, this narrative also highlights the effect of the pandemic on service delivery, e.g. any increase or decrease in the volume of transactions or enquiries processed. 2.4 A large volume of data supports the high-level performance overview in Appendix 1. This is outlined in the latest performance results for Business and Digital Excel spreadsheet which is available through the following link for Members to carry out a deep dive and review and scrutinise each performance indicator further. The Menu on the second tab of the spreadsheet contains built in hyperlinks that automatically take the user to a tab for each performance indicator and therefore provides a useful navigation aid to review the contents of the file. • Latest performance results for Business and Digital.xlsx 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 last two years, while resuming business as usual activities at pace. A higher figure is better A lower figure is better Key to RAG status Performance is on target and/or within acceptable thresholds Performance does not meet target and is outwith acceptable thresholds Performance surpasses the target and exceeds expectations Page 170 of 295
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• The changing structure required following approval to insource those services previously outsourced to Wipro (supplier of the ICT service delivery contract), the alignment of service provision following the insourcing of culture, sport, and leisure services (previously delivered through Culture and Leisure NL Limited), and the final steps in the integration of the schools’ technician’s service. • Service specific advancements in terms of the procurement of the Connectivity project in December 2021. • The end of the contract with Agilisys in April 2022 and the ensuing significantly reduced resource available going into 2022/23. • The direction set for the service in the DigitalNL - Year 4 Roadmap report submitted to the Policy and Strategy Committee in September 2022 and the follow up DigitalNL - Next Steps report approved in December 2022. • The development of the Business and Digital Integrated Programme Plan which aims to capture all areas of activity across the service and serve as a guide to support resource planning and operational delivery, as well as the relevant project management and governance controls. Recent performance highlights 2.6 According to the Ofcom Connected Nations update, 98.6% of properties in North Lanarkshire receive superfast broadband - the 3rd highest of all 32 local authority areas in Scotland. Ofcom define superfast broadband as supporting download speeds of at least 30Mbit/s. Fibre connectivity - which requires fibre optic cabling which supports higher speeds than the copper cables used in traditional networks - is sitting at 30% across North Lanarkshire. The Connectivity contract currently being delivered aims to transform the area’s digital infrastructure and aim (by the summer of 2024) to ensure that 85% of homes across North Lanarkshire have access to gigabit capable broadband earlier than planned; to date 250 of the planned 340 kilometres of ultrafast, full fibre digital network has been laid. Areas of performance requiring improvement 2.7 As advised in the performance report to Finance and Resources Committee in March 2023, an area of activity under review has been that in relation to service desk incidents resolved within target. Following the insourcing of Wipro, this indicator was changed to capture all severity level 3 tickets in order to provide a more complete picture of all incidents that require to be resourced by the service. This has increased the volume of incidents recorded within this indicator and required a closer analysis of demand in order to fully understand the asks of the service and manage these in a way that takes into consideration all the related component parts of the service to be delivered as well as improvements required in the longer term (which can often result in an initial backlog of issues which require to be resolved in order to ensure a successful transition to a new approach). This analysis has helped to build up a picture to help understand demand and support resource allocation and the outcome from this analysis has been balanced against the need to prioritise workloads across the whole service, as opposed to the previous contractually driven model. This is essential in order to achieve a more agile and responsive approach that balances development, maintenance, and operational activities moving forward. The decision has therefore been taken to set a more realistic target moving forward that is based on recent trends and service capacity and adjust this figure to 85%. Page 171 of 295
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2.8 A system upgrade has temporarily impacted on the master citizen record (MCR) figures as at the 2022/23 year-end. The MCR is a list of citizens that the council has a relationship with, it identifies these customers across back-office systems to ensure that citizens get access to their own unique contact record when accessing digital services. This process is supported through a MyAccount verification. MyAccount is a free and secure sign-in service, providing a username and password to allow access to online digital services in North Lanarkshire and across Scotland. The work required to upgrade Multivue (which is the system that provides a single view of the citizen, i.e. the MCR, which is often known as the golden record) meant the connections to CRM Dynamics (the system which creates the contact record when MyAccounts are set up) had to be temporarily suspended to update configurations between the systems. This has temporarily impacted on the work that is undertaken between CRM Dynamics and Multivue routinely throughout the year in order to verify existing, and new, citizen records and ensure the golden record remains up to date and all personal data is accurate, current, and complies with data protection legislation. Once the connections between the systems are switched back on (by the end of the summer 2023) and the verification work can be brought up to date, the performance figures for the master citizen record (MCR) will be able to be updated accordingly. 2.9 As advised in the performance report to Finance and Resources Committee in March 2023, the complaints handling ratio was under review to ensure that the council remained proactive in responding to all routine complaints at the frontline at stage 1 (in line with the national local authority model Complaints Handling Procedure). Historical figures in this respect show that the council has consistently responded to 9 out of 10 complaints received at stage 1. However, the implementation of the new Dynamics complaints system, combined with a significant increase in the volume of complaints recorded, had impacted on the figures shown for 2021/22 when the ratio had dropped to 8 out of every 10 complaints. Following further analysis of the complaints performance data, and a series of discussions with the cross council Complaints Working Group, findings show that there was not an increase in the volume of complaints received by the council per se. The increase in volume in general reflects areas of service (i.e. social work and services within the arms’ lengths external organisations) which had not previously been included as part of the former Lagan complaints recording system, but were now being included in the new Dynamics complaints system. To delve deeper into the way complaints were being handled and the impact this was having on the ratio, a workshop with the cross council Complaints Working Group (which involves those responsible for co-ordinating complaints within their service) considered performance of complaints handling, as well as what was working well in terms of the process, what was not working well, and possible solutions. A number of areas for improvement were identified (such as training and awareness raising, maintaining consistency in complaints handling, and ensuring a common understanding of implementing the local authority model Complaints Handling Procedure in practice and the use of the Dynamics system) and an improvement plan is being developed for implementation by the Complaints Working Group during 2023/24. Next steps 2.10 As noted in paragraph 1.5, the Strategic Performance Framework is supported by a Performance Reporting Schedule. This sets out the arrangements for service, Page 172 of 295
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statutory, and Strategic Performance Framework reporting to committee. In this respect the relevant Committee can expect to receive the following in respect of Business and Digital areas of work during 2023/24. Report Description Committee Committee cycle Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO) annual report This report provides an update relating to the responsibilities of North Lanarkshire Council’s Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO) and outlines activity and performance related to information governance. It provides assurances that information risks are being effectively managed, what is going well, and where improvements can be made. It complements the data protection annual report by the council’s Data Protection Officer (DPO). • Latest report in February 2023: https://mars.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/egenda/images/ att99867.pdf Audit and Scrutiny Panel Cycle 1 in 2024 North Lanarkshire Community Planning Partnership - annual report The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 introduced a range of new requirements on local authorities and community planning partners to empower and strengthen community involvement in the design, planning, and delivery of local services. The statutory duty of community planning requires all public sector agencies to work collaboratively in agreeing both strategic and local priorities for their areas to improve outcomes and address poverty and inequalities. Community Planning Partnerships must also annually review and report on their progress. • Latest report in February 2023: https://mars.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/egenda/images/ att99827.pdf Communities Committee Cycle 1 in 2024 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 4.1 Appendix 1 - High-level performance overview Page 173 of 295
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5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 175 of 295
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Improvements in the presentation of performance information to various audiences is being advanced further in line with the development of the DigitalNL work package for the Business Intelligence Hub. 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? The implementation of the Strategic Performance Framework, and Member’s scrutiny of individual services therein, contributes towards the mitigation of the risks on the Corporate Risk Register for Governance, Leadership, and Decision Making and Managing Strategic Change. 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 176 of 295
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Appendix 1 Business and Digital High-level performance overview - as at July 2023 2023/24 ytd (for monthly or quarterly monitored indicators only) IT systems - number of priority 1 outages i082 lower figure is better number 69 80 27 34 45 60 blue blue 6 16 blue blue The number of occasions that a priority service (P1) has not been available to users decreased to 27 in 2020/21 after a high volume the previous three years. The level of system availability remained low and below target in 2021/22 with 34 outages in total. However performance has increased to 45 in 2022/23 and while this remains below target, it is the second consecutive increase. Following a review of the target (which was set in 2019) and considering the increasing age of the technology assets, the annual target has been reduced from 60 per year to 48 for 2023/24 (a decrease from 5 outages per month to 4). Service desk - % of all Severity Level 3 incidents resolved within target i083 higher figure is better % 97.4 96.0 94.4 92.7 76.0 95.0 red red 72.4 85.0 red red Prior to April 2022 this measure related to the performance of the service delivery partner Wipro before insourcing. From April 2022, performance monitoring was expanded to capture all Severity Level 3 tickets in order to provide a more accurate picture of all incidents that require to be resourced across the whole of Business and Digital. This is reflected in the increase in the volume of incidents to be resolved which was 6,933 in 2020/21 to 7,941 in 2021/22 to 11,802 in 2022/23. Performance against the target of 95% has been monitored since the insourcing and as it relates to the previous indicator measurement, this has now been updated to be more reflective of the current trends and resourcing requirements. Service desk calls - % respondents who replied to say they were satisfied with the service i084 higher figure is better % 99.6 99.6 99.6 99.4 97.3 95.0 green gre en 96.2 95.0 green gre en Customer satisfaction levels over the years have remained on a steady trend and above target. Prior to March 2022 a non response was counted as satisfied. After March 2022 only responses received (with a satisfied or disatisfied response) are counted. This has significantly reduced the volume of responses recorded within this indicator by more than 80%, with responses now averaging less than 400 per month (compared to over 3,000 prior to March 2022); however it does mean a more accurate record of satisfaction. It is a low response rate however (on average less than 6%) considering the volume of service desk calls now recorded in the indicator above. Service desk - % tickets logged through the self-help portal i128 higher figure is better % 3.5 6.8 6.2 53.0 58.4 n/a 58.9 70.0 red red New arrangements were implemented in May 2021 to push all non-critical traffic down a self-serve digital channel. This indicator monitors the usage of that channel and thus the effectiveness of the digital transformation. 58.4% of calls made in 2022/23 have been made through the portal, compared to 53% at the 2021/22 year year, and 6.2% at the 2020/21 year end. Usage of the portal has levelled out in recent months as the corporate estate is now fully enabled to utilise this functionality, thus impacting on the ability to further maximise usage of the portal. However, work is planned to enable primary schools to use the portal and maximise usage further, with a developer and partner now commissioned and reviewing requirements. To continue to monitor usage of the portal by the corporate estate and ensure this is maximised, a target has been set for 2023/24 onwards trend comments2018/19 unit of measureme nt 2023/24 RAG status (for monthly or quarterly monitored indicators only) 2023/24 ytd target 2022/23 RAG status ideal directionidIndicator 2022/23 target2022/232021/222020/212019/20 0 20 40 60 80 100 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 ytd 70.0 75.0 80.0 85.0 90.0 95.0 100.0 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 ytd 70.0 75.0 80.0 85.0 90.0 95.0 100.0 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 Page 177 of 295
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2023/24 ytd (for monthly or quarterly monitored indicators only) IT incidents i129 lower figure is better number 18,261 12,935 17,602 15,668 13,589 n/a 3,162 n/a The volume of corporate IT incidents has remained relatively steady over the years, with no significant trends occuring in the corporate or school estates. 2023/24 ytd data is as at June 2023. IT service requests i130 lower figure is better number 40,971 44,955 49,155 33,684 36,633 n/a 9,956 n/a The volume of corporate IT requests has remained relatively steady over the years, with no significant trends occuring in the corporate or school estates. 2023/24 ytd data is as at June 2023. Data protection - number of breaches i126 lower figure is better number 62 67 49 69 92 n/a 26 n/a The number of data breaches in 2022/23 (92) shows a 33% increase compared to the previous year. The volums of breaches and near misses are kept under review by the Data Governance Board, where any learning or remedial actions are identified; these are subsequently cascaded council wide through the Data Management Team. Due to a higher than usual increase in the volume of data breaches in 2022/23, an analysis was undertaken to ascertain the root cause. The increased volume was found mainly to be due to operating error (for example keeping details on systems up to date to avoid information being sent to wrong addresses, the use of auto-fill in Outlook, ensuring blank forms are sent to those that request them (and are not already completed with someone else’s details), ensuring the correct attachments for letters / e-mails, and the importance of knowing how to use Glow. Remedial action is undertaken as at the point the breach is found (i.e. staff training, learning from mistakes, and reiterating the need to avoid basic admin errors) to try and ensure the same issue does not recur. In addition, work is currently underway to address the dangers of auto-fill in Outlook. All Chief Officers, and the council's senior management team, are continuing to monitor employee uptake of the mandatory e-learning modules, including the module for information security awareness. There were 26 breaches in 2023/24 to date, as at June 2023. Data protection - number of near misses i127 lower figure is better number 1 2 4 5 2 n/a 1 n/a The volume of near misses has remained low over the years but this continues to be monitored by the council's Data Governance Board. There was 1 near miss in 2023/24 to date, as at June 2023. Master citizen record - % of NL population with a master citizen record Pi108 higher figure is better % 59.9 65.4 66.1 38.2 21.0 40.0 red red only measured annually n/a Figures for 2022/23 are lower than usual as the Multivue system, which provides the master citizen record (the single view of the customer) was undergoing an upgrade. Due to work being carried out, the connections to the system which creates each citizen's account were temporarily suspended which meant there were no updates between the two systems during this time. The connections are due to be switched back on by the end of the summer 2023, at which point the performance figures will be able to be brought back up to date. trend comments2018/19 unit of measureme nt 2023/24 RAG status (for monthly or quarterly monitored indicators only) 2023/24 ytd target 2022/23 RAG status ideal directionidIndicator 2022/23 target2022/232021/222020/212019/20 0 20 40 60 80 100 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 ytd 0 2 4 6 8 10 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 ytd 0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 ytd 0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 ytd 0 20 40 60 80 100 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 Page 178 of 295
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2023/24 ytd (for monthly or quarterly monitored indicators only) Broadband - % of properties receiving superfast broadband ECON8a higher figure is better % 97.7 97.9 98.1 98.6 n/a only measured annually n/a According to the Ofcom Connected Nations update, 98.6% of properties in North Lanarkshire receive superfast broadband - the 3rd highest of all 32 local authority areas in Scotland. Ofcom define superfast broadband as supporting download speeds of at least 30Mbit/s. However, fibre connectivity - which requires fibre optic cabling which supports higher speeds than the copper cables used in traditional networks - is currently sitting at 30% across North Lanarkshire and therefore the undernoted indicator has been introduced to ensure fibre connectivity is reflected as well. Fibre - % of residential premises in North Lanarkshire with full fibre availability ECON8b higher figure is better % 30.4 n/a only measured annually n/a Using the same data source as the Broadband indicator above (i.e. the Ofcom Connected Nations annual report), this indicator measures the proportion of residential premises that have coverage from a full fibre service from a fixed broadband. Full fibre coverage is defined as services that provide a fibre optic cable from the exchange to the end user's home or office. This shows that 30.4% of residential premises (48,421 out of the 159,516 in scope) have full fibre availability. The Connectivity contract currently being delivered aims to transform the area’s digital infrastructure and aim (by the summer of 2024) to ensure that 85% of homes across North Lanarkshire have access to gigabit capable broadband earlier than planned; to date 250 of the planned 340 kilometres of ultrafast, full fibre digital network has been laid. Complaints - % complaints dealt with at the frontline at stage 1 i113a higher figure is better % 92.1 89.9 91.3 82.5 81.4 90.0 red red 74.6 90.0 red red The Complaints Handling Procedure (CHP) sets out the council's aim to provide a quick, simple, and streamlined process for responding to complaints early and locally by capable, well-trained staff. Where possible, the council aims to deal with the complaint at stage 1, i.e. at the frontline. This indicator measures the ratio of complaints closed at stage 1. Historical figures in this respect show that the council has consistently responded to 9 out of 10 complaints received at stage 1; however, this ratio dropped to just over 8 out of 10 complaints in 2021/22 and 2022/23. Following further analysis of the complaints performance data, various discussions with the Corporate Complaints Group, and a workshop to delve deeper into the way complaints were being handled a number of areas for improvement have been identified (such as training and awareness raising, maintaining consistency in complaints handling, and ensuring a common understanding of implementing the local authority model Complaints Handling Procedure in practice) and an improvement plan is being developed for implementation by the Complaints Working Group during 2023/24. trend comments2018/19 unit of measureme nt 2023/24 RAG status (for monthly or quarterly monitored indicators only) 2023/24 ytd target 2022/23 RAG status ideal directionidIndicator 2022/23 target2022/232021/222020/212019/20 0 20 40 60 80 100 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 60 80 100 18/19 19/20 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 ytd 0 20 40 60 80 100 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 Page 179 of 295
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Finance and Resources Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref EK Date 13/09/23 Strategic Performance Framework - latest performance results for Finance From Elaine Kemp, Chief Officer (Finance) E-mail KempE@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 01698 302408 Executive Summary This report has been prepared in line with the Council’s Strategic Performance Framework and enables progress against strategic priorities and day to day operations to be regularly reported to service committees to support Elected Members in their role of monitoring and scrutinising service performance. This can support the identification of areas requiring further investigation or improvement. The report represents the six-monthly Performance Review for Finance across a range of measures. The Service continues to deal with demand pressures and additional workloads as a result of the lingering effects of the pandemic and cost-of-living support payments, however performance continues to be strong across a number of areas including Council Tax collection and administration of Benefits and Scottish Welfare Fund. There are, however, areas where performance is lower than expected, including with Creditors processing times. The service has an action plan in place to improve service resilience and performance. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance and Resources Committee: (1) Review the high-level performance overview presented in Appendix 1, and the supporting data contained within the linked Excel spreadsheet and identify where further information is required to understand or investigate performance further. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement (21) Continue to identify and access opportunities to leverage additional resources to support our ambitions AGENDA ITEM 19 Page 181 of 295
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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, and governed. 1.2 These frameworks focus on ensuring a corporate one council approach in respect of Policy, Governance, Performance, Self- Evaluation, Project Management, and Demonstrating Improved Outcomes for Communities. 1.3 The Strategic Performance Framework comprises performance measurement at three levels (as per the diagram on the right). This aims to collectively provide an overview of performance to help understand the impact of council activities on improving services and outcomes for the people and communities of North Lanarkshire. The measures in this Framework allow for day to day activities, and progress towards achieving the long- term vision set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire, to be regularly monitored, reported, assessed, and scrutinised. 1.4 The Strategic Performance Framework is aligned to the Accounts Commission statutory direction which places a requirement on councils to report a range of information in terms of (1) improving local services and outcomes, and (2) demonstrating Best Value. Key points of note in this respect are that the Accounts Commission also expect to see: (a) A balance in reporting areas of improvement that have been achieved and not achieved. (b) Reporting that is undertaken in a timely manner. (c) Easy access to performance information for all citizens and communities. 1.5 A Performance Reporting Schedule supports the timely submission of a range of performance information that facilitates Elected Members and senior management to undertake regular performance reviews that inform scrutiny, challenge, and decision making processes. This Schedule, endorsed by the Audit and Scrutiny Panel in February 2023, includes Chief Officer’s individual six monthly Performance Reviews at Service Committees in line with the Strategic Performance Framework. 1.6 This report therefore presents the Finance and Resources Committee with the latest performance results for Finance for Members’ further review and scrutiny. 2. Strategic Performance Framework Finance and Resources Committee responsibilities 2.1 In line with the terms of reference outlined in the Scheme of Administration, the Finance and Resources Committee is responsible for monitoring and reviewing performance information for the following Ambition Statements from The Plan for North Lanarkshire: 21. Continue to identify and access opportunities to leverage additional resources to support our ambitions 2.2 The high-level performance overview in Appendix 1 presents Members with a summary Page 182 of 295
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of the latest results for each performance indicator within the remit of the Chief Officer (Finance). 2.3 The information in Appendix 1 comprises the following: • An ideal direction arrow - this indicates whether a higher or lower figure is the preferred direction of travel. • Measurement unit - for example whether the result is a %, a number, a unit cost (in £), or a ratio. • Performance results for the last five 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 five financial years and includes the most recent monthly or quarterly results where available. • Comments - narrative summarising the current position and providing an explanation for any significant variations in performance. Where applicable, this narrative also highlights the effect of the pandemic on service delivery, e.g. any increase or decrease in the volume of transactions or enquiries processed. 2.4 A large volume of data supports the high-level performance overview in Appendix 1. This is outlined in the latest performance results for Finance Excel spreadsheet which is available through the following link for Members to carry out a deep dive and review and scrutinise each performance indicator further. The Menu on the second tab of the spreadsheet contains built in hyperlinks that automatically take the user to a tab for each performance indicator and therefore provides a useful navigation aid to review the contents of the file. • Latest performance results for Finance.xlsx Current context 2.5 The Finance restructure implemented from April 2022 aimed to support greater resilience and effectiveness which has helped the service improve performance across a number of areas. However, during 2023/24 the service continues to experience increasing demand for services such as Scottish Welfare Fund and other benefit applications as the cost of living crisis continues. Recent performance highlights 2.6 The service continues to demonstrate positive trends across several cost measures including improvements in the cost of the closure of the annual accounts, the cost of collecting Council Tax and cost per case for Housing Benefits and Council Tax A higher figure is better A lower figure is better Key to RAG status Performance is on target and/or within acceptable thresholds Performance does not meet target and is outwith acceptable thresholds Performance surpasses the target and exceeds expectations Page 183 of 295
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reduction. These improvements are largely as a result of the service’s ability to absorb additional demand. 2.7 For Council Tax collection, 2022/23 witnessed the highest percentage of income collection in year across the five year period. However, this can largely be attributable to the Scottish Government’s Cost of Living Award payment during 2022/23. Areas of performance requiring improvement 2.8 Payment of invoices - % paid within 30 calendar days of receipt shows a 2022/23 figure of 76.0% compared to 84.2% in the prior financial year. The service area has seen a significant surge in demand following the insourcing of Culture and Leisure NL and had to commit resources to support improvements to purchase to pay processes, electronic invoicing and payment cards. During the early part of 2023/24 the Creditors function is processing invoices received within three working days. This follows the service restructure in April 2022 which provided greater capacity and resilience within the team. The service continues to work with administrators and authorisers across the council to reduce the time taken for invoices to reach the Creditors team for processing. Next steps 2.9 As noted in paragraph 1.5, the Strategic Performance Framework is supported by a Performance Reporting Schedule. This sets out the arrangements for statutory, and Strategic Performance Framework reporting to committee. In this respect the relevant committee can expect to receive the following in respect of Finance during 2023/24. Report Description Committee Committee cycle Payment of local taxation and benefit update This report provides an update on the payment performance for council tax and non-domestic rates and the administration of welfare benefits and Council Tax Reduction Scheme. Finance and Resources Committee Each cycle Treasury Management annual activity report This report fulfils the key requirements of the council’s reporting procedures for Treasury Management in accordance with the CIPFA Code of Practice on Treasury Management and the CIPFA Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities and reports on the council’s performance in complying with the mandatory prudential indicators. Finance and Resources Committee Cycle 3 in 2023 Financial monitoring report - council summary (revenue) This report presents the council’s revenue monitoring position for the General Fund Account, Housing Revenue Account, and Adult Health and Social Care. Finance and Resources Committee Each cycle Financial monitoring report - council summary (capital) This report presents the council’s capital monitoring position for the council’s capital programmes, including general services, housing revenue account, City Deal, etc. Finance and Resources Committee Each cycle Financial monitoring - savings This report provides an update on the achievement of the three-year financial savings targets and progress in implementing one-off investment priorities. Finance and Resources Committee Each cycle Page 184 of 295
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Annual accounts (audited) The Local Authority Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2014 require the council to prepare an annual Statement of Accounts in accordance with proper accounting practices. These regulations also required that, as committee of the authority whose remit includes audit or governance functions, the Audit and Scrutiny Panel meet to consider the audited annual accounts with the aim to approve these for signature no later than 30th September, and to publish these by 31st October immediately following the financial year to which they relate. The Local Authority Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2014 require the council to prepare an annual Statement of Accounts in accordance with proper accounting practices. These regulations also required that, as committee of the authority whose remit includes audit or governance functions, the Audit and Scrutiny Panel meet to consider the audited annual accounts with the aim to approve these for signature no later than 30th September, and to publish these by 31st October immediately following the financial year to which they relate. Audit and Scrutiny Panel Cycle 2 in 2023 (unaudited accounts) Cycle 3 in 2023 (audited accounts) 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 4.1 Appendix 1 - High-level performance overview Elaine Kemp Chief Officer (Finance) Page 185 of 295
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5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 186 of 295
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Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? 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 187 of 295
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Appendix 1 Finance High-level performance overview - as at July 2023 2023/24 ytd (for monthly or quarterly monitored indicators only) Statutory financial reports - % completed by deadline date i099 higher figure is better % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 green green only measured annually 100.0 All statutory financial reports continued to be completed by the deadline date. Treasury - % of prudential indicators complied with i100 higher figure is better % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 only measured annually 100.0 The council continues toa chieve 100% compliance with the suite of prudential indicators. Accounts - cost of closure of accounts as a % of gross expenditure i095 lower figure is better % 0.021 0.019 0.019 0.016 0.012 0.030 blue blue only measured annually 0.030 There has been an increase in Gross Expenditure in the Annual Accounts compared with prior year coupled with decreases in costs of completion due to staff vacancies. Accounts - % variation between forecast outturn and actual outturn i096 ideal direction is as close to zero as possible % -0.837 -0.157 0.029 -0.776 0.446 0.000 green green only measured annually 0.000 Increased year end allocations to earmarked reserves as services seek to manage future year risks. In addition, year end assessment of the provision for expected credit losses associated with historical Council Tax arrears Council tax - % of income due from council tax collected in the year Pi119 higher figure is better % 94.08 94.08 93.32 94.61 94.95 95.0 green green 0.0 The improvement in the Council Tax collection rates during 2022/23 is largely attributable to the impact of the Scottish Government's Cost of Living Award (£150 allocated to Council Tax accounts of eligible properties). Council tax collection - cost of collecting council tax per dwelling i093 lower figure is better £ 6.37 6.65 8.65 7.90 7.88 10.50 blue blue only measured annually 0.00 The cost of collecting Council Tax reduced marginally during 2022/23 as the number of dwellings on the Council Tax roll increased more significantly than costs of administering Council Tax. Council tax - % payers opting to pay by direct debit i115 higher figure is better % 55.3 55.9 57.5 59.2 59.0 54.0 blue blue only measured annually 0.0 The total number of Council Tax payers paying by Direct Debit increased by 0.5% but the total number of additional properties exceeded this, resutling in a slight drop in performance during 2022/23. Over the period of the data provided the number of council tax payers paying by direct debit has increased by 22.5% from 77,154 in 2015/16 to 94,545 in 2022/23. 2019/20Indicator id ideal direction unit of measureme nt 2018/19 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2022/23 target 2023/24 target comments2022/23 RAG status 2023/24 RAG status (for monthly or quarterly monitored indicators only) The figures for this indicator accumulate during the year; it is only at the year end that the YTD figure is comparable to the target trend 90.0 92.0 94.0 96.0 98.0 100.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 90.0 92.0 94.0 96.0 98.0 100.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 -1.00 -0.50 0.00 0.50 1.00 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 80.0 85.0 90.0 95.0 100.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 Page 188 of 295
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2023/24 ytd (for monthly or quarterly monitored indicators only) Non domestic rates - % collected in the year Pi120 higher figure is better % 96.30 96.12 92.65 93.68 94.43 95.8 green green 0.0 Non domestic rates collection rates as at the end of 2022/23 (94.43%) show an increase from the previous year (93.68%), but this is still showing signs of being impacted by the wider economic pressures as the levels of collection remain below pre-pandemic and pre-cost of living crisis levels. Payment of invoices, council wide - % paid within 30 calendar days of receipt i094 higher figure is better % 89.9 84.2 82.5 84.2 76.0 96.0 red red 0.0 Council performance in processing invoices in 30 days dipped in 2019/20 as the service was required to support a number of other priorities such as improving Purchase to Pay processes, introduction of electronic invoicing, the introduction / maintenance of Purchase Cards and the initial impact of the pandemic. During the early part of 2023/24 the Creditors function is processing invoices received within three working days. This follows the service restructure in April 2022 providing greater capacity and resilience within the team. The service continues to work with administrators and authorisers across the council to reduce the time taken for invoices to reach the Creditors team. Benefits administration - gross cost per case for housing benefits and council tax reduction i039 lower figure is better £ 30.54 12.48 18.09 23.42 20.83 27.50 blue blue only measured annually 0.00 Recent costs of processing claims continues to be significantly below historical levels. Benefits administration - average days to process new claims Pi062 lower figure is better number 24.6 16.8 15.0 13.2 14.6 21.0 blue blue annual indicator measures average days taken for processing; volume of transactions is monitored monthly 0.0 The service continues to process new claims within statutory guidance levels and is working with colleagues in Business and Digital to develop business processes to continue to improve processing times. Benefits administration - average days to process claims for changes of circumstances Pi063 lower figure is better number 7.4 4.7 4.3 4.1 5.0 7.0 green green annual indicator measures average days taken for processing; volume of transactions is monitored monthly 0.0 Performance during 2022/23 was impacted by a number of staff absences. The service continues to process new claims within statutory guidance levels and is working with colleagues in Business and Digital to develop business processes to continue to improve processing times. 2019/20Indicator id ideal direction unit of measureme nt 2018/19 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2022/23 target 2023/24 target The figures for this indicator accumulate during the year; it is only at the year end that the YTD figure is comparable to the target comments2022/23 RAG status 2023/24 RAG status (for monthly or quarterly monitored indicators only) trend 80.0 85.0 90.0 95.0 100.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0 100.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 Page 189 of 295
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2023/24 ytd (for monthly or quarterly monitored indicators only) Scottish Welfare Fund crisis grants - % decisions made within one day CORP9 higher figure is better % 97.5 100.0 94.8 93.0 n/a Only measured annually. Benchmarking indicator, for which there is a time lag in data being published; 2022/23 data will be published by the IS in the spring of 2024. n/a These four measures have newly been introduced into the Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) by the Improvement Service as they aim to provide useful and timely insight on policy critical issues such as vulnerability, poverty, and inequality and which will be increasingly important considering the impact of the cost of living. The service has seen significant increases in demand for Crisis Grants and aims to process applications within the statutory two working day limit. Scottish Welfare Fund community care grants - % decisions made within 15 days CORP10 higher figure is better % 94.8 99.0 88.5 89.8 n/a Only measured annually. Benchmarking indicator, for which there is a time lag in data being published; 2022/23 data will be published by the IS in the spring of 2024. n/a These four measures have newly been introduced into the Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) by the Improvement Service as they aim to provide useful and timely insight on policy critical issues such as vulnerability, poverty, and inequality and which will be increasingly important considering the impact of the cost of living. The service has seen significant increases in demand for Community Care Grants and aims to process applications within the statutory fifteen working day limit. Performance during 2023/24 has improved to better than ten working days. Scottish Welfare Fund - % of budget spent CORP11 higher figure is better % 100.7 102.0 66.1 103.2 n/a Only measured annually. Benchmarking indicator, for which there is a time lag in data being published; 2022/23 data will be published by the IS in the spring of 2024. n/a The year end overspend of £0.210m is reflective of the increased demand for grants with an increase in awards for Crisis Grant of 17.6% in 2022/23 compared to 2021/22. In addition, the average value of awards has increased during 2022/23; with a 6.5% increase in average award for Crisis Grants and 11.1% increase in average award for Community Care Grant Discretionary housing payments - % of funding spent CORP12 higher figure is better % 110.0 111.7 111.2 104.3 n/a Only measured annually. Benchmarking indicator, for which there is a time lag in data being published; 2022/23 data will be published by the IS in the spring of 2024. n/a These four measures have newly been introduced into the Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) by the Improvement Service as they aim to provide useful and timely insight on policy critical issues such as vulnerability, poverty, and inequality and which will be increasingly important considering the impact of the cost of living. Scottish Welfare Fund community care grant - number of applications received i120a number 4,213 4,696 6,417 0 n/a n/a This demonstrates an 52% increase in applications received from the position in 2019/20. In response to increasing demands, the restructure implemented in April 2022 aimed to provide greater resilience in managing peaks in demand for Scottish Welfare Fund. As a result, the service currently manages to assess these applications within the parameters outlined by statutory guidance. Scottish Welfare Fund community care grant - council spend i120b £ 1,630,684 1,782,166 2,833,341 0 n/a n/a Council spending during 2021/22 was augmented by additional resources provided by the Scottish Government and through the Council's own resources. This ensured applications could continue to be assessed at Medium priority level. Scottish Welfare Fund crisis grant - number of applications received i121a number 15,795 15,965 18,233 0 n/a n/a The service has witnessed a 15% increase in applications received relative to the position in 2019/20. In response to increasing demands, the restructure implemented in April 2022 aimed to provide greater resilience in managing peaks in demand for Scottish Welfare Fund. As a result, the service currently manages to assess these applications within the parameters outlined by statutory guidance. Scottish Welfare Fund crisis grant - council spend i121b £ 983,240 1,036,228 1,380,299 0 n/a n/a Council spending during 2021/22 was augmented by additional resources provided by the Scottish Government and through the Council's own resources. This ensured applications could continue to be assessed at Medium priority level. 2019/20Indicator id ideal direction unit of measureme nt 2018/19 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2022/23 target 2023/24 target comments2022/23 RAG status 2023/24 RAG status (for monthly or quarterly monitored indicators only) trend 0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 80.0 85.0 90.0 95.0 100.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 80.0 85.0 90.0 95.0 100.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 60.0 80.0 100.0 120.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 60.0 80.0 100.0 120.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 0 500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 2,000,000 2,500,000 3,000,000 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 0 500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 Page 190 of 295
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2023/24 ytd (for monthly or quarterly monitored indicators only) Discretionary housing payments - number of applications i122a number 9,735 10,122 10,804 10,861 10,561 n/a n/a Following increases in the number of applications during 2018/19 and 2019/20, the service has seen the volume of applications largely stabilise since, with a marginal reduction of around 3% during 2022/23 in this demand led area. Discretionary housing payments - value of awards i122b £ 4,495,281 5,071,258 6,008,692 6,192,883 6,149,719 n/a n/a Council spend in this respect mirrors the volume of applications. Reserves - total useable reserves as a % of council annual budgeted net revenue FINSUS1 higher figure is better % 11.9 12.2 22.4 33.2 n/a Only measured annually. Benchmarking indicator, for which there is a time lag in data being published; 2022/23 data will be published by the IS in the spring of 2024. n/a These four measures have newly been introduced into the Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) by the Improvement Service as they aim to provide useful and timely insight on policy critical issues such as vulnerability, poverty, and inequality and which will be increasingly important considering the impact of the cost of living. Reserves - uncommitted General Fund Balance as a % of council annual budgeted net revenue FINSUS2 higher figure is better % 1.1 1.0 2.8 3.4 n/a Only measured annually. Benchmarking indicator, for which there is a time lag in data being published; 2022/23 data will be published by the IS in the spring of 2024. n/a These four measures have newly been introduced into the Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) by the Improvement Service as they aim to provide useful and timely insight on policy critical issues such as vulnerability, poverty, and inequality and which will be increasingly important considering the impact of the cost of living. Affordability - ratio of Financing Costs to Net Revenue Stream FINSUS3 lower figure is better number 7.3 7.5 5.0 5.0 n/a Only measured annually. Benchmarking indicator, for which there is a time lag in data being published; 2022/23 data will be published by the IS in the spring of 2024. n/a These four measures have newly been introduced into the Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) by the Improvement Service as they aim to provide useful and timely insight on policy critical issues such as vulnerability, poverty, and inequality and which will be increasingly important considering the impact of the cost of living. Affordability - ratio of Financing Costs to Net Revenue Stream, Housing Revenue Account FINSUS4 lower figure is better number 12.6 12.9 12.1 12.8 n/a Only measured annually. Benchmarking indicator, for which there is a time lag in data being published; 2022/23 data will be published by the IS in the spring of 2024. n/a These four measures have newly been introduced into the Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) by the Improvement Service as they aim to provide useful and timely insight on policy critical issues such as vulnerability, poverty, and inequality and which will be increasingly important considering the impact of the cost of living. Annual budget - actual outturn as a percentage of budgeted expenditure FINSUS5 higher figure is better % 97.64 99.03 97.93 99.95 n/a Only measured annually. Benchmarking indicator, for which there is a time lag in data being published; 2022/23 data will be published by the IS in the spring of 2024. n/a These four measures have newly been introduced into the Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) by the Improvement Service as they aim to provide useful and timely insight on policy critical issues such as vulnerability, poverty, and inequality and which will be increasingly important considering the impact of the cost of living. 2019/20Indicator id ideal direction unit of measureme nt 2018/19 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2022/23 target 2023/24 target comments2022/23 RAG status 2023/24 RAG status (for monthly or quarterly monitored indicators only) trend 0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 0 2,000,000 4,000,000 6,000,000 8,000,000 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 Page 191 of 295
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Finance and Resources Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref AA Date 13/09/23 Strategic Performance Framework - latest performance results for Legal and Democratic From Archie Aitken, Chief Officer (Legal and Democratic) E-mail AitkenA@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 280102 Executive Summary Reference is made to the report considered by the Committee on 1 March 2023 which set out in detail the structure of the Service and provided an outline of performance achievements at that point in time. This report provides members with an update on the performance of the various Service areas set out in Appendix1. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance and Resources Committee: (1) Reviews the high-level performance overview presented in Appendix 1, and the supporting data contained within the linked Excel spreadsheet and identify where further information is required to understand or investigate performance further. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement All ambition statements AGENDA ITEM 20 Page 193 of 295
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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, and governed. 1.2 These frameworks focus on ensuring a corporate one council approach in respect of Policy, Governance, Performance, Self-Evaluation, Project Management, and Demonstrating Improved Outcomes for Communities. 1.3 The Strategic Performance Framework comprises performance measurement at three levels (as per the diagram on the right). This aims to collectively provide an overview of performance to help understand the impact of council activities on improving services and outcomes for the people and communities of North Lanarkshire. The measures in this Framework allow for day to day activities, and progress towards achieving the long- term vision set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire, to be regularly monitored, reported, assessed, and scrutinised. 1.4 The Strategic Performance Framework is aligned to the Accounts Commission statutory direction which places a requirement on councils to report a range of information in terms of (1) improving local services and outcomes, and (2) demonstrating Best Value. Key points of note in this respect are that the Accounts Commission also expect to see: (a) A balance in reporting areas of improvement that have been achieved and not achieved. (b) Reporting that is undertaken in a timely manner. (c) Easy access to performance information for all citizens and communities. 1.5 A Performance Reporting Schedule supports the timely submission of a range of performance information that facilitates Elected Members and senior management to undertake regular performance reviews that inform scrutiny, challenge, and decision making processes. This Schedule, endorsed by the Audit and Scrutiny Panel in February 2023, includes Chief Officer’s individual six monthly Performance Reviews at Service Committees in line with the Strategic Performance Framework. 1.6 This report therefore presents the Finance and Resources with the latest performance results for Legal and Democratic for Members’ further review and scrutiny. 2. Strategic Performance Framework Finance and Resources Committee responsibilities 2.1 In line with the terms of reference outlined in the Scheme of Administration, the Finance and Resources Committee is responsible for monitoring and reviewing performance information for the following Ambition Statements from The Plan for North Lanarkshire: 21. Continue to identify and access opportunities to leverage additional resources to support our ambitions. 25. Ensure intelligent use of data and information to support fully evidence based decision making and future planning. Page 194 of 295
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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 (Legal and Democratic). 2.3 The information in Appendix 1 comprises the following: • An ideal direction arrow - this indicates whether a higher or lower figure is the preferred direction of travel. • Measurement unit - for example whether the result is a %, a number, a unit cost (in £), or a ratio. • Performance results for the last five 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 five financial years and includes the most recent monthly or quarterly results where available. • Comments - narrative summarising the current position and providing an explanation for any significant variations in performance. Where applicable, this narrative also highlights the effect of the pandemic on service delivery, e.g. any increase or decrease in the volume of transactions or enquiries processed. 2.4 A large volume of data supports the high-level performance overview in Appendix 1. This is outlined in the latest performance results for Legal and Democratic Excel spreadsheet which is available through the following link for Members to carry out a deep dive and review and scrutinise each performance indicator further. The Menu on the second tab of the spreadsheet contains built in hyperlinks that automatically take the user to a tab for each performance indicator and therefore provides a useful navigation aid to review the contents of the file. • Latest performance results for Legal and Democratic.xlsx Current context 2.5 The Service continues to review and implement efficiencies in service delivery, for example, in front-facing areas such as Licensing and Registration where there is a requirement to deal expeditiously and effectively in appropriately managing customer expectations. Recent performance highlights 2.6 Notwithstanding the continuing high performance in the processing of Freedom of Information requests and in the work undertaken by the Registration Service, which are A higher figure is better A lower figure is better Key to RAG status Performance is on target and/or within acceptable thresholds Performance does not meet target and is outwith acceptable thresholds Performance surpasses the target and exceeds expectations Page 195 of 295
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both assessed by national regulators in terms of the quality of service provision, and reported to Committee on an annual basis, these will continue to be monitored so as to ensure that each Service area achieves the best possible performance outcomes. Where Service, areas such as the administration of placing request appeal hearings, continue to achieve their optimum target year on year then consideration will be given as to whether these indicators should continue to be reported, in terms of the provision of meaningful performance information. Areas of performance requiring improvement 2.7 With reference to Appendix 1, the reason for the red status in respect of the increased cost per hour for legal services is set out in the comments column. In essence, this is due to a combination of increased staffing costs, due to national collective bargaining, together with the associated on-costs, and the filling of a number of vacancies leading to an increase in the number of chargeable hours. With regards to the hours spent providing legal services, this figure was revised following a reduction in sickness absence leading to an increase in the overall staff time recorded. As these are factors outwith the control of the Service, consideration will need to be given to an adjustment of the targets so that these reflect the position going forward. 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 Finance and Resources Committee can expect to receive the following in respect of Legal and Democratic during 2023/24. Report Description Committee cycle Freedom of Information annual report This report provides details of the number of Freedom of Information (FOI) and Environmental Information Requests (EIR) received by the council during the previous financial year and those completed by the statutory deadlines and also provides further comparative and ancillary information. • Latest report in November 2022: https://mars.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/egenda/images/att99389.pdf Cycle 3 in 2023 Registration service performance This report provides an update on the performance of the registration service, for the latest calendar year. The performance of the Registration Service provided is monitored annually by the District Examiners from National Records of Scotland. Note production of this report relies on the timely receipt of the respective performance data from the National Records of Scotland (NRS). • Latest report in May 2021: https://mars.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/egenda/images/att96131.pdf Cycle 1 in 2023 Annual data protection report This reports on the council’s data protection compliance and activity for the latest financial year in lined with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) which came into force on 25 May 2018. The report is from the council’s Data Protection Officer (DPO) and provides an update, following the introduction of the legislation, in relation to data sharing, breaches, complaints, and training. • Latest report in March 2023: https://mars.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/egenda/images/att100062.pdf Cycle 1 in 2024 Page 196 of 295
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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 4.1 Appendix 1 - High-level performance overview Archie Aitken Chief Officer (Legal and Democratic) Page 197 of 295
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5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 198 of 295
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Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? 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 199 of 295
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Appendix 1 Legal and Democratic High-level performance overview - as at July 2023 2023/24 ytd (for monthly or quarterly monitored indicators only) Freedom of information - % of requests responded to within 20 working days i112 higher figure is better % 98.3 98.8 94.6 98.3 98.9 100.0 green gre en only measured annually 100.0 Legal services - cost per hour of providing the legal service function i102 lower figure is better £ £47.26 £30.15 £32.01 £32.48 £35.66 £32.19 red red only measured annually £33.46 The total cost of the service has increased due to an increase in annual salary and oncosts across all grades. The total chargeable hours have also increased due to an increase in the number of FTE staff. There is no control or means to predict these changes. These factors account towards the reported figure being outwith the target threshold. Legal services - hours spent delivering legal services as a percentage of all staff hours in the service i101 higher figure is better % 84.3 80.9 80.8 81.8 76.5 82.0 red red only measured annually 83.0 The total number of staff hours increased due to a reduction in sickness absence. There is no control or means to predict the sickness absence rate. This factor accounts towards the reported percentage being outwith the target threshold. Registration of events - % of entries without errors i125 higher figure is better % 99.4 99.2 99.0 97.9 100.0 only measured annually 100.0 Data for this indicator is provided by the General Register of Scotland for each calendar year; latest data received showing performance of 97.9% covers the year calendar year 2021. Children's panel expenses - % processed and passed for payment within 3 working days i122 higher figure is better % new measure from 2023/24 year end onwards only measured annually 100.0 Appeals hearings - % acknowledged within 5 working days i035 higher figure is better % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 green gre en only measured annually 100.0 Appeals hearings - % heard within 28 calendar days i036 higher figure is better % 100.0 100.0 100.0 97.9 100.0 100.0 green gre en only measured annually 100.0 Appeals hearings - % decision notifications made within 14 calendar days i037 higher figure is better % 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 green gre en only measured annually 100.0 trend comments 2023/24 RAG status (for monthly or quarterly monitored indicators only) Indicator id ideal direction unit of measurem ent 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2022/23 target 2022/23 RAG status 2023/24 target 80.0 85.0 90.0 95.0 100.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 £20.00 £30.00 £40.00 £50.00 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 70.0 80.0 90.0 100.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 80.0 85.0 90.0 95.0 100.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 80.0 85.0 90.0 95.0 100.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 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 2019 2020 2021 Page 200 of 295
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Finance and Resources Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref FW Date 13/09/23 Strategic Performance Framework - latest performance results for People Resources From Fiona Whittaker, Chief Officer (People Resources) E-mail whittakerf@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07973 729532 Executive Summary Changes to the overall performance results for measures aligned to the People Resources service have been primarily driven by movements in our overall absence performance. Although the Council is performing well in non-teaching absence with respect to both the Scottish average and our comparator Local Authorities, we have seen a significant deterioration around short term absence over the last two quarters of 22/23. This deterioration has been seen across both the public and private sectors and is thought to be due to unrecorded cases of covid, where individuals who are not testing are presenting as sick with flu like symptoms and other stomach bugs and ailments. Levels of teacher absence continue to be of concern for the Council, however a specific plan of work to address this has now been agreed as detailed in the report below. Our performance across gender pay gap measures continues to be stable in this reporting period. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance and Resources Committee: (1) Review the high-level performance overview presented in Appendix 1, and the supporting data contained within the linked Excel spreadsheet, and identify where further information is required to understand or investigate performance further. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve North Lanarkshire's resource base Ambition statement (23) Build a workforce for the future capable of delivering on our priorities and shared ambition AGENDA ITEM 21 Page 201 of 295
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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, and governed. 1.2 These frameworks focus on ensuring a corporate one council approach in respect of Policy, Governance, Performance, Self-Evaluation, Project Management, and Demonstrating Improved Outcomes for Communities. 1.3 The Strategic Performance Framework comprises performance measurement at three levels (as per the diagram on the right). This aims to collectively provide an overview of performance to help understand the impact of council activities on improving services and outcomes for the people and communities of North Lanarkshire. The measures in this Framework allow for day to day activities, and progress towards achieving the long- term vision set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire, to be regularly monitored, reported, assessed, and scrutinised. 1.4 The Strategic Performance Framework is aligned to the Accounts Commission statutory direction which places a requirement on councils to report a range of information in terms of (1) improving local services and outcomes, and (2) demonstrating Best Value. Key points of note in this respect are that the Accounts Commission also expect to see: (a) A balance in reporting areas of improvement that have been achieved and not achieved. (b) Reporting that is undertaken in a timely manner. (c) Easy access to performance information for all citizens and communities. 1.5 A Performance Reporting Schedule supports the timely submission of a range of performance information that facilitates Elected Members and senior management to undertake regular performance reviews that inform scrutiny, challenge, and decision making processes. This Schedule, endorsed by the Audit and Scrutiny Panel in February 2023, includes Chief Officer’s individual six monthly Performance Reviews at Service Committees in line with the Strategic Performance Framework. 1.6 This report therefore presents the Finance and Resources Committee with the latest performance results for People Resources for Members’ further review and scrutiny. 2. Strategic Performance Framework Finance and Resources Committee responsibilities 2.1 In line with the terms of reference outlined in the Scheme of Administration, the Finance and Resources Committee is responsible for monitoring and reviewing performance information for the following Ambition Statements from The Plan for North Lanarkshire: 23. Build a workforce for the future capable of delivering on our priorities and shared ambition. 2.2 The high-level performance overview in Appendix 1 presents Members with a summary Page 202 of 295
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of the latest results for each performance indicator within the remit of the Chief Officer (People Resources). 2.3 The information in Appendix 1 comprises the following: • An ideal direction arrow - this indicates whether a higher or lower figure is the preferred direction of travel. • Measurement unit - for example whether the result is a %, a number, a unit cost (in £), or a ratio. • Performance results for the last five 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 five financial years and includes the most recent monthly or quarterly results where available. • Comments - narrative summarising the current position and providing an explanation for any significant variations in performance. Where applicable, this narrative also highlights the effect of the pandemic on service delivery, e.g. any increase or decrease in the volume of transactions or enquiries processed. 2.4 A large volume of data supports the high-level performance overview in Appendix 1. This is outlined in the latest performance results for People Resources Excel spreadsheet which is available through the following link for Members to carry out a deep dive and review and scrutinise each performance indicator further. The Menu on the second tab of the spreadsheet contains built in hyperlinks that automatically take the user to a tab for each performance indicator and therefore provides a useful navigation aid to review the contents of the file. • Latest performance results for People Resources.xlsx Current context 2.5 The Council continues to operate in a challenging context with respect to absence rates in terms of the continued impact of the pandemic on both short-term absence rates and long-term absence due to delays in medical treatment. Recent performance highlights 2.6 Despite the fact that the Council’s overall absence is lower than the Scottish average and very favourable in terms of our comparator Local Authorities, we have seen significant deterioration in rates of short-term absence over the last two quarters of 22/23. A higher figure is better A lower figure is better Key to RAG status Performance is on target and/or within acceptable thresholds Performance does not meet target and is outwith acceptable thresholds Performance surpasses the target and exceeds expectations Page 203 of 295
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2.7 It is understood that this trend has been seen elsewhere for example with NHS Lanarkshire reporting a similar trend in absence in the first half of 22/23. 2.8 It is thought that there is a clear link with reported spikes in coronavirus rates, with many individuals no longer testing and an associated increase in staff reporting short term sick with flu like and other abdominal and gastric ailments. 2.9 This effect has been so pronounced that abdominal and gastric has now become the third most frequent reason for short term absence. 2.10 Despite ongoing concern, the Council has seen a slightly improving trend for teacher absence in the last 12 months, with our relative positioning in the local government benchmarking framework improving to the highest level we have seen for the last 3 years. Despite this we remain well below the Scottish average and poor in comparison, to our peer Local Authorities. Areas of performance requiring improvement 2.11 Due to the increased short term sickness issues highlighted above, all performance indicators for sickness absence currently remain above the Council’s target of 9.86 days for 22/23. Work will continue across the services to bring this level back to target in the next quarter. 2.12 Teachers absence remains of concern and a specific action plan to significantly improve absence in this area has been agreed between the Education & Families Service and People Resources. This will include the implementation of a revised teachers absence policy and approach which is more aligned to the approach implemented for non-teaching employees, which has been very successful in reducing overall rates of absence. Next steps 2.13 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 Committees can expect to receive the following in respect of insert service name during 2023/24. Report Description Committee Committee cycle End of year absence statistics This reports on the council’s year-end outturn position (including teachers and local government employees) for the average FTE days lost due to sickness absence. • Latest report in October 2022: https://mars.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/egenda/images/att9 9108.pdf JCC for Local Government Employees Cycle 4 of 2023 Public Sector Equality Duties Every two years public bodies covered by the Public Sector Equality Duties (PSED) are required to publish a number of reports and information to evidence how they are meeting the needs of people whose characteristics are protected by the Equality Act 2010 - the PSED (General Duty). • Latest report in May 2023: https://mars.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/egenda/images/att1 00517.pdf Wellbeing and Tackling Poverty Committee / Cycle 2 of 2023 Page 204 of 295
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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 4.1 Appendix 1 - High-level performance overview Fiona Whittaker Chief Officer (People Resources) Page 205 of 295
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5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☒ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? A new absence policy will be developed for Teaching staff. 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? Page 206 of 295
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Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? 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 207 of 295
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Appendix 1 People Resources High-level performance overview - as at July 2023 2023/24 ytd (for monthly or quarterly monitored indicators only) Sickness absence, all employees - average number of days lost per employee Pi132 lower figure is better number 10.39 11.12 7.06 9.46 10.20 9.86 red red 9.92 Although the Council's overall absence performance remains below the scottish average, we have seen significantly increased levels of short term absence in the last quarter. This is in line with trends seen elsehwere in the public sector and is thought to be due to increased levels of unreported COVID sickness where individuals are not testing but are experiencing flu like symptoms. Sickness absence, teachers - average number of days lost per employee Pi133 lower figure is better number 8.01 8.15 4.53 6.43 7.06 6.42 red red 6.44 The Council's sickness absence performance for teachers remains of concern and is above the Scottish average. Although our relative position shows and improving trend, there is still significant room for improvement. A joint action plan has now been agreed between people resources and the service to reduce levels of absence. This will inlcude the implemntation of a revised policy and approach for Teachers absence. Sickness absence, all employees but excluding teachers - average number of days lost per employee Pi134 lower figure is better number 11.20 12.21 8.05 10.57 11.19 10.94 red red 10.99 The Council's performance in non-teaching absence remains well below the Scottish avegage and compares well against our family group, however there has been a slight deterioration against target over the last quarter due to significantly increased levels of short term absence. Gender pay gap - % gap between average hourly rate of pay for male and female employees Pi136 lower figure is better % 4.65 3.09 4.65 4.90 4.97 only measured annually The Council's gender pay gap remains relatively stable but has increased slightly over the last 12 months. Work is underway to look a a deeper analysis of the factors which are driving our gap and these are thought to be primarily due to occupational segregation, and a higher volume of female staff undertaking part time work. Equal opportunities - % of women employees in top 5% earners of all employees Pi135 higher figure is better % 61.0 61.5 63.0 61.4 62.2 only measured annually This figures remains stable and the Council has good female representation across its senior positions in all servcies. RIDDOR - number of reported injuries, diseases, dangerous occurrences Pi143 lower figure is better number 64 60 30 44 32 only measured annually Reportable riddor incidents have continued to show a positive decreasing trend in 2022/23. trend comments2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2022/23 target 2023/24 target 2022/23 RAG status2019/20Indicator id ideal direction unit of measurement 2018/19 0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 0.00 2.00 4.00 6.00 8.00 10.00 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 0.00 2.00 4.00 6.00 8.00 10.00 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 0 20 40 60 80 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 Page 208 of 295
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Finance and Resources Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref JMcK Date 13/09/23 Strategic Performance Framework - latest performance results for Assets and Procurement From James McKinstry, Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) E-mail MckinstryJ@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 281102 Executive Summary Assets and Procurement sits within the Enterprise and Communities service area of the council and comprises the following areas - asset management, estates management, enterprise project, forward planning and specification, town and community hub development programme, technical and design, procurement and support, and facility support services. The teams play a key role in leading and delivering on a number of key areas that support the delivery of the place based ambition set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire. This includes the strategic commercial partnership for the enterprise project, asset rationalisation and development, the corporate asset management plan and property rationalisation, the hub development and delivery programme, climate change - committing to net zero, and improving procurement capability and capacity. The work carried out by the teams also supports the delivery of a number of other key areas across the council such as the new supply programme, economic regeneration delivery plan, planning and place making, city deal, the early learning and childcare expansion programme, additional support needs provision, and the leadership and operating model for the hubs. Performance is measured across many of the above service areas and is monitored by the service’s management team as well as within operational teams. This report provides an update of current performance reflecting the service’s key areas of activity. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance and Resources Committee: (1) Review the high-level performance overview presented in Appendix 1, and the supporting data contained within the linked Excel spreadsheet and identify where further information is required to understand or investigate performance further. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement All ambition statements AGENDA ITEM 22 Page 209 of 295
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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, and governed. 1.2 These frameworks focus on ensuring a corporate one council approach in respect of Policy, Governance, Performance, Self-Evaluation, Project Management, and Demonstrating Improved Outcomes for Communities. 1.3 The Strategic Performance Framework comprises performance measurement at three levels (as per the diagram on the right). This aims to collectively provide an overview of performance to help understand the impact of council activities on improving services and outcomes for the people and communities of North Lanarkshire. The measures in this Framework allow for day to day activities, and progress towards achieving the long-term vision set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire, to be regularly monitored, reported, assessed, and scrutinised. 1.4 The Strategic Performance Framework is aligned to the Accounts Commission statutory direction which places a requirement on councils to report a range of information in terms of (1) improving local services and outcomes, and (2) demonstrating Best Value. Key points of note in this respect are that the Accounts Commission also expect to see: (a) A balance in reporting areas of improvement that have been achieved and not achieved. (b) Reporting that is undertaken in a timely manner. (c) Easy access to performance information for all citizens and communities. 1.5 A Performance Reporting Schedule supports the timely submission of a range of performance information that facilitates Elected Members and senior management to undertake regular performance reviews that inform scrutiny, challenge, and decision making processes. This Schedule, endorsed by the Audit and Scrutiny Panel in February 2023, includes Chief Officer’s individual six monthly Performance Reviews at Service Committees in line with the Strategic Performance Framework. 1.6 This report therefore presents the Finance and Resources with the latest performance results for Assets and Procurement for Members’ further review and scrutiny. 2. Strategic Performance Framework Finance and Resources Committee responsibilities 2.1 In line with the terms of reference outlined in the Scheme of Administration, the Finance and Resources Committee is responsible for monitoring and reviewing performance information for the following Ambition Statements from The Plan for North Lanarkshire: 21. Continue to identify and access opportunities to leverage additional resources to support our ambitions. 22. Facilitate a North Lanarkshire wide approach to asset rationalisation, including with communities and partners. Page 210 of 295
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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 (Assets and Procurement). 2.3 The information in Appendix 1 comprises the following: • An ideal direction arrow - this indicates whether a higher or lower figure is the preferred direction of travel. • Measurement unit - for example whether the result is a %, a number, a unit cost (in £), or a ratio. • Performance results for the last five 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 five financial years and includes the most recent monthly or quarterly results where available. • Comments - narrative summarising the current position and providing an explanation for any significant variations in performance. Where applicable, this narrative also highlights the effect of the pandemic on service delivery, e.g. any increase or decrease in the volume of transactions or enquiries processed. 2.4 A large volume of data supports the high-level performance overview in Appendix 1. This is outlined in the latest performance results for Assets and Procurement Excel spreadsheet which is available through the following link for Members to carry out a deep dive and review and scrutinise each performance indicator further. The Menu on the second tab of the spreadsheet contains built in hyperlinks that automatically take the user to a tab for each performance indicator and therefore provides a useful navigation aid to review the contents of the file. • Latest performance results for Assets and Procurement.xlsx Current context 2.5 Assets and Procurement continue to streamline office accommodation and support management teams as they continue to adopt more agile and hybrid modes of operation. The hub programme continues to experience significant cost increases linked to global and national influences, and given the size and scale of spend linked to this programme – any increases are significant. The service continues to lead on the implementation of a number of national policy initiatives including full roll out of universal free school meals, for P6/P7, ensuring compliance with the Nutritional Standards for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland,) Regulations (2020), for school meals, and climate change duties – and continues to prepare for the potential deposit A higher figure is better A lower figure is better Key to RAG status Performance is on target and/or within acceptable thresholds Performance does not meet target and is outwith acceptable thresholds Performance surpasses the target and exceeds expectations Page 211 of 295
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return scheme which has been delayed at a national level. The council have a largely
decentralised procurement model, in which the Corporate Procurement Team ("CPT")
provide the strategic governance through GCSOs and provide professional expertise
through officers that lead or support Regulated procurement activity. CPT continue to
be responsible for: consolidating the council’s Annual Procurement Report (which is a
legislative requirement); managing the council’s contract register of external
expenditure; and providing organisational procurement reporting. The overall
procurement function of the council is assessed every couple of years by third party
agency through procurement capability assessments ("PCIP") for which CPT is leading
an internal procurement improvement plan. Next PCIP is anticipated 2024.
As part of the council’s Programme of Work governance structure Assets &
Procurement are heavily involved in the follow Programme of Work Boards:
• Transforming Places;
• Invest in North Lanarkshire;
• Sustainable Futures;
• Digital NL; and
• One Service
Recent performance highlights
2.6 Within the area of corporate procurement, the service continues to ensure 100%
performance in areas such as: ensuring those contracts which exceed £1m include
community benefit requirements; and ensuring all qualifying contracts are awarded to
those who meet fair work criteria. In addition, the service is exceeding targets around
the percentage of contracts that are awarded to SMEs.
In addition, since the last report to Committee, Newmains and St Brigid’s Community
Hub was signed off on 6th February 2023 and opened on 20th February 2023. The
Hub has been awarded the following:
Scottish Design Awards – Best Education Building 2023; and
Scottish Design Awards – Grand Prix Best Architecture Project 2023.
It is also currently shortlisted for the following:
Herald Property Awards – Best Commercial Project 2023;
Learning Places Scotland Awards – Inspiring Learning spaces; and
Learning Places Scotland Awards – Pupil/Student Experience.
Riverbank Community Hub was signed off on 11th August 2023 and opened on 18th
August 2023.
Areas of performance requiring improvement
2.7 Within procurement two measures have fallen short of the expected target range: firstly
the performance was below target in spend made through collaborative established
agreements; and secondly below target in the percentage of procurement spend with
SMEs. It should be noted that there will always be natural fluctuation in year on year
percentages across measures due to the council’s contracting profile with situational
needs. We anticipate the measures will have improvement in future years and track
back towards a stable position, particularly since we are exiting the post-pandemic
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years and supply chains recover and stabilise. The two indicators linked to occupancy levels in schools were reported in the last update in March. As these are annual indicators, the results linked to these and the associated commentary has not changed since the last update – in essence, whilst the service continues to look for other uses for under occupied schools, it is preferred that any given school is under capacity than over capacity. Finally, in relation to free school meal update, performance is lower than the agreed target. There are various factors which influence this, including the slow transition back to a new normal following the pandemic (where pupils were operating ‘bubbles’ in the school meal service), and the changes to The Nutritional Standards for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations, (2020), which has impacted on the frequency of what would be considered ‘children’s favourite dishes’ being served on the menu due to the stricter changes in the nutritional elements with the new regulations. 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 Committees can expect to receive the following in respect of insert Assets and Procurement during 2023/24. Report Description Committee Committee cycle Public Sector Duties Climate Change annual report As part of its climate change duties, the council is required to complete an annual submission to demonstrate that as a public sector organisation it is contributing to the nationally set climate change targets as well as adhering to its other responsibilities in terms of both adaptation and sustainability. • Latest report in February 2023: https://mars.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/egenda/images/at t99883.pdf Environme nt and Climate Change Committee Cycle 1 in 2024 Annual procurement report This report discharges the council’s duties in terms of the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, to prepare an annual report on its regulated procurement activities. Finance and Resources Committee Cycle 3 in 2023 North Lanarkshire Properties NLP LLP is a limited liability partnership established in 2013 between the council and its wholly owned company, North Lanarkshire Property Investments Ltd. NLP LLP undertakes the marketing, leasing, and management of the council’s commercial property portfolio (shop units, office accommodation, business centres, industrial yards, and storage units) and, on behalf of the Council, manages legacy properties which remain in the council’s investment property portfolio. It also delivers services in relation to externally owned properties that the council leases for its own operational use and provides general advice on lease transactions. A six- monthly report provides a performance and finance update to Committee. • Latest report in May 2023: https://mars.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/egenda/images/at t100694.pdf Finance and Resources Committee Cycles 2 and 4 in 2023 Page 213 of 295
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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 4.1 Appendix 1 - High-level performance overview James McKinstry Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) Page 214 of 295
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5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 215 of 295
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Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? Managing and monitoring service performance supports the ongoing monitoring of the service’s risk register. 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services. 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 216 of 295
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Appendix 1 Assets and Procurement High-level performance overview - as at July 2023 Page 217 of 295
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Finance and Resources Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref IM/JMcK Date 13/09/23 Lease of Land at Allan Street/Draffen Street, Motherwell From James McKinstry, Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) E-mail MartinI@northlan.gov.uk Telephone Ian Martin 07966 397637 Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to advise Committee of the action taken by the Depute Chief Executive following consultation with the Convener of the Finance and Resources Committee to approve a 175-year lease agreement between NLC and SP Distribution PLC for a new substation, associated equipment and servitudes for rights of access on land at Allan Street and Draffen Street, Motherwell. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance and Resources Committee: (1) Acknowledges the grant of a new lease to SP Distribution PLC or their nominees for a substation and associated servitude for cables, pedestrian and vehicular rights of access on land at Allan Street and Draffen Street, Motherwell on the terms detailed within this report; and (2) All other terms and conditions to be adjusted by the Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Ambition statement (3) Maximise the use of our marketable land and assets through improved development in business and industrial infrastructure AGENDA ITEM 23 Page 221 of 295
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1. Background 1.1 On 29th April 2022 a contract was awarded by NLC for the demolition of three high-rise tower blocks Coursington, Allan and Draffen in Motherwell. During the demolition process which included service isolation, an issue was identified in progressing the service disconnection works required for the demolition to take place. Within each of the three towers, there is a sub-station to service the tower, which can be the case from time to time. 1.2 Although there was an awareness of the sub-stations being in situ, the service drawings obtained did not reflect that the sub-stations were also connected into the local grid to provide additional capacity for the network infrastructure in the area. 1.3 This information only came to light when the demolition contractor commenced the disconnection process and started to engage with Scottish Power Energy Networks (SPEN). 1.4 The additional time to undertake these service redirection works resulted in the need to instruct the demolition contractor to provide a protective structure over the sub- station at Coursington Tower to allow the demolition works to progress. 1.5 A full design and agreement is in place with SPEN for the provision of a new substation on a site owned by NLC out with the confines of the building that will take over the loading from the existing towers and allow the demolition works to progress. 1.6 The Housing Property Services team, to reduce further delay, has requested that the electrical substation lease be agreed outside the committee cycle to enable the redirections to be complete and allow the demolition to conclude. 2. Report 2.1 The substation is to be sited within an area of ground at Allan Street, Motherwell, as shown on the plan attached at Appendix 1. 2.1.1 Proposed area to be leased extends to 25 square metres (269 sq. ft.) or thereby. 2.1.2 A servitude right of access for cables, pedestrian and vehicular access to the substation will be taken from Allan Street. 2.2 Lease Proposal A provisional agreement has been reached with SP Distribution PLC on the following terms and conditions: 2.2.1 Rent: £1 per annum (if asked) 2.2.2 Term: 175 years 2.2.3 Date of Entry: Upon conclusion of missives or as agreed between the parties. Page 222 of 295
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3. Measures of success 3.1 Formalisation of the 175 year substation lease between NLC and SP Distribution PLC to complete the planned demolition of the three tower blocks. 4. Supporting documentation Appendix 1 – Location Plan James McKinstry Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) Page 223 of 295
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5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☒ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The council will be entering in to a formal lease agreement with SP Distribution PLC. Instructions will be issued to Legal Services as part of this transaction. 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 Page 224 of 295
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Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services. 5.11 Children’s rights and wellbeing impact Does the report contain any information regarding any council activity, service delivery, policy, or plan that has an impact on children and young people up to the age of 18, or on a specific group of these? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact and the provision that has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the relevant Articles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 225 of 295
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Appendix 1 Page 226 of 295
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Finance & Resources Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref IM/JMcK Date 13/09/23 Substation Lease for NLC Bellshill Transport Depot, Old Edinburgh Road, Bellshill From James McKinstry, Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) E-mail MartinI@northlan.gov.uk Telephone Ian Martin 07966 397637 Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to seek Committee approval to grant a lease to SP Distribution PLC for a new substation, associated equipment, and servitudes for rights of access on land within the NLC Bellshill Transport Depot, Old Edinburgh Road, Bellshill. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance and Resources Committee: (1) Agree to grant a new lease to SP Distribution PLC or their nominees for a substation and associated servitude for cables, pedestrian and vehicular rights of access on land at Old Edinburgh Road, Bellshill on the terms detailed within this report; and (2) All other terms and conditions to be adjusted by the Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Ambition statement (3) Maximise the use of our marketable land and assets through improved development in business and industrial infrastructure AGENDA ITEM 24 Page 227 of 295
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1. Background 1.1 Planning permission was granted in November 2021 for the construction of a two-storey building comprising main vehicular workshop for vehicular servicing, offices, and welfare facilities for staff. 1.2 In accordance with the Council’s objectives and vision to ensure best value for service delivery, depot rationalisation was identified. Two main areas of service delivery will be accommodated within the new building, which is to be in the existing Transport Services Depot, Old Edinburgh Road, Bellshill. 1.3 The current Fleet Depot building has been deemed unsafe and following a costing exercise it was uneconomical to repair/refurbish the existing properties. 1.4 The design and construction of a new vehicle workshop consisting of a maintenance repair area, MOT facilities, VOSA lane, stores, office, welfare, and toilet facilities will provide a new transport hub which is in keeping with the Council’s objectives and vision. 1.5 An electrical substation is required to provide a sustainable electrical supply to the new building. 2. Report 2.1 The substation is to be sited within an area of ground within the boundary of the transport depot as shown shaded pink on the attached plan at appendix 1. 2.1.1 Proposed area to be leased extends to 25 square metres (269 sq. ft.) or thereby. 2.1.2 A servitude right of access for cables, pedestrian and vehicular access to the substation as shown hatched on the attached plan at appendix 1. 2.2 Lease Proposal A provisional agreement has been reached with SP Distribution PLC on the following terms and conditions: 2.2.1 Rent: £1 per annum (if asked) 2.2.2 Term: 175 years 2.2.3 Date of Entry: Upon conclusion if missives or as agreed between the parties 2.2.4 Legal Fees: Both parties shall bear their own legal fees relating to this transaction 3. Measures of success 3.1 This transaction will enable SP Distribution PLC to erect a new substation to provide a sustainable electrical supply to the new building for the Bellshill Transport Depot. Page 228 of 295
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4. Supporting documentation Appendix 1 – Location Plan James McKinstry Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) Page 229 of 295
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5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The council will be entering into a formal lease agreement with SP Distribution PLC. Instructions will be issued to Legal Services as part of this transaction. 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? Page 230 of 295
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Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services. 5.11 Children’s rights and wellbeing impact Does the report contain any information regarding any council activity, service delivery, policy, or plan that has an impact on children and young people up to the age of 18, or on a specific group of these? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact and the provision that has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the relevant Articles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 231 of 295
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Finance and Resources Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref JMcK/BF Date 13/09/23 Annual Procurement Report 2022/23 From James McKinstry, Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) E-mail MckinstryJ@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 281102 Executive Summary As legislated through the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, the council is required to prepare an Annual Procurement Report on all regulated procurement activity as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of each financial year. This paper provides the Annual Procurement Report covering the council’s procurement activity during financial year 2022/23. The Annual Procurement Report also provides a summary of performance against the council’s Procurement Strategy 2022/23, which was approved by Finance and Resources Committee on the 25th November 2021. The legislation requires that the council publish the Annual Procurement Report on the Internet and share with Scottish Ministers. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance and Resources Committee: (1) Approve the content of this report; (2) Endorse publication of the Annual Procurement Report 2022-23 on the Internet; and (3) Acknowledge the requirement to notify Scottish Ministers on publication of the Annual Procurement Report 2022-23. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement All ambition statements AGENDA ITEM 25 Page 233 of 295
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1. Background 1.1 As legislated through the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 (the “Act”), the council is required to prepare an annual procurement report on all regulated procurement activity as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of that financial year. “Regulated Procurements” are those above £50,000 for supplies or services, and above £2,000,000 for works. 1.2 The Act requires the council to ensure that its regulated procurements are carried out in accordance with our procurement strategy. 1.3 The Act requires the council’s annual procurement report (for financial year 2022/23) to include: • a summary of the regulated procurements that have been completed in the previous financial year; • a review of whether those procurements complied with the council’s procurement strategy; • where any regulated procurements did not comply, a statement of how the council intends to ensure that future regulated procurements do comply; • a summary of any community benefits fulfilled from regulated procurements; • a summary of any steps taken to facilitate the involvement of supported businesses in regulated procurements; • a summary of the regulated procurements the council expects to commence in the next two financial years; and • such other information as the Scottish Ministers may by order specify. 1.4 The Act requires that the council publish the annual procurement report and to notify Scottish Ministers; this is important as Scottish Ministers must prepare a report on procurement activity in Scotland, based on information contained in annual procurement reports. Scottish Ministers are required to publish their report and lay a copy before the Scottish Parliament. 1.5 The Act requires Scottish Ministers to publish guidance for the consistent data gathering and preparation of annual procurement reports and procurement strategies. 2. Report 2.1 The Scottish Procurement Policy Note, SPPN 2/2023, provided a report template (referred to as “Annex A”) with guidance notes designed to: assist public bodies meet their reporting obligations set by the Act; gather data in a consistent way; to aid the drafting of individual annual reports; and, ultimately to ensure consistency of the information common to all annual reports across Scottish Public Bodies for 2022/23 and 2023/24. We have reviewed the policy note and our Annual Procurement Report has been completed in line with it. See link: https://www.gov.scot/publications/public-procurement-annual-procurement- reports-for-2022-2023-and-2023-2024-sppn-2-2023/. 2.2 This is the council’s sixth annual procurement report and covers the period 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023. Page 234 of 295
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2.3 The relevant procurement strategy associated to this paper is “Procurement Strategy 2022-23”; this was approved at Finance and Resources Committee on the 25th November 2021 and is published on the council website. See link: https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2022- 01/Procurement%20Strategy%202022-23_0.pdf 2.4 Following receipt of SPPN 2/2023, the Annual Procurement Report 2022/23 is in a new format by comparison to previous versions of the Council’s Annual Procurement Report; the 2022/23 report contains metrics from the single financial year as this is the requirement of the Act. For awareness to members, there are alternative council reports produced, such as Local Government Benchmarking Framework and the council’s own Strategic Performance Framework (which is also on the Committee’s agenda today) that already track the council’s overall procurement metrics over an extensive period of time. 2.5 The Annual Procurement Report 2022/23 complies with the requirements of the Act and SPPN 2/2023 by containing: 2.5.1 a summary of the council’s Regulated Procurements that have been completed; 2.5.2 a review of compliance for the Regulated Procurements undertaken with the Procurement Strategy 2022/23; 2.5.3 a summary of community benefits fulfilled from Regulated Procurements; 2.5.4 a summary of steps undertaken to facilitate the involvement of supported businesses in Regulated Procurements; 2.5.5 a summary of the Regulated Procurements the council expects to commence in the next two financial years; and 2.5.6 procurement indicators have been completed using the Annual Procurement Report Template provided via SPPN 2/2023. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Report information fully complies with the requirements of the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014. 3.2 Report data fully complies with the template requirements set out in the national policy note, SPPN 2/2023. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 – Annual Procurement Report 2022-23. James McKinstry Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) Page 235 of 295
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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? Fair Work First is embedded into the council’s regulated procurement procedures in accordance with SPPN 6/2021 - https://www.gov.scot/publications/implementation-of-fair-work-first-in-scottish- public-procurement-sppn-6-2021/ 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? Regulated procurements are carried out in accordance with the council's General Contract Standing Orders and in adherence to the relevant procurement regulations. 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 ☐ Page 236 of 295
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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? Regulated procurements are carried out in accordance with the Sustainable Procurement Duty which requires the council to consider how in conducting a regulated procurement it can improve the environmental wellbeing of the council area. 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 Act requires the publication of the annual procurement report in the public domain. 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? Failure to publish the Annual Procurement Report and/or comply with the reporting requirements would be a breach of the Act. The procurement risks associated to governance are managed at a corporate level. 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 237 of 295
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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). Some procurement activity will be aligned to services for children and young people. The procuring officers will consider children’s rights and wellbeing throughout the procurement process i.e. in specification, tender evaluation, due diligence on Contractors. If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☐ No ☒ Page 238 of 295
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Page 1 of 22 APPENDIX 1 Annual Procurement Report Covering the period: 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023 Page 239 of 295
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Page 2 of 22 CONTENTS Page Number 1. GLOSSARY 3 2. INTRODUCTION 4 3. REGULATED PROCUREMENT ACTIVITY 2022/23 5 4. COMPLIANCE WITH PROCUREMENT STRATEGY 5 5. COMMUNITY BENEFITS 6 6. SUPPORTED BUSINESSES 7 7. REGULATED PROCUREMENTS EXPECTED DURING 2023/24 AND 2024/25 7 ANNEX 1: PROCUREMENT OUTCOMES 8 1. REPORT PARAMETERS 8 2. SUMMARY OF REGULATED PROCUREMENTS COMPLETED 8 3. REVIEW OF REGULATED PROCUREMENTS COMPLIANCE 8 4. COMMUNITY BENEFIT REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY 8 5. FAIR WORK AND THE REAL LIVING WAGE 10 6. PAYMENT PERFORMANCE 10 7. SUPPORTED BUSINESSES SUMMARY 10 8. SPEND AND SAVINGS SUMMARY 11 ANNEX 2: REGULATED PROCUREMENTS – COMPLETED 2022/23 12 ANNEX 3: REGULATED PROCUREMENTS – PLANNED 2023/24 and 2024/25 17 Page 240 of 295
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Page 3 of 22 1. GLOSSARY 1.1. “Community Benefits” requirements which deliver wider benefits in addition to the core purpose of a contract. These can relate to social, economic and environmental benefits. 1.2. “Contractor” any organisation that provides Supplies, Works or Services to the Council or on behalf of the Council. 1.3. “Living Wage” an independently calculated rate based on the cost of living and is paid voluntarily by employers. The rate is calculated each year in November by The Resolution Foundation on an analysis of the wage that employees need to earn in order to afford the basket of goods required for a decent standard of living. This basket of goods includes housing, childcare, transport and heating. The Real Living Wage is different to the UK government’s National Living Wage which is not calculated according to what employees need to live on. 1.4. “Procurement” the tasks and decisions which secure an external Contractor to provide what we want, at a price that we can afford. Activity is focused on the period from prior to advertising a tender to signing the contract. It includes both competitive tenders and circumstances where we negotiate with a single Contractor. 1.5. “Regulated Procurements” refers to any Procurement exercise i.e. competitive tender process: above £50,000 for Supplies or Services; and above £2,000,000 for Works. 1.6. “Services” are those services that we buy including specialist support for vulnerable children and adults, and also repairs and maintenance services, financial advice, designs and surveys for new building works. 1.7. “SME or Small and Medium Enterprises” defined by the number of employees whereby micro is 9 or fewer, small is 10-50, medium is 51-250. 1.8. “Supplies” items that we buy, such as pens and paper, or plants and seeds, or fruit and vegetables. 1.9. “Sustainable Procurement” a process whereby organisations meet their needs for Supplies, Services and Works in a way that achieves value for money and generates benefits, not only for the organisation but also to wider society, the economy and the environment. 1.10. “Supplier Development Programme” is a public sector organisation who offer expert training, support and information to businesses develop and compete for Contracts. 1.11. “Supported Business” are social enterprises whose main aim is to integrate disabled or disadvantaged people socially and professionally. Their workforce must be at least 30% disabled or disadvantaged. Page 241 of 295
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Page 4 of 22 1.12. “Third Sector” is the group name for a range of organisations including community groups, charities, voluntary organisations, faith groups, social enterprises, community interest companies. Third sector organisations may be registered charities and may be registered companies. They include small, local groups and large multinational operations, and everything in between. 1.13. “Works” is the construction works that we buy, including construction of new buildings, or extensions, and creation and improvements to roads and bridges and open spaces. 2. INTRODUCTION 2.1. North Lanarkshire Council (the “Council”) is a unitary authority, the fourth largest in Scotland, and is responsible for the delivery of a wide and diverse range of statutory and discretionary public services. 2.2. The Council deliver services through a mixed economy acting as both a provider, through direct provision of services using its own workforce and assets, and an enabler with services delivered through private Contractors, the Third Sector and Supported Businesses. 2.3. During the financial year 2022/23 the Council spent £547 Million excluding VAT on goods, services and works to carry out our operations and delivery of public services. 2.4. The Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 (the “Act”) requires us to prepare an ‘Annual Procurement Report’ (“APR”) on our Regulated Procurement activities as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of each financial year. 2.5. Accordingly, we are pleased to publish our sixth APR covering the period 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023. This reporting period is aligned to Procurement Strategy 2022/23 which is published on the Council’s website for reference. 2.6. National guidance in the form of a procurement policy note, SPPN 2/2023, was published 4 May 2023; this provided an APR template designed to assist public bodies meet their reporting obligations from the Act and to gather data in a consistent way; this guidance applies to both annual procurement reports for 2022/23 and 2023/24. Page 242 of 295
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Page 5 of 22 3. REGULATED PROCUREMENT ACTIVITY 2022/23 The Act requires the APR to provide a summary of the Council’s Regulated Procurements that have been completed 3.1. For the reporting period 2022/23: • 110 Regulated Procurements were undertaken that lead to contract awards being made, o the total value of all contracts established following a Regulated Procurement exercise was £443 Million – note that this includes a mix of one-off and multi- year contracts in which some spending against these contracts may have occurred already but there will also be future spend from these contracts in accordance with the multi-year contract durations; o 262 unique Contractors were appointed across those contract awards of which 226 (86%) of the unique Contractors are SMEs; o the SME’s account for around £340 Million (77%) of the total contract award value; and o 152 (58%) of the unique Contractors are based in the North Lanarkshire Council area and they account for around £89 Million (20%) of the total contract award value. 3.2. The Council itself is committed to the Fair Work First policy, and we have implemented Fair Work First into our procurement procedures, and this is evident in all our Regulated Procurement contract awards. We are pleased that 257 (98%) of unique Contractors have committed to pay the real Living Wage. 3.3. All reporting indicators on Regulated Procurement that are requirements under the Act and set out in a national format by SPPN 2/2023 are included at ANNEX 1. A list of the 110 Regulated Procurements are included at ANNEX 2. 4. COMPLIANCE WITH PROCUREMENT STRATEGY The Act requires the APR to provide a review of whether the Regulated Procurements undertaken complied with the Council’s Procurement Strategy 2022/23, and where any Regulated Procurements did not comply, to provide a statement of how the council intends to ensure that future Regulated Procurements do comply 4.1. The Council are reporting that all 110 Regulated Procurements undertaken during the reporting period were in compliance with the Procurement Strategy 2022/23. 4.2. In accordance with the direction of the Procurement Strategy 2022/23, measures in place that have led to the successful result include: Page 243 of 295
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Page 6 of 22 • all Council Procurements must be undertaken in accordance with our internal rules General Contract Standing Orders (“GCSOs”) which set out essential requirements prior to tendering and post tender to ensure procurement is controlled and managed effectively, and strives to achieve best value; • A comprehensive procurement toolkit is in place for Regulated Procurement activity, containing templates and supporting documents, which are aligned with the national standards set by the Procurement Journey. This ensures that the Council are complying in the procurement approach with the Sustainable Procurement duty, such as encouraging commitment from our tenderers to the seven principles of Fair Work First and seeking Community Benefit opportunities. • There are frequent audits on procurement activity and procedures to ensure compliance with GCSOs, and to support continuous improvement. • The Act requires consideration whether to incorporate Community Benefit requirements as part of the Procurement when the estimated contract value is greater than or equal to £4 million. The Council have already stepped beyond the requirement and consider Community Benefits for all Regulated Procurement for Supplies or Services, and for all Works procurements greater than £500k; this is incorporated into the pre-tender procedures. • The Council jointly hosted the Meet the “Real” Buyer Lanarkshire February 2022 event with South Lanarkshire Council, and have continued to support national events for suppliers led and organised by the Supplier Development Programme during the year in compliance with the Procurement Strategy 2022/23. 5. COMMUNITY BENEFITS The Act requires the APR to provide a summary of any community benefits fulfilled from Regulated Procurements 5.1. For the reporting period there were: • 19 Regulated Procurements with a value of £4million or greater of which all 19 (100%) contained Community Benefits; • 16 Regulated Procurement with a value of between £1million and £4million of all 16 (100%) contained Community Benefits. Page 244 of 295
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Page 7 of 22 5.2. All reporting indicators on Community Benefits that are requirements under the Act and set out in a national format by SPPN 2/2023 are included at ANNEX 1 - 4 a) to j). The Council have included additional detailed measures in ANNEX 1 - 4k) 6. SUPPORTED BUSINESSES The Act requires the APR to provide a summary of any steps taken to facilitate the involvement of supported businesses in Regulated Procurements. 6.1. As mentioned at 4.2 above, for all Regulated Procurement, the Council’s GCSOs and procurement toolkit ensure that pre-tender consideration is given to contracting opportunities that are suited to the offerings available from Supported Businesses. 6.2. The Council operate and actively promote a Supported Business ‘North Lanarkshire Industries’ (“NLI”). The Council has a number of contractual agreements in place with NLI for services including: the provision of furniture; furniture refurbishment; document storage; and, the servicing of fire equipment. The combined value of these arrangements with NLI amounted to a total spend of £969,473 during the APR reporting period. 6.3. There were no further contracts with Supported Business awarded during the APR reporting period. 6.4. All reporting indicators on Supported Businesses that are requirements under the Act and set out in a national format by SPPN 2/2023 are included at ANNEX 1 - 7a) to b). 7. REGULATED PROCUREMENTS EXPECTED DURING 2023/24 AND 2024/25 The Act requires the APR to provide a summary of the Regulated Procurements the Council expects to commence in the next two financial years 7.1. As per the requirements under the Act, a full list of known Regulated Procurement expected to be undertaken during the next two financial years are included in tabular format at ANNEX 3. This comprises: • 137 Regulated Procurements are anticipated – this includes a mix of new requirements and renewals, with a mixed range of procurement approach that include our own tendering or procuring through collaborative frameworks. 7.2. The approximate aggregate contract value of these future Regulated Procurements is £1,679,956,446; this includes one-off activities and multi-year contracts. None of these future Regulated Procurements are guaranteed; they are subject to change or deletion and there is scope for additional procurement requirements to emerge. Page 245 of 295
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Page 8 of 22 ANNEX 1: PROCUREMENT OUTCOMES 1. REPORT PARAMETERS 1.1. The following report information in parts 2-8 match the template provided through SPPN 2/2023; these indicators are required to conform with the requirements of the Act. 2. SUMMARY OF REGULATED PROCUREMENTS COMPLETED Ref Metric 2022/23 2a) Total number of regulated contracts awarded within the report period 110 2b) Total value of regulated contracts awarded within the report period £443,140,904 2c) Total number of unique suppliers awarded a place on a regulated contract awarded during the period 262 i) how many of these unique suppliers are SMEs 226 ii) how many of these unique suppliers are Third sector bodies 9 3. REVIEW OF REGULATED PROCUREMENTS COMPLIANCE Ref Metric 2022/23 3a) Number of regulated contracts awarded within the period that complied with your Procurement Strategy 110 3b) Number of regulated contracts awarded within the period that did not comply with your Procurement Strategy 0 4. COMMUNITY BENEFIT REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY Use of Community Benefit Requirements in Procurement: Ref Metric 2022/23 4a) Total Number of regulated contracts awarded with a value of £4 million or greater. 19 4b) Total Number of regulated contracts awarded with a value of £4 million or greater that contain Community Benefit Requirements. 11 4c) Total Number of regulated contracts awarded with a value of less than £4 million that contain Community Benefit Requirements 32 Page 246 of 295
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Page 9 of 22 Key Contract Information on community benefit requirements imposed as part of a Regulated Procurement that were fulfilled during the period: Ref Metric 2022/23 4d) Number of Jobs Filled by Priority Groups (Each contracting authority sets its own priority groups) 15 4e) Number of Apprenticeships Filled by Priority Groups 14 4f) Number of Work Placements for Priority Groups 50 4g) Number of Qualifications Achieved Through Training by Priority Groups 0 4h) Total Value of contracts sub-contracted to SMEs £1,266,500 4i) Total Value of contracts sub-contracted to Social Enterprises £800,000 4j) Total Value of contracts sub-contracted to Supported Businesses 0 Other Community Benefits Fulfilled: Ref Theme Outcome 2022/23 4k) Targeted Recruitment and Training New entrant - experience 7 posts New entrant – no relevant experience 15 posts New entrant – Modern Apprenticeship 14 posts New entrant - Graduate 1 post Targeted Skills and Training Work experience placement (16yrs+) 38 work placements Work experience placement (14-16yrs) 12 work placements Work experience placement graduate 4 placements Careers event, Industry awareness events 33 events Site Visit 25 visits School mentoring or enterprise programme 12 sessions Vocational Training/qual ifications Vocational Certification (Industry Certification) 0 certifications S/NVQ for apprentices to level 2 or above 0 S/NVQs Supply Chain Development Supply chain briefings (SME and Micro businesses) 25 events Business mentoring for an SME 21 opportunities Community Engagement Financial support for a community project 19 projects Non-Financial support for a community project 54 projects Page 247 of 295
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Page 10 of 22 5. FAIR WORK AND THE REAL LIVING WAGE Ref Metric 2022/23 5a) Number of regulated contracts awarded during the period that included a Fair Work First criterion. 110 5b) Number of unique suppliers who have committed to pay the real Living Wage in the delivery of a regulated contract awarded during the period. 257 5c) Number of unique suppliers who are accredited Living Wage employers and were awarded a regulated contract during the period. 70 6. PAYMENT PERFORMANCE Ref Metric 2022/23 6a) Number of valid invoices received during the reporting period. 327,439 6b) Percentage of invoices paid on time during the period (“On time” means within the time period set out in the contract terms.) 76% 6c) *Number of regulated contracts awarded during the period containing a contract term requiring the prompt payment of invoices in public contract supply chains. 25 6d) *Number of concerns raised by sub-contractors about the timely payment of invoices within the supply chain of public contracts. zero *new requirement that only became effective June 2022 in accordance with SPPN 2/2022 7. SUPPORTED BUSINESSES SUMMARY Ref Metric 2022/23 7a) **Total number of regulated contracts awarded to supported businesses during the period 0 7b) Total spend with supported businesses during the period covered by the report, including: £969,473 i) spend within the reporting year on regulated contracts £0.00 ii) spend within the reporting year on non-regulated contracts £969,473 **multiple internal contracts with NLI, as reported at Section 6 Supported Business (page 7) Page 248 of 295
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Page 11 of 22 8. SPEND AND SAVINGS SUMMARY The section of reporting moves away from the Regulated Procurements undertaken to establish contracts that were effective from 2022/23 and available for use in future years. The below table of information provides the general Council expenditure during 2022/23 alone i.e. money spent on goods, services and works to carry out our operations and delivery of public services. Ref Metric 2022/23 8a) Total procurement spend for the period covered by the annual procurement report. £546,983,411 8b) Total procurement spend with SMEs during the period covered by the annual procurement report. £185,055,758 8c) Total procurement spend with third sector bodies during the period covered by the report. £18,047,806 8d) Percentage of total procurement spend through collaborative contracts. 21.78% 8e) ***Total delivered cash savings for the period covered by the annual procurement report £572,997 8f) ***Total non-cash savings value for the period covered by the annual procurement report £388,610 *** 8e) and 8f) are based on SPPN 2/2023 – Annex A Annual Procurement Report Template, ’Procurement benefits reporting: guidance’. Page 249 of 295
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Page 12 of 22 ANNEX 2: REGULATED PROCUREMENTS – COMPLETED 2022/23 Date of Award Contract - Subject Matter Name of the Supplier(s) Estimated Value of the Contract Contract Start Date Contract End Date Contract End Date including Extension 04/04/2022 Microsoft EA/SCE/EES/Dynamics Agreement 2022-25 Phoenix Software £9,270,111 01/04/2022 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 06/04/2022 MTC: Asbestos Air Monitoring, Sampling & Analysis to Domestic Properties 2022-25 Environmental Essentials Ltd £285,000 23/05/2022 24/01/2024 24/01/2025 07/04/2022 Distress Brief Intervention Lifelink £470,600 01/04/2022 31/03/2024 31/03/2024 12/04/2022 Provision of Digital Telecare Alarms Doro Care UK £210,240 09/03/2022 08/03/2023 08/03/2023 12/04/2022 FA: Provision of Digital Connectivity Services Commsworld Ltd £150,000,000 04/02/2022 03/02/2037 03/02/2042 20/04/2022 Play Areas & Multi-Use Games Areas KOMPAN Scotland Ltd £250,999 01/04/2022 01/10/2022 01/10/2022 21/04/2022 Tyres for Vehicle & Plant & Associated Services McConechy's Tyre Service Ltd £120,000 01/05/2022 31/10/2022 31/10/2022 25/04/2022 Post Diagnostic Support Dementia Support Alzheimer Scotland £194,000 01/04/2022 31/03/2024 31/03/2024 29/04/2022 MTC: UPVC Door & Window Repairs & Maintenance 2022-26 Walker Profiles £7,500,000 23/05/2022 21/01/2024 21/01/2026 13/05/2022 Housing Transformation Digitisation Programme Agilisys Professional Services Ltd £121,000 14/02/2022 13/05/2022 13/05/2022 16/05/2022 MTC: Independent Gas Audits 2022-25 Morgan Lambert £170,000 19/05/2022 18/05/2024 18/05/2025 24/05/2022 Post Tensioned Bridge Assessments Sweco UK Ltd £147,543 01/06/2022 31/12/2022 31/12/2022 26/05/2022 MTC: Water Quality Control Corporate Property 2022-25 SPIE Ltd £500,000 20/08/2022 21/01/2024 21/01/2025 01/06/2022 External Audit & Tax Advisory Services North Lanarkshire Properties (NLP) Armstrong Watson £93,850 01/06/2022 31/05/2025 31/05/2026 01/06/2022 PPE Clothing for Homecare Workers STAX Tradecentres Ltd £120,000 23/05/2022 22/05/2024 22/05/2026 06/06/2022 Supply & Delivery of Welfare Accommodation & Storage Units Fraser Ltd £57,200 06/06/2022 31/10/2022 31/10/2022 10/06/2022 MTC: Bitumen MacAdam (Bitmac) Repairs 2022-26 John McGeady Ltd, Hillhouse Quarry Group T/A MacAsphalt £6,700,000 13/06/2022 21/01/2024 21/01/2026 16/06/2022 New Fleet Workshop - Bellshill Tilbury Douglas Construction Ltd £5,320,440 01/08/2022 31/05/2023 31/05/2023 16/06/2022 Netcall Telephony System Annual Support & Maintenance 2022-24 Netcall Technology Ltd £157,604 19/06/2022 18/06/2023 12/07/2024 20/06/2022 Occupational Health Services & Employee Assistance Programme Health Management Ltd £2,775,000 01/06/2022 31/05/2025 31/05/2027 05/07/2022 Ravenscraig Access Infrastructure North Design and Project (Contract) Management Amey OW Ltd £1,888,912 13/06/2022 30/06/2026 30/06/2026 06/07/2022 FA: Conservation Architect Design Team MAST Architects (MASTARCH Ltd, Page/Park Architects Ltd, Robert Potter & Partners Ltd, Smith Scott Mullen Associates £3,000,000 01/07/2022 30/06/2024 30/06/2026 14/07/2022 Provision of Cashless Catering Services & Equipment 2022-26 Cash Registers Buccleugh £777,078 03/10/2022 02/10/2027 02/10/2027 Page 250 of 295
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Page 13 of 22 15/07/2022 Unix Support Services 2022-24 DataVita Ltd £148,185 01/08/2022 31/07/2023 31/07/2023 18/07/2022 Supply of Compostable Sacks & Liners Cromwell Polythene Ltd £388,128 15/07/2022 14/07/2023 14/07/2024 21/07/2022 Bridge Inspections 2022-23 Atkins Ltd £277,746 18/07/2022 31/03/2023 31/03/2023 22/07/2022 Ravenscraig Levelling Up Fund: Design & Planning Services Sweco UK Ltd £523,976 21/07/2022 03/06/2024 03/06/2024 26/07/2022 Design & Construction of NBSH at Berwick Street, Coatbridge Cruden Building (Scotland) Ltd £4,100,000 01/08/2022 31/07/2023 31/07/2024 28/07/2022 Ravenscraig Levelling Up Fund: Project & Contract Management Services Currie & Brown UK Ltd £320,131 21/07/2022 20/10/2026 20/10/2026 05/08/2022 Minimatic RCV Conversion Farid Hillend Engineering Ltd £123,384 28/07/2022 31/03/2023 31/03/2023 10/08/2022 Supply & Delivery of Personal Protective Equipment (Covid 19) Unico Ltd £240,510 02/08/2022 31/03/2023 31/03/2023 10/08/2022 Supply & Distribution of Frozen Foods Brake Bros Ltd £8,340,000 08/08/2022 07/08/2026 07/10/2026 18/08/2022 Provision of ServiceNow (SNOW Support) Unifii £196,140 08/08/2022 07/08/2023 07/08/2024 22/08/2022 Fleet Tracker System Ctrack £268,100 22/08/2022 21/08/2025 21/08/2027 31/08/2022 Provision of Assistive Technology Services for M365 Migration David J Robertson T/A Asset Technology Company Ltd £135,000 01/04/2022 31/12/2022 31/12/0022 09/09/2022 Treatment & Disposal of Kerbside Co-mingled Food & Garden Waste Levenseat Ltd £8,550,000 01/10/2022 30/09/2025 30/09/2027 09/09/2022 Landfill Consultancy Services RPS Consulting Services Ltd £900,000 12/09/2022 11/09/2025 11/09/2027 13/09/2022 Pantheon Website Hosting Agilisys Professional Services Ltd £104,865 10/09/2022 09/09/2025 09/09/2025 15/09/2022 Waste Management & Recycling Services for Bulky Waste, Special Uplifts & Fly Tipping Dow Group Ltd £6,100,918 14/10/2022 13/10/2025 13/10/2027 22/092022 Provision of a Social Work Case Management Solution (mySWIS) Access UK Ltd £1,500,000 26/09/2022 25/09/2027 25/09/2032 27/09/2022 Provision of an Online School Payments Solution 2022-26 CRB Cunninghams £160,000 03/10/2022 02/10/2024 02/10/2026 29/09/2022 Provision of Wide Area Network Services 2022-37(42) Commsworld Ltd £22,026,933 07/02/2022 06/02/2035 06/02/2042 29/09/2022 Supply, Fit of Tyres for Vehicles & Plant & Additional Services McConechy's Tyre Service Ltd £960,000 01/11/2022 31/10/2024 31/10/2026 29/09/2022 Provision of Fibre Connectivity to Analogue Sites 2022-37 (42) Commsworld Ltd £2,006,070 07/02/2022 06/02/2035 06/02/2042 29/09/2022 Provision of Fibre Connectivity to CCTV Sites 2022-37 (42) Commsworld Ltd £838,902 07/02/2022 06/02/2035 06/02/2042 30/09/2022 Provision of an Enterprise Backup Solution 2022-25 Softcat Plc £576,241 03/10/2022 03/10/2027 03/10/2027 07/10/2022 Design & Construction of New Build Social Housing At Dykehead Road, Holehills, Airdrie CCG (Scotland) Ltd £26,996,625 01/12/2022 30/11/2024 30/11/2024 11/10/2022 Provision of Security Information & Events Management Solution NCC Group (GB) £355,980 17/10/2022 16/10/2024 16/10/2025 13/10/2022 Business Intelligence Hub Phase 4 Agilisys Professional Services Ltd £567,975 01/05/2022 31/03/2023 31/03/2023 13/10/2022 MTC: Fire Alarm, Smoke Alarm & Protection Systems Service and Maintenance 2022-26 in NDP SPIE Scotshield Limited £800,000 01/12/2022 21/01/2024 21/01/2026 14/10/2022 Scottish Water Feasibility Study Atkins Ltd £50,000 17/10/2022 17/04/2023 17/04/2023 20/10/2022 Professional & Technical Support around Environmental Improvements & Community Engagement Keep Scotland Beautiful £80,000 01/11/2022 31/03/2023 31/03/2024 26/10/2022 Palacerigg Master Planner Stantec UK Limited £150,000 01/11/2022 17/03/2025 17/03/2025 27/10/2022 Hosting, Support & Licensing of Gladstone MRM Booking System Softcat Plc £286,159 01/10/2022 31/10/2023 31/10/2023 Page 251 of 295
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Page 14 of 22 28/10/2022 BA Childhood Practice, Cohort September 22 New College Lanarkshire £290,137 01/10/2022 30/09/2025 30/09/2025 31/10/2022 Provision of Adobe Acrobat Licensing Softcat Plc £184,694 01/10/2022 30/09/2025 30/09/2025 31/10/2022 Public Library Management Solution Softcat Plc £230,000 01/11/2022 31/10/2027 31/10/2027 01/11/2022 Provision of an HR Case Management Solution CDW Limited £1,327,200 01/11/2022 31/10/2023 16/01/2026 02/11/2022 Provision of a Hosted & Managed Solution for Planning Services Idox Software Ltd £1,209,684 20/10/2022 19/10/2027 19/10/2029 04/11/2022 Total Learning Management System Government (Public Sector) Catalogue Integration Maintenance Learning Pool £300,000 04/11/2022 03/11/2024 03/11/2026 10/11/2022 Design and Build of Play Areas KOMPAN Scotland Ltd £251,000 30/01/2023 29/01/2024 29/01/2024 14/11/2022 Provision of a Route Optimisation & In-Cab Technology Solution 2022-25 Rubicon International LLC (DE) £69,083 01/05/2022 31/10/2023 31/10/2023 15/11/2022 Provision of Fresh Meats, Cooked Meats & Fresh Fish McLays Ltd, Brake Brothers Ltd £350,130 31/10/2022 30/03/2023 30/03/2023 21/11/2022 Supply and Delivery of Household Waste Bins SSI Schaefer £1,500,000 28/11/2022 27/11/2025 27/11/2027 22/11/2022 Vehicle Restraint Systems Assessment Atkins Ltd £150,000 21/11/2022 20/11/2023 20/11/2023 23/11/2022 Enterprise Project: Technical Support Faithful+Gould £100,000 01/12/2022 21/01/2023 21/01/2023 23/11/2022 Supply & Installation of Electronic Programmable Signs COEVAL £1,000,000 01/12/2022 30/11/2024 30/11/2024 24/11/2022 Birkshaw Tower (Wishaw) and High-Coats Tower (Coatbridge) - Refurbishments Mears Group £3,434,109 18/07/2022 10/12/2022 10/12/2022 30/11/2022 Design Team Consultancy Services for Conversion of Old Motherwell Town Hall to SH MAST Architects (MASTARCH Ltd) £284,845 05/12/2022 04/12/2026 04/12/2026 01/12/2022 Supply & Delivery of Telecare Equipment Careium £420,480 01/12/2022 31/03/2023 30/06/2023 01/12/2022 Provision of Cash Collection Services 2022-23 Security Plus + Limited £131,681 01/12/2022 30/11/2023 30/11/2023 06/12/2022 Recycling & Treatment of Kerbside Collected Glass Metal & Plastics Levenseat Limited £2,170,000 16/01/2023 15/01/2026 15/01/2028 08/12/2022 Greenspace Development Framework Project Centre £5,000,000 09/01/2023 08/01/2025 08/01/2027 13/12/2022 Design & Build of a Pump Track, Moor Park, Muirhead Architrail Velosolutions UK Ltd £130,000 09/01/2023 09/01/2024 09/01/2024 14/12/2022 Assistive Technology Client Support Services & Maintenance 2022-23 David J Robertson T/A Asset Technology Company Ltd £207,933 24/12/2022 23/12/2025 23/12/2025 15/12/2022 Provision of UiPath Licensing 2022-25 Softcat Plc £160,186 24/12/2022 23/12/2025 23/12/2025 21/12/2022 Design & Construction of NBSH at Petersburn Road, Airdrie. McTaggart Construction £9,002,372 16/01/2023 20/05/2024 20/05/2024 21/12/2022 BEMS (Building Energy Management System) Servicing & Maintenance Chartwell Controls £825,000 23/01/2023 22/01/2025 22/01/2026 04/01/2023 Energy Advice and Assistance Service The Wise Group £150,000 23/01/2023 31/03/2024 31/03/2025 13/01/2023 Design and Build of Multiple Play Areas - P4. Sandy Beach, Strathclyde Park KOMPAN Scotland Ltd £120,000 10/01/2023 09/01/2024 09/01/2024 16/01/2023 Provision of Support for People Affected by Huntingtons Disease Scottish Huntington's Association £398,898 01/04/2022 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 16/01/2023 NBSH at Brandon Street, Motherwell CCG (Scotland) Ltd £11,027,045 13/02/2023 01/07/2024 01/07/2024 23/01/2023 Business Consultancy (Manufacturing & Innovation) Enterprise North East Trust Ltd T/A Elevator £100,000 23/01/2023 30/06/2023 30/06/2023 26/01/2023 Digital Counselling Service & Online Platform of Support Kooth Digital Health Limited £400,000 30/01/2023 29/01/2024 29/01/2027 31/01/2023 Design & Build Play Area - Lilac, Attercliffe, Currieside HAGS-SMP Limited £220,000 30/01/2023 29/01/2024 29/01/2024 31/01/2023 Design & Build Play Area - Scarhill St. (Kirkshaws) Wicksteed Leisure Ltd £170,000 30/01/2023 29/01/2024 29/01/2024 Page 252 of 295
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Page 15 of 22 06/02/2023 Flexible Framework Solutions for ASN Pupils (Equipment & Adaptations) James Leckey design Ltd, Jenx Ltd T/A Jiraffe, Schuchmann LLP, Activate for Kids Ltd £480,000 01/02/2023 31/01/2024 31/01/2026 28/02/2023 Enterprise Contract External Technical/Commercial Advisory Services Optimum Professional Solutions Ltd £440,000 20/02/2023 19/08/2023 19/10/2024 28/02/2023 Civica Licencing, Support & Maintenance 2023-24 Civica UK Ltd £62,098 01/04/2023 31/03/2024 31/03/2024 08/03/2022 Provision of Pest Control Services for Domestic & Corporate Premises GP Environmental Ltd £2,000,000 03/04/2023 02/04/2026 02/04/2028 09/03/2023 Supply & Delivery of Continuous Automatic Nitrogen Oxides Analysers ACOEM UK Ltd £71,244 08/03/2023 08/06/2023 08/06/2023 10/03/2023 Whifflet & Calder Tower Block Refurbishments Consultancy Services Thomas & Adamson LLP £500,000 10/03/2023 30/05/2026 30/05/2026 10/03/2023 Low Rise Fire Doors & Fire Stopping Mears Ltd £7,500,000 24/02/2023 21/01/2024 21/01/2024 10/03/2023 Bespoke Early Years Agreement Kidstore Childcare Ltd £427,000 01/08/2023 31/07/2024 31/07/2024 14/03/2023 ArcGIS Maintenance & Support 2023-24 ESRI (UK) £72,650 01/04/2023 31/03/2024 31/03/2024 15/03/2023 Counselling Service for Care Experienced Young People Therapeutic Counselling Services Ltd £200,000 10/04/2023 09/04/2024 09/04/2027 21/03/2023 MTC: Window & Doors Replacement 2023-25 Walker Profiles Ltd, Belac Group Ltd £15,000,000 03/04/2023 21/01/2024 21/01/2025 22/03/2023 Bottled Water & Associated Products Waterlogic GB Ltd £136,000 06/03/2023 05/03/2025 05/03/2027 23/03/2023 Motherwell Theatre Pantomime from 2023 Spillers Pantomimes Ltd £1,564,168 01/03/2023 11/01/2026 09/01/2028 23/03/2023 Gym and Studio Equipment Indigo Fitness £2,600,000 03/04/2023 02/04/2028 02/04/2030 23/03/2023 Supply & Installation of Immersive Experience Pods BT PLC £2,000,000 27/03/2023 26/03/2028 26/03/2028 23/03/2023 Provision of External Audit & Tax Advisory Services for Fusion Assets Limited Armstrong Watson £67,165 31/03/2023 30/03/2025 30/03/2026 23/03/2023 Committee Meeting Webcasting, Hybrid & Microphone System Maintenance Softcat Plc £100,000 01/05/2023 30/04/2028 30/04/2028 24/03/2023 LAN/SAN & Server Hardware Supply/Maintenance Services Virgin Media Business £3,932,110 01/04/2023 31/03/2026 31/03/2026 28/03/2023 Provision of Domestic Flooring 2023-27 Spruce Carpets Ltd £800,000 20/02/2023 19/02/2027 19/02/2027 31/03/2023 MTC: Battery Storage Installations 2023-26 Saltire Facilities Management Ltd £9,000,000 03/04/2023 24/01/2024 24/01/2026 31/03/2023 MTC: Swimming Pool Plant 2023-25 Aquateq Pools Ltd £350,000 01/04/2023 21/01/2024 21/01/2025 31/03/2023 Emergency Power Generators GWF Generators Ltd £322,447 31/03/2023 30/03/2026 30/03/2026 19/01/2023 Flexible Framework: Services Linked to Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC) & Pupil Equity Fund (PEF) Acer International UK Ltd, Achieve More Scotland, Action for Children Services Ltd, Barnardo’s, Beats of Brazil, Brachan Consultancy, Foundation for Positive Mental Health, Impact Arts, Includem, Lanarkshire Catering School, Liber8 Lanarkshire, Live-N-Learn, , Love@Care Ltd, Mind Marvels, New College Lanarkshire, Outlay Play Resource, Penumbra Mental Health, Place2Be, Practically Primary Science, Reeltime Music, Right Options, Routes to Work Ltd, Royston Stress Centre T/A Lifelink, Synergy Training Services Ltd, Teentalk Scotland, The Miracle Foundation SCIO, Therapeutic Counselling Services Ltd, The Spark, Tigers (STA) Ltd, Triangle Consulting Social Enterprise, Uteach Ltd, Windmills Lanarkshire £16,000,000 21/12/2022 20/12/2026 20/12/2026 Page 253 of 295
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Page 16 of 22 09/03/2023 Flexible Framework: Early Learning & Childcare Services in North Lanarkshire 2023-27 Almost Home Childcare, Alphabet Village Ltd, Amcol Scotland Ltd T/A Bellwood Nursery, Amcol Scotland Ltd T/A Firtrees Nursery, Angela Mitchell, Anne's Childminding Services, Annie Campbell We Are Family Childminding Services, Auchinbee Care Ltd, Belinda McKenna's Childminding Service, Brolly's Babes Childminding Services, Buchannan Park Nursery Ltd, Busy Lizzie Childminder, Busy Lizzie's Buzzy Bees Childminding, Carolanne Redford Childminding, Caroline Stewart Childminding, Caroline Wilkie, Carol Murray Childminder, Carolynne Hill, Catherine's Childminding, Cathy Smith, Cats Childminding Services, Chalmers Childminding, Cheryl’s Childminding, Childminding By Gillian, Christina Moyes, Claires Childminding, Collin Care Ltd Cabbage Patch Nursery, Collin Care Ltd Kiddieshack Nursery, Comfy Kids Childcare, Razwan & Sarah Saeed t/a Craigard Nursery, Cumbernauld & Kilsyth Nursery, Daisy Daycare (Coatbridge) Ltd, Daisy Daycare Ltd, Danielle Bianchi Childminding, Debbie Kerr Registered Childminder, Deborah Andrews, Elaine's Childminding Services, Evelyn Macphersons Childminding, Fiona Cotter, Fiona McCormick Registered Childminder, First Class Day Nursery, Amcol Scotland Ltd T/A Fullwood Nursery, Gayle Roles Reg Childminder Woodland Explorers, Childminding Services, Gillian's Childcare; Gillian Lang Childminding, Gillian Radigan, Green Apple Nursery Limited, Happy Days, Happy Home Childcare, Happy Sunshine Childminding, Hazel's Childminding Service, Heathpark Nursery, Hyde n Seek (Bellshill) Limited, Irene Delaney, Isabel Stobo, Jacqueline McLaughlin, Jeanne Foley Childminding Service, Jeans Childminding, Jennifer Clews Childminder, Katz Kids Childminding, Kellyann Moonie Childminding, Kerry Childminding, Kerry Hunter Childminding Service, Kelly Care Limited t/a Kirktonholme @ Coatbridge, Little Kellycare Ltd trading as Kirktonholme Childcare Airdrie, Kelly Care Ltd, Carrick, Kerr and Co, Lesley's Childminding, Lesley Ann Frame Childminding, Lesley McBride Registered Childminder, Lesleys Childcare, Libbys Childcare, Linda Fowler, Lindas Childcare, Lisa's Little Learner's, Lisa Cruden Childminder, Lisa Goldie Childminding, Lisa Mulhearn, Little Angels Childminding, Little Ducklings Childminding, Little Hands Nursery, Little People Childminding, Little Stepps Childminding, Lochview Nursery Ltd, Lorraine's Childminding, Lorraine McGuigan, Lorraine McKinley, Louby Lou Childminding, Manda Tots Childcare, Manor Park Nursery, Margaret Cameron, Marianne, MarieLouise & Robert Childcare, M Campbell, Mrs Alison Patterson, MS Childminding Services, Muddy Puddles Childminding Services, Board of Management, New College Lanarkshire, Cumbernauld Campus Nursery, Board of Management, New College Lanarkshire - Coatbridge Campus Nursery, Nicolas Childminding, Noah's Ark Nursery, Ochiltree Childminding, Oor Bonnie Bairns, Papillon Nursery Ltd, Parkview Nursery, Pauline's Home from Home Childcare, Pauline McInally, Piccolo Nursery, Precious Moments Childminding, Preschool Academy Limited, Rainforest Nursery Limited, Rosie and Kirstys Childcare, Sandra's Childcare, Sandra Dunlop Childminding, Sarah Mair's Childcare, Scarlett's Childminding, Sharon Scoular, Shooting Stars Childminding, Snowdrop Nursery, Step by Step Private Nurseries Ltd, Stepping Stones Nursery School (Airdrie) Ltd, Stepps Childcare, Sues Childminding, Susan's Childcare, Susan's Childminding, Tannoch Tots Nursery, The Bumble Bee Nursery, Thrive Childcare and Education, Tiny Tots Academy Ltd, Tiny Tots Childminding, Tiny Tots Nursery Limited, Tiny Town, Tracey's Childminding Service, Tracey Eccleson Childcare, Tracy Wilson Childminding Service, Tricias Childminding Services, Weans World, Michelle Mooney T/A Windmill Nursery £60,000,000 01/08/2023 31/07/2027 31/07/2027 Page 254 of 295
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Page 17 of 22 ANNEX 3: REGULATED PROCUREMENTS – PLANNED 2023/24 and 2024/25 Contract - Subject Matter / Title Expected Route to Market Expected Procurement Date Expected Contract Start Date Estimated Contract Value Asta Powerproject Hosted Solution 2023-26 Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/06/2023 30/06/2023 £55,810 Unix Oracle Support Hosted Services Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 24/05/2023 01/07/2023 £428,000 Blackburn Houses, Wishaw Consultancy Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 25/05/2023 10/07/2023 £75,000 Provision of Cloud Records Management - Avepoint Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/06/2023 13/07/2023 £104,000 Janes Brae Bridge Assessment Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 19/06/2023 17/07/2023 £150,000 Making Life Easier North Lanarkshire Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/04/2023 01/08/2023 £280,000 Riverbank & Chryston Hubs - Supply, Delivery & Installation of Audio-Visual Equipment Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 14/06/2023 01/08/2023 £100,000 Rental of Co-Location Data Centre Services Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 24/05/2023 05/08/2023 £171,000 ASN Transport - 2023 batch of contracts Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/05/2023 15/08/2023 £5,000,000 New Build Housing - Kings House, Wishaw Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/06/2023 01/09/2023 £3,400,000 Cumbernauld Village School - Conversion and new build to provide social housing Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/06/2023 01/09/2023 £2,000,000 General Office Supplies Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 24/05/2023 23/09/2023 £1,660,000 Cardio & Fixed Strength Equipment Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/04/2023 26/09/2023 £1,100,000 Rewire, Fire Stopping and Decoration - Dalziel High School - Design Fees Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/05/2023 01/10/2023 £50,000 New Build Housing - Thorn Road, Bellshill Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/06/2023 01/10/2023 £5,300,000 New Build Housing - Airdriehill, Airdrie Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 02/06/2023 01/10/2023 £15,950,000 Provision of Waste Management & Recycling Services for Paper & Card Materials collected from the Council’s Kerbside Collection Service Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/04/2023 01/10/2023 Income Generation Supply, Delivery and / or Installation of Office Furniture (Corporate Contract) Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/05/2023 01/10/2023 £750,000 Disposal and Treatment of Cardboard collected from the Council’s HWRC’s Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/06/2023 01/10/2023 Income Generation Disposal and Treatment of Gas Bottles collected from the Council’s HWRC’s Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/06/2023 01/10/2023 £50,000 Disposal and Treatment of Special Waste – car batteries collected from the Council’s HWRC’s Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/06/2023 01/10/2023 Income Generation Page 255 of 295
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Page 18 of 22 Disposal/Recycling of Scrap Metals via HWRC Sites Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/06/2023 01/10/2023 Income Generation Debt Recovery & Diligence Service for Local Taxation Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/04/2023 02/10/2023 Null value Recruitment Advertising & Public Information Notices Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/04/2023 07/10/2023 £700,000 Equipment Adaptation Service ICT Solution Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 09/05/2023 01/11/2023 £146,000 Hosted Job Manager and Dynamic Scheduling Software Solutions Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/04/2023 01/11/2023 £950,000 Optimised Routing & In-Cab Technology Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 09/05/2023 01/11/2023 £230,275 Enterprise Asset Management Solution Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 09/05/2023 01/12/2023 £1,000,000 Wide Area Network Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/09/2023 01/12/2023 £400,000 Provision of Cash Collection Services 2023-27 Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/04/2023 01/12/2023 £560,000 Remote CCTV Telephony (Vodafone) - RM3808 Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/09/2023 01/01/2024 £200,000 Environmental Asset Management Application (CONFIRM or alternative software) Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/04/2023 01/01/2024 £1,000,000 Disposal/Recycling of Collected Co-Mingled CDR from Trade Waste Premises Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/09/2023 30/01/2024 £130,000 New Build Housing - Coshneuk Road Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/08/2023 01/02/2024 £4,000,000 Sherlocks Works Consultancy Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/09/2023 01/02/2024 £150,000 Digital Alarm Devices and Peripherals Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/12/2023 01/02/2024 £2,400,000 Corporate Scanning Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/10/2023 01/02/2024 £600,000 Supply , Installation, Commissioning and Maintenance of a Fuel Management System Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/09/2023 23/02/2024 £80,000 Vehicle and Plant hire Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/08/2023 01/03/2024 £2,500,000 Fuel Cards & Associated Services Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/09/2023 22/03/2024 £165,000 Mobile Voice and Data Services Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/10/2023 24/03/2024 £1,300,000 Water and Waste Water Billing Services Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/11/2023 01/04/2024 £13,000,000 Civica Licencing, Support and Maintenance 2024 - 2025 Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/11/2023 01/04/2024 £70,000 Supply of Electricity Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/01/2024 01/04/2024 £40,000,000 Provision of Audio Visual Equipment for Education & Corporate Establishments Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/04/2023 01/04/2024 £4,700,000 IT Peripherals - ACC Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 07/08/2023 01/04/2024 £500,000 Provision of Soft Furnishings and Domestic Goods 2024-28 Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 07/08/2023 01/04/2024 £16,000,000 Page 256 of 295
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Page 19 of 22 Provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) 2024-28 Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 07/08/2023 01/04/2024 £4,000,000 ArcGIS Annual Maintenance Subscription Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/12/2023 01/04/2024 £80,000 Banking Service Provision & Merchant Acquiring Solution Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/12/2023 01/04/2024 £600,000 New Build Housing - Bank Street, Coatbridge Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/05/2023 03/04/2024 £5,100,000 Motherwell Town Hall - Refurbishment and conversion to social housing Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/05/2023 24/04/2024 £4,000,000 New Build Housing - Kildonan Street, Coatbridge - Refurbishment and conversion to social housing Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/05/2023 24/04/2024 £15,000,000 Integrated Housing Management and Asset Solution Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 21/07/2023 20/05/2024 £3,500,000 Supply & Distribution of Groceries and Provisions Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/01/2024 08/06/2024 £8,800,000 Provision of Unified Communications Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/12/2023 01/08/2024 £4,000,000 New Build Housing - Shawhead - Reprovisioning (102 units) Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 02/04/2024 02/08/2024 £25,500,000 ASN Transport - 2024 batch of contracts Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/05/2024 15/08/2024 £5,000,000 Airdrie Town House Design Team Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/06/2024 01/09/2024 £350,000 New Build Housing - Coursington - Reprovisioning (60- units) Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/04/2024 01/10/2024 £15,000,000 Provision of Free Sanitary Products Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/04/2024 01/11/2024 £1,300,000 Supply & Delivery of Catering Sundries Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/01/2024 01/12/2024 £1,700,000 Provision of ServiceNow (SNOW Support) Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/02/2024 13/12/2024 £210,000 Provision of ServiceNow Licensing Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/06/2024 17/01/2025 £350,000 MultiVue Suite Software Support & Maintenance 2023-25 Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/11/2024 01/04/2025 £175,000 Provision of a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement SCE-EES 2022-25 Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/10/2024 01/04/2025 £10,000,000 Replacement of Secure Web Gateway Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/10/2024 01/04/2025 £300,000 Provision of a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement SCE-EES 2022-25 Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/10/2024 01/04/2025 £10,000,000 East Airdrie Link Road - Tendering, Project and Contact Management Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/12/2024 01/09/2025 £2,000,000 Provision of Pantheon Website Hosting Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/04/2025 10/09/2025 £120,000 Provision of Adobe Acrobat Licensing Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/03/2025 01/10/2025 £200,000 New Build Housing - Dunbeth - Reprovisioning (170 units) Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/04/2025 01/10/2025 £42,500,000 Provision of Security Information and Events Management Solution Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/03/2025 17/10/2025 £380,000 Page 257 of 295
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Page 20 of 22 Revenues and Benefits System Call-off from 3rd Party Framework 01/04/2025 26/03/2026 £2,500,000 Measured Term Contract for Warden Calls at Sheltered Housing Complexes 2021- 2024 Open Procedure 01/08/2023 01/01/2022 £300,000 Compliance Testing 2023-27 Open Procedure 01/04/2023 20/06/2023 £200,000 Doonside Tower Retaining Wall Open Procedure 19/04/2023 01/07/2023 £67,000 Edward Lawson Centre/Bothwellpark Relocation Open Procedure 01/04/2023 01/08/2023 £2,400,000 SAC & PEF Entry Point 2 Open Procedure 01/05/2023 01/08/2023 £4,000,000 Decriminalised Parking Enforcement Signing and Lining Maintenance Open Procedure 01/04/2023 06/08/2023 £60,000 Online Knowledge Resource Library Open Procedure 01/04/2023 26/08/2023 £175,000 Coring 2023-27 Open Procedure 01/04/2023 01/09/2023 £300,000 Digital Road Survey & Inspection Open Procedure 01/04/2023 01/09/2023 £150,000 Stray Dog Kennelling Facility Open Procedure 03/04/2023 01/09/2023 £180,000 Vocational and skill based interventions - Entry Point 3 Open Procedure 01/04/2023 13/09/2023 £1,250,000 Stairwell Cleaning (Close Cleaning) Services 2024 - 2027 Open Procedure 10/04/2023 18/09/2023 £1,600,000 Electricity - Half Hourly Meter Operator & Data Collector Open Procedure 01/04/2023 01/10/2023 £200,000 Supply, Installation and Servicing of Stairlifts and Hoists Open Procedure 01/04/2023 01/10/2023 £8,000,000 Drive Through Vehicle Wash Open Procedure 01/05/2023 01/10/2023 £90,000 Support for businesses for net zero carbon Open Procedure 01/05/2023 01/10/2023 £200,000 Visitor Campaign (UKSPF) Open Procedure 01/05/2023 01/10/2023 £120,000 Manufacturing and Innovation Open Procedure 01/05/2023 01/10/2023 £200,000 Aids for daily living Open Procedure 01/06/2023 01/10/2023 £2,800,000 Administration Support of Engagement and Participation (Supported People) Open Procedure 27/06/2023 01/10/2023 £900,000 Provision of Winter Related Services - Education & Corporate Estate Open Procedure 01/04/2023 18/10/2023 £400,000 Early Help for Families Open Procedure 31/07/2023 01/11/2023 £3,500,000 Asbestos Removal & Encapsulation Service Open Procedure 08/05/2023 29/11/2023 £2,000,000 Flexible Framework - Provision of Non Traditional Respite Services - Entry Point 3 Open Procedure 01/07/2023 01/12/2023 £3,200,000 Lanark County Council (Swedish Timber) Works Open Procedure 24/07/2023 10/01/2024 £5,000,000 Stairwell Cleaning Services Open Procedure 01/04/2023 14/01/2024 £1,600,000 Page 258 of 295
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Page 21 of 22 Signs of Safety Approach Open Procedure 01/09/2023 01/02/2024 £95,000 Learning & Development Activities Open Procedure 21/07/2023 01/04/2024 £499,999 Flexible Framework for Self-Directed Support - Entry Point 4 Open Procedure 15/01/2024 01/04/2024 £630,000,000 Flexible Framework for Self-Directed Support - Entry Point 5 Open Procedure 15/01/2024 01/04/2024 £540,000,000 Blackburn Houses, Works Open Procedure 10/11/2023 02/04/2024 £5,500,000 Installation of Sprinklers to Tower Blocks to 1No Towers - Phase 4 Open Procedure 27/11/2023 06/05/2024 £2,000,000 Provision of ISO Certification Services Open Procedure 01/11/2023 01/06/2024 £160,000 Net Zero Partner Open Procedure 01/01/2024 01/06/2024 £250,000 Flexible Framework for Outdoor Education Centres - Entry Point 3 Open Procedure 01/01/2024 01/06/2024 £1,550,000 Removal, Storage, Redistribution and Disposal Services Open Procedure 01/11/2024 21/06/2024 £480,000 Treasury Management Advisory Service Open Procedure 01/02/2024 01/07/2024 £80,000 Flexible Framework - Provision of Early Learning & Childcare Services - Entry Point 3 Open Procedure 01/08/2023 01/08/2024 £12,000,000 Advocacy Services for Adults Open Procedure 01/09/2023 01/08/2024 £1,800,000 Advocacy Services for Children & Young People Open Procedure 01/09/2023 01/08/2024 £964,000 SAC & PEF Entry Point 3 Open Procedure 01/05/2024 01/08/2024 £4,000,000 Magnetic Boards Open Procedure 01/12/2023 14/08/2024 £700,000 Befriending Service Open Procedure 01/02/2024 27/08/2024 £200,000 Vocational and skill based interventions - Entry Point 4 Open Procedure 01/04/2024 13/09/2024 £1,250,000 Self-Directed Support - Payment Support Services Open Procedure 01/02/2024 01/10/2024 £420,000 Provision of Free Sanitary Products Open Procedure 01/04/2024 02/11/2024 £1,000,000 Flexible Framework - Provision of Non Traditional Respite Services - Entry Point 4 Open Procedure 01/07/2023 01/12/2024 £2,800,000 Framework Agreement for Supply & Delivery of Materials for NL Industries Open Procedure 01/04/2024 01/12/2024 £70,000 Provision of a Winter Assistance Framework Agreement 2020-2024 Open Procedure 01/04/2023 02/12/2024 £5,000,000 Provision of Window and Glazing Cleaning Open Procedure 01/01/2024 01/01/2025 £250,000 Mental Health Services Open Procedure 01/03/2024 01/02/2025 £3,000,000 Installation of Sprinklers to Tower Blocks to 3No Towers - Phase 5 Open Procedure 04/07/2024 18/02/2025 £2,000,000 Garden Assistance Scheme & Ad-Hoc Garden Works 2025-2029 Open Procedure 01/06/2024 02/03/2025 £5,500,000 Page 259 of 295
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Page 22 of 22 Sheriff Officer Services Open Procedure 01/09/2024 01/04/2025 £930,000 ICT Cabling and Asbestos Related Services Open Procedure 01/12/2024 12/07/2025 £500,000 Flexible Framework - Provision of Early Learning & Childcare Services Entry Point 4 Open Procedure 01/08/2024 01/08/2025 £12,000,000 Airdrie Town House Works Open Procedure 01/02/2025 01/09/2025 £2,200,000 Strengthening local entrepreneurial Ecosystems (UKSPF) Restricted Procedure 01/05/2023 01/10/2023 £295,362 Ravenscraig Access Infrastructure (Dualling of Airbles Road and junction improvements) - Works Restricted Procedure 01/08/2023 01/01/2024 £5,000,000 Whifflet & Calder Refurbishment Works Restricted Procedure 04/08/2023 10/01/2024 £18,000,000 New Build Housing - Masonic Hall Works Restricted Procedure 01/05/2023 24/04/2024 £2,500,000 Ravenscraig Access Infrastructure (Dualling of A723 from Ravenscraig to M8) - Works Restricted Procedure 01/01/2024 01/07/2024 £38,000,000 East Airdrie Link Road - Design and Build works package Restricted Procedure 01/12/2024 01/09/2025 £50,000,000 Page 260 of 295
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Finance and Resources Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref: KH/GR Date: 13 September 2023 Contract Award for The Immersive Experience From Katrina Hassell, Chief Officer (Business and Digital) E-mail HassellK@northlan.gov.uk Telephone: 07903 096121 Executive Summary The Finance and Resources Committee is asked to acknowledge the award of a contract for The Supply and Installation of Immersive Pods (the ‘Contract’) to British Telecom Ltd. The award was made utilising GCSO, 21.3.2 to enable Active and Creative Communities to evidence the contractual commitment required to secure their funding award from the UK Prosperity Fund. The Contract is for an initial period of sixty months anticipated to commence on March 31st, 2023, ending March 31st, 2028. The maximum value of the Contract shall not exceed Two Million pounds Sterling (£2,000,000) exclusive of VAT. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance and Resources Committee: (1) Acknowledges the award of the Contract to British Telecom at the maximum value of Two Million pounds Sterling (£2,000,000) exclusive of VAT. (2) This recommendation follows the completion of a procurement procedure, where the tender recommended for award has been evaluated as providing the most economically advantageous tender in terms of cost and quality for the Council. (3) The contract award was made under GCSO, 21.3.2 which states; Between Committee cycles, where there is no appropriate Committee available, then the Chief Executive or the appropriate Executive Director (substitutes may not act) may instruct the Head of Asset and Procurement Solutions (or in his absence the Head of Legal and Democratic Solutions) to accept tenders in order to expedite the contract award process. In all cases, where this occurs the appropriate Chief Officer shall report the contract award to the next appropriate Committee for noting. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition Statement (19) Improve engagement with communities and develop their capacity to help themselves AGENDA ITEM 26 Page 261 of 295
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1. Background 1.1 The requirements within the Contract are currently facilitated by British Telecom. This contract was a proof of concept (POC) with no formal support or ongoing maintenance in place beyond the POC term. The Contract detailed within this report now incorporates this requirement. 1.2 During the summer of 2020 BT Openreach approached the Council looking to ascertain our appetite to partner with them to develop a social use case for a 5G powered Immersive classroom. Early discussions and site surveys identified Muirfield Community Centre to have a suitable 5G speed. 1.3 With schools closed at the point of initial surveys due to the COVID19 pandemic and the Council, partnered with Scottish Government and Education Scotland, keen to seek opportunities to ensure continued learning and teaching in the event of local lockdowns or subsequent school closures, the Council and BT agreed to explore Education, and in particular, an immersive classroom, as a proof of concept. 1.4 The immersive classroom was launched in March 2021 and has been piloted by 4 schools in the local area. Kildrum and Carbrain are mainstream primary schools and Glencryan and Redburn being ASN schools. In addition, a local community nursery has also begun to access the facility. 1.5 Whilst an immersive experience pod creates opportunities to transform an entire community’s access to and experience of digital, particularly for lifelong learning and cultural perspectives, its initial use case specifically focussed on the impact 5G enabled technology had on learners' literacy skills, in particular listening and talking and writing. Evaluations have shown that learners have engaged positively with the experience. All have shown progress in literacy skills over the period measured. Staff too have been positive about using the Immersive experience and are now leading and creating content. 1.6 Following the successful test case of the immersive technology as a tool to deliver on the ‘Learn’ strand of the Council’s vision, the Council is now looking to move forward with the wider community opportunities. Capital funding has been allocated to expand the number of facilities and widen community access to more fully align with the vision of the “The Plan for North Lanarkshire”. This will be achieved through creating opportunities for community groups, charities and organisations to derive benefit from this resource as detailed in 1.9 below. 1.7 A User Intelligence Group (UIG) was tasked with evaluating potential sites for further experiences. The UIG identified Summerlee Heritage Park as the first ranked site to meet all criteria. As part of this procurement the supplier selected has completed a site visit and confirmed this a suitable location. 1.8 Active & Creative Communities have also secured funding (UK Prosperity Fund) to install an immersive experience within the Motherwell Library Digital Community Hub, planning for this is currently under way and the procurement has been incorporated within this exercise. This procurement stipulates the initial contractual commitment for Motherwell Library, and one other site within central North Lanarkshire. The procurement has allowed for further experiences should funding become available to ensure continuity across North Lanarkshire. The procurement is capped at a maximum spend of £2,000,000 or 60 months whichever comes first. 1.9 Some examples of where these experiences can be used include: Page 262 of 295
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• Education – The space can be used by any subject or age group from early years to further education. • Assisted learning opportunities for special needs. • Mental and experience stimulation for the aged and/or those with dementia type illnesses • Sports and Leisure – The space can be used for group leisure activities of all ages. • The Arts – the space can be used to project a subject specific backdrop onto the walls allowing participants to immerse themselves in that subject. • Professional Services – The space can be used for meetings where visual overviews of plans are required. • Live Events – Participants in the space can be connected via apps to live locations that are broadcasting 360 or VR (Virtual Reality) content. This content can be an enhanced experience not requiring use of VR headsets. • Content Creation – With the use of a 360-degree camera content can be created and used within the space. 1.10 Whilst the initial immersive experience POC focused on education, better understanding of the technology and its rapid evolution, has allowed the UIG to envisage that wider range of possibilities. 2. Report 2.1 The UIG, consisting of technical and procurement representatives, was formed to review technical specifications, market conditions and trends, ways to maximise community benefits and sustainability and to agree the procurement strategy that would deliver maximum benefit for the Council via the Contract. 2.2 The initial estimated value of the Contract dictated that the procurement procedure be undertaken in accordance with the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015. An advert for the contract opportunity was published on the Public Contracts Scotland and the UK Find a Tender (FTS) website. 2.3 The procurement procedure was undertaken as an “Open Procedure” based on the evaluation criteria and scoring methodology set out in the invitation to tender package within the procurement procedure. An evaluation of tender responses was completed by members identified by the UIG. Selection stage responses were assessed first and compliant tenderers that satisfied/declared that they met the published minimum selection stage criteria progressed to the award stage evaluation. Following identification of the recommended tenderer(s), their selection stage responses were assessed in more detail to ensure they satisfied the minimum selection stage criteria applied. 2.4 The Contract award recommendation is made on the basis of the tenderer who submitted the most economically advantageous tender. 2.5 The tender(s) submitted by British Telecom Ltd has been evaluated as representing the most economically advantageous tender for this Contract. 2.6 Appendix 1 confirms the scoring achieved by each tenderer, further details of the procurement procedure is provided in Appendix 2 and the SME status and location of all tenderers is located within Appendix 3. Page 263 of 295
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2.7 The value of the Contract is a maximum value of Two Million pounds Sterling (£2,000,000) exclusive of VAT including any option to extend the Contract. 2.8 The costs associated with contract delivery will be contained within the capital budget for Business and Digital. Ongoing costs for Motherwell Library will be subject to funding from Active & Creative Communities. 2.9 The proposed solution incorporates enhancements from the original Muirfield PoC, reflecting market evolution, this will see all experiences incorporating multi-touch interactive walls, aroma dispensers and floor projection which will enhance the full 360 experience. Price Savings / Increases 2.10 The pre-tender whole life estimate for this contract was unknown. The initial capital funding available to Business and Digital was £366,808. The cost for a single experience is below the pre-tender estimate. Based on the submissions from British Telecom Ltd initial implementation costs are circa £100,000.00 per experience except for Muirfield which is circa £21,000.00 for upgrading the existing equipment. These costings will allow the Council to facilitate additional experiences during the 2023/2024 financial year. This will be returned to the UIG detailed in 1.7 to identify further suitable sites. Price Stability 2.11 Pricing has been fixed for the term of the contract. Community Benefits 2.12.1 The Council is committed to maximising the delivery of community benefits. The procurement included a community benefit requirement, this approach is designed to deliver local community benefits where possible. 2.12.2 Within their tender, British Telecom Ltd committed to deliver the following community benefits within the Contract: Community Benefit Type Quantity Committed Educational Support and Skills transfer 2 Educational Visits 4 Educational Workplace Visits 4 Business mentoring and advice to support to an SME 2 Business Event/briefing to promote supply chain opportunities 2 Non-financial support for a community project/organisation 10 2.12.3 The community benefits delivered as part of the Contract does not include the creation of jobs or apprenticeships. Page 264 of 295
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Fair Work First 2.13 Within their tender submission, British Telecom Ltd advised that they commit to the Scottish Governments “Fair Work First” initiative. Contract Management 2.14 Officers from Business & Digital will be responsible for managing the Contract which will be undertaken in accordance with the Councils agreed approach to contract and supplier management. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The Plan for North Lanarkshire sets out our vision and plans to deliver a world class digital infrastructure capable of enhancing digital skills and levels of participation within our communities. The planned digital transformation is to be responsive to the needs of communities and enhance the opportunities to engage with services. A further ambition of the Council is to support all children and young people to realise their full potential. In doing so raising attainment and skills for learning life and work. Measures of success from the implementation will be: • Increasing the number of schools and communities that will have access to an Immersive Experience Pod. • Providing an equitable experience for all children and young people, whist focussing on literacy skills to enable young people to achieve their full potential. • The pod will immerse children, young people, and communities in a completely digital world, removing barriers to travel affordability and giving a universal and equitable experience for all. • Reduction of travel across North Lanarkshire and wider. Reducing the carbon emissions. • The Immersive Pod will present exciting opportunities for North Lanarkshire to deliver educational content and digital learning experiences using a fresh, innovative approach whilst presenting opportunities for an alternative solution to site visits, such as museums. • It will be used across our communities focussing on a range of topics and themes. The plan for these facilities is that they are used throughout the day, evenings and at points during the weekend. As more groups become aware of the possibilities of the pod, it is expected that planned use will increase. • Young people using our Pod will increase their practical understanding of digital skills and the opportunities to use these in the world of work. The Immersive Experience Pod will be used to support employability, digitally demonstrating workplaces, skills and career options which may otherwise be impossible to experience. • For children and young people with Additional Support Needs (ASN), there are additional barriers to many wider life experiences, including everyday situations such as a trip to the dentist. The Immersive Experience Pod can remove these barriers, with 360° cameras demystifying the dental check-up and transforming it into a sensory, safe experience. • Enhanced knowledge and skills, in particular instructional design capabilities, of our workforce. Page 265 of 295
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4. Supporting documents Appendix 1 Summary of Tender Evaluation Process Appendix 2 Summary of Procurement Process Appendix 3 SME Status and Location of All Tenderers Katrina Hassell Chief Officer (Business and Digital) Page 266 of 295
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality-and-fairer- scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Funding has been secured from Business & Digitals capital budget of £366,808. Active and Creative Communities have secured separate grant funding of £168,000, with such dependent upon evidencing contractual commitment before 31st March 2023. Ongoing revenue costs will be met from the service areas own 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 have been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e-mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Page 267 of 295
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Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The solution will utilise the councils network and hence will require network design, however this is standard work. Equipment at sites, although maintained by supplier, will require a degree of support, it is expected that this will predominately be via local users and solution champions, field services may have some role to play in this. 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)? The technical implications are detailed within the report. Yes ☒ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex-Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services. 5.11 Children’s rights and wellbeing impact Does the report contain any information regarding any council activity, service delivery, policy, or plan that has an impact on children and young people up to the age of 18, or on a specific group of these? Yes ☐ No ☒ Page 268 of 295
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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 269 of 295
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Appendix 1 – Summary of Tender Evaluation Process Final Rank Tenderer Name Total Tender Score (%) Recommended for Contract Award (Y / N) 1 BRITSH TELECOM Ltd 92.40 Y 2 IGLOO VISION LTD 69.26 N 3 HOLO SPATIAL 63.12 N Page 270 of 295
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Appendix 2 – Summary of Procurement Process Response CPT Contract Reference Allocated: NLC-CPT-22-013 Tender Platform Utilised: PCS-Tender (PCST) Procurement Procedure Utilised: Open Procedure Governing Legislation / Regulations: Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 Date Contract Strategy Approved: 06 December 2022 Date Contract Notice Published: 28 November 2022 Total Expressions of Interest Received: 18 SME % of Expressions of Interest: 0 NLC Based % of Expressions of Interest: 0 Tender Return Deadline: 19/12/2022 Number of Tenders Received: 3 Tenders Received from SME’s: 2 Tenders Received from NLC Based Tenderers: 0 Number of Non−compliant Tenders: 0 Number of Compliant Tenders: 3 Number of Recommended Tenderers: 1 Basis of Contract Award: Quality: 60 Price: 40 Evaluation Team: Eileen Kerr, Heather Mooty, Grant Reid, Jill Woodward, Russell Brown, Alan Cooper Anticipated Contract Start Date: 31 March 2023 Total Contract Period (Months): 60 Maximum Total Contract Value: £2,000,000 Page 271 of 295
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Appendix 3 – SME Status and location of all Tenderers Name of Tenderer Size of Tendering Organisation (Micro, Small, Medium or Large) Location (Local Authority / Council Area) British Telecom Ltd Large England UK IGLOO VISION Ltd Medium England UK HOLO SPATIAL Small England UK Page 272 of 295
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Finance and Resources Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref: AT/JMcK Date: 13/09/2023 Contract Award for General Office Supplies From James McKinstry, Chief Officer (Assets & Procurement) E-mail MckinstryJ@northlan.gov.uk Telephone: 07939 281102 Executive Summary Committee is asked to approve the award of a Call off Contract for General Office Supplies the (‘Agreement’) to Lyreco UK Limited. The Agreement is for a period of 48 months anticipated to commence on 14 September 2023. The value of the Agreement is two million, fifty-two thousand, two hundred and fifteen Pounds Sterling £2,052,215.00 exclusive of VAT. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance and Resources Committee: (1) Approve the award of the Agreement for General Office Supplies to Lyreco UK Limited at the value of two million, fifty-two thousand, two hundred and fifteen Pounds Sterling £2,052,215.00 exclusive of VAT. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Ambition Statement (21) Continue to identify and access opportunities to leverage additional resources to support our ambitions AGENDA ITEM 27 Page 273 of 295
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1. Background 1.1 The Contract for General Stationery and Office Paper was established from 1 June 2016 until 30th June 2023 following a Direct Award from the Scottish Government Framework Agreement SP-14-009. 1.2 The requirements within the Agreement are currently under contract with Lyreco UK Limited. 2. Report 2.1 A group of technical and procurement representatives was formed to develop and agree the procurement strategy for the Agreement to enable the council to achieve maximum benefit for the requirements. 2.2 The initial estimated value of the Agreement dictated that the procurement procedure be undertaken in accordance with the Procurement (Scotland) Regulations 2016. 2.3 The procurement procedure was undertaken as a “Direct Award” from the Scottish Government framework agreement for General Office Supplies SP-22-021. 2.4 Following the justification detailed and appraised within the associated contract strategy document, the Direct Award procedure was considered to demonstrate Best Value as it has been subject of a fully robust procurement procedure by Scottish Government on the Council’s behalf establishing a single provider framework offering best value for the Council’s use. 2.5 The tender received from Lyreco UK Limited underwent appropriate appraisal to ensure it was complete and compliant with the council’s requirements and demonstrated best value. 2.6 Further details of the procurement procedure are provided in Appendix 1 and the SME status and location of the tenderer is located within Appendix 2. Financial / Budget Consideration 2.7 Using the Councils historical spend, the pre-tender whole life estimate spend for the Agreement was £2,052,215.00. Following completion of the procurement procedure, the maximum value of the Agreement to be awarded is two million, fifty-two thousand, two hundred and fifteen Pounds Sterling £2,052,215.00 exclusive of VAT. 2.8 The Council will seek to identify potential savings through switching from more expensive branded products to best value products where they are deemed fit for purpose. The Council also has the option to reduce and consolidate the goods available for purchase to drive further savings opportunities throughout the duration of the Agreement. 2.9 The costs associated with delivery of the Agreement will be contained within the Revenue Budget of each individual service user. Price Stability 2.10 Pricing for the framework is fixed for 12 months at a time with subsequent price reviews conducted by Scottish Procurement and Lyreco UK Limited every 12 months. Page 274 of 295
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Community Benefits 2.11.1 The council is committed to maximising the delivery of community benefits. The procurement includes a community benefit requirement, and this approach is designed to deliver local community benefits where possible. 2.11.2 Within their tender to Scottish Government, Lyreco UK Limited committed to deliver community benefits within the framework agreement. The Council requested details of Community Benefits deliverable under the Agreement with the Council: Community Benefit Type Quantity Committed Recruit 3 modern apprentices in logistics department and offer appropriate support and training to secure, full-time career at Lyreco. Offer further training and upskilling that supports them into roles within chosen departments 3 Recruit 1 modern apprentice in customer services in their Airdrie call centre 1 Lyreco UK Limited offer all Lyreco employees in Scotland 1 full day leave per year (full-time) or ½ day leave (part-time) to participate, alongside Scottish Government staff, in community-based volunteering schemes/projects. Lyreco UK Limited will work with individual framework public bodies to identify specific charities 2.11.3 The community benefits delivered as part of the Agreement includes the creation of jobs or apprenticeships. Fair Work First 2.12 Within their tender submission, Lyreco UK Limited advised that they hold real living wage accreditation and are signatories to the Scottish business pledge. Contract Management 2.13 Officers from Corporate Procurement will be responsible for managing the Agreement which will be undertaken in accordance with the contract and supplier management conditions applied within the Agreement. 3. Measures of success The Agreement will deliver the following outcomes; 3.1 Best Value has been considered to be demonstrated by participating in a collaborative framework established by Scottish Government on behalf all Scottish Public Sector. 3.2 Economies of scale ensures that the Council achieves competitive prices as a result of the collaborative approach. 3.3 Fully managed framework agreement supported by the council officers and Lyreco UK Limited to ensure the Agreement continues to offer Best Value throughout its duration. Page 275 of 295
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4. Supporting documents Appendix 1 Summary of Procurement Process Appendix 2 SME Status and Location of All Tenderers James McKinstry Chief Officer (Assets & Procurement) Page 276 of 295
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality-and-fairer- scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Service Users will achieve best value pricing for products and through the Agreement, savings will be achievable through product switching and limiting product availability to own brand products. Further savings can be achieved through rationalisation of products through effective contract management and monitoring of management information. 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? Page 277 of 295
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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? Environmental benefits of the Agreement with the imposition of a minimum order value, reducing small value order volumes thus reducing deliveries and generating of purchase orders and invoices. Also, Lyreco UK Limited has committed to the following during the lifetime of the framework: • Prevent the use of single use plastic (SUP) in their supply chain product ranges, packing and business operations. • Support the Scottish Governments Zero Waste Plan providing product/packaging recycling services backed up by their zero to landfill status. • Deliver the Agreement in accordance with the Climate Emergency/the revised Climate Change Scotland Act. • Support the Authority’s aim for a circular economy and have aligned principles with the “Making Things Last: a circular economy strategy for Scotland.” • By 2025, to be the first company in the workplace industry to develop: ➢ Full ranges of recycle ready items. ➢ Collection and second life solution for all recycle ready products. ➢ Zero noncircular packaging. ➢ Zero single use plastic items in Lyreco offices. • Roll-out 130 new Euro 6 6.1 emissions vans providing; increased fuel efficiency and payload (50kg per van) - reducing the number of deliveries and CO2 emissions. • Use Electric Vehicles to cover 2 delivery routes in Edinburgh and will monitor the progression of technology/feasibility to increase Electric Vehicle coverage across Scotland to reduce CO2 emissions. 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? Corporate Procurement will communicate the Agreement to service users by way of Procurement Advisory 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ Page 278 of 295
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If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? 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 279 of 295
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Appendix 1 – Summary of Procurement Process CPT Contract Reference Allocated: NLC-CPT-23-018 Procurement Procedure Utilised: Direct Award From Framework Agreement Governing Legislation / Regulations: Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 Date Contract Strategy Approved: 07 July 2023 Framework Owner: Scottish Government Framework Title: Call off Contract for General Office Supplies Framework Reference Number: SP-22-021 Date ITT Published: 07 July 2023 Tender Platform Utilised: PCS-Tender (PCST) Tender Return Deadline: 18 July 2023 Number of Tenders Received: 1 Tenders Received from SME’s: 0 Tenders Received from NLC Based Tenderers: 0 Number of Recommended Tenderers: 1 Assessment Team: Corporate Procurement Anticipated Start Date of the Agreement: 14 September 2023 Total Agreement Period (Months): 48 Awarded Value of the Agreement: £2,052,215.00 Page 280 of 295
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Appendix 2 – SME Status and location of all Tenderers Name of Tenderer Size of Tendering Organisation (Micro, Small, Medium or Large) Location (Local Authority / Council Area) Lyreco UK Limited Large Telford, Shropshire Page 281 of 295
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Finance and Resources Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref JMcG/JMcK Date 13/09/23 Contracts with Variations From James McKinstry, Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) E-mail MckinstryJ@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 281102 Executive Summary In accordance with the Council’s Financial Regulations, this report notifies the Committee of contracts completed between 1st January 2023 and 30th June 2023, where the expenditure levels have exceeded the contract award levels by greater than 5% or £25,000. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance and Resources Committee: (1) Acknowledge the content of this report and the accompanying appendix. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve North Lanarkshire's resource base Ambition statement (25) Ensure intelligent use of data and information to support fully evidence based decision making and future planning AGENDA ITEM 28 Page 283 of 295
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1. Background 1.1 The Councils General Contract Standing Orders (the ‘GCSOs’) outline financial approval thresholds for contracts for goods, works and services. This report details Works (construction contracts) where funding has previously been approved in line with GCSO’s. 1.2 The Councils Financial Regulation, (13.4) Significant Variations, details the threshold of variances where reporting is required. 1.3 The Chief Officer of Assets and Procurement is required to notify Committee on a periodic basis of any such contracts containing variations as identified by the criteria in 1.1 above. 2. Report 2.1 The Councils Financial Regulation state, any variations where the outturn/expected costs exceed the tendered contract price by the higher of £25,000 or 5%, or where the outputs/outcomes achieved by the expenditure differ from those originally envisaged, shall be reported to the relevant Spending Committee at the earliest opportunity. 2.2 Contracts awarded by the Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) for works undertaken in the period 1st January 2023 and 30th June 2023 containing variations are detailed in Appendix.1. 2.3 Due to the nature of construction contracts a flexible approach is required to manage contract deliverables and desired outcomes and typically this is achieved by the inclusion of a contingency allowance to address unknown quantities or abnormalities. 2.4 Any construction works undertaken within the Council’s portfolio may encounter issues that can result in additional costs after work has commenced. Asbestos is problematic and costly to address, especially within the Council’s ageing property estate. The rerouting of service provisions is another contributing factor with other expenditure being attributed to health and safety issues including addressing fire stopping issues. Additional client instructions being added to contracts following award will also increase the overall contract sum, but it should be noted that the scope of these instructions will be within the parameters of the original tender documents and rates will be a direct drawdown from those already provided or a benchmarking exercise is undertaken to demonstrate value for money. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Contracts support the delivery of Council objectives and service priorities. 3.2 Contracts containing variances are managed by the Council and are compliant with Financial Regulations, GCSOs and procurement legislation. 3.3 The Council’s Contract Register and budgetary monitoring systems are kept updated by services and management information is comprehensive and accurate. 3.4 Best Value is both demonstrable and achieved. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 – Summary of construction contracts containing variations. Page 284 of 295
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James McKinstry Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) Page 285 of 295
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5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 286 of 295
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Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? Contract management procedures may be susceptible to financial claims and legal challenge if they are not discharged in accordance with Contract Conditions, Financial Regulations, GCSO’s and procurement legislation. Accumulation of contract overspends may impact on future Capital Programmes. Project risks are logged on the appropriate Risk Registers and managed by the Service. 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 287 of 295
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APPENDIX 1 Summary of construction contracts containing variations: Project Title Estimated Final Out-turn Tender Amount Variation Reason St Barbara’s Primary School, Muirhead – 4 x classroom refurbishments. £268,401.00 £226,211.00 Upgrade cubicle doors and ironmongery, additional electrical works to replace, unforeseen perished cables, agreed additional out of hours working to reduce disruption when upgrading cables and rerouting new water supply to classroom sinks, access ramp specification changed to concrete, include electronic panic bars to both sets of fire escape doors. Woodlands Primary School, Cumbernauld - Provision of a New Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA). £153,196.00 £136,999.00 Additional instructed works: install Community access gate and associated footpaths. Instructing these works enabled the use of the adjacent carparking facilities. Demolition of Old Fleet Building, Old Edinburgh Road, Bellshill. £181,876.00 £116,013.00 Unexpected asbestos found in gable cavity wall, diversion and reconnection of water supply to adjacent domestic properties. Page 288 of 295
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Finance and Resources Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref BF/JMcK Date 13/09/23 Contracts awarded below Committee approval threshold From James McKinstry, Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) Email MckinstryJ@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 281 102 Executive Summary This report notifies the Committee of the contracts awarded between 1 April 2023 to 30 June 2023. It sets out those contracts awarded with a value below the financial threshold requiring Committee approval. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance and Resources Committee: (1) Are advised of the Contracts awarded below Committee approval threshold between 1 April 2023 to 30 June 2023 as per the process within the Council’s General Contract Standing Orders. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve North Lanarkshire's resource base Ambition statement (18) Ensure our digital transformation is responsive to all people's needs and enable access to the services they need AGENDA ITEM 29 Page 289 of 295
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1. Background 1.1 The Councils General Contract Standing Orders (the ‘GCSOs’) outline financial approval thresholds for contracts for goods, works and services. Contract awards above £500,000 for Supplies and Services and above £2,000,000 for Works require approval by the Committee. These contract awards are considered by the Committee on a case-by-case basis. 1.2 Where the value of a contract award is between £50,000 and £500,000 for Supplies and Services and between £500,000 and £2,000,000 for Works, GCSOs require that the Chief Officer of Assets and Procurement award these contracts on behalf of the appropriate Chief Officer. 1.3 The Chief Officer of Assets and Procurement is required to notify Committee on a regular basis of any such contracts awarded on behalf of Procuring Service Areas. 2. Report 2.1 The GCSOs require that contracts in excess of £500,000 for supplies and services and £2,000,000 for works are approved, on a case-by-case basis, by the Committee before award. 2.2 The GCSOs require that contracts with a value above £50,000 but less than £500,000 for Supplies and Services and above £500,000 but less than £2,000,000 for Works are awarded by the Chief Officer of Assets and Procurement on behalf of the appropriate Chief Officer. 2.3 The contracts awarded by the Chief Officer of Assets and Procurement that are under the £500,000 Committee financial approval threshold for Supplies and Services and £2,000,000 for Works in the period from 1 April 2023 to 30 June 2023 are detailed in Appendix 1. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Contracts support the delivery of Council and service priorities. 3.2 Appointment of contractors who have suitable experience and capability to deliver the required supplies, services or works. 3.3 Contracts awarded by the Council are compliant with GCSOs and procurement legislation. 3.4 The Council’s Contract Register is kept updated by services and management information is comprehensive and accurate. 3.5 Best Value is both demonstrable and achieved. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 - Summary of contracts awarded. James McKinstry Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) Page 290 of 295
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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? Where Financial impacts have been identified, they have been established and addressed in each specific Contract Strategy and incorporated into the project. The Council’s Procurement Strategy proposes methods of maximising the delivery of procurement benefits that could bring improved financial return to the Council and the areas wider economy. Certain benefits have a monetary value attached and these will be monitored on a project-by-project basis. 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? Where HR impacts have been identified, they have been established and addressed in each specific Contract Strategy and incorporated into the project. Contracts awarded by the Council are compliant with GCSOs and procurement legislation. 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? Where Legal impacts have been identified, they have been established and addressed in each specific Contract Strategy and incorporated into the project. Page 291 of 295
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Contracts awarded by the Council are compliant with GCSOs and procurement legislation. 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? All contracts listed have been assessed by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG). 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? Sustainable procurement is one of the key objectives of the Council’s Procurement Strategy and will have a positive impact, including, embedding sustainable procurement as business as usual and incorporating community benefits into the Councils contracts. Supporting local businesses and SMEs through closer working with colleagues in the Council’s Enterprise department and by making our processes more streamlined and accessible. Where Environmental/Carbon impacts have been identified, they have been established and addressed in each specific Contract Strategy and incorporated into the project. 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 ☐ Page 292 of 295
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If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? Where Risk impacts have been identified, they have been established and addressed in each specific Contract Strategy and incorporated into the project. Contract award procedures may be susceptible to legal challenge if they are not discharged in accordance with GCSO and procurement legislation. 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 293 of 295
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APPENDIX 1 – SUMMARY OF BELOW THRESHOLD CONTRACT AWARDS Contract Description/Ref Contract Award Date Contract Start Date Contract End Date Contract Extension Contract Value (inc extension) (£s) Successful Tenderer Supplies Services Works No of Tenders Received Route* Multi-Vue Suite Software Support & Maintenance 2023-25 03/04/2023 01/04/2023 31/03/2025 N/A £168,685.00 Softcat PLC Services 1 *DAF3 Provision of Washroom Solutions 2023-27 21/04/2023 01/05/2023 30/04/2027 N/A £496,073.00 Rentokil Initial UK Ltd Services 1 **DAF3 Development of the NLC Local Heat & Energy Efficiency Strategy (LHEES) & Delivery Plan 25/04/2023 02/05/2023 31/12/2023 N/A £79,718.00 Ricardo AEA Ltd Services 4 CO Provision of Progress Maintenance and Support 2023- 25 21/04/2023 01/04/2023 31/03/2025 N/A £184,000.00 Progress Software Ltd Services 1 ***N St Serf's Primary School, Airdrie - Rewire, Fire Stopping & Redecoration (ECRW21038) 08/06/2023 10/07/2023 08/04/2024 N/A £876,459.38 Maclin Electric Ltd Works 3 CO *Direct Award from the Scottish Procurement Software Value-Added Reseller (SVAR) Single-Supplier Framework to best value provider. ** Direct Award from the Scotland Excel Washroom Solution & Sanitary Products Multi-Supplier Framework to best value provider. ***Contract awarded via the use of the Negotiated Tendering Procedure to best value provider. Key – Procurement Route CO - Contract Open Procedure CR - Contract Restricted Procedure Page 294 of 295
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FO - Framework Open Procedure FR - Framework Restricted Procedure FMCC - Mini Comp Council Framework FMC3 - Mini Comp 3rd Party Framework DAFC - Direct Award Council Framework DAF3 - Direct Award 3rd Party Framework DAH&SC - Direct Award Health & Social Care Related Services N - Negotiated Contract EXT - Extension to Contract/Framework Page 295 of 295