Community Planning Partnership Management Committee Meeting
Argyll and Bute Council · 12 February 2025
Back to Oban Lorn & the Isles Area Community Planning Group — 12 February 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Argyll and Bute Community Planning Partnership Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Community Planning Group 12 February 2025 Community Planning Partnership Management Committee Meeting This briefing relates to the meeting of the Community Planning Partnership (CPP) Management Committee meeting which was held on 6 December 2024. The briefing is for noting and relevant discussion. Summary HIGHLIGHTS Area Community Planning Group (ACPG) Updates Stuart McLean, Argyll and Bute Council, provided an overview of the ACPG reports from the meetings held in April/May, August and November. Stuart thanked the new office bearers that have taken up appointments – Gill Simpson as Vice Chair of Helensburgh and Lomond ACPG, Colin Buchanan as Chair and Julie MacKenzie as Vice Chair of Oban, Lorn and the Isles ACPG and Anne Horn as Chair of Mid-Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands ACPG. Stuart also raised the concerns of the Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands ACPG regarding the negative impacts to local people and businesses due to repeated closures of the A83. Stuart advised that Iain Woodcock, Transport Scotland, had attended the Bute and Cowal, Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands and Helensburgh and Lomond ACPGs to give updates on the ongoing traffic management arrangements on the A83 and improvements to the Old Military Road. The Management Committee noted the concerns raised by the Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands ACPG and hoped that any further frustrations would be alleviated by the details provided by Mr Woodcock. The Management Committee met on the 6 December 2024 via Microsoft Teams. This update provides an overview of the discussion which took place. Reports which were discussed at the meeting can be found by following this link - Agenda for Argyll and Bute Community Planning Partnership - Management Committee on Friday, 6 December 2024, 10:00 am - Argyll and Bute Council
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Census / Population Update David Murdoch, Argyll and Bute Council, delivered a presentation on the work on the population and census data from the census / National Records of Scotland (NRS). The Management Committee noted that the population in Argyll and Bute had been gradually declining since 1989 (93,990 people), post-COVID saw a positive trend increasing the net inward migration to the area (however it is too early to forecast if this increase will continue in an upwards trend in the future). David explained how the difference in population estimates from 2011 and 2022 were largely due to changes in how the naval personnel at HMNB Clyde were included, or not, in the 2011 and 2022 census figures respectively. David highlighted that the population in HMNB Clyde is properly accounted as it does impact the area in terms of services being used by the naval personnel – schools, health services etc. David said that in 2043 the projected population in Argyll and Bute would be 73,500 people. The projections also showed an increase to the average population age (46 – 76 years) and the mortality rates of that aging cohort have been reflected in those figures. The age of the working age population is also declining in all four administrative areas. David noted the variance by area of the population under 16, and how the rate of child poverty in Argyll and Bute is 19.4% which is more positive that the Scotland average of 21.8%. However, there are areas in Argyll and Bute were the proportion of children in low income families is higher that the Scottish average, such as Rothesay. Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) 2024 Presentation Saskia Schmitz, NHS Highland, delivered a presentation on the JSNA which detailed the expected future needs of the local population. Included in the presentation was detail on the ageing population in Argyll and Bute, specifically that 27.8% of people over 65 are affected by multiple health conditions. The most common health concerns are cancer, arthritis, coronary heart disease, asthma and diabetes. This will likely lead to a rise in care needs of increasing complexity. The rate of Adult Care home residence in Argyll and Bute is higher than the Scottish average. The highest prevalence condition for those in long-term residential care is dementia and there is an increase in the number of deaths in a homely setting due to dementia. Saskia noted it is difficult to accurately record the number of unpaid carers in Argyll and Bute as not all are registered with carer centres, although recent awareness raising campaigns have shown an uptake in the number of people registering. Currently most unpaid carers are in the age group 35 years and over, although a
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quarter of all carers are aged 65 and over, showing there may also be a need to provide more support to unpaid carers in the future to support the aging population. Argyll and Bute Council was one of the first to declare a housing emergency. The high cost of homes means only 25% of the population can afford housing here (based on the standard affordable housing ratio of 3.5 x household income). There is a high amount of second homes and ineffective housing stock and the pressure on the market for available homes is highest on our island communities. For social housing, every available property has at least four applicants. Homelessness was reducing, however it has been rising again and may put increasing pressure on our housing / homeless services. CPP Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan Andy Macpherson, Argyll & the Isles Coast & Countryside Trust, pointed to the extensive information available in the meeting pack (link provided above) and gave an overview of where the work is on the strategy, priorities and next steps. The Climate Strategy is broad ranging, including mitigation and adaptation and that is approach sits efficiently with how the Scottish Government is looking to distribute climate change funding. The strategy has been streamlined, and Andy is continuing to work on making the document shorter and simpler. CPP Community Wealth Building (CWB) Short Life Steering Group Takki Sulaiman, Argyll and Bute TSI, presented a recap on the five pillars of CWB and the actions to date. Takki advised that there had been good discussions on CWB at the eight ACPG meetings in April/May and August, and it was discussed at the September CPP Full Partnership. A shared ownership informal best practice group has met 4 times to look at the mechanics of how his could look in terms of community energy / renewable energy schemes. The Council procurement team has also provided excellent information and they are producing a new procurement strategy in early 2025. Good news is that currently 38% of council spend is local, compared to the 28% national average. In February 2025 the CWB Steering Group will host an in-person workshop to produce a summary position statement with a “hyper localised” vision and mission. The group will prioritise recommendations and deliver action plans and explore linkages and opportunities with other strategies. An infographic will be produced to explain how CWB fits with other activities and highlight what role partners can play in the delivery of CWB. Takki advised that the Economic Development Association Scotland have received funding to set up a CWB best practice hub, and an online CWB tool has been set up by the Improvement Service. Argyll and Bute Council Equalities Outcomes Consultation Chris Carr, Argyll and Bute Council, delivered a presentation on the consultation which applies to the Council, Education and licensing board. The consultation is
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looking to change all the equality outcomes, applying lessons learned from previous outcomes, and apply actions to the new outcomes to facilitate progress reporting. The new outcomes are due to be published at the end of April 2025, and there is a need to consult with relevant groups to develop the outcomes. Chris encouraged partners to promote the consultation to community groups, noting how inclusion and equalities are woven into the Local Outcome Improvement Plan – most closely to the Community Wellbeing priority. The next steps are a public consultation, which will run over the festive period. The responses will then be analysed and amendments made to the outcomes and actions plan as required. Audit Scotland’s Tackling Digital Exclusion Report David Murdoch, Argyll and Bute Council, spoke to the Audit Scotland Report, which was published in August 2024. The aim of the report was to consider how public bodies, including Scottish Government, Councils, NHS and other bodies, understand and are tackling digital exclusion. The report looks at what digital inclusion is, how well the public sector are tackling this issue and how to support improvement to enable digital inclusion. A key message in the report is that digital technologies can bring many benefits and efficiencies, enable people to access services and is an important factor in ongoing public sector reform. Audit Scotland spoke to those with real life experience of digital exclusion and this provided real value to the report. Connecting Scotland has supported over 61,000 households to get online, however this funding has been reduced after the pandemic so collaborative working across organisations is needed to continue this work. Skills development is also needed, with around 15% of Scotland’s adults lacking digital skills. For further information, please contact: Stuart McLean, Committee Manager, Argyll and Bute Council (01436) 657605 Stuart.mclean@argyll-bute.gov.uk