Minutes of meeting
Renfrewshire Council · 22 June 2022
Back to Leadership Board — 22 June 2022 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Minute of Meeting Leadership Board Date Time Venue Wednesday, 22 June 2022 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 & Infrastructure; L McIntyre, Head of Policy and Commissioning and A Armstrong-Walter, Strategic Partnerships and Inequalities Manager (both Chief Executives); J Trainer, Head of Head of Child Care and Criminal Justice and Chief Social Work Officer; M Conaghan, Head of Corporate Governance, G Dickie, ICT Partnering & Commissioning Manager, D Low, Democratic Services Manager, D Pole, End User Technician and D Cunningham and J Barron, both Assistant Committee Services Officers (all Finance and Resources); and F Naylor, Head of Finance and Corporate Services (OneRen). Webcasting of Meeting Prior to the commencement of the meeting the Convener intimated that this meeting of the Leadership Board would be filmed for live or subsequent broadcast via the Council's internet site. Apology Councillor G Graham.
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Transparency Statements Councillor Campbell indicated that she had a connection to item 3 of the agenda – Local Child Poverty Action Report 2022 - by reason of her being an employee of NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde but not in the Council’s area. However, she indicated that she had applied the objective test and did not consider she had an interest to declare and intimated that it was her intention to remain in the meeting and to take part in any discussion or voting thereon. Councillor Paterson indicated that he had a connection to item 2 of the agenda - Social Renewal Update - by reason of his appointment as the Council's the Council's representative to Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau. However, he indicated that he had applied the objective test and did not consider he had an interest to declare and intimated that it was his intention to remain in the meeting and to take part in any discussion or voting thereon. Declaration of Interest Councillor Ann-Dowling declared an interest in item 2 of the agenda - Social Renewal Update - as she was a Director of Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau and intimated that it was her intention to leave the meeting and take no part in the discussion or voting on the funding element of the item but would otherwise remain in the meeting and participate in the discussion and any voting on the other elements contained in the report. 1 Council Plan Six-month Update There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive relative to the Council plan six- month progress update. The report intimated that in September 2017 the Council approved new Council and Community Plans for Renfrewshire covering the period 2017 to 2022. The Council Plan set out the direction of the Council through five strategic outcomes – our economy, resilient communities, tackling inequality, creating a sustainable Renfrewshire and working together. Service Plans for each Council service sat under this framework and described in more detail how the priorities under each of these outcomes would be achieved, supplemented by detailed action plans and performance scorecards. The report referred to the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic on Renfrewshire's communities, residents and businesses and the work which had been done to continue to deliver vital frontline services. It was noted that at appropriate points during the pandemic, services worked to restart impacted services in line with Scottish Government guidance and with local partners to develop recovery plans for Renfrewshire. However, despite the challenges of the pandemic, progress had been made against the five Council Plan priorities and this was detailed in the report. The report intimated that work was underway to develop a refreshed Council Plan and Community Plan which would reflect the priorities of the Council and its partners
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moving forward from the pandemic. The report anticipated that both plans would be brought forward to a meeting of this Board in autumn 2022. DECIDED: (a) That the progress achieved against the strategic outcomes since the last update to Leadership Board in December 2021, as outlined in Appendix 1 be noted; (b) That it be noted that this was the final report in relation to the implementation of the current Council Plan, which covered the period 2017-2022; and (c) That it be noted that a new Council Plan was currently being developed and would be brought forward for approval in autumn 2022. Declaration of Interest Councillor Ann-Dowling having previously declared an interest in the grant funding element of the following item, remained in the meeting and took part in the discussion, there being no discussion on the grant funding element of the report. 2 Social Renewal Update There was submitted an update report by the Chief Executive relative to the Social Renewal programme which had been developed initially in recognition of the disproportionate impact that the pandemic had on local residents, but had been increasingly driven by the local response to the cost of living crisis, with significant challenges being experienced in relation to poverty and financial insecurity in households across Renfrewshire. The report intimated that at the meeting of Renfrewshire Council held on 3 March 2022, it had been agreed that all social renewal-related activities would be brought together to form a new Fairer Renfrewshire Programme in Renfrewshire. Officers were working with partners to develop the principles of this programme, and a more detailed report would be submitted to the new Leadership Board Sub-committee to consider after the summer recess. The report advised that the Sub-committee had been formed to facilitate more scrutiny and oversight of issues relating to poverty and inequality in Renfrewshire. Officers had continued to work with partners to identify immediate actions which needed to be progressed to support people experiencing financial insecurity in Renfrewshire now, with particular focus in relation to food and fuel support. The report set out a number of proposals for approval, to allow support to be extended and developed across a number of key areas, including in relation to a proposed extension of the local fuel insecurity pilot, and community funding in recognition of ongoing demand and challenges that were being experienced around community food provision. DECIDED: (a) That the content of the report be noted; (b) That it be agreed that a further £34,000 be allocated to top up the Community
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Food Fund and that the fund be opened immediately to applications in line with principles set out in paragraph 4.5 of the report; (c) That an allocation of £50,000 be agreed to extend the fuel insecurity pilot until the end of 2022/23, and that funding of £17,000 be awarded to Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau, and £16,500 each to Linstone Housing Association and Renfrewshire Foodbank; (d) That the statement on the Exercise of Functions relating to period poverty be approved as set out in Appendix 1, for submission to Scottish Government; (e) That grant funding of £45,000 be awarded to Active Communities to deliver the peer health project, previously agreed by Leadership Board in February 2022; (f) That an allocation of £30,000 from Social Renewal funding to support a community capacity building initiative led by the Tannahill Centre be agreed; and (g) That the work being undertaken to develop the principles of the Fairer Renfrewshire programme be noted. 3 Local Child Poverty Action Report 2022 There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive relative to activities undertaken in Renfrewshire to reduce child poverty between April 2021 and March 2022, as well as planned and proposed actions for the future. The report intimated that the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 required that each Local Authority and each relevant Health Board had to jointly prepare and publish a Local Child Poverty Action Report annually. This report was required to describe measures taken during the reporting year within the local authority area that reduced child poverty or improved outcomes for children living in poverty. It also had to describe planned and proposed future actions. Renfrewshire's Local Child Poverty Action Report for 2021/22 was appended to the report. The report highlighted the work being undertaken to respond and recover from the impacts of the pandemic and to support those parents and families disproportionately impacted with issues such as low income, insecure employment, caring responsibilities and disabilities. Councillor Ann-Dowling proposed that officers be asked to investigate the cost of rolling out breakfast clubs to all of Renfrewshire's primary and secondary schools and that these investigations be reported back to a future meeting of this Board. This was agreed. DECIDED: (a) That the content of the draft Child Poverty Local Action Report 2021/22 be noted; (b) That the Local Child Poverty Action Report be approved for publication; and (c) That officers be asked to investigate the cost of rolling out breakfast clubs to all of Renfrewshire's primary and secondary schools and that these investigations be reported back to a future meeting of this Board.
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4 Alcohol and Drugs Change Programme Update There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive relative to an update on the progress of the Alcohol and Drugs Change Programme which was established following the publication of the Renfrewshire Alcohol and Drugs Commission final report in December 2020. The report published in 2020 set out the Commission’s main findings and provided 27 recommendations to guide the local response. Priority actions identified included: urgently addressing issues in relation to mental health service provision, including provision for young people; considering trauma as part of everything that partners do in Renfrewshire; and introducing a whole system approach to supporting people with their alcohol and drug use. Following the Alcohol and Drugs Commission’s final report in December 2020, partners prioritised a range of actions in response to the key recommendations and established a Programme Board to drive the local response, ensuring that all partners worked together, join up service developments, and maximise the resources available. Key developments which had been progressed included a number of projects, under the themes of the Commission’s final report and these were detailed in the report. DECIDED: (a) That the progress of the Alcohol and Drugs Change Programme since the last update provided to the Leadership Board on 15 September 2021 be noted; (b) That £69,500 funding be approved for the Connected and Caring Renfrewshire project from the Alcohol and Drugs Change Programme budget and a further £20,000 be approved to extend the Alcohol Policy project; and (c) That the guidance for the Recovery Change Fund which would launch in June/July 2022 and which was appended to the report be approved. 5 Update on Humanitarian Crisis in Ukraine There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive relative to an update on the local response to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, with a specific focus on work being undertaken to support the resettlement of Ukrainian nationals across Renfrewshire’s communities and the ongoing deployment of a Welcome Hub at Glasgow Airport. The report provided an overview of the work that was being progressed to support community resettlement of Ukrainian nationals through private sponsorship arrangements, including the extensive programme in place to undertake checks of relevant host sponsor and properties. It also outlined the initial work undertaken in Renfrewshire at the request of the Scottish Government to establish a Welcome Hub at Glasgow Airport to support any arrivals from Ukraine. This represented an area of significant activity for the Council which was likely to be required into autumn 2022. The report set out an update on recent developments relating to asylum dispersal, with the UK Government indicating that it intended to move to a system of full asylum
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dispersal across Scotland. The report intimated that this change in approach would have a range of implications for the Council and its partners and the report provided an overview of these implications based on the information currently available at a local level. The report suggested that, given the level of uncertainty that existed in terms of the arrival of Ukrainian nationals, the requirement of the local authority to respond at pace to any requests for support and the notification from the Home Office of the intention to extend the asylum dispersal programme to areas beyond Glasgow City including Renfrewshire, the Chief Executive continued to be authorised to put in place such arrangements and resources to meet these demands. DECIDED: (a) That the contents of the report be noted; (b) That the establishment of the Welcome Hub at Glasgow Airport be noted; (c) That the the extension of delegated authority to the Chief Executive as detailed in paragraphs 6.1 and 6.2 of the report be approved; and (d) That the proposed changes by the UK Government in respect of a national dispersal programme for asylum dispersal and the associated implications within the local authority area be noted. 6 Future Paisley 6-monthly Update There was submitted a report by the Head of Marketing and Communications relative to a six-month progress update on the delivery of the Future Paisley programme, which included evaluation of the impact of the programme’s cultural funding to date, together with details on the launch of two Future Paisley cultural funding programmes for 2022/23 - Round 12 of the Culture, Heritage and Events Fund (CHEF) and Round 3 of the Cultural Organisations Development Fund (CODF). The report detailed a series of activities and events that had taken place since the last report to Board in December 2021 as part of the Future Paisley programme and highlighted a number of Future Paisley partnership activities that were underway. The report advised that since 2016, Renfrewshire Council had awarded £1.72 million in grants through three cultural funding programmes: Culture, Heritage and Events Fund (CHEF); Cultural Organisations Development Fund (CODF); and Renfrewshire’s Cultural Recovery and Renewal Fund (RCRRF). An interim evaluation of the programmes had been undertaken in January and February 2022 including external evaluation of RCRRF, ongoing CHEF evaluation and interviews with grant recipients. A summary of the interim evaluation was attached as Appendix 2 to the report. The report intimated that the next rounds of CHEF and CODF commenced on 1 June 2022 and would be delivered through a partnership between Renfrewshire Council and OneRen. Recommendations of awards would be made by assessing officers and presented to the Cultural Recovery and Renewal Fund Panel and the report proposed that authority be delegated to the Head of Marketing and Communication to make a final determination of the grant applications, taking into account the views of the
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review panel and to ensure that funds were distributed as quickly as possible. A report would be brought back to the meeting of the Leadership Board to be held in December 2022 to provide an update on progress with the distribution of the grants. DECIDED: (a) That the report be noted; (b) That the Future Paisley Programme highlights since the last report to Board in December 2021 be noted: (c) That the evaluation of CHEF, CODF and Renfrewshire’s Cultural Recovery and Renewal Fund (RCRRF) and their success in supporting Renfrewshire’s cultural sector be noted; and (d) That it be agreed that the Cultural Recovery and Renewal Fund Panel would review the recommended awards in the forthcoming rounds of CHEF and CODF and that authority be delegated to the Head of Marketing and Communications to determine the applications for funding, based on the views of the review panel, and to distribute the agreed awards swiftly. 7 OneRen Director Nominations There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive relative to the appointment of OneRen Directors. The report advised that in terms of the organisation's Articles of Association, OneRen operated with eleven directors: three appointed by the Council; six independent directors from the business, sport and cultural community, and two employee directors. Council directors served for the term of the administration of Renfrewshire Council (unless they resigned or were removed as a director by Renfrewshire Council during the term). Independent directors were appointed for a period of five years. Following consideration by a nominations committee established by OneRen, the report recommended the appointment of Kieron Achara and Elaine Robertson as independent directors to the Board of OneRen. DECIDED: That the nominations committee recommendation in section 3.7 of the report be agreed for the appointment of the following independent directors to One Ren’s Board: Kieron Achara, Independent Director – Transformational change Elaine Robertson, Independent Director – Commercial, marketing and sales, and fundraising and development.