Appendix 2 - Annual Performance Report 2023-24
Perth and Kinross Council · 18 September 2024
Back to Scrutiny and Performance Committee — 18 September 2024 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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PKC Annual Performance Report 2023/24 A Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequalities. Appendix 2
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Annual Performance Report 2023/24 1 Contents Contents Introduction 2 Performance summary 4 Priority: Tackling poverty 5 Priority: Tackling climate change and supporting greener sustainable places 12 Priority: Developing a resilient, stronger and greener local economy 19 Priority: Enabling our children and young people to achieve their full potential 26 Priority: Protecting and caring for our most vulnerable people 33 Priority: Supporting and promoting physical and mental wellbeing 42 Priority: Working in partnership with communities 49 Key contact 55
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Annual Performance Report 2023/24 2 Introduction Welcome to our Annual Performance Report for 2023/24. The Annual Performance Report provides a summary of the work that has been undertaken over the past year for the residents of Perth and Kinross to deliver on the Council’s seven priorities which underpin our vision for: a Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequalities. In setting this vision and our priorities we knew that there were challenges ahead. Tackling poverty and climate change are big issues with causes and solutions that we cannot overcome alone. However, we do have a very important part to play in addressing these. In 2023/24 we invested £1.5M in projects to support our residents who were most in need, including £600,000 to help those worst affected by the Cost of Living crisis. However, local authority budgets are coming under increasing pressure while demand increases. In order to deliver a balanced budget in 2023/24 we set tough energy efficiency targets as part of a range of measures to meet the financial challenges we face. As budgets tighten in future years, the need for greater efficiencies and savings will become even more pressing. In reporting on our performance, we have also reflected on where things have not gone as expected, to create a balanced picture of what has been achieved this year. More detailed information about improvement activity is available in our Corporate Delivery and Improvement Plan (CDIP) which is attached as an appendix to this report with progress updates. Similar to last year, to improve our public performance reporting we have created an accompanying executive summary version of this report to provide an at-a-glance guide to our performance. We have also published on our website additional contextual information, including case studies, financial details and how we deliver on the national Best Value themes. Links to these can be found at the relevant points in this report. We are grateful to all residents, businesses, partner organisations and everyone in our teams who have contributed to the work we are reporting on here. We hope that you find this report useful in providing an oversight of how we have performed as an organisation in 2023/24. Councillor Grant Laing Thomas Glen Council Leader Chief Executive
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4 Performance summary Performance against priorities and actions The following pages highlight just some of the work we have undertaken with our communities and partners across the private, public and third sectors throughout the year. This is listed by priority area as outlined within our Corporate Plan 2022/23-2027/28. Case Studies Each priority area contains links to relevant case studies. These can be viewed on PK Performs website. Key Performance Indicators Each priority area also includes Key Performance Indicator (KPI) data with an indication of trend over the last year and accompanying commentary. Data is shown between 2021/22 - 2023/24, or the most recent year available. Caution should be applied when interpreting KPI data, as trends will only be indicative of performance. Trends should be considered in the context of the current operating environment, challenges and whether we control, influence or are informed by the data. Targets Targets for each KPI are also presented where relevant and highlighted by a traffic light system as to whether the 2023/24 data has met the target. KPI Overview KPI trends Data trending in a favourable direction Data trending in an unfavourable direction Data trend remains static No data available to make comparison in trend N/A 31 14 7 2 KPI performance against target Met or exceeded target Target not met Target Not Set 23/24 Target Set but data not yet available Not appropriate to set target 15 15 4 11 9 Supporting information Best Value themes In addition to reporting on performance against the actions and indicators set out within our Corporate Plan and in line with the statutory performance information direction, we have created a supplementary report on our performance aligned to the Best Value themes. Read the Best Value Themes Performance Report 2023/24 on our PK Performs website. Financial information We have also included financial information online which details where we get our money from and how we spend the budget. Read the supporting financial information on our PK Performs website.
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5 Priority: Tackling poverty Action: Prevent and mitigate the impacts of poverty for children living in Perth and Kinross Our work on child poverty has been significant this year with particular focus on the priority family groups as defined by Scottish Government. Some of the ways we have and are continuing to do this include: Our sixth Child Poverty Action Report 2023/24 has been jointly produced by Perth and Kinross Council and NHS Tayside and reflects the wider collaboration with our Community Planning Partners and a deepening engagement with our key stakeholder Groups. The report includes actions taken to implement our Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2022-26. • We supported parents into work removing barriers to employment for example through the Future for Families project, support included: o Engagement with 181 families for support; o 53 of these families were issued/approved for digital devices; o £178k of Elev8 Training Grants to support clients into new/better employment; o £11k worth of payments to private childcare providers on behalf of clients. 48 payments for client travel, spending £8k to support our clients; and o 36 clothing vouchers to clients for essential workwear and interview attire. • Funding is also available through the Future for Families to support parents into self-employment, 7 clients took up this offer between launch in September 2023 and March 2024. Support comes in the form of a ‘safety net’ in terms of income for the first three months of self-employment whilst establishing their new business. • Worked with priority family groups to understand the barriers being faced and the areas which would have the biggest impact to enable families in crisis to move to sustainable livelihoods. We have secured over £1.3 million to invest in the Supporting People – Addressing Needs Programme (SPAN). This provides a platform for the integration of services across income maximisation, employability and wellbeing. It will deliver an offer tailored to families affected by poverty. • The proportion of children who have been placed in temporary accommodation has been generally falling since 2008, while the national and comparator trend has been upwards in recent years. The Scottish Government declared a ‘Housing Emergency’ in May 2024, recognising the extreme housing supply and demand pressures. We are experiencing these pressures in Perth and Kinross but are prioritising minimising the number of families requiring temporary accommodation through our ‘Home First’ response to homelessness. • Progress is being made across the authority in closing the poverty-related attainment gap. Evidence gathered on the ‘Closing the Gap’ tool indicates that 610 interventions were delivered to 17,309 children and young people targeted at addressing poverty-related gaps in literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing. Many of these interventions were funded by Pupil Equity Funding. CASE STUDY Key elements within the Supporting People – Addressing Needs Programme (SPAN) were identified following feedback from parents from Priority Family Groups. Working with partners, the programme will deliver support tailored to families affected by poverty including money talk service, tackling poverty unit and universal whole family support service.
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6 • During 2023/24, 3,413 funded childcare places were provided by local authority, funded provider and childminder settings. Of these, 300 were funded Strong Start places for eligible two-year olds, an increase from 216 places in 2022/23. Additionally, arranged home to school transport for around 4,100 school pupils in Perth and Kinross. • The Big Hoose was founded in 2021 by the Cottage Family Centre and Amazon UK to distribute surplus everyday household essential products from Amazon and around 30 other local and multi-national businesses to families who need them most. The project originated in Fife but has, with financial support and premises from the Council expanded to create a hub service in Perth and Kinross. The project is hosted by PKAVS Carers. So far, 19,500 items have been distributed to 922 families with 1,635 children. The next steps are to make the project available across rural Perthshire by creating local access points in 5 or more locations. Action: Mitigate cost of living pressures for households experiencing or at risk of poverty • Our staff provide advice and support to tenants to assist them to maximise their income, supporting their ability to pay their rent. We supported 566 tenants with £215k assistance from our Tenancy Sustainment Fund (TSF) to either clear arrears balances or match their arrears payments to reduce financial hardship and sustain their tenancy. • Recognising that most gypsy/travellers are living rurally with no fixed-abode and this too can bring barriers to access to support we delivered three outreach sessions, specifically targeting Gypsy/Traveller sites. As a result, we were able to assist with almost £5k in Financial Insecurity Fund payments paid between 13 households to assist with rural hardship, solid fuel, clothing for children and adults and data packages for mobile phone use to help the community stay connected with extended family in other parts of the country. Additionally, we identified credits on Council Tax accounts for 16 of the households totalling £3,398 and arranged for refund of these credits to each of these households. • Through the Strategic Housing Investment Plan in 2023/24, 18 new build affordable homes were delivered in SIMD lowest quintile (lowest 20%), 37 new affordable homes were suitable for larger families, and 11 suitable for households with disabilities, both household types have been identified as two of the six recognised priority groups at greatest risk of poverty. • We have developed a programme of six interconnected projects that together have attracted over £1m of funding from the Scottish Government and external funders. These are being taken forward in partnership with Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), and various council teams and comprise of: Social Needs Screening, Support and Connect, Building resilient families and communities, Cash First Partnership, Money Talk plus and the Universal Whole Family Wellbeing service. CASE STUDY Perth and Kinross Council granted a budget of £250,000 for the Warm Welcome Fund Initiative. The aim of the funding was to support community and organisations in their delivery of the provision of warm spaces and home packs over the winter months; funding was provided to 94 community organisations.
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7 Action: Maximise income from benefit entitlement and concessions for households experiencing or at risk of poverty • We generated £8.5m in additional income for Perth and Kinross residents through the benefits system; this is a 31% increase on last financial year when we generated £6.5m in benefit gains. We received 8,022 referrals, an increase of 7% compared to the previous year. Clients are surveyed on an ongoing basis, 95% people surveyed had no problems accessing the service and 96% felt the service was delivered in a way that suited their needs. • During 2023/24 we received 2,556 Financial Insecurity Fund (FIF) applications with an award rate of 62% and average award of £419; the total spend was £664k, with a 3,347 payments being made to households. Payments included one-off rural hardship payments; assistance with priority debt (energy, Council Tax, rent); clothing for children over the winter period, school dinner and assistance with Infant Formula. The scheme has been recognised by the Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit (SPIRU) at Glasgow Caledonian University in their Tackling Poverty Locally Online Directory. • We established a partnership with Aberlour and our Tayside counterparts to provide a comprehensive and enhanced welfare rights service to vulnerable families with dependent children. During 2023/24 through our formal referral agreement with Aberlour, 11 families with children on the "edge of care" were referred to the Welfare Rights service for comprehensive benefits advice and assistance. More information on Welfare Rights activity during this year can be found in the Welfare Rights Team Annual Performance Report 2023/24 CASE STUDY Perth CAB – Pathways to Advice Cash/Cash First Partnership project secured funding from Trussell Trust and Whole Family Wellbeing Fund. Working closely with partners the aim of the project is to ensure easy access to ‘holistic’ support is provided to priority families and children in need. Action: Promote and encourage local employers to follow the principles of the Scottish Government Fair Work Action Plan, including the real Living Wage and Scottish Business Pledge • To support employers and promote the Real Living Wage our Rural Employment Incentive helped to create 25 new rural jobs for rural young people in 2023/24. These roles create vital new positions in smaller communities and enhance the chances of sustained jobs remaining after the funding period. A re-design and securing of further funding has led to an enhanced offer to businesses in 2024/25 with funding for up to 70 newly created jobs for clients with employment barriers. • We already paid the Real Living Wage to 16 and 17-year-olds who are not in apprenticeship or trainee positions. It was approved at Committee in November 2023 to implement the payment of the Real Living Wage of £12 per hour, announced on 24 October 2023, to Apprentices and Trainees with effect from 1 April 2024. This meets with our obligations as a Fair Work employer.
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8 • Work is ongoing to further develop the availability of flexible working practices from day one of employment in line with changes in legislation. We already offer flexible working practices and policies from day one of employment, for example flexi time and hybrid working (where these are appropriate to the role). These provisions were incorporated within a new Flexible Working Framework, approved at Finance and Resources Committee in January 2024. Key Areas for Improvement • A co-ordinated and collaborative approach with partners and communities to mitigate the impact of poverty across Perth and Kinross • Encourage and maximise the uptake of all supports targeted for children and young people to reduce costs and the impact such costs have on the outgoings on families in poverty • Working with the Anti-Poverty Task Force and stakeholders to develop the wider Poverty Strategy and take forward resultant actions Links to other Performance Information ➢ Child poverty action in Perth and Kinross - Perth & Kinross Council (pkc.gov.uk)
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9 Key Performance Indicators related to this Priority: Trends will be indicative of performance and should be considered in the context of the current operating environment and level of influence. Key Actions (summary) Indicator Control / Influence Performance Comments 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 Trend Target Target Met/ Not Met Prevent and mitigate the impacts of poverty for children Percentage of children living in poverty after housing costs in P&K Inform 18.7% 21.9% 21.7% N/A 18% by 2023 (National Target) 2023/24 information will not be published until January 2025; therefore, trend and commentary are based upon on most recent data published. All figures are based on estimates using Scottish Government data. Child poverty rates and numbers have remained relatively stable with 5,750 children living in poverty (21.7% 2022/23) compared to 5,914 (21.9% 2021/22). These figures reflect the national situation where despite investment of significant financial and other resources, child poverty has remained static. Note: Child Poverty rates and numbers are developed through the Scottish Household Survey and may not be the best representative measure due to small number of households. Figures for 2020/21 are not regarded as reliable due to problems with data collection during the pandemic and also include a period when the Universal Credit uplift of £20 a week was still in place, which had the effect of reducing the numbers of children in poverty.
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10 Key Actions (summary) Indicator Control / Influence Performance Comments 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 Trend Target Target Met/ Not Met Mitigate cost of living pressures for households experiencin g and at risk of poverty Number of P&K households provided with energy efficiency and/or low carbon heating advice (PKC funded) Influence 545 256 884 2,205 500 2,205 households were provided with advice compared to 884 in 2022/23, an increase of 149%. In 2023/24, emergency funding was put in place to fund the Heat Project. PKC Climate Change funding to SCARF continued throughout 2023/24 and has been extended to April and May 2024 until a decision on future funding has been made. Number of new affordable homes, including new build and buy backs Control 124 (100 new build, 24 buy backs) 308 (276 new build, 32 buy backs) 203 (167 new build, 36 buy backs) 173 (105 new build, 48 buy backs, 20 empty homes) 210 Whilst performance in this area declined in 2023/24 with 173 homes delivered, the PKC SHIP 2024-29 plans to deliver of the Local Housing Strategy target of 210 affordable homes per year over the 5-year period. Maximise income from benefits and concessions Number of Scottish Welfare Fund Crisis Grant applications Influence 6,336 5,498 6,539 7,421 N/A (not appropriate to set targets) N/A There has been an increase in applications due to the combined effect of Universal Credit deductions and the current Cost of Living Crisis. Almost 100% of the total Scottish Government allocation for Scottish Welfare Fund was spent in respect of Crisis Grants. Including money allocated by ourselves to support this fund, the total spend in this area was £1.4m. 4,805 households were awarded crisis grants, equating to a 65% award rate.
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11 Key Actions (summary) Indicator Control / Influence Performance Comments 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 Trend Target Target Met/ Not Met Total amount of benefit income gained as a direct result of involvement from the Welfare Rights Team Influence £5.5m £5.3m £6.5m £8.5m N/A (not appropriate to set targets) N/A 31% increase in verified benefit gains by the Welfare Rights Team via advice, assistance and representation. A 31% increase on last financial year. Promote and encourage principles of the Scottish Government Fair Work Action Plan Number of employers signed up as Living Wage employers in Perth & Kinross Influence N/A New Indicator 91 97 100 100 The number of employers officially accredited as Living Wage employers has increased slightly. Employers do have to pay a fee to become accredited. A better indication of those being paid the Living Wage is available via the indicator below. Percentage of people earning less than the real Living Wage Influence 25.3% 16.5% 12% 10.4% 16% We have seen a significant reduction in the number of employees earning less than the real Living Wage over the last year.
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12 Priority: Tackling climate change and supporting greener sustainable places We continue to deliver the Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan for Perth and Kinross, which sets out our plans and actions to reduce carbon emissions and build resilience, meet our regulatory requirements and protect our environment for current and future generations. Action: Support the prioritisation of sustainable, cleaner and greener transport in line with the National and Regional Transport Strategies In February 2024, a report on ‘Fleet Decarbonisation Strategy’ was presented at the Climate Change and Sustainability Committee . Highlights included: • We trialled the use of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) in refuse collection vehicles (RCVs) aimed at reducing the amount of Co2 emitted by up to 90%. It is anticipated that the entire RCV fleet will be switched to using HVO permanently. The aim is to save c700 tonnes of Co2 for the Council each financial year. • To further decarbonise staff vehicle journeys we are seeking approval to expand the Council pool car fleet by 20 vehicles. Over the course of the last year we have seen an increase in the total number of bookings during 2023/24 sitting at 7,233. The total distance covered is 292,721 miles, which is an equivalent saving of £131,724 by not having to pay for mileage claims on personal vehicles. The vehicles would be located around the council area to expand the availability of pool vehicles; these vehicles would likely be powered by a mix of petrol and electric depending on a consideration of the availability of charging points and the range of mileage required. • The Broxden – Low Carbon Transport Hub (opened in January 2024) provides a sustainable EV charging hub to support the reduction of carbon emissions. The Hub provides access to 15 EV chargers (1 Disabled/Mobility impaired) and 2 E-Bike chargers, additionally a new SSE substation, Car Port Solar Canopy and Public Transport Information Display have been installed. • We secured £90k of external funding to pilot an increased local public transport service in the Loch Tay area and a new service between Kinloch Rannoch and Aberfeldy on Saturdays. • There were significant challenges towards the end of 2023/24 when Stagecoach East Scotland advised their intention to make significant commercial service cuts across Perth and Kinross as from May 2024. However, due to close working between the Public Transport Unit and Stagecoach East Scotland during March 2024 a better outcome was negotiated and resulted in fewer service reductions than originally proposed. We recognise that similar challenges may occur in future years therefore a £300k budget has been committed over three years to explore alternative ways of delivering public transport solutions. Action: Improve the energy efficiency of our Council housing stock and public buildings, and encourage our partners and private householders to consider where they can make improvements • In 2023, a £3m development of 18 new flats available for affordable social rent was completed on the site of the former Fairfield Community Centre in Perth. All are linked to solar panels and are insulated to the highest standard, which allows tenants to keep energy bills low, whilst also reducing the overall carbon footprint of the development.
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13 • Our housing stock has been categorised based on the data from the Energy Performance Certificates (EPC’s). This has allowed us to prioritise the properties in lower EPC Bands E & F to ensure that they are brought up to the minimum of EPC Band D by 2025. • A total of 1,300 properties were brought up to Scottish Housing Quality Standards (SHQS) during 2023/24. Over the last year, there has been investment in Capital funded upgrades, which aimed to improve the housing stock for tenants as well as ensuring that we maintain a high SHQS pass rate in the future. • Following a successful bid to the Scottish Government for funding to replace the 20 chalets at the Double Dykes Gypsy Traveller Site, this project has been progressing through the design development phase. There has been ongoing engagement with the residents on the site in relation to the proposed layouts for the replacement chalets and the works are proposed to start onsite in November 2024. • Perth and Kinross Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy 2024-2045 (LHEES) and Delivery Plan and Perth and Kinross Local Area Energy Plan (LAEP) were developed and approved. Both provide the direction of travel towards Net Zero by 2045, further details on climate change activity can be accessed via Perth and Kinross Climate Action. The LHEES Strategy was reviewed by Scottish Government in December 2023. The assessment concluded that the strategy provides an excellent overview of the challenges associated with the current building stock and the scale of change required to meet national targets. That the Council's strategic priorities are clear and there is comprehensive recommendations and discussion about how these might be progressed towards delivery. CASE STUDY Riverside Primary School, a £16.5 million project, is one of the first primary schools in Scotland built to Passivhaus standards, where quality of construction and energy saving measures are integral to the construction of the building. The school won the ‘Innovation in Delivering a Sustainable Learning Place’ at The Learning Places Scotland Awards (November 2023). Action: To conserve and enhance the biodiversity of our natural environment • In 2023/24 the Council received £353k for nature restoration projects from the Scottish Governments nature restoration fund to address the drivers of biodiversity loss. A total of 16 projects (4 council and 12 community projects) across the area were approved. These projects will enhance biodiversity across by providing essential habitat restoration and connectivity for wildlife. • We received an ‘A’ rating for environmental action in 2023, from the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), which recognises the significant efforts taken by Perth & Kinross Council to address the climate and biodiversity emergencies. In 2019, Perth and Kinross received a D-grade from the CDP, but this improved to a B in 2022. To achieve an ‘A’ rating, cities and local authorities must disclose publicly through CDP-ICLEI Track, have an area- wide emissions inventory, and have published a climate action plan. • We planted 2,512 trees on Council owned or managed open spaces, this is an increase of 1,842 compared to last year and supported 118 volunteer groups to undertake over 40,000 hours actively managing, developing and maintaining community greenspaces.
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14 • Our Tayside Biodiversity Partnership project, ‘Perth & Kinross Ponds for Puddocks’ helped to make six ponds across the area better places for wildlife. The project was shortlisted for the Nature of Scotland Community Initiative award in 2023. CASE STUDY Rewilding Denmarkfield is a major rewilding project and a great example of Perth and Kinross Council’s commitment to providing additional value to local communities as part of the Cross Tay Link Road project. Action: To adapt to and mitigate the impact of climate change on the way we operate • We completed a number of flood studies in local communities to understand the risk of flooding, engage the community to disseminate the study findings, and raise awareness of other actions such as community flood resilience. We continue to inspect key watercourses and carry out clearance and repair works where this would substantially reduce flood risk to local communities. We continue to progress the development of flood schemes (at Comrie, South Kinross, and Milnathort) to improve the resilience of flood sensitive communities. At the Climate Change Sustainability Committee in November 2023 Elected Members agreed to adopt the recommended proposals of the £15.3m flood prevention scheme for South Kinross as the preferred scheme and to seek statutory approval by publishing the scheme under the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act. The project aims to protect approximately 194 homes and businesses in the area. The construction contract for Comrie Flood Protection Scheme is due to be signed imminently with an anticipated construction start date of September 2024 and a construction end date of September 2026. • Following the £2.72m capital investment from the Recycling Improvement Fund and then rolled out the fourth bin in compliance with the new Scottish Charter for Household Recycling. This meant that 73,000 households now have a more equitable service, material is better quality and less contaminated and households can dispose of additional waste at the kerbside. Prior to the grey bin, contamination rates for the blue bin were 18.7%. Following the interdiction of the grey bin, this reduced to 2.5% for the blue bin and 10.6% for the grey bin. In addition, the non-recyclable waste also reduced by 7.5% in Jan-Mar 2024 compared to the same time period in 2023. The twin stream roll out was successful in securing a Scottish Award. • From the end of 2025, regulations by the Scottish Government will impose a ban on bio-degradable waste being sent to landfill. In August 2023, our general waste moved from a landfill to an Energy from Waste contract. This has reduced the amount of methane (a greenhouse gas 20 times more impactful than carbon dioxide) being emitted from landfill. • Working closely with Third Sector organisations, we have been able to support and develop activities around reuse, and the sale or repurpose of goods. We have a total of 4 reuse cabins at our Recycling Centres which diverted 137 tonnes from landfill in 2023/24. In addition, 41 tonnes of bicycles which are either repaired and sold or stripped for reuse. • The introduction of a new motorhome waste disposal point located at Broxden Park and Ride, was provided to meet demands in the surge of mobile holiday makers since the pandemic. It is hoped this will deter motorhome users from dumping their waste in the natural environment. The facility is the first of its kind for Perth and Kinross Council and is open 24 hours a day from Easter until the end of October each year. • We continued works on the LED Replacement Programme. We have 25,000 streeting lighting lanterns, and as of 2023/24 19,000 street lights have been replaced with LED lanterns. The programme has had a positive impact on carbon reduction and energy consumption. To date, the programme has reduced the energy consumption by 52% which represents an annual
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15 reduction of 5,500,000 kWh of electricity. Carbon emissions have reduced by 80%, which represents an annual reduction of 4,540 tonnes of Co2. Additionally, the introduction of LED light technology has further improved reliability and extended the operational life of the lamps. Since 2013/14 there were 6,000 street lighting faults, this reduced to 2,000 faults in 2023/24. This delivers further cost savings by reducing the revenue maintenance budget by 50%. The cost savings for the Council associated with this LED replacement scheme are estimated to provide a £20m cost saving over the 20 year life of the lanterns. CASE STUDY Perth and Kinross Council Youth Climate Conference brings together pupils from S1 to S6 from both local authority and independent schools across the region. The conference is designed to inspire and empower young people to talk about, and take action on, climate change in all facets of their lives. Links to other Performance Information ➢ Statutory Biodiversity Duty: Report on Delivery January 2021 to December 2023 ➢ Waste Management Plan 2010-2025 - Progress Report Key Areas of Improvement • Ensure we have a cleaner and greener Council fleet • Develop local public transport solutions which set the needs of residents and the environment as top priority • Improved energy efficiency and reduction in carbon emissions in the Council estate • Increase provision of biodiversity sites
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16 Key Performance Indicators related to this priority: Trends will be indicative of performance and should be considered in the context of the current operating environment and level of influence. Key Actions (summary) Indicator Control / Influence Performance Comments 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 Trend Target Target Met/Not Met Support the prioritisation of sustainable, cleaner, and greener transport Number of publicly available charging devices per 100,000 population Influence 69.8 84.9 125.5 209 469 The number of publicly available charge points has increased year-on-year. Since 2021/22 there has been no funding from Transport Scotland for EV chargers. To date PKC has installed a total of 31 new chargers at various locations across the Perth & Kinross area. These have been funded via The Tay Cities Deal/ERDF, internal Council Revenue Funds and ORCS. For noting - all PKC and most of the Private Charge points are Dual Outlet. Percentage of Council fleet vehicles that are electric or other zero direct carbon fuel technologies Control 5.3% 5.3% 3.8% 3.6% 3.85% There has been a reduction in this indicator due to 1 EV being written off following an accident & the total number of PKC vehicles increasing. We are committed to transitioning our fleet to low emission vehicles to ensure that we have a cleaner and greener fleet, as well as meeting Government targets.
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17 Key Actions (summary) Indicator Control / Influence Performance Comments 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 Trend Target Target Met/Not Met Improve the energy efficiency of our buildings, and encourage our partners and private householders to consider improvements Percentage of Council housing meeting the Energy Efficient Standard 2 for social housing (minimum EPC B) Control 5.1% 6.2% 6.6% 7.1% 7.0% Of the total housing stock (8,053 properties as of 31st March 2024) there has been an increase of 25 properties meeting the Energy Efficient Standard 2 which has been achieved by the completion of newbuild properties and capital works to existing properties. Scope 1 and 2 Emissions from Council Non- Domestic Estate (tonnes CO2e) Control 10,111 10,761 9,226 9,080 N/A (awaiti ng decarb onisatio n plan) N/A Conversion factors went up for oil and electricity that had an impact on reductions. Additional sites being added to portfolio also resulted in decrease of emissions. To conserve and enhance the biodiversity of our natural environment Area grassland managed by PKC for biodiversity improvement objectives (ha) Control 21.8ha 21.8ha 40.4ha 40.4ha N/A (future years will have targets) N/A Following on from the overall success of the grassland management trials undertaken in previous years on 42 sites, the trials are being extended over the next 3 years. This will allow the development of a long-term action plan to support the long grass approach on more sites across Perth and Kinross, potentially covering 1,700 of the 1,900 sites the Council currently maintain.
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18 Key Actions (summary) Indicator Control / Influence Performance Comments 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 Trend Target Target Met/Not Met To adapt to and mitigate the impact of climate changes on the way we operate Total household waste recycled/comp osted as % of all household waste Influence 49.4% 50.1% 48.5% 50.6% 60% The recycling rate increased by 2.1% since last year. This can be attributed to the success of the Twin Stream rollout which has reduced the contamination rates of our kerbside recycling. Additionally, changes to our residual waste contract has allowed a proportion of our general waste to be recycled. Previously, all general waste was landfilled. Climate Change Assessment Tool (CCAT) overall score Control 51% 61% 69% 71% 74% There has been an increase of 2% on our overall score since the previous year. Two of the five sub-topics showed progress. Climate Governance showing the biggest improvement from 89% to 93%. This increase is attributed to the inclusion of Climate Change as a strategic priority in the new Corporate Plan, increased organisational accountability and the implementation of the Impact and Value Assessment Tool which was introduced in 2023. Progress was also identified in the Adaptation sub-topic that covers questions related to climate risks and opportunities as a result of climate hazards – utilising the results of the Climate Risk and Opportunity Assessment for Perth and Kinross that was finalised in Spring 2023. Procurement has remained the lowest scoring sub-topic at 38%, The need to improve climate considerations in procurement is an identified aim of the ongoing procurement transformation programme.
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19 Priority: Developing a resilient, stronger and greener local economy Action: Support and promote business growth, business and place innovation and investment in both our urban and rural areas • 231 Business start-ups were supported by Business Gateway; this is a reduction compared to 2022/23 figure of 250 but remains at the same level of other Tayside local authorities. Additionally, we provided funding to Growbiz to support start-up micro enterprises/self-employed individuals and social enterprises in rural Perth and Kinross. Support is also provided for enterprising culture in young people and in rural communities. • The Roads Maintenance Partnership (RMP) have liaised with business owners within the city centre to help deliver their offering of external dining in public open spaces. Agreements are in place to ensure they can effectively trade whilst not detracting from the amenity of the space for others and this will be expanded to other existing premises in 2024/25. • We deployed two Tay Cities Digital Engagement Officers with Shared Prosperity Funding to enable Scottish Broadband Vouchers to connect more businesses and homes to improved internet. Through national interventions R100 and Project Gigabyte there has been significant building of gigabit capable connections in the region. This uplift has also been supported by investment in commercial rollout. Action: Invest in innovative green power and smart technology solutions to reduce reliance on electricity from the national grid and create opportunities for business growth and regeneration • Capital Investment of circa £500,000 was scheduled for 2023/24 and an additional £2 million of capital funding was added into the Council budget in March 2023 for decarbonisation. We are also developing the detail behind the Climate Change Strategy Action Plan to move towards decarbonising the estate by 2045. • We supported Binn Group to create a £100m Energy from Waste Plant at Binn Eco-Park joining forces with Paprec, the French- based leader in recycling and green energies. 60% of the civil works are being managed by locally based companies or branches and along with the 200 jobs created for its construction phase, the new EfW will also generate 30 long-term skilled posts once the facility is operational in early 2026. • We have attracted £100k from the Scottish Government to develop heat networks at scale and explore options for the development of a Strategic Energy Partnership. Heat Networks (Scotland) Act 2021 places a duty on local authorities to carry out a review of potential areas for heat networks as part of Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies. • Phase 2 of the Cross Tay Link Road (CTLR) project is continuing to progress well and is on programme for completion in Spring 2025. A key part of the project has been the delivery of benefits relating to local spend and employment during construction. Examples of benefits can be found on the project’s website via www.perthtransportfutures.co.uk. This project addresses the long-term transportation needs of the area and facilitate investment of £174 million in new commercial space and bring the prospect of more than 5,000 new jobs to the area. Design
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20 work has started on Phase 3 (Bertha Park Link) with completion of specimen design in October 2024. • A hydrogen facility is being constructed by Greencat Energy at the Binn Eco Park, ready for use by June 2027. This will enable the Council to consider using hydrogen as a fuel source and this will be progressed by fleet in due course. Our Projects – Green Cat Hydrogen (gchydrogen.co.uk) • Two engineers from Perth & Kinross Council and four from Sweco, one of the designers of the Cross Tay Link Road project, have been awarded the accolade of Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) Carbon Champions for their work on decarbonising the build through the design and procurement process. Perth and Kinross Council (asset owner) and Sweco (designer) worked in collaboration, with a focus on minimising the carbon output and environmental impacts of the project at design stage. ICE Carbon Champions Award For CTLR (perthtransportfutures.co.uk) • The CTLR project has also been presented as a Case Study in the PAS 2080 Guidance updated in April 2023. This Case Study demonstrates how designers can support asset owners to embed decarbonisation principles and requirements into procurement. Action: Promote what our city and towns have to offer to businesses, investors and tourists by capitalising on built and natural heritage and assets such as the new Perth Museum and the benefits to the whole area of Perth’s status as UNESCO City of Craft and Folk Art • Perth & Kinross Council have invested £50m in cultural infrastructure in Perth City Centre in the last decade, which includes Perth’s Creative Exchange, Perth Theatre, Perth Art Gallery, St Paul’s Church and the Perth City of Light Lighting Strategy. Perth Museum is the newest investment and is home to the symbolic Stone of Destiny. The museum opened on 30 March 2024 (following a £27m re-development) with 3,000 visitors on the opening weekend. The cultural & heritage visitor attraction was awarded 5* status from VisitScotland. • Our reputation for major events continued when we delivered the UCI Enduro Gran Fondo in August 2023, part of the UCI Championships which were held across Scotland. Perthshire hosted the Gran and Media Fondo long distance mass participation road races which brought 30,000 visitors to the area. This enhanced an already strong programme which includes a wide range of music, cultural and sporting events. • In December 2023, to build on the success of the Christmas Lights Switch On, three weekends of free family entertainment were held in Perth. Additionally, 6,800 people were able to enjoy free travel on all local bus services within the Perth & Kinross Council area, on the four Saturdays leading up to Christmas in an initiative supported by Smarter Choices Smarter Places. This initiative enhanced footfall, supporting our retailers, restaurants, and other traders across Perth & Kinross. Events are major drivers of economic activity and the annual impact of the programme has been calculated at £30 million, supporting over 500 jobs. • A refreshed marketing plan, delivered through Perth City and Towns, has been developed to promote our area. This is delivered in partnership with local businesses and a new website (perthcityandtowns.co.uk) and social media campaigns are successfully increasing brand awareness, media profile and economic impact in our places. A new cultural guide for the area has been developed and promotes our attractions and the significant investment over the last decade. We also launched a Christmas Campaign in October 2023 – giving promotional opportunities for over 150 independent businesses across the whole region.
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21 • We are part of the Tay Cities Regional Tourism Partnership which focuses on bringing international visitors to our area. Internationalisation is an important part in restoring the value of tourism and activities focus on supporting businesses to become trade ready. The recent Scotland Visitor Survey showed that 32% of all overnight visitors to Perthshire in 2023 were international, up from 11% in 2019. • We continued to work in partnership with Wasps, Culture Perth & Kinross, UHI Perth and Business Gateway Tayside to promote Perth Creative Exchange and maximise the opportunities and facilities available to artists, makers and the wider sector. • The Famous Grouse Ideas Centre continued to provide facilities and programmes designed support to entrepreneurs and innovators. o Our Angel’s Share programme delivered 2 events providing founders and entrepreneurs with the opportunity to pitch their ideas to investors. o Elevator UK delivered their ‘Purpose Led Business Accelerator’ to local SMEs, providing the opportunity to think differently about their ethos and purpose whilst growing their business. o The Famous Grouse Ideas Centre also became the first venue in Perth & Kinross to host CodeBase. Codebase is a digital tech incubator which supports start-up and growth business across a number of sectors. The digital sector is a growing and this partnership presents an excellent opportunity to attract digital businesses to Perth & Kinross and impact across a number of other sectors. CASE STUDY Perth Museum opened its doors in March this year and has already welcomed more than 100,000 visitors and received five star award from Visit Scotland. Action: Support individuals into work and to progress into better paid work, encouraging businesses to access initiatives to create new opportunities for those furthest from the employment market and those currently in low wage jobs • The Futures for Families project has assisted parents into self- employment by funding the transient period between employment/unemployment and into self-employment. This funding creates a ‘safety net’ in terms of income for the first 3 months of self-employment whilst establishing the new business. 7 clients took up this offer between launch in September ’23 and March ’24. • Rural Employment Incentive has delivered 25 new rural jobs for rural young people in 2023/24. These roles create vital new positions in smaller communities and enhance the chances of sustained jobs remaining after the funding period. • In terms of supporting people into work via our Skills Passport project (funded by the UK SPF) the following was achieved in 2023/24: o In total – 40 Clients supported o 32 Unemployed Individuals supported and received funding for training. o 8 Individuals supported into self- employment o 9 People now in employment, however several applicants are still in the training phase who will hopefully gain employment thereafter. • 901 adult learners were supported by PKC and Adult Learning Partnership to achieve a qualification, helping them to improve their digital, employability skills, literacy or language skills. This was an increase of 121 learners from 2022/23 and reflects our approach to identifying and targeting areas of highest need.
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22 CASE STUDY (anonymised) Futures for Families – With the provision of Elev8 and a Digital Grant we were able to support ‘Barry’ with digital equipment and pay for a management qualification. Thereafter, with the support of the Self Employment Grant, he was able to launch his own business. Key Areas for Improvement • Unlock new investment in employment and housing land to support business growth in new growth sectors • Make Perth and Kinross a more competitive inward investment destination and encourage investment for growth from existing businesses in key growth sectors • Increased number of businesses in the creative and digital industries. • Unlock private investment and expertise to support public and private energy projects. • More people choose Perth and Kinross as a destination for holidays and day trips. • Further enhance our employability outreach capacity, supporting individuals in community settings. Links to other Performance Information ➢ Local Development Plan 2 Delivery Programme 2019-29 February 2024 Update
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23 Key Performance Indicators related to this priority: Trends will be indicative of performance and should be considered in the context of the current operating environment and level of influence. Key Actions (summary) Indicator Control / Influence Performance Comments 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 Trend Target Met/No t Met Support and promote business growth and investment Number of new business start-ups with support from Business Gateway Influence 267 220 250 231 275 Performance has declined however remains at the same level of the other Tayside local authorities. Support for start-up micro enterprises/self-employed individuals and social enterprises in rural Perth and Kinross is also provided by Growbiz, whom we provided with financial support in 2023/24 to expand its provision. However, these are not included in the target. Area of available Serviced Employment Land (Ha) Influence N/A New Indicator Dec 24 N/A 35 N/A Data not available until December 2024 Percentage of premises connected to gigabit broadband Influence 4.7% 40% 43% 46% 45% The percentage of premises connected is increasing although slowly showing that Scottish and UK Government gigabit roll-out programmes are starting to make an impact. The Council is supporting these programmes by raising awareness of financial incentives such as gigabit broadband vouchers. Thinkbroadband.com.
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24 Key Actions (summary) Indicator Control / Influence Performance Comments 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 Trend Target Met/No t Met Number of registered businesses in Creative Industries (including digital) Influence 400 380 350 335 400 There has been a reduction in the number of registered businesses in creative industries compared to the previous year. This KPI is an indication of how the local economy is adapting to new technologies and innovation. There will be a focus on dedicated and tailored business advice to the sector, delivered in partnership with Business Gateway, Famous Grouse Ideas Centre, Perth Creative Exchange, Codebase and Perth UHI. This will encourage start-ups and support identified growth businesses, with the aim of increasing the number of businesses and jobs in the creative industries. Invest in innovative green power and smart technology solutions Renewable energy generated across the PKC estate, including from low carbon heat sources (MWh) Control 2,972 2,535 2,226 2,703 N/A (awaiting decarboni sation plan) N/A Number of the biomass sites are still offline which has a huge effect on overall generation. Additional sites have had heat pumps installed. Number of registered businesses in energy (including renewables growth sector) Influence 140 140 145 140 (Dec 24) 154 An increasing number of businesses in energy (including renewables) is seen as an indicator of the local economy adapting to the transition to net zero. The number has slightly decreased from the previous year. Business advice will continue to be provided to support start-ups and business expansion through Business Gateway and initiatives boosting clean growth sector such as Tay Cities Clean Growth Cluster or Perth Eco-Innovation Park or Binn Eco-Park.
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25 Key Actions (summary) Indicator Control / Influence Performance Comments 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 Trend Target Met/No t Met Promote what our city and towns have to offer to businesses, investors and tourists Investment in economic development and tourism (£ per 1,000 population) Control £63,504 £100,569 £91,711 Dec 24 N/A (not appropria te to set targets) N/A Data not available until publication of LGBF. Trends are based upon most recent data published. Total number of visits (in person) to libraries, museums, and galleries Influence 32K 246K 441K 484K 315K Overall footfall to CPK venues is up 9.7% (43,097) from last year. Libraries increased by 15.1% over that same period with new events and activities attracting customers back to venues. Visits to Perth Art Gallery are lower due to the ongoing refurbishment works (down by 37.9%) but satisfaction rates remain high across all venues (with a slight dip due to heating issues in some Libraries). The figures include the opening weekend of Perth Museum with 4,805 visitors over the first 2 days. Support people into work and encourage business to access initiatives to create new opportunities Percentage of unemployed people assisted into work from council operated/funded employability programmes Influence 7.9% 15.7% 13.0% 13.7% 15% A slight increase in performance from 2022/23; however, below target. Less external activity funded in 2023/24 due to the late award of funding from SG and lack of applications from providers. Number of adult learners achieving outcomes Influenc e 110 279 780 901 293 901 adult learners were supported by PKC and Adult Learning Partnership to achieve a qualification, helping them to improve their digital, employability skills, literacy or language skills. This was an increase of 121 learners from 2022/23 and reflects our approach to identifying and targeting areas of highest need.
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26 Priority: Enabling our children and young people to achieve their full potential The PKC Raising Attainment Strategy 2024-2027 sets out a shared vision, priorities, and expectations in relation to raising attainment and achievement for every child and young person. This strategy reflects the national ambitions of attaining excellence and achieving equity. Progress is reported in the annual Education Improvement Plan and will be presented at the Learning and Families Committee 28 August 2024. Overall, schools and ELC settings in PKC perform well and deliver high quality education. Inspection data shows that ELC settings and primary schools achieve evaluations above both comparator authorities and the national average. Care Inspectorate inspection data shows a similar picture, with PKC outperforming comparator and national benchmarks. Action: Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning • Perth High School was commended for its Reflect, Restore and Re-engage Provision, which has led to a significant reduction in pupil exclusions. Reported on in our Attainment 2022/23 report, the number of exclusions dropped from 99 to 61. The school’s approach encourages students to reflect on their behaviour as an alternative to exclusion, resulting in “a calm and positive atmosphere in almost all lessons.” • Educational attainment across all sectors is strong with a steady upward trend in attainment of Curriculum for Excellence levels across P1-S3, with increases of between 5 and 7 percentages points in Literacy and Numeracy in the last 5 years. Senior phase attainment is also showing positive trends, with increases of 4 to 5 percentage points in school leavers attaining at SCQF Levels 5 and 6, and also increases in the proportion of young people participating in education, employment or training over the last 5 years (COVID years excepted). • The percentage of young people (16-19 year olds) participating in education, training or employment has increased year-on-year over the last three years and remains ahead of the national average. This is supported by an increase in the number of young people participating in work experience. • Young people’s participation in sport has continued to improve with notable increases in target groups such as those from backgrounds affected by poverty, young carers and those who are looked after. Additionally, young people are supporting the delivery of extracurricular activity in PKC schools with leadership, coaching and officiating awards being gained. CASE STUDY Our first intergenerational Peep (Peers Early Education Partnership) group was piloted at Strathmore Street Sheltered Housing Complex. The pilot provided the opportunity for participants to learn new skills, share experiences across generations and reduce loneliness and isolation. • Inspection results for services across the Day Care, ELC and Primary sectors remain strong, consistently above national results and comparator authorities. Inspection outcomes in Secondary Schools have not met the local expectations of good or better. The focus for improvement in this sector is around Leadership of Change and improving Learning and Teaching.
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27 • The inspection report for Perth Academy, published in November 2023 had two satisfactory and two weak quality indicators which is below our expectations of good or better. Work is underway to address these prior to a return visit by Education Scotland in 2024. • 34 schools have achieved the ‘Digital Schools Award’, with a further eight schools ready for validation. This is a 100% increase on 2022/23. There are a further 36 schools registered for the award with the majority of these making good progress towards formal accreditation. • 26 schools have achieved their Bronze Rights Respecting Schools Award, with 23 achieving Silver and 12 Gold. Seven schools are awaiting accreditation visits, five for Gold and two for Silver. CASE STUDY To promote education and a wider range of opportunities for pupils across science and wider STEM subjects. Kinross High School introduced new courses such as Practical Electronics, Laboratory Science. The school received the STEM Nation Award by Education Scotland in 2023, which celebrates excellent practice in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths education. Action: Reduce the poverty-related attainment gap • We have reported on a narrowing gap for attainment results for pupils in Perth & Kinross, which is showing a positive and improving picture, across all sectors. The poverty-related attainment gap is a term used to describe the difference in attainment between children from better off backgrounds and their peers impacted by poverty. The report showed 79.8% of all P1 children have met all development milestones before starting primary school, and literacy and numeracy levels have improved for P1, P4, P7 and S3 pupils. It also found the poverty-related attainment gap, in terms of pass rates is better than the Scottish national average for National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher. • Effective use of Scottish Attainment Challenge funding, including the Pupil Equity Fund, is helping to close the poverty-related attainment gap with notable progress being made in reducing the gap in senior phase attainment. Secondary attendance remains challenging and an area of particular focus. Action: Ensure that Looked After Children and children and young people with additional support needs achieve health, wellbeing and education outcomes comparable with their peers • Outcomes for our care-experienced children and young people are improving with increased levels of attainment in literacy and numeracy as well as a significant increase in the percentage of young people entering a positive destination on leaving school. However, outcomes for care-experienced young people remain lower than their peers. • Our Corporate Parenting Plan 21-24 supports Looked After Children to achieve their full potential. The plan notes progress in all areas in respect to health, wellbeing and education. It is monitored by the Corporate Parenting sub-group that reports to the Children, Young People and Families Partnership. • In 2022/23, 16 out of 17 LAC pupils (94%) attained at least one SCQF Level 4 qualification. Care should be taken when comparing these figures across years and cohorts due to the
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28 small numbers involved. This improvement exceeds the national average of 78% for this indicator, though still below the overall performance achieved in respect of all school leavers. We recognise that this group is a key priority for improved attainment and have established a sub-group of the Raising Attainment Board to focus on further improvement, including supporting the Chief Social Worker and Education Officers in the allocation of the Care Experienced Children and Young Persons Funding. The actions of the sub-group included the establishment of a Promise Improvement Lead post which focuses on raising attainment of all care experienced children and young people and young carers. • Inclusion Ambassadors. Fairview School, Perth & Kinross Council's school for children and young people with significant additional support needs (ASN), is celebrating a national awards win for its work to help pupils locally with ASN feel included, supported and celebrated. CASE STUDY (anonymised) Crest Service, Lifelong Links service supports children and young people to reconnect with those who are important to them in a planned, structured and safe way. The service and a lifelong links co-ordinator supported ‘John’ to find out more about his birth family and being part of a wider family network. Key Areas for Improvement • Attainment at key milestones is raised for all children and young people. • Attendance rates improve, particularly in the secondary sector. • Increase the number of young people going into positive destinations such as work experience, further education, volunteering and employment. • Improved understanding of causes of attainment gap so that effective interventions can be identified and implemented. • Improve support to children and young people with additional support needs to realise their full potential. • Provide Kinship Carers with a range of supports to enable them to meet the needs of children in their care. Links to other Performance Information ➢ Corporate Parenting Update ➢ Community Learning and Development Plan 2021-24 - Year 2 Update Report ➢ Raising Attainment Update 2022/23
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29 Key Performance Indicators related to this priority: Trends will be indicative of performance and should be considered in the context of the current operating environment and level of influence. *Attainment indicator data will not be published until February 2024; therefore trend arrows relate to the most recent year of publication. Key Actions (summary) Indicator Control / Influence Performance Comments 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 Trend Target Target Met/ Not Met Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning Percentage of children meeting expected developmental milestones when entering primary school Influence 82% 81.7% 80.6% N/A N/A 81% N/A Data not available until end of September 2024 The proportion of P1s meeting all their expected developmental milestones has decreased slightly in 2023. For this cohort of children, all 9 developmental milestones (Attention, Behaviour, Emotional Development, Fine Motor Skills, Gross Motor Skills, Hearing, Social Development, Speech and Language and Vision) have seen a drop in levels of achievement. Speech and language development and social and emotional development are the areas which are most affected. Our data aligns with that published in Public Health Scotland’s Early Child Development Statistics in April 2023, highlighting the national increase in the proportion of children with a developmental concern assessed during the 13– 15-month, 27-30 month, and 4–5-year child health reviews. Work is being undertaken across all ELC settings to mitigate the impact of these developmental concerns and to ensure that children are supported to achieve their potential through a focus on the overall quality of provision, outdoor learning, language development and emotional resilience.
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30 Key Actions (summary) Indicator Control / Influence Performance Comments 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 Trend Target Target Met/ Not Met Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning Percentage of primary school pupils (P1, P4 & P7 combined) achieving expected levels in literacy and numeracy Control 74% 77% 78% *N/A 79% N/A There has been steady progress over time in P1,4 and 7 Achievement of a Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) Levels. In 2022-2023 a targeted programme of work to improve writing with 6 pilot schools created significant improvement in writing in these schools. This methodology will be used in at least 20 more schools in session 2023-2024. Proportion of school leavers attaining 1 or more passes at SCQF Level 5 Control 89% 89% 90% *N/A 91% N/A Performance for Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework (SCQF) attainment against both of these indicators remain close to our virtual comparator, and in line with the national averages of 86% at level 5 and 61% at level 6. These measures remain a focus of term visits by officers to schools. Specific guidance has been shared with schools to maximise the number of young people who leave with at least 1 level 5 qualification and if possible 1 level 6 qualification. Schools closely monitor the proportion of young people achieving these measures, and act to intervene to support young people, where necessary. The fall in the proportion of school leavers leaving with at least 1 qualification at level 6 is mirrored nationally as we have moved from teacher professional judgement through the alternative certification model to the “normal” SQA assessment process in a post-covid environment. Proportion of school leavers attaining 1 or more passes at SCQF Level 6 Control 71% 66% 66% *N/A 67% N/A
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31 Key Actions (summary) Indicator Control / Influence Performance Comments 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 Trend Target Target Met/ Not Met Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning Participation of 16–19-year- olds participating in learning, training or work (%) Influence 94% 94% 95% N/A 95% N/A Data not available until end of September annually. Figures are based upon most recent data published. We are implementing a much more rigorous 16 plus framework in partnership with Skills Development Scotland to effect further improvement in this measure. This has been identified by Skills Development Scotland as sector leading practice nationally and involves close and clearly structured partnership working with all stakeholders. The recently established16 plus sub group of the Local Employability Partnership is identifying skills gaps and working to match those with funded opportunities. Reduce the poverty- related attainment gap Percentage gap between SIMD 1 and SIMD 5 for school leavers attaining 1 or more passes at SCQF Level 5 Control 28% 24% 17% *N/A 24% N/A Performance for SCQF Level 5 and 6 attainment remains slightly better than both our virtual comparator and the national average. Nine of our secondary schools are now SCQF ambassadors, committed to finding flexible senior phase options for all learners. This will be a key improvement outcome for our planned senior phase curricular input in session 2023/24. It is worth noting that SIMD in terms of quintile one is relevant only in Perth city schools and Blairgowrie High School. Other measures of deprivation are more relevant in our rural settings. Percentage gap between SIMD 1 and SIMD 5 for school leavers attaining 1 or more passes at SCQF Level 6 Control 41% 35% 29% *N/A 34% N/A
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32 Key Actions (summary) Indicator Control / Influence Performance Comments 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 Trend Target Target Met/ Not Met Ensure that Looked After Children and children and young people with additional support needs achieve comparable outcomes Percentage of children being looked after in community placements rather than residential placements – balance of care Control 96% 94% 94% *N/A 90% N/A There were 248 Looked After Children as at the end of July 2023. Of these, 233 were in community placements, and 15 were in residential or secure care placements. The social and emotional impact of Covid-19 has had a major impact on emotional distress and risk taking behaviour amongst young people which coupled with vacancies in our early intervention services has required increased use of residential placements. This situation is being monitored closely with emphasis on enabling the young people to return home. Percentage of school leavers looked after within the last year with 1 or more qualification at SCQF level 4 Control 62% 87% 94% *N/A 88% N/A 16 out of 17 LAC pupils attained at least one SCQF Level 4 qualification. Care should be taking when comparing these figures across years and cohorts due to the small numbers involved. There has been significant focus on the level 4 outcomes for this cohort of young people and this is reflected in the figures. This improvement puts us above the national average of 78% for this indicator, though still below the overall performance achieved in respect of all school leavers. We recognise that this group is a key priority for improved attainment. We have recently appointed a Promise Implementation Lead to track the educational journeys of all school aged looked after children and young people.
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33 Priority: Protecting and caring for our most vulnerable people The Council’s Adult Social Work and Social Care services are delegated to the Perth and Kinross Integration Joint Board (IJB) and managed by the Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP). There is a statutory requirement for the IJB to produce an Annual Performance Report and this is reported to the Audit and Performance Committee of the IJB. This report highlights progress against the strategic ambitions of the IJB as set out in the IJB’s new Strategic Plan 2024-27. The following content contains information taken from the IJB’s Annual Performance about integrated Health and Social Care services which relate to adults. This has been combined with information from other Council services which are not delegated. Action: Ensure we quickly identify children, young people and adults at risk of harm and abuse and take the necessary actions to keep them safe • A steady increase in qualified Council Officers - only a qualified Council Officer is authorised to undertake certain functions of the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007. Perth and Kinross has increased the number of available Council Officers from 40 full and part-time Council Officers in January 2021 to 61 in January 2024. This demonstrates a commitment to fulfilling statutory responsibilities, our ability to recruit, retain, support, and encourage social workers’ development and our commitment to understanding current and future workforce planning needs. • Police Vulnerable Reports (VPR) continue to dominate the total numbers of all adult protection concerns received, and this is consistent with the data from previous years and with the national picture. This is the first year that our data indicates that there is no significant increase in the numbers of VPRs received in comparison to the previous year. Many factors contribute to this, and a short life working group has been established to explore this in more detail. • Mental Health features in many of the VPRs received, on its own, or linked to other areas of concern including those who experience drug and alcohol addiction. Front line mental health services have (and continue) to be redesigned to reflect emerging themes and trends. This includes the Access Team who facilitate and co-ordinate a fast track triage system into specialist services for all adult protection concerns where mental health and drug and alcohol features. This triage implemented by our Access Team follows the principles and the benefits of early intervention and prevention. • In 2023/24, we increased our use of social media sites to raise awareness of adult protection and how to respond to it. Raising public awareness of the ASP agenda remains a key priority. This data also reflects the value of the dedicated NHS Tayside Adult Protection team who support health colleagues to respond to and report any adult protection concerns that exist in health settings. • Responding early to any adult protection concern received is crucial. The earlier that services can respond to harm the better they are able to intervene effectively. An average of 98.5% of all of these concerns were screened within 24-hours of being received. The Adult Protection Concern VPRs audit 2023/24 found that:
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34 “In recent years, commitment has been given to service redesign, particularly the Access Team who provide that first point of contact for many adult concern referrals. This supports a wider HSCP commitment to the principles of supporting an early intervention and preventative approach to responding to harm and to the principles of Getting It Right for Everyone (GIRFE) and getting the right support, from the right people at the right time. Whilst there is room for improvement, this audit demonstrates that the principles of GIRFE and early intervention and prevention are embedded into adult protection decision making and practice.” • The ASP co-ordinator audits the adult protection concerns which were not screened within 24-hours (34 out of 2,262) and no adult was left at any undue harm as a consequence of this delay. Some of the findings from this self-evaluation and quality assurance have led to improvement work. • The ASP Act makes no reference to Large Scale Investigations (LSIs), but these have become increasingly prevalent across Scotland since the implementation of the Act. In 2022/23, a thematic review of our use of LSIs was completed and highlighted a number of emerging and often recurring themes that led to an LSI being instigated, including staff shortages, medication being wrongly administered, lack of leadership and poor moving and handling practices. It also found that missed opportunities existed to deliver a truly multi-agency approach to LSIs. The findings from this review led to several improvements. The most crucial being that colleagues from the Care Home Operational Group and the Enhanced Care Home team remain central to determining whether an LSI is required to safeguard adults at risk of harm and to use their expertise to consider what support and from whom is required to mitigate any risk and improve standards of care. Understanding these themes has allowed the provision of a more targeted, early intervention and preventative support to the care home sector. • Following our audit and implementing the improvements, our LSIs have reduced in numbers and in length of time between start and it being concluded: • From April 21 – March 22, we opened 11 LSIs with an average length of each LSI being 7.5 months. From April 22 – March 23, we held 7 LSIs with an average length of 5 months From April 23 – March 24, we held 6 LSIs with an average length of 3.5 months. • The number of referrals to the Child Protection Duty Team are increasing at around 15% every year, however all referrals that are received are triaged immediately or within 24 hours. Situations flagged as being a significant child protection concern receive an immediate response to safeguarding the child or young person’s wellbeing. • The Scottish Child Interview Model (SCIM) was implemented across Tayside in May 2024. A soft boarder approach was agreed with our Tayside partners allowing trained staff to work across boundaries. SCIM was developed in response to the recommendations within the Evidence and Procedure Review; Child and Vulnerable Witnesses Project. The two main goals of the new model are: o To remove the need for children to give evidence in Court and to instead have their Joint Investigative Interview used as ‘Evidence in Chief’ o To be trauma informed, reducing the risk of children being re- traumatised during the interview itself and during subsequent processes. • The Multi Agency Screening Hub (MASH) was initially set up in June 2022 to provide early help to families in need. MASH meets 2 weekly and is well represented by statutory and non- statutory partners from social work, the 3rd sector, health and education; approximately 35 different teams are involved in this process. On a 2 weekly basis MASH triage and allocate non urgent referrals which have been submitted to the Child Protection Duty Team (CPDT). This process has allowed for better sharing of information and has promoted relationships
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35 across the partnership and most importantly it has allowed us to provide a range of supports to families at an earlier point in need. • Perth and Kinross Child Protection Committee (CPC) has continued to progress its three main objectives, focusing on continuous improvement, engagement and participation and strategic connections. Positive developments include the establishment of a Multi-Agency Screening Hub (MASH) for early help and the realignment of third sector Service Level Agreements towards early intervention, are beginning to have an impact. These developments include a comparatively low number of children and young people on the Child Protection Register, a smaller increase in referrals to Children and Families Social Work than in preceding years, the number of Inter-agency Referral Discussions remaining steady after a decline of 16% last year, and a small decrease in the number of children and young people who need to be jointly interviewed by police and social work following a disclosure of harm. • The CPC participates in national campaigns to raise awareness and continues to work with NSPCC Scotland to deliver the ‘Speak Out, Stay Safe’ programme, fully committed to a Whole Family Approach working closely with our partners to ensure risks are identified and mitigated as far as possible. • It was decided in 2023 that the Bairns’ Hoose Pathfinder Project will go ahead, the project will provide coordinated child-centred and trauma-informed support from all agencies who support children and young people who have been harmed or who are witnesses to harm. The project will include services such as child protection and justice, healthcare, education, and therapeutic support, as a blueprint for full implementation across Scotland in 2025. The project is a partnership between Perth and Kinross Council, Dundee City Council, Angus Council, Police Scotland, and NHS Tayside. Action: Ensure that people get the right care, accommodation and support where and when they need it The Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) provides and commissions local health and social care services to meet the strategic direction of the Integration Joint Board (IJB). Our aim is to improve health and wellbeing outcomes by providing the right care and support in the right way and at the right time for the adult population of Perth and Kinross. Refer to Integration Joint Board Annual Performance Report 2023/24 which provides detail on the activities undertaken to ensure people have get the right care, accommodation and support where and when they need it. • We have continued to support over 450 people from Ukraine to settle into accommodation and continue to work with the third sector and community groups to provide support to these and around 110 people seeking asylum. This includes expanding provision of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) to support the 98 Ukrainian children who have enrolled in our local schools. • We continue to receive referrals from CoSLA to support unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people (16-18 years) to settle into the local community. Due to the age of the young people on arrival, they have Looked After status and are afforded the same rights and supports as other Looked After and care experienced (18 years+) young people. As a result, it has been necessary to expand our support service for these young people and host families. The Children Alone Seeking Asylum (CASA) team are supporting 49 young people between ages 15 to 23. • We have recruited sufficient Host Families to provide support to our young unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) population being transferred through the national transfer scheme and who are presenting as children in the Adult Asylum Hotels.
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36 • We continue to recruit Foster Carers against a national picture which shows recruitment crisis. We are reducing the number of children placed with independent fostering agencies to 22 with a further 3 due to move shortly. We continue to work hard to reduce the number of children and young people in residential accommodation. Active care planning is in place to support alternative family based care options. • Care at Home Transformation - There are increasing needs for social care services to support older people who need support with the activities which are essential for independent living. Our Care at Home transformation programme aims to ensure that high-quality care is available for people in the right place at the right time, promoting healthy, independent and dignified lives. Having reduced unmet needs by 20% in the reporting year we will continue this work to reduce it further, improve the speed with which care is available, and increase personal contact time. We have progressed this work throughout 2023/24 and this will continue beyond 2024/25 as a long-term improvement programme. One of the key deliverables of the programme is to the redesign of our Care at Home and Reablement approach. This will establish/embed a hybrid model of commissioned, community led and internal services. • Locality Integrated Working - We have made great progress, building on our well established LINCS (Locality Integrated Care Service) model. We have developed new roles such as Clinical Co-ordinators and Assistant Practitioners that work alongside health and social care services to improve efficiencies and develop more co-ordinated support. • In 2023 our partnership was accepted on to the Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) Focus on Frailty programme, which brings together teams from six NHS boards and social care partnerships and the third and independent sector from across Scotland. Running until 2024, this national quality improvement programme aims to explore and improve access to person- centred, co-ordinated health and social care for people aged 65 and over who are living with frailty. • Through our Early Discharge Project (EDP) we supported 213 people with 92 having been re-abled to regain full independence. 56 people were supported to return home when they would otherwise have been delayed due to unavailability of immediate capacity in our HART or care at home services. As such EDP ‘bridged the gap’ to allow them to be discharged home swiftly, supporting our Discharge Without Delay performance. 15 people were identified as requiring ongoing care at home and so were transitioned over to a care at home service provider. 33 people needed to be readmitted to hospital and 3 were admitted to residential care/crisis placements. CASE STUDY The PKC Lets and Ukraine Landlord Offer project was the winner in the ‘Excellence in the Private Rented Sector’ category at the Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland Awards (October 2023). The award recognised the work by the Housing service for their work in resettling people fleeing the war in Ukraine. Action: Prepare for the establishment of the National Care Service and continue to strive for excellent health and social care outcomes for the people of Perth and Kinross We will continue to monitor national developments and consider activity as required,
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37 Action: Work with partners to reduce re- offending and support effective interventions for people in the justice system • Around 3,000 ‘person of concern’ cases have been considered since April 2021. This is a multi-disciplinary approach where a concern for someone’s welfare has been raised with nearly 90% being related to substance use, the other 10% relating largely to mental or physical health. • Occupational Therapists provide support through a range of measures, from liberation planning and rehabilitation (across cognitive, physical and mental health) to environment assessment and specialist equipment provision. While they primarily work with people with mental health issues, we have ensured there is capacity to also support people with substance use and physical health needs. • Hillcrest Futures are commissioned to support residents and the following outlines the activities undertaken within the year: o Scottish Prison Service: SMART Recovery - 33 Groups attended by 412 residents. o Relapse Prevention/Harm Reduction/Mindfulness - 27 Groups attended by 216 residents. o Recovery Café - 47 Groups attended by 614 residents. o Recovery Discussion/Book Group - 16 Groups attended by 113 residents. o Recovery Coaching - 36 Groups attended by 1,253 residents. o Art Group - 32 Groups attended by 362 residents. o Yoga - 5 Groups attended by 75 residents. o Harm Reduction/Overdose - 87 One to One Sessions Mental Health/Wellbeing - 49 One to One Sessions Advice and Information - 126 One to One Sessions Recovery Support - 178 One to One Sessions. During this reporting period they delivered 440 One to One Sessions. 3,495 sessions were delivered by Peer workers to support people in their recovery and help to reduce their substance use. • The Perth and Kinross Community Justice and Safety Partnership launched a new Community Justice Outcome Improvement Plan (CJOIP) in June 2023 and provides the Partnership with a direction of travel in line with The Vision for Justice 2022 and National Strategy for Community Justice. • Bail supervision provides people access to a bespoke person- centred program, tailored to their individuals needs as a means of improving their life chances. In 2023/24, 40 commenced Bail supervision as an alternative to remand. CASE STUDY Voluntary Throughcare Co-ordination & Sustainable Tenancy Tests of Change were established to enhance the support offer available to people being released from a short- term prison sentence. Support included access to services best able to meet needs on release and exploring opportunities to move directly from prison to a sustainable tenancy. Key Areas for Improvement • Take a partnership approach to the assessment of risk of significant harm to a child and minimising and reducing risk through early support and assessment. • Enhance our housing support offer by implementing an Intensive Housing Support Service for people with complex needs. • Where children cannot remain living at home, every effort is made to keep them within their kin network. • Maintain significant relationships for care experienced children to deliver on the principles of The Promise. Links to other Performance Information ➢ HSCP Annual Performance Report 2023/24
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38 Key Performance Indicators related to this priority: Trends will be indicative of performance and should be considered in the context of the current operating environment and level of influence. Key Actions (summary) Indicator Control / Influence Performance Comments 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 Trend Target Met/Not Met Target Ensure we quickly identify children, young people and adults at risk of harm and abuse and take the necessary actions to keep them safe. (Children and young people) Percentage of children on child protection register over 12 months Control 21% 8% 4% 6% N/A (not appropriate to set targets) N/A Most child protection registrations last less than a year and the number of children and young people who remain on the child protection register for 12 months or more has remained low. This was following a peak (28%) in 2020/21 due to the impact of Covid-19. Many of these children and young people have multiple and/or complex needs which require coordinated support. We have implemented the National Child Protection Guidance 2021 (revised 2023) with minimum registrations being 6 months. Rate of children on the child protection register per 10,000 children Control 27 21 20 N/A N/A (not appropriate to set targets) N/A Data not available until end of September 2024. Calculated using 2022 MYE Population (0-15) figures until updated figures are published. In line with national approach. Child Protection registrations in Perth and Kinross remain in line with the national average rate (from 2022) of 20 per 10,000 population. This ongoing reduction is a consequence of a significant investment made to secure consistent chairing of case conferences and increasing use of Child and Young Person’s Plans at a much earlier stage; reducing the need to go to case conference and registration by working collaboratively with families.
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39 Key Actions (summary) Indicator Control / Influence Performance Comments 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 Trend Target Met/Not Met Target Ensure we quickly identify children, young people and adults at risk of harm and abuse and take the necessary actions to keep them safe. (Adults) Number of Vulnerable Person Reports received Influence 1,515 1,755 2,254 2,262 N/A (not appropriate to set targets) N/A The Adult Support and Protection Committee (APC) takes the view that where concerns exist, it is better to share these so that services can intervene and safeguard where required. Police Vulnerable Person Reports (VPR) continue to dominate the total numbers of all adult protection concerns received, and this is consistent with the data from previous years and with the national picture. This is the first year that our data indicates that there is no significant increase in the numbers of VPRs received in comparison to the previous year. Many factors contribute to this and a short life working group has been established to explore this in more detail. Mental Health features in many of the VPRs received, on its own, or linked to other areas of concern including those who experience drug and alcohol addiction. Front line mental health services have (and continue) to be redesigned to reflect emerging themes and trends. This includes the Access Team who facilitate and co- ordinate a fast track triage system into specialist services for all adult protection concerns where mental health and drug and alcohol features. This triage implemented by our Access Team follows the principles and the benefits of early intervention and prevention.
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40 Key Actions (summary) Indicator Control / Influence Performance Comments 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 Trend Target Met/Not Met Target Ensure we quickly identify children, young people and adults at risk of harm and abuse and take the necessary actions to keep them safe. (Adults) In 2023/24, we increased our use of social media sites to raise awareness of adult protection and how to respond to it. Raising public awareness of the Adult Support and Protection (ASP) agenda remains a key priority. This data also reflects the value of the dedicated NHS Tayside Adult Protection team who support health colleagues to respond to and report any adult protection concerns that exist in health settings. Source: IJB APR 2023/24. Health and social work data is subject to review and validation and figures can change over time. This has led to some figures being amended from those previously reported in our Corporate Plan. Percentage of Adult Support and Protection (ASP) Initial Referral Discussions held within timescale Control N/A 67% 69% 69% 90% Initial Referral Discussions (IRDs) were introduced into adult protection practices in December 2020 to facilitate a multi-agency way to identify adults at risk of harm and coordinate how any risk could be managed. The joint ASP inspection in 2022 considered IRDs in Perth and Kinross as an example of sound practice. 69 IRDs were held between 2023/24. 75% of IRDs were held within a three working day period between deciding to hold and an IRD and an IRD being held. However, legitimate reasons exist why an IRD may not be held within 3 days. Our 2023/24 multi-agency audit into IRDs found that no adult was left at any undue risk of harm because of an IRD that was delayed. For this reason we are proposing this PI is deleted.
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41 Key Actions (summary) Indicator Control / Influence Performance Comments 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 Trend Target Met/Not Met Target Ensure that people get the right care and support where and when they need it. Number of households presenting as homeless Influence 670 610 737 849 N/A (not appropriate to set targets) N/A We experienced a further 15% increase in homelessness presentations in 2023/24. The sustained higher demand is linked to cost of living pressures and disfunction in the housing system. These pressures and challenges resulted in the Scottish Government declaring a national Housing Emergency in May 2024. Percentage of affordable homes built to wheelchair and adaptable standard (units) Control 8% 4.3% 8.9% 10% 10% of all social housing built 11 new build affordable homes have been constructed to wheelchair and adaptable standard (9 RSL & 2 PKC) which aligns with our Local Housing Strategy. This indicator reflects the minimum target of 10% of all affordable homes, built by us and RSLs, being to wheelchair and adaptable standard. Percentage of adults receiving any care or support who rate it as excellent or good Influence 89% 77% 73% 70% 80% For 2023/24, the percentage of people receiving any care or support who rated it as excellent or good was 70.1% (201 responses), a reduction of 9.0% from when previously reported in 2021/22 (HACE NI 5). Throughout 2023/24 we continued to gather feedback via our internal Service User Patient Experience (SUPE) Survey. This replicates to a large extent the questions which are asked within the HACE questionnaire and so provides good local data. Although the number of people surveyed is significantly smaller than that for HACE we know that respondents have accessed our services, and we value their feedback. 97% of people (58 responses) indicated that they rated their care or support as excellent or good. Percentage of adults supported at home who agree that their services and support had an impact in improving or maintaining their quality of life. Influence N/A 76% N/A 76% 80%
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42 Priority: Supporting and promoting physical and mental wellbeing The Council’s Adult Social Work and Social Care services are delegated to the Perth and Kinross Integration Joint Board (IJB) and managed by the Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP). There is a statutory requirement for the IJB to produce an Annual Performance Report and this is reported to the Audit and Performance Committee of the IJB. This report highlights progress against the strategic ambitions of the IJB as set out in the IJB’s new Strategic Plan 2024-27. The following content contains information taken from the IJB’s Annual Performance about integrated Health and Social Care services which relate to adults. This has been combined with information from other Council services which are not delegated. Action: Work with partners to provide localised health and social care provision in areas of greatest need and in those most geographically distant from services • Working with third sector partners, we promoted and developed peer to peer support networks and there are now 15 groups. We worked with partners to set up carer cafés in Crieff, Aberfeldy and Blairgowrie as well as supporting PKAVS. Action: Improve health and wellbeing in Perth and Kinross by increasing overall participation in sport and physical activity and promoting the wellbeing benefits of time spent in our natural surroundings • Change Mental Health are commissioned to help people affected by serious mental illness, including family members and carers. Since January 2023, in partnership with All Strong, they have supported carers to participate in programmes for fitness and wellbeing. The team continues to support and run a number of group activities (Book Club, Carers’ Café, Gardening Group, Creative Writing) as well supporting carers more holistically. This has included supporting them to access provision from partners such as All Strong, Gym, secure Live Active compass cards, and to apply for various types of funding (including Time4Me Fund). Information and advice was provided, with 215 subscribers to the monthly newsletter and 62 people received support. CASE STUDY To promote Active Travel, Cycling and Road Safety in Perth and Kinross. PKC Roads, Safer Communities and Sustrans worked together to develop a ‘virtual’ unit working with communities and across disciplines, to co-ordinate activities such cycle hub at Balhousie Primary School and Women’s Cycle Confidence classes.
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43 • The Physical and Sports Strategy focussed on increasing participation in physical and sport to support positive mental health and physical wellbeing. Activities during 2023/24 included: o Young Leaders who completed Aspiring Coaches (62 attended in June 2023), 26 completed Level 1 and 34 are actively volunteering. o Active Schools organised “Gie it Laldy” event in October 2023, the event was targeted at increasing confidence in sport and physical activity in girls from disadvantaged backgrounds. o Kit banks established in all Primary schools. Further kit banks to be introduced in areas of highest need using SIMD data. o LAL Sports Development have in place a Coach & Volunteer Education Calendar for 23-24 to upskill volunteers from local clubs and community organisations. o The Bikeability programme was delivered in 67 of our primary schools. In term 1 instruction was delivered to 592 pupils in 19 schools. o New volunteer website (Be the Change) launched by PKAVS and PKC to help community groups, including sports clubs promote opportunities and recruit volunteers. • In 2023/24 over £1.1m was spent on projects to improve the infrastructure for walking and cycling in Perth and Kinross. The projects provided improvements and new infrastructure including shared use footpaths, cycling parking provisions and shared use links to assist and encourage pedestrians and cyclists in local communities to use more active forms of travel. • In the latest Sustrans Walking and Cycling Index (March 24), with reference to Perth it noted that every day walking, cycling and wheeling takes up to 13,000 cars off the road, making an annual saving of 2,100 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in the city. The number of journeys cycled has grown since 2021. As well as positive detail within the Index, it also highlighted areas for improvement that we are looking to address such as increasing numbers of School Exclusion Zones. Perth Walking and Cycling Index - Sustrans.org.uk • A new outdoor Early Learning Childcare (ELC) project opened its gates in Perth to local nursery children. The Westbank Outdoor project supports children from nursery settings to access nature without barriers and allow for outdoor play experiences that are known to have a direct and positive impact on children’s mental and physical health. • We improved 10 parks and play areas in Auchterarder, Blair Atholl, Perth, Crieff, Dunning, Milnathort and Stanley to encourage healthy outdoor physical activity for all abilities. In 2023/24, £291k of Scottish Funding was utilised supplemented by the Council’s own Community Greenspace Programme and funding raised through community groups. CASE STUDY The Scottish Government Children’s Play Park Renewal Initiative allocated funding of £1.741m to the Council over a 5 year period 2021/22 – 2025/26. The funding is used to target play areas in most need of renewal. A recent example is the full upgrade of the ‘Premier’ play area at Auchterarder Primrose Park costing over £300k with the community raising £150k.
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44 Action: Improve health and wellbeing in Perth and Kinross by ensuring that people have access to wellbeing support when they need it • Development of the Health Hub within Murray Royal Hospital. This is based in the main foyer area and funding has been secured to develop this area into a health hub, offering physical health and wellbeing advice to patients, carers, staff and visitors. • Social Prescribers continue to signpost people to and support them into open access and community-based activities. The service complements healthcare and can replace or avoid the need for medical interventions. People can access a social prescriber via their GP Practice, local community organisations or self-refer. Across all localities social prescribers worked with 658 individuals. • The Primary Care Mental Health and Wellbeing Nursing Service - Primary Care Mental Health and Wellbeing Nurses provide mental health and wellbeing triage assessments to individuals aged 16 years and above experiencing a range of mental health and wellbeing issues such as low mood, stress or distress, non- fatal self-harm, and mild to moderate anxiety and depression. Key Areas of Improvement • Improve health and wellbeing in Perth and Kinross by increasing overall participation in sport and physical activity and promoting the wellbeing benefits of time spent in our natural surroundings • Improve health and wellbeing in Perth and Kinross by ensuring that people have access to wellbeing support when they need it Links to other Performance Information ➢ HSCP Annual Performance Report 23-24 2023/24 ➢ Community Investment and Local Action Partnership Funds 2023-24 ➢ Community Investment Fund 2023/24 CASE STUDY MacRosty Park in Crieff was granted a dementia-friendly status from Paths for All. The park is only the second in Scotland to have the status. The award comes after a series of improvements were made to the park to make it more inclusive for people living with dementia.
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45 Key Performance Indicators related to this priority. Trends will be indicative of performance and should be considered in the context of the current operating environment and level of influence. Key Actions (summary) Indicator Control / Influence Performance Comments 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 Trend Target Target: Met/Not Met Improve health and wellbeing in Perth and Kinross by increasing overall participation in sport and physical activity and promoting the wellbeing benefits of time spent in our natural surroundings Number and percentage of the total school roll (primary and secondary) participating in Active Schools/ School Sports Influence Not collected due to Covid 5,190 29% 7,200 39% 7,776 42% 7,500 (33%) Figures for this indicator are calculated across three terms and may include some individual pupils being counted more than once if they participated during more than one term. Since school activity programmes have returned more fully in 2022/23 the number of participating pupils has begun to recover. During 2023/24 there have been improvements for specific targeted groups with increased rates of participation for secondary girls, young carers and care experienced children and young people. Number of attendances at pools, indoor and outdoor sports and leisure facilities and programmes (thousands) Influence 63K 564K 1.002M 1.116M 930K There was a decrease in pool and indoor sports attendances due to flooding and subsequent closure of Bells Sports Centre in October 2023 and temporary closures for Perth Leisure Pool. However, this was offset but an increase in outdoor activity. This was mainly due to the introduction of free grass pitch use for the residents of Perth & Kinross.
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46 Key Actions (summary) Indicator Control / Influence Performance Comments 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 Trend Target Target: Met/Not Met Percentage of residents satisfied with local leisure facilities Influence 74% (2018 – 2021) 74% (2019- 2022) 73% (2020- 2023) N/A 75% N/A Data not available until publication of LGBF. Trends are based upon most recent data published. Latest figures of 73% is above the national average of 71%. Percentage of adults satisfied with parks and open spaces Control 89% (2018- 2021) 90% (2019- 2022) 91% (2020- 2023) N/A N/A N/A Data not available until publication of LGBF. Trends are based upon most recent data published. Latest figures of 91% is above the national average of 87%. Improve health and wellbeing in Perth and Kinross by ensuring that people have access to wellbeing support when they need it Mental Health - Reduction in waiting times for people to access Mental Health Services (weeks) Influence N/A New Indicator 33 36 39 N/A (baseline to be establish ed) N/A Demand for all mental health services is high and teams are collectively working with around 5,000 people at any time. Waiting lists are larger and longer than we would like, particularly for Consultant Psychiatry assessment/ADHD assessment and Mental Health OT intervention within the Adult Community Mental Health Teams. There has however been a 27% improvement in the number of people waiting and all other initial mental health assessments are currently being undertaken within 10 working days.
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47 Key Actions (summary) Indicator Control / Influence Performance Comments 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 Trend Target Target: Met/Not Met Improve health and wellbeing in Perth and Kinross by ensuring that people have access to wellbeing support when they need it The Primary Care Mental Health Transformation Programme was launched in March 2024 to support a sustainable longer-term approach to population mental health. Mental health issues are a common feature in General Practice and it is estimated that one third of GP consultations have a mental health component (Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2023). Our Primary Care Mental Health and Wellbeing Nurses provide an early intervention and prevention service for a range of mental health issues. Source: IJB APR 2023/24. Percentage increase in people who feel that their health and social care support was easily accessible and well communicated Influence 91% 80% 89% 57% 80% For 2023/24, the percentage of people supported at home who agree that their health and care services seemed to be well co-ordinated was 57.3% (1,912 responses), a reduction of 7.8% from when previously reported in 2021/22 (HACE NI 4). Throughout 2023/24 we continued to gather feedback via our internal Service User Patient Experience (SUPE) Survey. This replicates to a large extent the questions which are asked within the HACE questionnaire and so provides good local data. Although the number of people surveyed is significantly smaller
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48 Key Actions (summary) Indicator Control / Influence Performance Comments 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 Trend Target Target: Met/Not Met Improve health and wellbeing in Perth and Kinross by ensuring that people have access to wellbeing support when they need it than that for HACE we know that respondents have accessed our services, and we value their feedback. 92% (59 responses) indicated that their health and support was well communicated, and 83% (58 responses) felt their health or support was easily accessible. Feedback from Care Opinion shows that for 2023/24 of 119 people who shared stories on the platform, an overall rating of 4.73 out of 5 was achieved for Clear Information. For Information and Decision Making Shared Appropriately, 119 people gave an overall rating of 4.75 out of 5. Service User and Experience Reporting (SUPE) Survey results demonstrate that people broadly feel that their health and social care support was easily accessible and well communicated. While the sample size for this measure remains smaller than we would like, work continues to expand the reach of the SUPE Survey to additional teams and services throughout the Health and Social Care Partnership.
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49 Priority: Working in partnership with communities We recognise that there is no one-size fits all solution to working with communities to address local needs. In 2023/24 we have tested and operated different approaches. Some of the progress made is 2023/24 is outlined below. Action: Establish locality multidisciplinary teams working with our community planning partners and residents to identify and address local solutions to local needs • Pilot locality working projects are well underway in Highland Perthshire, Letham and Coupar Angus, with further rollout to Perth City and Crieff planned. A full rollout plan has been drafted to wider rollout across Perth and Kinross. • In Highland Perthshire the Multi-disciplinary team has been developed and a steering group formed to deliver on agreed actions, community engagement is taking place all supported by the Improvement Service. • The new Letham Hub is central to the work in Letham where a multi-disciplinary operating model is being developed between council services and partners. The work incorporates learning and feedback from the Love Letham project and integrates this with existing community groups and plans to provide a joined-up partnership approach to delivering better outcomes in Letham. • In Coupar Angus work continues to address the issues raised in the community action plan commissioned by the Community Planning Partnership. • We formed a Public Social Partnership with Glenfarg Community Transport Group (GCTG). As from 03 April 2023 GCTG have been delivering a local bus service and school transport contract with funding and support from PKC. • We secured £30k of external funding to undertake an options appraisal for a Local Authority and Community bus depot in Aberfeldy. • We provided Kirkmichael Community Transport Group with a Council pool car and Council fuel card in order that volunteers had a vehicle to deliver community led public transport solutions. • We committed to invest £150k of Community Bus Funding to purchase 6-8 seat vehicles and lend these to Muthill Community Transport Group, Tay Valley Connections, Kirkmichael Community Transport Group and Stagecoach East Scotland to deliver public transport solutions in our deep rural areas. Action: Increase the supply and availability of rural housing • The recently adopted Local Housing Strategy 2022-27 (March 2023) target is to deliver 1050 affordable homes with an Urban (53%) / Rural (47%) split to ensure representative distribution. In financial year 2023/24, there was 173 new affordable homes completed by PKC and our RSL partnerships with an urban/rural split of 62 new urban affordable homes (36%) and 111 new rural affordable homes (64). CASE STUDY The LethamHub provides opportunities for partner agencies to deliver a range of services in the locality and engage with local people who attend the many community based activities.
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50 Action: Develop and expand our approach to working with communities to identify local actions and priorities and deliver on these together • 104 groups received Community Investment Funding to deliver projects which local priorities in their communities; this was an increase of 24 compared to the previous year. The increase was due to a greater awareness of the fund amongst community groups and increased engagement with groups interested in applying. • 258 groups were supported to improve their capacity to work within their local communities to deliver a variety of projects and interventions. For example, the CLD Team supported small community groups within Strathearn and Strathallan to expand their offer to a wider area and create new provision for community members to access, including the Safeart Group and the Neurodiversity group which both originally started in Crieff and now offer activities in Auchterarder. • Staff at Strathmore Hub were supported to build skills and knowledge in applying for funding (such as CIF and Warm Welcome Fund) for pilot projects around cost of living. Support provided for community groups to manage public assets such as Alyth Community Wing so that availability and usage by communities was increased. • We offered Digital Skills courses at Pitlochry Library to support people in gaining confidence using devices, reduce isolation and feel part of their community. Courses offered people the opportunity to gain digital skills to enable them to keep in touch with family, online shopping, and using community apps keep up to date with what is happening in their local area. A total of 104 hours of learning was provided and 58 people participated. • 118 volunteer groups were supported generating around 40,000 hours of work to compliment the work the Council undertakes in managing greenspace assets. It has greatly added value in ensuring the places we live in and visit are fit for purpose and attractive, as well as contributing to the physical and mental wellbeing of those involved and creating a community sense of pride. Support included Paths Groups, Friends of Cemeteries Groups, Bloom Groups, Community Allotment Associations, Health and Wellbeing Groups. Most groups were provided with insurance, relevant training and materials and many were provided with financial assistance including awards from the Council’s Community Environmental Challenge Fund (CECF), often ‘levering in’ significant amounts of additional funding. • In June 2023 the new community co-designed and funded £300k all abilities play area in Primrose Park Auchterarder was opened and in November 2023, a Food Growing Officer was appointed to help local groups find and develop land for community food growing, as part of delivering the Council’s Food Growing Strategy. • Throughout 2023/24, support was provided to help the Blairgowrie and Rattray Community Football Club develop their new changing facilities at Davie Park to complement their Phase 1 3G all-weather pitch completed in 2022 as part their ambitious £1.2m plan. • We completed a number of flood studies in local communities (including Craigie Burn, South Kinross, Dunkeld and Perth) to understand the risk of flooding, engage the community to disseminate the study findings, and raise awareness of other actions such as community flood resilience. In February 2024, Full Council Committee approved £1M for Craigie Burn and Dunkeld Flood Schemes. • In September 2023, we introduced a dedicated Safer Communities Warden for the area of Perth City North through partnership working. The funding drawn from monies approved during the budget-setting process for 2023/24 will provide a visible, consistent presence in the area, the new role will be
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51 focused on helping to tackle anti-social behaviour, engagement with the community, liaison with schools, and close joint working with other council teams and Police Scotland colleagues. Action: Deliver our internal cultural change programme ensuring all staff contribute to our commitment to engage with and be accessible and responsive to our residents and communities • Our internal cultural change programme continued to be a focus during 2023/24 with the Employee Experience (EE) being delivered which focused on the values and behaviours framework, our ‘eyes and ears’ of PKC (or No Wrong Door) and how we work more effectively with partners and communities. • By the end of April 2023 85% of the organisation had attended a session either virtually or in person or had a session within their areas of work using the EE materials to ensure consistency. • In 2023 a staff recognition programme was introduced, and leaders were encouraged to nominate staff who demonstrated the values and behaviours, went above and beyond what was expected or made a significant impact to our communities. The informal events were held by the Chief Executive to personally thank staff for going the extra mile. • The Leadership for All Programme, launched April 2023, sets out a programme of development opportunities, aligned to our corporate plan, all designed to build confidence, skills and knowledge whilst challenging traditional ways of thinking and working to reform. Over 60 sessions were delivered with more than 600 individual staff attending. • Early 2024 we procured Adapt2Digital to work with PKC to design and deliver a 12-month Senior Leadership Development Programme for the new Executive and Strategic Leadership Teams which is focused on establishing a well-connected, supportive and high performing team. • Continued to offer bespoke cultural change programmes for teams to work more effectively with communities and customers and address and remove barriers to working as effectively as possible. • In January 2024 we launched the new Performance and Development Discussion Framework which is aligned to the Leadership Competencies and Values and Behaviours Framework to provide clarity over what’s expected from staff and to provide support and development to gain knowledge and skills to drive performance and support career progression. • Our work with the Insights Team Discovery Model gathered pace during 2023 and PKC were approached by Insights to take part in research as they evolved a new Insights model. 208 staff took the opportunity to be part of the study which had a significant impact on their individual role and team with improved communication, decision-making and more effective and efficient ways of working. CASE STUDY The Friends of Cemetries Initiative was established in 2022 to address community concerns about the upkeep of cemeteries. Since 2022, there are now over 20 active supported groups throughout Perth and Kinross and an estimated 4,000 volunteer hours spent improving and transforming local cemeteries.
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52 Key Areas of Improvement • Deliver a clear, consistent, and joined up approach to supporting communities and households with the help and support they need to mitigate and move beyond poverty. • Provide more affordable homes to support liveable and sustainable communities. • Support community groups to manage local assets. • Increased engagement and applications from communities to the Community Investment Fund grants programme. • An empowered and skilled workforce who are confident in engaging with resident and communities and demonstrate the organisational values and expected behaviours at all times Links to other Performance Information ➢ Perth & Kinross Council Equalities Mainstreaming Report 2023-25
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53 Key Performance Indicators related to this priority. Trends will be indicative of performance and should be considered in the context of the current operating environment and level of influence. Key Actions (summary) Indicator Control / Influence Performance Comments 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 Trend Target Target: Met/ Not Met Increase the supply and availability of rural housing Total number of houses built in rural areas of Perth and Kinross Influence 26 55 63 111 60 This includes part completion of 22 new Council homes in Methven during 2023/24 as a result of an approximately £4.4m investment from ourselves and the Scottish Government. Number of Community Development Trusts supported to increase the availability of rural housing Control N/A New Indicator, baseline to be established and targets set thereafter 3 4 4 PKC is actively enabling and supporting 4 community development trusts and engaging with two Community Council’s with a view to exploring community-led affordable housing initiatives further. Develop and expand our approach to working with communities Number of community groups with local resilience plans Influence 35 26 28 53 30 The number of community groups with local resilience plans has increased for 2023/24. Number of community groups supported to increase their capacity Control 270 236 343 258 270 Although the figures show a decline in the previous year, this is due to smarter reporting mechanisms which ensure that staff are not double counting the number of groups receiving capacity building support across multiple areas. This is particularly applicable where organisations and groups cover multiple localities. This means that these figures are more accurate.
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54 Key Actions (summary) Indicator Control / Influence Performance Comments 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 Trend Target Target: Met/ Not Met Number of community groups supported in the asset transfer process Influence 5 7 26 31 25 In 2023/24, we supported 31 community groups who enquired about Community Asset Transfer (CAT), providing relevant known information regarding assets and a single point of contact. This approach has allowed for relationship building and facilitated discussions as to whether a CAT is right for the group at this time. 21 groups are currently still considering the CAT process. Groups will all move at different speeds, however, some of these groups are expected to progress to full Stage 2 requests within the next year Number of groups receiving community investment funding Control N/A 141 85 104 100 CIF application numbers will vary year on year depending on the projects that ward panels chose to support. In 2023/24 there were 110 applications and £402,878.39 was distributed between 104 groups. Number of participation requests Influence 1 0 0 0 N/A (not appropria te to set targets) N/A In 2023/24, we received no Participation Requests. This situation is not unique to Perth and Kinross, as other local authorities also report low numbers. In recognition of this, Part 3 of the Community Empowerment Act 2015 is being reviewed first as part of a broader Community Empowerment Act review by the Scottish Government. The Scottish Community Development Centre has formed a working group to lead this review with relevant authorities, and we are represented in this working group.
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55 Key contact For further information on any area of this report please contact the Corporate Performance Team corporateperformance@pkc.gov.uk. Disclaimer: All hyperlinks correct at time of publication