Item 9 - Flourishing DIG Report
West Dunbartonshire Council · 22 May 2025
Back to Community Planning West Dunbartonshire Management Board — 22 May 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Management Board Meeting Development and Improvement Groups (DIGs): Highlights and Issues Report FOR INFORMATION ONLY X FOR DECISION Name of DIG Flourishing Delivery and Improvement Group (DIG). Date of report May 2025 Name and email of lead contact Gail MacFarlane Gail.macfarlane@west-dunbarton.gov.uk 1 Highlights of activity and progress since last meeting At the recent DIG meeting there was positive discussion around the actions delivered by partners during the 2022-25 Action Plan and around the on-going partnership approach. The DIG agreed that an in-person workshop would be arranged to allow members to define the actions for the 2025 – 28 Action Plan. An up-date from this workshop will be presented to a future Management Board meeting. Flourishing DIG partners discussed the Community Wealth Building Bill and the potential for increased partnership working to support its delivery. An initial exploratory meeting is being arranged between WDC and the Golden Jubilee Hospital. Regeneration Dumbarton Arc of Attractions branding and wayfinding report is being developed in cooperation with the Visitor Gateway Partnership which includes Historic Environment Scotland and Maritime Museum. The project group also includes Dumbarton Football Club. The report is looking at how Dumbarton could take advantage of its key historical and environmental assets to become more appealing to visitors, boost visitor numbers and enhance the overall visitor experience. The final report is expected to be available in May. This may provide basis for a wider Dumbarton signage strategy project. Alexandria ITEM 9
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WDC’s Regeneration team supported the local businesses in Alexandria Town Centre to establish a Business Improvement District (BID). A ballot on the BID took place on 14th November and the result was in favour of establishing the BID. The BID has been formally in place as of 1st April 2025. A project to improve Mitchell Way and Main Street will be developed and delivered in cooperation with the BID as a key partner. BID will be involved in all stages of the project lifecycle and will have a significant role in shaping the project outputs. This partnership approach could prove to be a good example of participatory budgeting and the progress will be kept under review. Clydebank Queens Quay District Heating Network The ambitions of this project include addressing the challenge of climate change and addressing the anti-poverty agenda through the delivery of reduced cost energy. Partnership working is continuing to explore the potential of expanding the network to ensure as many partner organisations and local homes are connected and can benefit from low-cost and clean energy. Town Centre Plan for Neighbourhoods will provide up to £20m funding over the next 10 years to help revitalise the town centre and surrounding neighbourhoods. The funding is overseen by Clydebank Neighbourhood Board which in cooperation with the Council will manage development and delivery of the projects and initiatives. The Board is considering the new funding guidance (published in March 2025) and whether the current Long-Term Plan/Regeneration Plan should be revised to include additional initiatives which form part of the new guidance. A workshop is planned for June to discuss and decide the final scope of the Plan. The agreed Regeneration Plan will be submitted to UK GOV in Autumn 2025. Additional capacity funding expected in 25/26 will likely be used to engage with communities, raise awareness of the Regeneration Plan and the Neighbourhood Board, and progress development of some quick win project. Exxon The project is expected to deliver a significant number of new jobs and the Council’s team is working in partnership with colleagues at Scottish Enterprise, Glasgow City Region and with West College Scotland to ensure maximum local benefit through skills and training. Scottish Marine Technology Park This is a private sector led regeneration project that is being supported through partners including Scottish Enterprise (SE), Glasgow City Region and the Council. The site owner, Malin Group, has been short-listed for potential Investment Zone funding through GCR. This funding is not yet secured and the group has a long process to work through.
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The Malin Group and partners are progressing discussions on a future feasibility study to support decision making around improved access to the site. Glasgow City Region is working towards becoming a Living Wage Place, this is a partnership approach that works towards making the real Living Wage the norm in a defined geographical area and a key component of the Community Wealth Building agenda. Business Support IRED Committee approval was obtained in November 2024 to commence consultation to investigate the potential of implementing a visitor levy in West Dunbartonshire. The stage 1 Visitor Levy consultation survey closed on 28 February 2025. This survey helped to raise local awareness and provided some initial feedback from residents, businesses and visitors which will assist with the development of the stage 2 of consultation process which will be launched later in the year. WDC is working with Glasgow City Region and Energy Savings Trust to develop a carbon baseline assessment to provide businesses with green business advice. This support is funded through UK Shared Prosperity Fund 2025/26. A Green Skills Business Training Grant has been developed to assist local businesses to improve their green skills. This grant provides a financial contribution to assist businesses to upskill their staff and/or diversify to provide additional services related to green technologies such as Solar Photovoltaic (PV), Electric Vehicle Charging, Solar Thermal Systems, Ground & Air Source Heat Pumps and External Wall Insulation. West College Scotland have assisted with the promotion of the grant which can help contribute to the costs of their green skills training courses. A West Dunbartonshire Meet the Real Buyer event was held on 27th March 2025 at the Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel. Almost 400 suppliers registered to attend the event which included exhibitor stands from WDC procurement, business support and employability teams along with Supplier Development Programme, Scotland Excel, NHS Golden Jubilee and NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde. Employability/Learning/Income Maximisation Working4U continues to work in partnership with providers to offer a range of employability support across all stages of the employability pathway. Commissioned grant providers are working well across West Dunbartonshire to reach shared outcomes of supporting those with barriers to employment engage successfully with employability support services. This commissioned provision supplements the core key worker service within W4U who case manage service users across the employability pathway. During 24/25 Eighteen providers worked with specific target groups across West Dunbartonshire many offering specialist support and collectively the targets for both NOLB and UKSPF have been achieved. West College Scotland delivered an ESOL for Employability Programme at SCQF Level 3 to support New Scots, refugees and asylum seekers with limited English
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skills arriving in West Dunbartonshire. The aim of the programme was to provide English language skills for work and improve integration into Scottish life. The course improved language and communication skills, increased confidence, developed a broader awareness of life in Scotland with the goal of progressing to employment. 7 service users accessed this course with all 7 gaining a qualification. TELL is a local training provider with accessible custom built training premises within Dumbarton. Their Pathways to Employment programme is to provide accessible, tailored learning and training programmes aimed at improving the levels of qualifications and employability support to enable service users to progress along their pathway to employment. This end-to-end programme has supported 102 residents access a range of sector specific training opportunities. 53 people have commenced employment including 1 commencing a Modern Apprenticeship and 3 becoming self-employed. 3 have commenced FE/HE on completing the programme. 62 qualifications have been achieved in a range of areas. For the financial year (24/25) Working4U learning and employability services in partnership with external service providers have achieved the following outcomes: The teams have surpassed their anticipated target for the quarter and are on track to achieve their annual targets. In addition to maximising access to opportunity and income from employment, the Working4U team has supported residents to maximise income from benefits and reduce costs by managing debt. Name Q1-Q4 2024/25 Value Annual Target Total number of local people being supported through apprenticeships 367 303 Number of new employers supported by W4U 99 80 Number of local people entering employment through Working 4U 537 417 Number of local people entering education or training 1,178 821 Number of local people gaining a full qualification 1,021 674 The teams have surpassed their anticipated targets for the year. In addition to maximising access to opportunity and income from employment, the Working4U team and partners have supported residents to maximise income from benefits and reduce costs by managing debt.
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Name Q1/Q2/Q3 2024/25 Value Annual Target Total Value (£) of Income Generated £9,218,527 £5.2m Value (£) of debt managed £1,441,721 £1.2m The teams have surpassed their anticipated outcomes for the year. 2 Outline of any issues/risks and how these are being managed Regeneration Extended timescales for Plan for Neighbourhood funding pose a challenge as it puts a delivery of the plan effectively on hold. We will work with the Neighbourhood Board to ensure that the capacity funding is spent to continue the engagement with the community, and to progress development of future projects. As with all strategic development sites funding is often an issue, work continues with key partners to consider all possible approaches. Business Support The main risk for the Business Support team is their reliance on the continuation of funding through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which provides funding to support staff costs and business support interventions. The team will continue to engage with UK Government through the SLAED group and will continue to explore any other relevant sources of funding. Employability Working 4U deliver through NOLB and UKSP Funding, Ready 2 Thrive and Thrive. Personal development programmes for vulnerable young people, adopting a trauma-informed, rights-based ‘place and train’ approach, integrating social prescription, accredited learning, diversionary activity, one-to-one support, and structured work placements. The programme seeks to tackle persistent inequalities and barriers experienced by this group, providing a flexible and supportive route into positive destinations such as further training, volunteering, apprenticeships, or employment. ‘Thrive’ has been well established and has received a high volume of referrals from a wide range of partners such as Social Work, SDS, DWP, Senior Phase, Youth Alliance partners and further third sector support agencies. Thrive has continued to run 2 courses concurrently to meet demand in Clydebank and Dumbarton. Thrive has developed their curriculum with the implementation of the Dynamic Youth Award as well as developing a new volunteering relationship with Community Foodshare.
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Ready2Thrive has continued to have high levels of referrals for young people who have a range of complex barriers to engagement. Young people have been offered longer term support if required, increasing from 12 weeks to 26 weeks Thrive and Ready2Thrive models have consistently delivered positive outcomes with positive progressions/destinations for Thrive currently at 76%. 3 Outline of the main outputs expected before next meeting Regeneration Alexandria, Mitchell Way & Main Street improvements – project planning and development ongoing in cooperation with the BID Clydebank Town Centre – Regeneration Plan agreed; interventions and activities to be delivered in 25.26 underway (subject to capacity funding being available) Dumbarton, Arc of Attraction – report finalised Business Support Develop Stage 2 visitor levy consultation to obtain feedback on draft proposals from residents, businesses and visitors. Develop carbon baseline assessment in partnership with Glasgow City Region and Energy Savings Trust to provide green advice to local businesses. Continue to promote Green Skills Training Grant in partnership with West College Scotland. Employability 4 What are your requirements of partners in the Community Planning Management Board to achieve the outcomes of the DIG? Regeneration Good placemaking will continue to underpin the regeneration, development and improvement work in the town centres as we aim to align funding and resources, with Council, DIG partners and external funding, to achieve our ambitions. Business Support The on-going commitment and support from the community partners will help to maximise the impacts of the business support activity being developed and implemented through the Flourishing DIG. This will assist with reinforcing our efforts to develop a strong local economy that will provide access to opportunity for all in West Dunbartonshire. EmployabilityWe will continue to deliver the NOLB, Parental Employability support programmes and UK Shared prosperity activity. We will continue to work in
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partnership through the Adult Learning Partnership and Local Employability Partnership. We ask the partners to continue with their contribution to the local employability group by attending or sending representation where appropriate to the strategic group; the Creative Design Group (service providers) and the frontline Community of Practice group. These groups are making a positive contribution to identifying and addressing challenges in West Dunbartonshire. The Data subgroup updated for the area their Themes and Challenges document supporting the planning of the Strategic Employability Group and the commissioning focus for 25/26. We also ask that, where appropriate, partners contribute to the development and delivery of our local child poverty report and our three years Community Learning and Development plan. 5 Please outline any good news story you wish to share Foundation Apprenticeship The Scottish Apprenticeship Awards showcase apprentices, employers and learning providers from across the country and a range of sectors. The awards highlight the vital benefits apprenticeships bring to individuals, employers and the economy. Award categories celebrate the incredible work of Foundation, Modern and Graduate Apprentices. They also recognise the exceptional organisations who champion and support apprenticeships. West Dunbartonshire Council’s Kaleb Mbise won Foundation Apprentice of the Year 2024. Kaleb completed his Foundation Apprenticeship with W4U and is now undertaking his Modern Apprenticeship in Childcare. Kaleb was also recognised as a Trailblazers at the recent ACHIEVE awards for his visionary work in education. Employer Engagement The W4U Employer Engagement team has engaged with over 400 employers throughout 24/25, addressing various issues such as recruitment; grants; work placements; upskilling; and advice. In response to the increased demand for training, the Employer Engagement and Training teams have merged their efforts to meet employability pathway training needs. Our employer placement scheme, Paid Work Positions, has continued to be supported by employers. Working4U supports the implementation of social benefit clauses which includes encouraging employers to employ local residents into jobs or an apprenticeship. Working4U coordinates the social benefit process for West Dunbartonshire Council, introducing an amendment to the requirements calling on a sharp focus on the following groups – Community Justice; Parents facing poverty and vulnerable young people. A successful jobs fair with almost 200 residents enabled employers to engage directly with people looking for employment opportunities. A quiet session was offered to support job seekers who are neurodiverse to meet employers with
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Working4U staff available to show them around the various stalls and answer any questions they may have.