Minutes of meeting
Renfrewshire Council · 20 September 2023
Back to Leadership Board — 20 September 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
Page 1
Minute of Meeting Leadership Board Date Time Venue Wednesday, 20 September 2023 13:00 Council Chambers (Renfrewshire), Council Headquarters, Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley, PA1 1AN Present: Councillor Alison Ann-Dowling, Councillor Jacqueline Cameron, Councillor Michelle Campbell, Councillor Graeme Clark, Councillor Neill Graham, Councillor Anne Hannigan, Councillor Alec Leishman, Councillor Marie McGurk, Councillor Iain McMillan, Councillor Iain Nicolson, Councillor Jim Paterson, Councillor Emma Rodden, Councillor John Shaw, Councillor Andy Steel Chair Councillor Nicolson, Convener, presided. In Attendance A Russell, Chief Executive; G McNeil, Director of Environment, Housing & Infrastructure; J Calder, Head of Service (Early Years & Broad General Education) and J Trainer, Head of Childcare & Criminal Justice (both Children's Services); A MacArthur, Director of Finance & Resources; L McIntyre, Head of Policy & Partnerships, L Mahon, Head of Marketing & Communications and P Moss, Planning & Insight Manager (all Chief Executive's); M Boyd, Head of People & OD, M Conaghan, Head of Corporate Governance, C McCourt, Head of Finance & Procurement, D Low, Democratic Services Manager and R Devine, Senior Committee Services Officer (all Finance & Resources); and K O'Byrne, Head of Health & Social Care (Paisley)(Renfrewshire Health & Social Care Partnership). Webcasting of Meeting Prior to the commencement of the meeting the Convener intimated that this meeting of the Board would be filmed for live or subsequent broadcast via the Council's internet site.
Page 2
Apology Councillor G Graham. Declarations of Interest and Transparency Statements Councillor Clark indicated that he had a connection to item 3 by reason of his son being Chief Executive of Active Communities, a group that had received a grant from the Community Food Fund. However, he indicated that he had applied the objective test and did not consider he had an interest to declare. Councillor Ann-Dowling indicated that she had a connection to item 3 by reason of her being the Chair of Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau which had provided the School Support Service. However, she indicated that she had applied the objective test and did not consider she had an interest to declare. Councillor McMillian indicated that he had a connection to item 3 by reason of his membership of the Board of Thorn Athletic, a group that had received a Summer of Fun grant. However, he indicated that he had applied the objective test and did not consider he had an interest to declare. Councillor N Graham indicated that he had a connection to item 3 by reason of him being a volunteer with Barnardos. However, he indicated that he had applied the objective test and did not consider he had an interest to declare. Councillor Paterson indicated that he had a connection to item 3 by reason of him being a Council-appointed representative to Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau and also for the reason of his children participating in the Summer of Fun programme at Knockhill Park, Renfrew. However, he indicated that he had applied the objective test and did not consider he had an interest to declare. Councillor Campbell declared an interest in item 3 by reason of her involvement with Erskine Arts, a potential recipient of funding through the Winter Connections Programme and indicated her intention to leave the meeting during consideration of this item and not take part in any discussion or voting thereon. Councillor Campbell indicated that she had a connection to item 5 by reason of her being employed by NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde. However, she indicated that she had applied the objective test and did not consider she had an interest to declare. 1 Revenue and Capital Budget Monitoring Report There was submitted a joint budget monitoring report by the Chief Executive, Director of Finance & Resources and Chief Finance Officer, Renfrewshire Health & Social Care Partnership relative to revenue and capital budget monitoring as at 23 June 2023.
Page 3
The report intimated that the projected revenue and capital outturn at 23 June 2023 for those services reporting to this Board was an underspend of £0.008 million and a breakeven position respectively. DECIDED: (a) That the projected revenue outturn position detailed in Table 1 of the report be noted; (b) That the projected capital outturn position detailed in Table 2 of the report be noted; and (c) That the budget adjustments detailed at sections 4 and 6 of the report be noted. 2 Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-committee There was submitted the Minute of the meeting of the Fairer Renfrewshire Sub- committee held on 6 September 2023 which forms the Appendix to this Minute. DECIDED: That the Minute be approved. Sederunt Councillor Campbell, having declared an interest in the following item of business, left the meeting and took no part in the discussion or voting thereon. 3 Fairer Renfrewshire Update There was submitted an update report by the Chief Executive relative to work being undertaken by the Council and its partners to progress the Fairer Renfrewshire Programme. The report provided a summary of the key headline issues relating to the cost of living crisis locally and set out specific updates relative to the launch of the enhanced schools advice and family advice models; the summer holiday activity and food programme; the launch of the next phase of the Winter Connections Programme; applications received in relation to the relaunched Community Food Fund in August 2023 and development of the Fair Food Partnership; and the Alcohol and Drugs Change programme element of Fairer Renfrewshire. DECIDED: (a) That the content of the report and the work being undertaken to progress the Fairer Renfrewshire programme be noted; (b) That the award of £25,000 of funding from the Community Food Fund, in line with the officer panel recommendations and information detailed in Appendix 1, be approved;
Page 4
(c) That the update provided on the summer holiday activity and food programme be noted and that the allocation of additional grant funding as detailed in Appendix 2 be homologated; (d) That the guidance for the Winter Connections 2023/24 programme and associated implementation arrangements as detailed in section 7 and Appendix 3 approved; (e) That the allocation of £164,745 from the Alcohol and Drugs Change Programme budget to extend the delivery of projects within the Programme, as detailed in Section 8, be agreed: and (f) That it be agreed that £10,000 of funding from the Recovery Change Fund budget be redirected to supplement the Winter Connections Programme, as detailed in Section 8 of the report. Sederunt Councillor Campbell rejoined the meeting prior to consideration of the following item of business. 4 Community Planning - Six-monthly Update There was submitted an update report by the Chief Executive relative to an overview of recent activity undertaken by the Community Planning Partnership in Renfrewshire. The report provided updates on the general programmes of work being progressed across the partnership including the development of a draft Community Plan performance framework against which progress in the second half of the 2017/27 Plan could be measured; the Local Partnership consultation and engagement programme; and the national inquiry by Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee to consider the impact of Part 2 of the Community Empowerment Act (2015) on community planning and how Community Planning Partnerships could respond to significant events such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the current cost-of- living crisis. DECIDED: That the report be noted. 5 Adult Social Care: Six-monthly Update There was submitted a report by the Chief Officer, Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership, relative to the key activities undertaken during 2022/23 in terms of the Adult Social Work Services delegated to Renfrewshire Integration Joint Board (IJB) and managed through the Health and Social Care Partnership. The report set out the list of functions that must be delegated by the Local Authority to the IJB as set out in the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Prescribed Local Authority Functions, etc) (Scotland) Regulations 2014, and as noted in Annex 2, part 1 of Renfrewshire’s Integration Scheme. Whilst regular reporting in relation to these services was provided to the Integration Joint Board, it was previously agreed that regular updates would also be presented to the Leadership Board. This ensured oversight of the key activities and wider context relating to the delivery of these
Page 5
services. The report, together with a scorecard, provided an overview of activity and performance using the most up to date information available. DECIDED: (a) That the contents of the report, updating activity and performance of adult social work services delegated to the IJB, be noted; (b) That it be noted that a revised suite of adult social care performance indictors would be submitted to a future meeting of this Board for approval; and (c) That it be noted that the next six-monthly update report for April to September 2023 would be presented to the Leadership Board in February 2024. 6 Migration and Asylum Update There was submitted an update report by the Chief Executive relative to a range of issues which were being monitored by partners, including support for people who had settled in Renfrewshire across communities and the potential future impact on housing and health and social care. DECIDED: That the report be noted. 7 Sustainable Communities Fund There was submitted an update report by the Chief Executive relative to the Sustainable Communities Fund. The report advised that the remaining monies from the Community Empowerment Fund and Climate Change Action Fund had been combined to create a single, easy- to-access Sustainable Communities Fund and that available funding had been boosted by an allocation of £650,000 from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, giving total overall funding of £1.596 million (£1.122 million capital and £0.474 million revenue). The report intimated that the new Sustainable Communities Fund aimed to improve the lives of local people and build resilient communities through sustainable activities developed and valued by local people, helping to build community pride and cohesion. A guide to the grant funding available through the Sustainable Communities Fund was appended to the report. DECIDED: (a) That the guidance attached at Appendix 1 be approved; (b) That recommendations in relation to the award of funding be submitted to the Communities and Housing Policy Board; (c) That the allocation of £0.100 million of the £1.596 million total funding available to be utilised to support the costs of fund administration, application development and
Page 6
community development activities which would be required to maximise the value of this funding pot in line with similar arrangements for this type of project be approved; and (d) That it be noted that regular updates would be provided to the Communities and Housing Policy Board on the implementation of the funding and all projects. 8 Consultation on the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill There was submitted an update report by the Chief Executive relative to the Council’s draft response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Bill. The consultation had closed on 1 September 2023 and the Council’s draft response, which had been submitted to meet the deadline for responses, was attached as Appendix 1 to the report. The report advised that Round 13 of the Culture, Heritage and Events Fund (CHEF) and Round 4 of the Cultural Organisational Development Fund (CODF), funded through Future Paisley, had been launched at the end of June 2023. The report outlined changes to CHEF Round 13 criteria and sought delegated authority to administer the funds. DECIDED: (a) That the consultation response as attached at Appendix 1 to the report be approved; and (b) That the formal submission of this response by the Director of Finance & Resources to meet the closing date of 1 September 2023 be homologated.