Agenda Document Pack - Policy and Strategy Committee - 04/12/2025
North Lanarkshire Council · 4 December 2025
Back to Policy and Strategy Committee — 4 December 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Clerk Name: Mark Hamill Clerk Telephone: 07811294702 Clerk Email: committee@northlan.gov.ukk 25 November 2025 Members of the Policy and Strategy Committee Chief Executive’s Office Rachel Blair Chief Officer (Legal & Democratic) Civic Centre, Windmillhill Street, Motherwell ML1 1AB www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk Notice is given that a Meeting of the Policy and Strategy Committee is to be held in the Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Windmillhill Street, Motherwell, ML1 1AB on Thursday, 04 December 2025 at 14:00 PM which you are requested to attend. The agenda of business is attached. Rachel Blair Chief Officer (Legal & Democratic) Members : J Logue, T Fisher, L Roarty, C Barclay, A Beveridge, H Brannan-McVey, A Campbell, T Carragher, C Costello, K Duffy, W Goldie, D Johnston, J Leckie, H Loughran, M McBride, M McPake, L Nolan, G Robinson, A Smith, A Stubbs, R Sullivan, S Watson, G Woods. Page 1 of 216
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Agenda 1 Declarations of Interest In Terms of the Ethical Standards In Public Life Etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 Operational 2 Realising North Lanarkshire as the place to live, learn, work, invest, and visit Submit report by the Chief Executive seeking approval of the service reconfiguration to create a single communications function for the organisation. 5 - 16 3 One Workforce Annual Update Submit report by the Chief Officer (People Resources) providing a comprehensive annual update for 2024/25 on the Council’s progress towards delivery of the strategic priorities set out within the One Workforce Plan. 17 - 72 4 Digital Connectivity Masterplan for Council Housing Tenants Update Submit report by the Chief Officer (Housing) providing an update on the long-term integrated plan to provide digital connectivity for council housing tenants and seeking approval to undertake a tender exercise to procure a supplier for the provision of customer broadband for all council housing tenants. 73 - 82 5 Leadership & Operating Model – phase 2 progress update Submit report by the Interim Chief Officer (Strategy and Engagement) providing an update on the Leadership and Operating Model and asset rationalisation delivery plan. 83 - 138 6 North Lanarkshire Half Marathon Submit report by the Chief Officer (Community Operations) providing an update on the impact of the event, lessons learned and sets out a proposal to extend the event for a further two years with a view to then assessing the long term future of the event based on the outcomes from the three previous events. 139 - 148 Page 3 of 216
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7 School Estate: Strategic Capital Update Submit report by the Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) outlining the progress and associated commentary for two key areas within the school estate, both of which are key components of the Strategic Asset Review and Investment Strategy (SARIS). 149 - 164 Financial 8 Council Tax Strategy Update Submit report by the Chief Officer (Finance and Technology) detailing the potential budget scenarios and the impact on the Council's budget setting in February 2026. 165 - 182 9 Review of Reserves Policy Submit report by the Chief Officer (Finance and Technology) seeking approval of the revised Reserves Policy. 183 - 196 10 Community Investment Fund – Annual Update Submit report by the Chief Officer (Finance and Technology) setting out annual update on Community Investment Fund which reflects the Council Tax growth over the last year. 197 - 206 Contracts 11 Contract Award for Project Manager and Quantity Surveying Services for Glenboig Community Hub Submit report by the Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) seeking approval to award the contract for Project Manager and Quantity Surveying Services for Glenboig Community Hub. 207 - 216 Page 4 of 216
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Policy and Strategy Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref DM Date 04/12/25 Realising North Lanarkshire as the place to live, learn, work, invest, and visit From Des Murray, Chief Executive E-mail murraydes@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 01698 302350 Executive Summary Since establishing The Plan for North Lanarkshire, regular reports to the Policy and Strategy Committee have highlighted the successful delivery of numerous programmes, projects, and activities that are central to transforming North Lanarkshire into a place people can connect with - a place to live, learn, work, invest, and visit. While 57% of the council’s health check indicators show improvement during the delivery of The Plan for North Lanarkshire, some results remain fragile, and significant challenges persist. As the council strives to resource major change aimed at transforming North Lanarkshire and addressing local economic, social, and health issues, it must do so within an operating environment that continues to face considerable pressure - including ongoing financial constraints, rising demand for services, and a complex national policy landscape. Among the pressures faced is an ageing population - both within the community and the council’s workforce - alongside a projected decline in the working-age demographic. In response, building capability and capacity, maintaining essential skills, and ensuring long- term workforce sustainability remain vital to delivering The Plan for North Lanarkshire. The narrative of The Plan for North Lanarkshire is also vital. Clear messaging that informs people and communities, engages frontline staff, and strengthens the council’s reputation is key to fostering the culture and conditions needed for successful transformation that improves lives. Targeted messaging is also key to supporting economic growth that is central to The Plan for North Lanarkshire and significant progress is already evident through large-scale regeneration, including new housing, integrated community hubs, and town centre renewal. Yet, there remains untapped potential to further elevate North Lanarkshire and extend promotion of its strategic central location, strong transport links, and available land to support inward investment and drive sustainable economic growth. Since its inception in 2018, the council’s service delivery model has established a strong, forward-thinking foundation for the one place, one plan, one council approach that underpins The Plan for North Lanarkshire. Building on this momentum, the vacancy for Chief Officer (Strategy and Engagement) presents an opportunity to further shape a resilient, future-ready workforce by fostering deeper alignment and synergies across vision, plan, governance, and delivery where communication is key to connecting people, purpose, action, and impact. Recent changes at senior management level have opened up a valuable opportunity to Item 2 Page 5 of 216
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1. Background 1.1 Prior to The Plan for North Lanarkshire being formally established in 2019, the shared ambition for inclusive growth and prosperity for all was set out in a report approved at the former Policy and Resources Committee in September 2018. This ambition set the future direction for North Lanarkshire to be a place where everyone is given equality of opportunity and where individuals are supported, encouraged, and cared for at each key stage of life. 1.2 At this time the council’s service delivery model (outlined below) was firmly rooted in building strong relationships with communities and supporting individuals through each key stage of life. This approach directly aligned with the priorities of The Plan for North Lanarkshire and was underpinned by a place-based approach to transform North Lanarkshire’s physical environment, recognising the intrinsic value and the economic, social, and health benefits that such transformation brings. Service grouping Education, Children, and Families Enterprise and Communities Adult Health and Social Care Chief Executive’s Services Priorities in The Plan for North Lanarkshire To support all children to realise their full potential. To improve economic opportunities and outcomes. To improve the health and care of communities. To improve the council’s resource base. To improve relationships with communities and the third sector. 1.3 The clear direction set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire, combined with the Policy and Strategy Committee’s consistent commitment to maintaining the Programme of Work as the core delivery mechanism, and the longevity of the council’s service delivery model have together established a solid foundation for the organisation. These review and realign functions - strengthening the one place, one plan, one council approach that drives transformation across North Lanarkshire. This renewed focus - set out in this report - will accelerate the scale and pace of change, helping to position North Lanarkshire as the place to live, learn, work, invest, and visit. Recommendations It is recommended that the Policy and Strategy Committee: (1) Approve the service reconfiguration that creates a single Communications function for the organisation and Senior Strategic Communications Manager therein, realising recurring annual savings of £47,386 from 2026/27 onwards (as noted in Appendix 1), and (2) Note the subsequent realignment of functions within existing remits which are set out in the paragraphs in section 2.6. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement All ambition statements Programme of Work All Programmes of Work Page 6 of 216
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elements have enabled the council to drive meaningful change to improve the lives of people across North Lanarkshire and enhance the place in which they live. 1.4 Analysis of the council’s transformation activities shows that 57% of health check indicators have improved during the delivery of The Plan for North Lanarkshire. However, some outcomes remain fragile and significant challenges persist. The environment in which the Programme of Work must be delivered continues to be complex, unpredictable, and, at times, uncertain. These conditions risk undermining the substantial progress made toward achieving inclusive growth and prosperity for all and threaten the creation and sustainability of a fairer North Lanarkshire where benefits are shared equally and wealth is more evenly distributed across communities. 1.5 While the council’s service delivery model has provided a resilient foundation for the one place, one plan, one council approach that underpins The Plan for North Lanarkshire, it has also enabled the flexibility required to maintain alignment of vision, plan, and governance, while supporting ongoing refinement and efficiencies in operations. This adaptability has helped maximise operational efficiencies and synergies, while ensuring effective co-ordination of resources to strengthen organisational capabilities and capacity. 1.6 A consistent and compelling narrative in terms of what the council is working towards has also played a key role in reinforcing the resilient foundations of the one place, one plan, one council approach. This narrative is now firmly and consistently embedded across policy statements and is reflected throughout strategic management, financial management, strategy development, service delivery, and corporate governance practices. Clear and consistent messaging around The Plan for North Lanarkshire has also been a key factor in maintaining focus and momentum. 1.7 Operational leadership realignments and efficiencies over the years have been consistently guided by two core principles to (a) build organisational capacity by maximising already stretched resources through single council operations, single Chief Officer portfolios, and single service accountability, and (b) strengthen synergies and achieve economies of scale and purpose by streamlining back-office functions and practices in order to enhance the co-ordination and management of resources in support of, and to deliver, critical frontline care, support, and services. 1.8 The departure of the Chief Officer (Strategy and Engagement) offers an opportunity to deliver enhancements and efficiencies that will benefit the organisation. Section 2 of this report outlines a reconfiguration of service responsibilities and realignment of functions within the council’s service delivery model which will generate recurring annual savings of £47,386 from 2026/27 onwards, alongside a range of specific operational benefits. 2. North Lanarkshire as the place to live, learn, work, invest, and visit 2.1 The Strategy and Engagement service (formerly Strategic Communication and Engagement) plays a strategically important role across the council, encompassing a broad portfolio of services. Its core functions include shaping and delivering messaging around The Plan for North Lanarkshire and the Programme of Work, engaging with local communities, and providing expert advice on all aspects of internal and external communications - including media and public engagement. In addition, the service oversees a wide range of corporate activities, including the management of events, the council’s brand and identity, and its digital presence across web platforms and media channels. Page 7 of 216
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2.2 Over time, the remit has expanded to include a range of additional functions, as listed below: 1. Leadership and operating model - to drive the transformation needed to establish a centralised approach for delivering integrated care, supports, and services through community based hubs at the heart of local areas. 2. Community planning - to support community capacity building, encourage participation in decision making, and foster the development of local solutions. This includes managing community grants, community asset transfers, and the local development programme to ensure community empowerment is embedded in service delivery. 3. Strategy and customer experience - to oversee the customer services hub and business change, co-ordinate strategic community planning for the North Lanarkshire Community Planning Partnership (nurturing internal and external relationships), and support the council’s strategic plan, programme of work, and associated performance and governance frameworks. 2.3 While the integration of the functions noted in paragraphs 2.1 and 2.2 above have supported greater operational synergies, the vacancy of Chief Officer (Strategy and Engagement) presents an opportunity to realign the additional functions within existing single council operations and Chief Officer portfolios. This would generate greater efficiencies through single service accountability. More importantly, it would create additional capacity within the communications function to proactively plan, design, and deliver messaging and campaigns in support of The Plan for North Lanarkshire (and in line with the council’s Communications and Engagement Strategy, approved by the Policy and Strategy Committee in June 2024). 2.4 Elevating a single communications structure would create the space to deliver public- facing and internal communications that foster stronger connections across services, partners, and communities in delivering the Programme of Work. It would also support more proactive practices and a unified corporate-service approach that amplifies the reach and impact of messaging that promotes North Lanarkshire as the place to live, learn, work, invest, and visit. 2.5 To this end, Appendix 1 sets out proposals to reconfigure the Chief Officer (Strategy and Engagement) post to establish a dedicated Communications function led by a Senior Strategic Communications Manager. Reporting directly to the Chief Executive, and working with the Corporate Management Team, this role will lead the planning and delivery of all media and communications activity - ensuring the right messages reach the right audiences, at the right time, through the most effective channels - in support of The Plan for North Lanarkshire. 2.6 This structural refinement will affect the functions noted in paragraph 2.2 above, which will be realigned within existing remits as noted in the following three sections. 1. The leadership and operating model will be integrated within the portfolio of the Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) to create additional capacity within the service to deliver the Town and Community Hubs programme in line with the Strategic Asset Review and Investment Strategy (SARIS), while ensuring earlier alignment of the operating model therein. Key organisational synergies and efficiencies include: • Ensuring the delivery and sustainability of an asset base that meets both current and future needs. This requires a strategic approach to long-term Page 8 of 216
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investment in new facilities, while also maintaining short and medium-term investment to support the existing estate during the transition. Aligning investment priorities is essential to balance immediate requirements with future ambitions, support the net zero agenda, and focus resources on the development of each hub and implementation of its operating model across the wider estate. • Improving integration with the asset rationalisation programme through greater alignment between hub design specifications and operating model requirements. This will strengthen early-stage planning and design, helping to deliver better outcomes for children, communities, and the wider North Lanarkshire economy in line with the hub principles. • Ensuring decisions regarding rationalisation, investment, and dis-investment are enhanced through a fully joined up one council approach that better connects people and place in delivering essential care, support, and services that improve outcomes for North Lanarkshire’s communities. • Promoting stronger connections between physical assets, local communities, and the needs of the people within them. Each hub - whether newly constructed or adapted from an existing facility - should reflect the unique characteristics and requirements of the community it serves. By tailoring both strategic planning and operational delivery to local contexts, communities will gain more direct access to the specific care, support, and services they need. This would also enable staff resources to be deployed more effectively, working at the heart of communities and closer to the people they support. • Providing strong and inclusive leadership for shared community hubs that are welcoming to all users. These hubs should foster a sense of collective responsibility across local communities, schools, partner organisations, and the council. This collaborative approach would also strengthen the role of Elected Members in leading North Lanarkshire’s communities and representing the best interests of local residents. 2. Community planning will be incorporated into the portfolio of the Chief Officer (Housing) to strengthen place-based improvements and promote inclusive and accessible participation across local communities. Housing tenants, with their deep understanding of their homes and neighbourhoods, are well placed to contribute meaningfully to local development. Recognising this, the Chief Officer job title will be renamed (to Housing and Communities) to reflect its broader remit and enhanced focus on community engagement. Key organisational synergies and efficiencies include: • Leveraging legislative requirements related to housing and community empowerment to strengthen equality, communication, and participation. This includes ensuring that the delivery of services reflect the voices of tenants and that local communities are actively involved in shaping and delivering what matters to them. • Sharing learning from the Tenant Participation Strategy - a well-established, two-way engagement model that empowers residents through shared information, ideas, and responsibilities - to broader community planning and empowerment efforts. This approach can help improve services and assets beyond housing. • Expanding opportunities for tenant and resident involvement in the nine Community Boards, enabling them to contribute to longer-term, place-based decision-making across North Lanarkshire. • Co-ordinating engagement efforts and resources to ensure inclusive participation from tenants, residents, underrepresented groups, and seldom- Page 9 of 216
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heard voices. This will help identify what matters most to people and build their capacity to help themselves and take an active role in shaping their communities. • Creating an integrated approach to community building that fosters trust, strengthens local identity, and supports the development of sustainable communities and resilient individuals - better equipped to withstand broader economic and environmental challenges. • Listening to communities through joined-up engagement will not only surface what matters most to people but also support their ability to act on it, contributing to the creation of resilient, empowered communities. • Enhancing collaboration and partnership working with the Community Planning Partnership and third sector organisations to deliver integrated services that achieve shared outcomes - such as tackling poverty, growing the economy, improving safety, and fostering community cohesion - ultimately benefiting the people of North Lanarkshire. 3. Strategy and customer experience functions will be integrated within the portfolio of the Chief Officer (Legal and Democratic) to enhance alignment between the council’s legal, democratic, and strategy functions. This integration will support a more cohesive and value-driven approach to governance, enabling legal and democratic services to contribute more directly to the growth and sustainability of North Lanarkshire and its communities through the delivery of the Programme of Work. Recognising this, the Chief Officer job title will be renamed (to Legal, Democratic, and Strategy) to reflect its wider strategic responsibilities. Key organisational synergies and efficiencies include: • Centralising responsibility for formal request functions under a single Chief Officer will raise the profile of the council’s legislative obligations and promote greater transparency and personal accountability. This approach will enable the sharing of best practice across the organisation, streamline processes, and support more efficient, end-to-end handling of legally based requests, such as freedom of information requests, environmental information regulation requests, subject access requests, local authority complaints, and Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) stage three complaints. • Consolidating customer-facing enquiry functions - including the customer services hub, registration services, and licensing - under one Chief Officer will allow for better co-ordination, economies of scale, and the development of more automated engagement channels. This will help reduce inefficiencies and drive meaningful business change. • Integrating business support functions to achieve economies of scale and purpose in clerical and administrative support for senior officers and elected members, as well as civic duties. This will help establish a stable and efficient support model that contributes to organisational success and the delivery of The Plan for North Lanarkshire. • Bringing together support and oversight for the North Lanarkshire Community Planning Partnership Strategic Leadership Board, alongside the council’s committees, sub-committees, panels, working groups, and related bodies, under a single Chief Officer will enhance governance and co-ordination. This consolidation will also strengthen the council’s ability to promote North Lanarkshire through strategic networks and relationships across economic, political, and social spheres. • Centralising responsibility for all non-financial governance arrangements under one Chief Officer will ensure a cohesive approach to democratic processes, committee operations, decision making governance, and statutory Page 10 of 216
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obligations. This includes governance related to Best Value, performance standards, and the CIPFA Delivering Good Governance in Local Government Framework. • Assigning responsibility for data governance to a single Chief Officer - who is also the council’s Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO) - will ensure robust arrangements for the safe collection, storage, and use of data. This will also support data quality and accuracy for evidence-based decision-making, performance monitoring, and continuous improvement, while also safeguarding appropriate data sharing. • Designating the Chief Officer as the Senior Responsible Officer for the One Service Programme of Work will ensure strategic alignment across the council’s democratic, decision-making, legal, and governance functions. This integrated leadership will provide a strong foundation for the council’s transformation agenda, thus enabling innovative approaches to change that drive effective delivery of the Programme of Work. Next steps 2.7 The structural realignments outlined out in this report will strengthen the council’s ability to maintain a unified one place, one plan, one council approach. These changes will support more integrated ways of working by aligning solutions, resources, skills, and relationships across services, enabling greater efficiency. Future realignments below Chief Officer level will be undertaken within the newly aligned service areas in accordance with the council’s approved Scheme of Delegation. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Measures of success include • Sustaining organisational capability and capacity essential for delivering the priorities set out in the Programme of Work and achieving the shared ambition of inclusive growth and prosperity for all, as outlined in The Plan for North Lanarkshire. • Effectively marketing and promoting North Lanarkshire as the place to live, learn, work, invest, and visit - supporting enhanced economic opportunities, improved outcomes, and long-term population growth across its communities. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 - Workforce changes, with effect from 1st April 2026. Appendix 2 - Senior management team structure, with effect from 1st April 2026. 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 Page 11 of 216
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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? Workforce changes (detailed in Appendix 1) will realise recurring annual savings of £47,386. 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? Workforce implications are being undertaken explicitly in line with the council’s Managing Workforce Change Policy. Formal consultation with stakeholders, including Trade Unions, has commenced. 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 Page 12 of 216
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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? Creating organisational capacity - and ensuring ongoing alignment of vision, plan, governance, and operations - is critical to maintain (and sustain) the successful delivery of the Programme of Work and achievement of The Plan for North Lanarkshire. The information presented in this report therefore aims to contribute towards the mitigation of the risks on the Corporate Risk Register for Governance, Leadership, and Decision Making and Delivering the Programme of Work. 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 13 of 216
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Appendix 1 Table 1: Workforce changes (with effect from 1st April 2026) Post Current establishment FTE Adjustment Future establishment FTE Salary £ On-cost £ Turnover £ Total budgeted salary £ Chief Officer (Strategy and Engagement) 1.0 Service reconfiguration that creates a single Communications function for the organisation and Senior Strategic Communications Manager. 0.0 125,223 36,948 (8,109) 154,063 Senior Strategic Communications Manager 0.0 1.0 (87,578) (24,714) 5,615 (106,677) Total 1.0 1.0 37,645 12,234 (2,494) 47,386 The workforce change in Table 1 will realise recurring annual savings of £47,386. Table 2: Summary of workforce changes Net change in employee costs Net change in establishment (FTE) Posts deleted: Vacancy 1.0 Posts created: 1.0 Net change: 0.0 Page 14 of 216
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Appendix 2 Senior management team structure (with effect from 1st April 2026) Page 15 of 216
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One Workforce Annual Update North Lanarkshire Council Report Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref FW Date 04/12/25 From Fiona Whittaker, Chief Officer (People Resources) E-mail Whittakerf@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07973 728628 Executive Summary This report provides a comprehensive annual update for 2024/25 on the Council’s progress towards delivery of the strategic priorities set out within the One Workforce Plan, which was agreed by Policy and Strategy Committee in December 2023. The report highlights some of the workforce improvements and changes that are being delivered across services through sustained focus and shows that progress continues to be made in dealing with known workforce gaps and issues. Like many local authorities, North Lanarkshire Council continues to face a challenging range of constraints and historical issues which directly impact on its ability to recruit and maintain a skilled and motivated workforce. This ongoing challenge was most recently outlined in the Accounts Commission report Delivering for the future: Responding to the workforce challenge which was published in August 2025 and reflects an up-to-date position across all local authorities in Scotland. Moreover, over the last 12 months, there is no doubt that the Council has continued to experience some of the workforce issues which are referenced in the Accounts Commission report, including the ongoing impact of an aging workforce, rising service demand in areas such as Health & Social Care, difficulties recruiting skilled professionals, and high levels of absence in some of our frontline services. When taken together with the need for us to both transform our operating model and build a digital ready, future skilled workforce, it’s clear that we must continue to maintain a strong focus on building the workforce capacity and capability we need to both deliver our services and advance our progress in taking forward the Programme of Work and our ambitions as set out within The Plan for North Lanarkshire. Importantly, the council has now fully established an effective approach to workforce planning that continues to underpin our efforts to proactively tackle our known challenges. This year’s one workforce update report contains a full summary of our now refreshed and detailed bi- annual workforce plans for 2025-2027 across all services. These have been led by Chief Officers using a further refined and improved process; the resultant plans are detailed and thorough and they will further assist in our efforts to identify and target priority workforce areas for further investment and development. The strength of our workforce planning approach was most recently audited and endorsed as part of our Best Value Workforce Innovation Audit with outcomes reported to Policy and Strategy in 2024. Policy and Strategy Committee Item 3 Page 17 of 216
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Additionally, and to support improved monitoring and oversight of the key workforce metrics which support our workforce plans and our strategic workforce priorities, the People Resources Service has developed a draft corporate workforce dashboard, which is included as an appendix to the report for Elected Member review. We have also included within the report, the early results from the pilot of both our refreshed employee survey, which has been built around the principles of fair work, and the final survey of our hybrid working staff to ensure that our arrangements in this area are working effectively. These additional sources of strategic workforce information provide a strong foundation for advancing our objectives aligned to the One Workforce Plan in the coming years. They also fully support the recommendations within the Council’s own Best Value Workforce Innovation Audit in 2024, and the priorities set out in the 2025 Accounts Commission report, with local authorities being encouraged to expand workforce insights, data and reporting and to focus on strong employee engagement, ensuring that staff are at the core of the council’s transformation journey. Early analysis across this wider suite of workforce data now available for this year’s update report shows some encouraging workforce trends including that: • The council is building a younger workforce with a reduction in our overall average age from 50 to 45. • Our diversity mix is changing and shows positive recruitment in several core equalities areas. • There is clear evidence within detailed service workforce plans that we are already planning for what will be required in our future workforce and developing effective solutions for known areas of skills shortage. • Early indications from our pilot survey show that staff engagement within the Council is positive across several key indicators. • 91% of hybrid staff have reported that they are doing 10 or more days in the office with some reporting that they are doing between 10 and 15 days in the office. • 80% of hybrid staff feel that the permanent hybrid scheme supports them well in their role and responsibilities or has no impact. • There is further evidence that the council shows a positive working culture within our people dashboard with relatively low numbers of cases relating to grievance and disciplinary matters across all services. Whilst these trends represent clear broad positive indicators and improvements relating to our workforce, there nevertheless remain many difficult workforce challenges that will have an ongoing impact on our ability to maintain adequate workforce strength and depth across our services. These are outlined clearly by services in our recent workforce plans and are summarised below. Tackling these more complex systemic issues in an effective and lasting way will require time and sustained action across all services. This is especially true in a context where we expect further increased service demand; additional staff related savings; continued challenges with an aging workforce; difficulties with hard to fill posts and high levels of absence in key frontline services; all of which will result in additional burdens on our existing staff at all levels. What is clear from our recent workforce plans, is that all Chief Officers are working hard to mitigate these ongoing risks and operational challenges by continuing to maintain a strong focus on effective workforce planning, alongside taking all necessary proactive steps and actions to identify and address solutions to these issues. The remainder of this report sets out a full progress update on our One Workforce Plan, service workforce plans and Strategic Workforce Priorities to 2028. This includes an outline of several areas where we have made good progress during 2024/25 that are highlighted in the body of the report against each priority. In addition, within the refreshed One Workforce Page 18 of 216
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Delivery Framework, we have included some new areas of corporate work, and these will further support our continued efforts to build and maintain the council’s workforce to meet both our ongoing operational requirements and our future strategic aims and ambitions. Recommendations It is recommended that Policy and Strategy Committee: (1) Acknowledge the continued workforce and associated challenges and risks the Council is facing. (2) Acknowledge the continued good progress made against the Council’s One Workforce Priorities to 2028, our refreshed Service Workforce Plans and the rolling plan of work which supports the delivery of key actions set out at both corporate and service level. (3) Acknowledge the further work that has been completed on the refreshed staff survey, hybrid survey and workforce dashboard. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve North Lanarkshire's resource base Ambition statement (23) Build a workforce for the future capable of delivering on our priorities and shared ambition Programme of Work All Programmes of Work 1. Background 1.1 Over the last 12 months, the Council’s services have continued to experience a range of pressures in building and maintaining their workforce capacity and capability, and accordingly our corporate HR risk level of 16 continues to reflect these challenges. Accounts Commission Report - Local Government Challenges & Issues 1.2 During 2024 and early 2025, Audit Scotland conducted Best Value Workforce Innovation audits of all 32 local authorities, and this culminated in a final publication, issued by the Accounts Commission in August 2025 which sets out their opinion of the current workforce position in Local Government across Scotland. Their report entitled Delivering for the future: Responding to the workforce challenge outlines a number of key challenges that are impacting on all local authorities and makes recommendations for future work as set out below: 1.3 Local Government Challenges • Councils face financial pressures and increasing service demands, impacting workforce wellbeing and recruitment. • Workforce planning needs better alignment with strategic priorities, improved data use, and staff engagement. • Staff are central to service delivery; councils must prioritize development, address absence, and embrace innovation. • Recruitment & retention are impacted by a competitive labour market, pay erosion, and skills shortages. • Health deterioration and demographic shifts intensify pressures on an ageing workforce. • There are wellbeing concerns related to rising stress and mental health issues; staff feel less inspired. Page 19 of 216
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Report Recommendations 1.4 The recommendations for all councils set out in the report include: Workforce Planning • Align workforce plans with corporate strategies. • Expand data collection and engage staff meaningfully. Digital Technology • Accelerate transformation and assess digital skills gaps. • Monitor impact on productivity. Hybrid Working • Formalise policies and measure outcomes. Workforce Development • Assess current skills and report on development impact. • Monitor agency staff use. Shared Services • Explore joint roles/functions and learn from successful collaborations. Impact Measurement • Strengthen scrutiny and develop reporting tools. • Use quantifiable metrics Best Value Workforce Innovation Report 2024 1.5 The Council’s Best Value Thematic Audit was undertaken by Audit Scotland in early 2024 and reported to Policy & Strategy in August 2024 (Best Value Audit Workforce Innovation). The report identified several areas of good practice including the fact that our service workforce plans are robust, covering key service challenges, gaps, and how the service needs to adapt, with references to the council’s strategic priorities and how they will support delivery of the Programme of Work. 1.6 The report outlined 3 areas for recommended action as set out below. These have now been actioned and details are summarised below and encompassed within the report and the workforce dashboard. Area Recommendation Current Status 1. Acting on staff engagement feedback As the council develops its staff engagement approach, it should ensure that as well as providing information to staff on council decisions, it also incorporates the views of staff and trade unions to support transparent decision making, and evidence how it is acting on findings from the Summer 2024 Roadshow sessions. The Councils revised staff survey based on the fair work first framework, has now been fully developed and piloted in three services initially, covering more than 800 staff, with a plan to roll out to all services in the coming year. The content of the survey has been agreed with Trade Unions and includes questions relating to the Programme of Work and the Plan for North Lanarkshire. Page 20 of 216
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Further work to develop the survey and the next series of employee roadshows is underway and will be taken forward in early 2026. 2. Hybrid working policy The council should continue to monitor the impact of its hybrid working approach. It should continually assess the impact of increasing the number of office days, in terms of performance, staff wellbeing, and recruitment and retention. The Council’s final hybrid working survey has been developed and issued to all relevant staff to assess the effectiveness of our permanent hybrid working policy which was implemented in late 2024. 3. Temporary workforce The council should include data reporting on its temporary workforce as part of published workforce data, and once available it should include data on agency workers. Data on temporary workforce is now included within the Workforce Dashboard and data regarding agency workers is currently reported through the Workforce Steering Group providing oversight and governance. One Workforce Strategic Priorities 1.7 In the current challenging context, and with a requirement to make progression on building capacity in our workforce and making the required workforce changes which will enable the delivery of our future operating model, we consider that our One Workforce Strategic Priorities as set out below in figure 1 remain fully valid and aligned to the key areas of workforce change and risk that we need to progress. Figure 1 – One Workforce Strategic Priorities to 2028 Page 21 of 216
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1.8 Set out in the remainder of the report below is a full summary of the key workforce challenges; our refreshed service workforce plans; a summary of our progress against the corporate One Workforce Plan and the detailed actions that will be taken forward in the coming year to address gaps and mitigate risks. Both the corporate action plan and highlights of the service actions are detailed under our six strategic workforce priorities. 2 Report Summary of Service & Corporate Workforce Plans & Actions Service Workforce Challenges 2.1 Whilst each service has outlined its own distinct challenges and priorities, several common themes have emerged from a full review of the detailed service plans. Taken together, these themes present a broadly consistent and up to date picture of the council’s workforce challenges, aligning under six overarching themes: Ageing workforce and succession 2.1.1 Many services are reporting a high proportion of staff over 50 across leadership, technical and frontline roles, creating ongoing and future workforce capacity and succession pressures. This is particularly evident in Adult Health & Social Care, where 55% of the workforce is aged 50 or over, and Land and Waste with 50% of staff expected to reach retirement age within the next two to three years. Similarly, FSS are reporting that 61.9% of staff are aged 50+ but positively and with focused action, this has reduced from 64% in 2023. Housing, Greenspace and Country Parks and Roads and Assets also report an aging workforce profile with Housing reporting more than 280 staff aged 50–59; Cemeteries Chargehands and Supervisors average age reporting as 58 and 59 respectively and 75% of roads inspectors aged 50+. At a corporate level, Strategy & Engagement report that 53% of the overall workforce are aged 50-59 therefore succession planning and knowledge transfer are key considerations. Recruitment and retention in critical roles 2.1.2 Services continue to face challenges attracting and retaining staff due to rates of retirement, turnover, known market shortages and competition within the external labour market. This includes turnover in areas such as Adult Health & Social Care with 24 new social workers being recruited over a period of 12 months but 19 leaving. Similarly, 73 staff have been recruited into home support but 119 have left with the majority being due to retirement. Additionally, there are ongoing recruitment shortages in a variety of both frontline and professional/technical roles, which include skilled trades, technical specialists, drivers, catering and cleaning staff, planners, EHO’s, clerk of works, quantity surveyors, IT specialists, solicitors, project managers, roads engineers, and some teaching posts. These shortages continue to place pressure on services, with some services having to rely on supply staff and an ongoing need for overtime in bigger frontline services to meet essential service demand. There has also been a rise in sponsorship enquiries from services, and requests for more flexible contracts and working hours to improve retention. Many services have introduced apprenticeship, trainee and graduate routes to build their own future workforce, but these need to be increased in scale and are sometimes limited by the availability of experienced mentors and managers to support and develop trainees. Skills gaps and evolving service demands Page 22 of 216
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2.1.3 There is widespread acknowledgement within service workforce plans of the need to build greater capability in future skills areas such as digital and AI. Several services report a mismatch between current workforce skills and those required to meet changing priorities. For example, Adult Health & Social Care report needing more staff skilled in complex care, digital case-management and a need to strengthen assessment and community-based support skills. Housing highlights the need for greater expertise in sustainability, fire safety and digitisation of processes. Land & Waste identify the need to upskill frontline staff to use more modernised digital equipment such as technical maintenance of vehicles, automated route planning and transitioning staff to more flexible remits, for example moving to multiskilled operatives. Across the organisation plans also call out a growing need to develop AI, data analytics and other technical skills such as cyber security. Other areas of focus include strengthening digital and data oversight with Finance & Technology, Audit & Risk and Legal & Democratic all emphasising the importance of having a better understanding of digital governance as the council adopts new technologies. Workforce capacity and financial constraints 2.1.4 All services acknowledge that budget pressures and a need to deliver savings limit their options regarding the recruitment and development of staff to meet service demands both current and future, leading to prioritisation of workloads, use of supply and agency staff, increased overtime and delays in filling key posts. Workforce plans indicate that this issue is felt universally, but most acutely in key operational services which are subject to greater fluctuations in demand, high absence and an aging workforce profile. Adult Health & Social Care report difficulties in meeting increasing care needs within existing resources and both FSS and Land & Waste face challenges in covering essential roles across large, dispersed workforces, at times relying on overtime and agency staff. Service Change and Transformation 2.1.5 As expected, and in line with our transformation goals, many services are undergoing organisational change that is reshaping their workforce profile, skills and ways of working. This includes proactively seeking to adopt new technologies or improve process and service efficiency alongside absorbing changes to legislative or statutory duties - such as new education and social-care policies and housing legislation. Education & Families is implementing the Empowered Clusters model, embedding a new senior-leadership structure and refining the early-years’ operating model, alongside national reforms such as The Promise and new care and justice legislation. Adult Health & Social Care is adapting to national reforms in social-care delivery, implementing systems change to improve efficiency and shifting more provision to community-based settings in line with our operating model ambitions. There are also several service and structural reviews taking place across Enterprise and Communities with Housing responding to new duties under the Housing Act and Ask & Act and looking at systems change and process digitisation; Active & Creative Communities undertaking a review of their management structure and operating model to align with community hubs; FSS is reorganising to improve the flexibility and consistency of its services; Land and Waste are modernising specific functions, Roads & Assets through the rollout of the CONFIRM asset-management system and the exploration of AI- supported inspections; Protective Services shifting to a cloud-based case-management system; Greenspace implementing a new operating model and workforce changes linked to the Watersports Centre redevelopment; Place are undertaking a structural review to implement their new “Invest in NL” approach and Built Environment are undertaking digital and planned process improvements to strengthen efficiency and customer service. Page 23 of 216
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Workforce wellbeing, inclusion and engagement 2.1.6 Many services highlight staff wellbeing concerns and pressures arising from service delivery demands and other planned structural and transformational changes, particularly in intensive frontline services. This includes concerns over rates of mental health absence in several services including Adult Health & Social care who note the challenge of sustaining frontline workforce capacity in the face of rising service demand, compounded by the introduction of new systems and ways of working and high levels of overtime. Similarly, Education & Families note high levels of mental health related absence in the teaching workforce, as well as challenges in sustaining the wellbeing and resilience of frontline social workers, particularly given the demanding nature of the role and the high proportion of staff already in older age brackets. FSS and Land & Waste also report challenges with absence and turnover in manual roles, with additional challenges around high levels of absence related to bone muscle and joint issues given the physical nature of these roles and the age demographic of the workforce. In terms of inclusion, services are reporting more positive improvements, with Place increasing its proportion of staff from minority ethnic backgrounds from 2% in 2023 to 5% in 2025, whilst other services such as Audit & Risk, highlight the need to improve diversity, particularly at senior and professional levels. Several services, including Adult Health & Social Care and Education & Families, also emphasise the importance of building a workforce that better reflects the diversity of the local population, with particular attention to inclusive recruitment and progression pathways in under-represented roles. Plans & Actions 2.2 The full One Workforce plan of work is outlined in detail in the One Workforce Delivery Framework that is attached in appendix 1. This includes progress highlights for 2024/25 and our rolling plan for 2025/26. A summary of relevant actions planned within service workforce plans are summarised below. Priority 1 – Managing Workforce Transition 2.3 The key strategic objectives aligned to this priority are: • Map how our services will evolve their delivery model. • Maintain a strong focus on workforce planning. • Deliver effective workforce change. • Review our pay and grading model. • Maintain effective workforce policies. Corporate Actions – Progress & Highlights 2.4 Key highlights aligned to our corporate plan of work under this priority include that: 2.4.1 All budget savings and service reviews with a direct workforce impact aligned to previous decisions taken by the Council have been fully progressed in line with the Council’s managing workforce change policies. This includes the full progression of agreed savings within our CLD service, completion of the redesign of our ASN workforce and the review of clerical support in Adult Health & Social Care. In the coming year, People Resources will continue to support Chief Officers and Managers to effectively deliver future service and structure reviews and any decisions taken as part of future budget savings that have a workforce impact. Page 24 of 216
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2.4.2 The People Resources Service continue to support strong workforce planning across the council and from March and September 2025, Chief Officers from all services were engaged in developing their detailed Workforce Plans for the period 2025–2027. These were completed utilising an improved process with a focus on several critical areas including a full consideration of the workforce impact of known and planned service changes; establishing an up-to-date picture of workforce data and demographics; assessing capacity and formulating strategies for dealing with gaps and planning for future workforce skills needs. Importantly, all plans have a clear action plan set out for each service outlining work to be taken forward over the next two years, and this will be monitored as part of the One Service Board. 2.4.3 Work to complete the mapping of the next evolution of service operating models aligned to community hubs and our wider operating model transformation is underway, and this is being led by the Operating Model Delivery Manager supported by the OD Business Partners. A fuller update on this will be provided within the Leadership and Operating Model update paper which will be presented at Policy & Strategy in December. 2.4.4 Work continues on phase 1 of the review of our pay and grading model, with the Project Board now fully established and trained. The alignment of the Council’s pay and grading model to the COSLA scale is now complete and was processed in August 2025 along with the implementation of the pay award for SJC staff. Additionally, a further up to date analysis of key areas of risk within our current model has been obtained from the Independent Technical Adviser, and this is currently being used to inform the remaining work aligned to complete phase 1. A fuller update on this review, including the remaining work to be concluded in phase 1 will be presented to Finance and Resources in Cycle 1 of 2026. 2.4.5 Under our commitment to maintaining effective workforce policies, we will be taking forward 2 key changes during early 2026 namely: Update to our Flexible Retirement Guide 2.5 North Lanarkshire Council is required to update its Flexible Retirement Guide in response to a directive from the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA), dated 6 August 2025, which confirms that rejecting applications solely on the basis of cost is legally unfair and unreasonable. Previously, the Council declined applications where a financial cost was identified; however, under the revised guidance, all applications must now be assessed individually, taking into account service delivery requirements, personal circumstances, and potential cost mitigation strategies such as delayed recruitment or restructuring of the post. In addition, the appeals process has been strengthened, and following agreement with the trade unions, any applications refused since August 2024 will be reviewed to ensure fairness and transparency. The Council’s Pension Discretion Policy has been amended to reflect its legal obligation to consider associated costs in line with the SPPA directive, supporting equitable, transparent, and legally compliant decision-making across all flexible retirement applications. Long Service Award Scheme 2.6 Following a motion to Council from Elected Members the council has been asked to further consider recognition of the valuable contributions made by long-serving employees. Accordingly, consideration is now being given to the introduction of a formal Long Service Awards scheme. Page 25 of 216
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2.7 Currently, several local and public sector organisations operate long service recognition schemes. Such initiatives are known to foster a culture of appreciation and respect, contributing positively to employee morale and retention. However, any proposed scheme must be carefully evaluated in terms of cost implications and potential equality considerations. 2.8 The Council is exploring a low-cost, meaningful approach to recognise service milestones at 25 and 40 years. The following options could be considered: • Additional Annual Leave • Voucher Equivalent to Monetary Value 2.9 All proposed options will be subject to detailed costing, consultation with CMT and the trade unions and approval at Committee. Any final decision will be aligned with the Council’s One Workforce Plan, reinforcing our commitment to valuing employee loyalty and fostering a positive and inclusive working environment. Development of the scheme will take place over the next few months, with implementation anticipated in early 2026. Planned Service Actions - Highlights 2.10 Highlights of relevant planned service actions aligned to the managing workforce transition priority are set out in the table below. Service Directorate Workforce Actions Chief Executives • Legal and Democratic plan to review job descriptions and evaluations to ensure stronger alignment with service priorities and future workforce needs. This includes stronger partnership working with HR and Finance & Technology services through cross- training and shared knowledge opportunities. • Legal & Democratic also plan to modernise systems, establish continuous improvement programmes and apply digital solutions where possible, with a requirement for public facing service transformation and modernisation through enhanced digital platforms, improving accessibility for diverse service users, enabling self-service offering alternatives to in- person transactions all of which will impact on the skills of the current workforce. • Finance & Technology are preparing to undertake a workforce review in relation to AI implementation, data cleansing and recent outputs from improvement workshops, noting that the future service workforce requirements will be shaped by a need to support an increasingly wider digital infrastructure including public Wi-Fi, third-party connectivity across community-focused venues such as leisure centres, public access computing, community hubs, and learning spaces including considerations for security, IOT, AI and OOH support. Page 26 of 216
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• Finance & Technology are also planning to review current job descriptions to see if roles can be reconfigured to broaden out skills and knowledge across the team with an intention to set up a small review team to support better cross working across both functions, greater consistency in approach and sharing of best practice. • People Resources are planning to review and realign their back-office functions and processes to better integrate newly implemented systems, improve workflow and communication and create stronger cross skilling between teams with better alignment to services. • Audit & Risk are planning to strengthen digital governance capabilities and oversight of AI use across the Council. Enterprise & Communities • Place will undertake a review of the current management structure and grades within Planning, particularly at 3rd tier manager level, to assist with succession planning and attraction. • Place also report demand pressures within the Invest in NL/ Major applications team, with a number of complex planning applications anticipated. There is a need to review the current resources and management structure to ensure sufficient capacity to deal with these applications efficiently. • Additionally, Place also have a requirement to ensure adequate resources to deliver the Mid-Market Rent (MMR) Programme, and will undertake a review of the resource required to deliver the programme as well as the increased social rent target. • ACC are planning a review of the operational management team to align roles to deliver against the wider community hub and community engagement model and in addition continued consideration of a rationalised estate for both sports facilities and libraries is likely to result in associated changes in the staffing model. • The new Housing Ask and Act requirement could potentially have an impact in workforce demand, and the service will make an assessment of this when guidance from the Scottish Government has been issued. • Fleet services are planning ongoing structural changes to improve efficiency, ensure compliance with governance, legislative and policy requirements and supporting the transition to digital solutions to improve customer experience and driving service improvements. • FSS report that they will be reviewing hospitality services with potential impact to staff and operating models which will be agreed through the review process. They will also be undertaking a restructure of community facilities management including the introduction of a new supervisor level for caretaking. Page 27 of 216
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and will be directly impacted by the council’s programme of new build schools and community hubs over the next 5 years with additional support required from the service. • The Greenspace & Country Parks Service report that the Cemeteries workforce is dealing with the twin pressures of an expanding asset portfolio to maintain, and an ageing workforce resulting in higher absence and turnover, with weekend overtime frequently deployed to keep up with interments. • Land and Waste will be progressing the introduction of more automated and data-driven route planning through new systems, with an increased focus on recycling performance and compliance with national circular economy targets. • Trading Standards is experiencing resourcing challenges, and the team faces limitations in delivering a fully effective consumer and legitimate business protection service with some statutory duties being more of a challenge. Adult Health & Social Care • Adult Health & Social Care intend to finalise their new operating model, align resources and maintain overview of performance until revised service provision is fully functional. This work includes progressing better joined up services across health and social care, operating as multi-disciplinary teams, with a need to realign and remodel support roles to meet demand and ensure resource is allocated in the right place. • There will also be a requirement for better defined roles and responsibilities around assessment and planning, which will be key to the new operating model going forward. • The service also intends to continue to review structures and introduce a training and development plan to support the successful operation of the new model. Education & Families • Education & Families are planning to support and embed the new ASN model, building capacity within the ASN workforce by taking forward improved communication and secondment opportunities. • The service notes that with several large-scale transformational change programmes recently completed or underway, including Additional Support Needs, Early Learning and Childcare, Senior Management Team and Family Support, strong change leadership will be key to avoiding challenging impacts on service delivery. • The Service will also require more Teachers in order to implement the SG 21hrs class contact policy and preparatory work around workforce planning. Preparatory work has been underway for several years and will continue via measures such as the teacher induction scheme, the use of fixed term Page 28 of 216
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contracts and internal ring-fenced posts as well as external recruitment campaigns. Priority 2 – Pathways for Progression 2.11 The key strategic objectives aligned to this priority are: • Identify opportunities for funded skills and qualification pathways. • Improve recruitment processes & progress inclusive recruitment. • Work with Routes to Work to provide employment to residents. • Maintain a strong development offering for staff. Corporate Actions – Progress & Highlights 2.12 Key highlights aligned to our corporate work under this priority include that: 2.12.1 The Council continues to invest in the development of funded qualification pathways, particularly to close identified professional skills gaps. Key areas of progress over 2024/25 include the full approval and completion of the Graduate Apprenticeship framework for Social Work, where over the past year, North Lanarkshire Council has worked in partnership with the University of the West of Scotland (UWS), Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish Government to develop the programme which launched in September 2025. This will enable the council to progress an initial cohort of 6 council staff onto a fully funded study route to become a qualified Social Worker, with plans for a regular intake into the programme thereafter. The programme will offer additionality within our already comprehensive Social Work Hub ensuring that we have a robust future pipeline of Social Workers. 2.12.2 Additionally, in January 2025, the council partnered with the University of the West of Scotland to launch a Graduate Apprenticeship (GA) in Planning, with three Trainee Planning Assistants now in post. This marks a significant step in tackling workforce gaps identified in the Place workforce plan. 2.12.3 Progress has also been made on the establishment of a new funded pathway and trainee position for Clerk of Works, which has proved a very difficult role to fill over the last few years. Priority work is also underway to progress a work-based learning solution for the development of a future pipeline of Environmental Health, and Trading Standards Officers, both of which have a significantly aging workforce profile. 2.12.4 Work is being finalised on improvements to our overall approach to recruitment with a new standalone policy being finalised; completion of an automatic systems link between iTrent and MyJobScotland, to eliminate double handling and facilitate automatic posting of jobs; the development of three new application forms that are more appropriate for different levels/types of jobs and the simplification of our shortlisting processes to improve the recruiting process overall. All work is expected to be complete in early 2026. 2.12.5 Work will also be prioritised in early 2026 to look at ways in which we can improve our recruitment tracking and advertising for hard to fill roles, particularly those aligned to support the delivery of our programme of work and capital programme such as Quantity Surveyors, Planners and Project Managers. 2.12.6 We also continue to work effectively with our partner Routes to Work to offer entry level opportunities to residents who have struggled to gain employment in the labour market. Over the last 12 months this has resulted in the following successes through ring fenced recruitment: Page 29 of 216
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• 8 Catering Assistants • 4 Cleaners • 1 Facility Assistant • 4 Support Assistants in the Employee Service Centre • 2 Streetscene Operatives • Interviews taking place throughout October in Land & Waste for more opportunities. 2.12.7 In addition, 3 Routes to Work clients from previous recruitments have been offered permanent posts and 2 have been promoted into full time NLC7 grade roles. 2.12.8 To further support and accelerate the ongoing transformation of our services and in consultation with Chief Officers around future skills needs within our senior manager population, the People Resources Services have now developed a Transformational Leadership Programme which will initially be targeted at 3rd and 4th tier officers. The key elements of the programme are set out below and will include service design, process improvement and digital modules alongside other complex change leadership skills and development: • Scottish Approach to Service Design (SAtSD) • Process Mapping and Lean Thinking • Successfully Leading Complex Change • Understanding Equalities Responsibilities • Programme Management Skills • Influencing for Results • Cultivating a Digital Mindset (linked to the new Digital Competencies Framework being developed) 2.12.9 The programme will be piloted and refined in early 2026 and rolled out to all eligible staff thereafter. Planned Service Actions - Highlights 2.13 Highlights of relevant planned service actions aligned to pathways for progression are set out in the table below. Service Directorate Workforce Actions Chief Executives • Legal and Democratic intend to secure funding, recruit to traineeship posts, deliver structured case exposure and mentoring and monitor external legal spend for skills and knowledge gaps. • Legal & democratic have a structured progression framework that supports internal mobility and development, ensuring staff can prepare for future specialist and leadership roles. Staff are actively encouraged to pursue external training and qualifications, such as the BA Leadership Qualification and HNC in Business Administration, to strengthen career readiness. • Legal & Democratic report a need for workforce upskilling in digital advocacy, case management systems, and specialist areas (climate law, data protection claims, procurement challenges). Page 30 of 216
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• Finance & Technology expect to see new demand for hybrid skill sets that will combine technical expertise with service design, change management, and stakeholder engagement. • Finance & Technology will also identify suitable training programmes for leadership and management and encourage uptake from existing staff and will review and develop formal mentoring opportunities. • Audit & Risk report a need to support staff to further develop their skills across relevant areas including technological and methodological skills, project management skills, digital skills, sector and cross- government knowledge. • Audit & risk also report that there is a gap for a dedicated counter fraud resource (as highlighted in a previous audit report and noted on the risk register). • People resources have identified a need for up skilling and cross skilling within the Employee Service Centre to support the integration of new systems and facilitate a deeper understanding of the full range of Council wide Terms and Conditions of Employment across the various services. Enterprise & Communities • Place and Housing both reference the need for experienced mentors to support trainees. • Due to continued recruitment difficulties, Housing will further review the Housing Advisor NLC7/9 Grade, specifically the criteria for progression from NLC7 to NLC9. • Housing will also develop a closer integration pathway to allow staff development and widen opportunities for career progression to address succession issues. • Place notes that consideration needs to be given to current grade progression for Roads Engineer Trainees to improve prospects of being able to retain them. • Additionally, place will create an Assistant Manager post to support the Invest in NL Manager to help manage workload; co-ordinate input from other services/ consultees, sign off planning approvals and prepare/present committee reports. • Asset & Procurement note that continued challenges in recruiting staff to professional and technical roles are likely to continue and require the service to grow their own talent. • Built Environment reports that existing national and local workforce strategies have strengthened the operational resilience of the service with actions taken in recent years around the progression of Graduate Apprenticeships within the Service. This has gone some way to addressing their high age demographic. • Fleet report that the recruitment of seven new employees has enabled the workshop to operate at Page 31 of 216
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full capacity, with apprentices and semi-skilled Workshop Assistants currently progressing towards a full qualification in Mechanics. Fleet Technicians are also gaining valuable experience through collaboration with our Fleet Inspectors, supporting the development of a consistent and skilled workforce. • Roads & Assets report that recruitment of street lighting staff, including inspectors is an issue across Central Scotland. The service are considering a restructure to change the role to a technician with different qualification requirements and are also considering a modern apprenticeship route. The Assets Team has also created a number of new roles for graduate apprenticeships and a possible modern apprenticeship. • FSS are considering their approach to addressing shortages for cleaning supervisors as current compression within the council’s grade structures means that the salary differential makes it unattractive for cleaning staff to apply for these roles. • Greenspace & Country Parks experience difficulties in recruiting to gravediggers, cemeteries chargehands and arborists. The service has introduced an MA programme to grow a pipeline of talent through an MA programme that will move candidates through Cemetery Asset Operative roles and potentially on to Gravedigger, Chargehand and Supervisor. • Land and Waste are considering further structure changes to support multi-skilled roles and flexible deployment across land and waste functions, transitioning current role titles—such as Refuse Collector, Gardener, Driver 1, Streetscene Operator, and Recycling Attendant to a unified title General Operative. The service proposes to gradually phase in the new title as part of the recruitment process for new employees. • Land and Waste are also considering upskilling initiatives to provide training to current staff to address skill gaps, in HGV driving, mechanical and technical maintenance and modern playground equipment upkeep. • Assets & Procurement will explore further opportunities to develop technicians by supporting them to undertake further study to achieve relevant qualifications. The service will also focus on training and developing staff inhouse including supporting graduates to become fully qualified Quantity Surveyors. Adult Health & Social Care • Adult Health & Social Care reports a continued commitment to build resilience, grow their own talent and create opportunities for individuals to progress into qualified roles. The service now has several programme pathways that support employees to become Social Workers. Page 32 of 216
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• To strengthen leadership capacity within social work, the implementation of a comprehensive Leadership Programme tailored specifically for Senior Social Workers (SSW) and aspiring SSWs will enhance strategic thinking, decision-making, and team management skills, while fostering resilience and innovation in complex care environments • The service also reports that increasing demand and complexity of individuals requiring support, risks putting additional pressure on teams and that they are committed to ensuring that direct delivery workers have the skills, knowledge and to deliver complex care packages. The service has recently reviewed its organisational training and development plan, introducing a range of additional learning opportunities for staff directly delivering services. • Additionally, they have reviewed the Social Work Induction material and are utilising a range of tools developed through the Healthcare Improvement ScotlandNational Induction Framework/Programme. Education & Families • Education & Families report changes in the focus of roles across their service as well as the introduction of new roles including: increasing focus on inclusive practice, trauma-informed approaches, and digital pedagogy for teachers and head teachers; a requirement for greater involvement in multi-agency planning and wellbeing strategies for Cluster Improvement Leads and Educational Psychologists and enhanced collaboration between Social Workers Family Support Workers and education teams to deliver whole-family support. • Education & Families also note that leadership and change management will be key as services restructure and evolve, to drive innovation and sustain improvement. • The service also notes a requirement to focus on building skills in leading cluster teams, managing delegated budgets, and driving improvement through data-informed planning. Priority 3 – Next Generation Workforce 2.14 The key strategic objectives aligned to this priority are: • Maintain a healthy apprenticeship offering with linked pathways from school. • Maintain a strong summer placement offering across services. • Take forward a new graduate/intern scheme to develop a pipeline of future managers. Corporate Actions – Progress & Highlights 2.15 Key highlights aligned to our corporate work under this priority include that: Page 33 of 216
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2.15.1 The Council continues to progress and grow its Modern Apprenticeship scheme with offerings for new pathways for young people. Following an extensive recruitment campaign, 56 MA’s were recruited in 2025, completing our full allocation of MA from just the summer recruitment. New MA programmes include a shared MA programme with NHS Lanarkshire and Health and Social Care MAs within our Home Support Teams. 2.15.2 Our Summer Placement Programme continued to grow in 2025 with 191 young people successfully placed in a variety of disciplines both within the Council and our external partners. Notably all 191 placements completed the programme and additionally we introduced an employability award to complement the experience gained by the young people with 177 completing the award. Importantly the programme is now delivering real outcomes and opportunities for young people including employment within the Council and a summary of this is provided below: Internal Programme • 19 young people secured sessional contracts within Enterprise and Communities • 22 young people secured sessional contracts within Adult Health and Social Care • 1 young person gained part time employment with the Council • 2 young people commenced a Modern Apprenticeship with the Council • 1 young person commenced a Graduate Apprenticeship with the Council External Programme • 5 young people commenced a Modern Apprenticeship • 1 young person commenced a Graduate Apprenticeship • 5 young people gained part time employment • 2 young people gained full time employment • 1 young person commenced pre- apprenticeship training 2.15.3 Additionally, the council is currently investigating the feasibility of a summer intern programme which would support the development of succession pipelines for our middle and senior management levels. Management succession issues have been highlighted by a number of services in their workforce plans. This would be based on a similar programme currently run by Glasgow City Council and would be ringfenced to recent graduates with a North Lanarkshire postcode, or those who are in their final year of study. This would include direct engagement with universities in degree subjects that are currently hard to fill such as Quantity Surveying, Architecture, Law and Accountancy. Planned Service Actions - Highlights 2.16 Highlights of relevant planned service actions aligned to next generation workforce are set out in the table below: Service Directorate Workforce Actions Chief Executives • The Finance & Technology service has made a concerted effort to “grow its own” over the last few years, through modern apprentices, summer placements and encouraging and supporting existing staff to undertake qualifications. The Trainee Page 34 of 216
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Accountant programme has been reestablished and has been extended to the next level with assistant accountant trainee programme under development. Similarly, the Technology service has made good use of both Modern Apprenticeship and Graduate Apprenticeship frameworks across a range of IT and Cyber Security qualifications to focus on building a next generation workforce. • Finance & Technology also expects to lose several skilled, experienced managers/leaders over the next few years and the service are continuing to review opportunities available to more junior members of staff who could progress to managerial levels. • Legal and Democratic have secured funding for a Solicitors Traineeship Programme with three additional 24-month traineeship posts, providing early career legal professionals with structured training, mentoring, and sector-specific experience. • Legal & Democratic have also continued to invest in Modern Apprenticeships within business support pathways for young people into long-term employment. Positive outcomes are already evident, with a Modern Apprentice in Licensing successfully securing a full-time position. • Audit & Risk intend to review career pathways for the Audit & Risk Assistant and assess potential to create an additional post at this level to increase entry level posts to the teams or consider increased role of trainee accountant placements. The NLC6 Audit & Risk Assistant was an action following the 2023 Strategic Workforce Plan to introduce a career entry point to this team. • Audit & Risk are also planning to create a permanent trainee accountant post with a development pathway to become a qualified auditor. • People Resources support several development pathways across the service for both professional HR qualifications and graduate apprenticeships. In addition, the service supports a yearly cohort of Modern Apprentices many of whom have progressed into entry roles within the employee services centre. • Given their aging workforce profile, Strategy & Engagement are looking for ways to enable career progression pathways the 11% of the overall workforce who are aged 18-29, as well as investing in both Graduate and Modern Apprenticeships. Enterprise & Communities • Place currently have 7 Trainee posts across the 3 teams who are being supported to gain relevant professional qualifications which has knock on resource implications for the workload of the teams. • Place have also created a new pathway by introducing a Trainee Clerk of Works (NLC3) that will study for the degree in Construction and the Built Environment (Building Surveying) as a graduate apprentice for four years and will then be able to apply Page 35 of 216
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for a Clerk of Works (NLC9) post. A new Senior Clerk of Works is also being recruited to line manage Trainee Clerk of Works. • Given the difficulty that Place are experiencing in filling critical professional roles, consideration will also be given to creation of additional trainee posts, particularly Quantity Surveying and Civil Engineering, subject to capacity to provide necessary support and supervision/ mentoring. • ACC report real challenges in recruiting Lifeguards. The service has attempted to address this through providing training programmes for young people, for example, lifeguard qualifications (RLSS), and are proposing to explore this further. The service also takes in a large number of young people on placement and this often leads to employment opportunities and assists with workforce challenges. • Fleet report a new requirement for a Plant apprentice. This role will ensure there is a succession plan within the workshop, aligned to an industry wide gap in the market for this role. • Land and Waste report difficulties recruiting a younger demographic into the service but will be looking at succession planning with apprentices working towards qualification. • Protective Services report that the introduction of the Trading Standards Practitioner post in 2020 has been particularly successful, resulting in one employee progressing into a permanent NLC11 Trading Standards Officer role and the recruitment of an additional Practitioner. Furthermore, the service has established trainee positions across both Trading Standards and Environmental Health, which have proven highly effective. To date, two trainees have now secured permanent roles. • Given a need to increase awareness of the resilience planning function and a shortage of officers with this skill, Protective Services are planning to take a summer intern from risk management students at GCU to develop internal training pathways, with specialist qualifications and will explore funding opportunities to expand the team. • Housing are considering a graduate programme to support future demand for Housing Officers and Income Maximisers where they have a relevant qualification but need trained in Housing. Adult Health & Social Care • Adult Health & social Care report that there remains a shortage of staff with advanced skills in mental health. To help address this, the MHO Traineeship Scheme has been introduced, enabling two social workers to temporarily fill posts while undertaking their Mental Health Officer training. • Additionally, they will continue to offer summer placements as a career progression route along with shadowing, mentoring and coaching for new staff; a Page 36 of 216
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targeted recruitment campaign is being considered to further promote careers within the sector and encourage uptake of the MHO trainee scheme to build capacity. Education & Families • Education and Families are focused on building career pathways and secondment opportunities in key areas including ASN specialists, STEM and Digital Education Specialists. • The Service is also planning to use a variety of strategies to support succession planning with an ageing workforce, such as secondment and cpd opportunities, summer placements, modern apprenticeship, career pathways and vocational education programmes. Priority 4 – Vibrant & Flexible Workplace 2.17 The key strategic objectives aligned to this priority are: • Continue to build a vibrant mixed use offering of office and community-based workplace environments for all staff. • Invest in a digitally skilled workforce, who can work efficiently and flexibly within our community-based locations. Corporate Actions – Progress & Highlights 2.18 Key highlights aligned to our corporate work under this priority include that: 2.18.1 Significant work has been undertaken over the last 12 months to enhance workspaces and facilities for staff working our community facing services for example recent investment in our Bellshill Depot for our Fleet and Waste services with plans to also further adapt and utilise this space for other services. A full outline of this work will be included within the Leadership and Operating Model report which will be presented to Policy & Strategy in December. 2.18.2 Work to deliver the digital skills programme continues under the leadership of the Digital NL Programme of Work, with key deliverables including: • Utilising information from the digital skills survey to identify digital skills gaps • Creating and developing digital leadership skills to create a culture of digital first approach with competent and capable leaders to support digital development • Ongoing work on a digital skills competency framework to assist with skills gaps identification and planning. This will be supported by a self-assessment tool for staff to identify their current level of digital skills and identify development for the future. • Investment in upskilling our staff to enhance their digital capabilities. Planned Service Actions - Highlights 2.19 Highlights of relevant planned service actions aligned to vibrant & flexible workplace are set out in the table below. Page 37 of 216
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Service Directorate Workforce Actions Chief Executives • Legal and Democratic are looking to develop digital and process training programmes and rotate staff to build multifunctional skills. • Legal & Democratic also note a requirement to build digital competence, including the ability to work with case management systems, digital dictation, and e-democracy platforms. • Finance & Technology are promoting agile working for technology staff to promote a flexible, fully collaborative workforce, this will support the expected rise in community hubs, pop up services and agile work practices across the Council. • Finance & Technology are also supporting staff to be resilient in working with technological changes whether it’s software development, infrastructure projects, cyber security or service management. • Audit & Risk note that the Council’s hybrid scheme has been beneficial in attracting external candidates who do live further away to minimise the commute days. • Strategy & Engagement note that the Councils hybrid and flexible work policies support attraction and retention for employees who live locally and have seen success with modern apprenticeships which have provided valuable career paths for local talent. Enterprise & Communities • The Place service operates a hybrid model for most employees, however whole teams can be site based and working out in all- weather with potentially hazardous conditions, i.e. Clerk of Works, Parking Services and Engineer Technical Officers with other employees working a combined pattern of home/office/site visits. • ACC expect that changes to the Employment Rights Bill on the use of casual contracts are anticipated and are likely to impact on the use and practices with the casual workforce across the service. The service also reports that it benefits from a local workforce, with a predominantly site-based staffing group who live and work in NLC. • Fleet are planning to consolidate their workshop within the Bellshill site and this location will be for all vehicle repairs, services and MOTs (including taxi tests). They also report that upskilling in electric equipment and new technology will be required for the current workforce. • FSS report that with the roll out of Digital devices to frontline staff, processes will be required to be adapted to ensure efficiency across the service. This may also require ongoing digital support and upskilling for all staff. • In Land and Waste 67% of the workforce are static workers and 33% of the workforce are agile/ hybrid which reflects the frontline nature of the service. • Greenspace & Country Parks will be required to review current roles against changes within the new Burial Regulations and associated digital requirements and reconfigure roles and skills accordingly. Additionally, the drive to digital cemeteries Page 38 of 216
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maintenance will require improved digital processes across the cemeteries workforce (frontline and support). • Protective Services report that service has a higher rate of employees who reside out with North Lanarkshire Council thanks average, and the hybrid policy has proved beneficial in recruiting and retaining employees. • Roads & Assets report that implementation of AI will enable more automation of surveys, which will change the way inspectors need to operate. Efficiencies should free up time to address conflicting demands, however a higher level of IT skills will be required (historically inspectors have come through from front line squads). Adult Health & Social Care • Adult Health & Social Care reports that since the introduction of flexible retirement in 2019 there have been 76 successful applications across all grades and service areas, this is helping the service to retain experience and knowledge whilst it focuses on growing its next generation workforce. Education & Families • Education & families expect that increasing use of digital tools and data systems will require upskilling in areas such as cyber security, digital learning platforms, and data analytics. • The service expects a wider digitisation of predominantly administrative processes to be a key lever in achieving efficiency and effectiveness across service including schools, hubs and central teams, requiring a more digitally skilled workforce within broader more agile remits designed to promote continuous improvement and a more responsive service user journey. Priority 5 – Employee Engagement & Wellbeing 2.20 The key strategic objectives aligned to this priority are: • Implement a new staff survey which fully engages our staff at all levels, aligned to our Programme of Work, and our responsibilities as a fair work employer. • Maintain a strong staff health & wellbeing support and benefits offering under our Workwell NL banner. Corporate Actions – Progress & Highlights 2.21 Key highlights aligned to our corporate work under this priority include that: Staff Survey Pilot 2.21.1 The development of the council’s new staff survey is now complete, and the survey has been piloted in 3 services covering more than 800 staff in both corporate functions and frontline services. The survey questions are simple, straight forward and designed to be used at all levels within the organisation. All questions are aligned to the Fair Work First Framework, and they have been shared with our Trade Union colleagues for their input and agreement. 2.21.2 The key pillars of the Fair Work First Framework promote employee engagement across a range of important measures aligned to: • Effective Voice: Promotes safe, constructive dialogue where employee views are actively sought, heard, and acted upon. Page 39 of 216
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• Opportunity: Ensures equal access to employment and progression, meeting legal obligations and promoting fairness. • Security: Supports stable employment, predictable working hours, and income security. • Fulfilment: Encourages meaningful work that enables skill development, autonomy, and career growth. • Respect: Fosters a culture of dignity and respect for all, regardless of role or status. 2.21.3 Questions have also been added to align with and measure employee understanding of and engagement with the Council’s Programme of Work and the Plan for North Lanarkshire and these will be used to support and measure the impact of future roadshows. 2.21.4 The survey is currently being piloted in three service areas, two large corporate services, and one frontline service. The services currently piloting the survey include People Resources and Finance and Technology and Fleet. Data from Fleet is limited at this stage due to its later inclusion in the pilot and the fact that the survey is still open. 2.21.5 67% of the staff who have completed the survey are not managers with the remainder being managers or senior managers. The majority of staff completing the survey are full time employees and there were more females (66%) than males (33%) completing the survey, reflecting the Council’s known demographic. 2.21.6 Key highlights from the questions are set out below: Page 40 of 216
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Key strengths Areas for consideration Effective Voice 71% of staff agree or strongly agree that they are provided with information about the Council's vision and plans for the future. 84% of staff agree or strongly agree that they understand what is expected of them in their role. 76% of staff agree or strongly agree that their manager is open to discussions about their work and works with them to forward plan Opportunity 68% of staff agree or strongly agree that they receive feedback from their manager on their work. 68% of staff agree or strongly agree that they feel encouraged to perform at the best of their abilities. 69% of staff agree or strongly agree that they have all the information they need to do their job well. Security 79% of staff agree or strongly agree that they have clear duties and Responsibilities. 74% of staff agree or strongly agree that their manager supports them when their work is challenging. 85% of staff agree or strongly agree that they know how to access Council policies to support them if they have difficulties affecting their work. Fulfilment 69% of staff agree or strongly agree that they feel their efforts are valued within their team and service. 80% of staff agree or strongly agree that they are confident that they have the knowledge, skills and tools they need to do their job well. 80% of staff agree or strongly agree that they feel they have support from their colleagues and work jointly to achieve team goals. Respect 84% of staff agree or strongly agree that they are treated with respect by their colleagues 94% of staff agree or strongly agree that they are aware of the Council’s code of conduct 86% staff agree or strongly agree that their manager shows confidence in their abilities. Effective Voice 62% of staff agree or strongly agree that they feel encouraged and confident to improve the way we do things. 62% of staff agree or strongly agree that they have the opportunity to provide input to how their service or team operates. 66% of staff agree or strongly agree that they feel safe to express their views and ideas. Opportunity 65% of staff agree or strongly agree that in the past year they have undertaken learning activities that have helped improve their performance. 65% of staff agree or strongly agree that they feel confident that they will be supported to advance their career should they wish. 65% of staff agree or strongly agree that their manager supports them to improve their performance. Security 52% of staff agree or strongly agree that they are consulted about decisions that could affect their role or their terms and conditions. 64% of staff agree or strongly agree that their manager discusses and agrees their work priorities with them regularly. 66% of staff agree or strongly agree that their manager communicates effectively when changes are planned in their service. Fulfilment 66% of staff agree or strongly agree that their work is meaningful and gives them a sense of purpose. 66% of staff agree or strongly agree that they understand how what they do makes a difference in our communities. 65% of staff agree or strongly agree that their working environment enables them to do their job well. Respect 71% of staff agree or strongly agree that the culture in their team is positive, supportive and trusting. 64% of staff agree or strongly agree that the council supports the health and wellbeing of its employees. 65% of staff agree or strongly agree that the council supports and encourages employees from disadvantaged backgrounds. 2.21.7 Key insights across all questions include that: • respect and values are strong across the board, especially in peer relationships and personal conduct. Page 41 of 216
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• role clarity and support systems (e.g. knowing expectations and accessing policies) are well established. • job satisfaction and purpose are evident; with many staff feeling their work is meaningful and impactful. • Commitment to the council is high, suggesting a stable and loyal workforce. 2.21.8 Encouragingly questions within the Respect pillar of the framework are the highest scoring questions across the survey. 2.21.9 The question with the highest disagree scores is “I am consulted about decisions that could affect my role or my terms and conditions” with 21% disagree or strongly disagree. 2.21.10 All questions score 20% or under for disagree, and for strongly disagree the range of responses is between 1% and 6% with no question scoring more than 6% for strongly disagree. 2.21.11 Additional questions also show that 82% of staff agree or strongly agree that the council has a good relationship with Trade Unions and 79% of staff agree or strongly agree that they are happy to continue working for the council for the foreseeable future. 2.21.12 Staff were also asked directly what they most enjoyed about working for the council and the most common responses were: • Flexibility, which includes hybrid working, flexitime, and work/life balance with staff appreciating the ability to manage their schedules. • Benefits and positive mentions of pension schemes, holidays, and overall terms and conditions. • Making a Difference with many feeling their work has purpose and positively impacts the community. Hybrid Working Survey 2.22 A refreshed hybrid survey was issued to all eligible staff in early October with an overall return rate of 66%. The majority of staff (860) responded to all questions with some responding to the main questions only. Hybrid employees are primarily based within Chief Executives and Enterprise & Communities services with a small number in the corporate teams within Education & Families and Adult Health & Social Care. 2.23 In terms of grades the majority of respondents sit within grades NLC10 to NLC12 (337 respondents) with the remainder between NLC5 and NLC9. There are 103 more senior management staff who responded in grades NLC13 to NLC18. 2.24 The key themes from the survey are: 2.24.1 The majority of staff are adhering to the scheme with 640 staff self-reporting that they are currently doing 10 or more days in the office over the period of a month with 142 staff reporting that they are doing between 10 and 15 days in the office. 2.24.2 Where staff are doing less than 10 days reasons reported for this include service needs and a requirement to attend site and community meetings. Page 42 of 216
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2.24.3 Satisfaction with the current hybrid scheme is very high with 510 staff reporting that they are either satisfied or very satisfied with our current hybrid arrangements, and a further 157 staff reporting that they are neutral on the matter. 2.24.4 The majority of staff who responded to this question are of the view that the hybrid scheme supports their roles and responsibilities, with 437 staff reporting that it fully supports them in their role, a further 249 reporting that it mostly supports them in their role or that it makes no difference. 2.24.5 In terms of questions relating to work life balance 605 staff report that hybrid working has improved their work life balance and 510 staff report that it has made them less stressed, with a further 179 reporting that it has made no difference. 2.25 The results from the survey indicate that the final hybrid working scheme is working well and has positively impacted on staff. Some additional areas that were reported in the survey are included in the graphs below: Page 43 of 216
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2.26 Based on the positive feedback from the survey, it is proposed that this is the final hybrid working survey which will be carried out with hybrid staff. Accordingly, the hybrid working scheme will become business as usual from 2026 onwards, in terms of working arrangements for all staff who fall within this category. Priority 6 – Equality & Inclusion 2.27 The key strategic objectives aligned to this priority are: • Take forward our refreshed Equalities Strategy maintaining strong progress on advancing our agreed equalities outcomes. • Continue to support and progress the work of the Equalities Board, and associated service Champions and their Service Equality Plans. Corporate Actions – Progress & Highlights 2.28 Key highlights aligned to our corporate work under this priority include that: • The Council has now fully refreshed its Equality Strategy which was approved by the Wellbeing & Tackling Poverty Committee in October 2025 and includes our ten newly approved equalities outcomes. The strategy now clearly outlines the strong thread that runs between our equality outcomes and our ambitions under the Programme of Work and The Plan for North Lanarkshire and details the many improvements we have made in our equalities outcomes over the last few years. • Much of this has been achieved as a result of the clear governance and engagement approach now being taken with this work across the Council, including the establishment of our Equalities Board and Equality Outcomes Performance Management Framework, which has enabled a much stronger focus on driving improved outcomes. There has also been good support and ownership of this work across our services with all having established a clear equality plan through their equality champions, and many actions now reflected in recent service workforce plans. Planned Service Actions - Highlights 2.29 Highlights of relevant planned service actions aligned to equality & inclusion are set out in the table below. Page 44 of 216
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Service Directorate Workforce Actions Chief Executives • Finance & Technology notes that approximately 2.5% of employees are from a Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) background and sets out an intention to encourage under-represented groups to apply for posts when advertising externally. • Legal & Democratic note a significant diversity imbalance, with women comprising the vast majority of staff and occupying 81% of managerial roles, and most of the service being white. The service outlines that proactive steps are needed to address gender imbalance and strengthen diversity within the service. • Strategic Engagement will increase EQIA training uptake across teams. • Audit & Risk acknowledges the lack of ethnic diversity in its small team and signals the need for targeted action. Enterprise & Communities • Place reports progress in increasing the proportion of staff from minority ethnic backgrounds (from 2% in 2023 to 5% in 2025). • ACC report that their workforce profile is representative of their communities with a 2% BAME representation and a significantly younger workforce than seen elsewhere in the Council with an average age of 41. • Within FSS, 1.37% of the workforce are people from a black or minority ethnic group. This compared to just over 1% in April 2023. • Roads & Assets intend to highlight family friendly policies including smarter working and worklife balance opportunities to try to attract more female candidates and address their largely male workforce profile. • Asset & Procurement reports that females are typically underrepresented in asset and procurement professional roles at a national level; however the service has recruited several females across all areas. The service also reports that 3.2% of the workforce identify from BAME communities which is slightly higher than the North Lanarkshire demographic. Adult Health & Social Care • Adult Health & Social Care note that because of focused work on their equalities profile, their diversity now better reflects the demographics of the wider North Lanarkshire population. This includes that the proportion of individuals identifying as being from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds has shown a positive increase over recent years, rising from 0.57% in 2023 to 1.4% in 2025. Page 45 of 216
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Education & Families • Education & Families highlights the need to support the older social-work workforce, where the average retirement age has dropped to 55. • The service also notes a lack of males in E&F front line roles and are considering a targeted promotion and marketing of these roles, including within the MA programme. • Education & Families also plan to undertake an accurate assessment of BAME representation in the teaching workforce and take appropriate action and will be represented on the Scottish Government’s newly established Diversity in the Teaching Profession and Education Workforce Group. Workforce Dashboard 2.30 The council’s revised workforce dashboard is included in appendix 2 and now provides elected members with a broader range of information regarding our workforce including information relating to our temporary workforce, recruitment, case management and absence. This will be revised and updated on an annual basis to support the One Workforce Plan. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Progress against priorities and actions identified within the One Workforce Plan and associated rolling delivery plan. 3.3 Continued strong workforce planning and associated delivery of actions to manage and mitigate ongoing risks and close identified gaps in our current workforce. 3.4 Positive ongoing survey feedback from staff regarding their engagement in the overall programme of work and as the council transitions its operating model in the coming years. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 – One Workforce Delivery Framework 4.2 Appendix 2 – Workforce Dashboard Fiona Whittaker Chief Officer (People Resources) Page 46 of 216
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality-and-fairer- scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 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? All policy impacts have been taken forward with full input from People Resources and trade unions. 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 ☐ The report sets out a number of changes which may impact the Council’s workforce arrangements over the next 12 months, and these will be fully managed in line with the plan and the councils managing workforce change policy. 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e-mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 47 of 216
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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? Workforce risks have been fully captured in the Corporate HR risk and are also reflected in service 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 ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact and the provision that has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the relevant Articles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 48 of 216
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Appendix 1 One Workforce Delivery Plan 2024/25 Progress Update & 2025/26 Plan 1 Last updated 19/10/25 Page 49 of 216
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1. One Workforce Strategic Priorities to 2028 2 Last updated 19/10/25 Page 50 of 216
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2. Progress Update on Delivery Plan Key: In progress, on track Requires further action. Complete # New for 2025/26 Managing Workforce Transition Action Description Lead Officer RAG Comments 1.1 Support the delivery of ongoing workforce and structure changes arising from service redesign and savings exercises. Effective HR support for the delivery of workforce changes linked to agreed future savings and service realignments linked to our future operating model and One Service programme of work. HR Business Partnership Manager The progression of agreed budget workforce related changes linked to three-year savings are complete across all services, and in line with agreed workforce change policies. Agreed service reviews with workforce implications have also been fully progressed and were successfully concluded during 2025. 1.2 Continue with organisation and workforce mapping to identify transition plans for future workforce models and structures as these evolve over the next 3-5 years. An ongoing process of mapping and improving our service models and structures, including digital transformation and where and how staff will work to deliver our services as we evolve to a hub-based community delivery model. HR Business Partnership Manager/Operating Model delivery Manager As part of our bi-yearly workforce planning cycle, a revised approach to service operating model planning was incorporated within an improved workforce planning process launched in March 2025. This included further enhancements around workforce capacity planning and service alignment to our future operating model. 1.3 Complete a full review of the Council’s single status pay and grading model and implement approved changes. Successive differentiated pay awards have resulted in significant compression of the Council’s single status pay and grading model, which is now required to undergo a full Employment and Policy Manager A Project Board has been established to lead the overall review, and phase one of the work is underway. This includes the completion of a refreshed EQIA analysis of the model by the Independent Technical Adviser which was completed in early September 2025. An update 3 Last updated 19/10/25 Page 51 of 216
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review of all grades, to be undertaken over several years. paper on progress with this work and the final plan for phase one will be brought to Finance and Resources Committee in Cycle 1 of 2026. 1.4 # New work for 2025/26. Progress actions from our revised 25/26 Service Workforce Plans. A robust ongoing process for workforce planning across all services to manage known workforce risks and build a resilient future workforce. Detailed actions must be in place to support plans with a focus on the progression of actions. Talent & Leadership Development Manager/Business Partnership Manager Updated biannual workforce plans for all services are now complete, and a summary analysis of the key challenges and themes is included within the One Workforce report. The progression key identified actions will be overseen throughout the year by the One Service Board. Pathways for Progression Actions Description Lead Officer RAG Status Comments 2.1 Maintain our leadership and learning and development offering for all staff within budget constraints. Investment in developing the skills required for realising our future operating model within the funding available maintaining where possible our leadership and learning and development offering through Learn NL. Talent & Leadership Development Manager Leadership development is well established at middle and lower levels, with two successful programmes now fully embedded into our curriculum. A Transformational Leadership Programme for third and fourth tier officers was approved in October by CMT and is now in development, with the first cohort launching in January 2026. 2.2 Maintain and extend our Graduate Apprenticeship Scheme. The Council’s graduate apprenticeship scheme has been running successfully since 2018 with increasing numbers of staff in progress or having completed their qualification. The operation of the scheme will be critical going forward to help address Talent & Leadership Development Manager The UWS Urban Planning Work based learning degree fully launched in Feb 2025 with 3 staff now engaged through the programme. The now fully approved Social Work GA will be available from September 2025 with 6 staff on the first cohort. Work underway with UWS to develop a work-based learning degree for 4 Last updated 19/10/25 Page 52 of 216
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identified shortages in key professional and specialist areas including planning, social work and regulatory services. Environment Health. We are also looking to establish a qualification pathway for a trainee Clerks of Works. 2.3 Complete a review of our higher duties policy arrangements The Council’s higher duties guidance supports employees to take on new and promoted remits on a temporary basis. This now needs to be reviewed to support and align with our programme of work and to more easily enable staff to take on development opportunities and contribute to projects and programmes. Business Partnership Manager/ Employment & Policy Manager A full review of our higher duties guidance has been completed, and was approved by Finance and Resources Committee in May 2025. This includes new guidance on salary placing to assist with the recruitment of difficult to fill posts. The guidance has been fully rolled out with additional support for managers. 2.4 Incorporate the SCQF (Scottish Qualifications & Credit Framework) qualifications into our job grading and recruitment processes to become an inclusive recruiter. Incorporation of the SCQF framework will allow the Council to become an inclusive recruiter, providing us with the ability to undertake qualifications equivalency and recognise relevant experience where people fail to meet the required qualification on the essential criteria. ESC Manager We continue to progress our journey to become an inclusive recruiter and it is thought that this work will take a number of years to complete as we work through key services areas where this approach will be advantageous in attracting a wider field of potential candidates. 2.5 Improve the speed and effectiveness of our recruitment processes. Work is required to improve the speed and effectiveness of our recruitment processes to ensure that we are not disadvantaged in the recruitment market. This includes more targeted and appropriate recruitment processes which reflect the nature of the jobs being advertised. Business Partnership Manager/ESC Manager/Employme nt & Policy Manager Work to implement an improved approach to recruitment across the Council has been further progressed with improvements in several areas including: • The completion of work to fully link iTrent recruitment to the MyJobScotland system to allow for automatic posting of jobs and remove double keying between two systems. 5 Last updated 19/10/25 Page 53 of 216
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• The development of three new application forms and candidate packs which better align to the types of post being advertised including a simplified form for entry level jobs. • An improved stand-alone recruitment policy, with supporting guidance and training for managers. • Improved shortlisting processes which better align to the newly revised application forms and accompanying processes. This work is expected to be completed in early 2026 with a paper brought to Finance and Resources for approval of the changes and the revised policy. 2.6 Maintain our engagement with Employability and Routes to Work to fill vacant and hard to fill roles at entry level. The Council continues to work successfully with Routes to Work to offer job seeking residents the opportunity to gain work in entry level roles within the Council. In a number of areas this has resulted in permanent roles being offered with onward promotion prospects. ESC Manager North Lanarkshire Council continues to strengthen its partnership with Routes to Work and the Working for Families Team. We have taken forward 2 cohorts of ringfenced recruitment in 2025. with the appointment of - 8 Catering Assistants - 4 Cleaners - 1 Facility Assistant - 4 Support Assistants in the Employee Service Centre - 2 Streetscene Operatives - Interviews taking place throughout October in Land & Waste for more opportunities. Additionally previous candidates have seen progression in promoted posts. 6 Last updated 19/10/25 Page 54 of 216
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Next Generation Council Workforce Actions Description Lead Officer RAG Status Comments 3.1 Continue with our Modern Apprentice programme to support service workforce plans. The Council has continued to extend and grow its modern apprenticeship programme particularly to support known and ongoing workforce gaps across our services. Talent & Leadership Development Manager/Business Partnership Manager The Council’s Modern Apprenticeship programme continues to grow with offerings for new pathways for young people. Following an extensive recruitment campaign, 56 MA’s were recruited in 2025, filling our full contract with just the summer recruitment. New MA programmes include a shared MA programme with NHS Lanarkshire and Health and Social Care MAs within our Home Support Teams. 3.2 Extend our annual work placements scheme for senior phase pupils and school leavers to align to workforce plans and gaps. Our 2023 summer placement scheme has been very successful with around 30 senior phase and school leaver pupils taking up a six-week placement across a range of services. In 2025 we have grown this to just under 200 placements participating in a seven week placement in both the Council and our external partners Talent & Leadership Development Manager/Business Partnership Manager/Brighter Futures Manager Our Summer Placement Programme continued to grow in 2025 with 191 young people successfully placed in a variety of disciplines both within the Council and our external partners. Notably all 191 placements completed the programme. As part of our drive to continuously improve and develop the programme, this year we introduced an employability award to complement the experience gained by the young people. Of the 191 students on the programme, 177 completed the award. Work is now underway to prepare for 2026 with a request to extend the delivery team to develop the programme into a fully sustainable model for the future. 7 Last updated 19/10/25 Page 55 of 216
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3.3 Explore the use of Foundation Apprenticeships for key areas of the Council workforce where there are known shortages and to build pathways direct from school. The Council does not currently offer Foundation Apprenticeships within our own services, and we will continue to work to identify relevant frameworks which can be linked to areas of known shortage. Talent & Leadership Development Manager/Brighter Futures Manager Work continues to explore how the Council could make use of existing foundation apprenticeships, and we will further explore how these can be adapted to join up with our summer placement scheme. 3.4 # New work for 2025/26. Develop a formal graduate intern programme for the Council to build a pipeline of future managers and leaders. Succession planning issues for middle and senior manager roles have been highlighted across a high number of service workforce plans, and work is planned for early 2026 to investigate the feasibility of a graduate intern programme which would attract recently graduates or those in their final year to undertake a paid work placement with the Council. Talent & Leadership Development Manager. Work on this initiative is underway and will be further developed in early 2026. Vibrant & Flexible Workplace Actions Description Lead Officer RAG Status Comments 4.1 Implement the Council’s final Hybrid Working Scheme. Implement and monitor the full implementation of our final Hybrid Working Scheme which impacts around 1300 previously office-based staff. Employment & Policy Manager Manager/Business Partnership Manager Our revised scheme is now fully agreed and in place. A full Hybrid Working Survey has been completed and the results are included in the One Workforce update report. 4.2 Develop our community- based workplace settings, promoting and tracking staff usage of our We will continue to support the further development of our community-based workplace offering aligned to our leadership and operating model and under our One Service programme of work. Business Partnership Manager/Operating Model delivery Manager Significant work continues to be undertaken to develop and improve our community based workplace spaces to better support our staff and align with our future operating model. A full outline of this is included 8 Last updated 19/10/25 Page 56 of 216
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community hubs as these develop and expand. within the Leadership & Operating Model progress update report which will be presented at Policy & Strategy in December 2025. Employee Engagement & Wellbeing Actions Description Lead Officer RAG Status Comments 5.1 Build from our current IIP staff engagement approach by developing a broader staff survey strategy which supports our programme of work and engages staff at all levels. The Council needs to establish a broader staff survey approach which allows us to engage staff at all levels in our programme of work and our future ambition and operating model. This will be taken forward linked to the One Service programme of work and aligned to the Councils wider commitments under fair work. Talent & Leadership Development Manager The full pilot of the new survey has now been completed, and a summary of the outcomes is set out within the December One Workforce update to Policy & Strategy Committee. Following the success of the pilot, a plan will be developed in early 2026 to support the wider roll out of the survey across the Council. 5.2 Continue with our current programme of work designed to provide staff with support for mental health & wellbeing and reduce levels of mental health related absence. Our levels of mental health related absence have materially reduced in recent years through targeted action and support; however, this area remains our most significant reason for absence overall. Good progress has been made on the development and implementation of our wider mental health strategy with service- based groups now established across all services. Occupational Safety & Wellbeing Manager/Employme nt & Policy Manager Council Mental Health groups continue to meet and develop ideas and strategies which assist with staff mental health and wellbeing in their service. Additionally, the Policy & Employment team are undertaking direct work to support services who have high rates of mental health absence including some of our larger frontline services. 5.3 Maintain and extend where appropriate our successful range of staff benefits and supports We continue to get good engagement with our staff benefits under our Workwell NL platform which includes staff discounts and a range of salary sacrifice schemes. Employee Service Centre Manager Our Green Car scheme continues to prove popular and in addition we will be reviewing our overall provision of benefits under our Workwell NL banner during 2026. In addition, 9 Last updated 19/10/25 Page 57 of 216
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through our Workwell NL offerings. we have added specific questions within our new survey that ask staff about what benefits they would see as most advantageous within our offering. Responses have already signalled several areas for us to incorporate in our review of benefits next year. 5.4 Undertake a joint review of our current trade union consultation and collective agreement arrangements. The scope of the review will include facility time, the constitution and operation of the JCC and other linked service based consultation arrangements. The work will be taken forward in partnership with Unison, GMB and Unite colleagues. Employment & Policy Manager Discussions have been fully progressed with full time branch officials and local representatives from Unison, Unite and GMB around the joint review of the council’s recognition agreement including arrangements for consultation and collective bargaining. We expect to conclude this work in early 2026 and will bring a paper to Finance and Resources to fully agree the revised arrangements. Equality & Inclusion Actions Description Lead Officer RAG Status Comments 6.1 To implement our integrated Equalities Delivery Plan which now includes all strands of our work under one plan. Our Equalities Delivery Plan and associated framework of measures will ensure the progression of all of our Equalities programmes including our commitments under the Race at Work Charter, Equally Safe at Work and Disability Confident Leader. Equalities Manager A full review and refresh of our Equalities Outcomes is now complete and was approved by Wellbeing and Tackling Poverty Committee in April 2025. A performance framework to support our new equalities outcomes has now been developed and shared with Programme of Work Boards to enable them to develop their revised equalities plans for 2026 and beyond. 10 Last updated 19/10/25 Page 58 of 216
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6.2 To continue to support the work of our Equalities Board. Our Equalities Board was established in early 2023 and has representation from all services across the Council. The work of the Board involves oversight of the plan, and more importantly, establishing and driving service level equalities plans in each of our services and the sharing best practice. Equalities Manager A full refresh of our Equalities Strategy was undertaken in the second half of 2025 under the guidance of the Equalities Board. The refreshed strategy also includes equalities information for North Lanarkshire drawn from the 2022 census data and was approved by Wellbeing and Tackling Poverty Committee on 10th October 2025. The Equalities Board will consider and drive the outcomes from the strategy both corporately and within services, with update provided through the Council’s Wellbeing & Tackling Poverty Committee. 6.3 To ensure going forward that our HR policies and relevant and inclusive and that they support our equalities outcomes. Our HR policies are critical to supporting our equalities plan and desired outcomes and will be kept under review to ensure that they are aligned. Where required new policies will be developed to support our delivery plan. Equalities Manager/ Employment & Policy Manager During 2025 we have launched two new equality & diversity policies which support the delivery of our equalities outcomes including our Sexual Harassment Policy, and our Disability Policy which were both approved by Finance and Resources Committee in May 2025. 11 Last updated 19/10/25 Page 59 of 216
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Power BI Desktop Workforce Dashboard 2025 Appendix 2 Page 60 of 216
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Power BI Desktop Permanent Temporary Supply Workforce FTE Workforce FTE Workforce Headcount Pay bill Change on Previous year Change on Previous year Change on Previous year Pay bill Pay bill Based solely on Contractual Payments Based solely on Contractual Payments Based on Casual Elements paid FTE 12-month trend 12.0K 11.5K FTE 12-month trend 1,600 1,400 FTE 12-month trend 2.2K 2.0K Core Workforce in year ending 31st March 2025 North Lanarkshire Council Workforce Dashboard 11.65K + 0.20K 1.44K 0.16K 2.01K 0.04K £456.09M +£39.78M £45.36M £8.94M £10.35M +£1.38M Page 61 of 216
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Power BI Desktop New Starts in last 12 months All values on this page relate to non-Teaching roles 1,000 500 0 New Starts by Type 1,086 Permanent Temporary Supply Top Ten Roles Early Learning & Childcare 239 Clerical/Admin 117 Cleaner 106 Catering 94 Casual - Sports Coaches 87 ASNA 81 Casual - Leisure Venues 80 Home Support 73 As some employees hold multiple contracts with more that one 'Type' bar chart total differs from count of People. Casual - Invigilator 58 Casual - Bar staff/Front of House 42 12-month trend 300 200 100 Enterprise & Communities Education & Families Adult Health & Social Care Chief Executive's Office New Starts by Service Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar 0 200 400 600 2024 2024 2024 2024 2024 2024 2024 2024 2024 2025 2025 2025 As some employees hold multiple contracts in more that one Service bar chart total differs from count of People. New Starts in year ending 31st March 2025 North Lanarkshire Council Workforce Dashboard 457 320 730 653 223 213 Role New Starts Page 62 of 216
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Power BI Desktop Sex Ethnicity Disability 545 (30.01%) 1271 (69.99%) Female Male Asian or Asian British Black or Black British Mixed %) Not Stated Other Ethnic Groups White 89 (4.9%) No Undisclosed Yes <18 18-25 Age at Joining Average age at joining 438 (23.29%) Part-time working 475 (25.25%) Full time Part time Supply 968 (51.46%) All values on this page relate to non-Teaching roles New Starts in year ending 31st March 2025 - Profile North Lanarkshire Council Workforce Dashboard 32 (1.76%) 384 (21.15%) 28 (1.54 1356 (74.67%) 1326 (73.02%) 401 (22.08%) 269 557 26-29 215 30-39 452 40-49 317 50-59 180 60+ 125 Page 63 of 216
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Power BI Desktop 4040 (24.34%) 12561 (75.66%) Sex Female Male 13224 (79.66%) Ethnicity 128 (0.77%) 2896 (17.44%) 297 (1.79%) Asian or Asian British Black or Black British Mixed Not Stated Other Ethnic Groups White 7028 (42.34%) 630 (3.8%) Disability 8941 (53.86%) No Undisclosed Yes Age Average Age at 31st March 1774 (10.25%) 7140 (41.27%) Part-time working 8387 (48.48%) Full Time Part Time Supply All values on this page relate to Teaching and non-Teaching roles Core Workforce at 31st March 2025 - Profile North Lanarkshire Council Workforce Dashboard 60 + 2523 50-59 4385 40-49 3806 30-39 3358 26-29 1214 18-25 1218 <18 97 Page 64 of 216
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Power BI Desktop £10.35M Workforce FTE Pay bill Change on Previous year FTE = total number of hours utilised during the year by Supply employees divided by 1825, the annual hours worked by a 35 hr per week contract Trend during Year £1.5M £1.0M £0.5M Change on Previous year Top Ten Roles Role FY Total Cost Supply Teacher - Secondary £2,527,477.57 Supply Teacher - Primary £2,218,757.45 Casual - Leisure Venues £1,656,282.09 Casual - Home Support £1,419,923.61 Casual - Sports Coaches £658,634.41 Supply Teacher - ASN £325,141.70 Casual - Catering £217,374.37 Supply - Social Worker £174,558.83 Casual - Creative /Arts £159,464.18 Casual - Bar staff/Front of House £150,468.63 Apr 2024 May 2024 Jun 2024 Jul 2024 Aug 2024 Sep 2024 Oct 2024 Nov 2024 Dec 2024 Jan 2025 Feb 2025 Mar 2025 All values on this page are based on Casual/Supply Elements paid to 'Supply' employees Supply Workers in year ending 31st March 2025 North Lanarkshire Council Workforce Dashboard Page 65 of 216
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Power BI Desktop Open Cases Resolved Cases Cases at end of quarter 10 (15.87%) 53 (84.13%) Disciplinary Grievance Collective Grievence Temporary Measures Cases at end of current quarter 12 (34.29%) 1 (2.86%) 22 (62.86%) Disciplinary Grievance Collective Grievance Time to Resolve - discipline Management Meeting Written Warning No action Final Written Warning Resigned Did not progress Dismissed Verbal warning Outcomes in current quarter 18% 12% 6% 2% 2% 2% Time to Resolve - grievance 26% 32% 1 (4.55%) 6 (27.27%) 1 (4.55%) 5 (22.73%) 5 (33.33%) 15 (68.18%) Suspensions Temporary move Alternative duties 16 (72.73%) 0 to 3 months 3 to 6 months 7 to 12 months 0 to 1 month 2 to 3 months 4 to 12 months Managing Workforce Transition – Case Management Quarter 1 2025 North Lanarkshire Council Workforce Dashboard 1 (6.67%) 9 (60%) Page 66 of 216
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Power BI Desktop 5 2 1 2 10 2 Status Active Redeployees Leavers Removed from Redeployment Successful Redeployees Redeployment 2021 - 2025 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Length of Time in Redeployment (Active Cases) 2021-2023 2024 2025 Band 0-6 months 12-18 months 18 month+ 6-12 months 3 (13.6 Existing Redeployment by Service 10 (45.45%) Service Education & Families Enterprise & Communities Not Recorded A&CC A&CC/E&F Chief Executive's Office Adult Health & Social Care Managing Workforce Transition – Redeployment North Lanarkshire Council Workforce Dashboard 4 2 3 2 NLC11 NLC7 CNL6 NLC2 NLC3 NLC5 4 1 1 NLC4 4 NLC12 4 2 NLC6 1 NLC6/NLL4 1 1 1 NLC9 TCH5 1 1 1 (4.55%) 1 (4.55%) 4%) 6 (27.27%) 25 24 7 11 5 7 5 7 12 5 Page 67 of 216
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Power BI Desktop No of Absences 13.16K 13.09K FTE Days Lost 103.91K 105.1K FTE Days Lost % 67% 68% Total FTE Days Lost 154.24K 154.83K 3.6K 3.52K 50.33K 49.73K 33% 32% 23/24 24/25 Long Term Short Term 23/24 24/25 Long Term Short Term 23/24 24/25 Long Term Short Term 23/24 24/25 Top 5 Reasons - Long term Top 5 Reasons - Short term Anxiety/Stress/Depre… Bone/Muscle/Joint Post Operative Abdominal & Gastric Respiratory Non Cold… 5K 6K 5K 5K 4K 4K 23/24 24/25 21K 21K 40K 42K Anxiety/Stress/Depre… Bone/Muscle/Joint Abdominal & Gastric Cold & Flu Coronavirus 4.6K 23/24 24/25 6.8K 7.2K 6.4K 6.9K 6.0K 10.3K 10.5K Employee Engagement & Wellbeing – Absence Rates North Lanarkshire Council Workforce Dashboard 5.1K 1.6K Page 68 of 216
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Power BI Desktop 25K Council 11.84 11.86 10.99 11.3K 12.0K FTE Days Lost All Absences 8.7K Single Status - All 12.92 13.28 12.49 Adult Health & Social Care 15.76 16.65 Chief Executives 7.47 7.57 Education & Families (Single Status) 13.13 12.76 4.7K 5.0K 1.3K 1.2K Education & Families (Teaching) 8.86 8.16 7.08 Enterprise & Communities 12.84 13.51 Education & Families Enterprise & Communities Adult Health & Social Care Chief Executive's Office 23/24 24/25 49K FTE Days Lost Long Term 28K FTE Days Lost Short Term 36K 21K 23K 4K 4K 12K 15K 7K 7K 2K 3K Education & Families Enterprise & Communities Adult Health & Social Care Chief Executive's Office Education & Families Enterprise & Communities Adult Health & Social Care Chief Executive's Office 23/24 24/25 23/24 24/25 Employee Engagement & Wellbeing – Absence Rates and Trends by Service North Lanarkshire Council Workforce Dashboard Service/Group FTE Days Lost FTE Days Lost Target Per E'ee - 23/24 Per E'ee - 24/25 7.1K 42K 30K Page 69 of 216
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Power BI Desktop 14.85% 15.34% 5.18% 4.83% 5.48% 3.91% 2.56% 4.86% 24.86% 19.13% 13.09% 2.36% 13.74% 13.74% 13.09% 26.59% 35.85% 9.58% 10.73% 3.31% 4.42% 1.86% 4.14% 3.51% No of Employees Sick >3 Months FTE Days Lost Sick >3 Months 132 130 101 120 55 56 4 5 1.7K 1.9K 1.6K 1.2K 0.7K 0.7K 0.1K 0.1K Education & Enterprise & Adult Health & Chief Executive's Education & Enterprise & Adult Health & Chief Executive's Families Communities Social Care Office Families Communities Social Care Office 23/24 24/25 23/24 24/25 AH&SC Top 5 >3 Month Chief Exec's Top 5 >3 Months Ed & Fam Top 5 >3 Months 23/24 24/25 23/24 24/25 23/24 24/25 Employee Engagement & Wellbeing – Ongoing Longterm Absences at 31st March North Lanarkshire Council Workforce Dashboard 23/24 24/25 21.68% 21.32% 13.35% 20.66% 14.06% 16.93% 5.79% 7.87% 2.84% 10.09% 3.49% 4.92% Page 70 of 216
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Power BI Desktop 72 All values on this page relate Recruitment in the period April to June 2025 Average days to Average days to recruit (Internal) recruit (External) Number by Adverts Average Days - Interview to Appointment Average Days - Offer Accepted to Appointed Appointment Type (%) Total adverts posted in quarter Total adverts - With applicants 45.73 24.72 Appointment Type External Internal Average Days Interview to Progress to Offer 11.03 Average Days Progress to Offer to Awaiting Offer Information 1.46 Average Days Awaiting Offer Information to Offer 2.92 82 Average Days Progress to offer to Offer Accepted 11.43 Average Days Offer Accepted to Appointed 24.72 Progress to offer to offer accepted Days External candidates - average days from progress to offer to offer accepted 10.53 Internal candidates - average days from progress to offer to offer accepted 15.94 Pathways for Progression – Recruitment Process Quarter 1 2025 North Lanarkshire Council Workforce Dashboard Offers Days 34.92% 65.08% 391 436 Page 71 of 216
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Power BI Desktop Leavers in last 12 months 1105 Average age at leaving 15. Leavers by Reason 33.67% Group Resignation End of Contract Retiral Voluntary Redundancy Involuntary Termination Death in Service Top 10 roles 337 180 Service Length at Leaving Permanent Temporary Supply As some employees hold multiple contracts with more that one 'Type' bar chart total differs from count of People. 12-month trend 400 780 (48.72%) 269 (16.8%) 136 (8.4…) LOS less than 6 months 6 to 12 months One to five years More than 5 years Exit Interview Complete (Resignation Only) 200 335 200 0 Apr 2024 May 2024 Jun 2024 Jul 2024 Aug 2024 Sep 2024 Oct 2024 Nov 2024 Dec 2024 Jan 2025 Feb 2025 Mar 2025 416 (25.98%) No Yes Pathways for Progression – Leavers in year ending 31st March North Lanarkshire Council Workforce Dashboard 1,593 8.34% 1.25% 55% 19% 22.19% All values on this page relate to non-Teaching roles Role Leavers Early Learning & Childcare 276 Home Support 119 Clerical/Admin 107 ASNA 93 Cleaner 71 Catering 60 Casual - Leisure Venues 58 Casual - Sports Coaches 48 Casual - Invigilator 38 Casual - Bar staff/Front of House 6 Page 72 of 216
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Policy and Strategy Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref SL/TMcB/BL Date 04/12/25 Digital Connectivity Masterplan for Council Housing Tenants Update From Stephen Llewellyn, Chief Officer (Housing) E-mail Llewellyns@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939280680 Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to update on the long-term integrated plan to provide digital connectivity for council housing tenants, thereby creating the foundations for transformational change though facilitating the introduction of enabling technologies and solutions across multiple aspects of modern life. The report outlines the wide-ranging benefits of enabling digital connectivity for council housing tenants providing endless possibilities to radically transform the way in which the council delivers supports and services, empowering tenants with increased choice and control over their interactions with services, enabling faster access to services and improving customer experience. The report seeks approval for a tender exercise to procure for a supplier on the provision of customer broadband for all council housing tenants. Approval is also sought in this report on providing a test of change initiative to inform a digital connectivity masterplan for all council housing tenants as part of a 5–7-year implementation plan, reduced from an estimated project lifespan of 10-15 years. The test of change initiative through the provision of digitally enabled homes is intended to overcome exclusion by addressing the barriers to opportunity, access, knowledge and skills for using technology and reducing inequalities. The Digital Connectivity Masterplan aligns with vision of The Plan on improving lives in North Lanarkshire. Recommendations It is recommended that the Policy and Strategy Committee: (1) Approve the tender exercise for the provision of broadband for all council housing tenants. (2) Approve the proposed test of change on digital connectivity, which will deliver digitally enabled homes across North Lanarkshire, aiming to transform lives by improving safety, wellbeing, and independence through smart technology. As part of this initiative, nearly 400 of the 2000 selected properties will form a focused pilot for tech-enabled homes. These pilot sites will be equipped with smart home Item 4 Page 73 of 216
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1. Background 1.1 Digital North Lanarkshire is one of the seven priorities within the Programme of Work for 2023 to 2028. The vision for Digital North Lanarkshire is to improve the lives of people and communities of North Lanarkshire with investment targeted in digital and technological solutions, which aims to help realise inclusive growth and prosperity for all, aligned with the council’s ambition set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire. 1.2 Committee will be aware of the Digital and IT Strategy for 2024 to 2027 that was approved by the Policy and Strategy Committee in March 2024, providing the strategic direction to deliver a Digital North Lanarkshire recognising that technology achieves a multitude of far-reaching benefits for the people and communities of North Lanarkshire. 1.3 Committee will also recall that in March 2025, the Policy and Strategy Committee approved the exploration of a test of change feasibility on digital connectivity for council housing tenants, recognising the potential for transformational change and benefits realisation, which would be subject to a future committee report. 1.4 The aims of digital connectivity to tenants are to address digital poverty of low-income households by providing a full internet service which is affordable, superfast, secure, and reliable providing exceptional quality connectivity to all council tenants. Specifically, providing: • All council housing tenants benefit from high-speed premium internet access at 1 Gigabit per second, surpassing the UK Government’s connectivity target. • A service which can support the connectivity needs for the next 20+ years. • Option to replace landline. • A guaranteed price. • A secure service with ability to control content filtering. • Easy-to-use in property connectivity with the council systems and devices, enabling complete integration with service delivery and backend processes. • Support for a seamless service between pupils learning at home and in the classroom. • The infrastructure to support rapid deployment of the IoT (Internet of Things) and smart solutions e.g., telemedicine and healthcare. 2. Report Benefits of Digital Connectivity technologies tailored to tenant needs, enabling early evaluation of digital solutions in real-world settings. The pilot will generate valuable insights into how digital tools can support tenants and inform future scaling across the wider housing stock. Outcomes and learning from the pilot will be reported to a future committee. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement All ambition statements Programme of Work All Programmes of Work Page 74 of 216
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2.1 The Scottish Household Survey (SHS)1 estimates that 10% of households in North Lanarkshire do not have internet access and furthermore, 15% of social rented tenants are the least likely across all tenures.2 The survey shows that there is a correlation between digital exclusion and areas of deprivation, with households in the most deprived areas experiencing a greater rate of digital exclusion than those in less deprived areas. Housing Benefits 2.2 Smart housing technologies improve safety with real-time alerts from locks and alarms, boost energy efficiency through sensors and thermostats, and prevent costly repairs by detecting damp or mould early. Automated systems streamline security operations, while IoT analytics support better housing decisions. Digital access also enables tenants to manage benefits online, reducing barriers to essential services. • Improved Safety & Security: Smart locks and alarms provide real-time alerts and monitoring. • Energy Efficiency: Smart sensors and thermostats reduce energy consumption, lower bills, and tackle fuel poverty. • Proactive Maintenance: Early detection of damp/mould prevents costly repairs and improves tenant health. • Operational Efficiency: Automated control of sprinklers, CCTV, and security doors. • Enhanced Data Management: IoT and analytics enable better decision-making on housing conditions. • Digital Access for Benefits: Ensures tenants can apply for Universal Credit and housing costs online. Education & Employability Benefits 2.3 Access to online platforms supports continuous learning and workforce development, while remote learning and flexible work opportunities remove geographic barriers. Collaboration tools enhance student–teacher interaction, and online courses help improve employability. Additionally, digital platforms guide school leavers toward positive destinations, ensuring better educational and career outcomes. • Access to Learning Resources: Online platforms support continuous learning and workforce development. • Remote Learning & Work: Flexible education and job opportunities beyond geographic limits. • Collaboration Tools: Enhance student-teacher interaction. • Skills Development: Online courses improve employability. • Support for School Leavers: Digital platforms guide positive destinations. Health & Social Care Benefits 2.4 Telemedicine enables remote consultations, improving access to healthcare, while wearable devices support self-management of long-term conditions. Enhanced information sharing fosters better collaboration among healthcare providers, and assistive technologies promote greater independence and safety at home. Additionally, 1 The Scottish Household Survey (SHS) internet tables, local authority level, 2023. 2 Based on the percentage of households across Scotland – data not available at North Lanarkshire level by tenure. Page 75 of 216
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broadband-enabled community alarm services deliver urgent response and resilience for vulnerable residents. • Telemedicine: Remote consultations improve access to healthcare. • Health Monitoring: Wearables support self-management of long-term conditions. • Information Sharing: Better collaboration among healthcare providers. • Assistive Technologies: Greater independence and safety at home. • Community Alarm Service: Broadband-enabled alarms provide urgent response and resilience. Social Inclusion Benefits 2.5 Community connectivity through social media helps reduce isolation and foster relationships, while improved digital access makes it easier for tenants to use essential services such as banking, public services, and social support. • Community Connectivity: Social media reduces isolation and builds relationships. • Access to Services: Easier access to banking, public services, and social support. Efficiency & Cost Savings Benefits 2.6 Smart housing solutions deliver significant benefits by reducing mould and damp issues, lowering the number of void properties, and cutting insurance premiums. Smart care technologies help prevent hospital admissions, reduce care costs, and improve medication compliance. Meanwhile, smart place initiatives enhance infrastructure management, strengthen flood prevention measures, and improve air quality. • Smart Housing: Reduced mould/damp issues, fewer voids, lower insurance premiums. • Smart Care: Fewer hospital admissions, reduced care costs, improved medication compliance. • Smart Places: Better infrastructure management, improved flood prevention, and air quality. 2.7 Given more services are being delivered online, which is increasingly becoming the preferred method of contact - digitally excluded people are in danger of being left behind. It is in this context that the council will provide for digital connectivity to all our tenants and continue to understand the needs of those experiencing digital exclusion. 2.8 Enabling digital connectivity for council housing tenants to thrive in a digital world, empowers tenants through increased choice and control in the way they interact with the council, provides faster access to services and improves customer experience, while providing potential opportunities to radically transform, for the better, the way in which the council delivers supports and services. 2.9 As previously reported to Policy and Strategy Committee in March 2025, the potential benefits of digitally enabled homes are limitless in addressing digital poverty and wider deep-rooted inequalities in our communities to overcome digital exclusion. Progress to date: 2.10 Expertise has been provided by secondees from the Glasgow City Region to support the evidence base for council housing needs. A comprehensive review of broadband Page 76 of 216
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and Internet of Things (IoT) initiatives across UK local authorities has been completed. These initiatives have been compiled into a list of potential user cases for North Lanarkshire Council (NLC), which were then assessed by various service areas, including Social Care and Housing. 2.11 The assessment focused on identifying both the benefits and disbenefits that each initiative could bring to NLC. This process led to the development of a league table ranking the use cases most suitable for adoption, either ahead of or alongside the Council’s implementation of Social Broadband. Legal Services have also reviewed the legal implications of digital connectivity, particularly in relation to tenancy agreements, data protection under GDPR, and data control responsibilities. Timescales 2.12 Importantly, the implementation timescale for the digital connectivity project has been significantly reduced from an initial estimate of 10 to 15 years down to a more ambitious 5-to-7-year plan. Next Steps 2.13 To support the next phase of delivery, a new team will be stood up, comprising key roles across implementation, governance, and engagement. This team will ensure coordinated action and strategic alignment throughout the project lifecycle. Test of Change 2.14 The selected test of change sites represents a deliberately diverse cross-section of housing types across North Lanarkshire. Nearly 2000 properties have been chosen to reflect the full spectrum of housing contexts, including a high-rise tower block, which present unique challenges in terms of infrastructure, safety, and community engagement; temporary accommodation units, offering insights into transient housing needs and support mechanisms; retirement complexes, where considerations around accessibility, health monitoring, and wellbeing are paramount; and new build developments, providing opportunities to explore integration of modern technologies from the outset. Homes located within the most deprived areas have also been included to ensure the initiative addresses inequalities and supports those who may benefit most from innovation. Additionally, a rural village will be selected to explore the distinct connectivity challenges and opportunities faced by more remote communities, ensuring that digital inclusion efforts extend beyond urban centres and reflect the needs of all residents across the council area. 2.15 This diverse selection is designed to test the adaptability and impact of proposed changes across varied living environments, helping to identify best practices, barriers, and opportunities for scaling across the wider housing portfolio. 2.16 To enhance the impact and learning from the test of change initiative, nearly 400 of the 2000 selected properties will form the pilot for tech-enabled homes. These pilot sites will be equipped with smart home technologies tailored to tenant needs, allowing for early evaluation of digital solutions in real-world settings. Table 1 lists the proposed pilot sites. Table 1 Page 77 of 216
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2.17 Success at the test of change sites can be measured through a combination of quantitative metrics, qualitative feedback, and impact assessments aligned with the goals of the initiative. 2.18 It is proposed that the delivery of superfast premium 1 Gigabit broadband solution to 34,880 council housing tenants is undertaken through an open invitation to tender to identify a suitable supplier, with a report provided to a future committee on the outcome of the successful tenderer. Governance 2.19 A Project Board has been established, which meets on an 8-weekly basis with representation from a range of services to oversee the development of ultra-fast broadband to council housing tenants; and to carry out a test of change initiative involving a smart home technology model tailored to the needs of tenants. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Success will be measured through the implementation and completion of a test of change to aid an understanding of the benefits, costs, and wider factors. 4. Supporting documentation No supporting documentation. Stephen Llewellyn Chief Officer (Housing) Name Area Type No. Units Milton Court Airdrie Tower Block 93 Greenlaw House Wishaw Temporary Accommodation 10 Kerr Grieve Court Motherwell Retirement Complex 30 School Street Coatbridge New Build 20 Tarbolton Road Cumbernauld Temporary Accommodation 8 Calder Court Motherwell New Build 30 Southfield Cresent Coatbridge Mainstream 127 Flaxmill to Alderside Craigneuk, Wishaw Mainstream 60 Total Units 378 Page 78 of 216
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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? There are potential significant impacts across several protected characteristic areas, some of which are compounded due to the intersectional nature of some protected characteristics/inequalities experienced. It is considered that these impacts are largely positive should the proposals be approved. A full EqIA is underway and will continue to be developed and updated as required. 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 ☐ Financial Solutions is a key member of the Project Board tasked with developing the detailed Business Case and costings. 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? Legal Services is a key member of the Project Board tasked with developing the detailed Business Case. 5.5 Data protection impact Page 79 of 216
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Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? This will be considered by the Project Board. 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? Business and Digital is a key member of the project Board tasked with the provision of digital connectivity for council housing tenants with the potential for long-term digital transformation and service redesign. 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)? This will be considered by the Project Board. 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? There is the potential for carbon reduction through easier access to services. 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? Risks exist in relation to the failure to improve digital connectivity for social housing tenants, alongside risks in relation to investment/disinvestment in some areas given there are potential financial resource requirements. Risks are fully considered by the Project Board and recorded appropriately. 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Page 80 of 216
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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). An initial CRWIA has been completed which identified a positive impact for children, young people and families, through improved access to online learning, educational opportunities, improved education attainment, socialisation and future employability prospects. If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☒ No ☐ Page 81 of 216
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Policy and Strategy Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref CC/ST Date 04/12/25 Leadership & Operating Model – phase 2 progress update From Carolynne Coole, Interim Chief Officer (Strategy and Engagement) E-mail CooleMillerC@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07583 036009 Executive Summary As outlined in the leadership and operating model report presented to committee on 5th June 2025, the Council continues to advance its transition over three phases within the next 10-15 years towards a fully integrated town and community hub operating model. This report builds on the previous positive update, against the acceleration of phase 2. It sets out further progress made to strengthen the delivery of more integrated support and services from the community hubs, and how Council services continue to redesign their service delivery models. The report also provides data in the supporting appendices to illustrate development against several of the short-medium term measures of success. The report further describes investment made within the existing estate in support of a One Service approach as part of our transition. This includes creating more vibrant, modern and well-equipped workplaces for staff responding to service redesign needs. The report illustrates dependencies across The Plan for North Lanarkshire programme of work in support of the transition, such as hub strategy and development, corporate asset management and approved rationalisation, digital transformation and strategic workforce planning by Council services. The report seeks approval on plans and direction set out. Recommendations It is recommended that Policy and Strategy Committee: (1) Acknowledge progress made since the last update to Committee on 5th June 2025 recognising the role of the approved Community Hub Coordinator roles in advancing plans at pace. (2) Promote the community hubs and their offering with local communities recognising the impact against The Plan for North Lanarkshire and in support of the local outcome improvement plans (LOIPs). (3) Acknowledge the investment being made in the existing estate to embed a One Service delivery approach as part of the operating model transition. (4) Approve the direction set out with a further report to be presented to Committee in June 2026. Item 5 Page 83 of 216
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1. Background 1.1 This report is an update on the Leadership and Operating Model and asset rationalisation delivery plan discussed at Policy and Strategy Committee on 5th June 2025. 1.2 Members will recall from the June meeting the positive progress made to accelerate phase 2 of the Leadership and Operating Model programme (Appendix 1) supported by introducing the role of the approved Community Hub Coordinators. 1.3 Phase 2 continues to focus on forming a more integrated place-based service delivery model. This is underpinned by ongoing service redesign (as described in the One Workforce report also presented to Committee today) with the community hubs acting as a gateway for support and services, as well as a place for community-based staff to work from locally. There continues to be a focus on early intervention, preventative support and targeted activities being delivered based on local needs. The hub offerings and modern well-equipped spaces available for community use also support delivery of the local outcome improvement plans (LOIPs) as well as improved outcomes in line with The Plan for North Lanarkshire. 1.4 As approved by Committee on the 5th of June 2025 meeting, the direction in this phase continues to advance the transition with further evidence of progress and impact outlined in the report below and the supporting appendices. 2. Report 2.1 This report provides an update on the priorities within the leadership and operating model delivery plan approved at Committee on 5th June 2025. It aims to clearly outline the breadth of transition activity underway, with supporting appendices. 2.2 The report focuses on two main areas: 2.2.1 Progress within phase 2 since June 2025 including: • Establishing the hub coordinator role and enhancing a data-led approach • Council and strategic partner organisations operating from hubs • Community-led approaches and third sector presence • Developing an impact framework and supporting case studies that will mature as the Council’s work on social value progresses • Investing in existing assets to support the One Service approach 2.2.2 Forward plan of next steps and the risks and mitigating action for this phase Progress within phase 2 since June 2025 The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement All ambition statements Programme of Work One Service Page 84 of 216
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Establishing the hub coordinator role and enhancing a data led approach 2.3 Members will recall from the last report the work being undertaken by the Community Hub coordinators to implement new systems and processes to better understand hub footfall, user profile and range of activity, booking frequency and space utilisation. Footfall at each hub has been captured between April and September 2025 and is shown in table 1.0 below. The data for Chryston community hub includes total attendance figures recorded at outpatient clinics and the treatment room. Across the three hubs there are between 16-25 services and organisations accessing space and working together on plans. These include statutory services, commissioned partners, third sector organisations, community groups and clubs. Table 1.0 Community Hub footfall April to September 2025 2.4 A detailed analysis relative to community hub activity themes, numbers of bookings made, and space utilisation is provided in Appendix 2. Overall, the analysis recognises an increase in the range of community support being delivered, the growing partnership approach to delivery, and an increasing demand for use of hub spaces. It is evident from the analysis that we have prioritised attention in this phase to: • enabling our approach to whole family support which includes a focus on prevention and early intervention • increasing Council service delivery and co-location with public sector partners and the third sector • developing an offer of health prevention and self-management programmes to help people live as independently as possible and improve their overall health and wellbeing • providing targeted programmes with local community organisations in support of LOIPs and community action plans 2.5 Furthermore, this analysis provides a measure against the strategic hub objectives and the approved hub guiding principles (illustrated previously in the June 2025 report) as we work towards realising our investment for the longer term. 2.6 Hub delivery boards have now been fully established with a developed plan for 2025/26 and Q2/3 activity illustrated throughout this report. Stakeholder maps have been developed to help tailor the approach, build support and align effort and expectations 49.899 59.458 51.722 11.927 17.724 17.387 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Newmains & St Brigid's Riverbank Chryston Thousands Community Hub Footfall April to Sept 2025' Incl. education Excl. education Page 85 of 216
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for improved outcomes. Attention continues to be given to building the presence of the hubs through various mechanisms and hub newsletters are issued monthly, see Appendix 3. Newsletter analytics are measured monthly to measure the impact of the newsletter as a communication method. Table 2.0 below highlights the Chryston newsletter analytics with positive trends towards % completion and number of views and reads. Table 2.0 Chryston Community Hub newsletter analytics May to September 2025 Month Views Average minutes spent reading Average completion % Number glanced Number read quickly Number read in- depth May 293 <1min 45% 150 40 102 June 292 <1min 45% 153 43 107 July 203 2 mins 45% 110 29 64 Aug 781 1min 47% 373 196 217 Sept 1016 1min 53% 423 229 364 Council and strategic partner organisations providing a core offer 2.7 The hub delivery boards are driving greater understanding of the hubs, strengthening partnership working and amplifying the opportunity that community hubs provide to increase reach and offer support in the heart of communities. An update on Council and wider current and planned delivery from hubs is set out from section 2.8 through 2.30 below and illustrated in the timetable presented in Appendix 4. Whole Family Support 2.8 Further to the report presented on 5th June to this committee, the commissioned early help family support service ‘Families Here and Now’ (FHANS) continues to be a driver for integrated place-based family support at the earliest point of intervention. FHANS delivery can be observed in every community hub, with a different offer depending on individual community need. Additionally in line with the operating model transition plan, as new hubs are in design and development, FHANS have extended reach across North Lanarkshire by leveraging use of other assets such as Motherwell library or the Isa Money Centre. 2.9 The service is consistently well used across North Lanarkshire, with 133 whole family referrals received in the last quarter, and 40 individual meetings taking place across community hubs. Integral in the GIRFEC staged intervention pathway, with the highest number of referrals received from Education, followed by social work and then health. The impact of this can be seen in case studies, and the report that was presented to Education and Families Committee in October 2025. 2.10 With the community hubs providing a vehicle for FHANS to engage with local people in places they often go, central to the areas in which they live – the service continues to use learning to inform delivery and refine the operating model. They continue to hold regular drop-in sessions which are intentionally set on a Friday afternoon with whole family activity sessions. Based on learning, the Art Wise project has moved from solely Page 86 of 216
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large group-based support to a combination of individual, whole family group dynamic work and wider group sessions in line with demand and need. 2.11 After a full year of operation, demand continues to align with the themes identified in the early consultation with families. This being emotional support, school attendance and practical support. This reinforces the need to prioritise a flexible, early, responsive, whole family support service within phase 2 as we transition to a new operating model. A volunteer coordinator has been recruited and will further develop the relationship with Routes to Work and the Council’s tackling poverty team, pursuing opportunities for co- location. Community Learning and Development 2.12 In addition to what was outlined in the 5th of June report to Committee, CLD has regular weekly bookings across the hubs for the delivery of Youth Work activity and Family Learning interventions. During September and October family learning groups launched at Newmains & St Brigid’s and Riverbank, and a new Therapeutic Thursday weekly session commenced at Newmains & St Brigid’s Community Hub focused on building practical life skills for young women. 2.13 CLD activity at Orbiston hub is in planning for implementation in January, with core activity having moved over from the Joe McKay centre at the end of November. A timetable to maximise usage and occupancy of dedicated space is being prepared currently by the Community Hub Coordinator. Housing support 2.14 Housing locality team from Wishaw/Shotts continue to use the Newmains and St Brigid’s Hub to facilitate weekly void meetings between Housing Services, Property Services and Mears. Following the approval at Committee on 13th March 2025 to introduce the new locality housing model, Chryston Community Hub is being used bi- weekly for pre-arranged appointments as well as other facilities including libraries. Early feedback from tenant’s is that the hub offers a stigma free and inclusive environment where they can attend for support when needed. 2.15 The tenant participation team continue to use the hub shared workspaces when working in the local community and the Annual Tenant’s conference for 2025 was held at Chryston community hub in November, having been the third community hub to host the conference. Tackling Poverty 2.16 The Tackling Poverty Team is using the hubs with pre-arranged appointments on Monday (Newmains), Wednesday (Riverbank) and Chryston (Friday). Since 29th April there has been 70 appointments attended which have been a combination of benefit checks, help in relation to the migration of legacy benefits to Universal Credit, Council tax reduction and applying for various disability benefits. A range of service users with diverse needs have been supported who have found a face-to-face visit beneficial and the wait time for an appointment is less than a week at present. 2.17 The team continue to work with partners and other Council services in the community hubs providing access for people to a range of holistic services such as the Families Here and Now Service, Routes to Work and Sum it Up Project (Multiply Project). Page 87 of 216
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2.18 Riverbank has been the busiest hub to date with 34 appointments carried out, Newmains 20 and Chryston 16. The team are currently planning operate from Orbiston community hub. University Health & Social Care partnership (UH&SCP) / Adult Social Work 2.19 There is a continued focus on increasing health promotion and early intervention support from the community hubs. This is reflected in the community hub timetable presented in Appendix 4 and the case studies in the impact frameworks in Appendix 5. Members will note that the developing offering supports several of the main screening areas set out in the most recent public health report as well as targeted activity in support of the local outcome improvement priorities around mental health and wellbeing and the tackling poverty action plan such as smoking cessation. Partnership working continues to strengthen at Chryston community hub with greater connections with GP practice link workers, connected data gathering underway, and enhanced information sharing to signpost and improve pathways to support. 2.20 The NL Disability Forum commissioned by the UH&SCP and fundamental to our community planning provide support to promote good mental, physical and emotional wellbeing. Along with the Community Connectors they have a weekly presence in each hub. 2.21 The Making Life Easier (MLE) and disability information teams have recently increased their resource capacity and are now planning to trial the delivery of blue badge assessments and MLE clinics promoting the online support available and offering assisted self-service support in the local community. 2.22 Chryston community hub hosted a breast screening bus from September through to November for people aged 50 to 70 years. During the first three weeks, 509 screening appointments were conducted. Extending the screening to other hubs is being considered presently. 2.23 The Human Learning Systems (HLS) approach is progressing within the operating model transition. It ensures that our focus for community hubs is one that’s adaptive, with a person-centred approach – as opposed to being a rigid and target driven one. Combined with our commitment to being a trauma informed organisation HLS will enhance our public service delivery model across North Lanarkshire. 2.24 Our HLS in community hubs framework has 4-key pillars of community hubs, humanity, learning and systems thinking. Designed to improve our approach and responsiveness, integrating HLS within the operating model delivery plan fosters empowerment, collaboration, and aims to deliver sustainable outcomes against the plan for NL and LOIP’s to deliver for communities. Active and Creative Communities 2.25 ActiveNL now has an established provision of physical activity classes at Newmains and St Brigid’s and Riverbank community hubs of yoga, Zumba and body attack. Opportunity to respond to the waiting list at Ian Nicholson centre, as well as demand from parents and families from the school, is being explored at Chryston community hub subject to instructor availability. 2.26 The corporate booking system approved at Communities Committee on 4th February 2024 has been implemented within the leisure estate as phase 1. We are now in phase Page 88 of 216
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2 delivery which extends the functionality of the system (Gladstone MRM Plus2) across community facilities and the corporate office estate. The project team has built and is trialling the booking system as part of a proof of concept within the Coatbridge area. 2.27 Subsequently a review will be completed to determine suitability to scale across all hubs and other community operations and corporate bookable assets during 2026. The introduction of a common system will improve the customer experience and enhance analytics, business intelligence, and reporting to make better decisions through phase 2 and into phase 3 of the operating model transition. Employability support 2.28 Council funded employability services are now embedded and represented in all community hubs through the ALEO Routes to Work Ltd, offering employability information sessions and booked appointments to residents. These complement the existing network of sessions run by the organisation in community facilities across North Lanarkshire. The sessions continue to offer support to the target groups for employability that are economically inactive, unemployed, or underemployed with a particular focus on low-income parents. 2.29 Integration and alignment with other services present in the hubs such as family support, tackling poverty and CLD have been reinforced and supported by the presence of these services with employability. A sustained presence in community hubs and integration with other services continues to be the aim for the next 12 months. Community led approaches and increasing third sector presence 2.30 The approved community-led approach within phase 2 is key to foster community engagement, create more collaborative relationships and strengthen local connections with the hubs – further reinforced by the approved hub guiding principles. The community hub coordinators play a key role in building and establishing relationships across communities supported by the community partnership team and tenant participation team. Sections 2.31 to 2.50 below highlight work in this area. Intergenerational project between Newmains Family Learning Centre, Neighbourhood Networks, and Getting Better Together 2.31 The Newmains & St Brigid’s community hub continues to evolve as a vibrant space for community-led initiatives, with a growing presence of third sector partners driving inclusive and place-based approaches to wellbeing. A standout example is the intergenerational programme delivered throughout July by Getting Better Together, in collaboration with Newmains Family Learning Centre and Neighbourhood Networks. This initiative brought together young children and adults with additional needs through shared activities such as African drumming, mindful crafts, and sensory food experiences. By fostering connection across generations and social groups, the programme has strengthened community ties and showcased the hub’s role as a catalyst for meaningful collaboration and local impact. 2.32 Testimonial - “The hub space was perfect for our intergenerational sessions. There was plenty of space and plenty of tables and seats. The space was great for the variety of activities we had planned as some weeks we done a lot of moving around as part of the activities. Other weeks we done some cooking which there was a kitchen prep area right there where we needed it.” – Aleks, project lead from Getting Better Together Summer Walking Football Festival Page 89 of 216
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2.33 Newmains & St Brigid’s community hub hosted a summer walking football tournament led by six local teams, raising £610 for Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland (CHSS). The event brought together Motherwell FC Community Trust, Stenhousemuir, North Lanarkshire Council, Shotts BA, and WEBATA, who emerged as tournament champions. CHSS staff were on site offering free health checks and advice, reinforcing the hub’s role in promoting active lifestyles and health awareness through community sport. 2.34 Testimonial - “It was a fantastic night of football and fundraising... I had about seven good chats with players around heart health, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, diet, and sticking with prescribed meds... Around 30 health guides were picked up, and I handed out three Adviceline cards for free nurse support.” – Kevin, CHSS Maximising use of the community hub drama space 2.35 On Sunday 12th October, the Newmains & St Brigid’s community hub hosted two packed performances of Artie’s Singing Kettle Halloween Special, coordinated by community theatre group Spotlight Shotts. With 147 attendees across both showings, the event demonstrated the impact of locally driven arts initiatives. By bringing live theatre directly to Newmains, the project aimed to reduce transport barriers for local families and supported local outcome improvement priorities (LOIP) around accessibility. See image 1.0 below. Image 1.0 Artie’s Singing Kettle performance at Newmains & St Brigid’s hub 2.36 The hub’s inclusive facilities—including wheelchair access via lift and a Changing Places toilet—enabled families with additional needs to attend comfortably, with one family attending both performances. The event fostered joy, connection, and positive mental wellbeing, and highlighted the hub’s potential as a vibrant venue for arts, theatre, and cinema. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, reinforcing the value of place-based creative engagement and a demand for more local opportunities in the arts. Strengthening partnership with Newmains Community Trust 2.37 Looking ahead, the Newmains & St Brigid’s community hub continues to support and grow community-led initiatives in partnership with Newmains Community Trust. Planning is underway for a community bike loan scheme, designed to integrate with the local active travel infrastructure and path network—placing sustainable transport options at the heart of Newmains. Collaborative efforts are also progressing to link Page 90 of 216
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education with community groups through projects such as gardening and food growing, fostering intergenerational learning and environmental awareness. These developments remain a work in progress, guided by the hub delivery board, which plays a vital role in enabling grassroots ideas to flourish. One such idea currently being explored is a community Christmas movie night, bringing together key services to deliver a festive, inclusive event for local families. ASNding Stars North Lanarkshire 2.38 ASNding Stars North Lanarkshire is a sensory-aware class designed especially for neurodivergent children and those with additional support needs. Classes are inspired by football but they’re not traditional football classes. Instead, children engage in movement, play and social interaction in a safe, pressure-free environment that’s built around their pace and preferences. 2.39 Sessions currently take place on Saturday mornings in the Gym Hall at Riverbank Community Hub; there are three sessions, targeting children between the ages of 2- 12 years old, each week. c.80 families have been welcomed since starting in April 2025 with 28 families consistently signed up since the summer. 2.40 Testimonial – “Riverbank Community Hub, for us, has been fantastic as the space allows us to have our equipment spaced out to ensure it is not overwhelming for the families and children that come to our classes. The main aspects for us are about safety, especially for children with additional needs who might have the urge to elope if they find an exit. To know our families are in a safe environment and a very accessible space for changing, lift access etc is beneficial. Our families find it accessible and have commented on how great a space it is, some didn’t realise the hub existed for classes etc”. 2.41 “One of our families that has been with us from the launch in April had been finding it difficult to find classes that were suitable for their son and came along to see what our classes were about. When we mentioned it is mostly free play and child led with no pressure for their son to take part in any of the structured activities, they were happy in the fact that they had found a class that would be a right fit. It has taken their son a few months to become accustomed to the equipment, taking it at his own pace and it is a real joy to see him becoming increasingly comfortable in himself but also with others in the class. His father has noticed a big change in how he approaches the classes from staying close to the door at the beginning to now getting involved in activities such as the parachute games”. Riverbank Community Hub showcase and networking event 2.42 On Friday 26th September, Riverbank Community Hub opened its doors to the local community to promote the support services available from the hub on a weekly and bi- weekly basis as well as programmes and projects that can be accessed at the hub. In total there were 27 representatives from 17 services providing information and activity for residents to come along and access. There was information on Carer Support, Health & Wellbeing, Financial Support, Whole Family Support, Employability & Training, Arts & Crafts, Youth Work activities, as well as ActiveNL taster sessions for Zumba, Yoga and Pickleball – see image 2.0 below. Image 2.0 Service information stall and pickleball taster Page 91 of 216
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2.43 Testimonial – Ruth Matthews, Team Leader at the North Lanarkshire Disability Forum, said, “I enjoyed talking to the other attendees and made links with some other services that had not heard of us, so it was worth it. The members of the public that came in were keen to hear more as well so I am sure the word will spread about what you are offering.” 2.44 Testimonial - Gosia Lipaj of Get Walking Lanarkshire added; “Thank you for organising and finding a last-minute space for me. It was a great event for networking; I'm looking forward to any future events you may host.” Child Bereavement UK 2.45 Child Bereavement UK embarked on an outreach programme in response to feedback from the Scottish Bereavement Network’s findings that there were less bereavement services in Lanarkshire and other areas. Whilst there is a family service based in Glasgow accessible online or by telephone, people were asking for a face-to-face outreach service more locally. With a clear demand in North Lanarkshire, a bereavement practitioner started working from Riverbank Community Hub in August 2025. 2.46 The practitioner runs sessions that help young people understand and normalise grief and look at strategies for helping cope with emotional regulation. They also help young people to build continuing bonds with the important person that has died and support them through whatever the grief is bringing up for them. These sessions with children and young people tend to consist of reading books, watching relevant videos and creative age-appropriate activities. All support is child or person centred, and the service is also now promoting support for adults who have lost a child of any age. Since August the service are now promoting their base in Coatbridge as seen in image 3.0 below. Image 3.0 Child Bereavement UK promotional leaflet Page 92 of 216
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Project 42 enhancing community wellbeing through accessible creative workshops. 2.47 Project 42 (P42), funded through NL Carers Together carer breather programme, have been delivering at Chryston Community Hub since July 2025. The two-hour sessions are free although a donation can be given. Open to everyone they offer music tuition, art therapy, and creative learning opportunities. The community hub enables a welcoming and inclusive environment where participants can engage, express themselves and connect with others. The aim is to promote confidence, social inclusion, and improved mental wellbeing by removing barriers to participation. Volunteering opportunities are also promoted helping individuals build confidence, develop group facilitation skills, and enhance their employability through training and mentorship. 2.48 Since July there has been an average of 12 participants per workshop, with peak attendance reaching 33 individuals. The sessions continue to be promoted as can be seen in image 4.0 below. 2.49 Testimonial from P42 staff – “Chryston Community Hub has proven to be an excellent venue for our workshops. The staff and management have been consistently welcoming, accommodating, and responsive to our needs. Families have found the layout within the social space particularly beneficial, as it allows for smooth transitions between activities, even when different members of a group choose to engage in separate sessions. The booth seating has been highlighted as a favourite feature, offering a comfortable and semi-private space for creative engagement”. 2.50 Testimonial from a father where both parents and two preschool children attend - "This is brilliant—we can all do our own thing and still spend time together. I can see what the wee ones are up to and step in if needed and still have time to actually learn my guitar that I bought ten years ago and never could find the time to practice." Image 4.0 Project 42 promotional leaflet Page 93 of 216
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Developing an impact framework and supporting case studies that will mature as the Council’s work on social value progresses 2.51 Early work is underway to establish a process for social return on investment analysis so that we can fully understand, measure and report on the value being created through the operating model and delivery of supports from community hubs. This also forms part of our Human Learning Systems approach outlined in section 2.23 and 2.24 above against the learning and systems thinking pillars – bringing together formal and informal evaluation methods. 2.52 Furthermore, members will recall that a memorandum of understanding (MOU) is in place to enable public sector partners, community and voluntary sector organisations and community organisations and groups directly contributing to the local outcome improvement priorities to access hub spaces at no cost in support of capacity building to deliver improved outcomes for communities. This also connects with the review of the Grant Funding programme, providing an additional mechanism for local organisations to build capacity. Establishing a mechanism where we can work with partners to demonstrate impact underpins the ethos of the MOU. 2.53 With all of this in mind Appendix 5 sets out a first phase impact framework for each hub, phase 2 will develop the framework further to align with the Council’ approach to Social Value as it progresses. Members are encouraged to note the early impacts demonstrated in the range of case studies presented, and to consider that these are just a few of the available examples and that we have selected those closely aligned to key plan for NL health check indicators, particularly relevant to work being undertaken around the economically inactive population. Investing in existing assets in support of the One Service approach to integrated service delivery 2.54 Following investment to relocate services from Kildonan Street to the Buchanan Centre, the town hub is now operational with housing, social work, library and health services located together – augmented with the new accessible digital zone. The Page 94 of 216
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investment made took a creative approach to adapting space through trauma informed design to bring services together, improve public-facing service delivery spaces and remove stigma by introducing a shared reception area for services, including Business Gateway, to manage their diary-based appointments and individuals who present seeking support. North Lanarkshire Disability Forum are currently planning to operate at Buchanan Centre for outreach work and given the proximity of services already in operation there. 2.55 To enable the demolition of Fleming House in Cumbernauld, housing operation services were relocated to Bron Way. Further adaptations are planned for 2026 to adapt and enhance space in Bron Way in support of public-facing service delivery and as part of the Cumbernauld transition plan. This includes enhancing main reception, meeting rooms and creating a family room on the ground floor with trauma design being firmly embedded in the approach. 2.56 Bellshill Transport Hub was established to bring together staff from Community Operations. The hub facilities are spread over two floors, and the first-floor space will be adapted to accommodate staff from the Bellshill Home Support locality. Providing improved, modern and well-equipped space for work, meeting, supervision, training, rest and welfare. As a statutory service, providing greatly needed community support within Bellshill, this relocation also responds to inspection improvement action. The hub enables out of hours access with appropriate safety, security and car parking for staff. 2.57 Following the discovery of RAAC at Scott House, social work teams were swiftly relocated to the Dalziel Building. Additionally following the First Stop Shop review and implementation of the housing operating model, as well a new delivery model for Registration and Licensing services, and the introduction of Business Gateway service to the Council, the opportunity to future proof Dalziel Building front facing delivery space was identified and progressed during 2025. Phase 1 is complete with phase 2 planned for 2026 as part of the asset rationalisation delivery programme and aligned to the corporate asset management plan. 2.58 Finally, as part of the future capital delivery programme a plan to reconfigure the Houldsworth Centre in Wishaw will align the operation of the building to the new operating model and One Service approach. And the integrated Hub at Calderhead High School in Shotts will be relocated during 2026 to support phase 2 plans by providing more flexible spaces and enable safe and secure access out with normal working hours. Forward plan of next steps and the risks and mitigating action for this phase 2.59 Next steps 2.59.1 Establishing the operating model at Orbiston Hub within the next six months and preparing for four further new hubs going operational by the end of 2026. 2.59.2 Scenario planning to inform future hub strategy as the second stage of each Council service submitting their One Workforce plan and an assessment of future direction. 2.59.3 As part of the scenario planning there will be a further and wider data analysis exercise on customer demand on Council services and community use/letting of spaces across assets as we seek to promote an asset-based community development approach. This analysis will enable an up-to-date understanding around Page 95 of 216
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main areas of enquiry and demand as well as who is using our assets, for what and when to aid future planning. 2.59.4 Ongoing engagement with community planning partners, local community organisations, community councils and wider stakeholders in partnership with the community partnership team in line with the working with communities framework. 2.59.5 Supporting the implementation of the community wealth building approach in plans. 2.59.6 Partnership working with the Planning team in the Place service to share intelligence relative to future design, planning and development of hubs linking to the results of the Your Place Survey and joint work on asset mapping within Transforming Places POW. 2.59.7 Following the launch of the ‘Trauma Design in the built environment toolkit’ in Q1 2025, continue to ensure that trauma design is applied to all future hubs. Annual trauma walk throughs implemented. 2.59.8 Input to future hub design in partnership with the hub development and strategy team and appointed architectural design teams, as well as presence at the Town and Community Hub steering group. With formal lessons learned being shared with the hub design and strategy teams. 2.59.9 Ongoing linked implementation of the single telephony solution, which is critical to the front end of the operating model in terms of both improving the customer experience and providing intelligence on what and who is accessing support and services and building our internal capacity to work in new and more efficient digital ways to respond to customer demand. The telephony solution is equally important to get it right for people who may present at the hub for a gateway to other supports and services. 2.59.10 Participation in the Digital NL POW ‘Improving the Customer Experience’ group to link dependencies and particularly in the areas of digital inclusion, front end customer experience and trauma informed organisation. 2.59.11 Ongoing planning through the hub delivery boards with continued development of the impact framework aligned to the Council’s approach to social value Risks and mitigating actions 2.58 Risk and mitigating actions table Risk BRAG Mitigating action Ensuring that the implementation of the approved Corporate Booking System enhances the customer experience i.e. both front-end experience for users (tied to work to enhance the Council website content/pages in the One Service POW) and the back-end reporting • Project officer secured until December • Approved as a shared deliverable in The Plan for NL POW between Community Operations and Strategy and Engagement functions with the PoC dependent upon community facilities adopting the new system successfully for both front end and back-end functionality • Resource allocated from community facilities and operating model team to prioritise attention to implementation Page 96 of 216
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functionality to improve business intelligence. • Initial user testing completed with internal and external customers to support build • Staff involvement in development and design through user personas to develop shared understanding and support training and awareness. • EQIA live document in progress Reliability of public Wi-Fi connectivity and implementation of printing facilities for external partners • Wider digital requirements have been identified for hubs with delivery by digital first operations subgroup. • Issues are raised quickly through tickets by the hub coordinators and being pursued or escalated with colleagues to find solutions • Investigation with provider over performance quality and solutions being trialled across sites Promoting community hubs and ensuring a consistent online presence, with multi- channel communications available • MyTown channels used to promote activity • Plan to develop website underway • Digital screen installation at hubs to enhance customer experience and signposting • Digital newsletters issued and performance analysed • Physical materials also available including leaflets and timetables of what’s on Ability to be demand responsive to community needs whilst maintaining required governance requirements • Operating model delivery manager working effectively across plan for NL POW boards and with officers • Employment of hub coordinators and success of partnership relationships developed evidenced through their hub delivery and in partnership with other Council officers across POW deliverables • Hub delivery groups as a vehicle for participants to strengthen networks • Hub coordinators knowledge of local area and network, leveraging community resources where possible incl. grant funded organisations and leveraging available funding through the boards • Working with the community partnership team through the working with communities’ approaches. Ensuring lessons learned are carried forward into future hub projects and action is not limited by financial constraints. • Hub steering group as a vehicle to share learnings and build learnings requirements into tender process and budget allowances • Ongoing liaison with hub strategy and development team, as well as corporate repairs and maintenance, property teams Hub maintenance, hub handover processes to be improved to ensure consistent clarity around some of the operational maintenance aspects. • Steps have been taken to provide a maintenance schedule for hubs to ensure shared responsibility in line with facilities RACI matrix. The OMDT will ensure processes are in place as necessary which has so far included, changing places maintenance and outdoor spaces out-with school and facility remit. • Hub Coordinators to be part of future handover and decant meetings. • Lessons learned completed for each hub and communicated with Hub Development and Hub Strategy Teams. Page 97 of 216
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Hub maintenance relative to the areas within the schools that offer space for an increased provision at seasonal times and holidays tend to be closed for maintenance work. • Hub coordinator is aware of planned works schedules with corporate repairs and facilities teams to look at alternative provision of spaces where needed. • May need to consider work out of hours based on demand. Resource capacity to enable future planning including analyst support for scenario planning for future hubs • Leverage analytical skills within the wider hub development and strategy team. One service approach – All council services, commissioned partners and community groups effectively using the space alongside education. Council service redesign ongoing as part of One Workforce plan and service workforce plans • Progress has been made with key Council services and partners to leverage the hubs for service delivery. This is supported by the plan for NL POW governance structure. • Ensuring the integration of partners within the hubs is working effectively alongside education service delivery. Engagement with education staff, HTs, EFMs and COs ongoing. • There is a timetable of services, partners and third sector organisations using the hubs regularly with an increase in community activity and partnership projects alongside education as alternative curriculum choices. Potential tension with community councils and organisations who operate in the local area from other assets and perceived threat of hubs to their delivery model. • Hub Coordinator continued presence at community boards and building relationships with organisations in their areas. • Community organisations visiting the Hubs and meeting the coordinators exploring opportunities to work together given we serve the same people across our communities and aspire to leverage all resources available through collaboration. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Several measures are outlined in the project brief against the three phases of delivery to show how we are delivering for communities through improved outcomes and support the management of risk/mitigate impacts of adverse events. 3.2 Each hub is in the process of developing a social return on investment framework (Appendix 5) through the hub delivery board given the local context and blend of integrated service provision, wider governance considerations. What How S/M/L term 1 Maximise occupancy and usage of hub spaces • Activity Analysis reporting • Quantifiable income generation from Community Facilities and ACC services Short term 2 Hub spaces are used to support strategic needs and priorities, • Activity analysis of spaces • Qualitative feedback from people received through Short term Page 98 of 216
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and user feedback is positive statutory and non-statutory service providers, case studies and testimonials. • Customer experience survey 3 Evidence of integrated working/partnerships in hub delivery plan • No. of organisations using hub spaces • Evidence of joined work on support activities and programmes • Range of services co-located and working together in hub timetable Short to medium term 4 Social media reach/user feedback • Social media data from comms team once channels are leveraged and web pages completed/increased use of MyTown pages. • Case studies, testimonials and direct feedback from statutory and non-statutory services, organisations using hubs. • Customer experience survey Short to medium term 5 Supports and services are accessible with good engagement by target groups • Uptake of support, activities or services. Council functions and other organisations collect and report their own data to be fed into hub impact framework (in development). • Qualitative feedback from testimonials and case studies Medium term What How S/M/L term 6 No. of contacts/people supported relative to general advice, financial inclusion/debt money advice, literacy/language skills/qualifications, employability, digital inclusion etc. • Uptake of support, activities or services. Council functions and other organisations collect and report their own data to be fed into hub impact framework (in development). • Qualitative feedback from testimonials and case studies Medium term 7 Reduction in demand for additional/intensive statutory services • Uptake of support, activities or services. Council functions and other organisations collect and report their own data to be fed into hub impact framework (in development). • Reduction in referrals to additional/intensive services Medium term Page 99 of 216
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• Qualitative feedback from testimonials and case studies (in development with early positive visibility of reduction in escalation to SW) 8 Number of people accessing assisted self-service in the hubs • Visitor management and onsite informal tracking of signposting by hub coordinators. Medium term 9 Comparison of usage across assets within NLC • Activity analysis of use of spaces • Visitor management system • Information gathered by services/organisations as to how and what people are accessing and where. Medium term 10 Progress of LOIPs and outcomes agreed as part of future hub delivery plans that contribute to the outcomes set in the plan for North Lanarkshire • Alignment with developing hub offer and LOIP priorities and connections to plan for NL health check indicators • Connections to community council/local orgs action plans Medium to long term 11 Number of organisations applying for/receiving grant funding contributing to delivery • Stakeholder map of local organisations • Hub coordinators mapping with community partnership team which are contributing Medium to longer term What How S/M/L term 12 Number of volunteering or placement opportunities available in hubs • Volunteering embedded within family support or other services Medium to longer term 3.3 The programme overall: • Provide an operational focus point for other projects and programmes to realise their financial and non-financial benefits e.g., shared asset rationalisation, service reconfiguration, service re-design proposals for integrated provision 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1- Three approved phases of the operating model transition plan 4.2 Appendix 2 -HUB activity analysis for each community hub 4.3 Appendix 3- October newsletter for Newmains & St Brigid’s Community Hub October newsletter for Riverbank Community Hub Page 100 of 216
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October newsletter for Chryston Community Hub 4.4 Appendix 4-Collective weekly community hub timetable (individual ‘what’s on’ can be found in each newsletter above in Appendix 3) 4.5 Appendix 5- Impact frameworks (phase 1) for Newmains & St Brigid’s, Riverbank and Chryston hubs Carolynne Coole Interim Chief Officer, (Strategy and Engagement) Page 101 of 216
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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 implementation of town and community hubs and ambitions to reduce the inequalities caused by socio economic disadvantage align with the requirements of the Fairer Scotland Duty. The EQIA for phase 2 has been completed and EQIA’s are completed for required projects and in partnership with services. 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 strategic capital investment programme allocation is a key factor in the development of an operating model for the effective delivery of services within the heart of communities. As members will be aware both SARIS and the delivery of new town and community hubs both have the capacity to support these objectives. While the development of new hubs may increase development costs marginally there are significant benefits to be delivered in the associated rationalisation of the Council's estate and proven operational advantages associated with the implementation of the revised operating model of service delivery. 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? The impact of any workforce changes emerging during phases of the programme will be dealt with in line with the council’s Managing Workforce Change - Framework Guidance. We must ensure that any changes to approaches as our future workplace model matures are reviewed and supported by policies and guidance. Full engagement with Trade Unions will be taken forward as required. Safety and wellbeing implications around access, safety and security and also safeguarding. Safety and security guidance is continually updated and made available on the future workplace section of myNL. The safety and wellbeing team will continue to work with local teams to advise appropriate measures are in place at Page 102 of 216
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a local level around safety, security, fire safety and first aid. Communications and engagement with management teams of key workforce groups will also take place as appropriate, and toolbox talks encouraged with staff as necessary. Furthermore, the approach taken is intended to have a positive impact on mental health and wellbeing and TU’s will be engaged as appropriate through existing channels. The safety and wellbeing team are engaged on the POW steering group and continue to advise and guide through phases. 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? Extending our use of hub spaces to public sector partners in phase 2 required a Memorandum of Understanding to be in place to support objectives of this agreement and to ensure consideration towards insurance liabilities and statutory requirements around safeguarding. This was supported by legal colleagues who will continue to be engaged through delivery phases – particularly relative to the impacts of public sector reform. . 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☒ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? There is a specific set of digital requirements if the operating model is to achieve its ambitions. A number of these are already in place and need to be maintained or are in development. Work with finance and technology team will be ongoing in support of the model –and the appropriate governance structures will be applied. The implementation of the corporate booking system whilst will have no adverse impact on roles will have some impact on operational practices as the self-service functionality is introduced. This is seen as a benefit and shift from cumbersome manual processes, enabling real time live information sharing, booking and monitoring. Page 103 of 216
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Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Enabling staff to work locally has a positive impact on the environment and an individual’s carbon footprint around commuting, as well as potential positive health impacts by enabling greater choice and flexibility to how people work. The shift side to that is the utility use/office energy consumption through a work local approach (although within the wider context of shared assets, asset rationalisation and investment in more energy efficient buildings and hubs positive benefits should be realised over time) 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 significant impact around communication and engagement with communities and with staff – the programme continually has a requirement to align with the emerging direction of our approaches and the ‘Working with Communities framework’. Communication and engagement plans are developed throughout each stage of the POW and colleagues from Strategy and Engagement and the Community partnership team continue to be involved throughout phases of delivery. 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? The project risks are captured in the project risk register and managed through the programme and projects. The main risks and mitigating actions are described in section 2.57 with a broad summary for the longer-term programme below: • Finance – delivery of strategic capital investment programme and ongoing review of priorities, risk to savings not being realised through service redesign to transition towards a new operating model. Further opportunity in this phase for financial modelling as hubs work to realise the investment of £111m and forward investment. • Digital – ability to meet the infrastructure and technical support needs either through lack of resources, lack of funds, or alignment of pace • Political unknowns – implications of savings decisions and public sector reform • People – challenge of culture change relative to co-location and integrated working to underpin the success of the model Page 104 of 216
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• Communities – ensuring full participation from communities, sharing of insights and intelligence in support of the model and realising the ambition of the Community Boards and working with communities framework. 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 residents in the provision of public services. • Our approach to participation planning to ensure that all residents with lived experience are included in co-design/co-creation of services, and we engage with relevant organisations • Completion of the EQIA 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). Approach to whole family support outlined in the report. An overarching CRWIA has been completed as part of the preparation for the new Children’s Services Plan 23-26. The Children’s Services Plan 23-26 includes priorities and actions on how the Children’s Services Partnership will further children’s rights and UNCRC in NL. If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☒ No ☐ Page 105 of 216
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Appendix 1 – Three approved phases of the operating model delivery plan Page 106 of 216
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Appendix 2 –Newmains & St Brigid’s Community Hub activity analysis. January to September 2024 V January to September 2025 Activity being delivered: Activity has been themed into areas as can be seen from the graph below. Data is taken from bookings recorded by community facilities and reflects our focus on key strategic priorities. Points to note: Support for Families: Bookings for family-focused activities increased indicating focus on whole family support with growth and engagement from services aimed at supporting families such as FHANS. Growth in NHS services: There was a sharp rise in bookings under health & wellbeing from 4 to 142— highlighting the hub’s expanding role in delivering targeted place-based NHS services such as Occupational Therapy, Mental Health support, Veterans support, and Health Improvement. Sports & Fitness: Usage increased from 720 to 929 bookings, reflecting increased demand for physical activity and wellbeing programmes including a place based Active NL offering. Council-Led Place-Based Support: Bookings by North Lanarkshire Council (NLC) services rose from 223 to 458, showing a clear shift toward more integrated, place-based service delivery through the hub. Page 107 of 216
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Appendix 2 – Newmains & St Brigid’s Community Hub activity analysis. January to September 2024 V January to September 2025 Bookings made: During the reporting periods bookings increased from a total of 1,145 in 2024 to a total of 1,843 in 2025. Graph 1 shows a month-by-month comparison of hub bookings between 2024 and 2025 using a line graph. It highlights seasonal trends and differences across the two years, unlike Graph 2 which focuses on overall yearly growth and percentage increases. Graph 2 compares bookings year by year using a cluster chart, with a trendline showing how growth is accelerating with seasonal dips during summer. It highlights the continual percentage increase in bookings each year. Growth started at ~12% in January, peaking at ~137% in April. While seasonal dips occurred during holidays, overall engagement continues to rise. Page 108 of 216
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Appendix 2 – Newmains & St Brigid’s Community Hub activity analysis. January to September 2024 V January to September 2025 Space utilisation: The graph below presents a bar chart comparing the frequency of bookings for each hub space across the two periods. It highlights which spaces were most in demand and illustrates changes in usage patterns over time. Points to note: • Most spaces saw increased bookings year-on-year, with Meeting Rooms and Outdoor Pitches showing the largest rises. • Spaces like the social dining area and multipurpose room also saw more use, indicating broader community engagement. • The range of spaces used reflects a mix of services, activity groups, and community needs—from sports and meetings to social and creative sessions. Page 109 of 216
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Appendix 2 – Riverbank Community Hub activity analysis. January to September 2024 V January to September 2025 Activity being delivered: Activity has been themed into areas as can be seen from the graph below. Data is taken from bookings recorded by community facilities and reflects our focus on key strategic priorities. Points to note Supporting families and support groups/services: The integration or services such as Routes to Work, FHANS and Carers Together has seen a positive increase in bookings for use of space, which illustrates our priority focus to enhance the provision of whole family support. Bookings rising from 1>44 and 0>165 respectively. NLC Services: Council services are now embedded in the hub with Tackling Poverty and the North Lanarkshire Disability Forum now established offering financial and disability support. Sport & Fitness: Bookings and usage remain strong with overall bookings increasing by 20% in 2025. This is predominately due to evening and weekend hire of the 3G pitch and an increase in use of the gym hall by Bushido Karate and ASN Stars Football NL. Growth in NHS services: There was an increase in bookings from 0-31 highlighting the hub’s expanding role in delivering targeted place-based NHS services such as Stress Control, Smoking Cessation and Peri natal support. Childcare: Use of space dropped due to availability of suitable storage space for prams as use of the hub increased, with the group moving to another facility. Page 110 of 216
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Appendix 2 – Riverbank Community Hub activity analysis. January to September 2024 V January to September 2025 Bookings made: During the reporting periods bookings increased from a total of 1,799 in 2024 to a total of 2,305 in 2025. Graph 1 shows a month-by-month comparison of hub bookings between 2024 and 2025 using a line graph. It highlights seasonal trends and differences across the two years, unlike Graph 2 which focuses on overall yearly growth and percentage increases. Graph 2 compares bookings year by year using a cluster chart, with a trendline showing how growth is accelerating. It also highlights the percentage increase in bookings each year. Hub bookings rose from 1,799 in 2024 to 2,305 in 2025.Significant growth peaked at ~42% in May 2025. While seasonal dips occurred during holiday periods, there is still growth during the Easter (April) and summer (July) periods AND overall engagement continues to rise. Page 111 of 216
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Appendix 2 – Riverbank Community Hub activity analysis. January to September 2024 V January to September 2025 Space utilisation: The graph below presents a bar chart comparing the frequency of bookings for each hub space across the two periods. It highlights which spaces were most in demand and illustrates changes in usage patterns over time. Points to note: • Most spaces saw increased bookings year-on-year, with Meeting Room 1 and 2 showing the largest rises for client-based work, meetings with parents and diarised appointments. • The Community and Conference Rooms have both seen more usage by services for larger meetings and training. • While the Outdoor Pitches have always proven popular at the hub, there is still steady growth reflected. The rise in Gym Hall usage also points to more flexible usage of the facility with larger meetings, events and Community board use taking place. Page 112 of 216
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Appendix 2 – Chryston Community Hub activity analysis. January to September 2024 V January to September 2025 Activity being delivered: Activity has been themed into areas as can be seen from the graph below. Data is taken from bookings recorded by community facilities and reflects our focus on key strategic priorities. Points to note Supporting families and support groups/services: The integration or services such as Routes to Work, FHANS and Carers Together has seen a positive increase in bookings for use of space, which illustrates our priority focus to enhance the provision of whole family support Youth Work/Organisations: Bookings for these activities increased due to growing engagement with the local community in a variety of ways e.g. Scouts, Project 42 Music and Arts. Sports & Fitness: Usage increased by 933%, reflecting increased demand for physical activity and wellbeing programmes through Health Walks, indoor football and dance. Note: Chryston Hub does not have outdoor pitches as the other hubs. Council-Led Place-Based Support: Bookings by North Lanarkshire Council (NLC) services rose by 31% showing a clear shift toward more integrated, place-based service delivery through the hub. Page 113 of 216
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Appendix 2 – Chryston Community Hub activity analysis. January to September 2024 V January to September 2025 Bookings made: During the reporting periods bookings increased from a total of 152 in 2024 to a total of 521 in 2025. Graph 1 shows a month-by-month comparison of hub bookings between 2024 and 2025 using a line graph. It highlights seasonal trends and differences across the two years, unlike Graph 2 which focuses on overall yearly growth and percentage increases. Graph 2 compares bookings year by year using a bar chart, with a trendline showing how growth is accelerating. It also highlights the percentage increase in bookings each year. Hub bookings rose from 152 in 2024 to 521 in 2025. Significant growth peaked at ~2850% in July 2025. While seasonal dips occurred during holiday periods, the overall engagement continues to rise. Note: The Hub was closed for 17 days in April 2025 for essential Hub maintenance, resulting in a drop in bookings and footfall for that month. Page 114 of 216
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Appendix 2 – Chryston Community Hub activity analysis. January to September 2024 V January to September 2025 Space utilisation: The graph below presents a bar chart comparing the frequency of bookings for each hub space across the two periods. It highlights which spaces were most in demand and illustrates changes in usage patterns over time. Points to note: • In general, there has been an increase in space usage compared with the same 2024 period. • All spaces have seen an increase in usage since the previous annual period. • Use of the social dining area depends on suitability against requirements. At times when the hub is full the space is a thoroughfare with noise from surrounding areas. It is best used in isolation or in conjunction with adjacent spaces for larger events and as reflected in Appendix 5 feedback from Project42. Page 115 of 216
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Appendix 4 - Collective weekly community hub timetable Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Newmains & St Brigid'sTackling Poverty Team (First point of contact) weekly clinic 9am - 5pm (Meeting Room A) Headteacher Meetings 8.30am - 9.30am (Meeting Room B) Tackling Poverty Team (Resettlement) 1pm - 5pm (Meeting Room B) Phoenix Futures family support 12pm - 2pm (Conference Room) 1-1 Learning Support St Brigid's Cluster 2pm-3pm (Conference Room) School Headteachers 3pm-4pm (Conference Room) Football Groups 6pm - 9pm (3G Pitches - Full) School Headteachers 8.30am - 9.30am + 3pm - 4pm (Meeting Room A) Teen Talk counselling services 9.30am - 11.30am (Meeting Room A) Families Here & Now Service 1pm - 2pm (Meeting Room A *bi- weekly) 1-1 Learning Support St Brigid's Cluster 2pm-3pm (Meeting Room A) NHS Primary Care Occupational Therapy 9am - 5pm (Meeting Room B) NHS Mental Health Team 9am-11am (Conference Room) Clyde Valley Cluster 11.15am - 12.15pm (Conference Room) NHS Veterans First Point 1pm - 4.30pm (Conference Room) CLD family learning taster sessions** Football Groups 6pm - 9pm (3G Pitches - Full) School Headteachers 8.30am - 9.30am + 3pm - 4pm (Meeting Room A) Families Here & Now Service 1pm - 3pm (Meeting Room A) Routes to Work 11am - 4pm (Meeting Room B) 1-1 Learning Support St Brigid's Cluster 11am-12pm (Conference Room) Headteacher meeting 1pm - 2pm (Conference Room) NHS Integrated Day Service 2pm - 4pm (Conference Room *bi- weekly) NHS CAHMS service 2pm - 3pm (Conference Room bi- weekly) Active NL Zumba 6pm-7pm (Gym Hall) AA Support Group 7pm -10pm (Multi-purpose Room) Football Groups 6pm - 9pm (3G Pitches - Full) School Headteachers 8.30am - 9.30am + 3pm - 4pm (Meeting Room A) Families Here and Now Service 10am - 2pm (Meeting Room A) St Aidan's Cluster Meetings 1:1 meetings 1pm - 3pm (Meeting Room A) NL Disability Forum 10am - 3pm (Meeting Room B) Wishaw Housing weekly void meeting 10am - 12pm (Conference Room) Active NL 129 Body Attack 6.15pm -7.15pm (Gym Hall) Active NL Yoga 7.15pm - 8.15pm (Gym Hall) CLD Girls Group Theraputic Thursdays 5.30pm-8.30pm (Social Area) Football Groups 6pm - 9pm (3G Pitches - Full) School Headteachers 8.30am - 9.30am + 3pm - 4pm (Meeting Room A) Phoenix Futures family support 10am - 2pm (Meeting Room A) NL Carers Together weekly clinic 10am - 4pm (Meeting Room B) Families here and now service 10am - 11am (Conference Room + Meeting Room A) Kinship Carers weekly peer-support group 10am - 12pm (Conference Room *first of the month) Football Groups 6pm - 9pm (3G Pitches - Full) Football Pitches 12pm - 3pm (3G Pitches Full) Football Pitches 12pm - 4pm Riverbank NL Carers Together 8.30am-5pm (Meeting Room 1) School Headteacher 9am-10am (Meeting Room 2) NLC Education 9.30am-1pm (Conference Room) CLD Family Learning Group 2.30pm-4.30pm (Community Room) C&S Out of Shool Care 3pm-6pm (Social Area/Multipurpose Room) NHS Perinatal Mental Health - Finding Me 9am-1pm (Community Room) Bushido Karate 6pm-7pm (Gym Hall) Football Groups 6pm-9pm (Football Pitches in use except pitch 2 between 8pm-9pm) School Headteacher 9am-10am (Meeting Room 2) NHS Quit Your Way 9am-1pm (Meeting Room 1) Child Bereavement UK 1pm-5pm bi-weekly (Meeting Room 1) School HT 2.30pm-3.30pm (Meeting Room 2) Active NL Yoga class 11am-12pm (Community Room) NL Carers Together team (Staff/Partnership zone) Education and Families Project Manager (Staff/Partnership zone) C&S Out of Shool Care 3pm-6pm (Social Area/Multipurpose Room) Football Groups 6pm-9pm (Football Pitches - full usage) School Headteacher 9am-10am (Meeting Room 2) School HT 2.30pm-3.30pm (Meeting Room 2) Tackling Poverty 9.30am-4.45pm (Meeting Room 1) C&S Out of Shool Care 3pm-6pm (Social Area/Multipurpose Room) Football Groups 6pm - 9pm (Football Pitches - full usage) NHS psychological services stress management workshops - 6.30pm-8pm during Summer Holidays (Community room) School Headteacher 9am-10am (Meeting Room 2) Routes to Work 9.30am-4.30pm (Meeting Room 1) Drumpark FL Group 9am-4pm (Community Room) Housing tenant participation (Staff/Partnership zone) School HT 2.30pm-3.30pm (Meeting Room 2) C&S Out of Shool Care 3pm-6pm (Social area/multipurpose room) Active NL - Zumba class - 6pm-7pm (Gym Hall) Football Groups 6pm - 9pm (Football Pitches in use except pitch 2 between 8pm-9pm) School Headteacher 9am-10am (Meeting Room 2) NL Disability Forum 9am-12.30pm (Meeting Room 1) NHS Perinatal Mental Health - Circle of Security 10am-12pm (Community Room) Families here and now service drop in 2pm-4pm (Meeting Room 2) School HT 2.30pm-3.30pm (Meeting Room 2) C&S Out of Shool Care 3pm-6pm (Social Area/Multipurpose Room) CLD Youth Group 5.30pm-8.30pm (Gym Hall/Dining Hall/Multi Purpose Room) Football Groups 6pm - 9pm (Football Pitches - full usage) Football Pitches 9am - 3pm (Football Pitches - full usage) Families here and now service community room (10am to 3pm) ASN Stars Football NL (930-230pm Gym Hall) Football Pitches 9am - 3pm (Football Pitches - full usage) FHANS Service 11am - 12 noon MR2 North Lanarkshire Disability Forum 1pm - 4pm MR2 LOIP Health Inequalities Sub Group (Monthly) 6pm - 8pm Community Room Sparkles Dance Academy, Gym, 5pm - 7.30pm Gym Hall NLC Housing Services (bi-weekly) 9am - 4pm MR1 SAMH Well informed Service (monthly) 10am - 2pm MR1 Routes to work supported by Tackling Poverty Team (meeting room 2 - 9am-5pm) Advance dance Academy, Gym, 5pm - 9pm Gym Hall Primary Care Occupational Therapy Service 8.30am - 5pm Community Room FHANS 2pm - 4pm MR1 Carers Together 830am - 430pm (Meeting Room 1) School Activity - Barnardos - 9am-330pm MR2 CIIL - monthly - 9am - 3pm MR2 Cumbernauld Action for Care of the Elderly 10am - 3pm Community Room CIIL Bi-weekly 3pm - 4pm Community Room Community Policy Drop in - monthly (530-7pm Conference Room) ACM childrens football 5pm - 7pm Gym Hall 2nd Clyde Scout Group, gym hall, 5pm - 7pm Gym Hall Tackling poverty (meeting room 1, 8.30m-4.30pm) CIIL Donna McCann MR1, 12.30pm - 4pm Community Health Walk and social - community room - 930-1230 Families Here and Now Service (meeting room 2 11am-2pm) Families Here and Now service (Conference Room 230pm-430pm) Project 42 Music and Arts programme sessions 1.30pm - 3.30pm Social dining and Hellar Up Appointments in treatment rooms based on a scheduled programme/self referrals for: addiction and rehab services, anticoagulant, CAMHS Neuro, child immunisation, midwifery, phlebotomy, physio, podiatry, psychological therapy, speech and language therapy Appointments in treatment rooms based on a scheduled programme/self referrals for: addiction and rehab services, anticoagulant, CAMHS Neuro, child immunisation, midwifery, phlebotomy, physio, podiatry, psychological therapy, speech and language therapy Appointments in treatment rooms based on a scheduled programme/self referrals for: addiction and rehab services, anticoagulant, CAMHS Neuro, child immunisation, midwifery, phlebotomy, physio, podiatry, psychological therapy, speech and language therapy Appointments in treatment rooms based on a scheduled programme/self referrals for: addiction and rehab services, anticoagulant, CAMHS Neuro, child immunisation, midwifery, phlebotomy, physio, podiatry, psychological therapy, speech and language therapy Appointments in treatment rooms based on a scheduled programme/self referrals for: addiction and rehab services, anticoagulant, CAMHS Neuro, child immunisation, midwifery, phlebotomy, physio, podiatry, psychological therapy, speech and language therapy C Card 830am to 445pm C Card 830am to 445pm Sexual Health Clinic 1pm-4pm appt only Young people clinic drop in or walk in 4pm-6pm registration 4- 5pm C Card 830am to 445pm C Card 830am to 445pm C Card 830am to 415pm Colour legend= Commissioned/thirs sector/community groups Council / Partner NHS services Chryston (including Chryston Health clinic services) Note: In each hub during the day the spaces available for service and partner delivery are 2 meeting rooms and 1 conference/community room, supplemented with the staff/partnership area for staff to use. As the report and analysis highlights there is room to optimise the use of other spaces beyond the school day which will be the focus moving forward as a deeper understanding of needs develops and to maximise occupancy and support local organisations to deliver against the LOIP's The timetable is subject to change based on the needs of communties and adjustments to service delivery as new ways of working are trialled and impact measured. Targeted events and activity led by education will be added over Q3 and Q4 as this is planned and understood. Page 116 of 216
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1 APPENDIX 5 – Impact frameworks for each hub RIVERBANK COMMUNITY HUB IMPACT FRAMEWORK JAN 2025 to JUNE 2025 Page 117 of 216
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2 Overview This report presents a six-month evaluation (January–June 2025) of the hub operating model, focusing on stakeholder engagement and the return on investment in hub offerings. It supports the transition to a future model by helping us understand and communicate the broader value created through shared, no-cost hub spaces. The report covers Riverbank community hub in Coatbridge. Developed in collaboration with hub stakeholders, the report combines service data with lived experience to assess outcomes and highlight meaningful change Case studies include: • An overview of each service and its goals • Bookings data showing usage, cost savings, and cost avoidance • Quantitative data (e.g. drop-ins, appointments, phone calls) • Qualitative insights from stakeholders and service users All work in this framework is guided by the plan for North Lanarkshire, seeking to impact on one or more of the 28 health check indicators and local outcome improvement priorities. Both noted below for reference: Plan for NL: 28 Health check indicators LOIPs for Coatbridge: POVERTY l MENTAL HEALTH l DIGITAL INCLUSION Page 118 of 216
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3 Cost avoided by services based on the terms with the approved MOU for free use of space Month Monthly cost avoided across all services through hub MoU Jan-25 £1,242.00 Feb-25 £850.50 Mar-25 £834.00 Apr-25 £2,505.00 May-25 £2,688.00 June-25 £3,034.50 Total sum £10,694.25 Key Insights • Over six months the combined total of cost avoided is £10,694.25 across services - see graph below. • June was 145% higher than January, reflecting increased hub usage and service delivery • The upward trend highlights the growing value of the hub model as more services engage, and footfall increases Page 119 of 216
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4 List of regular services using the Hub North Lanarkshire Council Services • Tackling Poverty Team • Active NL • Community Learning & Development (Youth Work) • Community Learning & Development (Drumpark FL) • Community Partnership Team • Education • Tenant Participation • Family Engagement NHS services • NHS Psychological Service (Stress Control) 6-week programme • NHS Perinatal Mental Health (Finding Me) 8-week programme • NHS Perinatal Mental Health (Circle of Security) 8-week programme Commissioned, third sector or ALEO Services • Families Here & Now • Home Start • Carers Together • North Lanarkshire Disability Forum • Routes to Work • Child Bereavement UK • VANL • NHS Quit Your Way • NHS Maternal and Infant Nutrition Clubs (Gym Hall) • Bushido Karate • ASN Stars Football North Lanarkshire Case studies on the following pages Page 120 of 216
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5 Riverbank Community Hub Case Study – NHS Psychological Service Stress Control has a well-established evidence base in helping people to overcome day-to-day stress, low mood and anxiety, and offering the course at Riverbank Community Hub allowed us to reach out to the community of Coatbridge to invite them to attend. This invitation was also extended to people who work in the area, as there are no barriers to accessing the course. For those who completed the end of course feedback, 50% rated their ability to manage their stress as “good” or “very good” at the end of the course, compared with 7% rating their ability to manage stress as “good” at the start of the course, and 0% of participants rating “very good”. At the end of the course, 36% of participants rated their abilities as “neutral” and 14% rated “fair.” No participants rated their ability as “poor” by the end of the course compared with 57% of participants at the start of the course who rated their ability to manage stress as “poor.” The NHS Psychological Service had 23 attendees at Riverbank complete their outcome measures. SROI Element Details Inputs NHS funded service, psychological service staff time and resources, use of space in the hub, partnership with hub team and other co-located services Outputs 13-23 participants at each session over a 6-week programme Outcomes Self-management support provided to people experiencing a range of common mental health difficulties such as anxiety and depression. Improved physical health. Enhanced mental and emotional wellbeing. Increased productivity and focus. Strong relationships. Financial Proxy* Avg. cost of psychological service appointment in North Lanarkshire: £33.33 (NHS Band 6) Cost avoidance £81 total through free use of hub space Equates to £13.50 per session delivered Impact Example Free access to stress control support and information tools required to manage anxiety and depression. Reinvestment Increased additionality of service across North Lanarkshire, improved patient access, prevent a need to access other services, improved self-management of individual health and wellbeing to improve health outcomes. *Financial proxy at this stage is based on salary costs of staff. More work will be done in phase 2 development to look at monetary values assigned to outcomes to quantify their social, economic or environmental value. Participant feedback: "I really enjoyed the course, and I definitely benefitted from what I've learned. I find myself telling my family about all the different tools as well! Practicing relaxation and stepping out my comfort zone has helped me. I feel I am anxious less and have more confidence in my ability to do hard things. The way each session has been presented has been brilliant”. Page 121 of 216
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6 Riverbank Community Hub Case Study– Tackling Poverty We have found that the more local people hear about the Riverbank Hub the more inclined they are to take up our offer of a face-to-face appointment rather than a telephone appointment. It is a great facility in terms of accessibility as a lot of the people we work with have health conditions and disabilities, often with limited mobility, so the accessible ground floor access for the appointment room and toilet facilities is key. We have arranged face to face appointments in the hub and carried out numerous phone calls when based out of the hub as part of our day-to-day service delivery. SROI Element Details Inputs Council funded service, staff time and resources, appointments offered using space at the hub, provision of advice relating to Welfare Benefits, Income Maximisation and Debt Advice, partnership with hub team and other co- located services Outputs 31 face to face appointments to date held at the hub. Outcomes Operational efficiency, ability to offer local appointments to residents, a more responsive and flexible service, timely advice is given to individuals to fully maximise their income. Financial Proxy* Avg. cost of Tackling Poverty appointment with an officer in North Lanarkshire: £24.49 (NLC10 £44,581) Cost avoidance £438.75 total through free use of hub space Equates to £14.15 per face-to-face appointment Impact Example Support team capacity to provide pre booked appointments once per week to residents and provide guidance and support with completing disability application forms and applying for other benefits such as Universal Credit, Pension Credit and Council Tax Reduction Reinvestment Increased additionality of service across North Lanarkshire, improved reach and access within communities *Financial proxy at this stage is based on salary costs of staff. More work will be done in phase 2 development to look at monetary values assigned to outcomes to quantify their social, economic or environmental value. Service example: “A couple in their 80’s was referred by Social Work after one of them was diagnosed with dementia. They wanted to maximise their income to employ a private cleaner to support with the household chores that were becoming too hard. They were offered a benefit check over the phone to save them having to travel but did not feeling comfortable discussing their finances over the phone. They chose to come in for an appointment at their local hub to have a benefit check carried out. The referral from Social Work had stated that they had no benefits in place but after carrying out the benefit check and checking their income via bank statements it was confirmed that high-rate Attendance Allowance was already in place for the person with dementia. They weren’t entitled to any further benefits due to their income and savings but advised of a possible 25% discount on their Council Tax due to recent the dementia diagnosis for one of them. They had to confirm no one else lived in the house with them and took a form to their GP to get this certified. By doing so they were liable to receive a 25% reduction in their bill saving £500 over the year”. Page 122 of 216
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7 Riverbank Community Hub Case Study– Families Here and Now Service (FHANS) Families here and know service is a partnership between Action for Children, Barnardo’s, Home Start NL and Impact Arts. We have a referral process which makes the service accessible to all you need it. The group sessions over the holiday periods have seen a significant increase as FHANS grows and develops within the hub. SROI Element Details Inputs Offering early help to families across North Lanarkshire, funds to commission the services, staff expertise, time and resources, use of hub spaces, partnership with hub staff and other co-located services. Outputs Since July, 69 people (24 adults and 45 young people) have attended Riverbank Hub to participate in community arts and crafts sessions with whole family support service offering early interventions. Outcomes Across interventions overall; Improved family wellbeing by increasing financial stability, strengthening family relationships, enhancing children's learning, and improving their mental and physical health. Financial Proxy* Avg. cost of FHANS appointment with a worker in North Lanarkshire: c.£11.22 (£25,910) Cost avoidance £2308.50 total through free use of hub space Equates to £33.46 per face-to-face interaction Impact example Building FHANS capacity to deliver 365 days a year and provide a local drop- in service every Friday with free group activities to the community over school holiday periods and weekends. Reinvestment Increased additionality of service across North Lanarkshire, improved resources to increase variety of delivery and supporting activies. *Financial proxy at this stage is based on salary costs of staff. More work will be done in phase 2 development to look at monetary values assigned to outcomes to quantify their social, economic or environmental value. Service feedback: FHANS community drop-in group, over the summer holidays, had several families who spoke about enjoying the groups; this was primarily due to the service being free of charge and snacks were provided each week. Families fed back that they enjoyed spending time with their children and the activities were fun and something they could replicate at home. One parent spoke about feeling relaxed in the hub setting with FHANS staff there to support. One child made a dream catcher which they said would catch all their dreams. The hub enables FHANS to reach families locally, help improve parenting skills, and through an inclusive environment where parents, carers and young people can take part improves mental and physical health for all family members. Page 123 of 216
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8 N WMAINS & ST BRIGID’S COMMUNITY HUB IMPACT FRAMEWORK JAN 2025 to JUNE 2025 Page 124 of 216
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9 Overview This report presents a six-month evaluation (January–June 2025) of the hub operating model, focusing on stakeholder engagement and the return on investment in hub offerings. It supports the transition to a future model by helping us understand and communicate the broader value created through shared, no-cost hub spaces. The report covers Newmains & St Brigid’s community hub in Coatbridge. Developed in collaboration with hub stakeholders, the report combines service data with lived experience to assess outcomes and highlight meaningful change Case studies include: • An overview of each service and its goals • Bookings data showing usage, cost savings, and cost avoidance • Quantitative data (e.g. drop-ins, appointments, phone calls) • Qualitative insights from stakeholders and service users All work in this framework is guided by the plan for North Lanarkshire, seeking to impact on one or more of the 28 health check indicators and local outcome improvement priorities. Both noted below for reference: Plan for NL: 28 Health check indicators LOIPs for Wishaw: TACKLING POVERTY & INEQUALITIES l MENTAL HEALTH & WELLBEING l DIGITAL INCLUSION l COMMUNITY SAFETY l COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT l ENVIRONMENT Page 125 of 216
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10 Cost avoided by services based on the terms with the approved MOU for free use of space Month Monthly cost avoided across all services through hub MoU Jan-25 £722.00 Feb-25 £931.25 Mar-25 £1,441.50 Apr-25 £1,773.00 May-25 £2,688.00 June-25 £ 2,206.50 Sum £9,762.25 Key Insights • Over the 6-month reporting period the combined total of cost avoided is £9,762.25 across services – see graph below. • May & June costs were >100% higher than January, reflecting increased hub usage and service delivery. • The upward trend highlights the growing value of the hub model as more services engage, and footfall increases. Page 126 of 216
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11 List of regular services using the Hub North Lanarkshire Council Services • Active NL • Community Learning & Development • Digital Services • Education • Housing • Tackling Poverty Team NHS Services • Health Improvement • Mental Health Team • Primary Care Occupational Therapy • Rheumatology Service • Veterans First Point (V1P) Commissioned, third sector or ALEO Services • Carers Together • Families Here & Now • North Lanarkshire Disability Forum • Routes to Work Case studies on the following pages Page 127 of 216
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12 NHS Primary Care Occupational Therapy Primary Care Occupational Therapy supports early intervention for individuals experiencing challenges with daily activities due to physical or mental health conditions. By offering timely, local appointments through the hub, the service helps people maintain independence and reduce reliance on more intensive health services. Using the hub has enabled Primary Care OT to deliver timely, localised care while avoiding £238.50 in space costs that is proportionate with improved patient outcomes and increased service capacity. SROI Element Details Inputs NHS funded service, OT staff time and resources, use of hub space, partnership with hub staff and other co-located services Outputs 13 patient contacts (face-to-face and phone) from across multiple GP practices Outcomes Improved self-management, reduced GP visits, increased independence Financial Proxy* Avg. cost of OT appointment in NL: £33.33 (NHS Band 6) Cost avoidance £238.50 total through free use of hub space Equates to £18.30 per appointment Impact example Arthritis patient seen locally, more responsible as seen within 8 days, received tailored support for self-management Reinvestment Freeing-up GP space, increasing OT capacity, improving patient access *Financial proxy at this stage is based on salary costs of staff. More work will be done in phase 2 development to look at monetary values assigned to outcomes to quantify their social, economic or environmental value. Service feedback “A patient with arthritis was referred to OT and seen within 8 days at the Newmains Community Hub. The hub’s availability enabled faster access and avoided delays due to GP space constraints. The patient received tailored exercises and strategies to adapt daily activities, helping them maintain independence. This timely intervention was only possible due to the flexibility offered by the hub.” – Ross, Specialist OT NHS Lanarkshire Page 128 of 216
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13 NHS Rheumatology Occupational Therapy Service - Fatigue Management Course The Rheumatology Occupational Therapy service supports individuals with long-term rheumatological conditions to overcome challenges in everyday activities, with a focus on managing fatigue—a symptom that affects both physical and mental functioning. By delivering a 5-week fatigue management group at the Newmains Community Hub, patients received timely, localised support that reduced barriers to participation compared to hospital-based sessions. The hub’s inclusive design and welcoming environment created a safe space for learning and peer connection. A follow- up session in September reinforced key strategies and sustained engagement. Staff and service users reported a positive experience, with the venue’s accessibility, layout, and comfort contributing to improved wellbeing and reduced reliance on more intensive services. SROI Element Details Inputs NHS funded service, Specialist OT staff time and resources, use of hub space, partnership with hub staff and other co-located services Outputs 6 patient contacts through group-based fatigue management sessions Outcomes Improved energy management, reduced reliance on GP appointments, increased confidence in daily routines Financial Proxy* Avg. cost of OT group session: £166.65 (based on NHS Band 6 group delivery) Cost avoidance £135 total through free use of hub space Equates to £22.50 saved per session Impact example Case study: patient with long-term fatigue learned pacing strategies and reported improved ability to manage work and home life Reinvestment Reduced demand on primary care, improved patient self-management, enhanced group-based service delivery capacity. Delivery of community-based support. *Financial proxy at this stage is based on salary costs of staff. More work will be done in phase 2 development to look at monetary values assigned to outcomes to quantify their social, economic or environmental value. Service feedback The patient was referred in May 2024 by the Consultant Rheumatologist due to chronic fatigue. 3 one to one face-to-face sessions took place initially. Patient was advised to apply for Adult Disability Payment and discussed ways to make daily tasks easier. The topic of fatigue and its management was introduced. Protecting her joints and the benefit of hand exercises was discussed to improve strength in her fingers. She was fitted/supplied with a right thumb splint which appeared to give relief to her thumb pain. By her third and final appointment, in January 2025, she was implementing strategies to help support her health and wellbeing and it was agreed that she would now benefit from participating in the group Fatigue Management Programme. Patient attended all 5 sessions in the Newmains Hub and gave complimentary feedback on Care Opinion (which she did not mind being attributed to her): “I have found this course to be extremely helpful. I have finally understood "pacing myself". I have found myself thinking over what was discussed in class and I have managed to cope with my feelings and thoughts more constructively and I now appreciate how feelings can contribute to pain and fatigue. I feel Jacqui and Lesley have been fantastic facilitators and have shown excellent professional support and advice. Our group have now developed a very good supportive friendship, and we are sad the course only lasted a few weeks. We are very much looking forward to following up session and to share how we have all progressed on our journeys. I am extremely grateful to Dr X and his team for the excellent treatment and support I have received”. At the follow-up session 10 weeks afterwards, she told me that members have met up themselves in the interim and are planning their next get-together. Page 129 of 216
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14 NHS Veterans First Point (V1P) Veterans First Point is a mental health and wellbeing service supporting veterans across Lanarkshire. By offering a dedicated, no-cost space for internal meetings, the hub has indirectly improved care planning, strengthened team collaboration, and supported the development of more accessible and trauma-informed services for veterans. Using the hub has enabled NHS Lanarkshire’s Veterans First Point service to hold regular team and service development meetings. SROI Element Details Inputs Financial funding of the service, V1P staff time and resources, use of hub space, partnership with hub staff and other co-located services Outputs 10 weekly team meetings and 3 monthly service development sessions Outcomes Improved multidisciplinary planning, enhanced trauma-informed practice, better service access, strengthened team cohesion Financial Proxy* Peer support worker hourly rate c.£14.10 per hour Cost avoided £175.50 total through free use of hub space Equates to £13.50 per meeting Impact Example Hub enabled in-person collaboration to improve service access and trauma- informed care for veterans Reinvestment Improved care planning, enhanced service delivery, better outcomes for veterans across Lanarkshire *Financial proxy at this stage is based on salary costs of staff. More work will be done in phase 2 development to look at monetary values assigned to outcomes to quantify their social, economic or environmental value. Service feedback “The hub has indirectly benefitted veterans in Lanarkshire by offering us a dedicated space for our team to discuss cases, develop multidisciplinary care plans and opportunities for joint working. It has also enabled us to spend time considering key aspects of service development, including how to improve access to the service and how to improve aspects of our attachment and trauma-informed practice. We do not have dedicated administrative or meeting space within NHS premises, so we are hugely grateful for these opportunities to come together in person and improve care and support for veterans living in Lanarkshire.” – Dr Abi McGinley - Consultant Clinical Psychologist Page 130 of 216
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15 CHRYSTON COMMUNITY HUB IMPACT FRAMEWORK JAN 2025 to JUNE 2025 Page 131 of 216
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16 Overview This report presents a six-month evaluation (January–June 2025) of the hub operating model, focusing on stakeholder engagement and the return on investment in hub offerings. It supports the transition to a future model by helping us understand and communicate the broader value created through shared, no-cost hub spaces. The report covers Chryston community hub. Developed in collaboration with hub stakeholders, the report combines service data with lived experience to assess outcomes and highlight meaningful change Case studies include: • An overview of each service and its goals • Bookings data showing usage, cost savings, and cost avoidance • Quantitative data (e.g. drop-ins, appointments, phone calls) • Qualitative insights from stakeholders and service users All work in this framework is guided by the plan for North Lanarkshire, seeking to impact on one or more of the 28 health check indicators and local outcome improvement priorities. Both noted below for reference: Plan for NL: 28 Health check indicators LOIPs for Northern Corridor: CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE l HEALTH INEQUALITIES l COMMUNITY TRANSPORT l SOCIAL INTEGRATION & INCLUSION l BUILDING LOCAL RELATIONSHIPS, TRUST & COMMUNICATION l MOODIESBURN WEST Page 132 of 216
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17 Cost avoided by services based on the terms with the approved MOU for free use of space Month Monthly costs avoided across all services through hub MoU Jan-25 £ 201.75 Feb-25 £ 334.50 Mar-25 £ 690.75 Apr-25 £ 703.50 May-25 £ 1423.50 June-25 £ 1769.25 Sum £ 5,123.25 Key Insights • Over six months the combined total of cost avoided across services is £5123.25 – see graph below. • May & June savings were inordinately higher (>500%) than January & February, reflecting increased hub usage and service delivery. • The upward trend highlights the growing value of the hub model as more services engage, and footfall increases. £201.75 £334.50 £690.75 £703.50 £1,423.50 £1,769.25 £0.00 £200.00 £400.00 £600.00 £800.00 £1,000.00 £1,200.00 £1,400.00 £1,600.00 £1,800.00 £2,000.00 Jan-25 Feb-25 Mar-25 Apr-25 May-25 June-25 Page 133 of 216
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18 List of regular services using the Hub North Lanarkshire Council Services • Tackling Poverty Team • Housing • Active NL • Community Learning & Development • GIRFE Focus Group • Education • Children Families and Kinship Support • Digital Services • CLD NHS Services and UH&SCP NL • Mental Health Team • Occupational Therapy • Psychological Services • Veterans First Point • Health Improvement • Breast screening Services • Homecare services Commissioned Services, third sector or ALEO • Families Here & Now • Carers Together • North Lanarkshire Disability Forum • Routes to Work • VANL • Community Police • Project 42 Music & Arts • ASNding Stars • Northern Corridor Volunteers (Community Health Walk) Case studies on the following pages Page 134 of 216
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19 Chryston Community Hub Case Study– Tackling Poverty The Hub has enabled the Tackling Poverty Team to offer weekly, pre-booked face to face appointments to residents who are seeking advice and support in relation to Welfare Benefits, Income Maximisation and Debt Advice. SROI Element Details Inputs Council funded service, staff time and resources, appointments offered using space at the hub, provision of advice relating to Welfare Benefits, Income Maximisation and Debt Advice, partnership with hub team and other co-located services Outputs 18 individual contacts to date (face-to-face) and numerous phone calls as part of day-to-day service delivery from the Hub Outcomes Operational efficiency, ability to offer local appointments to residents, a more responsive and flexible service, timely advice is given to individuals to fully maximise their income. Financial Proxy* Avg. cost of engagement with TPT Co-ordinator post: £24.50 (NLC 10) per hr. Cost avoidance £582.50 total through free hub use of spaces Equates to £32.36 per face-to-face appointment (excl. phone contacts) Impact Example Support team capacity to provide pre booked appointments once per week to residents and provide guidance and support with completing disability application forms and applying for other benefits such as Universal Credit, Pension Credit and Council Tax Reduction Reinvestment Increased additionality of service across North Lanarkshire, improved reach and access within communities *Financial proxy at this stage is based on salary costs of staff. More work will be done in phase 2 development to look at monetary values assigned to outcomes to quantify their social, economic or environmental value. Service feedback: Hub appointments are increasing as local visibility increases. Face to face appointment rather than a telephone appointments are increasingly popular. Hub meeting room offers privacy and confidentiality. In terms of accessibility - many people TPT work with have health conditions and disabilities - the accessible ground floor access and ASN toilet facility has been key. Staff can also access suitable NLC systems required from the hub. Case study: ‘Young man seeking support - really struggling financially - after losing his job. Worried about affording rent and council tax bills. Renting from North Lanarkshire Council and living alone. Overwhelmed when discussing his finances over the phone and asked for a face-to-face appointment rather than a telephone appointment - arranged at Chryston hub within two weeks. Met with income maximiser; full benefit check carried out. Identified that whilst in receipt of relevant income-based benefit, namely Universal Credit, was not getting any help with council tax . Only accessing partial help with rent award due to having spare bedroom. Income maximiser completed council tax reduction application and discretionary housing payment application form. Applications submitted on day of appointment. Applications processed and awarded within 6 weeks, reducing outgoings by £200 per month. Not only was this a financial gain but it was also a gain in terms of alleviating the stress he was under about re affording rent and council tax, whilst looking for a new job after losing job unexpectedly. Page 135 of 216
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20 Chryston Community hub – Carers together case study North Lanarkshire Carers Together provides information to unpaid carers to assist them in their caring role. CT signpost to other services and provide information about any relevant services available throughout the area. CT also inform unpaid Carers about their rights and encourage Carers to share their stories and challenge the barriers they may face through CT’s Forum work. Using the hub has enabled Carers Together (CT) to deliver support to unpaid carers closer to where they live. The team also use the hub spaces to hold team meetings and plan work. SROI Element Details Inputs Funds to commission the services, staff expertise, time and resources, use of hub spaces, partnership with hub staff and other co-located services. Outputs 19 individual contacts to date, along with links made with 19 local service providers locally. Outcomes Improved reach and accessibility for local people. Improved multidisciplinary planning, enhanced trauma-informed practice, strengthened team cohesion. Cost reduction for service relative to property costs enabling funds to be redirected to other aspects of service delivery. Financial Proxy* Average cost of engagement with Carer Information and Engagement Worker £16.13 per hr. Cost avoidance £853.33 total through free use of hub spaces Equates to £44.91 per individual contact Impact Example Hub enabled in-person collaboration to improve service access and trauma- informed care and support – Case Study (below). Reinvestment Improved care planning, support, and signposting. Enhanced service delivery, better outcomes for carers across Lanarkshire. *Financial proxy at this stage is based on salary costs of staff. More work will be done in phase 2 development to look at monetary values assigned to outcomes to quantify their social, economic or environmental value. Carers Together Support Worker testimonial: ‘People tell us they feel welcome coming into the hubs and have commented about the convenience for them as they would have to come in to meet us in Motherwell or Cumbernauld previously. Having a presence at events within the school has been helpful linking in with parents. We have also facilitated some of our team meetings and our annual Carers Conference in November at Chryston hub. We have quite literally outgrown our office premises, so the hub has been invaluable. In addition to this we have presented at the hub Community Board Meetings and the Hub Network meeting in August, arranged by Hub coordinator where there were between 40+ other professionals in attendance. This was an excellent day of information sharing and networking with other Hub services’. See next page for carer case study- Page 136 of 216
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21 Carer case study: Page 137 of 216
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22 Chryston Community Hub – NL Disability Forum and MacMillan Cancer (NLDF) Using the hub has enabled NLDF to deliver various localised care and support services since operating from the hub in March 2025. Appointments are held 2 days per month. Through the Improving Lives Initiative (ILI) and the Improving the Cancer Journey (ICJ) with Macmillan programme NLDF Community Connectors work with those with disabilities, long-term conditions and those affected by cancer to support by signposting, information sharing, connecting with organisations and groups in the community and liaising with statutory services where needed. NLDF have been able to offer face to face appointments within the hub, providing a convenient location for people to seek advice in relation to form filling. attending meetings and appointments and to support the person to understand and to have their voice heard, linking them in with advocacy services where needed. SROI Element Details Inputs Funds to commission the services, staff expertise, time and resources, use of hub spaces, partnership with hub staff and other co-located services. Outputs 16 individual contacts to date (face-to-face) and numerous daily phone calls relating to local support Outcomes Improved accessibility to the service including those challenged with disability. Provision of bespoke and focussed disability and cancer related support. Improved representation enhanced mental health and wellbeing, and resilience through alleviating stress connected to related challenges and providing emotional support. Financial Proxy* Avg. cost of engagement with NLDF Practitioner post: £15.40 per hour Cost avoidance £332.80 total through free use of hub space Equates to £20.80 per individual contact Impact Example Support for decision making, enhanced health and wellbeing, reducing stress and improving resilience. Reinvestment NLDF service uses Hub for drop-in support. In addition, hub offers participant appointments and interactions with other services. Hub used weekly for clients who live local to access support, which is more convenient than need for people to attend appointments in Motherwell. Other Hub services signpost to NLDF service which supports a collaborative one service approach. *Financial proxy at this stage is based on salary costs of staff. More work will be done in phase 2 development to look at monetary values assigned to outcomes to quantify their social, economic or environmental value. NLDF service participant - Case Study: C came to visit me at the hub as a drop in. C is in remission from Cancer but had concerns around his health, feeling overall that he had been "left or overlooked" now that he was in remission. I discussed with C a bit about our service and added him on as a referral to our service. I helped C to contact his Clinical Nurse, who passed on the concerns to his Oncologist. I also helped C to obtain a gym membership as he was looking to lose weight. C was happy with the outcome and stays local to the hub and advised he saw a flyer for it in the community. If C did not come into the hub he may still have concerns and worry about his health, but by coming into the hub these have been alleviated. Page 138 of 216
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Policy and Strategy Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref LR/HL Date 04/12/25 North Lanarkshire Half Marathon From Lyall Rennie, Chief Officer (Community Operations) E-mail liddleh@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07973 726496 1. Background 1.1 Following approval for delivery of a half-marathon within North Lanarkshire during 2025, a team of stakeholders led by Active & Creative Communities came together to begin planning the event. Participating in the working group were: • Active & Creative Communities • Roads and Assets Service Executive Summary At the Communities Committee on 3 February 2025, approval was given to hold a half marathon event in the Motherwell area on 25 August 2025. This report provides an update on the impact of the event, lessons learned and sets out a proposal to extend the event for a further two years with a view to then assessing the long-term future of the event based on the outcomes from the three previous events. An outline budget and proposals around sponsorship options is included. Recommendations It is recommended that Policy and Strategy Committee: (1) Approves the proposal for an annual half marathon event to be held in North Lanarkshire for the next two years (2026 and 2027). (2) Acknowledges the projected costs, as outlined in table two. (3) Notes that a further report will be brought back to Committee in December of 2027 with a proposal on the longer-term future of the event based on the outcomes of the first three events. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve the health and wellbeing of our communities Ambition statement (15) Encourage the health and wellbeing of people through a range of social, cultural, and leisure activities Programme of Work All Programmes of Work Item 6 Page 139 of 216
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• Built Environment • Corporate Communications • Talent & Organisational Development • Health & Social Care Partnership (North Lanarkshire) • Hochtief (and sub-contractors Sign Safe) • Police Scotland • Scottish Ambulance Service • Scottish Fire & Rescue Additional support was also provided by St. Andrews’ First Aid, G4S security, Active Schools School Leaders and a number of volunteers working with the Volunteer NL programme. 1.2 Planning for the event was extremely complex, with significant engagement taking place with partners for a period of six months in advance. Most challenging was the work required to establish the Traffic Management Order, and significant work was undertaken with Hochtief, and their sub-contractors Sign-Safe, to ensure that all potential risks were understood, and appropriate mitigation put in place. We were fortunate in that our sub-contractors had experience of running similar events in other areas including Glasgow and Edinburgh and we were able to learn lessons from others. 1.3 Ultimately, 1150 runners participated across the events – half marathon, 5k, 1k and 400m toddler dash. A family fun zone attracted around 700 people. Residents from across North Lanarkshire Council participated in cheering the athletes as they passed on route and several local businesses offered free water or deals for participants when they presented their medal at the premises. 1.4 Around half of all participants in the races came from the Motherwell area, but many participants came from much further distances with runners travelling from Dundee, Fort William, Inverurie, Oban, Poole and the Lake District. 2. Report 2.1.1 Event Impact and Success 2.1.1 Highlights from the event included significant sponsorship for a range of local and national charities. NLC social media channels recorded over 243,000 views and Freeview Corporate TV channel, “Thats TV” Glasgow, also conducted interviews with staff to further celebrate the event’s success and broadcast the article on their channel. A total of 100 runners signed up for the Cumbernauld 10k as a result of their positive experience at the half marathon, giving the 10k the largest participation numbers since the pre-pandemic period. 2.1.2 The event had a significant positive impact on the local community, through its extensive Family Fun Zone comprising of multi-sport activities, face painting and bouncy castles, all made entirely free of charge to everyone attending. 2.1.3 All efforts were made to maximise accessibility to the event, and it was recognised that a potential barrier to participation could have been the cost of entry. The event management team conducted a comprehensive benchmarking exercise which ensured the North Lanarkshire entry fees were less than other neighbouring authorities for similar events across Scotland. A reduced entry fee was also offered to council employees and staff from Albert Bartlett. Page 140 of 216
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2.2 Lessons Learned 2.2.1 Communication - Planning for road closures was undoubtedly the most challenging aspect of the project with a significant period spent on the work associated with the Temporary Traffic Management Plan (TTM). The majority of discussions that were held centred around the logistical and challenging task of attempting to establish a route for the event. Through a series of early discussions with many internal departmental sections including Roads and Assets, the route was continually modified with several key aspects taken into consideration, including: • Avoiding impact on University Hospital Wishaw. • Avoiding major road arteries and junctions such as Airbles Road and Wishaw main street. • Minimising impact on public transport services operating on the day. 2.2.2 As a result of the difficulties in finalising the TTM, we were only able to begin communicating with residents, businesses and places of worship around 3 weeks in advance of the event. Should a decision be made to hold the half marathon in 2026 and 2027, we would begin communication earlier and tailor the advice given for specific areas to attempt to answer questions around access in advance. By beginning the communication exercise earlier and tailoring the information we provide, this will provide information well in advance of the event and avoid a repeat of the concerns that were expressed by the local community, places of worship etc which were received in the weeks immediately before the event. 2.2.3 Staffing – the half marathon was the biggest event of its kind held in North Lanarkshire. Although the ACC team have many years experience in running events, this was more than double the size in terms of participants and the largest single rolling road closure. As a result, there was a great deal of nervousness from partners and as a result, the staffing complement from partners in Police Scotland and Scottish Fire & Rescue (which the council was required to pay for) was, in reality, more than was necessary. Similarly, the security provided by G4S was more than was needed on the day. Further discussions are needed, but we would expect that our experience of running the event will allow us to reduce staffing levels next year, albeit remaining within safe levels. Should the event be repeated, we will continue to work with all partners to ensure all aspects of the event are appropriately managed. 2.3 2025 Spend and Projected Budget 2.3.1 Using experience of costs associated with the Cumbernauld 10k, we originally estimated the cost of the event could be delivered within a budget of £60,000. Unfortunately, due to higher than anticipated costs of the TTM and additional staffing as outlined above, the total spend (minus income from runners and sponsorship) was £139,131. This is detailed below: Table 1 - 2025 Spend £ Staffing Costs 16,560 Road Closure Order 66,676 Runners T Shirts and Medals 17,377 Letters to Community 23,605 Marketing/Advertising 4,893 G4S support 16,000 Page 141 of 216
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Signage (internal) 1,663 Police Scotland 8,901 Other 14,876 Total Expenditure £170,640 Income Runner entry fees £25,138 Sponsorship – Albert Bartlett 5000 Overall Spend £139,131 2.3.2 In considering the experience of 2025 and our options for future events of this kind, there are a number of options which we feel could improve the experience for participants and the wider community whilst at the same time reducing the overall cost. Our proposed budget is outlined below, but for additional context: Staffing In addition to the valuable support from colleagues and partners, the half marathon was very much a team effort from ACC, with many officers removed from their main duties to cover responsibilities associated with the event. In order to do this, we were required to backfill roles with casual staff. We also had to increase our casual workforce in the two weeks leading up to the event to deal with the complaints and queries coming from residents and churches. To some extent, we hope that changes to what/how we communicate and when, will help to alleviate some of this pressure in future years. Sponsorship For the 2025 event, we were fortunate to receive £5000 funding from Albert Bartlett. However, as a result of the success of the event, we have since been contacted by both Specsavers and Scottish Power who have asked to be involved in supporting a future half marathon. We anticipate that there is significant scope for more local investment and would propose that we work with local businesses to increase sponsorship options. We also intend to explore the community benefit options, certainly with Hochtief, but with other contractors. We will work with colleagues to consider all options for support. Participation Numbers Participation numbers for the 2025 event were capped to allow us to gain experience from the event and understand what may be possible should the half marathon be repeated in future years. If approval is given to repeat the event, we would anticipate that participation numbers will be able to increase. Similarly, entry costs were kept low at £34.99 (for the half marathon) to encourage participation and promote accessibility. From benchmarking with similar events, we are significantly lower than other events of this nature. As such, we would propose increasing entry fees to £39.99 – which remains lower than other events (Glasgow £44.99 and Edinburgh £49.00). The combined impact of increased entry fees and participation numbers will generate a further £30,000 in income to support the event. 2.3.3 On the basis of our experience this year, and the possibilities available to increase sponsorship by focusing on the social value of such an event, a proposed budget for the event is outlined in Table Two below. 2.4 Financial Implications Page 142 of 216
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It is the intention of the council to apply for funding from the National Events Programme to support delivery of the Half Marathon. Led by VisitScotland, the fund supports the strategic development of live public-facing sporting and cultural events in line with the aims of the National Events Strategy, Scotland the Perfect Stage. This fund (subject to successful application) offers grants from £5,000-£25,000 and would further reduce the proposed budget outlined in table two. Table 2 - Proposed Budget Expenditure £ Comment Staffing Cost 9,800 Reduced as a result of previous year experience and includes spend on additional staffing needed from agency partners. Catering 250 First Aid Provision 1000 Venue Hire 2884.63 Road Closure Order 65,217.80 Medals 5,200 Sports Therapists 0 This service was offered free of charge from our partners who are keen to offer practical learning experience for students. Fruit and water 1000 H&C Events 1000 Runners T Shirts and Staff Uniform 5000 Energy Gels 300 Letters to Residents, Business, Places of Worship 21,000 Reduced spend on letters as propose to shorten with link to website/QR code to find more details on route impact. Telephone contact details will be provided for anyone who wishes to discuss. Portaloos 1000 Advertising/Marketing 500 G4S Support 10,000 Link Tel Communications 800 Perfect Timings 2642.65 Signage 1000 Total £128,345.08 Income Runner Entry Fees 55,000 Sponsorship* 15,000 Total Budget Commitment 58,345.08 *Subject to successful application 2.4.1 It is accepted that the budget as detailed above is subject to fulfilment of projected sponsorship, external funding and numbers of participants. For this reason, the recommendation to Committee is for agreement to proceed with a repeat of the event for the next two years (2026 and 2027) and that a further report is brought back to Committee in December of 2027 outlining a definitive financial position from the Page 143 of 216
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previous three years of the event and with a recommendation as to whether the event should be established as an ongoing annual event. 2.4.2 The balancing costs associated with delivery of the event over the next two years will be met from within the overall Community Operations budget, the first year of which will include the £50,000 previously allocated to the fireworks event for 2026 which will now no longer take place due to the ongoing refurbishment of the Watersports Centre. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The council’s commitment to a successful community event, which supports health and wellbeing, while offering a fun, participative opportunity for all. 4. Supporting documentation No supporting documents. Lyall Rennie Chief Officer (Community Operations) Page 144 of 216
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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? Details are included within paragraph 2.4 above. 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? Initial discussions on the post have taken place with HR. This will be finalised subject to committee agreement to proceed. 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 Page 145 of 216
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Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Subject to agreement to proceed, we will continue to work with colleagues in Corporate Communications to promote the event. 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? All risks managed in line with ACC overall risk management plan. 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 146 of 216
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If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 147 of 216
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Policy and Strategy Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref JMcK/CMcC Date 04/12/25 School Estate: Strategic Capital Update From James McKinstry, Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) E-mail McKinstryJ@northlan.gov.uk Telephone Via Teams Executive Summary This report outlines the progress and associated commentary for two key areas within the school estate, both of which are key components of the Strategic Asset Review and Investment Strategy (SARIS): The Town and Community Hub Programme – one of the council’s flagship programmes, which provides new bespoke community assets. Each of these new hubs is arguably the largest single infrastructure investment that will be made within the community they serve. The existing school estate – which still forms the majority of our overall school estate, experiences challenges around the condition of the buildings, the suitability of the buildings, and how we will manage excess capacity in the school estate over the coming decades. The report provides examples and updates for each of these two key themes, providing an overview of the work, and associated rationale for the investments being made, and the difference this makes to the local communities within which they are situated. It is concluded that the strategy remains effective, but that the level of funding available changes the priorities – high levels of funding facilitate more new hubs, lower levels of funding facilitate targeted investment in the existing estate. As an example - £50m investment could create one new large community hub, or multi-million-pound targeted improvements in a number of existing schools (with potential to use them as hubs). Different types (and scale) of projects produce different economic and operational benefits and, as such, a blended approach linked to the available finance is both the current and future way forward. Recommendations It is recommended that the Policy and Strategy Committee: (1) Acknowledge the progress, and strategy linked to the Town and Community Hub Programme and associated projects, providing multi-million investment within local communities Item 7 Page 149 of 216
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1. Background New approach to the school estate – strategy adopted March 2020 1.1 In March 2020, as part of the “One Place – One Plan” presentation - which outlined key strategies and programmes to deliver the ambition within The Plan for North Lanarkshire - Policy and Strategy Committee approved the Guiding Principles and Prioritisation Matrix to inform the newly created Town and Community Hub Programme. 1.2 In March 2021, £236m was allocated to the Hub Programme as part of the Strategic Capital Investment Programme, 2021 – 2026. This funding was primarily for “legacy” type projects to be delivered through this new hub programme. 1.3 In September 2021, as part of “The Place, The Vision – Update” report, the Policy and Strategy Committee were provided with a list of the “A1” priority projects – these being the highest scoring projects, for new build, based on the prioritisation matrix agreed in March 2020. 1.4 In September 2022, Policy and Strategy Committee agreed to prioritise Chryston High Extension for LEIP funding from Scottish Government, along with the new Gartcosh Community Hub. The council was successful in obtaining LEIP funding for the Chryston High extension, but not the Gartcosh Community Hub project, which is being delivered via council capital funding. Shift in financial outlook – following the global pandemic and world events 1.5 Also at the September 2022 Policy and Strategy Committee, members were presented with a report on the “impact of inflationary pressures” – which outlined the significant inflationary challenges aligned to large scale capital projects, and the pressure this placed on existing projects within the hub programme. 1.6 In March 2023, a report titled “Abronhill Community Hub” (but which presented updates on various projects) was presented to Policy and Strategy Committee, advising that, due to increased costs across “legacy” and “capacity” projects, not all projects within the programme could be brought forward at this time. Medium term change in strategy to react to financial outlook 1.7 In December 2023, a report on “Strategic Asset Review and Investment Strategy (SARIS)” was presented to Policy and Strategy Committee, reacting to the changing financial landscape and increased construction costs. This report argued that whilst (2) Acknowledge the more targeted investment in the existing school estate -delivered via the general capital fund, around areas of capacity, condition, and suitability. (3) Recognise that a report will be submitted to the Policy and Strategy Committee, in Cycle One 2026, to report on the way forward in relation to the Ravenscraig Community Hub. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement All ambition statements Programme of Work Transforming Places Page 150 of 216
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the strategy of ‘centring community assets around the school estate’ maintained valid, the financial outlook made it more difficult to deliver this through “new assets” alone and made the argument for adapting the existing estate to deliver the ‘community hub’ elements for local communities as part of the strategy. 1.8 In March 2024, an updated “Strategic Capital Investment Programme 2024 – 2029” was presented to Policy and Strategy Committee. This updated funding package included £250m for investment in the Town and Community Hub Programme. Whilst this was primarily for the completion of already planned projects, there was money included for consideration of new hubs in Glenboig (capacity), Abronhill (policy), and Ravenscraig (eventually capacity, currently policy). Financial allocation for condition of existing buildings 1.9 In September 2024, the “SARIS: Update Report” was presented to the Policy and Strategy Committee, providing an overview of the ‘condition’ of the school estate – a key core fact when assessing the adequacy of buildings. This report recommended that tests of change and targeted investment projects be brought forward if funding became available. 1.10 In March 2025, at the Policy and Strategy Committee, a “Strategic Capital Investment Programme 2024/25 to 2028/29” paper was presented and improved. Within that report, there was an additional £30m for targeted investment in the condition of the existing school estate. 2. Report Replacing schools in North Lanarkshire since 1996 2.1 North Lanarkshire Council has a clear track record of replacing schools. Since the creation of North Lanarkshire Council, in April 1996, over one third of the school estate has been replaced. However, as outlined in the SARIS update report in September 2024, and below, there is still a significant amount of the school estate ‘pre-1996’. 2.2 In November 2025, Orbiston Community Hub opened, replacing two schools, early years provision, and an outdated community centre, with an all-electric, reduced carbon, 21st century community asset for this community in Bellshill. This replaced two 1950s schools within the estate. 2.3 Early in 2026, St Kevin’s Community Hub will open, to ensure adequate provision for the growing population in the Bargeddie area, facilitating housing growth within this local community. 2.4 Further projects in Gartcosh, Sikeside (St Stephen’s) and Chryston will be completed towards the end of 2026 and into 2027. Creating bespoke new assets: The hub programme 2.5 The Town and Community Hub Programme, as a strategy, has three elements through which it is delivered: 2.5.1 (1) Identify the priority projects: The prioritisation matrix, as approved in March 2020, is used to identify which projects would be delivered, in which order, should funding not be an issue. However, it is clear Page 151 of 216
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funding is and always will be an issue. Not all schools can be replaced at once – indeed, with the current infrastructure costs for a new build, the size and scale of our larger schools – a budget of £250m may only deliver one or two “town hub” sized projects, or five to six “community hub” sized projects in a five-year period. As outlined in previous reports, the increased costs of delivering infrastructure projects both nationally and internationally, has reduced the number of projects we can deliver with available funding. The prioritisation matrix still accurately reflects the order of projects. 2.5.2 (2) Design and build the new asset to meet the needs of the community The guiding principles, also approved in March 2020, outline the process of deciding which facilities will be required in the hub. Each hub is unique, with some offering similar facilities to that of a traditional school (i.e. no daytime community provision). This has caused some confusion – but a key guiding principle is to “maximise the services on offer”, which is there to ensure we complement rather than compete with other public and third sector organisations operating within the local area. 2.5.3 (3) Introduce the ‘leadership and operating model’ for the hub The Leadership and Operating Model team work with the schools and the local community to make best use of the new hub both during the day, and outwith the school day. A good example of this is the new St Kevin’s hub which will open in early 2026. There will be no “daytime provision” for the community within this hub as a community room is already available within the existing joint campus. “Daytime users” are signposted to these facilities for day bookings. The hub is primarily for the use of the school during the day, but provides additional, and alternative spaces for the community outwith the school day. The operating model for each hub will therefore be unique to the community it serves. “Core Facts” – National assessment of our school assets 2.6 All councils must submit annual returns to Scottish Government on “core facts” which all have national guidance attached to the assessment and recording of information. The sections below look at these aspects from within the ‘core facts’ groupings that all councils must assess and report on: • The sufficiency of the school estate – also known as ‘utilisation’, this measures how ‘full’ or ‘efficient’ schools are through recording the number of spaces (for pupils) being used compared with the number of spaces available in any given school. • The condition of the school estate – which focusses on the fabric of the building, “wind and watertight” etc. • The suitability of the school estate – how conducive the building is to modern day learning and teaching, looking at environmental factors such as natural daylight, outdoor spaces, etc. The core fact data assists officers target investment through the general capital plan, approved by committee. New hubs and the ‘core facts’ 2.7 Understandably, new build community hubs, with schools at the core, score well for condition – they are new buildings. Equally, they score well for suitability, as they have been designed to meet the needs of learners in the modern setting. Finally, roll projections are examined when looking at the number of pupil spaces required, and Page 152 of 216
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therefore the number of classrooms should match the longer-term needs of the local population, thus matching the sufficiency/utilisation factor. New hubs: meeting the needs of housing growth 2.8 Within the current hub programme, there are clear examples where hubs have been brought forward to ensure capacity can match demand, matching the sufficiency/utilisation factor. In other words, ensure there are enough spaces for the growing population, which is almost always because of housing growth in the area. Examples of these include: 2.8.1 Chryston Community Hub – which is more than double the capacity of the previous school, and which now also accommodates a new health clinic for this growing population. The previous Chryston Primary School required use of temporary modular units over years to accommodate the growing population. The new hub has adequate space for the increased population. The increased population is as a result of significant new housing in this area - however the school population is anticipated to decline over the coming decades. This has been factored into the design of the new hub, providing an opportunity to ‘decouple’ a wing of the school, whilst allowing this space to be repurposed for the needs of the local community at that time, once the school no longer requires the space. 2.8.2 Gartcosh Community Hub – Similar to the Chryston Community Hub, the housing growth in this area necessitated the replacement of the existing school – as the existing school site could not be adapted to adequately meet the needs of the growing population. This hub will also include a new community hall, to replace the existing older asset within this local community – providing modern and bespoke spaces for this growing population. 2.8.3 St Kevin’s Community Hub – This hub was brought forward to ensure that housing, proposed through the last local development plan, could be accommodated whilst ensuring there were enough spaces for the growing school populations. The existing joint campus in the area provided an opportunity to adapt this to become a single, larger school for the Bargeddie Primary School population, with the St Kevin’s school community moving to a new facility, thus providing adequate spaces at both schools. This approach will be replicated at Glenboig, to suit that growing population. 2.8.4 Riverbank & St Stephen’s Community Hubs – These hubs were initially expected to be a joint campus but again, to facilitate the demands for new housing land within this local area, through the local development plan, the schools were separated into two community hubs, with the Riverbank Community Hub now in operation and the St Stephen’s Community Hub in construction. These hubs, through separation, ensure there is adequate school provision for all the proposed new housing, along with the existing and established communities within this local area. New hubs: Prioritisation of projects 2.9 As outlined in the SARIS reports presented to previous Policy and Strategy Committees, there are three reasons for bringing forward new hubs: • Legacy – the hub project has been brought forward from a previous capital programme and there is an expectation within both the council and the wider community that the project should be completed. • Capacity – the projects listed in section 2.8 above, all demonstrate this type of project, which are brought forward to meet anticipated demand within local Page 153 of 216
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areas, generally to ensure that housing growth, through the local development plan, can be accommodated. • Policy – projects which do not necessarily meet the capacity criteria but which would benefit the local community through ‘place making’ which is a key theme within The Plan for North Lanarkshire and the associated Transforming Places programme of work. 2.10 When demands are placed on budget allocations and projects must be prioritised, there is a clear recognition that capacity related projects must take priority due to the needs of local communities. There will continue to be projects like these brought forward, as local development plans are renewed and refreshed, and housing growth is promoted. It is the responsibility of the teams across the council to ensure that there is a need (through both planning and education terms), there is available finance to support the inclusion of housing growth within the plan, and importantly, there is a solution (land) in place or identified to accommodate the building of a new hub. New Hubs: Projects at pre-delivery stage 2.11 Within the current capital programme, as discussed in section 1.8 above, there is funding provided to progress three projects at Glenboig, Abronhill, and Ravenscraig. Each of these projects is being brought forward for different reasons, and link in with the three types of projects, outlined in section 2.9 above, in different ways. 2.11.1 Glenboig Community Hub is a capacity related project. Like neighbouring communities in Gartcosh and Chryston, Glenboig is experiencing housing growth. The projects were brought forward in line with projected housebuilding in the area. Chryston houses were delivered first, and therefore the hub was delivered first. The housing land audit indicated that housing in Gartcosh would be brought forward faster than in Glenboig, and therefore the Gartcosh Community Hub was prioritised ahead of the Glenboig hub in the previous capital programme. This project is now at the stage where housebuilding is progressing and a new hub is required. Feasibility studies have been concluded for this project and a procurement route is being worked through. 2.11.2 Abronhill Community Hub is a policy related project. This project was identified in a previous capital plan, and statutory consultations and discussions with the local community around this plan took place. This is primarily a “place making” project, providing new school and wider hub provisions on the old Abronhill High School site, within the centre and ‘the heart’ of this local community. As it was included within a previous capital plan it is argued to be a legacy project – as the council and wider community expect it to be delivered. NHS Lanarkshire were previously involved in this project and the previous designs included a ‘health zone’ within the hub. This project was deferred from the previous capital programme due to increased costs within other priority projects. When revisited, NHS Lanarkshire were no longer in a position to commit to the project which affected aspects of the design, including site access and is therefore being reassessed. Procurement routes and timescales for this project are being reviewed at present. 2.11.3 Ravenscraig Community Hub is a policy related project. As outlined in the Capital Investment Programme report – in March 2023 to Policy and Strategy Committee, projects are subject to a review ahead of being brought forward. A review around this project is being concluded and will be brought to the Policy and Strategy Committee in a cycle one of 2026, detailing the next stages in relation to this project. 2.11.4 Ravenscraig Community Hub: Previous Update Page 154 of 216
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At the Policy and Strategy Committee in December 2024, within the RAAC report presented, it was agreed “that a future cultural offering will be fully considered as part of the proposed Ravenscraig Hub”. It was also indicated within that report, that output from design studies would be brought to committee in Cycle two of 2025. This report was not presented at that time. It was deemed prudent to await the outcome of the review linked to the wider hub proposals, including the discussions with Historic Environment Scotland (HES) around the proposed demolition of the existing concert hall. 2.11.5 Ravenscraig Community Hub: Discussions with HES Ahead of submitting an application for Listed Building Consent (LBC) to allow the building’s demolition, the council has been working with consultants, Pick Everard, to prepare feasibility and cost reports. These reports are intended to demonstrate the conservation deficit as part of the justification for demolition. In developing these, the consultants have assessed the entire structure, not just the RAAC elements, to determine the scope of works required to bring the building back into viable use. At the same time, conservation consultants, MAST, have been preparing a conservation report to support the LBC application and provide a reasoned case for demolition. At the time of writing, this report was expected to be finalised ahead of a scheduled meeting with Historic Environment Scotland (HES) on 26 November. Following that meeting, the intention is to submit the LBC application early in the new year. While the determination timescale will largely depend on HES, an update is anticipated ahead of P&S Committee in Quarter 1, 2026. 2.11.6 Ravenscraig Community Hub: Report to Policy and Strategy Committee It is important that the assessment considers the options for both the existing school estate, as well as the desire for new learning and cultural offerings. It is important that HES are provided with the information to consider the LBC outlined above, ahead of any decision the council may make. It is therefore expected that committee will be provided with an update at P&S Committee in Quarter 1, 2026. Existing School Estate – Condition Core Fact 2.12 “Condition” is one of the three core facts published at a national level annually. Each local authority uses a national “workbook” to assess each individual element of the school building, as set out in the Core Fact guidance, to establish the score for each ‘block’ and thereafter each ‘school’. 2.13 The condition assessment allows for an elemental breakdown of each block, identifying where improvements could be made through investment. At a national level, each school is provided with a ‘condition rating’ based on the score from the workbook assessment. Each school should be assessed every five years, with a ‘rolling programme’ of our school estate across the five years. Each year, all condition ratings are published at a national level. 2.14 Each school is given a rating, based on the assessment score, and each rating has a letter, and a descriptor to indicate the condition of each school. A rating of “A” is classed as “good”; a rating of “B” is classed as "satisfactory”; a rating of “C” is classed as "poor”; and a rating of “D” is classed as "bad”. 2.15 Scotland’s Learning Estate Strategy (LES), and the associated Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP), use the condition core fact as a key indicator for investment decisions within the school estate at a national level, and looks to target investment into schools in C (Poor) or D (Bad) condition. Indeed, within the LES, it Page 155 of 216
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states that “The Scottish Government’s overarching school estate policy is that “no child should have to learn in a school that is in poor or bad condition”. Existing school estate: Condition related capital investment 2.16 Within the Strategic Capital Investment Report, presented to Policy and Strategy Committee in March 2025, £30m was allocated to improve the condition of the existing school estate. This funding is being targeted towards schools which have an overall rating of C (Poor). In broad terms, officers have worked to identify up to ten schools which, through targeted investment, have their rating improved from the current C (Poor) rating through targeting specific elements such as roof, walls and windows, etc. Below is the list of schools being assessed for potential targeted investment. Berryhill Primary School Kilsyth Primary School Chapelside Primary School St Barbara’s Primary School Christ the King Primary School St Mary’s Primary School, Coatbridge Condorrat Primary School St Mary’s Primary School, Cleland Corpus Christi Primary School St Thomas’ Primary School Table 2.16 – School identified for condition investment assessment 2.17 It is recognised that targeted investment will not yield the same level of results as that of a new build in any of these existing establishments, but demonstrates that targeted investment within the existing estate, provides enhancements to the fabric of these buildings. It is further recognised that the £30m is a finite sum, and there is a likelihood that not all 10 schools will receive investment to improve their condition rating. It is important to recognise that “up to” 10 schools will be invested in, and that because a school is identified for assessment does not mean it will receive investment. 2.18 It is evident that the existing funding will not upgrade all of the existing C (Poor) rated schools within our school asset portfolio. What it will do, is evidence the difference such investment can make, in the hope that it will lead to more capital funding to manage the estate proactively, through targeted, evidence led investment, which ensures our estate is to a standard the council looks to provide for all our young people. Existing School Estate – Sufficiency / Utilisation Core Fact 2.19 The sufficiency/utilisation of the school estate looks to create an optimal balance between the number of spaces available in any given school, and the number of spaces needed. A ‘middle ground’ is optimal in this regard, as we do not want our schools to be ‘too empty’ nor ‘too full’. 2.20 Where a school is projected to become ‘too full’ measures can be put in place to react to this change. In most cases, where the projections show that this will be temporary, temporary accommodation can be provided (such as modular classrooms) which provide additional capacity. Where the increase is expected to be long term, it is more appropriate to consider an extension to the school. Where the extension would not adequately meet the needs of the school, or where there is not enough space on the school grounds to create the required accommodation without significant negative impact on the outdoor space – a new build is considered. 2.21 Examples of capacity related project are outlined at section 2.8 above. These schools were examples where new builds were required. Within the general capital Page 156 of 216
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programme, there is a “sustainable estate” theme which provides increased capacity through the other means – with examples in recent years being: • Modular classrooms at Auchinloch PS, Taylor HS, Glencairn PS, Brannock HS • Internal adaptations to create four classrooms at St Barbara’s PS • Two class extension at All Saints PS 2.22 In terms of sufficiency/utilisation, the council has provided adequate levels of funding to closely match demand – where the requirement has been to increase capacity. 2.23 The SARIS Report, presented to Policy and Strategy in December 2023, outlined that the demographic shift in our population over the coming decades will require less spaces in schools – with the expectation that the “too empty” issue will become prevalent. 2.24 As outlined with section 1.7 above, and within the SARIS report, it was argued that whilst the strategy of ‘centring community assets around the school estate’ remained valid, the financial outlook made it more difficult to deliver this through “new assets” alone and made the argument for adapting the existing estate to deliver the ‘community hub’ elements for local communities. 2.25 The short to medium term strategy, as outlined within that report, made a case for future funding to be provided to convert existing spaces, within schools with excess capacity, to meet the different needs of the wider community. In the main, this will be informed through the Leadership and Operating Model, which also reports through the Policy and Strategy Committee, with updates provided to committee in December 2024, June 2025, and December 2025. 2.26 The latest capital funding release, in March 2025, provided £30m funding to look to improve the condition of the estate. This has provided an opportunity to assess ‘tests of change’ through project delivery. Future funding has not yet been made available for the same ‘test of change’ opportunity within the Sufficiency/Utilisation theme, testing the removal of spaces with “too empty” schools, and repurposing spaces for other uses. 2.27 Whilst having “too much space” is clearly not as pressing as having “too little space” in a school, it will slowly create a less efficient school estate year on year and potentially hinder further reduction in the overall council asset portfolio (by closing smaller older buildings and moving these services into ‘hubs’) – thus continuing the pressure on maintaining existing older assets with the limited revenue maintenance budget. 2.28 Therefore, whilst a less acute issue at present, officers will continue to make the case for investment in this area, to ‘test the change’ of adapting schools within our communities, which have excess capacity, to better meet the needs of the local community through a reduced, but more efficient and balanced asset portfolio. Existing School Estate – Suitability Core Fact 2.29 Whilst the condition core fact looks at the fabric of the building, the suitability core fact looks at the functional aspects of the building and how conducive it is to modern learning and teaching. As outlined in sections above, a new build can provide bespoke spaces which clearly meet current needs of the learners – bright spaces, separate dining/sports provision, wide spacious activity areas, and interesting outdoor spaces. 2.30 Suitability is perhaps the hardest of the core facts to improve within the existing estate. This is not surprising – it is clear when a school does not have enough space for the Page 157 of 216
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pupils (sufficiency/utilisation), or when a roof is leaking and in need of replacement. With limited funding, it is also hard to justify building an extension onto a school, simply to create a dining room which is separate from the sports hall. 2.31 That said, there has been targeted investment within this area over the last few capital programmes. One specific area of targeted investment has been through the conversion of red ash/blaes pitches within the school estate, as outlined below. 2.32 Red blaes pitches, a staple part of the PE diet in the 1970s and 80s have long since become less than ideal for use as outdoor PE spaces. The school estate in this regard has three tiers of outdoor sports provision: top-tier (synthetic pitch provision), mid-tier (grass / forest school provision), bottom-tier (red blaes pitches). Those with red blaes pitches have had less available outdoor spaces to use as a result. 2.33 Like the cost of new build schools, the cost of synthetic pitch provision has increased dramatically over the last few years – with a full-size synthetic pitch costing in the region of £1m to deliver. Additionally, there is a significant level of maintenance (and associated cost) to keep these facilities at an adequate level, and the surface should be replaced every 10 years or so. It is accepted that these facilities are well used by the local community and are in demand, but are centred on one sport, and do not always generate income to match expenditure. 2.34 Therefore, the council has adopted an alternative strategy in relation to the upgrade of the red blaes pitches in school grounds. The council has chosen to create Multi Use Games Areas (MUGAs) in these spaces. This is for two reasons: • MUGAs offer access to a larger number of sports within a much smaller footprint • These areas are much more hard wearing, more cost efficient to deliver (around £200k per project at a primary school site), and require less maintenance. Existing School Estate: Suitability Core Fact ‘Free to use’ multi-sports provision for the school and wider community 2.35 The first MUGA created within this programme was at St Maurice’s High School in Cumbernauld. This project created a 200m running track, a full “NBA” sized basketball court and a multi ball sports area, along with a 9-a-side grass football pitch. This facility was commended by both Scottish and British Athletics, with a visit from both organisations, who believed it to be the first of its kind in the UK. This facility is open to the public outwith the school day, free of charge. 2.36 Other MUGAs that have subsequently been brought forward have adopted a similar approach. The project team work with the school, active schools co-ordinators, and the local stakeholders to understand the preferred sports in the area and the MUGA is designed to accommodate these sports. All of the MUGAs provided to date provide community access outwith the school day using a double gate system: School gate is unlocked and opened during the school day – with the community gate locked and inaccessible. Outwith the school day the reverse is true – school gate locked and inaccessible with the community gate opened for use by the wider community. 2.37 The red blaes pitches are predominantly within the north area of North Lanarkshire, presumably due to when the schools were constructed, and the suitability of these surfaces at that time. There were 19 schools identified as having red blaes pitches which have been prioritised based on: availability of community access, and levels of deprivation. Page 158 of 216
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2.38 To date, nine schools have had or are in the process of having these spaces upgraded: St Maurice’s HS, Woodlands PS, Kilsyth PS, Ravenswood PS, St Aidan’s PS, St Mary’s (Cumbernauld) PS, St Barbara’s PS, and St Helen’s PS have all been completed. Westfield PS is under construction, and discussions have started with Eastfield PS around bringing forward a project at this establishment. 2.39 Whilst this is good progress, there has not been sufficient funding provided to date, which would enable upgrades at all 19 schools. Further funding, to bring all schools up to a minimum of “mid-tier” would be a significant milestone for the council. 2.40 It is accepted that there are limitations to how the suitability of schools can be upgraded and enhanced. However, as demonstrated through the MUGA programme to date, the enhancement and subsequent improved suitability of outdoor sports facilities - for both the school and the wider community, can be achieved through targeted investment when funding is made available. Next steps 2.41 It is clear there has been much progress to date, linked into the SARIS strategy, mainly around the school estate and replacing schools with schools, and latterly through replacing schools with community hubs. The focus has had to change, with a need to consolidate assets into a better, more efficient community offering. The data clearly shows that the ages and stages of our population has and will continue to shift, and our strategy must be flexible enough to accommodate any such shift. 2.42 In addition to new build projects, the council must continue to look to adapt the existing school estate where existing excess capacity is available, prioritising areas of deprivation first, to deliver an enhanced community offering. These “tests of change” will help define and refine what solutions are required in the medium to long term: • Where it is appropriate to create new bespoke hubs (i.e. prioritise capacity related demand projects). • Where it is appropriate to transform existing spaces to provide a better balance of facilities and services within buildings which are subsequently in better condition. • Where it is appropriate to rationalise and ‘fold in’ the offerings, providing leisure, cultural, and outreach ‘hub’ offerings around the existing school estate. 2.43 As outlined throughout this report, the strategy remains strong – building the solutions around the school estate. However, the pace at which the Council can reduce, rationalise and transform the assets for our communities will be directly in proportion to the level of capital funding available. 2.44 As outlined in the SARIS Update report in September 2024, reliance on external capital funding is now a significant risk and the more the Council can generate its own capital growth to insulate itself against the uncertainty of external funding will significantly reduce this risk and would allow the council to better plan and accelerate the transition of our wider estate. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Continued investment and improvements in the school estate. Page 159 of 216
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4. Supporting documentation No supporting documents. James McKinstry Chief Officer - Assets and Procurement Page 160 of 216
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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? All projects are delivered within the overall scope of the councils capital programme, whilst we also forward plan for potential future projects and associated funding. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts 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 Page 161 of 216
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Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Improvement in the core fact data for our assets can contribute to improving carbon 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? 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? Page 162 of 216
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Policy and Strategy Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref GT/KS/FC Date 04/12/25 Council Tax Strategy Update From Greg Telfer, Chief Officer (Finance & Technology) E-mail TelferG@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07583010692 Executive Summary In setting the 2025/26 budget, members acknowledged the Council Tax Strategy report taken to Policy and Strategy Committee on 5 December 2024. As a result, the Council took the decision to approve a 10% increase to Council Tax, resulting in an increased Band D charge of £1,452.86. The council also agreed to set aside 2% of the Council Tax increase for additional capital investment through the Community Investment Fund. The Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) approved in June 2025 assumes that in line with the Council Tax Strategy report, the 2% will be committed for 3 years from 2025/26 to 2027/28 and return to 1% thereafter. As outlined in the Council Tax Strategy reported in December 2024 an annual update would be required following consideration of the approved Council Tax increases across Scotland for 2025/26, the impact on the band D average, and whether this has an impact on North Lanarkshire Council’s strategy. Members are reminded that Council Tax Band D represents the average Council Tax bill for householders in Scotland. This Council’s Band D rate for 2025/26 is £1,452.86, compared to the Scottish average of £1,543, and places North Lanarkshire Council 4th lowest, down from 5th in 2024/25, in terms of the Band D rate across all 32 Scottish Local Authorities. This is despite North Lanarkshire ranking 6th out of 32 authorities in terms of deprivation based on the most up to date published statistics, which creates significant demand across services that support and address the challenges around poverty and deprivation. Recognising that Council Tax charges represent the only significant means of generating income within Council control, and against a backdrop of an extremely challenging financial outlook, it remains essential for the Council to review the Band D position as part of a suite of solutions to ensure balanced budgets can be set annually, while continuing to protect and invest in vital community, family and person-centred services. In determining the Council Tax Strategy, it is considered important to keep in mind that those people in receipt of Council Tax Reduction benefit, and therefore those with the lowest incomes, will not be affected by any increase in council tax. This report outlines 3 potential scenarios for members consideration. Scenario A aims to bring North Lanarkshire Council Band D charges in line with the Scottish average, over one year, falling to the estimated Scottish average increases. Scenario B is based on a Item 8 Page 165 of 216
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10% per annum for 2026/27 and 2027/28, as previously recommended, falling to the estimated Scottish average thereafter. Scenario C outlines the position if Council Tax increases were set at a level to close the estimated three year budget gap as indicated in the Medium Term Financial Plan approved in June 2025, also falling to the estimated Scottish average thereafter. A number of assumptions have been made to model these scenarios, which are subject to change. Table 1 below summarises the Council Tax increases that would be applicable for each of the scenarios; Using the latest Medium Term Financial Plan position as the baseline, Table 2 below summarises the net additional income generation for each of the scenarios after assuming the first 2% per annum continues to be ringfenced for the Community Investment Fund for 2026/27 and 2027/28 (returning to 1% thereafter), and absorbing consequential additional cost impact on Council Tax Reduction (CTR) benefit. Members will appreciate the financial benefit of implementing a strategy based on any of the scenarios above would be significant. For example, the 2026/27 budget gap could be reduced by between £14.973m and £34.638m, the three year gap by between £38.204m and £85.949m, and the five year gap by between of £57.462m to £108.430m. To support members with planning and decision making the Section 95 Officer continues to recommend, for illustrative purposes only, that future Financial Outlooks and CIF modelling will reflect Scenario B, a 10% Council Tax increase. The Council Tax level will ultimately be a decision for members when setting the budget, with the financial impact that differs from such illustrations also reflected. The impact of a 10% increase on all bandings for this council in 2026/27 are summarised below, which shows an increase ranging between £1.86 to £6.83, per week. However, Members should note that the council has around 162,000 total chargeable properties and c. 80% are band A to D, and 20% band E to H, with almost 73,000 entitled to a discount or exemption, for example the single person discount or disabled person relief. In addition, more than 34,000 chargeable properties on average are in receipt of CTR (approx. 65% are of working age and 35% of pension age). Scenario 2026/27 2027/28 2028/29 2029/30 2030/31 A 12.81% 6.00% 5.00% 5.00% 5.00% B 10.00% 10.00% 5.00% 5.00% 5.00% C 23.22% 14.54% 12.52% 5.00% 5.00% Table 1 Council Tax Increases Scenario 2026/27 2027/28 2028/29 2029/30 2030/31 Total 3 year total £m £m £m £m £m £m £m A 19.152 10.094 8.958 9.422 9.836 57.462 38.204 B 14.973 16.463 9.026 9.493 9.910 59.865 40.462 C 34.638 25.956 25.355 11.001 11.479 108.430 85.949 Table 2 Net Additional Financial Impact Page 166 of 216
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1. Background 1.1. Members are aware that councils have a legal duty to set a balanced budget. This means that a council’s funding and income must equal the anticipated expenditure. Financial projections as outlined in the council’s Medium Term Financial Plan have identified anticipated budget shortfalls which will require the approval of solutions to bridge these budget gaps. Potential solutions will include approval of savings to be implemented in the course of the next three financial years or income generation opportunities, including council tax increases. 1.2. In setting the 2025/26 budget, members acknowledged the Council Tax Strategy report taken to Policy and Strategy Committee on 5 December 2024. As a result, the Council took the decision to approve a 10% increase to Council Tax, resulting in an increased Band D charge of £1,452.86. The council also agreed to set aside 2% of the Council Tax increase for additional capital investment through the Community Investment Fund. The Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) approved in June 2025 assumes that in line with the Council Tax Strategy report, the 2% will be committed for 3 years from 2025/26 to 2027/28 and return to 1% thereafter. 1.3. An update on the Council’s forecast Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) was approved in June 2025, outlining an envisaged forecast budget gap over a five-year period to Recommendations It is recommended that the Policy and Strategy Committee: (1) Considers the scenarios set out in this report. (2) Acknowledges their potential impact on setting the council’s budget in February 2026. (3) Recognise the Section 95 Officer recommends, for illustrative purposes only, that future Financial Outlooks and CIF modelling will reflect Scenario B, a 10% Council Tax increase. The Council Tax level will ultimately be a decision for members when setting the budget, with the financial impact that differs from such illustrations also reflected. (4) Acknowledge the next steps as outlined in paragraphs 2.18 to 2.20. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement (25) Ensure intelligent use of data and information to support fully evidence based decision making and future planning Programme of Work Statutory / corporate / service requirement A B C D E F G H No. Of Dwellings 52,503 38,170 20,713 18,622 17,697 10,738 3,199 172 Increase per week 1.86 2.17 2.48 2.79 3.66 4.53 5.46 6.83 2026/27 Rate 1065.43 1243.00 1420.57 1598.15 2099.79 2596.99 3129.70 3915.46 Council Tax Band Page 167 of 216
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2030/31 of £136.927m. The budget gap over the next three financial years is forecast at £85.949m, when compared with the three year gap reported in June 2024 of £61.976m. Thus, demonstrating a worsening three year financial outlook. 1.4. As outlined in the Council Tax Strategy reported in December 2024 an annual update would be required following consideration of the approved Council Tax increases across Scotland for 2025/26, the impact on the band D average, and whether this has an impact on North Lanarkshire Council’s strategy.. 1.5. This report also continues to provide a recommendation focused on improving the Council’s forecasted budget position as outlined above. Council Funding 1.6. Chart 1 below is a reminder to members that the council’s 2025/26 revenue resources largely consists of government grant, Aggregate External Finance (government grants plus non-domestic rates), equating to approximately 82% of total funding. Council Tax income is the only other main source of income available to councils and currently provides approximately 17%, or £187.8m, of funding. 1.7. While it continues to be acknowledged that this Council has endeavoured to keep bills for residents as low as possible, for as long as possible, Council Tax as an income generating lever for councils has been acknowledged more recently, as part of a suite of solutions to ensure balanced budgets can be set annually, whilst continuing to protect and invest in vital community, family and person-centred services. Despite this there remains an ongoing risk that the Scottish Government may enforce a cap or freeze in the future. Chart 1 1.8. Over recent years, most increases in government funding have been ringfenced or directed towards delivery of Scottish Government priorities and initiatives. Over this period, both the cost of delivering services and demand for them have increased significantly, resulting in the requirement to consider difficult decisions to deliver savings in order for the Council to set a balanced and sustainable budget. Page 168 of 216
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1.9. The Scottish Government published its Medium-Term Financial Strategy in June 2026. Whilst it indicated the potential for growth in funding for local government over the planning period, it is acknowledged that much of that funding growth is likely to be required to support existing policy commitments and national priorities and may not be available to support core funding and demand pressures faced by local government. 1.10. Additionally, members are reminded that North Lanarkshire Council currently funds around 17% of services from Council Tax. When compared to the likes of Glasgow City Council at 18% from Council Tax, this demonstrates there is scope to reduce the council’s reliance, however marginally, on Scottish Government funding settlements by having a greater proportion of services funded through Council Tax. 2. Report Council Tax Banding Analysis; 2025/26 update 2.1. Council Tax Band D represents the average council tax bill for householders in Scotland. The annual Council Band D charge for 2025/26 in North Lanarkshire Council is £1,452.86, which equates to £27.86 per week, or £121.07 per calendar month. Appendix 1 summarises the current Council Tax bandings in Scotland. 2.2. Table 3 shows the 2025/26 Band D charges for each Scottish council ranked in order from highest to lowest. This shows North Lanarkshire Council has gone from 5th lowest to 4th lowest, charging £90.44 per annum less than the Scottish average, with a 6.22% increase required to reach the current average, assuming there are no other increases across Scotland. When compared with the highest Band D charge of £1,636.27, North Lanarkshire’s charge is £183.41 less per annum, with a 12.62% increase required to charge an equivalent sum. Should the Council’s band D be equal to the current Scottish average this would generate net additional annual income in perpetuity of £9.560m and around £21.800m at a level equivalent to the highest Band D charge. Page 169 of 216
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Table 3 2.3. Despite ranking 4th lowest for Band D Council Tax, North Lanarkshire has the sixth- highest levels of deprivation in Scotland (SIMD 2020). Table 2 shows the six most deprived council area, their ranking for Band D Council Tax and current Band payment per week, with North Lanarkshire being the lowest. Rank Authority 2025/26 Band D 2025/26 Band D per week 2025/26 Band D per mth (over 12) 2025/26 Band D per mth (over 10) 1 Aberdeen City £1,636.27 31.38 136.36 163.627 2 Midlothian £1,666.20 31.95 138.85 166.62 3 Argyll & Bute £1,625.64 31.18 135.47 162.564 4 Stirling £1,611.78 30.91 134.32 161.178 5 Glasgow City £1,611.00 30.90 134.25 161.1 6 East Ayrshire £1,606.44 30.81 133.87 160.644 7 Dundee City £1,605.34 30.79 133.78 160.534 8 East Dunbartonshire £1,599.70 30.68 133.31 159.97 9 Clackmannanshire £1,594.38 30.58 132.87 159.438 10 East Lothian £1,579.18 30.29 131.60 157.918 11 Falkirk £1,576.77 30.24 131.40 157.677 12 Orkney Islands £1,574.60 30.20 131.22 157.46 13 Moray £1,573.76 30.18 131.15 157.376 14 Renfrewshire £1,572.61 30.16 131.05 157.261 15 South Ayrshire £1,569.41 30.10 130.78 156.941 16 City of Edinburgh £1,563.51 29.99 130.29 156.351 17 West Dunbartonshire £1,559.86 29.92 129.99 155.986 18 North Ayrshire £1,553.77 29.80 129.48 155.377 19 Inverclyde £1,551.30 29.75 129.28 155.13 20 Perth & Kinross £1,537.04 29.48 128.09 153.704 21 Aberdeenshire £1,532.76 29.40 127.73 153.276 22 East Renfrewshire £1,528.44 29.31 127.37 152.844 23 Highland £1,527.09 29.29 127.26 152.709 24 West Lothian £1,515.45 29.06 126.29 151.545 25 Fife £1,498.76 28.74 124.90 149.876 26 Scottish Borders £1,491.72 28.61 124.31 149.172 27 Angus £1,461.52 28.03 121.79 146.152 28 Dumfries & Galloway £1,454.98 27.90 121.25 145.498 29 North Lanarkshire £1,452.86 27.86 121.07 145.286 30 Na h-Eileanan Siar £1,387.56 26.61 115.63 138.756 31 Shetland Islands £1,386.67 26.59 115.56 138.667 32 South Lanarkshire £1,378.85 26.44 114.90 137.885 Council Band D Ranking 2025-26 Page 170 of 216
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Table 4 Council SIMD ranking Council Tax Band D ranking Band D £/week Glasgow City 1 5 £30.90 West Dunbartonshire 2 17 £29.92 Inverclyde 3 19 £29.75 North Ayrshire 4 18 £29.80 Dundee City 5 7 £30.79 North Lanarkshire 6 29 £27.86 Council Tax Income Budget, Council Tax Reduction Benefit & Chargeable Properties 2.4. For context, the 2025/26 budget for council tax income is £187.769m. This is generated from a combination of direct payments from chargeable households and from Council Tax Reduction (CTR) benefit. Residents may be eligible for CTR if they are on a low income or claim benefits, with the potential for their council tax being reduced by up to 100%. 2.5. Members are reminded that the CTR benefit assessment takes individual circumstances into account to determine how much council tax a household is eligible to pay, regardless of the charge applicable. Therefore, if council tax charge rises, CTR claimants continue to pay the same amount, and in most cases, this is £nil. This position has been widely reported when the Scottish Government previously imposed a council tax freeze, indicating that such a decision does little to protect the lowest income households, rather it proportionately benefits relatively wealthier households. 2.6. North Lanarkshire Council had just under 162,000 total chargeable properties (c. 80% band A to D and 20% band E to H) for council tax as at 31 March 2025, with over 22,000 entitled to a discount or exemption, for example the single person discount or disabled person relief. In addition, more than 34,000 chargeable properties on average are in receipt of CTR (approx. 65% are of working age and 35% of pension age). The total estimated cost of CTR for 2025/26 is £29.571m, with over 90% applicable to bands A to D properties. More than 96% of all CTR awards relate to chargeable properties in Bands A to D, and around 84% of all awards receive 100% benefit, offsetting their council tax bill in full. The remaining 16% of recipients receive CTR benefit of more than 52% of their chargeable bill, on average. A summary of CTR accounts and awards across all bandings as at 1 April 2025, is shown in Appendix 2. These figures will vary throughout the year. 2.7. After adjusting for discounts, exemptions and CTR, around 61% of council tax income (£value) is generated from band A to D chargeable properties, with approximately 39% generated from bands E to H. Page 171 of 216
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Council Tax Strategy 2.8. Three potential scenarios are outlined below for consideration, see below. 2.9. The main assumptions in modelling all scenarios are: • all other authorities apply an increase of 6% in 2026/27, 6% in 2027/28 and 5% per annum for the next three years (which is based on indicative financial planning assumptions across Scotland) • this Council continues to commit to an increase of 2% in support of the Community Investment Fund (CIF) for 2026/27 and 2027/28, dropping back to 1% thereafter • no account has been taken of any increases in household growth, although a measure of this is included in the MTFP and within Community Investment Fund assumptions • the estimated net additional income generated is modelled after accounting for the 2% increase ring fenced for CIF and the incremental consequential impact on CTR costs, already built into the Medium Term Financial Plan • the mix and £value of chargeable households in receipt of a council tax discount/ relief or CTR, remain broadly the same • council tax collection rates remain at existing levels. Although it is recognised that subject to the scale of council tax increases, there is a potential for a decrease in the collection rate and ultimately an increase in the requirement for a bad debt provision, no estimate has been made for this at this stage. • review is over a timeframe of five years. Scenario A – Scottish average in one year 2.10. Aligning the Band D charge to the Scottish average in one year will require an increase in charge of 12.81% in 2026/27, 6% in 2027/28 and 5% per annum for the following three years. • The council would move to 20th place out of 32 for Band D council tax (the Scottish average) in 2026/27 (£1638.98), maintaining that position thereafter. • Band D charges would rise by £3.29 per week in 2026/27 or £14.30 per calendar month, in addition to the 2% already assumed. • The 2026/27 total Band D charges would be £1.638.97, a weekly increase of £3.57 or £15.51 per calendar month. • This scenario would materially reduce the budget gap in 2026/27 by an estimated £19.152m, the three-year gap by £38.204m and the gap over five years by £57.462m. • The cumulative additional income generation by financial year 2030/31 is estimated at £191.689m, in perpetuity. This scenario is the equivalent of 429.8 FTE average NLC single status jobs in 2026/27 and 1,289.7 FTE over five years. Scenario B – 10% for two years, estimated Scottish average of 5% thereafter 2.11. This scenario assumes an increase in Band D council tax of 10% for the next two financial years, and a 5% increase per annum thereafter. • The council would move to 25th place out of 32 in year one, slightly above average at 16th place from 2026/27 onwards. Page 172 of 216
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• Band D charges would rise by an additional £2.51 per week in 2026/27 or £10.90 per calendar month, in addition to the 2% already assumed • The 2026/27 total Band D charges would be £1,598.15, a weekly increase of £2.79 or £12.11 per calendar month. • This scenario would materially reduce the budget gap in 2026/27 by an estimated £14.973m, the three-year gap by £40.462m and the gap over five years by £59.865m. • The cumulative additional income generation by year 2030/31 is estimated at £196.692m in perpetuity. This scenario is the equivalent of 336.1 FTE average NLC single status jobs in 2026/27 and 1343.6 FTE over five years. Scenario C – fully close three year budget gap per MTFP June 2025 2.12. This scenario shows the impact of a strategy to fully close the forecast budget gap as reported in the MTFP for the next three years (23.22%,14.54%, 12.52%), and a 5% increase per annum thereafter. • The council would move to 1st place out of 32 for Band D council tax in year one, and maintaining that position thereafter. • Band D charges would rise by an additional £6.19 per week in 2026/27 or £26.91 per calendar month, in addition to the 1% already assumed. • The 2026/27 total Band D charges would be £1.790.27, a weekly increase of £6.47 or £28.12 per calendar month. • This scenario would materially reduce the budget gap in 2026/27 by £34.638m, the three year gap by an estimated £85.949m and the gap over five years by £108.430m. • The cumulative additional income generation by year 2030/31 is estimated at £386.561m in perpetuity. This scenario is the equivalent of 777.4 FTE average NLC single status jobs in 2026/27 and 2433.6 FTE over five years. 2.12. Appendix 3 shows the additional impact of the scenarios above, after accounting for 2% for CIF and in total, on Band D weekly, monthly and annual charges. Appendix 4 summarises the cumulative additional income and FTE impact across all scenarios. 2.13. Table 5 below summarises the estimated net additional financial impact for each of the scenarios: 2.14. Members are reminded that the financial modelling is based on a number of variables, the outcome of which is hugely uncertain, not least of all the assumption around increases approved by all other authorities. Therefore, the modelling will require to be reviewed annually to reflect actual outcomes, to ensure the position for the council is flexed accordingly, in order to achieve the aim of aligning with the average. An annual update report will be provided to elected members in this regard. Scenario 2026/27 2027/28 2028/29 2029/30 2030/31 Total 3 year total £m £m £m £m £m £m £m A 19.152 10.094 8.958 9.422 9.836 57.462 38.204 B 14.973 16.463 9.026 9.493 9.910 59.865 40.462 C 34.638 25.956 25.355 11.001 11.479 108.430 85.949 Table 5 Net Additional Financial Impact Page 173 of 216
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2.15. An illustration of the impact of each of the scenarios on the envisaged gap reported in the Medium Term Financial Plan is provided in the table below. For example, this shows that the budget gap in 2026/27 of £34.638m could potential be reduced to £15.486m, £19.665m, or £nil m, for Scenarios A, B, & C, respectively. The three year gap could be reduced to £47.745m, £45.487m, or £nil m, for Scenarios A, B, & C, respectively. Other Considerations 2.16. The Community Investment Fund (CIF) update to this Committee highlights an investment factor of £1.000m of revenue resources supports £17.159m of capital expenditure. Assuming the same investment factor, the financial cost of ring fencing an additional 1% or 2% in 2026/27 for example, is estimated to cost around £1.901m and £3.802m funding capital investment between £33m and £67m depending on the additional ringfenced percentage and which of the scenarios is ultimately adopted. It should be noted that ring fencing more of any council tax increase for capital investment would impact the position shown in Table 6 above, and the percentage increase applicable. Such a scenario would require a greater increase in council tax charges. 2.17. It is recognised that depending on the scale of the increases there is a potential for a decrease in the collection rate for council tax and ultimately increase the requirement for a bad debt provision, neither of which have been estimated in the modelling. This would be monitored, and any impact reflected in future financial planning updates. For context, a 1% increase or decrease on the income collected in 2025/26 equates to £1.777m. Next Steps 2.18. To support members with planning and decision making the Section 95 Officer recommends, that future Financial Outlooks and CIF modelling will reflect Scenario B, i.e. a 10% Council Tax increase for the next two years. However, it is acknowledged that the Council Tax level will ultimately be a decision for members when setting the budget, with the financial impact that differs from such illustrations also reflected. 2.19. This report should be considered alongside the Community Investment Fund – Annual Update report also included on this agenda. 2.20. An updated Financial Outlook will be provided at upcoming budget planning sessions with elected member groups, which will incorporate any financial consequences arising from this report. 2026/27 2027/28 2028/29 2029/30 2030/31 Total 3 year total £m £m £m £m £m £m £m 34.638 25.956 25.355 26.063 24.915 136.927 85.949 Scenario A 15.486 15.862 16.397 16.641 15.079 79.465 47.745 Scenario B 19.665 9.493 16.329 16.570 15.005 77.062 45.487 Scenario C 0.000 0.000 0.000 15.062 13.436 28.497 0 Table 6 MTFP ENVISAGED GAP @ June 2025 Adjusted MTFP Gap; Page 174 of 216
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Risks and Uncertainty 2.21. All activities undertaken by the council are subject to a degree of risk and uncertainty, which are recorded in the Service/ Corporate risk registers. The current economic climate such as insufficient government grant funding, the rising forecast of pay and non-pay inflation, and other external factors, all have the potential to impact upon the council’s ability to provide quality services within approved budget levels, and remaining financially sustainable. As such the council continuously reviews and updates its Medium Term Financial Plan incorporating future planning scenarios. However, as outlined in the report, it is incumbent upon the council to consider all financially sustainable solutions to set a balanced budget to maintain sustainable services. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The council continues to review the assumptions within the Medium Term Financial Plan. A policy on Council Tax uplifts will give more certainty in forecasting future income generation and therefore the impact on future budget gaps. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 2025/26 Council Tax for all bandings across Scotland 4.2 Appendix 2 Council Tax Reduction Statistics at 1 April 2025 4.3 Appendix 3 Band D rates across five financial years, by scenario 4.4 Appendix 4 Cumulative Income Generation & FTE Equivalents Greg Telfer Chief Officer (Finance & Technology) Page 175 of 216
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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 ☐ Financial impacts have been outlined within the report. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 176 of 216
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5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services. 5.11 Children’s rights and wellbeing impact Does the report contain any information regarding any council activity, service delivery, policy, or plan that has an impact on children and young people up to the age of 18, or on a specific group of these? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact and the provision that has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the relevant Articles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 177 of 216
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Appendix 1 COUNCIL TAX BY BAND 2025-26 Scotland Average Band D Council Tax (based on total Band D Equivalents) £1,543 Band A Band B Band C Band D Band E Band F Band G Band H Valuation Band Range (as at 1991) Under £27,000 £27,001 to £35,000 £35,001 to £45,000 £45,001 to £58,000 £58,001 to £80,000 £80,001 to £106,000 £106,001 to £212,000 £212,000 and over Ratio to Band D 240/360 280/360 320/360 360/360 473/360 585/360 705/360 882/360 Aberdeen City £1,090.85 £1,272.65 £1,454.46 £1,636.27 £2,149.88 £2,658.94 £3,204.36 £4,008.86 Aberdeenshire £1,021.84 £1,192.15 £1,362.45 £1,532.76 £2,013.88 £2,490.74 £3,001.66 £3,755.26 Angus £974.35 £1,136.74 £1,299.13 £1,461.52 £1,920.27 £2,374.97 £2,862.14 £3,580.72 Argyll & Bute £1,083.76 £1,264.39 £1,445.01 £1,625.64 £2,135.91 £2,641.67 £3,183.55 £3,982.82 City of Edinburgh £1,042.34 £1,216.06 £1,389.79 £1,563.51 £2,054.28 £2,540.70 £3,061.87 £3,830.60 Clackmannanshire £1,062.92 £1,240.07 £1,417.23 £1,594.38 £2,094.84 £2,590.87 £3,122.33 £3,906.23 Dumfries & Galloway £969.99 £1,131.65 £1,293.32 £1,454.98 £1,911.68 £2,364.34 £2,849.34 £3,564.70 Dundee City £1,070.23 £1,248.60 £1,426.97 £1,605.34 £2,109.24 £2,608.68 £3,143.79 £3,933.08 East Ayrshire £1,070.96 £1,249.45 £1,427.95 £1,606.44 £2,110.68 £2,610.47 £3,145.95 £3,935.78 East Dunbartonshire £1,066.47 £1,244.21 £1,421.96 £1,599.70 £2,101.83 £2,599.51 £3,132.75 £3,919.27 East Lothian £1,052.79 £1,228.25 £1,403.72 £1,579.18 £2,074.87 £2,566.17 £3,092.56 £3,868.99 East Renfrewshire £1,018.96 £1,188.79 £1,358.61 £1,528.44 £2,008.20 £2,483.72 £2,993.20 £3,744.68 Falkirk £1,051.18 £1,226.38 £1,401.57 £1,576.77 £2,071.70 £2,562.25 £3,087.84 £3,863.09 Fife £999.17 £1,165.70 £1,332.23 £1,498.76 £1,969.20 £2,435.49 £2,935.07 £3,671.96 Glasgow City £1,074.00 £1,253.00 £1,432.00 £1,611.00 £2,116.68 £2,617.88 £3,154.88 £3,946.95 Highland £1,018.06 £1,187.74 £1,357.41 £1,527.09 £2,006.43 £2,481.52 £2,990.55 £3,741.37 Inverclyde £1,034.20 £1,206.57 £1,378.93 £1,551.30 £2,038.24 £2,520.86 £3,037.96 £3,800.69 Midlothian £1,110.80 £1,295.93 £1,481.07 £1,666.20 £2,189.20 £2,707.58 £3,262.98 £4,082.19 Moray £1,049.17 £1,224.04 £1,398.90 £1,573.76 £2,067.75 £2,557.36 £3,081.95 £3,855.71 Na h-Eileanan Siar £925.04 £1,079.21 £1,233.39 £1,387.56 £1,823.10 £2,254.79 £2,717.31 £3,399.52 North Ayrshire £1,035.85 £1,208.49 £1,381.13 £1,553.77 £2,041.48 £2,524.88 £3,042.80 £3,806.74 North Lanarkshire £968.57 £1,130.00 £1,291.43 £1,452.86 £1,908.90 £2,360.90 £2,845.18 £3,559.51 Orkney Islands £1,049.73 £1,224.69 £1,399.64 £1,574.60 £2,068.85 £2,558.73 £3,083.59 £3,857.77 Perth & Kinross £1,024.69 £1,195.48 £1,366.26 £1,537.04 £2,019.50 £2,497.69 £3,010.04 £3,765.75 Renfrewshire £1,048.41 £1,223.14 £1,397.88 £1,572.61 £2,066.23 £2,555.49 £3,079.69 £3,852.89 Scottish Borders £994.48 £1,160.23 £1,325.97 £1,491.72 £1,959.95 £2,424.05 £2,921.29 £3,654.71 Shetland Islands £924.45 £1,078.52 £1,232.60 £1,386.67 £1,821.93 £2,253.34 £2,715.56 £3,397.34 South Ayrshire £1,046.27 £1,220.65 £1,395.03 £1,569.41 £2,062.03 £2,550.29 £3,073.43 £3,845.05 South Lanarkshire £919.23 £1,072.44 £1,225.64 £1,378.85 £1,811.66 £2,240.63 £2,700.25 £3,378.18 Stirling £1,074.52 £1,253.61 £1,432.69 £1,611.78 £2,117.70 £2,619.14 £3,156.40 £3,948.86 West Dunbartonshire £1,039.91 £1,213.22 £1,386.54 £1,559.86 £2,049.48 £2,534.77 £3,054.73 £3,821.66 West Lothian £1,010.30 £1,178.68 £1,347.07 £1,515.45 £1,991.13 £2,462.61 £2,967.76 £3,712.85 Excludes Water and Sewerage Source: As reported by the Local Authorities on the statistical return Council Tax Assumptions 2025 Page 178 of 216
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Appendix 2 Page 179 of 216
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Appendix 3 £ Rank £ Rank Add'l Wkly Increase Add'l Mthly Increase Add'l Annual Increase £ Rank Add'l Wkly Increase Add'l Mthly Increase Add'l Annual Increase £ Rank Add'l Wkly Increase Add'l Mthly Increase Add'l Annual Increase £ Rank Add'l Wkly Increase Add'l Mthly Increase Add'l Annual Increase £ Rank Add'l Wkly Increase Add'l Mthly Increase Add'l Annual Increase Scotland Average 1,543.30 1,638.98 1,737.32 1,824.18 1,915.39 2,011.16 6.22% Scenario A £1,452.86 29 1,638.97 20 3.29 14.30 171.58 1,737.31 20 4.90 21.27 255.25 1,824.18 20 6.28 27.28 327.30 1,915.39 20 7.74 33.63 403.54 2,011.16 20 9.29 40.35 484.19 Scenario B £1,452.86 29 1,598.15 25 2.51 10.90 130.76 1,757.97 16 5.29 22.99 275.91 1,845.87 16 6.69 29.08 348.99 1,938.16 16 8.18 35.53 426.31 2,035.07 16 9.74 42.34 508.10 Scenario C £1,452.86 29 1,790.27 1 6.19 26.91 322.88 2,050.59 1 10.90 47.38 568.53 2,307.35 1 15.54 67.54 810.47 2,422.72 1 17.47 75.91 910.87 2,543.86 1 19.50 84.74 1,016.89 £ Rank £ Rank Total Wkly Increase Total Mthly Increase Total Annual Increase £ Rank Total Wkly Increase Total Mthly Increase Total Annual Increase £ Rank Total Wkly Increase Total Mthly Increase Total Annual Increase £ Rank Total Wkly Increase Total Mthly Increase Total Annual Increase £ Rank Total Wkly Increase Total Mthly Increase Total Annual Increase Scotland Average 1,543.30 1,638.98 1,737.32 1,824.18 1,915.39 2,011.16 6.22% Scenario A £1,452.86 29 1,638.97 20 3.57 15.51 186.11 1,737.31 20 1.89 8.19 98.34 1,824.18 20 1.67 7.24 86.87 1,915.39 20 1.75 7.60 91.21 2,011.16 20 1.84 7.98 95.77 Scenario B £1,452.86 29 1,598.15 25 2.79 12.11 145.29 1,757.97 16 3.07 13.32 159.82 1,845.87 16 1.69 7.32 87.90 1,938.16 16 1.77 7.69 92.29 2,035.07 16 1.86 8.08 96.91 Scenario C £1,452.86 29 1,790.27 1 6.47 28.12 337.41 2,050.59 1 4.99 21.69 260.32 2,307.35 1 4.92 21.40 256.76 2,422.72 1 2.21 9.61 115.37 2,543.86 1 2.32 10.10 121.14 Potential Band D Rates per Scenario in Total 26/27 Rates 27/28 Rates 28/29 Rates 29/30 Rates 30/31 Rates25/26 Rates 30/31 Rates29/30 Rates 28/29 Rates27/28 Rates North Lanarkshire Council Potential Band D Rates per Scenario after 2% for CIF for 2 years and 1% thereafter 26/27 Rates25/26 Rates Page 180 of 216
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Appendix 4 Scenario 2026/27 2027/28 2028/29 2029/30 2030/31 £m £m £m £m £m A 19.152 48.398 86.602 134.228 191.689 B 14.973 46.410 86.872 136.827 196.692 C 34.638 95.232 181.181 278.131 386.561 Scenario 2026/27 2027/28 2028/29 2029/30 2030/31 Total A 429.8 226.6 201.0 211.5 220.8 1,289.7 B 336.1 369.5 202.6 213.1 222.4 1,343.6 C 777.4 582.6 569.1 246.9 257.6 2,433.6 Cumulative income generation FTE Equivalents Page 181 of 216
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Policy and Strategy Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref GT/VR/FC Date 04/12/25 Review of Reserves Policy From Greg Telfer, Chief Officer (Finance and Technology) E-mail telferG@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07583 010692 1. Background 1.1 The Use of Reserves Policy, initially approved by Policy and Strategy in January 2020, has been subject to annual review to ensure its continued relevance and effectiveness. The policy aims to ensure that the Council’s reserves are managed prudently to safeguard long-term financial sustainability and promote sound financial management. Regular reviews of reserve levels are a key component of this approach. 1.2 Furthermore the policy forms an important part of the Council’s Financial Strategy, which provides the overarching framework for effective financial governance, planning, and management. It supports the delivery of the Programme of Works and the Plan for North Lanarkshire by ensuring a coordinated and robust approach to financial planning. This is essential to successfully manage the scale and ambition of the Council’s vision for North Lanarkshire as a place to live, learn, work, invest, and visit. Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to present a revised Reserves Policy that ensures the Council’s reserves continue to be managed effectively to support long-term financial sustainability, strategic service delivery, and effective budget planning. The updated policy aims to provide a balance between supporting short term operational needs and longer term priorities, allowing flexibility to support transformational change whilst providing a sustainable financial base to manage risk and respond to future pressures. Recommendations It is recommended that Policy and Strategy Committee: (1) Acknowledges the contents of this report. (2) Approves the revised Reserves Policy. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement (25) Ensure intelligent use of data and information to support fully evidence based decision making and future planning Programme of Work Statutory / corporate / service requirement Item 9 Page 183 of 216
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2. Report 2.1 The purpose of this review is to ensure that the Council’s reserves continue to be managed in a way that supports long-term financial sustainability, strategic service delivery, and effective budget planning. Given the complexity of the financial landscape and the scale of the Council’s ambitions, it is essential that reserves are aligned with both short-term operational needs and medium/long-term strategic objectives. 2.2 The review and refinement of the Council’s reserve policy aims to maintain a robust financial foundation that enables the Council to manage risk, respond to emerging pressures, and invest in transformational change. Specifically, the review has aimed to achieve the following outcomes: • Set clear target levels for the Contingency Fund and reserves earmarked for future budget pressures, in order to enhance transparency and financial resilience. • Support a more strategic approach to savings delivery, recognising that future savings are likely to be increasingly dependent on service redesign rather than traditional cost cutting measures. The realisation that these types of savings generally require a longer lead in time and temporary funding to support the change. • Establish a procedure for the use of unallocated reserves, ensuring that any use is linked to/set out as part of the Council’s budget setting process. • Joins up the process of year end reserve positions and the Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP), ensuring that reserve decisions are not made in isolation but are part of a clear financial planning process. Current Position 2.3 The current Reserves Policy sets out the Usable Reserves that the Council hold and provides further detail on their purpose and how they can be used. This covers balances within the General Fund Reserve including Contingency Fund, Earmarked Funds and Change Management Fund in addition to Housing Revenue Account, Capital Fund, Insurance Fund, and Repairs & Renewals Fund. 2.4 The governance around the use of reserves is also set out and currently: • Use of reserves must align with the Financial Strategy and be approved through formal processes. • Earmarked reserves require justification, a timeframe, and are reviewed annually • Unused earmarked balances may be released back to the General Fund. 2.5 The policy also highlights reserves are for one off use and should not be used for recurring costs unless a certain permanent solution is in place. Proposed Reserve Targets 2.6 The Contingency Fund is an uncommitted amount held for unexpected events or emergencies. The level of funds held for contingency are reported by the S95 Officer as part of the annual budget setting process. Historically this has remained at a static £8m however it is now considered that a more appropriate approach would be to link it to the net revenue budget. Applying a percentage contingency is more flexible and aligns proportionately with the overall size of the organisation i.e. if Net Revenue Page 184 of 216
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increases, the contingency adjusts to reflect this change. It is recommended that the council set aside 1% of its net revenue expenditure budget to a contingency fund. This is in line with the approach taken by other Local Authorities and reflects the Council’s positive track record for budgetary control. 2.7 Currently there is an amount set aside within earmarked reserves for Future Budget Pressures. It is proposed that this is also set based on a target to ensure that it is reflective of the budget shortfall and provides an appropriate level of one off resources to assist with smoothing the impact of service redesign, allowing lead in time for savings and supports strategic service redesign rather than applying budget cuts. It is recommended that an average of the 3 year budget gap should be set aside for this purpose. This would be set at the closing of the year end and be linked to the MTFP prepared at the same time i.e. 2026/27 amount will be based on the June 2026 MTFP budget gap forecast for 2027/28 – 2029/30. 2.8 In previous versions of the Reserves Policy, the Change Management Fund (CMF) represented the remaining unallocated General Fund balance to support one-off costs linked to approved savings and the Voluntary Redundancy Scheme (VRS). The need for CMF has now been more closely aligned with financial planning through revenue budget monitoring and the MTFP providing greater certainty over the level of resource required to implement approved savings. 2.9 The proposed Reserve Policy is shown at appendix 1. This incorporates changes to reflect the significant points above along with some minor amendments required to reflect current council terminology and arrangements. All changes have been highlighted. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The Council continues to strike a balance between meeting current obligations and preparing for future commitments or potential changes in funding levels. 4. Supporting documentation Appendix 1 Reserves Policy Greg Telfer Chief Officer (Finance and Technology) Page 185 of 216
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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 ☒ Page 186 of 216
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If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services. 5.11 Children’s rights and wellbeing impact Does the report contain any information regarding any council activity, service delivery, policy, or plan that has an impact on children and young people up to the age of 18, or on a specific group of these? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact and the provision that has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the relevant Articles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 187 of 216
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RESERVES POLICY Page 188 of 216
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reserves policy 2 Document control Title Reserves Policy Owner Greg Telfer Contact TelferG@northlan.gov.uk Governance Group Policy and Strategy Committee Author Veronica Roberts Contact RobertsV@northlan.gov.uk Revision History Number Originator Date Review Commenced Revision description/record of change Document Approvals Number Governance Group Date approval granted Date approval to be requested (if document still draft) BMT 20 November 2025 Policy & Strategy 4 December 2025 Consultation Record (for most recent update) Status of document consulted upon Stakeholders consulted/date Strategic Alignment Next review date Review Date November 2026 Page 189 of 216
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reserves policy 3 Table of Contents 1. Background 2. Policy Objectives 3. Types of Reserves 4. Governance of Reserves 5. Assessment of Reserve Levels Appendix 1 Protocol for Establishment and use of Earmarked Reserves Appendix 2 New Request to Earmark General Fund Reserves - Template Page 190 of 216
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reserves policy 4 Background This Reserves policy has been developed in line with Local Authority Accounting Panel (LAAP) Bulletins issued in conjunction with the CIPFA Technical Enquiry Section. The Guidance is also in line with the requirements of the Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting (the Code). The policy sets the guidelines which ensure reserves are established and managed in a way that safeguards long-term financial sustainability and supports good financial management, allowing the Council to balance current obligations and preparing for future commitments and financial risks. Policy Objectives The objectives of the Reserves Policy are to: • set out the types of reserves held by the Council and their purpose; • establishes procedures for governance of the reserves • outlines the circumstances for the utilisation of reserve balances; and • outline the approach taken to determine the appropriate reserve levels held by the Council Types of Reserves In Scotland there are explicit statutory powers under schedule 3 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1975 permitting local authorities to establish a Renewal and Repair Fund, an Insurance Fund and a Capital Fund alongside a requirement to maintain a General Fund (section 93 of Part VII of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973). Within the General Fund Reserve, Local Authorities can earmark elements for specific purposes. Reserves are categorised as either usable or unusable on the balance sheet depending on their nature. Unusable Reserves are kept in order to manage accounting processes for non-current assets, financial instruments and retirement benefits. Usable Reserves include cash balances that can be utilised by the Council as part of its financial strategy to ensure effective management of the Council’s operations. Usable Reserves are held for three main purposes: • Create a contingency to cushion the impact of unexpected events or emergencies. • Create a means of building up funds, referred to as earmarked reserves, to meet known or predicted liabilities. • Create a working balance to help mitigate the impact of uneven cash flows and avoid unnecessary temporary borrowing. Table 1 below identifies the various Usable Reserves held on the Council’s Balance Sheet and provides further information on their purpose. Page 191 of 216
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reserves policy 5 General Fund Reserve This reserve is held to support service delivery and is made up of the following funds: • Contingency Fund which is an uncommitted amount held for unexpected events or emergencies. The level of funds held for contingency are reported by the S95 Officer as part of the annual budget setting process. This is set at 1% of Net Revenue Expenditure budget. • Earmarked Funds for known specific commitments. • Change Management Fund is an earmarked portion of the General Fund Reserve generally used to support the one off costs associated with approved budget savings and Voluntary Redundancy Scheme (VRS). • Future Budget Pressures is an earmarked portion of the General Fund Reserve targeted to representing the average of the current 3 year budget gap used to assist where required when supporting strategic service redesign to smoothing service reductions. Housing Revenue Reserve This reserve reflects the accumulated surpluses/ deficits of the Housing Revenue Account. The local authority housing provision defined in the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 requires these funds to be accounted for separately from the General Fund. This reserve is held to support service delivery and is made up of the following funds: • Core Fund which is an uncommitted amount held for unexpected events or emergencies and is reported as part of the annual budget setting process. • Earmarked Funds for known specific commitments. • Change Management Fund is an earmarked portion of the Housing Revenue Reserve generally used to support the one off costs associated with approved budget savings and Voluntary Redundancy Scheme (VRS). • Unallocated Housing Revenue Reserve which represents the remaining balance in any given year and may be considered for use as part of a future year budget setting. Capital Grants Unapplied Account Shows the capital grants received by the Council in year but has not yet been fully utilised. These are held and used when required and grant conditions fulfilled. Capital Fund Reflects capital receipts from the sale of capital assets which can be used to fund capital expenditure or finance loans fund repayments associated with capital expenditure. Insurance Fund This fund is held as a provision for outstanding claims and unknown future events. The reserve is used to cover current and potential future claims funded out with active insurance policies. Page 192 of 216
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reserves policy 6 Repairs and Renewals Fund Reflects funds which have been set aside to support expenditure to be incurred from time to time in repairing, maintaining, replacing and renewing any buildings, works, plant, equipment or articles belonging to the authority. Table 1 Governance of Reserves Governance arrangements which will apply to Reserves are as follows: General Fund Reserve – Contingency Fund The Contingency Fund should be set at 1% of Net Revenue Expenditure budget. In the event that the balance drops below this amount, Committee will be advised and a recovery plan to replenish the Contingency Fund will be brought forward. The appropriateness of this level will be considered annually and reported to Council as part of the Budget Setting process General Fund Reserve – Earmarked Funds There is no limit applied to the level of committed reserves which the Council can hold. However, all requests to earmark funds must be suitably supported by evidence and must demonstrate alignment with the Financial Strategy and the Plan for North Lanarkshire. A Protocol for Establishment and Use of Earmarked Reserves is attached at appendix 1. An annual review of all earmarked reserves will be undertaken by S95 officer in conjunction with the relevant Chief Officer. The outcome of this process and subsequent updates in respect of earmarked reserves will be presented to the Business Management Team each period and to Finance and Resources Committee each cycle, as part of the overall revenue budget monitoring arrangements. General Fund Reserve – Change Management Fund Requirements for Change Management Funding will be assessed regularly, and will reflect change programmes to be undertaken by the Council within a defined timeframe. Updates will be reported to the Business Management Team at each period and to Finance and Resources Committee at each cycle as part of the overall revenue budget monitoring arrangements General Fund Reserve – Future Budget Pressures Requirement to set aside funds to support strategic service redesign ensuring a smooth reduction to service budgets. This fund will be targeted to represent the average of the 3 year budget gap as reported by the Medium Term Plan in the same year. Housing Revenue Reserves All Housing Revenue Reserves are quantified and approved as part of the budget setting process, with updates reported to the Housing & Communities Committee each cycle as part of the revenue monitoring report. Capital Grants Unapplied Account This funding is held for a specific purpose and is available for drawdown when expenditure is incurred in accordance with any grant conditions. Page 193 of 216
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reserves policy 7 Capital Fund All capital receipts will be applied to the Capital Fund unless otherwise approved (e.g. as part of approved business case or through the capital programme) to fund loan principal repayments. Insurance Fund The fund balance is reported as part of the annual accounts process. Use of this fund is managed on an ongoing basis throughout each financial year in accordance with requirements. Repairs and Renewals Fund Funds can be set aside to support repairs and renewals expenditure, which are available for drawdown as required. Reserve balances represent one-off funding, therefore use of reserves for recurring revenue expenditure or to balance the budget, is unsustainable. However the Section 95 officer retains the right to use reserve balances where deemed appropriate for example to smooth the impact of budget reductions required in response to reduced funding levels. In the event that reserves are used to meet short term funding gaps, there must be evidence of plans in place for a permanent funding solution. Assessment of Reserve Levels Both the Reserves Policy and Reserve Balances should be reviewed annually to ensure reserves are maintained at an adequate and appropriate level and that robust governance arrangements are maintained. Setting the level of reserves is one of a number of related decisions in the ongoing development of the Council’s MTFP and subject to review as part of the year end process and budget setting process. In establishing and approving the MTFP the Council will ensure that it maintains a prudent level of reserves in line with best practice and relevant guidelines. Any surplus reserves will be considered in the light of the budget forecast and the risks associated with that forecast. In determining the level of reserves all strategic, operational and financial risks facing the Council should be assessed including both internal and external risks. As a minimum the S95 Officer should consider the following: • The overall financial standing of the Council including: level of borrowing; outstanding debt; council tax collection rates • The Council’s track record in budget and financial management • The robustness of the Council’s MTFP and assumptions contained; • The Council’s capacity to manage in year budget pressures; • The strength of financial information and reporting arrangements; • Fluctuations in inflation and interest rates and their impact on future years budgeting. The S95 Officer should include a statement within the Budget Report highlighting the estimated opening General Fund balance for the year, the additions to/withdrawal from balances and the estimated end of year balance. Page 194 of 216
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reserves policy 8 APPENDIX 1 Protocol for Establishment and Use of Earmarked Reserves Establishing Earmarked Reserve The requirement for the establishment of an earmarked reserve will be considered as part of the financial year end process. Funds may be earmarked if they relate to a financial commitment that has not yet been realised, does not meet the criteria for accrual or provision, and there is clear justification why the obligation does not meet the criteria. Examples of this could include: • Dilapidations where there is an obligation to return rented property to its original state prior to termination of the lease. • Devolved School Management funds are retained by the School however are accounted for within the Council’s overall surplus or deficit for the year; therefore require to be earmarked for return to the school. • Support for investment in Council projects where a business case is presented New requests to earmark funds for future use should be made to the S95 Officer by the relevant Chief Officer, using the template provided at appendix 2. This requires confirmation of the amount to be earmarked, clear justification of why the monies are required and the timeframe for use of the balance. In the case where the request is to assist with a recurring burden, details should be provided of how the Service plan to replace the funds in future years. The S95 Officer will make a decision on each request to earmark funds in the context of the need, and the risk to the financial sustainability of the Council. If approved, the Chief Officer will maintain records of the use of funds. Where the reserve is used for a shortfall in funding, the Chief Officer must provide periodic updates on the plans for replacing the funds in future years along with updates on projected spend against approved earmarked reserves through their revenue monitoring report. In addition the S95 Officer should be notified immediately if the monies are no longer required and can be released. Typically the earmarked reserve should not be held for more than 2 years unless supported by a business case. As part of the year end close down, the S95 officer should be provided with the final position for the year clearly identifying opening balance and spend in the year. Where funds are required to be carried forward, full justification must be provided otherwise any remaining balance on the reserve will be released to the unallocated General Fund balance. Page 195 of 216
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reserves policy 9 APPENDIX 2 New Request to Earmark General Fund Reserves Service: Division: Chief Officer: Earmarked Reserve Name: Description of Use: Amount Requested: Timeframe for Use: (If use spans more than one financial year, please provide indicative spend per year) Reason for Request: (Include details of alternative funding options considered) Plans to replace funds: (appropriate where fund is being earmarked to cover a recurring burden) Signed: Date: Page 196 of 216
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Policy and Strategy Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref GT/VR Date 04/12/25 Community Investment Fund – Annual Update From Greg Telfer, Chief Officer (Finance and Technology) E-mail telferg@northlan.gov.uk Telephone Executive Summary In September 2018, the ‘We Aspire – A Shared Ambition for North Lanarkshire’ report presented to Policy and Resources Committee outlined proposals for the establishment of the Community Investment Fund (CIF). The ambition was to target the creation of additional resources of £500m over a 10-year period to support new capital expenditure in North Lanarkshire’s communities. The investment would be funded through ring-fencing elements of future council tax income associated with the growth in housing and top slicing an element of future council tax increases. The previous update presented to Policy and Strategy Committee in December 2024 presented various scenarios projecting a potential estimate of funding available over a revised 10-year period to 2033/34. Following the Full Council decision in February 2025 to increase council tax by 10%, with 2% ringfenced for CIF, the projected value of the Fund from inception was £1,006.081m. This included £847.970 million over the revised 10-year period. This position has since been reflected in the updated year 2 of the 5-year Strategic Capital Investment Programme from 2024/25 to 2028/29 approved at Policy and Strategy Committee in March 2025. Earlier in this Committee agenda the Council Tax Strategy paper highlighted that to support members with planning and decision making the Section 95 Officer recommends, for illustrative purposes only, that future Financial Outlooks and CIF modelling will reflect Scenario B, a 10% Council Tax increase to 2027/28 with 2% ring fenced for CIF. The Council Tax level will ultimately be a decision for members when setting the budget, with the financial impact that differs from such illustrations also reflected. Assumptions underpinning the CIF funding projections have been reviewed and updated where necessary. The revised forecast now estimates £834.732 million over the 10-year period to 2033/34 or £992.834m since the funds inception, representing a small reduction of £13.247 million, primarily due to an increase in the assumption of the long-term PWLB borrowing rate. The updated CIF projections will be incorporated into planning for the annual Strategic Capital Investment Programme budget updated for the 2024/25 to 2028/29 programme due to be presented to Policy and Strategy Committee in March 2026. Item 10 Page 197 of 216
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1. Background 1.1 In September 2018, the ‘We Aspire – A Shared Ambition for North Lanarkshire’ report presented to Policy and Resources Committee outlined proposals for the establishment of the Community Investment Fund (CIF). The ambition was to target the creation of additional resources of £500m over a 10-year period to support new capital expenditure in North Lanarkshire’s communities. The investment would be funded through ring- fencing elements of future council tax income associated with the growth in housing and top slicing an element of future council tax increases. 1.2 The CIF aims to support the Council’s aspiration to make North Lanarkshire the place to Live, Learn, Work, Invest and Visit, with a shared ambition for inclusive growth and prosperity for all. Investment linked to CIF will be targeted towards tackling the barriers to growth by unlocking the potential in the most deprived areas, breaking the cycle of poverty and opening up opportunities to create more equal communities. 1.3 The new investment aims to accelerate the delivery of ambitious plans for community investment and service delivery underpinned by community involvement and partnership whilst supporting the generation of future budget savings and supporting economic regeneration activity throughout North Lanarkshire. 1.4 Several updates have been presented to Policy and Strategy Committee with the most recent update provided in December 2024. That update provided a revised estimate of the potential funding available based on various scenarios tied to the Council Tax Strategy as well as projecting for a revised 10 year funding period to 2033/34. 1.5 The Council budget for 2025/26 set aside 2% of the 10% Council Tax increase to support CIF ambitions. This resulted in a projection of funding available of £847.979m over the revised 10-year period. As a result, the Community Investment Fund contributes around 53% of funding for the core strategic capital investment programme with the core capital grant contributing just 13%. 1.6 To date, the Community Investment Fund has been a major contributary factor in record investment across North Lanarkshire’s communities. A summary of the 2024/25 financial year programme delivery highlights in shown in Appendix 1. Recommendations It is recommended that Policy and Strategy Committee: (1) Acknowledges the updated assumptions highlighted in the report and the slight reduction in available CIF resources of £13.247m over the 10-year period. (2) Acknowledge that the updated funding profile will be incorporated into planning for annual Strategic Capital Investment Programme budget updated for the 2024/25 to 2028/29 programme due to be presented to Policy and Strategy Committee in March 2026. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve North Lanarkshire's resource base Ambition statement (21) Continue to identify and access opportunities to leverage additional resources to support our ambitions Programme of Work Statutory / corporate / service requirement Page 198 of 216
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2. Report 2.1 As previously highlighted, the Community Investment Fund has two main forms of funding: forecast growth in Council Tax income which is directly linked to the Council’s ambition for economic growth; and the ring-fencing of 1% of future Council Tax increases. Ring-fenced Council Tax 2.2 The Council decision to increase Council Tax by 10% in 2025/26 and set aside 2% for CIF has been reflected in the updated modelling. 2.3 The Council’s current Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) was presented to Policy and Strategy Committee in June 2025 and assumes that 2% of Council Tax rises will continue to be set aside to support CIF up to and including 2027/28 and will revert to 1% thereafter. The MTFP also highlights a significant funding gap from 2026/27 to 2030/31 which will require Elected Members to make difficult decisions to obtain balanced budgets in the years ahead. It also assumes no national policy interventions to support a Council Tax freeze. 2.4 The latest CIF projection reflects the anticipated Council Tax increases of 10% to reflect the Section 95 Officer recommendation per the Council Tax Strategy. Council Tax Growth 2.5 In assessing the potential for future CIF resources, Finance uses a variety of tools to assess potential Council Tax growth. The following is a summary of the current analysis: Council Tax Monitoring 2.6 Finance produces monthly monitoring information on the movement in the Council Tax base using data from the Council Tax system on the numbers of properties at each band, adjusted for any exemptions and discounts applied. For ease of comparison, the total number of properties is represented as Band D equivalents. 2.7 The Council’s Tower Reprovisioning programme has temporarily affected anticipated growth in the Council Tax base due to timing. The properties being replaced were typically in the lower Council Tax bands and will be substituted with higher band properties in the future. As this impact is short-term, assumptions for Band D equivalent growth remain unchanged from the previous update, though this will continue to be closely monitored for future updates. New Build Development Monitoring 2.8 The Place service has developed a suite of metrics to support the monitoring of new build development that includes the volume of planning applications granted, the numbers of building warrants granted by Building Standards (approval for construction) and the number of completion certificates issued by Building Standards. 2.9 It is worth noting that the trends in these areas would not ordinarily lead to an amendment of projected housing growth in the CIF modelling but could provide a sense of confidence in the housing market in North Lanarkshire. Investment Factor 2.12 As outlined in previous CIF update reports, one of the key factors in determining potential funding available is the investment factor. This investment factor is determined by considering the prevailing interest rates available to the Council and the length of time the borrowing is repaid. Page 199 of 216
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2.13 Forecasted loan pool rates have increased due to revised long term interest rate assumptions. The base rate is now expected to peak at 3.75% (previously 3.00%), with higher projected PWLB rates. Consequently, forecast loan rates for 2025/26 are expected to be 5.00%, reflecting an investment factor of 17.1591. Latest information available suggest that these will slightly rise up to 2028/29 however given ongoing rate volatility and prior prudence built into previous CIF models, the investment factor of 17.1591 will be applied to the remainder of the 10 year period. The 2025/26 capital programme outturn and any slippage will be reviewed before updating the 5 year Capital Investment Programme, allowing absorption of the slightly lower rate. Projections remain subject to economic conditions, PWLB availability, and active debt management. Impact on Capital Resources 2.16 In summary, the positive impact of revised Council Tax increase assumptions, partially lower than anticipated council tax base growth in 2025/26 and marginal reduction in investment factor means there’s a slight decrease in resources of £13.247m over the revised 10-year period. Sensitivity Analysis 2.23 Given the number of variables affecting CIF modelling there are a number of risks and uncertainties associated with the various assumptions being made. A significant deviation from any of these assumptions could have an impact on the level of resources available. The following analysis illustrates the impact of changes in each of the factors: • Future increases in Council Tax The Council formally agreed to set aside 2% of Council Tax increases in 2025/26 with a capital planning assuming this level of ring-fencing would continue for a further two years for financial years 2026/27 and 2027/28. The setting aside of Council Tax increases is dependent on future decisions of the Council. A Council decision to set aside only 1% for CIF rather than 2% in 2026/27 and 2027/28 would reduce available funding by £75.729m up to 2033/34. • The level of future housing growth The level of new housing development is significantly influenced by the strength of the economy. With the ongoing impact of cost-of-living pressures and higher cost of borrowing, there is an ongoing risk that this will have an impact on the level of new housebuilding. No Council Tax growth across the CIF planning period above the £1.000m required to support the Medium-Term Financial Plan would reduce available resources to 2033/34 by £276.345m. • Prudential borrowing factors The model assumes an interest rate of 5% will apply for 2025/26 and for the remainder of the modelling timeframe. This will be subject to a degree of volatility linked to the health of the economy, the availability of borrowing at PWLB rates and the ability for the Council to continue to proactively manage its loan debt profile. An increase in the average rate of borrowing to 6.5% would reduce overall funding available by £140.541m. Alternatively, a reduction to 3.92% would increase CIF resources by £195.738m. Page 200 of 216
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3. Measures of success 3.1 Success will be evidenced through the development of projects and programmes of activity funded through the Community Investment Fund and their impact on the communities of North Lanarkshire. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 – Community Investment Fund – 2024/25 Programme Delivery Highlights 4.2 Appendix 2 – Community Investment Fund model – Updated 10-year Projection Greg Telfer Chief Officer (Finance and Technology) Page 201 of 216
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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 updated funding profile will be incorporated into the revised Strategic Capital Investment Programme 2024/25 to 2028/29 for consideration by this Committee in March 2026. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ Page 202 of 216
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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 sensitivity analysis outlined in the report highlights the impact of significant variations in the assumptions underpinning the CIF model. The governance and monitoring arrangements put in place will ensure that risk is managed across CIF programmes, including through the Council’s revenue budget, capital planning and treasury management strategies and consideration by the Council’s Strategic Capital Delivery Group. 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 203 of 216
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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 204 of 216
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Appendix 1 Community Investment Fund – 2024/25 Programme Delivery Highlights Assets and Procurement Place • Office Rationalisation – both the Buchanan Centre project and refurbishment of 2 floors of the Civic Square have been completed following extensive works including reconfiguring spaces and IT upgrades • All works completed in the 26 Non Domestic Energy Efficiency (NDEE) sites • Town and Community Hubs o Newmains – defect period completed with the final account almost agreed. o Chryston CH – defects period is ongoing. Retention continued to be held by NLC. Final account ongoing. o Riverbank – defects period completed, latent defects being addressed by HubSW. Ongoing final account discussions taking place. o Orbiston CH – works continue onsite, target handover October 2025. o Gartcosh CH – started on site in January 2025. Enabling works commenced in October 2024. Main construction works ongoing o St Kevins CH – started on site in September 2024, target handover February 2026. o St Stephens CH – started on site March 2025. o Chryston HS – Enabling works took place in Q4 2024, main contract works commenced April 25. o Glenboig CH – minor feasibility work undertaken o Abronhill CH – minor feasibility work undertaken • Active and Creative – Boiler upgrade at Wishaw Sports Centre, along with significant rewiring, lighting, and heating replacements at Kilsyth Library. Thorough condition survey works for the swimming pool facilities have also been completed. • Final works completed at Woodlands, Kilsyth and St Aidan's PS MUGA projects. A new MUGA has been installed at St Mary's PS in Cumbernauld. • A total of 5 new Active Travel Hubs have been installed across the authority along with 3 grass pitch upgraded to new synthetic pitches. • Creation of 7 outdoor cabins or polytunnels at Stane PS, Holy Family PS, Noble PS, Ladywell PS, Dykehead PS, St Mary's, Cleland and St Lucy's PS • Bothwellpark/St Aidan's LCSC & EYs Assessment Centre on track for completion end of June 2025. One children's house kitchen and all bedrooms and en-suites upgraded. Works to existing Carnbroe PS to repurpose PS to ASN secondary ongoing with expected completion in October 2025. Dalziel HS lift installed. • EALR Business Case approved by GCR Cabinet in August 2024. • Eurocentral Strategic Active Travel (phase 1 and 2 detailed design and phase 3 concept design) contract awarded and well underway. Phase 1 and 2 detailed design remains ongoing - due to complete by December 2025 • RAIS demolition complete March 2025 • Town Action Plans for Bellshill, Kilsyth and Shotts were finalised. • Draft Investment Plan for Coatbridge has been produced and is subject to further community engagement. • Progress continues with redevelopment of Cumbernauld Centre as planned. • Various puffin upgrades undertaken throughout North Lanarkshire, including 2 toucan crossings and 1 major junction upgrade. • Complete designs of 5 and construction of 2 road safety schemes. Construction priorities determined by annual accident cluster reports. • 6 Preliminary / Detailed designs and 2 active travel construction projects complete. Construction has also started on 3 other active travel projects. Priorities to be determined by active travel strategy. Community Operations Business and Digital • Purchase and upkeep of equipment for play areas • 256 New Lairs Delivered in Coltswood cemetery before end of 24/25, and available for use • Cambusnethan cemetery drainage improvements and footpath improvements • 367 Lighting Columns replaced, 10,935 lighting columns inspected, 18.25 km of carriageway resurfaced, 6.07km of footway resurfaced. Condition surveys undertaken for full carriageway network and full VRS asset register • 1,095 corporate laptops procured and 800 schools laptops refreshed • W360 upgrade completed Strategic Communications and Engagement • Completion of 67 projects including 20 play facilities, 26 road surfacing, 9 environmental projects, 10 heritage projects and 2 community safety projects. Page 205 of 216
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Appendix 2 Community Investment Fund – 10% Council Tax rise and 2% ring-fenced in 2026/27 and 2027/28 Assumptions: 1. “As is” Growth – historically, the Council Tax Band D equivalent properties has averaged around 1,700 per annum. This model assumes this growth will reduce by 5% per annum 2. Growth from ambition – modelling assumes that additional housebuilding linked to the Plan for North Lanarkshire rise by an additional 10% per annum. 3. Reductions in growth applied to reflect anticipated slowdown associated with COVID-19, Brexit and Cost of Living economic impacts. There has been no change to these assumptions since the last CIF update. 4. 10% Council Tax increase assumed for 2026/27 and 2027/28 with 2% ring-fenced from each of those years. Thereafter it reverts to 5% annual increase with 1% ring-fenced. 5. Investment Factor assumed to be 17.1591 from 2025/26 based on an interest rate of 5% over 40 years. Due to the volatility of interest rates, the investment factor will continue to be reviewed as part of the update to the 5 year Capital Investment Programme to be report to Policy & Strategy Committee in March 2026. Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Prior Years 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 2027/28 2028/29 2029/30 2030/31 2031/32 2032/33 2033/34 Total Raised from Ambition - Growth in Band D Equivalents: "As is" Growth 6,330 1,399 1,332 1,269 1,208 1,151 1,096 1,044 994 947 902 Growth from ambition 993 399 439 483 531 585 643 707 778 856 942 Impact of economic slowdown (3,510) (896) (38) 221 5 (375) (637) (200) (200) (200) (200) Anticipated Increase in Band D equivalents 3,813 902 1,733 1,973 1,745 1,360 1,102 1,551 1,572 1,603 1,643 18,996 Council Tax Charge for Band D 5,021 1,321 1,453 1,598 1,758 1,846 1,938 2,035 2,137 2,244 2,356 23,708 Total Additional Council Tax Income from growth (£000) 4,817 1,191 2,518 3,153 3,068 2,510 2,136 3,157 3,359 3,596 3,871 33,376 Less assumed 3% non-collection (£000) (145) (36) (76) (95) (92) (75) (64) (95) (101) (108) (116) (1,001) Less amount assumed in Long Term Financial Plan (£000) (3,678) (1,000) (1,000) (1,000) (1,000) (1,000) (1,000) (1,000) (1,000) (1,000) (1,000) (13,678) Amount available for Community Investment Fund (£000) 995 155 1,442 2,059 1,976 1,435 1,072 2,062 2,259 2,488 2,755 18,697 Raised from Council Tax increases: Additional income from Council Tax increase 18,052 5,160 19,105 21,016 23,117 12,137 12,743 13,381 14,050 14,752 15,490 169,003 Amount available for Community Investment Fund (£000) 2% set aside up to 2027/28, 1% thereafter 6,017 1,720 3,821 4,203 4,623 2,427 2,549 2,676 2,810 2,950 3,098 36,896 Total estimated additional income for Community Investment Fund (£000) 7,012 1,875 5,263 6,262 6,599 3,863 3,621 4,738 5,069 5,438 5,853 55,593 Investment Factor (revenue funding converted to capital) 82 17.7630 17.1591 17.1591 17.1591 17.1591 17.1591 17.1591 17.1591 17.1591 17.1591 Total Capital Funding Available 158,102 33,310 90,316 107,448 113,237 66,277 62,126 81,301 86,972 93,317 100,429 992,834 CIF Resources Assumed for 5-year Capital Programme 158,102 33,310 93,121 110,818 116,805 66,709 62,488 81,919 87,587 93,994 101,228 1,006,081 Difference 0 0 (2,805) (3,370) (3,568) (432) (362) (619) (615) (677) (798) (13,247) Page 206 of 216
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Contract Award for Project Manager and Quantity Surveying Services for Glenboig Community Hub North Lanarkshire Council Report Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref: MMcB/JMCK Date: 4/12/2025 From James McKinstry, Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) Mark McBride, Property E-mail mcbridemark@northlan.gov.uk Telephone: Manager (Estate Development) 07583094928 Executive Summary In accordance with the councils General Contract Standing Orders (GCSOs), the Committee is asked to approve the award of a contract for Project Manager and Quantity Surveying Services for Glenboig Community Hub (the ‘Agreement’) following the undertaking of a procurement procedure as detailed within this report below. Recommendations It is recommended that the Policy and Strategy Committee: (1) Approves the award of the Agreement to Gardiner & Theobald LLP (the “Contractor”) at the maximum value of Six Hundred and Seventy Three Thousand, Nine Hundred and Sixty Pounds and Seventy Four Pence (£673,960.74) exclusive of VAT across the Agreements full term which is made up of an initial period of 60 months that is anticipated to commence on 12 January 2026 with the council reserving the right to extend the Agreement for additional periods up to a maximum of a further two individual 6 month periods. 1. Background 1.1 Glenboig Primary School requires a new build primary school due to significant levels of housebuilding in the Glenboig area. The existing primary school will reach operational capacity as the school roll continues to increase as the proposed housebuilding comes The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement All ambition statements Programme of Work Transforming Places Policy and Strategy Committee Item 11 Page 207 of 216
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forward. The existing primary school is within the council’s Education 2010 PPP Estate and is operated by Transform Schools North Lanarkshire (TSNL). 1.2 In tandem with procuring and developing Glenboig Community Hub, the Hub Delivery Team are also managing the procurement and construction of temporary accommodation at the existing facility to accommodate the school roll until the construction of the new facility is complete. 1.3 Funding was approved in March 2024 at Policy and Strategy committee for the development and construction of Glenboig Community Hub. 1.4 This procurement exercise seeks to appoint Project Manager and Quantity Surveying services to support the development and construction of the community hub. 1.5 A Direct Award via Scotland Excel’s Building Construction Consultancy Framework (ref: 0920) was determined as the most appropriate route for appointment of Project Manager and Quantity Surveying services. Lot 4 of this framework agreement has been utilised and this is in place until April 2027. 1.6 The Contractor has been chosen as the most appropriate as they are familiar to the council and have worked on multiple community hubs with the council previously. Their knowledge and experience of working with the Hub Delivery Team developing and construction community hubs has been demonstrated. They are available to start work as soon as they are appointed which will provide programme benefits and contribute to overall cost management by ensuring additional inflationary periods are not added to the overall contract value for the construction of the community hub. 1.7 Furthermore, programme benefit will also be of advantage when installing temporary accommodation at the existing Glenboig Community Hub. The agreement between TSNL and the council for the temporary accommodation is for a maximum period of five years and it’s imperative that the programme for the construction of Glenboig Community Hub is driven to meet these dates. 1.8 The Contractor is a well-established organisation and are well known in the industry for providing Project Manager and Quantity Surveyor services. They also have access to cost data and market insight information from UK wide sources which can directly support the councils Glenboig Community Hub project. 1.9 To enable appropriate development and execution of the procedure required to form the Agreement, a panel of technical and procurement representatives (the “User Intelligence Group (UIG)”) was formed. 1.10 The UIG were responsible for developing the required internal contract strategy (the “Contract Strategy“) for the Agreement. The Contract Strategy sets out the parameters and approaches the council would apply within the procurement, tendering, contracting and end of life stages of the Agreement following appropriate analysis, research and investigation to ensure the council achieves maximum benefit where possible. 2. Report 2.1 The procurement procedure was undertaken as a “Direct Award”. A Direct Award is a procurement procedure where an overarching framework agreement allows the council to directly engage and contract with an appointed contractor that has already went through a full competitive procurement procedure in a more efficient manner as per the framework agreements terms and conditions. Page 208 of 216
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2.2 Within the associated Contract Strategy for the Agreement, the overarching framework agreement and determination of whether Best Value was achievable via the Direct Award procurement, the recommended Contractor was identified, engaged and issued an invitation to tender to formalise the Agreement. 2.3 The tender received from the recommended Contractor underwent appropriate appraisal to ensure it was complete / compliant with the council’s requirements and demonstrated Best Value. 2.4 Appendix 1 provides a summary of the procurement procedure undertaken including the key considerations and outcomes. Financial / Budget Consideration 2.5 The pricing section of the tender has been assessed, and the evaluators have confirmed that it is arithmetically correct and free from errors/omissions and within the pre-tender budget. 2.6 The costs associated with delivery of the Agreement will be contained within the Capital budget for the Hub Delivery Team within Assets and Procurement. Price Stability 2.7 The Contractor submitted a fully priced Activity Schedule with their tender return. The tender price submitted is a fixed cost price and is only variable via a contract instruction. 2.8 The council has various projects with similar consultancy services which have been procured via historic routes to market. It also has access to framework rates from Scotland Excel and other publicly available frameworks which were used to benchmark the tender return from the Contractor to ensure best value. Community Benefits 2.9 The council is committed to maximising the delivery of community benefits. The procurement included a community benefit requirement, this approach is designed to deliver local community benefits where possible. 2.10 Within their tender, the recommended Contractor committed to deliver community benefits as detailed within Appendix 1 of this report. Fair Work First and Payment of the Living Wage 2.11 Within their tender submission to obtain appointment to the overarching framework agreement the recommended Contractor intimated that they would commit to progressing through the Real Living Wage accreditation scheme process. 2.12 Further information on the Living Wage status of the recommended Contractor is detailed in Appendix 1. Page 209 of 216
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Contract Management 2.13 Officers from the Hub Delivery Team within Assets and Procurement will be responsible for managing the Agreement which will be undertaken in accordance with the contract and supplier management conditions applied within the Agreement. 3. Measures of success The Agreement will deliver the following outcomes; 3.1 Best Value will be demonstrated as outlined in Appendix 1; 3.2 The appointment of an experienced Contractor who has the experience and capability to deliver a high-quality service to the council which will contribute to the mitigation of the projects overall risk profile and overall project success. 3.3 A completed procurement procedure which is compliant with the relevant procurement legislation, overarching framework agreement and councils General Contract Standing Orders. 3.4 Secure an enhanced range of community benefits which align to strategic objectives and are compliant with the over-arching Scotland Excel framework agreement. 4. Supporting documents 4.1 Appendix 1 Summary of Procurement Procedure James McKinstry Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) Page 210 of 216
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Scotland Excel has assessed Fair Work First principles when Contractors were appointed to the framework. The Contractor is bound by these principles during their time on the relevant framework agreement. 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? Available budget is contained with the Town and Community Hub capital programme. Glenboig Community Hub and associated professional services was recently granted approval to proceed to procurement in September 2025 via the Town and Community Hub Steering Group. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? All procurement procedures will have potential legal implications however throughout this Agreement, compliance with the councils General Contract Standing Orders and the relevant procurement regulations has been maintained with advice from colleagues in Corporate Procurement and Legal Services sought as and when required. Legal Services reviewed and advised on the contract terms that the Contractor has been procured with. No amendments to these terms were proposed by Legal Services or the Contractor. Page 211 of 216
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5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e-mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☒ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? Programme risks are managed via Figtree. Specific project risks will be managed via project risk register and regularly reviewed to ensure effective risk management and mitigation. 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex-Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services. Page 212 of 216
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5.11 Children’s rights and wellbeing impact Does the report contain any information regarding any council activity, service delivery, policy, or plan that has an impact on children and young people up to the age of 18, or on a specific group of these? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact and the provision that has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the relevant Articles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). If Yes, has a Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) been carried out? Yes ☐ No ☒ Page 213 of 216
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Appendix 1 – Summary of Procurement Procedure Overview Reference NLC-SLP-25-056 Title Project Manager (PM) and Quantity Surveying (QS) Services for Glenboig Community Hub Classification Services - Standard Responsible Chief Officer and Position James McKinstry, Chief Officer (Assets and Procurement) Competition Governance by Value Overarching Framework Agreements terms and condition in accordance with the Councils General Contract Standing Orders Route to Market Direct Award from a Third-Party Framework Agreement Framework Agreement Title, Ref and Lot Info Scotland Excel’s Building Construction Consultancy Framework (Ref 0920) – Lot 4 Quantity Surveying Interest No. of Lot / Framework Agreement Appointments Lot 4 has 10 framework appointments Date ITT Package Issued (If Applicable) 18 September 2025 Direct Award Basis Best Value Assessment of Framework Contractors in Accordance with the Framework Agreement How Has “Best Value” Been Demonstrated? Best value has been considered throughout the development of this contract opportunity and best value has been demonstrated as follows: • The Contractor is an established Contractor which has vast experience working within the construction industry in Scotland, building educational establishments and they have an ongoing working relationship with the council. • Team proposed by the Contractor is familiar to the council and they already have established working relationships with the Hub Delivery Team and Forward Planning Team. All staff proposed are suitably qualified, with the lead senior staff holding chartered professional qualifications in their relevant fields. • To mitigate overall risk, when considering new routes to market, the appointment of an existing Contractor who already has working knowledge of Community Hub projects and the council’s construction requirements was important. • Community Benefits offered by the Contractor are in line with the Scotland Excel terms and conditions. This will contribute to the wellbeing within the council area and they will be required to work with the council to support the councils economic and social objectives. Page 214 of 216
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• Through framework terms and conditions, they are required to not exceed the framework rates and a benchmarking exercise was undertaken to ensure best value was achieved. • Contractor has access to cost data utilising their internal Market Insight team to provide macroeconomic information and cost benchmarking from across the UK to support the development of Glenboig Community Hub. Additional Comments N/A Award Details General Overview Total / Maximum Value £673,960.74 Contract Duration (Months) 60 months (with option to extend for further 2 individual 6 month periods) Contractors Registered Name(s) Gardiner and Theobald LLP Contractor Overview Registered Local Authority Area Camden Contractor(s) Size Large Living Wage Paying the Living Wage Yes Living Wage Accredited No Overview of Community Benefits For each year of the contract, the following community benefits have been offered as part of the tender process: • 2 x business training to SME’s or voluntary sector within Local Authority Area. This could include finance, marketing, tendering, procurement or HR training. • 1 x active support to any initiative designed to support those in poverty within the Local Authority area. • 2 x educational presentations to school children within the Local Authority area. • 2 x consultancy support to a community partner within the Local Authority area. Note that all the above community benefit opportunities are in line with Scotland Excel’s framework provision. G&T will have the opportunity to work with the council to finalise the community benefits offering upon award of the contract. They have exceeded the community benefit offering required of them under the terms of Scotland Excel’s framework. Additional Comments Within the original tendering process for the Scotland Excel framework, Fair Work First formed part of the quality criteria with additional information and detail requested in terms of payment of the Living Wage, accredited status etc. As this was included within the original tendering process, it cannot be reopened and or / rescored as part of this procurement process however all original commitments by Gardiner & Theobald LLP (payment of the living Page 215 of 216
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wage and commitment to progress through the Real Living Wage accreditation scheme process) shall be applicable to this contract. Impacts Summary, Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty ☒ HR Policy Impact ☐ Data Protection Impact ☐ Environment / Carbon Impact ☐ Risk Impact ☒ Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact ☐ Financial Impact ☒ Legal Impact ☒ Technology / Digital Impact ☐ Comms impact ☐ Armed Forces Covenant Duty ☐ Page 216 of 216