P056.2 (1,2 and 3) Working with Communities
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/PMcC/LP Date 22/08/22 Composite update report P056.2 (1,2 and 3) Working with Communities 1. progress measures relating to individual local outcome improvement plans (LOIPs) and work with partners to ensure appropriate delivery support. 2. Community Board Development Programme and Participatory Budgeting Task and Reference Groups From Stephen Penman, Head of Strategic Communication E-mail penmanste@northlan.gov.uk costellom@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07947 997750 Executive Summary This report provides an updated position on the work that has been carried out in line with the Programme of Work item P056.2 areas (1) and (2) respectively. The report provides an overview of progress relating to the implementation on the nine Local Outcome Improvement Plans (LOIPs), the establishment of a Community Board Development Programme and the creation of Participatory Budgeting Task/Reference Groups. The nine Local Outcome Improvement Plans (LOIPs) have now been published and can be accessed via this link. The composite summary of LOIP priorities across North Lanarkshire is attached as Appendix 1. An update is also provided within this report regarding work with Community Planning partners, through the North Lanarkshire Partnership Strategic Leadership Board, to better align operational partnership support for delivery and the development of a shared performance and reporting framework. A previous report which was presented to the Community Empowerment Committee on 1st November 2021 detailed the outcomes of the Training Needs Analysis (TNA) conducted with the nine Community Boards to assess the development needs of the Board members. This report provides an update on the key activities which have taken place in line with the implementation plan, which was presented, as well as an update on the new proposed timescales for launch of the programme to all nine Community Boards. This report also seeks to outline progress being made in the development and implementation of the Council’s Participatory Budgeting (PB) process, in line with the Programme of Work action to Establish Participatory Budgeting task reference groups by Community Boards with implementation supported through the Community Board development programme.
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1. Background 1.1 Local Outcome Improvement Plans (LOIP’s) 1.1.1 The Local Outcome Improvement Plans (LOIPs) covering each of the nine Community Board areas have now been launched and published on the Council’s website. The plans can be accessed via this link. Work is now underway with partners and community representatives, and in some cases through the creation of subgroups, to progress with key priorities. Work is ongoing with council services and partners to ensure coordinated approach to the work linked to key cross cutting themes such as: • Tackling Poverty; • Digital Inclusion; • Mental Health and Wellbeing; and • Young People. 1.1.2 Community Boards are provided with regular updates on progress against LOIP priorities. Work is ow underway to establish and embed a partnership delivery approach and LOIP Monitoring and Management Framework. 1.2 Community Board Development Programme 1.2.1 A Training Needs Analysis (TNA) was conducted with all nine Community Boards to establish a programme of development for board participants with the aim of providing support for participants to fully undertake and execute their roles as Board members to optimum effect. The outcome of the TNA was presented to Committee on 1st November 2021. The results from which highlighted that there was confidence in communication skills, the role of the Community Board chair and IT skills. In terms of development priorities, 40% of respondents indicated that they would like development on; participatory budgeting, the Council’s budget process, community asset transfer, local development programme, local outcome improvement plans and partnership working. Recommendations It is recommended that the People and Communities Committee: 1. endorse the approach to date in respect of Programme of Work areas PO56.2 (1&2) Working with Communities Model and Supporting Governance Structure as set out in section 2 of the report 2. Agree to receiving future update reports relating to key components of this Programme of Work 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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1.3 Participatory Budgeting Task/Reference Groups 1.3.1 In May 2021 Local Authority leaders renewed their commitment towards PB and mandated COSLA officers to work with Scottish Government to review the 1% Framework Agreement. The revised framework agreement extends the timeframe to deliver on the 1% commitment to the end of March 2022 in response to delay caused by the COVID -19 pandemic. Subsequently Leaders were asked to review and sign off on the renewed framework agreement while seeking further flexibility on timescales for meeting the 1% target. COSLA recognised that during 2020/21 most planned PB activity across councils was directly impacted by the work needed to respond to the pandemic, resulting in delays in meeting the target. While the target to allocate at least 1% via PB remains, there is a degree of flexibility available to councils as to when the target can be practicably met or exceeded. 2. Report 2.1 Local Outcome Improvement Plans 2.1.1 Local Partnership Delivery Teams The nine Local Outcome Improvement Plans have now been launched and published and the focus is now on ensuring partnership approaches to drive progress under each priority and the implementation of a robust progress tracking mechanism to ensure a local focus with links to strategic approaches where cross cutting themes have emerged. The North Lanarkshire Partnership Strategic Leadership Board recognise the importance of ensuring shared ownership, accountability, and empowerment of staff at all levels to enable deployment of adequate resource to plan with and respond to community need. Engagement in the form of a survey and follow up event took place with Community Planning Partnership agencies at a locality level to gain insight and feedback aimed at shaping and refining a shared approach to driving local partnership delivery of the LOIPs. Officers at all levels across the nine Community Board areas will require to provide operational support to the delivery of the LOIPs. Four local partnership ‘teams’ made up of senior officers from key council services and partner agencies have been established to maintain oversight for delivery of the LOIP priorities and each of these core teams will provide support for more than one community board. The ‘teams’ are organised as follows • Cumbernauld, Northern Corridor and Kilsyth; • Airdrie and Coatbridge; • Motherwell and Bellshill; • Wishaw and Shotts. The ‘core’ teams are made up of senior officers with oversight for deploying resource at a locality level reflecting the following areas of business • NLC Community Partnership Team • NLC Community Learning and Development • NLC Local Housing Team • NLC Social Work • NLC Education
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• Scottish Fire and Rescue Service • Police Scotland • Health and Social Care North Lanarkshire • NHS Lanarkshire – Health Improvement Senior • Voluntary Action North Lanarkshire (VANL) The approach was launched at a session hosted by the NLP Strategic Leadership Board on 10th June 2022. The locality teams are in the process of finalising their Terms of Reference in preparation for implementation of the LOIP Monitoring and Management Framework from Autumn 2022. Overall, the teams will be responsible for: • Driving delivery of the LOIPs through oversight for action planning, delivery and ownership and monitoring and reporting on progress • Co-ordinating and ensuring the action/response in relation to matters raised through community boards, associated sub-groups and engagement activity • Developing solutions to common issues affecting service delivery in local areas and progressing and supporting local work associated with priorities set out in the Plan for North Lanarkshire • Planning and coordinating local engagement activity for maximum use of partnership resource • ensure local matters are reflected as appropriate to the local community board, committee, internal leadership, NLP SLB 2.1.2 LOIP Monitoring and Management Framework The LOIPs capture what matters most to local people and provide the local vehicle for delivering ‘The Plan for North Lanarkshire’ with shared responsibility and accountability between all partner agencies. Having agreed these shared priorities, it is critical that partners continue to work jointly with local communities to deliver on the LOIPs. Partners at both a strategic and operational level must have a clear focus and shared commitment to work differently through multi-agency approaches and early, preventative interventions. A LOIP Management and Monitoring Framework has been designed to assist the Local Partnership Teams in planning and managing their workloads and reporting progress and outcomes to a range of audiences including the Community Boards, People and Communities Committee and the NLP Strategic Leadership Board. Individual Management and Monitoring Frameworks have been established for each Local Outcome Improvement Plan and will allow the Local Partnership Team for that area to develop specific workplans for each priority theme with timescales, lead responsibilities, short-term outputs and longer-term outcomes all clearly identified. The LOIP Management and Monitoring Framework will ensure a structured approach to tracking and reporting progress through the identification of clear milestones and outputs that focus on the early stages of community empowerment and partnership working. These are captured and recorded as ‘Structures, Capacities, Frameworks and Material Benefits’. These definitions enable partners to quantify and assess where community capacity, representation and resilience has been developed, for example, or where there has been a direct and tangible outcome with material benefits for local communities. Local Partnership Teams will work with community and voluntary sector organisations to assess and prioritise their work at the outset by gathering as much information as
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possible about the priority theme and existing levels of partnership activity to address the issues. Establishing a baseline and identifying the type of action that is required will avoid duplication and ensure that LOIP and Community Board activity is fully integrated within established partnership working arrangements and ‘The Plan for North Lanarkshire.’ Extracts from the LOIP Management and Monitoring Framework, showing the Priority Process flowchart and a sample LOIP workplan are attached as Appendix 2. The Management and Monitoring Framework aims to provide a vital management, oversight, planning and scrutiny tool for Local Partnership Teams. Used properly, it will allow teams to plan their workload over the course of the year, identify lead agencies, track progress and demonstrate where partnership working is making a real impact on delivery of LOIP priorities. The framework enables the teams to see at a glance where a workstream is on track or potentially at risk of being significantly behind schedule, under-resourced or unlikely to deliver anticipated outcomes and may require further consideration or escalation The LOIP Management and Monitoring Frameworks will underpin and inform reporting as outlined in the ‘Framework for Demonstrating Improved Outcomes for Communities.’ The reporting schedule is as follows: • quarterly reporting to individual Community Boards • six monthly reporting to the Strategic Leadership Board • regular reports to the People and Communities Committee • statutory annual public performance reporting All Local Partnership Team members share a collective responsibility for ensuring that the Framework is regularly updated and that there is adequate monitoring and scrutiny of progress and performance at each Partnership Team meeting. 2.2 Community Board Development Programme 2.2.1 The Talent & OD (TOD) Team have been working closely with the Community Partnership Management Team along with other Subject Matter Experts (SME’s) from different council services to identify suitable resource materials for the development hub. The following areas are active with a blend of resources available for members to access: • The role of Community Board Members – 28 resources • Participatory Budgeting – 11 resources • Local Outcome Improvement Plans – 23 resources • The Local Development Plan – 4 resources • IT skills – 7 resources • Community Asset Transfer – 10 resources • The Council budget process – 5 resources The following areas are under development where resources will be added as and when they become available: • The role of the Community Board Chair • Partnership Working • Community Engagement • Identifying Areas of Improvement
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Presently there are a total of 88 resources available, 24 of which are e-learning modules. The remainder are a blend of video, PowerPoint presentations, online learning resources and links to useful external websites. There will be a function available for members to book onto live masterclasses as and when they are scheduled. Any up-and-coming live masterclasses will be advertised on the carousel on the right-hand side of the development hub. A video resource has been added to the homepage demonstrating how to navigate the development hub. A guidance notes document which complements the video has also been developed and emailed to all members. The development hub entered it’s test phase on the 4th March 2022. There were 34 testers allocated to review the resources and accessibility of the site. The feedback received was constructive and mostly positive, whereupon some slight amendments to the hub were made to reflect the feedback. In addition to the 34 testers, an additional 71 members have been given access to the Hub. These additional members received their login details during May 2022 with guidance on how to access and navigate the system. The Go-Live date for all members to access the hub was agreed for the 23rd May. Within the guidance notes it is fully explained the hub is still a work-in-progress, and therefore any tile with the word ‘inactive’ is still under construction and resources will be added as and when they become available. The word ‘inactive’ will be removed once the area has resources available to access. In the meantime, the TOD team will continue to liaise with internal and external partners to gather resources for the development hub. Ongoing feedback from members is important to us and can be emailed to TOD@northlan.gov.uk 2.3 Community Board Participatory Budgeting Task / Reference groups 2.3.1 It was previously agreed by the Community Empowerment Committee to proceed with the establishment of Participatory Budgeting (PB) task/reference groups to support the programme of work delivery P056.2 - (4). A briefing paper outlining the role and requirements of such groups was presented to each of the nine Community Boards during the November/December 2021 cycle of meetings. Each Community Board was tasked with identifying the most appropriate local structure to put in place, supported by council officers, to progress Participatory Budgeting at a local level. A copy of the briefing paper is included in Appendix 4 of this report. 2.3.2 Where local structures have been agreed, two main options have been proposed. The first is that the responsibility for delivery of PB sits within the remit of an existing subgroup. The second is the formation of a new group to specifically look at PB delivery. Both options will be fully supported through all stages by the community partnership team. 2.3.3 Not all Community Boards have agreed or implemented a structure to support the delivery of PB. Where this is the case, continuing support will be provided to ensure community voices are central to the successful delivery of the process. 2.3.4 Following presentation of the briefing paper to each Community Board, the mainstream PB action plan has been updated and will be used to finalise the initial timelines that the task and reference groups will work towards. A copy of the North Lanarkshire Mainstream PB Action Plan – Update is included in Appendix 5 to this report.
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2.3.5 As part of the ongoing development of PB at a local level, the new task and reference groups will be asked to identify a portion of budget to deliver a locality PB exercise. At present the funding for this will be via current Local Development Programme budgets. Each Community Board will be able to shape PB to most suit the needs of their area focussing on local issues and LOIP priorities. 2.3.6 Emerging opportunities around PB will be directly promoted via Community Boards and relevant subgroups to further support local involvement in Council wide processes. An example of this is the Nature Recover PB (Greenspace PB) which has been presented to all 9 Community Boards to increase engagement and participation. 2.3.7 A short animation explaining PB for communities is currently available via a dedicated PB page on the Council Website which includes further supporting information: Participatory Budgeting (northlanarkshire.gov.uk). 3. Measures of success 3.1 LOIPs adopted across nine Board areas with measurable actions and milestones agreed and implemented with outcomes tracked and reported on accordingly. 3.2 In relation to PB approach, Community Boards progressing task/reference groups is a measure of success particularly where seldom heard voices are participating and along with other groups are supported to get involved in decisions over how public budgets are spent. 3.3 Services are delivered that meet the needs of the residents of North Lanarkshire. 3.4 1% of the total estimated expenditure for revenue, as per the local government finance circular, less assumed council tax intake, is delivered via PB. 3.5 Effective Community Board PB task/reference groups are established and community representatives receive appropriate training to support their activities in this area of work. 3.6 Positive feedback from Board members relating to Community Board development portal. 3.7 Evidence of input to the development through the year from partner and subject matter experts. 3.8 Uptake and usage of resources and demonstrable evidence of increased contribution from Board members. 3.9 Impact of Boards on the ground against priorities and outcomes as set out in the Plan for North Lanarkshire.
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4. Supporting documentation 4.1 Appendix 1 - Summary of LOIP Priorities across All Community Boards 4.2 Appendix 2 – North Lanarkshire Partnership LOIP Monitoring and Management Framework – action prioritisation flowchart 4.3 Appendix 3 - Updated Implementation Plan for the Community Board Development Programme 4.4 Appendix 4 - PB Briefing Note 4.5 Appendix 5 - PB Action Plan Stephen Penman Head of Strategic Communication
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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? The Community Board Development Programme contributes towards our responsibility by increasing capacity and capability of board members to address wider community and strategic priorities relative to reducing inequalities of outcome. An integrated Fairer Scotland/Equality Impact Assessment has been prepared considering the findings of the initial phases of the roll out of PB. Groups representing people with protected characteristics were involved in the pilot PB activity during the initial phases and have (and will continue to) inform the development of the process. PB has the potential to enable community led projects which have a positive impact on all types of socio-economic disadvantage experienced by people within specific community locations and communities of interest. An integrated Fairer Scotland/Equality Impact Assessment has been prepared considering the findings of the initial phases of the roll out of PB. Fairness and reducing inequalities is embedded in the approach to LOIP’s and Community Planning and relevant assessments are undertaken for specific areas of work or priorities as required If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality-and-fairer- scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ 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? The LOIPs and wider locality planning processes will continue to be delivered within the available resources of the Council and Community Planning Partners. The Community Boards development programme will mainly be delivered within the available resources of the Council and Community Planning Partners. However, from time to time there may be some additional costs for specialist input or to secure relevant resources – these will be met from existing budgets. Mainstream PB should be delivered within existing budgets and requires no additional financial resource. There are no additional costs associated with the creation of Task/Reference groups through community boards 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒
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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 ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? In line with the Council’s digital transformation, a digital first approach will underpin all aspects of the approach to these areas of the Programme of Work. Through the needs analysis any accessibility requirements, reasonable adjustments, or a requirement for alternative delivery methods have been identified to ensure that no one is digitally excluded. In relation to PB development work continues on the Consul engagement platform at a national level. The existing version of the site will move to a new version over the coming 12 months which integrates My Account sign up in the platform. Digital Inclusion is a key priority across the 9 LOIP’s. Engagement is ongoing with the Community Boards which feeds directly into the Council’s DigitalNL programme 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 ☒
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If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? The proposals outlined in this report will support the controls and actions identified in respect of the Community Engagement Corporate Risk in relation to the ongoing work related to PB. In relation to Delivering for Communities and the ongoing delivery of the LOIPs, the Progress Tracker (see Appendix 2) will ensure improved compliance with the Community Empowerment (Scotland Act) 2015 and will function as a further mitigation measure in line with the corporate Community Engagement risks. The action plans being devised in relation to the LOIPS will also indicate positive progress and highlight areas where additional resources may be required. In developing the community board development programme, a number of high-level risks have been identified, e.g. • ensuring that the needs of all Board members are understood; • Board members invited to provide feedback on their strengths and limitations; • Board members engage with the resources and development in place; and • development programme stays relevant and topical. The programme, in general is sufficiently flexible to deal with these risks and appropriate measures are in place to mitigate any issues. Governance will provide confidence in this area. There will be a mechanism for annual review and input on a regular basis from Board members.
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Appendix 1 Summary of LOIP Priorities Across All Community Boards Airdrie Bellshill Coatbridge Cumbernauld Kilsyth Motherwell Northern Corridor Shotts Wishaw Poverty Mental Health & Emotional Wellbeing Mental Health Public & Community Transport Digital Inclusion Community Engagement Children & Young People Community Engagement Community Engagement Covid-19 Recovery and Renewal Poverty & Food Insecurity Poverty Greenspace Maintenance & Environmental Quality Food & Financial Insecurity Community Safety Social Integration & Inclusion Community Safety Community Safety Mental Health & Emotional Wellbeing Covid-19 Impact Digital Inclusion Youth Engagement & Consultation Health & Wellbeing Digital Inclusion Community Transport Mental Health & Wellbeing Mental Health & Wellbeing Digital Inclusion Digital Inclusion Improving the environment with a focus on Kilsyth town centre Environment Moodiesburn West Tackling Poverty & Inequalities Tackling Poverty & Inequalities Community Safety Targeted action within identified communities across the Board area Youth Engagement Mental Health & Wellbeing Building local relationships trust & communication Digital Inclusion Digital Inclusion Food & Financial Insecurity Public & Community Transport Tackling Poverty & Inequalities Health Inequalities Environment Environment Communication & Engagement Targeted action within identified communities across the Board area Town & Community Hubs & Town Vision Town & Community Hubs & Town Vision Transport
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Appendix 2 LOIP Monitoring and Management Samples • helps Local Partnership Teams to plan potential interventio ns or joint work • aims to assist with avoiding duplication and ensuring that LOIP and Community Board activity is fully integrated within wider community planning initiatives, established partnership working arrangemen ts and ‘The Plan for North Lanarkshire. ’ LOIP Priority Action flowchart
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Sample outcome and action templates to inform reporting
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Appendix 3 Updated Implementation Plan
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Appendix 4 PB Briefing Note for Community Boards Establish Participatory Budgeting (PB) Task/Reference Groups Community Board Briefing Paper Board Cycle 6 1. Purpose Following approval of Mainstream PB proposals at Council Committee, there is now a requirement for Community Boards to consider how PB will best work in their local area and to establish a suitable task/reference group to take this forward. The Committee report which provides in depth detail on PB and the associated Mainstream PB Action Plan can be viewed here: https://mars.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/egenda/images/att97061.pdf The establishment and operation of this group will be supported through Community Board development sessions to ensure all members have the required skills and knowledge to fully participate. 2. Background Participatory Budgeting (PB) is about local people having a direct say in how public money is spent. PB also supports active citizenship in North Lanarkshire, helping build more active and stronger communities that are: • better able to take decisions on where public funds are spent. • more likely to take part in community activities. • better informed about public budgets and decision-making processes. Additional information on participatory budgeting can be found on the Council website here: Participatory Budgeting (northlanarkshire.gov.uk) which also includes a short animation explaining how a PB process can work. Local investment has been identified as a key theme through the development of Local Outcome Improvement Plan through community boards and we now need to establish task/reference groups at a Community Board level to consider local investment issues in line with The Plan for North Lanarkshire and associated Programme of Work. Where appropriate, and subject to available budgets being agreed by the Community Boards, PB is one mechanism that can be used to prioritise and deliver projects and will be deployed when required and suitable for local circumstances.
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Community Boards will direct PB delivery funded by the Local Development Programme (LDP) budget for each Community Board Area. It is important to remember that PB is a mechanism for delivering projects with greater local input and is not a separate funding source. No additional funding out with the previous reported LDP budgets is currently available for PB delivery. 3. Current Position Whilst PB can involve a public vote on projects, importantly it also includes the ongoing engagement with Community Boards on budget allocation decisions. It important to be clear that the Community Boards Local Development Programme will not be fully delivered via a PB mechanism involving voting on projects and will include community conversations and discussions where appropriate to support PB delivery. Certain project types that are supported through the Local Development programme such as parking to relieve local congestion issues and CCTV to address identified community safety concerns will continue to be delivered through the existing Community Board process and Committee approval process and will not be in scope for inclusion for PB. This is to ensure that the Local Development Programme retains the ability to proactively target issues within communities as and when they arise and deliver projects in a reactive and timeous manner. As such, PB may not be the most appropriate delivery mechanism on every occasion and will instead become part of a suite of delivery options. Each Community Board will lead on deciding such priorities for their area. Appropriate governance documentation to enable PB task/reference groups to progress has been prepared by the Community Partnership Team and delivery of future projects will be financed via the Community Boards Local Development Programme and where possible, community benefits and other sources of internal and external funding. Where appropriate, Community Boards may decide that an existing subgroup can take on the PB delivery role and there is no requirement to establish a new task/reference group. This decision will be made locally by each Community Board to best reflect their local structure and needs. Whether an existing subgroup or new task/reference group is used to take PB forward, there is a requirement that a Council officer is a member of this to both provide guidance and advice on the PB process and to ensure appropriate financial governance is in place. Each Community Board will contribute towards the decision making on how PB operates within their area and how this is focussed to meet local place based and thematic priorities.
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4. Next Steps Community Boards need to consider this briefing paper and appropriate approve the establishment of an appropriate participatory budgeting task / reference groups (or similar) along with governance processes with implementation supported through the Community Board development programme and by the Community Partnership Team. For further information please contact: Ross Dunn (Airdrie, Coatbridge): dunnr@northlan.gov.uk Christine Boyle (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth, Norther Corridor) boylech@northlan.gov.uk Gary Stark (Wishaw, Shotts) starkga@northlan.gov.uk Darren Wynn Jones (Motherwell, Bellshill): jonesd@northlan.gov.uk
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Appendix 5 Updated PB Action Plan Mainstream PB Action Plan Stage Task Actions Comments Due Review and Approval Review PB Pilot and report to committee Full review of phase 1 pilot to capture lessons learned and critically evaluate process Short term task and review group established to complete review. Outcomes and recommendations presented to Community Empowerment Committee Feb 20. Complete Prepare mainstream discussion paper Produce paper for Heads of Service Research carried out on mainstream delivery potential. Paper produced presenting a suite of options to achieve 1% target. Complete Seek approval for Mainstream PB proposals from CMT CMT report required to seek approval for mainstream PB Report produced which also captures outcomes of recent internal audit. Complete Seek approval for Mainstream PB proposals from Community Empowerment Committee Committee report required to seek approval for mainstream PB Report produced which also captures outcomes of recent internal audit. Complete Development Establish a senior level task and finish group with terms of reference Identify appropriate officers (third tier) Provisional list compiled. PB budget streams need to be clarified urgently to allow appropriate officers to be invited. Induction and training on different PB methodologies to be provided as required. Complete Establish project management structure for delivery of Mainstream PB Prepare Project Brief and Preliminary Risk Assessment for project for approval. Head of Communities will be Project Sponsor and sign off required to proceed. Complete Establish expert delivery support team Set up team from CPT and Finance. Officers from CPT and finance to be identified to progress. Lead for delivery support team to be identified. Complete Develop project management model, action plan and risk register in line with audit outcome report Produce PB delivery action plan and risk register. Complete project management documents Working group to lead on action plan and risk register. Risk and Issue log to be created as part of Project Management documents. Create communication matrix and set up lessons learned log. Complete
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Prepare final documentation for Community Boards Produce full suite of PB documents Draft documents have already been produced in relation to project led PB. To be finalised and signed off. Guidance to be produced on service level PB and Community Board role in influencing local spend priorities. Mainstream PB will be focussed on service wide delivery rather than individual projects. Anticipated that service level PB spend will be agreed for 3-year period to avoid process repetition. Complete Support colleagues to establish service level PB Expert team to support set up of PB at service level. Task and action will be dependent on approved budget streams. Individual services will be expected to provide a delivery team and directly support Community Boards to identify and direct localised spend priorities. Ongoing Initiation Present PB process to Community Boards to seek buy in Formal presentation of Mainstream PB Corporate presentation to be produced with We Aspire/One Plan thematic. Will require graphics support to produce. Presentation should clearly identify various PB mechanisms and be clear that not all PB delivery relates to capital build projects. Presentation to emphasise the important role community boards have in identifying and reaching agreement on local spend priorities. Presentation should highlight what budgets are in scope with justification. Be clear what elements are consultation and what are informing. Complete Present PB to partner services as approved to commence roll out of programme Formal presentation of Mainstream PB Internal presentation to be produced suitable for delivery to services and schools (Head teachers/staff). Presentation should clearly identify various PB mechanisms and be clear that not all PB delivery relates to capital build projects. School presentation to focus on PEF option for PB delivery with relevant examples (e.g. lowering cost of school day) Complete Establish Community Board PB Task Briefing paper to be presented to 9 community boards outlining Briefing paper produced and presented to each Board during meeting cycle in Nov/Dec 2021. Paper outlines options to localise Complete
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Reference Groups requirement to establish PB task reference group following decision of Community Empowerment Committee. PB delivery and requests that each board decides on the best structure at a local level to progress PB development. Groups will be formalised in advance of Feb/Mar 2022 board cycle Provide support to partner services during establishment of Mainstream PB Expert delivery team input Team to support PB processes and organise training as required. Ensure appropriate documentation shared. Partner service PB concept can be launched publicly at this stage through community boards and Corporate Communication channels. CPT to provide ongoing community engagement to support embedding of mainstream PB process. Work ongoing with partners Publicise process via Corporate Communication s and seek projects (only if required for PB mechanism) Corp Coms to promote PB and call for projects across all digital platforms (should relevant budget be available). CPT to do likewise directly with community orgs. Call for project proposals to be open for a minimum of 6 weeks to allow time for submission. Promotion of service level PB to run alongside this to focus communities’ attention on need to identify local spend priorities within relevant budget allocations. (available budget allocation should be identified prior to this, considering any future efficiencies which may need to be achieved) Set up CONSUL platform for PB voting across 9 board areas Work will progress as required Support and lead sub-group of Community Board to short list projects for consideration Community Board to form sub-group CPT will produce documents to support short listing of projects for consideration by Community Board. Partner services will assess response to service level PB and feasibility to deliver. Viability checks to be carried out on all projects and service level options to ensure deliverability and sustainability. Community Boards establishing sub groups Community Board to finalise local PB lists Community Board to finalise and announce projects included in voting process and service led options. Board consensus to be given following short list process. To include any direct project voting results, compilation of service level PB focussed on local spend priority and school- based proposals related to PEF. Work will be Progressed through local sub groups as required
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Delivery Report identified PB spend to COSLA Pro Forma to be completed across services identifying PB spend for 2021/22 in relation to 1% target. Pro Form circulated to all relevant services to update identified PB resources. Overall value of Councils 1% target calculated by Financial Solutions. Pro Forma completed for COSLA return. Complete Publicise projects via a series of local roadshows in partnership with community organisations Individual roadshow required for each PB area (virtual or otherwise) Liaise with identified community anchor organisations to host. Promotion should clearly outline identified Community Board spend priorities for each of the 9 areas alongside any standalone PB projects. Timescales to be confirmed locally as required Open project voting on CONSUL or alternate online platform Utilise platform for online voting Platform has previously been used and has been further tested to ensure suitability. CONSUL will host PB project voting similar to phase 1 pilot alongside. Consideration to be given to alternate online offering such as MS Forms. Mainstream PB voting to identify local spend priorities for three-year period. Timescales to be confirmed locally as required Run voting sessions in local schools Utilise schools for young people votes All schools to be offered live voting event. Will require support of wider Communities team (CLD schools’ staff and youth work team alongside CCB staff) to fully deliver in timescale. Timescales to be confirmed locally as required Host a community voting event in each Board area. (dependent on current tier restrictions) Engage directly with communities This action will include the placement of ballot boxes at strategic community locations to maximise participation. Support from Electoral Services required to access ballot boxes. Public event will include attendance by relevant service representatives to answer technical questions on mainstream PB options. Timescales to be confirmed locally as required Close vote and collate results All online and offline votes to be collated Results collation should be carried out by each locality-based team across the 9 board areas to ease administrative burden. Possibility to involve Community Board sub-group in this process. Additional admin support from across Communities team may be required for quick turnaround. Service level PB assessment to be carried out by individual service owners. Timescales to be confirmed locally as required Results announced and Corporate/Com munity Board Projects to be passed to delivery service for action in financial year Timescales to be confirmed
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projects commenced. announcement of results 2022/23. Commencement of delivery of aspirational 1% target. locally as required Project completion and evaluation exercise Projects to be brought to completion by delivery service Project evaluation questionnaire to be produced for all PB projects to record impact and value that is brought to the community. Timescales to be confirmed locally as required Review of Mainstream PB process Full review of Phase 2 PB process to capture lessons learned Review to be carried out by working group in two stages (post vote and end stage) with report and recommendations prepared for future actions. To be progressed following local processes.