Programme of Work for 2022-23
North Lanarkshire Council · 16 March 2023
Back to Policy and Strategy Committee — 16 March 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Policy and Strategy Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref DM/SL Date 16/03/23 Programme of Work for 2022/23 From Des Murray, Chief Executive E-mail murraydes@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 01698 302350 Executive Summary Since the Policy and Strategy Committee approved the council’s first strategic Programme of Work in 2019, an annual review process has ensured its ongoing currency and relevancy. This process has enabled Elected Members due consideration and approval of the next phase of delivery for many programmes, projects, plans, and activities in the council’s portfolio, and it has also provided the relevant information in order to assess progress in delivering on The Plan for North Lanarkshire. Traditionally annual Programme of Work updates to Policy and Strategy Committee have covered three related aspects (i.e. looking back at what has been delivered, providing updated results for the 28 Health Check Indicators, and setting out the Programme of Work for the year ahead). In line with the commitment made in the report to Policy and Strategy Committee in March 2022, further work has been undertaken during 2022/23 to reframe the Programme of Work in line with the current North Lanarkshire context presented through the Health Check Indicators. Following this work, this year’s approach separates these three aspects into three individual reports on the agenda for Member’s information and due consideration. This report herewith therefore looks back at what has been delivered to date, highlighting the key developments that have been achieved in terms of creating the economic, social, and community conditions that will enable local people and communities (and the place that is North Lanarkshire) to thrive. Highlights focus on the investment to date to establish solid foundations that support the place based ambition; this includes the provision of high quality housing, hubs at the heart of local communities, transformations to town centres, and enhancements to active green spaces to bring physical and mental benefits. This is supported by growing transport links, an enhanced digital infrastructure, and a network of active travel routes, all of which is aimed at boosting the local economy, attracting inward investment, securing improved opportunities and outcomes for employment, education, housing, and leisure, and creating places where people want to Live, Learn, Work, Invest, and Visit. Recommendations It is recommended that the Policy and Strategy Committee: (1) Recognise the extent of the achievements to date, as set out in paragraph 2.2, which
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1. Background 1.1 Approved in February 2019, The Plan for North Lanarkshire sets the strategic direction not just for the council and partners, but for North Lanarkshire as a place. It outlines the shared ambition to make North Lanarkshire the place to Live, Learn, Work, Invest, and Visit. 1.2 The long-term vision in The Plan for North Lanarkshire provides a very clear focus and compelling narrative in terms of what the council is working towards. This vision of inclusive growth and prosperity for all aims to bring equal benefits to all North Lanarkshire’s communities and ensure a fairer distribution of wealth. 1.3 This narrative has become embedded consistently throughout all strategic management, service delivery, and corporate governance approaches across the council. As such, it has been the constant basis to enable the Programme of Work to bring together strategic planning and community investment in a cohesive manner and establish the solid foundations for the place based approach. 1.4 The fourth iteration of the Programme of Work (for 2022/23) was approved at Policy and Strategy Committee in March 2022 and this report herewith takes a look back at some of the significant achievements which have been pivotal in maximising the potential of North Lanarkshire as a place. Expanding employment opportunities, attracting investment, increasing the quality and range of housing, and delivering environmental enhancements locally have been a catalyst to better supporting improved economic, social, and community outcomes and improving the quality of life for all. 1.5 To fulfil the commitment made in the report to Policy and Strategy Committee in March 2022 that further work would be undertaken during 2022/23 to reframe the Programme of Work, this report also sets the scene for the change in approach for 2023 onwards (which is a separate report on the agenda today). This aims to ensure that moving forward there is an even greater focus on escalating the pace and depth of change in order to maximise positive outcomes for the people and communities of North Lanarkshire and realise the long-term vision of inclusive growth and prosperity for all. 2. Programme of Work 2022/23 Scale and impact 2.1 Since the Policy and Strategy Committee approved The Plan for North Lanarkshire and the initial Programme of Work in 2019, subsequent committee approvals of a significant volume of Programme of Work reports have not only enabled the place based approach have been delivered through the Programme of Work to date, and (2) Recognise that the commitment made in the March 2022 report has been fulfilled to reframe the future Programme of Work through the three corresponding reports on the agenda today to look back at what has been delivered, provide an update of the results for the 28 Health Check Indicators, and set out the new Programme of Work for 2023 and beyond. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement All ambition statements
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to continue at pace and at scale, but also ensured the ongoing provision of critical frontline care, supports, and services. 2.2 Committee approvals have resulted in: (1) £1.3bn of capital investment (over the five year period from 2021/22 to 2025/26) for delivery in North Lanarkshire. Such investment has contributed significantly to improving the physical environment of North Lanarkshire’s communities and includes: a) 970 new affordable homes built through the council’s new supply programme since 2010, with a further 421 on site. Additional sites have been identified and approved at committee for a further 1,346 homes across North Lanarkshire, including town centre and phase 1 tower re-provisioning sites. b) 736 properties across high rise towers and low rise blocks demolished as part of the phase 1 towers re-provisioning programme (since approved in May 2018). Work is currently on site at Coursington Towers in Motherwell and the Shawhead back flats where a further 3 towers and 11 low rise blocks are being demolished. c) Ongoing investment in town centres / edge of town projects, with 53 buildings or vacant sites repurposed or redeveloped. Since 2019, 15 town centre properties / sites have been acquired across North Lanarkshire with a view to either converting existing properties to residential developments, building new homes on cleared sites, or upgrading commercial premises. Over 15 hectares of vacant and derelict land has been improved or enabled for future industrial use. d) Feasibility appraisals being taken forward for the new Town Hubs based on the list of preferred locations, and the next phase of the Community Hub programme progressed in line with the approved prioritisation model. e) Through the Hub programme, two establishments are currently in construction, five are at the design stage, and one is at the pre-design stage; this adds to the 63 new establishments (11 secondary, 36 primary, and 16 family learning centres, including 1140 hours related centres) that have been built since 1996. This also demonstrates the significant shift in designing multipurpose Town and Community Hubs that support a much wider integrated service offering in the heart of the local community; bringing education together with other local services, local businesses, and partnership organisations. f) £5.5m investment in local nature reserves, country parks, and key greenspace sites to create places where visitors are more active, share better experiences, and stay longer. Such investment has provided opportunities for improvements in physical and mental health, environmental education, outdoor education, and heritage appreciation. Recent improvements include a new outdoor education centre where almost 7,000 pupils have experienced exciting outdoor learning on site since it opened in 2021. g) A ten year Active Travel Strategy which (approved in 2021) puts in place - for the first time - a cohesive and holistic framework to prioritise and accelerate active travel interventions across North Lanarkshire. Aligned with the Town Visions and Town and Community Hub developments, these aim to provide better active travel networks between local communities and across the local authority boundary and deliver improved health and wellbeing as well as environmental, social inclusion, and public access benefits. (2) The creation of high level design concepts for Town Visions and associated Town Prospectuses to inform the future investment strategy for North Lanarkshire’s
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towns and enable the town centre Action Plans to be progressed. The next phase of public consultation is currently underway to develop each specific Action Plan and create vibrant and sustainable communities, offering a range of housing, business, community places, and green spaces that meet local needs. (3) City Deal investment which has seen the completion of the first North Lanarkshire infrastructure project (Glenboig Link Road, in 2018) and feasibility work progressed to take forward all six remaining subprojects (Motherwell Town Centre Interchange, Orchard Farm roundabout, Ravenscraig Infrastructure Access North and South, East Airdrie Link Road, and Eurocentral Strategic Active Travel). This investment has started to realise significant changes in North Lanarkshire through improved regional infrastructure and more joined up transport links. This has helped to connect local communities to new housing, business investment, and employment opportunities as well as access to leisure and health and wellbeing activities. (4) Housing investment of £333.815m (from 2021/22 to 2025/26) has seen planned safety works completed in the last year, improvement works (including sprinkler systems) within four towers in Coatbridge, homes made available for 200 Ukrainian families, enhancements to energy efficiency in homes (including 201 pv solar panel installations and 3,415 render/external wall insulation works), and an ongoing repairs and maintenance programme (including 3,949 lead pipe replacements, 5,768 new kitchens, 9,087 new windows, 12,057 new bathrooms, 12,868 heating systems, and 35,829 smoke and CO2 alarms). (5) Securing a Connectivity contract to transform the area’s digital infrastructure and aim (by the summer of 2024) to ensure that 85% of homes across North Lanarkshire have access to gigabit capable broadband earlier than planned. To date 154 of the planned 340 kilometres of ultrafast, full fibre digital network has been laid. This also aims to boost school internet access, create a free public WiFi network across town centres and communities, and enhance the coverage and reach of gigabit-capable fibre networks to businesses, private and council-owned social housing, and residential households - bringing benefits to local communities through inward investment from a range of business sectors and increased access to employment, health, and leisure opportunities. This is underpinned by advancements in digital technologies across the council and the establishment of digital as a channel for interacting with service users, residents, and businesses in order to enable the delivery of seamless services and self-serve channels that better meet local needs and expectations, while increasing the capacity for staff to provide more help and support for those who need it the most. (6) Development of a Leadership and Operating Model to ensure that a unified approach is underway to maintain effective management, operation, and governance structures within each Hub. The model aims to ensure that Town and Community Hubs operate as a single entity and support a much wider integrated community offer - with communities having more direct access to the services they need and staff closer to the communities they work in. This unified approach puts communities at the heart of the council’s model and seeks to ensure everyone is given equality of opportunity and individuals are supported, encouraged, and cared for at each key stage of their life. (7) Evidence that delivering the place based ambition at scale and pace is starting to drive positive change in economic conditions locally - with the extent of inward investment, employment opportunities, the quality and range of housing, environmental enhancements, and improvements to the digital infrastructure and transport network evident in the successes highlighted in the accompanying report
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(which provides the updated results for the 28 Health Check Indicators and the North Lanarkshire context). In particular through the gross weekly pay for North Lanarkshire’s residents which is now higher than the national average for the first time ever, the drop in the number of people claiming employment related benefits to lower than pre-pandemic levels, and the ongoing growth in the local economy. Supporting governance 2.3 As well as a regular strategic oversight process undertaken by the senior management team of the council, a quality control process is in place to ensure Programme of Work reports to committee are timely and contain information that is expected in line with the original outline. As such, 157 reports were due to be submitted in total as per the approved timetable for the Programme of Work for 2022/23. 2.4 An analysis of reports submitted as planned is summarised in the table below. Number of reports Total number of reports due to be submitted 157 Number of reports submitted to committee as per the approved timetable 113 72% Number of reports submitted to committee earlier than the scheduled cycle 8 Number of reports not meeting the scheduled cycle, but submitted to a later committee cycle 28 Number of reports not submitted to committee as per the approved timetable 8 Number of extra reports submitted to committee 14 The main reasons for the scheduling changes were due to work being superseded, or integrated / aligned with other areas of work and combined in the same report, or unable to proceed in the planned direction due to recovery priorities arising from the impact of the pandemic, or further information was not yet available nationally, or the scheduling of the report was impacted by the timings in committee changes and in establishing the new terms of reference - in these instances many reports over concurrent cycles were amalgamated. Next steps 2.5 The long-term vision set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire has been shaped by the local demographic, social, and economic profile which is informed by the 28 Health Check Indicators. Mindful of this 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. 2.6 The list of achievements in paragraph 2.2 reflects what is now a well-established council portfolio of programmes, projects, plans, and activities that are well underway to deliver on the vision set out in The Plan for North Lanarkshire and these will continue at scale and pace, within available resources. However, one of the key lessons learned from delivering the Programme of Work to date is that the interconnected and intergenerational social, economic, and health challenges faced locally are becoming even more unprecedented and even more complex. 2.7 Improving outcomes within such a context cannot be achieved by delivering single programmes or projects, or by organisations working alone, rather they require many overlapping factors interacting together. To maintain the focus on the long-term vision, while ensuring a more integrated and holistic suite of services and supports in a continuously changing and complex landscape, a new approach to strategic planning
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has been developed. As such, the new rolling five year Programme of Work for 2023 and beyond aims to ensure fully joined up approaches which focus on strengthening combined solutions, resources, skills, relationships, and opportunities to escalate the delivery of improved outcomes for those that need it most. This approach seeks to sustain the successful strategies from the Programme of Work to date, while tackling the many challenges that remain by further evolving, and re-envisioning, the council’s policy direction in order to turn the vision of inclusive growth and prosperity for all into reality. 2.8 Five interdependent threads (economy, health, environment, regeneration, and communities) have ensured the Programme of Work was reframed within the North Lanarkshire context, and there is an even greater focus on escalating the pace and depth of change through a more targeted approach to improving social conditions and outcomes. The five threads reflect the characteristics of successful place based interventions in this respect and their evidence base is aligned to the Health Check Indicators and supporting measures of success set out therein. 2.9 The future Programme of Work for 2023 and beyond (set out in the accompanying report on the agenda today) is proposed to cover a five year term, however an annual review process will be built into the process. The purpose of this is twofold - (a) to be able to adapt the plan to changing circumstances, absorb the impact of major unpredictable situations, and keep plans relevant and the timescales therein realistic, and (b) to assess incremental changes and impacts arising from the 28 Health Check Indicators. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Measures of success will be evidenced through progress being made to deliver the Programme of Work and ensure the council’s portfolio of programmes, projects, plans and activities impact positively on the North Lanarkshire context evidenced through the 28 Health Check Indicators. 4. Supporting documentation N/A Des Murray Chief Executive 5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality- and-fairer-scotland-duty-impact-assessments
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Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Finance? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People Resources? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for significant technology change, has an assessment been carried out (or is scheduled to be carried out) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact?
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5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? The evidence based strategic planning approach in place through the Programme of Work contributes to the mitigation of the risks on the Corporate Risk Register for managing strategic change and governance, leadership, and decision making. 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services.