Agenda Document Pack - Executive Committee - 22/11/2023
South Lanarkshire Council · 22 November 2023
Back to Executive Committee — 22 November 2023 and its agenda
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Council Offices, Almada Street Hamilton, ML3 0AA Tuesday, 14 November 2023 Dear Councillor Executive Committee The Members listed below are requested to attend a meeting of the above Committee to be held as follows:- Date: Wednesday, 22 November 2023 Time: 10:00 Venue: Hybrid - Committee Room 1, Council Offices, Almada Street, Hamilton, ML3 0AA The business to be considered at the meeting is listed overleaf. Yours sincerely Cleland Sneddon Chief Executive Members Joe Fagan (Chair/ex officio), Gerry Convery (Depute Chair), Alex Allison, John Anderson, Robert Brown, Andy Carmichael, Maureen Chalmers, Ross Clark, Margaret Cooper, Andrea Cowan, Maureen Devlin, Gladys Ferguson-Miller, Lynsey Hamilton, Mark Horsham, Eileen Logan, Katy Loudon, Hugh Macdonald, Ian McAllan, Catherine McClymont, Kenny McCreary, Lesley McDonald, Mark McGeever, Davie McLachlan, Richard Nelson, Mo Razzaq, Kirsten Robb, John Ross, David Shearer, Margaret B Walker Substitutes John Bradley, Walter Brogan, Poppy Corbett, Margaret Cowie, Elise Frame, Graeme Horne, Martin Hose, Susan Kerr, Ross Lambie, Elaine McDougall, Norman Rae, Graham Scott, David Watson 1
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BUSINESS 1 Declaration of Interests 2 Minutes of Previous Meeting Minutes of the meeting of the Executive Committee held on 11 October 2023 submitted for approval as a correct record. (Copy attached) 5 - 10 Monitoring Item(s) 3 Revenue Budget Monitoring for Period 1 April 2023 to 6 October 2023 Report dated 23 October 2023 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources). (Copy attached) 11 - 16 4 Capital Budget 2023-2024 and Monitoring for Period 7 - 1 April 2023 to 6 October 2023 (003) Report dated 1 November 2023 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources). (Copy attached) 17 - 26 5 Additional Funding from Scottish Government and Other External Sources Report dated 23 October 2023 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources). (Copy attached) 27 - 30 6 Employee Workforce Monitoring Information April to September 2023 Summary Report dated 25 October 2023 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources). (Copy attached) 31 - 54 7 Community Plan Quarter 4 Progress Report 2022-2023 and Annual Outcomes Improvement Report Report dated 1 November 2023 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources). (Copy attached) 55 - 126 Item(s) for Decision 8 Land and Property Transfers and Disposals Report dated 31 October 2023 by the Executive Director (Housing and Technical Resources). (Copy attached) 127 - 130 9 Cost of Living - Support Report dated 24 October 2023 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources). (Copy attached). 131 - 136 10 2024/2025 Revenue Budget Update and Savings Proposals Report dated 10 November 2023 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources). (Copy attached) 137 - 180 Item(s) for Noting 11 Programme for Government 2023 Report dated 25 October 2023 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources). (Copy attached) 181 - 232 2
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Urgent Business 12 Urgent Business Any other items of business which the Chair decides are urgent. For further information, please contact:- Clerk Name: Pauline MacRae Clerk Telephone: 07385 370044 Clerk Email: pauline.macrae@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 3
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EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Minutes of meeting held via Confero and in Committee Room 1, Council Offices, Almada Street, Hamilton on 11 October 2023 Chair: Councillor Joe Fagan (ex officio) Councillors Present: Councillor Alex Allison, Councillor John Anderson, Councillor Robert Brown, Councillor Andy Carmichael, Councillor Maureen Chalmers, Councillor Ross Clark, Councillor Gerry Convery (Depute), Councillor Andrea Cowan, Councillor Gladys Ferguson-Miller, Councillor Lynsey Hamilton, Councillor Mark Horsham, Councillor Eileen Logan, Councillor Katy Loudon, Councillor Hugh Macdonald, Councillor Ian McAllan, Councillor Catherine McClymont, Councillor Kenny McCreary, Councillor Lesley McDonald, Councillor Mark McGeever, Councillor Davie McLachlan, Councillor Richard Nelson, Councillor Mo Razzaq, Councillor Kirsten Robb, Councillor John Ross, Councillor Graham Scott (substitute for Councillor Maureen Devlin), Councillor David Shearer, Councillor Margaret B Walker, Councillor David Watson (substitute for Councillor Margaret Cooper) Councillors' Apologies: Councillor Margaret Cooper, Councillor Maureen Devlin Attending: Chief Executive’s Service C Sneddon, Chief Executive Community and Enterprise Resources D Booth, Executive Director Education Resources C McKenzie, Executive Director Finance and Corporate Resources P Manning, Executive Director; T Little, Head of Communications and Strategy; G McCann, Head of Administration and Legal Services; P MacRae, Administration Adviser; K McLeod, Administration Assistant; J Taylor, Head of Finance (Strategy) Housing and Technical Resources S Gibson, Executive Director Health and Social Care/Social Work Resources S Sengupta, Director, Health and Social Care 1 Declaration of Interests No interests were declared. 2 Minutes of Previous Meeting The minutes of the meeting of the Executive Committee held on 13 September 2023 were submitted for approval as a correct record. The Committee decided: that the minutes be approved as a correct record. 2 5
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3 Revenue Budget Monitoring for the Period 1 April to 8 September 2023 A report dated 22 September 2023 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) was submitted on the overall financial position of the Council’s General Fund Revenue Account and Housing Revenue Account for the period 1 April to 8 September 2023. At 8 September 2023, the position on the General Fund Revenue Account was breakeven. Details were given on:- budget pressures within Children and Families Services the position within the Adult and Older People Service following the outcome of the job evaluation exercise for home carers maintenance of teacher and pupil support numbers The Housing Revenue Account showed a breakeven position at 8 September 2023, as detailed in Appendix 2 of the report. Officers responded to members’ questions on various aspects of the report. The Committee decided: (1) that the breakeven position on the General Fund Revenue Account at 8 September 2023, as detailed in section 4 and Appendix 1 of the report, be noted; and (2) that the breakeven position on the Housing Revenue Account at 8 September 2023, as detailed in section 5 and Appendix 2 of the report, be noted. [Reference: Minutes of 13 September 2023 (Paragraph 3)] 4 Capital Budget 2023/2024 and Monitoring for Period 6 - 1 April to 8 September 2023 A report dated 20 September 2023 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) was submitted on progress of the General Fund Capital Programme and the Housing Capital Programme for the period 1 April to 8 September 2023. At its meeting on 13 September 2023, the Committee had approved a General Fund Capital Programme for 2023/2024 totalling £80.262 million. A revised programme of £80.356 million was now anticipated which included proposed adjustments to the programme totalling a net increase of £0.094 million. Those were detailed in Appendix 1 of the report. The adjustment reflected additional funding received to install floodlights at Douglas Primary School. At 8 September 2023, £17.898 million had been spent on the General Fund Capital Programme, against a budget for the period of £17.884 million, resulting in spending being slightly ahead of programme in the sum of £0.014 million. Actual funding received to 8 September 2023 totalled £48.282 million. The programme spend and funding for the General Fund for the period was detailed in appendices 2 and 3 of the report. The Housing Capital Programme 2023/2024, approved by the Executive Committee at its meeting on 16 August 2023, totalled £69.596 million. Details of the position of the programme at 8 September 2023 were provided in Appendix 4 of the report. At 8 September 2023, expenditure on the Housing Capital Programme amounted to £19.378 million against a budget for the period of £21.298 million and actual funding received to 8 September 2023 totalled £19.378 million. This resulted in the Housing Programme being £1.920 million behind programme which was due to a number of external fabrics projects being reprogrammed to take account of new, more effective procurement routes and delays experienced to allow further consideration of technical options for some works. 6
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The Committee decided: (1) that the adjustments to the General Fund programme, as detailed in Appendix 1 of the report, be approved; (2) that the period 6 position at 8 September 2023 of the General Fund Capital Programme, as detailed in appendices 2 and 3 of the report, and the Housing Capital Programme, as detailed in Appendix 4 of the report, be noted; and (3) that the revised programmes be monitored by the Financial Resources Scrutiny Forum. [Reference: Minutes of 13 September 2023 (Paragraph 4)] 5 Additional Funding from Scottish Government and Other External Sources A report dated 20 September 2023 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) was submitted on additional funding, totalling £1.373 million, which had been made available to the Council by the Scottish Government and other external sources. The funding had been allocated as follows:- Revenue Funding Resource 2023/2024 (£m) Housing and Technical 1.373 Total 1.373 Officers responded to members’ questions on various aspects of the report. The Committee decided: that the report be noted. [Reference: Minutes of 13 September 2023 (Paragraph 5)] 6 Recommendations Referred by the Finance and Corporate Resources Committee - Treasury Management Activity Report 2022/2023, Prudential Code Indicators and Annual Investment Report A report dated 27 September 2023 by the Chief Executive was submitted on recommendations which had been referred to this Committee by the Finance and Corporate Resources Committee of 27 September 2023. The recommendations of the Finance and Corporate Resources Committee were as follows:- that the Treasury Management Activity Report for 2022/2023 and the 2022/2023 Treasury Management and Prudential Code Indicators be noted that the Council’s Annual Investment Report for 2022/2023 be endorsed and referred to the Council for formal approval Officers responded to a member’s questions on the report. 7
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The Committee decided: that the recommendation referred by the Finance and Corporate Resources Committee in relation to the Treasury Management Activity Report for 2022/2023 and the 2022/2023 Treasury Management and Prudential Code Indicators be noted. The Committee recommended to the Council: that the Annual Investment Report 2022/2023 be approved. [Reference: Minutes of Finance and Corporate Resources Committee of 27 September 2023 (Paragraph 9)] 7 Religious Representation on the Education Resources Committee A joint report dated 26 September 2023 by the Executive Directors (Finance and Corporate Resources) and (Education Resources) was submitted providing an update on the current position regarding the appointment of a third church/religious representative to serve on the Education Resources Committee. At its meeting on 29 June 2022, the Committee had approved the appointments of the nominated religious representatives from the Church of Scotland and the Roman Catholic Church respectively with the appointment of Dr Iskander, the third religious representative on the Committee, being extended until a new third church/religious representative was in place. The extension was an interim measure as Dr Iskander had intimated that he wished to stand down from the position. As had been the case in previous years, an advertisement was placed in local newspapers in July 2022 requesting nominations for a person interested in the promotion of religious and moral education. At the close of nominations, 2 applications had been received for 1 available place, however, subsequently, 1 applicant withdrew their application and the remaining applicant did not pursue their interest in the appointment. A further advertisement was placed in local newspapers in August 2023 requesting expressions of interest to serve as the third religious representative on the Education Resources Committee. However, after the closing date, no nominations or expressions of interest had been received. In the absence of interest from parties to serve as the third religious representative on the Committee, it was proposed that the Committee continue to operate with the 2 confirmed religious/church representatives from the Church of Scotland and the Roman Catholic Church. The Committee decided: (1) that it be noted that it had not been possible to appoint a third church/religious representative to the Education Resources Committee; and (2) that the Committee continue to operate with the 2 confirmed religious representatives from the Church of Scotland and the Roman Catholic Church. [Reference: Minutes of 29 June 2022 (Paragraph 7) and 17 May 2023 (Paragraph 11)] 8
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8 Revision of Costs and Increase in Funding to Extend, Adapt and Modernise Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School, East Kilbride/Glasgow City Region City Deal - East Kilbride Community Growth Area Business Case A report dated 27 September 2023 by the Executive Director (Education Resources) was submitted:- providing an update on the cost issues and funding solution associated with the Our Lady of Lourdes extension, adaptation and modernisation project advising on action taken, in terms of Standing Order No 37(c), because of the timescales involved and the urgent requirement to award tenders, by the Executive Director (Education Resources), in consultation with the Depute Chair and an ex officio member, to grant permission to commence works and to approve the Full Business Case, in line with the required governance arrangements of the City Deal Following the return of tenders for both the New Build (Phase 1) and Refurbishment (Phase 2) elements of the project, costs for all elements of the tendered packages for Phase 2 were significantly higher than expected. A full tender review and value engineering exercise had been undertaken and it had been possible to reassess the specification to reduce costs, while still maintaining the level of accommodation associated with the Council’s schools’ modernisation programme. Additional funding, however, required to be identified and the cost issues and funding solution were detailed in the report. Urgent approval had been sought to:- proceed with the project using additional funding identified to cover the increased costs allow the refurbishment construction contract to commence as soon as possible, thereby minimising disruption to the school as well as minimising additional pupil transportation costs There was also a requirement to obtain approval for the Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School Full Business Case, attached as an appendix to the report, in line with the required governance arrangements of the City Deal. Grant funding would be obtained in accordance with the City Deal Grant Distribution Process, outlined in the Assurance Framework in relation to the delivery of the project, with the precise arrangements to be agreed by the City Deal Chief Executive’s Group (CEG) and City Deal Cabinet. There followed a discussion during which officers:- responded to members’ questions on various aspects of the report provided assurances on the quality of alternative materials being used The Committee decided: that the action taken, in terms of Standing Order No 37(c), because of the timescales involved and the urgent requirement to award tenders, by the Executive Director (Education Resources), in consultation with the Depute Chair and an ex officio member, to grant permission to commence works and to approve the Full Business Case in line with the required governance arrangements of the City Deal be noted. [Reference: Minutes of 1 March 2023 (Paragraph 6)] 9 Urgent Business There were no items of urgent business. 9
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Executive Committee Date of Meeting: 22 November 2023 Report by: Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) Subject: Revenue Budget Monitoring for Period 1 April 2023 to 6 October 2023 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to: [purpose] advise the Committee of the overall financial position of the Council’s General Fund Revenue Account and Housing Revenue Account for the period 1 April 2023 to 6 October 2023. [1purpose] 2. Recommendation(s) 2.1. The Committee is asked to approve the following recommendation(s): [recs] (1) that the break-even position on the General Fund Revenue Account at 6 October 2023, (section 4 and Appendix 1), be noted; and (2) that the break-even position on the Housing Revenue Account at 6 October 2023 (section 5 and Appendix 2 of the report), be noted. 3. Background 3.1. This overview report will summarise the actual expenditure and income to 6 October 2023 compared with the budget for the same period for both the Council’s General Fund (section 4) and for the Housing Revenue Account (section 5). 4. 2023/2024 General Services 4.1. General Services Current Position as at 6 October As at 6 October, the position on the General Services budget is break-even. The position across Resources is detailed in Appendix 1. 4.2. Children and Families: As detailed previously, budget pressures within Children and Families are continuing into 2023/2024 in relation to residential placements, fostering and kinship care, some of which is a legacy from the pandemic. 4.3. As previously advised to the Social Work Resources Committee (28 June 2023 and 27 September 2023), there is one-off funding identified totalling £9.2 million, and this is available this financial year to contribute towards these residual Children and Families’ pressures. 4.4. The Social Work Resources position as at 6 October 2023 assumes funding will be available and will be drawn down later in the financial year, as required. The Resource is working towards managing the overall budget pressure in Children and Families by 2024/2025. 3 11
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4.5. Ongoing actions on plans to manage the budget pressures include the consideration of emergency expenditure only requirements and exploring the potential for an Intensive Support and Monitoring Service (ISMS) as a community alternative to care for young people currently within external placements. 4.6. Adults and Older People: A previously advised, within Adults and Older People, the outcome of the Job Evaluation exercise for Home Carers will result in recurring costs of approximately £7 million from 2023/2024. These costs are not included in the IJB budget set for 2023/2024. As at 6 October, costs of £3 million have been incurred in relation to the cost of the grade changes. These costs are incurred through the IJB budget. As a consequence of the reporting requirements for these integrated authorities, these costs also appear within the figures included in Appendix 1. 4.7. Officers within the IJB have been looking to identify recurring funding solutions. These solutions and an overall recovery plan were agreed by the IJB on 18 October 2023. Budgets will be realigned in the coming months to reflect this agreement. 4.8. Teacher Numbers: As previously reported, the Cabinet Secretary has held back £45.5 million of funding nationally for the maintenance of Teacher Numbers, until after the 2023 Census details are received by the Government, and until councils provide assurance that they have maintained teacher numbers and pupil support numbers at the 2022 level. For the Council, this amounts to £2.934 million. 5. Housing Revenue Account Position as at 6 October 2023 5.1. As at 6 October 2023, Appendix 2 shows a break-even position against the phased budget on the Housing Revenue Account. This break-even position includes a higher than budgeted Transfer from Reserves at this time and is due to the increased level of costs experienced. The Resource is looking at options to manage these increased costs, and will report back to Committee as part of the formal Probable Outturn exercise. 6. Employee Implications 6.1. None. 7. Financial Implications 7.1. As detailed in sections 4 to 5 of the report. 8. Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Implications 8.1. There are no implications for climate change, sustainability or the environment in terms of the information contained in this report. 9. Other Implications 9.1. The main risk associated with the Council’s Revenue Budget is that there is an overspend. The risk has been assessed as low given the detailed budget management applied across the Resources. The risk is managed through four weekly Budget Monitoring Meetings at which any variance is analysed. In addition, the probable outturn exercise ensures early warning for corrective action to be taken where appropriate. 10. Equality Impact Assessment and Consultation Arrangements 10.1. This report does not introduce a new policy, function or strategy or recommend a change to an existing policy, function or strategy and, therefore, no impact assessment is required. 12
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10.2. There is also no requirement to undertake any consultation in terms of the information contained in this report. Paul Manning Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) 23 October 2023 Link(s) to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes Accountable, Effective, Efficient and Transparent Previous References None List of Background Papers Financial Ledger and budget monitoring results to 6 October 2023. Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact: Lorraine O'Hagan, Finance Manager (Strategy) Ext: 2601 (Tel: 01698 452601) E-mail: lorraine.o'hagan@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 13
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Appendix 1 SOUTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL Revenue Budget Monitoring Report Period Ended 6 October 2023 (No.7) Resource / Committee Annual Budget Annual Forecast Annual Forecast Variance Budget Proportion to 06/10/23 Actual to 06/10/23 Variance to 06/10/23 Departments: £m £m £m £m £m £m Community and Enterprise Resources 129.436 129.436 0.000 63.718 63.718 0.000 Facilities, Waste and Grounds 77.608 77.608 0.000 36.452 36.209 0.243 under Leisure and Culture 23.227 23.227 0.000 16.809 16.809 0.000 Planning and Regulatory 4.966 4.966 0.000 2.489 2.262 0.227 under Environmental and Sustainable Development 4.732 4.732 0.000 (0.085) (0.206) 0.121 under Roads, Transportation and Fleet 18.903 18.903 0.000 8.053 8.644 (0.591) over Education Resources 420.577 420.577 0.000 206.309 206.309 0.000 Education 420.577 420.577 0.000 206.309 206.309 0.000 Finance and Corporate Resources 41.772 41.772 0.000 25.632 25.632 0.000 Finance Services - Strategy 2.118 2.118 0.000 1.770 1.738 0.032 under Finance Services - Transactions 18.557 18.557 0.000 8.496 8.287 0.209 under Audit and Compliance Services 0.374 0.374 0.000 0.273 0.301 (0.028) over Information Technology Services 5.226 5.226 0.000 7.050 7.128 (0.078) over Communications and Strategy Services 2.910 2.910 0.000 1.635 1.628 0.007 under Administration and Licensing Services 4.279 4.279 0.000 2.408 2.563 (0.155) over Personnel Services 8.308 8.308 0.000 4.000 3.987 0.013 under Housing and Technical Resources 14.204 14.204 0.000 17.574 17.574 0.000 Housing Services 8.464 8.464 0.000 4.764 4.764 0.000 Property Services 5.740 5.740 0.000 12.810 12.810 0.000 Social Work Resources 214.884 214.884 0.000 104.217 104.217 0.000 Performance and Support Services 6.356 6.356 0.000 3.152 2.964 0.188 under Children and Families 37.379 37.379 0.000 21.898 22.196 (0.298) over Adults and Older People 170.058 170.058 0.000 78.377 78.377 0.000 Justice and Substance Misuse 1.091 1.091 0.000 0.790 0.680 0.110 under Joint Boards 2.053 2.053 0.000 1.105 1.105 0.000 822.926 822.926 0.000 418.555 418.555 0.000 Summary Annual Budget Annual Forecast Annual Forecast Variance Budget Proportion to 06/10/23 Actual to 06/10/23 Variance to 06/10/23 £m £m £m £m £m £m Service Departments Total 822.926 822.926 0.000 418.555 418.555 0.000 CFCR 0.352 0.352 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 Loan Charges 23.669 23.669 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 Corporate Items 14.399 14.399 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 2023/24 Investments – Transfers to Reserves 3.276 3.276 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 Total Expenditure 864.622 864.622 0.000 418.627 418.627 0.000 Council Tax 178.602 178.602 0.000 96.170 96.170 0.000 Less: Council Tax Reduction Scheme (23.278) (23.278) 0.000 (12.534) (12.534) 0.000 Net Council Tax 155.324 155.324 0.000 83.636 83.636 0.000 General Revenue Grant 319.941 319.941 0.000 172.276 172.276 0.000 Non-Domestic Rates 341.536 341.536 0.000 183.904 183.904 0.000 Transfer from Reserves 47.821 47.821 0.000 47.821 47.821 0.000 Total Income 864.622 864.622 0.000 487.637 487.637 0.000 Net Expenditure / (Income) 0.000 0.000 0.000 (69.010) (69.010) 0.000 14
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Appendix 1b SOUTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL Revenue Budget Monitoring Report Period Ended 6 October 2023 (No.7) Budget Category Annual Budget Annual Forecast Annual Forecast Variance Budget Proportion to 06/10/23 Actual to 06/10/23 Variance to 06/10/23 Service Departments: £m £m £m £m £m £m Expenditure Employee Cost 617.784 617.784 0.000 308.143 307.416 0.727 under Property Costs 65.257 65.257 0.000 40.351 40.913 (0.562) over Supplies and Services 58.225 58.225 0.000 25.888 26.410 (0.522) over Transport Costs 45.889 45.889 0.000 24.536 26.567 (2.031) over Administration Costs 15.760 15.760 0.000 5.600 5.613 (0.013) over Payments to Other Bodies 80.298 80.298 0.000 39.416 39.134 0.282 under Payments to Contractors 242.666 242.666 0.000 129.350 125.865 3.485 under Transfer Payments 6.320 6.320 0.000 5.188 4.968 0.220 under Housing Benefits 65.650 65.650 0.000 29.645 29.645 0.000 Financing Charges (controllable) 2.340 2.340 0.000 0.455 0.454 0.001 under Total 1,200.189 1,200.189 0.000 608.572 606.985 1.587 under Service Departments Total 1,200.189 1,200.189 0.000 608.572 606.985 1.587 under CFCR 0.352 0.352 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 Loan Charges 23.669 23.669 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 Corporate Items 14.399 14.399 0.000 0.072 0.072 0.000 2023/24 Investments – Transfers to Reserves 3.276 3.276 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 Total Expenditure 1,241.885 1,241.885 0.000 608.644 607.057 1.587 under Income Housing Benefit Subsidy 60.258 60.258 0.000 28.021 28.021 0.000 Other Income 317.005 317.005 0.000 161.996 160.409 (1.587) under rec. Council Tax (Net of Council Tax Reduction Scheme) 155.324 155.324 0.000 83.636 83.636 0.000 General Revenue Grant 319.941 319.941 0.000 172.276 172.276 0.000 Non-Domestic Rates 341.536 341.536 0.000 183.904 183.904 0.000 Transfer from Reserves 47.821 47.821 0.000 47.821 47.821 0.000 Total Income 1,241.885 1,241.885 0.000 677.654 676.067 (1.587) under rec Net Expenditure / (Income) 0.000 0.000 0.000 (69.010) (69.010) 0.000 15
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Appendix 2 SOUTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL Revenue Budget Monitoring Report Period Ended 6 October 2023 (No.7) Housing Revenue Account Annual Budget Forecast for Year Annual Forecast Variance Budget Proportion to 06/10/23 Actual to 06/10/23 Variance to 06/10/23 % Note £m £m £m £m £m £m Employee Costs 14.253 14.253 0.000 7.070 7.152 (0.082) over (1.2%) Property Costs 50.929 50.929 0.000 22.153 23.235 (1.082) over (4.9%) 1 Supplies & Services 0.433 0.433 0.000 0.103 0.097 0.006 under 5.8% Transport & Plant 0.196 0.196 0.000 0.091 0.061 0.030 under 33.0% Administration Costs 5.570 5.570 0.000 0.256 0.244 0.012 under 4.7% Payments to Other Bodies 2.974 2.974 0.000 1.085 1.225 (0.140) over (12.9%) Payments to Contractors 0.100 0.100 0.000 0.048 0.048 0.000 - 0.0% Transfer Payments 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 - 0.0% Financing Charges 27.162 27.162 0.000 15.152 15.152 0.000 - 0.0% Total Controllable Expenditure 101.617 101.617 0.000 45.958 47.214 (1.256) over (2.7%) Total Controllable Income (115.940) (115.940) 0.000 (51.735) (51.959) 0.224 over recovered 0.4% 2 Transfer to/(from) Balance Sheet (4.907) (4.907) 0.000 (2.265) (3.297) 1.032 over recovered 45.6% 3 Net Controllable Expenditure (19.230) (19.230) 0.000 (8.042) (8.042) 0.000 - 0.0% Add: Non Controllable Budgets Financing Charges 19.230 19.230 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 - 0.0% Total Budget 0.000 0.000 0.000 (8.042) (8.042) 0.000 - 0.0% Variance Explanations 1. The net overspend reflects the volume and cost of repairs and maintenance, including additional costs for the internal contractor. There is also an overspend in relation to cleaning charges. 2. The additional income is due to the favourable timing of new build and purchased council housing units being available to rent. 3. The timing impact of the net overspend requires a higher than budgeted transfer from reserves at this time. Virements None. 16
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Executive Committee Date of Meeting: 22 November 2023 Report by: Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) Subject: Capital Budget 2023/2024 and Monitoring for Period 7 - 1 April 2023 to 6 October 2023 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to: update the Executive Committee of progress on the General Fund Capital Programme and the Housing Capital Programme for the period 1 April 2023 to 6 October 2023. 2. Recommendation(s) 2.1. The Committee is asked to approve the following recommendation(s):- (1) that the adjustments to the General Fund programme, listed at Appendix 1, and the Housing Programme listed at Section 5.2, be approved; (2) that the period 7 position (ended 6 October 2023) of the General Fund Capital Programme detailed in Appendices 2 to 3 and the Housing Capital Programme at Appendix 4, be noted; and (3) that the revised programmes be monitored by the Financial Resources Scrutiny Forum. 3. Background 3.1. The attached statements to this report provide a summarised monitoring position as at 6 October 2023. Spending has been split into two separate sections: General Fund Capital Programme including Education, Social Work, Roads and Transportation and General Services (Section 4) Housing Capital Programme (Section 5) 4. General Fund Capital Programme 4.1. 2023/2024 Budget: The budget agreed at Executive Committee on 11 October 2023 was £80.356 million. A revised programme of £78.901 million is now anticipated. 4.2. These adjustments result in a net decrease to the programme of £1.455 million. This reflects additional funding received from the Scottish Government’s Community Bus Fund (£0.303m) and Transport Scotland for Electric Vehicle Charging infrastructure and equipment (£0.276m). Funding from the Council’s Central Energy Efficiency Fund is also being utilised to undertake a further programme of energy efficiency projects this financial year (£0.230m). These increases are offset by slippage on the window and roof replacement project at Lanark Library, Lindsay Institute, Lanark (£0.464m) 4 17
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and match funding (£1.800m) projects. These proposals are detailed in Appendix 1. A breakdown of the revised programme across Resources is included in Appendix 2. 4.3. Free School Meals: The programme of £78.901 million includes an allocation of £5.065 million to continue the expansion of Free School Meals. This was included as part of the settlement issued in January 2023 and was, therefore, added to the Council’s budget plans. However, the Scottish Government have subsequently asked for further information from local authorities on their spend requirements for the expansion of Free School Meals. This was submitted by councils in late September 2023 and funding will remain undistributed until this data can be reviewed. This budget allocation has been held pending confirmation of the funding. 4.3. Given the timescales involved in procuring equipment and scheduling installations around school holidays, Education Resources have advised that any delay in confirming the funding award will have an impact on the level of spend which can be achieved this financial year. Once the announcement is received, the position will be reviewed and the spend level confirmed, with any slippage on the programme included in a future Capital Programme report to this Committee. 4.4. The funding available to support the overall 2023/2024 Capital Programme also totals £78.901 million and is detailed in Appendix 3. 4.5. General Fund - Period 7 Position: As noted in section 4.1, the total capital spending programme for the year is £78.901 million. The detailed programme spend for the General Fund is shown in Appendix 3. 4.6. Appendix 3 also shows budget for the period of £24.144 million and spend to the 6 October 2023 of £24.057 million. The spend is, therefore, slightly behind programme by £0.087 million and reflects the timing of spend. 4.7. Actual funding received to 6 October 2023 is £48.992 million. This is shown in Appendix 3. 4.8. Relevant officers will continue to closely monitor the generation of all income. 5. Housing Capital Programme 5.1. 2023/24 Budget: Appendix 4 summarises the position on the Housing programme as at 6 October 2023. The revised capital programme for the year is £69.596 million, as approved by the Executive Committee on 11 October 2023. 5.2. The Housing programme includes an allocation of £5.502 million for 50 units at Brackenhill Farm, Hamilton. The developer has advised of utility delays impacting progress. As such, construction has been delayed with the estimated site completion date now October 2024. As a result, approval is sought to slip £2.153 million into the 2024/2025 Capital Programme to better reflect the anticipated timing of spend. A revised programme of £67.443 million is now anticipated. 5.3. Programmed funding for the year also totals £67.443 million. The funding sources are detailed in Appendix 4. 5.4. Period 7 Position: Budget for the period is £23.016 million and spend to 6 October 2023 amounts to £23.513 million. This results in the Housing Programme being £0.497 million ahead of programme. This is due to the number of buy backs, through 18
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the open market purchase scheme, which have been progressed earlier than anticipated. 5.5. As at 6 October 2023, £23.513 million of funding had been received. 5.5 Regular monitoring of both the General Fund Programme and the Housing Programme will be carried out in detail by the Financial Resources Scrutiny Forum and reported on a regular basis to the Executive Committee. 6. Employee Implications 6.1. There are no employee implications as a result of this report. 7. Financial Implications 7.1. The General Services and Housing Programmes and their spend position to 6 October 2023 are detailed in sections 4 and 5 respectively. 7.2. Regular monitoring of both the General Fund Programme and the Housing Programme will be carried out in detail by the Financial Resources Scrutiny Forum and reported on a regular basis to this Committee. 8. Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Implications 8.1. There are no implications for climate change, sustainability or the environment in terms of the information contained in this report. 9. Other Implications 8.2. The main risk associated with the Council’s Capital Programme is an overspend. The risk has been assessed as low given the detailed project management plans prepared and monitored for each project. The risk of overspend is managed through four weekly Investment management meetings. 9.1. The main risk associated with the Council’s Capital Programme is an overspend. The risk has been assessed as low given the detailed project management plans prepared and monitored for each project. The risk of overspend is managed through four weekly Investment management meetings. 10. Equality Impact Assessment and Consultation Arrangements 10.1. This report does not introduce a new policy, function or strategy or recommend a change to existing policy, function or strategy and, therefore, no impact assessment is required. 10.2. There was also no requirement to undertake any consultation in terms of the information contained in this report. Paul Manning Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) 1 November 2023 Link(s) to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes Accountable, Effective, Efficient and Transparent Previous References 19
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Executive Committee, 11 October 2023 List of Background Papers Capital Ledger prints to 6 October 2023 Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact:- Lorraine O’Hagan, Finance Manager (Strategy) Ext: 2601 (Tel: 01698 452601) E-mail: lorraine.o’hagan@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 20
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Appendix 1 Proposed Adjustments Community and Enterprise Resources Lanark Library, Lindsay Institute, Lanark The project to upgrade the windows and doors at Lanark Library in the Lindsay Institute is unlikely to progress this financial year as originally planned. This is following a tender return that was higher than budget, and while it was initially hoped that the project could be re-tendered and could commence on site prior to the end of March 2024, this is now not likely. Approval is sought to slip £0.464 million into financial year 2024/2025 to reflect the revised timescales for this project. (£0.464m) Community Bus Fund As part of the Community Bus Fund, the Scottish Government have provided specific grant funding of £0.303 million in financial year 2023/2024 to support the objectives of improving connectivity, integration between modes, or innovative transport solutions in areas of rural deprivation. This funding will be used to start the redevelopment of the bus station area at Lanark Interchange, which will link into the rail station. Approval is sought to increase the 2023/2024 Capital Programme by £0.303 million. This funding will be distributed as part of the Council’s General Capital Grant allocation. £0.303m Switched on Fleet Approval is sought to increase the 2023/24 Capital Programme by £0.250 million to progress the installation of 10 additional electric vehicle charging points. This will be funded by a grant from Transport Scotland. In addition, Transport Scotland have also provided funding totalling £0.026 million through the Switched on Towns and Cities Fund. This funding will be utilised to provide specialist EV tools and equipment and enhanced training for maintenance staff. Approval is sought to increase the 2023/2024 Capital Programme by a further £0.026 million. £0.250m £0.026m Housing and Technical Resources Central Energy Efficiency Fund (CEEF) The CEEF is a revolving fund. The fund is used to pay for energy efficiency projects each financial year. The fund is then replenished by savings achieved from these projects across an agreed payback period for each project. A new wave of projects is included in the capital programme each financial year. Approval is sought to add energy efficiency projects totalling £0.230 million into the 2023/24 Capital Programme. Projects to be carried out include the installation of LED Lighting at a number of primary schools including: Carluke, Castlefield, Hareleeshill, Loch, Maxwellton, St Cuthbert’s, St John’s, St Kenneth’s, St Vincent’s end Wester Overton. Furthermore, additional solar photovoltaic panels and battery storage system will be installed at St Peter’s Primary School, Hamilton. These works will be funded from the CEEF Fund. £0.230m 21
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Other Match Funding The announcement on round 3 bids to the Levelling Up Fund is awaited. Given the timing, it is now likely that the Council’s match funding allocation of £1.8 million will not be required this financial year. Approval is sought to slip £1.8 million into the 2024/2025 Capital Programme to reflect the revised timescales for this funding. (£1.800m) Minor Adjustments - TOTAL ADJUSTMENTS (£1.455m) 22
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Appendix 2 SOUTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL CAPITAL EXPENDITURE 2023/24 GENERAL FUND PROGRAMME FOR PERIOD 1 APRIL 2023 TO 6 OCTOBER 2023 £m Total Base Budget (including carry forward from 2022/2023) 80.356 Proposed Adjustments – Period 7 (1.455) Total Revised Budget 78.901 2023/24 Budget Period 7 Proposed Adjustments Revised 2023/24 Budget Resource £m £m £m Community & Enterprise 39.602 0.115 39.717 Education 19.333 - 19.333 Finance & Corporate 5.333 - 5.333 Housing & Technical 12.258 0.230 12.488 Social Work 2.030 - 2.030 Other Match Funding 1.800 (1.800) - TOTAL CAPITAL PROGRAMME 80.356 (1.455) 78.901 23
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Appendix 3 SOUTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL CAPITAL EXPENDITURE 2023/24 GENERAL FUND PROGRAMME FOR PERIOD 1 APRIL 2023 TO 6 OCTOBER 2023 2023/24 Original Estimate inc C/F 2023/24 Revised Budget 2023/24 Budget to 06/10/23 2023/24 Actual to 06/10/23 Expenditure £m £m £m £m General Fund Programme 77.849 78.901 24.144 24.057 Income 2023/24 Budget 2023/24 Revised Budget 2023/24 Actual To 06/10/23 £m £m £m Prudential Borrowing 24.959 26.261 26.261 Developers Contributions 7.658 0.906 0.000 Partners (Including SPT, Clyde Windfarm and Transport Scotland) 2.157 3.669 0.549 Scottish Government: - Capital Grant 33.985 34.830 15.004 - Cycling, Walking and Safer Routes 1.632 2.284 0.223 - Road Safety Improvement 0.000 0.475 0.000 - Vacant and Derelict Land 2.019 2.019 1.677 - Regeneration Capital Grant 0.737 1.726 0.745 - Place Based Investment Programme 1.510 2.723 2.723 -Inspiring School Age Childcare Spaces Programme 0.000 0.234 0.000 Glasgow City Region City Deal 0.000 0.000 0.000 Capital Receipts 2.000 2.000 0.036 Specific Reserves 1.192 1.422 1.422 Revenue Contribution 0.000 0.352 0.352 TOTAL FUNDING 77.849 78.901 48.992 24
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APPENDIX 4 SOUTH LANARKSHIRE COUNCIL CAPITAL EXPENDITURE 2023/24 HOUSING PROGRAMME FOR PERIOD 1 APRIL 2023 TO 6 OCTOBER 2023 2023/24 Original Budget 2023/24 Revised Budget 2023/24 Budget to 06/10/23 2023/24 Actual to 06/10/23 £m £m £m £m Expenditure 2023/24 Budget 63.916 67.443 23.016 23.513 2023/24 Original Budget 2023/24 Revised Budget 2023/24 Actual to 06/10/23 £m £m £m Income Capital Receipts 0.000 1.683 1.901 Capital Receipts – Land Sales 0.000 0.000 0.016 Capital Funded from Current Revenue 27.162 27.162 15.149 Prudential Borrowing 17.302 23.166 0.000 Scottish Government Specific Grant: - New Build 16.632 10.048 6.316 - Open Market Purchase Scheme 2.700 5.264 0.000 - Mortgage to Rent 0.120 0.120 0.131 63.916 67.443 23.513 25
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Executive Committee Date of Meeting: 22 November 2023 Report by: Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) Subject: Additional Funding from Scottish Government and Other External Sources 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to:- [purpose] advise Members of additional funding that has been made available to the Council by the Scottish Government and other external sources since the last report to this Committee (11 October 2023). [1purpose] 2. Recommendation(s) 2.1. The Committee is asked to approve the following recommendation(s): [recs] (1) that the additional funding totalling £0.579 million, detailed in Appendix 1, be noted. 3. Background 3.1. The Council is periodically advised of additional funding which is made available from the Scottish Government and other sources to enable various initiatives to be undertaken. 3.2. Additional funding may either be paid through the General Revenue / Capital Grant mechanism or by the completion of appropriate grant claims. 3.3. Details of the additional funding are attached in Appendix 1 of the report. The report details additional funding that has been reported by Resources as part of the additional resources notification process, as well as any additional funding that has increased the Council’s budget by more than £0.100 million. 4. Employee Implications 4.1. None. 5. Financial Implications 5.1. Additional Capital funding of £0.579 million has been identified for 2023/2024. This is detailed in Appendix 1. There is no additional Revenue funding to report. 5.2. The total additional funding is, therefore, £0.579 million and Resource budgets will be updated to reflect this additional funding as required. Where appropriate, details of spending plans will be presented to Resource Committees for approval. 5 27
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6. Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Implications 6.1. There are no implications for climate change, sustainability or the environment in terms of the information contained in this report. 7. Other Implications 7.1. There are no other implications in terms of the information contained in this report. 8. Equality Impact Assessment and Consultation Arrangements 8.1. This report does not introduce a new policy, function or strategy or recommend a change to existing policy, function or strategy and, therefore, no impact assessment is required. 7.2. There was also no requirement to undertake any consultation in terms of the information contained in this report. Paul Manning Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) 23 October 2023 Link(s) to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes Accountable, Effective, Efficient and Transparent Previous References Executive Committee, 11 October 2023 List of Background Papers Additional Funding Reports 17 September to 18 October 2023 Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact: Lorraine O’Hagan, Finance Manager (Strategy) Ext: 2601 (Tel: 01698 452601) E-mail: lorraine.o’hagan@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 28
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Appendix 1 Additional Capital Funding Resource Description 2023/2024 £m 2024/2025 £m Total £m Method Community and Enterprise Community Bus Fund Allocation to support the objectives of improving connectivity in rural areas and will be used to start the redevelopment of the bus station area at Lanark Interchange. 0.303 - 0.303 Scottish Government Community and Enterprise Switched on Fleet Increase to the 20203/2024 funding to progress the installation of 10 charging points as well as tools/training for maintenance staff. 0.276 - 0.276 Transport Scotland TOTAL CAPITAL FUNDING 0.579 - 0.579 29
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Executive Committee Date of Meeting: 22 November 2023 Report by: Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) Subject: Employee Workforce Monitoring Information April to September 2023 Summary 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to:- [purpose] provide employment information relating to the Council for the period April to September 2023. [1purpose] 2. Recommendation(s) 2.1. The Committee is asked to approve the following recommendation(s):- [recs] (1) that the following employment information for April to September 2023 relating to the Council be noted:- attendance statistics; occupational health; accidents/incidents; discipline, grievance and dignity at work; employee development; labour turnover/analysis of leavers and exit interviews; recruitment monitoring; staffing watch as at 9 September 2023 [1recs] 3. Background 3.1. As part of the Council’s performance management arrangements, the following monitoring information is submitted to the Executive Committee. This report for the Council provides information on the position for the period April to September 2023. 4. Attendance Statistics 4.1. Information on absence statistics for April to September 2023 for the Council and each Resource is provided in Appendices 1 – 8. Points to note are:- the council’s average absence rate for April to September 2023 is 4.7%, a decrease of 0.4% when compared to the previous year the APT&C average absence rate for April to September 2023 is 4.8%, a decrease of 0.1% when compared to the previous year the teaching staff average absence rate for April to September 2023 is 2.3%, a decrease of 0.1% when compared with the previous year the manual workers’ average absence rate for April to September 2023 is 6.6%, a decrease of 0.7% when compared with the previous year 6 31
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In comparison to April to September 2023 (Appendix 8):- Psychological and Musculoskeletal conditions are the main reasons for absence Total days lost due to musculoskeletal conditions have increased by 1403 days Total days lost due to psychological conditions have increased by 605 days Total days lost due to stomach, bowel, blood and metabolic disorders have decreased by 1486 days Total days lost due to respiratory conditions have decreased by 8929 days 5. Occupational Health 5.1. Information on Occupational Health for the period April to September 2023 is provided in Appendix 9:- Over the year, musculoskeletal and psychological conditions were the main reasons for medical referrals; this remains unchanged from the previous year During the year there were a total of 658 employees referred for a medical examination and when compared to the previous year this represents a decrease of 55 employees being referred During the period, a total of 957 employees attended physiotherapy treatment, which is an increase of 27 when compared to the previous year. Of the 957 employees referred, 62% remained at work whilst undertaking treatment Over the year, 812 employees were referred to the Employee Support Officer, an increase of 4 when compared to the previous year. Of those referrals made during the period, 86% related to personal issues During the year, there were 305 referrals for counselling, this represents an overall increase of 53 referrals when compared with the same period last year Over the year, a total of 10 employees were referred for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, an increase of 6 when compared to the same period last year 6. Accidents/Incidents 6.1. The accident/incident report for the period April to September 2023 is contained in Appendix 10:- The number of accidents/incidents recorded for the year was 683, a decrease of 23 from April to September 2022 During the year, specified injuries/incidents have increased by 4 when compared to April to September 2022 Overall minor accidents/incidents have decreased by 15 when compared with April to September 2022 During the year, the number of over 3 day injuries have decreased by 5 when compared with April to September 2022 During the year, the number of accidents resulting in an absence lasting over 7 days has decreased by 7 when compared with April to September 2022 7. Discipline, Grievance, Dignity at Work 7.1. Information on Disciplinary, Grievance Hearings and Dignity at Work for the period April to September 2023 is contained in Appendices 11 and 12:- During the period, a total of 89 disciplinary hearings were held across Resources within the Council which represents an increase of 26 when compared to April to September 2022. Action was taken in 82 of these cases and there were no Resource appeals raised against the outcome 32
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Our target is to convene disciplinary hearings within 6 weeks. During the period, 87% of hearings met this target which represents an increase of 22% when compared to the same period last year During the period, 1 appeal was submitted to the Appeals Panel, which was not upheld. Two appeals were withdrawn during the year At the end of September 2023, 7 Appeals Panels were pending Overall, 6 grievances were raised during the year, a decrease of 4 when compared with the previous year There were 5 dignity at work incidents raised this year, an increase of 1 when compared with the previous year During the period, 4 referrals for mediation were submitted, a decrease of 1 when compared with the previous year 8. Employee Development 8.1. Information on Employee Development for the period April to September 2023 is contained in Appendices 13 and 13a:- The Council is committed to ensuring that every employee has the opportunity to undertake learning and development which relates to their job During this period, there were 4,025 attendances at classroom learning and development events. There were also 1,685 attendances at virtual classroom learning and development events As our Learn on Line continues to develop, employees have successfully completed 70,780 e-learning packages covering a wide variety of subjects 9. Labour Turnover/Analysis of Leavers and Exit Interviews 9.1. Labour Turnover Information on the number of leavers and exit interviews for the period April to September 2023 is contained in Appendix 14. Exit interviews are conducted with leavers who leave voluntarily. The Council’s labour turnover figure for April to September 2023 is 5.1% and this figure has decreased by 0.4% when compared to the same period last year. 9.2. Analysis of Leavers and Exit Interviews:- During April to September 2023 there were 382 leavers eligible for an exit interview, a decrease of 35 when compared with April to September 2022 Exit interviews for April to September 2023 were held with 31% of leavers, a decrease of 8% when compared with April to September 2022 9.3. Managers are asked to identify whether they intended to replace the employee who had left the Council. If they indicated that they did not intend to replace the employee, they were asked to select from five options:- plan to hold for savings leave post vacant pending a savings / service review fill on a fixed term basis pending savings transfer budget to another post end of fixed term contract 9.4. During April to September 2023, 994 employees (722.15 FTE) left employment and managers indicated that 927 posts (694.78 FTE) would be replaced. Thirty seven posts (5.29 FTE) were being filled on a temporary basis, 1 post (0.95 FTE) was 33
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planning to transfer the budget to other post, 11 posts (7.30 FTE) were due to the end of fixed term contracts, 15 posts (12.30 FTE) were being left vacant pending a savings or service review and 3 posts (1.53 FTE) were planning to be removed for savings. 10. Recruitment Monitoring 10.1. Information on Recruitment Monitoring for the period April to September 2023 is contained within Appendix 15. From an analysis of Equal Opportunities Monitoring Forms, the main points to note are:- 95% of applicants completed an Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form, which is a decrease of 2% when compared with April to September 2022 Of the 321 applicants who declared themselves as disabled, 169 were shortleeted for interview and 19 were appointed. This compares to 191 applicants the previous year, of which 118 applicants were shortleeted and 30 were appointed Of the 1,064 applicants from a black/ethnic background, 365 were shortleeted for interview and 41 were appointed. This compares to 339 applicants the previous year, of which 148 were shortleeted and 25 were appointed Of the 84 applicants who declared themselves as a Veteran, 42 were shortleeted for interview and 3 were appointed. This compares to 80 applicants the previous year, of which 49 were shortleeted and none were appointed 11. Staffing Watch 11.1. Details of the number of employees in post at 9 September 2023 are contained in Appendix 16. There were 15,242 employees in post as at 9 September 2023 compared to 15,065 as at 10 September 2022, an increase of 177 employees. 12. Employee Implications 12.1. There are no implications for employees arising from the information presented in this report. 13. Financial Implications 13.1. All financial implications are accommodated within existing budgets. 14. Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Implications 14.1. There are no Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Implications arising from the information presented in this report. 15. Other Implications 15.1. There are no risk implications in terms of the information contained within this report. 16. Equality Impact Assessment and Consultation Arrangements 16.1. This report does not introduce a new policy, function or strategy or recommend a change to an existing policy, function or strategy and, therefore, no impact assessment is required 16.2. There was no requirement to undertake any consultation in terms of the information contained in this report. Paul Manning Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) 34
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25 October 2023 Link(s) to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes Accountable, effective, efficient and transparent Fair, open and sustainable Ambitious, self aware and improving Excellent employer Focused on people and their needs Working with and respecting others Previous References 30 November 2022 List of Background Papers monitoring information provided by Resources Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact:- Elaine Maxwell, HR Business Manager Ext: 4647 (Tel: 01698 454647) E-mail: Elaine.Maxwell@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 35
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2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023 2023 / 2024 2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023 2023 / 2024 2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023 2023 / 2024 2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023 2023 / 2024 % % % % % % % % % % % % April 4.1 5.2 5.2 April 2.5 2.7 2.8 April 6.2 8.8 7.0 April 4.3 5.6 5.1 May 4.7 5.0 5.1 May 3.2 3.6 3.2 May 6.7 7.6 6.2 May 4.9 5.4 5.1 June 4.4 5.0 4.9 June 2.6 2.6 2.2 June 7.0 8.1 6.5 June 4.7 5.3 4.7 July 4.1 4.5 4.0 July 1.1 1.4 1.1 July 6.3 7.4 5.8 July 4.0 4.6 3.8 August 4.6 4.3 4.2 August 2.0 1.4 1.3 August 7.3 7.4 6.2 August 4.7 4.4 4.1 September 6.1 5.2 5.2 September 4.4 2.8 2.9 September 8.5 8.0 7.6 September 6.4 5.4 5.3 October 6.0 5.7 October 4.1 3.4 October 8.7 8.1 October 6.3 5.8 November 6.5 6.3 November 5.6 4.7 November 8.7 8.6 November 6.9 6.5 December 6.2 6.7 December 6.1 5.3 December 8.8 8.9 December 6.9 7.0 January 6.7 5.2 January 3.9 4.3 January 10.1 8.0 January 7.0 5.8 February 6.5 5.7 February 3.7 4.1 February 9.5 7.9 February 6.6 5.9 March 8.0 6.2 March 4.3 4.6 March 11.3 8.3 March 7.9 6.4 Annual Average 5.7 5.4 5.4 Annual Average 3.6 3.4 3.3 Annual Average 8.3 8.1 7.4 Annual Average 5.9 5.7 5.5 Average Apr-Sep 4.7 4.9 4.8 Average Apr-Sep 2.6 2.4 2.3 Average Apr-Sep 7.0 7.9 6.6 Average Apr-Sep 4.8 5.1 4.7 7707 4036 4583 16326No of Employees at 30 September 2023 Appendix 1 Absence Trends - 2021/2022, 2022/2023 & 2023/2024 Council Wide APT&C Teachers No of Employees at 30 September 2023 No of Employees at 30 September 2023 Manual Workers Council Wide No of Employees at 30 September 2023 36
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2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023 2023 / 2024 2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023 2023 / 2024 2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023 2023 / 2024 2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023 2023 / 2024 % % % % % % % % % % % % April 2.3 4.4 3.6 April 5.7 7.3 6.3 April 5.2 6.9 6.0 April 4.3 5.6 5.1 May 2.7 3.9 3.7 May 6.4 6.8 6.3 May 5.9 6.3 5.9 May 4.9 5.4 5.1 June 2.8 3.5 4.3 June 6.6 7.2 5.9 June 6.0 6.7 5.7 June 4.7 5.3 4.7 July 2.9 3.9 2.3 July 5.3 5.9 4.6 July 4.9 5.6 4.3 July 4.0 4.6 3.8 August 2.9 3.4 3.0 August 6.4 6.6 5.2 August 5.9 6.1 4.9 August 4.7 4.4 4.1 September 3.4 3.1 2.5 September 8.2 7.9 7.1 September 7.5 7.1 6.4 September 6.4 5.4 5.3 October 3.8 5.1 October 7.9 7.5 October 7.3 7.1 October 6.3 5.8 November 3.5 4.2 November 8.0 8.3 November 7.3 7.7 November 6.9 6.5 December 4.2 3.7 December 8.0 8.8 December 7.4 8.0 December 6.9 7.0 January 3.6 2.6 January 9.6 7.4 January 8.6 6.7 January 7.0 5.8 February 4.4 3.6 February 9.5 7.4 February 8.7 6.9 February 6.6 5.9 March 6.0 3.9 March 11.0 7.9 March 10.2 7.3 March 7.9 6.4 Annual Average 3.5 3.8 3.5 Annual Average 7.7 7.4 6.9 Annual Average 7.1 6.9 6.4 Annual Average 5.9 5.7 5.5 Average Apr-Sep 2.8 3.7 3.2 Average Apr-Sep 6.4 7.0 5.9 Average Apr-Sep 5.9 6.5 5.5 Average Apr-Sep 4.8 5.1 4.7 531 2942 3473 16326 Appendix 2 Absence Trends - 2021/2022, 2022/2023 & 2023/2024 Community and Enterprise Resources APT&C Council WideManual Workers Resource Total No of Employees at 30 September 2023 No of Employees at 30 September 2023 No of Employees at 30 September 2023 No of Employees at 30 September 2023 37
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2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023 2023 / 2024 2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023 2023 / 2024 2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023 2023 / 2024 2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023 2023 / 2024 % % % % % % % % % % % % April 4.8 5.5 5.0 April 2.5 2.7 2.8 April 3.5 4.0 3.8 April 4.3 5.6 5.1 May 5.7 5.5 5.4 May 3.2 3.6 3.2 May 4.4 4.5 4.2 May 4.9 5.4 5.1 June 4.7 5.1 4.8 June 2.6 2.6 2.2 June 3.5 3.7 3.4 June 4.7 5.3 4.7 July 3.4 3.8 3.4 July 1.1 1.4 1.1 July 2.1 2.5 2.2 July 4.0 4.6 3.8 August 3.8 3.6 4.0 August 2.0 1.4 1.3 August 2.8 2.4 2.5 August 4.7 4.4 4.1 September 6.4 5.8 5.9 September 4.4 2.8 2.9 September 5.3 4.1 4.3 September 6.4 5.4 5.3 October 6.6 6.5 October 4.1 3.4 October 5.2 4.8 October 6.3 5.8 November 8.0 7.9 November 5.6 4.7 November 6.7 6.2 November 6.9 6.5 December 8.0 8.5 December 6.1 5.3 December 7.0 6.8 December 6.9 7.0 January 8.1 6.1 January 3.9 4.3 January 5.8 5.1 January 7.0 5.8 February 7.2 6.8 February 3.7 4.1 February 5.3 5.4 February 6.6 5.9 March 9.5 7.0 March 4.3 4.6 March 6.7 5.7 March 7.9 6.4 Annual Average 6.4 6.0 5.9 Annual Average 3.6 3.4 3.3 Annual Average 4.9 4.6 4.5 Annual Average 5.9 5.7 5.5 Average Apr-Sep 4.8 4.9 4.8 Average Apr-Sep 2.6 2.4 2.3 Average Apr-Sep 3.6 3.5 3.4 Average Apr-Sep 4.8 5.1 4.7 3502 4036 7538 16326No of Employees at 30 September 2023 No of Employees at 30 September 2023 No of Employees at 30 September 2023 No of Employees at 30 September 2023 Appendix 3 Absence Trends - 2021/2022, 2022/2023 & 2023/2024 Education Resources Council WideAPT&C Teachers Resource Total 38
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2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023 2023 / 2024 2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023 2023 / 2024 2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023 2023 / 2024 2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023 2023 / 2024 % % % % % % % % % % % % April 2.6 2.8 3.6 April 0.0 0.0 0.0 April 2.6 2.8 3.6 April 4.3 5.6 5.1 May 3.3 3.2 3.9 May 0.0 0.0 0.0 May 3.3 3.2 3.9 May 4.9 5.4 5.1 June 3.5 4.0 4.2 June 0.0 0.0 0.0 June 3.5 4.0 4.2 June 4.7 5.3 4.7 July 3.3 3.9 3.5 July 0.0 0.0 0.0 July 3.3 3.9 3.5 July 4.0 4.6 3.8 August 3.6 4.1 3.8 August 0.0 0.0 0.0 August 3.6 4.1 3.8 August 4.7 4.4 4.1 September 4.0 3.6 3.9 September 0.0 0.0 0.0 September 4.0 3.6 3.9 September 6.4 5.4 5.3 October 3.6 3.8 October 0.0 0.0 October 3.6 3.8 October 6.3 5.8 November 4.3 3.4 November 0.0 0.0 November 4.3 3.4 November 6.9 6.5 December 3.8 4.3 December 0.0 0.0 December 3.8 4.3 December 6.9 7.0 January 3.8 4.3 January 0.0 0.0 January 3.8 4.3 January 7.0 5.8 February 3.4 3.8 February 0.0 0.0 February 3.4 3.8 February 6.6 5.9 March 3.4 3.8 March 0.0 0.0 March 3.4 3.8 March 7.9 6.4 Annual Average 3.6 3.8 3.9 Annual Average 0.0 0.0 0.0 Annual Average 3.6 3.8 3.9 Annual Average 5.9 5.7 5.5 Average Apr-Sep 3.4 3.6 3.8 Average Apr-Sep 0.0 0.0 0.0 Average Apr-Sep 3.4 3.6 3.8 Average Apr-Sep 4.8 5.1 4.7 914 0 914 16326No of Employees at 30 September 2023 Resource Total No of Employees at 30 September 2023 Appendix 4 Absence Trends - 2021/2022, 2022/2023 & 2023/2024 Finance and Corporate Resources No of Employees at 30 September 2023 No of Employees at 30 September 2023 APT&C Council WideManual Workers 39
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2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023 2023 / 2024 2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023 2023 / 2024 2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023 2023 / 2024 2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023 2023 / 2024 % % % % % % % % % % % % April 3.2 5.5 5.7 April 3.6 10.6 6.9 April 3.3 7.6 6.2 April 4.3 5.6 5.1 May 2.9 4.5 4.9 May 4.2 8.1 6.1 May 3.4 6.0 5.4 May 4.9 5.4 5.1 June 3.5 4.9 5.4 June 6.2 8.5 6.8 June 4.6 6.4 6.0 June 4.7 5.3 4.7 July 4.0 5.5 5.0 July 5.7 8.9 8.1 July 4.7 6.9 6.2 July 4.0 4.6 3.8 August 4.9 4.7 5.1 August 7.9 7.1 8.5 August 6.2 5.7 6.4 August 4.7 4.4 4.1 September 5.8 4.5 4.7 September 8.1 6.3 7.8 September 6.8 5.2 6.0 September 6.4 5.4 5.3 October 5.2 4.3 October 9.0 7.8 October 6.8 5.8 October 6.3 5.8 November 5.7 4.6 November 9.2 7.8 November 7.2 5.9 November 6.9 6.5 December 4.6 4.4 December 9.5 7.2 December 6.7 5.6 December 6.9 7.0 January 5.2 4.5 January 8.8 5.5 January 6.7 4.9 January 7.0 5.8 February 6.4 4.4 February 8.5 6.2 February 7.3 5.1 February 6.6 5.9 March 7.8 5.3 March 10.7 6.8 March 9.0 5.9 March 7.9 6.4 Annual Average 4.9 4.8 4.9 Annual Average 7.6 7.6 7.1 Annual Average 6.1 5.9 5.8 Annual Average 5.9 5.7 5.5 Average Apr-Sep 4.1 4.9 5.1 Average Apr-Sep 6.0 8.3 7.4 Average Apr-Sep 4.8 6.3 6.0 Average Apr-Sep 4.8 5.1 4.7 881 566 1447 16326No of Employees at 30 September 2023No of Employees at 30 September 2023 No of Employees at 30 September 2023 No of Employees at 30 September 2023 Appendix 5 Housing & Technical Resources Resource Total Absence Trends - 2021/2022, 2022/2023 & 2023/2024 APT&C Manual Workers Council Wide 40
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2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023 2023 / 2024 2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023 2023 / 2024 2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023 2023 / 2024 2021 / 2022 2022 / 2023 2023 / 2024 % % % % % % % % % % % % April 4.5 6.2 6.5 April 9.6 12.6 9.4 April 6.2 8.3 7.4 April 4.3 5.6 5.1 May 5.0 5.7 5.8 May 9.3 10.1 8.4 May 6.5 7.1 6.6 May 4.9 5.4 5.1 June 3.9 5.9 5.5 June 7.6 11.3 8.6 June 5.2 7.6 6.5 June 4.7 5.3 4.7 July 6.1 6.0 5.4 July 10.3 11.8 8.8 July 7.5 7.9 6.5 July 4.0 4.6 3.8 August 7.3 6.0 4.8 August 10.2 10.8 8.6 August 8.2 7.5 6.0 August 4.7 4.4 4.1 September 7.6 5.9 5.6 September 10.3 9.6 9.3 September 8.5 7.1 6.8 September 6.4 5.4 5.3 October 6.9 5.8 October 11.3 10.4 October 8.4 7.3 October 6.3 5.8 November 6.2 6.0 November 10.8 10.4 November 7.7 7.4 November 6.9 6.5 December 5.5 6.4 December 11.1 10.6 December 7.3 7.7 December 6.9 7.0 January 7.4 5.2 January 13.0 12.0 January 9.2 7.4 January 7.0 5.8 February 7.5 5.8 February 10.1 11.0 February 8.3 7.5 February 6.6 5.9 March 8.0 7.0 March 12.8 10.9 March 9.5 8.2 March 7.9 6.4 Annual Average 6.3 6.0 5.8 Annual Average 10.5 11.0 9.9 Annual Average 7.7 7.6 7.1 Annual Average 5.9 5.7 5.5 Average Apr-Sep 5.7 6.0 5.6 Average Apr-Sep 9.6 11.0 8.9 Average Apr-Sep 7.0 7.6 6.6 Average Apr-Sep 4.8 5.1 4.7 1879 1075 2954 16326No of Employees at 30 September 2023 No of Employees at 30 September 2023 No of Employees at 30 September 2023 No of Employees at 30 September 2023 Appendix 6 Absence Trends - 2021/2022, 2022/2023 & 2023/2024 Social Work Resources APT&C Council WideResource TotalManual Workers 41
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Appendix 7 Community and Enterprise 1.9 3.6 5.5 Education 1.1 2.3 3.4 Finance and Corporate 1.2 2.6 3.8 Housing & Technical 1.9 4.1 6.0 Social Work 1.9 4.7 6.6 Council Overall for April - September 2023 1.5 3.2 4.7 Absence by Long and Short Term From: 1 April - 30 September 2023 Resource Total Long Term % April - September 2023 Total Short Term % Resource Total Absence % 42
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Appendix 8 Reason Total Work Days Lost % of Work Days Lost Psychological 31355 35 Musculoskeletal 21317 24 Stomach 8015 9 Respiratory 9381 10 Others 20205 22 Total Days Lost 90273 100 Reason Total Work Days Lost % of Work Days Lost Psychological 30750 20 Musculoskeletal 19914 10 Stomach 9501 31 Respiratory 18310 18 Others 20818 21 Total Days Lost 99293 100 From 1 April - 30 September 2022 From 1 April - 30 September 2023 Absence Classifications Absence Monitoring 43
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FROM: 1 April - 30 September 2023 comparison with 1 April - 30 September 2022 Teachers Others 178 70 85 24 114 187 218 53 82 41 118 201 RESOURCE Apr-Sep 2022 Apr-Sep 2023 RESOURCE Apr-Sep 2022 Apr-Sep 2023 RESOURCE Apr-Sep 2022 Apr-Sep 2023 Community and Enterprise 240 261 Community and Enterprise 188 193 Community and Enterprise 0 0 Education (Teachers) 146 122 Education 280 304 Education 2 3 Education (Others) 159 184 Finance and Corporate 42 52 Finance and Corporate 0 0 Finance and Corporate 35 43 Housing and Technical 68 71 Housing and Technical 0 1 Housing and Technical 107 116 Social Work 230 192 Social Work 0 2 Social Work 240 228 Total 808 812 2 4 Total 927 954 Total 4 10 M S M S M S M S M S M S Total (Apr-Sep 2023) 62 0 0 0 183 0 14 0 46 0 305 0 Total (Apr-Sep 2022) 67 0 0 0 162 0 0 0 23 0 252 0 305 252 M = Management Referral S = Self Referral Occupational Health Reports Medical Referrals Community and Enterprise Education Finance and Corporate Housing & Technical Social Work Totals Bereavement Total Total (Apr-Sep 2023) 658 Total (Apr-Sep 2022) 713 No of Employees Referred For Physiotherapy No of Employees Referred To Employee Support Officer No of Employees Referred For Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Not Disclose Appendix 9 Total Referrals (Apr-Sep 2023) Total Referrals (Apr-Sep 2022) Analysis of Counselling Referrals by Cause Reason Work Stress Addiction Personal Anxiety/ Depression 44
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2022 2023 2022 2023 2022 2023 2022 2023 2022 2023 2022 2023 Specified Injury 0 2 2 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 4 8 Violent Incident: Physical 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total Specified Injury* 0 2 2 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 4 8 Over 7-day 12 10 4 2 0 0 8 3 5 7 29 22 Violent Incident: Physical 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Violent Incident: Verbal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total Over 7-day** 12 10 4 2 0 0 8 3 5 7 29 22 Over 3-day 1 0 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 7 2 Violent Incident: Physical 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Violent Incident: Verbal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total Over 3-day** 1 0 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 7 2 Minor 42 53 21 25 2 1 4 8 30 25 99 112 Near Miss 6 7 3 3 0 0 0 3 3 1 12 14 Violent Incident: Physical 7 13 441 448 0 0 0 0 14 12 462 473 Violent Incident: Verbal 7 9 71 30 1 1 5 5 9 7 93 52 Total Minor*** 62 82 536 506 3 2 9 16 56 45 666 651 Total Accidents/Incidents 75 94 545 512 3 2 18 20 65 55 706 683 *A Specified Injury is any fracture (other than to the fingers, thumbs or toes), amputation, loss of sight, serious burns, crushing injury, scalping, loss of consciousness caused by asphyxiation/ head injury, a chemical or hot metal burn to the eye or penetrating injury as defined by the HSE. **Over 3 day / over 7day absence is an injury sustained outwith major injury category that results in a period of absence of absence as defined by the HSE. *** A minor injury is an injury not covered by " Over 7-day", "Over 3-day" or "Specified". Comparison Cause of Accidents/Incidents to Employees Community and Enterprise Education Finance and Corporate Housing & Tech Social Work TOTAL FROM: 1 April - 30 September 2023 comparison with 1 April - 30 September 2022 Analysis of Accidents/Incidents Appendix 10 45
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APT&C Manual / Craft Teachers Total APT&C Manual / Craft Teachers Total Community and Enterprise 1 50 N/A 51 0 1 N/A 1 1 49 N/A 50 34 11 6 88% Education 1 6 5 12 0 3 2 5 1 3 3 7 6 1 5 58% Finance and Corporate 5 0 N/A 5 0 0 N/A 0 5 0 N/A 5 4 1 0 100% Housing and Technical 0 8 N/A 8 0 1 N/A 1 0 7 N/A 7 6 2 0 100% Social Work 1 12 N/A 13 0 0 N/A 0 1 12 N/A 13 8 4 1 92% Total (Apr-Sep 2023) 8 76 5 89 0 5 2 7 8 71 3 82 58 19 12 87% Total (Apr-Sep 2022) 4 58 1 63 0 8 0 8 4 50 1 55 33 8 22 65% APT&C Manual/ Craft Teachers Total APT&C Manual/ Craft Teachers Total APT&C Manual/ Craft Teachers Total Total (Apr-Sep 2023) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total (Apr-Sep 2022) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 *Resources nil responses are not included in figures Appeal's Panel FROM: 1 April - 30 September 2023 Appeal's Panel 4-6 Upheld in Part Not Upheld Total Appendix 11 Withdrawn 6+ % Held within 6 Weeks Upheld in Part Record of Disciplinary Hearings No of weeks to convene Disciplinary Hearing Total Manual/ Craft Upheld N.B. Non-White employees refers to those employees who have indicated that they are:- Any other mixed background, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese, Any other Asian background, Caribbean, African and any other black background. No Action Outcome of Disciplinary Hearings Teachers 3 RESOURCE APT&C Action Taken 0 0 1 1 Upheld Outcome of Appeals RESOURCE Total No of Appeals APT&C Not Upheld 72 Appeals Pending FROM: 1 April - 30 September 2023 comparison with 1 April - 30 September 2022 Appeals pending to date No of Disciplinary Hearings Manual/ Craft Teachers 46
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Record of Grievances Grievances No of Grievances No Resolved at Stage 1 No Resolved at Stage 2 No Resolved at Stage 3 Still in Process Total (Apr-Sep 2023) 6 1 1 0 4 Total (Apr-Sep 2022) 10 1 9 0 0 Dignity at Work Dignity at Work No of Incidents No Resolved at Informal Stage No Resolved at Formal Stage No of Appeals Appeals in Process Still in Process Total (Apr-Sep 2023) 5 0 0 0 0 5 Total (Apr-Sep 2022) 4 0 4 0 0 0 FROM: 1 April - 30 September 2023 comparison with 1 April - 30 September 2022 FROM: 1 April - 30 September 2023 comparison with 1 April - 30 September 2022 Appendix 12a 47
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Referrals for Workplace Mediation Workplace Mediation Apr-23 May-23 Jun-23 Jul-23 Aug-23 Sep-23 No of Referrals 0 2 1 0 0 1 *No of Successful Cases 0 0 0 0 0 0 *No of Unsuccessful Cases 0 0 0 0 0 0 No of cases unsuitable for mediation 0 1 0 1 1 0 Workplace Mediation Apr-22 May-22 Jun-22 Jul-22 Aug-22 Sep-22 No of Referrals 0 0 1 1 3 0 *No of Successful Cases 0 0 0 0 1 0 *No of Unsuccessful Cases 0 0 0 0 0 0 No of cases unsuitable for mediation 0 0 0 0 1 1 *successful/unsuccessful case outcomes may be shown outwith the month they were referred. As at September 2023 Appendix 12b 48
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Attended classroom based training Community and Enterprise 1321 Education 160 Finance and Corporate 53 Housing and Technical 421 Social Work 2070 Total 4,025 Attended training delivered virtually Community and Enterprise 48 Education 451 Finance and Corporate 216 Housing and Technical 113 Social Work 857 Total 1,685 Courses Completed / Passed Community and Enterprise 10833 Education 32335 Finance and Corporate 1958 Housing and Technical 6924 Social Work 18730 Total 70,780 Employee Development 1 April - 30 September 2023 Appendix 13 49
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Percentage (%) Count Male 28.3% 2486 Female 71.7% 6290 Disabled 1.0% 84 Not Disabled 82.0% 7049 Not Disclosed 5.2% 449 Not Entered 11.8% 1016 White - Scottish 74.7% 6558 White - Other British 2.8% 244 White - Irish 0.4% 38 White - Any other Background 0.7% 64 Asian - Pakistani 0.2% 15 All Others 21.2% 1857 21 Years 1.3% 118 21-29 Years 21.3% 1869 30-39 Years 20.7% 1818 40-49 Years 20.0% 1759 50-59 Years 24.7% 2167 60-65 Years 9.1% 799 Over 65 Years 2.8% 246 Finance and Corporate Resources Appendix 13a Employee Development Monitoring Stats for all Training - 1 April - 30 September 2023 50
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Appendix 14 From 1 April - 30 September 2023 Reason for leaving Community and Enterprise Education Finance and Corporate Housing & Technical Social Work Total % Career Advancement 8 23 2 4 17 54 46% Personal Reasons 2 7 2 3 3 17 15% Disatisfaction with terms and conditions 2 1 1 1 1 6 5% Travelling difficulties 1 0 0 1 3 5 4% Further Education 0 4 0 0 1 5 4% Child Caring / Caring Responsibilities 2 0 0 0 2 4 3% Moving outwith area 0 3 1 0 0 4 3% Poor relationship with managers / colleagues 3 0 0 0 1 4 3% Other 10 4 0 0 4 18 15% Number of exit interviews conducted 28 42 6 9 32 117 Total no. of leavers per Resource eligible for an exit interview 96 172 16 21 77 382 % of leavers interviewed 29% 24% 38% 43% 42% 31% From 1 April - 30 September 2022 Number of exit interviews conducted 15 75 8 12 52 162 Total no. of leavers per Resource eligible for an exit interview 93 172 27 28 97 417 % of leavers interviewed 16% 44% 30% 43% 54% 39% * Note these totals include temporary employees Analysis of Leavers and Exit Interviews 51
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Resource Total FTE* Total H/C** FTE H/C FTE H/C FTE H/C FTE H/C FTE H/C FTE H/C Community & Enterprise 138.39 242 133.81 236 0.00 0 0.00 0 2.58 4 2.00 2 0.00 0 Education 384.22 472 377.58 463 2.48 3 0.00 0 2.03 3 0.60 1 1.53 2 Finance & Corporate 36.96 44 33.56 40 1.00 1 0.00 0 0.00 0 2.40 3 0.00 0 Housing & Technical 45.68 57 45.28 56 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.40 1 0.00 0 0.00 0 Social Work 116.90 179 104.55 132 1.81 33 0.95 1 2.29 3 7.30 9 0.00 1 Total 722.15 994 694.78 927 5.29 37 0.95 1 7.30 11 12.30 15 1.53 3 Appendix 14a April - September 2023 Number of leavers Replace Employee Filling on a temp basis Plan to transfer this budget to another post End of fixed term post Leave vacant pending savings or service review Plan to remove for savings 52
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Appendix 15 Applied Interviewed Appointed % of Applicants interviewed % of Applicants appointed % of Interviewees appointed 8809 3371 731 38% 8% 22% 3006 986 205 33% 7% 21% 5789 2002 488 35% 8% 24% 321 169 19 53% 6% 11% 6843 2310 502 34% 7% 22% 2283 791 195 35% 9% 25% 7651 2760 664 36% 9% 24% 1064 365 41 34% 4% 11% 84 42 3 50% 4% 0% Applied Interviewed Appointed % of Applicants interviewed % of Applicants appointed % of Interviewees appointed 7609 4293 1366 56% 18% 32% 2390 1433 330 60% 14% 23% 5217 2768 951 53% 18% 34% 191 118 30 62% 16% 25% 6262 3484 1023 56% 16% 29% 1284 683 254 53% 20% 37% 7200 4007 1239 56% 17% 31% 339 148 25 44% 7% 17% 80 49 0 61% 0% 0% Recruitment Monitoring Analysis of Gender, Disability, Ethnicity and Age From : 1 April - 30 September 2023 Total Number of applications received: 9270 Total Number of Equal Opportunities Monitoring forms received: 8809 (95%) Total Number of posts recruited for: 1215 Total Number of appointments: 876 Gender / Disability / Age Total EO Forms Received Total No of Male Applicants Total No of Female Applicants Total No of Disabled Applicants Total No of applicants aged under 50 Total No of applicants aged over 50 Total No of White applicants Total No of Black/Ethnic minority applicants* Total No of Veteran applicants *Black/Ethnic Minority applicants includes Mixed, Asian, Black and other backgrounds. From : 1 April - 30 September 2022 Total Number of applications received: 7826 Total No of applicants aged under 50 Total Number of Equal Opportunities Monitoring forms received: 7609 (97%) Total Number of posts recruited for: 1369 Total Number of appointments: 1402 Total No of applicants aged over 50 Total No of White applicants Total No of Black/Ethnic minority applicants* Total No of Veteran applicants *Black/Ethnic Minority applicants includes Mixed, Asian, Black and other backgrounds. Gender / Disability / Age Total EO Forms Received Total No of Male Applicants Total No of Female Applicants Total No of Disabled Applicants 53
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Resource Total F/T P/T F/T P/T Total Chief Officer Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Fixed SCP Teacher Community & Enterprise Resources 3140 1248 260 204 1428 2213.56 5.00 1535.63 371.38 236.50 44.05 16.00 0.00 5.00 0.00 Education - Others 3296 130 94 672 2400 2414.69 4.00 1185.77 951.66 144.40 49.60 10.00 0.00 62.46 6.80 Education - Teachers 3923 700 81 2235 907 3539.95 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.00 0.00 6.60 3532.35 Finance & Corporate Resources 841 196 15 400 230 761.82 8.00 111.26 357.34 213.64 50.28 21.30 0.00 0.00 0.00 Housing & Technical 1286 802 25 332 127 1228.24 3.00 205.10 623.16 357.38 29.60 10.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Social Work Resources 2756 199 207 1004 1346 2411.06 3.00 350.14 1461.14 529.23 36.80 30.75 0.00 0.00 0.00 9029.37 (excluding Teachers) Total All Staff 15242 3275 682 4847 6438 12569.32 23.00 3387.90 3764.68 1481.15 210.33 89.05 0.00 74.06 3539.15 ** Change to report this is now run electronically which allows us to report on grade. Resource Total F/T P/T F/T P/T Total Director Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Fixed SCP Teacher Community & Enterprise Resources 3137 1287 236 206 1408 2230.86 1.00 1525.42 397.39 233.22 45.23 17.00 2.00 9.60 0.00 Education - Others 3212 143 88 656 2325 2352.27 1.00 1159.20 914.47 143.94 46.60 11.60 4.00 63.66 7.80 Education - Teachers 3876 688 70 2275 843 3515.30 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.00 0.00 0.00 3514.30 Finance & Corporate Resources 897 207 24 415 251 805.43 2.00 128.41 363.75 223.48 57.49 24.30 6.00 0.00 0.00 Housing & Technical 1291 823 26 320 122 1233.52 1.00 216.87 615.18 358.87 28.60 11.00 2.00 0.00 0.00 Social Work Resources 2652 223 166 1003 1260 2321.75 1.00 1131.10 572.73 548.36 36.80 29.76 2.00 0.00 0.00 8943.83 (excluding Teachers) Total All Staff 15065 3371 610 4875 6209 12459.13 6.00 4161.00 2863.52 1507.87 214.72 94.66 16.00 73.26 3522.10 ** Change to report this is now run electronically which allows us to report on grade. QUARTERLYJOINT STAFFING WATCH RETURN : NUMBER EMPLOYED ON 9 SEPTEMBER 2023 Analysis by Resource Appendix 16 Analysis by Resource Total Number of Employees Full-Time Equivalent Female Salary Band Total Number of Employees Full-Time Equivalent Male Female Salary Band QUARTERLYJOINT STAFFING WATCH RETURN : NUMBER EMPLOYED ON 10 SEPTEMBER 2022 Male 54
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Executive Committee Date of Meeting: 22 November 2023 Report by: Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) Subject: Community Plan Quarter 4 Progress Report 2022/2023 and Annual Outcomes Improvement Report 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to:- [purpose] advise the Executive Committee of progress made against the outcomes within the Community Plan 2022/2023 as at the end of March 2023 purpose] 2. Recommendation(s) 2.1. The Executive Committee is asked to approve the following recommendations:- [ (1) that the progress made to date against the outcomes within the Community Plan 2022/2032 be noted (see Appendix 1); and (2) that the content of the Annual Outcomes Improvement Report (see Appendix 2) is noted. 3. Background 3.1. The South Lanarkshire Community Plan was approved in October 2017 and sets out the priorities and outcomes for the partnership over 10 years from 2022 to 2032. 3.2. A report setting out the new Community Plan was approved by the Partnership Board on 22 June 2022. This report outlined a plan to meet the requirement to publish a Local Outcomes Improvement Plan as required by the Community Empowerment Act. It was agreed that an Annual Outcomes Improvement Report would be published alongside the Performance Progress report. 3.3. This report outlines the progress made against the Community Plan up to the end of March 2023. It also provides an update on the Annual Outcomes Improvement Report for 2022-23 as detailed in Appendix 2. 4. Writing the Delivery Plan 4.1. Critical to the success of the new plan is delivering on our promise to work together with communities, local organisations and businesses to deliver the ambitions set out in the Community Plan. To achieve these ambitions, we need to change how we currently work together; taking a more holistic and joined up approach to service delivery through re-imagining current service delivery models; and through developing a clearer understanding of how our work impacts on individuals, families, communities, local organisations and businesses; and the contributions that we make as a whole in our work towards a fairer South Lanarkshire for all. 7 55
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4.2. At the Partnership Board on 14 September 2022, it was agreed that the action plan is written with local communities using the following process steps: co-determine; co- decide; co-design; co-deliver. We will build on current local plans and work with Community Partnerships and other locality groups as part of this approach. The Board also agreed that partners continue to support this work as they have done to this point in the engagement and writing activity for the new Community Plan; this includes ensuring staff are fully engaged in the process of working with communities to create the action plan. 5. Progress to Date 5.1. The principles underpinning the framework remain to ensure that the Partnership Board receives clear performance reports which are produced to a common timescale and a common standard across the Partnership. 5.2. The outcomes within the Community Plan are reported in full within this Quarter 4 report, using the latest information available. The report shows whether outcomes are being achieved to facilitate change and progress against the associated improvement actions. It also highlights progress on specific outcomes to inform good practice, learning and sharing across the Partnership. 5.3. The report uses a “traffic light” system to indicate if there are any concerns about whether a target will be reached or whether an action will be completed as intended. In general, a blue status indicates that the action to achieve change has been completed. A green status indicates that there are no concerns about meeting a target or achieving an action. Amber and red are used to flag up where there might be slippage or deviation from plans. The following definitions are used:- Status Definition Blue The action to achieve change has been completed Green On course to achieve the target or complete the action as planned/the timescale or target has been met as per expectations Amber There has been minor slippage against timescale or minor shortfall against target Red There has been major slippage against timescale or major shortfall against target To be reported later For some measures, the statistics are not yet available to allow us to say whether the target has been reached or not. These will be reported when available 5.4. The Community Plan Outcomes Report There are 32 measures within the Community Plan and the table below gives a summary of the progress as follows:- 56
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Summary: Priority Status by year Total Blue Green Amber Red Report Later/Not Available 22-23 22-23 22-23 22-23 22-23 Putting learning at the centre 0 5 0 0 0 5 Our children and young people thrive 0 5 0 0 1 6 Thriving businesses and fair jobs 0 4 0 0 0 4 Caring, connected communities 0 4 2 0 0 6 People live the healthiest lives possible 0 5 0 0 0 5 Good quality, suitable housing for everyone 0 3 1 1 1 6 Total 0 26 3 1 2 32 5.5. Of the 32 measures, 0 (0%) have been completed, 26 (82%) are judged to be on course to achieve the targets set, while 1 (3%) is judged to be considerably off target and a further 3 (9%) are judged to be slightly off target. There are 2 measures (6%) to be reported later. 5.6. It is important to note that the data within the report does not always refer to the current reporting year. What is shown is the most recent data available, on the strength of which a judgement is made about whether the targets set in the Community Plan are likely to be achieved. 5.7. There are three amber measures and one red measure and these are detailed below with explanatory commentary. Caring, connected communities Action Outcome Indicator Comments Amber We will bring communities together to share priorities and work jointly on them Hold a networking event for representatives of community led plans to come together and discuss progress and next steps across South Lanarkshire Due to changes within the Community Engagement Team, SLC this networking event will now take place in Winter 2023. Responsibility (Lead): Children’s Services Partnership Partner action to improve the outcome The Community Engagement Team has now recruited a further 3 Officers and 1 Assistant and these staff are now working in the priority urban communities and with key community representatives. It is anticipated that community representatives will be identified across all the areas and a networking event will be organised for Winter 2023. Action Outcome Indicator Comments 57
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Amber We will bring communities together to share priorities and work jointly on them Representation of all 4 community partnerships at Board level Representatives of the Cambuslang/Rutherglen and Clydesdale Community Partnerships are now members of the CPP Board and provide quarterly reports to the Board. Officers within the Community Engagement Team, SLC are progressing work to establish the Hamilton and East Kilbride Community Partnerships by 30 June 2023 to enable representation of these groups to the CPP Board. Responsibility (Lead): Children’s Services Partnership Partner action to improve the outcome Following recruitment of staff to the Community Engagement Team, work is progressing to establish the Hamilton and East Kilbride Community Partnerships including mapping of Community Councils and Stakeholder Groups and intensive engagement taking place with potential members. Meetings of the Hamilton and East Kilbride Community Partnerships are due to be arranged for Summer 2023. Progress update:- all Community Partnerships have now held their first meeting and work continues to strengthen their membership. Good quality, suitable housing for everyone Outcome Indicator Baseline 2023 Target Latest Comments Amber Increase the number of people accessing Housing Options services 964 Over 1,000 per year 972 There has been a significant focus on the development of homelessness prevention services in recent years and in particular on developing the Housing Options service as the first response to emerging housing need and risks. The slight reduction in the number of housing option interviews in the year can be attributed to emerging changes within the private rented sector and the cost-of- living crisis which have adversely impacted on prevention opportunities. Responsibility (Lead): Community Safety Partnership 58
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Outcome Indicator Baseline 2023 Target Latest Comments Despite being slightly under target for 2022-23 there has been a positive increase in the proportion of instances where homelessness has been prevented, with 65% of housing options cases successful in the prevention of homelessness. This underlines the positive difference the Housing Options approach continues to have on preventing homelessness in South Lanarkshire. External pressures, including economic issues affecting the housing market, pressures on both the private and social rented sector and the “cost of living crisis” impact on and limit the availability of housing options for individuals. The council will, however, continue to work with partner agencies and focus on promoting and delivering prevention work. In December 2021, the Scottish Government and COSLA jointly published ‘Preventing Homelessness in Scotland’, a consultation which sought views on proposals to introduce statutory prevention duties across public bodies, widening the responsibility for preventing homelessness and highlighting the need for prevention activities to be shared across community planning partners. It is expected that proposals in relation to this will be included in the new Housing Bill, expected to be published later this year. This will likely assist in the promotion of multi-agency prevention work across South Lanarkshire. Outcome Indicator Baseline 2023 Target Latest Comments Red Reduce the level of Homeless Households (homelessness caseload at year end) 892 Reduce from baseline by 10%- 20% 1,331 In the previous year, the Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan (RRTP) review noted significant success against a wide range of homelessness outcome measures. Within the current year, however, there has been a considerable increase in demand for homelessness services locally and nationally. The RRTP target of reducing homelessness caseload by 10% - 20% has not been achieved in the year due to the significant increase which took place in demand for homelessness services. The forthcoming RRTP review will consider the need for a revised target to be set. Services continue to support households with the overall aim of avoiding homelessness where it is possible to do so. Responsibility (Lead): Community Safety Partnership 59
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Outcome Indicator Baseline 2023 Target Latest Comments Performance in relation to this action is in line with national trends, which show a significant increase in demand for homelessness services in the year. In South Lanarkshire, during 2022-23, there was a 17% increase in homelessness applications with 2,502 applications received compared with 2,134 in 2021-22. Whilst there has been a continued focus on homelessness, with 58% of council lets and 38% of HomeFinder Registered Social Landlord lets directed to homeless households during the year, the increase in demand has resulted in the target being unachievable. It is anticipated that there will be no significant change in the prevailing socio-economic circumstances in the year ahead and consequently it is likely that the target will be adjusted, with the aim of maintaining or slightly reducing the level of homeless households by 2023-24 year end. Services will continue to work together to support households with the overall aim of preventing homelessness where possible and where this is not possible their experience will be brief and non- recurring. Nationally, homeless applications are at the highest since collections began in 2002 (this is the commencement of data collection in its current format), with an increase of 29% compared to 2019 reported by the Scottish Government in January 2023. 5.8. Detailed progress against all outcomes and the related interventions contained within the Community Plan is noted within the Quarter 4 Outcomes Progress Report at Appendix 1. 6. Key Achievements 6.1. Key achievements for 2022/2023, in relation to the priority themes, are highlighted below: Priority Theme: Putting learning at the centre Achievements: Mobilize Music Project Mobilize Music Project is a youth-led community music project which provides creative opportunities to young people aged 12-25 in East Kilbride and the wider South Lanarkshire area. The group won the newly added ‘Community Learning and Development’ category in the Scottish Education Awards 2022. Following this success, the project members produced a live showcase event at the music venue ‘Stereo’ in Glasgow’s city centre, to launch their very first compilation album, "Mobilize Music Project: Volume 1" featuring some amazing original tracks written, performed and recorded by Mobilize members over the course of this past year. https://mobilizemusicproject.bandcamp.com/album/mobilize-music-project-vol-1 Achievements: Youth Strategy 2022-2025 The Youth Strategy 2022-2025 for South Lanarkshire is developed through extensive consultation with over 1,000 young people across South Lanarkshire, and directly positions the key issues that young people have identified, to support partners to better develop and deliver services. The Youth Strategy was launched in February 2023 by members of the South Lanarkshire Youth Council and members of the Scottish Youth Parliament for South Lanarkshire, presenting the priorities: Health and wellbeing; Youth friendly services; Learning and working; Rights; and Environment. Priority Theme: Our children and young people thrive Achievements: Preventing Domestic Abuse Seven young people worked to co-produce a survey for young people aged 12-15 years old across South Lanarkshire in schools and community groups to gain an understanding of their current knowledge and experiences of Gender Based Violence in their community. The young people helped carry out the survey with youth groups, employability services, schools and colleges and through social media to reach as many young people as possible. The outcome from the survey 60
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helped them to think about what they could do as a group to challenge Gender Based Violence and other types of abuse. This resulted in the group making an animation to challenge people’s understanding and attitudes to Gender Based Violence and relationship-based abuse. Throughout summer 2022, the young people worked with design specialists and the team from Women’s Aid to co-create a two-minute awareness raising animation, ‘16-days of activism visuals’ and supporting materials for use within an education setting. The animation was shared with over 200 staff from children’s services organisations in November 2022. The animator’s blog reflects on her experiences working on this project: How co-designing with young people can change your practice - Inclusion as Prevention. The young people are currently completing an SCQF level 4 Wellbeing Award for the work that they have done on this subject, which recognises the levels of skills attained through their group work and approach to tackling complex issues within their community. The project team, Hamilton Grammar and Women's Aid have worked closely together to pilot these resources in the school with pupils and to understand the impact this has on attitudes and behaviour of the young people participating. The intention is to use the video more widely with young people and in time make it an integral part of how Gender Based Violence is challenged in our communities in general. Priority Theme: Thriving businesses and fair jobs Achievements: Recruitment Support During 2022-23 the Employability Team has worked with colleagues in recruitment to create a pipeline of support to progress unemployed young people into employment opportunities with the council. This innovative approach has both supported the council to fill vacancies in hard to recruit areas whilst also providing long-term well paid employment opportunities for local residents. This approach has included a blend of focused key work support, job fairs within local communities and fast-track recruitment to support quick progressions to employment. At each job fair recruiting managers, recruitment staff from HR and employability key workers were present to provide information on vacancies, match opportunities to jobseekers and complete on the day applications. In some instances, managers were able to carry out interviews on the day. Achievements: Economic Development Support The council’s Business Support Team have supported 157 of our, (mainly small and micro) businesses with grant funding totalling over £1.3million, securing approximately 40% European Regional Development Funding before UK access to EU funding ends as part of Brexit. This funding supported the creation of 470 new jobs and safeguarded 1,273 existing jobs through growth projects and business investment contributing to the transition to Net Zero. With Lanarkshire Business Gateway partners, 713 new business starts were supported in 2022-23. The £29.3m City Deal funded infrastructure project, widening to dual carriageway, A726 Strathaven Road and Greenhills Road to the access to the Langlands West development, was completed and opened to traffic on 28 June 2022. With ancillary and landscaping works now being completed, the next phase of works to prepare the 12 hectare Langlands West business and industrial development site will commence in the late summer of 2023. Enquiries from potential occupiers have been received and the site will provide much needed space for existing South Lanarkshire businesses to expand alongside new inward investment occupiers bringing new employment to the area. Priority Theme: Caring, connected communities Achievements: Funeral Poverty Awareness Week (21 November – 25 November 2022) The Funeral Poverty Group is a sub-group of the Financial Inclusion Network (FIN) which organised and hosted the first Funeral Poverty Awareness Week in November 2022. The group was formed just before the pandemic and one of its main aims was to raise awareness of the growing problem of funeral poverty. Funeral Poverty is defined as follows: 61
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‘Funeral Poverty is where the price of a funeral is beyond a person's ability to pay’. The week focussed on supports that are available to residents such as the Funeral Support Payment from Social Security Scotland and highlighted organisations and services available such as Money Matters, CAB’s and the council’s Bereavement Services. It also highlighted some third sector organisations that provide support (Lanarkshire Carers and The Manda Centre) as well as spiritual support. Achievements: Warm Welcome Initiative During winter 2022-23, the Community Engagement Team along with other colleagues in South Lanarkshire Council, and various community organisations provided warm space locations throughout South Lanarkshire where members of the public could access a warm space and a warm welcome. Over 100 locations were identified for the public to visit, take part in activities and to get warm. These spaces, found in community settings and public buildings, aimed to provide support and advice to local residents struggling with rising costs, particularly energy bills during the cost of living crisis. Various resources were developed for those who required some additional information and support, these included information booklets and an online directory of supports and a digital access map showing all locations across the area. A Community Grant Fund was also available for community groups to access funding to offer activities or light refreshments to service users. Work is taking place to evaluate the impact of the project. Priority Theme: People live the healthiest lives Achievements: Enhancing Carers Support Our commissioned services continue to increase the numbers of carers/young carers supported across all our localities. ‘Lanarkshire Carers’ hospital linked ‘Carer Support Workers’ are now co- located across key NHS sites in Lanarkshire and have established links with NHS staff. Carer Support Workers have engaged with individual NHS teams to highlight the importance of identifying cases at the earliest possible stage of their hospital journey. The South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership (SLHSCP) recently reviewed its approach to carer support and funding. Additional staff (Social Work Assistants) in locality teams have assisted with case management and reviewing carer support arrangements. A Self Directed Support (SDS) finance team is supporting the work of carers support arrangements, specifically in relation to linking funding to identified needs and outcomes. The overarching SDS Review team is working to ensure equity of the allocation of finite carers’ support funding and is working in partnership with ‘Lanarkshire Carers’ to ensure we continue to support our unpaid carers effectively and efficiently. Achievements: Blantyre Life As part of the council’s and South Lanarkshire Integration Joint Board’s (IJB) long-standing commitment to improve later life for adults and older people and to meet the future needs and wishes of the people, our new development in the heart of Blantyre consists of 20 award winning technology enabled houses and a new care facility, in addition to 25 barrier free homes. The technology enabled properties, as well as the care facility itself, champions the ‘home for life’ principle, seeking to enhance access to intermediate care, thereby supporting more people to be able to return to independent living in their own home and consequently, reducing reliance on long- stay nursing and residential care. All of the technology enabled homes were allocated to service users throughout 2022 with the care facility also now fully operational. The new state-of-the-art care facility incorporates twenty intermediate care beds aimed at supporting people to return home or to a setting which best meets their needs. A Technology Enabled Care (TEC) zone, designed in collaboration with Glasgow Science Centre, will showcase how technology enabled care can be used to support people to live well, safely, and independently at home. 62
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Priority Theme: Good quality, suitable housing for everyone Achievements: Home + Programme The council’s Home + programme, supported by funding from the Scottish Government’s Affordable Housing Supply Programme, delivered a total of 233 homes across South Lanarkshire during 2022- 23, including 57 properties purchased through the open market. These homes provide a range of different sizes and house types including flats, cottage flats, detached and semi-detached houses and semi-detached bungalows, suitable for varying needs. All new build council homes are also energy efficient and incorporate low carbon technologies such as solar panels, to benefit both the environment and household budgets. In addition to providing new homes, the landmark regeneration of Whitlawburn in Cambuslang also featured a significant community benefit package which ensured local residents and businesses gained as much as possible from the regeneration of the area. This included a £50,000 endowment fund which local tenants and residents had a key role in deciding how the fund should be allocated. Other additional community benefit initiatives delivered through the Whitlawburn contract included working in partnership with Routes to Work, trade apprenticeships, work placements and the provision of curriculum support for local schools. This development provides an excellent example of an integrated approach to tackling poverty and improving wellbeing, with families, older people, those with particular needs and those experiencing homelessness all benefitting from the housing led regeneration of the area. Achievements: Refugee Resettlement Support Team The council’s specialist Refugee Resettlement Support Team has been working with Ukrainian nationals since March 2022, following the introduction of national schemes designed to provide support to displaced families. Over the past year, the team, based within Housing and Technical Resources, has provided guidance and support to approximately 1,000 displaced Ukrainians in the South Lanarkshire area who are living in the community, in their own homes, with hosts or within interim accommodation. The team have also supported wider national priorities, e.g. providing accommodation for families who had been temporarily accommodated on cruise ships in Glasgow and at Leith and ensuring their smooth arrival into South Lanarkshire. A particular focus of the work involved establishing interim accommodation, supporting 150 Ukrainian nationals into former university student accommodation which opened in January 2023. This accommodation is managed in partnership with the Salvation Army and provides single people with an opportunity to move on from temporary provision, to find work and have time to plan their move to longer-term housing options. As well as working with Ukrainian nationals, the team support refugee families already settled in the area as well as welcoming new families who arrived as part of national resettlement schemes. The work of the Resettlement Team and the many partner services is making a real difference to people who have had to leave their home due to conflict. 7. Employee Implications 7.1. There are no employee implications associated with this report. 8. Financial Implications 8.1. There are no financial implications associated with this report. 9. Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Implications 9.1. There are no implications for climate change, sustainability or the environment in terms of the information contained in this report. 63
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10. Other Implications 10.1. There are no risk issues associated with the content of this report. 11. Equality Impact Assessment and Consultation Arrangements 11.1. This report does not introduce a new policy, function or strategy or recommend a change to existing policy, function or strategy and therefore no impact assessment is required. Paul Manning Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) South Lanarkshire Council 1 November 2023 Links to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes • Links to all Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes Previous References • Executive Committee – Community Plan Quarter 4 Progress Report 2021-22 and Annual Outcomes Improvement Report – 2 November 2022 List of Background Papers • None Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact:- Jen Kerr, Community Engagement Manager, South Lanarkshire Council Tel: 07880 174955 Email: Jennifer.Kerr1@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 64
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Progress Report Community Plan 2022-2032 Quarter 4 2022-23 (April to March) 7 65
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Summary - number of actions complete, green, amber, red and to be reported later under each Priority Priority areas of action Complete Green Status Amber Red To be reported later Total Putting learning at the centre 0 5 0 0 0 5 Our children and young people thrive 0 5 0 0 1 6 Thriving businesses and fair jobs 0 4 0 0 0 4 Caring, connected communities 0 4 2 0 0 6 People live the healthiest lives possible 0 5 0 0 0 5 Good quality, suitable housing for everyone 0 3 1 1 1 6 Total 0 26 3 1 2 32 Key: Statistical Measures Project Measures 66
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Community Planning Partnership - Community Plan 2022-2032 Putting learning at the centre Action Outcome Indicator Comments/Progress Status Baseline 2023 Target Latest Data We will work with parents to support the development of babies and young children Increase the number of children in South Lanarkshire (SIMD1/2) with no concern related to speech and language development prior to school entry Over the last four years, the 4-5 year old review data for SIMD 1 and 2 for speech and language has been impacted by the pandemic. The recent data evidences a decrease of 2.1% in children reaching their developmental milestones on SIMD 1 with an improvement in SIMD 2. Woodlands Nursery tested the PEEP Parenting Programme with both 2-3 and 3-5 year old children with a speech concern. They ran three separate sessions initially 5 parents in each and 6 completing. Challenges were parents working and engagement. However, for the parents that did engage they reported a benefit receiving strategies with their children and alleviating their anxiety with one dad so committed he would go to work early and come to the session before to returning to work. Some of the learning showed sessions were better indoors, in particular, with the younger age group as there were less distractions and the collaboration of the nursery and speech and language was helpful. In January 2023, Public Health Scotland produced speech, language and communication development among children in Scotland during the COVID-19 Pandemic: whole system approach with the challenge to partners to adopt the five strands of a balanced system Family support, Environment, Workforce, Identification and Intervention. Education and speech and language therapy Green 2021 SIMD 1 87.8% SIMD 2 87% 85% 2021/22 SIMD 1 85.7% SIMD 2 92.5% 67
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Community Planning Partnership - Community Plan 2022-2032 Action Outcome Indicator Comments/Progress Status Baseline 2023 Target Latest Data are now focusing on developing a shared vision to generate ideas that will inform our action plan going forward to improve outcomes for children and young people with speech and language communication needs. We will support young people to progress to further learning, work or training when they leave school Maintain school leaver destination rate (SLDR) for all young people The school leaver positive destination rate is 96.2%. There is no change from 2020-21. South Lanarkshire sits above the National average (95.7%) by 0.5%. Green 2020/21 96.2 (SLC) 95.5 (Scotland) Equal to or above the Scottish Average 96.2% (SLC) 95.7% (Scotland) Increase positive destination rate for young people progressing from the post-school AspireWorks programme The positive destination rate for young people participating in post school AspireWorks is 81%. Green N/A 70% 81% 68
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Community Planning Partnership - Community Plan 2022-2032 Putting learning at the centre Action Outcome Indicator Comments/Progress Status We will work with and support people of all ages to help them re- engage with education and learning or to improve their employability skills Learners will be offered opportunities to learn skills that meet their needs across a range of settings. We will work with learners to:- • Enhance their parenting skills • Help parents to support their child’s learning 425 learners enhanced their parenting skills through a variety of groupwork, formal and informal learning opportunities within Youth Family and Community Learning (YFCL) establishments. 535 learners feel better able to support their child’s learning. Programmes included structured learning such as Early Bird Plus and Incredible Years, and other programmes such as young parent groups and baby disco's etc. Green We will continue to support learners to progress to other appropriate learning opportunities, ensuring that we meet ongoing needs. We will work with learners to: • Help them re-engage with education/learning • Help them access volunteering opportunities • Help them access any other appropriate learning programmes or opportunities • Improve their employability skills 822 learners have re-engaged with education or learning through work with Youth, Family and Community Learning (YFCL). Programmes included community-based adult learning, adult literacy and numeracy programmes and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) as well as a range of opportunities for young people such as youth work with school non-attenders (e.g LEAD and Platform project). 415 learners have accessed volunteering opportunities, both within and outwith the YFCL Service. Volunteers are referred onto a range of projects through Community Learning and Development’s Third Sector Organisations as well community groups etc. Some volunteers also work within schools or support groups to do the Duke of Edinburgh Awards etc. 451 have accessed other learning opportunities. As above, learners will at times be signposted onto a range of learning opportunities such as Third Sector Organisations, community- based projects and school-based projects. In addition, young people will be referred onto Youth Employability programmes etc that is delivered within Education but outwith YFCL. 862 learners over 18 years of age have improved their employability skills. Examples of this include through Adult Literacy and Numeracy Programmes, specific job support programmes for 18+ learners (to develop IT skills, CV writing skills etc.) and gardening projects that enhance the skill set of learners. Green 69
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Our Children and Young People Thrive Action Outcome Indicator Comments/Progress Status Baseline 2023 Target Latest Data We will work to ensure children have the best start in life and become everything they can be Percentage of schools completing a participatory budgeting process This session 38 schools have allocated a larger % of their Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) allocation to Participatory Budgeting (PB) than in 2021-22. Only 18 schools have allocated less percentage than in 21-22, and 6 of these schools are still allocating more than the minimum 5%. Last year schools received an additional 15% uplift to their PEF allocation from the Scottish Government to support recovery post-covid. This session PEF allocations are more in-line with pre-uplift levels, and this along-with increasing staff costs have been contributory factors for the schools who have allocated less than in 2021-22. Following revised PB training in August 2022, Participatory Budgeting Stakeholder Groups for each school led another successful PB process with the consultation now complete. Schools are now progressing with their spend, to ensure the minimum 5% is spent in full by the end of March 2023 in line with their identified outcomes and measures. Schools were asked to allocate a minimum of 5% of their 22-23 Pupil Equity Funding to be subject to PB this session. This collectively equates to £447,458 of SLC’s £8,949,160 22-23 PEF allocation. 66% of schools have allocated the minimum 5%, whilst 34% have allocated more than this. The voting allocation across SLC schools comprised of: 40,106 pupils, and 10,214 parents. Green N/A 100% 100% 70
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Action Outcome Indicator Comments/Progress Status Baseline 2023 Target Latest Data We will work to ensure children have the best start in life and become everything they can be Percentage of young carers feel involved in identifying their outcomes and receive appropriate support Action for Children has been able to achieve over the allotted 75% in both involving young carers in identifying their outcomes and reporting yes to having received appropriate support. The % currently sits at 100%. This is an outstanding achievement, and all credit goes to the staff and the young people involved and their families. Here are some comments that young carers and their families have made over the last year. A young carer who receives support said that when with the staff member they feel like they had a big sister which is what they always wanted. “I really enjoyed today, was a bit worried I didn’t know anyone at first, but it was fun, and I’d come to something like this again if you did it”- an experience from Wiston lodge during an older group trip. N/A 75% 100% We will work to ensure that the health and wellbeing of children, young people and families is improved Percentage of registered users said Kooth was effective in supporting them with their emotional wellbeing needs 860 children/young people have registered on Kooth (online counselling and emotional wellbeing platform for children and young people). Of the registered users who completed the Kooth survey, 91% found the content helpful, 95% respondents would recommend to someone else, 100% found the on-line counselling helpful. Green N/A 80% 100% We will work to ensure that the life chances of children and young people in need of care and protection are improved Percentage of young people in receipt of continuing and after care will benefit from suitable accommodation options and appropriate support The development of a Housing Pathways Approach was continued for Throughcare Young People applying through the Throughcare System. A target of 95% was set for active throughcare homefinder applications with a person-centred housing pathway in place. 98% was achieved over 2022-23 and we continue to aim for 100% so all care experience young people have their say in seeking a suitable home. Green 98% 95% 98% 71
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Action Outcome Indicator Comments/Progress Status Baseline 2023 Target Latest Data We will work to ensure that the life chances of children and young people in need of care and protection are improved Percentage of kinship carers who are surveyed at their kinship assessment will score a level of satisfaction of 4 or more with the support they received Information is not available to report on this outcome indicator, however data will be gathered as part of planned improvement work. To be reported later TBC TBC There is no data for this specific measure available 72
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Our Children and Young People Thrive Action Outcome Indicator Comments/Progress Status We will work to ensure that the health and wellbeing of children, young people and families is improved Percentage of children and young people completing weight management interventions will report an increased awareness in the importance of making healthy choices Recent Scottish statistics highlight that 29.5% of children in Primary 1 were at risk of being overweight or obese (Public Health Scotland, 2021). This is an increase of 6.8% year on year. Children within the most deprived areas continue to experience higher levels of overweight and obesity with 35.7% at risk of overweight or obesity, compared to 20.8%, in the least deprived areas. NHS Lanarkshire and associated partners continue to plan, develop and implement clinical and community-based weight management interventions to support overall Health and Well Being of children, young people and families across Lanarkshire. By March 2023, 75% of children and young people completing weight management interventions will report an increased awareness in the importance of making healthy choices. By March 2023, 80% of children 4-5 years old achieve a healthy weight. Green 73
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Thriving businesses and fair jobs Action Outcome Indicator Comments/Progress Status Baseline 2023 Target Latest Data We will make it easy for businesses and social enterprises to get all available help and advice from one place Total number of businesses/social enterprises supported o New start ups In 2022, South Lanarkshire Council introduced a ‘small grant fund’ to provide funding to people with a robust, viable business idea who need funding to start trading. This was run by North and South Lanarkshire Councils, with investment of £350,000 from each council and was delivered in partnership with Business Gateway Lanarkshire to address a lower business start-up rate in South Lanarkshire compared to the Scottish average. Services to support new businesses include advice from a local business adviser, access to training workshops and webinars, market research and online resources to help businesses successfully commence trading. New start-ups – 713. This Lanarkshire wide activity is part funded by EU Funds (European Regional Development Fund), led by North Lanarkshire Council and runs from January to December. The programme completion and data gathering is not complete for 2022- 23, therefore the baseline; target and latest data will not be available until Quarter 2, 2023-24. Green N/A N/A 713 Total number of businesses/social enterprises supported o Existing organisations The current contract with Elevator for the delivery of the Business Gateway Service in Lanarkshire has been extended for a further period to 29 February 2024. The support provided includes dedicated (but not limited to) local business advisor to assist businesses and plan for growth, access expert help on a range of relevant Green TBC TBC 1,430 74
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Action Outcome Indicator Comments/Progress Status Baseline 2023 Target Latest Data topics including Finance, HR, Digital Development and Marketing. Existing organisations – 1,430. This Lanarkshire wide activity is part funded by EU Funds (European Regional Development Fund), led by North Lanarkshire Council and runs from January to December. The programme completion and data gathering is not complete for 2022- 23, therefore the baseline; target and latest data will not be available until Quarter 2, 2023-24. We will make it easy for businesses and social enterprises to get all available help and advice from one place Grants awarded to businesses/ social enterprises o Number and value of grants Due to demand and success of this funding, South Lanarkshire Council (SLC) have included a ‘micro grant’ offer under the new UK Shared Prosperity Fund with available grants up to £3K match. SLC’s Business Recovery and Growth Fund (BRGF) provides larger grants targeted at existing Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) to support their strategic, longer-term sustainability and growth. This grant fund’s specific activities to help businesses adapt and grow through Capital Expenditure, Infrastructure Improvements, Training Support, Consultancy Support and Exhibition Support. Number and value of grants - 157 - £1,340,098.61. This Lanarkshire wide activity is part funded by EU Funds (European Regional Development Fund), led by North Lanarkshire Council and runs from January to December. The programme completion Green TBC TBC 157 grants issued Value £1,340,098.61 75
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Action Outcome Indicator Comments/Progress Status Baseline 2023 Target Latest Data and data gathering is not complete for 2022- 23, therefore the baseline; target and latest data will not be available until Quarter 2, 2023-24. We will make it easy for businesses and social enterprises to get all available help and advice from one place Grants awarded to businesses/social enterprises o Funding leveraged There has been significant demand for the Business Recovery and Growth Fund (BRGF) support from South Lanarkshire’s business community. In Quarter 4, BRGF has resulted in leverage of £1,495,726.53 during this period. Funding leveraged - £3,141,967.53. This Lanarkshire wide activity is part funded by EU Funds (European Regional Development Fund), led by North Lanarkshire Council and runs from January to December. The programme completion and data gathering is not complete for 2022-23, therefore the baseline; target and latest data will not be available until Quarter 2, 2023-24. Green TBC TBC £3,141,967.53 Total number of jobs o Jobs safeguarded As a result of investment via the Business Recovery and Growth Fund (BRGF), South Lanarkshire Council has seen 48 grant awards to 29 unique South Lanarkshire businesses, which will result in 299 jobs created and 957 jobs safeguarded. Businesses are also forecasting an increase in their turnover of over £13m after 12 months through BRGF support. Jobs safeguarded – 1,273. This Lanarkshire wide activity is part funded by EU Funds (European Regional Development Fund), led by North Lanarkshire Council and runs from January to December. The programme completion and data gathering is not complete for 2022-23, therefore the baseline; target and latest data Green TBC TBC 1,273 76
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Action Outcome Indicator Comments/Progress Status Baseline 2023 Target Latest Data will not be available until Quarter 2, 2023-24. We will make it easy for businesses and social enterprises to get all available help and advice from one place Total number of jobs o Jobs created As a result of investment via the Business Recovery and Growth Fund (BRGF), South Lanarkshire Council has seen 470 jobs created. This Lanarkshire wide activity is part funded by EU Funds (European Regional Development Fund), led by North Lanarkshire Council and runs from January to December. The programme completion and data gathering is not complete for 2022-23, therefore the baseline; target and latest data will not be available until Quarter 2, 2023-24. Green TBC TBC 470 Total number of jobs o Increase in Turnover As a result of investment via the Business Recovery and Growth Fund (BRGF), South Lanarkshire Council has seen an increase in turnover of £21,836,790. This Lanarkshire wide activity is part funded by EU Funds (European Regional Development Fund), led by North Lanarkshire Council and runs from January to December. The programme completion and data gathering is not complete for 2022-23, therefore the baseline; target and latest data will not be available until Quarter 2, 2023-24. Green TBC TBC £21,836,790 77
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Thriving businesses and fair jobs r Children and Young People Thrive Action Outcome Indicator Comments/Progress Status We will work to ensure everyone has the same opportunities to learn new skills Deliver responsive employment support and measure the number of successful employment outcomes As at March 2023, there have been 1,687 engagements within Employability Services, of which 238 entered employment. Recruitment fairs were also held during 2022-2023, which resulted in 29 job outcomes with recruitment still ongoing. The Making It Work and GATEWAY Employment programs resulted in 273 job outcomes. Green Promote opportunities and careers and measure successful training outcomes During the year 2022-23, Employability Services helped 536 clients undertake vocational training, including the Making It Work and GATEWAY Employment programs. Upon completion, a number of clients secured a range of outcomes including jobs, promotion and salary increase. Green We will ensure that the place where you live is at the heart of our response to the climate emergency and help places to become sustainable Monitor and deliver town centre measures and initiatives in line with town strategies, Community Wealth Building and 20 Minute Neighbourhood approaches. • Town Centre Vacancy Rates – maintain at or below national averages • Businesses supported (including Social Enterprise) – support across towns and places South Lanarkshire Council are working with the key stakeholders across all our town centres to support businesses and invest in projects and initiatives which support the evolving way in which our towns are used by local communities. In relation to vacancy rates, all our towns, with the exception of East Kilbride, are maintaining levels at or slightly below the national average of around 14%. The council are seeing a move to more service-based businesses and more local traders which is an encouraging trend and where possible are supported through business support. The number of businesses supported will be available at a later date. East Kilbride has vacancy levels (c30%) well beyond the national levels and our own targets of circa 12% but is subject to a masterplan process to seek to address these challenges and bring it back to a more sustainable position. Green 78
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Caring, connected communities Action Outcome Indicator Comments/Progress Status Baseline 2023 Target Latest Data We will continue to support and encourage every community to identify and act on their local priorities Increase engagement of those within neighbourhood planning areas in place based participatory budgeting programme Place based participatory budgeting has been completed in Hillhouse, Udston and Burnbank (HUB), Burnhill, Springhall and Whitlawburn and Cambuslang East. Participation rates have increased since 2021-22 and the review of the local plans has begun in Fernhill, Whitehill, Fairhill and Blantyre. Green 3,571 participants 2021-22 10% Increase 3,751 participants Increase the number of local community plans through promotion of opportunities for communities to create their own plans and identify priorities Local plans have been completed for all 9 of the urban neighbourhood planning areas and published in 2022-23. Many of the areas are now refreshing their plans and this will continue throughout 2023. The council’s Community Engagement Team has also worked with a range of communities in Clydesdale and East Kilbride to look at local community led plans in Lanark, Carluke, Greenhills, Biggar, Lesmahagow, Duneaton, Carstairs Junction, Carnwath, Coalburn and Forth. New plans are being developed in Dolphinton, Crawford, and Meikle Earnock, Hamilton. Green 17 20% Increase 21 79
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Caring, connected communities Children and Young People Thrive Action Outcome Indicator Comments/Progress Status We will bring communities together to share priorities and work jointly on them Development of a further two community partnerships in Hamilton and East Kilbride areas A second meeting of the East Kilbride Community Partnership was held mid-January 2023 with further development work required to increase the current membership. During February/March, officers from the council’s Community Engagement Team attended meetings of local groups to encourage participation. Development work has restarted to establish a Community Partnership for Hamilton and the surrounding areas, and meetings are taking place with local groups to discuss the benefits of joining the partnership. Green Hold a networking event for representatives of community led plans to come together and discuss progress and next steps across South Lanarkshire Due to changes within the Community Engagement Team, SLC this networking event will now take place in Winter 2023. Amber Representation of all 4 community partnerships at Board level Representatives of the Cambuslang/Rutherglen and Clydesdale Community Partnerships are now members of the CPP Board and provide quarterly reports to the Board. Officers within the council’s Community Engagement Team, are progressing work to establish and maintain the Hamilton and East Kilbride Community Partnerships to enable representation of these groups to the CPP Board. Amber We will involve local representatives in community planning at all levels, including on the Community Planning Partnership Board Neighbourhood planning stakeholder groups to be supported to develop local leaders through capacity building and training support Two Activate Community Learning Courses around community involvement were developed in 2022-23 run by Glasgow University with accreditation for participants and a route into further education. 18 participants finished the first course and there are 12 scheduled to finish the second course. Representatives from Cambuslang and Rutherglen and Clydesdale Community Partnerships have attended and participated in two CPP Board meetings. Green 80
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People live the healthiest lives possible Children and Young People Thrive Action Outcome Indicator Comments/Progress Status We will ensure that all of our services work with people as early as possible to stop problems happening Implement Discharge Without Delay to return people to their home or community safely Discharge Without Delay has been implemented Lanarkshire wide. There is a particular focus on implementing Planned Date of Discharge (PDD) which means early referral to Social Work to allow for people to have an early plan in relation to discharge, this in turn ensures a more focused application of care and care placements. PDD should be set within 48hrs of admission to acute or community hospitals. Setting the PDD is a multi-agency responsibility (health, social work and others). This also means people are less likely to be delayed in their discharge. Currently patients are discharged 91% on or before their PDD. In addition, the Home First model is being rolled out to all localities on a locality-by-locality basis. Capacity of Integrated Care and Support Teams have been boosted. Green We will increase access, activities and supports that help improve mental health and addictions Further develop mental health services to support more people to recover or manage their condition successfully and live as happy, healthy and productive lives as possible. The Primary Care Mental Health & Wellbeing Service is accessible to 88 GP Practices across Lanarkshire. In 2022, Assessment Plus was established within the Mental Health and Wellbeing Service and as of May 2023 is now available in three localities (East Kilbride, Clydesdale and Hamilton). Assessment Plus aims to increase accessibility to evidence-based psychological therapies within Primary Care. The service is designed to meet the needs of adults who have mild to moderate, psychological problems and could benefit from specialist psychological assessment and brief, low-intensity intervention. The Third Sector service was commissioned to deliver non- clinical interventions within localities. The test of change ongoing for ability for Care Navigators within GP surgeries to directly refer to primary care mental health staff. Green 81
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Action Outcome Indicator Comments/Progress Status We will increase access, activities and supports that help improve mental health and addictions Work with South Lanarkshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership to reduce the impact of addictions within our communities through early intervention/prevention and a focus on recovery The South Lanarkshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership (SL ADP) continues to work with strategic objective and five priority areas, two of which are early intervention and prevention and a recovery oriented system of care (ROSC). Turning Point Scotland was commissioned through the ADP to deliver an adult outreach service in January 2022 for a period of three years. This service works in alignment with statutory treatment services, offering a case management approach and close one-to-one. The first responder and recovery ‘Beacons’, commissioned through the Third Sector Organisation ‘Liber8’, has just opened its fourth Beacon in East Kilbride. The ‘Beacons’, established as a prototype model, continues to augment statutory services and now provides all four localities in South Lanarkshire with a first responder and recovery beacon which operates through employing a whole family approach. At a recent national conference, South Lanarkshire was singled out for its innovative approaches in both the Beacons model and in promoting a family centered service delivery. Green 82
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Action Outcome Indicator Comments/Progress Status We will provide high quality day-to-day health and social care services that are accessible to everyone in our community who needs them Deliver all services in line with statutory requirements to ensure people are safe and healthy and encouraged to meet their personal outcomes The priority is to ensure effective delivery of critical services, complying with statutory legislation to protect vulnerable children, young people and adults in our communities. Services remain committed to assessing those most at risk with the focus on public protection. The outcome of a Joint Inspection of Adult Support and Protection carried out in August/September 2022 confirmed that our local partnership had strengths in key processes and strategic leadership. Green Support carers to maintain their caring role through a personal outcome approach Partnership working is thriving and enhancing support to carers through the dedicated work of our commissioned provider Lanarkshire Carers. Adult Carer Support Plans (ACSP) specifically focus on the personal outcomes of Health and wellbeing; finances; living environment; relationships; life balance; employment and training; and future planning. In 2022-23, Lanarkshire Carers progressed 912 ACSPs and made 883 wellbeing calls to carers. They allocated over £51,000 in direct grants to carers in support of identified personal outcomes. They have recently been awarded Carer Positive Status (Employer in Scotland) at the Exemplar level. Green 83
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Good quality, suitable housing for everyone Action Outcome Indicator Comments/Progress Status Baseline 2023 Target Latest Data We will increase affordable housing supply and improve access to and choice of housing options that suit people’s needs Increase the number of additional new affordable homes added to the housing supply in South Lanarkshire In 2022-23, the council’s Affordable Housing Supply Programme continued to deliver homes across South Lanarkshire, including 233 new council properties and 57 purchased by the council. Green 0 By 250- 300 per year 233 Increase the number of people accessing Housing Options Services There has been a significant focus on the development of homelessness prevention services in recent years and in particular on developing the Housing Options Service as the first response to emerging housing need and risks. The slight reduction in the number of housing option interviews in the year can be attributed to emerging changes within the private rented sector and the cost-of-living crisis which have adversely impacted on prevention opportunities. Amber 964 Over 1,000 per year 972 84
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Action Outcome Indicator Comments/Progress Status Baseline 2023 Target Latest Data We will work in partnership to improve housing quality and energy efficiency, whilst supporting a just transition to decarbonisation Increase the average Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) score of all homes with an Energy Performance Certificate in South Lanarkshire South Lanarkshire Council continues to promote and support energy efficiency improvements to homes across South Lanarkshire. For those who own their home, the council facilitates and administers national grant funding to enable owners to make improvements, including the Energy Efficient Scotland: Area Based Schemes and the Energy Company Obligation (ECO). The fourth phase of ECO will be launched in South Lanarkshire later in 2023, with the previous phase resulting in over 2,600 homes being improved. For the private rented sector, landlords are encouraged and supported to access national funding to make improvements through the twice annual Landlord Forum hosted by the council and where information is circulated from partner services. For the council’s own homes, significant investment continues to take place to improve energy efficiency and work towards national net-zero targets. This sustained investment has led to an average SAP score of 71 for council properties, contributing to a reduction in the energy required to be used by tenants. For all tenures, the average SAP score is 66. Green 65.1 Increase from baseline 66 85
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Action Outcome Indicator Comments/Progress Status Baseline 2023 Target Latest Data We will work in partnership to improve housing quality and energy efficiency, whilst supporting a just transition to decarbonisation Increase the percentage of socially rented properties achieving the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing 2 (EESSH2) In September 2022, the Scottish Government suspended the use of EESSH2 as a measure of progress. Currently awaiting the outcome of the national review which will establish new national energy efficiency/ decarbonisation measures. To be reported later Not available Not available Not available We will work in partnership to prevent and significantly reduce homelessness, and improve outcomes for those at risk of or who experience homelessness Reduce the level of Homeless Households (homelessness caseload at year end) In the previous year the Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan (RRTP) review noted significant success against a wide range of homelessness outcome measures. Within the current year however, there has been a considerable increase in demand for homelessness services locally and nationally. The RRTP target of reducing homelessness caseload by 10% - 20% has not been achieved in the year due to the significant increase which took place in demand for homelessness services. The forthcoming RRTP review will consider the need for a revised target to be set. Services continue to support households with the overall aim of avoiding homelessness where it is possible to do so. Red 892 Reduce from baseline by 10%- 20% 1,331 86
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Action Outcome Indicator Comments/Progress Status Baseline 2023 Target Latest Data We will work in partnership to prevent and significantly reduce homelessness, and improve outcomes for those at risk of or who experience homelessness Increase the percentage of former homeless households provided with a social rented tenancy that maintain their home for more than 12 months A range of internal and Third Sector partners continue to deliver housing support services, both in prevention activity and response to homelessness to minimise its impact. Monitoring of housing support outcomes reflect positive outcomes, reduced need across all wellbeing/ support need indicators and increasing tenancy sustainment. Green 88% Increase from baseline 90.5% 87
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-1- South Lanarkshire Community Planning Partnership Working together to improve the quality of life for all in South Lanarkshire Community Plan for South Lanarkshire 2022-2032 Annual Outcome Improvement Report 7 89
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-2- Contents Chapter Page Number Introduction to Community Planning in South Lanarkshire (Section 1) • Preface • What are we? • Who are we? • What are we trying to achieve? • How do I get involved? 3 Our Ambitions (Section 2) • Our New Community Plan 4 Community Plan (Section 3) • Performance Highlights • Overall Performance at a glance 7 8 Places for Wellbeing: (Section 4) How we are making a difference • Thriving Businesses and Fair Jobs - Town Centres • Caring, connected communities - Community Partnerships • People live the healthiest lives possible - South Lanarkshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership • Putting learning at the centre – Community Learning and Development • Our children and young people thrive – Participatory Budgeting in South Lanarkshire Schools • Good quality, sustainable housing for everyone – Fuel Poverty 9-20 Working with Communities: (Section 5) How you can get involved • Community Participation and Engagement • Neighbourhood Planning • Sustainable Development and Climate Change • Community Led Planning • Local Place Plans • Participatory Budgeting • Volunteering (VASLan) • Community Asset Transfer • Participation Requests 21-35 Appendices • Links to the National Performance Framework and UN Sustainable Development Goals • Community Planning Partnership Structure 36 37 90
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-3- Section 1 - Introduction to Community Planning in South Lanarkshire Preface This document is for you, and everyone else who lives or works in South Lanarkshire. It shows the progress of the South Lanarkshire Community Planning Partnership during 2022-23 and gives example of the work that we are doing to make a difference; and how this has impacted on local people and communities. What are we? All our Community Planning Partners are working together to make South Lanarkshire a better place to live and work. We work with each other and with communities to provide the best possible services that local people want and need. Further information can be found on the Community Planning Partnership website www.southlanarkshirecommunityplanning.org. Who are we? Our partnership includes a wide range of national and local organisations. Some of these organisations you will know well. Our community partners lead on local planning and area-based Community Partnerships. A full list can be found on our website. What are we trying to achieve? Our Community Planning Partners are working together to make South Lanarkshire a better place to live, learn, play and work. Our aim is to work with communities to deliver better services targeted at reducing poverty and tackling inequalities and deprivation across South Lanarkshire. Further information can be found on the Community Planning Partnership website www.southlanarkshirecommunityplanning.org. How do I get involved? There are many ways to get involved in your local community and influence the work of the partnership, for example, through volunteering, joining a local action group, helping to find out what matters in your area or getting involved in how decisions are made. More information can be found on the Community Planning website www.southlanarkshirecommunityplanning.org. 91
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-4- Section 2 – Our Ambitions: Our New Community Plan In June 2022, the partnership’s new Community Plan was ready to share with our communities. We started gathering the information for this plan during 2021. Over 3,300 people answered our survey about what mattered to them; we held conversations with 27 different groups to explore this a bit more. As part of this, we took information from lots of different sources including looking at what matters to people about where they live. At the time of writing the plan, 17 communities had their own local action plan and were taking action to improve the lives of everyone living in their community, and more are being created. Our Shared Vision, Principles and Priorities Our vision is that we improve the lives and prospects of everyone in South Lanarkshire. We will do this by making sure our communities are at the heart of community planning in South Lanarkshire. Our shared principles set out how we plan to work better, together:- Added Value and Continuous Improvement: We will work together to achieve more and become better at doing so. Clarity of Purpose: We will attempt to avoid duplication of effort, developing agreed priorities to maximise our impact and focussing on the actions that will make the most difference; Communication and Empowerment: We will talk to and listen to each other in a meaningful way, helping individuals, families and communities to take positive action to improve their wellbeing; Embracing Change: We work in a rapidly changing world. We are committed to making the most of this, shaping the direction of these changes to benefit local people and communities, taking innovative approaches and always questioning how and why we are doing things; Focused Delivery: We will not lose sight of the fact that we need to make a positive difference. We will work creatively and build on what we are already doing, focusing our services and actions to meet future needs; and Openness and Trust: We will do more together, from planning to delivery, ensuring openness and transparency in how we work; trusting each other to fulfil our roles; and working in harmony. Our Ambitions Our plan sets out how we will continue to support the people living in our communities to participate in Community Planning and puts the places where our communities live at the centre of change. We will continue to focus on improving how we work better together to deliver local needs and priorities. This work will happen across three key ambitions: People; Progress; and Planet. 92
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-5- People – Together, we will take a people first approach to improving everyone’s wellbeing. People told us that empowerment comes from the community and it’s not something that is given to them. We understand that long-lasting change will only be achieved if we all work together, putting our communities at the heart of community planning. We will continue to have community conversations that matter. We will work with communities to ensure that their voices are heard and support them to act on the things that are important to them through a “Can Do” approach. Progress – Together, we will build on what we have learned to improve how we do things and the wellbeing of everyone. Delivering the right things that matter to people, in the right place and at the right time. We have been inspired by the phenomenal community response to the global pandemic and have seen how our communities “Can Do” do more with the right information and support from us. Our focus will be to continue to grow and develop the relationships and the excellent partnership working that has supported our communities to maintain and improve their wellbeing throughout the pandemic. Planet - Together, we will act in ways that protect our natural world for a healthier future. We will work together to develop local solutions to protect nature and to take action on climate change and support our young people to lead the way. The ambitions set out where we want to see change happening across the themes of Progress, People and Planet. From your feedback, we know that there are six other priorities are important to you. We are already working to improve services in these areas and have plans that show how this is being done. Our Places for Wellbeing model shows how the plan connects though place, ambitions and priorities. 93
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-6- You can read the full Community Plan on the Community Planning website www.southlanarkshirecommunityplanning.org. Delivering the ambitions in this plan will need our local communities, partnership and other stakeholders to work together. The next stage of our work during 2023-24 is to write a plan that shows what we want to do ‘together’ to deliver on these ambitions. If you would like to get involved in this, please get in touch. Give us a call on 0303 123 1017 or email us at contact@southlanarkshirecommunityplanning.org. We look forward to working with you. 94
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-7- Section 3 - Community Plan Performance Highlights There is a significant amount of work being undertaken in our communities and by our partners across South Lanarkshire to make places fairer, better and greener. This report highlights some of the work that has been done. The following are examples of key areas of work. • Thriving Businesses and Fair Jobs: 536 clients undertook vocational training, including the Making It Work and GATEWAY Employment programs. • Caring, connected communities: 18 participants finished the first course of the Activate Community Learning Course around community involvement run by Glasgow University; and 12 participants are scheduled to finish the second course. • People live the healthiest lives possible: 88 Lanarkshire GP surgeries were provided sessional input by the Primary Care Mental Health and Wellbeing Service and Assessment Plus was rolled out in three localities, East Kilbride, Clydesdale and Hamilton. This delivers earlier access to Psychological Services. • Putting learning at the centre: South Lanarkshire’s school leaver positive destination rate is 96.2% (0.5% above the Scottish average of 95.7%). • Our children and young people thrive: Action for Children has achieved 100% in both involving young carers in identifying their outcomes and reporting yes to having received appropriate support. • Good quality, sustainable housing for everyone: The percentage of former homeless households, provided with a social rented tenancy that maintain their home for more than 12 months, has increased from 88% to 90.5%. 95
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-8- Community Plan Overall Performance at a glance The following provides a summary of our performance against our priority measures. These are:- • Putting learning at the centre • Our children and young people thrive • Thriving businesses and fair jobs • Caring, connected communities • People live the healthiest lives possible • Good quality, sustainable housing for everyone The full CPP performance report can be accessed using the following link: https://tinyurl.com/4z5xcd3y Status of priority measures 28 Improved or Maintained 4 Slippage or Deteriorated Status Definition Blue The action to achieve change has been completed Green On course to achieve the target or complete the action as planned/the timescale or target has been met as per expectations Amber There has been minor slippage against timescale or minor shortfall against target Red There has been major slippage against timescale or major shortfall against target To be reported later For some measures, the statistics are not yet available to allow us to say whether the target has been reached or not. These will be reported when available Most improved measures Least improved measures Increase positive destination rate for young people progressing from the post-school AspireWorks programme Percentage of kinship carers who are surveyed at their kinship assessment will score a level of satisfaction of 4 or more with the support they received Percentage of young carers feel involved in identifying their outcomes and receive appropriate support Hold a networking event for representatives of community led plans to come together and discuss progress and next steps across South Lanarkshire Deliver responsive employment support and measure the number of successful employment outcomes Increase the number of people accessing Housing Options Services Increase engagement of those within neighbourhood planning areas in place based participatory budgeting programme Reduce the level of Homeless Households (homelessness caseload at year end) 2 3 1 2 0 96
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-9- Section 4 – Places for Wellbeing: How we are making a difference Thriving Businesses and Fair Jobs - Town Centres Why is this important? The nature of town centres across the UK is in a transitional stage. The range of issues involved in the challenges town centres are facing are broad and complex. Factors such as the economic downturn, internet shopping, the growth of out-of-town shopping, changes in retailers’ business models and customer expectations have resulted in less people using them. Supporting town centres remains a council priority and officers continue to work in partnership with groups and organisations in each town to achieve our common goals. The contribution town centres make to our communities cannot be overstated. They support and contribute to people’s lives across our communities, for example to access essential services, visiting for shopping or enjoying leisure time. Around 70% of businesses and jobs in the economy are located in town centres and they are often the main location for leisure and hospitality. They are vital for social gatherings too like meetings, events and concerts. How are we doing? Town Centre strategies and action plans have been prepared and approved for Hamilton, Cambuslang, Larkhall and Blantyre with work now underway in Rutherglen. Similar plans are being progressed by the communities in Lanark and Carluke along with work being undertaken by the owners of East Kilbride. These strategies and action plans are closely aligned with the Scottish Government’s approach to town centres captured in the New Future for Scotland’s Town Centres report and action plan. Council Officers are working with all key stakeholders across our towns and have commissioned two key pieces of work to set the direction of the council’s work around town centres going forward. These will inform and align with existing and new funding opportunities for town centres. • Town Centre Visioning – this will set out how the council delivers on its strategic aims and objectives at a local level. As noted above, while all towns have similar challenges, the solutions are not always the same. This work will set out how the council, communities and partners should deliver meaningful and sustainable change within our town centres through a series of projects and action plans. • Transition to Net Zero – town centres are major contributors to pollution and although a number of early wins have been achieved, the ways to deliver long term meaningful and sustainable reductions are complex and not always appealing to businesses or customers. This work will set out a practical approach to working towards net zero across our towns. Partners are working with colleagues in the Improvement Service on a pilot project in Rutherglen called Shaping Places for Wellbeing. The project takes a multi-agency approach to placemaking. Work is still in the early stages; however, it is hoped that we can use this process when working with partners and communities across South Lanarkshire. A number of Shaping Places for Wellbeing Assessments have been undertaken including one of our Neighbourhood Planning communities. The learning from these will be used to deliver improvement actions and shape key plans, including the Rutherglen Town Centre Plan. 97
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-10- Priority Next Steps There are a number of key areas of work underway in support of our town centres which will inform the investment strategies and priorities going forward for the next 5 to 10 years. This work will also support and inform bids for funding. • East Kilbride Town Centre Masterplan • Hamilton Town Centre Masterplan • Place Based Investment Programme (PBIP) East Kilbride United – Kirktonholme Pavillion East Kilbride United Football Club have embarked on a 3-phase plan to develop their Kirktonholme site, creating a more disabled friendly pavilion and sports areas to support local groups and widen their use. Phase 1 - was a feasibility study for £10k funded by PBIP used to engage with local groups and organisations to gauge their interest in the project. This has been completed and support for the work is overwhelming. Phase 2 - is a refurbishment of the entrances, changing facilities and exits to the sports field funded by PBIP totalling 180k. This is currently under construction and going to plan. Phase 3 - is the resurfacing of the parks with artificial turf to allow greater use by all including disabled users. This has been supported by the Scottish Football Association, Sport Scotland, council’s Community Benefit Fund and PBIP providing £300k with a project value of £875k. The combination of these works will open up the facility to a number of additional organisations who otherwise are not able to take part in social sports activities. The new playing surface will provide a safer environment to use in all conditions, increasing the frequency of use. PBIP value £490K project value £1,065k. Further information Town Centre and Place Based Investment Programme - Update Shaping Places for Wellbeing Programme | Improvement Service 98
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-11- Caring, connected communities - Community Partnerships Why is this important? The Community Planning Partnership (CPP) is committed to ensuring that communities are fully engaged and can participate in the process of community planning. To achieve this, and to strengthen local democracy and community led decision making, locality-based Community Partnerships have been created. Three have already been formed in the Cambuslang/Rutherglen, Clydesdale and East Kilbride localities and a partnership for Hamilton and its surrounding areas is being developed. Community Partnerships act as an intermediary between the Neighbourhood Planning Stakeholder Groups, Community organisations and the CPP Board. There are three key commitments highlighted within the Community Plan which are supported and delivered by the council’s Community Engagement Team in partnership with Community Planning Partners, and other key stakeholders. These are:- • We will continue to support and encourage every community to identify and act on their local priorities; • We will bring communities together to share priorities and work jointly on them; and • We will involve local representatives in community planning at all levels, including on the CPP Board. How are we doing? Community Partnerships are led by communities with support from the council’s Community Engagement Team. They have set their own terms of reference; agendas for each meeting; identify local priorities; invite partners along to present information/updates on areas of interest; and prepare and present reports to the CPP Strategic Board. For example, the current priority for the rural Community Partnership in Clydesdale is transport. Since June 2022, representatives from each Community Partnership have taken up their place as a member of the CPP Strategic Board. They attend meetings, advocating on behalf of their local area and present quarterly update reports outlining current challenges and progress. Intensive engagement with Community Councils, area Stakeholder Groups including Development Trusts, and other partners, has taken place in each area. The membership of the Clydesdale Community Partnership continues to increase and has significant coverage of communities across its rural area; and the Cambuslang/Rutherglen group are reviewing their membership. All groups are focussing on increasing their membership, as well as ensuring that they are fully representative of the communities within their locality. Discussions have taken place about how best to communicate the work of the partnership across the communities in their area. All members receive a monthly Register of Information which includes information shared by partners and national information of interest. Consideration is being given to how the Community Planning website can be used to share information about the work of the group and how people can get involved. Priority Next Steps • To strengthen the membership of all established Community Partnerships • To create a new Partnership for the Hamilton, Blantyre and Larkhall areas. “I think what’s really important is the contacts and making the connections, so knowing who to go and speak to.” Clydesdale Community Partnership Member 99
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-12- Further information South Lanarkshire Council Public Performance Reports: https://www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/info/200173/council_performance/1478/public_performance_reports/18 What is Community Planning?: https://www.southlanarkshirecommunityplanning.org/info/1/what_is_community_planning 100
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-13- People live the healthiest lives possible - South Lanarkshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership Why is this important? South Lanarkshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership (SL ADP) is committed to reducing the harms caused by problematic alcohol and drug use. Scotland continues to see high numbers of drug related and alcohol related deaths reported. In 2021, 1,330 deaths in Scotland resulted from drug misuse, indicating a slight decrease of nine deaths from the previous year, however this still remains the second highest annual total ever recorded. Within Scotland’s NHS Board areas, Lanarkshire has the fourth highest rate per population of drug misuse deaths in Scotland and remains above the Scottish average. The work undertaken by the SL ADP assists in meeting national and local strategies with the aim of working together to improve the health and wellbeing of everyone affected by alcohol and drugs in South Lanarkshire. How are we doing? Over the past year, SL ADP have commissioned a range of services targeted at the whole population across South Lanarkshire. Priority areas of focus are: Early Intervention and Prevention; Developing Recovery Orientated Systems of Care (ROSC); Getting it right for children, young people and families affected by substance use; Public health approach; and Alcohol framework. The service operates using an outreach model to maximise engagement and retention in care and support services. There continues to be growth and development towards making recovery visible across South Lanarkshire through the effective delivery of The Beacons, a set of four Recovery Hubs based in South Lanarkshire, and implementation of a young person’s recovery community. SL ADP have worked with partners to implement the new national Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Standards, which aims to improve the experiences of people in need of treatment services. As a result, an urgent response team has been established to provide same day prescribing and access to treatment, and a residential rehabilitation pathway has also been implemented for those most in need of this method of recovery. John* attended Blantyre Beacons for an initial appointment and assessment. He displayed underlying trauma due to his early childhood, long-term addiction and years spent in prisons and institutions. He was also isolated, disconnected with his local community and looking for positive recovery opportunities as previous attempts were unsuccessful. A range of supports were offered to John to provide routine and structure, and to enable him to invest in a positive support network through the men’s group before engaging in the wider Beacons therapeutic programme. John said “I started attending the Beacons whilst on home leave from prison. Initially I was only attending recovery meetings but after a while I realised this place could really help me with all aspects of my recovery, from helping me stay drug free to Citizen’s Advice helping me get my benefits sorted. I also participated in trauma informed practice which helps to deal with past traumas that would have caused a relapse before I started attending the Beacons. I am now waiting to start an emotional regulation course that will help me deal with all the emotions that you get back in recovery. After being released from prison on parole I threw myself into my recovery. I completed the volunteer training course, and I am now a full-time recovery volunteer within the Beacons.” Name changed* 101
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-14- Priority Next Steps In the next year, SL ADP will publish a revised local strategy and will continue to work with partners, those with lived/living experience as well as family members, to continue to reduce the harms and impact of problematic alcohol and substance use across the communities of South Lanarkshire. Further information South Lanarkshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership 102
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-15- Putting learning at the centre - Community Learning and Development Why is this important? Community Learning and Development (CLD) supports individuals and groups to improve their skills and reach their full potential. CLD in South Lanarkshire is rooted in a commitment to the principles of social justice, empowerment, inclusion, and access to services and opportunities irrespective of life circumstances. The vision for CLD in South Lanarkshire is to: ‘Improve the quality of life for people in South Lanarkshire by offering vibrant learning and development opportunities that lead to personal development and community empowerment’. How are we doing? Learners have been helped to re-engage with education and learning or to improve their employability skills. As a result of this, learners are reporting improved confidence in their skills and abilities and are better able to support the learning of their children. They are accessing award programmes and achieving recognition for their learning towards improving their chances of gaining employment. The Platform School which is bespoke curricular programmes for referred pupils in second and third year of High School, was delivered in East Kilbride Universal Connections by the Youth, Family and Community Learning Service. There were five themed programmes of learning which included Art and Media; Sports Leadership; Hospitality; Music and Sound Production; and Outdoor and Adventure. It is vital when implementing a youth work approach that the young people choose to participate and therefore through meaningful feedback the team focused on the delivery of programmes that would result in the most meaningful engagement for the pupils involved. These programmes ran over 26 weeks and involved 44 pupils. This approach developed trusting relationships and supported pupils to address many of the underlying and negative issues affecting their education and life, resulting in re-engagement with education, increased attainment, volunteering and increased resilience to address the issues in their lives. Feedback from participants: “I enjoyed going to the Hampden Sports Clinic because I learned a lot about health and recovery in sports”. “Meeting new people on the course has helped my confidence”. “I learned to be more confident and how to work better with others”. “I really enjoyed meeting new people and doing the course with them”. The Blueprint programme was the first school learning programme set up in partnership with Carluke High School. Working with the Head of the Social, Emotional and Behavioural Needs (SEBN) department in the school we identified pupils who we felt really needed support and would be the perfect candidates for the programme. The group comprised of six individuals in their second year who were really struggling to cope with the school environment, had low attendance rates, struggled with self-confidence and had next to no future aspirations. The programme was designed to help them improve their confidence, develop team work and leadership skills, maximise their attainment and help them re-engage with education. Feedback from the 4 secondary schools in East Kilbride and Strathaven has been remarkable on what the programme offers, the delivery and on the positive impact it has had on participants. Whilst partaking in the Sports Leaders Platform Group, the participants have been afforded the opportunity to speak with an Active Schools Co-ordinator where they learned more about the service they delivery and additional learning/volunteering programmes they can access. Also, the participants in the programme have been given the opportunity to assist and lead on the delivery of the Primary 7 transition programmes that will take place in Universal Connections, this is a huge development and step forward for all individuals. 103
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-16- Priority Next Steps • Further embed recognised youth work practice from the recent HMIe Inspection of Stonelaw High School to enhance the offer for learners. • Enhance delivery of learning for adult learners through the MULTIPLY theme of the Shared Prosperity Fund. Further information Community Learning and Development Partnership - South Lanarkshire Council Participants of the Fire Reach Programme (Platform) 104
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-17- Our children and young people thrive - Participatory Budgeting in South Lanarkshire Schools Why is this important? South Lanarkshire are the only local authority in Scotland who have dedicated as much as 5% of Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) from every school. The work of our schools on Participatory Budgeting activity (PB) has been recognised nationally as good practice. How are we doing? In 2021-2022, schools allocated £607,136.95 of their Pupil Equity Funding (PEF), approximately 6% of the £9.9m South Lanarkshire Council allocation for PB. Of those schools, 81% allocated 5% of the funding to PB activity, whilst 19% of schools allocated more than this, with two schools allocating as much as 15% of their funding. During 2022-2023, schools allocated £568,643.65, 6% of the £8.9m funding allocation for PB activity. 66% of schools allocated the minimum 5%, whilst 34% allocated more than this. As a result of the benefits of taking a PB approach to allocating funding in the first year, 38 schools allocated a larger percentage of their funding allocation to PB than they did the previous year. In 2021-22, 27,972 young people and 9,689 parents/carers voted as part of the process. This increased in 2022-23 with 40,106 pupils and 10,214 parents voting as part of the process, demonstrating how much schools have built on the success from year one. The following links show the spend and outcome of the vote per school within South Lanarkshire: 2021-2022: • Clydesdale • East Kilbride • Cambuslang and Rutherglen • Hamilton 2022-2023: • Clydesdale • East Kilbride • Cambuslang and Rutherglen • Hamilton This video (https://tinyurl.com/PBSchoolsVideo) shows the impact of PB for children and young people across South Lanarkshire during 2021-22. Holy Cross High School Holy Cross High School sourced help from a local company who provided materials and supported a group of young people to build outdoor seating which was voted for. These young people received an additional Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework certified qualification due to their involvement in this PB work. 105
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-18- Carluke High School Carluke High School had a record number of pupils and parents participate in 2021-22, and as a result committed more money than the minimum required to PB in 2022-23. Their project focused on improving the uptake of free school meals. 51 young people did not use their free school meal entitlement at the start of the project and they reduced this to just 3 young people. Rigside Primary School Rigside Primary School voted for better playground equipment and games. This has improved engagement of pupils at playtimes and lunchtimes and improved wellbeing for targeted pupils. It has also helped some pupils feel a greater sense of belonging in school. David Livingstone Memorial Primary School David Livingstone Memorial Primary School listened to stakeholders who were very much about supporting families affected by poverty with issues around the Cost of the School Day. Following the PB voting process it was announced that widening the access to extra-curricular clubs was the favoured choice. It is hoped that pupil wellbeing and engagement of pupils affected by poverty at after-school clubs will improve. Additional Support Needs Schools: Sanderson High School Sanderson Primary School voted for pupils to have better outdoor learning experiences through an external provider, Outdoor Resource Base (ORB). ORB experiences have provided pupils with complex needs much needed opportunities to engage safely in a bespoke outdoor learning experiences beyond the school environment. Additional work in school has built on the skills and experiences gained at the ORB. Six targeted learners have achieved Curriculum for Excellence attainment outcomes at an accelerated rate as a result of the ORB experience. There has also been an increase in learning engagement levels, a reduction of violent incidents and an increase in skills developed. Victoria Park Primary School Victoria Park Primary School focused on widening access to learning experiences. Pupils and parents reported during the consultation that access to such experiences is often difficult within the community due to lack of availability of appropriate local clubs for pupils with complex learning needs and a lack of transport to access those further away. A range of specialists were brought in, such as music therapy, Equitots and Therapeutic Clowning, which have had a positive impact on pupils’ health and wellbeing and skills for learning, life and work. Further information: Education and Learning: https://www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/info/200140/education_and_learning 106
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-19- Good quality, sustainable housing for everyone - Fuel Poverty Why is this important? Addressing fuel poverty is important as it impacts on every member of the community whether they are young or old. It impacts on the ability to cook hot meals, to heat homes, to avoid ill health caused by the cold weather and to operate medical devices for those living at home with significant issues. Fuel poverty also has an impact on mental and physical health. It is well publicised that people choose to heat or eat and often parents of families will refrain from eating nourished meals to ensure that their children have meals. How are we doing? The partnership has a Fuel Poverty Group which is part of the wider Financial Inclusion Network. The purpose of this group is to share ideas, discuss initiatives and identify solutions which will help South Lanarkshire residents who are experiencing fuel poverty. The membership of the group is diverse with officers representing different services from South Lanarkshire Council (SLC) including: Community Engagement, Employability, Housing, Money Matters Advice Service, etc. as well as external organisations such as the Citizens Advice Bureau, NHS Lanarkshire, Housing Associations, Energy Action Scotland and Home Energy Scotland. The group have been focusing on the increasing energy costs and the limited options for residents to shop around (switch) for better deals. This was a result of the price cap that was introduced by the UK Government in an attempt to restrict excessive energy charges. This meant that the energy companies charged the same price therefore there was not any competition between energy companies for residents to try and get cheaper deals. In October 2022, the group attended a Community Networking Event which was held in East Kilbride as part of the activities during Challenge Poverty Week. Due to its role in dealing with debts and welfare rights issues, Money Matters Advice Service has been dealing with energy poverty and helping residents access funds, grants and emergency energy vouchers to help alleviate financial difficulty by making referrals to a variety of initiatives such as South Lanarkshire Council Financial Wellbeing Fund. Other members of this group also promote and engage with similar initiatives to ensure that South Lanarkshire residents can access help with energy issues. Energy Action Scotland and Home Energy Scotland provide information on energy issues and initiatives to all members of the group as well providing training/seminars for staff of the group members. All members of the group share information on any local initiatives that they can provide to the community. For example, periodically some of the housing associations can access funds that can help their tenants so this is promoted through the group members. NHS Lanarkshire ensures that information on energy issues and initiatives are cascades to their staff who are dealing with vulnerable patients. SLC departments will report on Energy Company Obligations that will have an impact on communities. The collective sharing of information and promoting energy schemes through the Fuel Poverty Sub-Group has proved to be an effective platform for helping deal with fuel poverty in the SLC community. 107
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-20- Priority Next Steps The uncertainty of energy costs and future assistance provided by the UK and Scottish Governments means that fuel poverty will continue for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, it is vital that the Fuel Poverty Sub-Group continues to share information on energy assistance schemes and initiatives that will benefit the South Lanarkshire community. Mr M, a client of Money Matters, was no longer able to work due to cancer and his only income was from benefits. The client’s central heating system broke down due a boiler which was over 25 years old and difficult to repair. A referral was made to an energy charity who installed a new boiler. There was also a referral to a second energy charity which replaced old inefficient kitchen appliances with new energy efficient ones and a new washing machine and tumble drier were installed. The four Citizens Advice Bureaus in South Lanarkshire between them dealt with 3,614 enquiries relating to energy advice/energy debt/ reducing energy costs during 2022-23, an increase of 36% on 2021-22. Financial benefits/awards to clients from energy interventions by Money Matters during 2022-23 was in excess of £0.5m (£538,690.64), while a further £0.38m (£378,041) in financial gains was secured for MMAS clients through energy debt interventions during 2022-23. Foodbanks across South Lanarkshire issued 842 fuel/energy vouchers (from various funding sources) to clients during 2022-23 in addition to emergency food parcels. Further information Money is not the only problem: https://www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/info/200134/benefits_and_money_advice/2050/money_is_not_the_only_problem Fuel Poverty Sub Group: https://www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/cp/info/4/thematic_groups/107/fuel_poverty_sub_group Financial Inclusion Network: https://www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/cp/info/4/thematic_groups/71/financial_inclusion_network 108
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-21- Section 5 – Working with Communities: How you can get involved Community Participation and Engagement Why is this important? Our work as a partnership is intended to improve outcomes for people who live, play and work in South Lanarkshire, particularly in those areas that experience the poorest outcomes. There is a lot of evidence that shows that when people are involved in decisions about services which affect them, outcomes are improved. As a partnership, we want to find ways to speak to communities and encourage them to act themselves and to have an influence on how services are delivered where they live. The Community Empowerment Act 2015 (www.gov.scot/publications/community-empowerment-scotland-act-summary/) means that legally the partnership has to place communities at the centre of its work, and work together with them to produce locality plans which we call Neighbourhood Plans in areas which have the poorest outcomes. In South Lanarkshire we are ambitious and work to extend this beyond the legal requirements and listen to and involve communities in a real and meaningful way. The Act also sets out other requirements for public organisations, for example, in relation to Community Asset Transfers and Participation Requests. During the year, many consultation and engagement activities were carried out by partners with communities in the South Lanarkshire area. The following sections in the report highlight some areas of this work. 109
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-22- Working with Communities: Neighbourhood Planning Why is this important? Neighbourhood Planning is where both residents and local agencies and organisations are committed to working together to develop local plans for their communities. This work aims to reduce the inequalities that exist in our most deprived communities and improve outcomes for residents. Key to this is supporting communities to drive the process and work alongside partners and service providers. Together they build a shared understanding of local needs and priorities and respond to these making the most of our shared resources. Collaboration with communities across South Lanarkshire and ongoing priority setting has been a key feature of our work. Sustaining existing support to these communities to maintain and monitor the level of progress and success gained through Neighbourhood Planning is important to continue to improve outcomes for these areas. Neighbourhood planning involves communities in real and meaningful ways and has created positive change in these communities. To see the progress that has been made in these neighbourhood planning areas please see the Annual Reports that are generated to highlight the progress being made on the top ten priorities within each plan. https://www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/cp/downloads/26/community_plan_and_neighbourhood_plans How are we doing? We are working with nine communities to progress Neighbourhood Planning and a further two areas are in progress. The following is a snapshot of current activity in some of the areas that we are working with communities. Hamilton South Officers have been working in the areas of Eddlewood, Low Waters and Fairhill in Hamilton. The current focus is on the development of a plan for the wider area of the Hamilton South ward. Plans include the development of a new stakeholder group and the Neighbourhood Plan will still recognise each of the distinct areas within Hamilton South, whilst working together for the good of all communities. Whitehill, Hamilton The Whitehill Stakeholder Group are in the process of reviewing their plan, creating new priorities and starting a Participatory Budgeting process. They are keen to engage with local residents and take forward their identified priorities in the year ahead. Blantyre Activity in this area includes re-establishing the stakeholder group and setting an agenda for the months ahead. This work will include identifying local assets, relationship building and community involvement and Participatory Budgeting activity in autumn 2023. Burnhill Burnhill Stakeholder Group has been working to deliver the priorities in their plan and have reported the progress in their recent annual report. The group have also delivered a successful Participatory Budgeting programme in which 254 people voted on how they would like the money to be spent in the area. Work to deliver the projects that were funded is underway. The group are also working within their wider community to review the priorities in their plan. The findings of this work will be published in March 2024. Members of the group took part in the national Shaping Places for Wellbeing programme. This 110
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-23- focussed on reviewing their action plan; and they hosted various sessions with community members to find out what they thought. A report on the findings from this work has been produced and the group will be supported by the Project and Community Link Leads and partners to embed the priority recommendations which is a key part of the project’s approach to create lasting positive change. Cambuslang East Cambuslang East Stakeholder Group has been working to deliver the priorities in their plan and have reported the progress in their recent annual report including successes in Participatory Budgeting projects that were awarded last year. The group has also been supporting other groups within the area to build capacity to allow them to potentially consider community ownership of some of the assets within the area. This work is ongoing and will continue to strengthen groups and organisations within Cambuslang East. The group are now in the process of organising a new Participatory Budgeting process that will allow community members to identify projects/activities they would like to see happen in the area. Some of the ideas generated through this exercise will proceed to public vote and the activities that receive the most votes will be funded. Fernhill Fernhill Stakeholder Group has been working to deliver the priorities in their plan and have reported the progress in their recent annual report including successes in Participatory Budgeting projects that were awarded last year. The group are now in the process of organising a new Participatory Budgeting process that will allow community members to identify projects/activities they would like to see happen in the area. Some of the ideas generated through this exercise will proceed to public vote and the activities that receive the most votes will be funded. Priority Next Steps • Develop a Neighbourhood Plan for the Lanark area • Develop a Neighbourhood Plan for the Greenhills, Whitehills and Crosshouse area in East Kilbride • Expand the reach of Neighbourhood Planning in the Hamilton South area “I enjoy volunteering to help my community get better. I like helping people and seeing their reactions. It makes me happy being involved in my community”. Summer, young volunteer (Burnhill). “The modernised hall and library, the nursery, the Cage and the progress made on recladding and back court improvements have all helped make Springhall a brighter, more attractive area for local people. Still more to do of course but great to see improvements taking shape in Springhall”. Stakeholder Group Member. “As a resident of Blantyre, I want to do more than just belong, I want to participate in making this town a better place to live, gaining a sense of community spirit, get involved with local groups to help tackle poverty and inequalities. I want to encourage others to join local groups already doing great work and helping our community, get to know their neighbours and make this a place to be proud of”. Local Resident. 111
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-24- Strutherhill and Birkenshaw For the last year the Strutherhill and Birkenshaw Action Group have been working to design and deliver a neighbourhood-based bike “campaign” aimed at inspiring more people to take up or return to cycling. A launch event is planned to bring the community together and a programme of activities is in place including a bike amnesty allowing bikes to be repaired, redistributed, or recycled, bike safety and maintenance checks and training has been organised across a range of levels. Play on pedals training (for toddlers) Bikeability and cycle proficiency training, on road training plus confidence building activities for beginners or those who haven’t cycled for a while plus mountain biking “car park” skills workshops. The group also hope to recruit volunteers for “Rock Up and Ride” a programme promoting cycle proficiency within Robert Smillie and Craigbank Primary Schools and have purchased balance bikes to support nursery-based activities and adult bikes for training and loan. The group are confident that activities meet the needs of local people because ideas have developed in direct response to consultation work undertaken with residents who identified the following priorities:- The need for cycle safety sessions; Organised cycling groups and trips; Bike repairs and bike maintenance; Guided cycles; Learn to ride sessions for all ages and abilities; Refurbishment and distribution of second-hand bikes; Bike health checks; Bike borrowing or bike share; and Family focused activities. “I think the Bike Initiative is going to make a massive difference in the area. Beyond the health and wellbeing benefits I think it will create real opportunities to bring the community together. The training programme means that there is something for everyone”. Partnership working has been at the forefront of this project and the Action Group have worked closely with the wider community, South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture, Robert Smillie and Craigbank Primary Schools, local nursery schools, Clydesdale Colts Cycling Club, Bike Town and Head in the Sky on this project. A launch event will take place Summer 2023. Further information Neighbourhood Plans: https://www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/cp/info/26/community_plan_and_neighbourhood_plans Annual Progress Reports: https://www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/cp/downloads/26/community_plan_and_neighbourhood_plans South Lanarkshire Community Planning Partnership: https://www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/cp/site/index.php Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015: www.gov.scot/publications/community-empowerment-scotland-act-summary/ National Standards for Community Engagement: https://www.scdc.org.uk/what/national-standards 112
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-25- Working with Communities: Sustainable Development and Climate Change Why is this important? Climate change and sustainable development are important considerations for Community Planning because they have significant implications for the well- being of communities, the environment, and future generations. This has been identified as a priority in the new Community Plan and can only be delivered through working together, with our communities. Community Planning partners can help to ensure that development is resilient, sustainable, fair, and that legal requirements are met. The following sets out some examples of current challenges and how the partnership currently is and can make a difference:- Protecting communities from climate risks which have increased in frequency and severity, for example floods, droughts, and storms. These events can cause damage to infrastructure, homes, and businesses, and disrupt community services. Community Planning can help ensure that communities are prepared for these risks by identifying vulnerable areas, developing emergency response plans, and investing in resilient infrastructure. Ensuring a sustainable future: Community Planning can help ensure that development is sustainable and that natural resources are used in a way that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This can include strategies to reduce carbon emissions, promote energy efficiency, and support the development of green industries. Promoting social equity: Climate change and unsustainable development can have disproportionate impacts on individuals, families and communities that experience the poorest outcomes. Community Planning can help ensure that development is fair and that the needs of all members of the community are considered. This can include ensuring access to affordable housing, public transport and green spaces. How are we doing? The delivery of people and place-based approaches are at the core of the new South Lanarkshire Community Plan. Work has been undertaken to map the Community Plan to the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, with a commitment to localising the global goals. Part of this work is to identify any gap which will inform future action. Moreover, the process will also assist in the creation of local performance indicators which will be reviewed voluntarily on an annual basis. These actions will assist in mainstreaming sustainable development and climate change across all Community Planning Partnership plans. All partnership work moving forwards will be considered through a climate change lens. This aim is to refocus current planning arrangements, prioritise and align policy and delivery with the statutory requirements of community planning whilst taking action to address the climate crisis which focuses on climate, nature change and ensuring that no-one is left behind. Priority Next Steps • A Community Planning Partnership Climate and Nature event will be held in October 2023, featuring guest speakers, climate cnversation cafes and networking opportunities. • A Community Planning Partnership Board Development Session focussing on Climate and Nature will be facilitated by young people in October 2023. • Creation of a new webpage detailing easy to access resources for communities and groups to access, which will be launched towards May/June 2023. Further information United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: https://sdgs.un.org/goals 113
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-26- Working with Communities: Community Led Planning Why is this important? The Community Led Planning process enables communities to identify local priorities and produce an action plan that helps people to take realistic steps towards the change they want to see. By bringing everyone together to think about what is needed, this process highlights the skills and resources already available in the community, as well as identifying the gaps and the support required from others to make it happen. How are we doing? Communities across South Lanarkshire in the Clydesdale, East Kilbride and Larkhall areas have created their own Community Action Plans. These plans have been developed through extensive community engagement activity delivered by local people, for the benefit of the whole community to take ownership of and work together to achieve the priorities set out in the plan. You can find more information about the communities that have their own plans and view their latest plans on the Community Planning website: - https://www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/cp/downloads/file/433/local_community_plans How can you get involved? If you live, work, visit or have an interest in any of the communities that already have a local action plan you can get involved by supporting delivery of the plan. If you live or work in a community that would like to create their own action plan, please see our local Community Planning Toolkit for further information. If you would like more information or would like to get more involved in your community please get in touch. Give us a call on 0303 123 1017 or email us at communities@southlanarkshire.gov.uk Further information Community Planning Toolkit: https://www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/cp/info/26/community_plan_and_neighbourhood_plans/104/neighbourhood_planning If you would like a copy of the toolkit, including template documents, please email: contact@southlanarkshirecommunityplanning.org Case Study - Larkhall Community Plan The Larkhall Plan Partnership, consisting of local third sector organisations, have produced an action plan from their community survey carried out in 2019. In the past year, the partnership have continued to raise awareness of the Larkhall Community Plan, it’s value and the strong network structures that have been built in Larkhall. The partnership also continues to lobby for acknowledgement and support, exploring potential partnerships to deliver necessary improvements in their local area. Progress on their priorities for the future include: The Open Space Action Plan A meeting was held with senior staff within South Lanarkshire Council’s Planning and Countryside and Greenspace Resources on 7 February 2023 to secure the commitment of the council to develop an Open Space Strategy for Larkhall. A joint workshop is planned with all relevant stakeholders. The Health Action Plan A meeting was held with the Chairs of NHS Lanarkshire and Health and Social Care Partnership where a number of issues were raised that are being progressed with partners. 114
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-27- Leisure Centre project A visit to the new Helensburgh leisure complex, allowed the partnership to see what a modern centre could look like. £11.5m has been identified by South Lanarkshire Council for a new leisure centre, leaving a gap of £10m or so. A public meeting attended by all local party leaders agreed that the development is a priority and all effort will be made to make up the shortfall. King Street Community Space An exploratory meeting with personnel from the council’s Planning, Economic Development, Roads and Funding and Development Services provided an opportunity to discuss the outcome of the feasibility study into the partial pedestrianisation of King Street as a community space. One of the key goals is for the ward of Larkhall to become a pilot area in South Lanarkshire (and Scotland) for effective Participatory Budgeting. The partnership have made the Community Planning Partnership and its partners aware of this in all presentations, meetings and discussions. It was recognised from the outset, that additional support was needed to help the partnership move this along and discussions have taken place at a national level with personnel from the Scottish Community Development Centre (SCDC) and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA). 115
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-28- Working with Communities: Local Place Plans Why is this important? Local Place Plans (LPP’s) are community-led plans which set out the proposal for the development and use of land; and for local communities to explore the needs for their area and set priorities for the future of their communities. This can assist in the development of local collaborations and grow community capacity and contribute to reducing the many challenges being faced today including climate change, nature crisis and reducing inequalities. LPP’s are required to be registered by the local Planning Authority (South Lanarkshire Council’s Planning Services) who have a legal responsibility to take these into account in the preparation of the Local Development Plan (LDP). How are we doing? The council’s Planning Service is about to start preparation of its third Local Development Plan (SLLDP3) which will set out planning policies and proposals for the development and use of land across South Lanarkshire for the next ten years. Communities can start developing LPP’s at any time, however, the council will formally invite community bodies to prepare a Local Place Plan once the SLLDP3 process starts. There has been no LPPs registered to date, however, to help communities consider whether they wish to prepare one, a toolkit and guidance is being prepared to raise awareness in communities including details on the council’s website and meeting have taken place with Community Partnerships to advise of the option to do this work. How can you get involved? If you are interested in preparing a Local Place Plan, you can contact the council’s Planning Policy Team by emailing lpp@southlanarkshire.gov.uk. We will be happy to provide advice or assist in submitting a Local Place Plan. Further information Local Place Plans - South Lanarkshire Council Local place plans: literature review and final report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) 116
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-29- Working with Communities: Participatory Budgeting Why is this important? Participatory Budgeting (PB) actively engages residents in local priority setting, decision making and the allocation of elements of public funds. How are we doing? The PB process has been adopted across nine neighbourhood planning areas who are sharing a bigger budget than usual this year thanks to match funding from the national lottery. £286,000 (allocation based on population size) was shared between these neighbourhoods and a variety of approaches are being used based on local circumstances. Three of our neighbourhoods have undertaken their PB processes already while our other communities are still working towards this. So far this year 2,425 local people have had their say on how money should be spent within their community, with only one third of our communities having completed the process. Completed PB processes: Burnhill (£28,278 – 254 votes cast) • The installation of Solar Panels in the High Backs to support community activity; • Funding to enable the High Backs group to capture rainwater in a water butt and water their plants sustainably and to investigate the option of having running water; and • Projects to support people with the cost-of-living crisis. Hillhouse, Udston and Burnbank (£44,870 – 1,649 residents voted and 4,946 votes cast) • A weekend supported study programme in John Ogilvie High School; • Upgrade of a family room in St Cuthbert’s Primary School; and • A residential guide’s camp. Springhall and Whitlawburn (£27,053 – 522 residents voted and 2,610 votes cast) • A community fun day, Springhall and Whitlawburn - Youth Development Team in partnership with Cathkin Award Group; • Sports, dance and movement programme - REACH Lanarkshire Autism; and • A warm spaces initiative – Whitlawburn Community Resource Centre. Strutherhill/Birkenshaw (£24,389) • Chosen funding to continue to invest in current priorities such as the bike initiative. Officers are working with Stakeholder Groups in Blantyre (£36,164); Cambuslang East (£38,901); Fernhill (£25,172) Whitehill, Hamilton (£22,786) Hamilton South (previously Eddlewood and Low Waters and Fairhill) (circa £38,000) to develop the most appropriate PB voting process for their communities. For a full list of projects awarded, please view the Community Planning Partnership Board regarding an ‘Update on Neighbourhood Planning across South Lanarkshire’ (Item 10/Page 69): https://www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/cp/downloads/file/390/community_planning_partnership_board_papers_- _7_june_2023 117
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-30- How can you get involved? If you would like more information or would like to get more involved in your community please get in touch. Give us a call on 0303 123 1017 or email us at communities@southlanarkshire.gov.uk Further information Participatory Budgeting Scotland: https://pbscotland.scot/ The Participatory Budgeting Charter for Scotland: https://pbscotland.scot/charter South Lanarkshire Community Planning Partnership: https://www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/cp/site/index.php 118
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-31- Working with Communities: Volunteering Why is this important? Volunteers continue to give their time, energy, and commitment every day across South Lanarkshire to support our communities. A wide range of activities and services would not be available if not for the kind and generous support offered by volunteers. The benefits of volunteering have never been more evident, volunteers have a direct impact on better mental health, less social isolation, and an increase in wellbeing for themselves and those they support. The impact volunteering makes on our society is immeasurable, the effect of volunteering is far reaching and recognising and valuing volunteers has never been more important. How are we doing? As part of a post covid learning and evaluation exercise, the Community Planning Partnership recognised the benefit of a collaborative approach to volunteering. This resulted in the introduction and launch of a shared South Lanarkshire Volunteering Strategy, endorsed by all partners through signing a Volunteering Pledge. As the Third Sector Interface for South Lanarkshire, Voluntary Action South Lanarkshire (VASLan) have taken the lead on the delivery of key components within the Volunteering Strategy. We have worked in partnership with referral agencies to focus on the removal of barriers to volunteering by offering support in areas such as confidence building, life, and social skills along with assistance to find suitable volunteering. The number of people supported through this new programme has exceeded our expectations with three times more people than originally estimated receiving support. Supporting partners and voluntary organisations in good volunteering practice remains one of our main priorities and working in partnership with Volunteer Scotland, we continue to promote the Quality Standards Pipeline and to support organisations to sign the Volunteer Charter, achieve Volunteer Friendly or Investing in Volunteers accreditation. We are well on the way to achieve our ambitious two-year target of supporting one hundred voluntary organisations to achieve one of these standards. Working with partners and the Third Sector to create more flexible, inclusive, and diverse volunteering opportunities has also been an essential part of our work over the last year and has resulted in twice as many new and exciting opportunities on offer to potential volunteers. In addition, work has been started to implement a Training Portal to support learning, knowledge sharing and enhance employability prospects for volunteers and staff across the Third Sector. The following are some of the highlights of 2022-23:- • 614 new volunteers registered; • 75 volunteers given tailored pre-volunteering support; • 1,525 volunteering placements facilitated; • 97 new volunteering opportunities created; • 24 organisations working towards a Quality Standard with a further 20 indicating interest; • 9 Saltire Group administrators approved; • 364 new Saltire volunteer registrations; • 355 Saltire Certificates issued; and • 17,299 Saltire hours logged. 119
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-32- Fatima Afzal - supported by VASLan to find a volunteer role at ST MARY'S FOR ALL (Receptionist) St Mary's is a lovely place to volunteer and I am enjoying my time here. Meeting new people and interacting with the community made me feel a part of the community. St Mary's offers an opportunity to connect with people with different cultural and religious backgrounds. This is worth dedicating my time at St Mary's because this has helped me strengthen my knowledge and social skills. Volunteering is the best way to make a positive difference in people's life and definitely it makes a massive difference in yours. Life feels more purposeful and contented. Even helping a little and providing a listening ear is satisfying and rewarding. Volunteering is the best way to escape from day-to-day work and to restore our energy. It feels so good to provide a listening ear and listen to other people's life experiences which is helping me to improve my problem-solving skills". Further Information: Voluntary Action South Lanarkshire (VASLan): www.vaslan.org.uk South Lanarkshire Volunteering Strategy: http://www.vaslan.org.uk/sites/default/files/2022-11/CPP%20Volunteering%20Strategy%20-%20for%20Website.pdf South Lanarkshire Volunteering Pledge: http://www.vaslan.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-03/CPP%20Pledge%20-%20A0%20Size.pdf 120
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-33- Working with Communities: Community Asset Transfer Why is this important? Local councils, the Scottish Government and other public authorities, own or rent lots of land and buildings, like schools, hospitals, parks and forests. The Community Empowerment Act gives community organisations a right to ask to take over control of land or a building. If the community organisation’s plan is better for people, they will be allowed to buy, rent or have the use of it. This is called Community Asset Transfer. The Act sets out specific criteria that needs to be met by community organisations. The ownership or control of community assets is a powerful tool for communities to drive change and achieve their goals. The Community Asset Transfer (CAT) process allows statutory partners including the council to work closely with their communities to develop local services and provision that are responsive to the needs of residents. The legislation which was introduced in 2015 allows community bodies to apply to lease and purchase public sector assets including those belonging to the council. By capitalising on the local knowledge and expertise of those who live in these communities we can assist in the flexible usage of SLC assets and work together to make the greatest impact possible in the communities in which we serve. How are we doing? South Lanarkshire Council’s Community Asset Transfer Officer has been focusing on improving the internal process to make it more responsive to applicant organisations as well as redesigning the website and producing an animation video to make the process easier to understand. In 2022-23, South Lanarkshire Council was the only Community Planning partner that dealt with Community Asset Transfer requests. Two Community Asset Transfers were approved during 2022-23 (Blantyre Victoria Football Club for Stonefield Park, Blantyre and Carluke Men’s Shed for Wilton Cemetery House, Carluke). The number of ongoing enquiries, which have been supported, has also grown greatly, with over 50 organisations working on proposals from community growing spaces to community football pitches. How can you get involved? CAT is open to any community-controlled body which has the relevant constitution or governance documentation and is open to all members of the community they serve. Any group applying for a CAT must show they have organisational strength to take on and manage an asset, and that they are supported by the community which they serve. The CAT process is an exciting opportunity which can benefit any community but involves a lot of time and effort. In recognition of this, the CAT Officer can provide tailored support to each organisation. This support can be augmented by assistance from other organisations, such as Voluntary Action South Lanarkshire (VASLan), Community Enterprise, Just Enterprise, Community Ownership Support Services and the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO). Carluke Men’s Shed The CAT Officer has worked closely with Carluke Men’s Shed (CMS) to assist in their application to lease the former cemetery keepers house at Wilton Cemetery in Carluke. The group have existed for a few years and have grown steadily whilst working from container accommodation within the High Mills site in Carluke. As the group has grown, their need for a larger and more permanent base has become a priority. The site was identified as vacant and ideal for their purposes with a former bungalow being repurposed and one of their storage containers being placed adjacent to allow them to continue their diverse activities. The group’s application has been approved and the lease is in the process of being finalised. 121
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-34- Tom Kennedy, Treasurer of Carluke Men’s Shed “Once the keys have been formally handed over to the CMS then we will begin to upgrade the internal carpeting, walls, furnishings, etc., to make it fully suitable for our members to start their activities which will also benefit the wider community, combating isolation and loneliness to help improve their health and well-being. The CAT process has run smoothly as SLC has been diligently helping the CMS for the new plans to proceed. It should be noted that this has been an excellent arrangement working really well together in tandem“. Further Information For South Lanarkshire Council, anyone wishing to know more about the process is encouraged to contact the Community Asset Transfer Officer at: communityassets@southlanarkshire.gov.uk Community Empowerment Asset Transfer: https://www.gov.scot/policies/community-empowerment/asset-transfer/ Community Ownership Support Service: https://dtascommunityownership.org.uk/ 122
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-35- Working with Communities: Participation Requests How are we doing? Participation requests are a formal way for community bodies to request to be involved in decisions and put forward their ideas on how services could be changed to improve outcomes for the community. Requests can be made to a range of public bodies including South Lanarkshire Council, NHS Lanarkshire, Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue, etc. During 2022-23, South Lanarkshire Council received one participation request: Annual report 2022-2023 - South Lanarkshire Council To make a participation request, your group must meet some requirements including having a membership open to your community and working for community benefit. Your first step should be getting in touch with the public body you would like to work with for assistance in getting started. This can identify if they are the right public body to contact and they can also help you to get advice and information about any existing consultations or decision-making processes that you could be involved in without needing to make a formal participation request. Further information Participation Requests: www.gov.scot/policies/community-empowerment/participation-requests 123
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Executive Committee Date of Meeting: 22 November 2023 Report by: Executive Director (Housing and Technical Resources) Subject: Land and Property Transfers and Disposals 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to:- advise the Executive Committee of the actions required in respect of land and property transactions [1purpose] 2. Recommendation(s) 2.1. The Committee is asked to approve the following recommendation(s):- (1) that the land and property as detailed in Appendix A declared surplus to Council requirements. 3. Background 3.1. Details of land and property, which are potentially suitable for disposal or redevelopment are circulated to all Resources and Community Partners to establish if they are suitable for alternative operational use. 3.2. Transactions where there is a requirement to declare land surplus to enable negotiations for minor or adjoining sales to progress are detailed on Appendix A. 3.3. These transactions are only included in the report after successful consultation with the Holding Resource(s) and Planning. 4. Minor Disposals 4.1. The schedule shown within Appendix A identifies proposed transactions where the holding Resource and Planning have agreed to the release of minor areas of land for disposal. 4.2. The Committee is asked to approve the recommendation that these areas of land are declared surplus to the Council requirements in order that the Estates Section can conclude negotiations for their disposal. 5. Employee Implications 5.1. There are no employee implications arising from this report. 6. Financial Implications 6.1. The minor disposals will generate capital receipts for the Housing Revenue Account. 8 127
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7. Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Implications 7.1. This report does not introduce a new policy, function or strategy which impacts on the natural environment, climate change or sustainability. 8. Other Implications 8.1. There is a low risk that the capital receipts anticipated, as a result of declaring properties surplus, may not be realised if, for reasons outwith the Council’s control, the purchasers choose not to proceed with the transactions. However, the procedures and consultations described in Sections 3 of this report have been implemented to minimise this risk. 9. Equality Impact Assessment and Consultation Arrangements 9.1. This report does not introduce a new policy, function or strategy or recommend a change to an existing policy, function or strategy and, therefore, no impact assessment is required. 9.2 Consultation was undertaken with Planning, Roads, Community, and Housing Services. Stephen Gibson Executive Director (Housing and Technical Resources) 31 October 2023 Link(s) to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes Achieve results through leadership, good governance and organisational effectiveness Previous References None List of Background Papers Plans of the land and property referred to in this report Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact:- Joanne Forbes, Head of Property Services Ext: 4073 (Tel: 01698 454073) E-mail: joanne.forbes@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 128
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APPENDIX A DECLARE SURPLUS Area Description Holding Account Proposal Value Banding 92 sq m 21 Kronborg Way, East Kilbride Housing Garden Ground 4 113 sq m 3 Myers Crescent, Uddingston Housing Garden Ground 4 64 sq m 4 Solar Court, Larkhall Housing Garden Ground/Driveway 4 21 sq m 99 Hall Street, Hamilton Housing Garden Ground 4 31 sq m 39 Gibbon Crescent, East Kilbride Housing Garden/garage 4 Value Bands 1 – over £1 million 2 – £500,000 to £999,999 3 – £100,000 to £499,999 4 – less than £100,000 129
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Executive Committee Date of Meeting: 22 November 2023 Report by: Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) Subject: Cost of Living – Support 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to: - [purpose] provide the Executive Committee with an overview of the support provided to households in South Lanarkshire in response to the cost-of-living crisis and to seek agreement for the direction of funds to support further activity. [1purpose] 2. Recommendation(s) 2.1. The Executive Committee is asked to approve the following recommendation(s): - [recs]h (1) that the range of support being provided by the council to households in response to the ongoing impact of the cost-of-living crisis is noted; and (2) that the allocation of £0.173m from the cash payments being delivered by Money Matters Advice Service to support foodbanks, looked after children and the production of ‘Money is not the only problem’ booklets be agreed. [1recs] 3. Background 3.1. While inflationary pressures are easing, with CPI falling to 6.7% in September and interest rates have remained at 5.25% since August, the financial pressure on household incomes remains significant. As winter arrives, there are signs energy costs are starting to ease, however, they remain significantly higher than they were before February 2022. 3.2. This report provides an overview of the support being provided by a range of Council services to households in South Lanarkshire most impacted by the cost-of-living crisis. 4. Cost of Living Support 4.1. Money Matters Advice Service 4.1.1. In the period 2023/24 to 2024/25, the Money Matters Advice Service (MMAS) will continue supporting the residents of South Lanarkshire, where they are experiencing food and fuel poverty, by distributing 8,600 cash vouchers to the value of £50 through the Financial Wellbeing Support Fund, in addition to continuing to provide referrals to food and fuel banks providers. 4.1.2. In relation to providing residents with access to energy top up vouchers, MMAS is currently working with the following organisations to provide residents with energy top up vouchers:- • The Fuel Bank Foundation • The MEGA Fund 9 131
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• Scottish Power Hardship Fund • Clydesdale Food Bank 4.1.3. MMAS also refer to Advice Direct Scotland, who can provide grants to residents who do not pay for their energy through pre-payment meters and to Home Energy Scotland who can provide energy advice through their mentoring schemes. 4.1.4. In the first half the 2023-24 financial year, there were 1,399 unique clients who sought debt advice and 1,520 Debt Cases/Enquiries. There were also 6,015 unique clients who sought benefit advice and 13,142 cases (some unique clients will seek debt and benefit advice so adding the number unique debt and benefit clients). 4.1.5. The summary position for financial gain for the first six months of 2023/24 is provided below: Type of Gain £ m Total welfare/benefit financial gain £10.889m Financial Wellbeing Support Fund £0.209m Emergency Energy Vouchers £0.249m Total Debt write-off £0.969m Total Financial Gain £12.316m 4.1.6 In the first six months of 2023-24, the amount of debt dealt with was £6.39m. In the 12 months for 2022-23, the equivalent was £7.47m in problem debt. Clients are, therefore, presenting with increased debt level with higher levels mortgage arrears evident. 4.1.7. It should be noted that the levels of client support can have seasonal fluctuations and the winter/spring months can see increases in the number of clients seeking support. 4.2. Benefits and Revenues 4.2.1. Support for households who have fallen into arrears or are experiencing difficulty with payment of council tax, continues to centre on the award of Council Tax Reduction (CTR). There are currently 30,351 active claims for CTR in South Lanarkshire. The projected value of awards for 2023/2024 at £23.390m is 7% higher than the actual for 2022/2023. This is due to the 5.5% increase in council tax charges implemented in South Lanarkshire from 1 April 2023 and a slight increase in caseload. 4.2.2. There continues to be significant demand for grants from the Scottish Welfare Fund (SWF). Although the volume of applications is 10% lower than last year at this time, they are still 17% higher than the corresponding pre-covid level. Grants to a value of £1.314 million have been awarded this year to 30 September. 4.2.3. The council is projected to spend £58.0m of Housing Benefit in 2023/2024 supporting low-income households to pay their rent with a further £4.329m of Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) spend already committed in 2023/2024 for this purpose. 4.2.4. To 30 September the service made payments to low-income households of £2.698m covering School Clothing Grants (£1.784m), Free School Meal (FSM) payments for holidays (£0.847m) and FSM payments for school strike days (£0.067m). 4.2.5. The service also administered the national energy support schemes to provide financial support to households who did not receive financial support directly from their energy provider and households who used alternative fuels. Eligible households 132
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received payments of £400 and/or £200 depending on individual circumstances. These schemes have now ended with the total amount awarded amounting to £0.222m, £0.110m of which was awarded this financial year. 4.3. Support for Tenants 4.3.1. Housing Services continue to support council tenants with rent arrears by providing financial assistance through its successful Tenancy Sustainment Fund, sustaining tenancies and preventing homelessness. This has helped 163 households so far this year and with awards totalling £0.085m (34% of budget). 4.3.2. The Resource continues to promote the supports available to tenants through the council’s social media platforms and in the Housing news publication, which is issued to all council tenants. The current economic climate continues to financially impact many tenants, directly affecting their ability to pay rent. 4.3.3. The Rent Income Support team will continue to work with SLC tenants to support them through the transition to Universal Credit and to maintain their rent payments, and work closely with the DWP and other partners to ensure that tenants receive the appropriate advice and support. 4.3.4. There remains a continued pressure on the council’s Homelessness Services to provide permanent accommodation and support households experiencing homelessness, particularly as homeless applications continue to increase, both nationally and locally. Households who are experiencing homelessness continue to be vulnerable to financial insecurity and hardship, particularly during the current economic climate. Due to these issues and other factors experienced during homelessness, a Housing Support Officer is allocated to those most in need which will include tailored advice and support to meet the needs of the individual and ensure supports are in place for moving onto permanent and settled accommodation supporting tenancy sustainment. 4.4. School Meal Debt 4.4.1 In relation to school meal debt, a total of £0.077m has been approved for write-off following consideration by the Finance and Corporate Resources Committee. 4.4.2. On all remaining school meal debt, Education Resources will continue to work with schools to review amounts owed for school meals. This exercise is being done with the utmost sensitivity with a further write-off totalling £0.007m expected to be presented to Finance and Corporate Resources Committee in December 2023 for approval. This process will be ongoing. 4.4.3. There continues to be joint working within the Council by Community and Enterprise Resources providing the school meal service and Education Resources to support families and signpost all supports available. The Council continues to provide a school meal for all children who require one, even if they are unable to pay on the day. 4.5. Support for Foodbanks 4.5.1. The figures for the first 6 months of 2023/24 (Q1 and Q2) show that that 12,929 households were referred for emergency food aid to food banks in South Lanarkshire, with 21,162 people being fed through food parcels, including 7,261 children. Compared to the first 6 months of 2022/23, there has been a 29% rise in the number of households referred to local foodbanks, with the number of children in receipt of food parcels also increasing by 29%. 133
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4.5.2. To provide support to foodbanks, it is proposed £0.028m is allocated from the cash payments made by MMAS. This will allow the 7 foodbanks in South Lanarkshire to benefit from a cash payment of £4,000 to support their operational costs such as utility costs, volunteer expenses and insurance. The payments would be made by 31 December 2023. 4.6. Looked After Children Payment 4.6.1. It is proposed a further £100 payment is provided to each looked after young person currently supported. This payment will be made to the carer (foster/ kinship/ family carers). An additional £40,000 one off payment will be made to the Council’s partner, Who Cares Scotland, to ensure support for Care Experienced Young People over the festive period, similar to the support provided during the same period in 2022. The cost of this initiative will be £0.135m, funded from an allocation from the cash payments made by MMAS. 4.7. Tackling Poverty Partnership Group 4.7.1. The Council continues to work with public and community partners through the Tackling Poverty Partnership Group in the Community Planning Partnership to identify and share our collective work in this area. This group is mapping the range of resources available to residents from across all sectors and has produced the ‘Money is not the Only Problem’ online resource and printed booklets. 4.7.2. In 2022-23, 30,000 copies of this booklet were ordered, only a handful of which remain. It is proposed an allocation of £0.010m be made from the funds allocated to cash payments made by MMAS to cover the costs of a further production run of 20,000 copies. Once available they will be made available for elected member surgeries and libraries. 5. Outlook 5.1. The significant pressure on household finances is expected to continue throughout 2023-24 because of inflationary pressures and higher interest rates. The demand for welfare advice and support services is, therefore, expected to continue to be significant. 5.2. The Council will continue to provide support from the range of services and budgets available. However, the financial challenges councils are facing are a limiting factor in the level of support that can be provided to households in South Lanarkshire. 6. Employee Implications 6.1. The support outlined in the report is provided by a range of teams across Finance and Corporate Resources and Housing and Technical Resources. 7. Financial Implications 7.1. The financial implications of providing the range of support outlined are met from existing budgets. After the proposed transfers totalling £0.173m from the funds allocated to cash payments to foodbanks, support for looked after children and additional advice booklets, £0.469m remains within MMAS and is considered sufficient to fund the cash payments to households referred to in paragraph 4.1.1. The provision of cash payments by MMAS was made possible due to the re-allocation of funds for the provision of energy vouchers. This re-allocation is greater than anticipated, and together with a carry forward balance from the Financial Wellbeing Support Fund, allows funds to be directed to support the new areas of activity outlined in the report. 134
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8. Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Implications 8.1. There are no direct climate change, sustainability and natural environment implications arising from this report. 9. Other Implications 9.1. While the Council is providing a broad range of support throughout 2023-24 with a significant level of financial resources, the actions outlined in the report are not expected to be sufficient to fully mitigate the worst effects of the cost-of-living crisis experienced by many households in South Lanarkshire. This reflects the scale and depth of the crisis and the need for significant input from other sectors such as governments and the energy sector. 9.2. The ability of local government to provide further mitigation remains heavily reliant on the responses from both UK and Scottish governments and the severity of the economic conditions that are experienced. 10. Equality Impact Assessment and Consultation Arrangements 10.1. There is no requirement to equality impact assess the content of this briefing paper or perform consultation. Paul Manning Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) 24 October 2023 Link(s) to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes Accountable, effective, efficient and transparent Previous References None List of Background Papers None Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact: - Craig Fergusson, Head of Finance (Transactions) Ext: 4951 (Tel: 01698 454951) E-mail: craig.fergusson@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 135
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Executive Committee Date of Meeting: 22 November 2023 Report by: Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) Subject: 2024/2025 Revenue Budget Update and Savings Proposals 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to: advise Members on the Budget position for 2024/2025, including an update to the strategy and the savings proposals. 2. Recommendation(s) 2.1. Members are asked to agree the following: (1) that the update to the budget strategy (section 4) covering anticipated pay award funding, pension contributions benefits, and expected outcomes from the probable outturn exercise (section 5), be approved; (2) that the remaining Budget Gap of £20.7 million (Table 2), be noted; (3) that the savings that require to be achieved over the 4 year period (as detailed at section 5.11 and Appendix 1) of £96 million, be noted; (4) that the savings proposals of £18.589 million covered at section 6 and Appendix 2, be noted; and (5) that the consultation on the Distance Qualification Criteria for Mainstream School Transport (section 7.2), be approved. 3. Background 3.1. The 2024/2025 Revenue Budget was reported to the Council’s Executive Committee on 21 June 2023. This identified a Budget Gap of £29.207 million for 2024/2025. This paper noted that options to address the Budget Gap would be developed for Members’ consideration and brought back to a future meeting. A pack of savings options are detailed in section 6 of the report. A Members’ briefing was held on 12 September to update Members in relation to the budget and a Members’ Seminar was held on 9 November where the savings were presented. 3.2. Since the Budget Strategy was approved in June 2023, there have been developments in relation to external factors which can influence the Council’s Budget position. These areas are detailed in this report. 3.3. Officers across Resources are working to identify means of assisting in managing budget pressures. This report will include details of these specifically in relation to Mainstream School Transport. 10 137
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3.4. This report will cover the following:- • Strategy Update (section 4), • 2023/2024 Probable Outturn and Potential Contribution towards the 2024/25 Budget Strategy (section 5) • Savings Proposals (section 6) • Mainstream School Transport (section 7), and • Summary and Next Steps (section 8). 4. Strategy Update 4.1. Since the Budget Strategy was presented in June 2023, there have been developments in relation to external factors which can contribute towards offsetting the Budget Gap. These are covered in the sections below. 4.2. 2023/2024 Pay Award: The current 2023/2024 Pay Award offer results in a recurring financial burden on Councils into 2024/2025. 4.3. The Scottish Government have recently indicated that they will provide £94 million of funding nationally as a contribution towards the costs of the 2023/2024 pay award into 2024/2025. We have yet to receive written confirmation on how that funding will be passed on, or that it will be provided on a recurring basis. The current 2024/2025 budget assumes that the council would have to meet these costs. This additional funding will benefit the Council in 2024/2025 by around £5 million. 4.4. The 2024/2025 Budget Strategy does assume an amount for a Pay Award for 2024/2025 but given the level of Pay Awards negotiated in recent years, it may be prudent to allocate half the funding covered in section 4.3 to increase the budget for the 2024/2025 Pay Award. The balance of £2.5 million could contribute towards reducing the Budget Gap. 4.5. Pension Contributions: In September, we were informed that the recent valuation of Strathclyde Pension Fund has resulted in the reduction of Employer Pension Contributions from their current levels. Instead of the current contribution of 19.3%, there will be a reduction in the contribution rates to 6.5% for 2024/2025 and 2025/2026, rising back up to 17.5% in 2026/2027. The new rates mean the Council will temporarily spend less on pension payments than is currently budgeted in 2024/2025 and 2025/2026, with a permanent saving (of £3.3 million) from 2026/2027. 4.6. The reduction in 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 is not permanent, so this cannot be used to permanently replace the need for savings. However, an in-year cash benefit in both 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 could be used to contribute to the Budget Gap for a period of 3 years. It should be noted that the same level of savings will be needed over that 3-year period so this is not an alternative to permanent savings. 4.7. Appendix 1 illustrates the approach that could be taken using the temporary benefit in pension fund contributions. This illustrates that the level of savings required over years does not change. The Appendix illustrates how we could contribute £4 million towards the Budget Gap in 2024/2025, and how this also allows the savings requirement in 2025/2026 (which was £41.4 million before Council Tax) to be brought down to a level of £21.9 million. It should be noted that using higher amounts of temporary funding to contribute to Budget Gaps in the short term would increase the savings requirements in later years. 138
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4.8. Taking the benefit of the Pay Award funding and also the pension contribution benefit, we could see a remaining Budget Gap of £22.7 million (before Council Tax). The use of the pension contribution towards closing the Budget Gap (sections 4.5 to 4.7) will require approval from Members. Table 1 – Update to Financial Strategy Budget Gap (June 2023) £29.2m Pay Award Funding (section 4.4) £2.5m Pension Contribution (section 4.7) £4.0m Remaining Budget Gap £22.7m 5. 2023/2024 Probable Outturn Exercise and Potential Contribution to 2024/2025 Budget Strategy 5.1. The formal Probable Outturn exercise for 2023/2024 will take place over the next 2 months with presentation to Members early in the new calendar year. This is the exercise where we undertake a detailed review of all main budget lines ahead of year end. There are a number of budget areas where previously unanticipated variances are emerging. These are detailed in the sections below. 5.2. Empty Property Relief: The budget for Empty Property Relief (EPR) transferred to the Council from the Scottish Government in 2023/2024. This means that any costs greater than the funds provided by the Scottish Government must now be met by the Council. 5.3. Current estimates for 2023/2024 show an overspend of £0.700 million in EPR. The estimates will be further refined as part of the overall Probable Outturn position for 2023/2024 and may need to be considered in the 2024/2025 Budget Strategy. 5.4. Loan Charges: The Loan Charges Budget is made up of repayments of debt principal and also debt interest costs. It can also benefit from interest on deposits. The Council currently holds significant cash balances, representing the profile of how the Council gets paid grant, compared to how it spends, and also reserve balances that are helping with the Budget Strategy over the short term. These cash balances on deposit are attracting high levels of deposit interest due to the high interest rates current being paid by counterparties. 5.5. The current estimate for the benefit to loan charges as a result of deposit interest is around £4.3 million better than the budgeted position. 5.6. There is also budget that was added to the Loan Charges budget this year for costs of borrowing £13 million for the Transformation Fund for Leisure and Culture (£1.182 million approved as part of the 2023/2024 budget in February 2023). This borrowing has not yet been required and therefore this budget will underspend this year. 5.7. The net underspend expected from deposit interest and the Transformation Fund borrowing budget is therefore £5.5 million (sections 5.5 and 5.6). 5.8. Given interest rate projections into 2024/2025 remain above 4%, there is the likelihood that we will achieve higher than budgeted levels of deposit interest into 2024/2025, estimated at around £2 million. The actual interest achieved will depend on cash balances through the year, as well as interest rates through the year. 139
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5.9. This means that between the expected underspend from 2023/2024 and the deposit interest anticipated in 2024/2025 there is an option to target a £2 million contribution towards the Budget Gap in 2024/2025 using this temporary funding. Using £6 million from the expected underspends would allow us to cover the reduction in the Budget Gap for a period of 3 years, after which we would have to make a permanent saving of £2 million in 2027/2028. It is proposed that the balance of underspend could be used to help any costs associated with achieving the 2024/2025 savings, including those affecting staff, such as allowing for any delayed redeployments. 5.10. Table 2 below shows the impact of the emerging issues and their contribution to offsetting the Budget Gap and is illustrated in Appendix 1. Table 2 – Update to Budget Strategy Remaining Budget Gap from Table 1 (section 4.8) £22.7m Probable Outturn - Pressure from Empty Property Relief (section 5.3) (£0.7m) - Underspend from Deposit Interest and Transformation fund borrowing 2023/2024 (sections 5.4 to 5.7) £5.5m - Deposit Interest 2024/2025 (section 5.8) £2.0m - Contribution to costs associated with achieving savings (section 5.9) (£0.8m) Total Benefit Over 2023/2024 to 2025/2026 £6.0m Use £6 million of Probable Outturn monies over 3 years to realise £2 million benefit in 2024/2025 (section 5.9) £2.0m Remaining Budget Gap £20.7m 5.11. Appendix 1 also illustrates that the savings that require to be achieved over the 4 year period is estimated at £96 million. The level of savings does not reduce over that 4 year period using the temporary funding, but it does allow consideration of the timing of those savings. 5.12. Service Concessions: Members will recall that the Council have already benefited from revised Guidance on Service Concessions (approved by Council in January 2023) that allowed a contribution towards Budget Gaps through extending the term we repaid debt to match the life of the asset. Our external advisor is reviewing any additional options around this and has not yet concluded their work. Any further opportunities around this will be reported back to Members when available. 6. Savings Proposals 6.1. As covered at section 5.10 (and Table 2), the remaining Budget Gap is £20.7 million. 6.2. A lever that in normal circumstances is available to the Council in managing its overall budget position and any Budget Gap is the ability to increase Council Tax. Each 1% increase in Band D would generate successive amounts of £1.550 million therefore a 5% increase in Council Tax would generate £7.8 million. South Lanarkshire continues to have the lowest level of Band D Council Tax in mainland Scotland at £1300.81. The average for mainland Scotland is £1409.69. As an example a 5% Council Tax increase could reduce the remaining Budget Gap to £12.9 million. 140
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6.3. On 17 October, the Scottish Government announced that they would be implementing a Council Tax freeze for 2024/2025 and have stated that this would be fully funded. At the time of writing this report no information on funding has been provided. Details of the funding being made available in relation to the freeze will be critical to enable the Council to set its budget. 6.4. A package of savings has been collated and is included in Appendix 2 to this report. 6.5. The savings identified currently total £18.589 million. This total includes Management and Operational Savings of £3.300 million along with Resource savings proposals of £15.289 million for consideration. The Management and Operational Savings as well as the Resources’ savings proposals, are summarised in Table 3. Table 3 – Summary of 2024/2025 Savings Proposals 2024/2025 Savings FTE 2024/2025 Savings £m Community & Enterprise 88.6 7.348 Education 86.6 4.625 Finance & Corporate 13.0 1.066 Housing & Technical 2.0 1.250 Social Work - 1.000 TOTAL 190.2 15.289 Management and Operational 11.9 3.300 Total Savings 202.1 18.589 6.6. It is highlighted that within the package of savings there are savings that impact on teacher numbers (EDR10 – Extended Support Team (Inclusion Service) and EDR12 – Reduce Area Cover in Schools). We have not been advised of any restrictions around reducing teacher numbers in 2024/2025. 6.7. There is also a saving in relation to Charging for Garden Waste Collection (CER01) that would require approval now for implementation to make a saving in 2025/2026. 7. Distance Qualification of Entitlement to Free Mainstream School Transport for Primary and Secondary Pupils 7.1. There are budget pressures within Education Resources including the forecast budget overspend on mainstream transport costs for financial year 2023/2024, estimated to be around £4.4 million. This reflects the significant increases in the cost of mainstream school transport experienced in recent years. This pressure is not included in the Council’s 2024/2025 Budget Gap detailed in this report. 7.2. Appendix 3 provides details around proposals to consult on changing the criteria for when free school transport will be provided to match the statutory limits. Members are asked to agree to conducting a consultation on the proposals to increase the distance qualification for free mainstream transport. The consultation outcome and proposals will be brought back to Members for consideration (expected May 2024) before implementation. 8. Summary of Budget Position 8.1. The Council’s 2024/2025 Budget Gap reported to Executive Committee in June 2023, was £29.207 million. 141
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8.2. There are recent developments in relation to external factors which can contribute towards offsetting the Budget Gap including the Scottish Government providing funding to cover the recurring impact of the 2023/2024 Pay Award (sections 4.2 to 4.4) and the reduction in the Council’s Pension Contributions across 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 (sections 4.5 to 4.7). 8.3. The bulk of the reduction in Pension Contributions is not permanent. The same level of savings will be needed across the short term, but by using the cash benefit, then there is scope to adjust the timing of when savings are made across this period. This is illustrated in Appendix 1. 8.4. The 2023/2024 Probable Outturn exercise is expected to produce a level of underspend, predominantly from higher deposit interest rates which is also expected to continue into 2024/2025 (sections 5.1 to 5.9 and Table 2). Using £6 million from the expected underspends would allow us to cover the reduction in the Budget Gap for a period of 3 years, after which we would have to make a permanent saving of £2 million in 2027/2028. It is suggested that the balance of underspend could be used to help any costs associated with achieving the 2024/2025 savings, including those affecting staff, such as allowing for any delayed redeployments. 8.5. The impact of the emerging issues identified in this report, and their contribution to offsetting the Budget Gap, means there is a remaining Budget Gap of £20.7 million (Table 2). 8.6. Management and Operational Savings totalling £3.300 million are detailed in Appendix 2. Resource savings proposals of £15.289 million are also presented in Appendix 2 for Members’ consideration. 8.7. Section 6 reports that the Scottish Government has announced a Council Tax freeze for 2024/2025. No information is available on funding for this. 8.8. The savings that require to be achieved over the 4-year period as shown in Appendix 1 is estimated at £96 million. The level of savings does not reduce over that 4-year period using the temporary funding, but it does allow consideration of the timing of those savings. 8.9. In summary, the Budget Gap remaining, the value of savings presented, and the amount generated from every 1% increase in Council Tax is detailed below: Remaining Budget Gap £20.7m Value of Saving Pack £18.589m Each 1% of Council Tax Increase £1.550m 8.10. Members will note the critical nature of the point covered at section 6.3 in relation to the implementation of the potential Council Tax freeze. 8.11. Next Steps: The Council expects to receive its 2024/2025 Local Government Settlement in December, and an update will be provided to Members in January 2024 with a view to setting a balanced Budget in February 2024 for financial year 2024/2025. 142
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9. Employee Implications 9.1. The employee implication of each of the proposed savings is detailed in Appendix 2. The process of achieving savings where employees will be affected will involve a review of vacant posts, voluntary redeployment, and where appropriate the application of the Council’s Switch 2 policy to support displaced employees. 9.2. Timing of Staffing Savings: The savings proposed in Appendix 2 will result in 202.1 FTE staff being redeployed. 11.9 FTE relate to the Management and Operational savings. As with previous savings exercises the Council remains committed to working closely with the Trade Unions and have a commitment to avoid compulsory redundancies. As noted in section 9.1, there is a process in place for achieving savings where employee or job numbers are affected (review of vacant posts, voluntary redeployment, and where appropriate, the Switch 2 policy). 10. Financial Implications 10.1. The financial implications are summarised within the report. 11. Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Implications 11.1. Revenue Budget and Savings: As agreed at the Climate Change and Sustainability Committee (20 September 2023), a Sustainability Impact Assessment will be completed in respect of the Revenue Budget process. This will be completed in November. The impact assessment process aims to ensure that we continue to ensure that factors related to carbon reduction, climate change adaptation and the wider principles of sustainable development are included within Revenue Budget process. The assessment will be updated as the budget process continues and at this stage Members are not being asked to approve the budget. Elements feeding into this current Budget Strategy reflect increases in cost of current activity, rather than any change to existing practices and therefore should have no direct environmental impact change as a result. 12. General / Other Implications for the Council 12.1. The Budget Strategy and the Savings proposals are a way of managing a number of key risks which directly impact on the money available to deliver Council objectives. There is no certainty on the level of funding that will be received over the life of this Strategy and the Strategy itself is based on economic information and advice we have to date. However, it is accepted that these are assumptions. 12.2. The main risk area, where the Council has made assumptions which have a significant impact on the budget estimates going forwards, are on the level of grant which we will receive, as well as any general pay, demand or price increases / inflation assumptions which are currently unknown. These have been estimated, as far as possible. Any movement in these assumptions would be a risk to the Strategy and will continue to be monitored. 12.3. As covered in the June paper, the 2024/2025 Budget Strategy does not at this stage include any additional funding in relation to the following areas: • Children and Families • Teachers’ Pension • Waste Contract • School Transport • Job Evaluations 12.4. Further details are included in Appendix 4. 143
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12.5. Council Tax Multiplier: A national consultation is underway on proposals to change the Council Tax payable on higher banded properties. At the moment, councils have not been advised that this change will take place and therefore this paper does not include any impact of this. 12.6. Requirement to Set a Budget: Under statute and internal governance rules, Council Members have duties around setting budgets. Failure to set a balanced budget would have serious implications, not just for the Council but also potentially for individual Members who could incur personal responsibility for failure to comply with their statutory duty. 12.7. Any failure to set a balanced budget would almost certainly provoke intervention byScottish Ministers and the Accounts Commission who have legislative powers to carry out investigations and make recommendations which could result in Scottish Ministers issuing binding directions to the Council. Under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, special reporting processes exist (Section 102) which, if the Controller of Audit is not satisfied with the Council’s steps to remedy such an issue then he/she can make special report to the Accounts Commission on the matter. 12.8. The Commission can then recommend that Scottish Ministers direct the Council to rectify the issue. Individual Members who unreasonably contribute to the failure or delay in setting a budget could be ultimately censured, suspended or disqualified from standing for election for a prescribed period of time by the Standards Commission. 12.9. If a new budget is not set, then the Council could not enter into any new unfunded commitments including contracts and spend would be restricted to meeting existing liabilities. There is currently a Budget Gap and agreement on solutions to meet that gap is required. 13. Equality Impact Assessment and Consultation Arrangements 13.1. Budget Strategy and Savings: In line with previous years, Equality Impact Assessments are being undertaken for the individual Savings and the Budget as a whole. These will be complete in December and will made available for Members to assist in the decision-making process. In addition, an assessment will be carried out in relation to the Fairer Scotland Duty. 13.2. Meetings have taken place with the Trade Unions to advise of the Budget Strategy and the savings exercise that is ongoing. 13.3. With regard to consultation with the public, Members will be aware that initial Budget communications commenced on 16 October and will run until Friday 10 November. These communications explain the Council’s financial position and give context to the level of savings required. Feedback on this first phase of the consultation has been provided to members. A second phase of consultation will look at the savings proposals specifically. Once this is complete, feedback on the savings consultation will be presented to Members for their consideration. Paul Manning Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) 10 November 2023 144
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Link(s) to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes Accountable, Effective, Efficient and Transparent Previous References Executive Committee, 21 June 2023 List of Background Papers None Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact: Paul Manning, Executive Director, Finance and Corporate Resources Ext: 4530 (Tel: 01698 454530) E-mail : paul.manning@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 145
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Appendix 1 Medium Term Savings Requirements and Use of Pension Contribution Benefit (as reported to Members in September 2023, and before any use of Reduced Pension Contributions) 2024/2025 £m 2025/2026 £m Budget Gap (Before Use of Retrospective Service Concessions) 51.0 29.0 Use of Retrospective Service Concessions (Reserves) to support Future Year Budget Strategies (27.5) (15.1) Reinstatement of Previous Year Use of Service Concessions (Reserves) 5.7 27.5 Revised Budget Gap 29.2 41.4 Use of Pension Contribution Benefit (sections 4.5 to 4.7) 2024/25 £m 2025/26 £m 2026/27 £m 2027/28 £m Total £m Budget Gap 29.2 41.4 20.0 11.00 101.6 Pay Award Funding – Permanent (2.5) (2.5) Use Pension Fund Benefit – Permanent (3.3) (3.3) Remaining Budget Gap before use of Pension Fund Benefit 26.7 41.4 16.7 11.0 95.8* Use Pension Fund Benefit – Temporary (4.0) (23.5) (17.7) (45.2) Requirement to Re-instate Temporary Use of Pension Fund Benefit 4.0 23.5 17.7 45.2 Remaining Budget Gap after use of Pension Benefit 22.7 21.9 22.5 28.7 95.8* Use of Probable Outturn Monies (section 5.9) Use of Probable Outturn Monies (section 5.9) (2.0) 2.0 0.0 Remaining Budget Gap after Use of Pension Benefit and Probable Outturn Monies 20.7 21.9 22.5 30.7 95.8* *Note that the remaining Budget Gap of £95.8m over the 4 years is the same before and after the use of the pension fund benefit and probable outturn monies. 146
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Appendix 2 Reference Service Name and Brief Description of Saving FTE (24/25) Saving 24/25 £m Management & Operational Savings Council Wide M&O01 All Overtime Through converting time and a half overtime to plain time, a saving of around one fifth of the costs can be made. This pack does not currently pick up, as part of any other savings proposals, any apparent planned reductions in overtime. It is proposed that the level of enhanced rate overtime is reduced. An element of the overtime will be in relation to HRA and IJB, however, through targeting a reduction of other services enhanced overtime by around 60% an estimated saving of over £0.300m could be made. This assumes that all hours worked on overtime is required. - 0.300 M&O02 All Charging A 3% increase on all Council charges is proposed. This would generate additional income of £0.200m and would mean a 3% increase on all charges that the Council is able to change (and excluding charges for Adults and Older People Services). - 0.200 Total Council Wide - 0.500 Community & Enterprise Resources M&O03 Grounds Alternative Working Patterns This proposal would see golf course grounds staff moving to contracts covering 7 days as an alternative to weekend overtime working. The saving would be in reduced overtime. Note linked to golf courses / SLLC savings. - 0.075 147
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Reference Service Name and Brief Description of Saving FTE (24/25) Saving 24/25 £m M&O04 Streets Mechanical Sweeping – Large This proposal will see the introduction of alternative working patterns for staff operating large mechanical sweepers that are used on Class A, B and C roads, country roads and other main thoroughfare. The saving based on a reduction of fleet rather than reduced employee numbers. This would require a change to employees’ contracts. - 0.150 Total Community and Enterprise Resources - 0.225 Education Resources M&O05 Support Services Central Administration Support Following a restructure of the central administration support service this proposal is to remove 11.9 FTE posts. There are already existing vacancies totalling 5.9 FTE. The remaining 6 FTE equates to 3 posts at Grade 2 and 3 posts at Grade 1 (non-teaching posts). 11.9 0.375 M&O06 Early Years Early Learning and Childcare Reserves This proposal is specific to the utilising reserves for ELC currently held for pupil growth for future years. It may be possible to make this a permanent saving through looking at an option for flexibility including levels of parental choice and the service will consider options in the future. The permanent element of this is not yet quantified and will require a full review of ELC service provision to determine achievability. This proposal can be achieved in 2024/2025 as a one-off contribution from reserves. - 2.150 Total Education Resources 11.9 2.525 148
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Reference Service Name and Brief Description of Saving FTE (24/25) Saving 24/25 £m Finance & Corporate Resources M&O07 Finance – Transactions Additional Income from Statutory Additions The council receives income from summary warrants issued in relation to Non-Domestic Rates. Based on a review of the 2022/2023 position, additional budgeted income of £0.050 million is estimated from 2024/2025. - 0.050 Total Finance & Corporate Resources - 0.050 Total Management & Operational Savings 11.9 3.300 149
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Reference Service Name and Brief Description of Saving FTE (24/25) Saving 24/25 £m Savings for Approval Community & Enterprise Resources CER01 Facilities, Waste and Grounds Waste Bulky Waste - Remove Free Bulky Uplift South Lanarkshire residents are currently allowed one free bulky uplift per year which allows for the collection of up to 20 items. Subsequent requests are charged at £33.05. A benchmarking exercise has shown that most councils across Scotland now charge for all uplifts, with the average cost for a 10-item uplift at £61.32. This proposal is to remove the first free bulky uplift and introduce a £40 charge for all requests. The number of items per uplift will also reduce to a maximum of 10 at a time. Based on our current bulky uplift data and an estimated uptake of 25% for paid uplifts (based on other councils’ experience), income of £0.415m is projected for 2024/2025. Future year income projections will be refined following the first full year of operation. Comparative charges from other councils are attached at Appendix 2b. Charging for Bulky Garden Waste Collection Currently, residents can request a free uplift of garden waste that is too large to fit into the household burgundy bin and there are no limits to the number of requests that can be made. It is proposed to introduce a £40 charge for this service. Based on an estimated 25% uptake of the current service users, income of £0.045m is projected for 2024/2025. 2025/2026 Charging for Garden Waste Collection The household waste collection service provides a burgundy bin for the disposal of food and garden waste. The collection of garden waste is a non-statutory service however food waste is a - 0.460 150
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Reference Service Name and Brief Description of Saving FTE (24/25) Saving 24/25 £m statutory service. There are around 5,000 households within the Clydesdale area who are not currently included in the burgundy bin service, as permitted by a rural exemption within the food waste regulations. In addition, approximately 30% of households in South Lanarkshire live in flatted accommodation and do not have gardens. There are now 16 local authorities in Scotland who charge for the collection of garden waste. These charges range from £25 to £50 with an average of £39. This proposal is to incorporate those Households in Clydesdale currently without a service, and to introduce a charge to account for the increased cost. Based on estimated uptake levels and an annual subscription charge of £40 for an expanded garden waste collection service would mean income of £0.440m could be achieved in 2025/2026 (net of start-up costs) and a further £0.650m from 2026/2027 onwards. It should also be noted that the Scottish Government are considering making garden waste a mandatory waste stream collection. This would mean that we would be unable to charge for the service, however additional budget would be expected to reflect any new statutory designation. This proposal is based on income generation and does not involve a reduction in front line service delivery. In order to make a further saving beyond what is presented here for 2025/2026, charges would have to increase again. CER02 Facilities, Waste and Grounds School Crossing Patrollers There are a number of options that could be considered for the school crossing patrol service, from full removal of service to removing crossing points that are located at assisted crossing points (zebra crossings). The responsibility for children safely walking to school is for parents – the school crossing patrollers are a non-statutory additional service. Current establishment of 126 (30.11 FTE) has 13 posts (3.7 FTE) vacant on average at any given time. There are 129 staffed crossing points. The proposal is to remove the 3 remaining crossing points that are co-located with zebra crossing (0.6 FTE at Grade 1). All staff would be required to be redeployed into a current vacancy. The standard contract for school crossing patrollers is 10hrs. 0.6 0.010 151
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Reference Service Name and Brief Description of Saving FTE (24/25) Saving 24/25 £m The locations of the three crossing points are shown below: • High Blantyre Road/Udston Road (St John Ogilvie High, Glenlee PS, St Cuthberts PS), • Udston Road/Farm Road (same schools as above), and • Auchinraith Road (Holy Cross, Beckford PS). CER03 Facilities, Waste and Grounds Countryside and Greenspace This will involve considering the range of activities undertaken by the service and may impact on level of external funding received from the Scottish Government. The annual budget is currently £0.663m and the saving equates to a reduction of circa 18%. Current establishment – 15.1 FTE and the proposed saving would mean 3 FTE would require to be redeployed (G2 L3). The proposal would require the reduction or cessation of activities in relation to the following services: • Core Path Network • Countryside Access • Ranger activities • Projects with Community Groups and Third Sector • Volunteering/ Community Clean Ups • Advice and support for legislative duties i.e. Planning Applications. 3 0.120 CER04 Roads, Transportation and Fleet Roads Spend (Investment / Reactive / Core Maintenance) The level of spend on roads and infrastructure investment including reactive and core maintenance would reduce. Overall spend in this area is focussed on a range of repair works including on carriageways and footways, drainage, lining and signing and safety defects. A 20% reduction in this investment area will see the network condition regress and an increase in the level of claims. Investment will require to be prioritised towards safety related defects meaning less proactive / preventative repairs are undertaken and more substantial investment required in the future. 10 1.800 152
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Reference Service Name and Brief Description of Saving FTE (24/25) Saving 24/25 £m In addition, prioritisation of spend would be required to reduce the likely need for temporary or permanent road or bridge closures, increased risk of flooding, disruption for communities, business and public transport services due to unplanned restrictions and to minimise the impact of reduced wider support to communities (e.g. events) due to employee resources being directed towards managing increasing defects and complaints. This saving may impact on our ability to adequately fulfil our core statutory obligations in terms of safely managing and maintaining our network however the same position will be faced by all local authorities. The current Revenue spend budget is £8.879m, the current Capital budget for Roads is £10.4m (a core budget of £10m and a net carry forward £0.4m). £7.5m is being spent directly on Carriageways and the balance on other infrastructure projects including footways, structures, traffic signals etc.). An estimate of £10m has been included for planning purposes for 2024/2025. The saving would be a reduction of circa 20% and would mean an estimated reduction in Road Operatives of 10 FTE. CER05 Enterprise and Sustainable Development Christmas Events This option would see a budget reduction due to removing the Christmas Switch-On events. The Council currently supports six switch-on events across South Lanarkshire, in Hamilton, East Kilbride, Rutherglen, Cambuslang, Lanark and Carluke. This proposal would remove the events programme. There would be no council provided Christmas events in town centres. This savings proposal would remove all the budget for this area (£0.045m). - 0.045 CER06 Enterprise and Sustainable Development Christmas Trees and Lighting The proposal is a budget reduction to rationalise trees and festive lighting to eight main geographical areas: Hamilton, East Kilbride, Rutherglen, Carluke, Blantyre, Cambuslang, Larkhall and Lanark. There is expected to be an overall saving of up to £0.086m from this proposal – there may be other costs that would require to be confirmed therefore at present the value of the saving has been limited to £0.037m. - 0.037 153
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Reference Service Name and Brief Description of Saving FTE (24/25) Saving 24/25 £m CER07 Facilities, Waste and Grounds Food Waste Liners This proposal is to cease the provision of food waste liners for food recycling. This would save the cost of the liners and associated staff costs (0.5 FTE). 0.5 0.100 CER08 Facilities, Waste and Grounds Secondary Meals Price Increase The average charge of a school meal across Scottish Councils has risen to £2.40 and a proposal was put forward to increase charges by 40p. A 20p increase was agreed. The service has experienced exceptionally high increases in food costs and staff costs arising from pay awards – the increase in charges agreed is considerably lower than these increases. Comparative charges from other councils are attached at appendix 2c. This proposal would be to increase charges to the amount recommended last year (that is, a further 20p increase). Note that children entitled to free school meals will continue to receive these. Currently around 16.9% of secondary children are registered for free school meals. - 0.177 CER09 Roads, Transportation and Fleet Parking at Key Attractions This proposal is to introduce a £2 charge for parking at Tinto Hill, Chatelherault Country Park, Calderglen Country Park and James Hamilton Heritage Park. Any further charges at other attractions would be subject to further approval. Traffic Regulation Orders are required for any new charging proposals. Following approval of the saving there will be the requirement to develop systems and for a statutory period, (6 to 9 months) there will be the requirement to promote the necessary traffic regulation orders. There will therefore be partial implementation of the saving in 2024/2025. Falkirk and Glasgow City councils have adopted similar principles with Falkirk’s Muiravonside Park charge rising from £1 to £2, and Glasgow's Pollock Park £2.50 for 4 hrs and £4.50 for all day parking. Many National Trust sites / Forestry Commission parks across Scotland charge for parking. Income of £0.100m is now proposed for 2024/2025. A further saving of £0.100m will be made in 2025/2026. - 0.100 154
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Reference Service Name and Brief Description of Saving FTE (24/25) Saving 24/25 £m CER10 Enterprise and Sustainable Develop-ment Business Support Programmes This proposal would see a reduction in the staff supporting business support and placing reliance on partners such as Business Gateway to provide business support. This will impact on the delivery of the Economic Strategy and specifically jobs created/retained. Both North Lanarkshire Council and the Council’s Community and Enterprise Committee have now agreed to bring 'Business Gateway' in-house with NLC taking the lead role. NLC is working through TUPE issues with the existing provider but there may be an opportunity for some staff to be re-deployed to Business Gateway/NLC to serve the needs of SLC businesses. Delivery and operational structures are currently being developed. Due to the multi functionality of the teams, there would be other activities that would cease or be limited in their extent, such as providing advice to businesses, the assessment and monitoring of business grants and supporting third sector organisations. There will be less support for external funding programmes. These are non-statutory services. There is currently a Revenue budget of £0.187m within Economic Development for Business Support Grants and £0.089m for Tourism, Supplier Development Programme (SDP) contribution and Business Development Initiative (BDI). The saving would remove 37% of spend in each year. The staff reduction would be 2 FTE being, 1 Grade 3 post and 1 Grade 2 post. 2 0.070 CER11 Leisure and Culture Leisure and Culture The Council currently pay a Management Fee to South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture (SLLC) to deliver leisure and cultural services. This budget currently totals £21.3m and it is proposed that this is reduced commensurate with the level of savings that the Council is required to make from its budget. The saving would remove c7% of the Council contribution to SLLC. This will have an adverse impact on SLLC’s income generation as well as an impact on its expenditure budget. As a result, it could mean that the level of service reduction could be more, and this is in addition to their current budget pressures. Any proposal to balance the SLLC budget would require to be agreed by the SLLC Board. tbc 1.500 155
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Reference Service Name and Brief Description of Saving FTE (24/25) Saving 24/25 £m CER12 Grounds Grass Cutting This proposal would see a reduction in the grass cutting specification. Low amenity areas – 14 cuts to 7 cuts per year High amenity areas – 18 cuts to 14 cuts per year (Low amenity includes public open space. High Amenity includes cemeteries, high footfall areas, public buildings) This will reduce costs by £0.900m. It will mean that grass will be much longer between cuts and the general maintenance appearance will differ from current specification. Grass arisings will be left on the surface of those areas cut as grass collection will only remain in cemeteries. In additional to the 17 FTE affected, there will be a reduction of 20 FTE seasonal staff. 17 0.900 CER13 Grounds Weedkilling This proposal will reduce weedkilling from 2 applications to one per annum. The reduction applies across all current areas of hardstanding, shrub beds and grass edges. There will be greater weed growth over the growing season. 14.5 0.550 CER14 Grounds Winter Shrub Beds This proposal will see the removal of over mature winter shrub beds and reduced maintenance on those remaining. The removed shrub beds will be grassed over, and the remaining shrub beds will see a reduced maintenance regime. 25 0.700 CER15 Grounds Bedding and Hanging Baskets This proposal would see the removal of all summer bedding and hanging baskets. - 0.144 156
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Reference Service Name and Brief Description of Saving FTE (24/25) Saving 24/25 £m Current summer bedding areas will be grassed over, including war memorials and baskets removed including parks. There will be a reduction of 3.5 FTE seasonal staff. CER16 Grounds Support for Gala Days This proposal would see the removal of grounds staff supporting gala days. This includes costs of bunting and the costs of overtime for staff supporting gala days. - 0.055 CER17 Streets Mechanical Sweeping – Small There would also be a reduction in the number of smaller Swingo vehicle used on footpaths, shop fronts and town centres and some roads within housing areas and industrial estates. (27% reduction in vehicles). This will mean less street sweeping. Remaining vehicles will be targeted to high footfall areas. Smaller fleet will mean means less resilience in ad hoc / urgent response situations. 6 0.300 CER18 Streets Litter collection This proposal would see a 10% reduction in litter picking and bin emptying. The saving would include staffing and fleet vehicles. Bin infrastructure is being looked at to reduce numbers of bins but increase capacity. 10 0.280 Total Community and Enterprise Resources 88.6 7.348 157
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Reference Service Name and Brief Description of Saving FTE (24/25) Saving 24/25 £m Education Resources EDR01 Support Services Librarians There are 11 FTE school librarians working across our secondary schools who operate a library service ranging between 2 to 5 days per week, based on the size of the school. The proposal is to reduce the service by approximately 50%. This would be undertaken by moving to a reduced service for all schools of 1- 2 days per week. This saving would start from April 2024 rather than the academic year, and a 50% reduction would equate to 6 FTE posts at Grade 2 (non-teaching posts). 6 0.240 EDR02 Support Services Secondary Schools Technician Service Cluster Team Technicians support the delivery of the curriculum within the secondary sector. This is carried out in 3 distinct disciplines, Science, Technical and Audio Visual. The are approximately 54 FTE school technicians and the proposal is to reduce the service by 25%. This would be undertaken by implementing a partial reduction in staffing across each secondary school based on size. In order to minimise disruption in supporting learning and teaching and protect the health and safety aspect of technical support, it is expected that the discipline of audio visual may be proportionately higher affected by this saving than the areas of science and technical. This saving would start from April 2024 rather than the academic year, and a 25% reduction would equate to 15 FTE posts at Grade 2. There are currently some temporary positions. 15 0.590 EDR03 Support Services Period Poverty (Flexibilities) There is a legislative requirement to ensure that sanitary products are available free of charge for those who need them within schools and the wider community. - 0.080 158
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Reference Service Name and Brief Description of Saving FTE (24/25) Saving 24/25 £m The spend over the last 2 years has been less than the funding awarded by the Scottish Government. This funding is now part of each council’s financial ‘flexibilities’ as agreed between the Scottish Government and COSLA. EDR04 Support: ELC ELC Quality Support and Service Delivery This proposal will see the removal of 2.5 FTE clerical support from Personnel Services supporting the recruitment for expansion, as the expansion is now in place. These are Grade 1 Level 3 from April 2024 (£75,000) (non-teaching post). In relation to the Equity and Excellence Leads (EELs) There are currently 26 FTE. These posts were identified in 2018, to support Local Authorities to close the poverty related attainment gap. The priorities for these posts are: • SIMD • Higher concentration of vulnerable and in need families • High level of multi agency input • Eligible 2-year-olds • Free school meal entitlement • Early Intervention • Rurality The EELs are placed within Local authority and funded provider settings for a period of time to work alongside the manager and staff to provide very targeted support to upskill practitioners and support capacity for improvement. At this time, we have 2 FTE posts vacant, and 13 term time posts. We propose to remove 3.8 FTE providing a potential saving of approximately £170,000 at this time. These are grade 2 level 4 posts from April 2024 (non-teaching posts). In addition, the proposal is to remove a post supporting the development of Seemis NAMS Early Years system. This activity will need to be managed from within the remaining be Education central admin team when the project goes live. This post is currently vacant (£45,000). This is 1 FTE grade 2 level 4 post from April 2024 (non-teaching post). 7.3 0.300 159
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Reference Service Name and Brief Description of Saving FTE (24/25) Saving 24/25 £m Also, proposed is a £0.010 million saving in relation to contribution to SPELL (Support for Play and Early Learning in Lanarkshire). SPELL provide support to the parent and toddler groups and voluntary sector playgroups. This includes training and development which complements the training that is delivered centrally. EDR05 Support: CQIS Delivery of the Curriculum Quality and Improvement Service (CQIS) This may impact on school improvement and inspection, literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing, parental engagement and involvement, attainment including qualification, digital learning and leadership development. The consequences of this saving will be a reduction in the resource available from officers to support schools and the services described above. Proposed measures include: • Reduction in supported study programme (£0.005m) • Recharge copyright licences to schools, currently paid for by CQIS. This is an essential service but the costs going forward will need to be met by schools from existing budgets. (£0.120m) • Remove funding to support Outdoor learning risk assessment (£0.010m) • Remove power language support to schools (£0.005) * • Remove support for career Academy (£0.002m) * • Recharge Scholar Programme* This is a 1 year contracted service currently paid by CQIS which will need to be supported by schools from existing budgets in 2024/25 and will be removed permanently thereafter. (£0.040m) • Phase out consortium transport support (transport for Advanced Higher pupils) in favour of virtual academy (£0.003m) • Cost recovery for CPD, catering and lets associated with training events delivered by CQIS (£0.105m). • Remove 1 Mentoring post (£0.060) * These are optional services for schools, and should they wish to continue, schools will need to fund directly from devolved budgets which are also subject to a saving in this pack. 1 0.350 160
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Reference Service Name and Brief Description of Saving FTE (24/25) Saving 24/25 £m The post would need to be removed from the service from April 2024 to achieve these proposals. This is a post is a grade 3 level 8 (non-teaching post). EDR06 Early Years Early Learning and Childcare Food Provision This relates to the provision for children attending morning only and afternoon only ELC settings where food provision (brunch and afternoon tea respectively) is in addition to Milk and Healthy snack. Children will still be offered snacks, brunch and afternoon tea ( where applicable). There will be a reduction in food choice, with a view to reducing the service marginally to align to hours in attendance, overall food provision and budgets available. Any revised arrangements will be fully compliant with nutritional standards. This would impact on 1.5 FTE grade 1 Facilities catering staff. 1.5 CER Facilities staff impact 0.150 EDR07 Primary Remove SLC Summer Programme Provision This option would see a removal of the councils funding that has contributed holiday play club provision from 2024/2025. This is a continuation of programme reduction following a reduction in Scottish Government funding in Summer 2023. The saving would remove the remaining element of Council funding and the programme would only continue if Scottish Government funding was provided and would be scaled accordingly. If no Scottish Government funding is received, then no provision will be provided. If the Scottish Government continue to provide funding then we will continue to provide clubs. Clubs were provided last year in the following areas: • Halfmerke Primary School, East Kilbride • West Mains School, ASN, East Kilbride • Greenburn School, ASN, East Kilbride • Douglas Universal Connections • St Mary’s Primary School, Lanark • St. Athanasius Primary School, Carluke • Neilsland Primary School, Hamilton • St. Paul’s Primary School, Whitehill, Hamilton • Cairns Primary School, Cambuslang • Burgh Primary School, Rutherglen • Craigbank Primary School, Larkhall (run by Machan Trust) 2.8 0.143 161
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Reference Service Name and Brief Description of Saving FTE (24/25) Saving 24/25 £m Parents of any child entitled to a free school meal will continue to receive a payment of £2.50 per day during school holidays. This proposal reflects a reduction in non-teaching posts of 2.8 FTE posts (1.8 FTE at grade 2 and 1 FTE at grade 3) as well as funding for food provision and resources. EDR08 Secondary Mentoring and Learner Journey Reserves / MCR Pathways This proposal is to utilise reserves that were identified for mentoring support and improved learner journey experience for vulnerable young people as a saving. A current programme operates via MCR Pathways funded via the Scottish Government and Strategic Equity Fund (SEF). A permanent saving can be achieved by considering options around removing the existing MCR programmes and other support within schools. This proposal can be achieved in 2024/2025 as a one-off contribution from reserves. 9 0.380 EDR09 Youth, Family and Community Learning Payments to RegenFX Remove Council support to RegenFx for youth services. RegenFX (Youth Trust) was established as a charity in 2007 and aims to identify, design and deliver solutions to ease youth poverty, associated anti-social behaviour and provide youth diversion activities within the regeneration areas of South Lanarkshire. The organisation directly delivers youth projects and recruits, trains and supports volunteers. It helps to administer funding streams for groups and individuals and provides several youth work training courses. The payments to Regen FX total £0.115m and are made up as follows: • Staff Costs Contribution - £0.031m • Youth, Family and Community Learning Contribution - £0.020m • Universal Connections Contribution - £0.064m Note link to FCR04. - 0.115 162
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Reference Service Name and Brief Description of Saving FTE (24/25) Saving 24/25 £m EDR10 Inclusion Extended Support Team (Inclusion Service) Propose reduction in teacher staffing of Extended Support Teams. This is a locality based peripatetic teaching support service for children and young people with additional support needs attending mainstream primary and secondary schools. The service delivers advice, training and guidance to schools on a range of additional support needs including English as an additional language, dyslexia, autism, mental health and wellbeing and distressed behaviour and provides direct teaching support to children and young people. The Service is an element of Stage 3 (out with school and within education authority) of the staged intervention of support for children and young people with additional support needs. Reduction in the service will require capacity building in school-based staff in the development of knowledge and specialist understanding of the nature and range of additional support needs and deployment of school-based teaching resources to provide additional support to children assessed as requiring it. The current proposal relates to removal of 8 FTE teachers with a full year saving of £0.520m and £0.320m from August 24 to March 25. This represents a 15% reduction in teacher numbers in the service. Note teachers’ impact. 8 0.320 EDR11 Early Years/ Primary/ Secondary/ ASN Per Capita / Devolved School Management Spend This saving proposes a reduction in the per capita allocation to Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) / primary and secondary schools (i.e. the amount we provide to establishments to spend per pupil). Total “per capita” spend is £3.6m. This allowance has been subject to savings in recent years, particularly as part of procurement efficiencies. The consequences would be that the ability for establishments to spend on classroom materials and resources would be reduced. A 13% reduction in per capita allocation of £0.480m will give a per pupil allocation of £21.71 primary, £91.96 secondary, £745.97 ASN and £74.34 ELC based on census 2022 pupil numbers. Any further reduction to schools’ budgets will be additional to this saving proposal. - 0.480 163
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Reference Service Name and Brief Description of Saving FTE (24/25) Saving 24/25 £m EDR12 Primary / Secondary Reduce Area Cover in Schools This proposal is a reduction of 18FTE teachers in each of both the primary and secondary area cover pools. This relates to 36 FTE with a full year saving of £2.304m. £1.477 from August 24 to March 25 and the remainder in the following year (£0.827m). This will result in up to 18 further absences in each sector not being covered on a daily basis with a reduced number of cover teachers available. This will impact on learning and teaching in schools and management time support. This may result in Managers / Head Teachers and Depute Head Teachers having to cover classes. Note teachers’ impact. 36 1.477 Total Education Resources 86.6 4.625 164
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Reference Service Name and Brief Description of Saving FTE (24/25) Saving 24/25 £m Finance and Corporate Resources FCR01 Admin, Legal and Licencing Community Grants, Civic Events and Gifts This budget covers grants to national, regional and local voluntary organisations, community grants and gala grants. The recipients have mainly been in receipt of the grants for a number of years although they have to apply annually and satisfy the criteria. The budget also covers civic events and gifts. A review has been undertaken re the current use of the budget alongside the grants criteria and whether it continues to meet the council values and objectives and the needs of its residents, in order to determine whether better use could be made of some or all of this budget in service delivery. This has resulted in a proposal to either reduce some grants or remove some grants altogether as well as a reduction in civic events and civic gifts. The staffing impact would be a reduction of 0.5 FTE (Grade 1). The overall budget of £0.685m includes community grants, civic events and gifts. £0.211m is payments to Citizens Advice. The saving will reduce the budget by 50%. Appendix 2d provides information on the grants allocated in 2023/24 and the impact into 2024/25. 0.5 0.340 FCR02 Finance – Transactions Council Tax and Benefits Call Centre This proposal will reduce the establishment working in the Council Tax and Benefits call centre. This would reduce the current establishment of 11 FTE by 3 FTE and would result in callers waiting longer to speak to an operator. Average call waiting times are likely to increase from the current 2 minutes to approximately 5 minutes with the longest waiting times increasing from 21 minutes to over 30 minutes. There are online alternatives for contacting the service. The staffing impact would be a reduction of 3 FTE (at G2 L1). 3 0.096 165
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Reference Service Name and Brief Description of Saving FTE (24/25) Saving 24/25 £m FCR03 Comm's and Strategy Community Engagement The Council engages in community planning including a formal Community Planning Partnership that involves and engages communities. There also has to be a Local Outcome Improvement Plan - focussed on inequalities and looking at the Scottish Government National Outcomes. Within that we have a formal duty to report on priority areas as identified through the SIMD and therefore our 10 priority areas that we have local neighbourhood plans for. Other statutory work relates to the Child Poverty Act 2010. There are 19.5 FTE in this area and a budget of £0.868m. The saving would be a 50% reduction in budget. The staffing implications would be a reduction of 9.5 FTE across all grades. This unit delivers work beyond the minimum required to meet those statutory obligations so this saving will result in a reduction in the work we do with communities. Statutory obligations mean it will be impossible to withdraw or reduce from some specific areas of service, notably support provided for Community Asset Transfer (which is also a priority in terms of rationalising of council assets), work in support of the Community Planning Partnership and period products. For this reason, the saving would be required from community engagement activities – in essence, reducing this to core activities such as neighbourhood planning, with fewer non-statutory engagement projects. A consequence of this could be reduced engagement and consultation with communities. 9.5 0.430 FCR04 Comm’s and Strategy Payment to Regen:Fx The Service currently contributes £0.394m towards Regen:Fx youth trust, which provides diversionary activities for young people. This proposal would see a reduction of £0.200m in that contribution. Regen:Fx are a charitable organisation and they would require to look to other external funding sources to enable current activities to continue. (Note the link to saving EDR09 where reduction in grant is also proposed). - 0.200 Total Finance & Corporate Resources 13 1.066 166
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Reference Service Name and Brief Description of Saving FTE (24/25) Saving 24/25 £m Housing & Technical Resources HTR01 Housing (non HRA) Community Safety Budget This proposal will reduce the level of funding currently used to support Community Safety initiatives. It would remove funding for partners and community safety initiatives that could be sought from other sources. In recent years, this has involved the ‘Move the Goal Posts’ initiative, therefore the consequence of this is that communities would not have the opportunity to commission any youth diversionary scheme. All consultation and bids from Joint Problem-Solving Unit partners will cease this year in line with the removal of this funding. The current budget is £0.101m and the saving would reduce this by 45%. - 0.046 HTR02 Housing (non HRA) Housing Strategy Service The Housing General Fund currently makes a contribution to the Housing Revenue Account for the Housing Strategy Service, in line with current work undertaken. It is proposed that this approach changes which will result in a different model for Housing Strategy Service and financial implications for the Housing Revenue Account. The savings into 2024/2025 are estimated at £0.113m, which will be realised by increasing the HRA contribution from 73% to 78% of the cost. The implications of this continuation of savings will be minimal for General Services Housing. The increase from 73% to 78% in monetary value equates to £0.113m. This would prevent any job losses and ensure that the high levels of service are maintained particularly at a time when the Affordable Housing Supply Programme is a key priority along with the development and implementation of the integrated housing management system. HRA will require to make a compensatory saving. The current service budget is £0.677m. - 0.113 167
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Reference Service Name and Brief Description of Saving FTE (24/25) Saving 24/25 £m HTR03 Property Services CCTV We currently operate a fully staffed 24-hour service. We will move to night-time only staffed service with 24-hour recording. This will require a change in supervision arrangements, hours of operation and staff shift patterns. Assessment would include considering the implications of increased cost of communications lines and stability of current Police Scotland contribution. The consequence of this would be the Council no longer providing a fully staffed 24-hour service, however the service would be more sustainable and focused on peak demand. The current budget is £0.464m. The saving would reduce the FTE by 2 posts. 2 0.039 HTR04 Property Services Scheme of Assistance (Housing) This saving will be achieved by reducing the budget available for grants to be provided to homeowners and those who rent a private property, to repair, maintain, improve, and adapt their homes. Requests for funding would be prioritised within the remaining budget. There is also an element of capital funding provided for Scheme of Assistance (£1m per annum) – it is proposed that 50% of that funding is also reduced. There is a statutory obligation to provide advice and assistance in relation to tolerable standard and disability. Other forms of assistance however are optional and can be provided through advice etc. Updated guidance is awaited from Scottish Government. The consequence of this saving is that there would be less funding available for scheme of assistance grants going forward, and there could be consequences in terms of people continuing to live at home independently and potentially on the delivery of the Housing Investment programme. The current budget is £0.707m plus £1m capital. The proposed savings would remove c80% of Housing Revenue Budget and 50% of capital. The £0.500m capital saving would be released by funding a lower level of capital spend from the Revenue budget. - 1.052 Total Housing & Technical Resources 2.0 1.250 168
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Reference Service Name and Brief Description of Saving FTE (24/25) Saving 24/25 £m Social Work Resources SWR01 Adult and Older People Reduce the Subsidy of the In-House Residential Care Home Services It is proposed to increase the charge for in-house residential care services. The charge for in-house residential care services is currently based on the national care home contract rate of £762.62 per week. It is proposed to base the charge on the average unit cost of in- house residential care services of £1,469.73 per week. The charge made will increase from £762.62 to £1,469.73. The contribution made towards residential care service costs, both in-house and external, is subject to ability to pay. The proposed increase would only be paid by self-funders i.e. individuals who have capital in excess of £32,750. As the contribution is based on ability to pay, in-house care-home residents who are not paying the full charge will not pay any more under this proposal. Also, residents for whom the Council currently pays the cost of the service, will not be affected by this proposed increase. This saving assumes an average of 42 self-funders with the ability to pay the full amount. The projected increase in income is £1.580m per annum. This will be shared 50% to the Council and 50% to the IJB - 0.790 SWR02 Adult and Older People Increase the Taper for Non-Residential Care Services from 60% to 70% This proposal covers all services chargeable under the non-residential charging policy and includes home care, supported living and day services. The charging policy for non-residential care services will continue to be based on an assessment of the service user’s ability to pay towards the cost of care services. In line with previous years, the charging policy in respect of non-residential care services will be amended to reflect the thresholds - 0.147 169
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Reference Service Name and Brief Description of Saving FTE (24/25) Saving 24/25 £m recommended by COSLA for 2024/2025, effective from April 2024. If the income of service users falls below this threshold, no contribution would be required. In arriving at the contribution payable by service users towards the cost of their care services, a calculation is completed to determine their assessable income (leftover disposable income) to which a percentage taper is then applied. In line with the COSLA guidance for charging, Local Authorities can set the percentage taper. This then determines the maximum level of contribution that the service user will make. The taper is therefore the amount that the Local Authority will take as a contribution from the assessable income towards the cost of care services. The proposal is to increase the taper to 70% (from the current 60%). This will only affect the service users who are assessed as having the ability to pay. 574 service users (85%) would be affected by the increase in the taper. The impact of the increase would range from £0 to £34.03 per week and only affects those people who currently have the ability to pay a higher percentage of their disposable income to the Council for services used, up to the value of the services they receive. The impact of the increase is shown below: Increase of Between No. of Service Users £0 to £5 243 £5.01 to £10 100 £10.01 to £15 154 £15.01 to £20 63 £20.01 to £25 10 £25.01 to £30 3 £30.01 to £35 1 574 Based on the current financial profile of service users, the average increase would be £8.31 per week. The projected increase in income is £0.294m per annum. This will be shared 50% to the Council and 50% to the IJB. 170
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Reference Service Name and Brief Description of Saving FTE (24/25) Saving 24/25 £m SWR03 Adult and Older People Reduce the subsidy of the In-House Day Services The current charge for day services is as follows: Older People Services £34.98 per day Adult Services £36.45 per day It is proposed to increase the daily rate by £3.40. The revised charge for 2024/2025 would therefore be as follows: Older People Services £38.38 per day Adult Services £39.85 per day Access to day services is based on assessed need and self-directed support arrangements agreed with the service user. There are currently 184 service users accessing day services. The charge applied to access day services, and other non-residential care services, is based on an assessment of the service user’s ability to make a contribution towards the cost of care services. The projected increase in income is £0.040m per annum. This will be shared 50% Council, 50% IJB. - 0.020 SWR04 Adult and Older People Introduce a New Charge for the Installation of Key Safes at each Service User's Home The installation of a key safe gives carers and community alert alarm responders access to the service user’s home. This would be a new one-off charge of £97 to cover the cost of installation of the key safe. The average number of key safes installed each year is approximately 887. The projected increase in income is £0.086m per annum. This will be shared 50% to the Council and 50% to the IJB (SLC - £0.043m, IJB - £0.043m). - 0.043 Total Social Work Resources - 1.000 171
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Reference Service Name and Brief Description of Saving FTE (24/25) Saving 24/25 £m Savings for Approval Community & Enterprise Resources 88.6 7.348 Education Resources 86.6 4.625 Finance & Corporate Resources 13.0 1.066 Housing & Technical Resources 2.0 1.250 Social Work Resources - 1.000 Savings for Approval (before Council Tax) 190.2 15.289 Management & Operational Savings 11.9 3.300 Total Savings (before Council Tax) 202.1 18.589 172
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Appendix 2b Bulky Waste Charging Data Across Councils Local Authority Uplift Services - Oct 2023 info Aberdeenshire £31.47 up to 4 items / £62.94 up to 8 items / £40.42 Individual items (priced per item). Aberdeen City £33 up to 4 standard items / £16.50 for 4 standard items if you receive Housing Benefits. Council tenants are entitled to have 4 standard household items collected for free each year as part of their tenancy agreement. Angus £30.70 for up to 3 items each additional item thereafter £9.40 / £40.10 x 4 / £49.50 x 5 / £58.90 x 6 / £68.30 x 7 / £77.70 x 8 items / £87.10 x 9 times / £96.50 x 10 items and so on to £190.50 x 20. Up to 20 items at one time. Argyll and Bute £76.30 per 10 minute collection (longer than 10 minutes may be charged for additional time). City of Edinburgh £5 per item, max 5 items. Clackmannanshire £50 per uplift (up to 8 items). Dumfries & Galloway £13.95 up to 3 items or up to 10 bags (quote required for further items, dependent on size/type). Dundee City £29 up to 6 items £50 x 12 items outside your property at ground floor level. East Ayrshire 1-3 items £15:93 / 4-5 items £29:21 / £3:49 per additional item with a maximum of 10 additional items allowed per uplift. Resident in receipt of benefit relating to Council Tax or Housing Benefit are eligible to a 50% discount on published charges. 173
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Local Authority Uplift Services - Oct 2023 info East Dunbartonshire £24:22 per uplift. Sometimes your uplift is not eligible for the standard charge. In this instance we will contact you with the cost. East Renfrewshire £51:85 per standard request. East Lothian £5 per item Falkirk 1 free uplift / additional uplifts £35 max 5 items. Fife Free uplift for max of 18 items Glasgow City £5 per item - £50 for up to 10 items / £80 per special items Highland £25.75 up to 3 items / £51.50 up to 6 items. Inverclyde 1/2hr charge £92:65 / 3/4hr charge £139 / 1hr charge £185:25 / Fridge disposal £46:60. Midlothian £27 up to max 7 items / £27.00 for a fridge/freezer / £40:00 for a bespoke quote for items such as bathroom suites and fitted furniture. Moray £28.80 for 5 items plus max 2 black bags. Wester Isles £30.50 for 5 items / special collection/hr (1 man + pickup £63.55. North Ayrshire £26.46 up to 5 items / additional items £5.29 each. North Lanarkshire £36.75 for max 10 items or x 20 bags 174
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Local Authority Uplift Services - Oct 2023 info Orkney Islands Mainland and Linked South Islands Up to 5 items £65 / 6-10 items £273 - Non linked North & South Isles up to 5 items £24 / 6-10 items £101 / Lorry Load £204 Perth & Kinross £35 up to 5 items (3 bags=1 item) / additional items may incur further charges. Renfrewshire £37.15 for 1-20 items / white goods £37.15 each. Scottish Borders £45 for up to 5 items. Shetland Isles £40 up to 6 items / 7-12 items £80 Concession of £16 for 6 items if receiving certain benefits. South Ayrshire First item £25 / further 6 items can be added @ £5.00 each. Stirling £48.80 up to 5 items, 6 if including a fridge/freezer. If all members of your household are over 60 years council will collect up to 2 special uplifts free of charge per year. West Lothian £36.58 up to 5 items. 175
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Appendix 2c School Meal Comparative Charges Secondary £ East Ayrshire 1.08 Dumfries & Galloway 2.00 Glasgow City 2.00 North Ayrshire 2.05 Falkirk 2.05 South Lanarkshire 2.20 Angus 2.20 Perth & Kinross 2.30 Fife 2.40 Argyll & Bute 2.40 Midlothian 2.40 West Lothian 2.43 South Ayrshire 2.45 East Lothian 2.50 Scottish Borders 2.50 East Dunbartonshire 2.54 Highland 2.55 East Renfrewshire 2.60 Aberdeen City 2.65 Renfrewshire 2.70 Shetland Islands 2.75 Orkney Islands 2.80 Edinburgh, City of 2.80 Aberdeenshire 2.85 West Dunbartonshire 2.92 North Lanarkshire 3.15 Clackmannanshire 1.35* Inverclyde 1.50* Moray 1.70* Dundee City 2.50* Stirling tbc * Main meal only 176
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Appendix 2d Grants Information Budget Type Grant Awarded 23/24 Potential Grant Award 24/25 Voluntary Organisations Spell £28,263 £14,130 Cash for Kids £19,570 £0 Voice £13,930 £0 East Kilbride Community Transport £5,552 £2,780 Lanark YMCA £5,451 £0 Cargill House Club £5,047 £0 Coalburn Miners Welfare £2,060 £0 Thornton Road Community Centre £7,066 £0 Family Mediation £6,561 £3,280 Particip8 Overton £3,000 £1,500 Lanarkshire Cancer Care Trust £7,571 £3,790 Lanarkshire Rape Crisis Centre £7,167 £3,580 Childcare in the Community £2,221 £1,110 Eastfield Physically Disabled Club £404 £0 Hamilton Churches Drop In £505 £0 Milan Centre Social Club £2,019 £1,010 Play care out of Schools Care - Parent Action Group £3,028 £1,510 Special Needs Adventure Playground (SNAP) £3,533 £1,770 Clydesdale CAB £52,118 £46,900 East Kilbride CAB £52,118 £46,900 Hamilton CAB £54,539 £49,090 Rutherglen CAB £52,530 £47,280 Hamilton Information Project for Youth £56,650 £28,330 Lightburn Elderly Association Project £55,368 £27,680 Unspent in 2023/24 £83,229 £0 Gala Grants Lanark Lanimer Day £4,635 £3,360 Rutherglen Landemar Day £4,223 £3,000 All other Gala Grants £15,842 £0 Community Grants Community Groups/Playscheme Grants £103,000 £44,000 Civic Hospitality Civic Events £22,600 £11,300 Civic Gifts £5,000 £2,500 TOTAL £684,800 £344,800 177
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Appendix 3 School Transport 1. The statutory responsibility as set out in the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 is to provide transport for those pupils under 8 years old who live over 2 miles from their catchment school and for those aged 8 years and over who live over 3 miles from their catchment school. 2. However, South Lanarkshire Council currently operates a school transport policy which is beyond the statutory responsibility being free mainstream school transport for all primary pupils who live more than 1 mile from their catchment school and free mainstream school transport for all secondary pupils who live more than 2 miles from their catchment school. 3. Given the financial challenges being faced by the Resource, service priorities have been reassessed and consideration has been given to no longer providing school mainstream transport at the current level. If a reduction in transport expenditure cannot be secured, this will result in the need for a reduction in spend in other areas of educational provision, including learning and teaching and resources. 4. There are only 5 of the 32 councils (15%), including South Lanarkshire, who continue to operate the more generous policy of providing mainstream school transport at more than 1 mile for primary pupils and more than 2 miles for secondary pupils. 5. It is proposed that the distance qualification of entitlement to free mainstream transport for Primary and Secondary pupils is increased, and would be provided as follows: any primary pupil who lives more than 2 miles from their mainstream catchment school by the nearest safe walking route will be eligible for school transport (currently more than 1 mile). any secondary pupil who lives more than 3 miles from their mainstream catchment school by the nearest safe walking route will be eligible for school transport (currently more than 2 miles). children with additional support needs or other medical needs would continue to be assessed for their transport needs as per current arrangements. any road safety issues would still be assessed by undertaking road safety checks, assuming the child is accompanied by a responsible adult. 6. The proposal would still apply a more generous transport policy than the legislation sets out for primary children of 8 years and over. 7. Implementation of this proposal would bring South Lanarkshire Council in line with the majority of other local authorities with regards to provision of free mainstream school transport. In addition, active travel to school can improve health and mental wellbeing, contributing to an active lifestyle. 8. The forecast spend on mainstream transport costs for financial year 2023/2024 is estimated to be around £10.3 million. This equates to a budget overspend of £4.3 million and therefore adds significantly to the financial pressures of the council. 178
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9. Currently, approximately 7,000 pupils travel on mainstream school transport on distance eligibility. Individual re-measurements will be required, and consideration given to potential road safety issues requiring assessment. At this time, based on previous information and a recent high-level evaluation, it is estimated that if the proposal was implemented this would affect 3,400 pupils (800 primary and 2,600 secondary) with a saving of around £2 million when fully implemented. 10. Members are asked that approval be given to conduct the consultation on the proposal to increase the distance qualification of entitlement to free mainstream school transport for primary and secondary pupils. 11. Under the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010, if a local authority proposes to discontinue arrangements for the provision of transport for pupils attending a denominational school they must conduct a statutory consultation. However, as this proposal to change free mainstream school transport policy has the potential to affect more pupils across South Lanarkshire schools, it is considered appropriate to consult the relevant stakeholders not just of denominational schools but those considered relevant for all South Lanarkshire mainstream schools. 12. The consultation will follow the process identified within the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 and will commence following Executive Committee. The process will include notification via newspaper adverts and social media, the issuing of a consultation proposal document, a response form to gather written feedback and 4 public meetings (one in each geographical location of South Lanarkshire). 13. In terms of the proposal to increase the distance qualification, the proposal provides an opportunity to encourage children and young people to adopt other means of travelling to school such as walking, cycling and scooting where it is appropriate to do so. There may also be the opportunity to make use of the under 22 free bus travel scheme on public service routes, although capacity and commercial viability is unknown at this time. The proposal could result in reduced traffic around schools, lower carbon emissions and improved air quality if pupils engage in active travel. 14. Once the consultation closes, a consultation outcome report will be produced and presented to the Council’s Executive Committee for consideration. 15. An equality impact assessment has been undertaken for the proposal to increase the distance qualification for school transport. 179
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Appendix 4 Risk Areas • Children and Families: Pressures associated mainly with external placements have been reported. The current estimated pressure that will be managed on a temporary basis in 2023/2024 is £10 million. Work is ongoing with the Improvement services to provide intelligence on our position compared to others, and consideration will be made to any options and opportunities to manage some of the budget pressure arising from that study. • School Transport: Costs associated with mainstream and ASN transport have increased significantly in the last 2 years. As noted in section 7.1, current estimates show spend of over £4 million in excess of budget. The proposal detailed in section 7 / Appendix 3 would help mitigate this cost overspend. • Waste Contract: The contract for Home Waste Recycling Centres (or Civic Amenity sites) is due for renewal into 2024/2025. A final position on the contract should be available into early 2024 but at this stage, it is not possible to estimate any financial implications of the outcome of this significant contract. Members will be informed of the outcome of the contract award and any impact on the budget as it is known. • Teachers’ Pension: The 2020 valuation review was to determine the contribution rate to be applied for 2023/2024 onwards. The Scottish Public Pension Authority previously advised that any change in contribution rate will now be delayed until 2024/2025. We have not yet been notified formally of any change in contribution, however there is a risk that contribution rates could increase, with increase in costs estimated at £2.000 million. It is anticipated that this will be met by the Government, but there is no confirmation of this as yet. • Job Evaluations: As part of normal council processes, Job Evaluation exercises continue across a number of services, and at the time of writing this paper there are currently 4 reviews at appeal stage which, if successful, may have financial implications on recurring costs for the council. Any back pay implications would be dependent on the outcome of these appeals. If all appeals were successful, the costs of back pay could be significant however at this point in time, no funding has been included for these costs given the outcome of the appeals are not known. The initial outcome of the Job Evaluations was that there was no change to the grade, however, these outcomes have been appealed and the appeals are expected to be known by December. 180
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Executive Committee Date of Meeting: 22 November 2023 Report by: Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) Subject: Programme for Government 2023 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to:- provide a summary of the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government 2023/2024 and key items relevant to local government 2. Recommendation(s) 2.1. The Committee is asked to approve the following recommendation(s):- (1) that the contents of the report be noted. 3. Background 3.1. At the beginning of September each year, the Scottish Government publishes its Programme for Government (PfG) which sets out its key legislative and policy priorities for the year ahead. 3.2. After a foreword by the First Minister and a section on the Scottish Government’s “National Missions” of equality, opportunity and community, the PfG summarises context, achievements and plans for the year ahead under each portfolio. 3.3. This report focuses on the plans and commitments set out in the PfG 2023 which are likely to have direct implications for local government. 4. Local Government Implications 4.1. Of the 230 commitments featured in the PfG, around 43% (99) can be considered to have implications for local government. These are itemised in Appendix 1 along with an assessment of implications for South Lanarkshire Council. 4.2. By way of summary, the following headline actions are of particular significance for local government. Sustainable Scottish Public Finances 4.2.1 Further to the consultation on changes to the Council Tax treatment of second homes which closed in July, we will take initial steps to increase the levers available to councils by delivering secondary legislation – enabling councils to apply up to a 100% premium on Council Tax rates for second homes and continue to discuss other options with local government based on the analysis of responses. 11 181
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Public Service Reform 4.2.2 Focus on service delivery and leadership skills, continuing to work closely with public bodies on our public service reform programme – helping to ensure their work remains affordable in 2024-25 and sustainable in future years, while improving outcomes, reducing inequalities and preventing harm. 4.2.3 Maximise the impact of public procurement through progressive procurement policy and practice as a key pillar of our Community Wealth Building approach – working closely with public, private, and third sector partners – driving consistency of application, leveraging collaborative buying power, and promoting opportunities to advance sustainability, including climate action, Fair Work, and community benefits through public supply chains. 4.2.4 Deliver a framework for digital service transformation with a focus on end-to-end services, including work to catalogue assets available across the public sector, and continue the roll out and development of digital identity, payment and cloud services, and other common components – working closely with Local Government partners to deliver, as well as to share best practice. 4.2.5 Complete the Democracy Matters national conversation and use the findings to agree new arrangements for inclusive decision making in our towns, villages, and neighbourhoods. 4.2.6 Review the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to ensure it is fit for purpose, explore how communities can be further empowered, and improve community planning (covered by Part 2 of the Act) to support the shared ambitions within the Verity House Agreement. Working with Local Government 4.2.7 Progress our shared programme of work with COSLA under the Verity House Agreement, in particular a revised Fiscal Framework between the Scottish Government and Local Government. 4.2.8 Support Mark Ruskell MSP with the reconsideration of the European Charter of Local Self Government Incorporation (Scotland) Bill, as committed to in the Verity House Agreement. 4.2.9 Continue the Joint Working Group on sources of Local Government funding, to identify further options for reforms to Council Tax, and to explore other potential revenue raising levers which deliver greater flexibility over financial arrangements, improve accountability for the delivery of national priorities, including net zero objectives, whilst ensuring maximum value for money, and continue progressing the Visitor Levy Bill to further deliver these aims, subject to parliamentary process. 4.2.10 Continue planning reform, including digital transformation of the system and the introduction of regulations and guidance on new Masterplan Consent Areas, and further permitted development rights, to simplify and streamline processes for investors. 4.2.11 Work with public sector anchor organisations, local government, the third sector, and businesses to develop legislative proposals and other actions to support Community Wealth Building, with sustainable business growth and high quality jobs in communities across Scotland. 182
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4.2.12 Lead work across government to deliver the commitment to Whole Family Wellbeing investment to support Children’s Services Planning Partnerships and local authorities in the provision of preventative, holistic family support. Supporting Small Businesses 4.2.13 Work with local government and our agencies to transform the way we support small businesses, improving the way we collect and hold data about businesses across the public sector so we can target support better and make it easier for businesses across Scotland to access the support available to them. Delivering Fair Work for All 4.2.14 Work alongside business, local government and the third sector to deliver person- centred employability support, helping those who face barriers to labour market participation into work, with a particular focus on parents, helping to meet our child poverty targets. Thriving Local and Regional Economies 4.2.15 Support regional empowerment and growth by acting on the recommendations of the Regional Economic Policy Review and working with local government and other partners to develop Scotland’s network of Regional Economic Partnerships, supporting our rural and island businesses, including tourism, and communities in particular. 4.2.16 Continue to empower all of Scotland’s regions, and further develop this by considering Glasgow City Region’s ambitions to create a metropolitan region and Edinburgh’s Regional Economic Prosperity Framework, as a precursor to similar discussions with all regional economic partnerships across the country. National Care Service 4.2.17 Deliver the National Care Service legislation, subject to the agreement of Parliament, to ensure consistency of provision and improvements in social care, social work and community health support, working in partnership with people who access and deliver services, trade unions, local government and the third sector. Independent Living Fund 4.2.18 Reopen the Independent Living Fund on a phased basis, with an initial £9 million in 2024-25 to enable up to 1,000 additional disabled people with the most complex needs to access the support they need and deserve to live independent lives. Sport 4.2.19 Convene a working group, including representatives from COSLA, sportscotland and sporting and community organisations, to explore how community access to facilities, such as schools, can be maximised and enhanced, and identify areas of best practice across the country. Tackling Poverty 4.2.20 Invest £405 million in the Scottish Child Payment this year, improving the lives of over 300,000 children across Scotland while continuing to drive forward cross-government programmes which support the three drivers of child poverty reduction (cost of living, income from employment and income from social security and benefits in kind) in key areas, such as parental employability, early learning and childcare, mental health, transport, and affordable housing – building on our place-based partnership work with local authorities and local partners to change how services are delivered. 183
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4.2.21 Establish a new Ministerial group, focusing on the delivery of Best Start, Bright Futures across government to strengthen our approach and more closely co-ordinate policy to maximise impact on child poverty, ensuring that we take a whole family wellbeing approach to our child poverty work, which will enable us to support the Government’s commitment to keeping The Promise. Preventing and Ending Homelessness and Supplying Affordable, Safe Homes 4.2.22 Continue to promote Housing First, which offers a mainstream settled tenancy and wraparound support, as the default response for people experiencing homelessness who have multiple and complex needs, including people whose homelessness is made harder by experiences of trauma and problem substance use. 4.2.23 Introduce the Housing Bill to create powers for the introduction of long term rent controls – creating new tenants’ rights and introduce new duties aimed at the prevention of homelessness. 4.2.24 Invest £752 million this year through our Affordable Housing Supply Programme as we continue to support the delivery of affordable homes to meet housing needs and our longer-term target of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which at least 70% will be available for social rent and 10% in our rural and island communities. 4.2.25 Consider the recommendations of the short-life Housing Review Group which will be provided in the coming weeks, identifying those actions that can be taken by local authorities to address existing housing pressures within their current powers and budget – particularly around greater efficiency and effectiveness of resource use. Supporting Children and Young People 4.2.26 Work with local government and other partners to develop the local infrastructure and services needed to provide childcare from nine months to the end of primary school in specific communities in six local authority areas. 4.2.27 Work with local authority and other sectoral partners to phase in an expanded national offer for families with two-year-olds, focused on those who will benefit most. This will build on the foundations of the existing 1140 programme, which makes high quality early learning and childcare available to around a quarter of families with two-year- olds on the lowest incomes. Reforming our Education and Skills System 4.2.28 Set out plans for implementing reform of our education and skills bodies and put the voices of children, young people, and adult learners at their core, including responding to the recommendations of the Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment by Professor Hayward, the National Discussion on Education and the Independent Review of the Skills Delivery Landscape by James Withers, and the priorities arising from ‘Purpose and Principles for Post-School Education, Skills and Research’. Investing In Our Schools 4.2.29 Continue to support schools and local authorities to improve the attainment of children and young people impacted by poverty through our investment in the School Attainment Challenge, with a particular focus on literacy and numeracy – a progress update on ambitious local stretch aims will be published later this year. 184
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4.2.30 Work with COSLA in the coming year to prepare schools and infrastructure for the expansion of universal free school meal provision to Primary 6 and Primary 7 pupils during 2026, starting with those in receipt of the Scottish Child Payment and work with local authorities to ensure that school meals meet the highest standards of nutrition, recognising that this is vital to our children’s effective learning. 4.2.31 Continue to invest in our school estate in partnership with local authorities through the Learning Estate Investment Programme, which will provide new, modern, state of the art learning environments. 4.2.32 Use the latest iteration of our Behaviour in Scottish Schools research to understand the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 on school culture, relationships, behaviour, and attendance, and work with local and national partners to ensure appropriate support is in place. Circular Economy 4.2.33 Set out priority actions for our waste and recycling targets by publishing a final Circular Economy and Waste Route Map and deliver the new National Litter and Flytipping Strategy’s Year One action plan. Culture and Major Events 4.2.34 Publish, and begin implementing our Culture Strategy Action Plan Refresh, to support the recovery and renewal of the culture sector with a focus on empowering individuals and communities to further develop their own cultural activity, supporting them to do so by identifying and removing barriers to access, championing the economic impact of culture, in particular, within the context of community wealth building and creative placemaking, and developing a long term strategic approach to skills and careers in the sector. 4.3. The PfG also includes the legislative programme for 2023-24, comprising the following new Bills. Agriculture Budget (No. 3) Cladding Remediation Education Electoral Reform Gender Representation on Public Boards Remedial Action Housing Human Rights Judicial Factors Land Reform Misogyny Scottish Aggregates Tax Scottish Languages Social Security (Amendment) 5. Programme for Government 2023-24 – South Lanarkshire Context 5.1. As in previous years, an exercise has been undertaken to consider the commitments highlighted in the Programme for Government 2023-24 as outlined in Section 4 above. 185
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5.2. Using the list of commitments identified in Appendix 1, each Resource has considered where the focus of activity is for the council; identified the actions that are being taken or will be considered in respect of these; and a timeline/reporting route for these actions. 5.3. It should be noted that the Programme for Government was released before the Scottish Government’s announcement of a council tax freeze and statements about council tax in the PfG do not reflect that development. 6. Employee Implications 6.1. There are no direct employee implications. 7. Financial Implications 7.1. There are no direct financial implications. 8. Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Implications 8.1. There are no direct climate change, sustainability and natural environment implications arising from this report. 9. Other Implications 9.1. Considering the detail of the report and identifying actions as appropriate contribute towards effective risk management. 10. Equality Impact Assessment and Consultation Arrangements 10.1. This report does not introduce a new policy, function or strategy or recommend a change to an existing policy, function or strategy and therefore no impact assessment is required. 10.2. Consultation was undertaken internally on through an officer group with representation from all Resources. Paul Manning Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) 25 October 2023 Link(s) to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes • Promote Performance Management and Improvement Previous References • None List of Background Papers • None Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact:- Tom Little, Head of Communications and Strategy Ext: 4904 (Tel: 01698.454904) E-mail: Tom.Little@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 186
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Appendix 1 PfG Commitments with Local Government implications COMMUNITY AND ENTERPRISE RESOURCES Sustainable Scottish public finances • Seek the devolution of powers to introduce a levy equivalent to the UK Government’s Building Safety Levy for England, to allow us to work towards ensuring the residential development sector makes a fair contribution to the costs of the Scottish Government’s Cladding Remediation Programme, which, together with the Cladding Remediation Bill, will help to safeguard homeowners and residents by remediating unsafe cladding that presents a risk to life. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting The planning and building standards service is contributing to the discussions at national level via the Local Authority Building Standards Scotland (LABSS) Group. • Awaiting amended legislation to know what actions will be required. Any legislation that is brought forward will be rolled out as directed, as and when required. Working with Local Government • Continue planning reform, including digital transformation of the system and the introduction of regulations and guidance on new Masterplan Consent Areas, and further permitted development rights, to simplify and streamline processes for investors. • Continue to deliver place-based investment and community-led regeneration, investing £70 million in our communities to help reduce inequalities and support inclusive economic development in disadvantaged and fragile communities across Scotland – transforming vacant and derelict land to attract investment, and supporting the delivery of low carbon, affordable housing and new green infrastructure to help enable the transition to net zero. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Continue to deliver the remaining three years of the Place Based Investment programme in line with the priorities and approvals set out at the Community and Enterprise Committee. • Work with internal and external partners to deliver the approved projects and strategies. Currently in year three of a five-year programme which is reported to committee on a bi-annual basis. 187
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Working with Local Government Ensure national planning policy set out in National Planning Framework 4 in relation to climate change adaptation and mitigation, reducing inequalities and improving the quality of places is embedded in decision making process for planning applications and the preparation of the South Lanarkshire Local Development Plan 3. • Await publication of consultation by the Scottish Government of regulations and guidance on Masterplan Consent Areas and Compulsory Purchase Orders and a review of permitted development rights. • Ensure Local Development Plan 3 helps to deliver place-based investment and community-led regeneration and support the key themes of affordable housing provision, climate change adaptation and creation of new green infrastructure. Report LDP3 evidence report to Full Council in quarter three 2024-25 prior to submission to Scottish Ministers for gatecheck. Adoption of LDP3 by end 2027. Agree and implement vacant and derelict / contaminated land programme. • Implement projects approved within the Vacant and Derelict Land Fund framework agreed for 2023-24. Reported to Community and Enterprise Resources Committee at quarter two and quarter four as part of resource and service planning. 188
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Supporting small businesses • Work with Local Government and our agencies to transform the way we support small businesses, improving the way we collect and hold data about businesses across the public sector so we can target support better and make it easier for businesses across Scotland to access the support available to them. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Prioritise business development advice, support and financial assistance to ensure businesses are able to continue to operate, whilst creating the right conditions for low carbon economic growth. • Deliver programmes, services, and events to businesses around sectors, location, and themes (e.g., food and drink, tourism, construction, low carbon, innovation, internationalisation, collaboration, and young enterprise) • Manage the Supplier Development Programme to deliver events, training and e-commerce support to SME’s or third sector organisations who are interested in working with the public sector. Reported to Community and Enterprise Resources Committee at quarter two and quarter four as part of resource and service planning. Through SLAED, the Scottish Government have asked all local authority Economic Development teams to provide intelligence and any feedback received from businesses around the current economic challenges and increasing costs of doing business. • All Economic Development, Environmental Health and Planning Officers have been asked to contribute any information collected through enquiries or other awareness of businesses having expressed their views and any issues around the increasing costs of doing business. This exercise is undertaken weekly. Weekly returns to Scottish Government on a template which has been supplied to us. The intention is that these responses will help shape the Scottish Government response. The feedback will be collated by SLAED into a Situation Report and provided to the SGoRR (Scottish Government). 189
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Supporting entrepreneurship and innovation • Make it easier for everyone to start and scale a business in Scotland by delivering the vision of the Pathways Report by Ana Stewart and Mark Logan, with the launch of new pre-start centres and pop-ups designed to encourage women and other under-represented groups to become entrepreneurs and get the support they need to access funding and advice. • Support the development of globally competitive clusters of businesses in high-value sectors such as energy transition, health and life sciences, advanced manufacturing, and the application of data and digital technologies through our Cluster Development Programme, as well as simplifying access to innovation funding and ring-fencing a significant proportion of public sector innovation funding for key sectors. • Undertake an independent review of how we maximise the potential of employee-owned cooperatives and social enterprises and ensure that social entrepreneurs play a key part in the growth of Scotland as a Start-Up Nation. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Prioritise business development advice, support and financial assistance to ensure businesses are able to continue to operate, whilst creating the right conditions for low carbon economic growth. • Deliver programmes, services, and events to businesses around sectors, location, and themes (e.g., food and drink, tourism, construction, low carbon, innovation, internationalisation, collaboration, and young enterprise). • Manage the Supplier Development Programme to deliver events, training and e-commerce support to SME’s or third sector organisations who are interested in working with the public sector. • Work with experts across Business Gateway and Scottish Enterprise to support and facilitate new business start- up and retention. Ongoing programme of activity with annual update report to committee. 190
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Supporting entrepreneurship and innovation Champion the social enterprise sector and invest in start-up and growth of our local social enterprise. • Following approval of the new Social Enterprise Strategy by Community and Enterprise Resources Committee in May 2023 a range of measures and programmes have been put in place, working with partners, to support organisations across the sector. Ongoing programme of activity with annual update report to committee. Green growth and energy • Develop a Green Industrial Strategy, setting out how we will help businesses and investors to realise the enormous economic opportunities of the global transition to net zero and create good, well-paid jobs across Scotland in sectors such as offshore wind and hydrogen, and support the development of sectoral Just Transition Plans. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Work with public and private sector partners to identify and secure investment opportunities focussed on the development of sustainable business space with a focus on the green economy and jobs. • Apply for funding from the Scottish government to deliver key projects which maximise the potential of business property. • Work with industry, education and training agencies to maximise the potential employment opportunities across the sector. • Work with experts and delivery partners to explore the potential to further support and grow the economy in South Lanarkshire supporting the renewables sector. Ongoing 191
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Green growth and energy • Explore inward investment opportunities and maximise the potential to secure these in South Lanarkshire. Income generating projects will be scoped across all council Resources to identify viable projects with a focus on green initiatives. • Liaise with all council Resources, third parties and funders to identify new opportunities for generating income and consider a risk analysis of each opportunity. Ongoing Thriving local and regional economies • Support regional empowerment and growth by acting on the recommendations of the Regional Economic Policy Review and working with Local Government and other partners to develop Scotland’s network of Regional Economic Partnerships, supporting our rural and island businesses, including tourism, and communities in particular. • Transfer lead responsibility and new investment for a comprehensive masterplan for the Clyde Mission to Glasgow City Region and Argyll and Bute. • Continue to empower all of Scotland’s regions, and further develop this by considering Glasgow City Region’s ambitions to create a metropolitan region and Edinburgh’s Regional Economic Prosperity Framework, as a precursor to similar discussions with all regional economic partnerships across the country. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Promote sustainable economic development across South Lanarkshire. • Prepare an annual progress report for Community and Enterprise Resources Committee, demonstrating the impact of the South Lanarkshire Economic Strategy (2022-2027). Reported to Community and Enterprise Resources Committee at quarter two and quarter four as part of resource and service planning. 192
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Thriving local and regional economies Review the remit, membership and effectiveness of the existing Lanarkshire Economic Forum. • Review the original scope and membership of the Lanarkshire Economic Forum, together with the outputs of the Forum since establishment in 2020. • Continue to attend the City Region Economic Delivery Group (EDG) to discuss economic strategy at a South Lanarkshire and City Region level. Reported to Community and Enterprise Resources Committee at quarter two and quarter four as part of resource and service planning. Positively enhance the benefits of tourism across South Lanarkshire by delivering the very best for our visitors, our businesses, our people, our communities, and our environment. • Prepare an annual progress report for Community and Enterprise Resources Committee, demonstrating the impact of the South Lanarkshire Tourism Strategy (2022-2025). Reported to Community and Enterprise Resources Committee at quarter two and quarter four as part of resource and service planning. Consult with community organisations and develop a Rural Action Plan maximising existing and future funding through Community Led Local Development and Renewable Energy Fund. • Finalise the Rural Action Plan and report to Rural Task Force in November 2023. Reported to Community and Enterprise Resources Committee at quarter two and quarter four as part of resource and service planning. Provide road and transportation infrastructure improvements to support new developments including those undertaken as part of the City Deal • Progress continuing in relation to the development of the Outline Business Case for the Stewartfield Way Sustainable Transport Capacity Enhancement Project. • Other infrastructure improvements are close to completion and being progressed including Greenhills Dualling, A72 junction 7 and junction improvements associated Delivery programme for Stewartfield Way is being reviewed, with reporting via the Council’s Executive Committee and City Deal Cabinet during Spring / Summer 2024. Reporting on progress will be via standard capital finance and Service Plan reports to Committee. 193
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Thriving local and regional economies with Hamilton Community Growth Area (CGA). Population health • Take action to reduce vaping among non-smokers and young people and to tackle the environmental impact of single-use vapes, including consulting on a proposal to ban their sale and other appropriate measures. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Business compliance in relation to the distribution and sale of vaping products. • Education and awareness visits to retailers by Environmental Health and Trading Standards Officers making them aware of statutory requirements regarding the sale of vaping products. Follow up test purchase visits and formal action taken on non-compliance. 21 Fixed Penalty Notices issued on 2023-24 to date. Ongoing in 2023-24 and into 2024-25 as resources allow. Included in regular report on Resource and Service Plan performance. (Quarterly). 194
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Sport • Convene a working group, including representatives from COSLA, sportscotland and sporting and community organisations, to explore how community access to facilities, such as schools, can be maximised and enhanced, and identify areas of best practice across the country. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Similar to other local authorities, South Lanarkshire Council has an aging leisure and culture estate with a limited lifespan. Both SLLC and the Council are facing unprecedented challenges in relation to budgets, hence the requirement for the Council’s area-based review of all its leisure and culture assets. As part of this, the Council is exploring options for the co-location of leisure and cultural facilities where possible and engage with groups who currently use the facilities to help relocate them elsewhere e.g. within the school estate. • Complete the SLC led leisure and culture property asset review. Special Committee meeting (to agree asset review proposals) 28th November 2023. 195
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Supporting and collaborating with the Third Sector • As part of our commitment to support the third sector with Fairer Funding we will produce a plan to deliver improvements including greater clarity and consistency of existing arrangements, recognising the sector’s strategic role in enabling the transformation and delivery of person-centred services for the people of Scotland. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Administration of Community Benefit Funds and other funds such as Community Led local Development, Smarter Choices Smarter Places, UK Shared Prosperity Fund for the third sector to access. Also working with the third sector to access funds such as Regeneration Capital Grants. • Review and refresh the rules and focus of the REF Community Benefit fund to increase access and strategic impact of the fund. Report to the Community and Enterprise Resources Committee in February 2024, implemented from April 2024. Deliver on the Social Enterprise Strategy. • Champion the social enterprise sector and provide support and grants to our local social enterprise sector. Ongoing 196
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Climate change and adaptation • Grow our national network of regional Community Climate Action Hubs, supporting local communities to develop place-based approaches to reduce emissions and become more climate resilient. • Prepare for the consequences of global climate change by publishing a new Climate Change Adaptation Programme and consulting on Scotland’s first Strategy for Flood Resilience. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Empower communities to take climate action and be more environmentally sustainable. • Develop a public engagement plan for climate change and sustainability which supplements the Council’s existing community engagement activity and promotes Community Climate Action hubs and initiatives in the area. Report progress at quarter two and quarter four to Climate Change and Sustainability Committee. Benchmark the Council against the Adaptation Scotland Capability Assessment. • Undertake a capability assessment to understand the Council’s status and to identify gaps and areas for improvement by March 2024. Report progress at quarter two and quarter four to Climate Change and Sustainability Committee. Lead by example and influence area-wide climate change and sustainability action. • Implement the Sustainable Development and Climate Change Strategy (2022-2027) Action Plan, and report progress at quarter two and quarter four to Climate Change and Sustainability Committee. Report progress at quarter two and quarter four to Climate Change and Sustainability Committee. Create the conditions for the decarbonisation of the council’s fleet. • Implement and review the Fleet Strategy (2020-2025) Action Plan including a reduction in transport related emissions, conversion of fossil fuelled small fleet to full electric and the trialling of new fuel option for the medium to heavy fleet. Reporting on progress will be via standard Service Plan reports to Committee or to the Climate Change and Sustainability Committee. 197
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Climate change and adaptation Deliver new and improved low carbon vehicle charging infrastructure. • Maintain, manage, and expand public infrastructure points / hubs in line with available internal and external funding sources. • In conjunction with other City Region Local Authorities, progress Electric Vehicle Strategy and Expansion Plan. Reporting on progress will be via standard Service Plan reports to Committee or to the Climate Change and Sustainability Committee. Progress also reported via City Region Reporting Framework and to relevant Council Committees as required. Manage flooding priorities and consider prioritised flood protection schemes. • Develop prioritised flood protection projects / studies in line with available capital and revenue funding and by working with communities. • Respond and input to consultation on Scotland’s first Strategy for Flood Resilience. Reporting on progress will be via standard Service Plan reports to Committee or to the Climate Change and Sustainability Committee. Just transition • Publish the final Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan and deliver Just Transition Plans for Built Environment and Construction, Land Use and Agriculture, and Transport, as well as a site Just Transition Plan for Grangemouth. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Progress climate justice and ensure the transition to net-zero by 2045 does not exacerbate poverty or inequalities. • PHD student from Glasgow Caledonian University Centre for Climate Justice is in the process of undertaking a study to assess the impact of climate change on South Lanarkshire Communities. Report progress at quarter two and quarter four to Climate Change and Sustainability Committee. 198
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Nature • Publish Scotland’s Biodiversity Strategy and first five-year delivery plan and build on the international engagement undertaken in developing the Edinburgh Declaration adopted at COP15. • Prepare for the introduction of the Natural Environment Bill to Parliament by consulting on the establishment of statutory nature recovery targets, our commitment to protect 30% of Scotland’s land and sea for nature by 2030, and modernising National Parks legislation, alongside continuing work to designate a new National Park within this Parliamentary term. • Continue to protect and restore our natural environment on land and at sea through our commitment to invest £500 million in our natural environment to drive landscape scale change, including through our £65 million Nature Restoration Fund and through new financial support for Nature Networks. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Protect, enhance and respect South Lanarkshire’s natural environment. • Develop a new Biodiversity Strategy (2024-2030) and Biodiversity Implementation Plan (2024-2026). These will be informed by Scotland’s Biodiversity Strategy. Reported at quarter two and quarter four to Climate Change and Sustainability Committee. • The Council’s Biodiversity Strategy (2024- 2030) and Biodiversity Implementation Plan (2024-2026) will form a framework for incorporating relevant statutory targets stemming from the Natural Environment Bill and will form a framework for identifying the Nature Network for South Lanarkshire. The Nature Network will be formally defined in the future Local Development Plan 3. Reporting to Climate Change and Sustainability Committee in quarter four. • Community and Enterprise Resources Nature Restoration Programme funded through the annual Scottish Government Nature Restoration Fund. Future report to Climate Change and Sustainability Committee. 199
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Circular economy • Drive a transition to a circular economy through supporting the Circular Economy Bill. • Work with businesses to develop plans for the delivery of the Deposit Return Scheme from 2025, subject to UK Government legislation, recognising that the UK Government has prevented Scotland’s scheme from progressing as agreed by the Scottish Parliament. • Set out priority actions for our waste and recycling targets by publishing a final Circular Economy and Waste Route Map and deliver the new National Litter and Flytipping Strategy’s Year One action plan. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Support a circular economy by re-using, recycling and generating energy from the waste we manage. • Commence a review of the waste service during 2023-24 that will incorporate the impact of the Deposit Return Scheme. The Waste Review is ongoing and is on target for completion within the agreed timescales. Phase 1 – Household Waste Recycling Centre Sites (HWRC) is complete and the new contract for the management and operation of HWRCs is currently being evaluated. In terms of the other Phases (Infrastructure and Kerbside Collection Services), several key pieces of work have already been completed including a Waste Compositional Analysis. It should be noted that the future of the Deposit Return Scheme is uncertain in terms of both implementation date and scope but the current date for implementation is October 2025, meaning this aspect of the review will be postponed until 2024-25 200
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Circular economy To make South Lanarkshire a cleaner place to live, work and visit, free of litter, fly-tipping and dog waste. • Prepare an annual progress report for the Climate Change and Sustainability Committee in September 2023 demonstrating the impact of the Litter Strategy (2022-2027). • Litter Strategy Steering Group established with a variety of departments taking part, meeting every two months. • Litter Strategy Action Plan has been developed through this group with actions categorised under Education, Engagement and Enforcement. Annual reporting to Climate Change and Sustainability Committee. Last reported September 2023. Engage with national stakeholders and provide best practice opportunities and ideas from other local authorities. • Attend APSE Litter Managers Network to discuss issues, initiatives and best practice opportunities. • Attend the meetings on the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy chaired by the partners. The Litter Managers Network meet quarterly. Meetings on National Litter and Flytipping Strategy occur on an ad hoc basis depending on the needs of the Strategy, Action Plan and partners. 201
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Transport • Implement the Active Travel Transformation Project to help realise our commitment to £320 million in active travel investment in future budgets and continue the roll out of 20 miles per hour speed limits in built up areas, supporting physical and mental wellbeing as well as safety and emissions reduction. • Lay secondary legislation before the end of this year, to enable bus franchising and partnership options to be developed, providing even more powers to Councils. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Produce a new Local Transport Strategy for South Lanarkshire to support the National and Regional Transport Strategy as well as the provisions, where appropriate, of the Transport Scotland Act. • Draft Local Transport Strategy to be presented to Committee by Spring 2024. Presented to Committee by Spring 2024. Encourage active travel by extending our network of walking and cycling routes. • Deliver walking and cycling projects/ schemes in line with agreed 2023-24 capital programme and to support safe route priorities. • Progress and develop Active Travel Studies across South Lanarkshire. Reporting on progress will be via standard capital finance and Service Plan reports to Committee. Consider the opportunities arising from emerging legislation / Transport Act powers in relation to bus services. • Work with SPT to explore opportunities in more detail including development of the Strathclyde Regional Bus Strategy. Progress reported via SPT and relevant Council Committees as required. Consider the introduction of 20mph limits across South Lanarkshire and work with SCOTS and Transport Scotland. • Undertake assessment of 30mph roads for suitability for 20mph and consider outcomes of assessment and outline potential implementation programme. Reporting on progress will be via Road Safety Forum and relevant Council Committee as necessary. 202
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Culture and major events • Publish, and begin implementing our Culture Strategy Action Plan Refresh, to support the recovery and renewal of the culture sector with a focus on empowering individuals and communities to further develop their own cultural activity, supporting them to do so by identifying and removing barriers to access, championing the economic impact of culture, in particular within the context of community wealth building and creative placemaking, and developing a long term strategic approach to skills and careers in the sector. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Improve health and wellbeing by offering attractive and affordable leisure and cultural activities delivered with warmth, friendliness and individual pride (SLLC Mission). • Implement the South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture Strategy (2022-2027), monitor impact on a quarterly basis via the four SLLC Strategy Implementation Groups, and report on progress twice per year to the Community and Enterprise Resources Committee. Reported to Community and Enterprise Resources Committee at quarter two and quarter four as part of resource and service planning. 203
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EDUCATION RESOURCES Supporting children and young people • Work with Local Government and other partners to develop the local infrastructure and services needed to provide childcare from nine months to the end of primary school in specific communities in six local authority areas. • Through this community-based approach, test a new digital service to help parents and carers find, access and pay for childcare that best suits their needs, laying the foundations to transform the childcare system in the longer-term in a way that empowers parents and supports greater choice. • Provide funding to uplift pay in the PVI sector to £12 per hour for those delivering funded Early Learning and Childcare – this action is needed now to support effective recruitment and retention of staff working in the sector. • Scale up innovative pilots for recruiting and retaining childminders to grow that essential part of the workforce by 1,000 more. • Work with local authority and other sectoral partners to phase in an expanded national offer for families with two-year-olds, focused on those who will benefit most. This will build on the foundations of the existing 1140 programme, which makes high quality early learning and childcare available to around a quarter of families with two-year-olds on the lowest incomes. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Expand the provision of early learning and childcare (1140 hours) to meet the needs of vulnerable children, families and those in work, learning and training. • Over 7,500 children and their families are benefitting from this local community- based provision. • The Council approved early access for 3 year olds in March 2019 and this came into effect in August 2019 – Free for children when they reach their 3rd birthday. • The total capital expenditure for the expansion to 1,140 hours was £36.1 million. For 2023/2024, the Council received Scottish Government revenue grant funding for the provision of 1,140 hours of £32.8 million. Progress in this area is monitored through the council’s quarterly performance review system, Improve and in separate reports to Council committees. A recent report (June 2023) by the Accounts Commission reported on the progress made and identified potential risks going forward. Any future further expansion plans will require to be fully funded, 204
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Effective recruitment and retention of staff working in the early learning and childcare sector. • Investment in high quality trained staff is a core feature of the early years and childcare strategy with recruitment and retention being a dynamic and changing landscape. Progress in this area is monitored through regular workforce review meetings and updates to respective council committees. Reforming our education and skills system • Set out plans for implementing reform of our education and skills bodies and put the voices of children, young people, and adult learners at their core, including responding to the recommendations of the Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment by Professor Hayward, the National Discussion on Education and the Independent Review of the Skills Delivery Landscape by James Withers, and the priorities arising from ‘Purpose and Principles for Post-School Education, Skills and Research’. • Recruit an interim HM Chief Inspector who will play a critical role in driving quality improvement, providing strategic guidance and leadership to education inspection as part of a reform agenda. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Recommendations from the Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment (June 2023) advised of the introduction of a Scottish Diploma of Achievement (SDA) with three elements: Personal Pathway Programmes of Learning Project Learning • A consultation is on-going to ascertain the views of stakeholders across the country on the new qualifications and assessment model. Local Authorities continue to consider the implications of the Hayward report, noting that the timeline for change has yet to be agreed. Investing in our schools • Continue to support schools and local authorities to improve the attainment of children and young people impacted by poverty through our investment in the School Attainment Challenge, with a particular focus on literacy and numeracy – a progress update on ambitious local stretch aims will be published later this year. 205
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• Support our teaching profession by delivering the historic pay deal for teachers, which has a cumulative value of 14.6% over 28 months, and work with our partners on a joint campaign to promote teaching as a highly rewarding career with the opportunity to make a difference to the lives of children and young people, improving recruitment and retention and attracting more high quality individuals into teaching in areas where they are most needed. • Continue to support reductions in the cost of the school day by funding the removal of core curriculum charges and continue to uplift the school clothing grant by inflation in 2024-25, which will mean that the value of the grant will increase again for the beginning of the next academic year. • Work with COSLA in the coming year to prepare schools and infrastructure for the expansion of universal free school meal provision to Primary 6 and Primary 7 pupils during 2026, starting with those in receipt of the Scottish Child Payment and work with local authorities to ensure that school meals meet the highest standards of nutrition, recognising that this is vital to our children’s effective learning. • Improve experiences and outcomes for children and young people with additional support needs by working with teachers to provide additional professional learning opportunities, continuing to support direct provision of services, and implementing and seeking to build on the Additional Support for Learning Action Plan. • Continue to invest in our school estate in partnership with local authorities through the Learning Estate Investment Programme, which will provide new, modern, state of the art learning environments. • Develop a digital strategy to help ensure digital provision supports the wider aims of the education system. • Implement the strengthened Learning for Sustainability Action Plan and as part of this ensure that all young people have the opportunity to learn about the causes and effects of climate change, the role we can all play in preventing it, and the importance of climate justice. • Further advance inclusive education in our schools through our Anti-Racism in Education Programme which will continue to embed anti- racist practice and principles in initial and ongoing professional development for teachers and educators, including the promotion of a decolonised curriculum which reflects diversity, social justice and Scotland’s role in trans-Atlantic enslavement, as well as the development of robust measures for tackling racist incidents in schools. • Publish a national framework to better support schools in tackling gender-based violence and sexual harassment, part of wider work to help ensure schools are safe spaces for all. • Use the latest iteration of our Behaviour in Scottish Schools research to understand the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 on school culture, relationships, behaviour, and attendance, and work with local and national partners to ensure appropriate support is in place. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Continue to improve the attainment of children and young people impacted by poverty with a particular focus on literacy and numeracy. • Improving the attainment of children and young people in literacy and numeracy with a focus on those most affected by Progress and updates in this area is monitored through reports on literacy and numeracy Curriculum for Excellence levels at Council 206
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poverty is a key feature for all schools and services. • Education Resources will, continue to build on the progress identified in the recent Triannual report 3 with a clear emphasis on maximising this level of funding to support poverty-related barriers to learning and improve better outcomes for children and young people. • Increased monitoring and tracking of Care Experienced targeted learners to identify and measure the impact on attainment. Committees, and in other reports such as the Standards and Quality report. A national based progress update on ambitious local stretch aims will be published later this year. Support reductions in the cost of the school day and continue to make automatic uplift of the school clothing grant for eligible families. • Cost of the School Day is a core plus measure with all South Lanarkshire schools moving from a Position Statement on Cost of the School Day to a school Policy document to be available on school websites Progress and updates in this area is monitored through reports to committee and through the actions of individual schools to reduce the cost of the school day, Work with COSLA in the coming year to prepare schools and infrastructure for the expansion of universal free school meal provision to Primary 6 and Primary 7 pupils during 2026 • All P6s and P7s to receive free school meals in line with Scottish Government timescales. • Infrastructure review and assessment of capacity to deliver this target is currently on-going. No official date had been agreed by Scottish Government for the extension of Universal Free School meals for Primary 6 and 7. Awaiting update and funding. On-going scoping exercise to assess infrastructure and operational costs. Improve experiences and outcomes for children and young people with additional support needs by working with teachers to provide additional professional learning opportunities, continuing to support direct provision of services, and implementing and seeking to build on the Additional Support for Learning Action Plan. • On-going – actions taken to implement the recommendations from the Additional Support for Learning Action Plan to improve and effectively deliver additional support for learning for children and young people. Progress and updates in this area is monitored and reported on at quarter 2 and quarter 4. 207
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Develop a digital strategy to help ensure digital provision supports the wider aims of the education system. • Investment made in providing a ‘digital technology managed service’ creating time for teachers to teach and to develop the skills and knowledge of children and young people. Progress and updates in this area is monitored and reported on at quarter 2 and quarter 4. Implement the strengthened Learning for Sustainability Action Plan and as part of this ensure that all young people have the opportunity to learn about the causes and effects of climate change, the role we can all play in preventing it, and the importance of climate justice. • Education Resources has identified ‘climate change and sustainability’ as a core priority in its Resource Plan. • A core priority identified by children and young people and features in the Youth Strategy Improvement Plan. The voice of young people is at the heart of our improvement planning process in taking this action forward. Progress and updates in this area is monitored and reported on at quarter 2 and quarter 4. Further advance inclusive education in our schools through our Anti-Racism in Education Programme which will continue to embed anti- racist practice and principles in initial and ongoing professional development for teachers and educators, including the promotion of a decolonised curriculum which reflects diversity, social justice and Scotland’s role in trans-Atlantic enslavement, as well as the development of robust measures for tackling racist incidents in schools. • The Equalities agenda is and continues to be on the radar for schools and educational settings through the curriculum. UNICEF Right’s Respecting Schools award and LGBTi education, tackling racist incidents all feature as on- going professional development activities. On-going monitoring by schools and educational settings. Progress and updates in this area is monitored and reported on at quarter 2 and quarter 4. Publish a national framework to better support schools in tackling gender-based violence and sexual harassment, part of wider work to help ensure schools are safe spaces for all. • The publication of a national framework is to be welcomed. • SLC Attachment strategy in place. On-going review. Use the latest iteration of our Behaviour in Scottish Schools research to understand the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 on school culture, relationships, behaviour, and attendance, and work with local and national partners to ensure appropriate support is in place. • Education Resources is firmly committed to supporting children and young people overcome the impact of Covid-19 and any disadvantage which arises as a result of poverty and to ensure appropriate support is in place. Evidence based data and research will be used to assess and monitor areas of good practice and areas for action. 208
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FINANCE AND CORPORATE RESOURCES Sustainable Scottish public finances • Deliver the commitment made in the Medium Term Financial Strategy to review opportunities for more effective targeting of existing provision and services to support those who need it most, and reflect these in the Draft Budget. • Further to the consultation on changes to the Council Tax treatment of second homes which closed in July, we will take initial steps to increase the levers available to councils by delivering secondary legislation – enabling councils to apply up to a 100% premium on Council Tax rates for second homes, and continue to discuss other options with Local Government based on the analysis of responses. • Continue to deliver a fair and affordable Non-Domestic Rates package in the Budget, taking account of the engagement with businesses, through the New Deal for Business, and with Local Government. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Work to get agreement on balanced budgets to deliver council outcomes • Continue to engage through Cosla and officer groups to influence spending decisions . Ongoing throughout remainder of 2023/24 Increase income from council tax • Subject to legislation, prepare proposal for elected member consideration on the surcharge on second homes Subject to legislative timetable Public Service Reform • Commence the Four Day Working Week public sector pilot by the end of this calendar year, to assess the wellbeing, environmental, and productivity benefits the Four Day Working Week could bring. • Focus on service delivery and leadership skills, continuing to work closely with public bodies on our public service reform programme – helping to ensure their work remains affordable in 2024-25 and sustainable in future years, while improving outcomes, reducing inequalities, and preventing harm. • Maximise the impact of public procurement through progressive procurement policy and practice as a key pillar of our Community Wealth Building approach – working closely with public, private, and third sector partners – driving consistency of application, leveraging collaborative buying power, and promoting opportunities to advance sustainability, including climate action, Fair Work, and community benefits through public supply chains. 209
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• Deliver a framework for digital service transformation with a focus on end-to-end services, including work to catalogue assets available across the public sector, and continue the roll out and development of digital identity, payment and cloud services, and other common components – working closely with Local Government partners to deliver, as well as to share best practice. • Complete the Democracy Matters national conversation and use the findings to agree new arrangements for inclusive decision making in our towns, villages, and neighbourhoods. • Review the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to ensure it is fit for purpose, explore how communities can be further empowered, and improve community planning (covered by Part 2 of the Act) to support the shared ambitions within the Verity House Agreement. • Support local partners to embed and expand person-centred service change by working to share and scale the approach of pathfinder projects in Glasgow and Dundee in other areas of Scotland, helping to support families out of poverty by testing innovative models through targeted local approaches, anchored by place-based principles. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Four Day Working Week • Continue 4 day working week pilot as per the Scottish Government Public Sector Pay Policy 2022 on the basis of condensing the working week, 100% of pay for 100% of time. • Continue to promote the right to disconnect council initiative. Evaluation of the 4 day working week will take place in June 2024, 12 months after its launch Evaluation of the right to disconnect, will take place in June 2024, 12 months after its launch Maximise the impact of public procurement through progressive procurement policy and practice as a key pillar of our Community Wealth Building approach promoting opportunities to advance sustainability, including climate action, Fair Work, and community benefits through public supply chains • CWB Action Plan in place across all pillars, including spend • Sustainable procurement duty embedded in regulated tenders. New approach to sustainable scoring, incorporating Fair Work, Community Benefits and climate impacts in place from June 2023. Updates on CWB Action Plan reported to CWB Commission quarterly Update on SDCC Action Plan reported quarterly. Outcomes on Sustainable Procurement duty included in Annual Procurement Report. Develop the Community Wish List launched in 2023 to continue to match community needs and aspirations to the support and corporate social aims of local businesses in our supply chain. • Identify and automate the workflow for the wish process. • Pilot the monitoring and impact processes Quarterly reporting to CWB Commission 210
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• Identify the value of the service to communities and suppliers Complete local ‘Let’s Talk Democracy’ public engagement programme identifying a South Lanarkshire viewpoint on local democratic reform. • Continue to undertake pro-active outreach ‘conversations’ with a range of demographic groups and encourage completion of survey. • Draft Engagement Report • Share report across CPP Partnership and develop action/improvement plans to agree and take forward findings. • Mapping of local community and third sector partnerships and networks to ensure all current community/public sector touch points are included in any review of democratic process. Draft Engagement Report to CMT (Nov-Dec 2024) Engagement report to CPP by email. (Dec 2024) Submit report to Scottish Government ‘Democracy Matters’ engagement programme (Feb 2024) Publish report on CPP Website. Ensure the South Lanarkshire CPP is pro- actively informing, participating, and implementing the review of the Community Empowerment Act and is aware of and prepared for any potential changes to the legislation that would impact on the responsibilities of the CPP membership. • Work across the partnership to raise awareness of the findings and recommendations of the Post Legislative Review of Section 2 of the Act: Community Planning. • 05 December 2023 - CPP Development Workshop in partnership with the Improvement Service. • Update CPP Improvement Plan to incorporate Empowerment Act development workshops throughout 2024/25 programme Update CPP Improvement Plan and Risk Plan reported annually to CPP. Continue to develop Locality Community Partnerships and their participation in the CPP Board and structures. • East Kilbride and Hamilton Partnership to establish and develop. New partnerships Established by autumn 2023 Terms of Reference updated (Winter 2024) Networking Event (Feb 2023) 211
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• Review terms of reference of existing partnerships Cambuslang/Rutherglen and Clydesdale. • Community Partnership Networking Event Quarterly Reports to CPP Annual reports to Area Committee (Aug 2024.) Undertake a Review of existing Community Planning Partnership and Council Community Participation and Engagement Strategy(s) • Establish task and finishing working group(s) and action plan to create proposals and recommendations on improving community participation, engagement and collaboration in decision making with SL public sector bodies. • Take into account findings of Let’s Talk Democracy and the SG Democracy Matter’s reports once available. Working group established (Spring-Summer 2024) Action Plan developed within 2 months (Autumn 2024) Work with the CPP Outcomes Group and Child Poverty Working Group to pilot small scale Whole Systems working approaches to one service anchored in a place or a population demographic- drawing from the learning of the Dundee and Glasgow Pathfinders. • Application to Child Poverty Accelerator Fund to develop whole systems change to supporting families with Children with Disability. (Sept 2023) • Whole Systems Working pilots agreed by outcome group (Oct 2023) • Development Workshop for pilot planning (Dec 2023) • Approvals for plan sought from CPP Board and respective partners (March 2024) Application Sept 2023- awaiting response. CPP Outcomes Group agree pilot projects Oct 2023 Improvement Service Supported Whole systems planning Workshop Dec 2023 Reports to CMT Feb 2024, report to CPP March 24. Working with Local Government • Progress our shared programme of work with COSLA under the Verity House Agreement, in particular a revised Fiscal Framework between the Scottish Government and Local Government. 212
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• Support Mark Ruskell MSP with the reconsideration of the European Charter of Local Self Government Incorporation (Scotland) Bill, as committed to in the Verity House Agreement. • Continue the Joint Working Group on sources of Local Government funding, to identify further options for reforms to Council Tax, and to explore other potential revenue raising levers which deliver greater flexibility over financial arrangements, improve accountability for the delivery of national priorities, including net zero objectives, whilst ensuring maximum value for money, and continue progressing the Visitor Levy Bill to further deliver these aims, subject to parliamentary process. • Work with public sector anchor organisations, Local Government, the third sector, and businesses to develop legislative proposals and other actions to support Community Wealth Building, with sustainable business growth and high quality jobs in communities across Scotland. • Consider the recommendations on councillor remuneration, expected to be provided in late 2023 by the Scottish Local Authority Remuneration Committee, with a view to considering how these can improve diversity across elected members. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Focus on maximising the councils funding to benefit financial strategies going forwards. • Continue to engage through Cosla and officer groups to contribute towards Fiscal Framework discussions and on Local Government funding opportunities Ongoing throughout remainder of 2023/24 Identify further options for reforms to Council Tax • Responding to consultations on potential changes to council tax During 2023/24 Continue progressing the Visitor Levy Bill • Responded to consultation on introduction of visitor levy During 2023/24 Responding to national developments in support of Community Wealth Building • Annual refresh of the CWB action plan which supports the CWB strategy, to ensure it remains abreast of latest developments • Contribute to any consultations and participate in national conversations and learning around CWB Reported through the CWB Commission 213
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Equalities • Continue to deliver support to our most fragile communities through our £9 million Investing in Communities Fund, which prioritises key areas tackling poverty and inequality, including child poverty, community-led regeneration, and supporting a just transition to net zero. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Provide Council input into the Investing Communities Fund Application process when requested by SG. • Create internal Short Life Task Group to review applications and make recommendations to SG that support locally identified priorities and needs as identified in Neighbourhood Plans, Child Poverty Statement of Commitment and makes best use of the investment in our local communities to achieve their identified priorities and aims. Guided by Scottish Government Fund timescales. Supporting small businesses • Build on the work of the New Deal for Business Group in relation to Non-Domestic Rates and invite the views of members on priorities, alongside the considerations of the Tax Advisory Group, to inform decisions in the Budget. • Work with business to maintain and improve prompt payment in public supply chains. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Prompt payment in supply chains • All regulated contracts sign prompt payment certificate for subcontractors and supply chain. Council’s prompt payment performance reported quarterly. Delivering Fair Work for all • Boost wages by increasing the number of employers who pay at least the Real Living Wage including through Fair Work conditionality for grants, introducing sectoral Fair Work agreements, and improving outcomes by delivering the Fair Work Action Plan. 214
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• Work alongside business, Local Government and the third sector to deliver person-centred employability support, helping those who face barriers to labour market participation into work, with a particular focus on parents, helping to meet our child poverty targets. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Continue to support an Employer’s Living Wage Discount scheme offering access to Living Wage Accreditation at 50% of the cost of the first year of accreditation. • Continue to participate in the Pan- Lanarkshire Living Wage Campaign Group • Continue to collate and report on the impact of the discount scheme Quarterly reporting to the CWB Commission Tackling poverty • Invest £405 million in the Scottish Child Payment this year, improving the lives of over 300,000 children across Scotland while continuing to drive forward cross-government programmes which support the three drivers of child poverty reduction (cost of living, income from employment and income from social security and benefits in kind) in key areas, such as parental employability, early learning and childcare, mental health, transport, and affordable housing – building on our place-based partnership work with local authorities and local partners to change how services are delivered. • Continue to invest in a package of funding for income maximisation, welfare and debt advice services, supporting at least 40,000 people with free debt advice and increasing the accessibility of advice in education, health and community settings. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Provide financial support to low-income households • Support households with the provision of Money and Welfare Rights advice to maximise income and provides emergency interventions when households present with a food and fuel crisis. • Increase take-up of benefits through benefit checks • Provide specialist support for families with children under the age of 5 years or who are expecting their first child, with a view to maximising their income. Ongoing throughout remainder of 2023/24 215
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• Provision of crisis and community care grants from the Scottish Welfare Fund • Promote Council Tax Reduction to maximise the uptake of this financial support • Award Discretionary Housing Payments to mitigate hardship experienced by low- income families in paying housing costs Complete Neighbourhood Planning in SL areas of most stubborn inequalities. • East Kilbride and Hamilton Neighbourhood Plan development underway. • A child poverty lens is being applied to the East Kilbride planning process. • Plan rolling programme of impact evaluation of existing neighbourhood plans. Progress is reported quarterly to CPP Board and Progress Groups and annually to Area Committees. Participatory Budgeting Programme in Neighbourhood Planning Priority Areas • Within neighbourhood planning areas, the use of small scale PB processes encourages participative decision making and in some cases stakeholder groups are developing processes for PB. • Undertake and impact evaluation of Place based PB. Delivery across the year Reporting is carried out at regular intervals to the CPP Board and annually to Area Committees on results Ensure effective delivery of tackling poverty policy and raise awareness of the priorities contained in the Local Child Poverty Action Report (LCPAR) across all partner organisations • Produced and published a refreshed Local Child Poverty Action Report, Child Poverty Commitment Statement and new Action Plan created. Completed September 2023 Action Plan delivery (ongoing) 216
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Human Rights legislation and equalities • Introduce a landmark Human Rights Bill, and invite the Scottish Parliament to bring back the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill for reconsideration stage, to deliver legislation that protects and enhances a fuller range of human rights within the limits of devolved competence – improving the lives of those most marginalised and vulnerable in our society. • Publish the cross-government Non-Binary Equality Action Plan and, subject to consultation and parliamentary approval, progress the Scottish Government’s commitment to a Bill on ending conversion practices. As the next step in delivering on this commitment, we will publish a consultation on proposals for legislative change by the end of this calendar year. • Invest in a new Anti-Racism Observatory which will provide oversight and support for the Scottish Government and the public sector to develop anti-racism approaches, so that we can continue to eradicate racism in Scotland. • Consult on a mainstreaming strategy, as part of our commitment to embed equality and human rights throughout government and the public sector. • Publish an Immediate Priorities Plan for disabled people that recognises the disproportionate impact the cost of living crisis and the pandemic has had on this group, setting out clear actions for change. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Contribute to the development of the Human Rights Bill/UNCRC • Respond to consultation requests • Consider how the requirements of the Bill can be implemented at a local level • Integrate any Duties into impact assessments • Report progress as required by the Duties During 2023/24 Guided by Scottish Government/SHRC timescales Guided by Scottish Government/SHRC timescales Guided by Scottish Government/SHRC timescales Implement actions outlined in the Non-Binary Equality Action Plan at a local level • Respond to consultation requests • Consider how the actions in the Action Plan can be implemented at a local level • Involve/work with partner organisations/local groups to develop the local plan During 2023/25 On publication of the Action Plan On publication of the Action Plan Use information available in the Anti-Racism Observatory • Publicise the availability of the Anti-Racism Observatory Once available 217
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• Use the information in the Observatory when developing/reviewing policies and practices and when carrying out impact assessments • Consider how the information impacts on current practices, making changes as appropriate Once available Once available Contribute to the development of the mainstreaming strategy • Respond to consultation requests • Consider how actions in the strategy can be implemented at a local level 2023/24 On publication of the Strategy Implement actions in the Immediate Priorities Plan for disabled people • Respond to consultation requests • Consider how the actions from the national Plan can be implemented at a local level • Involve/work with partner organisations/local groups to develop the local plan • Involve Disabled People’s Organisations in the planning and design of policies 2023/24 On publication of the Action Plan 2023/25 2023/25 218
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HOUSING AND TECHNICAL RESOURCES Working with Local Government • Progress work to reform and modernise Compulsory Purchase Orders, starting with the appointment of an expert advisory group in 2023-24, and implement new infrastructure levy regulations by spring 2026. • Continue to consider the justification for, and practical operation of, Compulsory Sales Orders. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting There may be increased requirement to use CPO as a route to delivery of Town Centre Regeneration and to deliver investment and energy efficiency projects in mixed tenure housing blocks. Changes to the Infrastructure Levy regulations may impact of the availability of land for LHS and SHIP. The use of CPO’s is currently complex, requiring significant resources and legal support to take forward. Any reform to make the process more streamlined would be supported. • Contribute to the expert advisory group discussions on CPO through professional forums. • Risk assess the SHIP in light of proposed changes in Infrastructure Levy when known • Review Housing Investment Programme to identify where mixed ownership is affecting delivery of capital programmes and delivery of SHQS and EESSH standards. Closely work with Enterprise and Sustainability Team to identify potential future CPO requirements. Closely work with planning to ensure NPF4 considerations fully align with LHS and SHIP including master planning for town centres, individual site design and site location. The council’s efforts to support owners of long term empty homes to bring them back into use would benefit from the introduction of Compulsory Sale Orders ensuring that private owners were not able to ‘walk away’ from properties they had no interest in living in or renovating. Any process introduced however should be easy to navigate for all parties and should avoid long drawn out timescales to help ensure quick resolution. Additional service and legal resources may require to be considered should this proposal be delivered. 219
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Preventing and ending homelessness and supplying affordable, safe homes • Work with Local Government and stakeholders to reduce the number of people in temporary accommodation by preventing homelessness wherever possible and, where homelessness cannot be prevented, acting quickly to move people into settled homes. • Continue to promote Housing First, which offers a mainstream settled tenancy and wraparound support, as the default response for people experiencing homelessness who have multiple and complex needs, including people whose homelessness is made harder by experiences of trauma and problem substance use. • Introduce the Housing Bill to create powers for the introduction of long term rent controls – creating new tenants’ rights and introduce new duties aimed at the prevention of homelessness. • Invest £752 million this year through our Affordable Housing Supply Programme as we continue to support the delivery of affordable homes to meet housing needs and our longer-term target of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which at least 70% will be available for social rent and 10% in our rural and island communities. • Complete a stock survey of relevant medium and high rise buildings and introduce a Cladding Remediation Bill to help safeguard homeowners and residents by creating a new power to undertake urgent measures to remediate unsafe cladding that presents a risk to life. • Consider the recommendations of the short-life Housing Review Group which will be provided in the coming weeks, identifying those actions that can be taken by local authorities to address existing housing pressures within their current powers and budget – particularly around greater efficiency and effectiveness of resource use. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Work with Local Government and stakeholders to reduce the number of people in temporary accommodation by preventing homelessness wherever possible and, where homelessness cannot be prevented, acting quickly to move people into settled homes. • The lack of commitment reflects a weakening of the previous SG position on temporary accommodation and homelessness. • The reality of the situation may reflect the significant increase in homelessness experienced nationally and locally over the past 18 months. • SLC helped develop the recent SOLACE and ALACHO report which articulated the scale of the challenge being faced in meeting acute housing need. RRTP continues to progress actions to prevent, reduce improved outcomes for people who are homeless. Continue to make case for long term national funding to support significant reduction in homelessness. Continue to actively manage business plan to reflect anticipated patterns of demand 220
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• The council, as with other Scottish LAs continue to experience historically high levels of demand for homelessness services which are presenting challenges for customers, staff and budgets. Continue to promote Housing First, which offers a mainstream settled tenancy and wraparound support, as the default response for people experiencing homelessness who have multiple and complex needs, including people whose homelessness is made harder by experiences of trauma and problem substance use • Appropriate households have been accommodated within South Lanarkshire through this approach since 2020. • This approach provides a positive approach to meeting needs of complex homeless cases but is not appropriate for the vast bulk of homeless households. • Lack of long-term funding limits the ability to plan for and continue delivery of services required to deliver Housing First. • Lack of dedicated funding for Housing First, against backdrop of increasing demand, service costs, and housing availability risks ability to continue to deliver programme. Housing First is embedded with the Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan. Council will continue to make appropriate use of Housing First within existing resources available. Following on from the publication of Housing to 2040 and the subsequent ‘A New Deal for Tenants’, Housing Bill will be introduced during the parliamentary session 2023/24 and includes a number of housing-related commitments. • The introduction of long-term rent controls/eviction in the private sector could have an adverse impact on the current private sector market in Scotland and further reduce housing options to those in housing need. • Given the current challenges in meeting housing need from those affected by homelessness it is likely that there will be a continued increase in those approaching the council for assistance in relation to Continue to make case for long term national funding to support significant reduction in homelessness. Continue to actively manage business plan to reflect anticipated patterns of demand. Continue to work closely with RSL Common Housing Register partners and those working to nomination rights to ensure collective joint working to secure temporary accommodation, housing support and permanent housing solutions. 221
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temporary accommodation, housing support and permanent housing. • Key to the success of these proposals will be their close alignment with the development of new homelessness prevention legislation and the planning and implementation of the National Care Service. Continue to support tenants who are in rent arrears to access benefits etc to support repayment plans Monitor eviction actions by RSLs to support better prevention work and avoidance of homelessness Invest £752 million this year through our Affordable Housing Supply Programme as we continue to support the delivery of affordable homes to meet housing needs and our longer- term target of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which at least 70% will be available for social rent and 10% in our rural and island communities. • Reflects previously stated SG commitment. • National discussion ongoing regarding how achievable target is given financial and inflationary pressures on building costs. • SLC Home+ programme continues to progress towards local target of 1,300 properties by March 2027. • LHS 2022-27 target of 15 empty homes to be brought back into use per year and dedicated resources within HTR in place to support, however increased focus on empty homes, including potential requirement to have empty homes strategy, may increase this further. Regular meetings in place with Scottish Government More Homes Team and funding agreements to be reviewed annually. Routemap to 1,300 additional homes in place, comprising new builds and acquisitions. Aligns with SHIP 2024-29 delivery. National programme monitors, with a range of national partnership groups, with a focus on identification of any potential issues for SLC programme. New approaches to support achieving council target to be detailed in SHIP 2024-29, including land-led development and review of existing SLC and partner assets. Progressive housing approach to be piloted and developed further throughout 2023/24 with HSCP and Planning. Complete a stock survey of relevant medium and high rise buildings and introduce a Cladding Remediation Bill to help safeguard homeowners and residents by creating a new power to undertake urgent measures to remediate unsafe cladding that presents a risk to life. • Council providing reassurance to tenants via various media platforms including Housing News • No issues for school buildings. Prioritise and programme inspection of safety checks for council homes. Liaise with tenants on need for any safety checks. 222
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Inspection programme will inform any remedial or specialist action. Work with relevant colleagues in CER on the introduction of the Cladding Remediation Bill and impact on housing/property services Consider the recommendations of the short- life Housing Review Group which will be provided in the coming week. • Until the recommendations are published and considered by the Scottish Government, the likely impact cannot be estimated. Await publication of the recommendations. Likely that the recommendations of the HRG will include the main working definitions of affordability and the different uses of affordability in policy and practice. New Scots, population and migration • Transition from an emergency response to support a holistic and rights-based approach to long term integration of people displaced from Ukraine, aligned with an updated New Scots refugee integration strategy. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting In what is called new Scots population – The transition from an emergency response to long term integration of people displaced from Ukraine. • Given the on-going crisis in Ukraine and wider global uncertainty it can be anticipated that demand for housing and support services for refugees and people seeking asylum will significantly increase in the year/s ahead. • Increased demand is impacting on homelessness and housing in terms of demand on services and pressure on housing stock. • Guidance on warm Scottish welcome in development which is expected to result in closure of welcome hub hotels, further impacting on demand for longer term housing Continue to actively engage with COSLA and the Home Office to support implementation of the dispersal programme. Continue to pursue housing solutions across all tenures. Monitor impact on ability to meet wider housing need and budget 223
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Heating • Consult on proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill, supporting our commitments on reducing emissions from housing and buildings, and supporting people to make the necessary changes. / • Launch a refreshed Warmer Homes Scotland scheme providing targeted support for energy efficiency and zero emission heating systems, further boosting our commitment to providing one of the most generous packages of support in the UK. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting A commitment to publish the final Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan and deliver Just Transition Plans for Built Environment and Construction. • Resource clear on inability to meet energy efficiency targets and achieve decarbonisation in a manner which supports a just transition within existing housing investment programme. • Assessment of current stock identifies that up to 50% will not be able to achieve relevant energy efficiency standards (EPC A or B) regardless of investment or timescales granted. • National funding schemes are available however require initial internal funds to develop potential decarbonisation and energy projects into feasibility stage, which aren’t currently available. This position is broadly recognised via the SHR and SFHA with increasing pressures on rent affordability and poverty. Discussion to take place with FCR, CER and HTR to understand opportunities to establish internal feasibility fund to get projects ready for large scale capital bids. Launching a refreshed Warmer Homes Scotland scheme - providing one of the most generous packages of support in the UK. • Along with other social landlords need for specific funding stream to be introduced to support tenants and particular customer groups, such as Gypsy/Travellers. LHEES (due for publication December 2023) will provide basis for articulating resource requirements against priorities. 224
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SOCIAL WORK RESOURCES Working with Local Government • Lead work across government to deliver the commitment to Whole Family Wellbeing investment to support Children’s Services Planning Partnerships and local authorities in the provision of preventative, holistic family support. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Deliver the commitment to Whole Family Wellbeing (WFW) investment to support the provision of preventative, holistic family support. • A WFW Fund Partnership Steering Group has been established to review the design and delivery of Children’s Services in South Lanarkshire, promoting best use of WFW funding. • Proposals include extending the Pathfinder initiative in schools, contribution to the Family Support Hub model across the four localities in South Lanarkshire, investment in the parenting support groupwork pathway and extending Family Group Decision Making (Children 1st) as part of the WFW approach. • A Children’s Service Planning event in November will have focussed input from WFW subgroups. Ongoing throughout 2023/24 Updates will be provided to future meetings of the Children’s Services Strategy Group and Social Work Resources Committee. Annual report to Scottish Government in relation to spend and outcomes. WFWF will also be reported on through the Childrens Service Plan annual report 15 November 2023 NHS recovery, supporting the NHS and social care workforce • Continue to expand Hospital at Home and other out of hospital pathways to reduce occupancy levels and improve flow for both unscheduled and planned care. • Deliver targeted support to practices serving the most disadvantaged communities in NHS Lanarkshire and work with local areas to ensure vital specialist services such as Community Link Workers can respond to local needs. 225
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• Commit to provide the necessary funding in the next Budget to increase the pay of social care workers in the PVI sectors in a direct care role – and those working in the PVI sector to deliver funded early learning and childcare – to at least £12 per hour, an increase that could be worth up to £2,000 per year for those on full-time contracts. • Improve workforce planning, practice and culture with a focus on collaborative, compassionate leadership, wellbeing and equality to deliver a more sustainable and skilled workforce, supported by the commencement of the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019, and take forward the recommendations from the Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Improve workforce planning, practice and culture with a focus on collaborative, compassionate leadership, wellbeing and equality to deliver a more sustainable and skilled workforce, supported by the commencement of the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019 • Implement recommendations of the Social Work Resources Workforce Plan 2022 – 2025 Initial report to the Social Work Resources Committee on 7 September 2022 with further progress reports to SMT and CMT with any significant changes Social Work Resources Workforce Plan 2022 - 2025 National Care Service • Deliver the National Care Service legislation, subject to the agreement of Parliament, to ensure consistency of provision and improvements in social care, social work and community health support, working in partnership with people who access and deliver services, trade unions, Local Government and the third sector. • Continue funding the voluntary sector Short Breaks Fund ahead of including a right to short breaks for carers in the National Care Service Bill. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Deliver the National Care Service legislation, subject to the agreement of Parliament • Contribute to consultation and engagement activity during Stage 1 of the Bill as required Stage 1 will conclude on 31 January 2024. The Resource will continue to monitor progress of the Bill and associated risks 226
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• Provide regular updates on progress of the Bill to the wider workforce. through the Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum. Ongoing throughout 2023/24 Independent Living Fund • Reopen the Independent Living Fund on a phased basis, with an initial £9 million in 2024-25 to enable up to 1,000 additional disabled people with the most complex needs to access the support they need and deserve to live independent lives. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Reopen the Independent Living Fund on a phased basis • Awaiting further Scottish Government guidance 2024/25 Mental health • Establish a new Mental Health and Capacity Reform Programme to begin the process of updating and modernising our mental health and capacity legislation to enhance the protection of people’s rights. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Establish a new Mental Health and Capacity Reform Programme • Awaiting further Scottish Government guidance • As part of the government program, we would expect to have local representation on relevant government groups looking at the development and implementation of any reforms. 2024/25 227
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Tackling poverty • Establish a new Ministerial group, focusing on the delivery of Best Start, Bright Futures across government to strengthen our approach and more closely co-ordinate policy to maximise impact on child poverty, ensuring that we take a whole family wellbeing approach to our child poverty work, which will enable us to support the Government’s commitment to keeping The Promise. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Co-ordinate policy to maximise impact on child proverty • Reporting of Local Child Poverty Action Report (LCPAR) to the Community Planning Partnership. Discussions underway to consider the benefits of reporting LCPAR within Children’s Service Planning reporting Social Security • Invest £5.3 billion in Scottish Government benefits in 2023-24, supporting over 1.2 million people, as well as improving the support we provide to carers by introducing the Carer Support Payment to replace Carer’s Allowance in Scotland – working closely with the Minimum Income Guarantee Expert Group to consider the Social Renewal Advisory Group’s recommendation to model a minimum income guarantee for unpaid carers, the majority of whom are women, and who have been hard hit by the cost of living crisis. • Support care leavers into employment, including through the Job Start Payment, and the Care Experienced Internship Programme at Social Security Scotland, as we work to keep The Promise. • Undertake an independent review of Adult Disability Payment to ensure the benefit continues to meet the needs of disabled people, building on the analysis of a consultation on the mobility component of Adult Disability Payment published in August. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Support carers to access the Carer Support Payment that is replacing Carer’s Allowance in Scotland • Carers Commissioned Services support carers to access a range of funding/grants Reporting quarterly to SMT and annually to Social Work Resources Committee on supports provided to carers by commissioned carer organisations Support care leavers into employment • A South Lanarkshire Council modern apprenticeship ‘promise’ has been developed which supports care experienced young people through pre- Reporting on the Children’s Services Plan annually to Social Work Resources Committee and updates to future meetings of the Children’s Services Strategy Group. 228
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apprenticeship placements and a flexible recruitment approach. • South Lanarkshire Council appointed two Promise Development Workers in November 2021 jointly funded by NHS and South Lanarkshire Council, Social Work Resources. These posts, advertised for young people with care experience, are specifically focussed on increasing the participation of care experienced young people. • Through the Champions Board and the Promise Strategic group employability for care experienced young people and all the commitments of the Promise will be reported on and overseen in these forums. Ensure the Adult Disability Payment continues to meet the needs of disabled people • Supporting the Social Security Scotland’s Adult Disability Payment process with information when requested Initial report to Social Work Resources Committee on 16 November 2022 with further updates as required Improving the experience of justice for victims and survivors • Launch Bairns’ Hoose Pathfinders in autumn 2023, a key action in our keeping The Promise Implementation Plan and Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, enabling a whole-system approach for child victims and witnesses of abuse and harm. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Provide access to a Bairns’ Hoose by 2025 to all children who are victims or witnesses to abuse or violence • Develop a Lanarkshire Implementation and Strategic Group that will oversee progress on the development of Bairns’ Hoose which remains on target for implementation by 2025. Progress updates to the Social Work Resources Committee 229
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Reducing reoffending and limiting the negative effects of short term imprisonment • Progress delivery of the National Community Justice Strategy by working with Community Justice Partners to drive improvement and advance towards the longstanding aim of encouraging a person-centred, trauma-informed, and rehabilitative approach. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Progress delivery of the National Community Justice Strategy • Community Justice Outcome Improvement Plan introduced for 2024-2029 • CJP event held recently, well attended, and partners committed to CJ principles. Annual report to Community Justice Scotland almost complete with range of service examples contributing to the national agenda. Present a progress report on the priorities set out within the Community Justice Outcome Improvement Plan 2024-2029 by March 2025 – monitored within the Social Work Resource Plan 2023-24 Keeping The Promise • Further support the facilitation and expansion of the Virtual School Head Teacher Network, formally respond to the recent review of the Children’s Hearing System, launch a consultation on the support for care experienced young people when they become adults, publish our Whole Family Wellbeing investment approach to supporting the provision of preventative, holistic family support, and by the end of 2023, The Promise Scotland will report on its work on the scoping of national lifelong advocacy services. Focus Actions Timeline and reporting Scoping of national lifelong advocacy services • A referral pathway for advocacy services for care experienced children and young people is in development to ensure that children are offered advocacy support at every stage of their care reviews. Promise Development workers have led on consultation with young people and care leavers regarding an advocacy charter • Following the publication of The Hearings for Children redesign report by The Reporting progress to the Social Work Resources committee and Promise Board 230
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Formally respond to the recent review of the Children’s Hearing System Promise Scotland, the recommendations were forwarded to the Scottish Government, and we await further guidance. 231
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