Sustainable Development Report
Perth and Kinross Council · 14 February 2024
Back to Climate Change and Sustainability Committee — 14 February 2024 and its agenda
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PERTH AND KINROSS COUNCIL Climate Change and Sustainability Committee 14 FEBRUARY 2024 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PERFORMANCE UPDATE Report by Executive Director (Communities) (Report No. 24/55) 1. PURPOSE 1.1 This report provides members with an update on Perth and Kinross Council’s (PKC) progress towards delivering Sustainable Development to fulfil its reporting duties, in line with Best Value requirements. It reviews overall performance and progress in relation to the areas for improvement 2023/24, as detailed in the Sustainable Development Performance Report previously approved by the Climate Change and Sustainability Committee in February 2023 (Report No. 23/45 refers). It also provides an update on the contribution Perth and Kinross is making towards the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals, with particular focus on a new Quality of Life indicator dashboard. 2. RECOMMENDATIONS 2.1 It is recommended that the Committee: • comments on the updated performance position for the Council’s compliance with the Best Value Sustainable Development duty. • notes the updated contribution Perth and Kinross is making towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals, using information from the new Quality of Life Dashboard. 3. STRUCTURE OF REPORT 3.1 This report is structured over the following sections: • Section 4: Background/Main Issues • Section 5: Progress to date • Section 6: Proposals • Section 7: Conclusion • Appendices
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4. BACKGROUND / MAIN ISSUES 4.1 The Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 introduced a statutory framework for Best Value. It places a duty on all local authorities in Scotland to secure Best Value while discharging their duties in a way which contributes to the achievement of Sustainable Development. Revised Best Value statutory guidance was published in 2020. The revised guidance refers to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as providing a fuller definition of Sustainable Development and how they set out an internationally agreed performance framework for their achievement. 4.2 In February 2023, the Climate Change and Sustainability Committee approved the Sustainable Development Performance Report (Report No. 23/45 refers), which highlighted the Council’s existing performance and progress in accordance with the revised statutory guidance. The report also included a number of proposals for main areas of focus for sustainable development in 2023/24. An update on the performance and progress of actions from the areas of focus is included in Appendix 1. 4.3 In the Perth & Kinross Council Sustainable Development Report 2023, Best Value Commitment 2 - Outcome 4 highlights the requirement for ‘a broad range of qualitative and quantitative measures and indicators to be in place to demonstrate the impact of sustainable development in relation to key economic, social, and environmental issues. Performance in relation to sustainable development is evaluated, publicly reported and scrutinised’. 4.4 To fully comply with this requirement, Action 2.5.1 outlined the need to ‘Develop a digital indicator platform in 2023 – making the indicators more relevant and allowing the user to compare data across multiple indicators and sustainable development goals’. Details of the digital indicator platform are provided in this report, and an update on the performance and progress of the indicators in contributing towards the 17 SDGs is included in Appendix 2. 5. PROGRESS TO DATE 5.1 This report covers the progress made towards the actions detailed in the Perth & Kinross Council Best Value & Sustainable Development Progress Report 2022/23 (Appendix 1). It also provides a summary of the current contribution to progressing the SDGs across Perth and Kinross (Appendix 2). The key points are summarised below. 5.2 Perth and Kinross Council continues to make steady progress in delivering sustainable development in compliance with the 2020 revised guidance. There is a clear commitment to sustainable development as reflected in strategic priorities and objectives. This commitment is also represented by elected members and senior management adopting an integrated approach towards the impacts of decision-making on the delivery of sustainable development. Effective partnership working and engagement with stakeholders is helping to promote sustainable development within the community to raise awareness and encourage a shift towards more
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sustainable behaviours. Work is already underway to ensure sustainable development principles are integrated into all Council corporate and service level plans, as well as to increase awareness of sustainable development through operational practices. 5.3 Key Achievements 5.3.1 Development and implementation of the Impact and Value Assessment (IVA) – ACTION 2.1.2. The IVA was launched in May 2023 and is now being used across the Council to screen the development of proposals (such as projects, strategies, policies and frameworks) against statutory and non-statutory environmental, social and economic requirements. It has replaced the Integrated Appraisal Toolkit (IAT) to provide a more streamlined process of assessment and improvement for decision-making. The questionnaire has been developed with support from the Corporate Policy & Governance Group to give a more robust screening of proposals, with sections covering Strategic and Resource Implications, and impact assessment for Climate change, Equality & Fairness, Child Rights & Wellbeing, Sustainable Procurement & Supply, and Strategic Environmental Assessment. Questions are also included throughout the listed sections in relation to Biodiversity and Sustainable Development. Further work needs to be done to mainstream the IVA as a key stage of proposal development across the Council, and this will be the focus for 2024. Work is underway with Committee Services to replace the existing Committee Report Template Annex with a pdf report generated from the IVA. Using Microsoft 365 Power Automate, the report will automatically draw the required information from the IVA into the standardised pdf. On completion of an IVA form, each pdf will automatically upload to a dedicated Committee Report SharePoint site where anyone with the specific hyperlink can view the pdf. This will be set up to allow members of the public to view the pdf through a link in the Committee Report itself. The three key stages of the IVA process are: 1) Impact Assessment, 2) Evidence and Analysis, and 3) Value and Improvement. 1) Impact Assessment – uses a branched Microsoft 365 form to guide users through a detailed assessment questionnaire in relation to their proposal (for example, policy, strategy, project, or framework). The questions relating to Equality & Fairness Impact Assessment (EFIA) and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) have been designed to guide the user to select the correct route of statutory assessment, if required. Each completed IVA is automatically stored on SharePoint for easy viewing. For any proposal being taken to full Council or any Committee, the IVA form is an integral part of the committee reporting process and must be completed before the committee report enters the committee reporting cycle.
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2) Evidence and Analysis – allows the answers to the IVA questionnaire to be analysed and identified impacts scrutinised. Once an IVA form is submitted, the content is automatically stored to a master excel file on SharePoint. This allows queries to be set up to analyse any information given within the form. For example, the number/type of climate change impacts identified, or the number of contributions towards each community plan objective annually. Where a further statutory impact assessment has been identified as required (for example, full Equality and Fairness Impact Assessment, or SEA Screening Assessment) it can be used to check if they have been carried out correctly or within the statutory deadlines. When a positive, mixed or negative impact is identified through IVA, details of the impact are automatically emailed to the subject lead officer in the Council. This allows for further scrutiny and discussion, helping to improve the overall quality of proposals and assist with any mitigation action. 3) Value and Improvement – uses the data collected and analysed to inform and improve future proposal development. Data collected can be used to provide evidence for audit or to show statutory compliance (for example, sustainable procurement information to show how the Council is considering procurement in relation to the Sustainable Procurement Duty). Data trends can also be used to identify areas where more guidance or training is needed to help achieve compliance (for example, to help people better understand detailed processes, such as SEA). Analysed data will become a standard feature of all future Sustainable Development Annual Performance Reports. 5.3.2 Development and launch of a new Quality of Life Indicator Dashboard. A new digital Quality of Life Dashboard has been developed using Microsoft 365 Power BI to display and update the latest Quality of Life Indicator information. This replaces the old pdf based system of indicator reporting and allows for information to be updated automatically and presented digitally. The dashboard is organised using the 17 SDGs and contains information on over 100 indicators. The digital nature of the platform allows for cross-referencing of indicators where they represent more than one of the SDGs (for example, Energy Consumption indicators are used to assess progress for both ‘SDG7 - Affordable and Clean Energy’, and ‘SDG12 – Responsible Consumption and Production’). This helps the dashboard user understand the interconnected nature between the SDGs and the integrated nature of sustainable development. Work will be undertaken in 2024 to further improve the reporting function of the dashboard. The dashboard will be launched at the Council’s Climate Change and Sustainability Committee meeting on 14 February 2024. 5.4 The Quality of Life Dashboard has been used to assess the current progress towards the SDGs in Perth and Kinross, providing a ‘snapshot’ of our current contribution. The specific indicators chosen to collectively measure progress for each SDG are based on the official list of UN SDG targets and indicators. The 17 main SDG pages within the Quality of Life Dashboard identify which of these targets are relevant to Perth and Kinross.
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5.5 Overall progress in contributing to the SDGs across Perth and Kinross is good, with some progress being made for all 17 SDGs. In particular, very good progress is being made towards ‘SDG4 – Quality Education’ and SDG13 – Climate Action’. Good progress is also being made towards ‘SDG3 – Good Health & Well-being’, ‘SDG6 – Clean Water & Sanitation’, ‘SDG10 – Reduced Inequalities’, ‘SDG11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities’, ‘SDG12 – Sustainable Consumption & Production’, ‘SDG 14 – Life below Water’, ‘SDG15 – Life on Land’, and ‘SDG16 – Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions’. The progress trend over time for most of the SDGs is steady to improving, with the exception of ‘SDG6 – Clean Water & Sanitation’, ‘SDG8 – Decent Work & Economic Growth’, and ‘SDG10 – Reduced Inequalities’, all of which show a worsening trend. 5.6 A summary of the latest position regarding contribution to the SDGs across Perth and Kinross can be found in Appendix 2. Further in-depth data and analysis for each SDG is available from the Quality of Life Dashboard on the Council’s website. 6. PROPOSALS Areas of focus for 2024 6.1 The main area of focus will be to complete all outstanding actions detailed in Appendix 1. 6.2 Focus will also be given to fully embedding the IVA process into the Committee reporting system, and to refining the reporting functions of the Qualiity of Life Dashboard. This will further promote improvement across the four Best Value Sustainable Development criteria, providing more effective evidence of the Council’s compliance with the Best Value duty. 7. CONCLUSION 7.1 Perth & Kinross Council continues to make steady progress in mainstreaming sustainable development throughout the Council’s processes and practices, in-line with the statutory requirements of Best Value. Good progress is also being made across Perth and Kinross in contribution to each of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Author Name Designation Contact Details Angela Harris Sustainable Development Officer (01738) 475000 ComCommitteeReports@pkc.gov.uk Approved Name Designation Date Barbara Renton Executive Director (Communities) 1 February 2024
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APPENDICES • Appendix 1 - Progress on actions detailed in the Perth & Kinross Council Best Value & Sustainable Development Progress Report 2022/23 • Appendix 2 - Summary of the current contribution to progressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across Perth and Kinross
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ANNEX 1. IMPLICATIONS, ASSESSMENTS, CONSULTATION AND COMMUNICATION Strategic Implications Yes / None Community Plan / Single Outcome Agreement Yes Corporate Plan Yes Resource Implications Financial None Workforce None Asset Management (land, property, IST) None Assessments Equality Impact Assessment None Strategic Environmental Assessment None Sustainability (community, economic, environmental) Yes Legal and Governance None Risk None Consultation Internal Yes External None Communication Communications Plan None 1. Strategic Implications Community Plan/Single Outcome Agreement 1.1 The objectives of the Perth and Kinross Community Plan/Single Outcome Agreement together reflect proposed action towards environmental, social and economic well-being, necessary for delivering and achieving sustainable development. The proposal therefore relate to all 5 priorities: (i) Reducing Poverty (including child poverty, fuel poverty and food poverty) (ii) Mental and physical wellbeing (iii) Digital participation (iv) Skills, learning and development (v) Employability Corporate Plan 1.2 The objectives of the Council’s Corporate Plan collectively reflect proposed action towards environmental, social and economic well-being, necessary for delivering and achieving sustainable development. The proposal therefore relates to all 5 priorities: (i) Children and young people grow up safe, respected, well-educated, and confident in their ability to realise their full potential;
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(ii) People and businesses are increasingly able to prosper in a local economy which support low carbon ambitions and offers opportunities for all; (iii) People can achieve their best physical and mental health and have access to quality care and support when they need it; (iv) Communities are resilient and physically, digital and socially connected; (v) Perth and Kinross is a safe and vibrant place, mitigating the impact of climate and environmental change for this and future generations. 2. Resource Implications Financial 2.1 This report has no direct financial implications. Workforce 2.2 This report has no direct workforce implications. Asset Management (land, property, IT) 2.3 This report has no direct asset management implications. 3. Assessments 3.1 Under the Equality Act 2010, the Council is required to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between equality groups. Carrying out Equality Impact Assessments for plans and policies allows the Council to demonstrate that it is meeting these duties. The Equality Impact Assessment undertaken in relation to this report can be viewed clicking here. This section should reflect that the proposals have been considered under the Corporate Equalities Impact Assessment process (EqIA) with the following outcome: (i) Assessed as not relevant for the purposes of EqIA. This proposal is presented as an update in an advisory capacity only. Strategic Environmental Assessment 3.2 The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 places a duty on the Council to identify and assess the environmental consequences of its proposals. Option 1 However, no action is required as the Act does not apply to the matters presented in this report. This is because the Committee are requested to note the contents of the report only and the Committee are not being requested to approve, adopt or agree to an action or to set the framework for future decisions.
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Sustainability 3.3 Under the provisions of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 the Council has to discharge its duties in a way which contributes to the achievement of sustainable development. Under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 the Council also has a duty relating to climate change and, in exercising its functions must act: • in the way best calculated to delivery of the Act’s emissions reduction targets; • in the way best calculated to deliver any statutory adaptation programmes; and • in a way that it considers most sustainable. Whilst the proposal is presented in an advisory capacity only, it seeks to inform of the Council’s contribution towards sustainable development, in-line with Best Value requirements. The next steps presented in the report will have positive benefits for improving how the Council’s processes and practices work towards contributing to the achievement of sustainable development. Legal and Governance 3.4 This report has no direct legal and governance implications. Risk 3.5 This report has no direct risk implications. 4. Consultation Internal 4.1 The Council’s Senior Management Teams have been briefed on the Impact ands Value Assessment process as referenced in the report. 5. Communication 5.1 Not available (n/a). 2. BACKGROUND PAPERS 2.1 Sustainable Development Performance Report - approved by the Climate Change and Sustainability Committee in February 2023 (Report No. 23/45 refers).