Agenda Document Pack - Policy and Strategy Committee - 14/03/2024
North Lanarkshire Council · 14 March 2024
Back to Policy and Strategy Committee — 14 March 2024 and its agenda
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5 March 2024 Members of the Policy and Strategy Committee Chief Executive’s Office Archie Aitken Chief Officer (Legal & Democratic) Civic Centre, Windmillhill Street, Motherwell ML1 1AB www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk Notice is given that a Meeting of the Policy and Strategy Committee is to be held in the Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Windmillhill Street, Motherwell, ML1 1AB on Thursday, 14 March 2024 at 14:00 PM which you are requested to attend. The agenda of business is attached. Archie Aitken Chief Officer (Legal & Democratic) Members : Clerk Name: Lesley Dysart Clerk Telephone: Clerk Email: dysartl@northlan.gov.uk J Logue, L Roarty, C Barclay, A Beveridge, H Brannan-McVey, A Campbell, T Carragher, C Costello, P Di Mascio, K Duffy, T Fisher, D Johnston, K Larson, J Leckie, G Lennon, H Loughran, A Masterton, M McBride, L Nolan, G Robinson, A Smith, K Stevenson, A Stubbs, S Watson, G Woods. Page 1 of 326
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Agenda 1 Declarations of Interest In Terms of the Ethical Standards In Public Life Etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 2 Minute of Audit and Scrutiny Panel of 20 November 2023 Submit Minute of Audit and Scrutiny Panel of 20 November 2024 7 - 12 3 Presentation - The Plan for North Lanarkshire - Programme of Work to 2028 4 Strategic Capital Investment Programme 2024/25 to 2028/29 Submit report by the Depute Chief Executive seeking approval of the development of the Council’s Strategic Capital Investment Programme for the 5-year period from 2024/25 to 2028/29 13 - 52 5 Programme of Work - Achievements to date Submit report by the Chief Executive informing (1) of the key role that the Committee plays in ensuring the continuing commitment to delivering The Plan for North Lanarkshire through the Programme of Work, and ensuring strategic oversight in terms of its ongoing development, co-ordination, and monitoring, and (2) of the achievements which have been delivered through the Programme of Work to date as set out in Appendix 2 of the report 53 - 74 6 Strategic Performance Framework - the North Lanarkshire context Submit report by the Chief Officer (Business and Digital) advising (1) of the key role that the Health Check Indicators play in providing the place-based evidence base from which progress in delivering The Plan for North Lanarkshire can be assessed, and (2) of the latest results, as set out in Appendix 1 of the report, and the successes and challenges summarised in paragraphs 2.4 and 2.5 of the report respectively 75 - 104 Page 3 of 326
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7 The Plan for North Lanarkshire - Delivering the Programme of Work to 2028 Submit report by the Chief Executive (1) advising of the commitment to establish a single integrated Council wide delivery plan to support implementation of the Programme of Work to 2028 had been fulfilled; (2) providing details of the indicative reporting schedule set out in Appendix 3 of the report, to ensure ongoing Elected Member consideration and approval of the next phase of delivery for the wide range of programmes, projects, and activities in the Programme of Work to 2028, and (3) seeking approval of the next steps to ensure the Committee continues to play a key role in the delivery of The Plan for North Lanarkshire by ensuring strategic oversight and monitoring of its ongoing development, co-ordination, and delivery 105 - 150 8 Transforming Places - St Kevins Community Hub Contract Award Submit report by the Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) (1) providing information on the status of the contract pricing and commercial activities for St Kevin's Community Hub, and (2) seeking approval to progress to Contract Award for the project 151 - 156 9 UK Shared Prosperity Fund - Annual Update Submit report by the Chief Officer (Place) informing of progress that has been made with the delivery of the Shared Prosperity Delivery Plan over the course of 2023/24 157 - 170 10 Findings of Internal Audit of Council Approach to Climate Change Submit report by the Depute Chief Executive (1) providing details of the findings of the most recent internal audit into climate change, and (2) highlighting the actions already underway to address the findings 171 - 188 11 Strategic Policy Framework - Annual Review and Refresh Submit report by the Chief Officer (Business and Digital) seeking approval of the Strategic Policy Framework attached at Appendix 1 to the report 189 - 236 12 Digital and IT Strategy - 2024 to 2027 Submit report by the Chief Officer (Business and Digital) seeking approval of the Digital and IT Strategy for 2024 to 2027 237 - 274 Page 4 of 326
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13 Integration Scheme Review - Post Consultation Update Submit report by the Chief Officer (Health and Social Care for North Lanarkshire) seeking approval of the revised Integration Scheme 275 - 326 EXCLUSION OF PUBLIC The Sub-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 paragraph 14 of Part 1 of Schedule 7A of the Act". 14 Review of Serious Organised Crime and Counter Terrorism Arrangements Submit report by the Chief Officer (Legal and Democratic) providing an update on the Council’s arrangements in addressing the risks arising from Serious Organised Crime (SOC) and Terrorism (copy herewith to Members only) Page 5 of 326
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AUDIT AND SCRUTINY PANEL - 20 NOVEMBER 2023 1 20 November 2023 at 1 pm. A Meeting of the AUDIT AND SCRUTINY PANEL PRESENT Councillor Watson, Convener; Councillors Brannan-McVey, Fisher, Hughes, Hume, D. Johnston, Leckie, B. McCulloch and Robinson. CHAIR Councillor Watson (Convener) presided. IN ATTENDANCE Chief Officer (Audit and Risk); Chief Officer (Legal and Democratic); Business Strategy Manager; Strategy and Performance Manager; Principal Auditor and Democratic Services Manager. APOLOGIES Councillor Dunbar, Vice-Convener; Councillor Duffy-Lawson, and P. Murray and J. Boyd, Audit Scotland. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST IN TERMS OF THE ETHICAL STANDARDS IN PUBLIC LIFE ETC. (SCOTLAND) ACT 2000 1. There were no declarations of interest. SELF EVALUATION OF THE AUDIT AND SCRUTINY PANEL - OUTCOME REPORT AND IMPROVEMENT PLAN 2. There was submitted a report by the Chief Officer (Legal and Democratic) (1) reminding the Panel of its terms of reference as contained in the Council’s Scheme of Administration; (2) explaining that the Council’s governance arrangements are reviewed on an annual basis through the Strategic Governance Framework throughout the year as part of the Internal Audit programme of audit work; (3) reporting that an Internal Audit review in 2021 had considered that there was a risk that “the Council may not be able to adequately demonstrate that it has effective Audit Committee arrangements and/or arrangements to ensure Elected Members have the skills, knowledge and, where appropriate or required, access to relevant training and resources to effectively undertake their role”; (4) advising that, to this end, Internal Audit recommended that the Panel should, in line with good practice, periodically undertake a self-evaluation of how effectively it is discharging its role; (5) reminding the Panel that in September 2023 it had received an overview of the evaluation framework, the process, and the timetable and, at that meeting, the Panel had agreed that self-evaluation should also be undertaken by former members who had been on the Panel since May 2022; (6) reporting the outcomes and findings from the questionnaire, and (7) attaching, as Appendices to the report, (a) a synopsis of the self-evaluation of the Panel; (b) 25 good practice questions, and (c) the Improvement Plan. Thereon, A. Aitken highlighted that a report would be submitted to the Policy and Strategy Committee in December 2023 proposing that the use of substitute members for the Audit and Scrutiny Panel be removed so as to ensure consistency of membership and greater understanding of the issues being considered by the Panel. Item 2 Page 7 of 326
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AUDIT AND SCRUTINY PANEL - 20 NOVEMBER 2023 2 Decided: (1) that it be recognised that the outcome from the self-evaluation demonstrates the extent to which the Panel is effective in discharging its Audit and Scrutiny roles and, as such, fulfils the recommendations made by Internal Audit; (2) that the implementation of the Improvement Plan, attached at Appendix 3 to the report, which further strengthens the Panel’s working practices and identifies any further developments required in this respect, be approved, and (3) that the next steps as detailed in the report be endorsed. STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK’S ANNUAL POSITION STATEMENT 3. There was submitted a report by the Chief Officer (Business and Digital) (1) reiterating to the Panel the inter-related strategic frameworks that focus on ensuring a corporate “one Council” approach in respect of policy, governance, performance, self-evaluation, project management and demonstrating improved outcomes for communities; (2) explaining that these frameworks are key to assessing the success of The Plan for North Lanarkshire and ensuring its delivery through the Programme of Work as appropriately aligned, planned, guided, implemented and governed; (3) advising that, to ensure that these frameworks remain aligned to The Plan for North Lanarkshire, and to support delivery of the Programme of Work, each is on a schedule to undergo regular review and refresh; (4) reminding the Panel that, since 2020, an annual position statement has been presented to it to support its role in providing an independent review of the Council’s governance, risk management, performance and control frameworks, and (5) reiterating that various reports in respect of these frameworks had been considered by the Panel during the previous year and that this composite annual position statement report aimed to provide a high level summary and up to date position by setting out the background, current position, and next steps for each framework. Decided: (1) that the annual position statement for each framework, and the next steps to ensure each remains aligned to The Plan for North Lanarkshire, and that delivery towards achieving the overall vision is appropriately aligned, planned, guided, implemented, governed and monitored, be acknowledged, and (2) that it be noted that a corresponding Review Programme supports each framework which ensures that all relevant matters are kept under review, updated as required, and reported to the relevant Committee for Elected Member oversight and scrutiny. STRATEGIC PERFORMANCE FRAMEWORK - PERFORMANCE REPORTING SCHEDULE QUARTERLY PERFORMANCE ASSURANCE REVIEW 4. There was submitted a report by the Chief Officer (Business and Digital) (1) reminding the Panel that it had received reports at its meetings held in February and May 2023 detailing the performance assurance reviews that had been undertaken of performance reports and which had been submitted to Council Committees during that previous Committee cycle; (2) explaining that, in bringing together a summary of the Council’s performance reports into one composite assurance overview, this approach supports the Panel in maintaining strategic oversight and awareness of the Council’s performance reporting arrangements in line with its remit; (3) providing the outcome from the latest performance assurance review that has been undertaken of performance reports submitted to Council Committees during cycle 3 of 2023, and (4) attaching, as Appendices to the report, (a) Chief Officers’ individual six monthly performance reviews at Service Committees in line with the Strategic Performance Framework, and (b) Chief Officer Service specific performance reporting which takes place each year to meet business and/or statutory obligations. Page 8 of 326
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AUDIT AND SCRUTINY PANEL - 20 NOVEMBER 2023 3 Decided: (1) that the composite overview of performance reporting provided in the Appendices to the report to maintain an awareness of each report within the performance reporting schedule for 2023/2024 be noted, and (2) that there are no areas of significant issues arising from the overview as presented in the Appendices attached to the report which the Panel considered required additional scrutiny or an additional report to be submitted from the respective Chief Officer to a future meeting of the Panel. AUDIT AND RISK RELATED ITEMS ACTION LOG 5. There was submitted a report by the Chief Officer (Audit and Risk) enabling the Panel to track implementation of requests and recommendations made by it in respect of Audit and Risk related items in the previous 18 months, with the action log, attached as an Appendix to the report, recording those requests and recommendations made by the Panel, when these had been addressed and/or were expected to be addressed. Decided: that the content of the report be noted. INTERNAL AUDIT PROGRESS REPORT 6. There was submitted a report by the Chief Officer (Audit and Risk) (1) providing an overview of Internal Audit activity; (2) reporting the results of the Internal Audit outputs finalised since the last update to the Panel in August 2023; (3) highlighting the most significant issues arising from the completed audit work; (4) updating the Panel on other aspects of the work of Internal Audit, and (5) attaching, as an Appendix to the report, a brief summary of the scope and key findings of each substantive planned audit, together with a summary pack containing copies of those reports. During consideration of this matter, concerns were expressed by the Panel on the issues highlighted in the report regarding school excursions and trips and a request was made by the Panel that the Chief Officer (Education) attend a future meeting of the Panel to explain the issues relating to school trips and excursions identified by Internal Audit and the actions to be taken by the Service to resolve these issues. The Panel also requested, given the number of critical audit reports that had been received by the Panel, that the Chief Officer (Education) attend and outline actions being taken by the Service to address the audit findings in relation to weaknesses at establishments in the management of school funds. In addition, in relation to climate change, the Panel recommended that the findings of the relevant Internal Audit report be highlighted to the Policy and Strategy Committee, as in the view of the Panel, there needed to be awareness across the organisation that current ambitions in relation to climate change were unlikely to be achieved in the timescales which had been previously agreed by the Council and there needed to be greater clarity as to how the Council would achieve any future targets agreed by the Council and/or statutory targets set by the Scottish and UK Governments. Decided: (1) that the findings, conclusions and recommendations of the completed Internal Audit reports, together with the associated management responses, be noted; (2) that Internal Audit provide a report to future meetings of the Panel reporting progress made by management in implementing agreed management actions in relation to all audit recommendations categorised as “high” or “medium”; Page 9 of 326
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AUDIT AND SCRUTINY PANEL - 20 NOVEMBER 2023 4 (3) that the Chief Officer (Education) attend a future meeting of the Panel to report (1) on the issue of school trips and excursions, in particular in relation to the issues raised in the Internal Audit report, the actions to be taken to resolve and mitigate these issues and risks, and (2) on how the Service will seek to secure improvements in the management of school funds, financial controls to be put in place, all prior to April 2024 when it was anticipated that the new excursions policy would be implemented, and (4) that it be recommended to the Policy and Strategy Committee that it note the concerns of the Panel that there needs to be an awareness across the organisation that previously agreed targets in relation to climate change are unlikely to be achieved within the previously agreed timescales and that there needs to be greater clarity as to how the Council would achieve any future targets agreed by the Council and/or statutory targets set by the Scottish or UK Governments. INTERNAL AUDIT: FOLLOW-UP OF ACTIONS PREVIOUSLY AGREED BY MANAGEMENT IN RESPONSE TO AUDIT RECOMMENDATIONS 7. There was submitted a report by the Chief Officer (Audit and Risk) (1) detailing the extent to which management had implemented actions previously committed to in response to recommendations in Internal Audit reports, where those actions were due to be completed by the end of September 2023; (2) advising that Internal Audit had concluded that, of the 29 outstanding Internal Audit recommendations, 10 had been completed and 19 had been partially implemented; (4) attaching, as an Appendix to the report, commentary from management and details of proposed management actions, together with revised target dates for completion of those outstanding audit recommendations where Internal Audit had assessed the residual risk as high or medium, and (5) attaching, as Appendices to the report (a) Internal Audit recommendations: management actions assessed as “not yet complete” in this cycle; (b) residual risk rating definition, and (c) outstanding audit recommendations at November Committee Cycle where the original implementation date is due. During consideration of this matter, the Chief Officer (Audit and Risk) informed the Panel that the Chief Executive had recently written to all Chief Officers reminding them of the need to ensure that all of the deadline dates should be complied with by Services. Decided: (1) that the contents of the report be noted; (2) that the recommendations made by Internal Audit, attached as an Appendix to the report, be noted; (3) that it be noted that, due to sickness absence within Audit and Risk, some audit assignments may not be completed to the reported timescales due to the reduced capacity within that team, and (4) that it be noted that the Chief Executive had recently written to all Chief Officers reminding them of the requirement to ensure that planned actions are progressed in a timely manner and regularly monitored to ensure that all deadline dates were complied with by Services. RISK MANAGEMENT UPDATE 8. There was submitted a report by the Chief Officer (Audit and Risk) (1) providing an update on developments and changes in relation to the Corporate Risk Register, and other risk management developments since the last update to the Panel in September 2023, with a particular focus on changes to corporate risk scores and new or emerging issues; (2) reminding the Panel that the Corporate Risk Register is formally reviewed annually to ensure completeness and continued alignment to the Page 10 of 326
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AUDIT AND SCRUTINY PANEL - 20 NOVEMBER 2023 5 Council’s strategic objectives; (3) noting that all corporate risks identified and agreed as meriting inclusion in the Corporate Risk Register were subject to regular monitoring and review by relevant senior management and periodic review and that consideration of individual risks for both the Corporate Management Team and the Panel, in line with their respective governance roles, takes place; (4) advising that there had been no additions to the Corporate Risk Register since the last update, although active consideration is being given to including the issues of re-enforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in the Council’s property estate; (5) reporting two changes to residual risk scores since the last updates of the Panel, and (6) attaching, as an Appendix to the report, the 2023-24 Corporate Risk Register. Decided: (1) that the current scoring for risks on the Corporate Risk Register for 2023/24, as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report, be noted, and (2) that the information contained within the report in respect of risk management arrangements in relation to corporate risks and risks within Services be noted. Page 11 of 326
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Policy and Strategy Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref AMcP / EK / GT Date 14/03/24 Strategic Capital Investment Programme 2024/25 to 2028/29 From Andrew McPherson, Depute Chief Executive E-mail McPhersonA@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 280467 Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to inform Committee of the process and outcome of the development of the Council’s Strategic Capital Investment Programme for the 5-year period from 2024/25 to 2028/29. The report highlights record levels of capital investment of £660 million over the next five years as the Council continues the delivery of its long-term place shaping transformation of North Lanarkshire’s towns and communities. Alongside record levels of investment in the Council’s housing provision through the Housing Revenue Account, this represents potential investment of £1.465 billion in North Lanarkshire’s town and communities. The report will detail the forecast level of resources and expenditure over the 5-year period, explain the approach to prioritisation of the capital bids and highlight potential risks and opportunities that may impact on the strategic capital investment programme in future years. Key highlights in the proposed investment programme include: • £250 million to continue investment in the Town and Community Hub programme, • City Deal investment of £91 million, including resources to progress the East Airdrie Link Road project, • £39 million investment in the Council’s Economic Regeneration Delivery Plan to support the ongoing transformation of North Lanarkshire’s town centres, including ongoing work to transform Cumbernauld town centre, • £34 million key infrastructure investment in bridges, flooding, active travel and road safety, • £11 million investment in the Parks Masterplan, including funding to enable the redevelopment of Strathclyde Park Watersports Centre, • £20 million investment in business and digital systems as the Council continues its digital offering, and • £10 million investment in Community Boards with a key aim of evolving the Council’s approach to facilitating community asset transfers. Item 4 Page 13 of 326
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1. Background 1.1. The Council’s current 5-year Strategic Capital Investment Programme from 2021/22 to 2025/26 was approved at Policy and Strategy Committee in March 2021 with annual updates in each financial year. 1.2. Following the approval of the Council’s renewed Programme of Work to 2028 and previous commitments to review capital programme delivery, at its meeting in October 2022 Policy and Strategy Committee endorsed the development of a new five-year capital plan to commence from 2024/25. 1.3. This approach aimed to ensure that there would be a greater degree of economic certainty in relation to issues such as interest rates, house building and government funding intentions. 1.4. Although that greater certainty has not necessarily materialised, the Council’s Strategic Capital Delivery Group has continued to work on the development of a reset capital programme to be driven by the Corporate Asset Management Plan approved in 2022 and to ensure that potential funding for the Council’s ambitions was maximised. Recommendations It is recommended that the Policy and Strategy Committee: (1) Acknowledges the process for the development of the 5-year strategic capital investment programme, (2) Approves the use of one-off resources associated with the changes in accounting for service concessions to augment capital programme resources as outlined in paragraph 2.10 and 2.11, (3) Acknowledges the forecast resources available to fund the capital programme, (4) Approves the 5-year strategic capital investment programme, (5) Instructs the Council’s Strategic Capital Delivery Group to establish the indicative annual phasing of the capital programme to support future Treasury Management Strategy reports and thereafter monitor progress against the delivery of expected outcomes, (6) Acknowledges the update on Town and Community Hubs as outlined in paragraphs 2.25 to 2.27, (7) Acknowledges the impact of project commitments on future capital investment cycles as outlined in paragraphs 2.28 to 2.31, and (8) Approves the updated Capital Strategy 2024/25 to 2028/29 contained in Appendix 2. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement All ambition statements Programme of Work Statutory / corporate / service requirement Page 14 of 326
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2. Report Forecast Resources 2.1. The strategic capital investment programme has been developed based on the latest estimates of available resources including government grant, Community Investment Fund, known external funding and prudential borrowing: £000 Core Funding General Capital Grant 106,670 Community Investment Fund (including carry forwards from the former SC21 programme) 376,324 Prudential Borrowing (Spend to Save) 2,440 External Funding (including City Deal) 67,734 Capital Receipts 16,750 Sub-Total 569,918 Additional One-Off Funding Residual Strathclyde Pension Fund cost reductions 44,791 Service Concessions 44,800 Sub-Total 89,591 Total Forecast Resources 659,509 2.2. The previous strategic capital investment programme assumed annual General Capital Grant from the Scottish Government of £23.380m. However, following confirmation of the Local Government Finance Settlement in January 2024 the Council’s General Capital Grant is due to reduce to £21.334m. The resources forecast assumes this lower level of General Capital Grant each year in the 5-year cycle. These single year settlements reduce the reliability of resource forecasting given the short-term nature of the Local Government Financial Settlement. The Scottish Government has previously committed to providing multi-year indicative allocations but the most recent announcement was for one year only. 2.3. The forecast resources from Community Investment Fund (CIF) are reflective of the scenario presented to Policy and Strategy Committee in September 2023. Members will recall that the latest CIF projections continue to assume that Elected Members will ringfence 1% of future Council Tax rises (or equivalent) to fund the strategic capital investment programme. 2.4. A key part of the Community Investment Fund modelling is the requirement to complete an annual review of the assumptions and projections. Each review has been presented to Policy and Strategy Committee and in the event that the assumptions change significantly this would be considered by the Council’s SCDG in line with its Terms of Reference and ensuring ongoing compliance with the principles of the Council’s Capital Strategy. 2.5. The most recent review included a sensitivity analysis outlining the impact of changes in the key variables affecting the total funding available for community investment including: 2.5.1. Failure to agree the 1% contribution from Council Tax in any one year would reduce resources available by £38.815m over the 10-year Community Page 15 of 326
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Investment Fund period and would require equivalent reductions in capital investment opportunities. Conversely a decision to increase the proportion of Council Tax allocated to the Community Investment Fund would increase the resources available but would have the potential to increase the proportion of future budget gaps to be met from the delivery of recurring revenue savings. 2.5.2. The previous review included prudent estimates of future housing growth linked to the strength of the economy, cost of living crisis and increased cost of borrowing. Housing growth in excess of current assumptions could significantly increase the availability of resources. One of the key aims of the Council’s Programme of Work to 2028 is to promote economic growth which would include private sector housing investment. This has the potential to improve resources available to support community investment. 2.5.3. Furthermore, the recent review assumed average interest rates of 4.75% will apply over the remainder of the current 10-year Community Investment Fund period. As Committee will be aware, these interest rates are highly dependent on wider economic factors. A 1% increase in interest rates would reduce funding by £47.793m but a decrease of 1% would increase forecast resources by £41.158m. 2.6. The proposed capital programme assumes resources of £2.440m to support the continuation of the Council’s spend-to-save investment in LED street lighting. 2.7. External capital funding in support of the Council’s capital programme is forecast to be £67.734m over the 5 year period. This is largely reflective of City Deal Grant and known Scottish Government grant contributions for areas such as Vacant and Derelict Land Fund, Regeneration Capital Grant Fund and Placed Based Investment Programme. It also makes an assumption of anticipated funding from the Scottish Government’s Learning Estate Investment Programme for Chryston High School extension. 2.8. Projected capital receipts of £16.750m have been included in the programme based on the current estimates of likely future receipts from asset sales. Capital receipts can be significantly influenced by external market factors so, like all areas of capital resources, this will be kept under continual review. 2.9. Following approval of the Council’s 2024/25 Revenue Budget on 15 February 2024 and acceptance of the Section 95 Officer’s recommended budget strategy, the strategic capital investment programme assumes the release of one-off resources of £44.791m from the cost reductions associated with Strathclyde Pension Fund employer contributions to augment the capital programme and the Town and Community Hub programme. 2.10. In addition, at the Council meeting on 23 February 2023 Elected Members approved a change in the accounting for all of the Council’s existing service concession arrangements. This changed the way the Council accounts for the public private partnership (PPP) and design, build, finance and maintain (DBFM) arrangements on an ongoing basis but the retrospective application of the change in accounting also released a one-off benefit of £44.800m which can now be applied to the strategic capital investment programme. 2.11. While the Strathclyde Pension Fund cost reductions are ‘cash backed’ this one-off accounting benefit is not and, as highlighted in the report to Council in February 2023, the Council will be required to borrow to fund this expenditure. Therefore, utilising this Page 16 of 326
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one-off benefit to support the capital programme ensures that additional borrowing costs can be managed over the life of the assets and the impact incorporated into the Council’s Medium Term Financial Planning assumptions. 2.12. Comparing this programme to the previous 5-year programme on a like for like basis highlights a 12% increase and ensures this capital programme is the largest ever proposed by North Lanarkshire Council. The scale of Council backed investment should be seen in the context of a forecast reduction in the General Capital Grant of nearly 9% over the same period, and provides a clear statement as to the ambition for economic growth and development by the Council. Programme Development 2.13. The strategic capital investment programme has been developed in conjunction with Services and led by the Strategic Capital Delivery Group (SCDG). 2.14. Services submitted capital bids to the SCDG using a standard template to evidence alignment with asset management planning requirements and Council priorities. Services were asked to categorise capital bids as follows: • Unavoidable commitment – where projects have commenced, are legally committed or have fully funded committee approval from 2024/25 to 2028/29. • Asset Management Planning requirement – for projects required to ensure a continued level of service and / or to prolong the life of existing assets. • New Investment – where the project is being proposed in support the Council’s revised Programme of Work to 2028. 2.15. The scale of ambition across the Council was demonstrated by the value of bids submitted. Bids totalling £1.655 billion were submitted against the total funding availability of £659.509m. With a significant degree of over-subscription the SCDG has been required to match available resources to projects and themes using a prioritised scoring model. 2.16. The capital bids were assessed and prioritised using a scoring model similar to that used in the Council’s previous strategic capital investment programme. The key factors and associated weighting are highlighted in the following table: Criteria Score (%) 1. Statutory requirement 20 2. Manages the Council’s risks 20 3. Revenue consequences (high score for delivering savings, low score for increasing cost base) 15 4. Deliverability 15 5. Impact on carbon management 10 6. Contribution to Programme of Work 20 Total 100 2.17. Whilst not explicitly stated as a key criteria, the Council’s stated aim of tackling poverty is captured as part of the assessment criteria through the statutory requirement, management of risks and, in particular, contribution to the Programme of Work categories where individual bids were required to highlight how the project proposal would improve the Council’s health check indicators, including the percentage of people economically active and reducing relative poverty. Page 17 of 326
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2.18. During the evaluation process the Unavoidable Commitment category was expanded to include an assessment of those projects or elements of projects that must be completed to reduce the risk of service failures on areas such as key digital infrastructure, key bridge infrastructure etc. 2.19. Projects identified within the expanded Unavoidable Commitment category were top sliced from the available resources, with the remaining bids assessed in accordance with their relative weighted score against the criteria identified in paragraph 2.15. Those projects with the highest weighted score were allocated the highest percentage of their overall bid value and conversely if projects scored below the threshold no funding was allocated. 2.20. Finally, a programme moderation process was completed to assess any significant outliers from the previous funding allocations i.e. where funding allocations were significantly reduced or significantly increased. In addition, the final moderation process considered whether the funding allocation model created any situations where the available funding would result in a do not proceed dilemma and whether that outcome had any significant impacts on the Council’s key ambitions. Strategic Capital Investment Programme 2.21. The outcome of the process outlined above is the following strategic capital investment proposal, set out by individual service area: Service Area Total Proposed Allocations 2024/25 to 2028/29 £000 Enterprise and Communities Assets and Procurement 76,657 Assets and Procurement – Town and Community Hubs 250,074 Community Operations 112,030 Place 164,550 Enterprise and Communities Sub-Total 603,311 Chief Executive’s Business and Digital 20,110 Strategic Communications and Engagement 10,369 Chief Executive’s Sub-Total 30,479 Adult Social Care 11,000 Contingency 14,719 Total 659,509 2.22. This programme delivers significant ongoing capital investment in North Lanarkshire’s communities which will support the Council’s ambitions for place making transformation while supporting the creation and maintenance of jobs in the local economy. 2.23. To ensure the programme can be appropriately phased to match delivery requirements and to support ongoing financial and project monitoring arrangements, Committee is asked to instruct the Council’s SCDG to work at pace to develop a 5-year profile of expenditure that delivers outcomes for North Lanarkshire’s communities while being Page 18 of 326
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matched to the resources available to the Council. The 2024/25 element of the 5-year profile will form the basis of budget monitoring reports to Committees for the 2024/25 financial year. 2.24. In line with the SCDG Terms of Reference, the programme outlined above and in Appendix 1 will remain under continual review as the programme evolves and will continue to be reported for approval at Policy and Strategy Committee in Cycle 1 each year to ensure that the programme continues to reflect any changes in priorities and / or changes in the resources available. Town and Community Hub Programme 2.25. The proposed strategic capital investment programme’s largest constituent part is the Town and Community Hub programme with a proposed allocation of £250.074m, representing 38% of the overall resources available. This is largely for the completion of the currently approved programme and includes an allowance for increased delivery costs. 2.26. The remaining balance for new projects will be assessed by the Council’s Town and Community Hub Project Board in accordance with prioritisation matrix as approved at Policy and Strategy Committee in March 2020. The outcome of this review will be reported through the Education, Children and Families Committee but it is expected it will include consideration of the potential for delivery of Community Hubs at Glenboig, Ravenscraig and Abronhill. 2.27. However, Committee should be aware that in keeping with the rest of the strategic capital programme it may not be possible to deliver on all expected outcomes within the current 5-year period as the Council needs to manage project delivery timescales within the overall envelope of finances available. Future Years 2.28. During the bidding process, Services were required to provide indicative information linked to funding commitments required beyond the current 5-year cycle. The longer- term planning for future commitments will allow the Council to manage the expectations of what future capital plans can deliver in light of known commitments and ensure that, where appropriate, any future commitments are built into medium term financial planning processes. 2.29. One such future commitment that goes beyond the 2024/25 to 2028/29 timeframe is City Deal. While this report proposes expenditure of £91m in the current 5-year cycle to progress projects such as East Airdrie Link Road, there will be ongoing requirements in the next 5 year capital cycle from 2029/30 to 2033/34. Despite receipt of City Deal grants to partially fund the programme, the expenditure profile beyond the current 5- year cycle is currently estimated to be circa £180m which is an increase of around £100m as a result of the impact of inflationary pressures and cost increases resulting from the complexity of road infrastructure such as bridges and ground conditions, as well as land acquisition and compensation. Therefore, there is likely to be a significant increase in the Council’s contribution to the City Deal programme from the previously assumed £90m to around £181m. 2.30. Similar to the above is the continued commitment to the delivery of the Town and Community Hub Programme. Recent market increases have seen estimated costs for a Town Hub facility increase to around £140m. Although there still exists a commitment Page 19 of 326
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to deliver on this ambition and exploratory works will commence over the term of this capital programme, this will be another consideration as to the shape and funding of the longer-term capital programme. 2.31. In planning for these future commitments, Committee should be aware that they may limit scope for other capital investment priorities, or may require re-prioritisation of projects e.g. within the City Deal programme, as highlighted at Policy and Strategy Committee in December. In addition, this may create additional recurring revenue consequences. These potential consequences will be monitored through the SCDG and, if appropriate, factored into the Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan. Housing Revenue Account Capital Programme 2.32. While this report focuses on the Council’s General Fund capital programme, Committee should be aware of the record levels of forecast investment in the Council’s current and future housing stock. Over the same 2024/25 to 2028/29 period the HRA’s 30 year business plan assumption includes forecast investment of £806m across the mainstream programme and new supply programme. This represents the current planning assumption while recognising that it continues to be subject to agreement on future investment targets and funding from rental increases. Overall Community Investment 2.33. Combining the updated General Fund Strategic Capital Investment Programme with forecast investment in the Housing Revenue Account means that the Council currently forecasts total Community Investment of £1.465 billion over next five financial years. Review of Capital Strategy 2.34. In accordance with Prudential Code requirements, the Council carries out ongoing reviews of the Capital Strategy. The updated Capital Strategy is shown in Appendix 2. The principles outlined and adopted within the Strategy remain largely unchanged from the previous iteration. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The SCDG will continue to monitor the financial performance and operational delivery of the strategic capital investment programme to ensure completion of the programme in line with available resources. 4. Supporting documentation Appendix 1 – Strategic Capital Investment Programme – 2024/25 to 2028/29 Appendix 2 – Capital Strategy 2024/25 to 2028/29 Andrew McPherson Depute Chief Executive Page 20 of 326
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5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The financial impacts are outlined throughout the report. The Council’s SCDG has responsibility for ongoing management of the strategic capital investment programme and the monitoring of the overall programme will continue to be presented to Finance and Resources Committee at each committee cycle. The SCDG will continue to monitor the potential impact of future capital commitments to ensure aligned with ongoing funding strategies and medium term financial planning processes. 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 ☐ Page 21 of 326
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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? 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? Through SCDG the Council will be managing ongoing risks associated with the strategic capital investment programme, including but not limited to: • Failure to spend in-year capital grant which may result in any unspent portion being returned to the Scottish Government. However, given the significant level of Community Investment Fund investment this is risk is deemed to be low at this stage. • Project delays and programme issues that impact on the delivery of the programme and result in increased costs or reduced outcomes. These risks will be managed through individual project governance arrangements with oversight provided by SCDG. • Commitments beyond the current 5-year cycle will continue to be monitored and refined with updated funding strategies and incorporated into the Council’s established medium term financial planning processes. 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 Page 22 of 326
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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 23 of 326
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Strategic Capital Investment Programme 2024/25 - 2028/29 Appendix 1 Project / Theme 5 Year Total £000 Asset and Procurement Solutions Maintaining Existing Assets (windows, re-roofing, re-wiring and condition survey works for the Council's building assets) 33,174 Carbon Management 3,219 Office Rationalisation 6,693 Health & wellbeing and Digital Classrooms 743 Rationalisation including ASN & Social Work 6,254 Curriculum Development 2,258 Sustainable Estate 6,681 Outdoor Education and Outdoor Spaces 4,171 Future Capital Receipts Investment 3,162 Design Fees 9,149 1140 Early Learning and Childcare Expansion 654 Water Quality 500 Sub-Total Asset and Procurement Solutions 76,657 Town and Community Hubs Town and Community Hubs 250,074 Total Town and Community Hubs 250,074 Community Operations Operational and Infrastructure Development 23,957 Greenspace and Cemeteries 16,549 Greenspace Climate Resilience and Wellbeing 489 Parks Master Plan (including Strathclyde Park Watersports Centre Redevelopment) 11,217 Roads and Street Lighting/Asset Management 56,982 Contaminated Land and Resilience 2,837 Sub-Total Community Operations 112,030 Place Economic Regeneration (including investment in town centre regeneration and business and industrial infrastructure) 38,791 City Deal 91,218 Enterprise Projects 271 Infrastructure and Transportation improvements (including investment in bridges, reservoirs, flood risk mitigation and road safety improvements) 34,271 0 Sub-Total Place 164,550 Total Enterprise and Communities 603,311 Page 24 of 326
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Strategic Capital Investment Programme 2024/25 - 2028/29 Appendix 1 Project / Theme 5 Year Total £000 Adult Social Care Equipment and Adaptations 11,000 Total Adult Social Care 11,000 Business & Digital Line of Business (LOB) System Portfolio 11,986 End User Device (EUD) Refresh 4,646 Digitisation & Innovation 3,479 Sub-Total Business & Digital 20,111 Strategic Communications and Engagement Community Board Project Investment Fund 10,369 Sub-Total Strategic Communications and Engagement 10,369 Total Chief Executive's 30,479 Corporate Contingency Contingency 14,719 Total Contingency 14,719 TOTAL GENERAL SERVICES CAPITAL PROGRAMME 659,509 HRA Mainstream Investment Programme (indicative) 806,031 TOTAL COUNCIL CAPITAL INVESTMENT 1,465,540 Page 25 of 326
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Capital Strategy to 2028/29 Page 26 of 326
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Page 1 Contents Page Number Executive Summary 2 Introduction 3 Capital Governance and Programme Arrangements 4 Capital Funding Sources 5 Capital Bids Methodology 8 Capital Project Ranking and Selection Process 10 5 year Capital Programme 2024/25 to 2028/29 11 Programme Monitoring 11 Knowledge & Skills 12 Treasury Management Strategy and Prudential Borrowing 13 Future Steps 15 Appendices A. Summary of Corporate Strategies and Policies aligned to the Capital Strategy to 2028/29 16 B. Capital Bid Template 19 C. Summary of Prudential and Treasury Management Indicators 25 Page 27 of 326
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Page 2 Executive Summary Following the publication of the revised Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities 2021, there is a requirement for councils to produce a Capital Strategy. The purpose of the Strategy is to provide the framework to ensure the Council creates an asset base that meets the shared ambition for North Lanarkshire to be the place to Live, Learn, Work, Invest and Visit. This shared ambition musters combined resources and delivers change in a way that recognises the need for partnership and co-operation to address challenges through integrated solutions and make a difference to the lives of people who live in North Lanarkshire’s communities. The objective and aim of the Strategy is to ensure the Council takes capital expenditure and investment decisions in line with the Council’s priorities, service objectives and properly takes account of stewardship, value for money, prudence, sustainability and affordability. The Strategy forms part of the Council’s integrated approach to corporate resource planning in line with the overarching Financial Strategy, aligning with other Council Corporate Policies and Plans informing the capital investment process. It is a means of developing capital investment proposals up to 2028/29 based on available resources aligned to The Plan for North Lanarkshire, Best Value, the Financial Regulations, the Corporate Asset Management Plan, and the Medium Term Financial Plan established within the overarching Financial Strategy. A brief summary of these is provided within Appendix A. The Strategy sets out the governance and programme management arrangements and the expected level of skills and knowledge required in capital programme management to enable the Council to achieve its capital investment objectives. The Council has in place a Strategic Capital Delivery Group (SCDG) to oversee the identification of capital funding resources, project approval and the day to day management of the capital programme including the realignment of resources and programme delivery. The Strategy outlines the requirement to access various capital funding sources which are available to the Council including capital grants, capital receipts and prudential borrowing. It also recognises opportunities for collaborative working or taking advantage of new funding opportunities to support economic growth and Ambition. The Strategy highlights the risks that may impact upon the Council achieving its aims and objectives for capital expenditure and investment, including the risk of delay in starting and completing projects and the risk of cost overrun. Inherent treasury management risks are also highlighted which may impact upon the affordability and delivery of the approved capital programme. These include interest rate, liquidity, and legal and regulatory risk, heavily influenced by the external environment. In accordance with the Strategy, the Council has a model for allocating limited capital finance to competing projects, using a formal capital bid template and a project ranking and selection process. The approved capital programme categorises investment across a number of themes and projects organised through individual service groupings. Please note in accordance with the governance arrangements, the SCDG has the ability to agree a realignment of resources and programme delivery. Thereafter the Strategy outlines the monitoring processes and mechanisms put in place to ensure that projects are delivered on time, within budget and provide the desired level of service output. Page 28 of 326
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Page 3 Finally the Strategy recognises the importance of good Treasury Management (TM) practice as an important factor in achieving the aims and objectives of the Capital Strategy identifying prudential borrowing as an important funding source. The TM team manages the Council’s annual borrowing strategy as laid out within the approved Treasury Management Strategy. Introduction Following the publication of the revised Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities 2021, there is a requirement for councils to produce a Capital Strategy. The Council has prepared a Strategic Capital Investment Programme for approval at Policy and Strategy Committee on 14 March 2024. This Capital Strategy to 2028/29 (“the Strategy”) represents a refresh of the strategy document further developing the previous approach in light of the Prudential Code requirements. The purpose of the Strategy is to provide the framework to ensure the Council creates an asset base that meets the shared ambition for North Lanarkshire to be the place to Live, Learn, Work, Invest and Visit. This shared ambition musters combined resources and delivers change in a way that recognises the need for partnership and co-operation to address challenges through integrated solutions and make a difference to the lives of people who live in North Lanarkshire’s communities. The objective and aims of the Strategy are to ensure the Council takes capital expenditure and investment decisions in line with the Council’s priorities, service objectives and properly takes account of stewardship, value for money, prudence, sustainability and affordability. Capital expenditure is used to acquire or upgrade physical assets of the Council, such as Property, Plant or Equipment. By definition, all capital expenditure incurred by the Council must result in a new asset being created, an existing asset being enhanced or its useful economic life extended. Capital Expenditure eligibility is assessed on an individual basis with reference to the CIPFA Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting (CIPFA ACOP) and associated accounting standards and practitioner notes. Capital expenditure is expenditure of the local authority which falls to be capitalised in accordance with proper accounting practice. The Strategy forms part of the Council’s integrated approach to corporate resource planning which forms part of the Council’s overarching Financial Strategy, aligning with the Strategic Policy Framework informing the capital investment process. It is a means of formalising the development of capital investment proposals up to 2028/29 based on available resources aligned to The Plan for North Lanarkshire, Best Value and Efficiency, the Financial Regulations, the Corporate Asset Management Plan, and the Medium Term Financial Plan established within the overarching Financial Strategy. A brief summary of these is provided within Appendix A emphasising their context in developing the Strategy. The Strategy considers the priorities which will inform the Council’s approach to investing in its assets, in the context of the capital resources expected to be available, reports on progress and identifies measurable objectives for the timeframe of the Strategic Capital Investment Programme. Page 29 of 326
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Page 4 It is underpinned by the Council’s Corporate Asset Management Plan approved in September 2022 setting out a strategic framework for the effective delivery of asset management planning. The approach to asset management planning is based on developing best practice including “A Guide to Asset Management and Capital Planning in Local Authorities” published by CIPFA. In accordance with the governance arrangements, the SCDG may redirect resources between financial years and across projects or themes to ensure ongoing alignment with the Council’s priorities and to manage emerging risks. It is essential to achieve the aims of the Strategy that a structured approach is adopted to set the capital programme, its delivery and monitoring, with services working through the Strategic Capital Delivery Group in a coordinated, corporate manner. The paragraphs below outline the Strategy to be adopted in terms of developing, setting and monitoring the capital expenditure plans to achieve the main purpose of the Strategy covering: ▪ Capital Governance and Programme Management Arrangements, ▪ Capital Funding Sources, ▪ Capital Bids Methodology, and ▪ Capital Project Ranking and Selection process. Capital Governance and Programme Management Arrangements Strategic Capital Delivery Group To consider and assess service capital bids and develop the Council’s long-term capital programme and ensure an efficient and effective programme delivery the Council has in place a Strategic Capital Delivery Group (SCDG) which was initially set up in July 2017. It is an officer working group comprising senior officers chaired by the Depute Chief Executive and includes key Chief Officers from across the Council. The Group advises Elected Members in terms of capital allocation and project approval and has responsibility for the day to day management of the capital programme, including the realignment of resources and programme delivery. The Group as a minimum meet quarterly prior to each cycle of Policy and Strategy Committee. The Group objectives being: • Monitor the Council’s Strategic Capital Investment Programme, including performance against delivery aims and objectives; • Advise Elected Members on capital allocations and project approval, making recommendations on and amendments to the approved capital programme; • Ensure the proper alignment of capital resources to allow for effective delivery of the programmes; • Monitor expenditure projections against budgets and available resources, revising these where necessary, subject to the limits set out in its approved Terms of Reference; Page 30 of 326
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Page 5 • Ensure robust governance arrangements around the delivery, monitoring and reporting of capital programmes; • Consider the quarterly capital monitoring report to Finance and Resources Committee to ensure appropriate actions are agreed for review by Elected Members; • Ensure Participatory Budgeting principles are embedded in key capital investment decisions of the Council; • Arrange and undertake training/awareness sessions as required to reinforce skills/knowledge across the Council in respect of capital monitoring and capital financing; • Ensure all decisions made by the Group are Intra Vires and in line with The Plan for North Lanarkshire. The SCDG make recommendations and amendments to the approved capital programme, as required, with decisions taken by the SCDG officially reported through regular budget monitoring reports considered by individual Service Committee reports and also by service management teams. As the SCDG is scheduled to meet quarterly, the approval of business cases and funding allocations may be delegated to a project board specifically set up for this purpose if agreed by the SCDG. Capital Funding Sources In the early stages of developing the Council’s capital programme it is important that the Strategy identifies all potential sources of capital funding as this will be a key component in the Council achieving the aims and objectives of this Strategy. Funding levels will drive the level of capital expenditure which is prudent, sustainable and affordable, aligned to the financial challenges within the Medium Term Financial Plan, the Council’s priorities, the corporate asset management plan and ensuring value for money. There are a number of alternative funding sources available to the Council which are considered. Scottish Government The Scottish Government provides the Council with funding to support capital expenditure in the form of two types of capital grant, General Capital Grant and Specific Capital Grants. General Capital Grant is provided to the Council as part of the annual Local Government Settlement. Councils are able to spend this grant on capital projects that meet local and national priorities. A General Capital Grant offer is made to individual local authorities each year through the issue of a grant offer letter. Specific Capital Grants are also known as specific purpose grants or ring-fenced grants, and may only be used by local authorities for specific purposes. The terms and conditions of each grant are set out separately in the grant offer letters. The Council will receive some Specific Capital Grants through the Local Government Finance Settlement with additional Specific Capital Grants paid out with the Local Government Finance Settlement. Capital Receipts Page 31 of 326
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Page 6 Capital receipts represent money received from selling land, buildings or other capital assets which may only be used to fund new capital expenditure or the repayment of debt principal through the Capital Fund. The Council has approved procedures for dealing with surplus assets, details of which are outlined within the Corporate Asset Management Plan. The general principle for the use of Capital Receipts is that any receipts generated from the sale of assets will be considered corporately with the potential for these to be used to augment the investment in the capital programme. The sale of assets will also link to the various corporate strategies approved by the Council with these resources potentially earmarked to fund priorities. The capital strategy adopted in relation to capital receipts should recognise key factors which may require mitigation which influence the potential receipts achievable including: ▪ Over reliance on a small portfolio of disposals whereby the addition/removal of a surplus asset from the original projections has a significant impact on receipts; ▪ A drop in economic performance of the UK impacting on development; ▪ Changes in legislation/planning permission/statutory consents. Other External Funding The Strategy will consider innovative sources of finance to provide funding for projects which are of the nature, scale and size to attract to attract external funding support. This may include: Joint Working with Community Planning Partners and Shared Services Improving joined-up service delivery, the need to demonstrate Best Value and financial constraints are factors that may cause the Council to consider joint procurement of capital assets. The different capital funding, procurement, VAT rules across the public sector will have to be taken into account in considering this option. Historically the Council has pursued a number of joint projects, e.g. the construction of the Buchanan Centre, Wishaw Hub, the Clyde Valley Residual Waste Management Facility and Chryston Community Hub. Scottish Futures Trust Initiatives / Partnership with Private Developers/Joint Bodies Working in partnership with private developers could lever in private sector investment to achieve Council objectives within a realistic timescale. This could also include new initiatives developed by the Scottish Futures Trust e.g. DBFM Hubco for schools, the SALIX Energy Efficiency Programme and Joint Body contributions to works e.g. Strathclyde Passenger Transport. Leasing Arrangements Leasing assets may be considered as an alternative to owning assets, e.g. to provide flexibility in service delivery where the Council would not want to be locked into owning assets which could become obsolete through changing technology or as a result of changing demographics or demand for service. Prudential Borrowing Page 32 of 326
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Page 7 The Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 introduced the Prudential Code for Capital Finance with effect from 1 April 2004. The key objectives of the code are to ensure that the capital investment plans for local authorities are affordable, prudent, sustainable linked closely to TM practices. Adopting the Prudential Code, prudential borrowing can be used to meet the shortfall in other capital funding sources, i.e. the capital financing requirement, with revenue funding, informed by the MTFP, available to meet the implications of capital expenditure, both borrowing costs (interest and principal repayments otherwise known as ‘loan charges’) and other revenue implications. As a result, the capital and revenue planning processes are fully integrated and decisions are taken on the level of borrowing that is deemed to be affordable, prudent and sustainable. Capital expenditure levels are determined, based on an assessment of the current asset base and the identification and prioritisation of investment needs, as identified using the capital bid methodology described below with the level of spending assessed in conjunction with the capital funding sources available. By implementing the approach outlined within this Strategy and the associated TM Strategy, the Council will have in place the tools to fulfil the objectives of the Prudential Code. This includes the setting and monitoring a number of statutory Prudential and TM indicators, which include the setting of borrowing limits. The prudential indicators for capital expenditure plans are encompassed within the Council’s TM Strategy, with a brief summary of its content within the Treasury Management Strategy and Prudential Borrowing section below. The Council adopts the strategic approach outlined above in identifying capital funding sources which inform the development and setting of the strategic capital investment programme. Initiatives linked to Prudential Borrowing Community Investment Fund The creation of the innovative Community Investment Fund supports the significant investment in North Lanarkshire’s communities. Prudential borrowing is undertaken with the associated loan charges financed by the anticipated growth in Council tax income, directly linked to the Ambition programme. This ensures the financial benefit accruing from Ambition is used to support investment in local communities. Similarly subject to Council approval, the potential and pace of growth of the fund could be enhanced by setting aside a portion of the any Council Tax increase. Annual updates are provided to Policy and Strategy Committee on Community Investment Fund assumptions and the impact of these updates on funding available is incorporated into capital planning and resourcing considerations managed through the Strategic Capital Delivery Group. Capital Funding Sources: Considerations and Risks Reduced Capital Funding In developing a capital programme there are a number of assumptions made in terms of funding sources, relying on past current and future projections. Therefore a risk exists that capital plans may need to be revised and priorities re-assessed if the level of resources available is reduced. For example there has been a significant reduction in capital grant funding in recent years because of the state of the public finances and there remains uncertainty as to future grant levels. The remit of the SCDG is to monitor resources available and take appropriate action. Page 33 of 326
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Page 8 Treasury Management Risks The delivery of the Capital Programme is closely aligned to the TM Strategy and in particular the borrowing strategy which informs the level of ‘Prudential Borrowing’ which is affordable, sustainable and prudent. There are a number of inherent risks associated with TM including interest rate, liquidity, and legal and regulatory risk. A number of these risks are influenced by the external environment and will be monitored as their influence may require capital plans to be revised. Examples include: The Scottish Government has the power to limit the level of prudential borrowing under Section 36 of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 (Scotland) and any limit imposed nationally would have an impact on the Council’s ability to resource its capital programme if borrowing is required to meet the shortfall in other resources available. The Council currently has access to finance at competitive rates via the Public Works Loan Board from the National Loans Fund. Any decision by HM Treasury to limit access to or increase the rates for borrowing from the PWLB would impact on the cost of financing capital investment and aligning to the MTFP may require capital plans to be revised. Operational Risks The nature of capital projects means that there are operational risks associated with their delivery, including the risk of delay in starting and completing projects and the risk of cost overrun. This Strategy promotes an environment that should ensure risks are explicitly set out in capital proposals and action identified to mitigate these risks. Capital Bids Methodology Whilst striving to identify all the capital funding sources available, the Council should ensure that it has a capital bid process which captures all the necessary information to assess how the project aligns with The Plan for North Lanarkshire, corporate asset management plan, medium term financial plan, treasury management and achieving value for money. This approach requires Services to complete a Capital Programme Bid template (see Appendix B), fully and accurately as possible, to facilitate an effective and informed decision-making process. The purpose being to assist the Council’s Strategic Capital Delivery Group (SCDG) to identify and recommend the most appropriate and beneficial capital programme. Services may provide bids at a high level under a common theme or programme of works heading e.g. wind and watertight programme, energy efficiency etc. However, due consideration can also be given as to whether it would be more appropriate to bid at a project level e.g. a new build care home , this may allow for more effective monitoring going forward, should the capital bid be approved. Chief Officers and Managers must provide sufficient evidence and supporting detail to support their submissions. Within the capital bid template the following information is provided: Objectives A brief outline is required to identify the high level aims and objectives of the programme. Services are asked to identify how the project should be classified with the appropriate rationale provided: Page 34 of 326
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Page 9 ▪ Unavoidable Commitment – relate to projects that have commenced or have been committed by committee decision but are not fully funded within the current capital programme; ▪ Asset Management Planning Priority – Capital projects to ensure a continued level of service and/or prolong the life of existing assets. In addition, it may be considered that if capital expenditure is not undertaken, a detrimental impact may result on either service provision, asset life, or customer satisfaction. Asset Management Planning is essential to the development of the Capital programme. Any project identified within this category should appear in Corporate Asset Management Plan or individual service or function asset management plans. ▪ New Investment – Where the project is being proposed in support of the Council’s The Plan for North Lanarkshire Programme of Work to 2028. Financial Summary Services should provide a reasonable estimate of when the project will start as well as the estimated completion date. This should be supported by estimated phasing of the investment needed. Due to the restrictions of funding available any flexibility in the phasing should also be identified as additional information. Given many projects and programmes span across multiple years service are asked to identify any estimated expenditure from 2029/30 to 2033/34 to ensure that any financial commitments can be incorporated into the Council’s medium term financial planning processes. Where there are ongoing revenue implications associated with capital investment proposals, services are asked to provide an estimate of any recurring savings and recurring costs. Key Deliverables As part of the SCDG’s ongoing monitoring of both the financial aspects of the capital programme and the outputs / outcomes, Services are required to provide details of the targeted outputs and outcomes for each year of the 5-year cycle. Examples of outputs could include, for instance, the number of window replacement projects, the number of town centre sites regenerated and the numbers of end user devices refreshed. Examples of planned or anticipated outcomes would include the impact of condition survey projects on the overall condition of the school estate, improved occupancy of town centre sites and improved system and network performance. To support the monitoring and evaluation of projects Services are also asked to outline how they will demonstrate that the stated outputs and outcomes have been achieved / delivered. Risk Impact The capital bid documentation makes reference to Audit Scotland guidance on effective capital programme management which expects councils to have robust risk management arrangements in place. It also recognises that a key part of capital programme delivery can be in helping the Council to manage risks by improving the condition of assets etc. Services are asked to provide information to help assess the contribution their projects would make to the Council’s overall risk management framework, including identification of: • Corporate or service risks the project will help to mitigate, • Risks that are inherent in the project, Page 35 of 326
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Page 10 • Risks of not undertaking the project, and • How the project’s risks will be managed. Programme of Work to 2028 Services are asked to include an assessment of how the project they propose contributes to each of the Programme of Work themes. Specifically Services are asked to provide information on the scale of impact on Programme of Work ‘Initial Actions’, ‘Health Check Indicators’ and ‘What will be achieved’ items as highlighted in the The Plan for North Lanarkshire Programme of Work document published in March 2023 (Programme of Work to 2028) Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Where the project / programme has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and / or Fairer Scotland Duty Services are asked to provide a brief summary and consider whether it would be appropriate to complete and publish the relevant assessment. Additional Information This section is used to provide any additional information that Services consider would further support any element of the above or their capital bid as a whole. Please note that this should be kept to a minimum, ensuring information and evidence is succinct to allow the SCDG to fully assess the bid. Capital Project Ranking and Selection Process Following the submission of the capital bids from Services, the SCDG members are responsible for scoring the bids. The overriding principle is to ensure that the capital investment plans align closely to the priorities of the Council, with each bid assessed as to how it helps advance these aims. This process also recognises the limits to funding levels available to support the capital investment plans, including the loan charges and revenue implications incorporated within the Medium Term Financial Plan projections. Unavoidable commitments relating to projects that have commenced or have been committed by Committee decision but are not fully funded within the current capital programme and/or are of strategic importance should be top sliced from the available resources. Thereafter capital bids are assessed and prioritised using a weighted scoring model. The key factors and associated weightings are highlighted in the following table: Criteria Score (%) 7. Statutory requirement 20 8. Manages the Council’s risks 20 9. Revenue consequences (high score for delivering savings, low score for increasing cost base) 15 10. Deliverability 15 11. Impact on carbon management 10 12. Contribution to Programme of Work 20 Total 100 Page 36 of 326
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Page 11 Four members of the SCDG are asked to score each bid against these criteria on a range of 0 to 5, with 0 highlighting no contribution / impact and 5 highlighting maximum contribution / impact. The individual scores are then combined to provide a consolidated score. This consolidated score is converted into a percentage which then allows all projects to be ranked in priority order. Those projects with the highest weighted score were allocated the highest percentage of their overall bid value and conversely if projects scored below the threshold no funding was allocated. Finally, a programme moderation may take place to assess any significant outliers from the previous funding allocations i.e. where funding allocations are significantly reduced or significantly increased. In addition, the final moderation programme may consider whether the funding allocation model would create any situations where the funding available would result in a ‘do not proceed’ dilemma and whether that outcome had any significant impacts on the Council’s key ambitions. 5 year Capital Programme 2024/25 to 2028/29 A summary of the approved Capital investment programme between 2024/2025 to 2028/2029 is outlined in the following table below. Service Area Total Allocations 2024/25 to 2028/29 £000 Enterprise and Communities Assets and Procurement 76,657 Assets and Procurement – Town and Community Hubs 250,074 Community Operations 112,030 Place 164,550 Enterprise and Communities Sub-Total 603,311 Chief Executive’s Business and Digital 20,110 Strategic Communications and Engagement 10,369 Chief Executive’s Sub-Total 30,479 Adult Social Care 11,000 Contingency 14,719 Total 659,509 Programme Monitoring The approved capital programme should be subject to ongoing financial monitoring to ensure expenditure and funding levels are in in line with assumptions and forecast during the capital bids process, the project selection and ranking stage and anticipated capital funding levels. Elected Members are responsible for considering and approving capital budgets and the Financial Strategy for the Council. An annual budget report will be presented to Policy and Strategy Committee at Cycle 1 each year which will take into account any updates on the capital funding available and any emerging priorities that may have to be considered. Page 37 of 326
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Page 12 Capital Monitoring Reports to Service Committee should be at a level of detail that is clear and transparent providing members with a proper insight as to how the capital expenditure plans are progressing. It is expected that as a minimum this will be at theme level. Reports to the SCDG and Service management teams should include information at individual project level to ensure full transparency with regard to decision-making. As such, individual Services require to monitor the capital programme on a project basis, with the information available to Finance staff on a periodic basis, and to the SCDG as a minimum on a quarterly basis. Overall responsibility for Financial Management within the Council lies with the Chief Officer (Finance) therefore Finance staff must be provided with information for individual projects to allow for effective financial monitoring in accordance with the Council’s Financial Regulations. SCDG will also periodically seek information from Services to monitor performance of the capital programme against the anticipated and planned outputs and outcomes to ensure that the overall programme is delivering as intended. The SCDG has oversight of the performance of the Council’s capital programme and will manage service requests for acceleration, reprofiling and virement process in line with SCDG Terms of Reference. Post implementation reviews will also be carried out in line with the Council’s approved project management guidelines outlined within the Corporate Asset Management Plan. Knowledge and Skills The Council has a programme of work to build a sustainable ‘Workforce for the Future’ which includes development of a Council wide workforce strategy, a broader learning and development strategy and programme of work, new policy frameworks to enable increased flexibility in working patterns and an enhanced focus on employee engagement and wellbeing. The Capital Programme is managed at service and governance level by a team of professionally qualified staff who have extensive experiences in asset management, meeting statutory obligations, delivering new investment initiatives, financial monitoring and compliance with proper accounting practices. The technical experience and professional qualifications of staff involved in capital programme governance, development and delivery should be at a level to ensure the ability to: ▪ Define processes and procedures; ▪ To identify core capital requirements and priorities; ▪ Work with Services identifying capital needs; ▪ Understand CIPFA Code requirements; ▪ Understand and manage risk. The Chief Finance Officer (S95 Officer) is responsible for ensuring the effective administration of the financial affairs of the Council in terms of Section 95 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. The Council’s Section 95 Officer is the Chief Officer (Finance) and is responsible for Capital Expenditure and is supported by a team of professionally qualified accountants who follow a continuous professional development plan. Page 38 of 326
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Page 13 To assist in ensuring proper capital accounting practices are adopted in respect of capital expenditure the Finance team has prepared a ‘Capital Accounting Procedures & Guidance Note’. This document is distributed to all finance staff involved in capital finance by request from by contacting the Capital Accounting team within Finance. This guidance covers the following areas: ▪ Capital Expenditure, initial recognition and capitalisation; ▪ Capital Income – treatment of capital receipts, grants etc; ▪ Principles of Capital Accounting, Policies and Valuation; ▪ Non-Current “Fixed” Asset Register. Treasury Management Strategy and Prudential Borrowing In delivering the Strategy an important funding source is prudential borrowing and the TM team are responsible for funding this adopting the Council’s annual borrowing strategy laid out within its TM Strategy. Treasury Management is defined as the management of an organisation’s investments, cashflows, banking, money market and capital market transactions; the effective control of the risks associated with those activities; and the pursuit of optimum performance consistent with those risks. The TM strategy considers the affordability of the capital financing requirement otherwise known as ‘Prudential Borrowing’ also factoring in the following within its borrowing strategy: ▪ Costs of refinancing of maturing debt; ▪ Loan debt repayment policy; ▪ Maintenance of prudent cash levels. The TM Strategy is developed based on assumptions and forecasts across a number of areas with a key driver being the capital expenditure plans and the level of prudential borrowing: It incorporates: ▪ Debt and investment projections; ▪ Interest rates projections; ▪ Borrowing and investment strategies; ▪ TM performance measures; ▪ Policy on repayment of loans funds advances; ▪ Treasury Management/Prudential Indicators. The Prudential Code requires that this Strategy be aligned with the TM strategy. In this regard and to promote an integrated approach between the capital expenditure plans and TM strategy, the Council incorporates the Prudential Indicators with regard to capital expenditure within its annual TM Strategy. Page 39 of 326
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Page 14 The TM strategy detailing the Council’s debt position, including the anticipated level of debt, the authorised borrowing limit and capital expenditure plans. The capital expenditure plans determine the borrowing need of the Council and the TM process essentially monitors the cash flow to ensure the Council can manage its capital spending obligations by adopting the borrowing strategy outlined within the TM strategy. The outputs from the capital expenditure plans being reflected in Prudential Indicators, which are calculated to assess if capital expenditure plans are: ▪ Affordable e.g. the proportion of financing costs to net revenue stream ▪ Prudent and Sustainable e.g. implications of external borrowing and an assessment of borrowing costs and interest rate forecasts/expectations; ▪ Providing value for money, e.g. options appraisal; ▪ Ensuring stewardship of assets, e.g. asset management planning; ▪ Meeting service objectives, e.g. strategic planning for the authority; ▪ Practical e.g. achievability of the forward plan. The definitions of the key mandatory indicators required by both the CIPFA Prudential Code and the CIPFA Treasury Management Code are contained within the Council’s Treasury Management Strategy which was presented to Finance and Resources Committee on 28 February 2024 (Treasury Management Strategy 2024/25; Treasury Management and Prudential Indicators 2024/25 to 2028/29). The indicators listed below are adopted to demonstrate that the Council Capital investment plans are prudent, affordable and sustainable as follows: ▪ Prudential Indicator: The Capital Expenditure Plans; ▪ Prudential Indicator: Capital Financing requirement (CFR); ▪ Prudential Indicator: CFR and limits to Borrowing activity; ▪ Prudential Indicator: Authorised Limits; ▪ Prudential Indicator: Operational Boundary; ▪ Prudential Indicator: Proportion of Financing Costs to Net Financing Stream; ▪ TM Indicator: Interest Rate Exposures; ▪ TM Indicator: Maturity Structure of Borrowing; ▪ TM Indicator: Credit Risk. In developing the Strategy linked closely to the Medium Term Financial Plan and determining affordability, the Council must take into account the various statutory loans fund repayment options available for loans fund advances under the relevant statutory guidance and regulations. The broad aim of prudent repayment is to ensure that the Council’s capital expenditure is financed over a period of years which that expenditure is expected to provide a benefit and that each year's repayment amount is reasonably commensurate with the period and pattern of the benefits. Page 40 of 326
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Page 15 The actual and estimated prudential indicators and the Council policy on loan fund repayments and future commitments can be viewed within the TM Strategy and Prudential Indicators presented quarterly to Finance and Resources Committee. Future Steps The Strategy will continue to be under review. In particular, consideration will be given to the following: ▪ Continuing to review alternative sources of finance, including an assessment of relative costs and risks to ensure maximum value for money; ▪ Continuing to look for opportunities for joint working with other organisations to improve the efficiency of capital programme delivery; ▪ Continuing to improve the quality of capital project and programme information to assess performance again cost estimates, timescales and achievement of benefits; ▪ Ensuring Services investment proposals clearly set out the identification and assessment of risks for individual projects and the calculation of the associated potential costs prior to inclusion within future capital programmes; ▪ Developing a continuing programme of training for elected members on capital planning and investment; ▪ Ensuring that Services retain documentation on the progress of projects so that performance against plans can be tracked; ▪ Continuing to improve capital expenditure profiling to enable comparison of performance against milestones. Page 41 of 326
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Page 16 Appendix A Summary of Corporate Plans & Polices aligned to the Capital Strategy to 2028/29 1. The Plan for North Lanarkshire In developing the Strategy the key driver is The Plan for North Lanarkshire and the purpose of the Strategy being to create an asset base which meets the shared ambition where we aspire that North Lanarkshire is the place to Live, Learn, Work, Invest and Visit. This shared ambition mustering combined resources and delivering change in a dynamic way that recognises the need for partnership and co-operation to address challenges through integrated solutions and make a difference to the lives of people who live in our communities. The Plan for North Lanarkshire focuses on the five priorities aiming to: ▪ Improve economic opportunities and outcomes; ▪ Support all children and young people to realise their full potential; ▪ Improve the health and wellbeing of our communities; ▪ Enhance participation, capacity and empowerment across our communities; ▪ Improve North Lanarkshire’s resource base Within these five priorities there are 25 high level ambition statements. In developing the Capital Programme the SCDG are required to assess and score how each project submitted for consideration contributes towards achieving the Council priorities and their related ambition statements with a weighting applied to each priority sub-divided for each of their related ambition statements. Further detail regarding the capital bids and project ranking selection process and how it achieves the selection of projects aligning to corporate strategies is detailed within the Strategy. 2. Corporate Asset Management Plan The effective use of Council assets is a key priority for the Council and the Corporate Asset Management Strategy drives forward proposals for capital investment via the Capital Bids process described within the Strategy. One of the criteria for making a capital bid, within the objective section of the capital bid template, is whether the proposed capital expenditure is deemed an ‘Asset Management Plan Priority’, emphasising the importance of having a working Corporate Asset Management Plan (CAMP) in place. A corporate approach to asset management will support the development, on-going scrutiny and monitoring of the capital programme and initiatives for future investment. Assets are the second largest cost to the public sector after payroll costs and the approach to asset management can influence both the quality of public services and the money that is available to the frontline and other services. The Council’s CAMP published in 2022 relates to the period 2021 to 2026 sets out the Council’s strategy for managing its assets (Corporate Asset Management Plan). The aim of the Council’s Corporate Asset Management Plan (CAMP) is to maintain and improve the condition suitability and utilisation of assets in terms of service delivery and best value. The Council manages a large and diverse portfolio of assets and depends on relevant up-to-date, accessible information to allow the Council to make informed decisions on the use of assets. The Council uses various asset management systems e.g. PISA, GIS mapping system for property to store information on its non-current assets. Page 42 of 326
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Page 17 The Corporate Asset Management Plan has six overarching objectives: ▪ Work towards the vision and ambitions of The Plan for North Lanarkshire, ▪ Rationalise our asset base to better meet our current and future business needs, ▪ Carry out tactical improvements to our retained assets, ▪ Ensure that our retained assets are as carbon efficient as possible, ▪ Continue to develop innovative methods of providing new facilities and only provide those where there is a compelling business need to do so, and ▪ Demonstrate the requirements for any future capital investment to be directed towards meeting the above objectives. 3. Financial Strategy: Medium Term Financial Plan The Council is facing financial challenges recognised within the Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) in which the implications of striving to achieve the outcomes behind the Strategy will have financial implications. Given the ongoing level of uncertainty around Scottish Government funding in both capital and revenue, it is considered that a five-year medium-term plan covering the period 2024/25 to 2028/29 is reasonable and appropriate for planning purposes. The MTFP has been developed within a continuing challenging financial climate with the Council constantly facing competing demands for the limited resources available. It reflects latest political, social and economic factors and their impact on demand for services, resources, other cost pressures and financial settlements. The MTFP assists the development of a strategy to ensure resources are allocated across competing services according to The Plan for North Lanarkshire priorities, ensuring all plans are linked to Government spending review announcements, new priorities, inflation targets and anticipated changes in demand. In addition, the plan takes account of risks which may impact on the Council’s future resource levels, which therefore can affect its ability to continue to provide high quality services focusing on the Council’s priorities. The MTFP also takes into account the latest projections of funding through the Community Investment Fund which is subject to annual reviews presented to Policy and Strategy Committee. 4. Best Value & Efficiency The Council is committed to ensuring it has Best Value built into its overall service delivery. Best Value is contained within the overall planning process, with Services required to set clear objectives and identify the resources required to deliver them, within the service planning process. The Council has an Audit and Scrutiny Panel charged to audit and review Council processes and procedures relating to areas of direct service provision, thus ensuring that Best Value processes are constantly audited and maintained. Capital investment decisions have a major impact on the delivery of Council services. The Strategy and the resultant decisions on projects included within the Council’s capital programmes are developed on Best Value principles. The Council embraces the Best Value regime and delivers Best Value through the: ▪ The Plan for North Lanarkshire; Page 43 of 326
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Page 18 ▪ Equal Opportunities Policies and Procedures; ▪ Consultation Processes; ▪ Corporate Governance Framework; ▪ Local Government Benchmarking Framework ▪ Strategic Self Evaluation Framework ▪ Sound Management of Resources. The Council is committed to improving asset management and the Strategy is designed to ensure that capital investment decisions support the provision of a modern, effective asset base. 5. Council Financial Regulations Financial Regulations are an integral part of the Council’s framework of internal financial controls, which are designed to ensure the effective stewardship of the Council’s funds. Compliance with these regulations will ensure that public money is safeguarded and properly accounted for, and all Council financial transactions undertaken in a manner which demonstrates openness, transparency and integrity. In developing the Strategy recognition has been taken of the Council Financial Regulations and in particular Section 4 Capital Expenditure which covers the following areas: ▪ Capital Programme Development & Preparation ▪ Setting of Capital Estimates ▪ Right to Proceed ▪ Acceleration & Emerging Projects ▪ Spend Approvals ▪ Revenue Consequences ▪ Contingency Sums/ Deviation ▪ Agents The Financial Regulations also make reference to the Terms of Reference of the SCDG approved by the Policy and Resources Committee. These are designed to facilitate the effective management of the Council’s capital investment including capital planning, programme development and monitoring processes with further details of the SCDG remit included within the Strategy under Capital Governance and Programme Management Arrangements. Page 44 of 326
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Page 19 Appendix B North Lanarkshire Council Strategic Capital Investment Programme 2024/25 to 2028/29 Capital Bid Template Prepared By: Date: Version Project Title/Theme: Project Ref: Service / Division: Estimated Cost / Project Bid: 1. Objectives Please provide a brief outline of the high level aims and objectives of the project / programme? How should the project be classified (check box)? • Unavoidable Commitment (legally committed or committee approved only) ☐ • Asset Management Plan requirement ☐ • New Investment to support the Programme of Work to 2028 ☐ Rationale for classification: Unavoidable Commitment (Details of legally committed contracts, projects that have already commenced, committee approved etc) Asset Management Plan requirement (Provide details of links to corporate or service asset management plans etc and statutory basis for the project) New investment (Highlight the relevant Programme of Work themes) Page 45 of 326
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Page 20 2. Financial Summary Timescales: Estimated Start Date Estimated Completion Date Bid Profile Year 1 (24/25) £000 Year 2 (25/26) £000 Year 3 (26/27) £000 Year 4 (27/28) £000 Year 5 (28/29) £000 Total £000 Estimated NLC Capital Investment requirement Estimated External Match Funding Total Please indicate if there’s an expectation that the project will span beyond the current 5-year capital planning cycle: Bid Profile Year 6 (29/30) £000 Year 7 (30/31) £000 Year 8 (31/32) £000 Year 9 (32/33) £000 Year 10 (33/34) £000 Total £000 Estimated NLC Capital Investment requirement Revenue implications associated with capital investment Please outline any one-off or recurring revenue implications associated with proposed capital investment. Where possible quantify the impact and how your service proposes to fund any additional costs: Description of Impact Value (£000) Savings (i.e. reduced energy consumption, income generation) Costs (i.e. additional unbudgeted maintenance costs, increased staffing costs from creation of new facility) Page 46 of 326
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Page 21 3. Key Deliverables Financial Year Targeted outputs for each financial year (i.e. number of window replacement projects; number of town centre sites regenerated; EUD refresh of estate etc) Outcomes planned / anticipated for each financial year (i.e. impact of projects on overall condition of the school estate; improved occupancy of town centre sites / increased footfall; improved system and network performance / improved business continuity etc) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 2027/28 2028/29 Page 47 of 326
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Page 22 Monitoring and evaluation: How will you demonstrate that the objectives, outputs and outcomes outlined above have been achieved / delivered? Risk Impact Audit Scotland guidance expects effective capital programme management to have robust risk management arrangements in place. This section will support the evaluation of each project and the contribution it makes to the Council’s overall risk management framework. Which corporate or service risks will the project help to mitigate? What risks are inherent in the project? What are the risks of not undertaking the project? How will the project’s risks be managed? Page 48 of 326
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Page 23 4. Programme of Work to 2028 This section will support the assessment of New Investment proposals in support of the Council’s Programme of Work to 2028 Programme of Work to 2028. Programme of Work Contribution the project / programme would make to the Programme of Work (Please provide an idea of the scale of impact on PoW ‘Initial Actions’, ‘Health Check Indicators’ and ‘What will be achieved’ Transforming Places Invest In North Lanarkshire Sustainable Futures Resilient People Brighter Futures Digital NL One Service Page 49 of 326
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Page 24 5. Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Where the project / programme has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and / or Fairer Scotland Duty please provide a brief summary: PSED and FSD Impact Where there is an impact services should ensure that an assessment has been carried out and published in accordance with the Council’s guidance. 6. Additional information Please provide any additional information that may be relevant. Additional information Page 50 of 326
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Page 25 Appendix C Summary of Prudential and Treasury Management Indicators 1. Prudential Indicator: The Capital Expenditure Plans The Prudential Code requires the Council to outline its capital expenditure plans taking into account the sources of funding available and also the cost to the Council in supporting any additional borrowing burden which will require to be paid for from the Council’s own resources. The Government has power to control the level of prudential borrowing although no control has yet been implemented. 2. Prudential Indicator: 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. The CFR includes long term liabilities representing outstanding leasing obligations and PPPs. 3. Prudential Indicator: Limits to Borrowing Activity To ensure the Council operates its activities within well-defined limits it needs to ensure that it’s total borrowing net of any investments, does not, except in the short-term, exceed the total of the CFR in the preceding year and the next two financial years. 4. Prudential Indicator: The Authorised Limit for External Debt. This represents the maximum limit beyond which borrowing is prohibited. Although this limit is deemed to be affordable in the short-term, it is not desirable or a sustainable level of borrowing for the Council. This is the Affordable Borrowing Limit required under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 2003. 5. Prudential Indicator: The Operational Boundary for External Debt. This indicator is based on the expected maximum external debt during the course of the year; it is not a limit. This operational boundary allows flexibility to borrow, re-invest and undertake debt restructuring during the course of the year. It is therefore possible and acceptable, for actual borrowing to vary around this boundary for short periods during the year. 6. Prudential Indicator: Affordability - Proportion of Financing Costs to Net Revenue Stream. Within the prudential framework, prudential indicators are required to assess the affordability of the capital investment plans, providing an indication of the impact of the capital investment plans on the overall Council finances. Since capital expenditure impacts on the revenue budget through financing charges, the Council needs to ensure that financing costs not only remain affordable, but also do not constitute an excessive proportion of the revenue resources available. 7. Treasury Management Indicator: Interest Rate Exposures The Treasury Management Code requires the Council to set limits regarding its maximum exposure to both fixed and variable interest rates, requiring the containment of Treasury activity within these self- determined upper limits. The Code requires authorities to set limits that manage risk and reduce the impact of an adverse movement in interest rates, primarily on variable rate loans. 8. Treasury Management Indicator: Maturity Structure of Borrowing The Treasury Management Code requires the Council to specify upper and lower limits regarding the maturity structure of its fixed rate borrowing in order to minimise the risk associated with the Council having to replace large sums of fixed rate debt at a time when there may be uncertainty over interest rate exposure. 9. Treasury Management Indicator: Credit Risk The Council will manage its credit risk by implementing the approved investment strategy. Page 51 of 326
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Policy and Strategy Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref DM/SL Date 14/03/24 Programme of Work achievements to date From Des Murray, Chief Executive E-mail murraydes@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 01698 302350 Executive Summary The Plan for North Lanarkshire was established in 2019 with a very clear vision - inclusive growth and prosperity for all to bring equal benefits and a fairer distribution of wealth to all North Lanarkshire’s people and communities. Founded on a place-based approach, The Plan for North Lanarkshire is about enhancing the physical environment of North Lanarkshire in a way that recognises the intrinsic social value gained in doing so and the need to do so by securing a holistic way of working that crosses policy setting and service delivery, that integrates more accessible service systems and solutions, and that targets the growing complexities in the economic, social, and health issues that exist locally. More importantly, The Plan for North Lanarkshire is about making it real for people, to create (and sustain) the place which local people and communities can identify with - the place where they live, the place where they work, the place where they learn, and the place they care about and wish to protect. The Programme of Work is the vehicle that is making The Plan for North Lanarkshire real. As such, this latest Programme of Work report - looking back at the foundations that have been built to create the economic, social, and community conditions that are enabling local people and communities (and the place that is North Lanarkshire) to thrive - shows how the one place one plan one council approach and ongoing leadership and commitment to the Programme of Work are making a difference: • New hubs are in place at the heart of local communities to support a much wider offering to people and communities with more direct access to the services they need and access to earlier, more responsive, and more integrated whole family support. • The range and affordability of homes has been increased through the provision of high- quality housing. • Environmental enhancements have been delivered to support added benefits to general health and wellbeing, social inclusion, physical and mental health, and public access. • Transformations to town centres are starting to reshape North Lanarkshire to provide modern, attractive, and multi-use centres fit for local people today and in the future. • Job creation has been expanded by accelerating and attracting investment to create more and new business opportunities. • Pathways have been built and skills and knowledge enhanced to smooth the transition to further education, training, or employment. Item 5 Page 53 of 326
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1. Background 1.1 Since The Plan for North Lanarkshire was established in 2019, the vision - for inclusive growth and prosperity for all that brings equal benefits and a fairer distribution of wealth to all North Lanarkshire’s people and communities - has provided a clear direction that has been consistently followed in everyday service delivery activities and consistently embedded in strategic and financial decision making, strategy and policy development, and corporate governance approaches across the organisation. 1.2 This unwavering approach has been key to enabling the Programme of Work to be the delivery vehicle for The Plan for North Lanarkshire in a way that brings cohesion to strategic planning and community investment and to an integrated one council one plan approach that has been instrumental in establishing solid foundations for the place- based approach upon which The Plan is based. 1.3 Approvals by the Policy and Strategy Committee, which have seen five iterations of the Programme of Work, have been the catalyst to securing consistency of commitment to the long-term vision and one plan direction and, most importantly, to the people and communities of North Lanarkshire. As reported to the Policy and Strategy Committee in March and September 2023, this has led to significant achievements to date that can be evidenced in maximising the potential of North Lanarkshire as a place. 1.4 In the face of a fast paced, rapidly changing, and relentlessly uncertain local government environment, the Programme of Work has been instrumental in stabilising the strategic direction of the council, while allowing for appropriate flexibility in the operational delivery of many complex inter-connected programmes, projects, and plans to ensure a dedicated focus on improvement, change, and delivering services that • This is all supported by more joined up transport links, an enhanced digital infrastructure, and a network of more active travel routes for pedestrians and cyclists, all of which are boosting the local economy and securing improved opportunities and outcomes for employment, education, housing, and leisure, and creating a place where people want to Live, Learn, Work, Invest, and Visit. Recommendations It is recommended that the Policy and Strategy Committee: (1) Recognise the key role that the Policy and Strategy Committee play in ensuring the continuing commitment to delivering The Plan for North Lanarkshire through the Programme of Work and ensuring strategic oversight in terms of its ongoing development, co-ordination, and monitoring, and (2) Recognise the extent of the achievements which have been delivered through the Programme of Work to date as set out in Appendix 2. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement All ambition statements Programme of Work All Programmes of Work Programme of Work Statutory / corporate / service requirement Page 54 of 326
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improve the lives of local people. An annual review process has ensured that the Programme of Work has continued to remain current, relevant, and deliverable. 1.5 Approved at Policy and Strategy Committee in March 2023, the latest Programme of Work to 2028 was a change in approach to previous years in that it was reframed within the latest North Lanarkshire context provided by the 28 Health Check Indicators. This new approach was critical to ensure an even greater focus on escalating the pace and depth of change that is essential to ensure a heightened and more strategic focus on not only sustaining the economic and community aspects that will enable local people and communities (and the place that is North Lanarkshire) to thrive, but also on ensuring a more targeted approach to improving social conditions, outcomes, and people’s lives. 1.6 Traditionally annual Programme of Work updates to Policy and Strategy Committee have covered three related aspects (i.e. (i) looking back at what has been delivered, (ii) providing updated results for the 28 Health Check Indicators to establish the current North Lanarkshire context, and (iii) setting out the Programme of Work for the year ahead). This approach continued in March 2023, albeit separating these three aspects into three individual reports on the agenda for Member’s information and due consideration. The approach this year continues with the three individual but inter- related reports; this is the first report in the series of three. 1.7 This report herewith therefore looks back at what has been delivered to date, with alignment to the seven Programme of Work priorities for delivery which were approved by the Policy and Strategy Committee in March 2023 in terms of Transforming Places, Invest in North Lanarkshire, Sustainable Futures, Resilient People, Brighter Futures, Digital North Lanarkshire, and One Service. Appendix 1 provides a summary recap in terms of what each of these priorities aims to achieve. 2. Programme of Work achievements to date 2.1 As reported to the Policy and Strategy Committee in December 2023, the clear ambitious vision in The Plan for North Lanarkshire was recognised by the Best Value auditors in their new national thematic approach which considered the effectiveness of the leadership of the development of the council’s strategic priorities. In this report the auditors noted that the vision has been driven by effective leadership and is supported by a range of performance indicators and performance reporting arrangements. 2.2 The report concludes positively on the council’s approach to citizen and community engagement and recognises the council’s commitment to reducing inequalities and tackling poverty. The report also comments positively on the alignment of strategic and operational delivery plans (with the council’s financial, asset, and digital plans), the collaborative working between Elected Members and officers, and the council’s approach to self-evaluation which supports continuous improvement. 2.3 The extent of this external validation to the one place one plan one council approach, and the ongoing leadership and commitment to the Programme of Work, demonstrates the very sound foundations which are now in place across the organisation to support and escalate the pace and depth of change that is critical to realise the successful delivery of the new Programme of Work to 2028. 2.4 This is further evidenced by the extent of achievements which have been realised to date through the Programme of Work. Set out in Appendix 2, these demonstrate the extent to which the council has focussed efforts on delivering the priorities approved by the Policy and Strategy Committee in order to improve, change, and deliver services Page 55 of 326
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that improve the lives of local people. 2.5 Appendix 2 demonstrates the extent of these achievements, in summary this means that: • New hubs are in place at the heart of local communities to support a much wider offering to people and communities with more direct access to the services they need and access to earlier, more responsive, and more integrated whole family support. • The range and affordability of homes has been increased through the provision of high-quality housing. • Environmental enhancements have been delivered to support added benefits to general health and wellbeing, social inclusion, physical and mental health, and public access. • Transformations to town centres are starting to reshape North Lanarkshire to provide modern, attractive, and multi-use centres fit for local people today and in the future. • Job creation has been expanded by accelerating and attracting investment to create more and new business opportunities. • Pathways have been built and skills and knowledge enhanced to smooth the transition to further education, training, or employment. • This is all supported by more joined up transport links, an enhanced digital infrastructure, and a network of more active travel routes for pedestrians and cyclists, all of which are boosting the local economy and securing improved opportunities and outcomes for employment, education, housing, and leisure, and creating a place where people want to Live, Learn, Work, Invest, and Visit. Next steps 2.6 In line with the governance arrangements that have been developed to support progress and performance monitoring of the Programme of Work to 2028 - and the Policy and Strategy Committee’s remit to “oversee the development, co-ordination, and monitoring of The Plan for North Lanarkshire” and to keep under review such “programmes as the Committee considers necessary to achieve the council’s long-term aims and objectives” - the Committee will continue to receive an annual report that demonstrates achievements to date. This will be complemented by a six-monthly update providing key delivery highlights in respect of the seven Programme of Work priorities. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Measures of success will be evidenced through progress being made to deliver the Programme of Work and ensure the council’s portfolio of programmes, projects, plans, and activities impact positively on the North Lanarkshire context (evidenced through the 28 Health Check Indicators) and thereby achieve the long-term vision of inclusive growth and prosperity for all (as set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire). 4. Supporting documentation Appendix 1: Summary of what the seven Programme of Work priorities aim to achieve (as approved at Policy and Strategy Committee in March 2023). Appendix 2: Programme of Work achievements to date. Page 56 of 326
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Des Murray Chief Executive 5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 introduced the duty of Best Value; this requires that councils “make arrangements to secure continuous improvement in performance”. 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 57 of 326
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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? The evidence based strategic planning approach in place through the Programme of Work that is supported by range of performance indicators and performance reporting arrangements contributes to the mitigation of the risks on the Corporate Risk Register for managing strategic change and governance, leadership, and decision making. 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 58 of 326
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Appendix 1 Programme of Work priorities to 2028 Page 59 of 326
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Appendix 2 Programme of Work achievements to date Transforming Places (1) £1.3bn of capital investment approved by the Policy and Strategy Committee for delivery in North Lanarkshire (over the five-year period from 2021/22 to 2025/26) has contributed significantly to improving the physical environment of North Lanarkshire’s communities and supporting economic regeneration. (2) Through the Hub programme, three community hubs were completed in 2023 - Newmains and St Brigid’s (February 2023), Riverbank (August 2023), and Chryston (October 2023). Orbiston Community Hub in Bellshill started construction in December 2023 and four are at the design stage (St Kevin's, St Stephen's, and Gartcosh Community Hubs, along with the Chryston High extension). This adds to the 63 new establishments (11 secondary, 36 primary, and 16 family learning centres, including 1140 hours related centres) that have been built since 1996. This demonstrates the significant shift in designing multipurpose Town and Community Hubs that support a much wider integrated service offering in the heart of the local community, bringing education together with other local services, businesses, and partnership organisations. (3) The 1,000th new build council home was completed on the site of the Holehills high rise flats in Airdrie in August 2023, which also saw completion of 11 low carbon (net zero) homes which are part of a pilot to deliver sustainable and affordable homes. (4) 1,263 new affordable homes have been built through the council’s new supply programme since 2010, with a further 347 on site. Additional sites have been identified and approved at committee for a further 1,290 homes across North Lanarkshire, including town centre and phase 1 tower re-provisioning sites. In addition, over 743 homes have been purchased through the council’s buy back scheme which, as well as contributing to new supply, helps to prevent homelessness and enable common works to progress in flatted blocks. (5) To date 1,246 properties across high rise towers and low-rise blocks have been (or are currently being) demolished to date as part of the phase 1 towers re-provisioning programme (since approved in May 2018). Work is currently on site at Coursington Towers in Motherwell, Gowkthrapple low-rise blocks in Wishaw, and Jackson Court and Shawhead back flats in Coatbridge where a further 4 towers and 30 low-rise blocks are being demolished. (6) In May 2023 proposals were approved to consult tenants and stakeholders regarding the second phase of the Tower Strategy re-provisioning which comprises 974 properties, including 8 tower blocks. Following a positive response to the consultation, approval was granted in August 2023 to progress with phase 2 of the re-provisioning programme to create new, high quality, energy efficient housing that will meet the current and future needs of the local area. (7) Investment has continued in town centres / edge of town projects, with 58 buildings or vacant sites repurposed or redeveloped since 2018/19. A further 20 town centre properties / sites have been acquired by the council with a view to either converting existing properties to residential developments, building new homes on cleared sites, or upgrading commercial premises. Around 7.7 hectares of vacant and derelict land has been improved or enabled for future industrial use. (8) The ten-year Active Travel Strategy (approved in 2021) has put in place - for the first time - a cohesive and holistic framework to prioritise and accelerate active travel interventions across North Lanarkshire. Aligned with the Town Visions and Town and Community Hub developments, these aim to provide better active travel networks between local communities and across the local authority boundary, and deliver improved health and wellbeing as well Page 60 of 326
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as environmental, social inclusion, and public access benefits. A number of major active travel routes for pedestrians and cyclists have been completed in the past year including: • Between Craigneuk and New College Lanarkshire’s Motherwell Campus at Ravenscraig - this includes lighting, seating, CCTV, and tree planting along the route. • A £1.5m active travel link between Newhouse and Salsburgh - the 3.5km link includes new lighting and improved road drainage. • A £1.2m active travel link between Wishaw Station and Wishaw General Hospital - the 1km link includes improved street lighting, four traffic signal controlled pedestrian / cycle crossings, and four uncontrolled pedestrian / cycle refuge islands. • A £2m package of active travel, road safety, and junction capacity improvements along the A73 corridor between the junctions of South Biggar Road / Craigneuk Avenue and Petersburn Road / Brownsburn Road in Airdrie - this includes improved street lighting, three mini-roundabouts, two traffic signal controlled pedestrian / cycle crossings, one uncontrolled pedestrian / cycle refuge island, 450m of new active travel links, new road carriageway and footway surfacing, improved drainage, and enhanced road signs and markings. (9) High-level design concepts were created for Town Visions as well as associated Town Prospectuses to inform the future investment strategy for North Lanarkshire’s towns and enable town centre action plans to be progressed. Following public consultation, Town Action Plans have now been completed for Airdrie, Motherwell, and Wishaw, and consultation is underway in Kilsyth, Coatbridge, Bellshill, and Shotts. Following the acquisition of Cumbernauld Town Centre in June 2023, work is progressing to develop the future plans for the town centre, including management arrangements for the shopping centre for the interim period. (10) £9.225m was secured from the UK Levelling Up Fund to support delivery of the Town Vision for Cumbernauld, including the acquisition of The Centre Cumbernauld. More recently, £20m (over 10 years) has been awarded for Coatbridge Town Centre from the UK Government’s Town Fund to support the delivery of the Town Action Plan. (11) A £1.6m redevelopment project in Motherwell town centre has seen work to completely re- roof, re-render, re-wire, and refurbish the Motherwell Library building. This investment has enabled the creation of an inclusive and welcoming library space on the ground floor offering a larger space for children and young people, more areas to meet, an accessible care area, and a fresh and welcoming new look and feel. The investment has also helped to create an inclusive digital hub on the first floor that is accessible to local community groups, businesses, schools, and individuals - a space that encourages innovation and effective learning experiences and supports basic to advanced digital skills development. (12) An initial award was secured from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for consultation, feasibility studies, and research into a multi-million-pound development project at Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life in Coatbridge and the Rediscovering Airdrie heritage project. This will hopefully lead to subsequent funding awards to significantly expand and enhance the visitor experiences and attractions on offer at Summerlee, and support the repurposing and refurbishment of heritage buildings within Airdrie town centre. (13) £6.5m investment has commenced at Braidhurst Industrial Estate in Motherwell (part funded from the Scottish Government’s Regeneration Capital Grant Fund) to improve and expand available business space and upgrade the surrounding environment to help create more employment opportunities. (14) City Deal investment has seen the completion of two North Lanarkshire infrastructure projects - Glenboig Link Road in 2018 and (more recently) Motherwell Town Centre Interchange improvement works at Motherwell Station. The West Coast main line crossing has also been completed as part of the Ravenscraig Infrastructure Access improvements, and work is at various stages of progression on the remaining projects (Orchard Farm Page 61 of 326
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roundabout A8, Ravenscraig Infrastructure Access North and South, East Airdrie Link Road, and Eurocentral Strategic Active Travel). This investment has started to realise significant changes in North Lanarkshire through improved regional infrastructure, further partnership working, and more joined up transport links. This has helped to connect local communities to new housing, business investment, and employment opportunities as well as access to leisure, and health and wellbeing activities. Invest in North Lanarkshire (15) A pilot project for an Invest in North Lanarkshire advisory service was established in September 2023 to explore the potential to further support development and investment in North Lanarkshire. The pilot project brought together a core team from key services across the council with a diverse range of skills and experience to create a collaborative and responsive environment that can help support investment in North Lanarkshire. The pilot team met once a week between late September and mid-December, with a total of seven projects coming into scope. The service provides bespoke advice to developer identified matters they should take into consideration when developing their planning application and seeking statutory consents from the council. By providing this advice at an early stage in the process this should result in better quality development and a more streamlined process for obtaining statutory consents, thus accelerating investment in North Lanarkshire. (16) Over the last two years, North Lanarkshire has attracted more international investment than any other local authority in Scotland bringing new jobs, investment, and supply chain opportunities to the area. The strong industrial profile and sizeable property market has drawn international investors to the region, with 11 property transactions completed to the value of £101.7m since 2021. This investment has seen more than 1,135,036 square feet of industrial space sold, with Motherwell, Coatbridge, and Cumbernauld providing the most attractive locations. This underpins North Lanarkshire’s central position in Scotland as an attractive place for business and property investors on the global scale, and highlights the key successes being realised through the range of infrastructure investments in the Programme of Work. (17) The attractiveness of North Lanarkshire to inward investors can also be demonstrated through recent figures which show that North Lanarkshire is essentially the most productive local authority within the Glasgow City Region with a gross value added of £37.20 per hour worked. This is higher than the Glasgow City Region average (£34.40) and also the Scottish average (£36.60). Gross value added per hour worked is considered a measure of productivity at a sub-regional level that accounts for different working hours across regions. Brighter Futures (18) The North Lanarkshire Employer Charter was launched in 2023 to offer recognition from the council to local employers and to encourage others to look at becoming members. It is based around four commitments by employers - to pay all staff the Real Living Wage, employ North Lanarkshire residents, use local businesses in the supply chain where possible, and ensure fair work practices which attract and retain employees. Businesses which achieve two or more of these commitments receive a bronze, silver, or gold accreditation. Membership of the Charter is free. • To date 32 businesses have become accredited members of the Charter with 8 achieving a gold award, 14 silver, and 10 bronze. The council is currently working with those who have not achieved the highest level to support them towards the next level, with accreditations being reviewed annually. • 42 other employers have registered interest in becoming an accredited member and the initial evidence gathering process is in place to support these applications. • As a result of accreditations, businesses have been working with the council to ensure future vacancies are available to Routes to Work clients. Many have also identified they are keen to engage with local schools as, prior to becoming involved in the Charter, they Page 62 of 326
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were unsure how to get involved in this activity or the benefits that could be provided. (19) During 2022/23, 15 young people were employed as part of the Young Person’s Guarantee (a paid employment opportunity for those aged 16-24 years old to work across community learning and development). Other work in this area of service led to a total of 44 SQAs achieved (in IT, numeracy, residential experience, first steps to youth work, and first steps to family learning) and a total of 85 qualifications achieved (including autism awareness, Solihull (developing family resilience), Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland (REHIS) food hygiene, first aid, and the Mountain Leader award). (20) The council established the Volunteer NL project in May 2023 with support from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Aimed at building capacity in the council and community groups through volunteering and broader support in terms of active participation, the project has seen success in terms of a number of key outcomes: • Achieving Chartered Status with Volunteer Scotland. The Volunteer Charter sets out the ten key principles which help to underpin good relations within a volunteering environment. • Procuring and developing a new volunteer management system, which holds all volunteer details and provides a one stop shop for volunteer information in the council. • Establishing a baseline of volunteers with details of training need and deliverables, this supports projects with specific need that are keen to tap into trained and skilled volunteers. • Providing training to a number of groups (internal and external) to support volunteering pathway development. (21) Through the Entrepreneurship workstream a series of key developments have taken place during 2023/24 to create and support an inclusive entrepreneurial culture in North Lanarkshire. This includes the following: • Business Start-Up Fund - This is one of a range of business grant funding programmes re-launched by the council which is part-funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The purpose of this fund is to provide grant funding to help pre-start businesses with a robust and viable business idea to start trading earlier than would otherwise be possible. This offers funding for essential business purchases such as IT equipment, infrastructure, website design, and stock costs and the structure of the fund has been devised to reflect the higher start-up costs associated with businesses operating from commercial premises and/or with employees. It also aims to encourage new start businesses to grow their operation earlier. 14 grants have been approved to date. • Launch of the Hive - A new hub has been established over 2 floors within One Wellwynd in Airdrie to encourage and support more women to get started and grow successful businesses by providing a mixture of desks, offices / meeting rooms, treatment rooms, on-site business advice and support, and events and networking opportunities. Use of the workspace is completely free until August 2024 and the space is available 24/7 to suit business needs. The Hive was launched in February 2024 and is part-funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and the Scottish Government’s Pathways Pre-Start Fund. • Enterprise Pathway Model - This new model was launched in schools in September 2023 to support young people to develop entrepreneurial skills and knowledge, and to support them to turn innovative ideas into a business reality. The pathway aims to encourage young people to discover opportunities within the start-up sector and understand the mechanics of running a business so that entrepreneurship is viewed as a viable career choice. The approach will see children and young people develop an understanding of enterprise, entrepreneurship, and self-employment as a career opportunity, starting with young children in early years through to S6. • Dragons' Lair - Three enterprising pupils from Coltness High School won this year’s Dragons’ Lair competition at the finals held in November 2023 after pitching their business idea to four industry experts. 15 North Lanarkshire secondary schools entered the annual competition which was open to all S3 pupils and aimed to introduce young people to the world of business and a possible career path they may not have previously considered. Page 63 of 326
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21 teams across the 15 schools submitted business plans which were scored by Business Gateway Lanarkshire advisers and pitched to a panel of dragons who were local business owners who brought a great deal of business knowledge and experience to proceedings. • Social enterprise support - Launched in October 2023, this 18-month programme (part- funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund) aims to support more people to set up social enterprises and to support existing social enterprises to grow. The activities being delivered directly support delivery of the council’s Social Enterprise Framework and Action Plan. As part of the support available, one accelerator with 15 social enterprises attending has completed and a second with a further 15 social enterprises is underway. The accelerators cover a range of key topics with specialist consultants to guide the development and growth of social enterprise. • Targeted entrepreneurial support for Black, Asian, and other Minority Ethnic people - Following a tender award in January 2024 to provide targeted entrepreneurial support to Black, Asian, and other Minority Ethnic people and groups, a range of support packages are underway to enable the creation of 75 new businesses and support the growth of existing business in this respect. • Enterprising Schools Award - Launched to recognise the work being undertaken by schools to promote the value of enterprise activity, this allows for good practice to share with other schools and signposting onto partners to enhance the enterprise offer going forward. To date 35 primary, secondary, and additional support needs schools have achieved this award. (22) Supported by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, NL Academies have 10 projects underway to support North Lanarkshire residents with upskilling opportunities linked to gaining employment, further education, or training. This includes: • A Built Environment Academy (a low carbon learning programme in partnership with BE- ST (Built Environment - Smarter Transformation) - This has commenced with the first phase of learning completing in October 2023. Over 70 pupils who are carrying out a Foundation Apprenticeship in Construction, and candidates from supported employment, attended phase 1 of the programme. • SP Energy Networks (SPEN) and council academy project - Within this area, SPEN identified significant skills gaps within the jointing and civils areas of engineering which have the potential to impact upon their supply chain and hinder delivery of future programmes of work within (and outwith) North Lanarkshire. This project aims to match underemployed people to jobs within the engineering sector by providing individuals with a fully funded education and training programme. Candidate numbers have been identified and agreed by SPEN, course content developed, potential candidates identified from various sources for a targeted recruitment process, and communications prepared to publicise the opportunity when it goes live in April 2024. • Upskilling opportunities for refugees and veterans are being mobilised with a delivery partner sourced to develop future opportunities and identify candidates. (23) The expanded pan-Lanarkshire Care Academy is now fully mobilised with a memorandum of understanding in place between North and South Lanarkshire Council and NHS Lanarkshire. The vision is to develop a robust, sustained, vibrant Care Academy attracting and developing a diverse workforce for health and care services in Lanarkshire and promoting the sector as a rewarding choice for careers. This aims to create the health and social care workforce for the future that best services the needs of people living in Lanarkshire. It also aims to help address deprivation and inequalities by helping people live their lives to the fullest, providing pathways to fair work and meaningful employment, and ensure progression across the breadth of health and social care. Building a strong talent pipeline to meet future demand and reduce skills shortages will improve the resilience and sustainability of the health and social care sector across Lanarkshire. (24) A Digital Youth Academy project has been developed ready for roll out in April 2024. This involves two four-week-long bootcamps for young people (aged 16-24 years old) that also cover skills such as problem solving, cv building, and preparing for interviews. This Page 64 of 326
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programme will support candidates onto a positive destination of either college or university, or into an apprenticeship. • A tech primer bootcamp will cover an introduction to programming, data management, network infrastructure, cloud computing, IT service requests, technical skills, and an introduction to cyber security. • The digital and business skills bootcamp will include training on office systems, digital marketing, creative content skills, web skills, and pc passport. (25) Industry led sector boards are in the process of being commissioned and supported within each NL Academy area (i.e. Built Environment, Health and Social Care, and Digital). The Built Environment Sector Board is now well established and has met on a regular monthly cycle through late 2023 and in early 2024. Led by the industry, this Board has strong representation and participation from key businesses within the sector who are working in North Lanarkshire. The Board has developed a clear statement of intent to drive future collaborative efforts between industry and the local authority to deliver the development of a skilled workforce to meet the needs of a rapidly growing built environment industry. (26) The Curriculum Content Creation Toolkit was launched during the school session 2022/23 as a key part of the curriculum re-design action plan in order to leverage change and improvement. In this first cycle an initial set of four training sessions was delivered, each containing a spotlight on success and an opportunity to discuss and share thought and practice. The themes for each session were designed to tie in with the overarching rationale in the council’s curriculum. Feedback on these sessions was very positive and has led to further roll out during the 2023/24 school session and development of a five-year action plan for curriculum re-design. (27) Progression pathways in literacy, numeracy, and digital learning were developed from early to third level during the school session 2022/23. These pathways were designed to support progression within, and across, Curriculum for Excellence levels, ensuring learners benefit from cohesive and progressive learning pathways that support knowledge and skills development and improve outcomes. A full literature review of the active literacy programme is currently being carried out by the Robert Owen Centre, and the findings from this will inform future revisions to the programme. (28) Science, Technologies, Engineering, and Maths (STEM) support continues to be provided for schools across North Lanarkshire. Three secondary schools and 23 primary schools participated in the Scottish Schools Educational Research Centre (SSERC) primary cluster programme with a Mentor nominated for each school. This has led to a STEM leaders programme being developed to support teachers co-ordinating STEM within their setting, and the Young STEM Leader Award being piloted for the Future Fridays Leadership Academy. Closer partnership working with the literacy, numeracy and learning, teaching and assessment Education Support Officers has taken place to ensure that STEM support and training consistently reflects key messages about highly effective practice in literacy and numeracy across the curriculum. (29) An updated Developing the Young Workforce Delivery Plan for 2022/25 sets out the universal entitlements and additional and intensive supports available to North Lanarkshire’s children and young people. Ambitious improvement targets were identified which include school leaver destinations, the pathways programme for winter and summer leavers, Future Fridays, and Vocational Education for which activities are being progressed during the 2023/24 school session that include: • The pathways programme, which has continued to evolve to support young people at risk of disengaging from education, entering a negative post school destination, or long-term unemployment and the many associated challenges. In total, 141 young people enrolled on the programme during 2022/23 with 16 returning to school within the first six weeks of the programme. Of the 125 young people who sustained engagement in the programme, 96% have since entered a positive post school destination. Page 65 of 326
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• A blended summer leaver model, which was delivered between January and June 2023 for S4 pupils for those pupils identified as being unable to sustain school on a full-time basis, not attend school at all, or being most likely to leave school with no or few national qualifications and move into a negative post school destination. Working closely with secondary schools allowed young people to work towards national qualifications while also participating in personal development, employability activity, and work-based learning opportunities. Feedback and self-evaluation indicated that this model has been of benefit, and it has since been incorporated into the pathways evolved delivery model for 2023/24. Sustainable Futures (30) £7.8m investment in local nature reserves, country parks, and key greenspace sites has created places where visitors are more active, share better experiences, and stay longer. Such investment has provided opportunities for improvements in physical and mental health, environmental education, outdoor education, and heritage appreciation. Recent improvements include Bellshill-Gateway cycle facilities in Strathclyde Country Park, an improved path and natural play trail network at Palacerigg, improved parking and visitor interpretation at Drumpellier Country Park, peatland restoration at greenspace sites in Cumbernauld, path upgrades at Broadwood Loch, and investment in tree planting and wildflower planting across community greenspaces. Dumbreck Local Nature Reserve received National Lottery Heritage funding in 2023 which enabled the appointment of a project officer to take forward site enhancement and skills development work with the local community. (31) The fifth edition of the Local Biodiversity Action Plan was approved in 2023 to ensure continued conservation and enhancement of the habitats and species that contribute to the unique character and heritage of North Lanarkshire while also contributing to the target to halt the current nature emergency. Actions within the plan, contributing to the international target of protecting 30% of the earth’s land and oceans by 2030, will continue to be delivered at a local and landscape scale by council and partners to 2027 and beyond. (32) A range of council initiatives have been initiated to help businesses trade in a more environmental and sustainable way to aid their growth and improve the sustainability of their operations. This has supported 11 businesses to help them transition to a zero-carbon economic model and facilitate sustainable change and growth. The Expert Help Framework has also provided net zero and low carbon consultancy advice to three other businesses. A Net Zero Business Challenge Fund has been launched to enable small to medium sized enterprises bid for funding in order to reduce emissions and/or make their operations more sustainable. (33) A strategic flood risk assessment is being progressed to assist in the prioritisation of flood management activity throughout North Lanarkshire and delivery of the actions continue from the Clyde and Loch Lomond Local Flood Risk Management Plan. Flooding from fluvial and surface water sources are now better understood following the completion of flood studies and surface water management plans in respect of fluvial flood risk within various areas of North Lanarkshire (i.e. Airdrie, Coatbridge, Cumbernauld, and Motherwell). Subsequent phase 2 studies are underway to further investigate the root cause and potential solutions to manage flood risk. (34) The council was successful in gaining £4.5m from the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning, and Transport (ADEPT) on behalf of the Department for Transport. This is part of the Live Labs 2: Decarbonising Local Roads in the UK programme, which will run for three years in partnership with the Transport for West Midlands, Amey, and Colas in what is an £8.5m joint programme to deliver the Centre of Excellence for Decarbonising Roads split over a north and south campus. Initial steps have commenced on seeking out the most promising innovative materials from across the globe for assessment Page 66 of 326
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and it is expected that the first innovations will be trialled in a live environment at the start of 2024. A key aim of the programme is to reduce carbon within a road’s environment and the carbon baseline for North Lanarkshire has been completed. (35) A Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy (LHEES) was approved in December 2023 to provide a framework for taking an area-based approach to heat and energy efficiency planning and delivery (i.e. it does not include wider energy planning). The framework aims to set out how each segment of the building stock needs to change to meet national objectives, including achieving zero greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector, and the removal of poor energy efficiency as a driver of fuel poverty. It will also identify areas where there is potential for heat networks and set out the primary measures for reducing emissions, and prioritise areas for delivery, against national and local priorities. (36) Since 2021/22 the council have been awarded over £2.5m by the Social Housing Net Zero Fund (SHNZF) to supplement the programme budget and improve the energy efficiency of the council’s BISF (British Iron and Steel Federation) non-traditional type properties. These properties have low energy efficiency with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of E and tenants have advised that the properties were draughty and hard to heat. Thanks to the SHNZF funding and the council’s own investment, these properties were able to have external wall insulation and PV panels installed, which improved the EPC ratings of these properties to a band B and made them more comfortable for tenants. Resilient People (37) An inspection of partnership support services in North Lanarkshire has resulted in a highly encouraging report for the positive difference made to the lives of children and young people at risk of harm. The inspection evaluated the services as very good following engagement with children, young people, parents, carers, Elected Members, and staff, as well as a review of cases and a staff survey. A key conclusion highlighted that integrated, collaborative support from a range of dedicated agencies was a clear strength in early intervention for children and young people at risk of harm. As part of the inspection, successful projects were highlighted including the virtual school which delivers bespoke services for care-experienced children and young people and has achieved vastly improved attainment and a marked reduction in school exclusions, and the Today Not Tomorrow group which has significantly influenced positive change in North Lanarkshire’s care system. (38) Earlier in 2024, North Lanarkshire was the first local authority in Scotland to be recognised for its comprehensive and sustained efforts to support and increase breastfeeding. The council has achieved gold status in the first-ever Breastfeeding Friendly Scotland Local Authority Award, recognising its commitment to supporting breastfeeding in the workplace and wider community. It is hoped that a range of measures implemented over the last three years have contributed to a marked increase in breastfeeding rates across the region, with 30.4% of babies now being breastfed by their 6-8 week review. The council has worked collaboratively with the Scottish Government and NHS Lanarkshire to develop the new evidence-based accreditation process aimed specifically at local authorities in Scotland. A wide range of council services have incorporated breastfeeding into their delivery in order to positively impact on culture and practice in a way that promotes long-term progress in breastfeeding. Changes in this respect have included: • Significantly improved employer support through the introduction of a corporate breastfeeding policy with workplaces set up for women to continue to breastfeed / express in a private room if required, with refrigeration facilities when returning to work. • Establishing nine community breastfeeding champions of mixed gender, who work with health colleagues in communities to promote and support breastfeeding. • All early year’s establishments achieving Breastfeeding Friendly Scotland early learning and childcare award and 80% of all school establishments achieved Breastfeeding Friendly Schools award. This includes NHS breastfeeding awareness training, embedding Page 67 of 326
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breastfeeding in the curriculum and play environments in nurseries, and a redesign of early years to promote an environment where breastfeeding is seen as the biological norm for feeding infants and young children. • All new-build facilities, including community hubs, having breastfeeding facilities designed in at the planning stage. • Foster carers completing NHS training on responsive feeding and financial support and social work staff trained on infant nutrition and benefits of breastfeeding. • Libraries, leisure, and sport facilities provide a warm welcome space and facilities for breastfeeding on site. • Road signage, public buildings, and fleet vehicles have Breastfeeding Friendly Scotland signage in place. (39) Following a consultation exercise, the North Lanarkshire Children’s Service Plan was developed for 2023 to 2026. This sets out the shared priorities of the Children’s Services Partnership that will provide a focus for activities so that collaborative efforts ensure children have the best start in life and are supported to fulfil their potential. The delivery of the Children’s Services Plan centres on community hubs and school clusters where partnership staff work together with children, young people, and families. Delivery is supported by strength and relationship-based practices (that see a child or young person holistically, and identifies their strengths and assets and the positive factors in their lives) and a trauma informed approach in order to ensure that children, young people, and families are safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible, and included. (40) The new Towards a Fairer North Lanarkshire Tackling Poverty Strategy for 2023 to 2026 was approved in September 2023 along with the 2023 Local Child Poverty Action Report with associated Action Plans. This sets out the ambition to continue to tackle poverty and child poverty and builds on actions and positive foundations achieved through the previous strategy. The new Strategy: • Is focused on the key drivers of poverty (increasing income via employment, maximising income via social security benefits, reducing the cost of living, and holistic supports). It sets out an integrated approach to co-ordinating resources across the council (and with partners) to support effective delivery and ensure fairer outcomes for all local people can be achieved and sustained. • Is a key component of the Programme of Work to 2028 through its intentions to promote the strengths and skills of individuals and families, increase economic activity, and provide practical and holistic support (intervening upstream wherever possible to prevent the longer-term harms associated with poverty). • Is supported by the latest Local Child Poverty Action report which sets out the commitment of the council and NHS Lanarkshire to tackle child poverty across North Lanarkshire’s communities. Embedded within the Tackling Poverty Strategy, this means that the partnership approach recognises the importance of holistic supports and the need to ensure that people and families do not exist in silos where they can often be unaware of the kinds of support that are available through multiple delivery channels. A focus on holistic support to tackling poverty embeds the no wrong door approach to ensure that those in poverty, and those at risk of falling into poverty, receive the right support at the right time. (41) The main focus of the council’s welfare rights work is to support income maximisation through provision of direct advice and support for claims, consultation and guidance for fieldwork staff, representing clients at tribunals and hearings, and supporting specialist social work services. Successful welfare rights interventions (where individuals are awarded extra benefit) frequently means that, as a result of increased income, they are better able to manage their own affairs and may not require further social work services. Successful outcomes in terms of income maximisation therefore play a vital role across social work services including those for adults, children and families, justice services, mental health, and addictions as well as supporting associated health inequalities, housing sustainability, and community wellbeing, and bringing further income into the local economy. During 2022/23: Page 68 of 326
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• Council activities generated £35.4m in additional benefit income for the residents of North Lanarkshire. • Activity of the external services commissioned by the council under the new commissioning model generated £5.2m in additional benefit income for the residents of North Lanarkshire. • In cost / benefit terms, for every £1 invested by the council in income maximisation in 2022/23, this generated £27.81 for local residents and the local economy. • Advice surgeries within 4 GP practices across North Lanarkshire have provided welfare rights support to patients referred by the practice. The project has proven to be successful since its inception 18 months ago, generating £1.18m. Outreach surgeries are held monthly in Harthill and since June 2023 in Newmains and St Brigid’s Community Hub. (42) A number of focus sessions have been held to highlight / raise awareness of community wealth building (a people-centred approach to local economic development, which aims to redirects wealth back into the local economy, and places control and benefits into the hands of local people) and the role of anchor organisations in this respect. 61 delegates participated in the session from local public and voluntary sector agencies, as well as Community Boards and representatives from the business community. The event kicked off the start of activity for a shared approach to community wealth building across North Lanarkshire and through a common understanding of what it means and what work will contribute to its success. A community wealth building statement is under development to be embedded across policy and strategy development areas, and ensure that decision making and practice is developed through a community wealth building lens. (43) Progress through the Programme of Work to date continues to be built upon in respect of work to Keep the Promise in the areas of care and family support. The number of care leavers has more than doubled, support is being provided through an After Care Hub, and a responsive and bespoke counselling service has been commissioned for care leavers which is already supporting more than 40 young people. A website (design with local young people) is under development to provide access to information and support. Trauma informed contextual safeguarding continues to be embedded in the approach to addressing extra- familial harm; this was an area of best practice highlighted within recent inspection reports which is being expanding through a current pilot project with two secondary schools. In parallel, a successful bid to Corra’s Promise Partnership Fund has been designed and made to support the launch of a peer mentoring service for young people in conflict with the law. (44) Following a consultation exercise, the North Lanarkshire Community Justice Outcome Improvement Plan was developed for 2023 to 2028. This sets out the shared priorities of the Community Justice Partnership in planning and delivering community justice services in a way that meets the needs of individuals and local communities, prevents and reduces the risk of further offending, and makes North Lanarkshire safer. To achieve this the approach to delivery includes making the appropriate connections with people with lived experience of the justice system, their families, victims, local communities, third sector colleagues and stakeholders to listen and learn from their views and opinions. (45) Following a recent inspection by Education Scotland, the council’s community learning and development service has received a positive report that recognises the strong leadership of community learning and development in North Lanarkshire, as well as a clear vision for improvement and alignment to the Programme of Work. It was also noted that the priorities in the community learning and development plan for 2021-24 reflect the council’s ambitions for its people and communities, i.e. reducing barriers to participation, engaging children, young people, and their families in reaching their potential, and improving health and wellbeing. The extent of effective partnership working was also recognised in respect of leading to improved co-ordination of services and reduced duplication. Two areas of good practice were identified - these relate to close working relationships between community learning and development and social work staff which was leading to improved safeguarding outcomes for children and young people, and a well-embedded approach to accreditation Page 69 of 326
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and to growing your own to ensure that barriers to learners accessing training and employment were removed. (46) Over 7,700 children, young people, and adults were directly involved in community learning and development provision provided by the council in 2022/23. More than 1,000 young people have gained accreditations that have included the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Youth Achievement Award, Dynamic Youth Award, and the North Lanarkshire Challenge. (47) A multi-disciplinary team of community learning and development, housing, and social work officers have enabled and supported the resettlement of more than 500 Ukrainian Displaced Persons in North Lanarkshire, in collaboration with internal and external partners. In particular, supporting those accommodated through the Towers Project (funded by the Scottish Government) which created capacity to accommodate 200 Ukrainian households within a rapid timescale. Strong support for integration has seen new arrivals quickly develop strong support networks and make a contribution to the local community with many now also finding employment and boosting capacity in priority sectors. At the same time the team has continued to support those previously settled through other programmes as well as young people arriving through the National Transfer Scheme. Digital North Lanarkshire (48) Implementation of the Connectivity contract is already assisting the transformation of the area’s digital infrastructure to help ensure that 85% of homes across North Lanarkshire will have access to gigabit capable broadband earlier than planned. Commsworld are in place and building a full fibre backbone that traverses all North Lanarkshire’s towns and many villages. To date 340 kilometres of ultrafast, full fibre digital network has been laid to support the delivery of an ultrafast digital network across North Lanarkshire. Benefits of this new digital network include: • New web filtering provisions and a boost to school internet bandwidth via upgrades for primary school bandwidth to 1Gb and secondary schools to 5Gb with a second resilient 5Gb connection for secondary schools. • Providing the capacity to support a free public Wi-Fi network across town centres, libraries, schools, leisure, and community centres. • Enhancing the coverage and reach of gigabit-capable fibre networks to businesses, private, and council-owned social housing. • Attracting inward investment to local communities from a range of business sectors resulting in increased access to employment, health, and leisure opportunities. (49) Advancements in digital technologies across the council and the establishment of digital as a channel for interacting with service users, residents, and businesses has continued to enable the delivery of seamless services and self-serve channels that better meet local needs and expectations, while reducing manual handling for staff and increasing their capacity to provide more help and support for those who need it the most. Processes implemented in this respect have included: • Reporting an issue in terms of household waste issue (10 options), missed bin pullouts, communal bins, special uplifts, recycling centres, booking a van or trailer into a recycling centre, requesting an additional bin collection, requesting a pull-out service, and requesting a simplified collection service. • Development work to support implementation of Covid business grants for the discretionary fund, taxi operators, and taxi drivers. • Online processes to allow local people to apply for a business waste collection (including online payment), report an issue with debris or an obstruction, as well as trees, street cleaning, grass, graffiti, overgrown shrubs / bushes or to request the removal of broken glass or a syringe. • Online services in respect of housing field services repairs scheduling, business waste, ordering and paying for a grey/recycling/food bin, booking and paying for a special uplift, cancelling special uplifts online with automatic routing to the refunds team, rents Page 70 of 326
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online, debt advice, and waste special uplifts. (50) The mass migration of over 4,825 users (employees and Elected Members) was completed to Microsoft 365 during the pandemic. Staff across the council are now using its associated components (Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint) and a range of modern office productivity tools to enhance everyday working practices and gain efficiencies in productivity and improvements in ways of collaborating. One of the key modern office tools that is now operational is the Business Intelligence Hub which is facilitating a significant move away from data collection to data management and analysis that adds value and supports decision making and the identification of areas for improvement. The development of the Business Intelligence Hub aligns closely to the continued development of the Data Custodian model across the organisation and the recently agreed Data Quality Framework which is currently being rolled out. Business Intelligence Hub expertise within service areas continues to develop and embed. (51) Three possible locations have been identified as suitable locations for new Immersive Experience Rooms. This follows work to further develop the proof of concept at Muirfield in terms of its use and accessibility for a range of establishments and third parties. Procurement is now complete, and a supplier is ready to commence install. • This follows on from the success of the first 5G-enabled immersive classroom in Scotland which went live at Muirfield Community Centre in Cumbernauld. This saw a room transformed into an exciting and engaging learning environment to give children, young people, and wider community users a 360-degree digital experience. Users experience what it’s like to be in outer space, under the ocean, on a World War 1 battlefield, or even on top of Everest thanks to this learning initiative which was the first of its kind in the UK. • More recently, Motherwell Library has celebrated a significant upgrade following an extensive refurbishment programme which means visitors can enjoy a range of brand- new facilities which includes Scotland’s only interactive immersive pod in a public library. The £1.6m investment has also seen the children’s area doubled, new flexible learning and meeting areas created, and the opening of a new MakerSpace (an area designed to help people develop skills, explore their creativity, and learn how to use new digital and craft resources including 3D printers, sewing machines and a laser cutter). (52) A new technical team has been established to support the health and social care workforce in the use of enhanced technology solutions and assessment and planning with regards to safe-tech solutions. The team supports locality teams to maximise the use of innovative technology enabled care and to review the support arrangements for existing clients, considering the potential use of technology enabled care solutions to support better and more independent living. (53) A Digital School was established to promote and enable digital learning across North Lanarkshire by supporting schools and families on how to use the digital tools available and establishing a digital pedagogy that engages learners and delivers a high-quality learning experience for all. The use of digital technology in this way aims to enrich learning and teaching, raise levels of attainment, and close the attainment gap. Schools and centres are supported to gain Digital Schools Award Scotland Status with 43 accredited establishments across North Lanarkshire and plans in place to increase this number. (54) A Virtual Classroom (containing high quality, moderated e-learning resources) was launched in January 2021 to provide an online and interactive platform for young people; this includes learning areas such as literacy, numeracy, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), and health and wellbeing. Since its launch the virtual classroom has been refreshed with an overhaul being completed to the existing provision to tie in with the new progression pathways and include new focussed computer science content. The virtual classroom now contains the new Tech Tuesdays resources - 6 new videos released every week - that focus on pre-recorded lessons to support pathways. In addition to broad and general teaching and learning materials, the virtual classroom hosts a large range of videos Page 71 of 326
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and materials which support young people’s pathways into work. To date the virtual classroom contains almost 4,000 accessible resources and has achieved over one million visits. (55) The new North Lanarkshire Progression Pathways for early to third level have now been launched, with the Digital School tracking its impact. Early to third level progression pathways in literacy, numeracy, and digital learning have been developed to support teacher planning and professional judgement. The programme of study in literacy at second level has been revised, with professional learning offered to literacy champions in all establishments to support professional understanding. Digital pedagogy practitioners provide regular, high- quality professional learning, with most schools and all family learning centres being supported by the digital team. (56) Two Intergenerational digital skills courses were delivered on the use of iPads - in Drummond Drive Retirement Complex with pupils from Thornlie Primary and at James Dempsey Gardens Retirement Complex with pupils from Greenhill Primary. This increased the digital abilities of the tenants, reducing social isolation and improving pupils’ confidence and social skills. (57) The Digital sub-group continues to meet monthly with the Chair and Vice Chair having been voted in for another year. Latest consultations have included work with Commsworld as part of the SmartNL programme to shape what community benefits will look like for local communities in the future. This group plays a key role in providing the interface between the council and the public for all things digital. (58) Through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the investment plan for North Lanarkshire includes funding for a range of digital support for people, businesses, and communities. Key provision includes: • A Digital Communities Challenge Fund which has been developed to support community organisations to improve their digital connectivity is scheduled for launch in early 2024. • Grant support for businesses through the Business Growth Fund up to £50K which can be used for digital skills, consultancy, and capex and infrastructure support for digital transformation projects through the adoption and integration of digital technologies and e- commerce. • Expert help of up to five days support for digital projects, to build skills and capabilities that increase digital knowledge and provide support with digital marketing that covers areas such as social media platforms, website content and design, data analytics, and search engine optimisation. • Funding to continue the delivery of Smart Hub Lanarkshire, a centre of excellence for manufacturing innovation and robotics established to support small to medium sized enterprises active in the manufacturing sector locally. • The provision of digital skills training to support the North Lanarkshire Digital Skills Academy. This includes support for the establishment of community based Digital Labs to provide local adults aged 16+ with the relevant skills, confidence, and motivation to get online, a North Lanarkshire Digital Youth Academy aimed at 16-24 year olds, and support to co-ordinate digital career pathways. • Establishment of an interactive digital heritage and countryside trail to enhance the visitor experience across North Lanarkshire. One Service (59) The Leadership and Operating Model continues to ensure that a unified approach is underway to maintain effective management, operation, and governance structures within each Hub. The model aims to ensure that Town and Community Hubs operate as a single entity and support a much wider integrated community offer - with communities having more direct access to the services they need and staff closer to the communities they work in. This unified approach puts communities at the heart of the council’s model and seeks to ensure Page 72 of 326
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everyone is given equality of opportunity and individuals are supported, encouraged, and cared for at each key stage of their life. (60) 7 community hubs have been operationalised following both the reconfiguration of existing assets and handover of new development hubs, with learning being taken forward in the transition towards the council’s future operating model as well as the design of new development hubs and council service redesign to support a much wider integrated community offer. (61) All council services are now fully engaged in phase 2 Leadership and Operating Model plans for the council to transition towards the longer-term operating model. This work will progress through deep dive operating model service reviews post budget decisions and in line with the capital programme award to develop enabling infrastructure. (62) Working in partnership with the North Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership, the council has achieved all deliverables and phase 1 deadlines set out by the Scottish Government relative to the national framework for Getting it Right for Everyone (GIRFE) tied to the place-based approach and underpinning the vision for town and community hubs. (63) The commitment to be a trauma informed organisation has been progressed by adopting a trauma lens approach to new development hubs and the reconfiguration of existing assets with a measurement framework aligned to the Equality Strategy to be introduced from 2024. (64) A new framework has been introduced, based on best practice and guidance from Sustrans, to promote active travel within the workforce. A survey currently underway with all staff will inform forward plans and priorities that support delivery of the Active Travel Strategy to 2031. (65) Work is under development to progress a Corporate Telephony Solution and introduce a single contact number and secure payment portal for the council. This will enhance the overall citizen experience and grow the Customer Services Hub underpinning the future operating model. (66) A refreshed hybrid working model has been developed to enhance the council’s approach to building a vibrant, mixed use, office and community-based workplace environment in the transition to the future operating model. This will support the council in meeting desired performance and productivity expectations while supporting fair work ambitions. (67) Detailed service workforce plans are now in place for each service area to help tackle the demographic challenges faced historically, and provide an opportunity to consider service planning in line with building a future workforce and transitioning the workforce to align with the Programme of Work to 2028 and future operating model. (68) Following the introduction of a new approach to auditing Best Value, the key findings from the council’s first audit report were extremely positive. This considered the effectiveness of the leadership of the development of the council’s strategic priorities which was undertaken as part of a national approach to thematic aspects of the Best Value audit requirements. The auditors noted that the council has a clear ambitious vision as detailed in The Plan for North Lanarkshire which has been driven by effective leadership and is supported by a range of performance indicators and performance reporting arrangements. The report concludes positively on the council’s approach to citizen and community engagement and recognises the council’s commitment to reducing inequalities and tackling poverty. The report also comments positively on the alignment of strategic and operational delivery plans (with the council’s financial, asset, and digital plans), the collaborative working between Elected Members and officers, and the council’s approach to self-evaluation which supports continuous improvement. Page 73 of 326
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Policy and Strategy Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref KH/SL Date 14/03/24 Strategic Performance Framework - the North Lanarkshire context From Katrina Hassell, Chief Officer (Business and Digital) E-mail HassellK@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07903 096 121 Executive Summary The Plan for North Lanarkshire is supported by a suite of high-level Health Check Indicators that collectively provide the context for North Lanarkshire as a place. By providing the local demographic, social, and economic profile these indicators were key to shaping the long-term vision set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire when it was approved in 2019, and they have continued to provide a robust, consistent, and independent way of assessing progress since then. The suite of indicators has also played an important role in terms in informing the council’s strategic planning process through the Programme of Work. Most of the latest results for each of the 28 indicators now reflect a period towards the end, or in the aftermath, of the pandemic. This has enabled a much clearer interpretation of the impact of the pandemic on what The Plan for North Lanarkshire set out to achieve when it was established. The impact can be seen in much of the data for the years 2020 and 2021 (the pandemic years) compared to 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 2022 and 2023 (the aftermath of the pandemic). Notwithstanding this, there remains significant gains when comparing the latest results available to the baseline set when The Plan for North Lanarkshire was established in 2019. The latest results show positive trends in a number of key economic and social indicators, including: • Gross weekly pay continues to remain higher than the national average and the gap in the hourly rate of pay between males and females continues to narrow and is now smaller than it is nationally. • The number of working age people claiming employment related benefits has continued the gradual downward trend that was first experienced towards the end of 2020 and is now 7% lower than pre-pandemic levels. • The proportion of the working age population who are economically active has shown signs of improvement for the last four consecutive quarters in a row, reaching 75%, the highest position for the last three years after much fluctuation. • Economic growth continues to show a positive picture with the latest results showing an increase of 5.2% in gross value added per head. • Latest figures show a significant improvement in breastfeeding, with 30.4% of babies in North Lanarkshire breastfed at the 6-8 week review and getting the best start in life. • The change in crime rates in North Lanarkshire remains lower than the national average. Item 6 Page 75 of 326
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1. Background 1.1 Since The Plan for North Lanarkshire was established in 2019, it has been supported by a suite of 28 Health Check Indicators from the Strategic Performance Framework which aim to collectively provide the context for North Lanarkshire as a place. 1.2 This suite of measures has been used constantly to provide a robust, consistent, and independent evidence base to (a) inform strategic planning and delivery priorities, and (b) demonstrate progress in delivering the Programme of Work and achieving the vision of inclusive growth and prosperity for all as set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire. 1.3 In practice, these measures: • Are long-term measures whose role is to assess the state of a nation, i.e. North Lanarkshire. As it can take time to see the impact that outcome focused planning has for people and communities, maintaining a consistent approach to measuring progress and reviewing and reporting the results helps to ensure the focus remains steadfast on what The Plan for North Lanarkshire aims to achieve. This approach avoids the temptation to resort to short-term measures that don’t help sustain the long-term focus required to achieve the long-term vision. • Aim to provide a high-level impact assessment of the work of the council and partners on North Lanarkshire’s economy, its people, and its communities. It is recognised though that the long-term nature of some investments, time-lags from investment to seeing results, and the need to make assumptions of impact (comparing, for example, scenarios that consider impact if there had been no portfolio of council activity delivered at all) need to be taken into account in this assessment. • Comprise a small number of wider landscape measures which focus, where possible, on outcomes rather than outputs. In doing so it is recognised that it is not easy to measure outcomes, or to separate out specific impacts on outcomes While these trends are particularly significant, challenges remain thus further supporting the reframed Programme of Work to 2028 (approved by the Policy and Strategy Committee in March 2023) to ensure a heightened and more strategic focus on not only sustaining the economic and community aspects that are enabling local people and communities (and the place that is North Lanarkshire) to thrive, but also on ensuring a more targeted approach to improving social conditions and outcomes. Recommendations It is recommended that the Policy and Strategy Committee: (1) Are aware of the key role that the Health Check Indicators play in providing the place- based evidence base from which progress in delivering The Plan for North Lanarkshire can be regularly assessed, and (2) Take cognisance of the latest results set out in Appendix 1 and the successes and challenges summarised in paragraphs 2.4 and 2.5 respectively. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement All ambition statements Programme of Work Statutory / corporate / service requirement Page 76 of 326
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in terms of improving people’s lives as there are many factors in this respect that are outside the direct control of the council. • Are sourced from externally produced statistics, i.e. they are not statistics calculated by the council and as such they provide an external and independent verification. • Are available nationally to enable a comparison of North Lanarkshire’s performance against other local authorities and the national average. 1.4 In previous years, updated results for the suite of 28 Health Check Indicators were included in the annual Programme of Work report to the Policy and Strategy Committee. A new approach was introduced in March 2023 through a separate report on the agenda which aims to better show the results of these indicators within the most appropriate context (for example trends over time that cover before, during, and in the aftermath of the pandemic and supplementary measures, commentary, and analysis for added interpretation). 1.5 This report herewith therefore continues the practice established in 2023 with a separate report that sets out the current North Lanarkshire context. As well as demonstrating the change in performance from the baseline set at the time when The Plan for North Lanarkshire was established, this year’s report does an even deeper dive into the data and trends that sit underneath the 28 Health Check Indicators in order to ascertain the underlying factors that will be key to informing the delivery of the Programme of Work to 2028. 2. Latest results 2.1 The suite of 28 Health Check Indicators has been updated with the most recent data published and available; this data and the latest commentary on the North Lanarkshire context is set out in Appendix 1. Note, to aid interpretation and ensure the results are reviewed within the appropriate context, the indicators depicted in Appendix 1 are not set out sequentially, rather they are set out in clusters where there are clear linkages to consider. A contents page (with quick links) is included in Appendix 1 to provide a means by which to easily navigate through each of the indicators. 2.2 The latest results for the 28 Health Check Indicators set out in Appendix 1: • Are presented to show the North Lanarkshire position within the relevant context, such as family group or national averages. • Include graphs displaying a long-term time series (where available) in order to show, for example, trends over time that cover before, during, and in the aftermath of the pandemic. Note, some national data sources recalibrate their time series at every publication, where this is the case the most up to date data is reflected in the results presented in the Appendix. • Incorporate supplementary measures, commentary, and analysis, where appropriate for added interpretation. This year’s much deeper dive into the 28 Health Check Indicators, and the underlying measures supporting them, aims to clearly show the North Lanarkshire context in more specific detail. • Reflect the baseline for The Plan for North Lanarkshire in the North Lanarkshire commentary. This baseline was established using the most up to date data available at the time The Plan for North Lanarkshire was approved and monitoring began. This allows for improvements to be identified over the lifespan of the council’s corporate strategy. 2.3 Even with a time lag in some nationally published data, the latest results for most indicators now reflect a period towards the end, or in the aftermath, of the pandemic. Page 77 of 326
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This has enabled a much clearer interpretation of the impact of the pandemic which can be seen in much of the data for the years 2020 and 2021 (the pandemic years) compared to 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 2022 and 2023 (the aftermath of the pandemic). Notwithstanding this, there remains significant gains when comparing the latest results available to the baseline set when The Plan for North Lanarkshire was established in 2019. 2.4 For the small number of indicators which are measured quarterly, this data continues to show a number of significant and positive trends that are encouraging. These successes are even more noteworthy given the challenging backdrop they have been achieved against. The following represents a high-level summary of key successes where new data has been available to provide an updated position in this year’s report. • Last year’s annual performance update reported that, for the first time ever, the gross weekly pay for local residents was higher than the national average, as shown in Figure 17a in Appendix 1. This position continues in the latest data in this year’s update which shows the gross weekly pay for North Lanarkshire’s residents has reached £705.70 in 2023 compared to £702.40 nationally; a difference of £3.30 per week. Gross weekly pay in North Lanarkshire has increased 7% (£47.80 per week) over the year. Figure 17c shows that the gap in hourly pay for males and females has significantly narrowed over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire (from £2.36 to £1.22 per hour), with this gap now being narrower than it is nationally. • The number of working age people claiming employment related benefits has continued the gradual downward trend that was first experienced towards the end of 2020 and is now lower than pre-pandemic levels. Latest figures show 7,320 claimants in North Lanarkshire, while this is only a 7% decrease from the December 2019 claimant count of 7,890 it does not reflect the impact of the pandemic years when claimant counts were 14,195 as at December 2020 and 9,580 as at December 2021 (Figure 20b in Appendix 1). The current claimant rate in North Lanarkshire is 3.3% which is a decrease from pre-pandemic levels of 3.6% in 2019 (Figure 20a in Appendix 1); the national average is 3% down from 3.2% over the same period. • Figures 18a and 18b in Appendix 1 show that the proportion of the working age population who are economically active has shown signs of improvement for the last four consecutive quarters in a row, reaching 75%, the highest position for the last three years after much fluctuation. This represents 171,100 residents economically active in North Lanarkshire, this is an increase from March 2020 (170,700) albeit figures have not yet returned to the pre-pandemic level in 2019 (174,000). • Prior to the pandemic, North Lanarkshire had one of the strongest and fastest growing economies in Scotland, with significant growth over the last 10 years and strong business growth with an increase in the number of businesses per head of population and jobs safeguarded through support to businesses. Recent figures (Figure 16a in Appendix 1) show the local economy continues to grow with North Lanarkshire’s growth rate increasing significantly from the previous year (Figure 16b in Appendix 1). • Latest figures show a significant improvement in breastfeeding with 30.4% of babies in North Lanarkshire breastfed at the 6-8 week review and getting the best start in life (Figure 09a in Appendix 1). This is an improvement from the previous year (26.6%) and The Plan for North Lanarkshire baseline of 23.1% in 2017/18. • The change in total recorded crime shows a small increase from the previous year of 0.6% compared to a 1% increase nationally (Figure 06a in Appendix 1). Notwithstanding the impact of the pandemic on the number of recorded crimes, this remains a positive position in that the number of crimes in North Lanarkshire Page 78 of 326
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recorded by the police has not returned to pre-pandemic levels and remains lower than The Plan for North Lanarkshire baseline (figure 06b in Appendix 1). 2.5 Previous annual performance reports to the Policy and Strategy Committee (in March each year) have provided commentary which reflected on the impact of the pandemic, and the resultant social and economic effects which were considered to have affected vulnerable people and communities more intensely. As a result it was considered there was a danger that already unacceptably high levels of deprivation and child poverty would become further exacerbated. These updates also reflected on the very real challenges facing the future sustainability of the local economy. When the data in Appendix 1 is reviewed and considered in its entirety, it would suggest that while there are significant signs of potential recovery from the pandemic with an encouraging move in the right direction in many indicators, there are challenges that remain: • While improvements had been noted in a reduction in the proportion of children in poverty over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire (Figure 22a in Appendix 1 shows the decrease from 25.2% to 23.2%), the latest figures show a reversal in this respect with rates now reaching 26.6%. While this change in trend is in line with the national average, it remains a concern as almost one in four children in North Lanarkshire are living in poverty. This is higher than the national average of just over one in five children. Of particular concern is the disparity across North Lanarkshire’s communities. • While Figures 18a and 18b in Appendix 1 show that the proportion and number of the working age population who are economically active has shown encouraging signs of improvement, the deep dive in this respect shows that there remains 45,000 people who are currently recorded as being economically inactive and not wanting a job (an increase from 36,800 pre-pandemic in 2019), with 37% of these recorded as long term-sick, 30% students, 10% looking after family / home, and 10% retired. 81% are recorded as not wanting a job. Following varying trends, Figures 18g and 18i in Appendix 1 shows a significant increase in the number of students over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire (from 13,100 to 16,700), as well as those long-term sick (from 15,800 to 20,600). • Figure 21a in Appendix 1 had clearly shown an ongoing downward trend up to 2020/21 in terms of a reduction in the number of the working age population with no qualifications (to 12.8%, which was around 27,600 people). The latest figures show a reversal of this trend to 18.6% in 2021/22 which equates to 40,100 of North Lanarkshire’s working age population in a situation that restricts their ability to access developing employment opportunities. This significant change was examined in more detail at source, and nothing was found to be impacting on the data other than perhaps the size of the sample in the survey. However, to ensure ongoing accuracy in reporting the data for this indicator this will continue to be examined and monitored. • Figures 11a and 12a in Appendix 1 show ongoing improvement in terms of educational attainment for all pupils gaining 5+ awards at level 6, as well as pupils living in the 20% most deprived areas. However, the gap in attainment (Figure 12b in Appendix 1) in this respect is not showing any significant signs of narrowing. • The deep dive into the latest business survival rates in North Lanarkshire shows a varying position and a decrease to 54% from 58% in the previous year, albeit this trend does follow the national average (Figure 19a in Appendix 1). The deep dive into this data shows that the early years of implementing The Plan for North Lanarkshire was impacted by the pandemic. However, active businesses in North Lanarkshire still remains high though as the latest figures show 7,920 businesses (Figure 19b in Appendix 1), an increase over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire from 7,885. In addition, over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire, the number of abroad-owned registered private sector businesses in Page 79 of 326
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North Lanarkshire has increased from 310 in 2018 to 385 in 2023. This inward investment had a positive impact on Scottish employment, adding around 1,100 jobs. Next steps 2.6 By collectively providing the local demographic, social, and economic profile, the suite of Health Check Indicators were key to shaping the long-term vision set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire when it was established in 2019. As such, these indicators will continue to be regularly monitored, assessed, and reported in order to provide a consistent mechanism to assess progress in delivering The Plan for North Lanarkshire through incremental short-term changes and impacts, while maintaining a focus on improving outcomes in the long-term. Moving forward a six-monthly interim update will be incorporated into Programme of Work reporting to the Policy and Strategy Committee, to complement the annual report and deep dive in cycle 1 each year. 2.7 The suite of Health Check Indicators will continue to play an important role in informing delivery of the Programme of Work to 2028 to ensure that the stubborn scale of deprivation in areas that are hardest to reach is targeted with future policy developments focused on tackling economically inactive trends and improving social conditions. 2.8 One of the most significant enablers to the success of The Plan for North Lanarkshire is that North Lanarkshire maintains a balanced, growing, and healthy population that is supported by net inward migration. Currently North Lanarkshire’s population is projected to increase by 0.3% to 2028 and thereafter decline by 1.2% to 2043, with reductions in both the under 15 and working age populations, compared to a substantial increase in the number of people of pensionable age. The impact of such demographical change will erode the supporting working age resource base and increase the dependency ratio (i.e. those aged under 16 + those of pension age compared to those of working age). 2.9 As the extent of the demographical change will add significant challenges in delivering the Programme of Work to 2028, it is important to ensure that activity continues to impact positively on population balance and growth. It had been the intention to provide a stratified population target for North Lanarkshire within this report to allow the impact of the Programme of Work to be tracked over time and the Delivery Plan to be recalibrated accordingly. However, following initial outputs from the 2022 Census which were received towards the end of 2023, work is underway nationally to update the population projections using the Census data as the base; these are expected to be published in the spring of 2024. These projections will provide an updated picture in terms of the structure of North Lanarkshire’s current and future population (i.e. the proportion of the population under 15, of working age, and of pensionable age). To ensure as up to date a picture is available to inform the approach to determining the future requirements of North Lanarkshire’s population, a further update in this respect will be provided to the Policy and Strategy Committee at the six-monthly update point. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Measures of success will be evidenced through progress being made to deliver the Programme of Work and ensure the council’s portfolio of programmes, projects, plans, and activities impact positively on the North Lanarkshire context (evidenced through the 28 Health Check Indicators) and the achievement of inclusive growth and prosperity for all (as set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire). Page 80 of 326
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4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1: Latest results and the North Lanarkshire commentary. Katrina Hassell Chief Officer (Business and Digital) 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 Local Government Act 1992 established the role of the Statutory Direction to direct the “publication of information as to standards of performance”. The Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 introduced the duty of Best Value; this requires that councils “make arrangements to secure continuous improvement in performance”. 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal Page 81 of 326
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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? Improvements in the presentation of performance information to various audiences are being advanced in line with the development of the DigitalNL work package for the Business Intelligence (BI) 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? Ensuring an evidence based approach to strategic planning and performance monitoring and reporting contributes to the mitigation of the risks on the Corporate Risk Register for managing strategic change and governance, leadership, and decision making. 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 Page 82 of 326
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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 83 of 326
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Strategic Performance Framework: the North Lanarkshire context as at March 2024 Appendix 1 Page 84 of 326
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Indicator click on links below for easy access to each indicator Page number C17: Gross weekly pay - residents (full-time employees) link to page 3 C16: Gross Value Added - growth per head (income approach) link to page 3 C18: Economically active - % of all people economically active (aged 16-64 years) link to page 4-5 C20: Benefits - % of working age people (aged 16-64 years) claiming one or more of the key benefits link to page 6-7 C19: Businesses - % of the VAT / PAYE registered businesses that survive for at least three years link to page 8-9 C27: Employment - total employment in sustainable tourism as % of growth sector employment link to page 10 C28: Gross Value Added - per head in sustainable tourism (employment) link to page 10 C11: Educational attainment - % of pupils gaining 5+ awards at level 6 link to page 11 C12: Educational attainment - % of pupils living in 20% most deprived areas (as defined by the SIMD) gaining 5+ awards at Level 6 link to page 11 C13: Post school destinations - % of pupils entering positive destinations link to page 12 C21: Qualifications - % of the working age population (aged 16-64 years) that have no formal qualifications link to page 13 C14: School exclusion rate per 1,000 pupils - all children link to page 13 C15: School exclusion rate per 1,000 pupils - looked after children link to page 13 C22: Poverty - % of children in poverty after housing costs link to page 14 C10: Child wellbeing - % of children reviewed at 27 to 30 months with no concerns recorded link to page 14 C09: Breastfeeding - % of babies breastfed at 6-8 week review (overall rate) link to page 15 C23: Life expectancy at birth - estimates (males and females) link to page 15 C24: Independent living - % of adults supported at home who agreed that they are supported to live as independently as possible link to page 16 C25: Quality of life - % of adults supported at home who agree their services and support had an impact on improving or maintaining their quality of life link to page 16 C26: Carers - total combined % of carers who feel supported to continue in their caring role link to page 16 C06: Crime - % change in total recorded crime link to page 17 C05: Household waste - % recycled link to page 17 C07: Rating of neighbourhood (includes all neighbourhoods) - % good / very good ratings link to page 18 C08: Rating of neighbourhood as a place to live (includes only the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods, as defined by the SIMD) - % good / very good ratings link to page 18 C04: Housing - estimated housing by tenure link to page 19 C03: Net migration - total rate per 1,000 population link to page 20 C01: Population projections - % change link to page 20 C02: Population - mid-year estimates (mye) link to page 20 Contents Page 85 of 326
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C17: Gross weekly pay - residents (full-time employees) Measuring this indicator will tell us if we have: Increased the earnings of people who live in NL What success looks like: Earnings for people who live in NL continue to grow on a par with national levels The North Lanarkshire commentary: • Gross weekly pay for NLs residents became higher than the average earnings for Scotland and GB for the first time ever in 2022; latest results shows this positive position remains in 2023 (as shown in Figure 17a above). • In 2022, gross weekly earnings for NLs residents was £657.90 (based on all full-time workers), this increased to £705.70 in 2023; an increase of 7% (£47.80) over the year. • In comparison, the national average increased by 9.5% (£61.10) from £641.30 in 2022 to £702.40 in 2023. • Traditionally, while wages have risen steadily for the people who live in NL, this had previously been at a lesser rate than average earnings for Scotland and GB. • The Plan for North Lanarkshire baseline set in 2018 saw gross weekly earnings to be £545.70; at the time this was £17 lower than the national average of £562.70. • Prior to this the widest gap in average earnings for NL compared to Scotland was £42 in 2009 before the gap reduced to its narrowest point in 2019 (£11.10) just before the pandemic. • Figure 17b above shows the current difference between the average gross weekly pay in NL compared to Scotland, which has improved over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire from £17 lower to £3.30 higher. • For added context, the average hourly pay of full-time workers in NL (excluding overtime) increased £1.81 from £17.62 per hour in 2022 to £19.43 per hour in 2023. This compares to a £1.90 increase nationally from £18.33 to £20.23 per hour over the same period. 3 C16: Gross Value Added - growth per head (income approach) Measuring this indicator will tell us if we have: Increased NLs economic output What success looks like: Continued economic growth in NL The North Lanarkshire commentary: • The latest data published shows that GVA growth remains positive suggesting NLs economy continues to grow, this follows a dip in the previous year which mirrored the national position (as shown in Figure 16a above). • Looking at the baseline for The Plan for North Lanarkshire, GVA per head of population at current prices shows that NL has seen a rise of 14.6% from £20,637 in 2016 to £23,651 in 2021, compared to an increase of 10.3% nationally over the same period. • Figure 16b above displays the % change in economic growth from one year to the next - the historical trends for the last 10 years and beyond not only show a positive trend (which has continued over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire), it also shows economic growth in NL has steadily remained above the national average. • The latest data shows a 5.2% increase in GVA per head in NL from 2020 to 2021 which reverses the previous year's declining figure of -3.7% and starts to return the level of growth to the pre-pandemic position of 6.6%. • The position nationally over the same period shows current growth of 6.6% which reverse the previous year’s declining figure of -4.5% and is an increase from the pre-pandemic position of 4.2%. • While there is a time lag in the availability of these results, the period covered by this data is starting to reflect the impact of the pandemic and its aftermath. This position will continue to be monitored. • Notes: This measure uses the income approach which allocates income to the region in which the economic activity takes place. The data in this entire time series is rebased and recalculated each year at current basic prices when new results are produced. • On average the current hourly pay for males in NL is £19.98 compared to £18.76 for females (and compared to £20.88 and £19.52 nationally for males and females respectively). • Figure 17c shows the gap in average hourly pay for males compared to females which has significantly narrowed over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire from £2.36 per hour to £1.22 per hour (compared with a gap nationally from £2.44 to £1.36 over the same period). link to contents page • The gap between the average hourly pay for males and females in NL has now been smaller than it is nationally for the last two years. • Notes: All data above is derived from a single annual survey of hours and earnings; it therefore represents a sample of the population. Page 86 of 326
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C18: Economically active - % of all people economically active (aged 16-64 years) Measuring this indicator will tell us if we have: Increased the number of NLs residents in employment What success looks like: More people aged 16 to 64 living in NL are economically active and contributing to the local / national economy The North Lanarkshire commentary: Economically active: • Figure 18a above shows not only a period of relative stability over the 10 years prior to 2020, but also that the % of people economically active in NL exceeded the national average at times. This period included the 2018 baseline for The Plan for North Lanarkshire and shows that NL figures continued to follow the national average throughout 2019 and into early 2020. • In 2020 this indicator started to show a decline from 77.2% and remained unsteady before reaching its lowest point to date as at September 2022 (68.8%); the timing of this suggests figures were impacted by the pandemic. • In 2021 and 2022 small gains were recorded, but the most noticeable gain has been an increase for 4 consecutive quarters from 68.8% as at September 2022 to 75% as at September 2023. Changes in the proportion of people economically active in NL over this time mirror the trend in the national position, albeit national gains were smaller with an increase from 77.2% to 77.9% over the same period. • The latest result as at September 2023 equates to 171,100 residents economically active in NL (Figure 18b above); this is an increase from March 2020 (170,700) but figures have not yet returned to the pre-pandemic level in 2019 (174,000). • Notes: A person's economic activity is derived from their activity last week; people who are economically active are those who are either in employment or unemployed (but actively looking for work, waiting to start a new job, or available to start a new job). The trends in this indicator should be considered alongside indicator C20 for the % of working age people claiming benefits. Economically inactive: • There are many other factors which contribute to a full analysis of employment in NL, one is economic inactivity. Figure 18c above shows a steady trend from 2009 to 2019, but an increase from 21.9% in 2019 to the highest to date of 31.2% as at September 2022, before dropping to 25% as at September 2023. • Figures 18d above shows this equates to 47,700 people in 2019, increasing to 69,100 as at September 2022, and decreasing to 55,100 as at September 2023. • Figure 18e above shows the proportion of people economically inactive that do not want a job has increased from 80.9% to 81.6% over the period of The Plan for Lanarkshire with varying fluctuations in the data over the years in between. Figure 18f above shows that over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire this represented an increase from 39,400 to 45,000 people. • Figure 18e shows much greater fluctuation in the data for the % economically inactive compared to the national average which currently sits at 81.8%. • Notes: Economically inactive people are those who are neither employed nor unemployed; they're not in paid work, but they're also not looking for a job or available to start work. A person might be economically inactive for a number of reasons, such as being retired, a student, or too ill to work. This analysis continues on the next page / … 4 link to contents page Page 87 of 326
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The North Lanarkshire commentary: • The latest figures show that of those economically inactive, 10% are retired, 14% are looking after home/family, 30% are students, 37% are long-term sick, with the remainder classed as other. Of those recorded as economically inactive, 81% don’t want a job. The trends in respect of students, those retired, long-term sick, and those looking after family / home are summarised below. - For students (Figure 18g), the trend has been more varied increasing from 11,000 people in 2019 to 15,200 as at March 2021 before decreasing to 9,600 as at March 2022 and then an almost continual upward trend to 16,700 as at September 2023. Over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire the number of students has increased from 13,100 to 16,700, again with significant fluctuations over that time. - For those retired (Figure 18h), there was an increase from 5,900 people in 2019 to the highest point of 9,800 as at December 2021, before this has seen an almost continual downward trend to 5,300 as at September 2023. Over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire the number of people retired has increased from 4,300 to 5,300, with significant fluctuations over that time. - For long-term sick (Figure 18i), there was an increase from 14,900 people in 2019 to the highest point of 29,800 as at December 2021, before this has seen an almost continual downward trend to 20,600 as at September 2023. Over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire the number of people long-term sick has increased from 15,800 to 20,600, with some fluctuations over that time. - For looking after family / home (Figure 18j), there was an increase from 8,500 people in 2019 to the highest point of 17,500 as at June 2021, before this has seen an almost downward trend to 7,600 as at September 2023. Over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire the number of people retired has decreased from 9,700 to 7,600, with some fluctuations over that time. • Notes: People who are economically inactive are those not in employment and who do not meet the criteria for unemployment; this group includes those who want a job but who have not been seeking work in the last 4 weeks, those who want a job and are seeking work but not available to start, those who do not want a job, and those in retirement. 5 / continued from the previous page … Self-employed • Figure 18k shows that the number of people who are self- employed in NL as a proportion of the working age population was 7.8% in 2019, prior to the pandemic. • Self-employed rates then experienced an almost continual downward trend to 3.7% as at December 2021. • Since December 2021 figures have fluctuated, reaching a high of 6.6% as at December 2022 before dropping to the latest figure of 4.2% as at September 2023. This compares to 7.7% nationally. • These rates account for 18,000 people in 2019 dropping to 9,800 as at December 2021. This fluctuation continued with 14,900 people self-employed as at December 2022, before dropping to 10,900 as at September 2023. • As shown in Figure 18m, over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire the number of people self-employed has decreased from 17,800 to 10,900, with significant fluctuations over that time. • Notes: Self-employed are those people who regard themselves as self-employed, i.e. where is their main employment, whether or not they have employees. link to contents page Page 88 of 326
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C20: Benefits - % of working age people (aged 16-64 years) claiming one or more of the key benefits Measuring this indicator will tell us if we have: Reduced the number of residents reliant on employment related benefits What success looks like: All of NLs residents capable of working are sustaining employment The North Lanarkshire commentary: Overall claimant count • In the years prior to The Plan for North Lanarkshire baseline of 3.5% in December 2018, claimant count for NL had remained relatively low, increasing only to 3.8% in March 2020. April 2020 figures clearly showed the immediate impact of the pandemic with a rise to 6.1% in NL compared to 5.4% nationally; figures continued to increase to a high of 7.2% in August 2020 which was in line with trends nationally. • After August 2020 figures started on a relatively downward trend (albeit more gradual towards the end of 2022 and into 2023), with the latest figures as at December 2023 showing 3.3% of the working age people now claiming one or more of the key benefits in NL, compared to a national average of 3%. • The latest NL figure is now lower than The Plan for North Lanarkshire baseline. • The latest figure equates to 7,320 people claiming work related benefits in NL as at December 2023 - a 7% decrease from the December 2019 claimant count of 7,890 (pre-pandemic levels), but only a decrease of 100 from 7,330 as at December 2022. • The latest figure do however represent a 48% decrease from December 2020 (14,195), and a 23.6% decrease from December 2021 (9,580) - Figure 20b shows the trends in this respect. • Notes: The trends in this indicator should be considered alongside indicator C18 for the % of all people economically active. 6 Claimant count by age • Figure 20c shows claimant count by age group, with those aged 25-49 accounting over half of the claimants in NL, and this proportion increasing from 57% to 60% over the period of the time series. • Those age 16-17 account for the lowest proportion with less than 1% across the timeseries. • Those aged 50+ currently represent 20% of claimants (an increase from 15% over the timeseries). • Those aged 18-24 currently represent 19% of claimants (a decrease from 27% over the timeseries). This analysis continues on the next page / … link to contents page Page 89 of 326
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7 Claimant count by age • Over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire: Aged 25-49 - The number of people aged 25-49 claiming benefits had seen an increase from 4,205 in December 2018 to 4,460 in December 2019 followed by a steady incline to 8,790 in August 2020. - After that, the trend shows a continual decline to a low of 4,180 in October 2023 before increasing slightly to 4,415 in December 2023 (as shown in Figure 20e above). This trend was in line with the national average - However, there are currently 4% of the working age population in NL who are aged 25-49 and claiming benefits compared to The Plan for North Lanarkshire baseline of 3.8% and a national average of 3.6% for this age group (as shown in Figure 20d). This is also higher than the overall NL claimant rate of 3.3%. Aged 18-24 - The number of people aged 18-24 claiming benefits had seen an increase from 1,505 in December 2018 to 1,460 in December 2019 followed by a steady incline to 3,340 in August 2020. - After that, the trend shows a continual decline to a low of 1,335 in October 2023 before increasing slightly to 1,355 in December 2023 (as shown in Figure 20g above). This trend was in line with the national average - While there are 4.9% of the working age population in NL who are aged 18-24 and claiming benefits (less than The Plan for North Lanarkshire baseline of 5.3%) this is still above national average of 4.2% for this age group (as shown in Figure 20f) and higher than the overall NL claimant rate of 3.3%. Aged 50+ - The number of people aged 50+ claiming benefits had seen a small decrease from 1,915 in December 2018 to 1,910 in December 2019 followed by a steady incline to 3,650 in August 2020. After that, the trend shows a continual decline to 1,495 in December 2023 (as shown in Figure 20i above). - This is in line with a downward trend nationally and latest claimant count rates for this age group in NL (as shown in Figure 20h above) equal the national average of 2% and are lower than the overall NL claimant rate of 3.3%. Aged 16-17 - The number of people aged 16-17 had seen a slight increase from 50 in December 2018 to 60 in December 2019 followed by a steady incline to a high of 105 in October 2020 (as shown in Figure 20k). - After that, the trend shows a continual decline to a low of 50 in November 2023 before increasing slightly to 55 in December 2023. This is in line with the national trend and the latest rates in NL are less than 1% (as shown in Figure 20j) and equal to the national average. / continued from the previous page … link to contents page Page 90 of 326
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C19: Businesses - % of the VAT / PAYE registered businesses that survive for at least three years Measuring this indicator will tell us if we have: Increased and sustained new businesses in NL What success looks like: More locally generated and incoming businesses being created, surviving, and sustaining in the longer-term The North Lanarkshire commentary: • The latest business survival rates in NL show a varying position. For business registered and surviving for at least three years Figure19a shows that the latest result in this respect is 54%, a decrease from the previous year of 58%. • This downward trend does follow the national average, although at a slightly greater decrease. • To review this in more context Figure 19b shows the shows the number of active NL businesses each year, as at 2022 this shows there were 7,920 businesses, a decrease from a pre-pandemic high of 8,110 in 2019. However, this still remains an increase in the number of active businesses each year over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire for 7,885 in 2018 to 7,920 in 2022. This shows that the early years of implementing The Plan for North Lanarkshire was impacted by the pandemic. • Figure 19c shows the number of new NL businesses registered each year which are used in the survival assessment; over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire this has increased from 1,090 to 1,170. The dip in 2020 to 980 businesses would suggest an impact of the pandemic. • Latest results from the ONS Business Demography publication show that over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire the number of abroad-owned registered private sector businesses in NL increased from 310 in 2018 to 385 in 2023 (not shown in any graph here). This inward investment had a positive impact on Scottish employment, adding around 1,100 jobs. 8 • Figure 19d allows for a wider overview of business survival, i.e. the rate of survival after 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years. Again this shows a varying picture, but the most significant point is the reducing survival rate as the years progress, for example 93.6% of businesses registered in 2017 survived for 1 year, 69.1% for 2 years, 51.8% for 3 years, 42.3% for 4 years, and 34.5% for 5 years. • Notes: This data comes from the Businesses Demography 2022 publication (published in November 2023) and produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) using data from the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR). The main administrative sources for the IDBR are VAT trader and PAYE employer information passed to the ONS by HM Revenue and Customs under the Value Added Tax Act 1994, For VAT traders and the Finance Act 1969 for PAYE employers, details of incorporated businesses are also passed to ONS by Companies House. This analysis continues on the next page / … link to contents page Page 91 of 326
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/ continued from the previous page … Registered private sector businesses by sector: • Figure 19e shows the number of registered private sector businesses from 2010 to 2023. The highest volume of registered businesses had been consistent in sector G (wholesale and retail trade), until 2023 when this was overtaken by sector F (construction). • As can be seen from the line on the graph, the construction sector (F) has shown a year-on-year increase. • Figure 19f shows the change in the number of registered businesses from 2010 to 2023 with an increase of 440 for F (the construction sector) over this period. • Figure 19g shows the change in the number of registered businesses from 2019 (pre pandemic figures) to 2023 - again this shows an increase in F (the construction sector of 185 businesses). • Figure 19g also shows the significant drop in registered businesses for sector M (professional, scientific and technical) and sector J (information and communication). • Figure 19h shows that two thirds of all private sector businesses registered in NL comprise 4 employees or less; this rises to 76% in sector F (construction). • Notes: This data comes from the Businesses in Scotland 2023 publication produced by the Scottish Government which uses source data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Inter- Departmental Business Register (IDBR). The latest figures relate to a snapshot of the business stock as at March 2023. Data does not include central or local government. • Notes: Sites are allocated a sizeband by their total number of employees at that business site. 9 link to contents page Page 92 of 326
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C27: Employment - total employment in sustainable tourism as % of growth sector employment The North Lanarkshire commentary: • Sustainable tourism is one of 6 sectors used to assess growth in employment. Figure 27a above reflects employment in NL in each of the 6 growth sectors. • As shown in Figure 27b above, employment in sustainable tourism sector in NL as a proportion of employment in all 6 sectors combined has remained at a relatively steady level over the years and the trend has followed the national average. • Figures for the growth rate in NL in 2021 showed the highest rate to date (28.6%) before dropping slightly to 28.2% in 2022. Latest figures still represent an increase from The Plan for North Lanarkshire baseline (25.2% in 2017). • Notes: Scotland's Economic Strategy (2015) identified those sectors where Scotland has a distinct comparative advantage: food and drink (including agriculture and fisheries), creative industries (including digital), sustainable tourism, energy (including renewables), financial and business services, and life sciences. Growth sector definitions are based on Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Codes 2007. The North Lanarkshire commentary: • GVA (£) per head in sustainable tourism has fluctuated in NL over the period of the reported data and from The Plan for North Lanarkshire baseline (as depicted in Figure 28a above and also reflected in Figure 28b above which shows the % year to year change in GVA per head). • NLs trend has followed the national trend, albeit with a greater degree of fluctuation. • The effects of the pandemic can be seen in the 2020 figures with a 33% decrease in sustainable tourism employment in the national average compared to a 50% decrease in North Lanarkshire. • In 2021, North Lanarkshire's recovery of +£6,468 per head amounts to an 89% increase on the previous year, compared to a national average of +£2,649 (+20%). C28: Gross Value Added - per head in sustainable tourism (employment) Measuring these 2 indicators will tell us if we have: Increased benefit from tourism in NL What success looks like: Continued economic growth in this sector 10 The Sustainable Tourism sector relates to: Hotels and similar accommodation, Holiday and other short-stay accommodation, Camping grounds, recreational vehicle parks and trailer parks, Restaurants and mobile food service activities, Beverage serving activities, Tour operator activities, Other reservation service and related activities, Museum activities, Operation of historical sites and buildings and similar visitor attractions, Botanical and zoological gardens and nature reserve activities, Operation of sports facilities, Other sports activities (not including activities of racehorse owners), Activities of amusement parks and theme parks, and Other amusement and recreation activities. link to contents page Page 93 of 326
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C11: Educational attainment - % of pupils gaining 5+ awards at level 6 The North Lanarkshire commentary: Level 6 • Educational attainment at this level in NL continues to improve in line with national trends and remains higher than the family group of similar councils. The latest figures in Figure 11a (37% in 2021/22) show an improvement from The Plan for North Lanarkshire baseline (32% in 2017/18). Level 3 • While SCQF Level 6 provides a measure for those achieving at the highest level in school, it does not provide a picture of those who have chosen other pathways. For example, latest results show that 96.2% of all pupils in NL achieved 1 or more awards as SCQF level 3 or above compared to a national average of 97.9%. This means, as shown in Figure 11b, that 3.8% of all pupils in NL achieved no passes at this level compared to a national average of 2.1%. Looked after children • Improvements in educational outcomes for looked after children remain less easy to be seen due to a significant time lag in the data. • Latest results in Figures 11c and 11d show 67% of looked after children in NL achieved receiving one or more awards at SCQF level 3 and 46% achieved one or more awards at SCQF level 4. Both figures are lower than the previous results and the national average. Measuring this indicator will tell us if we have: Improved the outcomes for NLs young people What success looks like: Every child leaving a NL school achieves a basic qualification as a minimum, or qualifications that support their chosen pathway C12: Educational attainment - % of pupils living in 20% most deprived areas (as defined by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation) gaining 5+ awards at Level 6 Measuring this indicator will tell us if we have: Improved the outcomes for the young people living in NLs most disadvantaged communities What success looks like: Having no gap in attainment levels across all of NL The North Lanarkshire commentary: • Educational attainment for pupils living in the 20% most deprived areas continues to improve from The Plan for North Lanarkshire baseline as shown in Figure 12a (18% in 2017/18 to 22% in 2021/22) and is higher than the national average. • There is however still a marked difference in attainment at this level for those pupils living in the 20% most deprived areas, compared to the overall student population (indicator C11). • Between the overall figure (C11), and that for those living in the most deprived areas (C12), there remains a 15 percentage points difference in attainment at SCQF level 6 or above in 2020/21 (compared to a 17 percentage point gap nationally). The gap in NL has increased from 14 percentage points over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire (as shown in Figure 12b). • Notes: See notes for C11. 11 • Notes: Due to the pandemic the time period covered by this data reflects four distinct approaches to assessment and certification of SQA attainment. This includes a longstanding use of exams and externally assessed coursework (pre-pandemic), the use of estimates as a basis for awards in 2020, an Alternative Certification model in 2021, and the return of formal exams in 2022 with adjustments in place to mitigate the ongoing effects of the pandemic. The different circumstances and awarding processes of 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 do not therefore allow for a wholly accurate comparison across the years and therefore this context needs to be taken into account when reviewing the data and trends for indicators C11 and C12. link to contents page Page 94 of 326
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12 C13: Post school destinations - % of pupils entering positive destinations The North Lanarkshire commentary: • The proportion of pupils leaving school in NL and entering a positive destination reached its highest level to date in 2020/21 with 94.5%; latest figures for 2021/22 have dropped slightly (in terms of the proportion) to 94.2% (as shown in Figure 13a). • This still improves on The Plan for North Lanarkshire baseline of 91.8% (in 2016/17) as shown in Figure 13a. • The latest result of 94.2% equates to 3,676 leavers achieving a positive destination out of 3,904 meaning 228 leavers did not achieve a positive destination (as reflected in Figure 13b). It should be noted that this change in the % result does not effectively show the impact in terms of the number of leavers. The results in the previous year (94.5%) represented a smaller number of school leavers (i.e. 3,492 achieving a positive destination out of 3,696, which meant 204 leavers did not achieve a positive destination). • From the additional 208 leavers in 2021/22, the number not achieving a positive destination only increased by 24 from 204 to 228. • Performance in NL has mirrored the national average in recent years and the latest results show NL is now just over one percentage point below the national average (95.5%). • The proportion of those pupils not entering a positive destination has dropped by around 75 leavers (from 8.2% to 5.8%, i.e. 303 to 228 leavers) over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire. Positive destinations • Figure 13c shows the main destinations for leavers (higher education, further education, employment, and training) where the data reflects a decline in numbers over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire for all except training. • Notes: Figure 13c only reflects the 4 main positive destinations so figures will not add up to the totals in Figure 13b Not achieving a positive destinations • Of the 5.8% of leavers not achieving a positive destination in 2021/22 (i.e. 228), over half are unemployed and seeking employment, while just under a third are unemployed not seeking employment. • Figure 13d show those the main reasons for not entering a positive destination; this data shows a significant decrease over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire in terms of those unemployed and seeking compared to a small increase in those unemployed and not seeking. A very small increase can be seen in unknown destinations over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire. Measuring this indicator will tell us if we have: Improved the further education and employment prospects for NLs young people What success looks like: Every child leaving a NL school is able to share equally in the improving economic picture and achieve the pathway they wish to link to contents page Page 95 of 326
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C21: Qualifications - % of the working age population (aged 16-64 years) that have no formal qualifications Measuring this indicator will tell us if we have: Increased the qualification levels of NLs workforce What success looks like: An increase in formal qualifications are important for the working age population in order to increase skills and flexibility within the workforce The North Lanarkshire commentary: • Figure 21a shows a general downward trend over the years to 12.8% in 2020 which shows ongoing improvement in terms of the % of NLs working age population that have no formal qualifications. • Latest results in 2021 show an increase to 18.6% that is not in line with the previous NL trend or the national trend. The Office of National Statistics were contacted regarding this figure and suggested that the confidence interval for the data lies between 12.7% and 24.5%, meaning the actual result can lie anywhere between these two figures. It’s not completely clear why there is such a wide confidence interval in NL as surrounding council areas have not seen the same degree of change, other than this data is obtained from a single survey for which the sample size may have had an impact. • Figure 21b shows that in 2020 there were 27,600 of NLs working age population with no formal qualifications. This restricts their ability to access current or developing employment opportunities. • The 2020 figures reflect a gradual improvement from The Plan for North Lanarkshire baseline (13.6% in 2017, which equated to 29,600 people); a decrease of 2,000 people over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire. • Figure 21b shows that the latest results in 2021 (18.6%) represent 40,100 people. 13 C14: School exclusion rate per 1,000 pupils - all children Measuring this indicator will tell us if we have: Reduced the number of children not in education What success looks like: No child in NL is excluded from education The North Lanarkshire commentary: • NL schools have seen a drop in exclusion rates over the period of the reported data which is consistent with the rate of improvement nationally. • NL exclusion rates are closer to those of comparator councils (where rates are an average 13.7 per 1,000 children). • A range of service interventions have improved supports for NLs pupils in recent years, this has ensured that resources and decision making are devolved to where needs arise. • Over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire overall exclusion rates have improved by 56% from 35.1 per 1,000 pupils in 2016/17 to 15.3 in 2020/21). • Notes: This data is only published every two years, so there are no changes from the position reported as at March 2023. C15: School exclusion rate per 1,000 pupils - looked after children Measuring this indicator will tell us if we have: Reduced the number of NLs most vulnerable children and young people not in education What success looks like: No child looked after in NL is excluded from education The North Lanarkshire commentary: • NL schools have also seen a significant drop in exclusion rates for looked after children over the period of the reported data which is in line with the trend nationally. • The latest NL exclusion rates for looked after children (95.7 per 1,000 children) are now lower than those of comparator councils (where rates are an average of 127.2 per 1,000). • Over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire exclusion rates for looked after children have improved by almost 70% from 317.9 per 1,000 pupils in 2016/17 to 95.7 in 2020/21). • A range of service interventions have improved supports for NLs pupils in recent years, this has ensured that resources and decision making are devolved to where needs arise. • The calculation for this indicator have changed in previous years and all figures have been re- baselined; this means it is now comparable with overall exclusion rates (i.e. indicator C14). • Notes: This data is only published every two years, so there are no changes from the position reported as at March 2023 link to contents page Page 96 of 326
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C22: Poverty - % of children in poverty after housing costs The North Lanarkshire commentary: • With the vision of inclusive growth and prosperity for all in The Plan for North Lanarkshire, this indicator is of particular relevance to ensure that all of NLs children get the best start in life. • Significant improvements are noted in the proportion of children in poverty over the initial period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire - from a baseline of 25.2% in 2016/17 to 23.2% in 2020/21. • Figures in 2021/22 have increased to 26.6%; the trend in NL in this respect follows both the national and family group trends and the latest results are suspected to show the impact of the pandemic. • This means there remains almost one in four children in NL living in poverty - higher than the national average of just over one in five children. Measuring this indicator will tell us if we have: Reduced the number of NLs children and their families living in poverty What success looks like: No child in NL experiences disadvantages because of poverty C10: Child wellbeing - % of children reviewed at 27 to 30 months with no concerns recorded Measuring this indicator will tell us if we have: Improved the wellbeing of NLs youngest children What success looks like: The majority of NLs babies get the best start in life and where issues occur, they are addressed at the earliest opportunity The North Lanarkshire commentary: • 79.1% of children in NL have no concerns in any domain at their 27-30 month review compared to a national average of 82.1%. This is a decrease in the proportion with no concerns from 82.9% in the previous year. • This means there are 20.1% of children in NL who have concerns recorded in at least one domain. • The pattern for children with no concerns in any domain (one or more domains) remains less than the highest level recorded in 2017/18 (83.7%), and lower than The Plan for North Lanarkshire baseline of 81% (2016/17). • Along with the decrease in the proportion of no concerns recorded from 2020/21 to 2021/22 there is a corresponding increase in the proportion where one or more concerns have been recorded. • Figure 10b shows this has increased from 17% to 21% in NL; this trend follows the national picture albeit to a slightly greater extent. • Early identification of developmental issues is crucial to ensuring that children reach their full potential. • Notes: This indicator records the average number of concerns identified at the case conferences / planning meetings of children who are on the child protection register. The pandemic led to changes in how reviews were delivered as well as the circumstances of daily life for many children in 2020/21 and 2021/22. It is possible that both factors relating to assessment and recording, and genuine changes in the occurrence of developmental problems, have contributed to the increase in the data in 2021/22. 14 • There are a broad range of factors contributing to child poverty locally and of concern is the disparity across wards in NL, as according to HMRC data for March 2021, there were 11,697 (18.8%) children aged 0 - 15 in NL living in relative low-income families. • Figure 22b with the latest figures for 2021 shows that this ranges from 23.4% in Airdrie Central ward and 22.9% in Coatbridge North, to 10.6% in Stepps, Chryston, and Muirhead and Cumbernauld North. • Notes: A family must have claimed child benefit and at least one other household benefit at any point in the year to be classed as low income using the data in Figure 22b. • Notes: The data in Figure 22a which looks at poverty levels after housing costs is not available at a level below North Lanarkshire, therefore the data depicted in Figure 22b is obtained from a different source and looks at children living in relative low-income households before housing costs. link to contents page Page 97 of 326
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C09: Breastfeeding - % of babies breastfed at 6-8 week review (overall rate) Measuring this indicator will tell us if we have: Improved the wellbeing of our youngest children What success looks like: The majority of NLs babies get the best start in life and where issues occur, they are addressed at the earliest opportunity The North Lanarkshire commentary: • NL has experienced a small year on year improvement in the proportion of babies breastfed at the 6-8 week review, which had been on a par with the level of improvement seen nationally. • The latest figures show that 30.4% of babies in NL are breastfed at their 6-8 week review, getting the best start in life; this is a significant improvement from the previous year (26.6%) and The Plan for North Lanarkshire baseline of 23.1% in 2017/18. • This shows a decrease of babies in NL who are not breastfed at their 6-8 week review from 76.6% to 69.6% over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire. • In 2021, the council, in partnership with NHS Lanarkshire, has taken a multi-strand approach to the promotion of breastfeeding in the organisation and wider community. As the Breastfeeding Friendly initiative progresses, this indicator enables a baseline against which to measure impact. 15 C23: Life expectancy at birth - estimates (males and females) Measuring this indicator will tell us if we have: Improved the life expectancy of NLs residents What success looks like: More of NLs residents remain healthy for longer The North Lanarkshire commentary: Life expectancy at birth - males: • Latest life expectancy estimates in NL are 74.5 for males (depicted in Figure 23a). Although this age had been rising in recent years, gains had started to stall both locally and nationally but in NL the latest figures shown a slight increase from the previous year of 74.1. Life expectancy is still lower than The Plan for North Lanarkshire baseline of 75.3. • Until the latest results, life expectancy for males in NL had been following the national trend but the latest results show an improvement in NL from the previous year while the national average remains the same as the previous year (76.5). Life expectancy at birth - females: • Latest life expectancy estimates in NL are 78.7 for females (depicted in Figure 23b). Although this age had been rising in recent years, gains have lately started to stall both locally and nationally and this is lower than 78.8 in the previous year, and lower than The Plan for North Lanarkshire baseline of 79.4. • Life expectancy for females in NL follows the national trend but remains below the national average (80.7). • Notes: Life expectancy is the average number of years (at birth) that an individual is expected to live based on current mortality rates. Healthy life expectancy - males: • When considering the latest healthy life expectancy data (depicted in Figure 23c), the average age of healthy life expectancy at birth is 54.3 for males in NL. This is lower than the previous year (56.6) and lower than the latest national average (60.4). Healthy life expectancy - females: • When considering the latest healthy life expectancy data (depicted in Figure 23c), the average age of healthy life expectancy at birth is 56.7 for females in NL. This is higher than the previous year (55.5) but lower than the latest national average (61.1). • Notes, healthy life expectancy data adds a quality-of-life dimension to estimates of life expectancy. Healthy life expectancy is the average number of years that an individual is expected to live in a state of self-assessed good or very good health, based on current mortality rates and prevalence of good or very good health. Considering health life expectancy data therefore brings in aspects around health and care and the importance of active and healthy lifestyles. link to contents page Page 98 of 326
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C24: Independent living - % of adults supported at home who agreed that they are supported to live as independently as possible The North Lanarkshire commentary: • C24: The results from the 2021/22 perception survey showed that 60% of people surveyed in NL agreed they were supported to live independently, with 40% who feel they are not. The latest figures for 2021/22 show a decline in satisfaction both in NL and nationally compared to the previous survey results in 2019/20. • C25: In 2021/22, 55% of people surveyed in NL agree that service and support improves their quality of life, 45% disagreed. The latest figures for 2021/22 show a decline in satisfaction both in NL and nationally compared to the previous survey results in 2019/20. • C26: In 2021/22, the percentage of people in NL who agree they are supported to continue caring decreased to 33% from 25% in the previous survey in 2019/20. The latest figures for 2021/22 show a decline in satisfaction both in NL and nationally. • It is expected that the 2021/22 results will reflect to some extent individual perceptions that were acquired during the pandemic, making the survey results in 2019/20 and 2021/22 less able to be compared on a similar basis. • Notes: Data for these indicators comes from a national Health and Care Experience Survey; 130,352 (out of 537,924) individuals registered with a GP practice in Scotland responded to the 2021/22 survey, giving an overall response rate of 24%. - The survey asks about people's experiences (during the previous 12 months) of accessing and using their GP practice and other local healthcare services; receiving care, support and help with everyday living; and caring responsibilities. - Response rates in 2021/22 in NL were 20% (7,327 out of a sample of 36,606). - This survey is undertaken approximately every two years. The 2023/24 survey is now closed, and the results are expected to be published in May 2024. - Changes in the indicator calculations nationally in 2018 mean figures before this date are not necessarily directly comparable with 2019/20 and 2021/22 figures for all 3 indicators. - This data is only published every two years, so there are no changes from the position reported as at March 2023. Measuring these 2 indicators will tell us if we have: Improved the independence and quality of life of NLs older residents What success looks like: NLs residents are supported as independently as possible for as long as possible C25: Quality of life - % of adults supported at home who agree their services and support had an impact on improving or maintaining their quality of life C26: Carers - total combined % of carers who feel supported to continue in their caring role Measuring this indicator will tell us if we have: Improved support to NLs residents who care for others What success looks like: NLs residents are supported as independently as possible for as long as possible 16 link to contents page Page 99 of 326
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C06: Crime - % change in total recorded crime Measuring this indicator will tell us if we have: Reduced NLs recorded crime rates What success looks like: NL experiencing a continued reduction in overall crime The North Lanarkshire commentary: • Results from 2019/20 onwards had started to show a decreasing change in total recorded crime in North Lanarkshire which was a more positive picture than nationally (Figure 6a). • The latest results for 2022/23 in Figure 6a show an increase of 0.6% in total recorded crime from the previous year compared to an increase of 1% nationally. • It is expected that the number of recorded crimes will have been impacted by the pandemic and this can be seen in Figure 6b, with a decrease from 22,378 in 2019 to 21,734 in 2020/21 and 18,644 in 2021/22. Figures for 2022/23 to date (18,751) are positive in that they have not returned to pre-pandemic levels and remain lower than The Plan for North Lanarkshire baseline (20,425). • Figure 6c provides a breakdown of the crimes recorded by category. • Notes: Total recorded crime includes all crime recorded in the following categories - damage and reckless behaviour, crimes of dishonesty, crimes against society, sexual crimes, non-sexual crimes of violence, and coronavirus restrictions. C05: Household waste - % recycled Measuring this indicator will tell us if we have: Improved NLs waste recycling rates What success looks like: Residents of NL actively reducing the amount of their household waste going to landfill and increasing their recycling rates The North Lanarkshire commentary: • The previous two years have seen an increase in the proportion of household waste that is recycled in NL, with the latest figure showing this to be 43%. • This is on a par with the national average (43.3%) and shows improvement over the period of The Plan for North Lanarkshire (from a baseline rate of 41.1% in 2016/17). • Nationally recycling rates have plateaued in recent years - this certainly reflects the impact of the pandemic and with more people staying at home there was increase in residual waste, while recycling tonnages remained similar. • In NL 2021 saw an increase in tonnage recycled to 69,610 and while this decreased slightly the following year (to 63,055), this remains higher than The Plan for North Lanarkshire baseline. • Notes: The national recycling targets are not statutory. 17 link to contents page Page 100 of 326
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C07: Rating of neighbourhood (includes all neighbourhoods) - % good / very good ratings Measuring this indicator will tell us if we have: Improved NLs residents’ perceptions of their neighbourhoods What success looks like: Having neighbourhoods where people want to live is a fundamental aspect of the shared ambition The North Lanarkshire commentary: • Residents’ perceptions of their neighbourhood in NL in indicator C07 (see Figure 07a) have remained relatively stable with little change recorded over the years. This mirrors the picture nationally. • A slight decline (from 90% who rated their neighbourhood as very good or fairly good to 87%) can be noted in ratings over the recorded data for neighbourhood as a place to live in the 20% most deprived areas (see Figure 08a) compared to all neighbourhoods. Conversely the national picture reverses this trend with an increase from 82% to 86% over the same period. However, the national picture shows ratings at a lower level than NL over the time series. • Both indicators show a decline immediately following the baseline of The Plan for North Lanarkshire, however both indicators almost show an increasing trend since and the latest results differ very little to The Plan’s baseline. • Notes: This data is obtained from the Scottish Household Survey which is derived from a small sample of the population. Due to the pandemic the 2020 survey methodology significantly differed, and these results are therefore not included in this analysis. Results at a local authority level are not yet available from the 2022 Scottish Household Survey. C08: Rating of neighbourhood as a place to live - % good / very good ratings (includes only the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods, as defined by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation) Measuring this indicator will tell us if we have: Improved the perceptions of NLs most disadvantaged communities of the areas in which they live What success looks like: Improvements to the most deprived neighbourhoods to ensure that residents share equally in the improving picture and there is social inclusion across our diverse towns and communities 18 link to contents page Page 101 of 326
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C04: Housing - estimated housing by tenure Measuring this indicator will tell us if we have: Increased the housing choice available to NLs existing and future residents What success looks like: Having a range of housing stock that meets population growth demands and also changes in household composition The North Lanarkshire commentary: • The council remains the largest local authority landlord in Scotland with a stock of 36,961 homes (2022). • In terms of overall households, there were an estimated 153,643 in NL in 2021 - which is an increase of 16% (20,888) from 2001 compared to an increase of 15% in the number of households in Scotland over the same period. • Figures 04a and 04b on the left show NLs housing by tenure, with the largest proportion being owner occupied. • Note, the 2020 figures published have combined owner occupied and private rented figures together - this explains the even larger increase in the owner occupied figure in 2020. • While the population is expected to fall overall by 0.9% by 2043, household numbers are projected to rise by 9%; this will mean increased demand for homes - the table below provides more details in terms of household projections (from a 2018 base). • The number of individual households in North Lanarkshire are predicted to increase by 5,720 new households by 2028 and by a further 4,720 from 2028 to 2043. • More significantly, single adult households are projected to increase by 14% (almost 7,240 people) by 2,043. • Similarly households with 2 adults are projected to increase by 14.1% (+6,080) by 2043. • Notes: No new data has been published at local authority level since the previous update as at March 2023. 19 link to contents page Page 102 of 326
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C03: Net migration - total rate per 1,000 population Measuring this indicator will tell us if we have: Increased NLs population and net inward migration What success looks like: Steadily increasing population in NL, and in particular growth in the number of school age children and the working age population The North Lanarkshire commentary: • Inward migration in NL has been positive in recent years, meaning more people have moved in than out. • The recent trend shows a 3.2% increase in net migration (2021) which is contributing to NLs population growth. • While this trend mirrors that of the national position 5.1%), inward migration in NL remains at a lower growth rate than Scotland. • Inward migration is a general sign of a positive economic picture. • Notes: No new data has been published since the previous update as at March 2023. C01: Population projections - % change The North Lanarkshire commentary: • The NL population is projected to increase 0.3% from 2018 to 2028 (+990 people), compared to growth of 1.8% in Scotland. The NL population is then projected to fall by a further -0.9% (-3,010 people) from 2028 to 2043. • The tables above show a detailed breakdown of the projected change in the population from 2018 to 2028 when growth remains favourable, and from 2018 to 2043 when growth is predicted to decline. • Of note are changes that by 2043 will see a 7.6% reduction in the working age population and a 14.8% reduction in children aged under 16, but a 39.6% increase in adults aged 65+. • Within the aged 65+ age range, population projections expect to see a 16.2% increase in adults aged 65 to 74 and a 71.5% increase in adults aged 75+. • Notes: No new population projections have been published at a local authority since the last update as at March 2023. These are expected in the spring of 2024 and will be re-baselined in line with the new census data. C02: Population - mid-year estimates (mye) The North Lanarkshire commentary: • NLs population has been growing since 2009. The population as at The Plan for North Lanarkshire baseline was 339,960; this increased to 341,400 in 2021. • This growth rate was lower than the national average and there was a drop in growth as at 2020, but this was followed by a small increase in the 2021 update. • Population projections estimate that NLs population growth will remain favourable to 2028, even before housing growth expected from the new housing supply programme is factored in, but drop by 0.9% by 2043. • Notes: No new population mid year estimates have been published since the last update as at March 2023. These are expected in the spring of 2024 and will be re-baselined in line with the new census data. Measuring these 2 indicators will tell us if we have: Increased NLs population and net inward migration What success looks like: Steadily increasing population in NL, and in particular growth in the number of school age children and the working age population 20 link to contents page Page 103 of 326
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Policy and Strategy Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref DM/SL Date 14/03/24 The Plan for North Lanarkshire - Delivering the Programme of Work to 2028 From Des Murray, Chief Executive E-mail murraydes@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 01698 302350 Executive Summary As the Policy and Strategy Committee are aware, the Programme of Work is key to achieving the shared ambition set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire. To date it has collectively facilitated a co-ordinated approach to successfully delivering a wide range of programmes, projects, and large-scale transformational activities, including the council’s capital investment programme. The accompanying report on the agenda today sets out the extent of the significant achievements that have been realised through the Programme of Work to date in terms of maximising the potential of North Lanarkshire as a place and realising inclusive growth and prosperity for all. These achievements reflect what is now a well-established portfolio of programmes, projects, plans, and activities that have a dedicated focus on improvement, change, and delivering services that improve the lives of local people and that are well underway and delivering (at scale and pace) on the vision set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire. Following Policy and Strategy Committee approval of the new five-year Programme of Work to 2028, a report in September 2023 fulfilled the commitment to provide an update on the next steps, and high-level deliverables, to set the direction to further develop the seven priorities in the new Programme of Work into actions to be delivered on the ground. As per the commitment in the September 2023 report to set out a detailed delivery plan for the Policy and Strategy Committee in cycle 1 of 2024, this report contains the Single Integrated One Council Delivery Plan for the Programme of Work to 2028 which will be formally in place for 2024/25 onwards. Recommendations It is recommended that the Policy and Strategy Committee: (1) Recognise the commitment now fulfilled to establish a single integrated council wide delivery plan to support implementation of the Programme of Work to 2028, (2) Are aware of the indicative reporting schedule set out in Appendix 3 to ensure ongoing Elected Member consideration and approval of the next phase of delivery for the wide range of programmes, projects, and activities in the Programme of Work to 2028, and (3) Support the next steps (set out in paragraphs 2.5 and 2.6) to ensure the Policy and Item 7 Page 105 of 326
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1. Background 1.1 Policy and Strategy Committee will recall approving the new five-year Programme of Work to 2028 in March 2023. This was followed by a report in September 2023 (Delivering the Programme of Work to 2028) which provided Elected Members with initial oversight of the Single Integrated high-level Delivery Plan for the Programme of Work. 1.2 The September 2023 report contained a refined list of high-level Deliverables which reflected work undertaken to (a) review existing programmes, projects, or activities within the scope of the new Programme of Work, (b) identify programmes of scale or related interdependencies which required to be incorporated, and (c) identify potential new areas where there were opportunities to add value and/or better co-ordinate existing programmes, projects, or activities to meet the objectives of the new Programme of Work and ensure a greater focus on scale and purpose. 1.3 By providing indicative delivery dates and indicative funding intentions, the Single Integrated high-level Delivery Plan in September 2023 provided an initial overview of the roadmap to progress the shared ambition set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire and deliver on the vision of inclusive growth and prosperity for all with an equal distribution of wealth across communities. 1.4 In terms of the next steps, the report in September 2023 advised that a more detailed delivery plan was in development and being progressed in conjunction with concurrent financial planning priorities (in terms of future capital, revenue, and savings proposals and prioritisation, and the alignment required thereafter in terms of budgets) in order to ensure a more detailed Delivery Plan was available for presentation to the Policy and Strategy Committee in cycle 1 of 2024. The intent being that the detailed delivery plan would thereafter formally be in place from 2024/25 onwards. 1.5 This report fulfils that commitment and sets out a Single Integrated One Council Delivery Plan for the Programme of Work to 2028 in Appendix 3. 2. Programme of Work to 2028 Single Integrated Council Wide Delivery Plan 2.1 Members will recall the Programme of Work to 2028, approved at the Policy and Strategy Committee in March 2023, comprised seven priorities for delivery in respect of Transforming Places, Invest in North Lanarkshire, Sustainable Futures, Resilient People, Brighter Futures, Digital North Lanarkshire, and One Service. Appendix 1 Strategy Committee continue to play a key role in the delivery of The Plan for North Lanarkshire by ensuring strategic oversight and monitoring of its ongoing development, co-ordination, and delivery. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement All ambition statements Programme of Work All Programmes of Work Statutory / corporate / service requirement Page 106 of 326
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provides a summary recap in terms of what each of these priorities aims to achieve. 2.2 Appendix 2 sets out a strategic timeline overview. This shows the significant extent of the place-based investment to date that has been instrumental in establishing the foundations that are creating the economic, social, and community conditions which are enabling local people and communities (and the place that is North Lanarkshire) to thrive. The milestones in Appendix 2 highlight the key place-based deliverables in the Single Integrated One Council Delivery Plan for the Programme of Work to 2028. 2.3 Appendix 3 sets out the Single Integrated One Council Delivery Plan for the Programme of Work to 2028. As the vehicle for delivering The Plan for North Lanarkshire, the Programme of Work has been instrumental in stabilising the strategic direction of the council in the face of a fast paced, rapidly changing, and relentlessly uncertain local government environment. In doing so it has allowed for appropriate flexibility in the operational delivery of many complex inter-connected programmes, projects, and plans that are critical to ensuring a dedicated focus on improvement, change, and delivering services that improve the lives of local people. As such, it should be noted that the information in the Delivery Plan in Appendix 3 reflects the moment in time when it was created (i.e. as at early February 2024). This means that the details reflect the known position - regarding funding, deliverability, feasibility, and resourcing - as at the time it was created which will be subject to change as each area of work is progressed, developed, and delivered. 2.4 Since the approval of the high-level deliverables at Policy and Strategy Committee in September 2023, a Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) (i.e. a Chief Officer and member of the council’s Corporate Management Team) has led on the development of a Delivery Plan for each of the seven Programme of Work priorities. In doing so, the SROs have maintained an overarching focus on ensuring each of the seven Programme of Work priorities are developed and delivered in a way that ensures ongoing alignment to The Plan for North Lanarkshire. The SROs are also responsible for making the interconnections and managing the interdependencies across the seven Programme of Work priorities, capitalising on existing synergies, identifying potential economies of scale, and ensuring appropriate cohesion and integration in the use of resources. 2.5 SROs have also ensured that development of the Delivery Plan for each of the seven Programme of Work priorities has been appropriately informed by live developments, in so much as is known at present, for example in terms of the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill, educational reform, and public sector reform. Programme of Work governance 2.6 To deliver successful investment and transformational programmes and projects the council needs to ensure plans are well-designed and well-executed. Good project management arrangements and good governance therefore go hand in hand as essential components to ensure investment is well-directed, delivered to time, cost, and quality targets, and provides the expected benefits and improved outcomes locally. As such, the Programme of Work is supported by a governance framework that reflects the requirements of Best Value and the principles of good governance, and is aligned to the council’s other strategic and corporate monitoring and reporting arrangements. This includes the following: • Strategic Boards (chaired by a Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) who is a Chief Officer), with a clear purpose and terms of reference with well-defined distinctions and reporting lines and responsibilities in order to avoid any unnecessary bureaucracy. Page 107 of 326
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• A framework to facilitate a high-level assessment of risk within each of the seven Programme of Work priorities. In this respect, a Strategic Position Risk Assessment (PRA) approach has been implemented which will require to be reviewed and updated on a six-monthly basis. • A single source of truth through a master Delivery Plan that is monitored quarterly at each Programme of Work Strategic Board meeting. • Quarterly monitoring arrangements comprising seven dimensions (scope, quality, time, cost, resources, risk, and completed status) which are assessed through a Red/Amber/Green (RAG) status. This also supports exceptions reporting based on a set of predefined parameters to enable areas requiring improvement to be identified and corrective actions to be highlighted where required. This aims to ensure that information reported enables decisions and action at the most appropriate level and management focus remains on the right issues systematically. • Quality assurance arrangements that assess compliance with the Project Management Framework. • Work by the Audit and Scrutiny Panel to provide independent strategic oversight and assurance in terms of the delivery of major programmes and projects and compliance with the Project Management Framework. • Corporate Management Team oversight and monitoring of (a) the Programme of Work, and its supporting programmes, projects, strategies, policies, and plans (and strategic inter-connections therein) in so far as they relate to delivery of The Plan for North Lanarkshire, and (b) the performance of the council and individual service groupings to ensure effective use of resources, continuous improvement, and ongoing delivery of The Plan for North Lanarkshire. • Development of a suite of performance indicators, aligned to the Strategic Performance Framework, to demonstrate progress in delivering the Programme of Work and achieving the vision set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire. Next steps 2.7 Delivery of the Programme of Work to 2028 will continue to be monitored throughout its lifespan through the supporting Single Integrated One Council Delivery Plan and the established governance arrangements set out above. The role of the Policy and Strategy Committee is key to ensuring the continuing commitment to delivering The Plan for North Lanarkshire through the Programme of Work and ensuring strategic oversight in terms of its ongoing development, co-ordination, and monitoring. As such, the next steps include the following. • The annual review process will continue to support the Programme of Work to 2028. This will ensure the council continues to (a) be able to adapt the Delivery Plan to changing circumstances, (b) absorb the impact of major unpredictable situations in order to keep plans relevant and the timescales therein realistic, and (c) assess incremental changes and impacts arising from updates to the results for the 28 Health Check Indicators. • The three related reports (i.e. that look back at the achievements to date, that review the current North Lanarkshire context, and that look forward at future plans) will continue to be developed and presented to the Policy and Strategy Committee in cycle 1 each year. • Six monthly reporting arrangements will enable the Policy and Strategy Committee to maintain their strategic oversight role of the overall Programme of Work to 2028 in relation to “development, co-ordination, and monitoring of The Plan for North Lanarkshire” and to keep under review such “programmes as the Committee considers necessary to achieve the council’s long-term aims and objectives”. Page 108 of 326
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2.8 To encourage largescale engagement, work is underway to develop a series of roadshows with Elected Members, employees, communities, and partners in the spring of 2024. The roadshows will set out the journey of The Plan for North Lanarkshire to date, as well as key successes achieved, and the next steps required to truly turn The Plan’s place-based ambition into a reality. Such an extensive programme of engagement will aim to maintain the clear direction and long-term vision that The Plan for North Lanarkshire provides and ensure that everyone involved in delivering the Programme of Work to 2028 are clear about how they contribute and what its benefits should be. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Measures of success will be evidenced through progress being made to deliver the Programme of Work and ensure the council’s portfolio of programmes, projects, plans, and activities impact positively on the North Lanarkshire context (evidenced through the 28 Health Check Indicators) and thereby achieve the long-term vision of inclusive growth and prosperity for all (as set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire). 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1: Summary of what the seven Programme of Work priorities aim to achieve (as approved at Policy and Strategy Committee in March 2023). Appendix 2: Strategic timeline overview of the key milestones in delivering The Plan for North Lanarkshire. Appendix 3: Single Integrated Council Wide Delivery Plan for the Programme of Work to 2028. Des Murray Chief Executive 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? While there is no impact arising from the recommendations in this report, future reports produced by Chief Officers in relation to the delivery of the Programme of Work will be required to reflect any impacts in this respect. 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 ☐ Page 109 of 326
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If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? While there is no impact arising from the recommendations in this report, future reports produced by Chief Officers in relation to the delivery of the Programme of Work will be required to reflect any impacts in this respect. 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? While there is no impact arising from the recommendations in this report, future reports produced by Chief Officers in relation to the delivery of the Programme of Work will be required to reflect any impacts in this respect. 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? While there is no impact arising from the recommendations in this report, future reports produced by Chief Officers in relation to the delivery of the Programme of Work will be required to reflect any impacts in this respect. 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? While there is no impact arising from the recommendations in this report, future reports produced by Chief Officers in relation to the delivery of the Programme of Work will be required to reflect any impacts in this respect. 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? While there is no impact arising from the recommendations in this report, future reports produced by Chief Officers in relation to the delivery of the Programme of Work will be required to reflect any impacts in this respect. 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 Page 110 of 326
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environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? While there is no impact arising from the recommendations in this report, future reports produced by Chief Officers in relation to the delivery of the Programme of Work will be required to reflect any impacts in this respect. 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? While there is no impact arising from the recommendations in this report, future reports produced by Chief Officers in relation to the delivery of the Programme of Work will be required to reflect any impacts in this respect. 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? Work to establish a Single Integrated One Council Delivery Plan (and supporting governance arrangements) for the Programme of Work contributes towards mitigating the risks on the Corporate Risk Register for (a) managing strategic change and (b) governance, leadership, and decision making. While there are no further impacts arising from the recommendations in this report, future reports produced by Chief Officers in relation to the delivery of the Programme of Work will be required to reflect any impacts in this respect. 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. While there is no impact arising from the recommendations in this report, future reports produced by Chief Officers in relation to the delivery of the Programme of Work will be required to reflect any impacts in this respect. 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). While there is no impact arising from the recommendations in this report, future reports produced by Chief Officers in relation to the delivery of the Programme of Work will be required to reflect any impacts in this respect. If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 111 of 326
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Appendix 1 Programme of Work priorities to 2028 Page 112 of 326
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2018 - 2019 STRATEGIC TIMELINE OVERVIEW OF KEY MILESTONES IN THE PLAN FOR NORTH LANARKSHIRE LOOKING BACK LOOKING FORWARD £1.3bn of capital investment in improving the physical environment of North Lanarkshire’s communities and supporting economic regeneration £tbc 5-year capital investment programme approved for 2024/25 to 2028/29 2020 - 2021 2022 - 2023 2024 - 2025 2026 - 2027 2028 - 2029 2030 - 2031 ACTIVE TRAVEL STRATEGY To accelerate networks across the region 2021 EIGHT TOWN CENTRE VISIONS APPROVED 2021 63 NEW ESTABLISHMENTS (11 secondary, 36 primary and 16 family learning centres (incl 1140 hours related centres) BUILT SINCE 1996 20 TOWN CENTRE PROPERTIES / SITESPURCHASED AND IN DEVELOPMENT 2024 8 ADDITIONAL SUPPORT NEEDS PROJECTS IN PROGRESS 2024 FIRST INTERACTIVE POD IN A PUBLIC LIBRARY FEB 24 5 KEY BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY PROJECTS inc Braidhurst Industrial Estate 2024-2028 COMMENCE PHASE 2 TOWER PROGRAMME DEMOLITIONS 2025-2026 NEW LOCAL TRANSPORT STRATEGY MAY 25 ORBISTON COMMUNITY HUB MAR 26 GARTCOSH COMMUNITY HUB MAR 26 CHRYSTON HIGH EXTENSION & 3RD SECTOR EARLY YEARS Northern Corridor MAR 27 CUMBERNAULD TOWN CENTRE PHASE 1 DEMOLITION Estimated Start date 2027-2028 + 5 KM OF ACTIVE TRAVEL NETWORKS 2028 BEGIN + 1,354 NEW SUPPLY HOMES 2028-2035 EAST AIRDRIE LINK ROAD SEP 30 RAVENSCRAIG ACCESS INFRASTRUCTURE APR 31 NEW INDUSTRIAL ESTATE Orbiston Street, Motherwell 2021 10-YEAR MASTERPLANS Approved for Country Parks for the Future 2019 58 DEVELOPMENTS Town centre /edge of town buildings and vacant sites repurposed and redeveloped 2018 -2023 GLENBOIG LINK ROAD 2018 FIRST 5G IMMERSIVE CLASSROOM IN SCOTLAND 2021 £74M CAPITAL HOUSING INVESTMENT PROGRAMME2024-2025 EUROCENTRAL ACTIVE TRAVEL LINKS MAR 27 ST STEPHEN’S COMMUNITY HUB MAR 27 NEW LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2028 CUMBERNAULD TOWN CENTRE PHASE 2 DEMOLITION Estimated 2031-2033 COMPLETE DEMOLITION OF ALL TOWERSIN PHASE 2 Estimated 2031-2033 ST KEVIN’S COMMUNITY HUB MAR 26 NEW ORCHARDFARM ROUNDABOUT JAN 26 TOWN ACTION PLANS Kilsyth, Coatbridge, Bellshill, Shotts 2024 + 15.4KM OF ACTIVE TRAVEL NETWORKS JUN 24 COMPLETE PHASE 1 TOWER PROGRAMME 2025-2026 + 21.8KM OF ACTIVE TRAVEL NETWORKS MARCH 25 NEW OPEN SPACE STRATEGY 2025 NEW LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN JUL 22 THE PLAN FOR NORTH LANARKSHIRE ESTABLISHED RE-PURPOSED 200 PROPERTIES SUPPORTING UKRAINE RESETTLEMENT 2023 11 LOW CARBON AFFORDABLE HOMES BUILT2023 MOTHERWELL STATION INTERCHANGE WORKS2023 7.7KMS OF VACANTLAND IMPROVED FOR INDUSTRIAL USE 2023 1,231 PROPERTIES DEMOLISHED of 1,750 Phase 1 Tower programme 2023 TOWN ACTION PLANS Airdrie, Motherwell, Wishaw 2023 NEWMAINS + ST BRIGID’S HUB FEB 23 CUMBERNAULD TOWN CENTRE PURCHASE JUN 23 RIVERBANK COMMUNITY HUB AUG 23 PHASE 2 TOWERPROGRAMME APPROVEDAUG 23 1,000TH NEW BUILD COUNCIL HOME AUG 23 BEGIN + 2,000 NEW SUPPLY HOMES2023 CHRYSTON COMMUNITY HUB OCT 23 340KMS ULTRAFAST FULL FIBRE NETWORK 2023 Page 113 of 326
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Single Integrated one council Delivery Plan for the Programme of Work to 2028 Appendix 3 Page 114 of 326
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Programme of Work: Transforming Places Senior Responsible Officer (SRO): Pamela Humphries (Depute SRO: James McKinstry) Deliverable: Complete 6 new build Town and Community Hubs, a £35m extension to Chryston High, and up to 18 schools / buildings extended or upgraded to Hubs by 2028 (and progress design development of a further 3 for delivery post 2028) to support the council’s asset rationalisation and maximise the efficiency of the asset portfolio in transitioning to a new operating model that will lead to more positive outcomes for children, communities, and the economy across North Lanarkshire. Town and community hubs Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Complete St Kevin's Community Hub in Coatbridge Education, Children, and Families Committee Cycle 4 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Stage 2 detailed design pricing and planning - target submission to NLC Financial close / DBDA contract agreement Construction notional start Hub operational 2025/26 Complete Orbiston Community Hub in Bellshill Stage 2 detailed design pricing and planning - target submission to NLC Financial close / DBDA contract agreement Construction notional start Hub operational 2025/26 Complete St Stephens Community Hub in Coatbridge Stage 1 pre-planning and affordability - target submission date to NLC Stage 2 detailed design pricing and planning - target submission to NLC Financial close / DBDA contract agreement Construction notional start Hub operational 2026/27 Complete Chryston High extension and 3rd sector early years creation in the Northern Corridor Stage 1 pre-planning and affordability - target submission date to NLC Stage 2 detailed design pricing and planning - target submission to NLC Financial close / DBDA contract agreement Construction notional start Extension completed 2026/27 Complete Gartcosh Community Hub in the Northern Corridor Stage 1 pre-planning and affordability - target submission date to NLC Page 115 of 326
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Stage 2 detailed design pricing and planning - target submission to NLC Financial close / DBDA contract agreement Construction notional start Hub operational 2025/26 Deliverable: Deliver 2,000 new council homes between 2023 and 2028 and a further 1,354 by 2035 to help meet housing need and support town centre and community regeneration. Note, the wording on this deliverable was amended to reflect updated targets in this respect. The deliverable previously read: “Deliver 1,680 new council homes between 2023 and 2028 and a further 1,826 by 2035 to help meet housing need and support town centre and community regeneration”. New supply programme Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Deliver 1,200 new build homes, including 250 in town centres and 380 as part of the re-provisioning programme. Housing Committee Cycle 4 of 2023 Cycle 4 of 2024 Deliver off the shelf acquisitions of 300 new build properties. Deliver open market purchases of 500 properties. Deliverable: Review and update the New Supply Programme delivery plan to identify potential opportunities to accelerate / enhance the programme and explore alternative tenure options to support economic and population growth. New supply programme Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Complete review to identify potential opportunities to accelerate / enhance programme and explore alternative tenure options to support economic and population growth. Housing Committee Cycle 4 of 2023 Cycle 4 of 2024 Deliverable: Develop a new Local Development Plan to support and facilitate future development in the right locations to help attract investment in new homes and businesses and support sustainable communities and employment. Local Development Plan Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Complete evidence report and obtain formal approval from Scottish Ministers. Planning Committee Cycle 4 of 2023 Cycle 4 of 2024 Produce and publish Draft Plan for consultation. Consult on Draft Plan. Examination of Proposed Plan by Scottish Ministers. Adoption of Plan by the council and publication. Monitoring and delivery. Deliverable: Complete an Open Space Audit and develop an Open Space Strategy, including sports pitch strategy, to help ensure local communities have access to good quality, well maintained open space to meet their needs. Open Space Strategy Page 116 of 326
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Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Complete open space audit. Policy and Strategy Committee Cycle 1 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Draft Open Space Strategy. Carry out partner and community engagement on draft Open Space Strategy (12 weeks). Finalise the Open Space Strategy for approval at committee in cycle 4 of 2024. Deliverable: Develop a Local Transport Strategy to help prioritise available investment to ensure communities can access employment, education and leisure opportunities, support inclusive economic growth and contribute to reducing carbon emissions. Local Transport Strategy Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Undertake strategy development and approval. Environment and Climate Change Committee No previous report Cycle 2 of 2025 Carry out public and stakeholder consultation, phase 1. Draft the strategy document. Carry out public and stakeholder consultation, phase 2. Finalise strategy for approval at committee in cycle 2 of 2025. Deliverable: Create 50 kms of active travel routes by 2028 to help establish a network of safe, accessible walking / wheeling / cycling routes to help people access employment, education, and leisure opportunities, improve health and well-being, and reduce carbon emissions. Active travel Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Deliver design and construction project in respect of Motherwell Station active travel - over a number of phases (subject to approvals and external funding) - approx 5 kms of active travel route (delivered by the City Deal team). Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 3 of 2024 Delivery construction project in respect of Carnbroe Community Hub active travel improvements (approx 1.7 kms). Deliver construction project in respect of Meadowhead Road in Wishaw active travel and road safety improvements (approx 0.7 kms). Deliver construction project in respect of Glasgow Road in Craigneuk active travel improvements (approx. 1.9 kms). Deliver design project in respect of Airbles Road active travel improvements - feasibility and concept design. Deliver design project in respect of Orbiston Community Hub active travel Improvements (approx 1.3 kms). Page 117 of 326
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Deliver design project in respect of North and South Lanarkshire cross boundary active travel improvements (approx 4.8 kms). Deliver design project in respect of Strategic Network route 7 (approx 15 kms). Deliver design project in respect of Strategic Network route 9 ( approx 6.8 kms). Deliver design project in respect of Croy Station active travel improvements phase 1 ( approx 0.5 kms). Incorporate active travel as a key priority when planning investment in the council's current and future estate, including hub programme, to strengthen and improve connectivity and uptake of walking and cycling. Establish bespoke active travel hubs at identified community hubs or other service delivery areas. Deliverable: Deliver the City Deal programme to improve connectivity and help support inclusive economic growth. City Deal Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Ravenscraig Access Infrastructure (RAI) April 2023 to April 2031 Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Cycle 4 of 2023 Cycle 1 of 2024 RAI Full Business Case 2 Motherwell to Ravenscraig submission to Glasgow City Region Cabinet. RAI Motherwell to Ravenscraig works (phased delivery). RAI Full Business Case 4 Dualling of Airbles Road submission to Glasgow City Region Cabinet. RAI Dualling of Airbles Road works. ( February 2028 to March 2029) RAI Full Business Case 3 Dualing of A723 submission to Glasgow City Region Cabinet. (December 2028 to February 2029) RAI North - Dualling of A723 works. (April 2029 to April 2031) East Airdrie Link Road (EALR) September 2028 to September 2030 Submission and approval of EALR Outline Business Case to Glasgow City Region Cabinet. Stage 3 preliminary design and planning application - services contract. Submission and approval of EALR Full Business Case to Glasgow City Region Cabinet. Detailed design and construction phasing. EALR works - link road delivery. (September 2027 to September 2030) Orchardfarm Roundabout September 2024 to January 2026. Submission and approval of Full Business Case to Glasgow City Region Cabinet. Orchardfarm Roundabout - works delivered by third party - NLC overview role. Eurocentral strategic Active Travel links April 2025 to March 2027 Page 118 of 326
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Eurocentral strategic active travel links Full Business Case (phase 1 and 2). Eurocentral strategic active travel links Phase 1 and 2 works. Eurocentral strategic Active Travel links Full Business Case 2 (phase 3) submission to the Glasgow City Region Cabinet. Eurocentral strategic active travel links Phase 3 works. Deliverable: Develop Business and Industry Strategy including review of available sites, and progress a minimum of 5 projects to remediate, develop, or improve sites to help create new employment opportunities. Note, the wording on this deliverable was amended to take into account likely available resources / reductions in the Vacant and Derelict Loan Fund. The deliverables previously read: “Develop a Business and Industry Strategy by 2024/25 including review of available sites, and progress 7 projects to remediate, develop or improve sites to help create new employment opportunities.” Business and industry Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Undertake strategic review of industrial space and sites allocated for business and industry within the Local Development Plan. Enterprise and Fair Work Committee No previous report See Note 6. Develop and launch Business and Industry Strategy and action plan. No previous report Cycle 1 of 2025 Deliver (in conjunction with Fusion Assets and subject to available funding) minimum of 5 key projects (including Braidhurst Industrial Estate) to develop / improve business and industrial sites and create employment opportunities. Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 3 of 2024 Deliverable: Develop Town Action Plans for each town centre in line with the agreed Town Visions (completing 3 town action plans in 2023/24 and 4 in 2024/25) and progress delivery to help create sustainable mixed-use centres that will attract investment in new employment and housing opportunities. Town centres Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Finalise Town Action Plans for Bellshill, Kilsyth, and Shotts. Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Cycle 4 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Complete annual review of Town Action Plans. Establish a Town Board and develop the long-term plan for Coatbridge, aligned to the Town Vision, to secure and draw down the first tranche of the £20 million allocated to Coatbridge over the next 10 years from the UK Government's Town Fund. Deliverable: Develop Delivery Plan for Cumbernauld Town Centre regeneration in 2023/24 and progress redevelopment plans and demolition of the Centre Cumbernauld (with demolition commencing in 2027/28). Town centres Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Procure new management contracts. Page 119 of 326
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Progress development of proposals for the phased redevelopment of the town centre, including traffic / transportation assessments. Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 4 of 2024 Undertake public consultation on draft proposals. Undertake phase 1 demolition (the most recently developed part of the shopping centre at Teviot Walk / Teviot Square. (2027/28 to 2029/30) Undertake phase 2 demolition of The Centre Cumbernauld (the older part of the town centre on both the north and south side of Central Way, around Tweed Walk and Tay Walk). (2031/32 to 2032/33) Deliverable: Complete phase 1 Tower re-provisioning programme of 1,750 flats by 2025/26, and progress phase 2 comprising 964 flats. Towers strategy Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Undertake demolition at Coursington, Allan, and Draffen. Housing Committee Cycle 4 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Undertake demolition at Gowkthrapple Low Rise. Undertake demolition at Allershaw Tower (tower demolition dates dependant on new supply delivering the property for decant). Undertake demolition at Jackson Court. Undertake demolition at High Coats Tower (tower brought back into operation to support Ukraine resettlement programme; dates for demolition will be agreed once plan adopted for tenants currently located in this tower). Undertake demolition at Birkshaw Tower (tower brought back into operation to support Ukraine resettlement programme; dates for demolition will be agreed once plan adopted for tenants currently located in this tower). Undertake demolition of all towers in phase 2 programme (subject to change as running order and speed of vacant properties becoming available). (June 2026 to November 2030) Deliverable: Invest in cultural and heritage assets, including Summerlee and Rediscovering Airdrie heritage initiative, to increase community pride and awareness of local heritage and make North Lanarkshire an attractive visitor destination. Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Re-discover Airdrie (development phase - will need updated subject to full funding for second phase) Communities Committee No previous report Cycle 4 of 2024 Undertake series of engagement exercises with local schools, community groups, Community Boards, and North Lanarkshire based arts network. Develop and deliver focussed events to highlight the project and its ambitions. Develop a plan of physical interventions aimed at restoring and repurposing heritage assets and improving the townscape. Page 120 of 326
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Celebrate Summerlee (development phase - will need updated subject to full funding for second phase) Communities Committee No previous report Cycle 4 of 2024 Undertake series of engagement exercises with local schools, community groups, Community Boards, and North Lanarkshire based arts network. Work with a range of groups to gather stories and objects by working with new communities and other marginalised groups such as those living in poverty, LBGTQ+, women, and children. Develop and deliver focussed events to highlight the project and its ambitions. Develop plans for capital interventions, largely focusing on the extension of the current miners’ row to establish a new miners’ village and welfare hall. Increase community pride through cultural heritage development Communities Committee No previous report Cycle 4 of 2024 Continue to work with local community groups to support a range of initiatives to celebrate local history. Programme of Work: Invest in North Lanarkshire Senior Responsible Officer (SRO): Pamela Humphries (Depute SRO: James McKinstry) Deliverable: Establish a small multi-disciplinary team, comprising planning, roads, estates, enterprise, protective services, building standards, and legal, to deliver a Pilot project to provide an enhanced and co-ordinated advisory service to developers and prospective investors to help improve / streamline the statutory consent process and maximise potential economic benefits. Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Complete pilot project and undertake evaluation and feedback to inform the next steps. See Note 6. Deliverable: Based on learning from the Pilot and wider market engagement, review and develop proposals for an effective future operating model to make best use of available resources, including charging for the enhanced Pre App service, and streamlining the process for obtaining statutory consents. Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Complete stakeholder engagement and review of good practice from elsewhere. Policy and Strategy Committee No previous report Cycle 1 2025 Develop proposed future operating model including proposed fees and performance measures, and progress any necessary approvals for changes to staff structures. Complete review of end-to-end process for statutory consents and amend processes, procedures, and guidance to improve efficiency and streamline the consent process. Page 121 of 326
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Deliverable: Develop a Gate Check process for all major council investment projects, where statutory consents required, to ensure projects get the necessary input from relevant services at an early stage and avoid potential increased costs and/or delays at a later stage. Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Complete gate check process in consultation with relevant internal stakeholders and incorporate within project management guidance and relevant project approval processes. See Note 6. Deliverable: Support delivery of allocated sites within the Local Development Plan through development of effective delivery plans. Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Incorporate this activity within the future operating model considerations for the Invest in North Lanarkshire team. Planning Committee No previous report Cycle 4 2024 Deliverable: Co-ordinate development of masterplans / development briefs and appraisal process for major council owned development sites. Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Incorporate this activity within the future operating model considerations for the Invest in North Lanarkshire team. See Note 6. Deliverable: Review and develop process for the co-ordination of inward investment / business growth enquiries, including development of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Develop and implement new CRM system to record and better co-ordinate business engagement and growth enquiries and measure outcomes. Enterprise and Fair Work Committee No previous report Cycle 3 2024 Programme of Work: Sustainable Futures Senior Responsible Officer (SRO): James McKinstry (Depute SRO: Lyall Rennie) Deliverable: Develop a route map to net zero to provide an outline strategy as to how the council will move to net zero (including outline costs, timeframe, and review periods). Energy efficiency and generation Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Page 122 of 326
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Develop a pathway that will outline how the council could achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions, including development of a climate action team, consideration of the appointment of a net zero partner, establishing baseline data, and reviewing and developing intelligence and information in relation to this area. Environment and Climate Change Committee No previous report Cycle 1 of 2025 Deliverable: Undertake research with a potential energy partner to explore renewable energy and hydrogen generation projects as commercial opportunities in North Lanarkshire. This will include examining the business case for the delivery of larger scale energy generation / hydrogen production and the delivery of smaller energy projects, including the introduction of solar farms on closed landfill sites and energy storage options adjacent to electrical sub-stations. Energy efficiency and generation Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Establish and implement solar meadows at Auchinlea and Dalmacoulter closed landfill sites and work with the energy providers to agree the next steps. Environment and Climate Change Committee Cycle 4 of 2022 Cycle 4 of 2024 Undertake an energy feasibility study considering options for the council to generate / produce its own energy. No previous report Cycle 3 of 2025 Deliverable: Improve asset sustainability through the development of the Live Labs 2 project to deliver more sustainable road surfacing, deliver a social enterprise pilot for environmental services, and increase recycling facilities across the area. Energy efficiency and generation Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Upgrade and improve communal recycling points / nodes to improve customer service, decrease contamination, and increase waste recycling. Environment and Climate Change Committee Cycle 4 of 2023 Cycle 4 of 2024 Implement upgrades to the council's recycling centres to enable the acceptance of tipper vehicles and meet statutory obligations in terms of the persistent organic pollutants legislation. Cycle 4 of 2023 Cycle 4 of 2024 Identify new material innovations used within road construction that use less carbon (i.e. Live Labs 2 decarbonisation of roads) and develop a review process that is supported and used by the industry. Cycle 1 of 2023 Cycle 3 of 2024 Consider and propose alternative delivery options for front line services in conjunction with community organisations and community empowerment requirements to help communities do things for themselves. Environment and Climate Change Committee No previous report Cycle 4 of 2026 Deliverable: Explore green energy funding options which will assist in the move towards net zero, for both council assets and businesses within North Lanarkshire. Energy efficiency and generation Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Launch a net zero Business Challenge Fund which enables small to medium sized enterprises to bid for up to £15,000 funding in order to reduce emissions and make their operations more sustainable. Enterprise and Fair Work No previous report Cycle 1 of 2024 Page 123 of 326
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Deliverable: Deliver low carbon North Lanarkshire assets through the delivery of Local Heat and Energy Efficient Strategy (LHEES), Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH), decarbonisation of the council transport fleet, introduction of electrical vehicle charging infrastructure across North Lanarkshire, and introduction of a waste transfer station and material recovery facility. Energy efficiency and generation Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Develop and publish a North Lanarkshire Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy (LHEES) and Delivery Plan in order to meet the council's statutory duties. Environment and Climate Change Committee Cycle 4 of 2023 (Policy and Strategy Committee) Cycle 1 of 2025 Deliver the net zero led transformation of the visitor gateway at Strathclyde Park through innovative renewables led transformation of the current 1970s Watersports Centre building into a low/no carbon health and education hub. Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 3 of 2024 Develop and deliver energy efficiency projects within the council's non-domestic buildings via the non-domestic Energy Efficiency Framework. Cycle 1 of 2023 Cycle 1 of 2024 Implement a vehicle replacement programme to assist the council in meeting its low or zero emission targets and consider potential alternative fuel options. Cycle 4 of 2022 Cycle 4 of 2024 Review and assess the Glasgow City Region electric vehicle charging infrastructure proposal in order to establish the best approach for the council (including delivery of the Eco Hub at the Bellshill depot). Cycle 4 of 2022 Cycle 4 of 2024 Appoint a contractor to extend, operate, and maintain the council's electric vehicle charging infrastructure, in partnership with the Glasgow City Region authorities. Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 3 of 2024 Investigate suitable sites to implement waste streams for the council (before onward processing) along with a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) in order to improve efficiency of the service, reduce contamination, increase waste recycling, and reduce costs. Cycle 4 of 2023 Cycle 4 of 2024 Ensure adequate charging infrastructure in place at depots, offices, and hubs to accommodate the transition to zero emissions. Cycle 4 of 2022 Cycle 4 of 2024 Develop and implement a plan to ensure that all council owned houses achieve a minimum Energy Performance Certificate rating of D by December 2025. Housing Committee Cycle 4 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Develop and implement a plan to ensure that all council owned houses achieve Energy Performance Certificate rating of B, or to be as energy efficient as possible, by December 2032. Cycle 4 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Develop and implement a plan to ensure that all council owned houses have works carried out to support the council's plan to achieve net zero status by 2045 including the decarbonisation of all heating (e.g. replacement of gas heating with a net zero system). Cycle 4 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Implement the Energy Audit Voucher scheme (maximum grant value of £2,500) to enable small and medium-sized enterprises to reduce their energy bills or improve how they use their energy. Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Cycle 4 of 2022 See Note 6. Page 124 of 326
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Implement the expert help scheme which provides small and medium-sized enterprises with up to five days of fully funded specialist business advice on energy efficiency and net zero topics. Cycle 3 of 2022 See Note 6. Deliverable: Prepare a Climate Adaptation Plan (and budget) to mitigate climate change which will include nature-based restoration, biodiversity enhancements, flood reduction, community empowerment, better asset design, and effective water management measures to ensure North Lanarkshire's residents and the council's investments are properly protected for future generations. Climate adaptation Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Prepare and deliver a resourced Climate Adaptation Plan, including biodiversity enhancements, in order to enhance the council's resilience to the current and future changes in the climate and respond to the ecological crisis. Environment and Climate Change Committee No previous report Cycle 1 of 2025 Deliverable: Develop nature-based adaptations which will centre around the Country Parks for the Future programme and the Clyde Climate Forest. Climate adaptation Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report As part of the 10-year masterplans, establish and implement a delivery plan to create a shift in the way communities use their parks and greenspace from passive leisure use to active and engaged community involvement, which will deliver improvements in health, wellbeing, and social outcomes. Environment and Climate Change Committee Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 3 of 2024 Develop and implement an annual nature recovery programme, which delivers habitat restoration, freshwater restoration and eradication of invasive non-native species negatively impacting on nature. Cycle 4 of 2023 Cycle 4 of 2024 Participate in the Clyde Climate Forest City Region tree planting project, which aims to increase tree cover in areas most likely to be negatively impacted by climate change and see around 18 million trees being planted in the city region over the next decade, increasing woodland cover in the city region from 17% to 20%. Cycle 4 of 2022 Cycle 3 of 2024 Deliverable: Improve North Lanarkshire's assets to be climate resilient with a focus on flood prevention measures. Climate adaptation Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Develop and implement a tree risk asset management strategy, including establishing the full extent and condition of assets and enable a regime of proactive management. Environment and Climate Change Committee Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 3 of 2024 Develop a burial space strategy to deliver replacement cemeteries and extended cemeteries, in order to meet the council's statutory requirement to provide sufficient burial space and to do so within a reasonable distance of each Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 4 of 2024 Page 125 of 326
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community in order to tackle funeral poverty and enable bereaved families to visit graves regularly and without undue cost. Deliver a new cemetery at Pather Farm in Wishaw, and additional capacity at existing Coltswood Cemetery in Coatbridge, and develop extension / new cemetery for Coatbridge, with a cemetery extension in New Monkland. Deliver flood risk management and develop plans across the local authority area, in accordance with the Clyde and Loch Lomond Local Flood Risk Management Plan, to enable the council to reduce the risk of flooding and meet its statutory obligations in terms of the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009. No previous report Cycle 3 of 2024 Deliverable: Reduce climate impact inequalities including delivery of the actions within the council's Air Quality Action Plan. Climate adaptation Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Progress the pledges outlined in the council's Air Quality Action Plan, examples of which include an active travel strategy (getting people out of cars and providing a network which will enable people to get about North Lanarkshire and beyond by active means), investigating air quality around schools, improving air travel options to community hubs, and ensuring air quality has greater importance in the council’s procurement and contract processes, in order to fulfil the council’s statutory responsibilities in terms of local air quality management. Environment and Climate Change Committee Cycle 2 of 2023 Cycle 3 in 2028 Deliverable: Engage all stakeholders in climate adaptation decision making and delivery, with a focus on young people. This will be driven through the council's Climate Action Plan which will be reviewed to reflect the works being undertaken across this Programme of Work and others. Climate adaptation Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Engage schools in climate change campaigns (specifically Earth Hour) to increase awareness and involvement. Environment and Climate Change Committee No previous report Cycle 1 of 2025 Co-ordinate and deliver activities to enable North Lanarkshire to maintain its Fairtrade zone status, which was awarded in recognition of the support and awareness the local schools, churches, businesses, and communities have provided in order to increase the uptake of fair-trade products. Cycle 4 of 2023 See Note 6. Provide financial support, via three business grant schemes, to new and existing businesses to help them trade in a more environmental and sustainable way to aid their businesses growth and improve the sustainability of their operations. Cycle 2 of 2023 See Note 6. Page 126 of 326
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Programme of Work: Resilient People Senior Responsible Officer (SRO): Alison Gordon (Depute SRO: Stephen Llewellyn) Deliverable: Develop and deliver integrated offer of early practical, emotional, and financial support aligned to the community hubs to ensure the right support at the right time to individuals and families. Accessible and inclusive family support Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Use Whole Family Wellbeing Funding (WFWF) to procure universal early help service aligned to new operating model. Education, Children, and Families Committee Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 1 of 2024 Engage and work with local families, staff, and providers to implement and embed new commissioned early help service within new operating model and hub roll out. Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Review current offer of family support across all council services and develop proposals for sustainable, flexible, and responsive whole family support within new operating model. Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Build on success of direct payment initiatives to enable workforce to use cash first approach as part of the family support offer to prevent crisis and meet need. Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 4 of 2025 Create economic opportunities for families by developing employment pathways through the universal early help service. Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 4 of 2025 Deliverable: Establish a no wrong door approach to deliver early family support using continuous evaluation and co-production to develop a sustainable and effective model for the future built on the principles of the Promise, GIRFEC (Getting it Right for Every Child), and GIRFE (Getting it Right for Everyone). Note, the wording on this deliverable was amended in order to avoid the wrong message being cascaded through the use of the “single point of contact” terminology, “no wrong door” is a more appropriate way for this to be phrased. The deliverable was also amended to recognise the alignment required to GIRFEC and GIRFE. The deliverable previously read “Introduce a single point of contact to deliver early support in up to 14 community / town hubs in the first phase of the programme, using continuous evaluation and co-production to develop a sustainable and effective model for the future built on the principles of the Promise”. Accessible and inclusive family support Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Engage with families, communities, staff, and providers to create local access to whole family support within new operating model as a core component of community and town hub roll out programme. Education, Children, and Families Committee Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Engage with One Service Programme of Work to pilot the integration of functions within the town and community hub roll out programme to create points of contact that can provide the support or advice families need. Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Ensure a no wrong door approach by embedding developments in whole family support within the GIRFEC (Getting it Right for Every Child) and GIRFE (Getting it Right for Everyone) approaches in order that families receive the right support wherever they ask for it. Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Page 127 of 326
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Develop a communication plan in order that the values, principles, and purpose of whole family support is understood across workforce and communities. Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Introduce a point of contact for families in up to 14 community / town hubs in the first phase of the programme as part of the no wrong door approach. Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Create an all-age carer working group to explore and resolve issues and challenges currently facing carers. Adult Care and Social Work Committee / Health and Social Care Integration Joint Board Cycle 4 of 2022 Cycle 2 of 2024 Identify any gaps in the current carer support offered by the council, via feedback from children, young people, and their families / carers and establish any current improvement activities in these areas, particularly in relation to the transition from children to adult services; use this data to identify opportunities to build on and better connect improvement activity across education, health, and social work. Cycle 4 of 2022 Cycle 2 of 2024 Consult with parent, carers, and families to ensure a specific section relating to parent / carers in the refreshed Local Carers Strategy. Cycle 4 of 2022 Cycle 2 of 2024 Deliverable: Implement GIRFE (Getting it Right for Everyone) approach in adult services to improve pathways to support. Accessible and inclusive family support Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Implement a place based back to basics locality approach that ensures a clear pathway for people that supports empowerment and aligns with whole family support. Adult Care and Social Work Committee / Health and Social Care Integration Joint Board Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Implement a sticky person approach, which is to identify a lead person to assess and engage others to ensure the right response where needed, thus reducing multiple referrals. Implement the plan to strengthen the approach across Health and Social Care services to support the council as a learning organisation which keeps the person at the centre and fits with the principles of Human Learning and GIRFE. Refresh the Engagement and Participation Strategy to support strong voices, and promote independence and connections. Deliverable: Introduce the Signs of Safety in children's services as a transformative approach to strengthening families and addressing risks of harm. Accessible and inclusive family support Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Lead the Signs of Safety cohort / working group established to take forward the implementation plan including oversight of a comprehensive training programme for the council and partners. Education, Children, and Families Committee No previous report Cycle 2 of 2024 Use the Signs of Safety evaluation framework throughout the implementation period in order to measure impact. Cycle 2 of 2024 Page 128 of 326
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Review and update existing procedures and operating models across the council and partners, where appropriate, to incorporate the values, principles, and practice of Signs of Safety and embed the approach. Cycle 2 of 2024 Deliverable: Embed the Close to Home initiative in both adult and children's services to ensure that people benefit from effective support, connections, and opportunities with their own communities. Accessible and inclusive family support Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Use of Whole Family Wellbeing Funding (WFWF) to enhance supports at additional and intensive levels to support and sustain children in kinship care and additional support needs at home. Education, Children, and Families Committee Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Invest in family group decision making and lifelong links to facilitate sustainable and creative solutions that enable children and young people to be cared for in North Lanarkshire. Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Continue to embed and evaluate improvements in integrated approaches to planning for children and adults with complex needs to further reduce the need for placement outwith North Lanarkshire. Education, Children, and Families Committee / Adult Care and Social Work Committee No previous report Cycle 2 of 2024 Deliverable: Implement a comprehensive new Tackling Poverty Strategy (2023-26) as the vehicle to continue to reduce child poverty, address inequalities, and support active citizenship and growth. Tackling poverty and preventing homelessness Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Deliver the Tackling Poverty Strategy Towards a Fairer North Lanarkshire 2023 to 2026. Wellbeing and Tackling Poverty Committee / Policy and Strategy Committee Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 3 of 2024 Deliverable: Evaluate the impact of the 2023-26 Strategy and Action Plan and develop a revised Tackling Poverty Strategy for 2026-29. Tackling poverty and preventing homelessness Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Deliver and review the Tackling Poverty drivers in respect of income from employment, holistic support, reducing the cost of living, income from benefits, and supporting the plan. Wellbeing and Tackling Poverty Committee / Policy and Strategy Committee Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 3 of 2024 Develop Tackling Poverty Strategic Performance Framework measurements. Deliverable: Embed anti-poverty approaches within all service delivery with a particular focus on universal services, strengthening pathways to support from health and education and using Multiply and MACA (money advice and consumer advice) to empower young people and individuals. Tackling poverty and preventing homelessness Page 129 of 326
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Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Deliver a rolling programme of poverty sessions across all council services to raise awareness. Wellbeing and Tackling Poverty Committee Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 3 of 2024 Develop a rolling programme of anti-poverty approaches within all service delivery with a focus on universal services, advice, information and representation, maximising residents’ income, provision of money advice, and maintaining / introducing new referral pathways to all services. Provide financial education in primary, secondary, and additional support needs schools via the MACA (money advice and consumer advice) project. Deliverable: Review and redesign housing support services for people experiencing (or at risk of) homelessness to ensure housing support services align with the new Prevention duties and provide flexible, strength-based support to help people successfully sustain their accommodation and achieve positive wider life outcomes. Tackling poverty and preventing homelessness Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Review the Temporary Accommodation Strategy, including gathering information on other local authority models and examples of best practice, collation and analysis of internal data and an options appraisal, in order to provide support to enable people to successfully sustain their accommodation and achieve positive wider life outcomes. Housing Committee Cycle 4 of 2021 Cycle 1 of 2025 Deliverable: Implement a new crisis response and assertive outreach service in partnership with North Lanarkshire's Alcohol and Drug Partnership to provide immediate assistance to people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness in need of an urgent response (outwith current service provision) to prevent and reduce recurring homelessness and improve access to support and services. Tackling poverty and preventing homelessness Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Develop and implement a plan for the creation of a new crisis response and assertive outreach service, in partnership with North Lanarkshire's Alcohol and Drug Partnership and appointed service provider, to provide support and assistance to people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Housing Committee Cycle 4 of 2023 Cycle 4 of 2024 Deliverable: Review the Temporary Accommodation Strategy to identify current and future temporary accommodation requirements, giving key consideration to the implementation of the Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan. Tackling poverty and preventing homelessness Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Page 130 of 326
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Review the Temporary Accommodation Strategy, in conjunction with appointed consultant, to identify current and future temporary accommodation requirements and provide appropriate recommendations for future strategy. Housing Committee Cycle 3 of 2017 Cycle 2 of 2024 Deliverable: To explore innovative ways to extend the reach of the Scottish Welfare Fund to assist people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, recognising the importance of furniture provisions in aiding positive tenancy sustainment outcomes. Tackling poverty and preventing homelessness Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Implement fast track system for community care grants for homeless households in temporary accommodation to enable swifter move into permanent accommodation and free up temporary accommodation. See Note 6. Explore criteria and options for furniture fund expansion to key target groups. Establish short-life working group to review procedures and processes to improve access to furniture to support tenancy sustainment. Deliverable: Develop the council's approach to Community Wealth Building and associated implementation plan to strengthen community capacity and wellbeing. Strengthening community capacity and wellbeing Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Develop shared partnership understanding and partnership approach to progressing community wealth building. Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Cycle 2 of 2023 Cycle 3 of 2024 Undertake wider engagement with the community and voluntary sector, local communities, businesses, and Elected Members to inform the approach and ensure understanding and buy in. Finalise a Community Wealth Building Statement and implementation plan, including an appropriate reporting schedule and monitoring arrangements. Deliverable: Embed equalities approaches and actions across all work with communities to maximise the influence, participation, and voice of all North Lanarkshire's citizens in the development of communities and services. Strengthening community capacity and wellbeing Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Work with the North Lanarkshire Community Planning Partnership to publish a Partnership Communication Strategy. Communities Committee Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 3 of 2024 Sign up to and support implementation of the North Lanarkshire Partnership Community Agreement being developed by VANL to strengthen partnerships and approaches to working with the community and voluntary sectors. Cycle 4 of 2022 Cycle 3 of 2024 Review engagement resource / guides available to enable and build capacity across key staff expected to support meaningful and honest dialogue with communities. No previous report Cycle 4 of 2024 Page 131 of 326
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Ensure action at a local level to strengthen representation of equalities groups in local engagement and delivery of Local Outcome Improvement Plan (LOIP) priorities, linked to the council's equalities duties. No previous report Cycle 3 of 2024 Deliverable: Strengthen engagement, participation, and empowerment across communities to develop an integrated service offer that meets the needs of communities. Strengthening community capacity and wellbeing Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Ensure the councils approach to volunteering supports and aligns with delivery of the North Lanarkshire Partnership Volunteering Strategy. Finance and Resources Committee Cycle 2 of 2022 See Note 6. Progress key actions to strengthen the role of the community and voluntary sector in the delivery of services and activities associated with the Local Outcome Improvement Plan (LOIP) priorities. Communities Committee No previous report Cycle 1 of 2024 Identify opportunities to resource community resilience to respond to adversity or emergency situations, building on initial progress. Communities Committee Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 4 of 2024 Strengthen connections between locality community planning and health and social care groups to ensure a focus on delivery of the Local Outcome Improvement Plans (LOIPs). Communities Committee No previous report Cycle 4 of 2024 Engage with communities across the nine Community Board areas to empower them and help to build their capacity in further support of improving the local approach to community ownership and management of assets. Policy and Strategy Committee No previous report Cycle 2 of 2024 Build capacity in communities to support advanced planning for future health and care needs. Adult Care and Social Work Committee / Health and Social Care Integration Joint Board Performance, Finance, and Audit Committee Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Deliverable: Develop a comprehensive local Trauma Plan to ensure that trauma informed practice and systems are embedded within the council's operating model. Strengthening community capacity and wellbeing Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Agree a project brief for creating the framework for North Lanarkshire becoming a trauma-informed organisation. Wellbeing and Tackling Poverty Committee Cycle 2 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Create a trauma steering group of key managers from across council services to oversee the project and develop and implement the trauma plan across the council. Create and embed understanding across council management teams to ensure awareness of the council's commitment to become trauma informed as an organisation. Page 132 of 326
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Identify areas and teams to test trauma informed approaches. Deliverable: Implement the Trauma Plan with a focus on creating the culture and conditions across the council to enable staff to respond in ways which recognise the impacts of trauma, promote recovery, prevent re-traumatisation, and ensure services and effective supports are accessible to / effective for those who need them most. Strengthening community capacity and wellbeing Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Strengthen staff care, support, and wellbeing through the integration of trauma- informed principles within the council's Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy. Wellbeing and Tackling Poverty Committee Cycle 2 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Promote the awareness, confidence, and skills of staff to use the principles of trauma informed practice through the integration of trauma principles in training and development. Ensure children, families, and communities are involved in the design of trauma informed services Positively influence the design and environment of schools, town centres, community hubs, and service delivery locations by embedding the principles of trauma design. Develop a framework for measuring impact of trauma-informed principles for staff and people who use services. Equip managers with the knowledge of principles trauma informed leadership in order to support the workforce respond sensitively and effectively to individuals using council services who are affected by trauma. Deliverable: Identify capacity to increase proportionate spend of prevention to support improved outcomes for children and their families and development of a sustainable service model for the future. Note, the wording on this deliverable was amended as all three previous deliverables resulted in the same or similar delivery requirements so were amalgamated and amended to avoid duplication and ensure clarity. The deliverables previously read: - “Engage with national Promise team in the HECM (Human and Economic Cost Modelling) project to scope spend on key service elements, and to identify capacity to increase proportionate spend on prevention to support improved outcomes for children and their families and the development of a sustainable service model for the future”. - “Undertake a baseline costed analysis of individual journeys through support and services, comparing outcomes and costs of the traditional service approach and the potential within the new operating model to support sustainable service design”. - “Scope and identify current spend on family support and proportion of temporary / base budget funding with a view to maximising potential for budget integration in support of key priorities and to addressing sustainability challenges should temporary funding be withdrawn”. Investing in prevention Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Engage with national Promise team to develop method to analyse Human and Economic Cost (HECM) of family support. Education, Children, and Families Committee Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 3 of 2024 Page 133 of 326
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Create baseline costed analysis of individual journeys through support and services using HECM analysis of families accessing support within current service model. Identify and cost current spend of family support functions across the council, including risks linked to temporarily funded services. Apply HECM to analyse impact of new operating model and compare outcomes and costs of the traditional service approach and the potential within the new operating model to support sustainable service design. Develop costed and sustainable proposals for integrated family support offer delivered through the new operating model that shifts investment from crisis and intensive services to early intervention and prevention. Deliverable: Map and enhance existing cash first and direct payments initiatives through establishment of a supporting framework aligned with family support principles to reduce stigma and empower families and frontline workforce to tailor solutions to need. Investing in prevention Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Provide a cash first approach to food crisis, overcome the barrier identified to the food poverty referral gateway, to investigate and implement uniformed recording measures across emergency food providers and explore how emergency payments are used across the council. Wellbeing and Tackling Poverty Committee No previous report Cycle 4 of 2023 Map all existing cash emergency payments provided by all council services to create a directory for services and to support the direct payment initiatives. Establish a framework via piloting the (food crisis) cash first payment to support the direct payment initiatives to reduce stigma and empower families and frontline workforce to tailor solutions to need. Programme of Work: Brighter Futures Senior Responsible Officer (SRO): Fiona Whittaker (Depute SRO: Gerard McLaughlin) Deliverable: Ensure increased skilled workforce employed in roles which fit industry needs and contribute to greater economic outputs. Note, the wording on this deliverable was amended because this deliverable is more than about just increasing the availability of the workforce, it is about ensuring that the workforce is appropriately skilled to meet the needs and challenging workforce gaps from employers within key industries. The deliverable previously read: “Increase availability of workforce employed in roles which fit industry needs and contribute to greater economic outputs”. NL academies Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Deliver and evaluate NL Academies UK Shared Prosperity Fund) SPF projects (up to end of funding in March 2025). Finance and Resources Committee Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Page 134 of 326
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Integrate summer placements scheme for S4-6 pupils into NL Academy model with external placement opportunities. Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Develop university strategic partnerships linking these to industry need providing pathways towards employment. Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Evaluate next steps to 2028. Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Deliverable: Expand pathways and progression routes within key industry sectors to connect to employment. NL academies Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Establish a plan, via the vocational education multi agency steering group, which will refresh and relaunch the enterprise curriculum, pathways, and certification in order to progress and facilitate growth and expansion of Foundation Apprenticeships, Higher National Certificates, and vocational education in growth job sectors. Education, Children and Families Committee Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Deliverable: Develop employer engagement within each model to ensure full participation and increased work opportunities. NL academies Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Develop a funding model to sustain the NL Academy model working with industry and relevant partners. Finance and Resources Committee Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Commission, commence, and continually support industry led sector boards within each NL Academy area (Built Environment, Health and Social Care, and Digital). Finance and Resources Committee Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Evaluate next steps to 2028. Finance and Resources Committee Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Deliverable: Enhance attraction and advance equalities across key industry sectors. NL academies Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Assess and develop a collaborative apprenticeship approach across each NL Academy area (Built Environment, Health and Social Care, and Digital). Finance and Resources Committee Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Implement and monitor attraction, recruitment, and retention workstreams under each industry led sector board. Finance and Resources Committee Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Evaluate next steps to 2028. Finance and Resources Committee Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Deliverable: Grow full range of school vocational pathways for core sectors, including STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), digital skills, construction, and health and social care. Brighter futures curriculum and pathways Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule Page 135 of 326
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2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Create other vocational pathways to increase wider achievement opportunities which target young people, increase additional opportunities available through Future Fridays and build upon the existing progression pathways available for literacy, numeracy, digital literacy, and computing. Education, Children and Families Committee Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Deliverable: Advance equalities within curriculum pathways 3-18 years. Brighter futures curriculum and pathways Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Develop and implement a plan, via the advancing equalities forum, to advance equalities within curriculum pathways, including the recruitment of job coaches for young people with additional support needs to prepare them for life beyond school and the world of work, and developing the National Certificate curriculum rationale to include equalities and provide training for all Heads of Establishment. Education, Children and Families Committee Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Deliverable: Map, develop, and implement play-based approaches in early years to develop a full play-based learning offer. Brighter futures curriculum and pathways Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Establish a focus group to develop play-based approaches in early years and map the play-based approaches currently available within early years and primary. Education, Children and Families Committee Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Deliverable: Drive the recovery of North Lanarkshire’s labour market to pre-covid levels and report on local labour market. Employability and community learning and development Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Provide updates from local employability partners on local labour market including comparisons with pre covid labour market. Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Cycle 2 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Deliverable: Ensure continued expansion of supported employment programmes, increase opportunities for North Lanarkshire Industries to diversify and integrate these with wider employability support. Employability and community learning and development Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Page 136 of 326
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Develop and implement an Action Plan for North Lanarkshire Industries for 2024- 26. Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Cycle 4 of 2023 See Note 6. Deliverable: Develop and embed the Employer Charter within a broader range of businesses. Employability and community learning and development Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Review delivery of charter and delivery of networking event for employers and evaluate next steps until 2028. Enterprise and Fair Work Committee No previous report Cycle 1 of 2024 Deliverable: Ensure integration of external employability funding with council led programmes via Local Employability Partnership. Employability and community learning and development Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Deliver and evaluate two employability support UKSPF projects (up to end of funding in March 2025) and integrate with Scottish Government funds. Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Cycle 2 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Deliverable: Establish volunteer baseline, covering current activity, training received, and availability for broader opportunities. Volunteering Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Engage with services in the council to understand the use of volunteers, and meet with community groups, Community Boards, and VANL to understand existing demand and potential for growth. Communities Committee Cycle 4 of 2023 Cycle 4 of 2024 Deliverable: Map community partnerships who offer volunteering opportunities and the current offer (baseline). Volunteering Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Develop volunteer role profiles and gather details on opportunities, forthcoming projects / events for signposting to interested volunteers. Communities Committee Cycle 4 of 2023 Cycle 4 of 2024 Deliverable: Implement and maintain a system capable of capturing volunteers, skills, training, and opportunities available. Volunteering Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Develop volunteer management system secured (Rosterfy) and initiatives to support development and recognise contribution, focusing on gaining qualifications which will help with career development (e.g. sports coaching badges). Communities Committee Cycle 4 of 2023 Cycle 4 of 2024 Page 137 of 326
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Deliverable: Implement and maintain a front-end website (one stop shop) for volunteering in North Lanarkshire. Volunteering Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Develop QR codes for the Roserfy volunteer management system to improve accessibility from a range of council venues and service delivery points. Communities Committee Cycle 4 of 2023 Cycle 4 of 2024 Deliverable: Map current entrepreneurship and self-employment provision across North Lanarkshire. Entrepreneurship Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Undertake mapping of all existing entrepreneurship support and activity taking place across North Lanarkshire - provision, geography, and target groups. Enterprise and Fair Work Committee No previous report Cycle 3 of 2024 Review availability and access to finance for entrepreneurs and business start-ups (including the council start-up grant). Cycle 2 of 2023 Cycle 3 of 2024 Evaluate the council's Business Support Funding (including Start-Up Funding). No previous report Cycle 3 of 2024 Evaluate next steps to 2028. No previous report Cycle 3 of 2024 Deliverable: Develop entrepreneurship activities to drive activity where gaps and provision from the mapping exercise have been identified. Entrepreneurship Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Undertake options appraisal on future delivery of Business Gateway services. Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 1 of 2024 Engage with South Lanarkshire Council, HR, and legal services to insource the Lanarkshire Business Gateway services from 1 February 2024. Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 1 of 2024 Deliver, evaluate, and review the Lanarkshire Business Gateway service delivery and wider business support services. Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 3 of 2024 Evaluate next steps to 2028. Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 3 of 2024 Deliverable: Advance equalities and deliver targeted entrepreneurial support to under-represented groups through bespoke interventions. Entrepreneurship Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Deliver tailored business start-up and support programme to Black, Asian, and other Minority Ethnic people and groups (through UKSPF funding). Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Cycle 2 of 2023 Cycle 3 of 2024 Deliver Lanarkshire Women in Business Events Leadership and Mentoring programme (through UKSPF funding). Cycle 2 of 2023 Cycle 3 of 2024 Page 138 of 326
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Undertake delivery of pilot to establish dedicated co-working space for women in Airdrie (through UKSPF funding). Cycle 2 of 2023 Cycle 3 of 2024 Deliver social enterprise support tender (through UKSPF funding) to support creation of 30 new social enterprises. Cycle 2 of 2023 Cycle 3 of 2024 Explore opportunities for alternative inclusive ownership models in North Lanarkshire (linked to community wealth building). Cycle 2 of 2023 Cycle 3 of 2024 Evaluate next steps to 2028. No previous report Cycle 3 of 2024 Deliverable: Expand experiential entrepreneurial activities and pathway programmes within education curriculum. Entrepreneurship Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Deliver enterprise pathway and enterprising schools award model within education (including Commsworld / YES support, Dragons' Lair, Social Enterprise Academy, and Business Gateway community benefits). Education, Children and Families Committee Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Review success of enterprise pathways and enterprising schools award model. Cycle 3 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Evaluate next steps to 2028. No previous report Cycle 2 of 2024 Deliverable: Identify all relevant funding streams and how they fit together. Funding and social value Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Carry out desktop exercise of all funding streams and how they align and integrate. See Note 6. Deliverable: Identify different timescales for funding and any potential gaps and future opportunities. Funding and social value Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Engage with theme leads to identify any potential funding gaps that need to be explored further and consider environmental scanning of funding landscape for future opportunities. See Note 6. Deliverable: Identify community benefits opportunities linked to each theme. Funding and social value Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Engage with Programme of Work leads to discuss / determine community benefits opportunities and how these will link to Brighter Futures. See Note 6. Page 139 of 326
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Programme of Work: Digital North Lanarkshire Senior Responsible Officer (SRO): Katrina Hassell (Depute SRO: Fiona Whittaker) Deliverable: Create a mature and sustainable culture across the organisation to ensure that digitisation of council services provided to the public successfully transition them to achieve the outcomes specified within The Plan for North Lanarkshire. Digital culture, leadership, and knowledge Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Conduct management and technology research to understand current and future state digital culture for the organisation. Finance and Resources Committee No previous report Cycle 4 of 2024 Understand the five steps to change in preparation for digital maturity assessment. Undertake digital maturity assessment with digital culture, leadership, and knowledge activity group. Share Health and Social Care digital maturity data with the digital culture, leadership, and knowledge activity group to inform the council's digital maturity assessment. Consider wider staff survey as a follow-up to the digital skills survey from November 2021 in order to gauge the extent of staff skills and gaps. Deliverable: Develop digital leaders to facilitate behavioural change required to enable service transformation within existing resources. Digital culture, leadership, and knowledge Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Review research and current thinking into digital champions / leaders to understand the skills required for a digital leader in order to build and lead teams, keep people connected and engaged, and drive a culture of innovation, learning, and continuous improvement and review leadership development programmes to incorporate digital capabilities, including cognitive transformation (thinking differently), behavioural transformation (acting differently), and emotional transformation (reacting differently). Finance and Resources Committee No previous report Cycle 4 of 2024 Develop digital leadership core competency guide based on the research results and linked to service requirements. Deliverable: Develop and deploy a self-adapting redesign framework to accelerate digital business transformation of critical council functions. Digital culture, leadership, and knowledge Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Page 140 of 326
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Set up short life change management group to provide expertise, skills, and knowledge of change across the council and North Lanarkshire in order to develop a toolkit to sit beside the project management framework. Finance and Resources Committee No previous report Cycle 3 of 2024 Undertake self-assessment to look at the re-design pieces and feedback reviewed by change management group. Deliverable: Support development of a skilled workforce to foster consistent knowledge, improve digital adoption, and accelerate digital-first business capabilities. Digital culture, leadership, and knowledge Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Invest in upskilling the council's workforce to be more digitally capable by creating and developing a self-assessment tool to allow staff to understand their current level of digital skills and undertake further learning as appropriate. Finance and Resources Committee No previous report Cycle 1 of 2025 Use the enhanced digital skills of the council's workforce to encourage a culture of a digital-first approach (i.e. thinking of a digital solution) when faced with opportunities or challenges to improve the way of work, which will result in efficiency gains and improved customer service. Measure and evaluate impact of whole service / authority transformation change to digitise systems (for example i-trent) to inform future user experience. Deliverable: Ensure a connected / integrated digital experience to facilitate users to transition to efficient digital and hub-based services and become empowered to be self-managing and digitally active. Improved customer experience Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Develop systems and portals to enable residents to engage, report, request, and pay for services. Communities Committee No previous report Cycle 2 of 2024 Implement a chat bot functionality to enable residents to receive automated responses or to chat to an advisor. Finance and Resources Committee No previous report Cycle 1 of 2024 Implement a customer relationship management system to enable staff to route enquiries to the relevant service and encourage cross service working. Communities Committee Cycle 4 of 2022 (Policy and Strategy Committee) Cycle 2 of 2024 Design and develop artificial intelligence capable of generating text, images, or other media (using generative models) to enable the implementation of chatbot functionality. Communities Committee Cycle 2 of 2024 Establish a roadmap to identify the redesign requirement for services to support the transition to the council’s future operating model in hubs. Communities Committee Cycle 3 of 2024 Redesign the council’s purchase to pay system to introduce a standardised approach and enable electronic invoicing. Finance and Resources Committee Cycle 3 of 2024 Deliverable: Implement smart community hubs to improve access to omni-channel, digitally enabled services, and experiences. Improved customer experience Page 141 of 326
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Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Develop model to enable customers to sign up for online services and establish required resourcing to increase engagement and usage of online services. Communities Committee Cycle 1 of 2023 (Policy and Strategy Committee) Cycle 2 of 2025 Review and implement technology solutions to support customers with additional needs to ensure there are no barriers to accessing digital services. No previous report Further develop community use of immersive experience pods which enhance digital experiences within a community and beyond and evaluate the impact on community groups. Cycle 4 of 2022 (Policy and Strategy Committee) Deliverable: Ensure accessible data to improve public reporting and transparency, streamline effort involved in request for information processes, and leverage business development opportunities. Improved customer experience Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Develop a model that opens up access to the council's non-personal / non- commercial data in a way that allows anyone to freely access and use the data to inform decision making with the resulting portal enabling greater transparency and efficiency, and improved used of data. See Note 6. Implement a Centre of Excellence which will standardise procedures, implement clear governance structures, develop and share best practice, demonstrate value through economies of scale and develop skills and knowledge among partners and staff. Finance and Resources Committee Cycle 4 of 2022 (Policy and Strategy Committee) Cycle 1 of 2025 Deliverable: Ensure useful, secure, compliant, and digital first applications are available to support critical but streamlined service delivery. Digital first operations Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Implement a new housing and asset management system to improve data management, monitoring, and service delivery across housing. Housing Committee No previous report Cycle 3 of 2024 Implement a new case management and scheduling systems to meet statutory obligations and to improve service delivery and performance management across social care. Health and Social Care Integration Joint Board Cycle 2 of 2023 Cycle 4 of 2024 Review tools and products currently deployed to support the council’s financial management arrangements, identifying and assessing options for longer-term suitability, as well as opportunities to deploy efficient and effective automation and self-service. Finance and Resources Committee No previous report Cycle 2 of 2025 Page 142 of 326
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Implement a leisure and facilities booking systems, including integration with hub place bookings and introduction of compliant and secure payment facilities that accommodate home and agile working arrangements. Communities Committee - bookings / Policy and Strategy Committee - online payments Cycle 3 of 2023 (Finance and Resources Committee) Cycle 1 of 2024 Review asset management practices across the organisation, including categorising and consolidating system usage. Finance and Resources Committee No previous report Cycle 2 of 2024 Develop a portfolio of existing case management systems across the council and use the results to establish a process and timeline for assessing existing solutions and new requests. See Note 6. Review current telephony systems and implement a new cloud-based Microsoft Teams integrated solution, incorporating virtual voice and digital assistant functionality. Finance and Resources Committee No previous report Cycle 1 of 2024 Develop and implement a strategy for the use of automation and generation artificial intelligence (AI) across the council to define the architectural model of AI use for the council and establish a framework and governance for usage. Policy and Strategy Committee No previous report Cycle 3 of 2024 Create a catalogue of standardised online technology catalogues to enable council service areas to determine digital solutions matching their requirements and enable self-service, where appropriate. See Note 6. Create and integrate a framework that enables the use of spatial mapping solutions (i.e. digital representation of the environment) across the application estate. See Note 6. Deliverable: Facilitate fibre-enabled innovation to maximise the full potential of Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in service delivery. Digital first operations Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Implement the procured Wide Area Network solution and associated technical functionality, such as internet breakout services and continued development and deployment of fibre across North Lanarkshire. Finance and Resources Committee Cycle 4 of 2022 (Policy and Strategy Committee) Cycle 1 of 2024 Deliver and manage a council-wide public Wi-Fi service. Communities Committee Cycle 4 of 2022 (Policy and Strategy Committee) Cycle 1 of 2024 Identify opportunities to use the Internet of Things technology and establish a framework for use, including an adequate governance model. Finance and Resources Committee No previous report Cycle 4 of 2024 Develop and implement a plan to enable internet access for temporary accommodation properties. Housing Committee No previous report Cycle 3 of 2024 Page 143 of 326
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Develop a strategy to provide internet access to residents across North Lanarkshire. Communities Committee No previous report Cycle 4 of 2024 Deliver the Smart Park pilot scheme (using omniled solutions), in order to gather data within the park setting and prepare a business case on whether there are adequate benefits to deploy further. Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Cycle 1 of 2022 (Transformati on and Digitisation Committee) Cycle 4 of 2024 Develop and deliver community access to the immersive pods (sensory spaces which can be utilised to house the latest sensory technology to provide support, in such areas as mental health and employability) across North Lanarkshire. Communities Committee Cycle 3 of 2023 (Finance and Resources Committee) Cycle 3 of 2024 Create a digital infrastructure development toolkit and associated processes which enables third party commercial connectivity providers to deliver services across the council. Planning Committee No previous report Cycle 3 of 2024 Deliverable: Ensure single source of data to provide insights and evidence that support decision making and service planning. Digital first operations Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Create a master data catalogue of all data assets across the council, defining the prime record for each data set/field and supporting data owners to assess quality and data mapping. See Note 6. Develop and implement a method for services to transition from using paper-based storage to a digital solution for retaining appropriate council information. Finance and Resources Committee No previous report Cycle 3 of 2024 Deliverable: Develop an efficient digital and IT cost model to ensure scarce financial resources are aligned to vital enabling technologies. Performance optimisation Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Identify digital and IT spend across the council and develop a model to establish whether this is essential and priority spend. Finance and Resources Committee No previous report in this context Cycle 2 of 2025 Develop and deploy structures and processes that aid the identification and development of operational innovation and that facilitates beneficial service transformation. No previous report in this context Cycle 4 of 2024 Deliverable: Enhance security monitoring to maintain effective access and control over council data as the council delivers the anticipated increase in its digital footprint. Performance optimisation Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule Page 144 of 326
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2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Consider areas in relation to security within the council that can be monitored in terms of service delivery and develop a framework for how performance against these elements could be used to benchmark against the council’s peers. Finance and Resources Committee No previous report in this context Cycle 1 of 2025 Review data assets and solutions delivered by or in conjunction with third party providers and develop a plan to ensure that suppliers are consistently assessed and reported upon to enable operational performance to be effectively managed throughout the duration of any engagement. No previous report Cycle 1 of 2025 Consider the range of cyber security controls, which may be used to manage and secure council data and systems, assess the risk associated with data loss, and create an assessment model to provide meaningful, insightful, and simple representation of the cyber rating of data control. No previous report Cycle 2 of 2025 Programme of Work: One Service Senior Responsible Officer (SRO): Stephen Penman (Depute SRO: Katrina Hassell) Deliverable: Deliver the continued roll out of the Leadership and Operating Model to ensure an effective community leadership approach, working with partners, as the hub approach develops. Leadership and operating model and asset rationalisation Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Deliver phase 2 works for Broadwood Hub in Cumbernauld. Policy and Strategy Committee Cycle 1 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Deliver Kildonan Street redevelopment by exiting Social Work by May 2023. Deliver Calderhead Hub phase 2 operational with options for out of hours access taken forward. Deliver Caldervale Hub in Airdrie. Continue to expand the number of integrated hubs across the existing estate 2024-29 as part of transition to the operating model and to support asset rationalisation. Develop and implement a transition plan for Cumbernauld Hub. See Note 6. Gather a baseline understanding of future service delivery arrangements / requirements as part of phase 2 for the 3-5 year transition to future operating model and to inform the intelligence needed for investment in the current estate as part of capital programme. Cycle 1 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Implement and work to an agreed process to govern and prioritise an organisation review, service redesign, and workforce transition for the future operating model, including completion of service reviews and consolidation into asset portfolio. Page 145 of 326
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Work in partnership with Health and Social Care Partnership around GIRFE (Getting it Right for Everyone) to strengthen early access to supports and services through new ways of working within a community hub model. Develop and implement a proof-of-concept model for early and inclusive family support enabled through the community hub model with a no wrong door approach established across up to 14 community hubs by 2026 (18 by 2028). Operationalise a model for new community hubs to support the transition to future operating model. (February 2023 to February 2033) Deliverable: Align the asset rationalisation strategy with the Leadership and Operating model to ensure coherent phasing and maximise efficiency. Leadership and operating model and asset rationalisation Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Support the redesign of home support services to enable locality integrated teams by December 2024 and a phased approach starting with Bellshill and Motherwell. Policy and Strategy Committee Cycle 1 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Create a One Service operating model within the remaining estate. Policy and Strategy Committee Cycle 1 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Identify technology priorities using the digital framework developed by the operating model team and in line with phased approach for the operating model. Policy and Strategy Committee Cycle 1 of 2023 Cycle 2 of 2024 Implement a corporate telephony solution to support the introduction of a single contact number and secure payment portal for the council. Policy and Strategy Committee No previous report Cycle 4 of 2024 Review the community asset profile across the nine Community Board areas to identify best practice and next steps in order to improve the council’s approach to community ownership and management of assets. Policy and Strategy Committee No previous report Cycle 4 of 2024 Widen the scope of the current Community Asset Transfer policy to include all requests from communities to use, manage, lease, or take ownership of council owned assets. Create a mechanism for agreeing discounted lease and let arrangements for community based organisations where assessment shows clear contribution to the council's ambitions and priorities. Create a refreshed communication plan and identity in relation to corporate community ownership and management of assets to raise awareness of opportunities and ensure a shared understanding of mechanisms and legislation. Review internal processes to identify improvements geared towards shifting the culture of community ownership and management of assets to one of codesign and with communities. Identify the council's approach to customer facing communications around marketing of assets more coherently (all services) linked to corporate booking system. Page 146 of 326
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Deliverable: Further develop workforce plans to ensure appropriate succession planning and alignment to the overall Programme of Work. Workforce Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Support the delivery of all ongoing workforce and structure changes arising from agreed operating model revisions and future savings, along with ongoing service realignments linked to the future operating model and One Service programme of work, and in partnership with services and Trade Union colleagues. Policy and Strategy Committee Cycle 4 of 2023 Cycle 4 of 2024 Continue with organisation and workforce mapping process to identify transition plans (including where and how staff currently work to deliver services and to determine how this will change with the move to a hub-based community delivery model) for future workforce models and structures as these proceed and evolve over the next 3-5 years. Progress actions from 2023/24 service Workforce Plans during 2024/25, with a full refresh of Plans in 2025/26 in order to manage known workforce challenges and risks. Deliverable: Work with other Boards to support delivery of priorities across the Programme of Work. Working with other Boards Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Maintain strategic oversight of the dependencies and interdependencies across the Programme of Work to reduce the risk of delayed projects, friction projects, and duplication of effort. Policy and Strategy Committee No previous report Cycle 4 of 2024 Explore hot spots impacting on the effective delivery of the Programme of Work and through an integrated diagnosis, one council approach, explore solutions for discussion with other boards. Ensure that resources are in the correct place to deliver and make recommendations regarding cross cutting changes enabling more efficient services. Deliverable: Ensure practical implementation of Change Management Framework. Working with other Boards Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Maintain strategic oversight of the council's significant change initiatives to ensure successful delivery and implementation in line with the Change Management toolkit. Policy and Strategy Committee No previous report Cycle 4 of 2024 Maintain oversight of the identification and successful realisation of benefits from such change initiatives. Page 147 of 326
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Maintain oversight of the change management requirements resulting from public sector reform or identified shared services. Develop new ways of engagement both internally and externally to support the changes and upskilling required. Deliverable: Lead engagement with staff, trade unions, and partners about the Programme of Work to ensure understanding and alignment. Working with other Boards Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Develop and implement an approach to ensure ongoing communication and engagement with staff, trade unions, and partners for the Programme of Work as it is delivered to 2028. Policy and Strategy Committee No previous report Cycle 4 of 2024 Deliverable: Explore opportunities for shared services both within the council and with partners, where appropriate, to maximise efficiency. Shared services and public service reform Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Participate in Improvement Service programme of collaboration within the local government sector on procurement. Timescales for these areas of activity are determined by the Improvement Service Policy and Strategy Committee No previous report Cycle 4 of 2024 Participate in Improvement Service analysis of local government's statutory and discretionary services. Participate in Improvement Service development of a Digital To-Be state for Scottish local government. Participate in Improvement Service work in the identification of new digital shared services that could be delivered nationally or regionally. Participate in Improvement Service work to develop examples of active communities / participatory design. Deliverable: Maintain oversight of public service reform developments and ensure co-ordinated response to external decision making which has a bearing on council service delivery. Shared services and public service reform Actions Indicative timescales for delivery Indicative reporting schedule 2023/ 24 2024/ 25 2025/ 26 2026/ 27 2027/ 28 Committee Most recent report Next report Contribute to the full implementation of Crerar for local government project. Timescales for this area of activity are determined by the Improvement Service Policy and Strategy Committee No previous report Cycle 4 of 2024 Contribute to the development of Democracy Matters 2 consultation as part of the Local Governance Review. Page 148 of 326
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Please note: 1. All timescales for delivery noted in this appendix are indicative and quarterly monitoring of the live Delivery Plan by each Programme of Work Strategic Board will ensure that these timescales are kept under review and remain up to date based on the information available as at each review point. A change request process has been instigated to ensure as efficient and meaningful an approach as possible is in place to monitor delivery timescales moving forward. 2. There are many aspects that can impact on the actions to be delivered and the indicative timescales for delivery, e.g. available budgets, whether funding is granted (and when), timescales covering funding allocations, resources, as well as the outcome of feasibility studies, procurements, and contracts to be awarded, etc. In addition, some actions involve work with external bodies, so timescales are not wholly within the control of the council. 3. As the Programme of Work approved at Policy and Strategy Committee in March 2023 was for a five-year period, i.e. 2023 to 2028, the Delivery Plan covers this timescale also. This means that many of the 2023/24 actions have already been undertaken and are complete (with significant achievements in this respect included in the Programme of Work achievements to date report); these items are therefore only included in this Delivery Plan appendix for completeness and/or because they set the scene for subsequent actions. 4. All dates in the next report column in the reporting schedule are indicative as at early February 2024. While these dates reflect current reporting intentions this information is subject to change as each area of work is progressed, developed, and delivered and a decision will be made on whether the reporting Cycle remains practicable as at each quarterly review point. It should be noted that while in many instances each separate action has a reporting Cycle against it, it may be that when it comes to writing a report that it is more meaningful and sensible to provide an update on all of the actions collectively in the one report. This will be determined for each action in advance of each reporting Cycle. It could also be the case that particular actions don’t merit an individual report on their own, or even with their accompanying actions and in these instances a composite Programme of Work may make for a more meaningful report. The change request and monitoring process will ensure as efficient and meaningful an approach as possible to reporting in this respect. 5. Where no previous report is shown in the reporting schedule against an action this simply means that in many cases it is a new piece of work or there has been no previous reports to committee within the context of the new piece of work, or the action may be operational in nature and no formal reporting has been previously required. 6. It is not always appropriate for the next report column to contain a future reporting cycle, reporting for some actions may still have to be determined due to the reliance on various other dependencies across the Programme of Work, or may still have to be established once another area of work has been completed. For some actions it may not be required or applicable for a further report as reporting may be incorporated into the next steps of a wider area of work or an action may already be concluded. 7. Where a reporting Cycle and date is shown for the most recent report column and this is accompanied by the name of a committee, this is only where the previous committee which received the report differs to the committee which the next report will be submitted to. 8. Where indicative delivery dates extend beyond the end of 2027/28, this information is noted within the action column. Page 149 of 326
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Policy and Strategy Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref JMcK/MMcB Date 14/03/24 Transforming Places – St Kevins Community Hub Contract Award From James McKinstry, Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) E-mail McBrideMark@northlan.gov.uk Telephone Mark McBride, Property Manager (Estate Development) 07583 094 928 Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to advise Committee of the status of the contract pricing and commercial activities for St Kevins Community Hub and to seek approval to progress to Contract Award for the project. Recommendations It is recommended that the Policy and Strategy Committee: (1) Approve that the Property Manager (Estate Development) will conclude the contract activities to finalise the commercial costs necessary for contract award as described in Section 2 of this report for St Kevins Community Hub. (2) Acknowledge the Design and Build Development Agreements with Hub South West for the design and construction of St Kevins Community Hub as referred to in Section 2 of this report, on terms to be agreed by Chief Officer (Legal and Democratic) and subject to terms representing Best Value. (3) Approve the contract award in accordance with the contents of this report. (4) Acknowledge that regular Town and Community Hub programme updates are presented to the Education, Children and Families Committee. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement (10) Engage with children, young people, parents, carers, and families to help all children and young people reach their full potential Programme of Work Transforming Places Item 8 Page 151 of 326
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1. Background 1.1 St Kevin’s Primary School requires a new build primary school due to significant levels of house building in the Bargeddie area. The existing primary school is currently operating above capacity and this has impacted on both the occupancy and suitability of the existing school and the school roll will continue to increase through further house building, as per the updated local development plan. 1.2 In 2019, the councils Policy and Strategy Committee approved the use of the existing Hub South West Scotland partnership agreement as the ‘preferred’ procurement route for the then Schools and Centres Investment Programme (now referred to as the Town & Community Hub Delivery Programme) where those projects comply with the qualifying criteria set out in the Territory Partnering Agreement and subject to a check against the prevailing regulations to ensure compliance. 1.3 The Hubco model is seen as a strategic long-term approach to the procurement of public sector based infrastructure projects across Scotland. By delivering value for money projects through Hub South West, the development timescales would be met while value for money could be ensured through a tested procurement route by early involvement of a Tier 1 contractor. As signatories to the Territory Partnering Agreement, the council contract with Hub South West and Hub South West contract directly with the successful tenderer. 1.4 The procurement strategy approved in 2019 was an interim procurement strategy and was subsequently reviewed in 2022 following a recommendation from audit. Policy and Strategy Committee in 2022, approved a further procurement strategy which recommended a Contract Strategy was prepared for the projects which had not yet been committed to Hub South West. St Kevin’s Community Hub was already committed to Hub South West at that time. 1.5 A New Project Request was issued by the council to Hub South West in February 2022 to design and deliver the St Kevins Community Hub. Following a competitive tender process, the project was awarded to a team consisting of Kier (Tier 1 Contractor) and Stallan Brand (lead designer). 1.6 St Kevins Community Hub will deliver new learning and teaching facilities for the young people and wider community in the Bargeddie area of Coatbridge. The facilities are designed by use by the primary school age pupils during the day. The Community Hub will create a new St Kevins Primary School and include a Multi-Use Games Area. The facility will also provide staff touchdown zones which will be accessible to council staff and public sector partners who will be able to use this space when working within this locality. 2. Report 2.1 A planning application for the development has been submitted with a decision anticipated in April 2024. The construction contract will not be entered into unless planning consent is granted. 2.2 The Hub Delivery Team are currently reviewing Stage 2 information from Hub South West. This includes design information, market testing analysis and construction programme. The design and technical information is currently being checked for compliance and ongoing clarifications will be concluded by the end of March 2024. There are not anticipated to be any significant derogations or departures from the Authority’s Construction Requirements. Page 152 of 326
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2.3 The tendered work packages were subject to competition. Only minor commercial queries remain as part of the overall Hub South West financial close process. A final contract price will be concluded by the end of March 2024. 2.4 The project is due to start on site in May 2024. 2.5 The current indicative construction contract value, subject to finalisation, is £17.3m. 2.6 The St Kevins Community Hub project has a bespoke suite of community benefits proportionate to the scale of the project written into the Design & Build Development Agreement (DBDA) contract, placing a duty on Hub South West and their Tier 1 contractor Kier to deliver on their community benefit commitments. Regular Town & Community Hub community benefits progress updates are provided to the Education, Children and Families Committee 3. Measures of success 3.1 Delivery of projects in line with the guiding principles linked to this programme of work, which in turn are designed to deliver against the strategic priorities within the Plan for North Lanarkshire. 4. Supporting documentation Nil James McKinstry Chief Officer (Asset and Procurement) Page 153 of 326
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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? Budget available within the Town and Community Hub Programme’s capital budget. 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? Legal and Democratic have been involved in the contractual negotiations to reach Financial Close with Hub South West. 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 154 of 326
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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? Yes, existing technologies will be installed within the facility and there may be a requirement at a later date for the incorporation of any new technologies. 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? Yes, the council’s net zero ambitions have been considered when developing this project. The Authority’s Construction requirements place ambitious energy performance targets on the design team e.g. the community hub is powered by an all electric heating system and generates >10% of its anticipated energy use on site through the use of photovoltaic cells. 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? Details of residual project risks are recorded on project specific risk registers. 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 155 of 326
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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 156 of 326
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Policy and Strategy Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref UKSPF/SD Date 14/03/24 UK Shared Prosperity Fund – Annual Update From Pamela Humpries, Chief Officer (Place) E-mail Weiry@northlan.gov.uk Telephone Yvonne Weir 07508 001238 Executive Summary The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) is a central pillar of the UK Government’s Levelling Up agenda. It will provide £2.6bn of new capital and revenue funding across the UK for local investment up to 31 March 2025. The North Lanarkshire allocation of UKSPF is £13,871,047, providing a mix of capital and revenue funding for projects across the UKSPF’s three investment priorities: communities and place; support for local businesses and people and skills, and an additional allocation for Multiply. Due to delays on the UKSPF programmes being approved by the UK Government, lead authorities were given the opportunity to reprofile expenditure across the 3-year programme and also between the Multiply and People and Skills investment themes. The changes made to the North Lanarkshire investment plan are outlined in section 2 of this report. A UKSPF Project Board, chaired by the Chief Officer (Place) was established in February 2023 to oversee the UKSPF programme implementation and to ensure that the appropriate governance and reporting requirements are met. An Assurance Framework has been developed by the Board, in conjunction with internal audit, to provide guidance for project officers in delivering activities in line with UK Government expectations and to ensure appropriate compliance and verification is in place to monitor and report on the programme to the UK Government as required. The North Lanarkshire UKSPF Programme covers 21 interventions, with a total of 29 individual projects to be delivered over the duration of the programme through to March 2025. At the end of December 2023, it was reported that projects were live across 16 interventions with a further 4 interventions due to come on stream prior to the end of the current financial year. The final intervention is scheduled to start in year 3 of the programme. In line with UK Government requirements, the Council has submitted quarterly reports confirming the level of expenditure and the outputs and outcomes recorded and verified in the previous quarter. The latest report, covering up to 31 December 2023, was submitted to Glasgow City Region on 12 January 2024 and reported a cumulative spend for the UKSPF Programme of £2,348,627. Despite the delays in the start of the UKSPF programme, the council is therefore on track to spend over 80% of the 2-year allocation up to end of March 2024 and to reach full spend by the end of the UKSPF programme in March 2025. Item 9 Page 157 of 326
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1. Background 1.1 The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) is a central pillar of the UK Government’s Levelling Up agenda. It provides £2.6bn of new capital and revenue funding across the UK for local investment up to 31 March 2025. The funding was split over three financial years as follows: £400m for 2022-23, £700m for 2023-24 and ramping up to £1.5bn for 2024-25. All areas of the UK received a conditional allocation of funding based on a funding formula rather than direct competition for the funds. A total of £212m was allocated to Scotland (8.4% of the UK total). 1.2 The UKSPF seeks to support the UK Government’s wider commitment to level up all parts of the UK by delivering on each of the levelling up objectives: • Boost productivity, pay, jobs and living standards by growing the private sector, especially in those places where they are lagging • Spread opportunities and improve public services, especially in those places where they are weakest • Restore a sense of community, local pride and belonging, especially in those places where they have been lost • Empower local leaders and communities, especially in those places lacking local agency 1.3 This report provides an annual update in relation to the North Lanarkshire Investment Plan for the UKSPF which was approved by Enterprise, Growth and Fair Work Committee in August 2022. As reported previously North Lanarkshire’s investment priorities, interventions, outputs and outcomes were submitted as part of the Glasgow City Region (GCR) UKSPF Investment Plan on 1st September 2022 and were subsequently approved by the UK Government on 5th December 2022. The North Lanarkshire allocation of UKSPF is £13,871,047, providing a mix of capital and revenue An integral part of the North Lanarkshire UKPSF investment plan is to deliver a number of challenge funds where community groups and/or local businesses can apply to deliver activities under the appropriate interventions. The Board and the relevant service committees have approved 5 challenge funds specifications to date with 4 already open to applications and the fifth due to come on stream for delivery on 2024/5. The progress of the UKSPF Investment Plan will be gauged against targets across a range of outputs and outcomes which are reported as part of each 6-month report to the UK Government. Progress over this period is summarised in section 3 of the report. Recommendations It is recommended that the Committee: (1) Acknowledges the progress that has been made with delivery of the Shared Prosperity Delivery Plan over the course of 2023/24 and that a cumulative spend for the UKSPF Programme of £2,348,627 has been reported as at end December 2023. 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 Programme of Work All Programmes of Work Page 158 of 326
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funding for projects across the UKSPF’s three investment priorities: communities and place; support for local businesses and people and skills, and an additional allocation for Multiply. 1.4 The update report presented to this Committee in March 2023, noted that an exercise was underway to reprofile the UKSPF allocation from 2022/23 into 2023/24 due to the delay in the plan being formally approved by the UK Government. This exercise was completed with all underspend being approved for carry forward. 1.5 Following approval of governance and delegation arrangements at this committee in March 2023, a UKSPF Project Board, chaired by the Chief Officer (Place) was established in February 2023 to oversee the UKSPF programme implementation and to ensure that the appropriate governance and reporting requirements are met. The Board has delegated authority to approve quarterly reports and changes to UKSPF projects/interventions and to oversee the development and implementation of UKSPF challenge funds. 2. Report 2.1 The original UKPSF budget approved by Committee distributed the 3-year funding programme across the investment themes and Multiply as set out below. Investment Priority UKSPF 2022/23 UKSPF 2023/24 UKSPF 2024/25 TOTAL UKSPF Communities & Place £506,427 £350,000 £2,265,000 £3,121,427 Supporting Local Business £91,541 £746,083 £1,667,738 £2,505,362 People and Skills £739,000 £1,577,854 £3,072,976 £5,389,830 Multiply £695,223 £802,181 £802,181 £2,299,585 NLC Management/Admin 4% £84,675 £144,838 £325,329 £554,842 TOTAL £2,116,866 £3,620,956 £8,133,224 £13,871,046 2.2 Due to the delayed start in delivery of the UKSPF Programmes across the UK, lead authorities were given the opportunity to reprofile the budget for 2022/23 and carry forward underspend into 2023/24. The Council reported spend of £251,197.68 up to 31 March 2023, with 4 projects delivering activity during that period. The balance of UKSPF was carried forward into 2023/24, giving a budget of £5,486,624 for year 2 of the programme. 2.3 A further change in the distribution of funds took place during 2023/24 with regard to the Multiply theme. As can be seen from the table above the original allocation to Multiply differed from the other investment themes in its more even distribution across the 3 years of the UKSPF programme. Given the delay in starting Multiply activities during year 1 and that the majority of spend relates to staffing costs, the UK Government recognised that increasing the spend in year 2 to take account of carry forward was unrealistic. The opportunity was therefore afforded to lead authorities to move projected Multiply underspend to support either planned or new activities under the People and Skills investment theme. The council took advantage of this opportunity Page 159 of 326
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to maximise the overall UKSPF spend and reallocated £526,616 from Multiply into the People and Skills investment theme. The UKSPF Board considered proposals to utilise the underspend and approved allocations to four projects, including additional communications and marketing of Multiply activities at a regional level to generate wider interest and engagement in the programme. 2.4 Additionally, the Glasgow City Region (GCR) Cabinet agreed that a regional proposal to support the Clyde Climate Forest be funded through the UKSPF Programme. The Clyde Climate Forest is a 10-year programme, launched in June 2021, with initial funding from the Woodland Trust and Scottish Forestry. UKSPF funding to the initiative contributes to the core team and will allow it to continue to develop woodland habitat and tree planting across the region as well as lever in additional funds for project activities. A UKSPF allocation, pro rata based on population, has been made from all 8 GCR member authorities. 2.5 As a result of the changes outlined above the revised distribution of UKSPF across the investment themes and the 3-year programme is set out below: Investment Priority UKSPF 2022/23 UKSPF 2023/24 UKSPF 2024/25 TOTAL UKSPF Communities & Place £42,500 £795,427 £2,246,500 £3,084,427 Supporting Local Business £0 £837,624 £1,667,738 £2,505,362 People and Skills £136,000 £2,661,474 £3,072,976 £5,870,450 Multiply £47,027 £923,766 £802,181 £1,772,974 NLC Management/Admin 4% £25,671 £203,841 £325,329 £554,841 GCR led regional projects £0 £64,492 £18,500 £82,992 TOTAL £251,198 £5,486,624 £8,133,224 £13,871,046 2.6 Appendix 1 of this report provides an updated breakdown of the interventions and activities being delivered under each of the above investment priorities. 2.7 The planned investment of £13.86m outlined in Appendix 1, includes a number of capital investment projects totalling an estimated £2.1m including: • contributions made to the works already completed at Bellshill Gateway and Ravenscraig Active Travel Link from Craigneuk to New College Lanarkshire • investment in additional equipment to extend the support for local businesses available through Smart Hub Lanarkshire • investment in digital infrastructure to improve connectivity in community facilities across North Lanarkshire • provision of vocational training spaces for those with additional support needs who are vulnerable to leaving school to a negative destination • a contribution to the decarbonisation ambitions for the development of the Watersports Centre at Strathclyde Country Park • small scale capital investment to support improvements to cultural, heritage and creative community facilities Page 160 of 326
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• improved active travel infrastructure connecting communities to key local facilities and improving access to community facilities by active travel means. 2.8 In November 2023, the UK Government confirmed their approach to underspend in 2023/24 and the ability to carry this forward into year 3 of the programme (2024/25). This allows all underspend to be carried forward, with the caveat that the level of spend reported at the end of 2023/4 will determine the amount of UKSPF funds that are paid in advance at the beginning of the year. Funds not paid in advance will still be made available to draw down at the end of the UKSPF programme so there is no impact on the total funds available, just the timing of when it can be drawn down. 2.9 The North Lanarkshire UKSPF Programme covers 21 interventions, with a total of 29 individual projects to be delivered over the duration of the programme through to March 2025. At the end of December 2023, it was reported that projects were live across 16 interventions with a further 4 interventions due to come on stream prior to the end of the current financial year. The final intervention is scheduled to start in year 3 of the programme. 2.10 Throughout 2023/24, the Board has overseen progress of individual projects and ensured that delivery is on track. A number of projects have encountered recruitment or procurement challenges leading to delays in activity starting, but all have put in place mitigating actions to ensure that spend and progress towards outputs and outcomes can still be achieved as planned. Financial Changes 2.11 The UKSPF Board has delegated authority to approve financial changes both within and between approved interventions, and where changes are less than 30% between investment priorities 2.12 During 2023/24, the following financial changes were considered and approved by the Board: UKSPF Source intervention Reallocated to £37,500 S11: Feasibility Studies in 2023/24 S12: Digital infrastructure in 24/25 Glasgow City Region to support the Clyde Climate Forest project over 2 years from April 2023 to March 2025 £460,701 S42: Courses designed to increase confidence with numbers £45,992 reallocated to fund a Multiply regional communications and marketing programme. £159,394 reallocated to support additional provision in interventions S36 and S38: NLC Skills Academies £255,315 reallocated to support pilot in-school pathways provision as part of intervention S39: vulnerable young people leaving school £65,915 S49: Courses designed to help people use numeracy to manage money Reallocated to new activity through a Young Adult Offer as part of intervention S35: Employability Support Page 161 of 326
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£100,000 S15: SME Development Grants The overall allocation to this intervention remains unchanged but capital investment from UKSPF was brought forward from 2024/25 into the current financial year. £120,000 S39: vulnerable young people leaving school The overall allocation to this intervention remains unchanged, but revenue expenditure of £60,000 was reallocated to capital investment in each of 2023/24 and 2024/25. Challenge Funds 2.13 In the Council’s UKSPF Investment Plan, seven interventions were identified to be delivered, at least in part, through a challenge fund route. During 2023/24, the Board approved guidance for project lead officers developing challenge funds and specifications for each of the individual funds. Detailed specifications were also presented to and approved at the relevant Service committees prior to implementation. 2.14 Five of the original seven intended Challenge Funds were approved by the Board during 2023/24. Of these, the Volunteer Support Fund closed to applications as part of the first round on 21 December and will make its first awards in February 2024. The Community Empowerment and Digital Connectivity Challenge Funds will also close for first round applications and make initial awards in February and March. All three of these funds will open for a second round in 2024/25. The Tourism Challenge Fund and Employability Challenge Fund will support projects being delivered in 2024/25 and will make awards in March/April 2024. A further intervention within the support for local businesses investment theme was also identified as being appropriate for delivery as a challenge fund. Through intervention S20, a challenge fund has been developed to provide funding for businesses to help them achieve their net zero ambitions and will be launched for delivery during 2024/25. 2.15 The Board also considered the challenge fund approach for two further interventions: S5: Support for sports, arts, cultural, heritage and creative activities and facilities and S6: active travel enhancements. Both interventions have a capital allocation of UKSPF and were identified as at risk should delays in implementing the challenge fund approach or in the delivery of supported capital investment be encountered. The latter was considered high risk given the limited timeframe of UKSPF closing in March 2025 and the need for external partners to design, procure and deliver projects of scale within a challenge fund approach. To mitigate against projects being unable to apply for challenge funding and complete within the UKSPF timescales, the Board agreed to reallocate the funds under these interventions to relevant medium scale Council led investments where the feasibility and design works were already underway. To ensure that the target outcomes are achieved, projects will be required to demonstrate a high level of community engagement in their design and community benefit in their implementation. Reporting to GCR and UK Government 2.16 The UK Government require formal reporting on a 6-monthly basis at the end of September and the end of March each year. This includes detailed questions about projects, outputs, outcomes and expenditure. The reports submitted to the UK Government relate to the regional investment plan, with information from the 8 member authorities submitted to the Glasgow City Region (GCR) Programme Monitoring Office Page 162 of 326
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(PMO) and thereafter collated into a GCR report that is considered by the Finance Strategy Group and approved by the GCR Cabinet prior to submission. 2.17 The first 6 monthly report was submitted at the financial year end – reporting on all activity up to the end of March 2023. The council reported spend of £251,197.68 up to 31 March 2023, with 4 projects delivering activity during that period. The subsequent 6-month report was submitted for the period up to end of September 2023. This reported a Council cumulative spend of £1,199,336 for the UKSPF programme, including management and administration costs. 2.18 A quarterly report at the end of December 2023 was requested as part of the regional governance arrangements. The Council reported cumulative spend of £2,348,627 to December 2023. This represents over 40% of the allocation up to the end of March 2024 and with the majority of projects now in the delivery phase, it is projected that spend of over 80% of the 2-year allocation up to end of March 2024 will be reached allowing full draw down of year 3 UKSPF at the start of 2024/25. Evaluation 2.19 Frontier Economics and BMG Research have been appointed by the UK Government to lead an intervention level evaluation of UKSPF. Following an initial shortlisting of potential projects across the UK, North Lanarkshire Council was invited to a meeting to discuss the business grants project and the provision of further information on the grants programme. The UKPSF business grants intervention (S15) has now been selected for inclusion in the evaluation. The aim is for the evaluation to be a collaborative experience where the evaluators will share and discuss the insights and learning generated and any early indications of outcomes as the work progresses. The evaluation will involve similar activities from two other UKSPF programmes and will take place over the life of UKSPF with the final report due in Autumn 2025. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The UKSPF Investment Plan set out targets across a range of outputs and outcomes and progress towards these is reported as part of each 6-month report. Although some progress was reported at the end of September 2023, it is too early in the delivery of projects to record significant progress against many of the output and outcome targets. The first major outputs/outcomes report is due to be submitted to the UK Government in April 2024 covering the period up to the end of March 2024 and will therefore be more fully reported in the next update report to committee. 3.2 As noted previously, appendix 1 provides a list of interventions and activities being delivered under each of the UKSPF investment priorities. The programme covers a diverse range of projects from supporting volunteering, providing start up and development grants to local businesses, skills training to enhance employment opportunities and supporting individuals to better manage their money. Funds are also allocated to capital projects and so far have contributed to the creation of Ravenscraig active travel link, with further active travel investment planned for 2024/25. Under the People and Skills investment theme, UKSPF has continued to support employability projects funded previously by the European Social Fund but has also been able to support additional targeted provision for those who are economically inactive – a target group that has increased in North Lanarkshire over recent years. The development of Built Environment and Digital Skills Academies have also been enhanced by contributions from the UKSPF. Page 163 of 326
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3.3 The UKSPF Board has delegated authority to approve changes to outputs and outcomes at intervention level. Changes were approved to 2 projects based on experience gained between the development of targets as part of the investment plan submission and finalising the delivery plan for individual projects. Output/Outcome Original Target Revised Target Number of households receiving support 1120 800 Number of households supported to take up energy efficiency measures 1120 800 Number of economically inactive people supported to engage with the benefits system 325 100 Number of economically inactive people engaged with the benefits system following support 300 90 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 The UKSPF prospectus can be viewed at: UK Shared Prosperity Fund: prospectus - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 4.2 A link to the GCR Investment Plan summary can be viewed at: UK Shared Prosperity Fund Investment Plan (glasgowcityregion.co.uk) 4.3 UK Shared Prosperity Fund – Update, Policy and Strategy Committee, 16th March 2023 - Document.ashx (cmis.uk.com) Pamela Humphries Chef Officer (Place) Page 164 of 326
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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? The overall aim of the UKPSF is to build pride in place and increase life chances. The impact will therefore be positive across a number of equality groups with many projects targeted as particularly vulnerable groups. A full EQIA has been completed. If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☒ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The UKSPF brings just under £14million investment into North Lanarkshire to be distributed across the investment themes of communities and place, local support for businesses, people and skills and multiply. An Assurance Framework has been approved to provide guidance for project officers delivering UKPSF funded activities to ensure appropriate compliance and verification is in place. 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 number of projects will require additional staff to be recruited on temporary contracts. Each Service will/has discussed people resource requirements with the relevant contacts and sought approvals as necessary. 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☒ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Page 165 of 326
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A grant offer letter and pass down agreement for the UKSPF is in place between Glasgow City Region (as lead authority for the investment plan) and North Lanarkshire Council. This has been agreed by Legal and Democratic and approved by the Section 95 Officer. 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 ☐ A DPIA and Privacy notices are in place for UKSPF interventions where required. 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? There is a requirement to acknowledge that activities supported through the UKPSF are funded or part funded by the UK Government. Branding guidelines have been made available to all project leads and Corporate Communications Team are available to provide advice and guidance. 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? Page 166 of 326
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Management of the UKPSF is following the Council’s project management framework and a position risk assessment has been undertaken and a risk and issues log developed to support management of the programme. This is reviewed by the UKPSF Board at least 6 monthly. 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). UKSPF will deliver an education and skills programme of activities targeted at vulnerable young people preparing to leave school. This will build on the existing provision in place to support those with additional support needs and through the Pathways programme with a specific focus on vocational training and life skills. This will contribute to Article 29 – goals of education. If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☐ No ☒ Page 167 of 326
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Appendix 1: North Lanarkshire Investment Plan Activities Table 1: Communities and Place - £3,084,427 Intervention Summary of Proposed Activity Original UKSPF Allocation Updated UKSPF Allocation S2 Support for the 'net zero' redevelopment of the Strathclyde Country Park Watersports centre. £400,000 £400,000 S5 Funding to enhance a number of sports, arts, cultural, heritage and creative projects/facilities including support for the lighting at the cycle facilities at Bellshill Gateway. £642,500 £642,500 S6 Funding to support active travel projects across North Lanarkshire, including the Ravenscraig Active Travel link £550,000 £550,000 S7 Support to develop a Heritage Trail with the aim increasing visitors and supporting employment in the tourism sector. Some funding will also support wider tourism marketing through Visit Lanarkshire. £120,000 £120,000 S8 Support for volunteering initiatives to help expand volunteering opportunities across North Lanarkshire, including a challenge fund to support community groups to engage and support new volunteers. £220,000 £220,000 S9 Funding for participatory budgeting programmes aimed at supporting community empowerment, capacity building and delivery of the 9 Local Outcome Improvement Plans. £750,000 £750,000 S10 Support to enhance advice and assistance for those facing fuel poverty £150,000 £150,000 S11 Support for feasibility studies for active travel or other activities that could be funded under the Communities and Place interventions £75,000 £56,500 S11 GCR – Clyde Climate Forest 0 £37,000 S12 Challenge fund to support community organisations improve their digital connectivity £213,927 £195,427 TOTAL £3,121,427 £3,121,427 Table 2: Supporting Local Business - £2,505,362 Intervention Summary of Proposed Activity Original UKSPF Allocation Updated UKSPF Allocation S14 Challenge Fund to support specific activities to help tourism businesses grow and develop their operations. £150,000 £150,000 S15 Grant funding and support for businesses to help increase start-ups, growth, investment and employment opportunities, including support to for advanced manufacturing technology £1,300,000 £1,300,000 S19 Targeted support to help increase business start-ups and encourage entrepreneurs from £295,362 £295,362 Page 168 of 326
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the BAME community and to support Women in Business S20 Continuation of expert help framework to support SME business growth and bespoke support for businesses to transition to Net Zero and/or create green jobs £550,000 £550,000 S22 Funding to help support capacity building and growth of social enterprises across North Lanarkshire £210,000 £210,000 TOTAL £2,505,362 £2,505,362 Table 3: People and Skills - £5,389,830 Intervention Summary of Proposed Activity Original UKSPF Allocation Updated UKSPF Allocation S31 Employment support for economically inactive people: Intensive and wrap-around one-to-one support to move people closer towards mainstream provision and employment, supplemented by additional and/or specialist life and basic skills (digital, English, maths* and ESOL) support where there are local provision gaps. £718,830 £718,830 S35 Support for employability programmes and advice, places should have regards for No One Left Behind agenda, the Young Person’s Guarantee, Fair Start Scotland and Scottish employability pipeline. This could include tailored support to help people in employment, who are not supported by mainstream provision to address barriers to accessing education and training courses. £2,721,000 £2,786,911 S36 Support for local areas to fund local skills needs. This includes technical and vocational qualifications and courses up to level 2 and training for vocational licences relevant to local area needs and high-value qualifications where there is a need for additional skills capacity that cannot be met through mainstream funding £700,000 £793,129 S38 Funding to support local digital skills. £350,000 £416,265 S39 Support to expand support programmes to help vulnerable young people achieve positive post- school destinations, such as pathways provision and vocational training for those with additional support needs. £900,000 £1,155,315 TOTAL £5,389,830 £5,870,450 Page 169 of 326
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Table 4: Multiply - £2,299,585 Intervention Summary of Proposed Activity Original UKSPF Allocation Updated UKSPF Allocation S42 Integrated maths in the community programme – Sum It Up - to provide bespoke and tailored numeracy learning £1,920,327 £1,459,627 S49 Delivery of training to improve financial literacy for people with debt problems £379,258 £313,347 GCR Multiply Regional Marketing 0 45,992 Total £2,299,585 £1,818,965 Page 170 of 326
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Policy and Strategy Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref AMcP Date 14/03/24 Findings of Internal Audit of Council Approach to Climate Change From Andrew McPherson, Depute Chief Executive E-mail mcphersona@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 280467 Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to provide Committee with the detail of the findings of the most recent internal audit into climate change, remitted by the Audit and Scrutiny Panel, and highlight the actions already under consideration to address the findings. Recommendations It is recommended that Policy & Strategy Committee: (1) Duly consider and acknowledge the implications of the findings of the Internal Audit Report. (2) Approve the approach to not only address the audit findings, but to move the Council and North Lanarkshire towards net zero. 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 Programme of Work Sustainable Futures Item 10 Page 171 of 326
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1. Background 1.1 Tackling climate change, whether it is through reducing how much the Council consumes, adapting to the current future impacts or acting more sustainably is a duty that has been in place since 2009 and will continue long after 2045. 1.2. Since the Internal Audit Report of the 24 June 2016 where the Council’s carbon management and fulfilment of its duties in terms of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 was found to give ‘Limited Assurance’, a great deal of work has been successfully progressed to realise a ‘Reasonable Assurance’ assessment in the recently completed report. The Council’s 47.1% reduction in its footprint is testament to this. 1.3 The purpose of the recent audit was to review the Council’s progress in reducing its carbon footprint and to determine: • whether the Council has established clear plans linked to available resources to deliver further reductions in carbon emissions in line with climate change commitments the Council is expected to deliver against; • whether plans contain clear milestones and targets against which performance can be tracked and whether performance is routinely monitored and reported to key stakeholders; • whether governance arrangements surrounding climate change activities are appropriate and operating effectively; and • whether carbon impacts are routinely incorporated into the Council’s decision- making processes. 1.4 The ‘Internal Audit Progress Report’ brought before the Audit and Scrutiny Panel on 20 November 2023 included the findings of the report and found: ‘..in relation to climate change, the Panel recommend the findings of the relevant Internal Audit report be highlighted to Policy and Strategy Committee, as in the view of the Panel, there needs to be awareness across the organisation that current ambitions in relation to climate change are unlikely to be achieved in the timescales which had been previously agreed by the Council and there needs to be greater clarity as to how the Council will achieve any future targets agreed by the Council and/or statutory targets set by the Scottish and UK Governments. 1.5 This report shares the findings of the aforementioned Internal Audit Report with Committee so that they are informed of the challenge the Council faces in relation to its ambitious timescale to achieve net-zero. The full report is contained at Appendix 1. 1.6 In June of 2019 a decision was taken by elected members to declare a Climate Emergency and to commit to achieving net zero for North Lanarkshire by 2030. This declaration not only included the Council moving to a net zero position within this timeframe but for the North Lanarkshire area as a whole to be at net zero by 2030. 1.7 This target must be set against the current prescribed Scottish Government targets to achieve net zero by 2045 with interim targets of a 75% reduction by 2030 and 90% by 2040. 1.8 The purpose of this report is to outline the Council’s revised approach towards net zero and the associated strategies and legislative requirements which will contribute towards achieving this goal. Page 172 of 326
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2. Report 2.1 The current Climate Action Plan (Act 2030) provides details of the Council’s current emissions and sets specific targets for each financial year up to 2029/30. What is now clearly apparent, is that there is no realistic possibility of the Council or the North Lanarkshire area as a whole reaching net zero by 2030. What is required therefore, is a complete review of the Council’s overall strategy and a detailed route map of the actions required to achieve net zero. This route map must be realistic, have overall targets/ milestones and be fully costed to allow a full understanding as to the cost in delivering the ambition in line with the legislative requirements established by the Scottish Government. 2.2 Along with the Climate Action Plan, there are several other interrelated legal requirements and strategies that will assist with the overall drive to net zero, including: • Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy (LHEES) – delivering low cost and low carbon heating solutions through local heat networks. • Mission Zero for Transport – delivering an electric vehicle charging infrastructure across North Lanarkshire which will allow the transition to low carbon transport. • Energy Efficiency in Social Housing (EESH) - sets the minimum energy efficiency standard that all our houses and flats must meet, in stages, up to 2032. • Active Travel Strategy - getting people out of cars and providing a network which will enable people to get about North Lanarkshire and beyond by active means – and ties in with our new Town Vision to have everything more local and connected. • Biodiversity Action Plan - Nature regulates the climate, and nature-based solutions, such as protecting and restoring wetlands and peatlands, or sustainably managing woodlands and greenspaces, will be essential for emission reduction and climate adaptation. • Adaptation Strategy – will set out the actions that the Council will take to mitigate against the current and future effects of climate change. • Energy generation – there is a commitment within the new Sustainable Futures Programme of Work to examine the possibility of how the Council can start to generate its own energy as part of a long-term strategy to decarbonise our energy supply but at the same time deliver cheaper energy costs to our own residents. 2.3 As can be seen from the above list, there are a considerable number of elements which will contribute towards our net zero journey and demonstrates the complexity and scale of ambition that must be delivered to achieve net zero. It should also be noted that the cost associated with the delivery of many of the elements listed above are substantial. It has been estimated that to deliver a fully zero emission council fleet will cost in the region of £70M and to deliver fully on the ambitions associated with EESH by 2032 has been estimated at around £430 million. It is critical therefore that new Clime Action Plan fully reflects such costs. 2.4 Due to the wide variety of different elements contributing towards net zero, a critical success factor will be to ensure that all of these separate but interdependent projects do not work in isolation but are fully aligned to deliver a truly strategic approach towards net zero. 2.5 To deliver on this approach, the Council will now create a small but dedicated Climate Action team with the sole purpose of delivering a realistic pathway to net zero. This will address genuine concerns around capacity within individual service areas and all costs Page 173 of 326
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associated with this team will come from pulling existing resources across several service areas. 2.6 A critical outcome from this team will be to ensure that climate change is more effectively embedded into the Council’s decision-making process. Given the challenge presented by delivering net-zero, the Council needs to be consistently considering the potential carbon impacts of all decisions more explicitly as part of its decision-making processes. 2.7 The governance of this approach will be monitored through the Sustainable Futures Programme of Work Board and will be in line with the Public Sector Leadership on the Global Climate Emergency (2021) with regular updates to the relevant service committees and the Environment and Climate Change Committee receiving regular updates on the overall strategic progress towards net zero. 2.8 It is also incumbent upon the Council to act as a net zero champion, not only amongst our public sector partners but also amongst our communities and business community. By providing this leadership role, the intention will be to motivate, mentor and assist North Lanarkshire, the place, towards net zero. 3. Measures of success 3.1 To deliver a practical and realistic pathway for the Council to achieve net zero. 4. Supporting documentation Appendix 1 Internal Audit Report (Climate Change) Andrew McPherson Depute Chief Executive Page 174 of 326
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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? Creation of the Climate Action Team will come from pulling existing resources from a number of service areas and will predominantly be capital based. 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? If approved, colleagues within HR will be involved within the formation of the Climate Action Team. 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Page 175 of 326
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Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? The detail within this report and its appendix raises awareness on issues/barriers that the Council must overcome in order to successfully deliver on its climate change duties and its own climate ambition. 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). Page 176 of 326
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If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☐ No ☒ Page 177 of 326
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Appendix 1 – Internal Audit Report (Climate Change) Page 178 of 326
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9 INTERNAL AUDIT REPORT Contents 1. Executive Summary 2. Findings and Recommendations 3. Action Plan Appendix 1: Audit grading Appendix 2: Leaders’ Climate Emergency Checklist Issued to: Depute Chief Executive and Chief Officer (Asset and Procurement) Copied to: Climate Change Lead Officer and Chief Executive Headlines The purpose of this audit was to review progress made by the Council in reducing carbon emissions and to assess the adequacy and effectiveness of current management arrangements relating to climate change. This audit has made use of a range of reports and guidance published on climate change as a benchmark against which to assess the Council’s progress in this area including Audit Scotland’s report ‘Addressing Climate Change in Scotland’ (March 2022) and the Leaders’ Climate Emergency Checklist, (see extract at appendix 2) produced by the Sustainable Scotland Network. The UK Climate Change Committee has stated that the 2020s will be critical across society and the economy for the transition to greater sustainability and net zero, requiring a decisive shift from planning to action, implementation, and rapid progress. The Scottish Government has set a legally binding target of Scotland becoming net zero by 2045, five years earlier than the UK, with all public bodies having a responsibility to contribute to the achievement of this target. The Council recognises that it must act and has declared a climate emergency, previously committing itself and the area of North Lanarkshire to achieving net-zero by 2030. The Council continues to reduce its’ emissions from the baseline year of 2015/16. A recent report to the Environment and Climate Change committee in February 2023, highlighted 2021/22 emissions had been reduced to 46.4% of 2015/16 levels. Further expected reductions to 52.2% are expected by 2025/26. Significant actions will however still be required to deliver the required further reductions if the Council’s commitment to net zero is to be realised and there is a recognition that many of the ‘quick wins’ have already been taken. In 2021, members approved an updated Climate Plan – Action on Climate Together 2030 (ACT 2030) which forms part of a range of strategies, policies and plans grouped under a refreshed Environment Pathway (previously the Environment Strategy) approved in 2023. The recently refreshed Programme of Work (PoW) to support delivery of the ‘Plan for North Lanarkshire’ has led to the formation of a Sustainable Futures Thematic Board (replacing the Climate Change Board) whose purpose is to provide strategic leadership and management of all aspects of the Council’s climate change duties including a focus on the Council's commitments to net-zero and the associated actions required to make this a reality. Based on the results of our work, we have assessed this audit as offering ‘reasonable assurance’. We last audited this issue in 2020, when we raised some issues and recommendations around the Council’s governance arrangements for responding to climate change, including on target setting and performance reporting. We are pleased to note that the Council can demonstrate ongoing satisfactory actions in response to these previous recommendations. We are also satisfied that the Council’s ACT 2030 Climate Plan is aligned with the Council’s Plan for North Lanarkshire and the Council has continued to progress actions to reduce carbon emissions and to comply with its statutory responsibility to complete and submit an annual Climate report. (continued overleaf) Internal Audit Opinion (see definition at Appendix 1) Reasonable assurance (Green-Amber) Organisational impact (see definition at Appendix 1) Moderate Report status FINAL Audit ref 0900/2023/010 Date issued 06/11/23 Audit Team Elaine MacDonald and Paula Hendry CLIMATE CHANGE Page 179 of 326
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10 Headlines (continued) (Continued from overleaf) Notwithstanding this progress to date however, it is clear that the commitment to net zero by 2030 was, and remains, hugely ambitious and that delivering this appears to Internal Audit unachievable given a number of relevant challenges facing the Council. Most significantly these include the difficulty of identifying, planning, financing and progressing in such a short timescale the range of actions likely to be required to achieve net zero by 2030. There remain significant challenges around the cost and affordability of any such actions and their inclusion in relevant financial revenue and capital plans at a time where the Council’s overall finances are under significant pressure. We have therefore raised a number of issues which we consider management require to address. These are detailed at Section 3 of the report and include: • The current Climate Plan (ACT 2030) needs to be supported by a detailed route map of planned actions designed to achieve net zero/deliver the Council’s climate change commitments. This should include realistic overall targets/milestones for the journey to net zero. The detailed route-map should be regularly updated and include information on expected individual project/action timescales, costs and other resource requirements. • The recently revised governance arrangements for climate change need to be kept under review to ensure they are effective in progressing the delivery of actions designed to achieve the Council’s climate change commitments and allowing effective oversight of progress by senior management and elected members. • Climate change needs to be more effectively embedded into the Council’s decision-making processes. Given the challenge presented by delivering net zero, the Council needs to be consistently considering the potential carbon impacts of all decisions more explicitly as part of its decision-making processes. Page 180 of 326
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11 1. Executive Summary Objectives This was a short, focused review designed to review the progress made by the Council in reducing carbon emissions and assessing the adequacy and effectiveness of current management arrangements. It also reviewed how well management has addressed weakness or areas for improvement identified in previous audit reports on this topic. The audit considered: • whether the Council has established clear plans linked to available resources to deliver further reductions in carbon emissions in line with climate change commitments the Council is expected to deliver against; • whether plans contain clear milestones and targets against which performance can be tracked and whether performance is routinely monitored and reported to key stakeholders • whether governance arrangements surrounding climate change activities are appropriate and operating effectively; and • whether carbon impacts are routinely incorporated into the Council’s decision-making processes. This engagement has been conducted in accordance with the ‘Public Sector Internal Audit Standards’. The Internal Audit section reports formally on conformance with these standards to the Audit and Scrutiny Panel. Number and category of recommendations raised (see definition of priority at Appendix 1) High Medium Low 1 2 1 Key areas requiring management action (High) The following key area requiring urgent management action has been identified: • The current Climate Plan (ACT 2030) needs to be supported by a detailed route map of planned actions designed to achieve net zero/deliver the Council’s climate change commitments. This should include realistic overall targets/milestones for the journey to net zero. The detailed route-map should be regularly updated and include information on expected individual project/action timescales, costs and other resource requirements. Good practice identified We noted the following areas of good practice during the audit: • The Council's Climate Plan ‘Action on Climate Together 2030’ (ACT 2030) covers the period 2021 to 2030. It sets out the Council’s recognition of the climate and biodiversity emergency and in response to this makes a commitment to act; • The Council’s Climate change agenda is managed under the remit of the recently established Sustainable Futures PoW Board; • Services have systems and processes in place for data collection and the collation of the data into carbon emission information that is used in the annual Climate Report; • The Council has produced and submitted its Annual Public Sector Climate Change Duties Report to the Sustainable Scotland Network in a timely manner; and • The Council is on track to produce its Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy by the statutory deadline of December 2023. Other areas for improvement (Medium) A few other areas for improvement were also identified: • The recently revised governance arrangements for climate change need to be kept under review to ensure they are effective in progressing the delivery of actions designed to achieve the Council’s climate change commitments and allowing effective oversight of progress by senior management and elected members. • Climate change needs to be more effectively embedded into the Council’s decision-making processes. Given the challenge presented by delivering net zero, the Council needs to be consistently considering the potential carbon impacts of all decisions more explicitly as part of its decision-making processes. 2. Findings and Recommendations Page 181 of 326
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3. Action Plan Climate Change 0900/2023/010 Ref Finding 1 The current Climate Plan (ACT 2030) needs to be supported by a detailed route map of planned actions designed to achieve net zero/deliver the Council’s climate change commitments. This should include realistic overall targets/milestones for the journey to net zero. The detailed route-map should be regularly updated and include information on expected individual project/action timescales, costs and other resource requirements. In response to the Scottish Government’s target to achieve net zero by 2045, the Council declared a climate emergency in June 2019, committing to achieving net-zero within North Lanarkshire by 2030. As a result, the Council created a climate plan - Action on Climate Together 2030 (ACT 2030) which sets out the Council’s recognition of the climate and biodiversity emergency. This plan highlights that against a baseline of 2015/16, the council’s footprint and performance as at 2020/21 has been reduced by approximately 48% and sets a target to increase this to 52% by 2025/26. Given that there are only a further four years to 2030, during which time a further 48% reduction is required to reach net- zero, we consider achievement of this commitment to be very ambitious in such a relatively short timescale particularly in the absence of identification of the detailed and resourced plans necessary to deliver the commitment. The plan concludes by setting out that the next phase is to produce and publish a detailed climate action plan and build a planned route map to 2030. A report was presented to the Environment and Place Committee in August 2022, which provided an update on the Council’s journey to net-zero and contained a consolidated list of Services’ climate actions currently underway to assist in tackling the climate challenges. The report acknowledges that the actions identified to date are not sufficient to achieve the climate target set for 2030 and an acceleration and upscaling of deliberate action is required to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. The report also highlights that the ability to define the optimum course of action for North Lanarkshire to achieve net-zero emissions sits out with the normal skillset of the Council and proposes that external professional advice is sought. Whilst the list of Services’ actions contained in the Committee report provides a good foundation, our review identified that these have not been translated into a comprehensive action plan which provides actions in SMART terms with responsible officer, timescales, and mechanisms for tracking, monitoring and reporting on progress. The Sustainable Scotland Network guidance on public sector leadership on this global emergency states that climate change must be integrated into financial planning and reporting, including aligning investments and programmes with the priorities of the updated Climate Change Plan to support a just transition to net zero and a green recovery. There is a need to ensure expenditure and financial plans are aligned with emission targets, resources from external sources are accessed, and opportunities to engage in cost effective collaboration exercises are pursued. Presently, the Council’s understanding of cost pressures, direct impacts of climate change and planning for net zero are not mature enough to enable them to be accurately quantified and reflected in the Council’s Medium-Term Financial Plan. As part the revised programme of work and associated governance arrangements to support the Plan for North Lanarkshire, responsibility for climate change now falls under the remit of the Sustainable Futures Programme of Work (PoW) Strategic Board. The delivery plan for the Sustainable Futures PoW theme includes the need to develop a route map/action plan to provide an outline strategy as to how the Council will move to net zero (including outline costs, timeframe and review periods), with an indicative range of actions with timeline across 2024/25 and 2025/26. We understand that appointment of a partner/consultant referenced above will also be taken forward. Notwithstanding progress to date however, it is clear that the commitment to net zero by 2030 was, and remains, hugely ambitious but that delivering this presents, what to Internal Audit appear insurmountable challenges for the Council. Most significantly these include the difficulty of identifying, planning and progressing in such a short timescale the range of actions likely to be required to achieve net zero and challenges around the affordability of such actions and their inclusion in relevant financial plans at a time where the Council’s overall finances are under significant pressure. Implication Recommendation Priority If the ACT 2030 does not clearly set out an up-to-date route map and action plan to net zero, the Council may fail to effectively progress towards/achieve its own net zero commitments and/or be timeously alerted to any shortfall that requires remedial action(s) and/or communication to stakeholders. The Depute Chief Executive (as SRO for the Sustainable Futures Thematic Board) should, as a matter of priority: (1) create a formal detailed action plan/route map setting out in SMART terms planned actions designed to achieve net zero/deliver the Council’s climate change commitments. This should be regularly updated and include information on responsible officers/expected timescales, costs and other resource requirements and include a mechanism for tracking, monitoring and reporting on progress against key milestones/targets to relevant key stakeholders; and (2) as part of the preparation of a detailed route-map, review whether the current timescale for reaching net zero by 2030 remains realistic/achievable, reporting the outcome of this review, along with any revised target dates/milestones, to relevant stakeholders. High Page 182 of 326
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3. Action Plan (continued) Climate Change 0900/2023/010 Management response Implementation Month/Year Agree James McKinstry, Chief Officer (Asset and Procurement) As the lead for Climate Change, many actions are currently being taken forward by Asset and Procurement in relation to climate change, including but not limited to completion and submission of the Council’s annual public sector climate change duties report, completion of the current phase of the LHEES strategy and delivery plan, participating in the Sustainable Futures Board and ongoing delivery of phase 3 of the non-domestic energy efficiency projects. A ‘manageable chunks’ approach will be adopted in response to these audit recommendations as net-zero will be a long, unsettled journey with obstacles (such as funding) that will influence the possible direction/path the Council should take. A route map will be developed which will contain what is achievable, however this will not guarantee delivery and it should be noted that at this time it is unclear whether the focus will be on reducing emissions or energy due to the latter being a priority of the Sustainable Futures Board. As such we will seek clarity from the Sustainable Futures Board on their prioritisation of these two linked, by essentially different themes. The findings and recommendations of the LHEES and its delivery plan provide a list of initial steps for the Council to take to progress the decarbonisation of heat and improve energy efficiency and as such contain therein the beginnings to building a pathway to zero by North Lanarkshire. The LHEES Delivery Plan will be updated on an annual basis. With regards to the wider (or all encompassing) pathway to net-zero/local energy plan, once the scope is clarified by the SRO for the Sustainable Futures Thematic Board work will commence, subject to acquiring funding/resource to undertake the following: • Baselining North Lanarkshire; • Agreeing final scope of work; • Identify internal and external resource requirements; and • Commence work including engagement with relevant stakeholders to develop an action plan for North Lanarkshire. December 2025 Page 183 of 326
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3. Action Plan (continued) Climate Change 0900/2023/010 Ref Finding 2 The recently revised governance arrangements for climate change need to be kept under review to ensure they are effective in progressing the delivery of actions designed to achieve the Council’s climate change commitments and allowing effective oversight of progress by senior management and elected members. Our previous audit (issued May 2020) recommended that the governance arrangements for climate change required to be reviewed to ensure they reflected best practice and incorporated the wide range of actions likely to be required to address the changing expectations and climate change commitments the Council was expected to deliver against. As a result of this recommendation management undertook a review of the governance arrangements for climate change which resulted in the then Climate Change Group being replaced with a Board responsible for monitoring and reviewing all climate related issues and decisions. However, subsequent governance changes were introduced this year as a result of the refreshed Programme of Work which led to the Climate Change Board being dissolved and a newly established Sustainable Futures Programme of Work (PoW) Thematic Board being created which, amongst other responsibilities, has oversight of all aspects of the Council’s climate change duties. The aim of this theme is to ‘focus commitments to net zero carbon and the associated actions (including energy solutions and investments) required to make it a reality’. We were pleased to note the climate change corporate risk has been reviewed and updated resulting in an increased residual risk score from 16 to 20, due to the increased uncertainty following the recent governance changes and that it is too early to evidence this new Board’s reliability/effectiveness in progressing/delivering necessary actions. Internal Audit considers it important that the governance arrangements in this area are kept under review to ensure that the strategic Sustainable Futures Thematic Board is able to effectively discharge this responsibility and/or whether there is a need for a climate change board/steering group or similar to be re-established at a more operational level to develop and progress detailed plans/actions and report progress to the Thematic Board. Implication Recommendation Priority Management response Implementation Month/Year The work of the Sustainable Futures PoW Board may fail to adequately address the full obligations placed on the Council by its climate change responsibilities. The Depute Chief Executive (as SRO for the Sustainable Futures Thematic Board) should ensure that governance arrangements in this area are kept under review to ensure that the Sustainable Futures Thematic Board is effective and able to monitor and progress the delivery of actions designed to achieve the Council’s climate change commitments and allow effective oversight of progress by senior management and elected members. Medium Agree Andrew McPherson, Depute Chief Executive (SRO for Sustainable Figures Board) A review of the Sustainable Futures Thematic Board will be undertaken against public leadership guidance and compliance with the public bodies climate change duties to determine whether it provides effective oversight of climate change commitments or if there is a need to re- establish the former Climate Change Board. April 2024 Page 184 of 326
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3. Action Plan (continued) Climate Change 0900/2023/010 Ref Finding 3 Climate change needs to be more effectively embedded into the Council’s decision-making processes. Given the challenge presented by delivering net zero, the Council needs to be consistently considering the potential carbon impacts of all decisions more explicitly as part of its decision- making processes. Moving to net zero carbon represents a significant challenge for all organisations and requires a full understanding and transparency over the impact on carbon emissions of policy choices and day-to-day operational decisions. This is particularly important for decision-makers in situations where there may be significant tensions between achieving net zero/planned carbon emission reductions and other corporate ambitions. Integrating climate change effectively into decision making across all areas of the Council’s diverse activities and policies/strategies is understandably complex, will take time and in itself presents both challenges and opportunities. These include financial constraints, access to data required to support decision making processes and relevant skills and capacity. There are clear examples of the Council bringing consideration of climate change issues into decision making as follows: • Position Risk Assessment template within the project management framework requires consideration to be given as to whether the project fully aligns with carbon/net zero objectives; • Capital Programme bid process makes provision for consideration of climate implications in the methodology for prioritising bids; • Specific impacts section within all reports to Committee allows report authors to document the environment/carbon impacts and corresponding guidance including a process for undertaking carbon impact assessments to help inform this process; and • initial work underway to incorporate more formally climate change/net zero ambitions into procurement procedures to embed sustainable procurement practice into regular procurement activity as a means of contributing towards decarbonising public sector procurement. A brief review of the impacts section of a sample of Committee reports indicates that it is not always clear that due consideration has been given to the carbon impacts with often limited information on the potential carbon impacts conveyed to those tasked with making decisions. It is also unclear the extent to which carbon impact assessments are being undertaken for incorporation into reports. We understand that at present there is no formal scrutiny process in place to ensure that carbon impact assessments are being completed in accordance with corporate procedures, to check the accuracy/completeness of any such assessments and/or to ensure that appropriate documentation is being retained by services to support these assessments. Given the statutory requirement and the Council’s own commitment to achieve net-zero, consideration of the carbon impacts of all decisions needs to be given greater attention so that processes and mechanisms can be put in place to more effectively inform decisions being made across the organisation. Implication Recommendation Priority Management response Implementation Month/Year If climate change/carbon impacts are not incorporated as a key part of all council decision making processes, there is a risk that decisions may be made which run counter to or impact the Council’s ability to deliver its net zero obligations and/or commitments. The Depute Chief Executive (as SRO for the Sustainable Futures Thematic Board) should: (1) review how the climate change/net-zero carbon agenda can be more effectively incorporated into the Council’s decision-making processes with appropriate guidance and/or training for staff developed as necessary; (2) review how environmental impact consideration can be better and/or more consistently reflected in committee reports to ensure climate change/net zero implications are given appropriate recognition as part of the Council’s decision-making process; (3) periodically reviews the effectiveness of decision-making processes in considering climate change/net zero issues. Amber Agree Andrew McPherson, Depute Chief Executive (SRO for Sustainable Figures Board) A review of the Council’s existing arrangements for incorporating climate change/net-zero carbon agenda into decision-making processes will be undertaken as well as consideration of other approaches/best practice. A report will thereafter be presented to the Sustainable Futures Board for determining how climate change (mitigation, adaptation and sustainability) will be prioritised and embedded within the organisation. This will include ensuring climate impacts are fully considered in all decision making and reviews to confirm effectiveness of resulting arrangements. December 2024 Page 185 of 326
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3. Action Plan Climate Change 0900/2023/010 Ref Finding 4 The completeness and accuracy of data gathering processes needs to be periodically reviewed. Public bodies should carry out an assurance and verification process on greenhouse gas measures. The Public Sector Leadership on the Global Emergency Guidance produced by the Sustainable Scotland Network (SSN) advises that formal internal assurance processes should be signed off by a senior leader. The Council has established robust data collection arrangements in place for waste and fleet fuel. Recent resourcing changes have impacted on the information gathering arrangements for energy however progress with the business stream database via a third party, Inspired Energy, to collate information on energy usage from all utility bills has strengthened this going forward. Information is monitored within Services on an ongoing basis and provided annually for reporting in the annual climate report against targets. There is a need to carry out periodic reviews of the completeness and robustness of these data sources to ensure the information produced from them (on carbon emission tonnes) is accurate and reliable. We understand that recently, work has commenced to introduce indicator definition templates that will more formally set out the scope of relevant data sources, how these will be collated into meaningful information for reporting, by whom and how frequently. Implication Recommendation Priority Management response Implementation Month/Year Data sources used to calculate emission information may be incomplete and/or inaccurate and fail to accurately reflect the performance and progress across North Lanarkshire to reduce emissions and move towards net zero. The Depute Chief Executive (as SRO for the Sustainable Futures PoW Board) should ensure that the creation of indicator definition templates for each emission source is completed and shared with relevant service areas. Thereafter arrangements should be put in place to ensure that periodic reviews of the completeness and accuracy of each carbon emission data source is undertaken to confirm that information reported continues to be accurate and complete. Low Agree Lynda Stevenson, Climate Change Lead Officer This work has previously been undertaken; however, an update is currently required. Once complete periodic reviews will be undertaken and will align with the annual data collection exercise. December 2023 Page 186 of 326
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Audit reports are graded with an overall assurance opinion, and any issues and associated recommendations are classified individually to denote their relative importance, in accordance with the definitions in the tables below. Definition of audit assurance and recommendation categories Assurance Confidence based on sufficient evidence that internal controls are in place, operating effectively and objectives are being achieved. Assurance opinion Green Substantial Assurance A sound system of governance, risk management and control exists, with internal controls operating effectively and being consistently applied to support the achievement of objectives in the area audited. Green-Amber Reasonable Assurance There is a generally sound system of governance, risk management and control in place. Some issues, non-compliance or scope for improvement were identified which may put at risk the achievement of objectives in the area audited. Amber-Red Limited Assurance Significant gaps, weaknesses or non-compliance were identified. Improvement is required to the system of governance, risk management and control to effectively manage risks to the achievement of objectives in the area audited. Red No Assurance Immediate action is required to address fundamental gaps, weaknesses or non-compliance identified. The system of governance, risk management and control is inadequate to effectively manage risks to the achievement of objectives in the area audited. Organisational impact Major The weaknesses identified during the review have left the Council open to significant risk. If the risk materialises it would have a major impact upon the organisation as a whole. Moderate The weaknesses identified during the review have left the Council open to medium risk. If the risk materialises it would have a moderate impact upon the organisation as a whole. Minor The weaknesses identified during the review have left the Council open to low risk. If the risk materialises it would have a minor impact upon the organisation as a whole. Recommendation priority High Significant control failure or weakness that, if not addressed, may lead to a major financial, operational or reputational risk to the organisation and/or significantly impact the successful delivery and achievement of the objectives of the area under review. Urgent/Immediate action is required. Medium Control failure or weakness that, if not addressed, may lead to a moderate financial, operational or reputational risk to the organisation. Weakness may be individually significant but is unlikely to affect the successful delivery and achievement of the overall objectives of the area under review. The risk of error would, however, be significantly reduced if corrective action was taken. Prompt action is required. Low Control failure or weakness that may lead to a minor financial, operational or reputational risk to the organisation. Weakness does not appear to significantly affect the ability to meet objectives. Minor issue raised to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of controls. Appendix 1 - Audit Grading Page 187 of 326
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Theme Foundation (Structured and Focused) Advanced (Comprehensive and Professional) Exemplary (Innovative and Transformational) Strategy Action on climate change is a strategic corporate priority. Key areas for action have robust strategies in place to inform delivery. Climate change is embedded in all organisational strategies and plans, and shapes decision making and resource allocation. Targets Targets set with clear baselines, boundaries, inventories and interim targets, supported by delivery pathways and aligned with national policy objectives. Targets/outcomes set for key functions of the body, including procurement/supply chains, upstream and downstream impacts of the body's functions. Targets/outcomes go beyond net zero, aimed at regenerative and holistic sustainability transformations. Governance Structures are in place to ensure oversight, accountability and transparency in climate- related decision making. Climate change embedded into decision making at all levels, with evidence reported of how this influences decisions on plans, projects and resources. The body is proactively influencing partners, citizens and stakeholders to drive change at scale, locally, regionally and nationally. Delivery Climate action incorporated in policy development and service design, with policies and projects in place and actively managed Coordination of delivery across service areas and projects to maximise benefits and avoid unintended consequences. Working collaboratively to align and scale policies, projects and partnerships on climate action Finance Investigating how to align spend with targets and steps being taken to progress. Understanding of how to align spend with targets. Finance gaps identified and work underway to secure resources. Resource and spend clearly aligned with targets, climate impact of investments being managed, and collaborations in place to leverage in resources. Performance Mandatory climate change reporting used to inform delivery and communicate progress Progress on climate change is part of regular performance monitoring and accounts and corrective actions taken. Monitoring is above and beyond mandatory requirements and reporting is shared and reviewed with stakeholders. Skills Key staff aware of how climate change is part of their roles and responsibilities. All staff understand how climate change fits into their activity and key staff taking action to embed climate change. All staff empowered to act and contribute to climate targets and outcomes. x Appendix 2 – Extract from the Leaders’ Climate Emergency Checklist (Sustainable Scotland Network) Page 188 of 326
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Policy and Strategy Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref KH/SL Date 14/03/24 Strategic Policy Framework - annual review and refresh From Katrina Hassell, Chief Officer (Business and Digital) E-mail HassellK@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07903 096 121 Executive Summary Since The Plan for North Lanarkshire was established many strategies, policies, and plans have been developed, reviewed, updated, approved at committee, and implemented to support delivery of the council’s long-term vision of inclusive growth and prosperity for all. The Strategic Policy Framework has supported this process by providing corporate Guidance to ensure that the development of new strategies, policies, and plans (and updates to existing documents) remain aligned to the one plan direction and one council approach, as well as relevant local and/or national strategy, policy, and legislative contexts. It also comprises a Review Programme to ensure the ongoing maintenance and monitoring of strategies, policies, and plans within a standardised approach and pre-defined timescales. The role of the Strategic Policy Framework in supporting the alignment of delivery plans was recognised by Audit Scotland in their Best Value thematic work which reviewed the leadership of the development of new local strategic priorities (as reported to the Policy and Strategy Committee in December 2023): • “The council has a Strategic Policy Framework in place which ensures strategies, policies, and plans remain aligned to its vision and support its shared ambition. This includes all organisational level strategies and plans as well as operational strategies. • This framework sets out the formal review process and timetable to ensure all strategies and plans remain aligned to overall council strategy and are fit for purpose. It also provides a consistent approach in how these are developed, implemented, and monitored across the council. The strategic policy framework itself is also subject to an annual review.“ The Strategic Policy Framework and Programme of Work sit side by side to provide the council with an integrated approach to strategic planning and delivery. As such, the Framework is subject to an annual review in cycle 1 each year at the same time as the Programme of Work annual process. Following this year’s review, this report herewith therefore presents the Policy and Strategy Committee with the refreshed Strategic Policy Framework in Appendix 1. Within this, Appendix A provides Guidance to support future development and monitoring processes, while Appendix B sets out the accompanying Review Programme. Item 11 Page 189 of 326
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1. Background 1.1 Initially approved in September 2018, the Strategic Policy Framework sits alongside the Programme of Work in the council’s strategic planning process to ensure that strategy and policy remain connected to delivery in support of the shared ambition and priorities set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire (as shown in the diagram on the right). 1.2 As one of the strategic frameworks supporting The Plan for North Lanarkshire, the Strategic Policy Framework sets out the high-level strategies, policies, and plans which are subject to a formal review process to ensure they remain fit for purpose and continue to align to the strategy of the council as well as relevant local and national strategy, policy, and legislative contexts. The Framework also aims to ensure that strategies, policies, and plans are formulated, developed, implemented, monitored, and reviewed in a consistent and transparent manner. 1.3 Established in 2018, the Strategic Policy Framework was submitted to an extensive review and refresh exercise in 2022. This means that subsequent updates have been able to be more lite touch, with the main changes being reflected in the Review Programme. The well-established approach to the Strategic Policy Framework was acknowledged in the Audit Scotland interim management report in June 2021 which concluded by categorising the related recommendation from the 2019 Best Value Assurance Report (BVAR) as complete given the “robust process in place to ensure policies and strategies are kept up to date and regularly reviewed to ensure they are aligned to The Plan and any laws and regulations”. 1.4 More recently, the Strategic Policy Framework was recognised by Audit Scotland in their Best Value thematic work which reviewed the leadership of the development of new local strategic priorities. This acknowledged the role of the Framework in supporting the council’s vision and priorities: • “Sitting alongside the Programme of Work, the council has a Strategic Policy Framework in place which ensures the council’s strategies, policies and plans remain aligned to its vision and support its shared ambition. This framework details Recommendations It is recommended that the Policy and Strategy Committee: (1) Acknowledge the role of the Strategic Policy Framework in delivering The Plan for North Lanarkshire, and in ensuring each of the strategies, policies, and plans listed therein (as noted in Appendix B) are up to date, on a schedule to be updated at an appropriate interval, and reported to the relevant committee, and (2) Approve the refreshed Strategic Policy Framework and accompanying Review Programme. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement All ambition statements Programme of Work Statutory / corporate / service requirement Page 190 of 326
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Elected Member and officer responsibilities for strategic planning and includes details of Elected Member approval of individual strategies, policies, and plans.” 1.5 Following the annual review process, this report presents the Policy and Strategy Committee with the refreshed Strategic Policy Framework in Appendix 1. Within this, Appendix A provides Guidance to support future development, stakeholder engagement, and ongoing monitoring processes, while Appendix B sets out the accompanying Review Programme. This Review Programme aims to ensure that each of the strategies, policies, and plans supporting delivery of The Plan for North Lanarkshire are up to date, on a schedule to be updated at an appropriate interval, and reported to the relevant committee for Elected Members’ due consideration and approval. 2. Strategic Policy Framework Annual review 2.1 The annual review of the Strategic Policy Framework traditionally focusses on three main aspects - (i) any enhancements required based on the implementation of the Framework in practice during the previous year, (ii) an update to the Review Programme to reflect new (or updates to existing) strategies, policies, and plans during the year and amendments to review dates, (iii) changes or updates required to the Guidance to ensure council developments in this respect continue to comply with the requirements of Best Value and the principles of good corporate governance (as set out in CIPFAs national Delivering Good Governance in Local Government: Framework (2016)). A summary of the findings from this year’s review, and actions implemented thereafter, are noted in paragraphs 2.1.1. to 2.1.6 below. 2.1.1 The Strategic Policy Framework Review Programme has continued throughout 2023 and 2024 to date with Elected Members approving new (or updated) strategies, policies, and plans at committee in respect of the following: • Economic Regeneration Delivery Plan (ERDP) 2023-28 - February 2023 • Risk Management Strategy 2023-26 - March 2023 • Health and Social Care Strategic Commissioning Plan 2023-26 - March 2023 • Environment Pathway (replaces the previous Environment Strategy) - May 2023 • North Lanarkshire Children’s Services Plan 2023-26 - July 2023 • North Lanarkshire Community Justice Outcome Improvement Plan (CJOIP) - July 2023 • Tackling Poverty Strategy 2023-26 - September 2023 2.1.2 The Review Programme has been updated with indicative timescales of when updates are expected to ensure all strategies, policies, and plans continue to be kept under review, are updated as required, and are reported to the relevant committee. This provides the most up to date position as at January 2024. It also supports forward planning and an indication of when future consultation with stakeholders can be expected. 2.1.3 The Strategic Policy Framework hierarchy diagram has been updated, with new strategies, policies, and plans added during 2023 being the Counter Fraud Policy (approved at the Policy and Strategy Committee in September 2023), the Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy (LHEES) and Delivery Plan (approved by the Policy and Strategy Committee in December 2023), and the North Lanarkshire Volunteering Page 191 of 326
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Strategy 2023-26 (endorsed by the Communities Committee in March 2023). 2.1.4 During the annual review process Chief Officers were asked to identify any new strategies, policies, plans which may be required as a result of the implementation of the Programme of Work to 2028 (approved by the Policy and Strategy Committee in March 2023), or any existing ones that require to be amended to better align. Changes in this respect are reflected in the Review Programme in Appendix B and Elected Members will have the opportunity to contribute to these developments through the stakeholder engagement process set out in the Guidance. 2.1.5 The supporting Guidance was reviewed and updated to ensure strategies, policies, and plans continue to be developed in a standardised manner, consistently use a common format, and roles and responsibilities are clear. The main points of note in the updated Guidance include the following: • The inclusion of the Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) process. This incorporates the means by which to identify and assess the impact of the Rights of the Child to support the development of strategies, policies, or plans. This approach mirrors the committee report template and follows on from the report approved at the Education, Children, and Families Committee in May 2023 (Embedding the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)) which provided added context and reiterated the need to make the system changes required to ensure children’s rights are fully embedded in service and policy development and delivery. • The importance of stakeholder engagement. In this respect the Guidance reiterates roles and responsibilities in terms of the owner of a strategy, policy, or plan (i.e. a Chief Officer) ensuring ongoing engagement with all relevant stakeholders, including Elected Members, in the development of new (or updates to existing) strategies, policies, or plans. While the Guidance has a stand-alone stakeholder engagement section, this requirement is also reflected within other steps in the development and review cycle for a strategy, policy, or plan (i.e. roles and responsibilities, gathering evidence, documentary control, communication and implementation, and monitoring and review). This reflects the findings by Audit Scotland in their Best Value thematic work, which reviewed the leadership of the development of new local strategic priorities: “Reflecting the roles and responsibilities detailed within the Strategic Policy Framework, reviews of the Programme of Work are officer led. In reviewing strategies and developing the Programme of Work to deliver the council vision, lead officers engage all stakeholders, including elected members and strategic partners, through appropriate mechanisms. These include Community Boards, member/officer working groups and dedicated elected member events. This ensures proposed Programme of Work activity presented to committee for approval reflects strategic priorities identified by key stakeholders.” 2.1.6 During the year the supporting Guidance was used in the development of new (or existing) strategies, policies, or plans. To provide added assurance in this respect and also ensure compliance with the elements in the Guidance that help to demonstrate the council’s fulfilment with the principles of good corporate governance (e.g. specifying the intended impact on, or changes for, stakeholders including citizens and service users (such as children’s rights, equalities, finance, and risk for example), ensuring that communication methods are effective, and ensuring openness and comprehensive stakeholder engagement), a lite touch assessment will be undertaken on all strategies, policies, and plans updated during the year. Page 192 of 326
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The outputs from this assessment will be built into the annual position statement update to the Audit and Scrutiny Panel (scheduled for cycle 4 each year) in line with their role to provide an “independent review of the council's governance, risk management, performance, and control frameworks”. This will also support implementation of the improvement action identified by Audit Scotland in their Best Value thematic work which states that “the council should look to improve its existing processes for engaging Elected Members on the overall strategic planning process”. 2.2 The refreshed Strategic Policy Framework document is attached at Appendix 1. This sets out the hierarchy of strategies, policies, and plans which underpin delivery of the long-term vision set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire. The Strategic Policy Framework in Appendix 1 comprises two further appendices: • Appendix A: This contains the Guidance which sets out the process to be followed to ensure strategies, policies, and plans are formulated, developed, implemented, monitored, and reviewed in a consistent and transparent manner. • Appendix B: This sets out the Review Programme for each high-level strategy, policy, or plan within the Strategic Policy Framework. This includes an indicative timetable outlining when a strategy, policy, or plan will be reported to the respective committee following completion of the development or review process. Supporting governance 2.3 Governance of the Strategic Policy Framework will continue to be undertaken through the key strategic oversight roles set out below. (1) In line with the Standards Commission for Scotland (Advice Note for Councillors on distinguishing between their strategic role and any operational work, December 2021) - Elected Members will continue to “determine policy and to participate in decisions on matters placed before them” and “provide strategic leadership; to ensure financial stewardship is achieved through the efficient, economic and effective use of resources; and hold the Chief Executive and senior management team to account by scrutinising the implementation of policies, procedure and expenditure”. (2) In line with their remit and terms of reference to consider matters which are cross- council in nature, the Corporate Management Team will continue to ensure strategic oversight of the corporate strategies, policies, and plans developed by the council and input into the development of such prior to submission to the relevant committee for formal approval by Elected Members. (3) In line with their responsibility to provide an independent review of the council's governance, risk management, performance, and control frameworks and to review performance to assess whether intended policy outcomes have been achieved, the Audit and Scrutiny Panel’s challenge and scrutiny role will aim to ensure the Strategic Policy Framework and its accompanying Review Programme operate effectively and comply with the approved Guidance. Next steps 2.4 The list of strategies, policies, and plans in Appendix B will be kept under review to ensure updates are submitted to the relevant committee in line with the Review Programme as well as the requirements of the Strategic Policy Framework and its supporting Guidance. 2.5 Further work will be undertaken, where required, to ensure ongoing alignment with Page 193 of 326
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the Programme of Work to 2028. The Strategic Policy Framework and its accompanying Review Programme will continue to undergo an annual review and update process with a view to reporting the most up to date position to the Policy and Strategy Committee in March each year. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Measures of success will be evidenced through progress being made to deliver upon the ambition statements in The Plan for North Lanarkshire. Evidence that progress is having a positive impact on inclusive growth and prosperity for all local people and communities will realise the shared ambition where North Lanarkshire is the place to Live, Learn, Work, Invest, and Visit. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 - Strategic Policy Framework - Appendix A: Guidance - Appendix B: Review programme Katrina Hassell Chief Officer (Business and Digital) 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? Page 194 of 326
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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 Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 introduced the duty of Best Value; this requires that councils “make arrangements to secure continuous improvement in performance”. 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? Work to review and refresh the Strategic Policy Framework and its accompanying Review Programme contributes to the mitigation of the risks on the Corporate Risk Register for managing strategic change and governance, leadership, and decision Page 195 of 326
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making. 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 196 of 326
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Strategic Policy Framework Appendix 1 Page 197 of 326
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2 Document control Title Strategic Policy Framework Owner Katrina Hassell, Chief Officer (Business and Digital) Contact HassellK@northlan.gov.uk Governance group Policy and Strategy Committee Author Susan Lawrie, Strategy and Performance Manager Contact LawrieS@northlan.gov.uk Revision history Number Originator Date review commenced Revision description / record of change 1.0 Linda Johnston September 2018 Original framework created 2.0 Linda Johnston September 2019 Annual review 3.0 Linda Johnston September 2021 Annual review and refresh and alignment to the other strategic frameworks 4.0 Linda Johnston September 2022 Annual review and refresh and alignment to the other strategic frameworks 5.0 Linda Johnston September 2023 Annual review and refresh and alignment to the other strategic frameworks and the new Programme of Work to 2028 Document approvals Number Governance group Date approval granted Date approval to be requested (if document still draft) 1.0 Policy and Resources Committee September 2018 2.0 Policy and Strategy Committee September 2019 3.0 Policy and Strategy Committee March 2022 4.0 Policy and Strategy Committee March 2023 5.0 Policy and Strategy Committee March 2024 Consultation record (for most recent update) Status of document consulted upon Strategic Policy Framework Stakeholders consulted / date Corporate Management Team (01/02/24) Strategic alignment Next review commencement date Review date September 2024 The Plan for North Lanarkshire (all 5 priorities and 25 ambition statements), Programme of Work, Strategic Governance Framework, Strategic Performance Framework, Strategic Self-Evaluation Framework, Project Management Framework, Framework for Demonstrating Improved Outcomes for Communities. Page 198 of 326
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3 Table of contents Page number Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4 - 5 Strategy, policy, and legislative context in local government …………………………..……... 6 - 7 - National strategies, policies, and frameworks …………………………………………………... 6 - Local government policy framework …….…………………………………………………......… 6-7 Strategies, Policies, and Plans in North Lanarkshire Council …………………………...…….. 8 - 14 - Strategic planning framework …………………………………………………………...….…….. 8 - Definitions …...………………………………………………………………………………..……. 8 - Framework hierarchy ………………………………………………………………….…………... 8-10 - Overarching approach ………………………………….…………………………………….…… 11 - Roles and responsibilities ………………………………………………………………………… 11-12 - Non-negotiable standards ………………………………………………………..………………. 12-13 - Development and review cycle …...…………………………..………………………….………. 13 - Review programme ………………………………………………………..………………….……. 13 - Governance ………………………………………………………..………………….……………. 13-14 Appendix A: Guidance …………………………………………………………………..….…………. 15 - 25 Appendix B: Review programme ………………………………………………................................ 26 - 40 Page 199 of 326
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4 Introduction The Plan for North Lanarkshire sets the long-term strategic direction for the council, partners, and other stakeholders and, most importantly, for each unique local community and the people who Live, Learn, Work, Invest, and Visit within North Lanarkshire. It’s a Plan with a shared ambition of inclusive growth and prosperity for all and a fairer distribution of wealth across all local communities. The long-term ambition of The Plan for North Lanarkshire coupled with the fast moving, unpredictable, and increasingly challenging and complex local government environment, means planning and change are constantly evolving and ongoing visibility into all programmes of work and their interconnections - as well as the high-level strategies, policies, and plans supporting The Plan - is essential. The Programme of Work provides a clear roadmap for the work of the council and sitting alongside this - as a key aspect of the council’s strategic planning framework - is the Strategic Policy Framework. This ensures that strategy and policy remain connected to delivery in order to collectively facilitate a co-ordinated approach to identifying the resources and working practices needed to support delivery of the long-term vision. The Strategic Policy Framework - set out within this document - is one of the inter-related corporate frameworks that are key to evaluating the success of The Plan for North Lanarkshire and assessing delivery of the Programme of Work (while ensuring each stage of delivery towards achieving the overall ambitions is appropriately aligned, planned, guided, implemented, monitored, and governed): • Strategic Policy Framework • Strategic Governance Framework • Strategic Performance Framework • Strategic Self-Evaluation Framework • Project Management Framework • Framework for Demonstrating Improved Outcomes for Communities To ensure these frameworks remain aligned to The Plan for North Lanarkshire, all are on a regular review and refresh programme. This also ensures the council is proactive in responding to social, economic, and environmental trends and changes in legislation and governance, as well as the broad range of national policy changes and new developments. Strategies and policies created by national and local government affect everyone in the community in some way - determining what services will be provided and the level of those services, what kinds of development will occur in a community, and what a community’s future will be. A central role of local government, strategy and policy development also supports good governance and promotes operational efficiency by: • Enabling compliance with relevant legislation, other standards, and community expectations. • Providing a shared strategic vision and clear direction for all. • Providing clear guidelines to make it easy for employees, and the public, to understand the service delivery, management, and governance approaches of a local authority and ensure consistency in implementation. • Supporting quality assurance and continuous improvement, and the management of risk. The council’s approach to strategy and policy development is set out on pages 8 to 14 of this document. This specifies the hierarchy of strategies, policies, and plans which underpin delivery of the long-term vision set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire. Through a structured approach, the Strategic Policy Framework aims to ensure that strategies, policies, and plans are formulated, developed, implemented, monitored, and reviewed in a consistent and transparent manner across the council. The seven steps in the development and review cycle, depicted on page 15, outline the process in this respect. This includes stakeholder engagement which is a key aspect of the development and review cycle for a strategy, policy, or plan. Elected Members and officers are at the heart of local government policy and delivery - with Members determining policy at the start of the process, officers managing and implementing policy in the middle, and Members scrutinising delivery at the end. Key roles and responsibilities in this respect are summarised on page 11. The Strategic Policy Framework sets out the high-level strategies, policies, and plans which are subject to a formal review process to ensure they remain fit for purpose and aligned to the council’s long-term vision. A Review Programme in Appendix B (pages 26 to 40) helps to support this. Page 200 of 326
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5 Use of terminology Policy, strategy, and plan are words that cover a wide spectrum of dimensions and hierarchies. They range from: • Values and visions, policy direction, strategy documents, and strategic planning approaches, to detailed operational planning. • Comprehensive wide scale planning to specific programme planning. • A long-term 10 to 20-year time horizon, to a 5-year plan, a 3-year rolling plan, or an annual operational plan. • National to regional to local plans. As such, the terminology used nationally and locally can vary considerably and the terms strategy, policy, and plan have often become interchangeable. This Strategic Policy Framework document does not attempt to examine or assess the correct use of the terms strategy, policy, or plan. While it sets out a succinct definition and naming convention for each term to ensure a common language and clear understanding across the council, its key purpose is to provide a structured corporate approach to ensure (a) the high-level strategies, policies, and plans support delivery of The Plan for North Lanarkshire, and (b) these strategies, policies, and plans are formulated, developed, implemented, monitored, and reviewed in a consistent and transparent manner. Page 201 of 326
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6 Strategy, policy, and legislative context in local government National strategies, policies, and frameworks Local government in Scotland operates within a legal framework that expresses national policy within Scotland and the priorities of the UK government. These policies cover every area of life from birth to death and all aspects of environmental, social, and economic regulation. Although policy and legislation are interrelated, each has a distinct function - a policy may have an associated piece of legislation that helps to enforce part, or all, of it. Or a policy may not be the result of legislation at all. The Scottish Government formulates and implements policy on devolved matters and introduces most bills (draft statutes) to be considered by the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Parliament is the lawmaking body for devolved matters and is responsible for scrutinising the work and policies of the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government regularly consults on proposed areas of policy, such as a draft strategy or at the early stages of planning a Bill before it is drafted. Interested parties or individuals may respond to a consultation. All consultation responses are analysed and used in the decision-making process. The Scottish Government maintain a dedicated website (https://consult.gov.scot/) where anyone can participate in current consultations. Local government policy framework In local government, policies can take the form of: • The process by which the UK or Scottish Government translate their political vision into programmes and actions to deliver outcomes and desired changes in the real world. These policies are cascaded to local government (and/or other public sector bodies) for implementation in line with legislation (i.e. they are statutory), or for guidance purposes (i.e. they are not statutory). • A course or general plan of action on a particular subject to be adopted by the local authority. • A statement of the local authority’s position, intent, or action. The policies created by national and local government affect everyone in the community in some way, determining: • What services will be provided to the residents, the level of those services, and the manner in which those services will be provided. Some services are mandated by law, others while not mandated are prudent to provide, while others are discretionary. • What kinds of development will occur in a community. • What a community’s future will be. Legislation Policy • Sets out the law - the procedure or standard that people and organisations must follow. • Can be used to enforce the course of actions within a policy. • New laws may be developed to enforce part or all of a policy. • Tend to be fixed for much longer periods of time. • Must comply with existing law where it is required to do so, but may also lead to the proposal of new laws. • May be adopted to fulfil legislative commitments. • Tends to evolve and adapt over time as a result of review processes. • Sets out what local government plans to do towards achieving a long-term purpose or goal. Page 202 of 326
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7 Policy decisions could be the adoption of a vision for a community, a comprehensive plan, a budget, or a policy relating to a specific issue such as allowing or prohibiting a specific activity. The policy making process is not always easy and there are tough and courageous decisions to be made, sometimes on competing priorities. Often there is no right or wrong answer, which means it should come down to an objective search for the right solution at that time. It could be that policies which, for example, are set to benefit one area of service may have an adverse impact on another area of service. In cases like this tough decisions are required to identify how best to direct public resources to ensure that the actions taken represent a whole system approach and the best possible solution that improves the lives of local people. Page 203 of 326
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8 Strategies, Policies, and Plans in North Lanarkshire Council Strategic planning framework The Plan for North Lanarkshire is well established as the long-term strategy for the council, partners, and other stakeholders and, most importantly, for each unique local community and the people who Live, Learn, Work, Invest, and Visit within North Lanarkshire. It sets out the shared ambition of inclusive growth and prosperity for all and establishes the vision for a fairer distribution of wealth across all local communities. It provides a very clear focus and compelling narrative in terms of what the council is working towards in the long-term. As a key resource for delivering and sustaining the ambition, the Programme of Work provides a clear roadmap for work across council services and with partners. It allows for plans of action to be developed that inform the projects, activities, services, technologies, and resources that need to be harnessed in order to seize the most and best opportunities to deliver on the long-term strategy, while achieving value for money in the here and now. The Programme of Work process is also instrumental in bringing together the elements that support local development, enterprise activities, and community investment in a cohesive manner. Initially approved in September 2018, the Strategic Policy Framework sits alongside the Programme of Work in the council’s strategic planning framework to ensure that strategy and policy remain connected to delivery in support of the long-term vision. This ensures that the high-level inter-related strategies, policies, and plans remain aligned to The Plan for North Lanarkshire and collectively enable the resources and working practices needed in order to maximise impact - at scale and pace - to facilitate delivery of the shared ambition. Figure 1. shows how collectively the Strategic Policy Framework and Programme of Work support The Plan for North Lanarkshire and the shared ambition of inclusive growth and prosperity for all established therein. Definitions There are many definitions of strategies, policies, and plans in existence in both the public and private sector, but the Strategic Policy Framework adopts the following naming convention to ensure consistency across the council. It is recognised though that some national or statutory strategies, policies, and plans may follow a different convention. • Strategies - set out high-level medium to long-term aims that provide direction for the policies and plans required to deliver on the programmes, projects, and activities in support of The Plan for North Lanarkshire. • Policies - form the basis for day-to-day decisions in a regulated manner in order to support a consistent approach to implementation and delivery of the services and the long-term vision. • Plans - contain a detailed plan of action for delivery in the short to medium term in order to achieve specific aims within a specified timeframe. The local government policy framework section on page 6 specifies the three forms which policies can take within local government. Framework hierarchy The hierarchy within the Strategic Policy Framework (depicted in Figure 2. on page 10) sets out the documents that define the council’s high-level activities in line with The Plan for North Lanarkshire; this is categorised into three levels as detailed below. Figure 1: Strategic Planning Framework Page 204 of 326
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9 1. The corporate strategy that defines the overall strategic direction for North Lanarkshire over the long-term. 2. Organisational level strategies or plans with strategic implications, corporate level risk, or corporate level statutory or regulatory requirements which refer to: (a) council strategies or plans, or (b) partnership strategies or plans. 3. Operational strategies, policies, or plans which refer to: (c) practices across service specific activities (e.g. the environment or diet and nutrition). (d) matters in respect of specific cross council activity which are relevant to all managers and employees (e.g. supporting attendance). Applying a hierarchical approach aims to provide a clear structure for the development of high-level strategies, policies, and plans that identifies lines of authority and reporting. This also aims to differentiate between strategies or polices that facilitate delivery of the vision set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire, are designed to ensure compliance with legal requirements, or are required to standardise internal processes. It also helps to produce clear, well-developed documents that are easy to follow, easy to manage, and easy to update as required. The Strategic Policy Framework itself is guided and regulated by the overall statutory, regulatory, and governance requirements within which the council operates (as set out in the Strategic Governance Framework). Page 205 of 326
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10 Figure 2: Strategic Policy Framework hierarchy Page 206 of 326
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11 Overarching approach Where it has been appropriate to do so, several strategies, policies, and plans in the Strategic Policy Framework have been combined or specifically aligned. This aims to integrate related activities and review timescales and ensure that inter-related strategies, policies, and plans are aware of, and take account of, common factors in order to align resources and maximise impact. The strategies, policies, and plans that have been combined or aligned to date are listed in the table below - this approach will continue to be part of the Strategic Policy Framework where it is relevant to do so. Overarching approach Strategies, policies, and plans aligned within the overarching approach Financial Strategy • Medium-Term Financial Plan • Revenue Resources Budget Strategy • Treasury Management Strategy • Capital Strategy • Financial Regulations and Scheme of Financial Delegation Digital and IT Strategy • Acceptable Use of ICT Policy • Data Protection Policy • Information Security Policy • Payment Card Industry Data Security Policy • Records and Information Management Policy • Records Management Plan Environment Pathway • Air Quality Action Plan • Biodiversity Action Plan • Climate Ready Clyde Adaptations Strategy • Contaminated Land Strategy • Core Paths Plan • Food Growing Strategy • Single Use Plastic Action Plan • Tree Asset Management and Operational Woodland Plan • While referenced within the Environment Pathway document to ensure appropriate alignment and integration, the following are standalone strategies, policies, or plans due to the critical role each has in enabling delivery of the place-based aspects of The Plan for North Lanarkshire and the extent of corporate requirements and responsibilities set out therein - Local Development Plan, Open Space Strategy, Climate Plan, Active Travel Strategy 2021-31, and the Local Transport Strategy. Roles and responsibilities Elected Members and officers are at the heart of local government policy and delivery and how they work together is fundamental to success. Good governance underpins these working relationships, which in turn provide a firm foundation for Best Value. The role of Elected Members “is to determine policy and to participate in decisions on matters placed before them. It is not to engage in direct operational management of the council’s services”. It is to “provide strategic leadership; to ensure financial stewardship is achieved through the efficient, economic and effective use of resources; and hold the Chief Executive and senior management team to account by scrutinising the implementation of policies, procedure and expenditure”. (Standards Commission for Scotland, Advice Note for Councillors on distinguishing between their strategic role and any operational work, December 2021) The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 requires the council to maintain a list specifying those powers which are exercisable by officers, and stating the Page 207 of 326
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12 title of the officer who exercises that power. To fulfil this requirement, the council has a Scheme of Delegation to Officers to accompany the Scheme of Administration: • The Scheme of Delegation to Officers sets out the powers delegated by the Council to officers, pursuant to the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. The Scheme is intended to facilitate the efficient conduct of council business by clearly setting out the nature and extent of the powers delegated to officers by the Council. All decisions require to be made in line with council policy, procedure, guidance and (where appropriate) within approved budget. • The Scheme of Administration provides the details and different functions of committees and other groups of the council, and the delegation of authority to carry out the functions of the council. Non-negotiable standards To support the development of new strategies, policies, and plans within the Strategic Policy Framework - or updates to existing documents - a set of five non-negotiable standards are in place within the council. The five non-negotiable standards are designed to ensure consistency across the inter-related corporate frameworks (Policy, Governance, Performance, Self-Evaluation, and Project Management), but more importantly ensure that strategy and policy development supports delivery of the council’s long-term vision, ensures compliance with relevant legislation, and supports effective use of resources in line with Best Value requirements. The set of five non-negotiable standards are designed to ensure that development of strategies, policies, and plans carried out in line with the Strategic Policy Framework and its accompanying Review Programme are: • Aligned - to The Plan for North Lanarkshire so that aims, objectives, and action plans support the achievement of the council’s long-term vision by reflecting contributions to the priorities and ambition statements. • Consistent - in their formulation, development, and implementation so there is a structured approach to making best use of public resources through clear strategies, policies, and plans that ensure resources are deployed to achieve the council’s strategic priorities, meet the needs of local communities, and deliver continuous improvement. Consistency in the process will also ensure there is a clear understanding of the purpose and role of each strategy, policy, or plan in terms of the service delivery, management, and governance approaches of the council. • Transparent - in terms of ensuring appropriate consultation and communication in the development and implementation of strategies, policies, and plans. The development process should be appropriately informed by evidence. It should be clear that the council has engaged with, and involved, all relevant stakeholders as well as equality groups to improve and inform the relevant policies and practices, and that socio-economic disadvantage has been taken into consideration when making strategic decisions. • In context - ensuring that the development process takes cognisance of, and is responsive to, relevant legislation and other standards to ensure full compliance in this respect. Identifying the case for a new strategy or policy should also involve ensuring cross council collaboration and a one council approach so there is no replication of other practices already in place to achieve the desired results. This collaboration should also avoid strategies or policies pulling in different directions by ensuring a positive impact of a policy on one aspect of North Lanarkshire’s population, for example, does not have a negative effect on another. Changes in the fast moving, uncertain, and complex local government Figure 3: Five non-negotiable standards Page 208 of 326
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13 environment within which the council operates also require due consideration in the development and review process. As such, this should therefore involve consideration of residual impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and the resultant social and economic effects on the people and communities of North Lanarkshire and any need to realign any strategy, policy, or plan in light of this. • Balanced - in terms of ensuring each item within the Strategic Policy Framework is on a regular programme of review so that it remains up to date and is reported to the relevant committee. While regular monitoring and review processes are important to ensure strategies, policies, and plans remain fit for purpose and continue to align to the long-term vision of the council, this needs to be proportionate to the resources expended, outcomes expected, and the associated risks. Development and review cycle A set of guidance is in place - see Appendix A - which outlines the steps in the process to ensure strategies, policies, and plans are formulated, developed, implemented, monitored, and reviewed in a consistent and transparent manner across the council. This also outlines specific roles and responsibilities in the development and review cycle and provides links to templates to be used to produce the strategy, policy, or plan document in line with Strategic Policy Framework requirements and the council’s brand guidelines. Review programme Appendix B outlines the Review Programme for each strategy, policy, or plan within the Strategic Policy Framework. This includes an indicative timetable (as at January 2024) outlining when a new (or updated) strategy, policy, or plan will be reported to the respective committee following completion of the review and update process. It should be noted that this Review Programme only refers to substantial updates to the respective strategy, policy, or plan document which are required to re-iterate the intent halfway through the lifespan of the document for example, or because the document has reached the end of its life. It does not capture supporting action plans which are reviewed, updated, and reported periodically through other means. The timescale between the date the review is scheduled to take place and approval at committee may vary depending on the extent of the review and stakeholder engagement process that requires to be undertaken for a specific strategy, policy, or plan. As a rule of thumb all updated strategies, policies, and plans require to be presented to the relevant committee within three months of the conclusion of the review process. All reports scheduled to be presented to committee with a new, or updated, strategy, policy, or plan document that is listed in Appendix B should be considered by the Corporate Management Team in advance. Governance Strategic oversight Governance of the Strategic Policy Framework will continue to be undertaken through the key strategic oversight roles set out below. (1) In line with the Standards Commission for Scotland (Advice Note for Councillors on distinguishing between their strategic role and any operational work, December 2021) - Elected Members will continue to “determine policy and to participate in decisions on matters placed before them” and “provide strategic leadership; to ensure financial stewardship is achieved through the efficient, economic and effective use of resources; and hold the Chief Executive and senior management team to account by scrutinising the implementation of policies, procedure and expenditure”. (2) In line with their remit and terms of reference to consider matters which are cross-council in nature, the Corporate Management Team will continue to Page 209 of 326
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14 ensure strategic oversight of the corporate strategies, policies, and plans developed by the council and input into the development of such prior to submission to the relevant committee for formal approval by Elected Members. (3) In line with their responsibility to provide an independent review of the council's governance, risk management, performance, and control frameworks, and to review performance to assess whether intended policy outcomes have been achieved, the Audit and Scrutiny Panel’s challenge and scrutiny role will aim to ensure the Strategic Policy Framework and its accompanying Review Programme operate effectively and comply with the approved Guidance. Alignment with the Strategic Governance Framework The council’s Strategic Governance Framework brings the principles of good governance together with legislative requirements and management processes by which the council is directed and controlled and through which it is accountable to, engages with, and leads the local community. In practice, governance comprises the combination of structures, strategies, policies, plans, frameworks, systems, processes, rules, codes, procedures, cultures, and values that are used to direct, control, and manage a local authority’s operations and activities (the list of items referred to in this paragraph are hereinafter referred to as elements and mechanisms). This includes political, economic, social, environmental, legal, and administrative structures and processes, and other arrangements, as encapsulated in the principles defined in the Strategic Governance Framework. These elements and mechanisms define roles and responsibilities and accountabilities and establish mechanisms to enable the council to effectively pursue the long-term ambition set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire, while ensuring this is underpinned with control and the management of risk, and: • Resources are directed in accordance with agreed policies and according to priorities, and in line with corporate project management procedures. • There is sound and inclusive decision making. • There is clear accountability for the use of those resources in achieving defined outcomes for service users and local communities. As the council’s local code of governance, the Strategic Governance Framework is key in supporting the national good governance principles set out in the Good Governance in Local Government: Framework (CIPFA, 2016). As the Strategic Policy Framework (and its accompanying Review Programme) provide a way to ensure that strategies, policies, and plans are formulated, developed, implemented, monitored, and reviewed in a consistent and transparent manner across the council, it sits alongside the Strategic Governance Framework Review Programme in outlining the council’s policy context in this respect. The Strategic Policy Framework guidance (in Appendix A) also supports more specific compliance with the principles of good governance, for example in ensuring the council has effective counter fraud and anti-corruption arrangements in place. As such the guidance sets out the requirement for the development of strategies, policies, and plans to consider any alignment required with the council’s Counter Fraud Policy and the need for any subsequent actions to be implemented as a result of such considerations. Page 210 of 326
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15 Appendix A: Guidance Development and review cycle The development and review cycle refers to the different phases in the strategy or policy making process. This outlines the steps required to ensure strategies, policies, and plans are formulated, developed, implemented, monitored, and reviewed consistently and transparently. There are seven steps in the cycle within the Strategic Policy Framework; these are set out in Figure 4. below. These steps should be applied to all strategy and policy development and review work undertaken in the council in line with the Strategic Policy Framework. While these steps provide a consistent and standardised approach to strategy and policy development in line with the Strategic Policy Framework and Review Programme, specific strategies or policies may have their own legislative requirements, or there may be a need to customise particular steps in order to best meet the needs, operating environment, and desired outcomes of the strategy or policy being developed or reviewed. Each of the steps outlined in the process are set out in more detail on pages 16 to 25. Figure 4: Development and review cycle Page 211 of 326
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16 Development and review cycle 1. Identify and scope (i) Clarify roles and responsibilities Owner • In all cases, an owner for a strategy, policy, or plan should be identified - this should be a Chief Officer who is responsible for: - Ensuring that the strategy, policy, or plan is developed in line with the long-term vision set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire as well as relevant legislation. - Identifying the case for a new strategy or policy, ensuring this new development does not replicate other available means of achieving the desired results, and ensuring compliance with the five non-negotiable standards (see pages 12 and 13). - Assigning an author / content manager and ensuring adherence to the Strategic Policy Framework guidance. - Ensuring reviews are carried out in line with the timescales set out in the Strategic Policy Framework Review Programme. - Making sure consultation takes place with all relevant stakeholders. - Ensuring that strategic oversight is carried out by the Corporate Management Team. - Seeking approval of new strategies, policies, or plans by Elected Members through the relevant council committee. Note - committee approval is also required for significant changes to existing strategies, policies, and plans. • The policy owner must ensure performance of a strategy, policy, or plan is monitored and evaluated to assess achievement and effectiveness of the desired outcomes. • The policy owner must also be aware that Elected Members and officers are at the heart of local government policy and delivery - with Members determining policy at the start of the process, officers managing and implementing policy in the middle, and Members scrutinising delivery at the end. The owner of a strategy, policy, or plan should therefore ensure ongoing engagement with Elected Members, as appropriate. Author / content manager • In all cases an author / content manager should be identified - this should be an officer in a senior officer role who is responsible for: - Managing / developing the strategy, policy, or policy document in line with the Strategic Policy Framework guidance. - Liaising with service colleagues and subject matter experts across the council regarding evidence, stakeholder feedback, and content. - Ensuring compliance with accessibility requirements for public sector bodies which came into effect in September 2018, the corporate branding guidelines, and the Strategic Policy Framework design process (see step 2 (iii)). This includes uploading published documents to the council’s website and ensuring this is kept up to date. - Carrying out the relevant impact assessments (see step 1 (iii) below) as part of the development and review process. (ii) Identify the issue and formulate the response As noted on page 6 of the Strategic Policy Framework, policies in local government can take the form of: • The process by which the UK or Scottish Government translate their political vision into programmes and actions to deliver outcomes and desired changes in the real world. These policies are cascaded to local government (and/or other public sector bodies) for implementation in line with legislation (i.e. they are statutory), or for guidance purposes (i.e. they are not statutory). • A course or general plan of action on a particular subject to be adopted by the local authority. • A statement of the local authority’s position, intent, or action. The role of the council in identifying the issue and formulating the response depends on which of the above has informed the development of the strategy, policy, or plan. Policies cascaded to local government will generally be for implementing or for guidance. Policies developed by the council will require the formulation step to be put into practice - as the first step in sound policy-making is properly identifying a problem and designing the right response(s) to address it. Page 212 of 326
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17 (iii) Assess impacts Impact assessments are a means of predicting the potential impact of a strategy, policy, or plan on different aspects of council business or on service users, local communities, individuals, or groups. The following impacts must be considered in the development and review process: (1) Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty • The Public Sector Equality Duty requires the council to assess the impact of applying a proposed new or revised policy or practice against the needs of the general equality duty and to publish the results of the assessment. As a general fail-safe rule, if the policy or practice is about people then an equality impact assessment should be carried out. • The Fairer Scotland Duty requires the council to consider what more it can do to reduce the inequalities of outcome, caused by socio-economic disadvantage, in any strategic decision-making or policy development context, and publish a written assessment showing how it has done this. All covering reports for strategies, policies, and plans should state (a) whether there is a Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty impact, (b) if so what that impact is, and (c) if an assessment has been completed and published. Please note once completed, a summary of this assessment requires to be published on the council’s website ( https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality-and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments ) and included in the covering committee report, where it is relevant to do so. Note where a strategy, policy, or plan does have an impact in this respect it must also be reflected in the document itself. There is one form to complete the assessment for both a Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty impact and also supporting guidance; this information is available on MyNL: https://mynl.co.uk/knowledge-base/equality-impact-assessments/ For any queries in completing this section please e-mail: CameronAu@northlan.gov.uk. (2) Financial - Where there is a financial impact, please ensure this is summarised or stated clearly if none are anticipated. In doing so please ensure that all financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Finance. For any queries, please liaise with colleagues in Finance. (3) HR policy - Where there is a HR policy impact, please ensure this is summarised or stated clearly if none are anticipated. In doing so please ensure that all HR policy impacts have been discussed and agreed with People Resources. For any queries, please liaise with colleagues in People Resources. (4) Legal - Where there is a legal impact, please ensure this is summarised or stated clearly if none are anticipated. In doing so please ensure that all legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with colleagues in Legal and Democratic, particularly with regard to any references to general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation and the impact this may have on the council. For any queries, please liaise with colleagues in Legal and Democratic. (5) Data protection - If the strategy, policy, or plan contains or involves the processing of personal data and, if so, if the processing of this personal data is likely to result in a high risk to the data subject, then a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) requires to be carried out. Further guidance, and the template to complete a DPIA, is available on InsideNL. Once the DPIA is completed, it should be e-mailed to the regulation and governance team in legal at dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk. For any queries or further advice regarding data protection impacts, please refer to the guidance on InsideNL or contact the regulation and governance team in legal (e-mail: dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk ). (6) Technology / Digital - Digital First remains the basis for all service redesign and the Digital and IT Strategy highlights how new technology, service redesign, and connectivity will be used to deliver the digital ambition in terms of Digital Communities, a Digital Economy, and a Digital Council. Any service redesign aspects within Strategic Policy Framework items must be considered within the context of Digital First and the Digital and IT Strategy. Page 213 of 326
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18 Where there is an impact on any digital or technology matter - for example IT infrastructure, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi, or licensing, then colleagues in Business and Digital should be consulted with to enable a one council approach in this respect and to ensure whole system governance. Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, an assessment requires to be carried out by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG). For any queries regarding the technology / digital impact, please refer to the checklist within the report guidance on InsideNL. For any queries or advice, please e-mail: BusinessAndDigitalPMO@northlan.gov.uk (7) Environmental / Carbon - The impact in this respect must be considered for all strategies, policies, plans, strategic frameworks, or practices. It should also be considered where a strategic decision requires to be made (e.g. involving a major procurement or commissioning exercise, a charging policy, a budget decision, or a workforce / resource plan), where a project concerns major service redesign or transformation activity, or where there is an impact on the measurement of the council’s carbon footprint (i.e. it concerns waste, transportation, buildings, housing, or fuel poverty). To do this an impact assessment must be carried out (as per the template on InsideNL) and a summary of the impact must be included in the strategy, policy, or plan document, where relevant. For any queries regarding defining the environmental / carbon impact, please refer to the checklist within the report guidance on InsideNL. For any further queries or advice please e-mail: CarbonGroup@northlan.gov.uk (8) Risk Management - Key risks surrounding a decision and how these are or will be managed or implemented should always be highlighted in the narrative of the strategy, policy, or plan. The audience should receive assurance that the author has carried out a proportionate risk assessment related to the issue and recommendations in compliance with the council's decision-making risk management guidance. In offering this assurance the author is confirming that: a. Risk assessment documentation relating to the decision has been completed and reviewed by relevant senior management. b. All significant risks relating to the strategy, policy, or plan - and how these will be managed - are highlighted in the document. c. Risks relating to the strategy, policy, or plan have, as appropriate, been included in Service or Project Risk Registers and will be managed and subject to monitoring and review in accordance with the council’s Risk Management Strategy. Note, there is a template which should be used to assess risks within the context of the topic of the particular strategy, policy, or plan. This will assist with the formulation of risks to be highlighted in the strategy, policy, or plan and where they will be managed. This template is available on InsideNL. For any queries, please refer to the contact details for the Risk Team and Service Risk Champion available on InsideNL. (9) Armed Forces Covenant - The Covenant Duty is a legal obligation on certain public bodies to have due regard to the principles of the Covenant. It requires decisions about the development and delivery of certain services to be made with conscious consideration of the needs of the Armed Forces community. The Armed Forces Covenant Duty is based upon two key principles: • The Armed Forces community should not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public and commercial services. • Special consideration is appropriate in some cases, especially for those who have given most, such as the injured and the bereaved. This legal obligation impacts organisations that are responsible for delivering principally statutory functions in healthcare, education, and housing services. The Armed Forces community (particularly those who have given the most - which includes in-Service and ex-Service personnel, their families, and widow(er)s) will be affected as beneficiaries of the Duty. When developing a strategy, policy, or plan due regard should be made to 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)? If so, then the provision which has been made should be recorded to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces Page 214 of 326
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19 community to make sure they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services. (10) United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) - The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 16 March 2021 and work is currently underway to incorporate this into Scots Law to deliver improved outcomes for children and young people. Guidance issued by Scottish Ministers introduces children’s rights and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) to all those undertaking public functions - not only those in children’s services - to give effect to children’s rights as set out in the UNCRC. Children’s rights are not just relevant to children and young persons’ services. All decisions made about - and actions taken to deliver - public services may impact on the rights and wellbeing of children and young people. Those delivering public services should respect human rights when they make decisions, plan services, and make policies. Every child has rights “without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child’s or his or her parent’s or legal guardian’s race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status”. The UNCRC has 54 Articles that cover all aspects of a child’s life and set out the civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights that all children in the UK are entitled to. It also explains how adults and governments must work together to make sure all children can enjoy all their rights. The Convention must be seen as a whole: all the rights are linked, and no right is more important than another. All UNCRC rights are underpinned by four general principles: • Non-discrimination. • The best interests of the child. • The right to life, survival, and development. • The child’s right to have their views given due weight. Children’s individual rights sit alongside additional rights for specific groups of children, such as disabled children, children who have been exploited or mistreated, refugee and migrant children, children in custody, and children in care. Note, there are four screening questions and a template which should be used to assess the impact in of a strategy, policy, or plan in this respect. This assessment should be carried out in the development process for all new (or updates to existing) strategies, policies, or plans. This template is available on InsideNL. Trauma informed practice Trauma informed approaches are in operation in the council in line with the national trauma framework. This recognises that trauma can affect individuals, groups, and communities. Trauma results from an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as harmful or life threatening. While unique to the individual, generally the experience of trauma can cause lasting adverse effects, limiting the ability to function and achieve mental, physical, social, emotional, or spiritual wellbeing. Trauma informed practice is an approach used at present by a range of organisations (including for health and care interventions) and it aims to increase awareness of how trauma can negatively impact on individuals and communities, and their ability to feel safe or develop trusting relationships with services and staff. It aims to improve the accessibility and quality of services by creating culturally sensitive, safe services that people trust and want to use. It seeks to prepare practitioners to work in collaboration and partnership with people and empower them to make choices about their health and wellbeing. Trauma-informed practice acknowledges the need to see beyond an individual’s presenting behaviours and to ask What does this person need? rather than What is wrong with this person? There are six principles of trauma-informed practice: safety, trust, choice, collaboration, empowerment, and cultural consideration. An overview can be found in the following video ( https://vimeo.com/274703693 ), and further information is available on the following website, this includes help in developing trauma-informed policies, systems, and practices: https://transformingpsychologicaltrauma.scot/ which should be taken into consideration in the development of new (or updates to existing) council strategies, policies, or plans. (iv) Procurement considerations Procurement contracts can sometimes require the council’s strategies, policies, and plans to be reflected. There is no set list for such purposes as each procurement will Page 215 of 326
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20 require to consider which of the council’s strategies, policies, and plans are most applicable to that which is being procured. The Strategic Policy Framework hierarchy diagram on page 10 of this document provides a useful starting point (as does the council’s website) but this will require to be considered within the context of the supplies, works, or services being procured. (v) Fraud and corruption risks Where applicable, the development of strategies, policies, and plans should also consider any alignment required with the council’s Counter Fraud Policy and the need for any subsequent actions to be implemented as a result of these considerations. This aims to ensure that the council continues to adopt a response that is appropriate for its fraud and corruption risks and is committed to maintaining its vigilance to tackle fraud. Having up to date policies supports the council being able to demonstrate the existence of effective anti-fraud arrangements. 2. Gather evidence and draft (i) Gather evidence The council requires strategies, policies, and plans that respond to the needs of local people and communities and contribute positively towards delivery of the shared ambition for the area, as set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire. Meeting the Best Value duty of continuous improvement requires an approach to policy setting that is informed by evidence that draws on research, evaluation, and data trends. Many types of evidence can inform policy development; this can take the form of evaluations that determine the effectiveness of interventions or policies, studies that collect the views of people about the acceptability of a policy or intervention, people’s views on their needs or requirements, and descriptions of how or whether current policies are being implemented. The views of stakeholders are essential in formulating and reviewing strategies, policies, and plans. The council website contains a general set of data regarding the people of North Lanarkshire: https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-council/facts-and-figures - this includes information on population, households, employment, and deprivation and is updated as new data becomes available. The Strategic Performance Framework supporting The Plan for North Lanarkshire contains a set of 28 Health Check Indicators which are high-level context indicators about the place that is North Lanarkshire; these results are reported to the Policy and Strategy Committee annually each March. (ii) Identify outcomes The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 puts an outcomes approach to public services on a statutory footing. Audit Scotland, in its briefing paper Planning for Outcomes ( https://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/report/planning-for-outcomes ) states that intentions, measurement, and evidence supporting outcomes should be considered early in planning processes. Within this briefing note, it is recommended that “new policies, strategies or plans should set out the outcomes they are aiming to achieve and the intermediate outputs, measures and milestones. Aligning activities with outcomes involves considering what a proposed new strategy is aiming to achieve at the outset and being clear what success will look like.” (iii) Draft the document Design process A suite of templates have been developed by Corporate Communications for authors / content managers to use in the development process; the level 3 templates are available on InsideNL. The use of these templates aligns to the levels in the Strategic Policy Framework hierarchy (as depicted in Figure 2. on page 10 under reference to parts (a), (b), (c), and (d). • Organisational level strategies or plans (level 02) - for either (a) council or (b) partnership - the full version of these documents will be produced by Brand and Creative in Corporate Communications in either portrait or landscape layout using the corporate brand. Note that some of the partnership plans may be produced externally to the council and will not follow this standard, but should have the corporate North Lanarkshire branding and descriptor where possible. Please ensure Page 216 of 326
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21 the time to design a document is built into the development process. Note also that the full approved copy should be supplied to Brand and Creative as an unformatted word document. • Operational strategies, policies, or plans (level 03) - which refer to (c) practices across service specific activities. A general policy / plan template produced by Brand and Creative (in either portrait or landscape layout) - with the relevant live, learn, work, invest, and visit brand descriptor (e.g. LIVE HERE) - requires to be used when drafting operational strategies, policies, and plans. This template can be found on InsideNL and can be used by all staff as appropriate. Documents used in this way do not need to be designed by Corporate Communications. • Operational strategies, policies, or plans (level 03) - which refer to (d) matters in respect of service specific cross council activity. The Basic template produced by Brand and Creative (in either portrait or landscape layout) - with full brand stack: live, learn, work, invest, visit applied but relevant brand descriptor in bold - requires to be used when drafting operational strategies, policies, and plans. This template can be found on InsideNL and can be used by all staff as appropriate. Documents used in this way do not need to be designed by Corporate Communications. Drafting Strategies, policies, and plans require to be written in clear and concise language that is easily understood by all. A One Way of Reporting booklet has been developed by Corporate Communications - this style guide provides guidance for those who have to put something in writing on behalf of the council. This can be anything from a letter, leaflet, strategy document, or news release to a committee report. This is available on InsideNL. Some tips include: 1. Minimise the use of jargon, technical language, and acronyms. When this is unavoidable, these must be explained or stated in full and where essential a glossary of terms should be included. Please remember that not everyone who reads the strategy, policy, or plan will be a subject matter expert. 2. Avoid using text that may become out of date quickly. 3. Make best use of headings, bulleted lists, and tables to break up rows and rows of text. 4. Vary sentence lengths - include long and short sentences; long sentences should be no more than 15 - 20 words. 5. Remember that strategies, policies, and plans should be written in the third person, e.g. “the council” (not in the first person, e.g. “I” or “us” or “you” or “our”). 6. Don’t use double negatives - they can often be confusing to the reader. 7. Don’t repeat the same message in several different paragraphs unnecessarily. 8. Remember that only proper nouns get a capital letter. 9. Remember to do a proofread - include grammar and spell checks and make sure there is consistency in font, style, and formatting. 10. Don’t use the passive voice in writing, e.g. “it will be sold by the council”. The active voice should be used, e.g. “the council will sell it”. (iv) Complete the mandatory sections The document control section of all strategy, policy, and plan documents developed or updated in line with the Strategic Policy Framework must be completed by the author / content manager irrespective of whether the document is produced by Corporate Communications or not. This is a central record of the basic information relating to the strategy, policy, or plan and is important in the development process in terms of identifying what changes have been made and when, the extent of stakeholder consultation, and the approvals and governance processes. The author / content manager must ensure this section is completed accurately, remembering to set a review date for the next update of the document. Guidelines for each of the mandatory sections is provided below: Document control Title title of the document Owner chief officer name and title Contact owner e-mail address Governance group name of council committee (and/or partnership body) responsible for approving new strategic or policies in this respect (or significant changes), in line with the Scheme of Administration and committee terms of reference therein Page 217 of 326
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22 Author author name and title Contact author e-mail address Revision history Number Originator Date review commenced Revision description / record of change 1.0 name of person who initiated the change date development work commenced (month and year, e.g. June 2021) short description of the reason for the revised version and/or a record of the change made 2.0 3.0 etc Document approvals Number Governance group Date approval granted Date approval to be requested (if document still draft) 1.0 name of council committee (and/or partnership body) that approved the new or changed strategy or policy date of meeting that approval was granted (month and year, e.g. September 2021) when document is still in draft and has not yet been approved insert date of meeting that the final version is expected to be presented to for approval 2.0 3.0 etc Consultation record (for most recent update) Status of document consulted upon state title of document and if the document is still in a draft format or if it is a final version Stakeholders consulted / date name(s) of stakeholders consulted and date (month and year) Strategic alignment Next review commencement date This section should highlight the alignment of the strategy, policy, or plan to The Plan for North Lanarkshire. Please state the relevant (a) priority and (b) ambition statement(s) that are most relevant to the document. Review date date when the next review will commence (not the date it will be reported upon conclusion of the review) 3. Consult with relevant stakeholders (i) Identify stakeholders Page 218 of 326
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23 As well as providing evidence to assist in the policy formulation and development processes, stakeholders’ views must be sought before final committee approval with sufficient time allowed for meaningful consideration. New or refreshed strategies and policies are subject to a minimum consultation period of 21 working days. The report author / content manager should identify all interested parties and ensure appropriate engagement with, for example: - other council services - specific communities or community groups - employees - all North Lanarkshire residents - elected members - partner organisations - trade unions - other public bodies - specific service users - others, as required (ii) Tools and techniques In terms of public consultation, the council’s website has a section dedicated for this purpose ( https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/working- communities/consultations ). This section should be used - along with other methods as appropriate - when draft strategies, policies, or plans require feedback from the public as part of the development process. (iii) Consultation record As part of the consultation process, the report author / content manager should ensure the mandatory document control section is completed in this respect. 4. Get strategic oversight and approval (i) Obtain committee approval The role of Elected Members is set out on page 11 of this document (as per the Standards Commission for Scotland Advice Note). This makes it clear that the role of Members is to “determine policy”. All new (or significant changes to existing) strategies, policies, and plans within the Strategic Policy Framework must therefore be approved at the relevant committee. The business to be transacted at committees, the arrangements for committee meetings, and the functions delegated to committees are regulated in accordance with the Scheme of Administration. The Scheme of Administration therefore sets out the terms of reference for committees and, as such, should be consulted to ensure the new (or updated) strategy, policy, or plan is submitted to the relevant committee for approval. The Scheme of Administration is published on the council’s committee system. (ii) Ensure strategic oversight The Standards Commission for Scotland Advice Note (see page 11) also sets out the responsibility of the Chief Executive and senior employees to help ensure that the policies of the council are implemented. Strategy, policy, plan owners (i.e. Chief Officers) are therefore responsible for ensuring a final review of the strategies, policies, and plans within the Strategic Policy Framework prior to strategic oversight by the Corporate Management Team (CMT) and committee approval thereafter. Chief Officers are also responsible for ensuring appropriate CMT oversight in line with the CMTs terms of reference to ensure strategic oversight of the corporate strategies, policies, and plans developed by the council and input into the development of such prior to submission to Committee for formal approval. (iii) C paragraphs A paragraph within a committee Minute designated with the letter 'C' denotes that the item is subject to consideration by the Council meeting. All other items have been delegated in terms of the approved Scheme of Administration and will therefore be submitted for information only. This often relates to a decision regarding approval of a new strategy or policy (or a significant change to either) that has previously been approved by a specific committee; in these instances paragraph 22 of the council’s Standing Orders for meetings apply and approval is therefore also required at the Council meeting. The process for defining ‘C’ paragraphs is undertaken by Committee Page 219 of 326
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24 Services staff. 5. Communicate and implement (i) Communication It is essential that all stakeholders are aware of the existence of council strategies, policies, and plans that are relevant to them. For these to be effective, owners must ensure appropriate communication takes place at each relevant stage in the process. Such communication should: • Take place at the stakeholder engagement process in the development of the strategy, policy, or plan. • Use the council’s consultation web page, should public feedback be required ( https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/working- communities/consultations ) • Involve staff who currently apply the policy and may need to make alterations to day-to-day operations in order to implement a new or changed policy. • Consider if there is a role for the Community Boards in any public consultation exercise to ensure local community groups can be fully engaged with, if so please involve the Community Partnership team. • Ensure engagement with service users who are affected by the change(s). • Ensure that, where necessary, education or training is provided to put the requirements of the strategy, policy, or plan into effect. • Involve the distribution of the strategy, policy, or plan following the formal approval process. When identifying all aspects of communication required for the strategy, policy, or plan following formal approval at committee, the following should also be considered: • If the strategy, policy, or plan is controversial. • If the strategy, policy, or plan requires public promotion of something. • If the strategy, policy, or plan means a change in the way the service is delivered that will impact on service users or residents, or that requires people accessing the service to behave in a different way. • If the strategy, policy, or plan means a reduction or cessation of service. • If the strategy, policy, or plan means any change for employees in other services. If any of these apply, please liaise with colleagues in Corporate Communications so that they are aware of any potential reputational risks and can design appropriate, timely communications activity. (ii) Implementation Getting policy implementation right is critically important. Failure to do so can have a financial impact and cause disruption for local residents and service users. The owner should ensure that there is a plan for implementation and communication that is developed - and agreed by the relevant individuals or bodies - in advance. 6. Monitor and review (i) Monitor Strategies and policies should be regularly evaluated to determine how well they are working and ensure they are achieving their desired aim. Obtaining public or service user feedback, establishing a suite of performance measures, carrying out a self-evaluation exercise, or undertaking a cost-benefit analysis are some examples of ways to evaluate the effectiveness of a strategy, policy, or plan. For further information regarding performance measures or self-evaluation please e- mail StrategyAndPerformance@northlan.gov.uk (ii) Review It is essential that each item within the Strategic Policy Framework is kept on a Review Programme so that it remains up to date and is reported to the relevant committee. Page 220 of 326
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25 While regular monitoring and review processes are important to ensure strategies, policies, and plans remain fit for purpose and continue to align to the long-term vision of the council, this needs to be proportionate to the resources expended, outcomes expected, and the associated risks. Some review and update timescales are set by statute, or by national or partner organisations, but in principle all strategies, policies, and plans within the Strategic Policy Framework should be reviewed and updated within a minimum of five years. As part of the review process for existing documents, the respective strategy, policy, or plan document should follow the same stakeholder engagement and strategic oversight process as new documents. (iii) Approvals Significant amendments to an existing strategy, policy, or plan document must be approved at the relevant committee. • A significant amendment is a change to the purpose or scope, or to the content, or to the responsibilities for implementing a strategy, policy, or plan. • Minor amendments are changes that do not affect the general meaning, scope, purpose, or intent of the strategy, policy, or plan. 7. Publish Once formal approval has been provided by the relevant committee, all corporate level strategies or plans should be published on the council’s website: https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-council/council-strategies-and-plans/council-strategies The author / content manager is responsible for publishing the new or updated strategy, policy, or plan document on the council’s website. They are also responsible for ensuring that documents published comply with accessibility requirements for public sector bodies, the council’s corporate branding guidelines, and that the relevant key words are used to ensure search functions can easily locate a strategy, policy, or plan. Page 221 of 326
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26 Appendix B: Review programme The following provides an indicative timetable (as at January 2024) outlining when a new (or updated) strategy, policy, or plan will be reported to the respective committee following completion of the review and update process. It should be noted that this Review Programme only refers to substantial updates to the respective strategy, policy, or plan document which are required to reiterate the intent halfway through the lifespan of the document for example, or because the document has reached the end of its life. It does not capture supporting action plans which are reviewed, updated, and reported annually through other means. The timescale between the date the review is scheduled to take place and approval at committee may vary depending on the extent of the review and engagement process that requires to be undertaken for a specific strategy, policy, or plan. As a rule of thumb all updated strategies, policies, and plans require to be presented to the relevant committee within three months of the conclusion of the review process. Strategy, Policy, Plan Latest version approved Strategy timeframe / review frequency of document / next review date COMMITTEE MEETING DATES Chief Officer responsible Committee for Strategy / Policy / Plan approval Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2024 Cycle 2 Apr - Jun 2024 Cycle 3 Aug - Sept 2024 Cycle 4 Oct - Dec 2024 Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2025 2025/26 2026/27 The Plan for North Lanarkshire The Plan for North Lanarkshire sets the long-term strategic direction for the council, partners, and other stakeholders and, most importantly, for each unique local community and the people who live, learn, work, invest, and visit within North Lanarkshire. It’s a Plan with a shared ambition of inclusive growth and prosperity for all and a fairer distribution of wealth across all local communities. 28-02-19 The Plan for North Lanarkshire link to report link to strategy document Strategy has no timeframe. The Programme of Work provides the delivery and review mechanism, and this is reviewed annually. Chief Executive Policy and Strategy Committee Financial Strategy As the overarching framework that establishes the financial strategies and policies which ensure effective financial governance, planning, and management, this sets out the responsibility for safeguarding public funds within North Lanarkshire Council and the role of the Section 95 Officer. The financial strategies and policies covered by the Financial Strategy are the Capital Strategy, Treasury Management Strategy, Revenue Resources Budget Strategy, Medium-Term Financial Plan, and the Financial Regulations and Scheme of Financial Delegation. All have an annual review frequency and are monitored within the Strategic Governance Framework annual Review Programme. 06-06-19 Financial Strategy link to strategy Strategy has no timeframe. Following a review in August 2022, the Corporate Management Team concluded the Strategy remains relevant in its current form and no further update was required. Chief Officer (Finance) Policy and Strategy Committee Corporate Communications Strategy The overarching Communications Strategy covers the whole organisation and aims to ensure that communication activity closely aligns with delivery of The Plan for North Lanarkshire. All major activity must support an ambition statement and align with the core narrative which supports the live, learn, work, invest, and visit brand strategy. In order to maximise communication support for the council’s priorities and ambitions, the Communications Strategy sets out the key strategic principles of council communication. 06-06-19 Corporate Communications Strategy link to strategy Update to the strategy scheduled for committee in cycle 2 of 2024. X Chief Officer (Strategic Communication and Engagement) Policy and Strategy Committee Equality Strategy The Equality Strategy sets out the council’s commitment to equality and human rights and its clear understanding of the disadvantage and inequality that exists for some people and communities. Through five working objectives for 26-08-19 Equality Strategy 2019-24 link to strategy The strategy will be fully reviewed in early 2024 and will incorporate a refreshed set of equality outcomes for the council X X X Chief Officer (People Resources) Wellbeing and Tackling Poverty Committee Page 222 of 326
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27 Strategy, Policy, Plan Latest version approved Strategy timeframe / review frequency of document / next review date COMMITTEE MEETING DATES Chief Officer responsible Committee for Strategy / Policy / Plan approval Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2024 Cycle 2 Apr - Jun 2024 Cycle 3 Aug - Sept 2024 Cycle 4 Oct - Dec 2024 Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2025 2025/26 2026/27 success, the strategy outlines how equality will continue to be part of the everyday work of the council thereby ensuring a mainstreamed approach. with yearly updates thereafter; update scheduled for committee in cycle 3 of 2024. Workforce for the Future Strategy The Workforce for the Future Strategy approved in March 2020 covers the period 2020-23. This strategy was subsequently refreshed in June 2021 and realigned in light of the pandemic as it continued to have a major impact on levels of employment and the needs of employers across North Lanarkshire. It also addressed the issue that the pandemic was expected to have adversely affected the wider employment, training, and progression prospects of young people and other residents who have been made redundant or may be at risk. 03-06-21 Workforce for the Future Strategy link to strategy Going forward the objectives and ongoing activities supporting this strategy will be subsumed within the Brighter Futures programme, aligned to the council’s overall Programme of Work. Chief Officer (People Resources) Policy and Strategy Committee Workforce Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy The council recognises that mental ill health and stress can be associated with many of the leading causes of disease and disability in society. Promoting and protecting the mental wellbeing of the workforce is important for individuals’ physical health, social wellbeing, and productivity. Mental wellbeing in the workplace is relevant to all employees and everyone can contribute to improved mental wellbeing at work. 27-05-21 Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy link to strategy An update on the strategy progress and goals to 2028, including the work of service Mental Health groups, is scheduled for committee in cycle 2 of 2024. X X X Chief Officer (People Resources) Finance and Resources Committee / Wellbeing and Tackling Poverty Committee Procurement Strategy In order to demonstrate Best Value, local authorities are required to comply with legal and best practice requirements in the procurement and strategic commissioning of goods, services, and works (including the Scottish Model of Procurement) and ensure there is clear accountability within procurement and commissioning arrangements. The Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 requires Scottish public bodies with annual procurement spend greater than £5 million (which includes the council) to develop and publish an organisational procurement strategy and keep the strategy under regular review. 14-09-22 Procurement Strategy 2023-24 link to strategy This one-year strategy is reviewed and updated annually. Next update is scheduled for committee in cycle 1 of 2024. X X X Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) Finance and Resources Committee Digital and IT Strategy IT and digital are integral to the future success of The Plan for North Lanarkshire, and the Digital and IT Strategy highlights how technology will be used to transform service delivery and deliver on the vision for a Digital North Lanarkshire with Digital Communities, a Digital Economy, and a Digital Council. The strategies and policies covered by the Digital and IT Strategy are the Acceptable Use of ICT Policy, Data Protection Policy, Information Security Policy, Payment Care Industry Data Security Policy, Records and Information Management Policy, and Records 23-02-22 Digital and IT Strategy link to strategy Strategy scheduled to be reviewed and updated when it reaches the end of its current life in 2023/24, with a new strategy for 2024 to 2027 scheduled for committee in cycle 1 of 2024. X X Chief Officer (Business and Digital) Policy and Strategy Committee Page 223 of 326
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28 Strategy, Policy, Plan Latest version approved Strategy timeframe / review frequency of document / next review date COMMITTEE MEETING DATES Chief Officer responsible Committee for Strategy / Policy / Plan approval Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2024 Cycle 2 Apr - Jun 2024 Cycle 3 Aug - Sept 2024 Cycle 4 Oct - Dec 2024 Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2025 2025/26 2026/27 Management Plan. The strategies and policies covered by the Digital and IT Strategy are set out therein along with timescales for further review. All have a regular review frequency and are monitored within the Strategic Governance Framework annual Review Programme. Risk Management Strategy The Risk Management Strategy sets out a clear direction for how the council will identify, assess, and manage the risks faced in providing high quality public services and delivering The Plan for North Lanarkshire. The strategy is intended to ensure that the council is risk aware rather than risk averse and that the management of risk is embedded in the council’s policies, procedures, culture, and practices. It is designed to ensure key decisions are taken with an understanding of risks and their effective control. Risk management arrangements form an important element of good corporate governance and are designed to ensure that the council operates systematic and logical processes for managing risks within a comprehensive framework, ensuring that identified risks are managed consistently, effectively, efficiently, and coherently across the organisation. 16-03-23 Risk Management Strategy 2023-26 link to strategy 3 year strategy next scheduled to be reviewed in December 2025 and reported to committee in cycle 1 of 2026. X Chief Officer (Audit and Risk) Policy and Strategy Committee Internal Audit Strategy The Internal Audit Strategy is designed to clearly set out Internal Audit’s strategic objectives and outline briefly in clear and concise terms how these strategic objectives will be delivered. It is considered that such a statement benefits both key stakeholders and Internal Audit staff, by providing a clear overview of what Internal Audit is trying to achieve, and how, and by establishing key principles against which the performance of Internal Audit can be better assessed. 27-06-19 Internal Audit Strategy 2019/20 - 2021/22 link to strategy Strategy scheduled to be reviewed and updated and reported to committee in cycle 2 of 2024. X Chief Officer (Audit and Risk) Audit and Scrutiny Panel Counter Fraud Policy North Lanarkshire Council has a zero-tolerance approach to fraud, bribery, and corruption, and aims to design, implement, and operate effective systems to counter these. The Counter Fraud Policy details the council’s approach to the prevention, detection, and investigation of fraud across all service areas. 28-09-23 Counter Fraud Policy link to policy Policy next scheduled to be reviewed in October 2025 and reported to committee in cycle 1 of 2026. X Chief Officer (Audit and Risk) Audit and Scrutiny Panel Events Strategy The council has an extensive history of hosting and promoting successful events. Events contribute to the local economy through tourism and expenditure in the local area and via the supply chain. They provide recreational and volunteering opportunities for local people and, at their biggest, give North Lanarkshire a national and international profile. While the council has staged many successful events, a formal Events Strategy ensures the council, working with its partners, maximises the potential of North 06-06-19 Events Strategy link to strategy Strategy has no timeframe. Chief Officer (Strategic Communication and Engagement) Policy and Strategy Committee Page 224 of 326
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29 Strategy, Policy, Plan Latest version approved Strategy timeframe / review frequency of document / next review date COMMITTEE MEETING DATES Chief Officer responsible Committee for Strategy / Policy / Plan approval Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2024 Cycle 2 Apr - Jun 2024 Cycle 3 Aug - Sept 2024 Cycle 4 Oct - Dec 2024 Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2025 2025/26 2026/27 Lanarkshire as a destination of choice for hosting events. Diet and Nutrition Policy Improving the health and wellbeing of local communities is a key aspect to achieve the five priorities in The Plan for North Lanarkshire in order to empower people to make healthier choices and improve their health and wellbeing. This policy demonstrates the council’s commitment to improving the diet and nutrition of its service users, residents, and staff. In 2000, the council was one of the first local authorities in Scotland to develop a policy in relation to diet and nutrition which was subsequently updated after a significant number of developments were made both nationally and locally to tackle Scotland’s high levels of overweight and obesity. An update is required to reflect Natasha’s Law, Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) regulations 2020, and the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022. Other items to be considered will be the Deposit Return Scheme and Setting the Table guidelines which are under review. 19-03-20 Diet and Nutrition Policy 2019-24 link to policy 5-year policy next scheduled to be reviewed and updated and reported to committee in cycle 4 of 2024. X Chief Officer (Community Operations) Policy and Strategy Committee Climate Plan, Action on Climate Together The Climate Plan is the first of an intended series of climate-related documents that encompass the council’s own climate emergency declaration and subsequent target of net-zero emissions. The climate plan provides targets from 2021/22 to 2025/26 with a commitment to continually review and set targets beyond this. 09-02-22 Climate Plan, Action on Climate Together link to plan The Climate Plan is up to 2030, however carbon budgets are set to 2025/26 so an update is scheduled for committee in cycle 1 of 2024 and annually thereafter to ensure ongoing alignment with the Programme of Work. There is a requirement to deliver an Adaptation Plan; this will be scheduled for committee in cycle 1 of 2025. X X Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) Environment and Climate Change Committee Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy (LHEES) and Delivery Plan The Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies (Scotland) Order 2022 (SSI 171) placed a duty on local authorities to produce a LHEES and a supporting 5-year cycle Delivery Plan by 31 December 2023. The purpose of a LHEES is to provide a framework for taking an area-based approach to heat and energy efficiency planning and delivery (i.e. it does not include wider energy planning). The framework therefore aims to: • Set out how each segment of the building stock needs to change to meet national objectives, including achieving zero greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector, and the removal of 07-12-23 Loal Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy and Delivery Plan link to strategy and plan The LHEES is a 20-year strategy which is supported by a 5-year Delivery Plan. Report scheduled for committee in cycle 3 of 2024 will include feedback from the Scottish Government. X Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) / Chief Officer (Housing Management) Policy and Strategy Committee Page 225 of 326
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30 Strategy, Policy, Plan Latest version approved Strategy timeframe / review frequency of document / next review date COMMITTEE MEETING DATES Chief Officer responsible Committee for Strategy / Policy / Plan approval Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2024 Cycle 2 Apr - Jun 2024 Cycle 3 Aug - Sept 2024 Cycle 4 Oct - Dec 2024 Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2025 2025/26 2026/27 poor energy efficiency as a driver of fuel poverty. • Identify areas where there is potential for heat networks and set out the primary measures for reducing emissions. • Prioritise areas for delivery, against national and local priorities. Corporate Asset Management Plan The Corporate Asset Management Plan (CAMP) provides an overview of how the council is managing its assets in alignment with the strategic direction of the organisation to both deliver and sustain an asset base that will meet current and future requirements. The CAMP is one of the tools used to manage the asset base and guide activities (i.e. maintain, rationalise, invest, dis-invest); it links into the ongoing review and development of the 5-year capital plan. 14-09-22 Corporate Asset Management Plan (CAMP) 2021-26 link to plan 5-year plan next scheduled to be reviewed and updated and reported to committee in cycle 1 of 2026. X Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) Finance and Resources Committee Housing Asset Management Plan The council’s Housing Asset Management Plan (HAMP) 2021-26 provides an overview of Homes Fit for the Future. It aligns with the Local Housing Strategy and other council strategies and provides the strategic framework for asset management activities and investment over the next five years. There are four key priorities to guide activities: • Help deliver the homes North Lanarkshire needs to grow. • Provide high-quality, well-maintained homes. • Tackle climate change and fuel poverty. • Improve council systems and use of data. 17-02-21 Housing Asset Management Plan 2021-26 link to plan 5-year plan next scheduled to be reviewed and updated and reported to committee in cycle 1 of 2026. X Chief Officer (Housing Management) Housing Committee Community Safety Strategy The Community Safety Strategy recognises that community safety is set within a broad context of enabling communities to be resilient and safe, through effective engagement and empowerment, and that much wider social, economic, and physical factors all impact on community safety. This strategy aims to ensure a holistic, integrated approach across partners to address the needs of communities in North Lanarkshire, recognising the broad spectrum of activity that contributes to community safety. The strategy also comprises the Antisocial Behaviour Strategy for North Lanarkshire as required by the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 due to the inter-connectedness of tackling antisocial behaviour with the other community safety strands and benefits of considering all of these strands together to better use and target resources and activity as a partnership. 01-02-21 Improving Community Safety in North Lanarkshire: A Strategy to Improve Lives 2020-25 link to strategy 5-year strategy next scheduled to be reviewed and updated when it reaches the end of its current life; update scheduled for committee in cycle 2 of 2025. X Chief Officer (Strategic Communication and Engagement) Communities Committee Community Matters - a Framework for Working with Communities The Working with Communities Framework has been developed to guide engagement approaches to 26-08-19 Community Matters - a Review / update will be undertaken in 2024 in line X Chief Officer (Strategic Communities Committee Page 226 of 326
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31 Strategy, Policy, Plan Latest version approved Strategy timeframe / review frequency of document / next review date COMMITTEE MEETING DATES Chief Officer responsible Committee for Strategy / Policy / Plan approval Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2024 Cycle 2 Apr - Jun 2024 Cycle 3 Aug - Sept 2024 Cycle 4 Oct - Dec 2024 Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2025 2025/26 2026/27 ensure a more streamlined approach to community participation and empowerment. This reflects not just the strategic context for the council and Community Planning Partnership but also the requirements of key national drivers for community empowerment, including the Principles for Community Empowerment published by Audit Scotland. Framework for Working with Communities link to framework with the Partnership Communications Strategy and implementation of the findings from the Community Planning / Community Boards self- evaluation exercise undertaken in 2023. Communication and Engagement) Environment Pathway The council has a number of strategies, action plans, and policies which contribute to the development and protection of North Lanarkshire’s environment. The reconfiguration of the Environment Strategy into an Environment Pathway aligns all of these under one strategic approach to ensure these related strategies, policies, and plans are not implemented in isolation, but take account of common environmental factors locally and collectively aim to protect, enhance, and promote North Lanarkshire’s environment. This document also comprises those strategies or duties required by legislation. It includes the Air Quality Action Plan, Biodiversity Action Plan, Climate Ready Clyde Adaptations Strategy, Contaminated Land Strategy, Core Paths Plan, Food Growing Strategy, Single Use Plastic Action Plan, and Tree Asset Management and Operational Woodland Plan and shows the alignment to the Active Travel Strategy, Local Development Plan, Local Transport Strategy, Climate Plan, and Open Space Strategy. The strategies, policies, and plans covered by the Environment Pathway are set out therein along with timescales for further review. 03-05-23 Environment Pathway link to strategy 2-year strategy with next review and update scheduled for 2025; update scheduled for committee in cycle 2 of 2025. X Chief Officer (Community Operations) Environment and Climate Change Committee Active Travel Strategy This strategy puts in place for the first time, a cohesive and holistic framework to prioritise and accelerate active travel interventions across North Lanarkshire. These will align with the Town Visions and Town and Community Hub development to provide better active travel networks between local communities and across the local authority boundary. This will also help to deliver improved health and wellbeing and environmental, social inclusion, and public access benefits. 25-08-21 Active Travel Strategy 2021-31 link to strategy 10-year strategy which will be reviewed / updated when it reaches the end of its current life. Chief Officer (Place) Environment and Climate Change Committee Local Transport Strategy Robust transport networks play a significant part in delivering the ambition to make North Lanarkshire the place to live, learn, work, invest, and visit. The Local Transport Strategy sets out how national objectives are delivered at a local level. There are four objectives within the strategy: • To stimulate business and the economy and develop North Lanarkshire as an attractive place to invest, work, and do business. Local Transport Strategy link to strategy Development of new Strategy will be progressed during 2024 for approval at committee in cycle 2 of 2025. X Chief Officer (Place) Environment and Climate Change Committee Page 227 of 326
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32 Strategy, Policy, Plan Latest version approved Strategy timeframe / review frequency of document / next review date COMMITTEE MEETING DATES Chief Officer responsible Committee for Strategy / Policy / Plan approval Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2024 Cycle 2 Apr - Jun 2024 Cycle 3 Aug - Sept 2024 Cycle 4 Oct - Dec 2024 Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2025 2025/26 2026/27 • To provide equal opportunities and enhance the choice, accessibility, and availability of transport, particularly for those in deprived areas and those with limited access to the transport network. • To promote safety in the community and enhance safety when travelling on the transport network. • To protect North Lanarkshire's natural built environment and to improve the health of the local population. Local Development Plan The Local Development Plan (LDP) is the land use planning strategy for North Lanarkshire. A strategy is a plan of action designed to achieve a long term or overall aim - the long-term aim is to increase sustainable growth and regeneration, and to improve places in support of the council’s long-term vision. The Local Development Plan looks to achieve this through policies used to determine applications for planning permission. 30-06-22 North Lanarkshire Local Development Plan Update and Development Plan Scheme 2023 link to file link to latest LDP Work will progress on the new LDP during 2023/24 with anticipated approval of Proposed LDP expected 2025/26. Adoption of new LDP thereafter expected in 2027/28. X Chief Officer (Place) Full Council Indicative Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) As part of the new Planning system and following Parliamentary approval of NPF4, the Scottish Government will invite regional groupings of Planning Authorities to prepare a non-statutory Regional Spatial Strategy. RSSs can identify areas for future population growth, align with regional economic strategies, and identify key sectors and clusters for future development and investment along with networks of regionally significant centres, growth, and investment areas. There will be no requirement for council approval of this strategy; separate governance arrangements will be in place regionally. This strategy is included here for completeness as the Local Development Plan will be required to have regard to it. N/A National guidance has still to be provided - publication date has still to be confirmed. Currently estimate adoption of RSS in early 2026. X Chief Officer (Place) N/A Approved through governance arrangements at a regional level Glasgow City Region Economic Strategy The economic strategy for Glasgow City Region (GCR) - launched in December 2021 - sets the framework for GCR decision making and identifies priorities and programmes for spend over the next ten years for the region, impacting on 1.8 million residents and 50,000 businesses. The partnership approach is a first in that it has been developed and endorsed not only by the region’s eight councils but by government and wider public sector agencies (including Scottish Enterprise and Skills Development Scotland) all of which will be instrumental in its delivery. There will be no requirement for council approval of this strategy; separate governance arrangements are in place through the Glasgow City Region Cabinet. This strategy is included here for completeness as it December 2021 Glasgow City Region Economic Strategy link to strategy August 2022 Regional Economic Strategy Action Plan 2022/23 link to plan 10-year Strategy with Action Plan. Strategy and action plan reported quarterly to the GCR and Action Plan reviewed annually by the GCR Project Management Office. Chief Officer (Place) N/A Approved through Glasgow City Region Cabinet Page 228 of 326
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33 Strategy, Policy, Plan Latest version approved Strategy timeframe / review frequency of document / next review date COMMITTEE MEETING DATES Chief Officer responsible Committee for Strategy / Policy / Plan approval Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2024 Cycle 2 Apr - Jun 2024 Cycle 3 Aug - Sept 2024 Cycle 4 Oct - Dec 2024 Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2025 2025/26 2026/27 aligns to the City Deal programme. North Lanarkshire Tourism Strategy This strategy sets out the aspirations for a shared vision that by 2026 North Lanarkshire will be a sustainable, resilient tourist destination offering a range of authentic and memorable experiences which provide value for money and are accessible to all. The strategy captures current service provision and supports the recovery and growth of the tourism and leisure sector in North Lanarkshire. The Action Plan sets out how the aims of the strategy will be met. The Action Plan will be reviewed annually to ensure it continues to achieve the vision outlined in the Tourism Strategy in the short, medium, and long- term. 03-02-22 Tourism Strategy and Action Plan 2022-26 Link to file 4-year strategy with an action plan reviewed and updated annually. Strategy will be reviewed and updated in 2025/26 when it reaches the end of its current life. X Chief Officer (Place) Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Economic Regeneration Delivery Plan (ERDP) The ERDP is a high-level framework which is aligned to the composite capital programme and delivers on the priority of The Plan for North Lanarkshire to improve economic outcomes and opportunities. This will be achieved by delivering an integrated approach to investing in four key inter-related areas: • Housing supply. • Town centres. • Business and industry. • Infrastructure and coherently across the organisation. 17-02-23 Economic Regeneration Delivery Plan 2023-28 link to plan 5-year strategy with an action plan reviewed and updated annually. Strategy will be reviewed and updated in 2027/28 when it reaches the end of its current life. Chief Officer (Place) Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Business and Industry Strategy The ERDP recognises that improving and extending North Lanarkshire’s business and industrial offer is essential to supporting economic growth. While work is ongoing to support and enable the development of North Lanarkshire’s key business locations, and initiatives are being developed to assist with improvements to existing estates, it has been identified that there is a need to develop a more strategic approach. This will be achieved through the establishment of a cohesive Business and Industry Strategy which is closely linked to work programmes for business support and skills development. This will ensure any investment in business infrastructure can promote both business growth and local employment opportunities. The Business and Industry Strategy will provide the evidence base to help inform / prioritise future public sector investment and inform the next Local Development Plan in terms of employment land allocation. N/A Work is progressing on the new Strategy for reporting in cycle 1 of 2025. This will form part of the evidence base for the new Local Development Plan. X Chief Officer (Place) Enterprise and Fair Work Committee North Lanarkshire Social Enterprise Framework This framework sets out the shared vision for a competitive and dynamic Social Enterprise sector in 03-02-22 North Lanarkshire Social 4-year strategy with an action plan reviewed and X Chief Officer (Place) Enterprise and Fair Work Page 229 of 326
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34 Strategy, Policy, Plan Latest version approved Strategy timeframe / review frequency of document / next review date COMMITTEE MEETING DATES Chief Officer responsible Committee for Strategy / Policy / Plan approval Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2024 Cycle 2 Apr - Jun 2024 Cycle 3 Aug - Sept 2024 Cycle 4 Oct - Dec 2024 Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2025 2025/26 2026/27 North Lanarkshire which supports inclusive and green growth, delivering innovative solutions and proactive responses to local needs and maximising local public and private procurement opportunities. It captures current service provision and supports the recovery and growth of the sector through three key themes: stimulating the sector, developing stronger organisations, and realising market opportunities. The Action Plan sets out how the aims of the Framework will be met. The Action Plan will be reviewed annually to ensure it continues to achieve the vision outlined in the Framework in the short, medium, and long-term. Enterprise Framework 2022-26 link to framework updated annually. Strategy will be reviewed and updated in 2025/26 when it reaches the end of its current life. Committee Open Space Strategy Open space strategies are a statutory requirement under the provisions of the new Planning (Scotland) Act 2019. An Open Space Strategy will require a strategic framework to be set out which comprises the council’s policies and proposals regarding the development, maintenance, and use of green infrastructure (including open spaces and green networks). The legislation requires that an open space strategy is underpinned by an audit of existing open space and play provision, an assessment of current and future requirements, and any other matter the council considers appropriate. Guidance on the requirements of the open space audit and open space strategy (linked to NPF4 and guidance for the preparation of future Local Development Plans) and Play Sufficiency Assessments was published for consultation in late 2021 and has still to be finalised. Indicative timescales are subject to change, but work is already underway, in consultation and with the assistance of Greenspace Scotland, to prepare for the audit and provide a bank of local data. This will be an invaluable resource that can be used to inform the council’s strategic direction. The audit will then inform requirements for retention, enhancement, replacement, re-purposing, or disposal of a range of places, spaces, and connections. This will allow for the combination of new and existing networks to form an integrated network of connected places and spaces across North Lanarkshire’s communities. 16-03-23 Update link to report Development of new Strategy, including open space audit, is currently progressing. Update is scheduled for committee in cycle 2 of 2024 and final strategy is scheduled for approval at committee in cycle 4 of 2024. X X Chief Officer (Place) Policy and Strategy Committee Strategic Activity Framework Developed through the North Lanarkshire Partnership, the Physical Activity and Sport Strategic Framework puts North Lanarkshire in a great position to help everyone become more active. This framework has set some ambitious targets to help improve the health and increase the physical activity 24-08-20 ActiveNL - North Lanarkshire’s Physical Activity Strategic Framework 2020-24 link to framework 5-year framework will be reviewed / updated when it reaches the end of its current life. X Chief Officer (Community Operations) Communities Committee Page 230 of 326
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35 Strategy, Policy, Plan Latest version approved Strategy timeframe / review frequency of document / next review date COMMITTEE MEETING DATES Chief Officer responsible Committee for Strategy / Policy / Plan approval Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2024 Cycle 2 Apr - Jun 2024 Cycle 3 Aug - Sept 2024 Cycle 4 Oct - Dec 2024 Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2025 2025/26 2026/27 levels of all. The focus of the strategy and action plan reflects the importance of cultural activity on overall wellbeing. Local Housing Strategy The Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 places a statutory requirement on local authorities to produce a Local Housing Strategy (LHS) that sets out the strategy, priorities, and plans for the delivery of housing and related services. The 2001 Act states that the LHS must be supported by an assessment of housing provision including the need and demand for housing and related services and that local authorities must keep their LHS under review. Nationally there is an expectation that councils prepare and submit LHSs every five years and there is a requirement to provide a focus on housing supply, homelessness, property condition, energy efficiency, fuel poverty, and older people's and specialist provision housing. In North Lanarkshire, the Local Housing Strategy is at the heart of arrangements for housing and planning through its links with the Local Development Plan, as well as its strategic role in directing investment in housing and housing related services locally. It sets out a strategic vision for the delivery of housing and housing related services. 24-11-21 Housing Strategy 2021-26 link to report link to strategy Five-year strategy, with an annual review and progress on the delivery of the action plan reported to committee annually. Strategy will be reviewed and updated in 2026 when it reaches the end of its current life. X Chief Officer (Housing Management) Housing Committee Tenant Participation Strategy There is a statutory requirement under The Housing (Scotland) Act 2001, Section 53 (1) which sets out the duty for social landlords to develop and publish a Tenant Participation Strategy in consultation with tenants. The Housing (Scotland) Act 2010 places additional duties on social landlords to involve both tenants and other customers in housing and related activities. The Tenant Participation Strategy 2020-25 (Involving Tenants - Improving Services) is the main source of information regarding tenant participation; it outlines opportunities to participate in the monitoring and development of the housing service. The aim of the strategy is to continue to develop and improve how the council communicates with tenants and residents and ensure opportunities are provided for participation and involvement accessible to all. 19-02-20 Tenant Participation Strategy 2020-25 link to report link to strategy 5-year strategy, with an annual review and progress on the delivery of the action plan reported to committee annually. Strategy will be reviewed and updated in 2025 when it reaches the end of its current life. X Chief Officer (Housing Management) Housing Committee Rapid Rehousing Plan Transitioning to rapid rehousing is an opportunity for the council and partners to redress the balance of housing and support options relating to availability and accessibility for homeless households. The Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan (RRTP) sets out how the council and partners will move forward from the current position to deliver the future model. The plan provides a guide as to how to move homeless households into settled housing as quickly 14-11-18 Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan 2019-24 link to plan 5-year plan, with an annual review and progress on the delivery of the action plan reported to committee annually. Plan will be reviewed in 2024 when it reaches the end of its current life and X Chief Officer (Housing Management) Housing Committee Page 231 of 326
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36 Strategy, Policy, Plan Latest version approved Strategy timeframe / review frequency of document / next review date COMMITTEE MEETING DATES Chief Officer responsible Committee for Strategy / Policy / Plan approval Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2024 Cycle 2 Apr - Jun 2024 Cycle 3 Aug - Sept 2024 Cycle 4 Oct - Dec 2024 Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2025 2025/26 2026/27 as possible. 2023/24 is the final year of RRTP funding; however, it is likely that future funding will be provided to enable the implementation of the Prevention of Homelessness Bill. when future funding is clarified. Health and social care strategic plan In presenting this ten-year strategic plan, the aim was to set in motion an approach to delivering health and social care that will lead over time to achieving the national health and wellbeing outcomes prescribed in the Public Bodies (Scotland) Act 2014 and the outcomes linked to The Children and Young People’s (Scotland) Act 2014 and the Community Justice (Scotland) Bill. 08-03-16 (the plan was signed off by the Shadow IJB on 8th March 2016) Integrating Health and Social Care in North Lanarkshire - Strategic Plan 2016-26 link to plan 10-year plan which will be reviewed during 2025/26 when it reaches the end of its current life. X Chief Officer (Health and Social Care) Integration Joint Board (for approval) Health and Social Care Strategic Commissioning Plan The Public Bodies (Joint Working) Scotland Act 2014 requires each Integrated Joint Board to produce a Strategic Plan. Health and Social Care North Lanarkshire published its ten-year strategy Safer, Healthier, Independent Lives in 2016 and since then a Strategic Commissioning Plan has been produced to outline the key intentions to be delivered. 22-03-23 Health and Social Care Strategic Commissioning Plan 2023-26 link to plan 3-year plan which will be reviewed during 2025/26 when it reaches the end of its current life. X Chief Officer (Health and Social Care) Integration Joint Board (for approval) / Policy and Strategy Committee (for awareness) North Lanarkshire Strategy for Adult Carers and Young Carers The Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 came into effect in April 2018 and introduced new statutory requirements for planning and arranging support for unpaid Adult Carers and Young Carers. One of the key provisions of the legislation is a duty on local authorities and health boards to prepare a carers strategy for their area. 05-11-19 North Lanarkshire Strategy for Adult Carers and Young Carers 2019-24 link to strategy 5-year strategy which will be reviewed during 2024/25 when it reaches the end of its current life; update scheduled for committee in cycle 4 of 2024. X Chief Officer (Health and Social Care) Integration Joint Board (for approval) Lanarkshire Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy The five-year strategy Lanarkshire Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy for all age groups is informed by a range of work including the national Mental Health Strategy 2017-27, while reflecting the needs of people living in Lanarkshire and importantly the experience of people using local services. This aims to ensure the promotion of mental health and wellbeing underpins all aspects of support and services. The joint approach to developing the support and services required when needed will ensure Lanarkshire becomes a place that champions and promotes good mental health for all. 26-09-19 Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy for Lanarkshire 2019-24 link to strategy 5-year strategy which will be reviewed during 2024/25 when it reaches the end of its current life. X Chief Officer (Health and Social Care) Policy and Strategy Committee (for endorsement) Participation and Engagement Strategy Health and Social Care North Lanarkshire (HSCNL) has a firm commitment to ensuring ongoing meaningful involvement with the communities it serves. The engagement and participation strategy sets out how participation and engagement is and will be achieved. This ensures the right systems and supports in place to enable effective engagement 26-09-19 Engagement and Participation Strategy, Framework and Principles 2021-24 link to strategy 3-year plan which will be reviewed during 2025/26 when it reaches the end of its current life and to align timescales more closely to the Strategic Commissioning Plan. X Chief Officer (Health and Social Care) Integration Joint Board (for approval) Page 232 of 326
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37 Strategy, Policy, Plan Latest version approved Strategy timeframe / review frequency of document / next review date COMMITTEE MEETING DATES Chief Officer responsible Committee for Strategy / Policy / Plan approval Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2024 Cycle 2 Apr - Jun 2024 Cycle 3 Aug - Sept 2024 Cycle 4 Oct - Dec 2024 Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2025 2025/26 2026/27 with all stakeholders. Tackling Poverty Strategy North Lanarkshire’s Tackling Poverty Strategy reflects a concerted commitment across the Community Planning Partnership to drive inclusive growth and achieve prosperity for the people and communities of North Lanarkshire - to ensure that North Lanarkshire will be the place where everyone has equality of opportunity, a place where individuals and communities are poverty free. 28-09-23 Towards a Fairer North Lanarkshire - Tackling Poverty Strategy 2023-26 link to report link to strategy 3-year strategy which will be reviewed / updated when it reaches the end of its current life. Supporting action plan is updated annually. X Chief Social Work Officer (Education, Families, Justice, Integrated Practice) Policy and Strategy Committee Children’s Services Plan This plan summarises the purpose and intentions of North Lanarkshire Children's Services Partnership, on behalf of the North Lanarkshire Partnership in the joint planning and improvement of children's services in North Lanarkshire. It provides an overview of partnership activity to deliver services and supports for children, young people and their families within the current legislative, wider planning, and ongoing improvement framework. It identifies priorities and outcomes that are the basis for more detailed planning expressed in supporting annual action plans. Planning and delivery to children, young people, and families is further underpinned by the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). July 2023 North Lanarkshire Partnership Children’s Services Plan 2023-26 link to report link to plan 3-year plan which will be reviewed / updated in 2026 when it reaches the end of its current life. X Chief Social Work Officer (Education, Families, Justice, Integrated Practice) Children’s Services Partnership Board on behalf of the North Lanarkshire Partnership (Endorsement by the North Lanarkshire Partnership Strategic Leadership Board and Education and Families Committee thereafter) Community Justice Outcome Improvement Plan The Community Justice (Scotland) Act 2016 (the Act) provides the legislative framework for the model of community justice. As part of that model, s17 of the Act requires the Scottish Ministers to publish a performance framework, setting out nationally determined outcomes which are to be achieved in each local authority area, and national indicators which are to be used in measuring performance against these. The Community Justice Performance Framework (CJPF) is a revised version of that framework and is published as per s18(4)(a) of the Act. Section 6 of the Act outlines statutory guidance in relation to the preparation of Community Justice Outcomes Improvement Plans for each local authority area in Scotland as required under sections 19-23 of the Community Justice (Scotland) Act 2016. July 23 North Lanarkshire Community Justice Outcome Improvement Plan (CJOIP) 2023-28 link to plan 5-year plan. As per legislative requirements local partnerships are required to review CJOIPs following the publication of a revised national strategy. The local CJOIP will require to be reviewed in 2028. Chief Social Work Officer (Education, Families, Justice, Integrated Practice) Community Justice Partnership Board on behalf of the North Lanarkshire Partnership (Endorsement by the North Lanarkshire Partnership Strategic Leadership Board and Education and Families Committee thereafter) The Promise and Me Partnership, Corporate Parenting in North Lanarkshire The Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 and accompanying statutory guidance place duties on a range of public bodies with respect to looked 21-05-19 Corporate Parenting Strategy 2019-22 The updated Strategy to 2026 is scheduled to be submitted to the Childrens Chief Social Work Officer (Education, Children Services Partnership Page 233 of 326
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38 Strategy, Policy, Plan Latest version approved Strategy timeframe / review frequency of document / next review date COMMITTEE MEETING DATES Chief Officer responsible Committee for Strategy / Policy / Plan approval Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2024 Cycle 2 Apr - Jun 2024 Cycle 3 Aug - Sept 2024 Cycle 4 Oct - Dec 2024 Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2025 2025/26 2026/27 after children and young people and care leavers. Collectively these duties are designed to ensure organisations commit resource and focus to promoting the wellbeing of looked after children and care leavers. The duties on corporate parents outlined in Section 58 of the Act include the need to: • Be alert to matters which might adversely affect the wellbeing of an eligible young person. • Assess the needs of eligible children and young people to any service or support provided. • Seek to provide eligible children and young people with opportunities to promote their wellbeing. • Keep their approach to corporate parenting under constant review, seeking out improvement wherever possible. In addition, corporate parents must collaborate with each other, publish corporate parenting plans, and report at prescribed intervals on these plans to Scottish Ministers. This was previously the Corporate Parenting Strategy. link to strategy Services Partnership Board in February 2024 and committee in cycle 1 of 2024. Families, Justice, Integrated Practice) Board and Education, Children, and Families Committee Scottish Attainment Challenge Plan The Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC) is a major national initiative designed to achieve equity in educational outcomes by closing the poverty related attainment gap for children and young people. The SAC focuses on accelerated, targeted improvement activity in literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing in specific areas of Scotland. It supports and complements the broader range of initiatives and programmes to ensure that all of Scotland’s children and young people reach their full potential. In November 2021, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills announced plans for the continuation of the Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC) from 2022-23 to 2025-26. This plan outlined a reconfigured model through which all local authorities would benefit through a new funding model, now referred to as Strategic Equity Fund (SEF). The core SEF Plan for session 2023 - 2025 was designed to align the programme more closely with The Plan for North Lanarkshire ensuring that the drive, vision and increased connectedness maximises the impact of the approaches to closing the poverty related attainment gap. 22-11-22 Strategic Equity Fund Plan link to plan 1 year plan which will be reviewed and updated annually. X X Chief Officer (Education) Education, Children, and Families Committee West Partnership Regional Improvement Plan The West Partnership Regional Improvement Plan sets out the key areas for collaborative action to drive improvement across the Glasgow City Region. It sets out the West Partnership’s offer to all eight local authorities and was developed in response to stakeholder engagement highlighting activities which local authorities indicated they would benefit from. 22-11-22 West Partnership Improvement Plan 2022/23 link to plan 1 year evaluation and improvement plan which will be reviewed and updated annually. X Chief Officer (Education) Education, Children, and Families Committee Page 234 of 326
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39 Strategy, Policy, Plan Latest version approved Strategy timeframe / review frequency of document / next review date COMMITTEE MEETING DATES Chief Officer responsible Committee for Strategy / Policy / Plan approval Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2024 Cycle 2 Apr - Jun 2024 Cycle 3 Aug - Sept 2024 Cycle 4 Oct - Dec 2024 Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2025 2025/26 2026/27 The plan is organised under three key areas, each led by two Directors of Education / Chief Education Officers - wellbeing for learning; curriculum, learning, teaching, and assessment; and leadership, empowerment, and improvement. Programmes and activities are in place across the three areas that are designed to support the work of school staff and local authority central officers. A fourth workstream, also led by two Directors of Education, is that of evaluation and reporting. The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, announced in June 2023, that funding for the Regional Improvement Collaboratives (RICs) would taper from session 2024/25. As such, confirmation is awaited whether or not a West Partnership Plan, in its current format, will be produced moving forward. Mental Health, Wellbeing, and Resilience The Roadmap to Recovery is the Health and Wellbeing Plan for schools and partner services in North Lanarkshire. This sets out a way forward in developing the health and wellbeing of learners recognising the current context in North Lanarkshire, particularly following the impact of the pandemic. The strategy recognises the importance of developments in North Lanarkshire in relation to health and wellbeing including the Empowering Clusters model and the Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) pathway. It looks at high level outcomes that can be improved, linking into the Children’s Services Plan and The Plan for North Lanarkshire. 13-09-22 Health and Wellbeing Roadmap to Recovery link to strategy 3-year plan which will be reviewed during 2025 when it reaches the end of its current life. X Chief Officer (Education) Education, Children, and Families Committee Developing the Young Workforce Plan This plan sets out how the council and partners will continue to work together to improve employability experiences and increase the number of young people entering positive and sustained post-school destinations. Alongside Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) and Curriculum for Excellence, it is one of just three pillars which drive improvement across all parts of the curriculum and Scottish education system. The plan is organised within three discrete but linked sections - the universal guarantee, the additional offer, and the intensive offer to improve outcomes for all children and young people and ensure no one is left behind. 20-11-22 Developing the Young Workforce Plan for 2022- 25 link to plan 3-year plan which will be reviewed during 2025 when it reaches the end of its current life. X Chief Officer (Education) Education, Children, and Families Committee Gaelic Language Plan Local authorities are required to produce a Gaelic Language Plan (GLP) every five years detailing how the language will be developed across all sectors in accordance with the national plan (https://www.gaidhlig.scot/en/gaelic-language- plans/the-national-gaelic-language-plan/) The council’s Gaelic Language plan for 2022-27 aligns to the national plan, with three high level aims 12-09-23 Gaelic Language Plan 2022-27 link to plan 5-year plan which will be reviewed / updated during 2026/27 when it reaches the end of its current life. X Chief Officer (Education) Education, Children, and Families Committee Page 235 of 326
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40 Strategy, Policy, Plan Latest version approved Strategy timeframe / review frequency of document / next review date COMMITTEE MEETING DATES Chief Officer responsible Committee for Strategy / Policy / Plan approval Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2024 Cycle 2 Apr - Jun 2024 Cycle 3 Aug - Sept 2024 Cycle 4 Oct - Dec 2024 Cycle 1 Jan - Mar 2025 2025/26 2026/27 to increase the use of Gaelic, increase the learning of Gaelic, and promote a positive image of Gaelic. These aims cover all aspects of the provisions made for increasing the cachet and visibility of Gaelic language and culture, for enhancing and expanding the educational offer to children and adults, and for engaging with stakeholders to identify their wants and needs in relation to Gaelic. Community Learning and Development Partnership Plan The North Lanarkshire Community Learning and Development Partnership was formally created in 1999, in response to Scottish Government’s Communities: Change through Learning report. The partnership brings together local organisations with responsibility for community-based learning and capacity building. The Requirements for Community Learning and Development (Scotland) Regulations (2013) introduced a legal requirement for partners to jointly produce a Community Learning and Development plan every three years, as detailed in the Strategic Guidance for Community Planning Partnerships: Community Learning and Development (2012) and subsequent national guidance. The North Lanarkshire Community Learning and Development Partnership’s current plan runs from 2021-24. 23-08-21 North Lanarkshire Community Learning and Development Partnership Plan 2021-24 link to plan 3-year plan which will be reviewed / updated during 2024/25 when it reaches the end of its current life. X Chief Social Work Officer (Education, Families, Justice, Integrated Practice) Education, Children, and Families Committee Community Learning and Development Action Plan This plan outlines the priority actions and milestones for the council’s community learning and development work through the three teams - adult learning and resettlement, family learning, and youth work. It reflects the ambitions of The Plan for North Lanarkshire, the aims of the Community Learning and Development Partnership Plan 2021-24 as well as national plans and policies which affect the provision of community learning and development services. For 2022-25, the previously separate delivery plans for adult learning, family learning, and youth work are now integrated within the one plan. Community Learning and Development Action Plan 2022-25 link to plan 3-year plan which will be reviewed / updated during 2025 when it reaches the end of its current life. X Chief Social Work Officer (Education, Families, Justice, Integrated Practice) Education, Children, and Families Committee North Lanarkshire Volunteering Strategy The North Lanarkshire Volunteering Strategy was developed by the North Lanarkshire Volunteering Partnership during 2022 to strengthen volunteering across North Lanarkshire for the benefit of volunteers, residents, and communities supported by volunteers, and volunteer-involving organisations. The North Lanarkshire Volunteering Partnership includes representatives from North Lanarkshire Community Planning Partnership (CPP) partner agencies. 15-03-23 North Lanarkshire Volunteering Strategy 2023-26 link to strategy 3-year strategy which will be reviewed / updated during 2026 when it reaches the end of its current life. X Chief Officer (Strategic Communication and Engagement) Approval by the North Lanarkshire Partnership Strategic Leadership Board and endorsement by the Communities Committee thereafter Page 236 of 326
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Policy and Strategy Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref KH/SL Date 14/03/24 Digital and IT Strategy 2024 to 2027 From Katrina Hassell, Chief Officer (Business and Digital) E-mail HassellK@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07903 096 121 Executive Summary Technology can offer so many benefits for the people and communities in North Lanarkshire - it can support people to live independently in their own homes, it can enable seamless end to end processes to fulfil requests for service, it can mean vulnerable people get more joined up help when it really matters, it can provide a way to better use data to monitor and manage demand and improve the delivery of services to the public, and it is key to connecting people and communities with place and improving their quality of life by providing access to new opportunities, new ways of working, learning, and doing business, and new ways to ensure quicker and easier access to essential care, supports, and services. Since 2019, the council has been actively delivering the vision for a digital North Lanarkshire to support the ambition set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire with plans to achieve Digital Communities, a Digital Economy, and a Digital Council providing the focus for activities. To guide and support the drive for a Digital North Lanarkshire, a five-year Digital and IT Strategy was established and approved in June 2019. This was subsequently kept under review and regularly updated to ensure it remained current and relevant in the modern digital world. With the new Programme of Work to 2028 and seven priorities for delivery approved in March 2023, the opportunity was taken to realign the Digital and IT Strategy accordingly and firmly establish what it means to be digital and move from doing digital to being digital. The three-year Digital and IT Strategy for 2024 to 2027 therefore aims to provide a clear direction and ensure a common shared understanding of the journey that needs to be taken to achieve a Digital North Lanarkshire. This also makes it clear how digital will support delivery of the other six Programme of Work priorities and where resources need to be targeted through a one council approach. Following extensive development work which has involved a range of stakeholders both internal and external to the council, the new Digital and IT Strategy for 2024 to 2027 is attached for Policy and Strategy Committee approval. Recommendations It is recommended that the Policy and Strategy Committee: Item 12 Page 237 of 326
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1. Background 1.1 Policy and Strategy Committee are well versed on the council’s ambition to deliver a digital North Lanarkshire. This was established through the initial five-year Digital and IT Strategy when it was initially approved at Policy and Strategy Committee in 2019. 1.2 Subsequent updates to the Digital and IT Strategy in 2020 and 2022 have ensured it has remained up to date and relevant as the modern digital world grows with rapid advancements in technology and global connectivity accelerating the pace, scope, and impact of change. This has also ensured a consistent focus on achieving a Digital North Lanarkshire through digital communities, a digital economy, and a digital council. 1.3 A report to the Policy and Strategy Committee in September 2022 provided detailed findings following a root and branch review of the DigitalNL programme at that time, the key delivery mechanism for the Digital and IT Strategy. This outlined both the Year 4 Roadmap (of the five-year programme) and the anticipated benefits realisation programme. A follow up report in December 2022 set out the programme deliverables achieved to date against those outlined within the Full Business Case approved by Elected Members in March 2019 and outlined the next steps for Year 5 (the final year of the initial DigitalNL transformation programme). 1.4 Moving forward, the vision for a Digital North Lanarkshire is one of the seven priorities for delivery in the Programme of Work for 2023 to 2028 (as approved at the Policy and Strategy Committee in March 2023) with any residual activity from the original Digital NL programme appropriately transitioned. Through the delivery of the Digital North Lanarkshire priority, Programme of Work activities will focus on developing a skilled digital workforce, promoting an innovative sustainable culture, and providing digital leadership for an evolving North Lanarkshire. 1.5 The Digital and IT Strategy is key to providing the direction to deliver a Digital North Lanarkshire while ensuring activities build on successes to date and digital thinking is embedded into everyday behaviours and actions, with employees embracing digital technology to do business significantly differently and always considering a digital-first approach. 1.6 To ensure appropriate alignment to the Programme of Work to 2028 and awareness of the pivotal interconnected role of the Digital North Lanarkshire priority in enabling and supporting delivery of the other six priorities, a new Digital and IT Strategy has been developed for 2024 to 2027. The opportunity was also taken to firmly establish a clear direction in the Strategy in terms of what it means to be digital, what the priorities are for action, what everyone’s role is, and where resources need to be targeted through a one council approach. (1) Recognise the extensive redevelopment of the Digital and IT Strategy for 2024 to 2027 in order to ensure alignment to the Programme of Work to 2028 and provide a clear direction for delivery towards achieving a Digital North Lanarkshire, and (2) Approve the new Digital and IT Strategy for 2024 to 2027. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement All ambition statements Programme of Work All Programmes of Work Page 238 of 326
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1.7 Following extensive development work which has involved a range of stakeholders both internal and external to the council, the new Digital and IT Strategy for 2024 to 2027 is attached for Policy and Strategy Committee approval. 2. Digital and IT Strategy 2024 to 2027 2.1 The impact of the global pandemic demonstrated that the modern digital world is fast moving and forever changing and there is no doubt it changed how technology is used for work, learning, accessing services, doing business, and connecting with others and accelerated (at speed) the adoption of digital technologies by many years. It also changed the landscape within which The Plan for North Lanarkshire requires to be delivered. 2.2 As technology continues to play an ever-increasing role in the way in which service users, residents, and businesses will live, learn, work, invest, and visit within North Lanarkshire both now and in the future, it is vital that the council - as a critical provider of public care, supports, and services - does all it can to keep pace with the development of technology, while improving the user experience, focussing resources on those individuals in the most vulnerable situations and most in need, and reducing the cost of service delivery to be able to do more with less. 2.3 As such, the new Digital and IT Strategy for 2024 to 2027 follows an extensive redevelopment process compared to previous annual updates. Engagement with delivery leads across Business and Digital, the council’s Operational Management Team, and Gartner (the industry expert in the technology field) has shaped the new Digital and IT Strategy for 2024 to 2027 which is attached in Appendix 1. The key points that shaped the Strategy are summarised below: • Ensuring a shared context and common shared understanding in terms of what it means to be digital, what the Digital and IT Strategy aims to achieve and how, and within what context is this to be delivered (i.e. the context within the council and across North Lanarkshire and the wider local government environment). • Having strategic principles in place to guide behaviours and actions and ensure that being digital is everyone’s business. This includes establishing the business and digital capabilities critical to the success of the Strategy. • Making it real - firmly establishing what digital transformation actually means and how it can make a difference to people’s lives and support the transformation of North Lanarkshire’s communities. To do this digital transformation must be seen as the means to a clearly defined end; not the end in itself. • Delivering digital solutions safely and securely, within an environment where rapid technological advancements bring increased vulnerability to cybersecurity threats and the need to prioritise digital security measures. • Reiterating that communication, enabling transformation within existing resources, and enhancing skills are critical to the successful deployment of the new Strategy. As such, these are reflected in the Strategy itself in terms of the next steps and key areas for delivery during 2024/25 through the supporting Digital North Lanarkshire Programme of Work. Next steps 2.4 To ensure all relevant stakeholders have had an opportunity to input to the development of the new Digital and IT Strategy for 2024 to 2027 at key points in its creation, a programme of engagement and consultation was established as set out in the following table. Page 239 of 326
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Group Date Engagement / consultation / communication Engagement Gartner July to September 2023 Various workshops and interactions to gain feedback on the previous version of the Digital and IT Strategy and gather insights to help develop the new Strategy. Business and Digital Extended Management Team September 2023 to January 2024 Workshop and discussions to work through the steps in the process to develop a new Digital and IT Strategy and identify the content. Operational Management Team 4th October 2023 To inform the development of the new Digital and IT Strategy and seek feedback on two key questions in terms of what the Strategy needs to include and how to positively impact on the culture of the organisation. Consultation Business and Digital Extended Management Team 10th January 2024 Consultation exercise on the first draft of the Digital and IT Strategy for 2024 to 2027. Gartner 10th January 2024 Consultation exercise on the first draft of the Digital and IT Strategy for 2024 to 2027. Corporate Management Team 1st to 9th February 2024 Input to the consultative draft of the Digital and IT Strategy 2024 to 2027. Driving Digital Locally - Digital sub-group February 2024 Input to the consultative draft of the Digital and IT Strategy 2024 to 2027. Group Business Managers February 2024 Input to the consultative draft of the Digital and IT Strategy 2024 to 2027. Communication Operational Management Team 14th March 2024 Overview of what implementing the Digital and IT Strategy for 2024 to 2027 means in practice. Community Boards February / March 2024 Overview of the Digital and IT Strategy 2024 to 2027 and what it means for communities. 2.5 The Digital and IT Strategy for 2024 to 2027 will be kept under review during its lifecycle and an annual update on implementation reported to the Policy and Strategy Committee. Once the Strategy reaches the end of its current life in 2026/27, and the Digital North Lanarkshire Programme of Work is maturing towards its next review point of 2028, further work will be undertaken to ensure the ongoing sustainability of the digital vision set out in The Digital and IT Strategy in line with The Plan for North Lanarkshire. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Success will be evidenced through technology being efficiently and effectively deployed, in an agile manner, to support the implementation of new digital service delivery models and solutions that are designed to meet the needs of modern businesses and communities. Page 240 of 326
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4. Supporting documents 4.1 Appendix 1: Digital and IT Strategy 2024 to 2027 Katrina Hassell Chief Officer (Business and Digital) 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? An Equality / Fairer Scotland Duty Impact Assessment has been undertaken for the Digital and IT Strategy 2024 to 2027. Key impacts are that efforts to move services online may be particularly disadvantageous and out of reach for older people, low- income groups, those with a disability, and people who are homeless or are asylum seekers. There may also be impacts as a result of more diversity in local communities in terms of changes in language and cultural norms. Poverty will remain a factor in accessibility in terms of ensuring that no one is left behind or digitally excluded. Research suggests the pandemic stands to make the impacts of digital exclusion worse for individuals in the most vulnerable situations, therefore the new Strategy aims to improve the connectivity and accessibility of North Lanarkshire as a place, and also improve the ability of local people and communities to gain the skills and confidence required to help them benefit from the opportunities of being digitally connected. As such, the Driving Digital Locally digital subgroup will continue to play its key role in enabling enable local communities to participate in designing and deploying modern council services and ensuring that no one is left behind or digitally excluded If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☒ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 241 of 326
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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? The Digital North Lanarkshire priority in the Programme of Work to 2028 envisages significant changes to applications, software, hardware, and connectivity, with all duly considered from a Digital First and Enterprise Architecture perspective through the key governance groups of the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG) and Data Governance Board (DGB). 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? Providing digital services that offer online, anytime access to services will have a positive environmental impact across several important areas such as minimising waste and recycling, thanks to the limited need for paper forms. The development of a digital workforce will reduce the council’s carbon footprint by saving energy and reducing 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? Communication with all stakeholders will remain a key priority in implementing the Digital and IT Strategy 2024 to 2027 and deploying the roadmap and delivery plan in pursuit of a Digital North Lanarkshire. 5.9 Risk impact Page 242 of 326
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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 Strategy contains a section on governance and risk to ensure the four risks on the council’s Corporate Risk Register are given due consideration. These risks are Information Security and Information Governance, ICT Operational Capability, Digital and IT Strategy, and Digital Adoption. These risks are subject to regular formal review processes by relevant senior management in line with the review frequency set out in the council’s Risk Management Strategy. Periodic reviews are also undertaken by the Business and Digital Management Team, Corporate Management Team, and the Audit and Scrutiny Panel in line with their respective governance roles. 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). Implementation of the Digital and IT Strategy 2024 to 2027 is considered to have an indirect impact as the strategy is not directly aimed at children, but will have an impact on them. In particular article 2 (non-discrimination) and article 23 (children with a disability). It is recognised that the rights of the child, and the needs of certain groups, require to be considered throughout the journey to a Digital North Lanarkshire. The Strategy aims to ensure that no one is digitally excluded and there is opportunity to improve people’s lives though digital technology, solutions, and skills. If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☒ No ☐ Page 243 of 326
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2 Document control Title Digital and IT Strategy 2024-27 Owner Katrina Hassell, Chief Officer (Business and Digital) Contact HassellK@northlan.gov.uk Governance group Policy and Strategy Committee Author Susan Lawrie, Strategy and Performance Manager Contact LawrieS@northlan.gov.uk Revision history Number Originator Date review commenced Revision description / record of change Original strategy created Linda Johnston 2019 - 1.0 Linda Johnston 2020 Annual review 2.0 Linda Johnston September 2021 Annual review 3.0 Linda Johnston September 2023 Review and redevelopment carried out as the previous strategy had reached the end of its life and re-alignment was required with the direction set in the council’s new Programme of Work for 2023 to 2028. Document approvals Number Governance group Date approval granted Date approval to be requested (if document still draft) Original document Transformation and Digitisation Committee Policy and Strategy Committee May 2019 June 2019 1.0 Transformation and Digitisation Committee September 2020 2.0 Transformation and Digitisation Committee February 2022 3.0 Policy and Strategy Committee March 2024 Consultation record (for most recent update) Status of document consulted upon Digital and IT Strategy 2024-27 Stakeholders consulted / date / process Business and Digital Extended Management Team (September 2023 to January 2024); Gartner (July 2023 to January 2024); Corporate Management Team (February 2024); Group Business Managers (February 2024); Driving Digital Locally Digital sub-group (February 2024); Community Boards (February/March 2024), Operational Management Team (04/10/23 and 14/03/24). Strategic alignment Next review date Review date September 2026 The Plan for North Lanarkshire and Programme of Work. All 5 priorities and all 25 ambition statements within The Plan for North Lanarkshire. Strategic Policy Framework. Page 245 of 326
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3 Table of contents Page number Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………..… 4 Context …………………………………………………………………………………….. 5 - 9 Roadmap to delivery ……………………………………………………………………... 10 - 12 Making a difference ………………………………………………………………………. 13 - 16 Governance and risk …………………………………………………………………..… 17 Conclusion ………….…………………………………………………………………..… 18 Appendix 1: The evolution of North Lanarkshire’s digital strategy ………………..… 19 Appendix 2: North Lanarkshire’s digital journey ………………………………………. 20 - 22 Appendix 3: Delivering a Digital North Lanarkshire ………………………………….. 23 - 24 Appendix 4: Delivery principles ………………………..……………………………….. 25 - 27 Appendix 5: Frameworks, plans, and sub-policies …………………………………… 28 - 29 Appendix 6: Enterprise architecture principles ……………………………………..… 30 Page 246 of 326
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4 Introduction Escalating the journey to a Digital North Lanarkshire Technology can offer so many benefits for the people and communities in North Lanarkshire. It can support people to live independently in their own homes. It can enable seamless end to end processes to fulfil requests for service. It can mean vulnerable people get more joined up help when it really matters. It can provide a way to better use data to monitor and manage demand and improve the delivery of services to the public. It is key to connecting people and communities with place and improving their quality of life by providing access to new opportunities, new ways of working, learning, and doing business, and new ways to ensure quicker and easier access to essential care, supports, and services. Increasing demand for care, supports, and services has arisen from significant demographical changes which are seeing more elderly people in the local community and more elderly people living alone and in their own home for longer. When combined with growing pressures from increasingly complex and intergenerational social and economic issues across local communities and constrained public spending, this brings a wide-ranging need for digital technology that brings people together to help more people in need across North Lanarkshire while at the same time helping the council to do more with less. With public expectations ever evolving and the reliance on technology ever growing and ever changing, the needs of people are changing too and there is more diversity in the makeup, language, and cultural norms of local communities. This means there is also a need for the council to adapt and find new ways to interact with people and communities. Strong foundations have been established to improve the connectivity and accessibility of North Lanarkshire as a place and enhance the ability of local people, businesses, and communities - as well as council staff - to gain the skills and confidence required to help them benefit from the opportunities of being digitally connected, but there’s more can be done to make a difference and to make sure that no one is left behind. The vision for a Digital North Lanarkshire, with investment targeted in digital and technological solutions that will be of most benefit to the people and communities of North Lanarkshire, aims to help realise inclusive growth and prosperity for all in line with the council’s long-term ambition in The Plan for North Lanarkshire to make North Lanarkshire the place to live, learn, work, invest, and visit. Against this backdrop the council needs to be clear about what it means to be digital - as this can mean different things to different people. It needs to be clear what the priorities are for action and where resources need to be targeted through a one council approach. The Digital and IT Strategy for 2024 to 2027 therefore aims to provide a clear direction in this respect and ensure a common shared understanding of the journey that needs to be taken to achieve a Digital North Lanarkshire. Page 247 of 326
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5 Context Digital trends and behaviours The impact of the global pandemic demonstrated that the modern digital world is fast moving and forever changing with rapid advancements in technology and global connectivity accelerating the pace of transformation. With so much change in a short space of time - new technology, new ways of engaging with others, new ways of learning, new ways of doing business, new ways of working - the pandemic accelerated the idea of being able to work, learn, or do business anywhere with a bank of tools readily available to enable and support this. Trends in automation and AI (artificial intelligence) are growing and seen as a key tool to create new value for organisations, see truly transformed ways to operate and manage complex businesses, and deliver not only value through productivity and efficiency but deliver it fast. Industry thinking is also advancing considerably through the implications for a virtual workforce (i.e. bots) and virtual desktop assistants which are capable of quickly learning to auto complete a wide range of activities and take proactive steps to make workflow faster and smoother. In such a dynamic digital and technological world though, it's easy to lose sight of the context and what really matters. As technology continues to play an ever-increasing role in the way in which service users, residents, businesses, and staff will live, learn, work, invest, and visit within North Lanarkshire both now and in the future, it is vital that the council - as a critical provider of public care, supports, and services - does all it can to keep pace with the development of technology while improving the user experience, focussing resources on those individuals in the most vulnerable situations and most in need, and reducing the cost of service delivery. The context that matters therefore is not to see digital as a thing to add on to the day job, but more as an integral way of doing those everyday activities - that make a difference to people’s lives - more efficiently and effectively. This means applying the most appropriate practices, processes, and technologies to respond to the needs of North Lanarkshire’s people and communities while recognising their constantly changing and increasing expectations in an ever-evolving technological environment. Research by Gartner has identified key digital business trends (as shown in Figure 1) that help to demonstrate the current context around the multifaceted impacts of what it means to be digital. This is accompanied by a PESTLE analysis (in Figure 2 on the next page) that provides added context in this respect. Figure 1 Digital business trends (Source: Gartner (CEB analysis) Page 248 of 326
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6 Figure 2 PESTLE analysis Page 249 of 326
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7 Key facts and figures about North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire is Scotland’s fourth largest local authority area by population. It is ideally situated in the heart of Scotland with first-rate connectivity to the rest of Scotland, the UK, and the world. The council serves a population of 341,400 people and as the fifth most densely populated local authority area, North Lanarkshire is divided into 21 wards which are represented by 77 elected members. The council employs 15,455 people (13,040 full-time equivalent). 77% of employees are female and 23% are male. 74% of employees live in North Lanarkshire. Figure 3 Facts and figures about the people and communities of North Lanarkshire Page 250 of 326
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8 What it means to be digital in North Lanarkshire Heather is a Housing Officer. She needs accurate and up to date information to be able to schedule inspections by technical officers and organise appointments for repairs. The introduction of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 field services product provided Heather with real time visibility to helps her arrange appointments that suited both tenants and officers. As this product seamlessly links into the council’s other digital products, Heather can have a single view of the customer’s data at her fingerprints, this reduces the need to access multiple systems to retrieve the information required and it enables a quick and efficient end to end service for the tenant. Using data to improve service delivery. Louise logs a request on the council’s online system to report a fallen tree in her street, uploading a picture of the tree and location. Louise receives an automated acknowledgement via e-mail that tells her that the request has been logged. She also gets - right there and then - an estimated timescale for resolution. Louise’s service request is automatically sent to a mobile working system which schedules the work. An officer receives information about the job on his phone, telling him where the fallen tree is. The officer completes the work then updates the request on his phone to say the job has been completed. This triggers an automated e-mail update to Louise, who appreciates being kept fully informed and up to date at all stages of her request through to successful resolution. A better end to end service. John has a learning disability, poor mobility, and lives alone. He was supported by a care provider for 24 hours a day with motion sensors in place to alert the carers when John requires personal care. The motion sensors were not suitable for John’s needs, and he would often become distressed when they would activate without any need for a response. The Assistive Technology team visited John at home and assessed John’s needs. It was agreed that John would benefit from the installation of a specialised bed monitor system. This system allows alerts to be raised to the carers via a care assist pager. The Assistive Technology team trained all care staff who support John on the use and functionality of the bed monitor and how to acknowledge an alert via the care assist pager. Since the bed monitor has been in place it has given carers the support they need should an alert be raised and ensures that John’s needs are being met. Using technology to live independently. Maya is the Digital Manager at a local manufacturing company. She is looking to introduce digital improvements to assist staff efficiency and improve customer service. Maya applied to the council for grant funding for a digital transformation project, creating a new media conference room to allow her staff to easily communicate and connect with clients. She also plans to use the funds to introduce a new customer relationship management system providing staff with all client information in one location and enabling them to further develop relationships with their customers. It is expected that these digital improvements will allow the creation of new highly skilled jobs, provide local apprenticeships, and improve organisational competitiveness within the industry. Using technology to improve efficiencies in the business sector. Remy is looking for assistance with ordering a new bin. He is unsure who to contact and calls the council’s one number listed on the website. His call is answered via an automated service which asks Remy to say or select which department he wishes to speak too. He is automatically transferred to an officer in the waste department who is able to assist with his enquiry. This Gary is a young person, aged 16, living with epilepsy. He has seizures during the night. To ensure his safety, Gary has had to sleep in his parents’ bedroom. The Assistive Technology team assessed Gary and his family’s needs and as a result requested an Epi care device. The device allows parents to be alerted of Page 251 of 326
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9 approach assists residents with reaching the right department in a quicker and easier way and enables officers to provide a more efficient response to residents. In the future, artificial intelligence will be used to implement chat bot functionality. Residents will be able to submit their details and the nature of the enquiry. For simpler enquiries, the chat bot will be able to provide an automated response to the resident and complex cases will be forwarded to an officer for assistance. Improving customer service through advances in technology. seizure activity without having to be in the same room, thereby promoting Gary and his parents’ privacy and dignity within the family home. The Epi care equipment is funded by Health and Social Care in North Lanarkshire. Using technology to improve quality of life and independent living. Figure 4 What it means to be digital to people in North Lanarkshire Page 252 of 326
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10 Roadmap to delivery Programme of Work to 2028 The council’s digital journey began in earnest in 2019 and the background to the evolution of the digital strategy is set out in Appendix 1. Although this journey has been significantly impacted by the pandemic, it has been kept on a constant path by the vision for a Digital North Lanarkshire set out in the previous versions of the Digital and IT Strategy. This has ensured the focus remains on the three pillars that aim to achieve Digital Communities, a Digital Economy, and a Digital Council. Within these three pillars a wide range of activities have been delivered since the first Digital and IT Strategy was established; Appendix 2 summarises the extent of North Lanarkshire’s digital journey to date. The council’s new Programme of Work to 2028 - approved in March 2023 - set out plans for a Digital North Lanarkshire as one of seven priorities to increase the scale and pace of change and achieve coherence across all areas of work in order to turn the council’s overall ambition of inclusive growth and prosperity for all in The Plan for North Lanarkshire into a reality. Through these seven priorities (summarised in Figure 6 on the next page) the aim is to expand the reach of the impact and ensure council resources are expended on work that has the biggest impact and where it is needed most, while building evidence that the programmes, projects, and activities implemented are having a positive effect on the lives of all who live in North Lanarkshire both now and in the future. The seven priorities are interdependent and cross cutting and the improved outcomes delivered within each will support and enhance all others as the programme becomes embedded; the priorities for a Digital North Lanarkshire and One Service underpin the other five priorities and will be key enablers to realising their success. Figure 6 (on page 11) sets out the roadmap towards achieving a Digital North Lanarkshire in line with the seven Programme of Work priorities. This is supported by a Delivery Plan which is set out in Appendix 3. Figure 5 3 pillars of a Digital North Lanarkshire Page 253 of 326
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11 Figure 6 7 priorities in the Programme of Work to 2028 Page 254 of 326
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12 Figure 7 Roadmap to a Digital North Lanarkshire Page 255 of 326
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13 Making a difference Principles and standards The achievements to date (summarised in Appendix 2) would not have been possible without the considerable effort of employees from across the organisation. The extent of digital transformation that has been required to build the solid foundations now being experienced should not be underestimated. Establishing the foundations for North Lanarkshire’s digital vision represented a significant shift in mindset and culture in terms of how the council conducts its business and a greater emphasis on the public interacting and using council services through digital methods. While this shift towards digital methods of working benefits people who interact with the council most, it also enables council employees to work in a more efficient and effective manner. A wide range of different stakeholders and groups (see Figure 8) will continue to be impacted by digital transformational activity in striving to realise the vision for a Digital North Lanarkshire. As such, enabling the people and communities of North Lanarkshire to thrive in a digital world, while ensuring that no one is left behind, requires digital to be embedded at the centre of the way the council operates. In practice this means that implementation of the Digital and IT Strategy is underpinned by six principles that mean people always come first regardless of the activity being delivered. The principles are set out in Figure 9 on the next page and what this means in practice is outlined in Appendix 4. 1. Employees first 2. Inclusive 3. Digital first 4. Innovative 5. Flexible 6. Connected The principles for a Digital North Lanarkshire are aligned to the national Digital Scotland strategy, A Changing Nation: How Scotland will Thrive in a Digital World (2021), which sets out an approach that aims to ensure that Scotland will fulfil its potential and thrive in a constantly evolving digital world. It includes a national commitment to tackle digital exclusion by stating that “geography, background or ability should not be barriers to getting online and benefitting from digital technology”. Figure 8 Stakeholders Page 256 of 326
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14 Figure 9 The 6 Principles that underpin the Digital and IT Strategy Page 257 of 326
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15 Approach to channel shifting A key aspect to realising a Digital North Lanarkshire is to enable more streamlined service delivery through a broader set of channels compared to traditional delivery models. This follows the desire to see new services seamlessly blend traditional and digital channels and meet residents where they are to match their channel preferences and expectations. As such, an approach to channel shifting in in place to support the service redesign processes (see figure 10). Being digital is everyone’s business By following the well-established principles and standards in place, investment targeted in digital and technological solutions that will be of most benefit to the people and communities of North Lanarkshire should be focused on making a difference. What it means for the person - who is in receipt of (or requires access to) the care, supports, or services they need - should be at the centre of any digital transformation activity. Practical examples of what it means to be digital to people in North Lanarkshire are set out in Figure 4. To achieve this requires the council to move from doing digital to being digital and being digital is everyone’s business. This means that employees across the organisation have a role to play in embedding digital at the centre of the way they and the council operates. It also requires a wide range of solutions to develop and control the technology to be deployed along with its usage and interaction with hardware and software. Technology is central to the delivery of everyday operational service functions and the management and development of solutions required to support council services in progressing Figure 10 Approach to channel shifting Page 258 of 326
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16 transformational activities which facilitate delivery of the Programme of Work to 2028. All individuals, teams, and functions across the council are therefore instrumental in the provision of solutions that will help to realise the digital vision; this is depicted in Figure 11. Figure 11 Being digital is everyone’s business Page 259 of 326
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17 Governance and risk Assurances to support delivery of the vision to achieve a Digital North Lanarkshire Implementation of the Digital and IT Strategy is done so in line with the council’s governance arrangements to ensure well informed decision making and clarity in terms of roles and responsibilities and accountabilities. From an operational delivery perspective, there are four key aspects which support the practice of good governance in the drive to achieve a Digital North Lanarkshire. Ensuring an ongoing commitment to reduce the carbon’s footprint is also a key requisite for consideration in all areas of work. Carbon commitment Programmes of work, projects, and activities to realise the vision for a Digital North Lanarkshire are delivered in line with the council’s carbon commitment set out in the Climate Plan (Action on Climate Together). Providing digital services that offer online, anytime access to services will have a positive environmental impact across several important areas such as minimising waste and recycling, thanks to the limited need for paper forms. The development of a digital workforce will reduce the council’s carbon footprint by saving energy and reducing emissions, because of decreased work-related travel and the asset rationalisation programme. Work with suppliers will ensure green energy is used in the provision of services to the council including where cloud solutions are being provided to the council. Purchasing will be prioritised on equipment with minimum energy ratings and minimum recycling content and energy efficient software. Work with the local business community to improve their adoption of digital technologies will also have a positive environmental impact across North Lanarkshire. Figure 12 Governance and risk Page 260 of 326
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18 Conclusion Systematic and consistent deployment For the new Digital and IT Strategy for 2024 to 2027 to successfully realise the vision for a Digital North Lanarkshire, its deployment across the organisation is critical to ensure that it is systematically deployed and implemented in all relevant areas of the council, it is implemented to its full potential, and it is understood and accepted by all stakeholders. Communication, enabling transformation within existing resources, and enhancing skills are key to the successful deployment of the new Strategy. As such, these are key areas for delivery during 2024/25 through the supporting Digital North Lanarkshire Programme of Work. Page 261 of 326
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19 Appendix 1: The evolution of North Lanarkshire’s digital strategy Page 262 of 326
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20 Appendix 2: North Lanarkshire’s digital journey Digital Communities Page 263 of 326
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21 Digital Economy Page 264 of 326
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22 Digital Council Page 265 of 326
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23 Appendix 3: Delivering a Digital North Lanarkshire Conduct management and technology research to understand current and future state digital culture for the organisation. Understand the five steps to change in preparation for digital maturity assessment. Undertake digital maturity assessment with digital culture, leadership, and knowledge activity group. Share Health and Social Care digital maturity data with the digital culture, leadership, and knowledge activity group to inform the council's digital maturity assessment. Consider wider staff survey as a follow-up to the digital skills survey from November 2021 in order to gauge the extent of staff skills and gaps. Review research and current thinking into digital champions / leaders to understand the skills required for a digital leader in order to build and lead teams, keep people connected and engaged, and drive a culture of innovation, learning, and continuous improvement and review leadership development programmes to incorporate digital capabilities, including cognitive transformation (thinking differently), behavioural transformation (acting differently), and emotional transformation (reacting differently). Develop digital leadership core competency guide based on the research results and linked to service requirements. Set up short life change management group to provide expertise, skills, and knowledge of change across the council and North Lanarkshire in order to develop a toolkit to sit beside the project management framework. Undertake self-assessment to look at the re-design pieces and feedback reviewed by change management group. Invest in upskilling the council's workforce to be more digitally capable by creating and developing a self-assessment tool to allow staff to understand their current level of digital skills and undertake further learning as appropriate. Use the enhanced digital skills of the council's workforce to encourage a culture of a digital-first approach (i.e. thinking of a digital solution) when faced with opportunities or challenges to improve the way of work, which will result in efficiency gains and improved customer service. Measure and evaluate impact of whole service / authority transformation change to digitise systems (for example i-trent) to inform future user experience. Develop systems and portals to enable residents to engage, report, request, and pay for services. Implement a chat bot functionality to enable residents to receive automated responses or to chat to an advisor. Implement a customer relationship management system to enable staff to route enquiries to the relevant service and encourage cross service working. Design and develop artificial intelligence capable of generating text, images, or other media (using generative models) to enable the implementation of chatbot functionality. Establish a roadmap to identify the redesign requirement for services to support the transition to the council’s future operating model in hubs. Redesign the council’s purchase to pay system to introduce a standardised approach and enable electronic invoicing. Develop model to enable customers to sign up for online services and establish required resourcing to increase engagement and usage of online services. Review and implement technology solutions to support customers with additional needs to ensure there are no barriers to accessing digital services. Further develop community use of immersive experience pods which enhance digital experiences within a community and beyond and evaluate the impact on community groups. Develop a model that opens up access to the council's non-personal / non-commercial data in a way that allows anyone to freely access and use the data to inform decision making with the resulting portal enabling greater transparency and efficiency, and improved used of data. Implement a Centre of Excellence which will standardise procedures, implement clear governance structures, develop and share best practice, demonstrate value through economies of scale and develop skills and knowledge among partners and staff. Create a mature and sustainable culture across the organisation to ensure that digitisation of council services provided to the public successfully transition them to achieve the outcomes specified within The Plan for North Lanarkshire. Digital culture, leadership, and knowledge Improved customer experience Ensure accessible data to improve public reporting and transparency, streamline effort involved in request for information processes, and leverage business development opportunities. Ensure a connected / integrated digital experience to facilitate users to transition to efficient digital and hub-based services and become empowered to be self-managing and digitally active. Ensure a connected / integrated digital experience to facilitate users to transition to efficient digital and hub-based services and become empowered to be self-managing and digitally active. Support development of a skilled workforce to foster consistent knowledge, improve digital adoption, and accelerate digital-first business capabilities. Develop and deploy a self-adapting redesign framework to accelerate digital business transformation of critical council functions. Create a mature and sustainable culture across the organisation to ensure that digitisation of council services provided to the public successfully transition them to achieve the outcomes specified within The Plan for North Lanarkshire. 2024 2025 2026 2027Digital North Lanarkshire - Delivery Plan 2024 to 2027 Page 266 of 326
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24 Implement a new housing and asset management system to improve data management, monitoring, and service delivery across housing. Implement a new case management and scheduling systems to meet statutory obligations and to improve service delivery and performance management across social care. Review tools and products currently deployed to support the council’s financial management arrangements, identifying and assessing options for longer-term suitability, as well as opportunities to deploy efficient and effective automation and self- service. Implement a leisure and facilities booking systems, including integration with hub place bookings and introduction of compliant and secure payment facilities that accommodate home and agile working arrangements. Review asset management practices across the organisation, including categorising and consolidating system usage. Develop a portfolio of existing case management systems across the council and use the results to establish a process and timeline for assessing existing solutions and new requests. Review current telephony systems and implement a new cloud-based Microsoft Teams integrated solution, incorporating virtual voice and digital assistant functionality. Develop and implement a strategy for the use of automation and generation artificial intelligence (AI) across the council to define the architectural model of AI use for the council and establish a framework and governance for usage. Create a catalogue of standardised online technology catalogues to enable council service areas to determine digital solutions matching their requirements and enable self-service, where appropriate. Create and integrate a framework that enables the use of spatial mapping solutions (i.e. digital representation of the environment) across the application estate. Implement the procured Wide Area Network solution and associated technical functionality, such as internet breakout services and continued development and deployment of fibre across North Lanarkshire. Deliver and manage a council-wide public Wi-Fi service. Identify opportunities to use the Internet of Things technology and establish a framework for use, including an adequate governance model. Develop and implement a plan to enable internet access for temporary accommodation properties. Develop a strategy to provide internet access to residents across North Lanarkshire. Deliver the Smart Park pilot scheme (using Omniled solutions), in order to gather data within the park setting and prepare a business case on whether there are adequate benefits to deploy further. Develop and deliver community access to the immersive pods (sensory spaces which can be utilised to house the latest sensory technology to provide support, in such areas as mental health and employability) across North Lanarkshire. Create a digital infrastructure development toolkit and associated processes which enables third party commercial connectivity providers to deliver services across the council. Create a master data catalogue of all data assets across the council, defining the prime record for each data set/field and supporting data owners to assess quality and data mapping. Develop and implement a method for services to transition from using paper-based storage to a digital solution for retaining appropriate council information. Identify digital and IT spend across the council and develop a model to establish whether this is essential and priority spend. Develop and deploy structures and processes that aid the identification and development of operational innovation and that facilitates beneficial service transformation. Consider areas in relation to security within the council that can be monitored in terms of service delivery and develop a framework for how performance against these elements could be used to benchmark against the council’s peers. Review data assets and solutions delivered by or in conjunction with third party providers and develop a plan to ensure that suppliers are consistently assessed and reported upon to enable operational performance to be effectively managed throughout the duration of any engagement. Consider the range of cyber security controls, which may be used to manage and secure council data and systems, assess the risk associated with data loss, and create an assessment model to provide meaningful, insightful, and simple representation of the cyber rating of data control. Digital first operations Performance optimisation Enhance security monitoring to maintain effective access and control over council data as the council delivers the anticipated increase in its digital footprint. Develop an efficient digital and IT cost model to ensure scarce financial resources are aligned to vital enabling technologies. Ensure single source of data to provide insights and evidence that support decision making and service planning. Facilitate fibre-enabled innovation to maximise the full potential of Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in service delivery. Ensure useful, secure, compliant, and digital first applications are available to support critical but streamlined service delivery. 2024 2025 2026 2027Digital North Lanarkshire - Delivery Plan 2024 to 2027 Page 267 of 326
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25 Appendix 4: Principles to support delivery of the vision for a Digital North Lanarkshire Page 268 of 326
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28 Appendix 5: Supporting frameworks, plans, and sub-policies Data Protection Policy Latest version available: Version 7.0 June 2023 Next review due: March 2025 Information Security Policy Latest version available: Version 4.0 June 2023 Next review due: March 2025 Records and Information Management Policy Latest version available: Version 5.0 June 2023 Next review due: March 2025 To deliver services effectively the council needs to collect, process, and hold large volumes of information relating to organisations and individuals. Protecting the confidentiality and integrity of personal data is a critical responsibility that is taken seriously at all times. The council is exposed to potential fines of up to 20 million Euros (approximately £18 million) or 4% of its total annual turnover, whichever is higher and depending on the breach, for failure to comply with data protection law. The collation and holding of information of any nature creates a risk of information falling into the hands of third parties or misuse of the information. To manage those risks the council has in place a number of policies. These are listed in the Information Governance Policy Framework document and the Data Protection Policy is a statement that sets out how the council will protect personal data. It sets out the principles, rules, and guidelines that informs how the council will ensure ongoing compliance with data protection laws. Information is critical to the council and its employees, customers, partner agencies, and other stakeholders. Information systems and physical assets including supporting processes, networks and equipment must be protected to ensure the council can continue to operate. For the council the aim of information security is to enable the successful delivery of functions, while finding the right balance between the benefits and risks to the processing of information. How information is handled, processed, exchanged, and stored is clearly of importance, as are the ICT systems that employees have come to reply on. Information security must address a range of concerns including: • Physical access to electronic and paper-based information assets. • Logical access to data, systems, applications, and databases. • External and internal access to networks and all other computing resources including cloud resources. • Legislation impacting data and IT systems in all council locations, business units, and teams. • Compliance requirements and standards set out by Government, partner organisations, and regulatory bodies. • Consumer and employee privacy rights. • Supply chain security, particularly where a third party holds or processes information on the council’s behalf. This Policy sets the strategic position and lays the foundations and framework for effective information security. Records management is the process used by the council to manage the information it holds throughout its lifecycle, regardless of the format it is recorded in. Effective records management is required to support the council’s core functions, provide authentic and reliable evidence of council business, and document historical and cultural activity across North Lanarkshire. This Policy: • Provides a framework for good record keeping practices and ensuring records are managed effectively and efficiently, and the council complies with its statutory and regulatory obligations. • Develops and encourage a working culture that recognises and acknowledges the benefits of effective records management. • Secures a co-ordinated approach to the management of the council’s records as a corporate resource. • Defines responsibilities for records management throughout the council. • Ensures that council records are reliable, authentic, and have integrity. • Ensures that records are retrievable as required but also secure so as to prevent unauthorised access, alteration or destruction. • Ensures lawful management of records that includes personal data. • Supports public rights of access to information. • Ensures that records of long-term value are identified and preserved as archives in the council’s collections. This Policy applies to all records created or managed by the council and the North Lanarkshire Licensing Board. Page 271 of 326
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29 Payment Card Industry Data Security Policy Latest version available: Version 1.0 June 2023 Next review due: March 2025 Acceptable Use of ICT Policy Latest version available: Version 4.0 November 2023 Next review due: March 2025 Records Management Plan Latest version available: 2016 Next review due: June 2022 The council takes credit and debit card payments for a range of goods and services provided - such as theatre tickets, special uplifts, council tax and housing rents. Card payments must be taken in a way that protects the council and all customers from data breaches and fraud. This Policy sets out the controls the council must use to protect the security of all card payments received and processed. It makes sure staff handle all card information securely and comply with all Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) requirements. This policy applies to all users of council IT assets who process, view, or otherwise handle payment card data and cardholder details. This includes employees, councillors, contractors, consultants, temporary agency staff, modern apprentices, students, volunteers, and any other authorised third parties. The council invests substantially in information technology and communication (ICT) systems that help employees to work flexibly and efficiently. This Policy provides the council’s ICT users with guidance on the appropriate use of technology including, but not restricted to, email, internet, PCs / laptops, mobile / smartphones and tablets, social media and shared network drives and Microsoft Office 365. It applies to council devices as well as personal devices when accessing council systems and data, e.g. NL Life. The Policy supports the need to keep the council’s ICT estate in a safe and effective operational state to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information. This Policy applies to users of council ICT assets including employees, elected members, contractors, consultants, temporary agency staff, modern apprentices, students, volunteers, and personnel affiliated with third parties. Individuals using the schools' network and public access through libraries have separate guidelines covering acceptable terms and conditions of use. Elected Members have separate guidelines covering various aspects of conditions of use. Records management refers to all public records, throughout their lifecycle, from creation and acquisition to archive and destruction. Effective management of information and records supports efficiency, consistency, and business continuity and enables the council to deliver a wide range of services. It ensures that the correct information is captured, stored, maintained, and used, then destroyed or preserved in accordance with business need as well as statutory and legislative requirements. Development of a Records Management Plan is required to comply with the Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011. The Act defines public records as all records created by, or in the possession of, the council to allow it to carry out its functions and meet its responsibilities. This Plan applies to the council and the North Lanarkshire Licensing Board and sets out current records management practice measured against the standards required by the Keeper of the Records of Scotland. Council records are managed in three types of records management systems: • Manual filing systems for paper and other physical records. • IT applications and databases for structured electronic records. • Electronic Documents and Records Management Systems (EDRMS) and File Shares for unstructured electronic records. Page 272 of 326
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30 Appendix 6: Enterprise Architect principles Type Ref Principle Description Business principles BP01 Primacy of Principles These principles of information management apply to all ‘services’ within the council. BP02 Reuse before Buy, before Build Software, platforms, infrastructure and data will be reused wherever possible; purchased as commodity solutions if necessary and only built if there is a unique requirement that cannot otherwise be met. BP03 Seek architecture approval All projects and programmes will be subject to architectural approval at key stages throughout the delivery lifecycle. BP04 Maximise value and benefit to the council Information management decisions are made to provide maximum benefit to the council. BP05 Compliance with statutory obligations Council data and information management processes comply with all relevant internal and external laws, policies, and regulations. BP06 Solution cost must be fully understood and demonstrate robustness, affordability, and sustainability Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for the expected lifecycle use of the solutions is included into all enterprise architectural change proposals from the outset. BP07 Solutions have an owner All solutions must have a named Designated Responsible Owner (DRO) and where appropriate Technical Responsible Owner (TRO). Covid-19 BP08 The solution enables service delivery during Covid-19 Proposals relate directly to enabling and delivering the Councils workforce recovery planning BP09 Workforce change Proposals consider workforce recovery planning and the Managing Workforce Change Policy, in particular the transition to a workforce less dependent upon dedicated office space and compatible with home working. Data principles DP01 Data is an asset Data is an asset that has value to the council and other parties and must be managed accordingly. DP02 Data has an owner Data will have a named Information Asset Owner accountable for the data quality and currency. DP03 Common data definitions Data is defined consistently throughout the council, standardised, understandable, and distributed. DP04 Information security Data is protected from unauthorised use, disclosure, and change. Application principles AP01 Solutions will be usable Applications should be simple to use. The user experience should be such that they can focus solely on business activity. AP02 Sustainability All applications must be designed to ensure sustainability of use within the council. AP03 Technology Independence and Certification Applications should be technology independent and operate on a variety of devices. AP04 Systems will talk to each other Applications will be constructed as a collection of Open Standards based services that use Application Program Interfaces (API), enabling them to be combined to meet business needs. Technology principles TP01 Use less software Technical diversity is minimised to control cost and complexity. TP02 Cloud first The council will adopt a cloud first approach to solutions, in the following order of preference. (1) Software as a Service (SaaS). (2) Platform as a Service (PaaS). (3) Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). Page 273 of 326
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Policy and Strategy Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref RMcG Date 14/03/24 Integration Scheme Review- Post Consultation Update From Ross McGuffie, Chief Officer, Health and Social Care for North Lanarkshire E-mail ross.mcguffie@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk Telephone 01698 858143 Executive Summary The Integration Scheme is a legally binding document jointly developed by NHS Lanarkshire and North Lanarkshire Council. The Scheme sets out the local framework within which the integration of health and social care will be taken forward. The Integration Scheme was last approved by the Cabinet Secretary on 12th April 2019. In line with the normal review timescales, further minor amendments have now been made to reflect updated processes and structures relating to risk, Support Care and Clinical Governance, Committees and complaints processes. Recommendations It is recommended that the Policy and Strategy committee: (1) Approve the revised Integration Scheme; (2) Note that the revised Integration Scheme has been subjected to 4 weeks’ public consultation from 15th January 2024 to 11th February 2024 and is now being presented back to the Policy and Strategy Committee and NHS Lanarkshire Board in final form before being submitted to the Cabinet Secretary for approval. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve the health and wellbeing of our communities Ambition statement (24) Review and design services around people, communities, and shared resources Item 13 Page 275 of 326
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1. Background 1.1 The Integration Scheme is a legally binding document jointly developed by NHS Lanarkshire and North Lanarkshire Council. The Scheme sets out the local framework within which the integration of health and social care will be taken forward. 1.2 The Integration Scheme was last approved by the Cabinet Secretary on 12th April 2019. 2. Report 2.1 Section 44 of the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014, notes that “the local authority and the Health Board must carry out a review of the integration scheme before the expiry of the relevant period for the purpose of identifying whether any changes to the scheme are necessary or desirable”. The legislation clarifies the “relevant period” as “the period of five years beginning with the day on which the scheme was approved. 2.2 In September 2018 North Lanarkshire Council set out a new vision for the future direction of the council in ‘We Aspire’. The document set out a plan to revise the Integration Scheme and transfer the discretionary delegated functions for children, families and justice social work services to the newly reshaped Education and Families service within the council. 2.3 Following the review of integration and approval by the respective bodies, the Integration Scheme was updated and submitted to the Scottish Government for approval. The Cabinet Secretary approved the integration scheme changes to remove children, families and justice social work on 12 April 2019. 2.4 In order to meet the 5-year review timeline, a review and update of the North Lanarkshire Integration Scheme for 2024 has taken place and an update of the document is attached for approval. 2.5 The Integration Scheme for 2024-2029 includes minor amendments to reflect updated processes and structures relating to risk; Support Care and Clinical Governance; Committees; and complaints processes. 2.6 The draft Scheme was reviewed by IJB members at the meeting on 22nd November 2023 and was also presented to the NHS Lanarkshire Board in December 2023. 2.7 In accordance with the approval received from the Integration Joint Board, Policy and Strategy Committee and the NHS Board in late 2023, the revised Integration Scheme underwent a period of public consultation spanning from the 15th of January 2024 to the 11th of February 2024. 2.8 The consultation process involved the publication of the draft integration scheme on the publicly accessible North Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership Website. Furthermore, it was disseminated through various social media channels, and the consultation document was distributed via email to a diverse audience, including health and social care professionals, users and caregivers of healthcare and social care services, non- commercial providers of social housing, third-sector bodies, and locality representatives as necessitated in the Act. 2.9 Throughout the consultation phase, only a single response was submitted. This feedback emphasised the importance of aligning the 4 Council representatives with residents' voting preferences, rather than solely representing any dominant political party. Page 276 of 326
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2.10 In line with the Act, the four Council members on the Integration Joint Board are approved via Full Council, as part of the existing process for membership of committees, sub- committees, panels, working groups and outside bodies. 2.11 Since the inception of the IJB, there has been cross-party membership through this approach, so no further changes have been proposed for the Scheme. 2.12 Now in its final form, the Integration Scheme will be presented to the Integrated Joint Board, Policy and Strategy Committee, and the NHS Lanarkshire Board for formal approval. Upon obtaining formal approval, the Scheme will be submitted to the Cabinet Secretary for endorsement. Subsequent to the endorsement, the revised Integration Scheme will be made publicly available on the North Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership website. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Measures of success are already in place for Integration Authorities through the national health and wellbeing outcomes and outcome indicators. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 – North Lanarkshire Integration Scheme 4.2 Appendix 2 – Integration Scheme Consultation Process Ross McGuffie Chief Officer – Health and Social Care for North Lanarkshire Page 277 of 326
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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? 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)? Page 278 of 326
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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? A formal 4wk consultation is required before final agreement of the new Integration Scheme 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 279 of 326
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Appendix 1 Health and Social Care Integration North Lanarkshire Integration Scheme 2024 Version Control Version Date North Lanarkshire Integration Scheme 2014 V1 April 2014 North Lanarkshire Integration Scheme 2019 V2 April 2019 North Lanarkshire Integration Scheme 2024 V3 April 2024 Page 280 of 326
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Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 8 2. The Parties ........................................................................................................................... 10 3. Integration Model ................................................................................................................. 10 4. Local Governance Arrangements ....................................................................................... 11 5. Delegation of functions ....................................................................................................... 12 6. Local Operational Delivery Arrangements ......................................................................... 15 7. Corporate Service Support ................................................................................................. 16 8. Supporting Strategic Planning ............................................................................................ 16 9. Performance Measurement ................................................................................................. 16 10. Support, Care and Clinical Governance ........................................................................... 17 11. Clinical and Professional Governance Framework ......................................................... 18 12. Chief Officer ....................................................................................................................... 20 13. Workforce ........................................................................................................................... 21 14. Finance ............................................................................................................................... 22 15. Communication, Participation and Engagement ............................................................. 25 16. Information-Sharing and Data Handling ........................................................................... 25 17. Complaints ......................................................................................................................... 26 18.Claims Handling, Liability and Indemnity .......................................................................... 27 19.Risk Management ............................................................................................................... 28 20.Dispute Resolution Mechanism ......................................................................................... 29 Annex 1 – Delegated Functions .............................................................................................. 31 Part 2- Integrated Services ...................................................................................................... 36 Annex 2 - Part 1 - Functions delegated by the Local Authority to the Integration Joint Board ........................................................................................................................................ 38 Health and Social Services and Social Security Adjudications Act 1983 ............................ 41 Part 2 -Services currently provided by the Local Authority which are to be integrated ..... 47 Annex 3 – Hosted Services Arrangements ............................................................................ 49 Annex 4 – Health and Wellbeing Outcomes ........................................................................... 50 Page 281 of 326
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1. Introduction The Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014 (thereafter known as the “Act”) requires Health Boards and Local Authorities to integrate planning for, and delivery of certain adult health and social care services. This document sets out the agreement through which NHS Lanarkshire Health Board and North Lanarkshire Council do this. The creation of an integrated partnership required North Lanarkshire Council and NHS Lanarkshire Health Board to undertake a significant change agenda with the aim of creating services and supports which build on a solid foundation of success to date. The overall aim of the arrangement is the creation and continuation of a partnership which further improves outcomes for people who use health and social care services and their carers. Therefore, a primary focus of the partnership will be delivering on the nine National Health and Wellbeing Outcomes (hereinafter referred to as the “Outcomes”). of: • People are able to look after and improve their own health and wellbeing and live in good health for longer • People, including those with disabilities, long term conditions, or who are frail, are able to live, as far as reasonably practicable, independently and at home or in a homely setting in their community • People who use health and social care services have positive experiences of those services and have their dignity respected • Health and social care services are centred on helping to maintain or improve the quality of life of people who use those services • Health and social care services contribute to reducing health inequalities • People who provide unpaid care are supported to look after their own health and wellbeing, including to reduce any negative impact of their caring role on their own health and wellbeing • People who use health and social care services are safe from harm • People who work in health and social care services feel engaged with the work they do and are supported to continuously improve the information, support, care and treatment they provide • Resources are used effectively and efficiently in the provision of health and social care services From a North Lanarkshire perspective, our local vision reflects and underpins the higher level national outcomes. This is evidenced by the progress towards a personal outcomes approach which involves working with people to jointly agree how we support them to meet their aspirations and goals in life. Consequently, this drive towards supporting people to meet their outcomes has resulted in a shared partnership vision based upon: “Working together to improve health and wellbeing in the community – with the community” In pursuit of this vision, and central to our philosophy, will be the following commitments: • We will focus on promoting health improvement and tackling the underlying causes of ill – health. • We will continue to develop a health and social care system which is integrated around the needs of individuals, their carers and family members. Page 282 of 326
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• We will be working with people, their carers and families who have a range of complex support needs to identify the outcomes they want to achieve in life. In doing so, our aim will be to provide care and support to help them realise these outcomes. • We will put the leadership of clinicians and professionals at the heart of service delivery for people who require support and their carers. • We will work with partners in the third and independent sectors to remove unhelpful boundaries and using combined resources to achieve maximum benefit for patients, service users, carers and families. • We will work with a range of agencies and partners to address health and social inequalities and the subsequent impact of this experienced by people in their communities. The following detail provides information relating to ‘how’ the partnership has been created to deliver against the national outcomes and intentions of the Act. This integration Scheme is the vehicle through which assurance is given to North Lanarkshire Council, NHS Lanarkshire Health Board and the Scottish Government that the intentions of the Act are being delivered by the Integration Joint Board. This Integration Scheme forms the basis of a legal agreement with the Scottish Government and lasts for a maximum duration of five years, after which point it will be refreshed. However, in circumstances where there is agreement between the Parties, this Integration Scheme can be refreshed within an earlier timeframe. This Integration Scheme first came into effect in April 2016, with a refresh of the North Lanarkshire Integration Scheme implemented in April 2019. Page 283 of 326
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2. The Parties North Lanarkshire Council, established under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 and having its principal offices at the Civic Centre, Windmillhill Street, Motherwell, North Lanarkshire And NHS Lanarkshire Health Board, established under section 2(1) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 and having its principal offices at Kirklands Hospital, Fallside Road, Bothwell, Lanarkshire (together referred to as “the Parties”) In implementation of their obligations under the Act, the Parties hereby agree as follows: Definitions and Interpretation “The Act” means the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014. “The Parties” means NHS Lanarkshire Board and North Lanarkshire Council. “The Health Board” means NHS Lanarkshire Health Board. “The Local Authority” means North Lanarkshire Council. “The Scheme” means this Integration Scheme. “Integration Joint Board” or “IJB” means the Integration Joint Board to be established by Order under section 9 of the Act. “Members” means Members of the Integration Joint Board. “Outcomes” means the Health and Wellbeing Outcomes prescribed by the Scottish Ministers in Regulations under section 5(1) of the Act. “The Integration Scheme Regulations” means the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Integration Scheme) (Scotland) Regulations 2014. “Integration Board Order” means the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Integration Joint Boards) (Scotland) Order 2014. “Integration Joint Board, Performance, Finance and Audit Committee” (IJB PFA) means the committee which the Integration Joint Board has delegated authority for business relating to performance, finance and audits reports/updates. “Strategic Plan” means the plan which the Integration Joint Board is required to prepare and implement in relation to the delegated provision of health and social care services in accordance with section 29 of the Act. 3. Integration Model In accordance with section 2(3) of the Act, the Parties have agreed that the integration model set out in sections 1(4)(a) of the Act will be put in place for North Lanarkshire, namely the Page 284 of 326
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delegation of functions by the Parties to a body corporate that is to be established by Order under section 9 of the Act. 4. Local Governance Arrangements a. The Integration Joint Board will be responsible for the strategic planning of the functions delegated to it and for ensuring the delivery of its functions through the locally agreed operational arrangements set out within this integration scheme. b. The regulation of the Integration Joint Board’s procedures, business and meetings will follow the IJB’s own standing orders which may include additional matters to those set out within the Integration Board Order. c. The Integration Joint Board and the Parties will collaborate and interact in order to contribute to the outcomes however the Integration Joint Board, when established, will have distinct legal personality and the consequent autonomy to manage itself. d. There will be eight voting members on the Integration Joint Board comprising four elected members from North Lanarkshire Council and 4 members from NHS Lanarkshire Health Board. e. The non-voting membership prescribed in the Integration Board Order is as follows; • The Chief Officer of the Integration Joint Board; • The Chief Social Work Officer of the Council appointed by it in terms of Section 3 of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968; • The proper officer of the Integration Joint Board appointed under section 95 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973(a) i.e. the Chief Finance Officer; • A registered Primary Care medical practitioner; whose name is included in the list of primary medical service performers prepared by the Health Board in accordance with the regulations made under section 17P of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978. • A registered Nurse who is employed by the Health Board or by a person or body with which the Health Board entered into a general medical services contract Page 285 of 326
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• A registered medical practitioner employed by the Health Board who does not provide primary medical services. f. Once the Integration Joint Board is established it must appoint, in addition, at least one member in respect of each of the following groups in terms of the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Integration Joint Board) (Scotland) Order 2014: • Staff engaged in the provision of services provided under integration functions; • Third Sector bodies carrying out activities related to health or social care in North Lanarkshire; • Service users residing in North Lanarkshire; • Persons providing unpaid care in North Lanarkshire. g. The Integration Joint Board may appoint such additional members as it sees fit. h. The responsibility for appointing the Chair and Vice Chair will alternate between the Parties and the appointments will be made for a period of 3 years. Within this period, each Party may change its appointment as Chair or Vice Chair at any time and it is entirely at the discretion of the Party which is making the appointment to decide who it shall appoint. i. The term of office of a member of the Integration Joint Board is a maximum of three years. The Integration Joint Board voting members appointed by the Parties will cease to be members of the Integration Joint Board in the event that they cease to be a Non-Executive or Executive member of NHS Lanarkshire or an elected member of North Lanarkshire Council. At the end of a term of office a member may be reappointed for a further term of office. j. The Chief Social Work Officer, Chief Officer and Chief Finance Officer remain members of the Board for as long as they hold the office in respect of which they are appointed. k. Whilst serving on the Integration Joint Board its members carry out their functions under the Act on behalf of the Integration Joint Board itself, and not as delegates of their respective Heath Board or Local Authority. l. In accordance with good practice, it is expected that the Integration Joint Board will establish an audit committee to support the overall governance and scrutiny arrangements. The Parties recognise that the establishment of any committees by the IJB are a matter to be determined by the IJB. The North Lanarkshire Integrated Joint Board Performance, Finance and Audit committee has been established within North Lanarkshire to fulfil this purpose. m. Detailed protocols and reporting arrangements will be established to ensure the Parties and the Integration Joint Board have free access to all relevant information for the purposes of planning and decision making. 5. Delegation of functions The functions that are to be delegated by the Health Board to The Integration Joint Board are set out in Part 1 of Annex 1. These functions are delegated only to the extent that they relate to the Page 286 of 326
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listed services. The services to which these functions relate, which are currently provided by the Health Board and which are to be integrated, are set out in Part 2 of Annex 1. Broadly these are as follows; 5.1 Hospital Services The functions in relation to the hospital services noted below will be delegated in respect of adults and children. 5.1.1 Accident and emergency services provided in a hospital; 5.1.2 Inpatient hospital services relating to the following branches of medicine: • General medicine; • Geriatric medicine; • Rehabilitation medicine; • Respiratory medicine; • Palliative care services provided in a hospital; 5.1.1 Paediatrics; 5.1.2 Psychiatry of learning disability; 5.1.3 Inpatient hospital services provided by general medical practitioners; 5.1.4 Services provided in a hospital in relation to an addiction or dependence on any substance; 5.1.5 Mental health services provided in a hospital except regionally or nationally organised forensic mental health services. 5.2 Community Services The functions in relation to the community health services noted below will be delegated in respect of adults. • District nursing services; • Health Visiting; • Allied health professionals in an outpatient department, clinic, or out with a hospital; • Public dental services; • Primary medical services • General dental services • Ophthalmic services; • Pharmaceutical services; • Primary care out-of-hours; • Geriatric medicine; • Palliative care; • Community learning disability services; • Kidney dialysis services; • Mental health services • Continence services • Community paediatrics • Community children’s services • School nursing services • Services provided by health professionals that aim to promote public health; 5.2 .1 The functions delegated by the Council to the Integration Joint Board are set out in Part 1 of Annex 2. The services to which these functions relate are set out in Part 2 of Annex 2 and relate to adult services only. Page 287 of 326
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• Social work services for adults and older people • Services and support for adults with physical disabilities and learning disabilities • Mental health services • Drug and alcohol services • Adult protection and domestic abuse • Carers support services • Community care assessment teams • Support services • Care home services • Adult placement services • Health improvement services • Aspects of housing support, including aids and adaptions • Day services • Local area co-ordination • Respite provision • Occupational therapy services • Re-ablement services, equipment and telecare. 5.3 Annex 3 sets out arrangements for hosted services. This relates specifically to health services which span more than one Integration Joint Board and are subject to Integration Joint Board approval. 5.4 The Integration Joint Board is a Category 1 responder under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, as per the amendment to the Act in 2021. This ensures that where there is a risk of an emergency which will impact functions delegated to the Integration Joint Board, there will be formal coordinated and appropriate arrangements in place for emergency planning; information sharing and cooperation with other responders; and joined up information sharing and advice for the public. The IJB is represented at the Local Resilience Partnership by the Chief Officer. Page 288 of 326
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6. Local Operational Delivery Arrangements 6.1 The Integration Joint Board meets a minimum of four times per year in public and publishes all agendas, papers and minutes with responsibility for the delivery of integrated functions as set out in annexes 1,2 and 3 and provides operational oversight of integrated services delegated to them. It will do this directly for all services except for those noted in 6.2 The operational role of the Chief Officer is set out within section 8. 6.3 NHS Lanarkshire will retain direct operational oversight of the acute services as set out in annexes 1,2 and 3 and will provide information on a regular basis to the Integration Joint Board about the delivery of these services. 6.4 The Integration Joint Board is responsible for the development of a Strategic Commissioning Plan as per Section 29 of the Act. This plan sets out arrangements for carrying out the integration functions and how these contribute to achieving the Outcomes as outlined in Annex 4. 6.5 A locality model has been developed by the Integration Joint Board to underpin the development of the Strategic Commissioning Plan. 6.6 From an acute hospital service perspective, operational plans for integrated acute service delivery are subject to directions from the Integration Joint Board about the exercise of delegated functions in relation to these services. These will also be informed and directed by the Strategic Commissioning Plan. 6.7 The Chief officer is responsible for directly implementing the Integration Joint Board’s directions to locality delivery on the ground. 6.8 From an operational and performance management perspective, the Integration Joint Board/ the Integrated Joint Board Performance, Finance and Audit Committee will receive regular reports from the chief officer and other responsible officers of the parties on the delivery of integrated services and will issue directions in response to those reports to ensure improved performance. This includes a range of thematic reports will include, but are not limited to, the following; • Finance Reports • Performance against the National Health and Wellbeing Outcomes; • Regulation and scrutiny activity; • Inspection Outcomes. • Support, Care & Clinical Governance reports to be assured of the delivery of safe and effective services. • Public Protection reports. • Engagement and community co-production reports from each of the Locality Management teams. • Annual staff governance and workforce planning report. • Improvement plans and reports. • Risk reports/management plan. 6.9 The Act requires the Integration Joint Board to publish an Annual Performance Report by July of each year. Page 289 of 326
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7. Corporate Service Support 7.1 The Parties will support the work of the Integration Joint Board by supplying all relevant information, data and corporate support services such as financial, legal, human resources, IT, planning, risk management, audit, administrative etc. for the Integration Joint Board to carry out its functions. This will include information on cross boundary flow into and out with NHS Lanarkshire. 7.2 The current arrangements for providing corporate support services in respect of delegated functions and the associated service provision will be reviewed by the Chief Officer and the responsible officers of the Parties on an ongoing basis. 8. Supporting Strategic Planning 8.1 As outlined in Section 30(3) of the Act, the Integration Joint Board must have regard to the effect that their Strategic Commissioning Plan will have on facilities, services or resources which are used in relation to arrangements set out or being considered to be set out in a Strategic Plan prepared by another Integration Joint Board. 8.2 In assessing the health element of this, the NHS Board will provide the necessary activity and financial data for services, facilities and resources that relate to the planned use of services provided by other Health Boards by people who live within the area of the Integration Joint Board. 8.3 In circumstances where the NHS Board or the Council intend to change service provision of non-integrated services that will impact directly on the Strategic Commissioning Plan, they will advise the Integration Joint Board of this. 9. Performance Measurement 9.1 Through the development of the Strategic Commissioning Plan, the Outcomes are used to develop a performance reporting framework which underpins the Plan. 9.2 The Parties have established an integrated performance reporting framework which considers and develops a local suite of measures and targets that relate to the provision of integration functions. The measures and targets are aligned to the Outcomes and any subsequent guidance/core suit of indicators. The Parties develop the targets, measures and other arrangements that are devolved to the Integration Joint Board. In developing this, the Parties share with the Integration Joint Board other relevant NHS Board and Council targets and measures which the Integration Joint Board must take account of. 9.3 The Parties, in conjunction with the Integration Joint Board also consider and develop a list of targets, measures and arrangements that relate to the functions that are not delegated which the Integration Joint Board must take account of when it is preparing the strategic plan. 9.4 The work in respect of 9.2 and 9.3 takes into account: 9.4.1 The Outcomes. Page 290 of 326
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9.4.2 Delegated performance targets related to the commissioning and delivery accountabilities of the NHS Board and the Council. 9.4.3 Delayed discharge. 9.4.4 Recovery activity. 9.4.5 Locally agreed outcomes and targets identified through Community Planning and from the Local Outcomes Improvement Plan and attributable to Health and Social Care Outcomes and targets, including Health Improvement, for each of the localities identified and agreed in line with local needs determined for each population. 9.4.6 The Nationally prescribed core suite of integration indicators. 9.5 The reporting of information against this suite of indicators is provided by the Parties to the Integration Joint Board as a means of measuring progress and impact. 9.6 Where responsibility for the target is shared, the Parties set out in a document the accountability and responsibility of each of them. 9.7 Where the responsibility for the targets span integrated and non-integrated services, the NHS Board, the Council and the Integration Joint Board will work together to produce and deliver the measures and targets which assess performance. This will be evidenced through a standing performance item on Integration Joint Board meetings and also picked up through the Integration Joint Board Annual Performance report. 9.8 The Integration Joint Board Performance, Finance and Audit Committee which is accountable to the Integration Joint Board has been established as a decision making body to provide further scrutiny on matters related to finance, risk, performance and audit matters. 10. Support, Care and Clinical Governance 10.1 The Parties and the Integration Joint Board are accountable for ensuring appropriate support, care and clinical governance arrangements are in place for their duties under the Act. 10.2 The Parties remain responsible for the support, care, clinical and professional accountability of the services which the Integration Joint Board has directed the Parties to deliver and for the services delivered in respect of functions that are not delegated to the Integration Joint Board. 10.3 The Parties remain individually responsible for the assurance of the quality and safety of services commissioned from the third and independent sectors in line with the requirements set out within the strategic plan and any directions issued by the Integration Joint Board that relate to or have an impact on, integrated and non- integrated service provision. 10.4 The Integration Joint Board will have regard to the support, care and clinical framework that is set out in Section 6.6 when developing and agreeing its strategic plan and corresponding directions to the Parties. 10.5 As set out in Section 9 the Integration Joint Board will receive regular reports from professional leadership members for medical; nursing, AHPs; and Social Work to assure itself that support, care and clinical governance requirements are being met through Page 291 of 326
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these existing arrangements and that safe, effective person centred care is being consistently delivered. 11. Clinical and Professional Governance Framework 11.1 The Parties have in place support, care and clinical governance arrangements to provide assurance that the services that are delivered are safe, effective, person centred and focussed on personal outcomes. 11.2 The Parties recognise that the establishment and continuous review of the arrangements for support, care and clinical Governance and Professional Governance are essential in delivering their obligations and quality ambitions. 11.3 In the Health Board this is overseen by the Healthcare Quality Assurance and Improvement Committee, a committee of the Health Board which supports the Health Board in its responsibilities, with regards to issues of clinical risk, control and governance and associated assurance in the area of quality assurance and improvement through a process of constructive challenge. 11.4 The Healthcare Quality Assurance and Improvement Committee is responsible for the development of a strategic approach to quality assurance and improvement across the Health Board, ensuring that quality standards are being set, met and continuously improved for clinical activity. It ensures that effective arrangements for supporting, monitoring and reporting on quality assurance and improvement are in place and working, demonstrating compliance with statutory requirements in relation to clinical governance and authorising an accurate and honest annual clinical governance statement. 11.5 In North Lanarkshire Council the Chief Social Work Officer holds professional accountability for social work and social care services. The Chief Social Work Officer reports directly to the Chief Executive and elected members of North Lanarkshire Council in respect of professional social work matters. He/she is responsible for ensuring that social work and social care services are delivered in accordance with relevant legislation and that staff delivering such services do so in accordance with the requirements of the Scottish Social Services Council. 11.6 The Parties are committed to developing a shared support, care and clinical governance framework for integrated services. The professional leadership of the Parties will work together to develop and agree this support, care and clinical governance framework. In the first instance this will be based on a self-assessment exercise to help identify areas of common practice, provide opportunities to learn from one another and streamline processes. 11.7 The existing process, procedures and reporting structures for support, care and clinical governance of integrated services will be reviewed in light of the agreed support, care and clinical framework. The framework will encompass the following: • Professional regulation, workload and workforce development; • Information assurance; • Service user experience and safety and quality of integrated service delivery and personal outcomes; • Person Centred Care; • Management of clinical risks; and • Learning from adverse events. Page 292 of 326
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11.8 Each of these domains will be underpinned by mechanisms to measure quality, clinical and service effectiveness and sustainability. They will be compliant with statutory, legal and policy obligations strongly underpinned by human rights values and social justice. Service delivery will be evidence- based, underpinned by robust mechanisms to integrate professional education, research and development. 11.9 The Parties and the Integration Joint Board will be asked to approve the framework and will then be responsible for ensuring that it is embedded within service planning, delivery and performance reporting mechanisms. The Integration Joint Board will be responsible for ensuring effective mechanisms for service user and carer feedback and for complaints handling. 11.10 The Area Clinical Forum, Managed Clinical Networks, GP Sub Committee, Area Medical Committee; Medical Staff Committee and any other appropriate professional groups, and the Adult Protection Committees will provide advice directly to the Integration Joint Board or through its professional members. 11.11 The Healthcare Quality Assurance and Improvement Committee and the Chief Social Work Officer (or his/her delegates) will provide advice, oversight and guidance to the North Lanarkshire Strategic Planning Group in respect of support, care, clinical and professional governance, for the delivery of health and social care services and to the localities identified in the strategic plan. 11.12 The Chief Officer will have access to professional advice from the Chief Social Work Officer of the local authority and the Medical Director and the Nursing Director of the Health Board in both their operational role as a senior officer of the parties and as the accountable officer to the Integration Joint Board. 11.13 Explicit lines of professional and operational accountability are essential to assure the Integration Joint Board and the Parties of the robustness of governance arrangements for their duties under the Act. They underpin delivery of safe, effective and person centred care in all care settings delivered by employees of NHS Lanarkshire and North Lanarkshire Council and of the third and independent sectors. 11.14 NHS Lanarkshire Board is accountable for Clinical Governance. Professional governance responsibilities are carried out by the professional leads through to the health professional regulatory bodies and Scottish Ministers. 11.15 The Chief Social Work Officer in North Lanarkshire holds professional accountability for social work and social care services. The Chief Social Work Officer reports directly to the Chief Executive and elected members of North Lanarkshire Council in respect of professional social work matters. He/she is responsible for ensuring that social work and social care services are delivered in accordance with relevant legislation and that staff delivering such services do so in accordance with the requirements of the Scottish Social Services Council. 11.16 The Medical Director and/or the Director of Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professions, through delegated authority, hold professional accountability for the delivery of safe and effective clinical services within NHS Lanarkshire and report regularly on these matters to the Health Board. Page 293 of 326
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11.17 The Integration Joint Board will have three health professional advisors. These members of the Integration Joint Board will be professionally accountable to the Medical Director and the Nurse Director as appropriate. 11.18 This arrangement does not limit the ability of the Medical Director and/or the Nurse Director to provide advice directly to the Integration Joint Board. Where this advice is offered, the Integration Joint Board must respond in writing and notify the Parties. The Chief Social Work Officer can provide advice directly through their membership of the Integration Joint Board. 11.19 The Chief Social Work Officer, through delegated authority holds professional accountability for the delivery of safe and effective social work and social care services within the Council. An annual report on these matters will continue to be provided to the relevant Council committee and will also be made available to the Integration Joint Board. 11.20 The Chief Social Work Officer will provide professional advice to the Integration Joint Board in respect of the delivery of social work and social care services by Council staff and commissioned care providers in North Lanarkshire. 12. Chief Officer 12.1 The Integration Joint Board will appoint a Chief Officer in accordance with section 10 of the Act. 12.2 The Chief Officer reports to the Council’s Chief Executive and the NHS Board’s Chief Executive. The Chief Officer’s formal contract of employment is with one of the Parties and whichever holds the contract of employment, manages the Chief Officer on a day to day basis. 12.3 The Chief Officer will be operationally responsible with regards to the delivery of the delegated services (as set out in Annex 1 & 2) that do not relate to the acute medicine and Accident and Emergency services provided for within NHS Lanarkshire Hospitals. These services will continue to be operationally managed by NHS Lanarkshire, through the Director of Acute Services, in line with the Integration Joint Board’s Strategic Plan to ensure coherence across integrated and non-integrated hospital service provision. 12.4 The Acute Director will be a single point of managerial responsibility for NHS Lanarkshire hospitals. The Acute Director will provide updates to the Chief Officer on the operational delivery of integrated functions delivered within the acute hospital and the set aside budget on a regular basis. 12.5 The Chief Officer may also have responsibility for managing services that are hosted by the Integration Joint Board across North and South Lanarkshire. These arrangements will be determined by the North Integration Joint Board and the South Lanarkshire Integration Joint Board through the strategic planning process. 12.6 The Chief Officer will be a member of the Corporate Management Teams of the Health Board and Local Authority. 12.7 The Chief Officer will establish a senior management team to oversee day to day operation of the integrated services. 12.8 The Chief Officer’s objectives will be set annually. This will form the basis of the Chief Page 294 of 326
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Officer’s performance appraisal with the Council’s Chief Executive and the Chief Executive of the Health Board. 12.9 The Heads of Service will deputise for the Chief Officer as and when required. At the request of the Integration Joint Board the Heads of Service will carry out the functions of the Chief Officer if/when the Chief Officer is absent or otherwise unable to carry out their functions. 12.10 The Chief Officer has established and maintains effective working relationships with a range of key stakeholders across the NHS Board, the Council, the third and independent sectors, services users and carers, the Scottish Government, trade unions and relevant professional organisations. 12.11 Current hosted services arrangements are set out in Annex 3. However, with regards to the future shaping of these services from a strategic planning perspective, the Integration Joint Board discusses with relevant neighbouring Integration Joint Boards how these are shaped now and in the future. The Chief Officer takes direction from the Integration Joint Board in respect of this. 13. Workforce 13.1 Human resource services and workforce planning information will continue to be provided by the appropriate corporate human resource functions within the Council and NHS Lanarkshire. 13.2 The Parties, with the involvement of the Chief Officer, will identify appropriate officers to develop a joint Workforce Development and Support Plan. In doing so the officers will be required to consider professional views and previous workforce modelling etc. however, there may be opportunities to adapt these plans when considering an integrated workforce. This will also have to build in consideration around Third Sector and Independent Sector capacity. The Workforce Development and Support plan will be regularly updated to ensure it remains contemporary. 13.3 An Organisational Development strategy (“OD Strategy”) will be maintained in relation to teams who will deliver integrated services. Through an intense focus on locality modelling, locality based focus groups and action learning sets, we have identified significant potential for harnessing the positivity and enthusiasm of frontline staff to achieve better outcomes for the public, the organisation and the staff. We intend to continue this process combined with other aspects of our plan which focuses on; • Integration Joint Board Development • Key Leaders Development Programme • Integrated Locality Team Development • Wider Stakeholder Development 13.3.1 In all cases, we will endeavour where appropriate, to carry out development work which is inclusive of all partners. Considerable progress has been made to develop an OD strategy, but it will need to be reviewed and revised over time. The Integration Joint Board will be given the opportunity to provide comment on the draft strategy upon its establishment. The strategy will be updated over the period of the strategic planning process. 13.4 Joint HR/OD processes have been agreed by the Parties over a number of years and many Page 295 of 326
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joint policies already exist which will assist in the process of integration. This integration scheme has no effect on these joint policies so, for example, any joint appointments will continue to report to one-line manager, except for the Chief Officer where different provision is made within this scheme. 14. Finance 14.1 Contributions from the Parties for delegated functions to the Integration Joint Board will be overseen by the Chief Officer and the Integration Joint Board Chief Financial Officer. They will develop a resource plan and budget based on available resources. The Integration Joint Board Chief Financial Officer will be responsible for the preparation of the annual financial statements as required by section 39 of the Act. 14.2 The Chief Officer and Chief Financial Officer will develop an integrated budget based on the Strategic Plan and present it to the parties for consideration as part of both of their annual budget setting processes. The Parties will evaluate the case for the Integrated Budget against their other priorities and will agree their respective contributions accordingly. The outcome of this work will be presented to the Integration Joint Board. Following on from the budget process, the Chief Officer and the Integration Joint Board Chief Financial Officer will prepare a financial plan supporting the Strategic Plan. 14.3 The budget will be evidenced based with transparency of assumptions including, but not limited to Pay Award, Contractual Uplift, Savings Requirements etc. 14.4 The method for determining the amount set aside for hospital services will follow guidance issued by the Integrated Resources Advisory Group and be based initially on the notional direct costs of the relevant populations use of in scope hospital services as provided by Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland. The NHS Director of Finance and Integration Joint Board Chief Financial Officer will keep under review developments in national data sets or local systems that might allow more timely or more locally responsive information, and if enhancements can be made, propose this to the Integration Joint Board. If the Strategic Plan sets out a change in hospital capacity, the resource consequences will be determined through a bottom up process based on: • Planned changes in activity and case mix due to interventions in the Strategic Plan; • Projected activity and case mix changes due to changes in population need; • Analysis of the impact on the affected hospital budget, taking into account cost-behaviour i.e. fixed, semi fixed and variable costs and timing difference i.e. the lag between reduction in capacity and the release of resources. 14.5 Each partner will agree the formal budget setting timelines and reporting periods as defined in the Financial Regulations. 14.6 A schedule of notional payments will be provided by the Parties to the Integration Joint Board following the approval of the Strategic Plan and the Financial Plan. 14.7 It will remain the duty of the Local Authority Section 95 Officer and the NHS Board Accountable Officer to monitor and regulate the financial performance of their respective share of the resources available to the Integration Joint Board during each reporting period, throughout the financial year. 14.8 It will be the responsibility of the Local Authority Section 95 Officer and the NHS Board Accountable Officer to comply with the agreed reporting timetable and to make available Page 296 of 326
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to the Integration Joint Board Chief Financial Officer the relevant financial information, including the sum set aside in line with 9.4.15, required for timely financial reporting to the Integration Joint Board. This will include such details as may be required to inform financial planning of revenue expenditure. 14.9 The frequency of reporting is set out in the Financial Regulations and will be at least on a quarterly basis. In advance of each financial year a timetable for financial reporting will be submitted to the Integration Joint Board for approval. 14.10 Regular management reports will be prepared in line with the financial regulations which will be agreed by the Integration Joint Board, and will include actual and projected outturns. The existing budgetary control frameworks adopted by each of the Parties will form the basis of generating the required information. 14.11 The Integration Joint Board Chief Financial Officer will manage the respective financial plan so as to deliver the agreed outcomes within the Strategic Plan viewed as a whole. 14.12 The Parties do not expect that there will be a schedule of cash payments, but rather annual accounting entries for the agreed budgets. There may be a requirement for an actual cash transfer to be made between the Parties to reflect the difference between the payment being made and the resources delegated to the party by the Integration Joint Board. Any cash transfer will take place at least annually. Any change to frequency will be jointly agreed by the Integration Joint Board and the Parties. 14.13 The process for managing any in-year financial variations will be detailed within the Financial Regulations and are summarised below: 14.13.1 If the Integration Joint Board’s Chief Financial Officer is advised that a significant change is likely to the Integration Joint Board's overall financial position and the deviation involves a change of policy of the Integration Joint Board or results in revenue implications for future years, a report will be provided for the Integration Joint Board in good time detailing the financial consequences to enable appropriate action to be taken timeously. 14.13.2 If an overspend is forecast on either partner’s in scope budget, the Chief Officer and the Integration Joint Board’s Chief Financial Officer will aim to agree a recovery plan with the relevant partner to balance the overspending budget and determine the actions required to be taken to deliver the recovery plan. If the overspend arises from assumptions in the Integration Joint Board’s strategic plan on the impact of service changes that are not realised as anticipated this should be subject to a report and corrective action. This corrective action may include a recovery plan which should consider revisions to the commissioning of services and / or financial plans to account for the changed circumstances, and the use of any available reserves. 14.13.3 If the recovery plan is unsuccessful then the parties have the option to: • the relevant partner provides additional resources to the Integration Joint Board which is then recovered in future years from subsequent underspends in that partner’s contribution, (subject to scrutiny of the reasons for the overspend and assurance that there is a plan in place to address this) or; • the relevant partner makes additional one-off adjustment to the resources that it is making available to the Integration Joint Board. Page 297 of 326
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14.13.4 Unplanned underspends that arise due to material differences between assumptions used in setting the budget and actual events effectively represent an overfunding by the Parties with respect to planned outcomes. The circumstances surrounding the action required to address unplanned underspends is set out in the Financial Regulations and Reserves Policy, which will be subject to agreement by the Parties and the Integration Joint Board. The options will include the underspend either being returned to the relevant party in year through an adjustment to their respective contributions, or maintained by the Integration Joint Board to be carried through the General Fund balance. 14.14 The Parties do not expect to reduce them in year payment to the Integration Joint Board without the consent of the Integration Joint Board and the other Party out with the following circumstances Unplanned underspends as defined above and the Financial Regulations and Reserves Policy. 14.15 Where the budget assumed a specific allocation from the Scottish Government which did not materialise in year to the extent anticipated. (The converse of this also applies in that should a specific allocation pertaining to a delegated function exceed the anticipated level, an additional payment to the Integration Joint Board may be agreed). 14.16 Monitoring arrangements will include the impact of activity on set aside budgets. 14.17 The Accounting Standards as adapted for the public sector will apply to the Integration Joint Board. The Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the UK will be the applicable guidance for their interpretation. 14.18 The financial statements of the Integration Joint Board will be completed to meet the audit and publication timetable specified in regulations (Regulations under section 105 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973). 14.19 Initially, recording of financial information in respect of the Integration Joint Board will be processed via the Local Authority ledger. The means for recording financial information will be reviewed by the Chief Financial Officer to ensure this method remains appropriate giving due regard to the needs of the Integration Joint Board. Should an amendment to this method be required the Chief Financial Officer will consult with both parties and present recommendations to the Integration Joint Board for approval. 14.20 The financial ledger transactions relating to the Integration Joint Board will be carried out prior to the end of the financial year with post year-end adjustments for material information only. Year-end balances and transactions will be agreed timeously in order to allow completion of the Accounts in line with required timescales. This date will be agreed annually by the Integration Joint Board and the Parties. 14.21 From an asset management and capital planning perspective, in the short term, the Integration Joint Board will not be empowered to own capital assets and the regimes of the Parties will apply to capital assets used to provide the delegated services. Ownership of assets and associated liabilities will remain with the Parties. 14.22 The Chief Officer will consider all of the resources which are required to deliver the integration outcomes including the relevant non-current assets owned by the Parties. The Chief Officer will consult with the Parties to make best use of existing resources. Page 298 of 326
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14.23 Should the Integration Joint Board believe there is a requirement to develop assets in order to facilitate the delivery of the Strategic Plan’s outcomes, then the Chief Officer must present a business case to the Parties for consideration. This should be submitted as part of the partner’s capital planning process. Partnership discussion would be required at an early stage for jointly funded projects. 14.24 Detailed Financial Regulations governing the Integration Joint Board will be agreed between the Parties and approved by the Integration Joint Board before functions and resources are delegated. 15. Communication, Participation and Engagement 15.1 Communication, participation and engagement with all stakeholders is central to the development of the Integration Scheme and is stated requirements as outlined in Section 6 (2) of the Act. The stakeholders who have been directly engaged with to date include: • Health & Social Care Professionals; • Service Users & Carers; • Non Commercial Providers of Health & Social Care; • Non Commercial Providers of Housing; • Independent Sector; • Third Sector; • Staff likely to be affected by the integration; • Other Local Authorities operating within the area of the Health Board. 15.2 The Parties have well-established local arrangements for involving and engaging with service users, carers, patients and communities. These have become embedded within North Lanarkshire and include the Public Partnership Forum. North Lanarkshire Integration Joint Board collaborates with the nationally recognised Third Sector Interface, and as such provides a seat on the IJB in order to develop and coordinate activity with third sector partners. 15.3 This public engagement activity will adhere to national standards for community engagement and participation. 15.4 The Integration Joint Board has an existing participation and engagement plan, supported via access to the corporate/directorate communication teams of both parties and a dedicated communications officer and support from staff who work directly in the field of community engagement/public involvement. 15.5 In preparing its strategic plan, the Integration Joint Board has established mechanisms to seek the views of key stakeholders, including a strategic planning group in accordance with the requirements of the Act. 16. Information-Sharing and Data Handling 16.1 The Parties agree to continue to operate under the existing Lanarkshire Information Sharing Protocol and the agreed procedures for sharing information, which is governed by the Lanarkshire Data Sharing Partnership (LDSP), until such time as any necessary changes are made by the process outlined below. The Lanarkshire Data Sharing Partnership Board is the key multi-agency forum with current partnership arrangements and includes representation from North and South Lanarkshire Councils, the NHS Board, Police Scotland, Fire Service and Third Sector. All staff employed by the Parties will continue to comply with all current polices and protocols with regards to information sharing. Page 299 of 326
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16.2 The protocol and procedures for sharing information will be regularly reviewed and updated to reflect the new governance arrangements that pertain to health and social care by the Lanarkshire Data Sharing Partnership. The Chief Officer of the Integration Joint Board chairs the Local Data Sharing Partnership: and the revised protocol has been provided to the Parties and the Integration Joint Board. 16.3 The Lanarkshire Information Sharing Protocol is reviewed regularly by the LDSP. If the Parties or the Integration Joint Board have concerns about the Lanarkshire Information Sharing Protocol or agreement, or the processes for sharing information, they may request a review. Any such changes or amendments must be agreed by the Integration Joint Board and the Parties. 16.4 It is the intention to ensure that any resultant information sharing agreement will be established and maintained within legislative or regulatory requirements in place at that time, primarily with respect to confidentiality, data protection and privacy. 16.5 The Parties entered into an information sharing protocol (Scottish Accord on the Sharing of Personal Information – SASPI) in relation to health and social care integration, primarily to support strategic planning, commissioning and service design. 17. Complaints 17.1 The Parties agree the following arrangements in respect of complaints by service users and those complaining on behalf of service users: 17.2 The Parties agree that feedback, comments, concerns and complaints should be viewed with a positive attitude and valued as feedback on service performance leading to a culture of learning from complaints. 17.3 The Parties agree the principle of frontline resolution to complaints wherever possible and have existing mechanisms in place to achieve this. 17.4 The Parties agree that irrespective of the point of contact the Parties will show a willingness to appropriately direct complaints to ensure an appropriate response. 17.5 Due to different legislative requirements the Parties agree that complaints will continue to be dealt with according to the procedures and policies in place for the Local Authority and the Health Board. 17.6 Where complaints cross the boundaries of health and social care the Parties will work together to achieve, where possible, a joint response to a complaint. 17.7 The Parties agree that complaints by patients, service users or carers will be managed and responded to by the lead organisation responsible for the delivery of the service to which the complaint refers in accordance with the procedures and policies in place for that Party, completed within the timescales for the relevant procedure and monitored by the Chief Officer. 17.8 There are two established processes a complaint will follow depending on the lead organisation, these are the Statutory Social Work Complaints process; and NHS Lanarkshire’s complaints process. Page 300 of 326
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17.9 These processes, together with the timescales for acknowledgement and response, are widely publicised by the respective organisations. Complaints to North Lanarkshire Council can be made through their website1 using the online form or by telephoning the Council. The arrangements for making complaints to NHS Lanarkshire Health Board are set out on their website2 or can be made by telephoning NHS Lanarkshire Health Board. 17.10 External service providers are required to have a complaints procedure in place. Where complaints are received that relate to a service provided by an external service provider the lead organisation will either arrange for investigation or refer the complainant to the external service provider for resolution of their complaint. 17.11 All complaints will be investigated and responded to according to the lead organisation’s procedure, completed within the timescales for the relevant procedure and monitored by the Chief Officer. 17.12 The Chief Officer will have an overview of complaints related to integrated functions and will provide a commitment to joint working, wherever necessary, between the Parties when dealing with complaints about integrated services. 17.13 If a complaint remains unresolved through the defined complaints-handling procedure, complainants will be informed of their right to go either to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman for services provided by the Health Board, or to the Social Work Complaints Review Committee following which, if their complaints remains unresolved, they have the right to go to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman for services provided by the Local Authority. 17.14 This arrangement will respect the statutory complaints-handling processes currently in place for health and social care services. This arrangement will benefit service users and carers by making use of existing complaints procedures and will not create an additional complaint handling process. 17.15 Data sharing requirements relating to any complaint will follow the Information and Data sharing protocol set in the Information and Data Handling section of this Scheme. 17.16 Relevant performance information and lessons learned from complaints will be collected and reported in line with the Support, Care and Clinical Governance section of this Scheme. 17.17 A joint performance report will be produced annually for consideration by the Integration Joint Board. 18. Claims Handling, Liability and Indemnity 18.1 The Parties and the Integration Joint Board recognise that they could receive a claim arising from or which relates to the work undertaken on behalf of the Integration Joint Board. 18.2 The Parties agree to ensure that any such claims are progressed quickly and in a manner which is equitable between them. 18.3 So far as reasonably practicable the normal common law and statutory rules relating to liability will apply, however it is also noted that decisions relating to claims and liabilities will also be subject to any requirements, obligations or conditions of any relevant insurance Page 301 of 326
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policies held by the Parties. 18.4 In the event of any claim against the Integration Joint Board in respect of which it is not clear which Party should assume responsibility, the Chief Officer (or his/her representatives) will liaise with the Chief Executives of the Parties (or their representatives) to determine which Party should assume responsibility for progressing the claim. 18.5 Where a claim has been settled by one of the Parties, and it thereafter transpires that liability (in whole or in part) should have rested with the other Party, then that Party shall indemnify the Party that settled the claim. 18.6 Claims regarding policy and/or strategic decisions made by the Integration Joint Board shall be the responsibility of the Integration Joint Board. For such claims, the Integration Joint Board will require to assess the need for, and if appropriate, obtain appropriate insurance cover. It may also require to engage independent legal advice. 18.7 If a claim has a “cross boundary” element whereby it relates to another Integration authority area, the Chief Officers of the Integration authorities concerned shall liaise with each other until an agreement is reached as to how the claim should be progressed and determined. 18.8 Each Party will ensure that appropriate risk financing arrangements are put in place and maintained, to meet the cost of claims and other associated costs. 18.9 Claims which pre-date the establishment of the Integration Joint Board will be dealt with by the Parties through the procedures that were in place prior to Integration. 19. Risk Management 19.1 The Parties and the Integration Joint Board have an agreed risk management strategy and methodology in relation to Health & Social Care Integration. The shared strategy and methodology ensures: • Identification, assessment, prioritisation and pro-active management of risk related to the delivery of services, particularly those which are likely to affect the Integration Joint Board's delivery of the strategic plan; • Identification and description of processes for mitigating these risks; • Mechanisms in place for risk sharing between the organisations; • Agreed reporting standards. 19.2 The risk management strategy and methodology sets out: • Roles and Responsibilities for managing risk; • How the Parties and the Integration Joint Board prepare risk registers, and arrangements to amend and update such registers; • Risks that should be reported from the date of delegation of functions and Resources; • An agreed risk monitoring framework; • An agreed risk reporting framework to senior management and those charged with governance; • An agreed process for sharing risks between partners; • The process for agreeing changes with the Integration Joint Board; • Protocols for communication and sharing risk information between the Parties. 19.3 The Parties and the Integration Joint Board will work collectively to support three risk Page 302 of 326
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registers: • IJB strategic register. • NHS Lanarkshire operational register for health services, as part of NHS Lanarkshire’s corporate risk processes. • NLC operational register for social work services, as part of North Lanarkshire Council’s corporate risk processes. 19.4 The Integration Joint Board regularly reviews and updates its Risk Register, with more detailed analysis through the Performance, Finance and Audit Sub Committee. 19.5 In addition to the above, the NHS Board, the Council and Integration Joint Board will consider and agree which risks should be taken from their own risk registers and placed on the shared risk register. Where these risk change, the NHS Board, the Council and Integration Joint Board will notify each other of where they have changed. This will be done formally through the risk register reports to Integration Joint Board and its Finance, Performance and Audit Sub Committee. 19.6 A risk sharing form has been agreed with both partners so that joint risks can be identified and shared timeously. 20. Dispute Resolution Mechanism 20.1 In the event of a failure by the Parties to reach agreement between themselves in relation to any aspect of this Scheme or any of the duties or powers placed on them by the Act then they will follow the process laid out below: 20.2 Either Party can invoke this Dispute Resolution Mechanism by serving written notice of their intention to do so on the other Party. Such notice will be deemed to be received on the day following the issuing of the notice. The date following the issuing of the notice is herein referred to as “the relevant date”. 20.3 The Chief Executives of the Health Board and the Local Authority will meet, within 7 days of the relevant date, to attempt to resolve the issue. 20.4 If unresolved, and within 21 days of the relevant date, the Parties will each prepare a written note of their position on the issue and exchange it with the each other. 20.5 In the event that the issue remains unresolved, representatives of the Parties will proceed to mediation with a view to resolving the issue. 20.6 Within 28 days of the relevant date, duly authorised representatives of the Parties will meet with a view to appointing a suitable independent person to act as a mediator. If agreement cannot be reached, then a referral will be made to the President of the Law Society of Scotland inviting the President to appoint a person to act as mediator. The mediation process shall be determined by the mediator appointed and shall take place within 28 days of the mediator accepting appointment. 20.7 Where the issue remains unresolved after following the processes outlined above, the Parties agree that they will notify Scottish Ministers that agreement cannot be reached. 20.8 The notification will explain the nature of the dispute and the actions taken to try to resolve the dispute including any written opinion or recommendations issued by the Page 303 of 326
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mediator. 20.9 The Parties agree to be bound by this determination of this dispute resolution mechanism. Page 304 of 326
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Annex 1 – Delegated Functions Part 1 Functions delegated by the Health Board to The Integration Joint Board Set out below is the list of functions that will be delegated by NHS Lanarkshire to the Integration Joint Board as set out in the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Prescribed Health Board Functions) (Scotland) Regulations 2014. Functions prescribed for the purposes of section 1(8) of the Act Column A Enactment conferring function Column B Limitatio n The National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 All functions of Health Boards conferred by, or by virtue of, the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 Except functions conferred by or by virtue of— section 2(7) (Health Boards); section 2CB( (Functions outside Scotland); of Health Boar ds section 9 (local consultative committees); section 17A (NHS Contracts); section 17C (personal services); medic al or dental section 17I (use of accommodation); section 17J (Health Boards’ power to enter into general medical services contracts); section 28A (remuneration for Part II services); section 38 children); (care of mother s an d youn g section 38A (breastfeeding); section 39 (medical and dental inspection, supervision and treatment of pupils and young persons); section 48 (provision of residential and practice accommodation); section 55 (hospital accommodation on part payment); section 57 (accommodation and services for private patients); section 64 (permission for use of facilities in private practice); section 75A (remission and repayment of charges and payment of travelling expenses); Page 305 of 326
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section 75B (reimbursement of the cost of services provided in another EEA state); section 75BA (reimbursement of the cost of services provided in another EEA state where expenditure is incurred on or after 25 October 2013); section 79 (purchase of land and moveable property); section 82 use and administration of certain endowments and other property held by Health Boards); section 83 (power of Health Boards and local health councils to hold property on trust); section 84A (power to raise money, etc., by appeals, collections etc.); section 86 (accounts of Health Boards and the Agency); section 88 (payment of allowances and remuneration to members of certain bodies connected with the health services); section 98 (charges in respect of non- residents); and paragraphs 4, 5, 11A and 13 of Schedule 1 to the Act (Health Boards); and functions conferred by— The National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) (Scotland) Regulations 1989 ; The Health Boards (Membership and Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2001/302; The National Health Service (Clinical Negligence and Other Risks Indemnity Scheme) (Scotland) Regulations 2000/54; The National Health Services (Primary Medical Services Performers Lists) (Scotland) Regulations 2004/114; The National Health Service (Primary Medical Services Section 17C Agreements) (Scotland) Regulations 2004; The National Health Service (Discipline Committees) Regulations 2006/330; Page 306 of 326
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The National Health Service (General Ophthalmic Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2006/135; Page 307 of 326
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The National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2009/183; The National Health Service (General Dental Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2010/205; and The National Health Service (Free Prescription and Charges for Drugs and Appliances) (Scotland) Regulations 2011/55. Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986 Section 7 (Persons discharged from hospital) Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 All functions of Health Boards conferred by, or by virtue of, the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002. Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 All functions of Health Boards conferred by, or by virtue of, the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003. Except functions conferred by— section 22 (Approved medical practitioners); section 34 (Inquiries under section 33: co-operation); section 38 (Duties on hospital managers: examination notification etc.); section 46 (Hospital managers’ duties: notification); section 124 (Transfer to other hospital); section 228 (Request for assessment of needs: duty on local authorities and Health Boards); section 230 (Appointment of a patient’s responsible medical officer); section 260 (Provision of information to patients); section 264 (Detention in conditions of excessive security: state hospitals); section 267 (Orders under sections 264 to 266: recall); Page 308 of 326
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section 281 (Correspondence of certain persons detained in hospital); and functions conferred by— The Mental Health (Safety and Security) (Scotland) Regulations 2005; The Mental Health (Cross Border transfer: patients subject to detention requirement or otherwise in hospital) (Scotland) Regulations 2005; The Mental Health (Use of Telephones) (Scotland) Regulations 2005; and The Mental Health (England and Wales Cross border transfer: patients subject to detention requirement or otherwise in hospital) (Scotland) Regulations 2008. Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 Section 23 (other agencies etc. to help in exercise of functions under this Act) Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 All functions of Health Boards conferred by, or by virtue of, the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 Except functions conferred by— section 31(Public functions: duties to provide information on certain expenditure etc.); and section 32 (Public functions: duty to provide information on exercise of functions). Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011 All functions of Health Boards conferred by, or by virtue of, the Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011 Except functions conferred by The Patient Rights (Complaints Procedure and Consequential Provisions) (Scotland) Regulations 2012/36. Page 309 of 326
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Part 2- Integrated Services Services currently provided by the Health Board which are to be integrated The functions that are set out in Part 1 are delegated in relation to the services as set out below and relate to both adults and children. Interpretation 1. In this part— “Allied Health Professional” means a person registered as an allied health professional with the Health Professions Council; “general medical practitioner” means a medical practitioner whose name is included in the General Practitioner Register kept by the General Medical Council; “general medical services contract” means a contract under section 17J of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978; “hospital” has the meaning given by section 108(1) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978; “inpatient hospital services” means any health care service provided to a patient who has been admitted to a hospital and is required to remain in that hospital overnight, but does not include any secure forensic mental health services; “out of hours’ period” has the same meaning as in regulation 2 of the National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) (Scotland) Regulations 2004; and “the public dental service” means services provided by dentists and dental staff employed by a health board under the public dental service contract. Services 2. Accident and Emergency services provided in a hospital. 3. Inpatient hospital services relating to the following branches of medicine— (a) general medicine; (b) geriatric medicine; (c) rehabilitation medicine; (d) respiratory medicine; and (e) psychiatry of learning disability. 4. Palliative care services provided in a hospital. 5. Inpatient hospital services provided by General Medical Practitioners. 6. Services provided in a hospital in relation to an addiction or dependence on any substance. 7. Mental health services provided in a hospital except regionally or nationally organised forensic mental health services 8. District nursing services. 9. Services provided out with a hospital in relation to an addiction or dependence on any substance Services provided by allied health professionals in an outpatient department, clinic, or out with a hospital. 10. The public dental service. 11. Primary medical services provided under a general medical services contract, and arrangements for the provision of services made under section 17C of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978, or an arrangement made in pursuance of section 2C (2) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978. 12. General dental services provided under arrangements made in pursuance of section 25 of the National Health (Scotland) Act 1978. 13. Ophthalmic services provided under arrangements made in pursuance of section 17AA or section 26 of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978. 14. Pharmaceutical services and additional pharmaceutical services provided under Page 310 of 326
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arrangements made in pursuance of sections 27 and 27A of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978. 15. Services providing primary medical services to patients during the out-of-hours period. 16. Services provided out with a hospital in relation to geriatric medicine. 17. Palliative care services provided out with a hospital. 18. Community learning disability services. 19. Mental health services provided out with a hospital. 20. Continence services provided out with a hospital. 21. Kidney dialysis services provided out with a hospital. 22. Services provided by health professionals that aim to promote public health. 23. Health visiting Services – denotes that this is in addition to the statutory list as outlined in points 8-23 above. 24. Page 311 of 326
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Annex 2 - Part 1 - Functions delegated by the Local Authority to the Integration Joint Board Set out below is the list of functions that will be delegated by North Lanarkshire Council to the Integration Joint Board. Schedule Regulation 2 Part 1 Functions prescribed for the purposes of section 1(7) of the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014 Column A Enactment conferring function Column B Limitation National Assistance Act 1948 Section 48 (Duty of councils to provide temporary protection for property of persons admitted to hospitals etc.) Section 45 (Recovery in cases of misrepresentation or non- disclosure.).) The Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1958 Section 3 (Provision of sheltered employment by local authorities) The Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 Section 1 (Local authorities for the administration of the Act.) So far as it is exercisable in relation to another integration function. Section 4 (Provisions relating to performance of functions by local authorities.) Section 5 (Powers of Secretary of State.) So far as it is exercisable in relation to another integration function. Section 8 (Researc h.) So far as it is exercisable in relation to another integration function. Page 312 of 326
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Column A Enactment conferring function Column B Limitation Section 10 (Financial and other assistance to voluntary organisations etc. for social work.) So far as it is exercisable in relation to another integration function. Section 12 (General social welfare services of local authorities.) Except in so far as it is exercisable in relation to the provision of housing support services. Section 12A (Duty of local authorities to assess needs.) So far as it is exercisable in relation to another integration function. Section 12AZA (Assessments under section 12A - assistance) So far as it is exercisable in relation to another integration function. Section 12AA (Assessment of ability to provide care.) Section 12AB (Duty of local authority to provide information to carer.) Section 13 (Power of local authorities to assist persons in need in disposal of produce of their work.) Section 13ZA (Provision of services to incapable adults.) So far as it is exercisable in relation to another integration function. Section 13A (Residential accommodation with nursing.) Section 13B (Provision of care or aftercare.) Section 14 (Home help and laundry facilities.) Section 28 (Burial or cremation of the dead.) So far as it is exercisable in relation to persons cared for or assisted under another integration function. Page 313 of 326
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Column A Enactment conferring function Column B Limitation Section 29 (Power of local authority to defray expenses of parent, etc., visiting persons or attending funerals.) Section 59 (Provision of residential and other establishments by local authorities and maximum period for repayment of sums borrowed for such provision.) Section 78A (Recovery of contributions) Section 80 (Enforcement of duty to make contributions.) Section 81 (Provisions as to decrees for ailment.) Section 83 (Variation of trusts.) Section 86 (Adjustment between authority providing accommodation etc., and authority of area of residence.) So far as it is exercisable in relation to another integration function. The Local Government and Planning (Scotland) Act 1982 Section 24(1) (The provision of gardening assistance for the disabled and the elderly.) Page 314 of 326
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Health and Social Services and Social Security Adjudications Act 1983 Section 21 (recovery of sums due to local authority where persons in residential accommodation have disposed of assets.) Section 22 (Arrears of contributions charged on interest in land in England and Wales) Section 23 (Arrears of contributions secured over interest in land in Scotland) Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986 Section 2 (Rights of authorised representatives of disabled persons.) Page 315 of 326
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Column A Enactment conferring function Column B Limitation Section 3 (Assessment by local authorities of needs of disabled persons.) Section 7 (Persons discharged from hospital.) In respect of the assessment of need for any services provided under functions contained in welfare enactments within the meaning of section 16 and which have been delegated. Section 8 (Duty of local authority to take into account abilities of carer.) In respect of the assessment of need for any services provided under functions contained in welfare enactments (within the meaning set out in section 16 of that Act) which are integration functions. The Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 Section 10 (Functions of local authorities.) Section 12 (Investigatio ns.) Section 37 (Residents whose affairs may be managed.) Only in relation to residents of establishments which are managed under integration functions. Section 39 (Matters which may be managed.) Only in relation to residents of establishments which are managed under integration functions. Section 40 (Supervisory bodies.) Section 41 (Duties and functions of managers of authorised establishment.) Only in relation to residents of establishments which are managed under integration functions Section 42 (Authorisation of named manager to withdraw from resident’s account.) Only in relation to residents of establishments which are managed under integration functions Section 43 (Statement of resident’s affairs.) Only in relation to residents of establishments which are managed under integration functions Section 44 (Resident ceasing to be resident of authorised establishment.) Only in relation to residents of establishments which are managed under integration functions Section 45 (Appeal, revocation etc.) Only in relation to residents of establishments which are managed under integration functions Page 316 of 326
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Column A Enactment conferring function Column B Limitation The Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 Section 92 (Assistance to a registered for housing purposes.) Only in so far as it relates to an aid or adaptation. The Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 Section 4 The functions conferred by Regulation 2 of the Community Care (Additional Payments) (Scotland) Regulations 2002 Section 5 (Local authority arrangements for of residential accommodation out with Scotland.) Section 6 Deferred payment of accommodation costs.) Section 14 (Payments by local authorities towards expenditure by NHS bodies on prescribed functions.) The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 Section 17 (Duties of Scottish Ministers, local authorities and others as respects Commission.) Section 25 (Care and support services etc.) Except in so far as it is exercisable in relation to the provision of housing support services. Section 26 (Services designed to promote well- being and social development.) Except in so far as it is exercisable in relation to the provision of housing support services. Section 27 (Assistance with travel.) Except in so far as it is exercisable in relation to the provision of housing support services. Section 33 (Duty to inquire.) Section 34 (Inquiries under section 33: Co- operation.) Section 228 (Request for assessment of needs: duty on local authorities and Health Boards.) Page 317 of 326
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Column A Enactment conferring function Column B Limitation Section 259 (Advocac y.) The Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 Section 71(1)(b) (Assistance for housing purposes.) Only in so far as it relates to an aid or adaptation. The Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007 Section 4 (Council’s duty to make inquiries.) Section 5 (Co-operation.) Section 6 (Duty to consider importance of providing advocacy and other.) Section 7 (Visits) Section 8 (Interview s) Section 9 (Medical examinations) Section 10 (Examination of records etc.) Section 11 (Assessment Orders.) Section 14 (Removal orders.) Section 16 (Right to remove adult at risk) Section 18 (Protection of moved persons property.) Section 22 (Right to apply for a banning order.) Page 318 of 326
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Section 40 (Urgent cases.) Section 42 (Adult Protection Committees.) Page 319 of 326
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Column A Enactment conferring function Column B Limitation Section 43 (Membershi p.) Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013 Section 3 (Support for adult carers.) Only in relation to assessments carried out under integration functions. Section 5 (Choice of options: adults.) Section 6 (Choice of options under section 5: assistances.) Section 7 (Choice of options: adult carers.) Section 9 (Provision of information about self- directed support.) Section 11 (Local authority functions.) Section 12 (Eligibility for direct payment: review.) Section 13 (Further choice of options on material change of circumstances.) Only in relation to a choice under section 5 or 7 of the Social Care (Self- directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013 . Section 16 (Misuse of direct payment: recovery.) Section 19 (Promotion of options for self- directed support.) Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 (b) Section 6 (Duty to provide Adult carer support plan) Section 21 (Duty to set local eligibility criteria) Page 320 of 326
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Column A Enactment conferring function Column B Limitation Section 24 (duty to provide support) Section 25 (provision of support to carers: break from caring) Section 31 (duty to prepare local carer strategy) Section 34 (information and advice service for carers) Section 35 (short breaks services statements) Part 2 -Services currently provided by the Local Authority which are to be integrated The services that pertain to the functions in Part 1 and will be delegated are set out below. Social work services for adults and older people The functions in relation to social work services for adults and older people noted below will be delegated. a) Services and support for all adults with disabilities and long term conditions; b) Mental health services; c) Addiction services; d) Adult protection; e) Carers’ services; f) Community care assessment and planning services; g) Support services provided by contracted services; h) Care home services; i) Intermediate Care Services; j) Health and wellbeing improvement services; k) Aspects of housing support, including provision of equipment and adaptations to people’s homes; l) Day opportunities and day services; m) Homecare Services; n) Supported Living Services; o) Respite Support; p) Occupational therapy services; Page 321 of 326
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q) Re-ablement services; r) Smart technology, equipment and telecare. Page 322 of 326
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Annex 3 – Hosted Services Arrangements Hosted Services Proposed Arrangements between North and South Lanarkshire Integration Joint Board. Where a Health Board spans more than one Integration Joint Board, one of them might manage a service on behalf of the other(s). This Annex sets out those arrangements which the Parties wish to put in place. Such arrangements are subject to the approval of the Integration Joint Board but will not be subject to Ministerial approval. Services to be hosted by the South Lanarkshire Integration Joint Board Services to be hosted by the North Lanarkshire Integration Joint Board Community Dental Services Care Home Liaison Diabetes Community Children’s Services Health and Homelessness Paediatrics Palliative Care Dietetics Primary Care Out of Hours Mental Health and Learning Disability Traumatic Brian Injury Psychology Occupational Therapy Continence Services Physiotherapy Podiatry Sexual Health Speech and Language Substance Misuse Prisoner Health Care Page 323 of 326
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Annex 4 – Health and Wellbeing Outcomes Outcome 1- People are able to look after and improve their own health and wellbeing and live in good health for longer. Outcome 2- People, including those with disabilities, long term conditions, or who are frail, are able to live, as far as reasonably practicable, independently and at home or in a homely setting in their community. Outcome 3- People who use health and social care services have positive experiences of those services and have their dignity respected. Outcome 4- Health and social care services are centred on helping to maintain or improve the quality of life of people who use those services. Outcome 5- Health and social care services contribute to reducing health inequalities. Outcome 6- People who provide unpaid care are supported to look after their own health and wellbeing, including to reduce any negative impact of their caring role on their own health and wellbeing. Outcome 7 – People who use health and social care services are safe from harm. Outcome 8- People who work in health and social care services feel engaged with the work they do and are supported to continuously improve the information, support, care and treatment they provide. Outcome 9 – Resource are used effectively and efficiently in the provision of health and social care services. Page 324 of 326
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Appendix 2 – Consultation Process North Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership Integration Scheme 2024-2029 Consultation Process Key Meetings Integration Scheme was presented for Consultation 18th October 2023- 1st Draft of Integration Scheme submitted to the NL H&SCP Integrated Joint Board Performance, Finance and Audit Committee. 22nd November 2023- 2nd Draft of Integration Scheme submitted to the NL H&SCP Integration Joint Board – Draft Approved. 7th December 2023- Draft Integration Scheme submitted to North Lanarkshire Council Policy and Strategy Committee – Draft approved. 19th December 2023- Draft Integration Scheme submitted to NL H&SCP Senior Leadership Team Meeting. 20th December 2023- - Draft Integration Scheme submitted to NHS Lanarkshire Board Meeting – Draft approved. Public Consultation 15th January 2024 to 11th February 2024 The consultation added to the North Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership Website, NHS Lanarkshire Website, and circulated via social media channels (Facebook and X). The consultation was also sent to all NHS Lanarkshire and NL HSCP news subscribers (circa 10k). The consultation was emailed to a range of consultees based on North Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership Strategic Planning Group. Consultees included health professionals, users of health care and social care, carers of users of health care and social care, commercial providers of health care and social care, social care professionals, staff of health board and local authority, non-commercial providers of social housings, third sector bodies and locality representatives, as necessitated by the Act. Final Sign Off Process 14th March 2024 – North Lanarkshire Council Policy and Strategy Committee 27th March 2024 – NHS Lanarkshire Board Meeting 27th March 2024 – North Lanarkshire Integration Joint Board Page 325 of 326
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