Addressing Depopulation Action Plan (John McLuckie)
Argyll and Bute Council · 10 April 2024
Back to Argyll and Bute Community Planning Partnership - Management Committee — 10 April 2024 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Management Committee Date: 10 April 2024 Scottish Government – Addressing Depopulation Action Plan 1.0 Purpose The purpose of this report is to provide the CPP Management Committee with an overview of the Scottish Government Addressing Depopulation Action Plan, published on 16th February 2024. 2.0 Recommendations The CPP Management Committee is asked to: • note the overview of the purpose and key points from the Addressing Depopulation Action Plan • note the content of section 5.5 of the report on Local Delivery relating specifically to Community Planning Partnerships • consider the linkages between the new Outcomes Improvement Plan priorities and the Addressing Depopulation Action Plan 3.0 Background The Addressing Depopulation Action Plan sets out the Scottish Government’s strategic approach to address population attraction and retention challenges for those communities facing a decline in population. 4.0 Detail 4.1 Overview of the Addressing Depopulation Action Plan The Addressing Depopulation Action Plan represents the first phase in establishing and delivering a programme to address depopulation strategically with a “local by default, national by agreement” emphasis. The plan identifies the myriad factors contributing to community level depopulation, highlights the role to be played now and in the future by regional and local stakeholders, and sets out the role the
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Scottish Government will play through policy in supporting objectives at a community level. 4.2 The role of Community Planning Partnerships The Addressing Depopulation Action Plan sets out the existing national policy context, the ongoing research and a set of actions primarily for the Scottish Government, for each sub-theme within the five policy areas. The Action Plan recognises the role of community planning in supporting community stability through partnership working to improve the design and delivery of local services with a focus on reducing inequalities. The plan also references the Verity House Agreement, highlighting the critical nature of CPPs in aligning local resources and delivering shared priorities, together with the ambassadorial role played by the Scottish Government Place Director across governmental portfolios. The following Scottish Government actions are listed under the Community Planning Partnership heading: - We will engage further with COSLA, the CPIB, the Community Planning Network to agree collective next steps around community planning. - We will support local government and community planning, including through Scottish Government Place Directors, aligned to the ambitions set out in the Verity House Agreement, including supporting areas which are facing issues relating to population. 4.3 Linkages to the new Outcomes Improvement Plan priorities The Addressing Depopulation Action Plan groups the key enabling national policy areas into five themes, namely: 1. Infrastructure (including Housing, Transport, Digital Connectivity) 2. Services (including Education, Childcare, Health & Social Care) 3. Economy (including Migration, Talent Attraction, Skills) 4. Culture (including Gaelic, Community Wealth Building, Workforce Dispersal) 5. Land and Marine (including Methods of Land Ownership, Crofting, Blue Economy, Just Transition) The new Argyll and Bute Outcomes Improvement Plan priorities of Transport Infrastructure and Housing align well with the Infrastructure theme while aspects of the Community Wellbeing priority overlap the other four themes.
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5.0 Implications Strategic Implications Scottish Government support for the Argyll and Bute CPP in addressing depopulation will be aligned to the Verity House Agreement Consultations, Previous considerations Resources Prevention Equalities Climate Change For more information, contact: John McLuckie Partnerships Lead (Community Planning) john.mcluckie@argyll-bute.gov.uk References Scottish Government - Supporting and enabling sustainable communities: action plan to address depopulation Supporting and enabling sustainable communities: action plan to address depopulation - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)