Community Boards - Cycle 7
North Lanarkshire Council · 22 August 2022
Back to People and Communities Committee — 22 August 2022 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 People and Communities Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref SP/MC Date 22/08/22 Community Boards – Cycle 7 From Stephen Penman, Head of Strategic Communication E-mail penmanste@northlan.gov.uk costellom@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07725 289559 Executive Summary As previously agreed by committee, reports on the work of the nine Community Boards are provided to the committee during each committee cycle. Progress is also reported to the North Lanarkshire Community Planning Partnership Strategic Leadership Board to reflect the statutory nature of the Boards in Community Planning terms in providing local governance for the Local Outcome Improvement Plans. This report covers cycle seven of the Community Board meetings. The process and focus of reporting on the work of the Community Boards will be reviewed and elements included within the Local Outcome Improvement Plan monitoring and reporting framework from 2022/23 onwards. Recommendations It is recommended that the People and Communities Committee: (1) recognise the ways in which communities have influenced the development of the Community Boards and their associated Local Outcome Improvement Plans (LOIP’s) as reflected in section 2 of this report; and (2) endorse progress regarding the establishment of an evaluation framework for Community Boards as referred to in section 2.2.5 of this report. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Enhance participation, capacity, and empowerment across our communities Ambition statement (20) Improve the involvement of communities in the decisions, and development of services and supports, that affect them
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1. Background 1.1 Community Matters – A Framework for Working with Communities 1.1.1 Community Matters - A Framework for Working with Communities set out the Community Planning Partnership’s commitment to engaging with communities underpinned by a set of principles and approaches designed to deliver on key priorities associated with working with communities which included the creation of Community Boards. The framework was approved by the Policy & Strategy Committee at its meeting on 19th March 2020. 1.1.2 The Community Boards are integral to supporting community participation and providing a single coordinated approach to governance for local communities, reflecting statutory and regulatory requirements. The Boards continue to develop in a manner consistent with influencing and delivering the Plan for North Lanarkshire outcomes at local level. This is being driven through the Local Outcome Improvement Plans (LOIPs) for each of the nine areas, ensuring a partnership focus on supporting service design, delivery and community action reflecting both the ambitions within The Plan for North Lanarkshire and the priorities and circumstances of individual areas. The LOIPs are published on the North Lanarkshire Council website and have been circulated to all Community Boards. 1.1.3 The seventh cycle of Board meetings has now taken place; an example of an agenda is included in Appendix 1. Table 1 – Cycle 7 Community Board Meetings 2. Report 2.1 Community Boards – Cycle 7 2.1.1 Representation at Community Board Meetings 2.1.1.1 At the seventh cycle of Community Board meetings, attendance reflected a good mix of partners, elected members, community groups and local people at all board meetings. Approximately 226 people attended the seventh cycle of meetings with 69 community organisations and 89 Community representatives in total represented (an Area Meeting Date & Time Location Shotts 24/5/2022 at 6.30pm WebEx Northern Corridor 25/5/2022 at 6.30pm WebEx Cumbernauld 31/5/2021 at 6.30pm WebEx Wishaw 7/6/2021 at 6.30pm WebEx Kilsyth 8/6/2021 at 6.30pm WebEx Motherwell 20/6/2021 at 6.30pm WebEx Airdrie 14/6/2021 at 6.30pm WebEx Bellshill 15/6/2021at 6.30pm WebEx Coatbridge 22/6/2022 at 6.30pm WebEx
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average of 10 community representatives per Board although some Boards had more representation than others. 2.1.1.2 A broader range of community representation is generally in evidence at Community Board meetings. 2.1.1.3 Efforts continue to further extend the reach of community involvement in the work of the Community Boards. As stated within previous reports to committee, not all community organisations’ identity is place-based. There is therefore a need to ensure that people who come together because they share particular characteristics and identity also have a platform where they are heard and can influence both decision- making and the realisation of the Plan for North Lanarkshire. 2.1.1.4The categories of participants in Cycle 7 Community Boards are as set out in Table 2 below: Table 2 - Participants (Cycle 7) Participants at Community Boards (Cycle 7) Community Councils Tenants and Residents Associations Historical/Cultural Groups Community Forums MSYP/Youth Fora Police Scotland Scottish Fire & Rescue NHS Lanarkshire Voluntary Action North Lanarkshire NL Disability Access Panel Elected Members Council Officers Faith Groups Parent Councils Local people/residents Voice of Experience Forum 2.1.2 Participation in meetings 2.1.2.1 The meetings were live streamed on the Council’s YouTube Channel and received over 1300 views across all Board areas ranging from 87 in Motherwell to 191 in Cumbernauld. 2.1.3 Agenda items 2.1.3.1 During Cycle 7, 8 out of 9 Community Boards had agenda items put forward by community groups and organisations in advance of Board meetings which was an increase from the previous round of Board meetings. Agenda items put forward included planning, anti-social behaviour, speeding and traffic issues, Operation MotoX, greenspace and Fairtrade. 2.1.3.2 Council officers were also asked to attend or provide updates to board meetings in response to agenda items and issues raised by community representatives. Examples of this included requests for a planning presentation in the Northern
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Corridor, flooding response in Kilsyth, Belziehill Junction (a standing item) in Bellshill, and a request for an update from NHS Lanarkshire regarding the new hospital project from Coatbridge Board. Council and Community Planning Partnership Partners will continue to be invited to attend in relation to specific agenda items raised. 2.1.3.3 External organisations are also invited to attend Board meetings in response to agenda items raised by communities. 2.1.4 Opportunities to provide updates and share views 2.1.4.1 All nine Community Boards endorsed Local Outcome Improvement Plans (LOIPs) which have been published and can be accessed via this link. LOIP updates have been provided at previous Board meetings but from Cycle 7 onwards LOIPs will be a standing agenda item to ensure focus and progress towards achieving key actions that will address priorities that have been identified by local communities. As previously reported progress has been made with subgroups in some areas continuing to progress agreed actions to address local priorities. Work is ongoing and meetings are taking place and scheduled with local community groups and organisations to further develop subgroups to address priorities identified by local people. A separate report to committee describes partnership action to support LOIP delivery. 2.1.5 Special Board Meetings 2.1.5.1 No Special Board meetings were requested in advance of Cycle 7 Board Meetings. 2.1.6 Community Board Local Development Programme (LDP) Projects 2.1.6.1 Community organisations previously requested a positional statement regarding outstanding Local Development Programme projects. The LDP report, split by Community Board area, and detailing the status of projects, was circulated in advance of Cycle 7 Board Meetings. The project proposal form identified in previous reports to committee, continues to be utilised to record LDP project ideas and suggestions put forward from local communities. LDP continues to be a set item on the agenda at all Community Board meetings and is subject to a separate report to this committee. 2.1.7 Community Board Development Sessions 2.1.7.1 An update on the Community Board Development Programme sessions were provided to all Boards during Cycle 7. 2.1.8 Involving Communities 2.1.8.1 Cycle 7 meetings saw continued involvement of seldom heard voices in Community Board meetings, including Who Cares? Scotland, supporting Care Experienced Young People, the Voice of Experience Forum that enables older people to put forward opinions on local services and NL Disability Access Forum and Lanarkshire Muslim Women and Families Alliance. The Community Partnership team will continue as a priority to proactively work with local community groups and people with lived experience to support this objective. 2.1.8.2 During Cycle 7, there was a decrease in the level of youth representation noted at Community Board meetings. Two MSYPs were supported by the Community Learning and Development (CLD) Youth work team to attend Northern Corridor
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Community Board Meeting and one young person from Fortissat Youth Forum attended Shotts Board meeting. CLD colleagues continue to work to ensure that the voices of young people are heard and listened to through the development of nine Youth Voice groups across North Lanarkshire and that there is effective two-way communication and involvement links in place between the Community Boards and the Youth Voice Groups. 2.1.8.3 The ongoing research into the lived experiences of North Lanarkshire’s Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people is almost complete. A summary report from the University of the West of Scotland who carried out Phase 2 of the research will be published in Summer 2022 with a further detailed report published in September 2022. The Council hosted its first Black Lives Matter Community Conference in February 2022, a key purpose being to engage with the diverse communities of North Lanarkshire on Black Lives Matter issues. Pertinent to the Community Boards is information that was gathered from the breakout session and post conference evaluations which reiterated the need for continued engagement with NL’s Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities in the Black Lives Matter agenda to advance race equality in North Lanarkshire. The conference report is available on the Council website. https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/support-black-lives- matter-movement/blm-community-conference-february-2022 2.2 Moving Forward 2.2.1 Community Board Chairs 2.2.1.1 Significant progress has been made from the second cycle of meetings where one Community Board meeting (Airdrie) was chaired by a community representative to a position where 8 of the 9 Community Boards were chaired by community representatives. It had been expected that this would be the position for cycle 7 meetings but unfortunately due to different reasons including Covid, only 5 out of the 9 were able to chair this cycle of meetings. It is positive to note that Bellshill Community Board was for the first time chaired by a local community representative. 2.2.2 Community Board Development Programme 2.2.2. The Community Partnership Team in conjunction with the Talent and Organisational Development (TOD) team are working to finalise the programme of key training opportunities that will be available to Board members. Board Members have volunteered to trial the online portal to provide feedback on their experience. 2.2.3 The Role of Heads of Service as Community Coordinators 2.2.3.1 As previously reported, Community Coordinators (previously Community Champions) are in place and attending their designated Community Board Meetings. The Community Coordinator’s update is a standing item on all Community Board agendas and all Boards receiving input from the relevant Head of Service. 2.2.4 Future Board Meetings 2.2.4.1 The next cycle of Community Board meetings will be held in August/September 2022. All Board meetings up to Cycle 7 have taken place online via Cisco WeBex, however,
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as Covid restrictions continue to ease, the possibility of providing a hybrid approach to Board Meetings is being investigated. The hybrid approach would enable local people to attend face-to-face if they are able to or continue to attend online or observe the proceedings via the live stream. The Cycle 8 meeting dates are set out in Table 3 below. Table 3 – Community Board Meeting Dates (Cycle 8) Community Board Day Date Shotts Tuesday 23/8/2022 Northern Corridor Wednesday 24/8/2022 Kilsyth Thursday 25/8/2022 Coatbridge Tuesday 30/8/2022 Wishaw Wednesday 31/8/2022 Cumbernauld Thursday 1/9/2022 Motherwell Tuesday 6/9/2022 Airdrie Wednesday 7/9/2022 Bellshill Thursday 8/9/2022 2.2.5 Evaluation Framework 2.2.5.1 An online LOIP monitoring, and evaluation framework is in development which will ensure that progress is monitored, recorded, and reported moving forward. 2.2.5.2The monitoring and evaluation framework will enable reports to be provided on a quarterly basis to the People and Communities Committee on progress in terms of key deliverables identified via the framework which will also encompass wider locality planning outcomes. The evaluation framework for Community Boards will sit within the overall tracking progress approach for the Framework for Working with Communities. 3. Measures of success 3.1 Delivery of LOIP outcomes and increased levels of engagement with local communities and partners, resulting in generally positive impacts on communities across a variety of priorities and key issues identified through effective locality planning and the implementation of the Community Boards, particularly in areas where further consultation has been required. 4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 – Example of Cycle 7 Community Board Agenda. Stephen Penman Head of Strategic Communication
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5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality-and-fairer- scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ The Community Boards and locality planning processes will continue to be delivered within the available resources of the Council and Community Planning Partners. 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 ☒ 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 ☐
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5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Where the impact identifies a requirement for 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? Live streaming of Meetings was advertised via @MyTown twitter pages. Live streaming of Board Meetings received 987 views (as at 8/7/2022) via the Council’s YouTube Channel. No objections were received regarding live streaming and future meetings will continue to be live streamed to encourage a wider reach. 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?
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Appendix 1 Community Board Agenda (Cycle 7) AGENDA (example) 1. Welcome and Introduction 2. Apologies 3. Minute of previous meeting and matters arising • Planning Presentation 4. Community Matters - Input from Local Community groups (Agenda items From Community groups) • Vice Chair • Budget consultation results • Accessibility of Documents on NLC Website 5. Local priorities (LOIP Updates) • Health Inequalities • Children and Young People • Social Integration and Inclusion • Community Transport • Moodiesburn West • Building Local Relationships, trust, and communication 6. Local Development/investment i.Local engagement or consultation ii.Funding opportunities 7. Standing agenda items i.Community Champion Up-date ii. Local Development Programme (LDP) Up-date iii. Petitions 8. Community Concordat Update (VANL) 9. AOCB 10. Date and time of next meeting