Actions Monitoring Report - Dargavel Primary School 2
Renfrewshire Council · 19 August 2024
Back to Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board — 19 August 2024 and its agenda
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To: Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board On: 19 August 2024 Report by: Chief Executive Heading: Actions Monitoring Report - Dargavel Primary School 1. Summary 1.1 Following the findings of an independent review into the circumstances of the errors in planning and delivery of primary school provision in the Dargavel area, a SMART action plan was developed detailing the Council’s response with a commitment that updates on this plan would be provided to Audit Risk & Scrutiny Board meetings going forward. 1.2 At a meeting on 11th January 2024, the Accounts Commission was presented with a statutory S.102 report, as circulated to Councillors on 5th January 2024, by the Controller of Audit on School Accommodation for Dargavel. In the report, the Commission has set out its findings, alongside several issues on which it requires further investigation. In response, the Council have developed an action plan based on the recommendations. A follow-up report (attached at Appendix 3) from the Controller of Audit was published on 31 July and subsequently discussed at a meeting of the Accounts Commission on 8 August 2024. At the time of drafting this report, there has been no formal indication from the Accounts Commission as to any further action or investigation being required. 1.3 On 29th February 2024, elected members at Council considered a report on the outcome of the review of corporate governance arrangements by the Cross Party Working Group and agreed a number of actions set out in that report. Council further agreed that those actions would be incorporated into the independent review response monitoring arrangements reported to this Board.
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1.4 Appendix 1 provides an update on open actions related to the Bowles independent review report, the Accounts Commission S.102 report, and the actions related to the report of the Cross Party Working Group. Appendix 2 is a summary of all completed actions from each of these three reviews. 2. Recommendations 2.1 Note and consider the update provided in Appendix 1 in relation to the Council’s progress with live actions. 2.2 Note the completed actions provided in Appendix 2, and the follow-on report from the Controller of Audit in Appendix 3. Implications of the Report 1. Financial – whilst there will be significant capital and revenue implications for the Council in resolving the Dargavel issue, there are no financial implications for the Council as a result of this update report. 2. HR & Organisational Development – the report outlines a leadership development programme with a focus on key issues raised in the independent review around governance, risk management, corporate working and culture. 3. Community/Council Planning – the report outlines ongoing action being taken to develop an engagement and ongoing communication process with affected communities. 4. Legal – none 5. Property/Assets – none 6. Information Technology – none 7. Equality & Human Rights - The Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report as it is for noting only. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the
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recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health & Safety – none 9. Procurement – none 10. Risk – the report outlines the action being taken in relation to risk management. 11. Privacy Impact – none 12. Climate Risk – none 13. Children’s Rights – none 14. COSLA Policy Position - none Author: Alan Russell, Chief Executive
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APPENDIX 1 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Open Items) – August 2024 Action Target Completion Responsible Officer Update Bowles Report Recommendation 1 Build a more robust model of primary school need for Dargavel ‐ the Council should continue to refine its pupil forecast model for Dargavel. Response Objectives Deliver robust projection modelling for Dargavel and PMHS which: ‐ considers live information arising from NHS, pupil & ELC registrations, the pace of development to date, certainty over development size and likely pace of future build out rate, utilises external data analytics and projection expertise to augment and enhance the Council’s in‐house forecasting approach to ensure modelling is robust, underpinned by external challenge and specialist input reflecting the complexity and significant portion of Dargavel that has yet to be developed out over a circa 10 year period, provides modelling output which considers potential future upper scenarios reflecting the high yield factors reflected in the 2023/24 P1 intake to inform immediate decisions on scale of capacity to be delivered as well as planning for potential additional interventions at a future time, delivers modelling output which provides a long‐term view beyond the anticipated completion timeline for Dargavel to ensure the long term impact of Dargavel is modelled and understood, provides modelling output over the long term which indicates both the scale, timing and shape of an anticipated peak in demand that will accompany a development of this scale and nature. This will provide visibility of the anticipated short‐lived peak in demand and long term settled demand to ensure this is appropriately reflected in estate/capacity decisions and in particular to mitigate against delivery of excessive long term / permanent increase in capacity that would result in excess unused surplus capacity over the long term. Provides modelling that can be tested and revised as necessary as new key data becomes available such as P1 and S1 registrations, actual scale and pace of the development and any new developments, which will continue to inform decisions on any future estate interventions if required.
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APPENDIX 1 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Open Items) – August 2024 Action Target Completion Responsible Officer Update Update Edge Analytics modelling for newly released national Census data and expand across the whole school estate and establish modelling dashboard to support ease of updating and rapid re‐assessment of revised projection that will be utilised on an ongoing basis over future years, both for Dargavel / PMHS but also as part of the strategic Learning Estate programme. January 2023 Director of Children’s Services The Edge Analytics modelling for newly released national census data was completed in 2023. A modelling dashboard was also designed last year with further discussions to take place on how this is used to inform the wider learning estate. Edge have been further commissioned to expand the model to include the whole estate. A schedule has been developed which outlines re‐ assessment and monitoring timescales. Update August 2024 – Edge Analytics currently modelling the entire learning estate and projections due in early September 2024. Bowles Report Recommendation 2 Use of Bishopton Primary ‐ in its future plans the Council should reconsider how surplus capacity at Bishopton can be used effectively. Response Objectives Consider and assess how existing capacity within Bishopton Primary School may be best utilised to support the Dargavel catchment over the immediate term and potentially over the longer term, taking into consideration the uncertainty and risk over the long‐term demand levels that will ultimately emerge for primary education from Dargavel as well as the expectation of a temporary peak period of demand. Provide a report to Education and Children’s Services Board setting out a clear overview as to how Bishopton PS capacity will be utilised to support temporarily over the short term period and how it may be considered amongst other options for use to support Dargavel in the longer term (noting that any such longer term use will be subject to detailed consideration and decision at an appropriate point in future years). ALL ACTIONS COMPLETE FOR RECOMMENDATION 2 Bowles Report Recommendation 3 As the Council progresses its plans to issue supplementary guidance on developer contributions for education it should seek to learn from other Councils in Scotland.
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APPENDIX 1 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Open Items) – August 2024 Action Target Completion Responsible Officer Update A development the size of Dargavel is exceptional and would need its own modelling techniques. However, for smaller developments the Council should create an evidence base to calculate specific yield factors derived from recent developments in Renfrewshire. Such robust data will ease future negotiations. ALL ACTIONS COMPLETE FOR RECOMMENDATION 3 Bowles Report Recommendation 4 Council needs to work co‐operatively with BAE. Unless the Council and BAE can work together to resolve the current problems, BAE may face accusations, whether founded or not and regardless of Council incompetence, that it has increased its profits at the expense of Council taxpayers. Response Objectives Secure legal ownership of suitable land to facilitate delivery of a second school within Dargavel Village as well as additional land next to existing school site to provide increased flexibility to meet potential future extension of the school and or establishment of greater outdoor space. Secure legal commitment from BAE to provide land remediation and associated infrastructure requirements as part of legal agreement at nil cost to the Council. Secure as part of the legal agreement certainty on consented planning numbers and any associated adjustments to s.75 agreement to reflect revised agreement. ALL ACTIONS COMPLETE FOR RECOMMENDATION 4 Bowles Report Recommendation 5 Corporate working and organisational culture ‐ although I understand that the Council has sought to improve and strengthen corporate working in recent years, the evidence would suggest there is a long way to go; simply establishing corporate working groups is insufficient if staff are in a mindset of ‘not my problem’.
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APPENDIX 1 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Open Items) – August 2024 Action Target Completion Responsible Officer Update The failure of management oversight, if symptomatic of the Council as a whole, would be deeply disturbing. The Council needs to consider a significant change programme, not just on the of issue of corporate working and personal responsibility, but also its organisational culture and values. It needs plans to build a stronger organisation where constructive challenge is welcomed and there is a clarity of what is expected of all of those in a leadership role. Response Objectives Provide assurance that established programme governance framework and operations of governance for other major capital investment programmes and specifically that the Bowles findings on the historic failings on the handling of Dargavel by officers are not representative of the Council’s current culture and approach to the management and delivery of major programmes. The Council is committed to living its values as a learning and collaborative organisation and post COVID was already in the process of re‐establishing an Leadership Development programme for senior leadership teams and managers across the Council in recognition that this required to be reinvigorated post COVID and that there has been significant turnover in management and senior positions over the past three years and this would support growing and maturing the current culture and collaborative connections across the organisation. In response to the Bowles recommendations, the objective is to ensure the new Leadership Development programme is appropriately cognisant and reflective of the key learning points from the Bowles report and takes the opportunity to ensure its coverage seeks to re‐enforce the development of skills related to governance, risk management, commercial risk, corporate working and culture etc and effectively utilises failures referenced in the Bowles report as key examples for learning throughout the programme. Collective reflection and learning of such significant failures – albeit historical – is recognised as an important element of building an effective future culture and ways of working across the organisation. ALL ACTIONS COMPLETE FOR RECOMMENDATION 5 Bowles Report Recommendation 6 Risk management
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APPENDIX 1 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Open Items) – August 2024 Action Target Completion Responsible Officer Update From documents I have seen the Council was unaware of the scale of risk it was taking in the calculation of pupil numbers. The identified risk in Council documents related to providing the school on time, not that the size of the school may prove to be inadequate. The failure to identify that risk has had two consequences; first the Council has been slow to react to the increase in pupil numbers and second the Council did not negotiate with BAE with that risk in mind. The Council needs to review how it both identifies risk and manages it. Response Objectives Progress actions to provide reassurance in relation to the Council’s current risk management approach, in particular how this is approached, deployed and managed as part of major projects as well as considering and assessing the seniority / appropriateness of officer involvement and related skills across officers involved in the process. ALL ACTIONS COMPLETE FOR RECOMMENDATION 6 Bowles Report Recommendation 7 Whilst protecting the integrity of the planning process, the Council needs to ensure the appropriate involvement of members in such developments. Additional Council Motion Council agrees that in light of the Independent External Review of Dargavel that there is a requirement to convene a cross party body to discuss and review existing governance arrangements of Renfrewshire Council. Response Objectives Assess the extent to which major investment projects have provided sufficient engagement with elected members through both formal governance routes as well as through briefing sessions, engagement sessions, group presentations, site tours etc. Identify any adjustments or improvements required moving forward.
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APPENDIX 1 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Open Items) – August 2024 Action Target Completion Responsible Officer Update Provide officer support to a cross party group to of elected members to agree the remit and progress a discussion and review of the Council’s formal governance arrangements in line with the motion approved. Carry out an assessment of the Audit Risk and Scrutiny Board against CIPFA’s published good practice guide for audit committees. ALL ACTIONS COMPLETE FOR RECOMMENDATION 7 Bowles Report Recommendation 8 Public confidence These recent events and the matters described in this report will dent public confidence in the Council. The Council should work in an open and transparent manner in the resolution of these issues and particularly with the residents of Dargavel, who have legitimate concerns about the implications for their children during both their primary and secondary education. Response Objectives The key aim has been to provide straightforward messaging and up to date sitreps to ensure publics (and council representatives) have the most up‐to‐date position and the complexity of the issue is explained in a simple and honest way and that parental/carer concerns in respect to the school and educational environment are able to be appropriately discussed through structured engagement arrangements with the parent councils with appropriate agreed actions taken forward. The strategy has been designed to: − Improve the flow and regularity of information to parents and carers and the wider Dargavel community, so they are first to hear about decisions impacting their community.
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APPENDIX 1 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Open Items) – August 2024 Action Target Completion Responsible Officer Update − Ensure parents and carers have access to all projection data available to the council. − Introduce direct communication channels with Dargavel residents, enabling all sections of the community to engage on matters that are important to them and making sure the latest information is accessible and easy to find. − Provide residents with a feedback loop to enable them to ask questions of the council in relation to the development and have questions answered quickly. − Include the community in formal planning and design of a new primary school and high school extension. It is recognised that effective communication and engagement is important to building a new relationship between the Council and the Dargavel community, but ultimately it will take the delivery of the solution and investment in long term engagement to reduce local anxiety and fully rebuild trust and confidence in the Council. Establish and track key indicators of community sentiment. Ongoing Head of Marketing and Comms Ongoing The council continues to deploy the Dargavel communication and engagement strategy and to provide regular updates to the community through a variety of channels – including face‐ to‐face forums, monitoring reach, engagement and feedback which is recorded and used to inform future communications. From those insights community engagement groups are being established to help plan new school design and traffic and travel. We continue to grow membership of our opt‐in community newsletter. Recent and live community engagement activity includes focus groups and public meetings linked to school design that form part of the PAN process for Dargavel Primary School. This will be followed by a similar engagement programme for extending Park Mains High School. The community survey outlined below will help to develop a baseline satisfaction level that can be tracked ongoing.
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APPENDIX 1 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Open Items) – August 2024 The Consultation Institute has completed a review of the council’s communication and engagement strategy. The report concluded that the council’s process has been thorough and showed ‘considerable good practice’. The Report made recommendations to inform future engagement and consultation, which have been captured in an Action Plan and will be used to develop a corporate policy on engagement and consultation, to be delivered at the end of October. Following the statutory consultation and exit interviews on the effectiveness of the programme (over 800 people submitted formal responses and over 150 individuals attended events that were part of the consultation programme), a community survey was developed to get feedback from residents in Dargavel and Bishopton community on the Council’s wider communication and engagement approach regarding local school capacity. The survey asks for views on all communications from November 2022 and will test: Awareness of the Council’s engagement strategy and the formal statutory consultation which took place earlier this year. Perceptions of the effectiveness of the Council’s engagement Barriers to engaging with the Council Has community trust in the Council improved as a result of the engagement strategy.
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APPENDIX 1 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Open Items) – August 2024 The survey – www.researchresource.co.uk/Dargavelresidents survey.html was launched on 6 August and will run to 2 September, promoted through a Royal Mail door drop and through existing Dargavel and Bishopton community channels. Resource Research, an independent research company will analysis the survey responses and produce a final report by 13 September.
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APPENDIX 1 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Open Items) – August 2024 Action Target Completion Responsible Officer Update Develop, deploy (at appropriate key points post formal consultation period) and evaluate a community pulse survey to assess and track community sentiment and view of ongoing handling and satisfaction with delivery of key interventions within the community. Expected September 2024 Head of Marketing and comms In development As above, a community survey is currently live. This was launched on 6 August and will run to 2 September, promoted through a Royal Mail door drop and through existing Dargavel and Bishopton community channels. Resource Research, an independent research company will analysis the survey responses and produce a final report by 13 September. This will provide a baseline for future surveys.
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APPENDIX 1 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Open Items) – August 2024 ACCOUNTS COMMISSION SECTION 102 REPORT – FINDINGS & COUNCIL RESPONSE/UPDATE Community and Other Engagement The council must, as a matter of urgency, conduct a robust and transparent assessment of the effectiveness of its community engagement and then move swiftly to implement any improvements needed. February 2024 Head of Communications and Marketing Please see response to Bowles report recommendation 8 above The Commission is particularly concerned by the council’s failure both to transparently consider alternative options in relation to expanding secondary school capacity in the area, and to consult or engage appropriately with the community, whom their decision directly affects. This engagement activity will remain ongoing as part of the PMHS extension project through to August 2027 and beyond recognising the long‐term monitoring of school roll projections at the high school. Director of Children’s Services It is accepted that the report to the Education and Children’s Services Policy Board in May 2023 could have articulated the reasons why no other options to address secondary school capacity beyond an extension to Park Mains High School were deemed viable for detailed consideration. Additionally, although engagement in relation to updated school projections and developing plans for a larger extension to PMHS were shared and discussed with the PMHS parent council prior to the May report, plans to expand this engagement process to a wider group to encapsulate all feeder primaries following the board meeting could have been outlined in the report and or considered earlier in the process. Council officers have since May 2023 been progressing positive and ongoing community engagement in relation to the Park Mains extension, principally through the Park Mains Liaison Group which was established to provide a single engagement forum with representatives from the Parent Councils of Park Mains High School and all associated feeder primaries. August 2024 This engagement process has shared and explained detailed pupil projection data, the underlying rationale for the proposed extension decision as well as listening and responding to
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APPENDIX 1 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Open Items) – August 2024 concerns and or requests for further information from the wider parent and carer community. This included sharing detailed information on an option promoted by some community representative from Dargavel and Bishopton for a new secondary school for Dargavel, Bishopton and Langbank. As reported through the Education and Children’s Services Policy Board in August 2023, such an option had significant negative implications from a financial, educational, value for money and school estate perspective that discounted it as a credible option for detailed consideration. The Park Mains Liaison Group is proving to be a highly valuable engagement forum, providing a single route of engagement across the wider community as well as a key route to assist the Council to disseminate consistent key messages and information updates across communities through trusted Parent Council communication channels. This engagement approach will inform how non statutory and informal engagement in relation to potential school estate changes and long‐term strategic learning estate work may be taken forward in the future by the Council. Additionally, high levels of positive engagement are being secured as part of the space planning process for the new extension, supporting active parental and carer participation and influence in the design process of the new extension and wider changes to the school that are planned to be delivered. This is increasingly building a positive community commitment and level of direct participation in the delivery of the school extension and improvement project.
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APPENDIX 1 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Open Items) – August 2024 Director of Children’s Services The review of the Council’s engagement strategy as referred to above will include a qualitative assessment of the effectiveness of the Park Mains Liaison Group. Lastly, work is being progressed by officers to research how other councils have approached school extension projects, where a statutory consultation process is not required. The objective of this work is to inform the design of a framework to inform any future approach to early informal engagement that can be adopted by the Council in relation to school estate considerations or changes. Desk top work completed to date has identified a mixed picture with several councils having adopted a similar approach to that employed by the Council for the PMHS extension. However, there are some examples of the use of published options appraisals as part of Council reports and identified examples of planned informal engagement strategies deployed as part of long‐term strategic school estate planning which provide some good practice approaches for reference. These individual elements of good practice that are evident across other councils can be collectively brought together and used to inform and guide the development of a proposed framework for use by the Council in its future learning estate strategy (where appropriate this will pay due regard to the Scottish Government guidance on informal engagement that may occur prior to a statutory consultation process). In completing this work consideration will be given to sharing the output across the local authority sector given what appears
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APPENDIX 1 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Open Items) – August 2024 to be a level of mixed and inconsistent approaches deployed across the country. We note that the new primary school is subject to a full public consultation. We expect the council to engage meaningfully with the community on this issue, and other decisions on the school estate. Again, we ask that the Controller monitors this situation, and reports to us in June 2024 on progress and earlier if necessary. Consultation process has commenced and will fully complete with a report to the Education and Children’s Services Policy Board in May 2024 Director of Children’s Services The Education and Children’s Services Policy board approved the planned consultation programme in January with a report on the outcome of the consultation planned to be brought back to Policy Board in May. A full programme of planned consultation and engagement activity has been developed with input from the Institute of Consultation to bring to the design process experience of recognised best practice deployed across the UK. Full details of the planned consultation process and activity will be provided to the external auditors as well as the opportunity to observe any of the planned information events and or formal consultation meetings. The consultation has now been completed with 817 respondents to the online questionnaire and a further 150 attending the events which were held: 6 informal drop in sessions 4 Information exchanges 2 public meetings Meetings with Parent Councils of both primary schools Meetings with staff and children from both primary schools. Education Scotland also engaged with the community and produced their report of their findings. A final consultation report has been finalised and presented to the Policy Board in May 2024 with approval granted to construct a new primary school on the recommended location.
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APPENDIX 1 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Open Items) – August 2024 Learning Lessons and Building Capacity While the council’s initial response to the Bowles report was high level, we are assured by the Controller that its action plan in response is now sufficiently detailed and includes SMART objectives It will be important that this action plan is well‐managed by senior officers and closely scrutinised by elected members of the council. Complete Director of Finance and Resources This action plan and subsequent action plan relating to the s102 report are closely monitored and reported to each cycle of the Audit, Risk & Scrutiny Board. However, there are still significant uncertainties relating to the capacity needed in the long term, and to the completion of the two building projects – the new primary school and the secondary school extension. We therefore request that these matters are closely monitored in the annual audit work, and the Controller uses her powers to report any slippage or other issues to us if necessary. March 2024 Director of Children’s Services Managing the Risk of Future Capacity Uncertainty The inherent uncertainty in relation to long term (15 year) pupil growth projections has been widely reported by the Council over the past year as an ongoing risk through both formal board reports, as well as engagement and communications with communities and in sharing data and reports with the external auditors. This is particularly recognised by the Council in the context of Dargavel Village having approximately 10 years of development still to deliver before achieving completion. It has also been trailed that the Council’s projection work to date with Edge Analytics has identified an expectation of a peak in demand to be reached which will then fall to a stabilised long‐ term level of demand – a similar pattern of demand growth has been evidenced across other similar long term community growth areas in the UK. The Council will regularly monitor actual pupil numbers and update long term projections on a regular basis over coming years as a key response to being able to pro‐actively manage this risk moving forward.
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APPENDIX 1 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Open Items) – August 2024 This monitoring process will be key to assess the extent to which actual demand and revised projections is or is not tracking against the current projections that have informed the planned capacity levels that will be delivered by the current learning estate interventions and provide early indication of any risk of material deviation. The planned annual monitoring and updating approach that will be deployed over coming years will be shared with the External Auditors as required. Long term projection work completed to date has already modelled a range of potential demand scenarios for the primary sector and identified an expected peak of demand in 2033/34. Options that can be considered for deployment in future years to manage upper demand scenarios that would exceed the planned capacity being delivered for primary sector education within Dargavel village, have already been identified and reported through the Education and Children’s Services Policy Board in November 2023 and shared with community representatives. Should the monitoring arrangements over the coming years highlight projection of sustained demand trending towards the upper demand scenarios, an appraisal will be required to assess which of the options is most appropriate for consideration to be deployed to meet the scale and nature of the additional future demand. This process will include early community engagement with school communities and will require timely assessment and associated decision making to allow planned delivery of any additional intervention well ahead of the developing need. In relation to the secondary sector, the impact of higher demand scenarios will take longer to emerge (mid to late 2030s) and similarly it has been well trailed in Council reports and with
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APPENDIX 1 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Open Items) – August 2024 the community that long term monitoring and projection modelling may identify the need to consider options at an appropriate future point in time in respect to any further intervention and or decisions in relation to secondary sector provision across West Renfrewshire. Similarly, the long‐term monitoring arrangements will facilitate early identification of such risks and will support early engagement with the appropriate primary and secondary schools that may be impacted by any future school estate changes. Delivery of New School Facilities It has been recognised by the Council that as a result of the very late identification of the significant under‐capacity problems within both the primary and secondary sectors serving Dargavel, the Council has since late 2023 been operating within a highly compressed non‐typical timeline to undertake all the associated capacity planning, land assembly, community engagement, statutory consultation, space planning, procurement arrangements before moving into project delivery in order to achieve operational delivery of the new facilities by August 2027. In broad terms, the Council is seeking to achieve all that is associated with the long‐term strategic planning, engagement, consultation and operational delivery of a new school and major extension of a secondary school in a 4 ½ year period, when such an end‐to‐end process would normally run over a much longer period – a timeline of around 6‐8 year would not be an untypical
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APPENDIX 1 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Open Items) – August 2024 period of timeframe. Consequently, the Council is parallel running several activities that would in most circumstances be delivered in a broadly consecutive manner. The Council has established governance, programming, and resource arrangements in place to support the delivery of the new primary school and secondary school extension over the remaining 3 ½ year period through to the operational target date of August 2027. To date the external auditors have not undertaken any detailed scrutiny of the delivery programme or the arrangements in place. To provide assurance officers will provide a full overview of the current arrangements for the external auditors for their review and will support whatever audit work is required to allow them to assess the Council’s current approach. Impact on Service Provision We note that the council has assessed that currently there has been no detriment to either teaching delivery or pupil education in the Dargavel and Bishopton areas from the interim measures introduced. We consider it critical that the council reports the results of these assessments publicly, regularly and in an accessible way, to maintain and rebuild community confidence. Ongoing as part of the Service’s Quality Assurance Framework Ongoing and will be incorporated into parent and school Director of Children’s Services Head of Marketing and Communications Renfrewshire Council has a robust Quality Assurance framework involving regular meetings with Education Managers and school staff and planned school visits which focus in on the national quality assurance indicators (reviews). DPS had a visit in January as part of this process where key strengths under the national Quality Assurance indicators from How Good is Our School were evaluated, self‐improvement and self‐evaluation and Learning, Teaching and Assessment and a report was produced. In addition, Bishopton Primary School and Park Mains High School were both recently inspected by HMI, receiving very positive reports.
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APPENDIX 1 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Open Items) – August 2024 newsletters at appropriate points. Further, every school submits a school improvement plan and a school improvement report (published on website) and their evaluations under the 4 key Quality Indicators (QIs) of their performance, based on data gathered through self‐evaluation, HMI visits, internal visits and stakeholder input is submitted to Children’s Services in April. These are shared with the parent councils and will also be published on the school website as part of the self‐evaluation process. This is in line with Education Scotland guidelines, the National Improvement Framework and statutory requirements. This communication with parents will be an ongoing process. The Commission is also concerned at the possible wider impacts of the council’s failings regarding the estimation of pupil numbers and whether this has had any impact on services provided by the council in the Dargavel area. We request that the Controller seeks further information on these issues so that we can understand the work that the council has done to understand these impacts. In line with requests emerging from defined audit programme to be set by Azets Chief Executive Full details of all the additional areas of potential service impact (noted below) considered by the Council have been shared and discussed in detail with the External Auditor to support the Controller of Audit’s follow‐up report to the Accounts Commission. Support to Schools Early Learning & Childcare Provision Children’s social Care support NHS Service Provision & facilities Community Leisure & Recreation within wider Masterplan Transport & Active Travel Infrastructure Provision Public Bus Transport Provision
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APPENDIX 1 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Open Items) – August 2024 Financial Management and Consequences The financial impact of these failings on the council is significant. The council capped the risk and contributions from BAE Systems under the Section 75 agreement, and as a direct result faces estimated net additional capital costs of £60 million, to be met by borrowing. This is a substantial sum of public money. The council needs to clarify the opportunity costs of this in terms of its overall capital programme. The council projects that it will have a revenue budget deficit of up to £50 million by 2026/27 and will need to make difficult decisions on prioritising its spending, compounded by the financial consequences of this issue The council has recently negotiated a transfer of land from BAE for the construction of a new primary school. The Controller’s report indicates that this was in exchange for amendments to the extent and composition of the housing units for which planning permission has been granted. Given the reported determination of BAE to fully protect their commercial interests in the development, and the absence of alternative solutions for the council, it will be important to ensure and demonstrate that this exchange represents Best Value for the public purse. Ongoing March 2024 Director of Finance and Resources Head of Economy and Development The Council will be required to manage the financial impact of the unplanned delivery of a new primary school and larger extension at PMHS through the delivery of its wider financial strategy and any opportunity costs articulated as part of developing and delivering that strategy. Regular reports with regards the Council’s financial position and outlook are provided to Council, which include the financial consequences of the Dargavel failings. The next report to Council updating the financial outlook will be in September 2024. The financial and wider factors considered by officers as part of the negotiation process with BAE systems to secure the associated land agreement and adjustments to the S.75 agreement have been shared with the external auditors. Council Leadership, Governance, and Culture The council’s action plan will be hugely important in further embedding improvements in this area. In particular, the following elements must be progressed urgently and transparently: February 2024 and ongoing in relation to the outcomes Director of Finance and Resources This report and combined action plan provides the Audit, Risk & Scrutiny Board with an overarching view of all progress associated with the Dargavel issue, subsequent investigations, reviews and agreed actions.
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APPENDIX 1 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Open Items) – August 2024 •the council’s review of its scrutiny arrangements against CIPFA good practice guidelines • the council’s review of its approach to risk management • the council’s leadership development programme for officers. To be satisfied of progress in these areas, the Commission requires the Controller to request further information from the council on the scope and timing of these actions, and report back to the Commission in the update requested for June 2024, or earlier if she thinks necessary. We also expect these issues to be covered in the accelerated Best Value report. associated with each action. The Commission is also concerned about the culture of the council and whether it has truly learned the lessons it needs to. We expect organisational culture to be an area of focus in the accelerated Best Value report. In particular, we request an update on whether the culture of the organisation is appropriately open and transparent, encourages continuous improvement, December 2024 (ie the confirmed timescale for BV audit work to conclude) Chief Executive The Council’s auditors concluded that the Council has appropriate governance arrangements in place with improvements over the years in member and officer relationships and effective leadership overall and were satisfied through their detailed audit work that the Council had demonstrated that the governance failings identified by the Bowles report were limited to the historic handling of Dargavel. The auditors did not highlight any concerns over the wider organisational culture in the Council or in its approach to managing major capital programmes but did identify that the role of the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board in ensuring effective scrutiny is not sufficiently clear. The Council has recognised this and has completed a review of the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board governance and operating arrangements, with recommended changes being agreed by the Board and subsequently by full Council.
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APPENDIX 1 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Open Items) – August 2024 effective joint working between officers and members, effective scrutiny and challenge (especially by elected members), and engagement and discussion with stakeholders. In addition, we request an assessment of whether it has the right skills in the right places to deliver on its responsibilities, and whether issues are escalated to the right level. Despite the finding of the Council’s auditors, the Commission has expressed concern in relation to the Council’s culture and have sought further assurances in relation to a wide range of organisational issues. It has been confirmed that consideration and assessment of such issues will form part of the planned Best Value Audit process and subject to confirmation of the planned detailed best value audit programme. Council officers will provide all the necessary support, assistance, and information to allow the audit team to appropriately assess all key areas of interest and are actively progressing an internal self‐assessment and evidence process to support this element of the audit engagement in due course over the anticipated 2024 audit programme. Finally, the Commission notes that the auditor has concluded that the council has obtained appropriate external legal advice and determined there is no potential for any form of action against former senior employees involved in the Dargavel School decision‐making. In addition, no disciplinary action has been taken against any senior officer involved in decision‐making relevant to the Section 75 approval process for the Dargavel Village development. The Commission accepts that these are management issues. March 2024 Head of Corporate Governance No senior officers involved in the Dargavel S.75 decision making process and identified in the Bowles Report remain employed by the Council or remained employed at the time of the Bowles report publication. In this context no senior officer could be subject to any form of internal Council disciplinary investigation or action. Full details of the process of consideration and legal advice that was sought regard to any other form of external legal action has been shared with the local external audit team as requested by the Commission.
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APPENDIX 1 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Open Items) – August 2024 However, we request that the Controller asks the council for further information on the process followed and factors taken into account by the council in considering disciplinary action against staff involved. In addition, and looking forward, the Commission asks for information on the council’s approach to performance management and March 2024 Head of HR & OD A full package of information in relation to current HR policies and procedures and future planned revisions has been provided to the external auditor. In June 2024, the Council in consultation with key stakeholders and trade unions revised both its people, performance and talent policy and discipline policy. Additional guidance and training is currently being developed for managers and employees, with an expected role out in the Autumn 2024. its current policy on disciplinary action, so we can be assured that appropriate arrangements are in place to ensure that staff have the necessary skills and that senior officers are properly accountable for their areas of responsibility.
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APPENDIX 1 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Open Items) – August 2024 CROSS PARTY WORKING GROUP ACTIONS The outcome of the management training programme will be reported to the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board December 2024 Director of Finance and Resources and Head of HR & OD The first cohort of the programme has concluded the programme, with feedback from this first round being used to inform the delivery of the programme to the next cohorts of senior staff. Delivery of the programme will continue over the course of 2024. UPDATE ‐ Delegate and facilitator feedback on the first cohort has been presented to the Council’s Corporate Management Team for noting, along with proposed changes arising from feedback for the next scheduled cohorts of senior managers. The modules covered in the programme are: Introduction to Personal Resilience; Module 1 ‐ Effective Communication and Officer/Member Relationships; Module 2 ‐ Governance, Risk and Financial Accountability; Module 3 ‐ Managing Projects and Managing Change; Module 4 ‐ Transformational Leadership Module 5 ‐ Values, Vision and Planning for the Future Generally the feedback from cohort one (Chief Officer cohort) indicated a high level of satisfaction with the programme overall. Collaboration with other colleagues during the programme featured strongly with learning through shared experiences. There was positive feedback around learning from colleagues, strengthening networks across services and shared experiences, which will create consistent approaches around best practice. Some feedback was received around the content being more ‘Renfrewshire’ specific, including organisational challenges and use of case studies. Increased use of local examples and practical application is being incorporated into the programme for cohorts 2 and 3.
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APPENDIX 2 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Completed Items) – May 2024
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Consultation Review Dargavel School Consultation Introduction As part of a broader review of Renfrewshire Council’s consultation practice, The Consultation Institute was commissioned to review consultation practice in relation to the Dargavel School consultation in particular and across the Council more generally. The aim was to identify areas of good practice and make recommendations for improvement. The first recommendation is that the Council adopt the Consultation Readiness Framework as a tool to help structure consultations. The review uses the Consultation Institute’s Consultation Readiness Framework as a baseline. The review aims to understand how effective the consultation practices deployed by Renfrewshire Council in respect of the new school at Dargavel were, and to develop broader recommendations for the Council more generally. To do this the Consultation Readiness Framework was used as an interrogatory tool. Normally this framework is used with public authorities preparing for a consultation, and its use would be assisted by an advisor from The Consultation Institute who guides the authority through the process. The case law on consultation is guided by the “Gunning Principles” which set out how consultors should act. The Consultation Readiness Framework aims to operationalise these principles. The Gunning Principles are: Gunning 1: Proposals are still at a formative stage A final decision has not yet been made, or predetermined, by the decision-makers. Gunning 2: There is sufficient information to give ‘intelligent consideration’. The information provided must relate to the consultation and must be available, accessible, and easily interpretable for consultees to provide an informed response.
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Gunning 3: There is adequate time for consideration and response. There must be sufficient opportunity for consultees to participate in the consultation. There is no set timeframe for consultation, despite the widely accepted twelve-week consultation period, as the length of time given for consultee to respond can vary depending on the subject and extent of impact of the consultation. Gunning 4: ‘Conscientious consideration’ must be given to the consultation responses before a decision is made. Decision-makers should be able to provide evidence that they took consultation responses into account. Methodology The Framework is designed for consultations not covered by statutory requirements, and therefore the review takes into account the requirements placed on the Council by the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 (hereafter ‘the Act’), which imposes different requirements, such as the selection of a single option for consultation. The Council has gone beyond the requirements of the Act in consulting on, for instance, the Park Mains extension. And the aim of consultation is at least twofold. One is to comply with the existing legislation in order to act within the law. The other is to improve the quality of decisions made. It is in this latter area that learning could lead to enhancement. By effectively identifying the community and service user needs and designing solutions to fit those needs more efficient and effective services with more public support can be delivered. The Consultation Readiness Framework covers the stages required to comply with best practice and case law on consultation. It therefore allows a public authority to achieve both the aim of remaining within the law and to fully considering both the range of options and how to choose between them. The timescales in the case of Dargavel Primary School are extremely compressed and many of the questions about the status quo are answered by the situation. But there are important lessons to be learned about how to explore the status quo and the appropriate solutions. One element of the consultation that points to this need was the late emergence of requests for a joint campus High School-Primary School-Nursery on the suggested site. The decision had already been made that this would be an additional Primary School. This was, in no small part a function of the reduced time available to do pre-consultation. It is not a failing of this process. But it points to one of the ways in which the consultation could have been better focused on the issue being consulted upon.
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The Consultation Framework is designed to ensure that any consultation is fully documented, structured and transparent. It breaks the process down into a number of stages: Status quo exploration; Solutions exploration; Solutions development; Options appraisal; Status quo exploration; Solutions exploration. We should note that stages of the process will overlap, and fit with the linear process recommended by The Consultation Institute, represented in “Consultation in Change Management”. Figure 1: Consultation in Change Management Preconsultation - Phase 0 0.1 This stage is one of engagement with key stakeholders, selected service users and wider public, to offer the opportunity to provide feedback on the current situation, the proposed objectives for change, and to provide feedback on what currently works well, what needs to change and any concerns held. 0.2 Further engagement with key stakeholders, selected service users and wider public regarding what should be considered in developing solutions. Development of an initial long-list of potential solutions which meet the objectives for change, challenges and issues raised.
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0.3 Working with key stakeholders, selected service users and wider public to refine potential solutions into a set of more practical solutions based on learning from engagement to date and sense checking of ideas. 0.4 Engagement with key stakeholders, selected service users and wider public to appraise options and eliminate those least viable. The intent is to establish a ranked set of potential options that can be taken forward to public consultation. Comments: The Consultation Readiness Framework offers a clear pathway to operationalise the Gunning Principles and other good consultation practice, this review is based on those principles and practice and the Framework helps authorities to structure consultation activities. The pre-consultation stage of the Dargavel consultation is well evidenced and meets the requirements of the Framework in the provision of published scope and purpose of change. It clearly sets out the current data and pointed to the need for further evidence. This was a key learning from previous mistakes. The Equality Impact Assessment process was completed and informed other aspects of the process, showing effective implementation of equalities thinking. The stakeholder analysis and identification was well conducted and evidenced with some stakeholders being required in legislation and others identified through the Equality Impact Assessment. The options and the hurdle criteria were developed by experts, working on the basis of the requirements of the relevant legislation in the Act. This meets the legal requirements, but an approach that included engagement with a stakeholder reference group, or other deliberative approach may have identified the issues around the desire for a joint primary-high school campus earlier in the process, allowing for better consideration of options. The invitation to the community to suggest sites for the new Dargavel Primary is helpful and increased involvement in the development of options will help. Institutionalising these approaches will help to make them more effective. There was a concerted and well-structured approach to including the seldom heard, including intelligence from Primary School Head Teachers, and a thorough communications plan which adopted multi-channel approaches to ensuring that as wide a group of stakeholders as possible was engaged.
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The information sources, including option definition, appraisal criteria, equalities assessments, accessibility assessments are all available, but should be collated so that they are accessible to participants. Recommendations: 1. Adopt the Consultation Readiness Framework as a structure for consultations; 2. Consider establishing a stakeholder reference group for consultation. You may wish to consider this on wider issues on a Council-wide basis to help with processes like the development of stakeholder analysis, options appraisal and ensuring the seldom heard are involved; 3. Consider a deliberative process for the development of stakeholder lists and for mapping stakeholders by interest and influence; 4. Bring together all relevant data sources and documentation in a single website, so that they can be easily accessed by participants. Consultation scoping and governance - Phase 1: A clear definition of who is accountable for the public consultation and how decisions will be taken. A clear statement of the scope, purpose and objectives for the public consultation, and this has been agreed by decision makers. Comments: The case for change is fairly clear in the Dargavel context, and therefore required little scrutiny. But for wider learning, it may be important to develop processes like a consultation mandate, scope of change and potential options. There should be a clear process for the development of both options and the criteria by which options will be chosen. The range of options developed and examined was really comprehensive and the criteria clear, but there was little deliberation on the development of criteria for selecting the site. In other contexts the Council may wish to use the Consultation Institute’s “Consultation Mandate” which identifies the following steps as a way of defining the scope of the consultation: Identity (of consultor) Target (likely impacted groups) Issue (reason/purpose for consulting) Actor (decision maker) Action (decision(s) to be taken) Date (by when)
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Wider Aim (of policy) In the case of the new Dargavel Primary School, much of this was defined in advance by the situation, but as an exercise for the consultation team and the pre-consultation, this can help to provide definition. Roles and responsibilities for the management of the consultation were clearly laid out in the Communications Strategy and Stakeholder Engagement documents. There has been a clear report of the findings from each stage which meets the legislative requirements required of a school consultation. Recommendations: 5. The consultation mandate should be adopted to help define future consultations and to clarify responsibilities; 6. There should be consideration given to taking deliberative approaches to option development and deciding criteria; 7. The governance documents should be made available for consideration to stakeholders at this point. Project Planning – Phase 2 Phase 2.1 Structure and Resourcing The project plan should offer a clear structure for the management of each stage of the consultation process and this should include who undertakes the consultation and whether this is by an external organisation or internally. Identifying ownership and resources available for delivery at each stage of the consultation process. Comments: There is a clear project plan for the New Dargavel PS project, which is well defined in the Act. For other, less defined consultations the development of project plans is vital. There are clear resources available for each stage of the process and there are owners for all the tasks. There is sufficient time for the consultation to enable all to be involved, given the constraints of time in providing a new facility. There are clear resources allocated and there is a clear owner for each risk. As part of the learning, Project plans should include:
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Clear milestones; A timeline covering the 3 main stages of the consultation process; The key post-consultation tasks are identified and resourced from the beginning – analysis, feedback and decision-making are accounted for; There needs to be appropriate time for impacted groups to engage and respond; Data handling policy and processes; Risk analysis and mitigation plan. Recommendations: 8. Add an explicit indication of who will undertake analysis at an early stage, and whether this will be an internal or external analyst; 9. Adopt a checklist if not already in place covering the points above; 10. Create a risk register and mitigation plan for each project. Phase 2.2 Stakeholder analysis The stakeholder landscape and impacted groups should be identified and prioritised to inform the communications and dialogue activities. Comments This has been largely dealt with above under ‘Stage 0’. There was a clear attempt to diversify messages in order to reach the widest possible range of groups and a focus on the seldom heard. This could be more closely linked to the stakeholder analysis for clarity. Recommendation: 11. Mapping the communication strategy against the stakeholder analysis will allow for clear approaches to be developed to segment communication more effectively. Phase 2.3 Engagement and Communication The project plan outlines appropriate engagement and communications approaches to enable stakeholders and impacted groups to engage with the consultation and provide feedback. Comments: The engagement and communication plan is comprehensive and covers much of what is expected, including the details of proposed engagement
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approaches and how they align to stakeholder groups. This is one of the strongest parts of the programme. The community could be assured that there is a detailed response mechanism and data journey, even if these are not described as such. There is a strong social media policy that covers the requirements. Similarly, the complaints handling policy covers the relevant points. Recommendation: 12. Set out the data journey and response mechanism on the consultation website. Phase 2.4 Post consultation activities The project plan identifies the activities to be undertaken post-consultation and explains how this will support decision-making. Comments To give greater confidence in the impartiality of the analysis and to help build trust an external consultant was contracted to analyse the consultation response data. This report separated quantitative and qualitative data to ensure that the strength and salience of arguments could be assessed. For other consultations there should be a clear statement of how this analysis will be undertaken and how both strength and salience of arguments will be assessed. This should include provisions to ensure that data integrity is maintained. The timelines for decision makers are set out in the act, and conform to Council meeting cycles, but in other consultations this should be set out, with contingency plans where deadlines might not be met. The process meets the requirements of the Equality Act and future consultations should ensure that this is a clear part of the process, integrated from the start. The communications plan sets out how the decision will be publicised and communicated and this should be a core part of any future consultation.
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13. A data analysis plan be prepared for any given consultation, outlining how and by whom data will be analysed. The plan should set out how different data sets will be analysed and reported; 14. There is a statement of the information to be made available to decision-makers so that the data analysis plan and report structure meet these requirements; 15. The plan should set out how decision-makers will be allowed sufficient time to ensure conscientious consideration of the feedback; 16. There is feedback approach to ensure that ‘due regard’ for equalities requirements is met by decision-makers; 17. There is a clear statement of how the decision will be publicised and communicated. Phase 3.1: Documentation Development The consultation has supporting documentation and materials which allow intelligent consideration of the issues and proposals in line with the Gunning principles. Comments: The materials in this consultation offer both sufficient detail for effective comment by citizens and consideration by decision-makers. They allow for the Gunning 4 requirement of intelligent consideration. The materials are also based on meeting the requirement of the Equality Act 2010, but this could be made more explicit in the text. Copies of all consultation materials to be published are available for review and can demonstrate they have met tCI requirements of integrity, accessibility and transparency. Accessible versions of documents, in plain English, EasyRead or similar formats have been prepared and are available upon request by email. The consultation website meets tCI requirements. The Equality impact analysis demonstrates that the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 have been considered. Though again, using a stakeholder reference group as a sounding board for these exercises would help to make the analysis more robust and to ensure that the lived experience of people with protected characteristics is included. Digital media (mainly charts and maps) are provided with an explanation of how they align with the requirement to provide similar information on the proposals and likely impacts. Recommendations:
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The website is easy to find with good SEO and demonstrates accessibility and ease of navigation. Recommendation: 18. There should be clearer reference to the Equality Impact Assessment in the documentation, and where it has influenced changes in the process and outputs. Phase 3.2 Consultation Questions The consultation questions are designed to enable feedback appropriate for the objectives of the consultation and the decisions to be taken, and are drafted in a neutral and open manner. Comments The consultation questions were clear and unambiguous. They were checked with an external advisor before publication and allowed for a full and free expression of citizens’ views. The questions could have been supplemented with more explanatory material to help respondents to understand the reasoning behind the question, but the material provided in the consultation more broadly did this effectively. It is still something that would add clarity to future consultations. The questionnaire was available in digital format and could be printed off for a paper response. It was available through trusted outlets such as libraries. Recommendation: 19. Questionnaire questions should be placed in the decision-making context to allow for more effective responses. Conclusions The consultation on the Dargavel Primary School gives a clear example of work under pressure and in circumstances that test consultation practice. There is considerable good practice, and the consultation effectively allowed citizens to voice their preferences. A number of areas offer the opportunity for improvement, particularly greater citizen involvement in options development. While the very constrained timelines may have made more involvement feel difficult to deliver, the
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emergence of an un-scoped (joint campus) option in the final consultation shows the risks of expert-only options development. While this option was already covered by an existing catchment High School, understanding the case for a joint campus would have helped to focus the consultation on the issue at hand. One key element of practice that could clearly improve is the development of risk assessments and risk ownership, which can help to manage dynamic changes that may emerge through the consultation or in other parallel processes. Comments specific to the Dargavel Consultation: The clearest learning from the Dargavel Primary School Consultation is that: 1. Options appraisal benefits from citizen input to allow better consideration of possible approaches; 2. Very constrained timelines should be avoided, unless, as in this case strictly necessary; 3. Risk assessment can help to prepare the authority for dynamic changes in the consultation process; 4. A clear Consultation Mandate would have helped to structure the process and offer clarity to participants about what was being consulted upon; 5. An analysis plan should have been set out at the beginning of the process to identify how the responses from the consultation would be handled. The other recommendations are broader and can be used to guide future consultation practice. Peter McColl Senior Associate The Consultation Institute May 2024
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Appendix 1 Collated recommendations Preconsultation 1. Consider establishing a stakeholder reference group for consultation You may wish to consider this on wider issues on a Council-wide basis to help with processes like the development of stakeholder analysis, options appraisal and ensuring the seldom heard are involved; 2. Consider a deliberative process for the development of stakeholder lists and for mapping stakeholders by interest and influence; 3. Bring together all relevant data sources and documentation in a single website, so that they can be easily accessed by participants. Consultation Scoping and Governance 4. The Consultation Institute’s “Consultation Mandate” should be adopted to help define future consultations and to clarify responsibilities; 5. There should be consideration given to taking deliberative approaches to option development and deciding criteria; 6. The governance documents should be made available for consideration to stakeholders at this point. Project Planning 7. Adopt a checklist if not already in place covering the points above; 8. Add an explicit indication of who will undertake analysis at an early stage, and whether this will be an internal or external analyst; 9. Create a risk register and mitigation plan for each project. Stakeholder Analysis 10. Mapping the communication strategy against the stakeholder analysis will allow for clear approaches to be developed to segment communication more effectively. Engagement and Communication 11. Set out the data journey and response mechanism on the consultation website. Post Consultation Activities 12. A data analysis plan be prepared for any given consultation, outlining how and by whom data will be analysed. The plan should set out how different data sets will be analysed and reported;
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13. There is a statement of the information to be made available to decision-makers so that the data analysis plan and report structure meet these requirements; 14. The plan should set out how decision-makers will be allowed sufficient time to ensure conscientious consideration of the feedback; 15. There is feedback approach to ensure that ‘due regard’ for equalities requirements are met by decision-makers; 16. There is a clear statement of how the decision will be publicised and communicated. Documentation Development 17. There should be clearer reference to the Equality Impact Assessment in the documentation, and where it has influenced changes in the process and outputs. Consultation Questions 18. Questionnaire questions should be placed in the decision-making context to allow for more effective responses.
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APPENDIX 2 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Completed Items) – August 2024 Action Target Completion Responsible Officer Update Bowles Report Recommendation 1 Build a more robust model of primary school need for Dargavel ‐ the Council should continue to refine its pupil forecast model for Dargavel. Response Objectives Deliver robust projection modelling for Dargavel and PMHS which: ‐ considers live information arising from NHS, pupil & ELC registrations, the pace of development to date, certainty over development size and likely pace of future build out rate, utilises external data analytics and projection expertise to augment and enhance the Council’s in‐house forecasting approach to ensure modelling is robust, underpinned by external challenge and specialist input reflecting the complexity and significant portion of Dargavel that has yet to be developed out over a circa 10 year period, provides modelling output which considers potential future upper scenarios reflecting the high yield factors reflected in the 2023/24 P1 intake to inform immediate decisions on scale of capacity to be delivered as well as planning for potential additional interventions at a future time, delivers modelling output which provides a long‐term view beyond the anticipated completion timeline for Dargavel to ensure the long term impact of Dargavel is modelled and understood, provides modelling output over the long term which indicates both the scale, timing and shape of an anticipated peak in demand that will accompany a development of this scale and nature. This will provide visibility of the anticipated short‐lived peak in demand and long term settled demand to ensure this is appropriately reflected in estate/capacity decisions and in particular to mitigate against delivery of excessive long term / permanent increase in capacity that would result in excess unused surplus capacity over the long term. Provides modelling that can be tested and revised as necessary as new key data becomes available such as P1 and S1 registrations, actual scale and pace of the development and any new developments, which will continue to inform decisions on any future estate interventions if required.
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APPENDIX 2 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Completed Items) – August 2024 Action Target Completion Responsible Officer Update Complete Council modelling through to the anticipated end date for the housing development (2033/34) based on assumed 4,300 units and available live data. October 2022 Director of Children’s Services Completed October 2022 Engage and appoint Edge Analytics to deliver enhanced modelling approach for both Dargavel primary requirements as well as PMHS out to 2033/34 and updated live datasets. February 2023 Director of Children’s Services Completed February 2023 including additional upper forecast scenarios for Dargavel non‐denominational requirements to support management of risk associated with long term yield remaining at similar level to 2023/24. Informed reports to Education and Children’s Services Board in March and May 2023 Extend Edge engagement to deliver an enhanced model projecting out to 2038 to provide longer term forecast to assess the full impact on the secondary sector and allow identification of likely timing and scale of peak demand encapsulating any relevant updates to live datasets. September 2023 Director of Children’s Services Modelling completed which has identified an anticipated peak period in both primary and secondary sectors and will be reported to Education and Children’s Services Board in November 2023. Provide update to November Education & Children’s Service Policy Board. November 2023 Director of Children’s Services Two update reports were taken to the November ECSPB: 1. Learning Estate 2. Dargavel Housing Development – Impact on Denominational Education Provision Bowles Report Recommendation 2 Use of Bishopton Primary - in its future plans the Council should reconsider how surplus capacity at Bishopton can be used effectively. Response Objectives
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APPENDIX 2 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Completed Items) – August 2024 Action Target Completion Responsible Officer Update Consider and assess how existing capacity within Bishopton Primary School may be best utilised to support the Dargavel catchment over the immediate term and potentially over the longer term, taking into consideration the uncertainty and risk over the long‐term demand levels that will ultimately emerge for primary education from Dargavel as well as the expectation of a temporary peak period of demand. Provide a report to Education and Children’s Services Board setting out a clear overview as to how Bishopton PS capacity will be utilised to support temporarily over the short term period and how it may be considered amongst other options for use to support Dargavel in the longer term (noting that any such longer term use will be subject to detailed consideration and decision at an appropriate point in future years). Complete assessment of anticipated P1 intake from Dargavel catchment and assess against revised DPS capacity availability, establish planned P1 intake capacity cap and anticipated P1 intake requiring accommodation at Bishopton Primary School. August 2023 Director of Children’s Services Planned use of Bishopton Primary School along with planned capped entry levels to Dargavel Primary School reported an approved at Education and Children’s Services Policy Board in August 2023. There will be a requirement to annually monitor anticipated and actual P1 intakes carefully to assess adequacy of short term capacity provision across both Dargavel and Bishopton Primary Schools to meet demand pending the second primary school in Dargavel coming on stream. Complete an exercise to assess the timing, scale and range of potential demand level scenarios, in particular understanding the scale and timing of the peak demand and likely settled long term demand. This information will be used to inform the assessment of how Bishopton Primary School could, if required, be potentially be utilised as an option in the longer term. January 2024 Director of Children’s Services Completion of the updated work with Edge Analytics has provided a view of the likely timing and length of the peak demand period – with peak primary demand being forecast in 2033/34 which will fall over the second half of the 2030s to a more settled level. Further work is being progressed to update this information for the recently released 2023 census information and November registration data to inform an overall assessment. Revised roll projections for the entire learning estate are currently being produced. In anticipation of these, work is underway by utilizing current live data and matching this with draft roll projection data to run scenario planning for the short, medium, and long term capacity demand on both Dargavel Primary and Bishopton Primary.
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APPENDIX 2 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Completed Items) – August 2024 Complete financial analysis to understand the potential financial context of utilising Bishopton Primary School Capacity May 2023 Director of Finance and Resources Bishopton PS is a predominantly 1960s construction and is more than 60 years old. This building will, along with the whole school estate, undergo an updated condition survey over coming months. Notwithstanding, given the underlying age of the building it will inevitably have a limited remaining lifespan before being considered for replacement. Existing surplus capacity if used permanently to reduce the required size of a second Dargavel primary school, will require to be replaced as part of a renewal programme. The determination of the timing of that will be subject to work progressed as part of the strategic learning estate programme. Consequently, it has been assessed that any financial advantage from utilising Bishopton PS will be restricted to a temporary time value of money benefit and consequently will be relatively limited. In addition, there is also a risk that utilising Bishopton PS permanently removes its availability to provide supporting capacity to manage both a temporary peak that may arise from upper end educational demand scenarios and longer term upper end demand. There could be the risk that in such circumstances if Bishopton capacity was no longer available this would lead to higher overall costs over the longer term for the Council. The financial considerations and risks were incorporated into the overall assessment reported as part of the Education & Children’s Services Board report in January.
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APPENDIX 2 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Completed Items) – August 2024 Action Target Completion Responsible Officer Update Set out overview in a report to the Education and Children’s Services Policy Board in respect to the potential long‐term utilisation of Bishopton Primary School which will be subject to detailed consideration at an appropriate point in future years as actual long term demand trends increasingly emerge. January 2024 Director of Children’s Services Work to allow appropriate recommendation to be made is progressing in line with plans and scheduled to be reported to Board in January 2024. A paper was presented to Board in January 2024
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APPENDIX 2 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Completed Items) – August 2024 Action Target Completion Responsible Officer Update Bowles Report Recommendation 3 As the Council progresses its plans to issue supplementary guidance on developer contributions for education it should seek to learn from other Councils in Scotland. A development the size of Dargavel is exceptional and would need its own modelling techniques. However, for smaller developments the Council should create an evidence base to calculate specific yield factors derived from recent developments in Renfrewshire. Such robust data will ease future negotiations. Undertake a desk top review of other local authorities across Scotland and identify key best practice councils to engage. June 2023 Head of Economy and Development Completed Complete detailed engagement with identified best practice councils arising from desk top research Summer 2023 Head of Economy and Development Detailed engagement completed with Fife, Falkirk and West Lothian councils. Complete data analysis exercise of a range of datasets of mixed historic sites across Renfrewshire to provide empirical evidence to support actual pupil yields to inform establishment of appropriate yield factors to be used in future contribution policy. Refresh % capacity of all schools (vs school rolls) Sample research of Pupil Product Ratio (PPR) for developed housing sites (< 10 units) [min 10 site sample] Sample research of PPR for developed housing sites (> 100 units)[min 10 site sample] Sample research of PPR for established / mature housing development to provide longer term perspective (eg. 15 years old) (> 100 units)[min 4 site sample] Identify individual schools where pupil capacity is above notional threshold (85%) October 2023 Head of Economy and Development Work on this is now complete, agreed new draft planning guidance presented to March 2024 PCC Board.
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APPENDIX 2 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Completed Items) – August 2024 Action Target Completion Responsible Officer Update Identify all known undeveloped housing sites in individual school catchments [Subset of 5] identify all housing sites with current "live" planning application Identify schools where it is anticipated intervention would be required to increase capacity based on potential future housing to be delivered over next 10 years to inform likely future developer discussions. Incorporate into the development of the draft contributions policy targeted to be presented to the Planning and Climate Change Policy Board in January 2024. March 2024 Head of Economy and Development Work on this is now complete, new draft planning guidance presented to March 2024 PCC Board. Bowles Report Recommendation 4 Council needs to work co‐operatively with BAE. Unless the Council and BAE can work together to resolve the current problems, BAE may face accusations, whether founded or not and regardless of Council incompetence, that it has increased its profits at the expense of Council taxpayers. Response Objectives Secure legal ownership of suitable land to facilitate delivery of a second school within Dargavel Village as well as additional land next to existing school site to provide increased flexibility to meet potential future extension of the school and or establishment of greater outdoor space. Secure legal commitment from BAE to provide land remediation and associated infrastructure requirements as part of legal agreement at nil cost to the Council. Secure as part of the legal agreement certainty on consented planning numbers and any associated adjustments to s.75 agreement to reflect revised agreement. Secure with BAE agreement on Heads of Terms for allow for mutual governance approval from each organisation to inform detailed legal agreement drafting and final sign off As soon as possible Chief Executive This was completed and approved by ILE Board end of August 2023
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APPENDIX 2 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Completed Items) – August 2024 Action Target Completion Responsible Officer Update was targeted. Secure completed and signed legal missives to deliver in full the objectives outlined above to provide certainty and timing of availability of remediated and infrastructure proofed land to support wider school delivery planning and consultation arrangements that will be progressed by the Council team. August 2023 Chief Executive Legal missives concluded mid‐September 2023 Proposed revisions to S.75 negotiated with BAE Systems were approved by ILE. Revised S.75 signed off by both the Council and BAE Systems to legally conclude matters. August 2023 Head of Economy & Development Approved by Planning and Climate Change Board August 2023 Bowles Report Recommendation 5 Corporate working and organisational culture ‐ although I understand that the Council has sought to improve and strengthen corporate working in recent years, the evidence would suggest there is a long way to go; simply establishing corporate working groups is insufficient if staff are in a mindset of ‘not my problem’. The failure of management oversight, if symptomatic of the Council as a whole, would be deeply disturbing. The Council needs to consider a significant change programme, not just on the of issue of corporate working and personal responsibility, but also its organisational culture and values. It needs plans to build a stronger organisation where constructive challenge is welcomed and there is a clarity of what is expected of all of those in a leadership role. Response Objectives Provide assurance that established programme governance framework and operations of governance for other major capital investment programmes and specifically that the Bowles findings on the historic failings on the handling of Dargavel by officers are not representative of the Council’s current culture and approach to the management and delivery of major programmes.
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APPENDIX 2 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Completed Items) – August 2024 Action Target Completion Responsible Officer Update The Council is committed to living its values as a learning and collaborative organisation and post COVID was already in the process of re‐establishing an Leadership Development programme for senior leadership teams and managers across the Council in recognition that this required to be reinvigorated post COVID and that there has been significant turnover in management and senior positions over the past three years and this would support growing and maturing the current culture and collaborative connections across the organisation. In response to the Bowles recommendations, the objective is to ensure the new Leadership Development programme is appropriately cognisant and reflective of the key learning points from the Bowles report and takes the opportunity to ensure its coverage seeks to re‐enforce the development of skills related to governance, risk management, commercial risk, corporate working and culture etc and effectively utilises failures referenced in the Bowles report as key examples for learning throughout the programme. Collective reflection and learning of such significant failures – albeit historical – is recognised as an important element of building an effective future culture and ways of working across the organisation. Undertake a health check assessment on major capital programmes to provide reassurance in respect to all aspects of governance, control, reporting and management of programmes. October 2023 Chief Executive supported by CMT City Deal and Infrastructure Health Check report was submitted to CMT on 21 November 2023. Put in place arrangements to deliver a comprehensive Leadership Development Programme (circa 12 months + programme) for chief officers and senior managers which amongst other things will cover and key areas referenced in the Bowles report in respect to governance, accountability, risk management, collaborative working, member officer relations etc. Commence programme by September 2023 Director of Finance & Resources and Head of HR & OD Contract engagement in place and resources secured from SOLACE Enterprises to support co‐designed and co‐delivered programme. Initial Chief Officer programme launch event occurred on 3rd October with focusing on personal resilience. The programme has delivered sessions focussed on: Effective Communications and Elected Member Relations Programme Management, Leading and Navigating Strategic Change Risk Management and Governance Transformational Leadership Delivering Corporate/Team Values and Vision
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APPENDIX 2 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Completed Items) – August 2024 Action Target Completion Responsible Officer Update This first leadership development programme has now been concluded with an evaluation process underway. Attendance was good throughout the programme and for any officers that were unable to attend parts of the programme, they will attend these specific modules during the next cohort grouping to ensure completion of the full programme. The next 2 Cohorts will be run from April to around September and with up to 60 places available for our next tier of management. There will be some revisions to content and emphasis based on feedback from the initial sessions, however the key themes of the programme will remain unchanged. UPDATE An evaluation of the leadership development programme for the first cohort of delegates (Chief Officers) has now been completed. Positive feedback was received from both the delegates who attended and from the facilitator(s) who delivered the programmes. This feedback has helped shape the programme for the next 2 cohorts of senior managers which are currently running, and due to complete October 2024. The evaluation feedback has been presented to the Council’s Corporate Management Team for noting.
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APPENDIX 2 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Completed Items) – August 2024 Design and undertake an evaluation process of the Leadership Development Programme for Chief Officer cohort to inform required changes / adjustments to programme delivery for next management cohort. March 2024 Head of HR and OD Initial feedback was requested as part of the final workshop of this first programme. An evaluation request, designed in partnership with SOLACE, will be sent out to each of the participants asking if their knowledge has increased, if they feel more confident and informed and what changes, if any, would participants suggest for the next cohort. Generally the feedback from cohort one (Chief Officer cohort) indicated a high level of satisfaction with the programme overall. Collaboration with other colleagues during the programme featured strongly with learning through shared experiences. There was positive feedback around learning from colleagues, strengthening networks across services and shared experiences, which will create consistent approaches around best practice. Some feedback was received around the content being more ‘Renfrewshire’ specific, including organisational challenges and use of case studies. Increased use of local examples and practical application is being incorporated into the programme for cohorts 2 and 3. Bowles Report Recommendation 6 Risk management From documents I have seen the Council was unaware of the scale of risk it was taking in the calculation of pupil numbers. The identified risk in Council documents related to providing the school on time, not that the size of the school may prove to be inadequate. The failure to identify that risk has had two consequences; first the Council has been slow to react to the increase in pupil numbers and second the Council did not negotiate with BAE with that risk in mind.
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APPENDIX 2 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Completed Items) – August 2024 Action Target Completion Responsible Officer Update The Council needs to review how it both identifies risk and manages it. Response Objectives Progress actions to provide reassurance in relation to the Council’s current risk management approach, in particular how this is approached, deployed and managed as part of major projects as well as considering and assessing the seniority / appropriateness of officer involvement and related skills across officers involved in the process. A review of risk profiles across all service departments to ensure visibility of all risks and confirmation of where certain risks are being monitored if outwith the standard Risk Reports to the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board (i.e., Health and Safety Planning Groups, Service Improvement Plans etc) October 2023 Director of Finance and Resources Risk report submitted to Audit, Risk & Scrutiny Board as planned on 6 November 2023. A review of the ‘service risk representative’ roles in each service department to ensure the representatives who sit on the Corporate Risk Management Group are sufficiently involved in risk matters within the service, to feed this into the Corporate Risk Management Group and that they also have authority within the service to provide challenge as a ‘critical friend.’ October 2023 Director of Finance and Resources Action completed. CMT agreed (10 October 2023), that each Director will nominate a Head of Service and one other colleague to support the Head of Service in the role going forward. Delivery of a project risk management workshop specific to the planned new primary school in Dargavel (complete) August 2023 Director of Finance and Resources Workshop delivered covering nature of project risks, risk changes over lifecycle of the project; reminder of Council PM framework and PMU support; key issues re good governance. Delivery of project risk management training with all PMU colleagues (in a train the trainer format) so colleagues are delivering this as part of project kick‐offs to support a more risk focussed culture in the organisation. September 2023 Director of Finance and Resources This was completed on 12/10/2023. PMU staff received a ‘train the trainer’ session to enable them to cover running risk awareness sessions at project kick‐offs to support a more risk focussed culture in the organisation.
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APPENDIX 2 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Completed Items) – August 2024 Action Target Completion Responsible Officer Update Undertaking a ‘health check’ of project management arrangements across the council to ensure governance, management, reporting and risk management is appropriate to the scale of the project. November 2023 Director of Finance and Resources Compliance review of all PMU supported projects complete. All projects demonstrated a satisfactory level of risk governance and management. An update to the risk management course on iLearn and consideration of whether it should be a mandatory course. December 2023 Director of Finance and Resources The course if now developed and ready to be launched to relevant staff on iLearn. In addition, face to face training of a new “Who’s risk is it anyway” half day course is also being delivered in February and May. Embed and deliver risk management training into the new leadership development programme that is currently under development, particularly in relation to commercial risk December 2023 Director of Finance and Resources Session delivered 12 December 2023, and is included in the training programme for further cohorts. Reviewing governance documents to ensure delegations in relation to liability caps are clear and unambiguous. December 2023 Director of Finance and Resources Consultation with Head of Corporate Governance concluded that governance documents do not require amendment, but rather, more training would be required on what was expected within existing delegations. The training was delivered to CMT on 28 November 2023. Governance refresher training sessions have been delivered to every department senior management team in January. Deliver a targeted risk management development day for Chief Officers:‐ Project risk management (and risk simulation exercise) Risk horizon scanning and sustainability (the Global Risk Report) December 2023 Director of Finance and Resources The training session has been prepared and was delivered to CMT on 28 November 2023.
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APPENDIX 2 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Completed Items) – August 2024 Action Target Completion Responsible Officer Update Liability caps and their implications It is recognised that Dargavel Village has a significant amount of housing development yet to be delivered (circa 2000 housing units over a 10 year period) and therefore many of the associated risk that existed at the beginning of the development continue to exist today albeit there is live data to inform future projections from the first circa 2,300 units that have been delivered. Manage ongoing education demand risk relating to Dargavel through: The Council therefore continues to face risk and uncertainty in relation to accurately projecting the scale and timing of future education demand which will continue to have inherent uncertainty and risk. In recognition of this the Council will continue to progress the following actions to manage and mitigate this risk:‐ Securing robust long term demand projections which provide both a core projection, potential upper scenario and a long term view of the potential scale and timing of short term peak demand to inform decisions on capacity provision. September 2023 Director of Children’s Services Further updates will be completed in this respect for updated datasets available from November registration data and recently released NRS Census data. As of July 2024, a full learning estate projection model is expected to be delivered by Edge Analytics in September 2024. This will directly inform this action. Identify now a range of flexible options that are and will remain available to in future years to deliver, if required additional capacity (both temporary capacity and permanent long term capacity) to ensure the Council can be reassured of being able to respond appropriately to the potential for upper end demand scenarios and or temporary demand peaks to emerge. January 2024 Based on data and a range of scenarios, flexible additional capacity options have been outlined and shared with relevant boards.
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APPENDIX 2 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Completed Items) – August 2024 Action Target Completion Responsible Officer Update Establish process and arrangements to support and provide detailed monitoring and updates to projections for updates to actual data sets to facilitate a continual re‐assessment of longer term trend and likely requirements / decision point required in relation to deployment of potential additional interventions. January 2024 A schedule is in place with timelines for detailed monitoring and updates to projections and actual data. This will ensure continual re‐assessment of long term trends and likely requirements / decision points required. Work is due to commence in August 2024 to map out the next iteration of roll projection release for 2025 with Edge Analytics. This will inform what data sets are required and set a road map and responsibility matrix for who is accountable for obtaining and collating each data set or model input. This also requires input form the Head of Economy & Development to factor in the next iteration of the Housing Land Audit (HLA) to the projection model. Bowles Report Recommendation 7 Whilst protecting the integrity of the planning process, the Council needs to ensure the appropriate involvement of members in such developments. Additional Council Motion Council agrees that in light of the Independent External Review of Dargavel that there is a requirement to convene a cross party body to discuss and review existing governance arrangements of Renfrewshire Council. Response Objectives Assess the extent to which major investment projects have provided sufficient engagement with elected members through both formal governance routes as well as through briefing sessions, engagement sessions, group presentations, site tours etc. Identify any adjustments or improvements required moving forward. Provide officer support to a cross party group to of elected members to agree the remit and progress a discussion and review of the Council’s formal governance arrangements in line with the motion approved. Carry out an assessment of the Audit Risk and Scrutiny Board against CIPFA’s published good practice guide for audit committees.
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APPENDIX 2 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Completed Items) – August 2024 Action Target Completion Responsible Officer Update Undertake a health check assessment on major capital programmes to provide reassurance in respect to extent to which elected member involvement has been appropriately secured through formal governance reporting as well as via other appropriate informal engagement routes October 2023 Chief Executive supported by CMT City Deal and Infrastructure Health Check report was submitted to CMT on 21 November 2023. Other programmes to be reported to CMT through regular scheduled portfolio update sessions. Support Council Leader and other nominated elected members to determine a review remit, progress the review and develop suitable recommendations. March 2024 Head of Corporate Governance The Cross Party Working Group has been established and met five times. A report was submitted to the Council Meeting on 29 February 2024 setting out the findings of the review. Carry out an assessment of the Audit Risk and Scrutiny Board against CIPFA’s published good practice guide for audit committees and identify any recommendations for change in remit or operational arrangements. December 2023 Director of Finance and Resources The self assessment is complete with recommendations for improved clarity of roles and remits agreed by the ARSB, with formal final approval agreed by Council in May 2024. Bowles Report Recommendation 8 Public confidence These recent events and the matters described in this report will dent public confidence in the Council. The Council should work in an open and transparent manner in the resolution of these issues and particularly with the residents of Dargavel, who have legitimate concerns about the implications for their children during both their primary and secondary education. Response Objectives The key aim has been to provide straightforward messaging and up to date sitreps to ensure publics (and council representatives) have the most up‐to‐date position and the complexity of the issue is explained in a simple and honest way and that parental/carer concerns in respect to the school and educational environment are able to be appropriately discussed through structured engagement arrangements with the parent councils with appropriate agreed actions taken forward. The strategy has been designed to: − Improve the flow and regularity of information to parents and carers and the wider Dargavel community, so they are first to hear about decisions impacting their community. − Ensure parents and carers have access to all projection data available to the council.
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APPENDIX 2 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Completed Items) – August 2024 Action Target Completion Responsible Officer Update − Introduce direct communication channels with Dargavel residents, enabling all sections of the community to engage on matters that are important to them and making sure the latest information is accessible and easy to find. − Provide residents with a feedback loop to enable them to ask questions of the council in relation to the development and have questions answered quickly. − Include the community in formal planning and design of a new primary school and high school extension. It is recognised that effective communication and engagement is important to building a new relationship between the Council and the Dargavel community, but ultimately it will take the delivery of the solution and investment in long term engagement to reduce local anxiety and fully rebuild trust and confidence in the Council. Develop communication plan to drive tactical engagement, ensuring the Dargavel community and specifically parents and carers kept updated on progress and the decisions being made by Council Boards. November 2022 Head of Marketing and Comms The strategy has directed media and stakeholder engagement in relation to council decisions pertaining to Dargavel, the initial announcement and short‐term mitigation arrangements, and the publication of the Independent external review by David Bowles. The specific activities delivered include: Arranging and hosting two parent and carer meetings, attended by council officers and more than 220 parents or carers. Attending several parent council meetings with all primary schools and PMHS to support direct engagement, discussion on key activities, immediate estate decisions in respect to deployment of modular classrooms and post occupancy adjustments at Dargavel Primary, sharing and discussion of revised projection data and modelling, key council decision points, independent review outcomes. Attending several community meetings from community council, Community Liaison Group as well as supporting coordination and delivery of wider community representative
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APPENDIX 2 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Completed Items) – August 2024 Action Target Completion Responsible Officer Update round table session to maintain ongoing engagement, sharing of information and data sharing. Updating parents and carers at Dargavel Primary on progress and all reports to Council Boards and decision making in relation to immediate solutions to address capacity issues at Dargavel/ Updating Bishopton Community Council on progress above. Responding to media enquiries, requests for interview and ensuring the media were proactively updated on progress. Ensuring the wider area stakeholders were kept up to date on progress – this includes community representatives, wider Parent Council groups and local and national politicians. Maintaining updated information on the council website Delivered a creative partnership with Glasgow School of Art and Dargavel Primary School to support pupils design the interiors of the new modular classroom block. Deliver a revised comms and engagement strategy to coincide with the return to school period along with timing of key milestone points in relation to post independent review and moving towards confirmation of progress with BAE systems and moving more significantly into a delivery phase. This will ensure long term engagement process continues to build pro‐active and positive engagement to continue to re‐establish trust and confidence across the Dargavel community. August 2023 Head of Marketing and Comms The Dargavel communication and engagement strategy was reviewed following the publication of the Bowles Report. The strategy covers the development of long‐term solutions to increase primary and secondary capacity. The key aim has been to provide straightforward messaging and up to date sitreps to ensure publics (and council representatives) have the most up‐to‐ date position and the complexity of the issue is explained in a simple and honest way. We committed from the outset to ensure those members of the community directly impacted (and their representatives) are first to hear about the steps being taken to deliver a solution and the decision‐making process involved. The strategy has been designed to: Improve the flow and regularity of information to parents and carers and the wider Dargavel community, so they are
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APPENDIX 2 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Completed Items) – August 2024 Action Target Completion Responsible Officer Update first to hear about decisions impacting their community. Ensure parents and carers have access to all projection data available to the council. Introduce direct communication channels with Dargavel residents, enabling all sections of the community to engage on matters that are important to them and making sure the latest information is accessible and easy to find. Provide residents with a feedback loop to enable them to ask questions of the council in relation to the development and have questions answered quickly. Include the community in formal planning and design of a new primary school and high school extension. Activity delivered from October 2022 to present includes: Planned and hosted 2 public meetings Monthly updates to the council website 13 update letters issued to parents and carers at Dargavel Primary School and shared with community stakeholders. 3 proactive media updates and the handing of almost 50 media enquiries to ensure the council’s right of reply ‐ including arrangements for broadcast interviews. Ongoing Elected Member briefings and MP/MSP briefings to ensure all political representatives are kept up to date on matters relating to the Dargavel Community. Following publication of the Review, individual meetings took place with four local community representatives who were interviewed for the Review to include next steps. Ongoing engagement continues with two
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APPENDIX 2 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Completed Items) – August 2024 Action Target Completion Responsible Officer Update representatives to provide a sounding board for communication and engagement. August 4, the council’s senior team attended a Round Table Meeting with Bishopton Community to discuss education provision and leisure and recreation provision. From August, introduced a new opt‐in community newsletter, promoted locally to encourage resident sign up. Established the Park Mains Liaison Group, attended by the Parent Council Chairs of all Park Mains catchment primary schools, to ensure we can collectively plan the high school extension and effectively engage with the wider school. Space Planning Activity for Dargavel Primary School Preparation of communications plan to encourage community engagement (those directly impacted and those affected) with the forthcoming statutory consultation, to be launched in January. Establish a new parent council liaison group to provide a single PC forum (at the request of PC chairs) to provide a streamlined opportunity for consistent engagement and communication with the whole PC community for all schools associated with Dargavel / Bishopton and PMHS and all feeder primaries. August 2023 Head of Education Group has been established and has met following school summer 2023 break with positive feedback from Parent Council Chairs with engagement to date. Establish regular opt‐in digital community newsletter to facilitate regular communication updates direct to interested members of the community. August 2023 Head of Marketing and Comms Take up of opt‐in digital channel newsletter is currently sitting at over 500 and it is expected that this will continue to grow in the coming months.
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APPENDIX 2 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Completed Items) – August 2024 CROSS PARTY WORKING GROUP AGREED ACTIONS Refresher training for management teams across all of the Council’s directorates on the operation of delegated authority should be implemented. April 2024 Head of Corporate Governance and Chief Auditor Training was delivered to all directorates by the Head of Corporate Governance and the Council’s Chief Auditor in January 2024 to Chief Officers and tier 3 managers. A further “catch up” session was held on 23 April 2024. Refresher training for management teams across all of the Council’s directorates on the operation of the Protocol for Relationships between Political Groups, Elected Members and Officers should be implemented. That the Bulletin be issued with the minutes of each Council and board meeting for the meetings of Full Council. May 2024 Head of Corporate Governance The Bulletin is now issued with the minutes pack at each Full Council Meeting commencing with the meeting of 9 May 2024. All major projects and programmes will report to the appropriate board at least twice a year. Any such reports will include a note of all project groups involved. May 2024 Chief Executive Update reports on City Deal Projects and cultural Infrastructure programmes have gone to boards in December and February respectively as part of twice yearly reporting cycles. Housing investment programme update provided as part of update report at each cycle with an additional full update provided in august of each year. The content of the Protocol for Relationships between Political Groups, Elected Members and Officers be refreshed. February 2024 Head of Corporate Governance The Revised Protocol was approved at the Council Meeting of 29 February 2024 A health check of all major projects will be completed and reported through the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board March 2024 Chief Executive This has separately been reported to the ARS Board as part of the independent review action plan A structure chart for all Council directorates should be prepared and circulated to all Elected Members. This should be regularly updated and recirculated as necessary. March 2024 Chief Executive The structure chart was circulated to all Elected Members, and the first updated version was issued in March
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APPENDIX 2 Action Plan Response Monitoring (Completed Items) – August 2024 That a Chief Planning Officer report brought to the Planning and Climate Change Policy Board at least twice a year advising on the position in respect of s75 Agreements. Planning applications, or where officers cannot not reach agreement on substantive matters in a specific s75 Agreement negotiation will also be brought back to the Board for further consideration. May 2024 Head of Economy and Development Arrangements have been put in place by officers for this bi‐ annual reporting
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Renfrewshire Council Statutory follow-up report
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Contents | 2 Contents 1. Introduction 3 2. Update on progress 4 3. Conclusions 10
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Introduction | 3 Introduction Background 1. In June 2023 Renfrewshire Council received the findings of an independent report (the Bowles report) that highlighted significant historic failings of leadership, oversight and risk management in relation to the provision of school accommodation for Dargavel Village. The council accepted the findings in full and apologised to the local community for the errors made. In January 2024, I reported to the Accounts Commission on the actions taken by the council to respond to the issues identified in the Bowles report. 2. The Commission asked me to report back by June 2024 on progress with the issues raised in the Commission’s findings. Following the announcement of the UK general election on 4 July 2024, reporting was delayed to August 2024 due to restrictions on the publication of reports during the pre-election period. Specifically, the Commission asked that I seek further information and updates from the council on the following: • the council’s review of its approach to community engagement • its approach to consultation on the additional primary school at Dargavel, and other decisions on the school estate • the council’s work on understanding the wider service impacts on the failings regarding school capacity • the council’s reviews of scrutiny and risk management, and its leadership development programme • the process followed and factors taken into account by the council in considering disciplinary action against senior staff, and its approach and policy on performance management and accountability. 3. The council’s appointed auditor has carried out additional work to gather information and assess progress to date in relation to the five areas of interest identified by the Commission. 4. I submit this follow-up report under section 102(1) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 as a matter that the Controller of Audit considers should be brought to the attention of the Accounts Commission for Scotland. 5. The auditor will provide a further update on progress with some of these issues in the annual audit report, due to be published in September 2024, and the Best Value report, which has been brought forward from 2027 to December 2024.
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Update on progress | 4 Update on progress Community engagement 6. In my previous report I reported that the council recognises the significant challenges it faces to rebuild the trust and confidence of local communities. In its findings, the Commission asked me to undertake further audit work to enable me to update the Commission on recent actions taken by the council to improve its consultation and engagement with communities over its planned new primary school at Dargavel and planned extension at Park Mains High School. I was also asked to update the Commission on the council’s progress in reviewing the effectiveness of its strategy and approach to community engagement. I cover each of these areas separately. School-based community engagement and consultation 7. The auditor has carried out a high-level review of community engagement activity undertaken by the council with Dargavel and Park Mains High School communities since publication of the Bowles report. The auditor has concluded that the council has taken steps to increase its engagement activity with local communities. 8. From the end of January to the end of March 2024, the council carried out a statutory consultation on the proposal to build a new primary school in Dargavel village and a review of the catchment areas for both the new and existing primary schools. Activity as part of this consultation included two public meetings, four information sessions, drop-in sessions and opportunities to provide online and written feedback. The council wrote to statutory consultees and others in the local community to publicise the consultation. Information on the consultation and how people could get involved was also available on a dedicated page on the council website. The auditor has confirmed that the council’s consultation on the new Dargavel primary school meets the requirements of the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010. 9. There is no statutory requirement for the council to consult on any proposal to extend an existing school. There has therefore been no statutory consultation on the proposal to extend Park Mains High School. The council has, however, been carrying out a programme of community engagement on the extension. This is principally through the Park Mains Liaison Group and community newsletters. The council reports that it has developed a plan for the next phase of engagement on the extension to Park Mains High School and the new Dargavel primary, from July to September 2024. 10. The final report from the statutory consultation was discussed at the Education and Children’s Services Policy Board in May 2024. The consultation
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Update on progress | 5 was about delivery of a new non-denominational primary school within Dargavel Village for 800 pupils and revised catchment arrangements between Dargavel primary school and the new school. The majority of responses to the consultation agreed with the need for a new school but views were split on the proposed site (40 per cent agreed and 41 per cent disagreed). There was also no consensus on the proposed catchment area (44 per cent agreed, 12 per cent disagreed and 44 percent did not express a preference). The main concern raised by respondents to the consultation was about the increase in traffic and the availability of safe active travel routes to school. Although it was outwith the scope of the consultation, a third of respondents also raised the option of a new high school or a joint primary and secondary campus. This option was not presented in the consultation because the council had agreed in May 2023 to extend Park Mains High School, which is the existing non-denominational secondary school for the Dargavel and Bishopton catchment, to provide additional capacity. 11. The board also considered an Education Scotland report prepared as part of the consultation process. This report concludes that the council’s proposal has the potential to provide educational benefits. It also highlights the significant concerns raised by stakeholders, both through consultation responses and conversations with HM inspectors. It recommends that the council should: • develop robust plans to manage the expected increase in traffic and ensure that there are improved and safe active travel routes to school • develop contingency plans to address any potential slippage in timescales for construction of the new school • continue to work with stakeholders to mitigate their concerns and involve them, as appropriate, in the development of the new school. 12. In response to concerns raised during pre-engagement activity about traffic at the new school site, the council commissioned an independent transport and travel study in January 2024. This concluded that the planned road infrastructure will accommodate the additional traffic. It also made some recommendations to maximise active travel. The council is currently engaging with BAE Systems about planning access and travel routes as part of the design of the school site. 13. The council recognises that there is still work to do to repair its relationship with the Dargavel community and reports that it has developed plans for ongoing community engagement during the design and planning of the new school. 14. The auditor will continue to monitor how the council acts on the findings from the consultation and the Education Scotland report. The council’s review of its approach to consultation and engagement 15. The council commissioned an external consultant to:
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Update on progress | 6 • provide support and guidance on best practice to support its statutory consultation activity in relation to the new primary school. This was to include support for staff delivering the consultation, advice on the effective running of public events, support for the senior team and a review mid-way through the consultation to advise on any improvements that could be made. • carry out a review of the effectiveness of the wider engagement strategy, including the statutory consultation and engagement on plans to expand Park Mains High School. This included a community opinion survey, carrying out meetings with stakeholders to discuss their engagement with the council and a review of exit surveys and transcriptions from the statutory consultation. This review was completed in June and a report will be taken to the council’s Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board in August 2024. 16. The consultant’s report considered how the council carried out the Dargavel consultation, but did not look at the issues raised or how the council has responded. It identified considerable good practice in the consultation process, concluding that it effectively allowed citizens to voice their preferences. It also concluded that the council’s engagement and communication plan was comprehensive. The consultant made a series of recommendations, some of which are specific to the Dargavel consultation and some which are broader and apply to the council’s future consultation activity. 17. The scope and methodology of the work the council commissioned from the external consultant was appropriate and the findings provide assurance that the council’s approach to the Dargavel consultation was robust. It is too early, however, to comment on how the council has responded to the consultant’s recommendations. 18. The council reports that it has now also secured external support to help deliver a new corporate engagement policy and toolkit and establish an engagement oversight group. It is important that the council continues to work to rebuild trust among the Dargavel and Bishopton communities, by acting quickly to implement any recommendations arising from the conclusion of its review. It should also consider how the lessons learned can be applied to its corporate approach to consultation and engagement. The auditor will continue to monitor progress and developments in this area. 19. I am satisfied that the council’s approach to its recent consultation and community engagement activity has been appropriate and comprehensive. The council is responding appropriately to the issues raised through the consultation process in its decision making. Wider impacts on service provision 20. As I noted in my previous report, the council has implemented interim arrangements to address primary school capacity issues and monitors the quality of educational delivery and measures of pupil attainment through its existing quality monitoring arrangements. The Commission emphasised in
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Update on progress | 7 January the importance of openness and transparency in the council’s consideration of options and decision-making in relation to the school estate. The council continues to report issues and decision-making on the school estate and education provision through the Education and Children’s Services Policy Board. 21. The Commission also raised concerns about the potential impacts on other services as a result of the errors in the estimation of pupil numbers in Dargavel. The council has established a Dargavel working group, made up of council senior management, to manage operational issues related to the new primary school and extension of Park Mains High School. Any wider service impacts identified through the work of this group would be considered as part of the council’s regular business planning, financial planning and annual budget processes. 22. The council has not identified any significant impact on local service provision as many other local services are not impacted by the size of the school roll. Of the 4,300 new houses planned in the Dargavel area, 2,400 have been built and the rest will be built in batches over the next 10 years, so the council is confident that it will be able to adapt to any service impacts as they arise through its wider corporate planning processes. 23. The auditor is satisfied that the council has appropriate arrangements in place for considering the potential wider impact of its planning failure linked to school accommodation for Dargavel Village on non-education services. The auditor has also found no evidence of any negative impacts on wider council services being demonstrated through the council’s routine performance management processes. Governance and scrutiny 24. The Bowles report, while restricted to the historical handling of the Dargavel development, raised a concern in relation to the council’s governance arrangements. In my earlier report I highlighted that, while auditors concluded that overall the council has appropriate governance arrangements in place, the role of the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board (ARSB) in ensuring effective scrutiny is not sufficiently clear. The council committed to review its governance and scrutiny arrangements as part of a wider review of corporate governance. 25. The council has taken steps to review its governance and scrutiny arrangements, including: • a self-assessment against CIPFA guidance for local authority audit committees • an exercise benchmarking the council’s governance arrangements against other councils • a cross-party working group review of governance arrangements • a review of the council’s risk management arrangements.
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Update on progress | 8 26. At its meeting in May 2024, the council considered the results of the ARSB’s self-assessment against CIPFA good practice on audit committees. The self- assessment identified a number of areas of good practice and 11 action points, including proposed changes to the governance of the ARSB. The council approved the results of this review, the action plan and a number of changes to the way the ARSB operates in relation to its terms of reference, guidance and role descriptions. All the action points were implemented by the end of June. The cross-party review of governance also identified a number of actions, including a review of the council’s Scheme of Delegation. An action plan was developed compiling actions from the reviews, with progress against actions monitored by the ARSB. All but one of the actions have now been delivered, with the final action to be completed by December 2024. 27. All actions in response to the Bowles report in relation to risk management have been completed, as reported to the ARSB in March 2024. The auditor will continue to monitor progress in improving governance and scrutiny arrangements and report further as part of their annual audit and Best Value work. 28. The council has developed a leadership programme in conjunction with SOLACE. The programme covers areas including risk management, good governance and engaging with the public. The council initially plans to run the programme in three cohorts. The first cohort, consisting of the extended Corporate Management Team has completed the programme and the second cohort began in April 2024. The programme is ongoing so it is too early to reach a conclusion on its effectiveness. SOLACE has collated feedback from the first cohort and the council has used this to update the programme for subsequent cohorts. The auditor has concluded that the scope and timing of the programme is appropriate and will provide a further update in the Best Value report. Performance and accountability 29. The Bowles report concluded that there had been historic failures of leadership and corporate oversight of decisions relating to the Dargavel development. This meant that decision-making was not sufficiently scrutinised or challenged by senior management. Bowles also concluded that junior staff in the Education and Children’s Services department were asked to make assessments on pupil demand that were beyond their expertise and experience, with no appropriate support or supervision. This led to the errors in school capacity planning going unidentified. As part of the independent investigation, David Bowles provided the Chief Executive with a supplementary report considering his views on the accountability of the individuals involved in decision-making in relation to Dargavel. He found that the key individuals had either left the Council or were too junior to merit formal disciplinary action. 30. In my previous report I noted that the auditor concluded that the council obtained appropriate external legal advice and determined there is no potential for any form of action against former senior employees involved in the Dargavel School decision-making. The auditor has carried out further work to look at the processes followed by the council in deciding not to take disciplinary action
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Update on progress | 9 against any of the staff involved. The auditor has also reviewed the council’s policies and procedures on performance management. 31. The council considered whether disciplinary or other action could be taken against individual council officers. The auditor has concluded that the council took the appropriate action, based on the powers available to it, but that action was limited due to officers involved having left the council. 32. In his supplementary report, David Bowles suggested that the council carry out an independent review into the handling of specific planning applications related to Dargavel. The council reports that it had been undertaking its own review of Dargavel planning alongside the work of David Bowles and information from this work had led the council to conclude that the planning process had been followed appropriately. On receipt of the supplementary report, the Chief Executive asked the Head of Corporate Governance to confirm that the concerns identified by Bowles were not supported by evidence. The council has shared details of this work with auditors but has not been able to provide a contemporaneous written record of the scope or findings of its additional work. In the interests of transparency and good governance, I would have expected officers to have kept a written record of decision-making on such a serious matter. 33. The auditor has concluded that, overall, the council has appropriate and comprehensive performance management policies and disciplinary procedures in place. Greater clarity is needed, however, on how the council’s disciplinary procedure applies if an officer goes on sick leave during a disciplinary investigation and occupational health determines the individual is not fit to be investigated. The council is currently in discussions with trade unions regarding a revised disciplinary policy, including changes to address this issue. The council will need to secure agreement from all the trade unions to revise the policy. 34. In light of the Bowles report’s findings about historic failures of management oversight and organisational culture, the council has carried out town hall events and other activity across all council departments to promote understanding of and compliance with performance management policies.
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Conclusions | 10 Conclusions 35. The council continues to demonstrate that it is taking action to respond to the issues highlighted in the Bowles report. The auditor has carried out further work to look at council actions and progress in the five particular areas of concern identified by the Commission and I am satisfied that the actions being taken by the council are timely and appropriate. 36. The council carried out its consultation on the proposed new primary school in line with statutory requirements and the independent consultant found that the process was robust. The consultation found significant support for a new school, however, there is no clear consensus on the proposed site and some respondents continued to highlight high school provision as a pressing issue although that was outwith the consultation scope. The council has recognised that there is still work to do and reports it has developed plans for ongoing community engagement on the design and planning of the new school. The auditor will continue to monitor progress and developments in this area. 37. The council has now concluded its review of risk management and has largely completed the actions arising from its review of governance arrangements. It has also completed its review of its Dargavel consultation and community engagement activity. The council has made progress in its response to the issues raised in the Bowles report, but it is too early to conclude on the impact and effectiveness of some of the actions taken by the council. The auditor will continue to monitor the impact of changes to governance and scrutiny arrangements, the leadership programme, and the council’s response to the review of its community engagement activity. There continues to be significant public interest in the council’s response to the Bowles report. It is critical that the council is as transparent as possible about how it reaches key decisions and that appropriate records are kept. The auditor will provide further updates through the annual audit and Best Value reports.
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Conclusions | 11 Renfrewshire Council Statutory follow-up report Audit Scotland, 4th Floor, 102 West Port, Edinburgh EH3 9DN Phone: 0131 625 1500 Email: info@audit-scotland.gov.uk www.audit-scotland.gov.uk AS.4.0