Appendix 1 - Phase 2 Project Summary Updates
Perth and Kinross Council · 22 April 2026
Back to Finance and Resources Committee — 22 April 2026 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Transformation and Change – reshaping our organisation Phase Two Project Summary Updates – April 2026
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Contents Page Projects 1. Additional Support Needs (ASN) 2. AI and Automation 3. ALEO's Review 4. Automation within People & Culture 5. Business Systems Management Efficiency & Rationalisation Project (BSMER) 6. Customer Services Transformation 7. Employability Service Review Project 8. Fairer Communities for All Model 9. Improving Health & Wellbeing and Attendance in the Education Workforce 10. Leading: Our People, Our Purpose (formerly Leadership Review Phase 2) 11. Perth Secondary Estate Review 12. Public Transport in the Community 13. Strategic Procurement & Commissioning Project 14. Tayside Contracts Review 15. Whole Family Wellbeing (WFWB) programme 16. Working Smarter 17. Zero Waste & Operations
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Project Name 1. Additional Support Needs (ASN) Project Description The Programme aims to transform educational provision by enhancing the quality of learning environments and specialist support for children and young people, ensuring equity in education, and delivering best value. It seeks to reduce expenditure on expensive external placements by the Inclusion Service, redirecting the budget towards earlier intervention and prevention in mainstream provision. Additionally, the Programme will establish clear ASN pathways, develop ASN provision at all levels across the authority, increase capacity for future PKC placements, reduce the number of pupils placed outside PKC ASN provision, design a sustainable transport process, and provide regular reporting to monitor the financial position. This will help comply with legal requirements and ensure quality provision is delivered. Project governance structure Executive Sponsor Thomas Glen Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) Fiona MacKay (Programme Sponsor: David Macluskey) Programme Manager Jaclyn Meikle Current Project Timeline Project start date 31/10/2023 Planned project completion date 31/10/2028 This project is intended to support a fundamental change in our approach to Additional Support Needs. Within PKC this project is scheduled to complete in October 2028; however, the project outcomes will be delivered over a much longer term. Current status of the Project Phase 2 shifts the focus to deeper system redesign. This includes strengthening workforce planning, specialist capacity, pathways, and policy alignment. Together, these areas will ensure the programme continues to meet its five year objectives and statutory duties, while driving sustainable transformation across the People, Partnerships, Place and Policy workstreams.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Agreed Project Outcome(s) The Programme is anticipated to deliver the following: 1. Revised Staffing Standard and Allocation Model (Core & Exceptional) for classroom-based support staff for implementation from 2025/6. 2. Reviewed and re-aligned support staff (PSA/PSSW) to meet need. 3. School leaders and staff clear on support roles & remit. 4. Identified staff groups are clear on responsibilities in relation to meeting duties of ASL Legislation. 5. Annual ASN Learning Programme is made available to all staff that is accessible and inclusive. 6. Increased number of staff have completed certified ASN inclusion training. 7. Progression Pathways for all staff groups. 8. Create communication enabling environments where almost all children, young people, staff, and families feel safe and able to learn. 9. Recommendations identified in relation to: a) Early intervention to reduce demand and escalation through staged levels b) The physical environment of inclusive classrooms - Learning Spaces, Experiences, and Interactions c) Supporting parents 10. Improved local access to Intensive Support provisions (ISPs) 11. Reduced travelling distances for children and young people accessing ISPs, resulting in reduced travel costs. 12. Standardised learning environments within Intensive Support provisions (ISPs) 13. Revised support staffing model for Intensive Support provisions (ISPs) 14. PKC 16+ Transition Framework that enables young people to have a more graduated approach as they move from school to employment, education, or training. 15. Clear pathway(s) for young people not meeting criteria for established pathways. 16. Improved consistency of delivery of post school planning & preparation support. 17. Compass App embedded to support post school transition. 18. Redesigned Speech & Language Therapy contract for the delivery of assessment and intervention for children and young people in education. 19. Improved access to Speech & Language Therapy for children and young people in education 20. Reliable ASN SEEMiS Data. 21. Trained SEEMiS users supported by a revised SEEMiS Guidance Document. 22. School leaders will effectively use SEEMiS data to inform the development of their Universal Offer within schools. 23. Partners will have access to the analysis of SEEMiS data to inform Future Planning within other sectors. 24. Staff will be equipped with the skills, tools, and confidence to identify and respond to emerging needs early with the right planning and approaches, reducing escalation through staged levels of support.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL 25. Less children will start P1 having not met developmental milestones and requiring personal care. 26. Consistent curriculum model across all 4 years. 27. Staff in each sector have an increased alignment of teaching approaches. 28. Standardised transition processes, supported by consistent information sharing processes. 29. A Transition Framework established offering a graduated move from school to employment, education, or training—with clear, inclusive pathways for those outside currently established routes 30. Greater consistency in post-school planning and support through the integration of the Compass App. 31. The network of statutory and 3rd sector support that meets the holistic needs of children and young people with ASN is comprehensive and accessible to Named Persons. 32. Agreed pathways to support are established that are easy to navigate for both Named Persons and families. 33. An annual ASN/Inclusion Conference or Roadshow that brings families, professionals, and services together to share, learn, and connect 34. Parents and carers will be better informed and more confident in understanding the CYPP process so that they can meaningfully contribute to decisions that affect their child’s learning and wellbeing. 35. Improved availability and accessibility of inclusive out-of-school care options for children with ASN across Perth & Kinross. 36. Improved confidence and satisfaction among families in accessing consistent, needs-led care during term time and holidays. 37. Clear referral and access pathways for Named Persons and families to navigate out-of-school care services. 38. Reorganisation and allocation of all inclusion and centrally managed resources to localities. 39. Headteachers and Inclusion Co-ordinators work collaboratively in localities to ensure support is appropriately allocated to meet needs of C&YP with ASN. 40. Operational locality groups manage referrals and allocation of resources, including ISP placements (localised decision-making) 41. All secondary schools will have enhanced the physical spaces within school buildings and provided appropriate adjustments to accommodate the sensory needs of all learners and staff. 42. Pedagogical approaches will be developed and applied to actively support inclusive learning environments. 43. Schools can provide a staged level approach (Universal - Enhanced) for children and young people with social, emotional, and behavioural needs. 44. An intensive level approach is provided to support those requiring an intensive level offer, leading to a reduced number of CYP with SEBN requiring independent special school placements. 45. AI tools that provide more responsive, tailored support for learners to meet diverse needs.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL 46. Automation of routine tasks to free up staff time, allowing greater focus on direct support and relationship-building with learners and families. 47. Modernised workforce plan with roles aligned to current and future needs, providing support for CYP with ASN and their families. 48. School leaders and staff clear on roles & remits of E&L staff providing support
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Outputs delivered since last update 1. Support Staff (Pupil Support Assistants (PSAs)/Primary School Support Workers (PSSWs) PROJECT NOW COMPLETE Delivered a revised Core & Exceptional Staffing Standard and Allocation Model for classroom based support staff. Reviewed and realigned PSA/PSSW staffing using the CYPP process to better match identified need. Provided school leaders and staff with clear role definitions and remits for all support functions. Implementation: Full implementation across all schools from August 2026. 2. Career Long Professional Learning (CLPL) Remains a core programme component with flexibility to adapt to emerging needs. Delivered an authority wide PSA induction programme outlining expectations, essential training, and a structured start to role. Expanded training opportunities, increasing overall staff participation. Delivered 36 courses with 859 attendees. Supported 13 staff to achieve a Postgraduate Certificate in Inclusive Practice. Delivered an annual ASN Learning Programme accessible to all staff. Agreed structured career progression pathways (PSA, CLA, CLW). 3. 16+ Transitions Deployed the Compass App across all secondary schools to strengthen postschool transition planning. Completed forecasting and gap analysis for intellectual disability, further education, and employability pathways. Developed Transition Guidance for schools. Undertook extensive partnership and pathway mapping to align services and strengthen transition routes. 4. Reviewing Service Level Agreements (SLAs) - Speech and Language Therapy PROJECT NOW COMPLETE Completed redesign of the PublictoPublic contract with NHS Tayside, establishing a clearer and more transparent funding framework for ELC and school based need. Reduced/revised contract costs to support delivery of a trainthetrainer model. 5. Data Informed Decision Making (DIDM) Designed and fully rolled out a new Power BI dashboard enabling colleagues to track, monitor and plan inclusive practice.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Developed and issued updated guidance and training to support confident use of the dashboard and strengthen universal offer planning. 6. Inclusive Environments (ELC-Primary) PROJECT NOW COMPLETE Established communication enabling environments where almost all children, young people, staff, and families feel safe and able to learn. Implemented an enhanced P1 support model with specialist training to strengthen early identification and inclass support. Invested £15.7k in sensory resources with practitioner guidance to ensure purposeful and regulation focused use. Provided new communication boards to all primary schools to support inclusive communication and reduce frustration. Purchased and rolled out Boardmaker across all schools. Produced recommendations on: a) Early intervention to reduce demand and escalation b) Inclusive classroom environments (Learning Spaces, Experiences & Interactions) c) Supporting parents 7. Intensive Level Support Opened new ISPs in August 2025 at: Perth High School, Kinross High School, and Viewlands Primary School. Progressed Phase 2 consultation to create two further ISPs at Auchterarder and St John’s RC Academy (from August 2026). Relocated the Connections (SEBN) service to PGS. Rolled out CALL Scotland toolkit to all primary ISPs. Implemented the new TAS4 job profile with grade uplift for ISP PSAs. Added three additional ISP classes (two primary, one secondary) to meet sensory profiles 8. Multi-Agency Support (GIRFEC) Completed Inclusion Support Staff whole system review 9. Locality Resourcing Model Established Operational Locality Groups Created the foundations for a Single Locality Referral and Decision Making System
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Project Name 2. AI and Automation Project Description This programme will be designed to position PKC at the forefront of digital transformation and align with our overarching goal to leverage cutting-edge technology to drive efficiency, enhance service delivery, and foster innovation across all facets of our operations. Project governance structure Executive Sponsor Clare Mailer Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) Alan Taylor (Programme Manager Steven Watt) Project Manager Chris Wright Current Project Timeline Project start date 01/11/2024 Planned project completion date 31/03/2028 Current status of the Project Since the previous committee update in May 2025, the Strategic AI & Automation Programme has moved from early foundation activity into a more mature delivery phase. Over this period, the Council has established the core governance, policy, and delivery arrangements needed to support responsible adoption of AI and automation, while also progressing practical implementation across priority areas. The programme is now focused on three main areas of delivery: scaling Microsoft 365 Copilot to support workforce productivity, progressing transcription capability for professional services, and developing digital front door / customer contact opportunities where AI may improve access and service responsiveness. This work continues to be taken forward on a phased basis, balancing innovation with governance, compliance, and organisational readiness. Alongside technology delivery, substantial progress has been made in building the wider foundations required for sustainable adoption. This includes strengthened governance, the development of a clear strategic roadmap, structured engagement with services and strategic leads, and a growing focus on benefits realisation, AI literacy, and change support. The programme is therefore now in a stronger position than at the time of the previous report, with the emphasis moving from initial setup toward controlled scale-up and embedding capability more broadly across the Council.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Agreed Project Outcome(s) The Project is anticipated to deliver the following: Operational Efficiencies and Scalability: By automating routine tasks, PKC not only achieves operational efficiencies that benefit residents, businesses, and partners but also enhances our ability to scale service delivery efficiently. This strategic use of AI and automation enables us to meet the growing demands of our communities without the necessity of increasing our headcount. Enhanced Decision-Making: With AI's predictive capabilities, we can make more informed decisions that are data-driven and outcome-focused. Innovation and Growth: The integration of AI can foster a culture of innovation, encouraging the development of new services and solutions that benefit all stakeholders, including businesses and partners. Community Resilience: AI can enhance the ability to respond to and recover from events, ensuring that services remain robust and reliable for the community, businesses, and partners. Economic Development: AI insights can aid in understanding the local economic landscape, helping to attract, retain, and grow businesses within the community. Collaborative Partnerships: AI can facilitate better collaboration between local government, businesses, and partners by providing a platform for shared data and insights, leading to more cohesive and integrated service delivery. Outputs delivered since last update Since the last update, the programme has delivered several significant outputs which together represent a substantial strengthening of the Council’s AI capability. These include the establishment and operation of core governance arrangements, the implementation of supporting policy and guidance, the rollout of a corporate AI register, and the development of a more structured assurance approach around data protection, risk, and responsible use. A major area of progress has been the Microsoft 365 Copilot pathfinder and wider adoption activity. This has moved beyond initial exploration into a more structured programme of onboarding, support, measurement, and benefits tracking. Evidence gathered through programme reporting shows that the deployment is now supported by both user feedback and usage analysis, providing a clearer basis for future scale- up decisions. The programme has also delivered important organisational outputs in relation to skills and culture. AI literacy materials have been made available to staff, communications and engagement activity has increased, and the AI Hub is under development as a central point for learning, support, guidance, and participation. These outputs are helping create the conditions for broader, safer, and more confident adoption across services.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL In addition, practical pilot and discovery work has progressed in priority service areas, particularly around transcription and customer-service-related opportunities. Early pilot activity has moved into a more evidence-based next phase, with the organisation now better placed to determine where tools should be scaled, refined, or routed through further governance and business case work. More broadly, the programme now has a stronger and more coherent strategic narrative than at the time of the previous committee report. This is reflected in roadmap, board, and member-facing update materials produced since summer 2025, which show clearer articulation of the programme’s priorities, benefits, governance position, and next steps.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Project Name 3. ALEO's Review Project Description To find the best model of delivering leisure and culture services to people across Perth and Kinross within the current financial climate. To recommend the delivery model best suited for ALEOs in future that is capable of: Optimising PKC investment in leisure and culture services. Increasing back-office efficiencies, including with other partners where appropriate (for example Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust, Pitlochry Festival Theatre). Growing and diversifying new income streams. Recommending an appropriate constitutional/governance structure for any new delivery model on the basis of options appraisal (sole member, SCIO, mutual etc). Project governance structure Executive Sponsor Thomas Glen Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) Charlene Guild Project Manager N/A Current Project Timeline Project start date 23/08/2024 Project completion date 31/03/2026 Current status of the Project PROJECT NOW COMPLETE Since the last project update, a final report was presented to full Council on 29 October 2025 which set out the findings of the detailed options appraisal exercise undertaken by external consultants EKOS (in partnership with Creative Services Scotland and Integratis). These options considered the following structural models for ALEO’s in future: 1. Bring all ALEO’s in house to PKC 2. Bring some ALEO services in house (e.g. consolidation of corporate services from ALEO’s delivered by PKC) and ALEO’s retain own identity / library services brought back into PKC 3. Create one new ALEO / two new ALEO’s – streamlining corporate and back-office services
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL 4. Create one ALEO for culture and sport and considering possible change of status for Perth Theatre & Concert Hall The key conclusion from the options appraisal report was that no disruptive structural change (e.g., bringing ALEOs in-house, mergers, reconfiguration) should be pursued at this time, because the options assessed did not demonstrate a clear financial benefit once implementation/disruption costs and risks were accounted for. However, the report did make a series of recommendations for more collaborative working moving forward as well as the opportunity for shared services and cost efficiencies. Full Council approved the: establishment of a Strategic Alliance between PKC, Culture PK, Live Active Leisure, and Perth Theatre & Concert Hall. progression of operational measures/workstreams (e.g., income growth, shared services collaboration, workforce planning, procurement/efficiency opportunities, and property rationalisation considerations). Annual reporting back to full Council from October 2026 on progress/achievements/actions from the Strategic Alliance. There were also two additional requests for further work to be completed in the following areas before the project concluded: 1. Consideration of the alternative option to bring all the library services in house to PKC. This has been included within the wider Libraries Review and will be reported on as one of a series of options for the future of libraries to full Council on 17 June 2026. 2. Further development of a Terms of Reference for the proposed Strategic Alliance to be reported back to full Council early in 2026. A further paper was presented to Council on 25 Feb 2026 for approval of the Strategic Alliance Terms of Reference (ToR), developed in response to request above. The ToR is intended to: o provide the formal partnership framework, o enable the Alliance to commence joint planning from 1 April 2026, and o begin implementing the sustainability/efficiency recommendations from the Options Appraisal. The first meeting of the Strategic Alliance was held in March 2026 to develop and agree the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which will sit underneath the ToR and set out how the SA will work in practice (meeting arrangements, responsibilities, decision-making, etc.).
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Agreed Project Outcome(s) The Project is anticipated to deliver the following: 1. Ensure a sustainable model of delivery of leisure and culture services in future 2. A more streamlined and consistent approach across all ALEO organisations in terms of systems and corporate support Outputs delivered since last update 1. Report to full Council on 29 October 2025 setting out the findings of the options appraisal exercise. 2. Further work to establish the Strategic Alliance Terms of Reference which was presented to full Council (and approved) on 25 February 2026. 3. Additional option (all library services inhouse to PKC) to be considered and costed. This has been picked up through the Libraries Review and will be reported to full Council in June 2026.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Project Name 4. Automation within People & Culture Project Description Automation within People & Culture – A ‘Power Automate’ story - Automation of emails to manager with management information relating to employees. This could be employees who have hit absence triggers or require a PDD review etc Project governance structure Executive Sponsor Thomas Glen Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) Greg Boland (Pauline Johnstone) Project Manager Allan Craik Current Project Timeline Project start date 19/01/2026 Planned project completion date 31/12/2026 Current status of the Project The project is progressing well, with all workstreams currently on track. Delivery remains aligned with the agreed scope, timelines, and intended outcomes, and there are no risks or issues at this stage that threaten the successful achievement of the project’s core objectives. The project formally commenced on 19 January 2026 and has so far been focused on establishing the required data, information, and technical infrastructure to support delivery. This foundational work is now well advanced and providing a strong platform for the subsequent phases of implementation. As at 31 March 2026, six Power Automate flows are ready and awaiting go live approval. A further four flows are currently in formal testing, with an additional eight under active development. Overall progress remains positive, and the current pipeline reflects steady momentum towards full delivery.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Agreed Project Outcome(s) The Project is anticipated to deliver the following: 1. Automation ensures that managers and People & Culture teams receive timely, accurate and relevant information about their workforce, enabling earlier intervention, more consistent decision making, and better support for employees. This shifts the organisation from a reactive manual monitoring to proactive, intelligence led. 2. By automating key HR, Payroll and employee notification processes, the programme reduces time spent on low-value, repetitive tasks. This frees up capacity within HR and Payroll and managerial roles to focus on more value added tasks, relationship building, and improved service delivery. 3. Automated alerts and task generation ensure essential actions - such as absence management, PDD reviews, pension communications, working time regulations, onboarding/offboarding steps etc are completed consistently and on time, reducing organisation risk and supporting governance 4. Employees and managers benefit from clearer, faster, and more predictable communication across their employment lifecycle. Automated processes reduce uncertainty, prevent missed deadlines, and support smoother onboarding, performance, wellbeing and exit journeys 5. Automation removes variation caused by inconsistent manual handling of workforce information. 6. Through the development of guidance, templates, flow standards, governance, and a scalable automation framework, the programme establishes a long-term foundation enabling further automation across PKC. This increases digital maturity and supports the council's wider transformation strategy 7. By automating the capture of summarisation of key workforce indicators (such as absence triggers), PKC gains clearer understanding of trends, hotspots, and emerging issues. This enhances strategic planning, targeted interventions, and evidence-based decision making. Outputs delivered since last update The project is still at an early stage of development. As we continue to design and build the initial flows, we are also identifying and establishing additional automation opportunities that could be of wider benefit to the People and Culture service. These emerging flows have the potential to significantly reduce manual handling, streamline processes, and deliver greater efficiencies, allowing teams to focus more on value added activity rather than administrative tasks.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Project Name 5. Business Systems Management Efficiency & Rationalisation Project (BSMER) Project Description This project will review all Council business systems / Applications, describing how they are currently managed; resourced; supported and developed and make recommendations on the design of a new Digital operating model to support delivery of modern Council Digital Business. Project governance structure Executive Sponsor Clare Mailer Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) Alan Taylor Project Manager Dave Turner Current Project Timeline Project start date 01/06/2023 Planned project completion date 31/03/2026 Current status of the Project The project is currently in its closure phase and will formally conclude on 31 March 2026. A single, governed Application Master List has been established and is operational, providing an authoritative view of Council business systems including ownership, contract status, costs, and lifecycle stage. A defined application lifecycle and decommissioning framework has been developed and applied to support structured decision making for both procurement and system retirement. This framework has been used to support the decommissioning of applications during the past year. Reporting capabilities have been improved with the implementation of Power BI Dashboards that help facilitate FOI requests, spend analysis and portfolio-level oversight. The Digital Partnership team has been created to take forward some of the outcomes from this project including the introduction of a new operating model for the optimal delivery of modern digital business services.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Agreed Project Outcome(s) The Project is anticipated to deliver the following: 1. To create a detailed picture of how people / resources are allocated across the organisation supporting Council business systems and clarify total cost of ownership for business systems and associated capital / revenue budgets. 2. To create a Business Capability Model describing how Business systems collectively deliver on Council objectives. 3. Introduce a new operating model for optimal delivery of modern digital business including: a revised Business Relationship and Business Partnership Agreements between services and IT; a defined model / approach for decommissioning / retiring Business systems. 4. Improve records management compliance. 5. To create a detailed picture of all contracts associated with all business systems capturing all key procurement and contract information, allowing for better contract management in the future. Outputs delivered since last update System Manager and Principal User engagement sessions completed to enhance the quality and completeness of the Application Master List. A complete and accurate inventory of Council business systems and applications has been documented. Improved contract remediation, licence optimisation, and retirement of obsolete systems achieved. Progress made on the Flare replacement, with PKC IT taking forward development of an internal solution for Regulatory Services. Support provided to requirements gathering for the replacement of Glamis.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Project Name 6. Customer Services Transformation Project Description To develop a new model for customer services by adoption of a customer-centric approach to customer contact management which will substantially simplify our current arrangements; enrich jobs and empower customer service staff to satisfy most requests at first point of contact. The model will provide the opportunity to blend digital customer channels, assist vulnerable citizens by an appropriate channel, operate more effectively in and across localities, to achieve more with less resources, less effort, and less bureaucracy. Project governance structure Executive Sponsor Alan Taylor Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) Steven Watt Project Manager Liz Colledge Current Project Timeline Project start date 01/10/2024 Planned project completion date 31/03/2027 Current status of the Project Phase 1 has been fully completed apart from Housing Service functions which were paused due to a review in locality working and fairer futures for all. Phase 2 of the project has focussed more on our approach to delivery of customer services and while it will be delivered as an individual project, it will be dependent on the wider cultural change programme being delivered through other areas such the Leadership Phase 2 project. New Customer Service Charter, Vision, and Standards have been drafted and will be implemented on 1 April 2026. Work on Customer Insights has commenced and this will be the main focus of the coming months. Agreed Project Outcome(s) The Project is anticipated to deliver the following: 1. Consolidation of Dispersed Customer Services 2. Delivery of recurring revenue savings 3. Improving access to Council services for our customers 4. Develop draft revised customer service strategy 5. Develop draft revised customer service standards 6. Develop Customer Insights dashboard
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Outputs delivered since last update All non-housing customer service related functions including Housing Repairs have been consolidated into the 2 customer solutions hubs. Savings have been delivered as planned for both the solutions hubs. New Customer Service Charter, Vision, and Standards have been drafted and will be implemented on 1 April 2026.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Project Name 7. Employability Service Review Project Project Description To develop an implementation plan to deliver a strategic and co-ordinated employability service for PKC. Designing a new model that makes best use of the current expertise, skills, and resources to ensure a more cohesive and effective service. This will involve maximising the reach and impact of our collective resources and delivery of services and operating in a more connected and integrated way putting people and their needs at the centre of the redesign. Project governance structure Executive Sponsor Clare Mailer Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) Serge Merone Project Manager To be confirmed Current Project Timeline Project start date 01/08/2024 Planned project completion date – to be confirmed Current status of the Project The initial phase of this project - to develop an implementation plan to deliver a strategic and co-ordinated employability service for Perth and Kinross Council – has been completed and identified actions in the plan have been delivered or are being delivered. The scope and desired outcomes for Phase 2 are currently being finalised, it is anticipated these will focus both internally on the delivery of the plan and, externally on the wider offer of Employability services across Perth and Kinross linking to the wider skills development.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Agreed Project Outcome(s) The Project is anticipated to deliver the following: 1. Through maximising the reach and impact of our collective resources, we will provide a more integrated and effective offer for clients/individuals looking for support to upskill and access employment. 2. That we operate in a more connected, integrated way, considering all the resources (people and financial) at our disposal. 3. We will provide a more integrated and effective offer for local businesses looking for support with recruitment and skills development. 4. We will ensure we use data, intelligence, and analytics to better inform decision- making and target services. Outputs delivered since last update 1. Review of the structure within Economy, Development and Planning to improve locality working and internal and external synergies 2. New Board set up to drive Phase 2 3. Scope for Phase 2 has been drafted
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Project Name 8. Fairer Communities for All Model Project Description The "Fairer Communities for All" model focuses on creating inclusive, equitable, and sustainable communities where everyone has access to essential services and opportunities. This model ensures that: all community members have a voice in decision-making processes and access to service and resources. there is fair access to healthcare, housing, education, and employment opportunities. there is effective and strong partnership between communities, the council, community planning partners, voluntary sector, and businesses to respond to and address need. resilient communities are developed and sustained. The overall aim of this model is to build sustainable communities where everyone can thrive and live life well, free from poverty and inequality. The model will knit together elements of the multi-disciplinary locality working (MDLW) programme and our community engagement transformation project to strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of community engagement and empowerment across the Council. Project governance structure Executive Sponsor Clare Mailer Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) Elaine Ritchie Project Manager Current Project Timeline Project start date 06/11/2023 Planned project completion date 31/03/2027 This project is intended to create the environment which supports a fundamental change in our approach to delivering services to support our communities over the long-term. This project (which establishes this environment) is scheduled to complete in March 2027; however, the project outcomes will be delivered over the much longer term.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Current status of the Project Funding from the Fairer Communities for All scheme has been allocated to community groups in the priority areas. The Fairer Futures Project Team is now fully established to support and enable delivery and SG funding has been secured for 26/27. Fairer Futures focusses on the priority localities, chosen based on identified need from a data and evidence led approach. Multi-agency workshops have been held in all 6 areas and will continue. The project has funded and commissioned lived experience focus groups and service user interviews with individuals and groups from each of the six priority groups identified by Scottish Government and across the 6 priority areas. Results from this consultation will help to shape the actions and priorities for the multi-disciplinary action plans as well as informing the next Child Poverty delivery plan. A Power BI dashboard has been developed for Fairer futures which brings together a number of datasets at intermediate datazone level allowing the user to access a wide range of information about the priority areas or any other area of Perth & Kinross. This tool is available to share with community groups and members which can help assessing need and completing funding applications. The SG Fairer Futures team have highlighted this as an example of best practice to other partners Each area has an identified lead in place who is co-ordinating efforts to work collaboratively to improve life chances for those communities, with a particular focus on employability and skills, income maximisation and mitigating the impact of cost of living – the three main drivers of poverty. Draft action plans are in various stages of development. Work will continue to engage key local community organisations to help understand the local context and develop community led solutions, alongside those which services can deliver. Updates by area: Letham SLA for usage of space in the hub for ‘one-stop shop’ initiatives for services in place Multi-disciplinary team meeting regularly and action plan in place Engagement with ADP and iDART to provide services including recovery café as asked for by Love Letham Community Listeners project led by Kenny Ogilvy HSCP training the members of the community and staff members of low-level mental health awareness and conversational training Pilot in the Hub peer support group by Kith and Kin to support Kinship carers Improvements to street lighting and road safety being implemented following community feedback Rattray One of the first issues identified is the lack of a community hub. Meeting to discuss potential use of Community Connect building organised Partnership with Blairgowrie and Rattray football club to provide community drop in space in the meantime, with laptops provided for supporting CV writing, job applications etc
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Supported recent mental health event in Blairgowrie town hall in response to recent spate of suicides, closer links established with mental health services Thematic workshop planned to investigate drug use and its associated issues in Rattray Coupar Angus Community action plan is coming to the end of its 3 years, opportunity to take stock and see where Fairer Futures can dovetail with this. Fairer futures funding used to secure space for services and support the Strathmore Hub Also funded community spring gala, attended by 240 people and marketing campaign for Coupar Angus cares – all of which promotes community cohesion Community ownership meeting planned for end of April Crieff First joint workshop with services and community groups held in February, Members identified for a multi-disciplinary group Crieff ‘better place to live’ fair planned for June in community campus Lots of disparate groups in Crieff so work underway to try and bring these together, some nervousness around just creating another group Need for property asset review in Crieff Possible pilot area for transport project through Anti-poverty task force subgroup Muirton/North Muirton Multi-disciplinary team established and meeting monthly. Action plan in place. Four thematic workshops planned for the year, first one around no wrong door already delivered North Muirton Connect project started by community group, but supported with funding of laptops and printer from Fairer Futures funds to help with digital skills and access classes, CV writing, job applications etc SLA in place for services to use North Muirton Community centre Highland Initial workshop went well with really good engagement and attendance. Working to narrow the focus to specific areas and issues in Highland using the data and feedback from the workshop Key themes, transport, childcare, accessibility to services, employment and insecure work, stigma with drug use and mental health services. Planning and data gathering in progress for workshop 2. Planning for this to be complete in the start of May. Finally, Scottish Government plans for 2027 are to bring Fairer Futures and the Whole Family Wellbeing work together. We already work closely together in PKC and are developing a plan from closer and more streamlined governance of these 2 workstreams and the poverty work, potentially with one oversight board replacing the existing 3 where membership overlaps considerably.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Agreed Project Outcome(s) The Project is anticipated to deliver the following: 1. Stronger relationships with our communities, creating a shared sense of purpose. 2. Deliver services to communities in need through a focused and targeted approach. 3. Deliver services that are more responsive to the needs within local communities, and to work together in partnership to address them with a clear focus on early intervention and prevention. 4. A collaborative approach to meet the needs of local communities, shifting resources to meet needs. 5. Continuing to tackle discrimination and prejudice, promoting equal opportunities for all, creating a fairer Perth & Kinross 6. That decisions at a locality level are based on evidence and are made collaboratively, working with all stakeholders, including Elected Members resulting in streamlined levels of bureaucracy. Outputs delivered since last update 1. Data profiles utilising PowerBi created for all 6 priority localities. 2. Joint service workshops held in Muirton / North Muirton, Coupar Angus, Rattray, South Crieff, Letham and Highland. 3. Locality lead in place for all 6 areas. 4. Community consultation carried out in Letham to identify community priorities. 5. Draft action plans in place for Letham and North Muirton. 6. Action plan to address public realm issues in place for Rattray and multi-agency working group are delivering and monitoring this. 7. Multi agency team established for North Muirton and meeting regularly to review progress and identify emerging issues. 8. Community bases to enable joint service delivery and enable community engagement identified in Letham, Rattray, Coupar Angus, North Muirton and South Crieff, with supporting SLAs in place where required. 9. Focus groups and interviews to collate lived experience and parental engagement programme currently being delivered. 10. Fairer Futures Funding secured for 2026 / 27 and Project Team in place.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Project Name 9. Improving Health & Wellbeing and Attendance in the Education Workforce Project Description To develop a Health and Wellbeing Strategy for the Education workforce. This will include the development of appropriate supports such as coaching and supervision for targeted groups of staff; a programme of CLPL which supports health and wellbeing; augmenting the corporate wellbeing offer to ensure that it meets the needs of the education workforce both in terms of content and mode of delivery as well as developing communication approaches which ensure that the education workforce is fully informed and engaged and feels that they have a voice which his being listened to. Project governance structure Executive Sponsor Thomas Glen Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) David Macluskey (Susie Turner) Project Manager Morag Charity Current Project Timeline Project original planned start date 01/05/2025 Actual start date 16/09/2025 Planned project completion date 27/11/2026 Current status of the Project The project is progressing with workstreams on track supported by a ‘consultative steering group’ of staff, officers, and union representatives. Following an information gathering and analysis stage, action research with key stakeholder groups is underway and set to continue until May. This use of direct feedback or ‘voice’ from education workforce participants aims to support how the accumulated feedback is being used to inform and direct improvements. Specific achieved outcomes to date include identification of initial improvement areas in response. For example, the creation of accessible EDMS resources signposted to the education workforce via direct links from the Education & Learning site, review of the current support and supervision offer to support self-referring education staff and consideration of the impact of differing illness categories on staff health, wellbeing and attendance, and where improvements to contracted services to the school estate can support. Intersectionality with other project/programmes has been identified. This has led to closer working with other internal service areas with collaborative work relating to redesign and refresh of existing supports ongoing to support the project outcomes. A planned mid-point review of initial project improvements within communications is in process. Due to the time-limited nature of the project, final reporting is planned to be delivered by the agreed completion date in November 2026, with implementation of outstanding recommendations to follow.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Agreed Project Outcome(s) The Project is anticipated to deliver the following: 1. Enhance staff health and wellbeing by improving the levels of health, wellbeing and engagement that are self-reported by the Education Workforce in the Employee Survey. 2. Increase clarity on the reasons for absence and low levels of self-reported health and wellbeing by the Education Workforce across Educational settings. 3. Boost PKC workforce attendance by improving attendance rates in the Education Workforce. 4. Strengthen support systems by identifying effective ways to improve the health, wellbeing, and attendance of the Education Workforce. 5. Target wellbeing interventions for staff groups most at risk, based on attendance trends and self-referral. 6. Build staff capacity through a programme of Career Long Professional Learning (CLPL) focussed on health and wellbeing support relevant to the Education Workforce. 7. Optimise resources by reducing supply costs through improved absence management. 8. Improve absence management practices by refining frameworks, policies, and processes to align to Education Workforce needs and context. 9. Establish strategic direction by launching a Health and Wellbeing Strategy for the Education Workforce 10. Retain talent and support succession planning by improving staff retention across all roles and experience groups in the Education Workforce 11. Strengthen recruitment outcomes for the Education Workforce by increasing success in filling teaching and non-teaching vacancies. 12. Foster engagement by improving communication to and with the Education Workforce 13. Demonstrate PKC Corporate Plan Priority through the supporting and promotion of the physical and mental wellbeing of the Education Workforce 14. Demonstrate PKC Corporate Plan Priority through strengthening our commitment to enabling our children and young people to achieve their full potential by stabilisation of staff absence, retention of talent and resource optimisation. Outputs delivered since last update 1. Consultative group established, made up of key stakeholder representatives across education, professional association/union and internal service areas. 2. Action Research process in two school settings ongoing alongside key central education workforce stakeholders. 3. Short Life Working Group (Workload) established, made up of education and education union stakeholders. All PKC schools Local Management Groups invited to participate, exploring current key challenges and possible local solutions to workforce health, wellbeing, and attendance. 4. Initial actions taken forward include specific resource developed in response to an identified gap (Short Life Working Group - Workload). 5. Identification of areas of environmental improvement alongside internal stakeholder in other service areas, Contracts and Facilities, Property – with potential to support health, wellbeing, and attendance of education workforce.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL 6. Identification of areas of intersectionality with other project/programmes, specifically Additional Support Needs (ASN), AI Project, and the Customer Services Transformation. Areas of potential joint working have been highlighted to the SRO’s, the Project Management Officers, and Education and Learning senior management team for consideration.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Project Name 10. Leading: Our People, Our Purpose Project Description The project, rebranded from Leadership Review Phase 2, is now established as Leading: Our People, Our Purpose. Its aim is to strengthen leadership capability, embed cultural and behavioural change, and drive service improvement across the organisation. The project has three core workstreams: Culture & Behaviours, Business Improvement, and Workforce Planning. Project governance structure Executive Sponsor Thomas Glen Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) Greg Boland Project Manager (Business Improvement) Allanah O’Brien Current Project Timeline Project start date 01/10/2024 Planned project completion date 31/03/2027 Current status of the Project Discovery Phase. 1. Culture & Behaviours Delivery of Facilitation and Design Academy for internal staff late December Dates in the diary with our Growing Our Leadership Potential cohort to share with them the Leadership Development Strategy as they co-designed it and have courageous teams’ sessions booked in so they can experience the new look and feel training and give feedback. Improving managers induction, with all new managers have access to 3 coaching sessions within the first 6 months and Connections Events starting in Spring 2026. Developed and presented the Leadership Development Strategy at a number of forums and sharing with SLT on the 12 February to get senior leadership buy- in. Additional resource (PR9 Business Improvement) from 30 March 2026. Collaborative pilots with NHS Tayside (new cohort start 16 Feb), the Improvement Service, and Perth Leadership Academy (New Cohort started on the 26 January) are going well, and we plan to expand partnerships regionally. The Leadership Forum on 5 March 2026 focussed on budget, transformation and supporting people through change / resilience. Future Voices Forum launched on 5 March 2. Workforce Planning Strategic Leads actively progressing three to five year workforce plans with support from Organisation and Workforce Change Team. Most areas have now completed workshops and submitted first drafts. We continue to provide targeted support, particularly around strengthening KPIs, and several plans have now been finalised.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Supporting our “Grow Our Own” priority, Career grade structures and support for employee learning guidance is complete and will be issued shortly, pending final system development to host this. (My-view) Workforce Planning Toolkit is in development, shaped directly by feedback from services and will be refined further as the 3–5-year plans progress. Ongoing collaboration with Dundee and Angus on HSCP workforce planning to share data, insights, and resources. 3. Business Improvement Continued review of Professional & Business Support Phase 1, to complete Lessons Learned for Phase 2. Business Improvement / Service Design ‘framework’ created in order for completion with PBS SMs. Awaiting follow up conversation with service to drive this forward. Although there has been progress across 3 workstreams, the project is currently on hold pending clarification and agreement of the revised scope with the Executive Sponsor. Agreed Project Outcome(s) The agreed outcomes of Leading: Our People, Our Purpose are strengthened leadership capability, embedded positive culture and behaviours, improved service performance, and more strategic alignment of workforce, resources, and operating models with organisational priorities. Outputs delivered since last update Project establishment, governance & mobilisation · Regular Sponsor Reports · Steering Group meetings · PMO requirements – Project Monitoring sheets Development of a Leadership Proposition, structured around: · Aspiring Leaders · Enabling Leaders · Evolving Leaders Workforce Planning workstream · Submission of draft workforce plans to March 2026 across services · Alignment of workforce planning activity with leadership development and organisational priorities, rather than stand-alone workforce exercises Business Improvement workstream · Initial scoping and prioritisation of improvement activity linked to wider transformation dependencies (e.g. Professional & Business Support, Property Services) · Application of project management and improvement governance to priority areas to improve consistency and accountability
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Project Name 11. Perth Secondary Estate Review Project Description Education is integral to delivering our corporate priorities relating to children and young people, the wider health and wellbeing of people in Perth and Kinross and meeting our climate change/climate justice obligations. This project will consider how the Secondary Learning Estate in Perth City facilities are best aligned with the corporate priorities. Project governance structure Executive Sponsor David Macluskey Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) John Beveridge Project Manager Brian Reid Current Project Timeline Project start date 01/10/2024 Planned project completion date 30/06/2028 Current status of the Project Ongoing – Demographic analysis of future secondary demand underway, the project is now undertaking technical option appraisals for Perth Secondary sites to identify what options are the best fit for meeting future secondary school needs. Agreed Project Outcome(s) The review will consider the following: ensure the Perth City secondary learning estate is well aligned with service need and corporate estate priorities. to improve operational efficiency of school facilities/community facilities. Consider compliance with statutory carbon emission reduction targets. Consider future requirement for substantial investment in multiple buildings. Committee approved way forward Outputs delivered since last update Ongoing updated data gathering including latest roll projections, housebuilding projections, condition surveys, engagement of technical consultants.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Project Name 12. Public Transport in the Community Project Description To develop a plan for a transport model that meets the needs of all our communities which is affordable, sustainable, efficient, and effective. This model will cover the provision of local bus services, mainstream home to school transport, ASN home to school transport, HSCP and children and families' transport. Project governance structure Executive Sponsor Clare Mailer Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) Elaine Ritchie Project Manager Margaret Roy Current Project Timeline Project start date 01/04/2024 Draft OBC will be complete 30/04/26 for internal consultation Final OBC presented to Full Council 02/09/2026 Whole public transport network review start summer 2026 Planned project completion date 31/03/2027 Current status of the Project Year 2 of the project delivered on workstream actions that were identified and established in Year 1, over all five workstreams. These are highlighted below. As we move into the final year of the project, the project team, supported by the Passenger Transport and Community Transport Consultants TAS Partnership Ltd, will complete an Outline Business Case (OBC) by end of April and that will be circulated internally with the final OBC then being presented to Full Council on 02 September 2026. To further support this, we are continuing to ensure effective communication with key stakeholders through events such as elected member briefing sessions, the Tayside Bus Alliance, Community Transport Forum, and Public Transport Forum. Once the draft OBC is complete, the project team and consultant will commence work on a complete review of the public transport network across Perth and Kinross in terms of preparing the local bus contracts that will be issued for tender in 2027 in light of all current contracts ending on 31 March 2028. They will also support the project team on a major piece of school transport related work in reviewing and documenting all school transport pick up and drop off points.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Agreed Project Outcome(s) The Project is anticipated to deliver the following: A transport model that meets the needs of all our communities which is affordable, sustainable, efficient, and effective. This model will cover the provision of local bus services, mainstream home to school transport, ASN home to school transport, HSCP and children and families’ transport. Outputs delivered since last update 1. Free Local Bus travel continued on first Saturday of the month for the FY 25/26 and there was an additional free travel day on Thursday, 19 June (for clean air day) and Saturday, 20 December (to support local businesses). The free travel trial ended on Saturday, 07 March 2026 and the project team are now working on a final report detailing the outcome of the trial. 2. The Public Transport Survey closed in summer 2025 and attracted 796 responses. Nine roadshows were then held throughout Perth and Kinross to gather more feedback from the public. A Public Transport Forum has now been established and has held its first in person meeting and its first online meeting in March 2026. All feedback from these sources will be compiled and included in the OBC. 3. A video informing how to read a roadside bus timetable and travel on a bus service was produced and published on the Council’s social media channels 4. Regular posts continue to be scheduled on the Council’s social media channels to promote public transport during FY 25/26. 5. The Community Transport Group in Aberfeldy, Tay Valley Connections, were provided with a Council owned MPVs to deliver local transport solutions in their rural areas, earlier in 2026 and the official launch is expected to take place on 22 May 2026. 6. The project team have supported a new Community Transport Group in Glendevon to commence operation, and they will be long term loaned the 8-passenger seat EV vehicle that the PTU purchased with previous CBF monies. It is expected that they will commence delivering journeys to their community as from summer 2026. 7. Further support was offered to the wider Community Transport Community in Perth and Kinross by continuing the minibus disposal scheme and a further nine community transport groups have now been provided to Community Groups making it twelve in total since the scheme commenced. This initiative was featured in the Scottish Government’s National Transport Strategy 5th Delivery Plan Report in March 2026. 8. To enable greater and more in-depth data monitoring of our contracted local bus services to inform decisions about our local bus network, the PTU worked with IT colleagues to produce a Power BI dashboard to this end. The dashboard is now complete and in use. Ongoing testing is in place at the moment to resolve any potential glitches or data errors. 9. In terms of Home to School Transport, the test of change in terms of a Council pool car and Council employee delivering a mainstream home to school contract has been completed and has been evaluated as has the CT group delivering a home to school transport contract. A further test of change commenced in FY25/26 whereby PSAs delivered ASN transport in a lease car. These have been evaluated against a commercial operator undertaking these and which is the most effective model. 10. The Public Transport Unit worked with IT colleagues to design and produce a new school transport database which is now in operation and allows a greater suite of reporting and removes the need for duplication of pupil details entry. The improved reporting will enable improved interrogation of data to inform possible efficiencies.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL 11. A transport working group has been established between the project team and NHS Tayside to identify potential for collaborative and more efficient transport to health. 12. The consultants have undertaken a route optimisation exercise on all Fairview School transport contracts, and a tendering exercise will be issued in late spring 2026 to establish options for transport efficiencies to the school in line with a revised whole school end time of 1500 hrs. Consultation has taken place with the school in terms of the revised school end date, and the response has been positive. 13. Benchmarking is complete on all other 31 LAs Home to School Transport Policies and PKC policy is being updated for issue at start of new academic session 26/27. Noted that there will be little change to the entitlement criteria as currently it is very little more than what the statutory minimum allows. 14. The review of HSCP transport policy is completed and was benchmarked against other LA’s policies where these were in place. 15. The consultants have completed reports on the following areas, and these will be included in the OBC as appendices: Community Engagement Franchising Direct operations Depot costs (Aberfeldy, Perth) Community Transport
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Project Name 13. Strategic Procurement & Commissioning Project Project Description To design and implement a new operating model for strategic procurement and commissioning to improve efficiency and optimise the value and benefits of our purchasing power. Helping us to better align spend with need and address pressures of changing demands. Optimising the public value of the procurement function and consolidated relevant skills and expertise across the organisations. Project governance structure Executive Sponsor Thomas Glen Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) Lisa Simpson Project Manager Current Project Timeline Project start date 16/01/2023 Planned project completion date 31/03/2027 Current status of the Project The Procurement and Commissioning Transformation project is a five-year programme of works comprising of a number of different workstreams all contributing to the delivery of our desired outcomes. The project is now entering its fourth year and details of outputs delivered are described below. A project team is firmly established and is working closely with all stakeholders to continue on the journey of transforming our procurement and strategic commissioning. Agreed Project Outcome(s) The Project is anticipated to deliver the following: 1. An effective, outcome-focussed operating model for the procurement and commissioning of goods, works, and services for the Council. 2. Council spending is better aligned with need and addresses pressures of changing or increasing demand. 3. Where relevant, spend is based on an assessment of need, linked to the priorities of the Council’s Corporate Plan and Strategic Commissioning Plan of the IJB as it refers to services delivered by the HSCP on behalf of the IJB. 4. More effective strategic and financial planning by giving oversight and challenge as to why, what, how and when the organisation spends/invests for the future. 5. Optimised the public value of the procurement function and where appropriate consolidates relevant skills and expertise presently dispersed across the organisation. 6. Supports innovation in terms of customer centred service design and delivery. 7. Creates market disruption/challenges monopoly markets. 8. Supports and promotes sustainable procurement and a circular economy model. 9. Supports and promotes community wealth building.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL 10. Supports a whole life approach for procurement and commissioning capturing specification design, market intelligence, commissioning processes, contract management, delivery of outcomes, contract review, and future commissioning. 11. Identifies and creates opportunities for commercialisation/income generation. Outputs delivered since last update 1. Digital Category Strategy developed: Action plan developed and approved. Delivery has commenced although progress is slow due to resource restraints. 2. Schools Savings Working Group set up to work on delivering cost savings and efficiencies across DSM. Completion of a number of mini projects under this including Education materials product rationalisation and award of commitment contract. 3. Quick quote e-learning module live and accessed by 45 people. This has reduced resource required by the procurement team as there is no requirement to deliver in person sessions. 4. Business Partnering: Meetings are continuing with quarterly meetings taking place with Property. This is a test of change and if successful we will aim to resource similar meetings with other areas. The purpose of this is to develop proactive planning. Meetings continuing with Environment and Infrastructure to identify collaborative opportunities across the service and Council. This will reduce the number of contracts required. This includes working with Tayside Contracts to identify where they could deliver requirements instead tendering. 5. Protecting our environment: The Sustainable Procurement Toolkit is being embedded within the procurement process. This is being implemented with the support of the Climate Change and Sustainability Team. Sustainable Procurement Training scheduled for May for 30 PKC employees. This will allow further consideration of environmental factors within the development of specifications and award criteria within tender documents. 6. Process Maps and Templates: Initial discussions held with IT with a view to moving to e-forms for some templates. Procurement are currently on the waiting list. Aim is to have smart forms that can be used to build a data lake which can be used for data analysis and reporting. 7. Community Benefits Community Benefits Working Group formed. Working to improve delivery of Community Benefits to achieve greater social value through our contracts. 8. Integra Centros RSS Purchasing Module Roll-out, let by RSS Project Team and supported by Procurement Team, complete. Training and support handed over to Procurement Team.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Project Name 14. Tayside Contracts Review Project Description To undertake a review of the way in which Perth and Kinross Council Interfaces with Tayside Contracts, in terms of Governance arrangements, the role of elected members, procurement of services, standardisation of offer. This review will be undertaken alongside Tayside contracts own transformation programme to ensure that all possible benefits are realised from this unique arrangement of co-ownership between Dundee, Angus and Perth and Kinross, the 3 councils who co-own and fund Tayside Contracts. Project governance structure Executive Sponsor Clare Mailer Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) Project Manager Current Project Timeline Project start date 01/11/2024 Planned project completion date 31/03/2027 Current status of the Project Overall, good progress has been made in terms of the project outcomes, providing greater clarity as to roles and remits, scope of activities and identification of opportunities for growth. A fact finding exercise was completed to: provide assurance that improvement actions identified via the independent review of the Supported Self Assessment exercise were being progressed provide clarity and assurance re governance arrangements and identify actions to improve communication with elected members Assess effectiveness of improvement actions to date Identify further areas for improvement Agreed Project Outcome(s) 1. Elected members are clear on their role and the remit of the Joint Committee 2. There is an understanding of the finance, governance, and performance arrangements, allowing assurance of effective and efficient partnership arrangements through Tayside Contracts 3. Any additional business opportunities identified, are explored
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Outputs delivered since last update Revised GSG role and remit – to clarity re responsibilities and establish escalation mechanisms Schedule of Approved works- provides clarity re role of Tayside Contracts Publication of committee papers online to improve transparency Series of engagement sessions with elected members / Q&A Performance dashboard implemented to improve transparency and scrutiny for GSE and Joint Committee members
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Project Name 15. Whole Family Wellbeing (WFWB) programme Project Description The Whole Family Wellbeing (WFWB) programme has been established to implement the Scottish Government initiative and associated Whole Family Wellbeing Fund). This initiative is aimed at increasing the delivery of early intervention and prevention, focused on holistic family support, when, where, and for as long as it is needed. The WFWB programme aims to support an increase in universally accessible early help and support, delivered where and when it meets families' needs. Aiming for a better collective awareness of available support and how to access it, for both families and professionals, it will aim to provide support as "joined up" and limit the number of professionals and services individually involved with families. It will also look to provide families with choice about support, ensuring they are involved in decisions that affect them and that there is increased collaboration between services and organisations that support families (including adult services and third sector). The WFWB programme will encourage increased engagement with, and participation from children, young people, and families in designing and developing services and support, ensuring a clear and shared understanding of the needs of families across the whole system. It will embed the key principles of holistic family support and early intervention and prevention within structures and systems (stigma-free, needs-based, rights-led), encouraging and empowering staff to develop innovative family support solutions in conjunction with the families they support. The WFWB programme will improve capacity within the workforce to respond to the needs of families in a holistic way, through effective signposting and support. Project governance structure Executive Sponsor Jacqui Pepper Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) Arun Singh Project Manager Carol McAuley Current Project Timeline Project start date 01/04/2022 Planned project completion date 31/03/2028. This project is intended to create the environment which supports a fundamental change in our approach to supporting our families and communities over the long-term. This project (which establishes this environment) is currently scheduled to complete in March 2028); however, the project outcomes will be delivered over the much longer term. Current status of the Project The Whole Family Wellbeing programme is funded through the Scottish Government Whole Family Welfare Fund, with funding being in place until the end of financial year 2026/27. The
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL current WFWB budget (which was approved at CYPF Partnership in December 2026) uses underspend from previous years to enable the continuation of some projects into 2028. This longer timescale allows for an extended period in which to evaluate positive outcomes and impacts, to plan for sustainability, and to mainstream funding for projects as appropriate. The Programme has been focussed on the following general areas: Access and Availability - Improving awareness of, and access to services that support families. Engagement with Children, Young People and Families. Service Design and Delivery: consideration of different ways in which additional capacity to deliver holistic family support can be achieved. Systems Leadership and Collaborative Working. Support for the Workforce: looking at opportunities to share learning and good practice, to identify and meet training needs within the wider community and promote the principles of holistic family support. This work has resulted in many areas of positive developments in supporting our families: these are outlined in later sections of this document. Consultation with partners has also identified additional areas for development in family support, including mental health, addressing child poverty, and supporting families where a child has additional support needs. Following the publication of the new Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2026-2031 (Bringing Hope, Building Futures), SG have announced plans to bring together the Whole Family Wellbeing Funding Programme with Fairer Future Partnerships and Whole Family Support Early Adopter Areas into a single Whole Family Support system change programme from April 2027. This does not impact on the existing WFWF funding allocation for 2026/27; however, it is anticipated that 2026/27 will act as a transitional period to allow the new integrated programme to be designed in collaboration with SG. Agreed Project Outcome(s) The Project is anticipated to deliver the following: 1. An increase in universally accessible early help and support, which is delivered where and when it meets families' needs. 2. Better collective awareness of available support and how to access it, for both families and professionals. 3. Support is experienced as "joined up", limiting the number of professionals and services individually involved with families. 4. Families are provided with choice about support and are involved in decisions that affect them. 5. There is increased engagement with, and participation from children, young people, and families in designing and developing services and support. 6. The key principles of holistic family support and early intervention and prevention are embedded within structures and systems (stigma-free, needs-based, rights-led). 7. There is increased collaboration between services and organisations that support families (including adult services and third sector). 8. There is a clear and shared understanding of the needs of families across the whole system.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL 9. Staff are encouraged and empowered to develop innovative family support solutions in conjunction with the families they support 10. There is an improved capacity within the workforce to respond to the needs of families in a holistic way, through effective signposting and support. Outputs delivered since last update 1. The Whole Family Support Directory of Services has been integrated into refreshed GIRFEC guidance, with details of how to access services supporting families at a range of different thresholds. 2. The Support and Connect training programme is a joint funded project (WFWF/CPAF) with a key focus is on reducing the stigma around talking about money. Training for front-line workers uses a social needs screening tool to develop skills and confidence in being able to engage with families sensitively about money, understanding the wider needs of families, providing improved referral pathways and increased awareness of the range of support available for families. The training includes the use of the FORT system as a referral pathway to integrated support. Over 100 individual users have completed the Support and Connect training, across both public and third sector organisations. In the recent WFWF Year 3 evaluation report, the programme was included as a case study showing good practice in partnership working. Perth CAB are currently developing a leadership training programme to support embedding the use of the screening tool and the FORT referral system into systems and processes. 3 The FORT referral system continues to be rolled out across the area. Perth CAB is coordinating the system, with 56 partners receiving and making referrals through the system. In the first year, the focus was on the provision of financial and welfare support, but this has been widened over the last year to include a range of support partners including health, wellbeing, and employability. The Support and Connect directory now has 209 individual services listed across Perth and Kinross and Tayside. In March 2026, we reached the milestone of 500 referrals through the platform. 4. The Family Support Practitioner Network was launched on 23 October 2024 at an in- person event at the Perth Civic Hall. During 2025/26, 5 network events were held with topics including Supporting Challenging Behaviour, Protecting People, Physical Health, Family Support and Housing. Over 130 professionals are members of the network, with 30-40 attending each session. To support the Practitioner Network, the Padlet app has been used to allow members of the network to share resources and information about training opportunities. 5. The Family Advice and Community Connections Service (FACCS – delivered by Aberlour) has been commissioned to screen, signpost and/or provide a flexible range of supports to families requesting early help across Perth & Kinross. The service opened to families in September 2024, and since then 152 families (comprising 436 individuals – parents and children) have been open to the service, with approximately 30-40 new families becoming open to the service each quarter. In the last 6 months, 31% of referrals came directly from families reaching into the service, with the remaining 69% being supported by professionals to make a referral. The majority of families that access support (87%) are within one of the Child Poverty “Priority Group” categories set out by Scottish Government, with just over half being in more than one. The highest proportion of families have primary-school aged children, and are often supported with issues around routines, child behaviour, and development. 6. As part of the establishment of FACCS, Family Support and Community Workers have undertaken extensive engagement and awareness raising across the whole of Perth &
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Kinross. They have attended community events, school activities (including Parent’s Evenings and Parent Council meetings), mother and toddler groups, as well as directly linking with service providers. This has allowed the team to identify and respond to specific issues relating to different localities (e.g. transport difficulties, accessing foodbanks, responding to health needs). 7. The Families Empowering Communities (FEC) team have established their provision in Muirton, Bertha Park and Blairgowrie (in addition to existing provision in Letham and Crieff). Throughout summer 2025, a range of activities were organised across the FEC supported locations, including a summer carnival event in Muirton, and picnics in the park in Letham and Blairgowrie. These events were attended by 54 families (comprising 61 adults and 98 children), allowing for supported play and family engagement, with food and snacks being provided for children and parents. Thematic groups are also offered across all localities including wellbeing groups, support for parenting, a dad’s only support group, and family play groups. These groups are offered on an ongoing basis for many participants, allowing the FEC team to build relationships with participants, but also developing peer support between parents and carers. 42 families regularly engage with the groups. 8. The FEC team also provide one to one support for parents within each of the localities. The majority of referrals come from MASH, CP Duty Team, and Perth City Social Work teams, but individuals are able to refer themselves to the service, although referrals are restricted to residents of the supported localities. During the period April to September 2025, a total of 30 new families received one to one support from the service (in addition to 7 families who were still open to the service from the period Jan – April. The most common request for support is around parental health and wellbeing (including mental health) and children’s mental health. Whilst the support provided by the team is universal in nature, there is a focus on families who experience disadvantage in some way. All families who are currently receiving one to one support fall into one of the priority family categories outlined below, with many families being in more than one category. 9. The Parenting and Family Learning Team (PFLT) have developed and delivered a range of programmes that are part-funded through the Whole Family Wellbeing programme, including Fearless Triple P (supporting parents whose children have anxiety), Teen Triple P (helping parents’ confidence in dealing with challenging teenage behaviour), Incredible Years programmes (strengthening parent-child interactions and attachment), and ante-natal PEEP (supporting parents to bond with their child). During the period April to September 2025, 69 parents attended these programmes (which vary in duration) for support with a range of parenting skills. In addition to face-to-face learning programmes, the team have been developing online delivery models for Teen Triple P and Fear-Less Triple P (to support families who prefer to engage in this way because of employment, childcare or transport difficulties). The PFLT team also signposts parents to other service providers as appropriate, and many parents progress between PFLT programmes as their child gets older, with the team providing longer-term support where needed. 10. Additional training opportunities for training in PEEP Learning Together programmes were provided through Element 3 national funding from WFWF, with training being delivered by Peeple. A total of 109 individuals have completed PEEP Training, with 25 staff and volunteers trained in the Antenatal PEEP programme. Staff have attended from across 13 organisation including Culture PK, HMP Perth, Perth Autism Society, Aberlour, Barnardo’s, Homestart, Madoch Centre, Riverside Church, and professionals within social work and family support teams within Perth and Kinross Council. This training allows professionals working with families at different stages and levels of
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL support to be using consistent language and approaches to support child learning and development and parental attachment. 11. The PFLT Team has also supported the roll-out of the NHS Speakeasy programme within Perth and Kinross. This is a programme run by NHS Tayside which is aimed at parents, carers, and youth-workers who support children/young people. The main goal is to support positive, open, age-appropriate communication about growing up, sex, relationships, gender, and safety. The PFLT team have worked in collaboration with NHS Tayside colleagues to train 14 members of PKC staff in delivering the programme more widely across the area. A menu of “bitesize” sessions is available for parents including drug and alcohol awareness, sleep, and adolescent brain development. 12. A Whole School “Togetherness” (previously Solihull approach) pilot has been completed with Kinross High School. The training aims to help all staff better understand pupils’ behaviour, and to understand the importance of relationships for brain development, By understanding their pupils’ behaviour, staff are better placed to help pupils ‘upregulate’ or ‘downregulate’ their emotional level in order to be in a better state to learn. The model can also support staff to better understand the impact of adverse childhood experiences on health and wellbeing. The PFLT delivered training to all staff in the school in April/May 2025. Evaluation of the pilot is currently underway, with plans to widen the approach over the next year. 13. The PKC COPE Team (who work with children on the edge of care) have been supported by the WFWB programme to increase their capacity to support families at different times across the day, with the number of referrals received by the team having doubled from approximately 15 families to 30 families per quarter. During the period April to September 2025, 66 children were referred into the COPE service. The nature of support provided for families was varied, but mostly centred around parenting support, developing routines and boundaries, improving home conditions, and helping with transitions and transport for parents. 14. The Promise has highlighted the importance of maintaining sibling relationships when children and young people are accommodated. In 2025, WFWF funding was provided to support the development of an outdoor play space (located at Westbank Outdoor Early Learning and Childcare centre, Perth) which will provide a private space for siblings and their families to come together to play in a private, welcoming location. The project has now completed the planning process, and construction is underway. It is anticipated that the space will be available for use by summer 2026. 15. Funding has been provided to support the locality-based model of support that is being developed by the Fairer Futures project. WFWF funding has been provided to support the co-location of services and delivery of holistic provision of services across the areas supported. A shared funding approach (within input from WFWF, Fairer Futures, Employability and Poverty funding) has allowed for space to be retained within both the Hub in Letham and the Strathmore Hub in Coupar Angus for the coming year, which will allow services to come together in a coordinated way to provide joined-up support for families.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Project Name 16. Working Smarter Project Description The Working Smarter programme has a number of different projects all related to the strategic and integrated approach of people, technology and crucially, property – looking to improve how we integrate all three for the best outcomes in relation to facilitating better productivity, embracing technology, more effectively using our estate and buildings and enhancing employees experience through flexible operating models. Project governance structure Executive Sponsor Clare Mailer Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) John Beveridge Project Manager Kirsty Fleming / Mairi Milne Current Project Timeline Project start date 01/04/2021 Planned project completion date 21/12/2027 Current status of the Project The Working Smarter project has reached a major milestone. Following Council approval on 4 September 2024 to purchase Pullar House and the Kinnoull Street Multi-storey Car Park, the programme has transitioned into a consolidation and implementation phase. Asset Purchases Pullar House purchased for £4.51M Kinnoull Street MSCP purchased for £1.443M Partner Collocation Partner engagement has been highly successful, with five of six partners now committed to collocating within Pullar House: NHS Vaccination Services – in final stages of Property Sharing Agreement Scottish Government – Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) & Rural Payments and Inspections Division (RPID) Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) NatureScot Social Security Scotland VisitScotland – current tenant, continuing long-term occupation We are currently awaiting the outcome of the Scottish Forestry business case, which, if approved, would see them occupy space within the Scottish Government floorplate.
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Pullar House Technical Design & Construction The Working Smarter Board has approved progressing construction on the west side of Pullar House to accommodate COPFS, NatureScot, Customer Services, NHS, Archives, and Museum storage. Construction sequencing will be finalised once the overall programme is confirmed. Project / Area Status General required upgrades to Pullar House (replacement / upgrade of critical systems and works to facilitate collocation) Technical design ongoing Creation of bespoke COPFS space on the GF and 2nd floor Pullar House Design complete; final details in progress Upgrade to Customer Service Centre GF Pullar House Technical design ongoing Relocation of NHS locker rooms and create of office space on the GF Pullar House Technical design ongoing Creation of bespoke SG space on the GF of Pullar House Design team meetings requested; next steps awaited Extension of existing archive space on the 2nd floor of Pullar House for use by PKC as archive storage and CPK as collection storage Technical design ongoing Justice Services from St Martin’s House to the 2nd floor of Pullar House Technical design ongoing Kinnoull Street Multi Storey Car Park Technical Design & Construction Parking Services, supported by Property Services, have appointed an external Project Manager to oversee essential upgrades. EV charger installation has been costed, and a construction programme is expected shortly. Agreed Project Outcome(s) The Project is anticipated to deliver the following: 1. Improved collaboration, at all levels, and between Council staff and our other stakeholders. 2. Utilising technology and new working styles to facilitate better productivity. 3. Enhanced employee experience and work/life balance through our more flexible operating model – we anticipate an additional benefit from this in the areas of staff recruitment and retention. 4. More effective use of our property estate, allowing more collaborative working and reducing our carbon footprint. 5. An established model which will provide for the more effective, efficient, and sustainable delivery of services to our communities. Outputs delivered since update
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL 1. Completion of the purchase of Pullar House and Kinnoull Street MSCP 2. Completion of Pullar House DDA improvements, including a new disabled toilet and accessibility upgrades on the 1st floor 3. Move in and confirmed long-term commitment from NHS Vaccination Services 4. Space Planning Phase 2 completed, maximising utilisation of office space for both Council and partner organisations 5. Staff reconfiguration and relocations across Pullar House and 2–26 High Street have concluded, with all scheduled moves delivered 6. Completion of construction at Inveralmond Depot, enabling the collocation of the Traffic & Network Team in October 2025 7. Completion of construction at 2–26 High Street, delivering four additional meeting rooms 8. Securing commitment from six of seven partners to collocate within Pullar House, exceeding initial income projections and fully utilising available space
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Project Name 17. Zero Waste & Operations Project Description This programme involves a review of waste strategy and waste management arrangements to deliver national initiatives, improved outcomes and realise best value and service efficiencies. It has a number of workstreams including commercialisation review; operational asset review; circular economy strategy and service design beyond twin stream; schools recycling improvement, fleet transformation. Alongside this, the programme also includes a review of the delivery of our operations to ensure we are maximising opportunities for efficiency and effectiveness. Project governance structure Executive Sponsor Clare Mailer Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) Fraser Crofts Project Manager Pete Leonard Current Project Timeline Project start date 01/12/2024 Planned project completion date 31/12/2027 Current status of the Project This project is progressing well, the majority of the workstreams within this programme are now completed and progressing as business as usual – the remaining workstream in the project is Operations Resourcing Review. Agreed Project Outcome(s)
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL The Project is anticipated to deliver the following: 1. Clarity on resource requirements and operating model for all activities currently being undertaken by the Operations Team 2. Commercialisation review will present service delivery options and identify the optimum target operating model. 3. Operational property/depot asset review will establish investment requirements to support a sustainable (money and carbon) operational asset base over the next 30 years, aligned with the approach set out in the Council’s approved Property Asset Management Strategy 4. Circular economy strategy will inform the future transformation of the Council’s waste and recycling operations and associated infrastructure and/or major contracts expenditure together with sustainable economic development activity with local businesses 5. Fleet transformation will build on the existing Fleet Asset Strategy to identify investment requirements to support the decarbonisation of the Council fleet. It will also seek to maximise the efficient use of the fleet/grey fleet. There is a dependency on other work to extend and improve EV charging infrastructure 6. Schools recycling improvement project will reduce carbon emissions and save money and present STEM and citizenship opportunities for learners. 7. Further development of the technology system will improve business insights and customer service Outputs delivered since last update 1. Operations resourcing review The Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) have been commissioned to undertake a discovery exercise with relation to PKC’s existing operations being benchmarked against other local authorities. This work is ongoing; however, early indications are that PKC performance is strong across many of the indicators. With regards to existing operations, agency spend is projected to be reduced by approximately £400,000 year-on-year and overtime reduced by approximately £200,000. Once the final report has been reviewed, and if required, an Action Plan will be developed to ensure we have the optimal operating model for all activities being delivered by the Operations Team. 2. Commercialisation review This workstream focused on focussing the skip hire business. Work has progressed well and this workstream is now considered to be business as usual. 3. Operational Asset Review Operational Asset Review report including potential options has been completed. The output of this report is currently being considered as part of the development of the Council’s Strategic Investment planning process and is now being considered as business as usual. 4. Circular Economy Strategy
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Appendix 1 PKC - GENERAL Climate Change and Sustainability Committee approved the strategy and associated action plan at its meeting of 18 February 2026. The implementation of the Action Plan is now considered to be business as usual. 5. Fleet Decarbonisation The activities associated with this work are being delivered through the Council’s Strategic Investment Planning and in particular through its Fleet Asset Management Plan. This is now considered to be business as usual. 6. Schools Recycling Improvement The initial pilot work for this workstream was successfully delivered and we continue to deliver on the wider rollout across the primary and secondary school estate. This work is now considered as business as usual. 7. Business Insights and Customer Service Improvements The activities within this workstream are to be incorporated within the wider corporate AI/Automation project. For the purposes of the Zero Waste and Operations project this workstream is considered as being completed.