Minutes of meeting
Renfrewshire Council · 26 October 2022
Back to Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-committee — 26 October 2022 and its agenda
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Minute of Meeting Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-committee Date Time Venue Wednesday, 26 October 2022 10:00 Council Chambers (Renfrewshire), Council Headquarters, Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley, PA1 1AN Present: Councillor Jacqueline Cameron, Councillor Graeme Clark, Councillor Anne Hannigan, Councillor Alec Leishman, Councillor Marie McGurk, Councillor Iain Nicolson, Councillor Jim Paterson Chair Councillor J Cameron, Convener, presided. In Attendance L McIntyre, Head of Policy and Commissioning and A Armstrong-Walter, Strategic Partnership and Inequalities Manager (both Chief Executive's); and D Low, Democratic Services Manager, C MacDonald, Senior Committee Services Officer and D Cunningham, Assistant Committee Services Officer (all Finance and Resources). Also in Attendance S McAulay and H Kay (both Star Project) and D Reilly (Poverty Alliance). Declarations of Interest There were no declarations of interest declared prior to the commencement of the meeting.
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1 Cost-of-Living Evidence Session - Summary Report There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive relative to the cost-of-living evidence session with elected members and representatives from third sector partners which had been held on 12 October 2022 at Renfrew Town Hall. The report intimated that the session had focussed on two questions: “What was the impact of the cost-of-living crisis locally?” and “What action could we take locally to address the crisis?”. The outcome of the session, including key messages, was included in the summary document appended to the report. DECIDED: That the report be noted. 2 Cost-of-Living Update There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive relative to a number of recent developments in the cost-of-living crisis, including a number of policy changes at both a UK and Scottish level. The report highlighted three key changes including the rise in the cost of energy due to the increase in the energy price cap on 1 October 2022 and the introduction of an Energy Price Guarantee to reduce the impact of this on households until April 2023; the rise in the level of inflation to 10.1% and the predicted future rise of this rate to 11%; and the impact of volatility in financial markets upon the withdrawal of certain mortgage products and the general increase in mortgage interest rates. DECIDED: That the report be noted. 3 Fairer Renfrewshire Programme There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive relative to an overview of the initial priorities and workstreams within the Fairer Renfrewshire programme, and setting out a draft programme for the Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-Committee for the next three Sub-committee meetings. The report intimated that there were four key emerging themes which were shared across all elements of the Fairer Renfrewshire programme: improving financial security; advancing equality of opportunity; building community capacity and resilience; and listening to lived experience. These key themes would be incorporated into the agendas for the meetings of the Sub-committee to be held in February, March and May 2023 although the report highlighted that the programme of items may need to be adapted to reflect emerging priorities and developments. The Fairer Renfrewshire programme would continue to be developed in response to engagement from both local partners and also residents. The cost-of-living evidence session held on 11 October 2022 with third sector partners was anticipated to form an ongoing dialogue between partners and the Sub-Committee to inform the development of the programme. In addition, the work being undertaken to establish a panel of local people with lived experience of poverty should also provide the Sub-
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committee with significant further insight to assist with the development of the programme. DECIDED: (a) That the report be noted; and (b) That the initial programme for the Sub-Committee until May 2023 be agreed. 4 Participation, poverty and practice in Renfrewshire - A test of change The Strategic Partnership and Inequalities Manager gave a presentation on the Participation, poverty and practice in Renfrewshire – A test of change programme. She highlighted the Council’s long-standing commitment to tackling poverty in Renfrewshire and set out the process of recruiting a panel of ‘lived experience’ volunteers to help inform the programme. D Reilly, Poverty Alliance, highlighted the importance of the Star Project’s delivery of the programme locally and S McAulay and H Kay, both Star Project, set out the support that would be given to Panel members, many of whom would represent the 60% of ‘recent strugglers’ who were in employment but had been adversely impacted by the cost-of-living crisis. DECIDED: That the presentation be noted. 5 Alcohol and Drugs Change Programme – Overview The Head of Policy and Commissioning gave a presentation on the Alcohol and Drugs Change Programme. She referred to the establishment of the Alcohol and Drugs Commission in 2018 and its key findings and recommendations that were released in 2020. The presentation set out the key outcomes of the Alcohol and Drugs Change Programme and highlighted that some of these outcomes would feed into the Fairer Renfrewshire agenda. DECIDED: That the presentation be noted. 6 Winter Connections Programme The Strategic Partnership and Inequalities Manger gave a presentation on the Winter Connections Programme, a network of local places where people could connect to others in their community this winter. The presentation highlighted the purpose of the Winter Connections Fund which would provide assistance to local groups to help cover the additional costs in making venues, activities and sessions available as part of the Winter Connection Programme. The presentation set out the timeline and next steps for the Programme.
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DECIDED: That the presentation be noted.