Leader's Report
Argyll and Bute Council · 21 November 2024
Back to Argyll and Bute Council — 21 November 2024 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
Page 1
ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL COUNCIL 21st November 2024 LEADER’S REPORT 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 The Leader of the Council routinely provides a report outlining their strategic activities for consideration at each meeting of Argyll and Bute Council, except for the annual budget meeting in February. 1.2 This report provides an update on the activities of the council Leader, Cllr Jim Lynch, for the period 16th September to 8th November 2024. 2. RECOMMENDATIONS 2.1 Members are asked to consider the report. 2.2 Members are asked to note that any reports, briefings or copy correspondence referred to in the report can be requested as appropriate through the Leadership Support Manager, although it should be noted that some confidential reports provided by external organisations such as COSLA may be restricted. 3. LEADER ACTIVITY 16th SEPTEMBER TO 8TH NOVEMBER 2024: 3.1 Rural Growth Deal: It’s fair to say that for much of the time since my last report to Council, securing the Rural Growth Deal has been the top priority. As colleagues will know, on 30th October, Argyll and Bute was specifically mentioned in the Chancellor’s Budget speech, with the welcome confirmation of the UK Government’s £25m contribution to our Rural Growth Deal. This, along with the Scottish Government’s confirmation of its £25m allocation, means that it is all systems go for the signing of the Deal and moving forward to progress delivery.
Page 2
Getting to this point is a significant achievement and is absolutely the result of positive partnership working and mutual trust and respect at all levels, inside and outside the Council itself. A vital element in securing this vital investment for Argyll and Bute has been the effective working relationship built up between the Council’s political leadership and its Executive Leadership Team, and also with the dedicated Rural Growth delivery team. Alongside this sits the connections our officers have built up with their civil servant counterparts at both the Scottish and UK Government departments which manage Growth Deals. At a political level the past few weeks have been spent engaging with the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Treasury, and Argyll and Bute’s constructive approach has been highlighted in very favourable terms throughout this process. This has involved a number of constructive discussions and considered correspondence in the run-up to the UK Government Budget at the end of October. I am absolutely delighted that our efforts and approach have yielded such a significant result for Argyll and Bute. We have also sought to ensure our local parliamentarians are kept up to date throughout, and our thanks go to them too for their support and co- operation. The formal Deal signing is expected to take place within the next few months. Our officers are liaising with both governments to take this forward. I will share more detail about that when possible – this will be a very significant and positive milestone in Argyll and Bute’s Rural Growth Deal journey and I look forward to welcoming senior ministers to Argyll and Bute for the signing. 3.2 Community Regeneration funding: Members will recall from my previous Leader’s Reports, in June and September, that I had made early contact with the UK Government following the July elections in relation to Argyll and Bute’s £20m Levelling Up Partnership, which was announced by the previous UK Government. I was delighted to receive a letter from the Secretary of State for Scotland, Ian Murray MP, on 1st November, confirming that the UK Government Budget includes an allocation of up to £20m in Community Regeneration funding to Argyll and Bute for local growth and community projects (this funding having been formerly branded as Levelling Up). Again this is testament to our constructive approach and focus on working together to secure results in the form of much-needed investment for
Page 3
Argyll and Bute. Further details of the administration of this will follow and I will share these as soon as possible. 3.3 COSLA Activity: I have attended a number of COSLA meetings over this period, including the annual Conference and Excellence Awards alongside monthly Leaders meetings. The majority of business is taken in private session, which means I cannot provide too much detail here, but I will be happy to answer any questions or have a discussion with any colleague who is interested to hear more about a particular topic. COSLA Conference and Convention, 19th and 20th September: The theme for this year’s Conference was: ‘What is Local Government’s Role in Society and in Unlocking Scotland’s Potential?’ – with the change in UK Government also featuring in the wider context of this debate. There was a wide range of workshops and sessions, involving national agencies such as Public Health Scotland, the Local Government Information Unit, the UK Infrastructure Bank, and various universities. These sat alongside the traditional political sessions and an address from the First Minister, John Swinney MSP. The conference also provided an opportunity to catch up informally with John Swinney in the context of the Rural Growth Deal discussions and other matters. I will always take every opportunity that I can to highlight the issues of importance to Argyll and Bute, wherever and whenever possible. The Convention agenda included the following, as well as consideration of COSLA’s annual accounts: European Matters Verity House Agreement – accountability framework, dispute resolution, annual report Presentation on AI and Q&A session COSLA Leaders, 27th September: It was back to COSLA a week after conference for the next scheduled COSLA Leaders meeting, at which the following issues were discussed: National Care Service Pay Negotiations Minimum Learning Hours and Teacher Numbers Ukraine Schemes Asylum Accommodation Verity House Agreement Stocktake King’s Speech/Programme for Government
Page 4
Local Government Finance Settlement and Distribution COSLA Leaders, 25th October: The session on 25th October featured the following: Housing Emergency Update Local Government Finance National Care Service National Care Home Contract Verity House Agreement – Annual Review and Dispute Resolution Settlement and Distribution I am due to attend the November meeting on 29th November, and a Special Leader’s meeting has been called for 6th December, which will focus on the Scottish Government Budget. COSLA Housing Convenors Forum, 5th November: I attended my first meeting of the Forum on 5th November where the main focus was a strategic update on the national housing emergency, the Housing to 2040 Board and the Housing Bill. It is useful to hear about other local authorities’ challenges and experiences in relation to housing. It is important though to highlight the particular issues and challenges that rural areas face in relation to housing, to increase awareness and understanding of this and, crucially, to ensure that this features on the national housing agenda. Solutions for the challenges and opportunities that rurality brings must also be a priority. 3.4 Rest and Be Thankful: I had an opportunity to meet with senior officers from Transport Scotland on 31st October for a presentation and overview on the A83 Rest and Be Thankful. This was a useful session and I very much appreciated the opportunity to meet with the team and receive an update. Ongoing engagement through the A83 Taskforce continues and this issue will continue to be a key priority for the Council. 3.5 Meeting with Scottish and Southern Energy Networks (SSEN): on 5th November, I had an informal introductory meeting in Oban with John Alexander, Head of Local Authority Engagement with SSEN. It was particularly interesting to hear about SSEN’s strategic activity across Scotland and how they are looking to work with local authorities and communities as part of that.
Page 5
There will be merit in having further discussions especially in the context of our housing and economic growth priorities and I know that officers are already engaging with SSEN in this regard. 3.6 Housing – general update: I am meeting with senior officers regularly in relation to the housing emergency, alongside specific sessions like the Argyll and Bute Strategic Housing Forum and the COSLA forum mentioned earlier. On the November Council agenda are key updates in relation to our housing activity which provide more detail for colleagues. The Strategic Housing Investment Plan annual submission to the Scottish Government was made on 25th October. This sets out plans for the delivery of 1,170 affordable homes across Argyll and Bute. Alongside this are update reports on our Local Housing Strategy and the Housing Emergency Action plan, which sets out our whole system approach and partnership working to tackle the emergency. Work on bringing empty properties back into use as affordable homes continues and our partnership working with the HSCP is yielding some progress in particular. This work focuses on assessing housing need in areas where HSCP staff are also required or vacancies need to be filled. Some new tenancies/housing opportunities have recently been opened up for HSCP workers in island communities where there are particular pressures in terms of staffing. At the time of writing, interviews are being arranged for a new post which will engage directly with private landlords and other property owners as part of the drive to increase long-term let availability across the area. This is possible due to funding received from the Scottish Government’s Addressing Depopulation Fund and this work will augment existing Empty Homes team activity. 3.7 Strategic funds update: Officers are engaging with both the Scottish and UK Governments in relation to key strategic funding streams. The Chancellor announced in the UK Budget on 30th October that UK Shared Prosperity Funding would continue, albeit at a reduced level of £900m in total, for a further year. This approach is to allow local authorities to invest in local growth, in advance of wider strategic funding reforms. The Scottish Government’s Regeneration Capital Grand Fund (RCGF) is currently on hold. While we continue to support previous RCGF recipients from previous years (as reported to the Environment, Development and
Page 6
Infrastructure Committee in September), we have not been able to make any bids this year. Officers have responded to a government consultation to lobby for the continuation of these funds. 3.8 Senior Leadership Forum: It was a pleasure to join senior officers from across the local authority for the latest Senior Leadership Forum on 1st November. This offered an opportunity for me to give them a short update on our Priorities, agreed by Council in September, but (and most importantly) a chance for me to hear from officers directly. The feedback I get from officer colleagues at these sessions is very helpful indeed and I see these as opportunities to strengthen the already-positive relationships that we have as we all work together to deliver the best for Argyll and Bute. I mentioned earlier about the significant role in success that effective partnerships have already played, and I am committed to ensuring that this continues. 3.9 And finally…: The drive to secure the Rural Growth Deal over the last few weeks, since my previous report, has made for a very busy period with a fairly sharp and intense focus required. The chance to judge the Hallowe’en pumpkin competition for our refugee families was therefore very welcome light relief! It was no easy task, though – our Ukrainian and Afghan families put in a lot of time and creative effort into carving their pumpkins. Having been asked to choose two winners, I ended up with four – it was impossible to stick to just two! However, all the entries were incredible and ranged from the traditional scary face design right up to a very intricately carved owl face. You can see more designs on the Council’s Facebook page. Thanks go to our Refugee Resettlement team for supporting our families to take part and to enjoy the Hallowe’en fun.
Page 7
4. CONCLUSION 4.1 This report highlights the activities of the Leader of Argyll and Bute Council for the period 16th September to 8th November 2024. Councillor Jim Lynch Leader, Argyll and Bute Council 8th November 2024 For further information please contact Aileen McNicol, Leadership Support and Member Services Manager, telephone 01546 604014 or email aileen.mcnicol@argyll-bute.gov.uk