Agenda pack
North Lanarkshire Council · 1 December 2022
Back to Policy and Strategy Committee — 1 December 2022 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Our Ref: Your Ref: Contact: Tel: Fax: E-Mail: Date: Lesley Dysart dysartl@northlan.gov.uk 22 Nov 2022 Members of the Policy and Strategy Committee Chief Executive’s Office Archie Aitken Head of Legal & Democratic Solutions Civic Centre, Windmillhill Street Motherwell ML1 1AB DX 571701, Motherwell 2 www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk Notice is given that a Meeting of the POLICY AND STRATEGY COMMITTEE is to be held within the Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Motherwell on Thursday, 1 December 2022 at 2pm which you are requested to attend. The agenda of business is attached. Head of Legal and Democratic Solutions Members : Councillors: A Beveridge, M Boyd, G Brennan, A Campbell, T Carragher, P Di Mascio, K Duffy, F Fotheringham, J Hume, L Jarvie, J Jones, P Kelly, K Larson, J Leckie, J Logue, H Loughran, A Masterton, M McBride, L Nolan, G Robinson, L Roarty, K Stevenson, A Stubbs, R Sullivan, and S Watson. Page 1 of 96
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AGENDA (1) Declarations of Interest in terms of the Ethical Standards in Public Life Etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 (2) Minutes - Audit and Scrutiny Panel of 8 September, and 27 October 2022 (page 5 - 12) Submit Minutes of the Audit and Scrutiny Panel of 8 September and 27 October 22 (copies herewith) FINANCIAL (3) Capital Investment Programme (page 13 - 20) Submit report by the Head of Financial Solutions presenting the outcome of the review of the capital programme undertaken by the Council's Strategic Capital Delivery Group while ensuring alignment with the Council's previously agreed capital prioritisation matrix and, therefore, the Plan for North Lanarkshire (copy of full report herewith, and copy of Appendix 1, in colour, attached) OPERATIONAL (4) One Place One Plan - Governance Update (page 21 - 32) Submit report by the Chief Executive outlining the first phase of structural refinements for Committee approval (copy herewith) (5) PoW003.2 Digital NL - Programme Review (page 33 - 58) Submit report by the Chief Executive reviewing the programme deliverables achieved to date against those outlined within the Full Business Case approved by Committee in March 2019 (copy herewith) (6) P077.1 Workforce for the Future Progress Update (page 59 - 96) Submit report by the Deputy Chief Executive providing an update on how the Council is partnering with employers to progress roll out of the Workforce for the Future Strategy (copy herewith) EXCLUSION OF PUBLIC The Committee is asked to consider passing the following resolution: "That under Section 50A(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 10 of Part 1 of Schedule 7A of the Act." (7) POO1 The Enterprise Strategic Vehicle - Update and future development (page 97 - 114) Submit report by the Head of Asset and Procurement Solutions providing a further update on the Enterprise Project highlighting both progress to date and planned future development (copy herewith) Page 3 of 96
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AUDIT AND SCRUTINY PANEL - 8 SEPTEMBER 2022 1 Motherwell, 8 September 2022 at 2 pm. A Meeting of the AUDIT AND SCRUTINY PANEL PRESENT Councillor Watson, Convener; Councillor Dunbar, Vice-Convener; Councillors Hume, D. Johnston, T. Johnston, Loughran, Robinson and Stevenson. IN ATTENDANCE The Head of Financial Solutions; Head of Business and Digital; Head of Audit and Risk; Finance Manager; Business Strategy Manager; Strategy and Performance Manager; Business Partnership Manager; Principal Auditor and Democratic Services Manager. CHAIR Councillor Watson (Convener) presided. ALSO IN ATTENDANCE G McCreadie and P Murray, Audit Scotland. APOLOGIES Councillors Kelly, Lennon and McNally, Prior to the commencement of business, the Convener read out a statement to the Panel outlining its role and remit and indicating that consideration of matters should take place in a non-political environment. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST IN TERMS OF THE ETHICAL STANDARDS IN PUBLIC LIFE ETC. (SCOTLAND) ACT 2000 1. There were no declarations of interest. INTERNAL AUDIT ANNUAL REPORT 2021-2022 2. There was submitted a report by the Head of Audit and Risk (1) informing the Panel that the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards and the Council’s Internal Audit Charter require the Head of Audit and Risk to provide the Panel, and the Chief Executive and the Corporate Management Team, with an annual summary of work undertaken by Internal Audit and providing an annual independent opinion on the Council’s Corporate Governance, Risk Management and Internal Control arrangements; (2) explaining that the report fulfilled that requirement by providing an overview of the activities of the Internal Audit Section for the year 2021-2022 and by presenting, attached at Appendix 1 to the report, the Annual Internal Audit Opinion, and (3) stating that the Annual Opinion is unqualified and that the report offers a generally positive view of the Council’s Governance and Internal Control arrangements. The Panel agreed that the 2021-22 Internal Audit Annual Report, and associated annual opinion of the Head of Audit and Risk, be noted. AGENDA ITEM 2 Page 5 of 96
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AUDIT AND SCRUTINY PANEL - 8 SEPTEMBER 2022 2 ANNUAL GOVERNANCE STATEMENT 2021-22 3. There was submitted a report by the Head of Business and Digital (1) informing the Panel that the Council is required to produce an Annual Governance Statement in line with the Local Authority Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2014 and that this statement requires to be included within the Council’s annual accounts and is subject to review by the external auditors as part of their year end annual audit report process; (2) attaching, as Appendix 1 to the report, the Annual Governance Statement for the 2021-22 year, which outlines the Council’s Governance arrangements for the previous financial year and demonstrates how the Council complies with the Delivering Good Governance in Local Government Framework (2016), and (3) advising that included in the Annual Governance Statement is the annual internal audit opinion from the Head of Audit and Risk on the Council’s internal control systems which concludes that “reasonable assurance can be placed on the adequacy and effectiveness of the Council’s Framework of Governance, Risk Management and Internal Control for the year ended 31 March 2022”. The Panel agreed:- (1) that the Annual Governance Statement for 2021-22 be noted, and (2) that the inclusion of the Assurance Statement in the Annual Governance Statement for 2021- 22 be confirmed. DRAFT UNAUDITED ANNUAL ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR TO 31 MARCH 2022 4. There was submitted a report by the Head of Financial Solutions (1) informing the Panel that the unaudited accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022 had been completed and submitted to Audit Scotland by 30 June 2022 in accordance with the statutory deadline, and (2) attaching, as an Appendix to the report, the unaudited annual accounts for the year to 31 March 2022. The Panel agreed that the contents of the report, and the unaudited annual accounts submitted to External Audit by 30 June 2022, be acknowledged. EXTERNAL AUDIT – ANNUAL PLAN 2021-22 5. There was submitted a report by the Head of Audit and Risk presenting the Annual Plan 2021-22 from the Council’s appointed external auditors, Audit Scotland. Thereon, G McCreadie, Audit Scotland, spoke to the External Audit Annual Plan 2021-22. The Panel agreed that the External Audit Annual Plan 2021-22, and the work proposed in undertaking that audit of the Council, be noted. INTERNAL AUDIT PROGRESS REPORT 6. There was submitted a report by the Head of Audit and Risk (1) providing an overview of Internal Audit activity; (2) reporting the results of Internal Audit outputs finalised since the last update to the Panel in March 2022; (3) highlighting the most significant areas arising from the completed audit work; (4) updating the Panel on other aspects of the work of Internal Audit, and (5) attaching, as an Appendix to the report, a brief summary of the scope and key findings of each substantive planned audit together with a supplementary pack containing copies of those reports. Page 6 of 96
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AUDIT AND SCRUTINY PANEL - 8 SEPTEMBER 2022 3 Thereon, K Adamson answered questions from the Panel and provided assurance that information relating to the report on business continuity planning testing by Services would be provided to members of the Panel. The Panel agreed:- (1) that the findings, conclusions and recommendations of completed Internal Audit reports, together with the associated management responses, be noted; (2) that Internal Audit provide a report to future meetings of the Panel on progress made in implementing agreed management actions in relation to all audit recommendations categorised as high or medium, and (3) that, otherwise, the content of the report be noted. INTERNAL AUDIT: FOLLOW-UP OF ACTIONS PREVIOUSLY AGREED BY MANAGEMENT IN RESPONSE TO AUDIT RECOMMENDATIONS 7. There was submitted a report by the Head of Audit and Risk (1) detailing the extent to which management had implemented actions previously committed to in response to recommendations in Internal Audit reports, where those actions were due to be completed by the end of June 2022; (2) advising that Internal Audit had concluded that 10 of the 27 actions agreed in response to relevant Internal Audit recommendations during the period had been completed, 15 were assessed as being partially implemented, and 2 determined as no longer relevant; (3) explaining that 9 of the 14 actions agreed in respect of External Audit outputs had been completed, 1 had been partially implemented, and 4 were no longer relevant, and (4) attaching, as an Appendix to the report, commentary for management and details of proposed management actions and revised target dates for completion of those outstanding audit recommendations where Internal Audit had assessed the residual risk as high or medium. During consideration, the Panel expressed concern that where a target date for an action was listed for the end of the month in which the Panel met, and in the event that the target date was missed, it may be an entire Committee cycle before the Panel was made aware of this situation and requested that members of the Panel be notified between meetings where any actions listed had not been achieved by their target date. The Panel agreed (1) that the contents of the report be noted, and (2) that the recommendations by Internal Audit at Appendix 1 to the report be approved. INTERNAL AUDIT ANNUAL PLAN 2022-23 8. There was submitted a report by the Head of Audit and Risk (1) presenting the proposed Internal Audit Plan 2022-23 to the Panel for its consideration and approval, and (2) setting out the background and context within which the Internal Audit planning process is undertaken, and providing a high level review of how it is proposed Internal Audit resources will be allocated in 2022-23. The Panel agreed:- (1) that the approach adopted to produce the 2022-23 Internal Audit Annual Plan be noted; Page 7 of 96
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AUDIT AND SCRUTINY PANEL - 8 SEPTEMBER 2022 4 (2) that the detailed list of proposed Internal Audit assignments for the 2022-23 Plan, attached at Appendix 1 to the report, be noted, and (3) that the proposed 2022-23 Internal Audit Annual Plan be approved. RISK MANAGEMENT UPDATE AND CORPORATE RISK REGISTER 2022-23 9. There was submitted a report by the Head of Audit and Risk (1) providing a general update on key risk management developments with particular focus on the results of the recent annual review of the Corporate Risk Register; (2) submitting a proposed timetable for future reporting on key corporate risks to the Panel; (3) reminding the Panel that the Corporate Risk Register is reviewed annually to ensure completeness and continuing alignment to the Council's strategic objectives; (4) noting that all corporate risks identified and agreed as meriting inclusion in the Corporate Risk Register are subject to regular monitoring and review by senior management and periodic review and consideration of individual risks by both the Corporate Management Team and the Panel in line with the Council's Risk Management Strategy and their respective governance roles, and (5) reporting that, although there are some changes in individual risk scores, the Corporate Risk Register for 2022-23 remains substantially unchanged from the previous year. The Panel agreed:- (1) that the agreed Corporate Risk Register for 2022-23, attached at Appendix 1 to the report and incorporating the range of proposed changes outlined in the report, be noted; (2) that the proposed Schedule, attached at Appendix 3 to the report, for reporting on corporate risks to future meetings of the Panel, be approved, and (3) that the proposal to carry out a further review of the Corporate Risk Register in late 2022, as outlined in the report, including the addition of top risks from Service Risk Registers, be noted. STRATEGIC GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK - ANNUAL REVIEW AND REFRESH 10. There was submitted a report by the Head of Business and Digital (1) reporting that the Delivering Good Governance in Local Government: Framework requires that each year, local authorities test their arrangements against the Good Governance principles set out within it by carrying out a review of existing arrangements, ensuring that their local Code is up to date, and reporting on compliance; (2) advising that, in this respect, the Strategic Governance Framework has been reviewed and updated; (3) presenting the updated Strategic Governance Framework to the Panel for approval in line with its role "to provide independent assurance to the Council and those charged with governance on the adequacy of the Council's Risk Management Framework and internal control environment", and (4) intimating that the annual review process, and refreshed Strategic Governance Framework, are also key pieces of evidence used to inform the development of the Annual Governance Statement for 2021-22. The Panel agreed:- (1) that the annual review which has been undertaken to refresh the Strategic Governance Framework, and ensure each of the elements and mechanisms listed therein are up to date, and on a review programme to be updated at an appropriate interval and reported to the relevant Committee, be acknowledged; (2) that the Panel continues to carry out its role in respect of the Strategic Governance Framework in terms of providing independent assurance to the Council and those charged with Page 8 of 96
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AUDIT AND SCRUTINY PANEL - 8 SEPTEMBER 2022 5 governance on the adequacy of the Council's Risk Management Framework and internal control environment, and (3) that the refreshed Strategic Governance Framework be approved. SCRUTINY WORK PROGRAMME 11. There was submitted a report by the Head of Business and Digital (1) providing an update to the assessment and prioritisation process previously approved in 2018 to establish a work programme for the scrutiny function of the Panel, and (2) explaining that this process has been updated to ensure that scrutiny activity is framed within the context of The Plan for North Lanarkshire. The Panel agreed:- (1) that the updated process, as set out in the report and in Appendix 1 to the report, in order to assess and prioritise future items requiring scrutiny, with a work programme for the scrutiny function of the Panel to be established, be approved, and (2) that the role of Panel members in identifying, assessing and prioritising items for inclusion in the Scrutiny Work Programme in line with the updated process be endorsed. ARM'S LENGTH EXTERNAL ORGANISATIONS: GOVERNANCE AND RISK MANAGEMENT: OVERSIGHT AND ASSURANCE REPORT 2022-23 (PROGRAMME OF WORKS 75.1 – PART 2) 12. There was submitted a report by the Head of Business and Digital (1) reminding the Panel that the Council delivers a number of frontline and business-focussed services through Arm's Length External Organisations (ALEOs) which have been developed over the past 20 years to provide services in new ways that are innovative, responsive or more commercially driven; (2) explaining that the Council must have confidence in the quality of service delivery and obtain assurances, through robust monitoring, scrutiny and oversight, that the public purse continues to secure best value and that the externalised delivery arrangements are not exposing the Council to potential operational, financial or reputational risks; (3) providing an overview of the ALEO landscape and the performance and financial monitoring safeguards that are in place to provide such assurance; (4) confirming that ALEO Boards and Management Committees continue to demonstrate effective stewardship with financial governance and risk management arrangements in place, and (5) providing an update on the status of current dissolution activity and providing assurance to Members that Council decisions are being effectively and timeously implemented. The Panel agreed:- (1) that the nature and range of services provided by ALEOs and the governance and stewardship arrangements in place to ensure effective, efficient and responsive service delivery be noted; (2) that the performance monitoring and oversight arrangements in place, and that these are suitably robust and provide appropriate opportunity for the Council to obtain the necessary assurances that service delivery reflects best value, be noted, and (3) that the current activity to wind-up the business and affairs of a small number of existing ALEOs, where the Council has previously agreed to in-source or cease service delivery, be endorsed. Page 9 of 96
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AUDIT AND SCRUTINY PANEL - 27 OCTOBER 2022 1 27 October 2022 at 2 pm. A Special Meeting of the AUDIT AND SCRUTINY PANEL PRESENT Councillor Watson, Convener; Councillor Dunbar, Vice-Convener; Councillors Fisher, Hume, D. Johnston, McNally, Robinson, Stevenson and Sullivan. CHAIR Councillor Watson (Convener) presided. ALSO PRESENT In accordance with Standing Order 64(A) Councillor Hughes substituted for Councillor T. Johnston. IN ATTENDANCE The Head of Financial Solutions; Head of Business and Digital; Head of Audit and Risk; Business Strategy Manager; Strategy and Performance Manager; Finance Manager, and Democratic Services Manager. ALSO IN ATTENDANCE B. Howarth and P. Murray, Audit Scotland. APOLOGIES Councillor T. Johnston. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST IN TERMS OF THE ETHICAL STANDARDS IN PUBLIC LIFE ETC. (SCOTLAND) ACT 2000 1. There were no declarations of interest. ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2021/22 LETTERS OF REPRESENTATION 2. There was submitted a report by the Head of Financial Solutions providing the Panel with information on the Letters of Representation required to be submitted to Audit Scotland in respect of the Council’s Annual Accounts and the Council’s Charitable Trust Accounts for 2021/22 (1) indicating that the Letters of Representation had been signed by the Head of Financial Solutions in her capacity as the Council’s Section 95 Officer and Trustee for the Charitable Trust and Educational Trust; (2) attaching, as an Appendix to the report, a copy of both Letters of Representation; (3) explaining that, as in previous years, the letters set out the Representations of Management and confirmed that the accounts were free from material mis-statement; (4) reporting that during the course of the audit, the External Auditors had highlighted a number of mis-statements within the Council’s Financial Statements which had been adjusted for the audited accounts where these were material, and (5) advising that a list of items that had arisen relating to the Council’s Accounts and the Charitable Trust and Education Trust Accounts were contained within the external Audit Annual Report. The Panel agreed that the Letters of Representation, provided to Audit Scotland, be noted. Page 10 of 96
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AUDIT AND SCRUTINY PANEL - 27 OCTOBER 2022 2 ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2021/22 – EXTERNAL AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THOSE CHARGED WITH GOVERNANCE ON THE 2021/22 AUDIT 3. There was submitted a report by the Head of Financial Solutions permitting the Panel to consider the External Auditors comments on specific matters arising from its audit of the Financial Statements for both the Council and the Charitable Trust in Education Endowments administered by the Council (1) providing background to the appointment of External Auditors to the Council and their role and remit; (2) explaining that, following completion of the audit, Audit Scotland had produced reports to those charged with governance on the 2021/22 audit for both the Council, and the Council’s Charitable Trust in Education Endowments, and (3) attaching, as Appendices to the report, reports from Audit Scotland in relation to the Council and the Council’s Charitable Trust in Education Endowments. B. Howarth spoke to the report by the External Auditor, following which the Panel agreed to note the report. EXTERNAL AUDIT – ANNUAL AUDIT REPORT 2021/22 4. There was submitted a report by the Audit and Risk Manager presenting to the Panel the Annual Audit Report produced by the Council’s appointed External Auditors, Audit Scotland in respect of the audit for the Council for the year ending 31 March 2022 (1) explaining that the Accounts Commission had appointed Audit Scotland as the Council’s appointed External Auditor and that Audit Scotland is required to annually prepare a report for Elected Members and the Controller of Audit, summarising the audit work and presenting the main findings arising from the audit; (2) informing the Panel that the External Auditor’s report presents key matters arising from each of the main areas of work undertaken by the External Auditor including the audit of financial statements and issues relating to the Council’s Financial Management, Financial Sustainability, Governance and Value for Money arrangements; (3) highlighting that, as outlined in the report by the External Auditor, they were able to place an unqualified audit opinion on the 2021/22 Financial Statements and that, although a small number of issues were highlighted by the External Auditor where scope for further improvement exists, overall, the report is considered by management to be positive with no significant weaknesses identified, and (4) attaching, as an Appendix to the report, the Audit Scotland Annual Audit Report 2021/22. B. Howarth spoke to the report by the External Auditor and answered questions from the Panel. The Panel agreed:- (1) that the External Auditor’s Annual Audit Report be noted, and (2) that implementation by management of actions agreed in response to External Audits recommendation be monitored through reports from Internal Audit. ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2021/22 (AUDITED) 5. There was submitted a report by the Head of Financial Solutions presenting the Council’s final 2021/22 Annual Accounts, and providing Elected Members with a background on the need to consider matters raised by Audit Scotland in respect of examination of the accounts (1) reminding the Panel that the Local Authority Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2014 require the Council to prepare an Annual Statement of Accounts in accordance with proper accounting practices and that the Accounts Commission appoints External Auditors to local authorities in order to carry out the audit of Financial Statements in accordance with International Standards; (2) informing the Panel that the review of the 2021/22 accounts by Audit Scotland was now complete and that the final version of the accounts was attached to the report as an Appendix, and (3) indicating that, following consideration of the accounts, a copy of the financial accounts signed by Council Officers and the Audit Director would be submitted to Audit Scotland and that a full Annual Report had been prepared by Audit Scotland and considered elsewhere in the meeting. Page 11 of 96
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AUDIT AND SCRUTINY PANEL - 27 OCTOBER 2022 3 B. Howarth spoke to the report by Audit Scotland and wished to place on record the thanks of Audit Scotland for the co-operation of the Council Officers involved. The Panel agreed:- (1) that the contents of the report be noted; (2) that the final accounts, attached to the report as an Appendix, be approved for signing, and (3) that the relevant matters raised by the External Auditor at the meeting be noted. Page 12 of 96
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Policy and Strategy Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref DB/EK/GT Date 11/10/22 Capital Investment Programme Update From Elaine Kemp, Head of Financial Solutions E-mail kempe@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 280601 1. Background 1.1 The Council’s updated five-year Strategic Capital Investment Programme from 2021/22 to 2025/26 was approved at Policy and Strategy Committee in March 2022. This programme totalled £725.354m and was underpinned by significant funding from the Council’s Community Investment Fund (£261.147m). 1.2 As the Committee will be aware, the Community Investment Fund is subject to annual review based on a number of factors including the rate of new house building, Council Tax rises and the cost of borrowing. The most recent review was presented to Policy Executive Summary The Community Investment Fund Annual Update report to Policy and Strategy Committee in September 2022 highlighted the requirement to reduce the Council’s capital investment programme by £22.076m to ensure that programme activity matches funding availability. This report presents the outcome of the review of the capital programme undertaken by the Council’s Strategic Capital Delivery Group while ensuring alignment with the Council’s previously agreed capital prioritisation matrix and, therefore, the Plan for North Lanarkshire. Recommendations It is recommended that Committee: (1) Approves the recommended budget reductions outlined in paragraph 2.10 and in Appendix 1, (2) Acknowledges the ongoing capital programme funding risks linked to wider economic factors, and (3) Endorses the approach to the development of a future strategic capital programme as outlined in paragraphs 2.13 to 2.15. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve North Lanarkshire's resource base Ambition statement (25) Ensure intelligent use of data and information to support fully evidence based decision making and future planning AGENDA ITEM 3 Page 13 of 96
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and Strategy Committee on 29 September 2022 and highlighted a projected reduction of £42.241m over the 10-year planning period. The impact on the current 5-year capital planning period is a reduction of £22.076m. 1.3 With the reduction in resources available to support the current capital investment programmes, the Council’s Strategic Capital Delivery Group (SCDG) was tasked with reassessing priorities with a view to reducing the programme to match funding available. 2. Report Review Process 2.1 The Council’s SCDG met on several occasions throughout September and October 2022 to agree the scope and principles of the review and to finalise the recommendation to Committee. 2.2 The review process has been guided throughout by the prioritisation matrix agreed for the development of the initial five-year Strategic Capital Investment Programme as approved at Policy and Strategy Committee in March 2021. 2.3 The agreed scoring methodology gave every proposed project for the current capital programme a weighted score to demonstrate its contribution to the Council’s priority outcomes and additional criteria linked to contribution to issues such as financial sustainability, environmental sustainability and asset management planning. 2.4 The previous scoring process also included an assessment of unavoidable commitments. Unavoidable commitments were defined as projects that had already commenced, had been committed as a result of a committee decision or those of strategic importance. These projects were top sliced from the available resources, with the remaining bids assessed in accordance with their relative weighted score and matched with the funding available. Therefore, no project scoring below 50% was allocated funding unless it was deemed to be unavoidable. 2.5 Given the Council’s priority outcomes have not changed, and the additional criteria are still as relevant now as they were when they were established in December 2020, SCDG agreed that this should be the basis for the review of the capital programme. In effect, SCDG agreed to focus its attention on the projects with the lowest priority score to identify budget reductions of £22.076m to match funding availability. 2.6 In addition, given the scale of the challenge SCDG also agreed to review where there was potential for reductions in core Council funding where additional grant support had been received. Review Outcome 2.7 Potential budget reductions totalling £31.531m were identified from the review; £14.520m from a review of prioritisation and £17.010m from potential grant synergies. 2.8 Removing the Council’s capital contingency of £2.781m reduces the required budget reduction target from £22.076m to £19.295m. 2.9 The SCDG met on 6 October 2022 to RAG the options as follows: • Green – agreement from the Group on recommending a budget reduction, • Amber – sufficient uncertainty or risk associated with the potential budget reduction so agreement to not to recommend a budget reduction, and Page 14 of 96
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• Red – the Group agreed that it could not recommend a budget reduction at this stage. 2.10 The outcome is presented on Appendix 1 with explanations and notes on each of the budget lines. In summary, the SCDG was able to identify £19.295m of recommended budget reductions (highlighted in Green in the Appendix) with £12.236m not recommended for reduction at this stage (see those highlighted in Amber and Red). Note that given the recommendation of removal of the Shared Campus budget allocation from the current 5-year capital planning cycle there is an allowance made for essential, unavoidable health and safety and legislative works to be undertaken at the Civic Centre. Risks 2.11 The Community Investment Fund Annual Update report presented to Policy and Strategy Committee on 29 September 2022 highlights the impact of significant increases in the Bank of England base interest rate may have on the Council’s cost of borrowing. It is highlighted that an increase in the average rate of Council borrowing to 4.75% would reduce overall funding available by £64.896m. 2.12 As part of its proactive Treasury Management Strategy, the Council is continually reviewing its cash balances and loan debt profile to minimise borrowing costs. However, Committee should be aware that if interest rates continue to rise, or stay at higher levels for a sustained period of time, the Council will be required to undertake further reviews to ensure the capital programme matches funding available. Future Capital Programme Development 2.13 The Council is nearing the end of the second year of its five-year capital planning period. It was always the intention of the SCDG to undertake a review of the 2021/22 to 2025/26 capital programme during the first three years with a view to developing a new five-year programme, or potentially a plan covering a longer period of time. 2.14 Therefore, SCDG will seek to work with Services to develop a new, reset capital programme to commence from 2024/25. It is hoped that there will be more economic certainty at that stage in relation to issues such as interest rates, house building etc. 2.15 The new capital programme will also aim to reflect the updated Programme of Work and will be driven by the recently approved Corporate Asset Management Plan which creates the potential that funding available for the Council’s ambitions is maximised. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Ensuring that capital programme plans are prioritised in line with the Council’s priority outcomes whilst ensuing that programme activity matches available funding. 4. Supporting documentation Appendix 1 – Capital Programme Review Elaine Kemp Head of Financial Solutions Page 15 of 96
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality-and-fairer- scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Financial Solutions? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Financial impacts are outlined throughout the report. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People and Organisational Development? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic Solutions? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ Page 16 of 96
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If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for technology, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? Through SCDG the Council will be managing ongoing risk associated with the strategic capital investment programme, including but not limited to: • Failure to spend in-year capital grant which may result in any unspent portion being returned to the Scottish Government. However, given the significant level of Community Investment Fund activity this risk is deemed to be low at this stage. • Project delays and programme issues that impact on the delivery of the programme and result in increases costs or reduced outcomes. • Reductions in funding available through the Community Investment Fund as a result of external factors facing the Council. This is managed through regular monitoring of CIF assumptions and sensitivity analysis / scenario planning. Page 17 of 96
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Appendix 1 Capital Programme Review Total £m Reduction to be identified 22.076 Removal of contingency 2.781 Balance to be identified 19.295 Review of Prioritisation (recommended budget reductions): Demolitions 1.000 G HoS assessment that it is possible to reduce within the current 5 year planning period but requires consideration for future capital planning rounds IT 6.01 Minor (application dependancy software) 0.006 G HoS assessment that this would be a low risk reduction SEPA funding Garrellburn 0.112 G Additional funds from SEPA to contribute towards the project overspend. Note the project overspend was absorbed in NLC funds during 21/22 therefore this balance now available to allocate in 22/23. Traffic Signals 0.150 G Budget for A73 Corridor Improvements no longer required Design Fees underspend 22/23 Environmental Assets 0.381 G Based on 22/23 forecast. Sufficient budget remains in future years to support costs Design Fees underspend 22/23 Asset and Procurement Solutions 0.056 G Based on 22/23 forecast. Sufficient budget remains in future years to support costs Shared Campus 6.000 G Current economic climate with increased costs of construction and increased borrowing costs have resulted in an agreement to pause work on the Shared Campus proposals until external market conditions improve. A consequence of the reprofiling of work on the Shared Campus proposal would be the requirement to review essential, unavoidable maintenance on the Civic Centre building to include issues such as lifts, roof works, limited window works, electrical improvements etc. ASC - Aids and adaptations 0.650 G Based on forecast spend levels in 22/23 - thereby reducing future 3 years allocation to £2.2m per annum City Deal - Ravenscraig North 4.762 G RIA (North and South) allocated £17.6m in current 5 year programme. Deferral of some expenditure to beyond the current capital planning period linked to latest information from transport assessments IT3.04 Co-ordinated Interactive Panels Installations 0.303 G Schools to contribute more towards the replacement / renewal of current smart board estate IT5.04 - Immersive Experience Pods 0.181 G Funding pressures on capital programme necessitates a longer-term deployment of the additional immersive experience rooms across Council locations. This reduction enables immersive experience rooms to be deployed to a further two towns, with locations determined following a rigorous option appraisal and assessment against the Town and Community Hub design and delivery principle IT3.05 Co-ordinated Education End User Device Hardware Upgrade 0.920 R HoS recommendation this is reduced as very last resort. The current budget allocation supports refresh of hardware across the Council to ensure compatability with the current network infrastructure Sub Total 14.520 Page 18 of 96
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Review of external funding synergies: Community Board Project Investment Fund - SG Play grant and Shared Prosperity Fund 4.016 G £7.5m allocation over the 5 year period but significant additional funding received via NLC investments / Covid recovery, Scottish Government grants to support play area renewal / upgrades and Shared Properity Fund. Active travel / Infrastructure & Transportation Improvements 1.116 A Additional funding included in the Shared Prosperity Fund bid and additional funding from Scottish Government for Cycling, Walking and Safer Routes (CWSR) are in excess of full 5 year NLC 'priority allocation' for Active Travel. There is the potential to remove core NLC budget, however, recognition that NLC resource levers additional funding from Sustrans and SPT Economic Regeneration - Town Centres - Placed Based Investment Programme 1.678 G £1.678m represents the 'priority allocation' value. Consideration of known future Scottish Government capital grant allocations: 22/23 £2.436m, 23/24 £1.698m, 24/25 £1.698m Traffic Signals 0.500 R HoS recommendation that there is no reduction at this stage LUF - Cumbernauld Town Centre 9.700 R Currently assumed to be funded from Economic Regeneration (Town Centre) allocation and Committee approval so a successful LUF bid could 'release' this allocation. Note: £9.7m represents the purchase of the site(s) only. 17.010 Total Potential Solutions Identified 31.531 Balance to be identified / (excess) (12.236) Summary: Green 19.295 Amber 1.116 Red 11.120 Page 19 of 96
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Policy and Strategy Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref DM Date 01/12/22 One Place One Plan - Governance update From Des Murray, Chief Executive E-mail murraydes@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 01698 302350 Executive Summary In the four years since the establishment of a One Place with One Plan approach with a vision of inclusive growth and prosperity for all, The Plan for North Lanarkshire and its associated governance arrangements and operating model have continued to undergo incremental refinements to ensure ongoing alignment. This has enabled an approach to policy setting and strategic and operational decision making that has been unwavering in its direction. Ensuring ongoing alignment in this way has also been instrumental in supporting the delivery of a wide range of programmes, projects, and activities that have been focussed on regenerating the social and physical environment of local communities and setting the foundations for a place based approach. In this respect, decisions on the regeneration programme for the place the vision have informed the investment strategy for the future of North Lanarkshire’s town centres and enabled the next delivery phase for the Community Hubs to be prioritised and progressed. Achievements reported to Committee in the annual Programme of Work update have highlighted successes in delivering the new housing supply programme, tower strategy, housing investment programme, and City Deal developments, as well as implementation of parks masterplans to create country parks for the future and approval of a connectivity contract as the means by which to transform North Lanarkshire’s digital infrastructure. These successes have been achieved against a local backdrop that has many different and complex social, economic, and health issues requiring a wide range of care, supports, and services. The effects of the pandemic have exacerbated many of these issues, impacting more intensely on those in the most vulnerable situations. As such, the vision for inclusive growth and prosperity for all remains as relevant now, if not more so, than it was before. Responding to external obligations has also added to the pressures with financial matters, large-scale public sector reform, environmental duties to reduce carbon and waste, the effects of the UK departure from the EU, and the impact of inflation on the cost of living and council resources compounding local issues. There is no doubt the local government landscape is significantly changing, and changing in a way that has not been experienced before. The council needs to be prepared if it is to effectively manage its way through the extent of the business changes to come, and create (and sustain) the conditions that mean local people will thrive now and in the future. This will require further structural refinements to ensure ongoing alignment of vision, plan, governance, and operations in order to maintain the focus on ensuring inclusive growth and prosperity for all. AGENDA ITEM 4 Page 21 of 96
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1. Background 1.1 The vision for North Lanarkshire to be a place of inclusive growth and prosperity for all was founded on the evidence presented in the report, A Shared Ambition for North Lanarkshire, approved at Committee in September 2018. 1.2 The 2018 report also set out the operating framework required for the council to enhance the alignment of, and synergies between, strategic and operational functions in order to successfully deliver on the vision which was thereafter formalised through approval of The Plan for North Lanarkshire in February 2019. This set a very clear focus and compelling narrative in terms of what the council is working towards. 1.3 Since then, delivery of the vision has been informed by a dynamic strategic planning process facilitated through the Programme of Work. In the face of a fast changing national policy context and uncertain local government future, the Programme of Work process has stabilised the strategic direction of the council, while allowing for appropriate flexibility in the operational delivery of many complex inter-connected programmes, projects, and plans. 1.4 Structural realignments have also continued to enable the narrative to become embedded consistently throughout all strategic management, service delivery, and corporate governance approaches across the council. Approved at Committee in This report therefore outlines the first phase of structural refinements for Committee approval. It updates on realigned reporting lines to ensure a more balanced senior management team and the formalisation of Chief Officer job titles to ensure operating structures and governance arrangements continue to align. A programme of linked reviews is also highlighted; these will be undertaken in line with local commitments and priorities and the advancement of national developments, and are accompanied by indicative dates for future reports to Committee to allow Members’ due consideration and approval. Recommendations It is recommended that the Policy and Strategy Committee: (1) Approve the deletion of the Head of Environmental Assets post with immediate effect - realising one off savings of £54,083 for 2022/23 and recurring savings of £126,992 for 2023/24 onwards - and the realignment of these functions within existing remits (as noted in paragraphs 2.5 and 2.6 and Appendix 2), (2) Acknowledge changes to Head of Service reporting lines and the formalisation of Chief Officer job titles (with immediate effect) to ensure council operating structures and governance arrangements continue to align (as noted in paragraphs 2.4 and 2.11, and depicted in Appendix 3), and (3) Are aware of the intent for a future programme of linked reviews to be undertaken in preparation for the extent of the business changes to come, and the indicative dates for future reports to the Policy and Strategy Committee in this respect (as noted in paragraphs 2.15 to 2.17). The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement All ambition statements Page 22 of 96
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December 2020, the Delivering for Communities report further strengthened the focus on communities and ensured the structure of the council’s senior management team fully reflected the model established through the nine Community Boards. 1.5 The response to, and recovery from, the coronavirus pandemic has changed the landscape (both locally and nationally) within which The Plan for North Lanarkshire requires to be delivered. The impact of inflationary pressures (as reported to the Policy and Strategy Committee in September 2022) has created significant cost of living implications for the people and communities of North Lanarkshire, exacerbating conditions for those in the most vulnerable situations. 1.6 Locally, inflationary pressures (such as rising contract costs, availability of suppliers and service providers, increasing costs and availability of supply chain materials, and escalating energy prices) have also had implications on the ability of the council to maintain a seamless approach to delivering services and progressing capital programmes that seek to mitigate against the range of different and complex economic, social, and health issues that exist, thus impacting on the vision to improve outcomes equally for all of North Lanarkshire’s towns, communities, homes, and individuals. 1.7 Nationally, the creation of the National Care Service - the biggest public sector reform to have been undertaken in decades - has significant implications locally that have yet to be fully defined. This will undoubtedly impact on the future delivery of the council’s vision and the support required for vulnerable individuals and families at a time when this is critical. 1.8 Mindful of the demographic, social, and economic profile - and the continuously changing and complex landscape with significant financial challenges to come for local government - a commitment was made in the Programme of Work report to the Policy and Strategy Committee in March 2022. This set out the intention to carry out further work during 2022/23 to reframe the Programme of Work in line with the North Lanarkshire context presented through the Health Check Indicators. 1.9 The reframed Programme of Work (scheduled to be submitted to the Policy and Strategy Committee in March 2023) will be presented within the context of the updated Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP), which was reported to Committee in September 2022. The MTPF assists in ensuring resources are aligned to the key priorities outlined in The Plan for North Lanarkshire and that the Programme of Work is affordable and sustainable. The MTFP also reflects the risks and volatility of inflationary pressures and forecasts the potential financial implications therein. 1.10 Moving forward, the council needs to be prepared if it is to effectively manage its way through the extent of the complex and unprecedented business changes to come. It needs to be able to create (and sustain) the conditions that mean local people will thrive now and in the future. This requires further structural refinements, set out within this report, in order to ensure ongoing alignment of vision, plan, governance, and operations and maintain the focus on ensuring inclusive growth and prosperity for all. 2. Further refinement and alignment 2.1 The next stage of structural realignments within this report maintains the operating model and service groupings listed below which were originally established in September 2018 (see Appendix 1): • Enterprise and Communities Page 23 of 96
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• Education and Families • Adult Health and Social Care • Chief Executive’s services 2.2 Members will recall that by grouping service functions around relationships with communities and the key stages of a person’s life, efforts have remained focused on addressing the social, economic, and health conditions prevalent within each life stage in each community. Combining skills and resources through the structural realignments in September 2018 - for One Place with One Plan - has enabled real and sustainable solutions to be developed with, and for, North Lanarkshire’s communities. 2.3 The next stage of structural refinements and alignments propose a further reconfiguration of specific functions in order to safeguard the sustainability of the organisation’s capacity, ensure already challenged resources are maximised, and strengthen the development and delivery of solutions through an integrated council and community approach. The specific changes in this respect are detailed in paragraphs 2.4 to 2.12 below and depicted in Appendices 2 and 3. 2.4 Appendix 2 also sets out a realignment of Head of Service reporting lines to ensure a more balanced senior management team. Under the new arrangements, Depute Chief Executive responsibilities will incorporate the strategic co-ordination of Enterprise and Communities functions. This new oversight by the Depute Chief Executive will further integrate and strengthen the delivery of the range of place based programmes and projects while consolidating the critical relationship therein with Education and Families. This will also provide important opportunities to capitalise on existing synergies, the use of resources, and economies of scale. Strengthening Place and Community Operations 2.5 With a vacancy arising in the Head of Service post for Environmental Assets, this provides an opportunity to reframe the council’s operating model and further strengthen the aim to put people and communities at the heart of the change that The Plan for North Lanarkshire aims to achieve. By creating (a) a single community operation and (b) a single place based operation, this aims to move attention upstream of service delivery and focus on creating local place based conditions that support inclusive and green growth and enable people to thrive. 2.6 As noted in Appendix 2, the proposed deletion of the post of Head of Environmental Assets, with immediate effect, will result in recurring savings of £126,992 for 2023/24 onwards. One off savings of £54,083 will also be achieved for 2022/23. This deletion will result in a reconfiguration requirement for the following posts: • Head of Regulatory Services and Waste Solutions - following the transfer of responsibilities for Street Cleaning, Grounds Maintenance, Cemetery Services, Roads Maintenance Operations, and Country Parks for the Future. • Head of Planning and Regeneration - following the transfer of responsibilities for Roads Structures and Designs. 2.7 It is expected that the benefits achieved by reframing place and community operations will impact positively on achieving an effective balance between the strategic and operational aspects of Community Boards. As such, this will be key in the review of the effectiveness of Community Boards which is currently underway and due to conclude and be reported on early in 2023. Page 24 of 96
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Alignment of governance and functions 2.8 Chief Officers1 (i.e. the Chief Executive, Depute Chief Executive, and Heads of Service) are already subject to certain rules and obligations such as those defined by law or prescribed in their Conditions of Employment, the council's Scheme of Delegation, Standing Orders, Financial Regulations, and Contract Standing Orders. The council’s approved Chief Officers Code of Conduct provides a framework within which Chief Officers are expected to undertake their duties in a manner that meets the required standards for good governance. 2.9 Chief Officers also fulfil various statutory officer posts within the council: • The post of Head of Paid Service (the Chief Executive) was established under the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and is responsible to councillors for the staffing of the council and ensuring the work in different departments is co- ordinated. • The Monitoring Officer was established under the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and is responsible for ensuring that the council observes its governance arrangements and operates in accordance with legal requirements. This includes supervising legal compliance, ensuring there is no maladministration, and monitoring the conduct of councillors and officers. • The Chief Financial Officer (Section 95 Officer or Senior Financial Officer) was established under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and is responsible for the financial affairs of the council. • The Chief Social Work Officer was established under the Social Work (Scotland Act) 1968. Councils are required to appoint a professionally qualified Chief Social Work Officer to provide members and senior officers with effective, professional advice about the delivery of social work services. 2.10 The Scheme of Delegation sets out the powers delegated by the Council to Chief Officers and other managers. The Scheme is intended to facilitate the efficient conduct of council business by clearly setting out the nature and extent of the powers delegated to officers by the Council. 2.11 In line with the long standing practice set out in paragraphs 2.8 to 2.10 above, it is intended to reconfigure Head of Service job titles to reflect that of Chief Officer in line with that already set out in the council’s governance and Code of Conduct arrangements. In this respect, the future senior management structure and functional overview of the council is set out in Appendix 3. This reflects the formalisation of the Chief Officer job titles, with immediate effect, including consideration of the statutory roles set out in paragraph 2.9 above. 2.12 More importantly, the formalisation of Chief Officer job titles ensures the council’s operating structures and governance arrangements continue to align and broadly reflect the approved Scheme of Administration (October 2022). The Scheme of Administration, as Members are aware, provides the details and remits of committees and other groups of the council and the delegation of authority to carry out council functions. 1 According to the House of Commons, Communities and Local Government Committee (2014) Chief Officers are defined as those employed in Chief Executive, tier 1, and tier 2 roles. A tier 1 role is broadly one with strategic management responsibilities, often with statutory or constitutional duties, such as a director, monitoring officer, or deputy head of paid service. In most cases tier 1 officers report directly to the Chief Executive. Tier 2 officers are usually operational managers such as heads of major functions, as well as assistant or deputy directors. While this is a definition used in England and Wales (and there is no such statutory definition in Scotland), it is considered a helpful form of words to outline the purpose of a Chief Officer in local government. Page 25 of 96
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Next steps 2.13 As noted in section 1 of this report, the fast changing national policy context and uncertain local government future requires to be kept under ongoing review to ensure the council continues to create the conditions for its operating model to thrive and support local people and communities in line with the vision set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire. The intent for a future programme of linked reviews (to be undertaken in line with local commitments and priorities and the advancement of national developments) is therefore set out in paragraphs 2.15 to 2.17 below). 2.14 The information regarding the programme of linked reviews includes an indicative timeline of when future reports are scheduled to be presented to the Policy and Strategy Committee in this respect. It is expected that this programme of reviews will also result in future realignments below Chief Officer level which will be undertaken under the already approved Scheme of Delegation; this includes alignment around support functions. Council assets and properties and associated services and functions 2.15 In line with the anticipated award for the enterprise strategic vehicle contract and the mobilisation of the new approach to delivery for the full range of interconnected asset, property, and infrastructure investments, a review of council assets, properties, and associated services and functions will be undertaken during 2023. Members will recall the enterprise strategic vehicle aims to achieve an integrated client function for asset management across the council with phase one contract awards expected to be made for housing and corporate services (October 2023) and roads and winter services (December 2023). Phase two (from 2026) will thereafter aim to optimise asset related arrangements that underpin the delivery of The Plan for North Lanarkshire and allow further integration and development of strategic supplier relationships. The outcome from this review is expected to be reported to the Policy and Strategy Committee in December 2023. This review includes due consideration of the potential for the future integration of two existing Chief Officer posts. The longer-term implications of the National Care Service (NCS) on future council functions 2.16 The National Care Service (Scotland) Bill was published in June 2022. It allows Scottish Ministers to transfer social care responsibility from local authorities to a new, national service. This could include adult and children’s services, as well as areas such as justice social work - but this has still to be determined. Scottish Ministers will also be able to transfer healthcare functions from the NHS to the National Care Service. Policy and Strategy Committee were provided with a report in September 2022 which provided an update on the position of the Bill at its current Stage 1 position. The NCS Bill will require Crown consent and it is expected that this consent will be signified at Stage 3 in the process, which is expected to be in the summer of 2023. In view of the significant and wide-ranging impact which the NCS proposals will have on the council and the future delivery of support to individuals and families, the Policy and Strategy Committee (in September 2022) approved the establishment of a Member Officer Group to guide the council’s future engagement with the Bill process, support planning and management of the potential impacts for the council, and ensure the delivery of public services remain steadfast during what is expected to be a significant period of change. Page 26 of 96
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The Bill also has significant implications for the council in terms of the proposed transfer of existing functions and staffing, the wider impact on service delivery and delivery of The Plan for North Lanarkshire, and on the future functions of the council. An initial calculation suggests that up to 27% of the council’s workforce / resource base could be in scope to transfer to the NCS. As such, an Officer Working Group is in place to ensure ongoing oversight in relation to the operational impact on future council functions. The work of this group will include an evaluation of the impact of the NCS Bill on the six strategic / statutory cross council functions within the Chief Executive’s Service (i.e. legal and democratic, finance, people resources, business and digital, strategic communications and engagement, and audit and risk) and the future streamlining and/or structural realignments required thereafter. This review will progress in line with the developments towards the enactment of the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill and future timings may therefore be subject to change. However, it is anticipated that the outcome from this review will be in a position to be reported to the Policy and Strategy Committee in December 2024. This review includes due consideration of the potential for the future reduction of Chief Officer posts in the Chief Executive’s Service from six to five. In advance of this, a review of the council’s business strategy and business development functions will seek to further realise synergies that support a one council approach. The outputs from this review, scheduled to be undertaken during 2023 - 2024, will inform part of the aforementioned evaluation of the impact of the NCS Bill on the six strategic / statutory cross council functions within the Chief Executive’s Service. National Discussion on the future of Education 2.17 Following the launch by the Scottish Government and CoSLA of “Let’s Talk Scottish Education”, a National Discussion on the future of education was established to run between September and December 2022. This follows the publication of the Muir report (Putting Learners at the Centre: Towards a Future Vision for Scottish Education) in March 2022, which recommended a National Discussion to create a compelling and consensual vision for the future of Scottish education. The vision that is created following the National Discussion will set out what education in Scotland needs to look like in the near future and for twenty years from now. It is expected the outcomes from the national discussion will result in an interim report to the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills by the end of 2022, with a final report in March 2023. National developments in this respect will continue to be kept under review and actioned as required, with updates provided to Committee at key development points. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Measures of success include maintaining, and sustaining, the organisational capabilities and capacity critical to delivering on the shared ambition of inclusive growth and achieving prosperity for all in line with The Plan for North Lanarkshire. 4. Supporting documentation Page 27 of 96
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4.1 Appendix 1 - Council operating model (established in September 2018). Appendix 2 - Proposed workforce changes, with immediate effect. Appendix 3 - Senior management structure and functional overview, including the reconfiguration of reporting lines for Enterprise and Communities Chief Officers, with immediate effect. Des Murray Chief Executive 5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality-and-fairer- scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Financial Solutions? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Proposed workforce changes (detailed in paragraph 2.6 and Appendix 2) - with immediate effect - will realise one off savings of £54,083 for 2022/23 and recurring savings of £126,992 for 2023/24 onwards. Findings arising from the programme of linked reviews have the potential to result in further savings; these will be identified and reported once each review has concluded. 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People and Organisational Development? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Proposals for workforce implications are detailed in paragraphs 2.4, 2.5, 2.6 and 2.11 and Appendices 2 and 3. These changes will be undertaken explicitly in line with the council’s Managing Workforce Change Policy. Formal consultation with stakeholders, including Trade Unions, has commenced. Page 28 of 96
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5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic Solutions? 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 technology, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ 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? Without appropriate alignment of the vision, plan, governance, and operations, there is a risk in terms of the decision making and delivery of the extensive range of local regeneration and transformation elements required to achieve inclusive growth and prosperity for all. The information presented in this report therefore aims to contribute towards the mitigation of the risks on the Corporate Risk Register for (a) Governance, Leadership, and Decision Making and (b) Managing Strategic Change. Page 29 of 96
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Appendix 1 Council operating model (established in September 2018) Page 30 of 96
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Appendix 2 Proposed workforce changes, with immediate effect Post Current establishment FTE Proposed adjustment Proposed establishment FTE Salary cost of adjustment £ On-costs £ Turnover £ Total cost / saving £ Head of Environmental Assets 1.0 Delete 1.0 FTE 0.0 100,518 33,158 (6,684) 126,992 Head of Regulatory Services and Solutions 1.0 Reconfigure 1.0 FTE to Chief Officer of Community Operations 1.0 0 0 0 Head of Planning and Regeneration 1.0 Reconfigure 1.0 FTE to Chief Officer of Place 1.0 0 0 0 Total 3.0 2.0 100,518 33,158 (6,684) 126,992 Summary of workforce changes Net change in employee costs Net change in establishment (FTE) Posts deleted: Vacancy 1.0 Redeployment 0 VRS / early retiral 0 Posts created: 0 Net change: 1.0 Page 31 of 96
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Appendix 3 Senior management structure and functional overview Including the reconfiguration of reporting lines for Enterprise and Communities Chief Officers, with immediate effect. Page 32 of 96
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Policy and Strategy Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref DM/KH/EK Date 01/12/22 PoW: 003.2 DigitalNL – Next Steps From Chief Executive E-mail murrayd@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 01698 302350 Executive Summary DigitalNL, is a core part of the Council and Strategic Partnership’s vision for North Lanarkshire. This large-scale transformation programme was designed to improve digital connectivity and skills across North Lanarkshire and transform the way in which council services are delivered. As part of the development of the Full Business Case (FBC) in 2019, the Council undertook extensive research and design work to understand the current digital state and opportunities to improve and transform services, to change the way the Council interacts with citizens, and to create efficiencies. It engaged Agilisys Ltd as its System Integrator partner in October 2019 to build and deploy the outcomes from the service redesign sprints within the new digital solutions and technical components. It should be recognised though that the breadth of DigitalNL is much wider than just becoming a digital council. It also covers developing skills in the community and providing digital infrastructure. The Council recognised that investing in digital technology would help to deliver on The Plan for North Lanarkshire with the delivery of improved digital infrastructure and networks. It therefore approved, in 2019, the progression of two complementary and interdependent programmes; (a) Digital Economy and Place (SmartNL), and (b) Digital Council Transformation (DigitalNL). Once SmartNL delivers upon its improved connectivity outcomes, the council will have increased opportunities to deliver on its planned projects to help support and attract businesses, build digital skills, and minimise the risk of digital exclusion. In January 2021, Audit Scotland published its report “Digital Progress in Local Authorities” with North Lanarkshire participating as one of six selected fieldwork sites for the national performance audit on digital progress in Local Government. Audit Scotland acknowledged that North Lanarkshire Council had a digital vision that went beyond technology and focussed on people and outcomes, upskilling staff, residents and stimulating economic growth. The report also went on to advise that “the council is seeking new products and systems to align with The Plan for North Lanarkshire to maximise the reuse of solutions and integrate them with the council’s digital platform”. Delivering digital savings during the pandemic has been extremely challenging as services rightly reprovisioned their staff to provide and maintain as many frontline services as possible. Several reports to the former Transformation and Digitisation and Policy and Strategy Committees describe how responding to the pandemic and recovering service delivery to a ‘new normal’ have adversely, but appropriately, impacted the Council’s ability to progress Digital NL redesign activity and deployment of the Digital Platform to ultimately deliver the indicative savings and corresponding 668 FTE reduction outlined within the approved FBC. AGENDA ITEM 5 Page 33 of 96
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1. Background 1.1 Through the Future Organisational Ambitions report (December 2017), the former Policy and Resources Committee noted a range of specialist resources would be required over a five-year period to develop and deliver the significant and ambitious DigitalNL transformation programme. Approval was granted to recruit resources when demand for roles could be evidenced, with such being funded on a one-off basis from the established Digitisation reserve. The necessary reprofiling of the service sprints as a direct result of Covid-19 also led to a consequential delay in the anticipated implementation of the full Customer Service Hub model. This, allied with changes to council operations throughout the pandemic, has led to some residents experiencing difficulties contacting the council by telephone particularly where an alternative digital option is either not available or not yet fully developed. Having considered a report summarising the findings of a root and branch review of PoW003.2 at its September 2022 meeting, the Policy and Strategy Committee requested that further details of the DigitalNL Programme and associated financial benefits be provided at the next committee cycle. This report, therefore, reviews programme deliverables achieved to date against those outlined within the FBC approved by members in March 2019. It describes what has gone well alongside the challenges encountered in generating the indicative level of financial benefits which our Digital Business Partner had identified – based on their experience of similar transformations – could be realised from deploying and reusing a modern digital platform. Recommendations It is recommended that the Policy and Strategy Committee: - 1) Recognise the financial benefits and associated FTE reductions available from this transformation programme are very different post-pandemic to those identified – based on pre-pandemic historical experience – by our Digital Business Partner. 2) Recognise that the Year 4 Roadmap and future digital developments build upon lessons learned and knowledge and experience gained from progressing the transformation strands of DigitalNL and SmartNL. 3) Acknowledge the successful delivery of the Digital Workplace and Cloud Migration components of the Digital NL Transformation Programme. 4) Recognise that commitment to the continued development of the Digital Council and associated governance alongside enhancements and reuse of the Digital Platform create scope to deliver digital processes, automation, and financial and non-financial benefits. 5) Acknowledge that the Connectivity Framework, and partnership with Commsworld, provide the underlying infrastructure to transform and innovate council services, ultimately placing local people, Elected Members, and communities at the heart of the council’s revised operating model. 6) Recognise that the actions outlined within paragraph 2.52 below enable the Council to drive forward its ambition to become a leading Digital authority. 7) Otherwise note the report. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement All ambition statements Page 34 of 96
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1.2 The DigitalNL Transformation Programme Business Case (FBC) approved by the Policy and Strategy Committee in March 2019 highlighted that transformation had to go beyond Council walls and operations, with a whole place approach required to turn the Council’s Digital Vision and The Plan for North Lanarkshire into reality. Recognising the complexity of change required to operational and customer-facing infrastructure, IT services and culture, this FBC proposed 2 complementary and interdependent programmes; (a) Digital Economy and Place (SmartNL), and (b) Digital Council Transformation (DigitalNL), be progressed to enable the Council to use technological advancement such as ultra-fast broadband, artificial intelligence and next generation smart devices to redesign services around the needs of our communities and businesses. Whilst non-financial benefits were identified as the key drivers of these complementary programmes, our Digital Business Partner’s experience of similar transformations indicated the proposed digital solution deployments could also be financially beneficial to the council. 1.3 In approving the FBC and indicative budget of £28.8m in March 2019, the Policy and Strategy Committee acknowledged costs and work packages were illustrative and subject to finalisation with financial benefits realisable to be confirmed on an iterative basis as functions progressed through the redesign process. The Full Business Case also indicated Voluntary Redundancy Severance (VRS) would form an element of transformation, with these additional costs estimated to be in the region of £20m. 1.4 A Systems Integrator Partner was identified as essential to the build and deployment aspects of the technological transformation, with Agilisys Ltd engaged in October 2019 following consideration and approval by the former Transformation and Digitisation Committee. This engagement provided clarity and a deeper understanding of costs associated with deploying the key technology components (Azure, Dynamics and M365) of the Digital Council Transformation Programme, with findings from this Discovery/Mobilisation phase and an indicative deployment roadmap reported to the former Transformation and Digitisation Committee in February 2020. 1.5 The planned roadmap changed significantly due to Covid-19, with proposals scaled back considerably to allow resources and priorities to flex to maintain critical services and to ensure, throughout 2020, that the recovery of services was recognised in line with the “Scottish Government’s Covid19 Route-map out of crisis”. 1.6 The Transformation and Digitisation Committee, at their meeting of 2 September 2020 received a report “Covid-19 – Response and Recovery – Business Solutions” and recognised the significant effort and level of activity deployed by Business and Digital in response to the pandemic and its recovery. This included enabling the infrastructure, hardware, software, and solutions to ensure the delivery, not just of the most critical services required to respond to the pandemic but also business as usual activities. 1.7 Members considered and approved several revisions to the original business case assumptions to reflect the essential reprioritisation of resources, approving the updated investment profile detailed within the October 2020 report to Policy and Strategy Committee “PoW 003.1 DigitalNL - Transformation Programme: Updated Investment Profile”. This committee also received a report detailing the Council’s response to Covid, and the actions taken by the Council to maintain as many frontline services as possible. 1.8 A further and more serious wave of the Covid-19 pandemic came into effect following committee consideration of these two reports in October 2020. This required the council to continue to refocus its resources, removing services’ capacity and ability to engage in the redesign aspects of the revised digitisation programme and consequently creating a need for further reprofiling of service “sprints” and associated benefits. 1.9 As a Category 1 Responder, the Council is obligated to maintain normal service delivery whilst providing support and responses required from emergency situations such as the Page 35 of 96
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Covid-19 pandemic. Aspirational programmes such as Digital NL and Smart NL slowed considerably during 2020-21 and 2021-22 to enable Council functions to provide as many frontline services as possible, with members aware for example that North Lanarkshire was one of very few councils to keep a full kerbside waste collection. Furthermore, employees from all Council services – including Business and Digital - were reprovisioned to alternative back-offices services and key worker hubs for prolonged periods of time to ensure firstly, that essential supports were available to the most vulnerable in our communities, and secondly that parents working in essential frontline services – both Council and NHS – could get to work to deliver their vital services. Essential supports also included the development of a new system which provided a secure platform to end to end support for those identified as shielding or requiring additional support. 1.10 As Members are aware, through the good governance principles contained within the Council’s Corporate Programme and Project Management Framework, the DigitalNL programme is subject to annual review. The outcome of each annual review has been reported to the former Transformation and Digitisation Committee as such had responsibility for the governance of the DigitalNL Programme. 1.11 As the council’s Recovery Planning continued during 2020/21 and into 2022/23, further reviews of the DigitalNL Roadmap were carried out. These root and branch reviews focussed on: - • The planning of future years for capital and revenue expenditure • The future years’ road map for service redesign and technology build • Envisaged financial and non-financial benefits and targeted savings • Progress in achieving targeted savings • Overview of the updated DigitalNL investment model 1.12 In June 2021 the “PoW: 003.2 DigitalNL – Financial Overview and Resourcing Report” was presented at Policy and Strategy Committee. This report set out the cumulative impact of the delays highlighted previously to Members, with such outlining the financial implications and savings impacts for the DigitalNL Programme 1.13 The Year 4 Roadmap was developed following the annual review 2022-23 with the most recent “PoW: 003.2 DigitalNL – Year 4 Roadmap” being reported to Policy and Strategy Committee on 29 September 2022. 1.14 The DigitalNL programme focused on modernising the organisation making it a Digital First organisation. However, two further aspects of this had to be considered. Firstly, how the organisation would consume this digital service in an agile and mobile manner and secondly recognising that service users must be enabled to consume those services digitally. As initially proposed, these aspects are being progressed through the complementary Digital Economy and Place (SmartNL) programme, which was developed via the procurement of a Connectivity Framework (PoW: 088). 1.15 Successfully concluding a significant period of market engagement, discovery, and awareness the connectivity contract was awarded to Commsworld on 23 February 2022, for an initial period of 180 months (15 years) with the Council reserving the right to extend such for additional periods up to a maximum of a further 60 months (5 years). 1.16 The value of the Framework Agreement is £150m exclusive of VAT and has five initial Call off Contracts with an aggregated value of circa. £26m. 1. Wide Area Network (WAN) Connectivity 2. Analogue Services replacement 3. CCTV Leased Services Connectivity 4. Internet Access 5. Public Wi-Fi. Page 36 of 96
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1.17 Delivery of these contracts is well underway, with 9 sites migrated to the new WAN service and over 105km of fibre already installed, working to a target of 340km and some 300 active WAN sites by June 2023. The contract will see Council offices, schools and sites provisioned with a minimum service of 1Gb (currently 50mb), with some key sites and all high schools receiving dual 5Gb (currently 100mb or 1gb) services providing improved resiliency. 1.18 Beyond the direct requirements of the Council the procurement had ambitions to positively influence the fibre broadband market, bringing fibre connectivity to the residents and businesses located in North Lanarkshire quicker than if left to normal market forces. In addition, the Tender was also weighted to delivering community benefits and added value. 2. Report Digital Council Transformation Programme Financial Implications - Investment 2.1 The Council’s Best Value Assurance Report (BVAR), published in May 2019, outlined that Council investment in digital technology was a core part of its vision. The report highlighted that part of the council’s ambition was to become a ‘digital council’ simplifying and joining up services across the council. 2.2 The BVAR report advised that the full business case (FBC) for this part of the strategy was approved by the Policy and Strategy Committee in March 2019. As part of the development of the full business case, the council undertook research and design work to understand the current digital state at that time which highlighted an opportunity to improve and transform services, to change the way the council interacts with citizens, and to create efficiencies. 2.3 The FBC which was approved at Committee advised elected members that all costs would be funded from HRA, IJB and General Fund sources. It further outlined an investment requirement of £28.8m one-off costs comprising capital spend of £16.8M and one-off revenue costs of £12m over the five-year period starting 2019-20. 2.4 Per paragraph 1.4 above, the DigitalNL aspect of the Transformation Programme sought to focus on three distinct areas ➢ Digital Workplace (M365) – to improve collaboration ➢ Cloud Storage Solution (Azure) – to create agility and efficiencies ➢ Digital Platform (Dynamics Customer Relationship Management System, new website, Business Intelligence Hub, and Robotic Process Automation) – to transform the way the Council interacts with its citizens. 2.5 In addition to this one-off investment, the business case recognised there would be recurring annual funding required for the digital vision, these costs were estimated at that time as £1.8m in year 1 rising to £2.2m by Year 5. This equates to a further £10.5m costs over the five-year period. 2.6 Appendix One details the actual investment made since 2019-20 and the projected spend up to March 2024 showing a total investment requirement of £23.913m, comprising £9.500m one off revenue funding and £14.413m of capital investment. The recurring costs to date have been lower than originally anticipated, however, these are expected to grow as cloud consumption across the council increases. 2.7 Paragraphs 2.8 to 2.25, and Appendix Two below, briefly describe the status and spends against each of the critical components of the DigitalNL programme, with additional Page 37 of 96
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commentary included in respect of the related service redesign (building blocks), governance and additional fixed term staffing costs in respect of the programme. Paragraphs 2.26 to 2.34 provide an update on financial benefits realisable from the programme to date. Service and Solution Design (Business Partnership) 2.8 Upon appointment of the council’s Business Partner, PwC (June 2018), in-depth Service Design, Solution Design and Cloud Readiness assessments were undertaken as part of the detailed design phase. At that time, it was clear that the extent of IT systems and architecture in need of modernisation was significant and complex, with sums of £2.807m invested between April 2019 and March 2020 to create the building blocks and foundations for the DigitalNL Programme. This resulted in the development of the sprint process, activity analysis for council services, the framework for Purchase 2 Pay, procurement of the System Integrator and the council’s Data and Information Roadmap. In addition, this initial work provided the Outline Business Case (OBC) for the Digital Economy and Place (SmartNL) Programme, approved by the former Transformation and Digitisation Committee (September 2019), to ultimately lead – per paragraph 1.15 above – to the appointment of our Connectivity Partner CommsWorld earlier this year. Governance and Staffing 2.9 As outlined in 1.1 above, additional resources were required as the Digital Programme gathered momentum and we recruited as roles became necessary. During years one to four, additional staffing costs of £2.714m were incurred to create the skills-base and in- house capacity required within the areas of business change, programme management, infrastructure operations and IT security. 2.10 The governance for the programme was developed in line with the Council’s Programme and Project Management Framework at a cost of £2.260m. Digital Workplace – M365 2.11 The FBC highlighted that investment in modern digital workplace toolkits would enable staff to ‘work from anywhere, with anyone and at any time’, with all supported through relevant training to use the right tools for their jobs. The focus here was on efficient processes, collaborative working practices and improved skills and training, rather than generation of financial savings. The onset of Covid-19 in early 2020 resulted in the majority of programme resources being deployed to accelerate the roll out of O365, our new Digital Workplace technology component. In delivering this element of the programme in eight rather than the planned eighteen months, the recurring revenue costs associated with the required licences were also accelerated, giving rise to costs to date totalling £1.772m. 2.12 This programme component also accelerated efficiencies within device management, with Business and Digital now successfully using a modern cloud-based management platform to secure, upgrade and maintain End User Devices. This facilitates enhanced and advanced compliance and improved identity, access, and application management. Whilst this operational efficiency largely goes unnoticed by users and services, all are benefiting from the agile flexibility delivered through the Digital Workplace component of the programme. 2.13 A further related consequence of the programme has been the large-scale device refresh, which has seen circa. 2,500 devices modernised over the last three years, and a programme in place to continue managing that process. End User Devices now come as standard with increased RAM and processor capability which facilitates the use of the modern digital tooling envisaged within the FBC (MS Teams, SharePoint, etc) as well as the agile requirement of users operating multiple applications simultaneously. In Page 38 of 96
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considering this alongside built-in and enhanced hardware security and threat/information protection, the success of the Digital Workplace component of the Programme can be clearly evidenced through the workforce having a higher performing, agile and more secure experience. Cloud Storage Solution – Azure 2.14 A Cloud Migration Strategy was developed in conjunction with our Digital Business Partner. This included the development of a line-of-business application catalogue that contained more than two hundred and sixty (260) items detailing the range of software systems used across the Council. This catalogue was used, along with a set of criteria, to record the current status and suitability of applications for migration to Azure. This ensured that the following items could be excluded: • Those applications due to be retired • Any to be replaced by new Microsoft technology • Infrastructure tools • Desktop applications • Those not suitable or capable of operating in Azure • Those already hosted by a third-party supplier. 2.15 As a result, twenty-five (25) applications were prioritised into two phases which ran during November 2020 until September 2021. Whilst the FBC referenced cloud migration would significantly reduce the level of technology hosted and maintained within the Council’s data centre, creating scope to consequently reduce the need for future capital funding to replace discontinued hardware, it did not reference any specific financial benefits from the cloud migration component of the programme. Investment to date totals £1.740m. Digital Platform 2.16 It was highlighted in the FBC in March 2019 that non-financial benefits, including process efficiency, upskilling of the workforce, and development of data as a strategic asset were the key drivers for the DigitalNL programme. However, during financial year 2019-20, with the Council moving towards a challenging 3-year budget, the emphasis on financial benefits for the programme became the most prominent driver. 2.17 In line with the FBC, maximising service redesign and use of Digital Platform tooling and functionality presented the greatest scope for council services to generate financial benefits. This required investment of both time and money, and of the investment values outlined within paragraph 2.3 above, circa £10.5m was anticipated over the programme duration to build the digital platform and its associated components of Dynamics Enterprise Solution, Business Intelligence Hub, and Internet of Things (IoT) / Artificial Intelligence (AI) tooling and functionality. 2.18 The implementation of the Digital Platform resulted in a new Customer Relationship Management system being developed on Microsoft Dynamics. This plays a pivotal role in changing how council services are delivered, and crucially provides a valuable and reusable asset to support the council’s longer-term transformation ambitions. The first deployment of the Digital Platform was the Customer Services Hub in November 2020 which ran in tandem with the introduction of the Council’s new website. Investment to date totals £8.986m. 2.19 The Digital Platform has enabled the Council to act as a broker, linking residents to digital services. By reducing demand and providing proactive personalised services to customers the platform has introduced a modern self-serve option to enable customers to select the following Waste services. In addition to these there are several future online services in the pipeline - Page 39 of 96
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• Change request to bin collection due to health reasons • Request a special uplift of household waste • Report an issue relating to household waste • Book a van or trailer of household waste into a recycling centre • Request a new or different bin 2.20 Employees within the Customer Services Hub (CSH) have benefited from new digital capabilities along with customer care skills and detailed service knowledge to answer enquiries. Management information within the CSH displays live dashboards with the capability to track enquiries in real time allowing capacity to look at higher impact areas of work. 2.21 Following thereafter with PoW072, the Council is developing a Business Intelligence (BI) Hub that utilises statistical techniques to draw insight from data to provide improved information, intelligence, and insights on service delivery. This has developed over several phases to date, following a successful proof-of-concept phase (Phase One) within Housing Solutions between May to September 2020. Phase 4 is currently progressing with spend to date totalling £1.661m. 2.22 Finally on the Digital Platform, Automated Intelligence (AI) was introduced in December 2020, with Robotic Process Automation (RPA) deployed within Revenues and Benefits to automate and execute repetitive business processes without human intervention. 2.23 An investment to date of £1.973m has improved processing time for customers and enabled employees to spend time in other areas. ‘Bots’ are live within the following areas of Revenues & Benefits. In addition to these there are several future RPA developments in the pipeline: • Unpaid Direct Debit (DD) process - downloads a report from the BACS user portal and updates Unpaid Direct debit information to the Council Tax system • Bank detail changes - downloads a report from the BACS user portal and updates changes to customer Direct Debits details account changes and cancellations • Community Care Grant - orders the items awarded on Community Care grant application on the PECOS system 2.24 Whilst developments in this area have slowed recently due to capacity issues within both services, this platform functionality will be enhanced over the coming months and years as fibre in the ground provides a world class infrastructure to build upon throughout North Lanarkshire. 2.25 It is acknowledged that responding to the pandemic and recovering service delivery to a ‘new normal’ has adversely affected the Council’s ability to implement Digital NL, and the Digital Platform in particular, as originally planned. It has also been acknowledged through several Internal Audit reports regarding Digital NL that the indicative financial benefits and associated FTE reductions derived from PwC’s historical experience of similar digital transformations, are now less likely to be realisable given we are operating in a very different world post-pandemic. Efforts will therefore continue, in line with the appended Roadmap, to maximise use of the Digital Platform which the Council has invested in to achieve both financial and non-financial benefits. Financial Implications – Budgeted Savings 2.26 The Council’s Best Value report (May 2019) also referenced the estimated savings to be delivered from the proposed five-year programme as £24.4m with the programme forecast to break even in year 4. The potential savings figures calculated as per the FBC however were £28m, thereafter a 30% optimism bias was applied resulting in a reported Page 40 of 96
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value of £19.6m across the General Fund (£8.8m), IJB, inclusive of Children and Families, (£7.8m) and HRA (£3m). 2.27 The financial benefits realisable from this programme were subject to council functions iteratively redesigning their services to maximise self-service to meet customer needs and deliver the wider ambitions outlined within The Plan for North Lanarkshire. Members will remember that the FBC also indicated Voluntary Redundancy Severance (VRS) would be required to deliver these recurring savings, with such also estimated to be in the region of £20m. 2.28 When the Council set its three-year revenue budget in February 2020, £10.616m was included in relation to achievable savings to be generated from Digital projects including Digital NL, Digital Classrooms, and digital savings within the Employee Service Centre. Of this total, £10.114m specifically related to the DigitalNL programme across the general fund and IJB, phased as detailed in Table 1. The HRA did not budget for the original £3m projected savings, as it recognised savings would be shaped by the developing Housing Strategy Transformation plan detailed in paragraphs 2.35 and 2.36 below. 2.29 As a result of several restructures, budget savings and movement within services following FBC approval, the baseline was recalculated in January 2021 to recognise current service budgets identified by Financial Solutions. A further re-baseline and verification exercise was undertaken in July 2021 to ensure that values identified by our Digital Business Partner at the original Service Design and stakeholder engagement workshops in respect of Housing services and functions were accurately recorded within the General Fund and Housing Revenue Accounts. These reviews identified several anomalies. Having progressed the resulting reclassifications through the potential savings model developed by our Digital Business Partner, the indicative savings identified per fund were amended to £8.6m General Fund, £7.2m IJB and £4.2m HRA respectively. 2.30 Budgeted savings levels were thereafter amended in February 2022 with the Council recognising the adverse impact of well-publicised demands and pressures in respect of absences, recruitment and retention on the Field Services Pilot and Home Support service redesign activity. As a result of these challenges facing the delivery of Adult Social Care services, it was deemed prudent to reverse £6m of the 2022-23 DigitalNL Savings, as such were anticipated to be met from employee reductions within Adult Social Care. This reduced the savings target to £4.114m. 2.31 Complexities in relation to finalising the projects required to generate these savings within the prescribed years has resulted in the actual value of savings being considerably less than that initially anticipated. In order to help address the in-year shortfalls, additional one-off funding of £2.035m and £1m was allocated to Digital NL in years 2021-22 and 2022-23 respectively. Tables 1 and 2 below shows the level of net savings achieved. Year Approved Saving Revised Saving Actual Saving (Net) Remaining Saving 2020/21 £1.110M £1.110M £0.459M 2021/22 £2.806M £2.806M £0.365M 2022/23 £6.198M £0.198M - Total £10.114M £4.114M £0.824M £3.290M Table 1 – Savings Delivery 2.32 Delivering savings during the pandemic was extremely challenging given services – including Business and Digital – had reprovisioned their staff to respond to the pandemic and maintain as many frontline services as possible. Notwithstanding this, gross recurring savings of £1.061m were delivered to 31st March 2022 as illustrated within Table 2 below. Offsetting £0.237m of these digital deliverables to fund the new posts required within the Page 41 of 96
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Customer Services Hub (CSH) delivers the net saving value of £0.824m illustrated in Tables 1 and 2. COMPLETE Service Sprints Project Workstream Actual Savings Realisation Date Business Solutions Business Solutions £0.118m Apr-20 M8.2 Waste PH1 Waste Solutions £0.578m Dec-20 M8.3 POD (ESC) Employee Service Centre £0.249m Nov-21 M4.2 RPA Phase 2 Revenues & Benefits £0.116m Mar-22 Gross savings achieved £1.061m Recurring Funding of new CSH posts -£0.237m Net savings achieved £0.824m Table 2 – Savings achieved to March 2022 2.33 Paragraphs 2.28 through to 2.32 illustrate that a budgeted balance of £3.290m remains to be delivered on a recurring basis through redesigned activity in financial year 2022-23. Services continue to liaise with Business and Digital Teams to progress the remaining sprints with a view to delivering these savings, but in recognising the technical capacity issues outlined in paragraphs 2.38 and 5.9 below, it is acknowledged the full £3.290m may not be delivered solely through digital means. 2.34 Paragraphs 2.31 and 2.32 above illustrate that service redesign activity has generated gross recurring savings to date of £1.061m (net £0.824m), and a net reduction of 26.5 FTE. Members will wish to note these reductions did not give rise to any VRS, therefore protecting and ‘releasing’ the Council’s change management fund from the estimated VRS of £20m referenced within the approved Digital NL FBC. Current Status - HRA and IJB Transformation Activity 2.35 Turning now to savings opportunities within HRA noted at 2.29 above, the savings modelled by our Digital Business Partner amounted to £3m and were subsequently reclassified as £4.2m. Whilst redesign activity throughout 2021-22 and 2022-23 largely focussed on opportunities within housing repairs, a team of officers from Housing Solutions, Business and Digital and Agilisys developed a draft Housing Strategy Transformation plan to assist Housing Solutions in delivering identified key outcomes such as: preventing and addressing homelessness; tackling climate change/fuel poverty and improved housing delivery. A phased approach is progressing, with Dynamic Scheduling in housing repairs going live in October 2022. 2.36 With the first phase of the Housing Strategy Transformation completed, next phase developments are focussing on allowing tenants to report a repair online and book an appointment. Other on-line transactions available to residents will be the ability to view their balance and pay their rent on-line, apply for a council house and report anti-social behaviour. Per paragraph 2.21 above, BI Hub work has continued following the conclusion of the successful proof-of-concept within the service with several reports complete or nearing completion and the service progressing well towards reporting becoming more automated. Working in conjunction with Business and Digital officers, the service is also focussing on completing reports linked to the council’s Strategic Performance Framework in and on implementing of the operating model for the BI Hub. 2.37 Paragraph 2.30 above references the reversal of the budgeted saving of £6m which was anticipated to be met from employee reductions within Adult Social Care. Members will wish to note though that whilst this resulted in business process redesign and deployment of the Dynamics platform for AH&SC suspended from a Business and Digital perspective, the requirement for a scheduling system within AH&SC remains. Work to identify and Page 42 of 96
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procure an appropriate solution remains ongoing, with proposals expected to be considered by the Council’s Enterprise Architecture Governance Group in due course. Development Roadmap 2.38 With the Agilisys contract concluded, responsibility for the development and build of the Council’s modernised digital architecture fully resides with the small in-house development team within Business and Digital. The Corporate ICT Operational Risk, referenced in paragraph 5.9 below presently carries a high residual risk of 16 in recognition of lean ICT resource levels and capacity issues. With financial benefits currently driving redesign activity, and ongoing concern over in-house capacity levels, the findings of a full root and branch review of the Programme, and the corresponding development Roadmap (Appendix 3), were reported to the Policy and Strategy Committee in September 2022. The Business and Digital Delivery Board will monitor roadmap progress to ensure timely delivery, and maximisation of opportunities and financial benefits available from completing digital sprint activity. SmartNL - Connectivity Framework 2.39 The Scottish Government’s R100 programme looks to provide fibre connectivity to all and is a follow on from the previous Digital Scotland project. It has awarded 3 LOTs (South, Central and North) across the country to enhance the fibre footprint quicker than if left to a traditional market led approach. An aspect of the programme is the use of Vouchers that can be claimed by eligible property owners whose property will not be covered by the R100 delivery. 2.40 The business case for the procurement identified that at that time some 3,500 properties across the Council area were eligible for the Scottish Broadband Vouchers Scheme (SBVS), with some also eligible for the UK Government Rural Gigabit Voucher (RGV) (4,274). These schemes can provide funding of £5,000 and £1,500 and can be combined to achieve a total fund of £6,500 at an eligible site. 2.41 Market engagement identified that Openreach plans for full fibre coverage in North Lanarkshire was as follows: By Dec 2026 Wishaw, Shotts, Cumbernauld, Kilsyth, Bellshill By Dec 2025 Airdrie, Moodiesburn, Stepps By Dec 2024 Motherwell With Coatbridge, Viewpark, Newarthill, Holytown, Salsburgh and many rural areas with no planning currently available. Virginmedia have a strong presence in the west and centre of North Lanarkshire but limited coverage in the east or in rural areas. The business case concluded that there was an opportunity to improve the rate of fibre delivery and coverage within North Lanarkshire by offering a combined contract for all aspects of Council connectivity with a long-term contract focusing initially on a fibre implementation. 2.42 The offering from Commsworld specifically included a full fibre backbone that traverses all North Lanarkshire towns and many of its villages and can be found in Appendix Four. The initial build out of this ambitious plan has all Council sites migrated across to the supplier by end of June 2023, with further fibre build out continuing over the remainder of that year. Page 43 of 96
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2.43 A main aspect of the procurement was for Commsworld to actively work with local communities to create aggregated Voucher value to support the implementation of fibre into these less well supported areas. In addition, in more urban areas the aspiration was to engage and measure local demand that would be attractive to 3rd party Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) who would utilise the Commsworld backbone as a distribution service, thus providing greater market choice and tackling affordability. The bid guaranteed that Commsworld would provide access to their infrastructure to both Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) and Mobile Network Operators (MNO’s) at a value significantly below market baseline. 2.44 Community Board engagement and active promotion of the vouchers schemes is planned to start in March 2023, allowing for immediate target of fibre delivery to Council sites, providing that backbone service. 2.45 It should be noted that in March 2022, the SBVS was significantly changed, this has resulted in a reduction of eligible properties within North Lanarkshire to 1,254, Commsworld are committed to working with local communities to make best use of these but will now have to rely more on the RGV scheme. 2.46 The implementation of a single Public Wi-Fi service provided by the Council is a further key cornerstone of its Connectivity plans, taking the previously disparate solutions within the former CultureNL and NL Leisure and across town centres, the new solution not only consolidates those sites, but brings in additional areas, such as Country parks (in limited areas), supported accommodation units and secondary schools. This single solution will provide much needed user interaction data that could be used to help design future service delivery models, whilst also providing free connectivity to the internet and thus ability to digitally interact with the Council in line with the wider aims of the programme. 2.47 The Connectivity framework was viewed as a delivery mechanism to uplift existing Council services and provide improved connectivity for residents and local businesses; however, it importantly also provides an enabling infrastructure for our workforce and workplaces of the future, providing enhanced connectivity to community hubs to facilitate service redesign. 2.48 There was a strong Community Benefits and Added Value aspect to the procurement, these are set out in Appendix Five, however the main benefits to draw attention to are: • Investment in fibre delivery by Commsworld and partners estimated at circa £73m • 340km of direct fibre delivery passing some 101,000 properties • Commitment to Fibre to the Home for >1000 properties • Guaranteed significant percentage rate lower than prevailing market sell on to Internet Service Provider (ISP) and Mobile Network Operator (MNO) • Social Housing resident offering: 1gb fibre for £20p/m • Wide Area Network revenue cost at an estimated £200,000p/a reduction • 3 x 2-year Modern Apprenticeships (delivered September 2022) 2.49 Through the report to Policy and Strategy in September 2022, members are aware of the Council’s longer-term ambition to address digital poverty for all housing tenants through delivery of an affordable, reliable, superfast, and secure internet service. CommsWorld developed several scenarios and financing packages at the Council’s request. Any consideration of these scenarios would require significant amendments to approved and future capital and revenue budgets, therefore considering such alongside the current rent freeze and wider economic challenges facing the Council (higher inflationary pressures, high interest rates/borrowing costs, and decreased opportunities to generate income to fund investment), then despite the longer-term benefits for tenants and service delivery, perhaps now is not the right time to seek approval for this investment. Notwithstanding this, a further report detailing options available to provide broadband services to tenants Page 44 of 96
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residing in council-owned properties will be presented during the next committee cycle for elected member consideration and determination. 2.50 Through previous reports to the former Transformation and Digitisation Committee, elected members are aware of the Councils ambitions to use 5G connectivity to transform community access to experiences and services. Early dialogue with BT during the first phase of the pandemic confirmed Education as an appropriate function to develop a 5G user test case, with an enabled immersive experience pod thereafter installed within the ground floor multi-purpose rooms of the Muirfield Community Centre. Focussing initially on the ‘Learn’ strand of The Plan for North Lanarkshire, and prevailing Covid-19 restrictions, access was initially restricted to four local educational establishments. 2.51 In October 2022, immersive experience access expanded to the Cumbernauld Academy and Our Lady’s High School Cumbernauld Clusters, with the Digital School Team also currently liaising with Summerlee Heritage Museum and Cumbernauld Living Landscapes to use the 5G technology to create local landmarks tours, and local firefighters and paramedics for the schools-based ‘people who help us’ topic. There is also some early dialogue to develop a care academy video series to support young people with routes into work. With a view to expanding immersive experiences across the authority area, all experiences undertaken within the Cumbernauld test pod to date will be evaluated to inform a future procurement – subject of course to available capital funding. Next Steps 2.52 Following a review of the lessons learned and taking account of the knowledge and experience built over the past two years the transformation of Council services will continue, as outlined in the report, to realise the ambition to be a Digital First organisation. Future actions will include: - (a) Services being supported, through the DigitalNL Programme, to deliver where possible on the approved Year 4 Roadmap and outstanding savings target of £3.290m. This will involve all services ensuring that resources, skills, and knowledge are available as detailed within the defined timelines of the Roadmap. Thereafter, to develop future years of the Council’s transformation, ensuring alignment with the developing council operating model. (b) Maximising the use of the Digital Platform to achieve both financial and non-financial benefits remain a key objective. This will be further evidenced during December 2022 with further online forms and applications becoming available. (c) Continue to manage inbound enquiries to services through a single telephone number and single system, which will allow for comprehensive analysis of inbound demand and the ability to direct resources to those services experiencing the highest demand at any given time. The Customer Service Hub model will continue to be developed in parallel as service sprints complete. (d) Revenue recurring costs, particularly with regards to licensing requirements, will continue to be closely monitored to ensure they remain within budget. (e) Further deployment of enabling fibre, in line with the Commsworld Framework by June 2023, to facilitate the wider council transformation and innovation envisaged within the DigitalNL and SmartNL business cases and Delivering for Communities report (December 2020), ultimately placing local people, Elected Members, and communities at the heart of the council’s revised operating model. Page 45 of 96
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(f) Community engagement commencing through Community Boards regarding the voucher scheme in early 2023, and the continued delivery of associated Community Benefits. (g) Continued development of the supplier relationships delivered by the programme, Microsoft, Commsworld, etc, bringing awareness and opportunities for use of technology to the organisation to facilitate and drive modernisation. (h) Continuation of the development of the Digital Organisation, supporting the Digital Strategy and the digital governance introduced through Enterprise Architecture Governance Group and Data Governance Board, building the capacity of the organisation to both self-serve and innovate whilst maintaining appropriate level of governance. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The complementary programmes referenced within the Digital NL FBC continue to provide huge opportunities to support The Plan for North Lanarkshire and its key themes of Live, Learn, Work, Invest and Visit. Success will be evidenced through technology being efficiently and effectively deployed, in an agile manner, to support the Council’s visions relating to Digital Council, Digital Economy and Digital Communities. 3.2 Measures of success are detailed within the Digital and IT Strategy, annual refresh, considered by the former Transformation and Digitisation Committee in February 2022. These include for example, increasing number of premises able to receive superfast Broadband, increasing numbers of young people engaging with the digital consortium and immersive experience pod, reducing digital skills gaps within residential and business communities, and addressing employee digital skills gaps. A summary of non-financial benefits generated to date in respect of the key themes of Digital Community, Digital Economy and Digital Council, and their links to the Council’s 25 ambition statements, existing Programme of Work and The Plan for NL is provided for elected member consideration in Appendix Six. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix One – DigitalNL Capital and Revenue Investment Profile Appendix Two – DigitalNL Investment Spend – 2019-20 to 2023-24 Appendix Three – Year 4 Sprint Roadmap Appendix Four – CommsWorld Infrastructure and Connectivity Framework Appendix Five – CommsWorld Community Benefits & Added Value Appendix Six – Nonfinancial Benefits Summary Des Murray Chief Executive Page 46 of 96
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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? Creating a new website and Customer Service Hub, though central to the council’s ambition to become a leading digital authority, has the potential – through promoting self-service and digital first - to be disadvantageous and out of reach for older people, low-income groups, and those with a disability. Ofcom’s Online Nation 2022 Report states that 6% of UK adults do not have access to the internet at home, with this issue increasing with age. This report further illustrates that one fifth of individuals aged 65+ either don’t have home access or choose not to use it due to a lack of necessary skills. In recognising the pandemic created potential to make the impacts of digital exclusion worse for individuals in the most vulnerable situations, our most recent refresh of the Digital and IT Strategy contains plans to improve the connectivity and accessibility of North Lanarkshire as a place, and to also improve the ability of local people and communities to gain the skills and confidence required to help them benefit from the opportunities of being digitally connected. The Driving Digital Locally digital subgroup is a key factor in enabling local communities to participate in designing and deploying modern council services and ensuring that no one is left behind or digitally excluded. If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality-and-fairer- scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☒ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Financial Solutions? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? All financial implications are detailed within paragraphs 2.1 to 2.6 (investment) and paragraphs 2.26 to 2.34 (budgeted savings). 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People and Organisational Development? 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 ☐ Page 47 of 96
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If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic Solutions? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? In respect of PoW088, the Connectivity Framework, the Council procured legal advice from a 3rd party specialist “Pinsent & Mason” to support the development of the ITT, the challenging negotiation phase, and the award process. Advice was also sought to mitigate procurement and subsidy control risks. The advice in respect of subsidy control examined whether the contract award constituted a subsidy and if so whether that subsidy would be allowed. The advice concluded that the award of the contract and the requirement to deliver specific services to the council (i.e. WAN, Wi-Fi, Internet, etc) was not considered a subsidy. It also determined that a resident specific Broadband package (not financially backed by the council) was also not considered a subsidy, but a benefit that any supplier may offer residents. Lastly it concluded that a social housing Broadband package supported and financed by the council would be considered subsidy and if pursued must be treated as such, with the appropriate process followed. Such a subsidy was noted to be an acceptable intervention within the market due to delivery of fibre broadband services significantly quicker than if left to the traditional market forces. 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? Business and Digital is responsible for the design, deployment and maintenance of all ICT and digital assets required by the Council. It has approved revenue and capital funding available to maintain supportable applications and transition Council services towards increased self-service and community-focussed delivery. Two complementary programmes (a) Digital Economy and Place (SmartNL), and (b) Digital Council Transformation (DigitalNL), are being progressed to enable the Council to use technological advancement such as ultra-fast broadband, artificial intelligence, and next generation smart devices to redesign services around the needs of our communities and businesses. These programmes are leading to significant changes regarding connectivity, IoT, software and hardware, with all being duly and appropriately considered by the Council’s Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG) as part of the overarching deployment process. Page 48 of 96
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Deployment of these programmes also enhanced the Council’s corporate governance arrangements, with two new Governance bodies – the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG) and the Data Governance Board (DGB) – developed and subsequently embedded within Council operations. Where the impact identifies a requirement for technology, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☒ No ☒ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Paragraph 2.44 indicates that active and targeted promotion of the voucher schemes which align with our fibre delivery programme and improved connectivity is required through Community Boards in March 2023. 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 Council’s Corporate Risk Register 2022/23 was considered at the Corporate Management Team in June and November 2022. The following corporate risks require oversight from Business and Digital and specifically the DigitalNL programme. Corporate Risks (Operational) LikelihoodImpact RatingEvaluation Last Review Date Next Review Date Information Security and Information Governance 5 4 20High 15/10/2022 15/01/2023 ICT Operational capability 4 4 16High 04/09/2022 04/12/2022 Corporate Risks (Strategic) LikelihoodImpact RatingEvaluation Digital and IT Strategy 3 3 12 Medium 01/08/2022 01/02/2023 Risks are reviewed on a scheduled basis at a Service and Programme level through the governance arrangements approved at the DigitalNL Delivery Board. The Annual Risk Review took place on 24 October with the outcomes due to be presented to the Delivery Board in December 2022. With regards Connectivity, commentary within the Legal section on subsidy control and procurement, reflects a low risk to the delivery of the agreed services, and a low risk against the proposals for resident broadband offerings (non-funded by the council). Should the council position change and the social housing inclusive broadband be reconsidered, the subsidy control conditions would be reviewed, recorded, and posted within the relevant UK government portal, clearly a risk-based approach would be undertaken in conjunction with this. Page 49 of 96
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Appendix One DigitalNL Capital & Revenue Investment Profile Note: These figures exclude the one-off funding of £3.035M allocated in years 2021/22 and 2022/23. Page 50 of 96
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Appendix Two DigitalNL Investment Spend – 2019-20 to 2023-24 Year 1 (Actual) Year 2 (Actual) Year 3 (Actual) Year 4 (Projected) Year 5 (Projected) Total Projection £m £m £m £m £m £m Activity 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Service & Solution Design 1.974 0.833 2.807 Governance & Staffing 1.712 0.815 0.818 0.769 0.860 4.974 Digital Workplace - M365 0.506 1.196 0.031 0.039 1.772 Cloud Storage Solution - Azure 0.355 1.184 0.201 1.740 Digital Platform 0.887 2.720 4.350 0.808 0.221 8.986 BI Hub Development 0.122 0.327 0.588 0.624 1.661 IoT and AI 0.459 0.586 0.723 0.205 1.973 Total 6.015 7.661 6.711 2.445 1.081 23.913 Page 51 of 96
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Appendix Three Year 4 (2022-23) Sprint Development/Build Roadmap Sprint Process Priority Development Start Date Development End Date (inc UAT and contigency) Date to live production Proposed Year 4 Development Housing Field Services (Dynamic Scheduling) complete complete complete Environmental Assets Report It On-line forms 1 01/09/2022 30/09/2022 25/11/2022 Waste Special Uplift 2 01/10/2022 13/10/2022 14/10/2022 Fleet MOT and Taxi Compliance 3 17/10/2022 25/11/2022 25/11/2022 Financial Inclusion Debt Advice Management 4 28/11/2022 27/12/2022 05/01/2023 Environmental Assets all remaining processes 5 03/01/2023 22/08/2023 23/08/2023 Continued Development Activity Education & Families Financial Management System 01/09/2022 02/12/2022 05/12/2022 Financial Solutions RPA BI Hub reporting 01/01/2020 28/02/2023 01/03/2023 Year 5 Development Waste Business Waste 6 10/03/2023 01/11/2023 02/11/2023 Legal Licencing 7 23/04/2023 22/08/2024 23/08/2024 Potential Year 4 Development Housing Anti Social Behaviour 8 Back Office Processes Elected Member enquiry system 10 Back Office Processes Complaints (additional requirements) 11 Housing Rents on-line 9 Continued Service Sprint Activity )Non-Development/Business Change) - Year 4 Estate Management Facility Support Services Housing Repairs Phase 1 - Request a repair online process POD design of case management system and AD Education & Families Enterprise & Economic Development design of case management system Legal design of case management system Back Office Processes Purchase to Pay (P2P) Page 52 of 96
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Appendix Four Commsworld - Fibre Build and Connectivity Page 53 of 96
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Appendix Five Connectivity Framework – Added Value and Community Benefits Added Value - Commsworld will invest over £73m in North Lanarkshire as a direct result of this procurement, delivering a GVA of c£1.3bm over 15-years Pillar 1 - COVERAGE • 340km of fibre infrastructure passing 101,752 properties, with FTTH covering: • FTTH for minimum 1,000 rural properties using Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme • All main business parks to be connected. • Guaranteed significant % lower than prevailing market rates sell on to ISP’s and Mobile Operators to generate investment • Further Fibre investment in North Lanarkshire of £90m being considered Pillar 2 - TAKE-UP • Social Housing resident package: 1gb fibre for £20p/m • Resident package: 1gb fibre for £45p/m • Business package 1gb fibre for £300p/m • Work with ISPs to promote infrastructure investment Pillar 3 - CHOICE & INNOVATION • 10% of profit from connecting new customers to re-invested into Council technology programmes • Provision of 4 additional Omni Flow units for Palacerigg Country Park, building upon POC for smart park. • Provision of 10 CCTV cameras as a POC for cloud-based CCTV technology solution • Provision of 15-days consultancy to explore the 20-minute Neighbourhood concept and establish a pilot project – potentially leading to a bid for Demonstration project funding Pillar 4 - FUTURE PROOF • Inclusion of a Cloud-based Firewall within service offering for Council • Provision of 20 specialist consultancy days to support Business Intelligence Hub Page 54 of 96
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Connectivity Framework Community Benefits to be delivered over the first 3-years of the framework... Theme - Employment, Education & Skills • Delivery of 10 events per annum to enhance digital skills and employability, preparing young people for the world of work • Invest £3,000 per annum to create opportunities & initiatives for young people who face the greatest barrier to work • Delivery of 3 apprenticeships per annum from priority groups* (9 in first 3-years of Framework) • Delivery of 4 5-day work placements per annum over 1st 3-years for 14–16-year-olds. • Delivery of 4 education/community events per annum to raise awareness of Digital Careers and Pathways • Delivery of 6 Industry Awareness Events per annum targeting 4th, 5th & 6th years. Theme - Business Advice & Supply Chain Development and Opportunities • Delivery of 4 events per annum to engage, raise awareness and maximise of supply chain opportunities for local SMEs, 3rd sector organisations and supported businesses • Delivery of 4 events per annum to provide digital advice and support to local SMEs, voluntary & 3rd sector organisations. Theme – Community Engagement, Empowerment & Capacity Building • Commitment to work with the 9 Community Boards & Digital NL: • To develop and support initiatives (4 events per annum) to improve local decision making • To develop and support initiatives to address digital skills and inclusion (4 events per annum) • Commitment to work with VANL and Digital NL partners to provide donations of kit and to support access to data through the TechShare NL initiative (4 engagements per annum) to address digital capacity Commitment to best Practise, continuous improvement & innovation in community benefits - including delivery of community benefits over the lifetime of the Framework beyond first 3-years Communication, Monitoring & Reporting – Formal plan, quarterly KPI reporting, 3-year reviews, marketing & communications including case studies Page 55 of 96
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Policy & Strategy Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref DB/FW Date 01/12/22 P077.1 Workforce for the Future Progress Update From Derek Brown, Deputy Chief Executive E-mail BrownD@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07793 599090 Executive Summary North Lanarkshire Council has a well-established Workforce for the Future Strategy, which takes forward the aspirations of our single Plan for North Lanarkshire to drive inclusive growth. Through the delivery of this strategy, we are seeking to ensure that our workforce across the area benefits from the opportunities available, particularly in our growth sectors. There are also many challenges now being faced by employers in North Lanarkshire in the current economic climate, and this report updates committee on how we are partnering with employers as we progress in rolling out our strategy, and in response to these emerging challenges. Our integrated and innovative approach to this work has now put us in an excellent position to capitalise on new opportunities, such as the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which will enable us to better navigate the challenging economic landscape being faced by both our employers and future employees. Our plan is to create jobs and meet employment demand, by enabling our businesses to grow and develop their workforce. Furthermore, we plan to ensure that all opportunities, including apprenticeships and work placements, demonstrate the principles of fair work and pay, and the paper includes an update for members on the success of our recently launched scheme to reward businesses who demonstrate these values in practice. Finally, engaging with key industry sectors as part of our academy model is critical to our future success, and the paper also highlights a number of planned developments which will ensure more effective pathways are in place to employment in these areas. Lastly, the paper is clear about our successes so far in creating jobs and pathways to jobs, which should give further confidence to members about our future plans and the potential within this work to add significant ongoing value in our labour market. Recommendations It is recommended that Policy & Strategy Committee: (1) Note the increasing workforce demands now being seen within our growth sectors, and the concerning position with overall workforce availability in North Lanarkshire’s labour market. AGENDA ITEM 6 Page 59 of 96
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1. Background Labour Market Demand 1.1 The Lanarkshire labour market is shaped by a number of specific sectors which account for just over 60% of the total percentage of those employed across the region. Figure 1 below illustrates the top ten labour market employing industries. Figure 1 – Lanarkshire Labour Market 1.2 This shows a labour market profile largely dominated by two key sectors, Human Health & Social Care and Construction, which on their own make up just short of 40% of the labour market in terms of providing current and future employment opportunities. 1.3 Over the next 3-5 years, it is also expected that our key employing sectors will continue to offer significant job and career growth opportunity for our residents and our young people, and figure 2 below shows the projected North Lanarkshire demand in these (2) Endorse the good progress being made with the Workforce for the Future programme of work in this challenging context, including the significant employer engagement and positive feedback which is now informing our plans. (3) Note the further development of our academy model, and the first stage outcome of the construction skills options appraisal and endorse the development of a full business case to progress this work. (4) Note the increased funding and resources which have now been aligned to support delivery of our programme of work in the next phase. (5) Endorse the intention to bring a further progress update to Policy and Strategy in Cycle 2 of 2023. 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 Page 60 of 96
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key sectors both in terms of replacement demand (from resignations or retirement) and actual jobs growth. 1.4 Importantly, these sectors are also known to offer more secure and well-paid opportunities for employment, in contrast to other significant but lower margin sectors such as tourism and food and drink, which have historically struggled to operate consistently to fair work principles and have tended to be negatively impacted during periods of economic turmoil including the ongoing impact of Covid-19. Figure 2 – North Lanarkshire Forecasted Demand 1.5 The Construction Sector in particular is showing a trend of significant future jobs growth potential, with North Lanarkshire having seen 30.4% growth in construction businesses in the last 10 years, compared to 15.7% in Scotland, and 33.2% growth in jobs compared to Scottish growth of 1.2%. 1.6 Moreover, within the wider region, it is expected that around £10 billion of construction spend is forecasted over the next 10 years and some of this will be aligned to the Council’s own construction supply chain and placemaking activities. With direct access to this through our community benefits, and other potential partnership arrangements, we will be able to create significant opportunities for jobs, apprenticeships, and work placements, for our young people and local residents. 1.7 In addition, forecasted job creation from businesses who are engaged with the council and moving to North Lanarkshire is currently 1,400 jobs in the next year with sectors such as manufacturing, energy, and creative industries forecasting the largest job creation potential. This excludes additional jobs being created by businesses already based in North Lanarkshire. Page 61 of 96
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Labour Market Supply 1.8 It is important to outline that all of the demand outlined above is set against a very difficult post pandemic and Brexit labour market within North Lanarkshire, which has shown a falling trend over the last 6-8 months in the number of unemployed residents who are actually available to take up positions. The most recent data shows that the number of out of work claimants looking for work who were aged 25 or over in North Lanarkshire falling from 11,510 in March 2021 to 8,480 October 2021 and most recently 6,100 in September 2022. 1.9 There are also some concerning additional trends, such as an increase in long term sickness, which are impacting on the overall availability of working age residents across North Lanarkshire, and this has significantly affected our labour market in the key sectors outlined above. A full snapshot of the current labour market position on workforce availability across North Lanarkshire is outlined in appendix 1. 1.10 This shows that the reversal in the labour market which has occurred in the last 18 months has been unprecedented, and there is clearly an inadequate supply of appropriately skilled and qualified labour in the market for the moment, with employers in North Lanarkshire and all key sectors confirming that they are struggling to fill existing vacancies or find enough skilled candidates to meet the growth needs of their business. 1.11 Due to a combination of current labour market conditions, and a historical lack of investment in skills, apprenticeships and pathways development, both of our key sectors, Health & Social Care and Construction are now reporting unprecedented levels of vacancies and skills shortages, indicating that there is also a concerning labour market supply gap for roles at all levels within these sectors. Direct Employer Engagement 1.12 With such unpredictable labour market conditions, having a clear grasp of where our businesses are is crucial to our and their future success and sustainability, and partnering with an increasing number of local businesses through this period and into the next phase is a key priority for the programme. 1.13 Aligned to this, and over the last 12 months, the Workforce for the Future programme team have undertaken a significant level of external engagement with a wide range of businesses and strategic partners in key sectors across North Lanarkshire, to better understand their workforce challenges and to share and test our ambitions and goals aligned to the strategy. 1.14 Feedback has been extremely positive, with business leaders confirming the key role the Council can play in helping to address workforce challenges, and many indicating their keenness to play an integral part in providing increased industry input, sponsorship, and support to assist with the further development of the key sector focused workforce strategies, pathways, and programmes which are badly needed to close ongoing gaps. 1.15 This high level of business and partner input and support will be integral to growing the wider impact of this work in the next phase, and it is underpinned by the many challenges we are collectively facing in a very difficult economic climate. On a more Page 62 of 96
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positive note, it is clear from our conversations with businesses that there are significant opportunities within this work to build strong and integrated partnership working which will deliver real value for our residents and our young people. 1.16 Set out in the remainder of this report is a further update on our progress within the strategy and against our 6 commitments, as well as some growing examples of the partnership work with business and key sectors now driving improved outcomes. Also outlined are our ambitious plans for the next phase of this work and in particular the further development of our construction sector skills and pathways offering within our overall academy model. 2. Report 2.1 Our Strategic Commitments 2.1.1 Our Workforce for the Future Strategy is underpinned by six strategic commitments which form the primary focus of our broader programme of work. These commitments are intended to leverage the full range of our vocational education offerings, our employability and skills programmes and funding, and our employer and other partnership working capabilities to improve outcomes within our labour market and within key sectors. 2.1.2 As a reminder, our six commitments are set out in figure 3 below and our work to advance these is delivered through a broad range of activities which involve joint and integrated working with officers from Education & Families (including Employability and Community Learning & Development), Planning & Regeneration, Strategic Communications, People & Organisational Development, and external partners including NHS Lanarkshire, Routes to Work, Skills Development Scotland, New College Lanarkshire, and the Department of Work and Pensions. Figure 3 – Our Six Strategic Commitments Page 63 of 96
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2.1.3 A full update on our progress to date against these six commitments is set out in appendix 2, and this includes significant work delivered to date in securing work placements for our young people as well as detail regarding our successful NL Employer Charter. 2.2 Programme Delivery Structure 2.2.1 To ensure the broad delivery of our ongoing commitments, and the advancement of our sector-based offerings, the Workforce for the Future programme is structured through key workstreams which fully integrate our schools based vocational pathways activity, with our employability programmes and our direct work with businesses and sectors. 2.2.2 Alongside this we have established an academy model which has a focus on three specific growth sectors; Health and Social Care; Construction and Digital and Creative. The inclusion of digital and creative reflects our strategic ambition within the Plan for North Lanarkshire to make our region a leader in digital skills and encompasses a need to support the development of our growing Film Industry within North Lanarkshire which we expect to create real jobs growth and opportunity for residents and young people. 2.2.3 Set out below in figure 4 is an overview of the programme structure; the programme is overseen by our Workforce for the Future Steering group, with our Deputy Chief Executive as Executive Sponsor and led by Heads of Service from Education, Planning & Regeneration and People and Organisation Development, along with key third and fourth tier officers from these services. This ensures the ongoing delivery and integration of all key activities aligned this work. Figure 4 – Overview of the Programme 2.2.4 Further detail and a progress update on the work being taken forward within each of the three sector academy programmes is provided in appendices 3, 4 and 5. This includes a description of work underway to identify detailed future demand within each sector, and an outline of existing pathways and the numbers of apprenticeships and training opportunities which have been delivered through these pathways. Page 64 of 96
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2.3 Academy Model Development The further development of our sector academy programmes and our overall academy delivery vehicle, is a key priority within the next phase of our work, and a blueprint for how this will operate is set out in figure 5 below. This will leverage a number of resources already established within the Council including our modern apprenticeship team. 2.3.1 A full options appraisal has been completed for the Construction sector academy programme, with input from key stakeholders and employers across the sector. This will build on the successful vocational and school-based pathways which have now been established with a number of important construction sector employers, including Morgan Sindall and Kier Construction. Figure 5 – Academy Delivery Vehicle 2.3.2 Desktop research and site visits have also been undertaken to consider a number of other established and successful Local Authority led academy organisations in Scotland. These include City Building in Glasgow, Shared Apprentice Ltd in Dundee, and Capital City Partnership in Edinburgh. 2.3.3 All three of these organisations are providing a similar approach within their local labour markets, connecting employment opportunities within businesses and sectors and providing skills and pathways offerings at scale including apprenticeships. 2.3.4 Each is also set up as a partnership with the Local Authority, businesses (including those within their supply chain) and skills/education providers to offer relevant sector skills and apprenticeship programmes to their local area. Learnings from these organisations will be incorporated as we shape the next phase of development for our academy model. Page 65 of 96
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2.3.5 Early feedback from the Construction Sector options appraisal has been very positive, with universal agreement of the need for a joint approach and a strong partnership between industry, the Council and the further and higher education and skills bodies operating in this space in North Lanarkshire There is also agreement that there would be value in considering a shared apprenticeship model which will support smaller SME’s operating in the sector who often have limited access to funding for apprenticeships. 2.3.6 Initial considerations which have been put forward as part of the options appraisal include a shared apprenticeship model/joint funding vehicle and a bespoke physical construction academy within the Council. This initial scoping of the opportunity and appetite for this approach will now require a more detailed mapping of the most appropriate model, taking into account funding, wider sector feedback on priorities and other aspects such as existing capacity to deliver training and apprenticeships within the wider FE and HE sector. 2.3.7 The outcome of the options appraisal, which is expected to be available in November, will be followed by the development of a full business case, including any funding or other investment required to establish a full academy offering, and it is expected that a further report will be brought to Committee for final approval in cycle 1 of 2023. 2.3.8 An important element of the success of the academy model will be its ability to fully leverage economies of scale and the linked arrangements, funding and resources we already have in place, including existing assets and services that the Council has established such as our supported employment service and our ALEO Routes to Work. 2.3.9 It is also vital that our academy work in each sector is fully connected to and shaped by the key business stakeholders, their workforce demand, and other relevant challenges within that sector. This includes a critical early requirement for us to agree the highest priority recruitment and skills pathways needed within each sector to meet identified workforce gaps and bridge the supply demand gap. 2.3.10 To support this, plans are underway to establish a number of formal sector aligned skills boards with representation from industry and other partners within each sector to steer and support the work of the academy, create employment and training opportunities, agree pathway priorities, solutions, and joint approaches to funding. The terms of reference and make up of the sector boards will be shared with Committee in the next update. 2.4 Funding 2.4.1 Funding is a key enabler of our work to support the ongoing development of our skills and pathways offerings, and within this next phase there are opportunities to fully integrate and leverage a number of key sources of funding to drive the delivery of positive outcomes within this work and these include: The Council’s share of the apprenticeship levy, which amounts to approximately £2m per annum and can be drawn down to support both apprenticeships and shared apprenticeships across several frameworks which are aligned to our key growth sectors in Health & Social Care and Construction. The people and skills allocation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to March 2025 has now been confirmed as £5,289,000 of the core UK SPF funding allocation of £10,901,862. Of this, £1,950,000 is aligned to activity Page 66 of 96
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dedicated to the Workforce for the Future Strategy (inc. development of the Health and Social Care, Construction and Digital Academies, and Pathways programmes, and Vocational Education offering) whilst £3,339,000 is replacement funding for current EU funded employability activities, such as Working Matters and North Lanarkshire’s Working. An additional, £2,395,402 is ringfenced for Multiply which supports adult numeracy activities for individuals aged 19+. Further additional joint funding for shared apprenticeships and other training activities, to be pursued and agreed with partners and businesses, including those within our own supply chain, and as part of the wider delivery of large contracts aligned to our house building and place making ambitions. Funding managed through our Local Employability Partnership and our ALEO Routes to Work, aligned to key programmes such as No One Left Behind and Young Persons Guarantee, to deliver positive outcomes for unemployed or economically inactive residents. Since April 2021 across all employability programmes this has helped 1,724 residents into employment and the Council’s Employability team have invested £2.095 million of external funding in local employers with a further £750k currently committed to them. 2.5 Resourcing of the programme in the next phase 2.5.1 Given the workforce challenges now evident for all employers across North Lanarkshire, and in order to take forward the full breadth of our plans, it has been agreed that a number of full-time resources will now be required to deliver against our ambition aligned to the programme, particularly as we scale up our sector aligned skills and pathways programmes. 2.5.2 To support this, an NLC17 Workforce for the Future Delivery Manager has now been appointed, and this role will sit within the People and Organisational Development service reporting to the Head of People and Organisational Development with full alignment to the Workforce for the Future Steering Group. 2.5.3 It is further envisaged that by the end of the year that additional resources will be aligned underneath this post, including the Council’s current modern apprenticeship team consisting of an NLC12 and 3 NLC7’s, a further senior programme management resource and other sector aligned resources subject to funding. This additional resource will greatly assist with the ongoing delivery of this work which has largely to date been managed by officers across the programme within their existing remit of activity. 2.5.4 Further resources will be considered as this work grows and this includes consideration of how we take forward our NL Employer Charter work and a more integrated approach to the realisation of community benefits. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Demonstrated progress against our six strategic commitments. 3.2 Increased pathways and apprenticeships within our key sector academy programmes. 3.3 Increased funding through partnerships and leveraging our supply chain contracts and community benefits. Page 67 of 96
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4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 – Labour Market Snapshot 4.2 Appendix 2 - Progress against our Six Commitments 4.2 Appendix 3 - Academy Model, Health & Social Care Sector Update 4.3 Appendix 4 - Academy Model, Construction Sector Update 4.4 Appendix 5 - Academy Model, Digital & Creative Sector Update 4.5 Update to Policy & Strategy March 2022 Microsoft Word ‐ Workforce for the Future ‐ Policy & Strategy March 2022 Final (2).docx (northlanarkshire.gov.uk) 4.6 Workforce for the Future Strategy June 2021 att96241.pdf (northlanarkshire.gov.uk) Derek Brown Deputy Chief Executive 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? Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Financial Solutions? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People and Organisational Development? 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 ☒ Page 68 of 96
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If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic Solutions? 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 technology, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Strategic Communications are fully involved in the ongoing programme of work. 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☐ No ☒ It has been flagged in the report that failure to undertake equality impact assessments can put the Council at risk from legal challenge and / or reputational damage. This is already included in the Risk Register Page 69 of 96
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1 Appendix 1 Labour Market Snapshot – North Lanarkshire Workforce Availability* 1. Unemployment and Economic Inactivity 1.1 As of September 2022, there are in the region of 6,100 residents who are unemployed and looking for work across North Lanarkshire. This equates to 3.8% of the working age population and is one of the lowest levels of workforce availability which has been seen since before the impact of the financial crisis in 2008. Over the course of the pandemic, our levels of unemployment across North Lanarkshire rose to a high of around 6% in July 2020, but they have fallen rapidly over the last 18-24 months, effectively reducing by half the number of available unemployed residents to take up positions. Figure 1 below shows this trend. Figure 1 – Unemployed (available for work) Profile 1.2 Although low rates of unemployment are desirable, they also indicate that we may have a problem with wider workforce availability and supply as our local economy recovers and grows, and this data fits with what our local employers are now telling us in terms of record numbers of vacancies, particularly in skilled sectors with high demand. 1.3 More concerningly, and since the start of the pandemic, we have also seen a marked increase in economic inactivity, which is in effect working age residents taking themselves out of the local workforce by opting not to work for a variety of reasons. This has had a further impact on total workforce availability across North Lanarkshire. 1.4 Set out in Figure 2 below is data to the end of July 2022, which shows this marked increase in economic inactivity since the start of the pandemic. It should be noted that this is a trend which has been seen in other local authority areas and within the Glasgow City Region, but it appears to be more pronounced in North Lanarkshire. Page 70 of 96
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2 Figure 2 - Economic Inactivity (percentage not available for work) 1.5 Importantly, the combination of rapidly falling unemployment and a marked increase in economic inactivity has created a “perfect storm” with regards to workforce availability, and we know from our discussions with employers in all sectors across North Lanarkshire that this is significantly affecting their ability to recruit to positions at all levels. 1.6 Figure 3 below illustrates the total impact of this combination of factors on the levels of economically active (or total available working age population) across North Lanarkshire at this time, with a squeeze on our labour market at either end and current levels of available workforce which are at 69.4%, the lowest level in recent history and almost 8% lower than the Scottish average. Figure 3 – Total percentage of working age residents Page 71 of 96
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3 2. Reasons for Economic Inactivity 2.1 The reasons for such a dramatic increase in economic inactivity across North Lanarkshire are not yet fully known, however data would suggest that a large volume of this is due to an increase in the numbers of long-term sick, either directly due to covid (and long covid) or to the impact of covid on available medical capacity to treat those with conditions and other medical needs which have been delayed or postponed. 2.2 Figure 4 below shows recently published information from the October Glasgow City Region Economic Briefing, which provides a breakdown of the some of the reasons now thought to be contributing to this concerning rise in the numbers of long-term sick. A general rise in depression and mental illness is also seen to be a contributing factor. Figure 4 * All data extracted from the office of national statistics regional profile for North Lanarkshire Page 72 of 96
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Appendix 2 – Progress Against our Six Strategic Commitments Commitment What we have delivered in the last 6 ‐12 months) What we will continue to measure Planned Activity In the next 6 months 1. Grow jobs across the region and increase the number of employers engaging directly with the strategy. Forecasted job creation from businesses who are now engaged with the Council in moving to North Lanarkshire is currently 1,400 jobs in the next year with sectors such as manufacturing, energy, and creative industries driving this growth. Activities undertaken to engage employers with our wider strategy have included: The full launch of employer charter in May 2022 with social media campaign on Linked In and Facebook. ‐ Email sent by Corporate Comms to over 4000 businesses in North Lanarkshire. ‐ Press release sent to all locals which was picked up by the Daily Record, Wishaw Press and Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser. ‐ Feature in the Chief Executive’s Newsletter. ‐ We have a list of over 4000 businesses who applied for the COVID restrictions Fund and SFBF which we are steadily emailing (100 per day). ‐ Enterprise Development Officers sent an email to all current contacts (around 600 emails). ‐ Business Support team have also been asked to email their business contacts. To date as a result of this activity we now have: ‐ 12 employers accredited ‐ 16 new enquiries on the NL Business Charter since full launch in May 2022 (including ‐ Numbers of jobs created from inward investment or through Council or supply chain activity ‐ Number of employers engaged in events/meetings regarding WFF ‐ Number of existing employer charter members at Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards. ‐ Number of new enquiries about the NL Employer charter. Further targeting of inward investment through the Council’s Enterprise Service to increase jobs growth. Targeting an increase in NL Employer Charter members to 50 employers by April next year through targeted campaigns in North Lanarkshire in: ‐ Herald Scotland.com ‐ Daily Record.co.uk ‐ Google Display. ‐ Twitter - Promoted tweets ‐ You Tube - Promoted tweets ‐ Linked In - Sponsored messaging and sponsored content ‐ StackAdpat Pre-roll video ‐ Promotional materials being developed for EDOs / Business Advisers to use when engaging with businesses Page 73 of 96
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2 Construction Sector employers within our supply chain) A Workforce for the Future business breakfast was hosted by the Deputy Chief Executive on 28 June 2022 with 19 small to large local businesses in attendance across a range of key sectors. A larger Developing the Young Workforce – An Employer Engagement Event was held on 27th October 2022 with 300 delegates from over 90 businesses and North Lanarkshire’s schools in attendance. The Deputy Chief Executive is meeting businesses individually to discuss their growth, recruitment and skills plans and outline how North Lanarkshire Council can work to support them; 5 visits have taken place with local employers so far. ‐ Presentations wherever appropriate at various working groups / workstreams Additional 10 business visits and industry forums are planned within the next phase. We are also considering an event to award and further showcase businesses meeting the NL Employer Charter standard in early 2023. 2. Expand the numbers of work placement opportunities, matching young people with business mentors. Since the start of this academic session in August 2022 through our pathways and other vocational programmes, including foundation apprenticeship programmes, we have provided 678 work placements to young people (including those most at risk of entering a negative post- school destination) in their senior phase of learning. In addition, we have 239 Young Stem Leaders, 22 STEM ambassadors and 236 young people signed up for our Leadership Academy in the areas of sport, dance, drama, enterprise, digital skills and STEM. This will provide them with leadership opportunities, wider ‐ Work placements/mentors through DYW ‐ Work placements/jobs from foundation apprenticeships ‐ Number of mentors secured for pathways programmes Following the Developing the Young Workforce conference and the future launch of the Council’s DYW plan, our focus will be on increasing numbers of work placements and business mentors through ongoing business engagement. As a direct result of this conference, we have now had 150 enquires from employers looking to participate in our schools offering and this will be followed up in the next phase and we will be seeking Page 74 of 96
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3 achievement accreditation and the opportunity to access employment. to increase the number of work placements to around 1000. 3. Expand numbers of apprenticeships and employment pathways, particularly in growth sectors. To date, and across all of our sectors there are now 8 viable pathways for progression across a range of apprenticeships including foundation, modern and graduate. Within the last 12 months alone these pathways have enabled just short of 300 apprenticeship places and this figure rises to 527 apprenticeships when taken over 2 years and there is significant potential to increase this further as our academy model progresses. ‐ Number of pathways now in place across our key sectors including NHS Lanarkshire priority pathways and commitments ‐ Numbers recruited directly into apprenticeship schemes ‐ Numbers of new pathways from school directly to employment in growth sectors We will be targeting development of 5 additional pathways, including those in healthcare, in partnership with NHS Lanarkshire, and in construction and the creative sector. Agreement of the formal Memorandum of Understanding with NHS Lanarkshire by the end of December 2022. Priority will be given to the establishment of a Construction Skills Sector Board to be agreed and established by the end of December 2022. We will seek to increase our annual number of apprenticeship places to around 500, within key sectors. This represents around 30-40% of the total number of apprenticeships across North Lanarkshire. 4. Tackle unemployment, facilitate sector swaps and increase qualification Levels of unemployment are currently low across North Lanarkshire and as of September 2022, there are 6,100 residents who are unemployed and looking for work. Numbers of residents helped into work through core employability & skills programmes. Aligned to the Council’s Shared Prosperity Fund allocation, £2.3m has been ring fenced for the delivery of adult numeracy activity under the UK- wide branding of “Multiply”. The three key objectives of Multiply are: Page 75 of 96
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4 levels for working age residents. In 2021/22 NLC funded employability activities engaged 2,467 residents on its programmes and in the first six months of 2022/23 has engaged with 1,018 unemployed residents. Engagement of clients remains below that of before the pandemic with the main sources of referrals being self-referral and Job Centre+. With regards to our adult learning activities, our Community Learning & Development (CLD) team continue to lead on the delivery of community-based adult learning across North Lanarkshire, including the development of the core skills of literacy, numeracy, communications, working with others, problem solving and information and communications technology (ICT). Over the last 12 months, 2271 adults, aged 16 and over, enrolled in CLD programmes, This figure is an increase on the 1851 adults enrolled in the previous year. Numbers of adult learning skills/qualification programmes delivered for unemployed residents. 1. More adults achieving maths qualifications / participating in numeracy courses (up to, and including, SCQF Level 5). 2. Improved labour market outcomes (e.g. fewer numeracy skills gaps reported by employers, and an increase in the proportion of adults that progress into sustained employment and / or education). 3. Increased adult numeracy across the population. Multiply will support additional adult numeracy programmes between December 2022 and March 2025 for those aged 19 and over who live, work, study or volunteer in North Lanarkshire and do not currently have numeracy qualifications up to and including SCQF Level 5 (e.g. National 5, Standard Grade, O Level, etc). These qualifications will become a critical part of our pathways development, enabling low qualified residents to gain entry level qualifications which give them access to other higher level qualification or employment. 5. Increase the number of school leavers achieving To date, across the Council’s pathways programmes for young people, there have been 331 young people Total number of pupils through school pathways programme. Following our very successful Developing the Young Workforce employer conference and the future Page 76 of 96
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5 a sustained positive destination. registered, all identified as having multiple barriers to learning and employment. Of this number, 251 young people from S4-6 across all schools have entered a positive post-school destination including modern apprenticeships, employment, further education on their leaving date or within six months. Of the remaining 80, a small number chose to return to school with the rest of the young people receiving continued support until such times as they are ready to enter a positive destination, or an appropriate job or college place comes up. The Pathways Team now work with around 150 young people in the senior phase of learning on a full-time employability focused curriculum. In addition, a further 230 young people from across all secondary schools are supported on a five-week programme delivered during the Future Fridays enrichment afternoon. Number achieving sustained employment. Numbers of children engaging with Future Friday’s activity. Number of Future Fridays activities directly aligned to growth sectors. launch of the Council’s revised DYW plan, our focus will be on sustaining and extending our pathways programme and fully aligning our Future Fridays curriculum to our growth sectors to encourage more young people to engage with pathways and careers in these sectors. 6. Expand our employability provision to support those furthest from the labour market. The Supported Employment team is currently engaging with 250 clients at various stages of their journey into work and use an evidence-based, personalised approach that supports around 100 people into employment per annum across North Lanarkshire with participants sustaining employment in higher rates than in mainstream employability programmes. To date 11 young people have completed the No Limits project with 100% achieving a job outcome, four of whom have gained a modern apprenticeship in various sectors. Numbers of disadvantaged residents supported into sustained employment though our various programmes. Continued progression and expansion of our supported employment plans and programmes, including through our partnership with NHS Lanarkshire and focused on increased numbers with other employers through the potential extension of our NL employer charter to include commitments in this area. Page 77 of 96
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6 The Young Person’s Guarantee is currently funding No Limits 2 and the team are supporting 15 young people to start their one-year placement. As part of Pathways to Textile Care, a partnership between New College Lanarkshire, local employer ACS clothing and North and South Lanarkshire Councils, 16 disadvantaged students are receiving a range of industry recognised training before completing an SVQ in Textile Care or Warehousing and Logistics. The programme has been shortlisted for the Partnership Award by the College Development Network. Project SEARCH is a longstanding partnership between NHS Lanarkshire, New College Lanarkshire and the Council, which allows for supported employment clients to gain work experience at 2 acute sites in University Hospital Wishaw and University Hospital Monklands. This accommodates around 16 placements between the two sites each year. Over the life of the partnership there have been: 168 students 109 have found jobs - a total of 65% 88 of those remain in work - a total of 80% A total of 176 jobs have been found, some students finding 2nd & 3rd jobs Page 78 of 96
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7 NL Employer Charter – Roll out Progress The NL employer charter contains key principles, which are aligned to drive positive improvements in outcomes in our North Lanarkshire labour market, and which are reflected in the four pillars of the scheme. As a reminder the 4 pillars and award levels are: The four pillars The NL employer charter focuses broadly on compliance with our four key principles: Fair Pay – increasing our average weekly wage in line with the Fairer Scotland Duty All directly employed staffed are being paid the Real Living Wage (£9.90 per hour) and this can be confirmed by evidence. Employer is actively working towards paying the Real Living Wage within the next 12 months. Employ North Lanarkshire – ensuring that job opportunities go to NL residents Employer is committed to engaging with NL Working when new employment and apprenticeship opportunities arise within the organisation. Employer promotes and provides apprenticeship / work experience / work placements and actively engages with local schools and education. Employer promotes volunteering and volunteering opportunities within the wider community. Buy North Lanarkshire – enhancing supply chain / procurement / community benefits Employer commits to including North Lanarkshire businesses in its supply chain wherever possible. Employer is involved in community benefits / social value through procurement. Be the Best – ensuring fair work practices which attract and retain employees Employer offers flexible working and family friendly working practices Employer offers workforce training, development, and progression Page 79 of 96
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8 Employer has a health and wellbeing policy Employer has an equality and diversity policy The Award levels Awards will be made on the level of compliance to specific criteria. Partners will sign up in principle to the scheme and will work towards meeting the specific criteria outlined under each of the four pillars: Bronze Award recipients will be able to evidence meeting the criteria of two of the pillars. Silver Award recipients will be able to evidence meeting some of the criteria in three of the pillars and be working towards meeting all four. Gold Award recipients will be able to evidence meeting all the criteria in all four pillars. When the scheme was approved by Policy & Strategy in March 2022, 7 employers were awarded either silver or bronze as part of a pilot scheme. This has now increased to 15 employers with 21 new applications awaiting review, including two from the Council’s own Construction Sector supply chain partners. Set out below in Table 1 are the local employers who have now been awarded under the scheme. Company Name Company Address Comments Hair Design Airdrie 28 Anderson Street, Airdrie, ML6 0AA Early Adopter / Silver Award Pulptec 8 Grayshill Road, Cumbernauld, G68 9HQ Early Adopter / Bronze Award Glass Systems 1a Dunns Wood Rd, Glasgow G67 3EN Early Adopter / Gold Award GCN Ltd 5 Smith Avenue, Wishaw, ML2 0RY Early Adopter / Bronze Award Active Access Goil Avenue, Righead Ind Estate, Bellshill, ML4 3LQ Early Adopter / Silver Award Belac Group Ltd 1 Sandpiperway, Strathclyde Business Park, Bellshill, ML4 3NG Gold Award The Power Within Training Eurocentral, Maxim 1, 2 Parklands Way, Motherwell, ML1 4WR Silver Award Antibody Company Bo'Ness Rd, Chapelhall, Motherwell ML1 5UH Silver Award Secureshield Ltd Apleona House, Crosshill Street, Motherwell ML1 1RU Gold Award Page 80 of 96
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9 ACS Clothing 6 Dovecote Rd, Centralpark ML1 4GP Silver Award WH&R McCartney Insurance Brokers 110‐112 Hamiliton Road, Motherwell, ML1 3EH Bronze Award Preah Building Services Greenside Road, Newhouse Silver Award Inex Works 3 Mid Road, Blairlinn Ind Estate, Cumbernauld, G67 2TT Bronze Award Clarke Fire Protection Products Ltd Grange Works, Lomond Road Coatbridge Bronze Award Antibody Analytics Braidhurst Industrial Estate, Motherwell ML1 3ST Silver Award Page 81 of 96
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1 Appendix 3 – Academy Model, Health & Social Care Sector Progress Update 1. Employment Demand 1.1 Despite already being the largest employment sector within North Lanarkshire, the Health & Social Care Sector has experienced significant increased demand and ongoing workforce challenges over the last four years, and as a major service deliverer within this sector, the Council has directly experienced that impact in terms of both jobs growth and replacement demand. 1.2 This has included dramatically increased recruitment across our Health & Social Care Partnership to meet service growth and other workforce pressures relating to Covid- 19 in addition to the rapid expansion of our Early Years provision with a significant volume of new jobs created and recruitment at all levels. 1.3 Table 1 below sets out the significant volume of recruitment that the Council has fulfilled within this sector over the last 4 years alone, with this figure representing around 75% of the total forecasted volume of 2,300 openings within the forecasted North Lanarkshire profile for 2021-2025. This data further underlines a pattern that suggests that future job opportunities in this sector are likely to far exceed this forecasted number, particularly when recruitment demand volumes within NHS Lanarkshire and the private sector are taken into account. Table 1 – Recruitment 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 Home Support 67 225 147 157 Social Worker 55 23 31 56 Locality Support Worker 17 16 26 6 Locality Worker 8 7 7 2 Residential Worker 11 14 0 4 Senior Social Worker 19 3 1 16 Support Officer 0 22 19 14 Early Years & ASNA 405 186 61 119 Total 582 496 292 374 Cumulative total 1,370 1744 1.4 In addition, we know that the age demographic of the workforce across the sector is an issue, with a high proportion of staff aged over age 50, particularly in areas such as Social Work and Homecare. Page 82 of 96
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2 1.5 The Council itself has seen a doubling of its turnover rate in our Health & Social Care services over the last 12 months and therefore for all of these reasons, we expect recruitment demand in this sector, and across a wide range of roles, to continue to outstrip the supply of available skilled and appropriately qualified candidates in the labour market. 1.6 Work is also now underway with NHS Lanarkshire build a more accurate and detailed picture of their broader forecasted demand for priority healthcare roles where there are known recruitment shortages and gaps. These include Nursing, including Community Mental Health Nursing, Allied Health Professionals and other medical roles, with vacancy levels as high as 15% now being identified in some of the acute services across North Lanarkshire. 1.7 An additional challenge within the sector is the increasing professionalisation of the workforce, even for roles that were previously considered easy to access such as Home Support, with Homecare workers now requiring to complete an SVQ2 level qualification, and discussion underway about increasing this to level SVQ3. 1.8 To avoid this becoming a barrier to entry to this sector for many residents, the Council has had to take steps such as relaxing required qualifications for these roles and offering a “work towards” approach to ensure adequate levels of applications. Although this approach can add additional burdens to the service initially, it has been very successful with almost 3000 applicants for these posts over the last 3 years. 1.9 NHS Lanarkshire have also confirmed that they have had similar success by engaging with newly qualified nursing cohorts in advance of the individuals qualifying, to offer employment to nurses while awaiting their registration as B4 practitioners, and they intend to embed this refined process going forward. 1.10 This further underlines the fact that there is simply no job ready workforce available across North Lanarkshire ready to meet the future demands within this sector and therefore our continued partnership working and focus on developing pathways will be critical to create the future workforce we need. 2. Pathways & Partnerships 2.1 The Council has a strong track record, over a number of years, of good partnership working on skills and employability within this sector, with both NHS Lanarkshire and the North Lanarkshire Health & Social Care Partnership. 2.2 Importantly, even with the known pressures in this sector, especially over the last two years, our partnership working has seen a continued focus on investing in apprenticeships and training and the development of pathways to enable progression. Set out in table 2 below are the volumes of apprenticeships and other training pathways we have delivered in the last 4 years. Page 83 of 96
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3 Table 2 – Apprenticeships and Training 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 HSC Modern Apprentices 10 0 4 0 (4 from 21/22 are contracted until Mar 2023) Home Support SVQ 2 38 38 Early Years Modern Apprentices 19 0 17 10 ASNA Modern Apprentices 27 14 HSC Foundation Apprentices 19 17 31 Social Services Children and Young People Foundation Apprentices 167 57 46 79 SW Hub - Students 35 24 35 28 NHS Lanarkshire Social Services and Healthcare MA 7 7 15 NHS Lanarkshire Social Services and Healthcare Foundation Apprentices 0 7 Placement only Social Services Health & Social Care Foundation Apprentices 31 18 Postgraduate Cert in Child Welfare 14 13 18 15 MSc Leading People – Integrated Care 1 1 MHO Training 4 2 Postgraduate Cert in Autism 1 1 Postgraduate Cert in Advanced Practice 1 3 Postgraduate Cert in Contemporary Drug and Alcohol Studies 1 Postgraduate modules in Adult Support & Protection 4 Total 265 162 261 191 Cumulative total 879 Page 84 of 96
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4 2.3 Examples of the career pathways which have supported this volume of training and recruitment are set out in figure 1 and figure 2 below: Figure 1 – Social Work & Social Care Pathway Figure 2 – Early Learning & Childcare Pathway Page 85 of 96
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5 2.4 Despite the impact of the pandemic on the availability of NHS Lanarkshire staff to participate consistently in this work, NHS Lanarkshire have recently reaffirmed their formal commitment to working in partnership with us to address ongoing workforce gaps across the sector as part of our wider Workforce for the Future Strategy. 2.5 Following a strategic employability meeting on 15th August and again on 23rd August between NHS Lanarkshire (NHSL), North Lanarkshire Council and South Lanarkshire Council, and including the Chief Executives’ of NHSL and North Lanarkshire Council, work is now underway to establish an Employability Hub within NHSL, and to agree a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between our organisations with a joint programme of work to be take forward. 2.6 This formal MOU has now been drafted and includes agreed priorities around the further development of critical pathways within the sector, both in social care and healthcare, and the development of a shared apprenticeship approach with future targets for increasing apprenticeship numbers and expanding supported employment efforts. 2.7 The MoU requires all parties to work together to support the Workforce for the Future Strategy and aims in particular, each party commits to: Developing and facilitating joint apprenticeships between councils and the health board. Jointly supporting recruitment fairs and attraction activities around health and social care. Running joint recruitment campaigns across health and social care. Providing foundation and modern apprenticeship programmes in health and social care, commitments on total numbers to be confirmed by each party. Reviewing relevant policies by all parties to ensure support for a joint and integrated approach. Working with Education across both councils to build awareness of careers in health and social care. Increasing student opportunities across all organisations from both school, further and higher education establishments. Working together in any way possible to increase the pipeline of talent into health and social care as part of our workforce for the future. 2.8 The draft MOU is currently being reviewed by the legal teams within all three organisations and once agreed is for an initial period of 2 years, which may be extended by agreement in writing between the parties. A twice-yearly review of the progress and outcomes of the MoU will be undertaken by all parties. 2.9 As part of this work, NHS Lanarkshire are also now working to confirm their initial priority pathways, with a particular focus on engaging school leavers in careers in shortage areas such as Allied Health Professionals, Physiotherapists, Healthcare Assistant roles and mental health professions. 2.10 A full NHS Lanarkshire Employability Strategy is in development, and this includes an annual commitment to 15 Modern Apprenticeships in Social Services and Healthcare and 10 Modern Apprenticeships in Business Administration. Additionally, NHSL have now engaged 7 Foundation apprenticeships, with 3 FA’s started in Social Services and Page 86 of 96
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6 Healthcare and over the next 6 months, they intend to increase work placements, including placements for long term unemployed, as set out in table 3 below. Table 3 – NHS Lanarkshire Ongoing Commitments NHSL Placement/Apprenticeship Number LTU over 25’s Paid placements – 6 months 30 Foundation Apprenticeships 10 Modern Apprenticeships 25 Total (per year) 65 2.11 They have also recently committed to recruiting 30 paid placements for the NHS Demonstrator Project with over 46 individuals applying for these placements. The majority of these individuals have now started. 2.12 This will further build on our growing body of work around successful progression pathways in the wider social care sector such as in Early Learning and Childcare, Health & Social Care and our emerging ASNA pathway and apprenticeship programme. Training and progression routes are also now in place to support the ever- growing demand for qualified Homecare staff. 2.13 Good progress has also been made within the Council on the further development of a Social Work Student Hub, and this will be the subject of a separate report to Committee from the Chief Social Work Officer on our approach to building social work capacity. To date the hub has successfully graduated 8 final year students from Strathclyde University by providing a generic experience across all social work services and an in depth and fulfilling placement which met the requirements of the Standards in Social Work Education in Scotland. 2.14 The intention of the Social Work Student Hub model will be to support and assess two full cohorts per year in August and January. Universities currently pay placement providers £18 per day per student and we expect that a full cohort of up to 50 students could generate an income of £90,000. Students from several Universities across Scotland will be given placements within the hub and will be overseen by an Operational L&D Senior from the People and Organisational Development service and supported by Practice Teachers from across the Social Work service. 2.15 Focusing on the link with schools and young people in this sector, a Higher National Certificate in Social Care for young people in S6 is currently in development, in partnership with New College Lanarkshire. This will lead to entry to year 2 of the HND and the team are currently exploring this potentially leading to third year of a degree at UWS. 2.16 We are also working with Glasgow Caledonian University on providing Occupational Therapy students access to OT Assistant roles within the Council, and this sits within the development of a wider student opportunity framework which includes industrial paid placements, unpaid placements, internships, and work experience opportunities for H&SC students. 2.17 Monklands Replacement Project - work is underway to identify the employability and community benefits approach for the Monklands Hospital replacement programme of work. This work is in the early stages, but opportunities around employability and skills benefits are thought to be significant, and key areas of focus have been identified in the table 4 below: Page 87 of 96
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7 Table 4 Theme Target Groups Opportunities Employment Young school leavers (16-18) Work experience Training to qualification Apprenticeships Long term job opportunities Unemployed (general)/new entrant Skills and training programmes Apprenticeships Long term job opportunities Unemployed/new entrant (disability/vulnerable) Work experience Training to qualification Apprenticeships Long term job opportunities New Graduate Work experience Job opportunities SME’s Business mentoring Education, Skills & Training Workforce qualifications (main contractor, sub- contractors, supply chain). Training for all workforce / competency Primary/secondary school children School visits – project, construction industry, career opportunities Managed site visits Project related school competition Work experience Digitally Literacy Digital skills programme 2. Focus in the next phase 2.1 In terms of a forward plan, our academy work within the Health & Social Care sector will focus on a number of priority work programmes including: Ongoing demand profile work to understand future demand requirements and to identify, and develop priority pathways, especially within healthcare. Formalising our joint plan for the Health & Care Academy model between NHSL, NLC and South Lanarkshire Council including shared apprenticeship and funding discussions. Page 88 of 96
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8 Local labour market focus engaging Routes to Work and other employability bodies to direct people towards existing pathways and opportunities. The introduction of a Higher National Certificate in Social Care for young people in S6, in partnership with New College Lanarkshire. This will lead to entry to year 2 of the HND and the team are currently exploring this potentially leading to third year of a degree at UWS, replicating the model we have successfully piloted other areas of the Council where we have developed qualification pathways including construction management and cyber security. Working with GCU on providing Occupational Therapy students access to OT Assistant roles within NLC. The development of a wider student opportunity framework which includes industrial paid placements, unpaid placements, internships, and work experience opportunities for H&SC students. Building clear strategic relationships with important FE and HE providers in the H&SC sector including Glasgow Caledonian University and New College Lanarkshire particularly around the development of new frameworks in the sector which can be aligned to new pathways and funded through levy funding. This includes a potential graduate apprenticeship framework on Social Work currently in development. Work to map out cross organisation career and qualification pathways between health and social care including shared apprenticeships. Further innovation around recruitment our joint recruitment strategy and ongoing work on the Care Academy website. Page 89 of 96
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1 Appendix 4 – Academy Model, Construction Sector Progress Update 1. Employment Demand 1.1 To provide a robust evidence base and to inform the partners on the current state of the construction sector across Lanarkshire, a construction survey was undertaken in early 2022 with Construction businesses across North Lanarkshire. This was followed up by focus groups with a small number of businesses in March 2022, to reinforce the results and enable a more detailed discussion on the findings to validate results. 1.2 The outputs of the survey have further reinforced the need for the development of an integrated approach within this sector, with: almost two thirds of businesses reporting difficulties with recruiting staff with the right skills in various construction roles. One of the main reasons attributed to skills shortages was due to a lack of apprentices being recruited and trained. the top 4 barriers to accessing skills training were: identifying appropriateness of training to business needs; time required to undertake training due to business workloads; prohibitive costs of training; and lack of funds to undertake training. 82% of respondents expected that demand for workers with related construction skills within their organisation will increase over the next 5 years with 70% likely (or very likely) to recruit within the next 6-months. The primary reason for the increase given was customer expectation and demand. There was a strong perception that high levels of recruits were either minimally or not-prepared at all for construction related roles: Postgraduates – 60%; Graduates - 65%; Apprentices – 70%; College Leavers – 60%; and School Leavers – 82%. 1.3 A further event focussing on construction sector recruitment and skills is planned with the council’s Developers Forum on 17th November 2022. The Developers Forum brings together key council services and stakeholders with employers in the construction and housebuilding sectors to discuss challenges and opportunities for recruiting within for construction jobs and how provision for future skills needs can be fulfilled. 1.4 With regards to construction sector demand generated within our own supply chain, North Lanarkshire Council’s Enterprise & Growth Committee approved the Economic Regeneration Delivery Plan in 2019. This focuses on physical infrastructure projects ultimately aimed at improving economic opportunities and outcomes for all. This ambitious plan has four key elements including: increase housing supply across all tenures to meet our current and future housing requirements and support our wider regeneration objectives; support the regeneration of our town centers through the development of long term Vision Plans and strategic projects; develop our strategic infrastructure to support the physical and economic regeneration of North Lanarkshire; and Page 90 of 96
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2 enable and promote the provision of good quality industrial and office space in the right locations to help attract and retain businesses and improve our economic output. 1.5 Each of these priorities have an associated programme of work which has resulted in investment in local communities and has created construction employment opportunities as a direct result of that investment. Between 2019 and 2022 this investment alone created 1,040 gross construction jobs, measured in Person Year Equivalent (PYE) terms due to the short-term nature of these jobs which occur during the construction phase of a project only. Over the course of the ERDP investment to 2035, it is estimated that almost 6,500 gross Construction PYE jobs will be created via NLCs investment. 2. Pathways & Partnerships 2.1 Our focus within this sector has been on the early development of pathways directly from schools, and the Vocational Education Team have now developed a range of new partnerships with local and national employers, from Foundation Apprenticeship and HNC directly into Graduate Apprenticeship positions in Construction Management (Level 4 & Level 6) Quantity Surveying (Level 4 & Level 6) or Civil Engineering (Level 6) 2.2 Table 2 shows the numbers of young people who have now progressed through these routes in the last two years. Table 2 2021/22 2022/23 Civil Engineering Foundation Apprenticeships 19 17 HNC Cyber Security 15 14 HNC CAD 6 13 HNC Construction Management 8 0 Total 48 44 Cumulative total 92 2.3 This work will enable NLC students to become the “talent pool” for a range of construction companies who may wish to develop these individuals onto their GA programs having already completed an FA or HNC prior to leaving school. To date 2 young people from North Lanarkshire Schools have now progressed through these pathways following work placements as part of their foundation apprenticeship and have secured a full-time graduate apprentice position with Kier Construction and Morgan Sindall. In addition, a further 16 young people have successfully passed their HNC last session with 14 progressing on to an HND (year 2 of their degree). Page 91 of 96
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3 2.4 Additionally, both Morgan Sindall and Kier Construction have now expressed an interest in more formal arrangement with work placements and foundation apprentice trainees, and discussions are underway to grow the numbers of young people progressing through these pathways, with a further 9 civil engineering companies on board to develop Foundation Apprenticeship work placements with the intention to move into graduate apprenticeships in our three chosen pathways. 2.5 Working in close internal collaboration with internal services including the Hub Delivery Team and the Community Benefits Team, work placements have also been secured within the Civil Engineering discipline for 14 students currently undertaking their studies and have engaged a range of new employers keen to support the development of young learners and develop a construction workforce for the future here in North Lanarkshire. 2.6 Within the Council’s own construction workforce, and over the last 4 years, significant work has also been undertaken to build pathways for the development of a future pipeline within Surveying and Building Standards. Support and funding for this has been drawn from the Council’s levy funding to support a number of graduate apprenticeships over this time, and a summary of these is set out below: 2019 3 Graduate Apprentices in Surveying, external candidates who have now achieved a post within the council as Quantity Surveying Technicians (NLC6/7) whilst studying for their degree. 2020 3 Graduate Apprentices - internal applicants, undertaking a 4 year degree in Construction and the Built Environment with view to progressing in their areas. 2021 1 Graduate Apprentice - external applicant recruited as Building Standards trainee 2022 2 Graduate Apprenticeships - external and currently out to recruitment for a trainee in Quantity Surveying, and a trainee in Building Standards. Over a period 4 years this is a total of 9 Graduate Apprentices with a number of these having been recruited directly from the labour market. An example of the building standards career pathway which is used to support this work is set out below in figure 1. Page 92 of 96
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4 Figure 1 – Built Environment Pathway. 2.7 A key challenge which has been identified within the Construction sector is the attractiveness of many of the careers options and roles to young people, and to address this, work is also underway to better promote and address perceptions. This includes partnership driven events including a “Step Into Construction” programme which will focus on key target audiences, notably young people and will also capitalise on national events such as Scottish Careers Week 2022 https://www.myworldofwork.co.uk/scottish-careers- week, SDS Apprenticeship Awards https://www.apprenticeships.scot/events/awards/, SDS Apprenticeship Week 2023 https://www.apprenticeships.scot/scottish- apprenticeship-week/ and other key recruitment points across the year. In addition a number of senior phase parents evenings are taking place across schools and are supported by the early careers, vocational education and pathways teams. 3 Focus in the next phase 3.1 Our academy work within the Construction sector will focus on a number of priority areas of work including: Deliver the next phase full business case for the Construction Skills Academy programme offering and agree a recommended way forward to develop an effective sector-based approach. Establish the terms of reference and membership for a Construction Sector Skills Board (likely to be industry led). Agree our approach to generating sustainable funding for skills, shared apprenticeships and pathways programmes through the Council’s Construction activities and contracts. Continue engagement with wider construction sector businesses to drive work placements and sign up to our NL Employer Charter. Page 93 of 96
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1 Appendix 5 – Academy Model, Digital & Creative Sector Progress Update 1. Employment Demand 1.1 Within the Digital and Creative Skills Sector, a business-focused survey was undertaken in early 2022, and this highlighted that 67% of businesses who responded reported a digital skills gap; and 83% of respondents cited business skills as either critical or important to their business. 1.2 The main reasons given for this rise in demand for digital skills were the pace of technological change; customer expectations and demand; the need to remain competitive; investment in new technology; changes in business models; and exporting and selling to new markets. 1.3 As part of the survey, employers also identified reasons for the digital skills gaps, included difficulty in keeping up with the pace of change; difficulty in recruiting staff with the right skills; inability to recruit at an appropriate salary level; lack of staff motivation or willingness to learn a new skill; and the cost of training. 1.4 Within communities, 7 of the 9 LOIP’s have also identified digital as a key priority and the Driving Digital Local sub-group has been gathering information to understand requirements across the 9 Community Board areas. Innovative digital skills projects and Intergenerational projects with schools are being taken forward and work has been undertaken to map local digital skills provision across North Lanarkshire. 1.5 For this reason, digital skills must form a core part of our priority sector focus, and to date, this work has been led by the Council’s Digital Skills and Inclusion group who are focused on maximising the outcomes of community benefits within the council’s digital contracts, including successful community benefits achieved through Agilysis, and the procurement of the Connectivity Framework with Commsworld. 1.6 In the wider creative sector, North Lanarkshire has recently seen the addition of two further film studios over and above the established Wardpark Film Studio. Pioneer Film Studios campus in Stepps is a 1.1m sq ft film campus comprising studio space, 7 sound stages, workshops and office facilities, whereas Nightsky Studios in Coatbridge was a former photography studio repurposed for the film industry. The council is well engaged and supporting both businesses through its enterprise team and Business Gateway Lanarkshire service. 2. Pathways & Partnerships 2.1 Our skills and pathways work in the digital area has been led by the Council’s Digital Skills and Inclusion group with a focus on maximising the outcomes of community benefits within the council’s digital contracts and the Commsworld contract in particular has now enabled the development of a shared apprenticeship model. 2.2 Under this arrangement, which will see a funding investment of around £40K by Commsworld, 3 modern apprentices have been appointed in 2022, and they will undertake rotational work experience within Commsworld (who will employ them) and the Council to provide a unique blend of both public and private sector digital work experience. It is expected that a further 6 apprentices will be appointed in this way over the next 2 years. Page 94 of 96
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2 2.3 The council has also been working with Commsworld and their partners SmartSTEM and Young Enterprise Scotland to finalise a bespoke programme of activities and events to inspire and engage young people. To support this a full-time equivalent resource will be in place to support the ongoing design and roll-out of activity being co- designed with support from the Digital Schools team, the DYW team, the council’s STEM team, the Enterprise team and through the employability hubs and Future Fridays. 2.4 Discussions are also being progressed for a more formalised approach to the sector digital skills and pathways offering, with the potential engagement of other organisations operating in this space and proposals for the associated skills action plan being finalised. 2.5 The model will focus on the themes of living digitally, working digitally and operating digitally and in particular will: Develop ongoing curriculum and skills training to endure no-one is left behind digitally in our communities Ensure our young people, those seeking employment and those hardest to reach are equipped with the digital skills they need Ensure business have access to the skills support and trained staff they required. 2.6 Community Learning and Development and the Libraries teams are also very active in the development and delivery of digital skills through the Digital North Lanarkshire project, including access to devices and the planned upgrade of the Public Access Computer systems to the new LearnNL platform which will enable the development of a new, expansive menu of bespoke learning modules and online learning activities for a range of different customers. Work is also underway to create a digital learning hub within Motherwell Library. 2.7 An example of a flagship digital skills initiative has been the immersive classroom in the Muirfield Centre in Cumbernauld. Plans are underway to replicate this model across North Lanarkshire to provide more opportunities for young people and communities to engage in this exciting digital learning opportunity. The immersive classroom also provides opportunities to the health and social care and construction academies to deliver skills training in a unique and engaging environment. 2.8 Additionally, the council, in partnership with New College Lanarkshire and the University of Strathclyde, successfully bid for funding from the Scottish Government’s Advancing Manufacturing Challenge Fund to create Smart Hub Lanarkshire. The Hub will provide robotics learning opportunities for school pupils to encourage interest in STEM, and potential career options through a Cobot Taster Programme and 4-week learning blocks which will commence in September. The initial pilot will focus on the S3 age group in Motherwell and Wishaw secondary schools with a view to rolling out across North Lanarkshire schools. Sessions with the Pathways Programme participants have also commenced this term. 2.9 In the wider creative sector and following several very productive discussions between the Deputy Chief Executive, Workforce for the Future steering group members, Active and Creative Communities and Creative Scotland, work is now beginning to shape a skills and pathways offering which will support the creative sector and assist its recovery post pandemic. The sector is a major contributor to the wider Scottish Page 95 of 96
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3 economy and in North Lanarkshire there are now a growing number of film studios, which will bring significant future jobs growth potential. 2.10 Early joint priorities which have been identified in discussion with Creative Scotland include: Creative learning linked to the school curriculum. Creative mentorships to encourage and support emerging talent. Pathways for careers into the creative industry with an initial focus on our growing film industry in North Lanarkshire. 3 Focus in the next phase 3.1 In the next phase, our digital academy offering will consider current and future digital skills requirements and skills shortages, upskilling/reskilling opportunities and will map pathways into key digital roles and careers. Funding to support the delivery of digital skills has been allocated within the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. 3.2 In the creative skills area and linked to the further development of our Film Industry across North Lanarkshire, meetings have been agreed between the Council and Creative Scotland and these will be scheduled in this next phase with a view to formalising a plan of work which can be taken forward in the next 6 months. Page 96 of 96