Policy Leads Report

Argyll and Bute Council · 23 November 2023
Back to Argyll and Bute Council — 23 November 2023 and its agenda

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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL  COUNCIL   
23rd November 2023 
POLICY LEADS REPORT 
1. INTRODUCTION 
1.1 This report provides members with an update on key areas of activity for
each Policy Lead Councillor. This aims to provide updates from all Policy
Leads as regularly as possible, so that all members are informed, up-to-
date and able to engage with current issues. 
1.2 The last Policy Leads report was considered by Council at its meeting on
28th September 2023. This latest report provides an update on activity
during the period to 10th November 2023. 
2. RECOMMENDATIONS 
2.1 Members are asked to consider the report. 
3. POLICY LEAD FOR FINANCE AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES –
Councillor Gary Mulvaney   
3.1  Introduction: This report provides members with an update on my
activities as Depute Leader and Policy Lead for Finance and
Commercial Services during the period for October and November
2023 
3.2 Financial Services:
Finance: The department continue to monitor the 2023-24 revenue
and capital budget positions, where there is currently a forecast
underspend of £0.080m in revenue and a forecast overspend of
£0.038m within capital. Work on next year’s budget continues and an
updated position was presented to the recent Budget Working Group
outlining a gap of £4.670m next year, rising to £23.343m in 2028-29.
Options are being considered how to bridge this gap. In addition, the
Council will have to consider financial provision for the new school

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campus on Mull, financial implications from recent storms, along with
discovery of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete within one of
the schools. Furthermore, the recent announcement by the Scottish
Government regarding a Council Tax freeze in 2024-25 and
uncertainty around what funding will be received in relation to this will
also need to be monitored closely.  
The external audit of the Council’s financial statements for 2022-23
continue with officers providing Mazars with all requested information.
Unfortunately, due to initial staffing issues within Mazars the audited
accounts will not be available for presentation to Council on 23rd
November as planned and a Special Council meeting has been
arranged for December. 
Local Tax Collections:  The Council Tax collection rate for the current
year on 31st October is 65.75% which is 0.25% down on the same
period in 2021/2022. This is not concerning because we will make up
this deficit. 
The Scottish Government are currently legislating to allow Scottish
local authorities to charge double Council Tax on second homes next
year. A paper will be presented to the Council suggesting that once
the powers become available in law, the Council will seek to
implement this change with effect from 1st April 2024. This is expected
to generate circa £4.9 million of additional Council Tax billed with
recoveries in-year of around £4.18 million. Non-Domestic Rates (NDR)
collections on 31st October are good at 76.43% - 2.82% up on the
previous year and looking very strong this year. 
Empty Property Relief: Consultation with stakeholders has been
completed and new Policy Options were shared with members at a
seminar on 6th November. The seminar went well, we got really
positive engagement from many members and the draft new policy will
be presented to the Council on 23rd November. 
The proposed policy reduces the cost of Empty Property Relief by
50% in year one and a further 12.5% in year two and creates
opportunities to provide empty property owners and entrepreneurs
with incentives to occupy and bring properties back into use supported
by a full-time Empty Business Property Officer. It is anticipated that, in
time, these changes will have a positive impact on our communities
and help create more vibrant town centres. 
Benefits Processing: As of 31st October 2023, processing speeds for
Housing Benefit have improved to 13.88 days in month. The
cumulative performance since the start of the year sits at 18.05 days,

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well below our 21-day target. The average time taken to process a
change in circumstances is 4.82 days which is still very good and
below the target of six days. 
Scottish Welfare Fund (SWF) and Discretionary Housing Payments
(DHPs): Total expenditure in SWF on 31st October 2023 is £369,903.
Our programme funding allocation for 2023/24 is £458,284 and we are
projecting an overspend of circa £200,000 on the fund this year. As at
31st October 2023 our spent and committed amount on the
Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) fund is £788,125.  Initial DHP
Tranche 1 funding allocation for 2023/24 in Argyll and Bute is
£869,638. We are unlikely to require any further funding from the
Scottish Government on DGHP in 2023/2024. 
Flexible Food Fund: This project continues to perform well; however
an application for funding from the Scottish Government’s Cash First
fund for £80,000, to expand the service and provide more outreach
support, failed to get any award. Efforts continue to expand the service
offering from existing resources despite this disappointment.   
3.3 Commercial Services: 
Excellence Award success:  Following on from my previous report,
where I advised that the service had been shortlisted for a number of
national awards, I am delighted to announce that we have won the
COSLA Excellence Award for the School Meals by Drones pilot
project.   
This project, which saw the Council team up with leading drone
specialists Skyports last year, was nominated in the ‘Service
Innovation and Improvement’ category.  Building on the pilot that
involved delivering freshly prepared meals from Oban Airport to
Lochnell Primary School, work will be carried out later this year to
undertake further trials to help establish the use of drones across more
remote/rural parts of the area.  Congratulations to all involved.

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Helensburgh Waterfront – Commercial: 
Retail – An update report was tabled at the Helensburgh and Lomond
Area Committee on 12th September, which advised on the outcome of
the public engagement exercise and provided a summary of the five
proposals that have been shortlisted for progression to the next stage
of the process.  Letters have been issued to those on the shortlist,
inviting full financial offers to be submitted by 6th December. Thereafter
the bids will be assessed using the scoring matrix agreed by the Area
Committee at their meeting on 12th September. 
Skatepark – An update report was tabled at the Helensburgh and
Lomond Area Committee on 12th September 2023. The reinstatement
of the temporary skatepark facilities is due to be complete by
autumn. In respect of the long term location for the skatepark, an
assessment of each of the potential sites is under way – including
Hermitage Park, East Bay Park, Kidston Park, and Iona Stables –
Colgrain.  A range of factors require to be assessed as part of this
process including ownership/title conditions, planning issues,
access/parking, flooding, environmental/noise concerns and the cost
of development.  A further update report will be prepared for the
Helensburgh and Lomond Area Committee in due course. 
Rothesay Pavilion: An update was provided to the Policy and
Resources Committee held on 12th October where it was reported
that:-
 the stage 1 works remain on budget and on target for
completion within the agreed timescales;
 As matters stand, a decision in relation to the funding of stages
2 and 3 will be required at the budget meeting in February
2024;
 Following the decision to integrate the project into the Rural
Growth Deal, the team have been working with consultants to
develop the Full Business Case, which will require to be
submitted and approved by the Scottish and UK Governments.
 Following the successful Parliamentary Event on 5th
September, work is ongoing by the Lobbying Group to close
the remaining capital funding gap through engagement with our
main funding partners, both Governments, and other potential
funders for the project. 
3.4  Depute Leader: I continue to have regular other meetings with the
Leader, Policy Leads and the Chief Executive in respect of council
business and priorities.

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4. POLICY LEAD FOR EDUCATION – Councillor Yvonne McNeilly 
4.1 Learning Estate Investment Programme: I am very happy to report
that the Council has been successful in its bid to the Scottish
Government Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP) for
funding for a new school campus on Mull. 
This is excellent news that we have all been hoping for. It is one of the
biggest investments in community infrastructure on the island in many
years and has potential to transform futures and economic
potential.  Mull is the highest priority in our Learning Estate Strategy
and now we can move forward with our plans to provide generations of
children and young people to come with a state-of-the-art facility that
will enable them to reach their full potential. I would like to thank the
local community for working in close partnership with us throughout
this process.   
It is important to stress, however, that the LEIP funding from the
Scottish Government will only part-fund the project to less than half of
the total value of approximately £35.5m total and the Council will have
to make a major financial contribution to the overall cost, but exciting
times lie ahead and I am delighted that by working together we can
create a better future for the young people involved. 
There is much work still to be done including a review of costs and
programme, a preferred site requires to be selected and secured and
further engagement with the communities and groups.   The Council
will be in touch with the stakeholders involved as soon as it has more
information about the next steps. 
4.2 Additional Support Needs (ASN) Provision: Following my update in
September, I am pleased to report that the Council have agreed to
invest more than £1.7 million to establish four more dedicated
Learning Centres in its schools so that children and young people with
more complex ASN can benefit from tailored high level support.   
Secondary Enhanced Wellbeing Hubs will also be developed within
four mainstream secondary schools to address the growing social and
emotional needs of a number of children and young people in a way
that keeps them in the heart of their own communities and schools. 
Agreement to these proposals ensures that access to Learning
Centres is more equitable across Argyll and Bute, with bespoke
facilities being offered, including:- accessible teaching spaces,
breakout quiet rooms, low stimulus, and high stimulus sensory rooms,
appropriate outdoor space, and changing facilities with the necessary

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equipment.  Learning Centres will also develop curriculum plans to
include a wide range of flexibility to support all learners to achieve their
potential. 
4.3 MCR Pathways: Argyll and Bute Council’s partnership with MCR
Pathways has had an excellent start. With all three Pathways Co-
ordinators well-established in their schools – Hermitage Academy,
Dunoon Grammar School and Oban High School – the work of
supporting our targeted young people has begun in earnest. 
Over 100 mentors from our communities have already registered, with
25 now ready to match with young people and the remainder going
through the training and PVG process. Thirty six young people and
their families have been approached regarding mentoring, with six
already matched to a mentor.  The matching process, and the
identification of further young people who will benefit from mentoring,
is continuing.   
Additionally, across the three schools, over 30 young people in S2
have been identified for the MCR Group Work Programme, which
prepares young people for the mentoring experience in S3 and
beyond.   
4.4 ‘Skills Development Scotland/Scottish Government Annual
Participation Measure 2022-2023: At the end of August 2023, Skills
Development Scotland (SDS) published the 2022-23 Annual
Participation Measure (APM) for Scotland, including information
relating to each local authority. The APM measures the number of 16-
19 year-olds in Scotland in Education, training or employment over the
period from 1st April 2022 to 31st March 2023. 
Participation in Argyll and Bute has risen from 93.9% in 2021-22 to
95.6% in 2022-23, which places Argyll and Bute eighth for participation
of all Scottish local authorities, and maintains our place in the top ten
for the eighth year in succession. 
The numbers of those not participating in Argyll and Bute has dropped
from 3.8% to 3.0%, and the number of unconfirmed young people has
also fallen, from 2.3% to 1.4%. 
The above data points to an increasing number of young people in
Argyll and Bute benefitting from education in our schools and at
college and university, and achieving and sustaining positive
destinations post-school.

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4.5 Education – UHI Argyll Partnership: On 19th September 2023, the
first annual face-to-face meeting of secondary school leaders and UHI
Argyll took place at Inveraray Conference Centre.  As a result of the
meeting, and the ever-developing partnership between schools and
UHI Argyll it represents, the scope and reach of the college’s offer to
young people in schools is increasing.  As well as the offer of Higher
National Certificates which can be studied wholly in the school setting,
a ‘hub’ for the offer of Advanced Highers by UHI Argyll is being taken
forward, as is the development of a range of skills and experience-
building activities offered by the college to senior pupils both in June
and throughout the year. Also planned are a range of workshops to
prepare young people for the college courses they have chosen, and
informative videos to form part of the options choice programme in
schools. 
These are just some examples of the way the proactive partnership
between Education and UHI Argyll is broadening and enriching the
Senior Phase Curriculum, offering increased variety and choice to
ensure positive, sustained pathways for young people which allow
them to achieve their full potential. 
4.6 ‘The Exchange School Counselling Service: There has been an
increased number of referrals to the school counselling service
between July to September 2023.   Referrals in secondary schools
have more than doubled this quarter in comparison to the previous
period, with the service now receiving referrals from 35 primary
schools across the authority, and continue to reach rural schools,
including on the Islands of Mull and Gigha.   
Evaluation data has shown that 79% of secondary referrals felt less
distressed at the end of counselling, and across primary referrals 81%
of pupils were reporting an improvement, with 89% of parents
reporting a similar picture.   
4.7 ‘Seasons for Growth: Seasons for Growth is a peer education
programme supporting children and young people who have
experienced change, loss or bereavement. Seasons for Growth
groups are delivered in schools by two specially trained ‘companions’. 
The Educational Psychology Service has been leading the
implementation and evaluation of Seasons for Growth since 2020. 
Last year, the highest number of Seasons groups were run in Argyll
and Bute with more than 60 children and young people participating. In
September, we were able to train a further 11 companions who are
based in education, social work and the third sector. Until recently
most of the Seasons groups have been offered in the Helensburgh

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and Lomond area but we were delighted to expand the offering of
Seasons in Oban, Rothesay and Mid Argyll and for the first time we
have trained companions in Mull. 
We have committed to developing a sustainable approach by training
a second Seasons for Growth trainer who is currently dedicating
approximately 100 hours towards accreditation. Local evidence mirrors
national data which demonstrate that children feel less isolated, are
more able to understand and talk about emotions and have developed
coping strategies to draw upon during adversity. 
4.8 Addressing Non Attendance (ANA): ANA is a significant strategic
development arising as a result of a recognised need nationally, as
well as locally.  The aim is to implement a consistent approach to
assessment, training and intervention for addressing non-attendance
across Argyll and Bute establishments. 
A revised guidance/framework for Monitoring and Maximising
Attendance for all establishments has been written by the Maximising
Attendance Strategy Group and this will be implemented this session.   
The ANA training package was piloted in two of our ten secondary
schools to pastoral staff and colleagues from health and social work in
2022-23. Pre and post training confidence questionnaires and
evaluation data demonstrated positive impact in terms of improved
staff knowledge and confidence in addressing non-attendance. 
Training has been delivered in a further two secondaries since August
2023 and is being evaluated.  Work has started to identify the next
cohort of schools with an aim to deliver training in January 2024.  The
team will continue to provide ongoing support with implementation
and, where required, signposting/delivering further training to schools.  
A training webinar for primary schools will be developed this session
with input from the Maximising Attendance Strategy Group. 
4.9 Planet Youth: The Planet Youth surveys have taken place across five
of our secondary schools.  The participating schools are Lochgilphead
Joint Campus, Dunoon Grammar School, Oban High School,
Rothesay Joint Campus and Tobermory High School.  Unfortunately
we have been unsuccessful in recruiting for a Lead Teacher for this
work.  We have been working with our colleagues in Public Health to
fund an additional band 5 post to support this work.  The post will be
funded by the Scottish Government Grant Funding. 
4.10 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC):
The UNCRC group has been successful in securing grant funding from
the CORRA Foundation Innovation Fund to take forward the promotion

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of UNCRC across Argyll and Bute Council.  The group has met and an
action plan has been populated.  A special thanks goes to Mandy
Sheridan, HSCP, who led on the work, to our young people from
Rights Respecting Schools who were involved in feeding into this
process, and to staff for organising at such short notice. Information
has been provided to the Communication and Engagement and
Strategy Group.   
Schools have been introducing the use of the Glasgow Wellbeing and
Motivation Profile Tool (GWMPT) to help measure wellbeing within
their settings.  To help support the inclusion of this profiling tool across
all our settings, we have translated this into Russian, Ukrainian, Arabic
and Dari.  Dunoon Grammar School have also translated the GWMPT
into Gaelic.  These were issued to schools in October. 
4.11 Cabinet Secretary Visit: The Cabinet Secretary for Education,
Jennifer Gilruth, visited Inveraray Primary School on 2nd October.  The
visit included a tour of the school led by pupils, including an
opportunity to see learning and teaching in relation to literacy,
numeracy, outdoor learning and STEM.  Ms Gilruth also met with the
Head Teacher, Sandra Clarke, as well as Jen Crocket, Wendy
Brownlie and Rosie Mackay.   
Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Shirley-Anne Somerville, also
met with MyTribe Champions from Lochgilphead Joint Campus.  The
pupils told the Cabinet Secretary about the period product initiative. 
They were supported by Head Teacher, Jay Helbert, Amy Bruce
(Project Lead for Period Products) and Christine Boyle (Business
Development Manager, Commercial Services). 
4.12 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths): Our new
Primary Science Development Officer (PSDO), Paul Malcolm, has
been working closely with primary schools to develop STEM. 
He attended Lochgoilhead Primary for a whole day and modelled
science enquiry approaches in the nursery, lower and upper school to
teaching staff while working with all pupils. After this staff attended a
CLPL (career Long Professional Learning) delving further into this
approach and how it could be embedded in wider Inter Disciplinary
Learning (IDL) context planning. 
As a result of this Lochgoilhead will be piloting one of a series of
STEM IDL context planners being designed, focussing on themes
which connect to relevant contexts in Scotland. This will allow pupils to
explore scientific enquiry and apply it through an engineering
challenge which will be the culmination of the terms work. The context

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also links to Learning for Sustainability themes such as outdoor
learning, careers education and the Global Development Goals as well
as providing rich links to the broader curriculum, especially literacy and
numeracy. 
The school has signed up for the Young STEM Leader Programme to
develop pupil leadership within the school and opportunities for pupil
led learning in STEM. The school has also decided to structure their
development of a whole school approach to STEM by undertaking the
STEM Nation Award. 
Staff feedback was very positive: 
“Very informative and practical. I am more confident with
moving forward with STEM planning and the skills involved.” 
“The topic planning across the school will be good for seeing
progression and will help with transition information from ELC to
P1”. 
The PSDO and the Digital Hub also ran a whole school STEM day at
Castlehill Primary. This incorporated pupil leadership of workshops
and learning experiences. The PSDO attended Castlehill Primary on
the day before the event and worked with Primary 7 pupils to develop
science enquiry workshops based on the theme of STEM in motion. 
On the STEM day the Digital Hub delivered workshops using
Spheroes, exploring coding and also stop frame animation which were
well received by pupils from across the school. Primary 7 delivered all
of their workshops, to every other class across the school. There was
a very clear impact both in the engagement of all pupils but also in
how well Primary 7 pupils demonstrated confidence, knowledge and
also an understanding of differentiation considering their use of
language and approach to the different stages across the school. 
The day was a great success with very positive feedback: 
“The two days were excellent. The children learned so much
both on an educational front and on a confidence building
exercise. It was lovely watching children, who at the start
wouldn't speak to them explaining to others and then finally
using eye contact, explaining and questioning those that were
at their station. A very worthwhile two days.” 
As a result of their development work with the PSDO, the lead teacher
has signed up to undertake Young STEM Leader training to embed

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pupil leadership of STEM learning across the school as a sustainable
practice. 
4.13 Early Years and Childcare (ELC): 
Tiree Primary ELC: The sun was most definitely shining over Tiree
Primary ELC, during their recent visit from the Care Inspectorate,
securing evaluations as follows- 
 How good is our care, play and learning? 5 - Very Good 
 How good is our setting? 5 - Very Good 
 How good is our leadership? 5 - Very Good 
 How good is our staff team? 5 - Very Good  
Meadows Under Fives: Meadows Under 5’s in Campbeltown have
received a Scottish Enterprise Award 2023, ‘Childcare and Education
Centre of the Year, 2023’ - Western Scotland. They were nominated
for this by colleagues within Care Inspectorate.  Well done! 
Learning outdoors in Oban, Lorn and Isles: We are delighted to report
completion of works to strengthen the settings’ immediate environment
for learning outdoors, within both Lochnell Primary ELC and Park
Primary ELC. 
‘Play on Pedals’: In an unprecedented step, ‘Play on Pedals’ have
awarded Argyll and Bute the full grant to extend our programme of
implementation into the Oban area, in recognition of the strength of the
work across Mid Argyll, Kintyre and Islands. 
This success has been realised as a consequence of wholehearted
effort by Pamela Wilson, Early Years and Family Support Worker
(EYFSW) who applied for additional funding.  She will now influence at
a distance as she supports colleague, Aileen Cameron, to build
success within Oban area.

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The aim of ‘Play on Pedals’ is to give every pre-school child the
opportunity to learn to ride a bike before starting school. 
Investing in Community: Aileen Cameron, Early Years and Family
Support Worker, was invited along to one of the community groups in
Oban that she has been supporting for an ELC information sharing
session. The session was well attended and provides the opportunity
to inform parents of what they are entitled to and how to prepare for
upcoming events such as January registration week. The invitation
has been further extended to a forthcoming date in January 2024. 
5. POLICY LEAD FOR ROADS AND TRANSPORT - Councillor Andrew Kain 
5.1  Introduction: This month my focus will be on the recent flood events
and their impact on Argyll and Bute and what needs to happen to
promote and encourage a resilient and growing economy. 
The strategic importance of the road network, into and across Argyll
and Bute, was brought into stark focus during the floods of October.
For a period, much of Argyll and Bute was separated from the rest of
Scotland with no routes in. 
The economic impact was considerable, affecting every business from
local to strategic, including the Whisky industry. Indeed Argyll and
Bute reverted to the isolation of the era pre construction of military
roads and central control. The floods also shone a light on the needs
of governments, both Holyrood and Westminster, regarding current
and future investment needs for infrastructure to support our
communities and economy. 
Whatever the political complexions of the governments of Scotland
they must focus on the strategic necessity of developing the resource
rich potential of the Blue economy that exists in Argyll, off the coast
and around the islands. The potential, here in Argyll and Bute,
competes with many international locations but the luxury of time is not
with us, while limitations of access compromise competitiveness in
attracting investment. 
Businesses require to make a return on their investment a large part of
which will be the certainty of getting their goods to market. An effective
road network will help deliver, in attracting business and it will likely
help reduce insurance premiums. Not addressing these strategic
issues will leave us bumbling on while investment will find more
attractive locations. There is no time for debate or consultation the
situation demands action to capitalise on the potential that exists now.

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Roads are National and Council strategic assets used by the vast
majority of residents in Argyll and Bute for everyday living and all
manners of business; and are essential for economic success. While
there will always be aspects which should and can be improved, the
network in Argyll and Bute has been slowly improving over the last few
years. Previous prudent investment resulted in a much improved
network. However, recent events have reversed some of the good
work and put repair beyond the resource capability of the council. 
These events also shone a light on the vulnerabilities associated with
strategic access to the region and as National strategic assets
governments have a responsibility to step-up; indeed there is a
commercial imperative in order to maximise the economic potential
that exists.     
5.2 Road Conditions: More than 86% of Argyll and Bute’s roads were,
prior to recent floods, in a good or fair condition according to the most
recent survey of the area’s network.  Despite normal maintenance
work in some areas badly affected by the pandemic, more than 50% of
the region’s roads network, which covers more than 2,300 kilometres,
was within the ‘green’ or ‘good condition’ band. This is a positive
outcome based on the Council’s investment over recent years. 
However, without the damage from recent floods it would still have
required in excess of £100m (in 2021 figures) to get us to 100%. As
everyone, will appreciate this would not be possible within ever
constrained budgets even prior to the floods.
The importance of an effective road network is obvious to all. Road
networks are a significant economic enabler for all areas. Available
and safe roads, both local and trunk routes, are particularly important
for the economic prosperity of rural mainland and island communities
of Argyll and Bute.  
As ever there is much good work underway in my policy area.
However, given the enormity of the impact of the October rain event I
have decided to focus this report on that event. 
On Saturday 7th October there was an unprecedented weather event
where around a month’s worth of rain fell in a 36 hour period in a
number of areas across Argyll and Bute. This rain fell onto already
very wet, and in places saturated ground. 
This rain event resulted in localised flooding, land slips, damage to
bridges and roads across much of Argyll from Helensburgh in the East
to Oban and Mull in the West.

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Police Scotland declared a major event and issued ‘do not travel’
advice for our council area on the Saturday. 
The situation was so extreme that for a short period all road routes into
and out of Oban and Lorn,   Mid Argyll and Kintyre, Bute and Cowal
were closed together with severe disruption across the Clyde. Thanks
to a multi-agency response and great community effort the majority of
routes were very quickly reopened and work continues at pace at a
few locations across our area. 
Both the Trunk and Local road networks were affected with thousands
of tonnes of ‘debris flow’ material being washed onto many of Argyll’s
roads, often in places where similar events had never been recorded.
Whilst the flood water receded over several hours there was significant
damage left to infrastructure across our area 
Whilst the cost of the above is still being calculated as some works
continue the overall cost is expected to run into several millions. In the
current climate of constrained budgets these are amounts this council
will find, with reducing budgets and increasing demands, impossible to
find. There needs to be recognition and proportionate funding made
available from Governments to ensure that key infrastructure repairs
are fully funded. 
Indeed I would argue the importance of the access network to Argyll
and Bute is of strategic economic importance to the economies of both
Holyrood and Westminster now and most importantly for realising
future economic development potential. 
The Positive: There has been a fantastic multiagency response, along
with huge support from many communities both during the event and
in the subsequent recovery phase.  The great communications and
twice daily service disruption briefings together with the amount of
progress made is truly fantastic given the scale and magnitude of the
problem. 
The service along with the support from communities must be
commended and I personally thank all for their contributions and
commitment. 
This rain event should be a wakeup call in terms of the likely future
impact resulting in a growing trend for extreme weather events linked
to climate change. 
A safe and reliable transport network provides the most significant
economic enabler there is. Without reliable and resilient transport

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networks the economy will be severally compromised. Numerous
historic weather events and particularly this most recent flooding
shows just how fragile and vulnerable our transport network can be
across all of the UK. Whilst we see improvements to the Road
Condition Index through forward thinking and investments made by
Council the recent weather event shows that it is not just the road
surface which needs investment but also our bridges, structures, flood
prevention, costal protection, drainage systems all need significant
investment in order to make these key infrastructure networks climate
resilient. 
Going forward there needs to be major investment to our
infrastructure. Without this Argyll and Bute will not be able to meet the
increasing attrition brought about by more severe weather and
vehicles many, many, times larger than most of our infrastructure was
ever built (or even evolved) to carry. 
5.3 Greater involvement - Roads Reconstruction: The Environment,
Development and Infrastructure committee on 1st June endorsed
proposals for additional member and Area Committee engagement for
the development of the annual roads capital programme. This will
create better focus on priorities and potentially have a positive impact
on time and resources. The intention is to engender a more effective
collaboration between members and the Service with the objective of
enabling us to be focussed on priorities and do more for less and in
timely manner. I remind again on the considerable shortfall that does
exist across Argyll and Bute to get all roads to A1 condition; and stress
this greater engagement must not be seen, or driven, to be an area
competition. The final say will always be based on facts such as;
safety, economic benefit and in the end engineering / resource
realities; and for the benefit of all Argyll and Bute as a whole. While the
recent flooding has put this back we will still move forward; although
as a result of events the commercial challenges are now even greater.
Indeed recent events have stressed the budgetary challenges and the
absolute need for an Argyll and Bute strategic focus.
5.4 New vehicles procured from additional funds following Budget
Meeting: I am pleased to note that a low mileage, ex-demonstrator
jetpatcher has been secured and will be delivered in the coming
weeks. Additional operator training has been taking place to increase
the number of users that our Operations Team will have. Having seen
the jetpatcher in use I can attest to its effectiveness. This technique
helps to provide proportionate repairs not only filling any defects but
also sealing hairline cracks and other voids which, if not treated, would
lead to further deterioration of our road network.

Page 16

Our teams are also in the process of procuring a road marking
machine. Unfortunately they have not been able to find a suitable
vehicle already built so this will take longer for the vehicle to be
delivered due to its specialist nature and build time. However, when
achieved this vehicle will add value to operations and possibly
provided a revenue earner. 
5.5 Route Optimisation: As reported to the June Environment,
Development and Infrastructure Committee, the Council now has a
supplier in place to provide route optimisation software. Whilst the first
project to be rolled out is to be around waste collection which sits
within the portfolio of the Policy Lead for Climate Change and
Environment, there will be a number of opportunities which will be
explored across the Roads and Transport portfolio where there are
many cyclic activities that have the potential to benefit from this type of
system. Having had a short demo of the system I can attest to its
potential and look forward to further demonstrations and operational
deployment. 
5.6 Oban Municipal Harbour Authority: The Council’s plans for
establishing a Municipal Harbour Authority in Oban are continuing to
move forward albeit, (outside our control) slower than we would like. 
The council is already the Harbour Authority for Oban North Pier, and
while CMAL/CalMac and Northern Lighthouse all have responsibility
for separate areas within the bay, the approaches into and out of the
bay are currently unregulated.
The Council and stakeholder communities want to establish a Harbour
Authority to enforce positive safety measures and, on 22nd December
last year, the Council submitted a draft Harbour Revision Order (HRO)
to Transport Scotland. Since then, positive discussions have taken
place between the council and Transport Scotland, and the Scottish
Government’s legal team will now review the draft HRO. We are now
awaiting approval of the draft HRO from the Scottish Government. 
Once this has been done, the HRO will need to be approved by the
Argyll and Bute Harbour Board before we then begin the statutory 42
day public consultation. Oban Bay is very busy with marine traffic,
particularly during the summer months, so it is vital that we establish a
Municipal Harbour Authority for this area so that people have safe and
regulated access within the bay. It is likely that a special Harbour
board will be convened in December.
While there are differences of opinion as to some of the operational
detail there is expressed, and I believe, unanimous support among
Stakeholder Groups for addressing greater safety and future

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development of Oban Harbour through the establishment of a
Municipal Harbour Authority. 
5.7 Marine Issues:
Port Marine Safety Code: the Council remains on course to achieve
this national good practice standard for its ports and harbours –
something that very few others in the UK have secured. The Port
Marine Safety Code (PMSC) sets out a national safety standard
covering different aspects of running ports and harbours,
and represents ‘good practice’ as recognised by a wide range of
industry stakeholders. 
Kilcreggan Upgrade: we visited Kilcreggan Community Council in
June, to brief and engage more fully with residents and local members
on the ferry replacement / infrastructure proposal as there had clearly
been some confusion as to intentions and indeed the Council’s role.
As has been the case throughout the objective is, and will remain, to
improve the reliability and resilience of the ferry service between the
village, the wider community and Gourock. This is within the
constraints under which we must operate.
After a frank and constructive discussion I believe we have an
opportunity to more fully engage with the community and that when
confirmation of ferries is achieved. The community have done
considerable work in outlining an holistic vision on how to improve the
attraction, facilities and economic future of Kilcreggan. Part of this
vision is reliable ferry services that will better enable developments in
tourism and improved access for locals. 
Transport Scotland is (hopefully) close to confirming the designs for
new passenger ferries coming into operation on the Gourock, Dunoon
and Kilcreggan routes. 
I am confident, once it is clear on vessel design that, working with the
community the service can deliver a solution that is sympathetic to
Community vision with our objectives aligned. A solution that will
enable berthing in more difficult conditions provide greater resilience,
contribute to economic benefit and enhance local communications. 
5.8 The Island of Luing: For some considerable time there have been
issues raised by the community in relation to school transportation.
These were raised and led by Councillor Mackenzie along with other
ward Councillors. Behind the Scenes Both Roads and Education
Service officers have been working towards addressing community
concerns. This was with the backdrop of an already legal and

Page 18

compliant service; and limited resources. It was also a desire to look to
a solution that would help address more strategic Island and
community issues. In June Officers and members met with the
community on Luing and the basis of what could be an elegant
solution for school transport and greater community flexibility was
agreed in principle. The community sent their proposals, as
suggested, to the Head of Roads and Transport who coordinated with
Education Service as to how to achieve delivery. Despite some initial
confusion I believe we are working towards effectively addressing
issues within the constraints of budgets. We will continue discussions
on supporting sustainable economic development on Luing.
5.9 Rest and Be Thankful: While the announcement by Scottish
Government earlier this year for permanent works to be progressed at
the Rest and Be Thankful A83 are very welcome, it is now evident that
more will need to be done. As part of the October rain event several
apparently ‘new’ land slips occurred. In addition to material flowing into
the catch pits and bunds already constructed at the R&BT and along
the A83 it is understood that several thousand tonnes of material
blocked parts of the A83 between the R&BT and Cairndow with these
sections of road remaining closed along with the northern section of
the A815 (council road) whilst a co-ordinated clean up took place. It is
clear that significant additional mitigation works over and above those
proposed at the R&BT are very much necessary to enable reliable and
safe life line routed into and out of Argyll and Bute can be maintained. 
I would ask that all councillors who have previously lobbied on the
Rest and be Thankful continue to support this.
5.10 Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2): STPR2 is highly
significant for the future of transport investment in Scotland for the
next 20 years and the recommendations for our communities are
particularly disappointing in light of the initial assurances we were
given and how engaged the Council was throughout the entire
process.
My view is that some of the outcomes if progressed, as suggested, will
have unintended, negative and potentially damaging consequences. 
We will be seeking further discussions with both Transport Scotland
and the Transport Minister of Scottish Government, as soon as
possible, to both express our major concerns about the review and to
seek further clarification on issues of a strategic nature impacting
Argyll and Bute.

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Indeed recent events demand a more realistic approach towards the
strategic links to access Argyll and Bute and its island communities.
5.11 Flood Prevention: It is great to see the Campbeltown Flood
Prevention Scheme nearing completion. This £15M investment,
funded 80% by Scottish Government, as part of the first cycle of the
national flood prevention programme will help to significantly build
resilience against flooding in Campbeltown. This is an impressive
project with a professional construction company. We have other
areas of potential flooding needing attention and resource
commitment. 
5.12 Future: The challenges facing Argyll and Bute for the future have
grown significantly since the 7th October. Indeed events have
highlighted the isolation of Argyll and Bute and the historic economic
ineptitude of governments. Communications routes first constructed to
give central government ‘military’ access to the peoples of the
highlands and islands in the 18th century, for the purpose of control
have seen little development since. Whether by policy design, neglect
or just old fashioned incompetence, the resulting failure to develop
communications links continues applying unwarranted pressure on
inhabitants while hugely limiting the economic contribution of Argyll
and Bute to the economies of Scotland and the UK. 
We haven’t got ten years to repair strategic infrastructure; the world
will not wait ‘sympathetically’ until we get our acts together. We need
to address our failings head on and look abroad as to how others build
and develop; the engineering skills developed in Scotland and adopted
by many overseas are no longer easily available here. There must be
an acknowledgement that many well-intentioned projects have more to
do with vanity and idealism than with economic development. If we do
not collectively wake up and smell the coffee we can forget
contributing to net zero as we will condemn ourselves to achieving
only ‘economic zero’. 
Addressing these issues is beyond politics, it’s about economic
development and future prosperity; we can’t wish away decline
because it is somehow unfair nor can we isolate ourselves from the
realities of the global economic system.

Page 20

6. POLICY LEAD FOR CARE SERVICES – Councillor Amanda
Hampsey
6.1 Severe weather incident: An Amber weather warning was received
across parts of Scotland on Friday 6th October which had a significant
impact across our communities and with potential to impact on access
to health and social care. 
Working with public sector and volunteer partners as part of the Local
Resilience Partnership, led by Police Scotland and with communities
the Integration Joint Board through the HSCP delivered the Caring for
People response. Thanks are offered to the multi-agency staff,
volunteers and community members who participated to keep
communities safe over the weekend while dealing with significant
impacts to service delivery. 
The HSCP is now participating in the council-led recovery process and
looking forward to developing the response in future through the
lessons learned.   
6.2 The National Transfer Scheme for Unaccompanied Asylum
Seeking Children: The National Transfer Scheme for
Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children is a legally mandated
scheme designed by the UK Home Office. Argyll and Bute as a Local
Authority are required to take 0.1% of our children’s
population.  Locally this equates to 14 young people under the age of
18 years old. When a young person within this scheme reaches 18
years old they no longer count as part of our quota of 14 young
people, although we continue to have responsibilities towards them
through Scottish child care law. Home Office financial support drops
significantly once a young person reaches 18 years old. 
The combined work of Council staff, HSCP services and our housing
providers has allowed us to meet this need for the moment - however
reflecting the experience of other local authority areas such as
Glasgow, current resources are not adequate to sustain the level of
demand being experienced at the moment. 
Officers are aware of these risks and are working to ensure we have in
place organisational structures to co-ordinate our response. A further
briefing will be provided for subsequent meetings.

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6.3 National Recruitment of Social Workers: Research has been
published which indicates a national shortage of social workers
throughout Scotland. The SSSC published their findings on 31st
October 2023.
New report shows most Scottish local authorities find it difficult to
recruit social workers (sssc.uk.com)
(note the Argyll and Bute figures have not been included in this report,
however this is due to issues within the Scottish Social Services
Council. This will be rectified and the report republished.) 
The report considers pay, conditions and remote working which
combine with a complexity of other factors leading to this situation. At
a local authority level certain areas and particular specialisms are
under particular pressure. It is harder to recruit into our remote and
island areas. Equally disparity in salary creates a competitive market
causing frequent movement and can cause a strain in retention in our
further east areas. 
Work is being undertaken by Scottish Government and with other
parties such as COSLA and Social Work Scotland on the potential
formation of a National Social Work Agency. Indications are that the
NSWA will be included within the National Care Service Bill. Once this
work begins to crystalise into a firm proposal elected members will be
given a fuller briefing.

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6.4 Vaccinations and community treatment services:
The Autumn/Winter campaign is
under way after a successful 're-
phasing' ask from Scottish
Government (SG), with 41%
delivery rate which is ahead of
trajectory at this point in the
campaign. All care homes have
been completed. 
Successful transfer of all adult
immunisations across mainland
practices has been achieved.
We have been working with the
NHSH web team to 'map' all
active clinic locations, so it is
much clearer that we have
appointments close to everyone.
Community and Treatment care
services are now delivering
approximately 75% of required
capacity. We are working with the
Scottish Government to bid for
funding to extend this.Premises
remains a risk across Argyll and
Bute due to increased demand
on GP surgery and hospital
clinical space.
6.5 Dental: Recruitment and redesign have secured further provision of
the Campbeltown outreach (i.e. student teaching) centre. This is a big
success.
There are continued pressures on dental access owing to changes in
the general dental sector. A new contractual framework has been
announced, with a national publicity campaign to follow. 
We are continuing to monitor pressures on the Public Dental Service
in Dunoon given the increase in unregistered emergencies.
A new contractual structure has been agreed with dentists, which also
impacts upon the charges which patients may be asked to pay as part
of their treatment.

Page 23

The clearest information on this is on the NHS inform website, link
below- https://nhsinform.scot/dentist. There is information here on
registering with a dentist, understanding your dental treatment, dental
treatment costs and complaints process. 
6.6 General Medical Practice: All practices are at Level 1 of the
escalation framework, operating normally. Two practices have closed
lists. Four practices are operating under 2C arrangements (directly
managed). Improvement works are ongoing in all four. There are some
regular contingencies in all four practices owing to the supply of GP
locums. 
6.7 Sexual Health: A risk around sexual health service provision has now
been realised, in that there is no specialist sexual health service in
Helensburgh. A paper has been escalated through the Senior
Leadership Team and clinical governance, with a board-board
conversation requested between NHS Highland and NHS Greater
Glasgow and Clyde to recover this situation. Local discussions are
underway around risk mitigation. 
6.8 Locality Planning: The IJB Locality Planning Groups (LPGs) have
proposed local 12-month plans to the Strategic Planning Group. This
is based on locally volunteered priorities and actions which are in line
with the main strategic plan. These were supported pending
completion to allow for the key actions to progress. 
Preparation for the next Strategic Plan will commence in January 2024
with the intention that the LPGs will participate in the three-year
planning cycle which will aim to support longer term goals which will
continue to develop the coproduction approach. 
Meetings of the Integration Joint Board can be found at the following
link. 
Argyll and Bute HSCP Integration Joint Board (IJB) - Argyll and Bute
Council (argyll-bute.gov.uk) 
6.9 Winter Planning: Winter Planning is traditionally undertaken to reflect
changes in demand between the months of October and March. A
systems impact approach is undertaken in Argyll and Bute and we
work with partners to ensure that we have a broad spectrum of service
and response resilience. 
The Scottish Government this year provided a winter checklist and
sought a response from each area on levels of preparedness.

Page 24

Structures are in place via planning and performance to ensure that
HSCP collaborates with all partner organisations, including in Greater
Glasgow and Clyde. 
Care at Home and Care Home Assurance functions are in place on a
multi-disciplinary team basis with clear escalations and management
of risk. 
Daily Huddle meetings will take place at system level and can be
adjusted in line with demand. Any escalations relating to
workforce/capacity are logged, directed, and managed via that
process. Once a week, System Pressures Oversight Group (and by
way of this, direct access to SLT) is in place. Heads of Service and
Professional Leaders from across the HSCP are attendees. These will
link very closely with acute/hospital based ward rounds/virtual wards to
ensure flow is maximised and maintained, with appropriate escalation
management where required. 
In terms of communication, Argyll and Bute Health and Social Care
Partnership (HSCP) Winter Planning communications include working
closely with partners, stakeholders, third-sector organisations, and
staff members to ensure all our networks will be well-informed and
engaged. A range of proactive communications activities is utilised to
ensure our networks and communities across Argyll and Bute are well
informed. These include social media platforms, media outlets,
stakeholder briefings to elected members and key partners; and
regular public health messages and public information communicated
through appropriate external and internal communication channels and
systems. 
Business Continuity Plans are in place across areas and services. A
piece of work is underway to ensure that these are updated, visible
and practicable. This work is due to be finalised by the HSCP in the
coming weeks. Links with the Local Resilience Partnership is clear.
6.10 Mental Health and Psychological Therapies development:
Reflective of the national shortage of Registered Mental Health
Nurses, recruitment remains a challenge - however some headway
has been made by the recruitment of three new nursing staff for the
inpatient service. A new induction handbook has been developed by
the Associate Lead Nurse for Mental Health to support our new
employees. The ward continues to facilitate student nurse placements
and recruitment is ongoing.  We are currently working with North
Highland on international recruitment and four international recruits
have been identified to come to work in Succoth Ward on their arrival
in the UK.

Page 25

Core mental health standards for secondary care were launched in
September 2023 and these will underpin both our inpatient and
community services moving forward. 
We have now appointed a new Consultant Clinical Psychologist and
Lead for Psychological Therapies. This person will take up post early
in 2024 and will lead on scoping and developing a sustainable model
to deliver the standards set out within the revised national matrix
across Argyll and Bute.
6.11 Adult Support and Protection (ASP): The Scottish Government
published an updated code of practice in July 2022.  In response to
this, the West of Scotland ASP procedures have been updated and
Argyll and Bute’s Professional Lead for ASP is currently in the process
of updating our local procedures to reflect both these documents.
The Care Inspectorate has indicated that they intend to facilitate some
“light touch” ASP inspections early in 2024 and we are in the process
of reviewing our ASP action plan in preparation for this.
6.12 Learning Disability and Neurodiversity: The first iteration of Argyll
and Bute’s Dynamic Support Register was submitted to Scottish
Government on 11th October 2023. This is in line with the
recommendations from the Coming Home Implementation Report.
In February 2021, the Scottish Government allocated a £20 million
Community Living Change Fund to Integration Authorities via NHS
Boards to:
 Reduce the delayed discharges of people with complex needs.
 Repatriate those people inappropriately placed outside of
Scotland.
 Redesign the way services are provided for people with
complex needs. 
To effectively deliver this we will be working with third sector
colleagues to commission services and delivering staff training to
increase capacity. 
There is an emerging trend nationally within Boards and Authorities to
develop a Neurodevelopmental Pathway which is a specialist service
responsible for the assessment of neurodevelopmental conditions such
as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder (ADHD) in adults.

Page 26

A Programme Manager has been in post now since August 2023. He
has made significant headway in terms of scoping, meeting with key
stakeholders and the development of a project plan. 
7. POLICY LEAD FOR PLANNING AND REGULATORY SERVICES –
Councillor Kieron Green 
7.1  Introduction: Since my September report I have chaired PPSL
meetings and civic government hearings on the 20th September and
18th October, and a Local Review Body on 30th October. Additionally I
have attended COSLA Culture Convenors Meeting on 21st September,
COSLA Justice Convenors Meeting on 8th October, and an information
session on Firework Control Zones organised by COSLA on the 26th
September. I was present for the COSLA Community Wellbeing Board
on 20th October where agenda items included; Near Me video
conferencing to support social justice work in prisons, Illegal Money
Lending, and an integration strategy for refugees arriving in Scotland. 
7.2 Development Management: With the Validation Team now meeting
the target of five days, work has commenced on scoping the ability to
utilise capacity within this team to provide support for officers
determining applications. Difficulties are continuing in recruitment, and
there remain vacant positions, with major applications particularly
affected. Agency cover is being utilised where possible, although this
is often not continuous. 
Through ongoing efforts to improve processing FQ2 saw
determinations match the volume of submitted applications, however
there remains a substantial backlog which will require additional
resources to reduce significantly. 
A consultation is underway around pre-application advice seeking
feedback from customers around content, format and cost. 
An audit on efficiency of processes and improving customer
communication is being conducted which will be reported to Audit and
Scrutiny in December 2023. 
7.3 Development Policy: Following approval by council of the revised
Local Development Plan 2 (LDP2) and submission to Scottish
Ministers, this is due to be adopted on 20th November. Technical
guidance is being produced to support the plan, with the first of these
on sustainability, sustainable buildings, and simplified landscape and
visual impact assessments having already been approved by
committee.

Page 27

7.4 Building Standards: Building warrant income remains on target for
23/24 although commercial work for other authorities has been
decreasing. Performance targets for July to September were all met,
with 99.23% of requests for building warrants responded to within 20
days and 97.32% issued within six days, and completion certificates
being issued on average in two days. Therefore 100% of users are
either satisfied or very satisfied. 
The White Hart Hotel in Campbeltown has also been subject to a
Dangerous Buildings Notice with good progress being made by the
owners to carry out repairs to the property. 
7.5 Regulatory Services: The Food Control Law Enforcement Plan was
approved by committee on 18th October 2023. Whilst there is
insufficient resources to deliver the Food Law Code of Practice, the
plan effectively deploys our available resource targeted at high-risk
priorities including the approved (export) sector. 
With a UK outbreak of Listeriosis, work is underway to assess issues
and risks in fish smokeries within Argyll and Bute. 
The migratory bird season leads to increased risk of avian influenza,
and there have been outbreaks in the north of Scotland. Updates have
been given to poultry keepers to ensure enhanced biosecurity
measures to protect their flocks, and there remain no reported cases
or outbreaks in commercial or domestic poultry flocks in Argyll and
Bute. 
Environmental Health issued communications following a diesel spill
from a private vessel at Rosneath Bay, which was contained using
booms by the Royal Navy and subsequently dispersed naturally. 
The annual Local Air Quality report has again confirmed that this is
good in Argyll and Bute. 
7.6 Short-Term Lets: A total of 3,201 applications for Short Term lets
licences were received by the deadline of 1st October compared to a
forecast of 3,500. Over 200 have been issued so far, with processing
of these continuing. Applications for new premises, where a license is
required prior to trading, are being prioritised, and staffing levels are
under review with the aim of increasing throughput. 
As previously reported, the decision on whether to introduce control
areas for short term lets within the Argyll and Bute Planning Authority
Area will be evidence-based. With this data beginning to be available,
and recognising the declaration of a housing emergency for Argyll and

Page 28

Bute made earlier this year, work is now progressing on this matter.
Further information will be brought before members in due course on
this prior to any decision being taken. 
8. POLICY LEAD FOR CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENVIRONMENT
SERVICES - Councillor Ross Moreland 
8.1 Tackling Climate Change: Argyll and Bute Council has installed solar
panels at a number of its sites and offices as part of its ongoing
commitment to tackle climate change and become a net zero
organisation, saving £150,000 in electricity costs each year. 
Funded by the Scottish Government’s ‘Non-Domestic Energy
Efficiency Framework (NDEEF), the council has installed roof-mounted
solar panels at Graham Williamson IT Centre in Helensburgh; the
Blackhill Roads Depot in Helensburgh; Rothesay Swimming Pool;
Kintyre House in Campbeltown; and Lochgilphead Learning Resource
Centre. 
Plans are also underway for roof-mounted solar panels at Cardross
Primary School. However, the largest of the projects to date has been
the installation of 100 freestanding solar panels at the council
headquarters in Lochgilphead. These panels produce 45,000kWh of
electricity per year, saving the council £9,800 alone in electricity costs
per year at the current electricity rate. 
In addition to those funded through NDEEF, the Council has also
installed solar roof panels at Rothesay Joint Campus; Hermitage
Academy; Tobermory High School; Islay High School; Hermitage

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Primary; Parklands School; Tarbert Academy; Dunoon Grammar
School; Inveraray Primary School; Lochgilphead Joint Campus;
Taynuilt Primary; Park Primary; and Oban Joint Campus.
The Council is committed to doing everything it can to reduce carbon
emissions in Argyll and Bute.  Installing solar panels at our premises is
not only helping to reduce our carbon footprint, but it is also helping us
to achieve energy savings and cut electricity costs.
As a Council, we are taking action to create a climate-friendly Argyll
and Bute, to develop sustainable ways of working and living, and to
become a net zero carbon emissions organisation by 2045.  
8.2 Reducing emissions and driving forward change: The Council’s
Climate Change Board provided an update to the Policy and
Resources Committee on some of the recent activity aimed at
ensuring Argyll and Bute meets its Net Zero targets.
A variety of projects and initiatives are under way, all of which are
aiding the drive to reduce emissions. These include:- 
 281 homes have been insulated across Argyll and Bute as part of
the Scottish Government’s Energy Efficient Scotland Scheme,
contributing to a reduction in harmful carbon emissions and
reducing fuel costs for householders.
 A joint project between the council and Argyll Community Housing
Association (ACHA) has delivered a programme of insulation works
on properties in Tarbert, Bute, and Cowal, using Scottish
Government funded grants of £722,000.
 A new 50kW Solar PV ground array system at the council’s
headquarters at Kilmory Castle is now online and generating
energy.
 Argyll and the Isles Coast and Countryside Trust (ACT) is hosting a
Climate Change Manager on behalf of the Community Planning
Partnership.  Andy Macpherson started in post on 30th October,
and will be responsible for leading the delivery of a new regional
Argyll and Bute Climate Action Plan.
 ACT is also working with partners to submit a proposal to the
Scottish Government to host a new Argyll Climate Action Hub.
 The Council’s ‘Green Summer’ campaign promoted a range of
initiatives including a school uniform recycling scheme, plastic-free
picnics, International Plastic Free Bag Day, shop local, reduce fast
fashion, active travel maps, National Marine Week and World
Conservation Day.

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As part of the Council’s overall climate change strategy, its
Decarbonisation Plan sets a three-year framework for the area’s
climate journey and route map to Net Zero. The plan highlights the
council’s clear commitment to be a Net Zero organisation by 2045 –
full details are available on the council website.
You can read the full report presented, here:  
CLIMATE CHANGE DECARBONISATION.pdf (argyll-bute.gov.uk) 
8.3 Waste Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs): In my last Policy Lead
Report, I made mention of Persistent Organic Pollutants, also known
as POPs.  We are all sure to have POPs in our households – POPs
are generally found in items such as sofas and mattresses, etc.   
SEPA have been working closely with local authorities and waste
operators over the course of the last year to highlight the emerging
concerns and to seek feedback on their developing guidance on how
these Waste Upholstered Domestic Seating (WUDS) should be
managed.  Regulations are very clear that this waste must be
managed in such a way as to destroy or irreversibly transform the
POPs content, and this means that the landfilling of WUDS must stop
and this type of waste must instead be sent for incineration.  My
understanding is that the draft guidance will make clear, at the point at
which an item of upholstered domestic seating becomes waste
(WUDS), it is an offence for it (or any waste arising from its treatment)
to be disposed of by landfilling, or in any other way that is not one of
the appropriated disposal routes. 
The Council have been advised, following confirmation from SEPA in
October 2023 that SEPA’s intention is to publish their guidance on
POPs on 31st  October 2023 – officers are preparing a report to the
November 2023 Environment, Development and Infrastructure
Committee on waste, which will include an update on POPs, with a
copy of this guidance once it has been published. 
SEPA have confirmed that they will also publish information which
clearly signposts the regulatory support available to enable operators
who currently have a waste management authorisation to continue to
store and treat WUDS containing POPs whilst working towards full
compliance with the requirements outlined in the guidance document. 
8.4 Play Park Funding: Communities across Argyll and Bute have
provided the Council with feedback on their local play parks following a
recent survey.  More than 1,000 adults and 400 young people took
part in the Council consultation, which invited play park users,

Page 31

Community Councils, Disability Forums and pupils to consider
priorities for their local park. 
The consultation followed the award of Scottish Government funding
of £938,000 for play park renewal, which the Council will allocate to 28
play parks in the area: 11 in Helensburgh and Lomond; 11 in Mid
Argyll, Kintyre and the islands; five in Bute and Cowal; and one in
Oban, Lorn and the Isles.   
Once the Council has fully reviewed the results of the consultation, a
report will go to each Area Committee to agree the priorities for each
play park in their area.  On top of presenting information to each Area
Committee for decision, officers have commenced Area Business
Days to provide Elected Members with details, which will inform the
information presented to the Area Committee Meetings in December.   
The Council are committed to providing a safe, fun and high-quality
environment and experience for children and young people across the
area’s play parks. 
The excellent response from our communities to the consultation
demonstrates the high value which local people place on these and we
would like to thank everyone who took the time to let us know their
thoughts. We look forward to reviewing all the responses and further
enhancing the facilities on offer.   
8.5 Recycling Infrastructure Fund: I was delighted to hear that the
Council submitted an application to the Recycling Improvement Fund
(RIF) which is managed by Zero Waste Scotland and in October were
advised that they had successfully secured funding, totalling
£891,945.12.       
In summary, the application was for funding from the Recycling
Improvement Fund to support improvements to recycling infrastructure
at six Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC) on the islands and
the Helensburgh and Lomond area of the Argyll and Bute Council
area. The improvements will increase the quality and quantity of
recyclate material captured by the Council and provide further re-use
opportunities for items deposited at these sites – well done to
everyone involved in securing this substantial amount of monies.

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8.6 Other works: There are a number of works ongoing within the
Service, which I also wanted to highlight, such as:- 
 Grass cutting – grass cutting for the season ceased at the end of
October, and I wanted to pay my thanks to staff for their efforts in
keeping our area looking great this year; 
 Burials/Crematorium – the number of burials and cremations
remain manageable, with numbers in line with seasonal averages. 
Crematorium Superintendent and Operators posts were vacant and
I was delighted to hear that these have now been filled; 
 Bin collections – following the weather incidents in early October,
operatives have tried their best to deliver to schedule, while
managing other conflicting demands which arose from the recovery
from the weather incident.  You can check on any service
disruption to your bin collections on the Council’s website here
Rubbish and recycling | Argyll and Bute Council (argyll-
bute.gov.uk) 
I would also want to put on record my thanks to all staff for their efforts
following the weather incident and the recovery process which is
underway – there is a lot of hard work going on, a lot that is often
unseen – well done to everyone involved.   
9. POLICY LEAD FOR ISLANDS AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT-
Councillor Liz McCabe 
9.1 Support for businesses during the recovery from weather
incident: Officers have been in touch with local businesses to share
information following the impacts of extreme weather events which are
affecting communities across Argyll and Bute, and Scotland as a
whole.    
Businesses were offered advice and information through our Business
Gateway service.  Business Gateway can provide one-to-one support
from a business adviser and can link business owners to an expert
help adviser for support with particular aspects such as marketing, to
help business recovery. Their support is free of charge and is open to
every business owner to contact them on 01546 604555 or
email business.gateway@argyll-bute.gov.uk 
Updates on progress concerning the reinstatement of our transport
infrastructure can be found on our website at www.argyll-
bute.gov.uk/weather-recovery

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I would want to express my sincerest thanks to all of the officers
involved in the recovery works, there have been a lot of well-deserved
positive comments on social media regarding staff and their efforts –
well done.   
Helping local businesses to thrive with free events: Entrepreneurs and
people in business across Argyll and Bute are being offered the
chance to attend a free event designed to help them expand their
business activity.
Argyll and Bute Council’s Business Gateway and Highlands and
Islands Enterprise (HIE) are jointly hosting a series of ‘Thrive and
Transform’ events, designed to help local businesses expand their
activity. 
The series kicked off in Dunoon on 20th September, with 30
attendees.  Sessions were also held in Tobermory on 4th October and
Oban on 26th October with further sessions (at the time of writing)
scheduled for Helensburgh on 2nd November, Campbeltown 29th
November and Lochgilphead 7th February. There will also be a virtual
event on 24th January 2024 for anyone unable to get to an event in
person. 
Local businesses are integral to Argyll and Bute’s long-term economic
success. We know that the last couple of years have been incredibly
challenging for many business owners. The Thrive and Transform
series is a great opportunity to network and hear from industry experts
on the range of support available 
Plenty of support can be provided virtually but these events are a great
excuse to get together and meet face to share ideas and best practice. 
The events start with networking, followed by short presentations from
Business Gateway and HIE on the different types of support each
organisation can offer. 
Each event will also include a selection of expert partners able to offer
advice on reducing costs, minimising waste and optimising operational
efficiencies in a business. 
Full details and registration are available online at
www.ticketsource.co.uk/unlockyourbusinesspotential 
UK Shared Prosperity Fund – business support: Promotional activity
via email, social media and press releases is now generating
increased activity - 27 applications have been received to date.

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For the small business development grant, nine applications have
been approved, four are in progress and one rejected as ineligible. For
the start-up grant, one application has been approved, three are in
progress and three rejected as ineligible. One Trade Fair, Training or
Accreditation grant has been approved and one other is in progress.
One expert help session has been approved. 
9.2 Islands Issues: 
Argyll Islands Sounding Board: At the August EDI committee it was
agreed that that the Council’s formal response to the Nationals Islands
Plan (NIP) consultation be prepared and shared with members of the
Argyll Islands Sounding Board for their views and input, prior to the
final response being submitted. The original closing date was 9th
October; however, the Scottish Government advised local authorities
on 20th September 2023 of an extension to the response deadline to
7th November. 
The Argyll Islands Sounding Board met on 19th October 2023, to
discuss the consultation response to the Scottish Government’s
National Islands Plan Review and a response for submission is in
hand.   
Islands Programme (IP) 2023/2024: The Council submitted two
applications to the IP 2023/24 and successfully secured funding for
both projects. £700,000 has been awarded to Tobermory Worker
Accommodation project, as part of the Rural Growth Deal, and
£450,000 awarded to the HSCP for the Tiree Community Care Hub
project. 
The formal contracts from the Scottish Government have been
received, signed and returned and procurement work is now
underway. 
9.3 Regeneration activity: 
Tarbert Heritage Regeneration Scheme: An Area Partnership Group
has been formed and all contracts have been signed. The Project
Officer is currently working with National Heritage Lottery Fund and
Historic Environment Scotland to get the briefs for the Architects and
Community Engagement out on Public Contracts Scotland (the portal
for tenders in the public sector). An office in Tarbert has been sourced
for the Project Officer in Tarbert Library for three days a week. This
started from Monday 2nd October and will allow the project to move
forward substantially having a base in the town.

Page 35

Rothesay Townscape Heritage (TH): Rothesay TH is now expected to
complete by the end of 2023 due to delays with contracts for
completion of the last remaining projects. 69-72 Victoria Street is the
last remaining priority building with the shopfront on ground floor being
the last shopfront restoration project. There has been a great social
media response to the completion of 1 Tower Street, with many
members of the public commenting on the improvement it makes to
the seafront. 
Lochgilphead Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme: Lochgilphead
CARS is a £2m programme in its fourth year – due to end March 2026.
Two priority buildings have works under way on site. The remaining
two priority buildings are scheduled to start in spring 2024. A repair
project is underway on Lochnell Street with a number of other projects
in the development phase. A Tenement Maintenance and Retrofit
event took place in September which seventeen people attended. 
Film and TV production in Argyll: The number of film enquiries and
productions filming in the area has been a steady stream. There has
been one large scale Netflix production in the area and another
medium sized production based outside Oban for six weeks. 
For more information on filming in Argyll and Bute, please have a look
at the dedicated Film in Argyll website - Whats New | Film in Argyll |
Filming in Scotland 
9.4 Employability:
Fair Start Scotland - 16 to 67 year olds: https://www.argyll-
bute.gov.uk/business-and-licensing/jobs-and-training/helping-people-
work 
Ten additional starts have signed up to Fair Start Scotland, bringing
the total to 397 participants since the service commenced (73
Helensburgh, 95 Campbeltown, 48 Rothesay, 77 Dunoon and 104
Oban). Key Workers have supported 148 people into work. 
PeoplePlus continues to set targets. Referral numbers from the
Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) have picked up slightly
following attendance by our keyworkers at recent 50 years plus
events. 
The Scottish Government has granted a one year extension to allow
referrals to be received up to 31st March 2024. 
Officers continue to complete the Marketing Action Plan detailing the
activity carried out to promote the service.

Page 36

No One Left Behind (NOLB) - Employer Recruitment Incentives (ERIs)
25+ Years : Applications have now ceased utilising 22/23 funding. 
This funding allowed unemployed people aged 25+ years the
opportunity to move into permanent or a fixed term employment
contracts of up to 18 months or more. 
Seven employers recruited nine employees - of these, five employees
have reached the end of their subsidised period/left early; one has
been retained in employment with the employer accessing the
subsidy; two have moved into self-employment; one has secured
alternative employment with an employer and one has moved to
London to be closer to family. 
Parental Employability Support Fund (PESF) - Employer Recruitment
Incentives (ERIs) 16 to 67 Years: https://www.argyll-
bute.gov.uk/sites/default/files/migrated_files/participant_leaflet_pesf_-
_eri_22.23.pdf 
Applications continue to be accepted in respect of the ERIs of up to
£6,000 per person.  This allows unemployed parents aged 16 to 67
years the opportunity to move into permanent or a fixed term
employment contracts of up to 18 months or more. 
Parental Welfare Fund: https://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/business-and-
licensing/jobs-and-training/helping-people-work 
This fund is aimed at parents receiving support through the PESF (see
above) who successfully secure employment. It helps with the
transition to work and can elevate any worries. 
Up to £1,000 is claimable and paid in three instalments over the first
13 weeks of employment. This fund will help with the transition to work
and can elevate any worries around costs of work wear, travel to work,
etc, helping to balance between receiving salary and Universal Credit
payments. 
The Young Person’s Guarantee - 16-24 year olds:  The Young
Person’s Guarantee (YPG) has now ceased as the 23/24 All Age
Employability Service will now support people ages 16 to 67 years. 
Employer Recruitment Incentives (ERIs) are still available to
employers under the YPG general revenue grant. Employers can
apply for grants of up to £6,000 per participant. This will allow a total of
90 unemployed young people the opportunity to move into permanent
or a fixed term employment contracts of up to 18 months or more.

Page 37

To date 86 young people have commenced an ERI. Of these 62 have
now completed or left early; 38 remain employed with the same
employer; six are employed with a different employer; four are in
further education; five are not in education or employment and nine
are whereabouts unknown 
NOLB All Age Service and Child Poverty 2023/24: Local authorities
received their grant offer letters on 30th May this year from the Scottish
Government in respect of funding from 1st April 2023 to 31st March
2024. 
A grant allocation of £443,000 is available to fund delivery and staff
costs for pre-employment All Age Employability Support. A further
allocation of £543,000 is available to help fund the tackling of child
poverty. All monies are subject to a hard stop spend at 31st March
2024. 
At the Scottish Government’s request an Annual Investment Plan has
been created. The Argyll and Bute Employability Partnership (ABEP)
endorsed this plan on 5th July 2023. The plan details all delivery by
the Employability Team and Third Sector Partners. 
Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are in place with two Third Sector
partners InspirAlba and WorkingRite.  InspirAlba, the consortium lead,
along with their partners will deliver pre-employment support across
the whole of Argyll and Bute. A total of 110 participants will be
supported including 20 work taster placements and four work
placements. WorkingRite will also deliver 25 pre-employment places in
Mid Argyll, Lorn and the Isles. 
In respect of child poverty, InspirAlba will deliver support to 140
parents; 110 of which will access specialist support with Bute Advice
and Alienergy. There will also be four opportunities for interested
parents to be fully supported to set up their own childminding
business. This intervention will help tackle the shortage of available
childcare in the area. A further 24 parents will be involved in budget
cookery where they not only gain budgeting skills but also coaching
and accredited training in the food and drink industry. Completion of
the course will allow parents to be best placed to secure employment
in the hospitality sector. 
An additional letter in respect of £213,000 general revenue grant
(GRG) monies to fund Child Poverty staff costs was received on 12th
July 2023. These monies will be paid in March 2024 and are permitted
to be accrued to 2024/25.

Page 38

As well as the overall management of partner delivery, the
Employability Team continues to deliver support to low income
employed parents and unemployed parents. We will also shortly be
advertising work. 
UK Shared Prosperity Fund: We are offering work placement and
training interventions. There are 29 opportunities available in 2023/24.
Eighteen unemployed people have commenced a work placement
paying the Real Living Wage. A further five employers have shown
interest and may have potential starts. 
Interest in the training intervention has picked up. Eight participants
have had their funding application approved and seven are pending. 
Fifteen of the interventions have now started delivery. The remaining
four expect to start delivery before the end of the year. 
The Multiply programme has been tendered, and the contact will be
awarded in October. 
Approval has been granted for underspends from 2022/23 to be
carried forward into 2023/24. Payment of the 2023/24 allocation is
expected to be received in October. 
9.5  Digital/R100:
In terms of an update on Digital/R100 I have been kept informed by
officers, and note the latest statistics:- 
 94.7% of Argyll and Bute premises are connected to the fibre
network 
 87% can access speeds >30Mbps 
 0.8% are between 24 and 30 Mbps 
 2.3% are between 15 and 24 Mbps 
 1.7% are between 10 and 15Mbps 
 5.2% are between 2 and 10Mbps 
 3.1% are below 2Mbps 
Full Fibre/Ultra-Fast Broadband (>100 Mbps) availability is currently at
8.21% -  
 Openreach 8.1% 
 Virgin/KCOM 0.18% 
A meeting is scheduled with Scottish Government representatives and
Executive and Senior management to take place before the end of this
year to discuss the progress of the R100 programme across Argyll and
Bute.

Page 39

10. POLICY LEAD FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH, COMMUNITIES AND
CORPORATE SERVICES - Councillor Alastair Redman 
10.1  Economic Growth and Communities:  
Tarbert Heritage Scheme: Ambitious plans to regenerate Tarbert are
taking shape, following the announcement of new funding for the
project.  Argyll and Bute Council has launched the first phase of the
Tarbert Heritage Regeneration Scheme, with the restoration of historic
buildings being one of the key aims of the initiative. 
The Council has awarded £60,000 to the project, while the National
Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic Environment Scotland have each
committed £40,000. 
Priorities in the coming months are the development of an application
for the next phase of delivery as well as plans to engage with the local
community on their aspirations for the area.  The Council also plans to
carry out cost analyses of potential priority buildings, conduct a skills
audit in the local area, and develop an energy efficiency scheme.
The aim with the Tarbert Heritage scheme is to replicate the success
of other regeneration projects already launched in areas such as
Rothesay, Dunoon, Campbeltown and Lochgilphead.
The restoration and refurbishment of historic buildings and
enhancement of the local culture and heritage of our communities is a
key priority, boosting the wider economic health of Argyll and Bute,
generating employment, enhancing skills and attracting more people
to live and work in the area. 
Love Local Cards – Photography Competition: A new photography
competition has taken place with the dual aim of helping to support
local businesses while highlighting the area’s stunning scenery. 
Argyll and Bute Council is looking for iconic landscape images of the
area, with the winning entry featuring on the new Argyll and Bute Gift
Card design. As well as seeing their work on the new cards, the
winner will themselves receive a £50 Argyll and Bute Gift Card. 
Local businesses are the beating heart of our communities and
communities are encouraging more people to show support and shop
local. From amazing experience days to the best local produce and
bespoke gifts, purchasing the Argyll and Bute gift card not only makes
a great present but you’re also supporting local jobs.

Page 40

Launched in 2021, the gift card encourages people to support local
businesses by shopping local. The card works just like a gift voucher
with over 300 independent shops, experiences and services to
choose. 
The competition looked for a stunning landscape image to feature on
the gift card, one that really captures what makes Argyll and Bute so
special.   
The competition launched on 2nd October and closed on 20th October
- the Council will make an announcement on the winner soon and I
look forward to seeing all of the entries and the winning picture.   
Below are a couple of pictures which I took while out Portnahaven
which showcases the wonderful landscapes we really do have in Argyll
and Bute.  I would encourage everyone who uses social media to use
our hashtag when uploading their images of our beautiful area
#abplace2b

Page 41

10.2 Customer and Support Services: 
Registrar Funeral Services: Residents and undertakers in Kintyre can
now ask Argyll and Bute Council Registrars to conduct non-
denominational funeral services following a successful pilot
programme.
The decision by the Council means that people in the Kintyre area will
have a greater choice of funeral service provider from within their own
community. It also removes any potential need to travel outside their
local area or the need to bring in officiators.
Local undertakers approached Argyll and Bute Council for help, due to
the long-term decline in the number of available Church of Scotland
Ministers to conduct funerals. The Council launched a six-month pilot in
2022 to enable registrars based in Campbeltown, who already officiate
at marriage ceremonies and register deaths, to deal with funeral
arrangements including conducting services.
It is great to be able to offer the support of our experienced registrars to
deliver this important service to families at very challenging times.
During the pilot, a number of positive responses from families, mourners
and undertakers were received. It was clear that the Kintyre community
would welcome making this move permanent.  It now gives people a
wider choice locally and helps to support our local undertakers.
At present, there would not appear to be a demand to widen out the
service into other areas of the Argyll and Bute region but officers will
continue to monitor the views of registrars in other districts to assess if
there is a need elsewhere.
Council Website: Argyll and Bute Council’s new-look website now
makes it even easier for residents, businesses and visitors to access
information and keep up to date with all the latest news. The new
website offers the same huge range of online services as before, as
well as some new ones, to make connecting with the council quick and
convenient. 
The  website also has a number of “Request It” and “Report It”
functions that allow people to report lighting and road faults; tell us if
they have moved house; make and comment on planning applications;
order a new bin; change the name of their house; or request a copy
birth certificate. The My Council section is the gateway to a host of
council information from current fees and charges to all the papers
from council and committee meetings and councillor related
information.

Page 42

The website allows you to sign up to our “Keep In The Loop” service,
which keeps you up to date via text or email about disruptions, service
changes, events and news. It also enables you to engage with the
council by taking part in consultations and surveys. You can hear from
the council’s Chief Executive Pippa Milne on a wide range of topical
subjects in Pippa’s Podcasts.
The site also has a Digital Assistant called Abbot, web chat and
improved search function, to help you get the information you need
around the clock, and if you are planning a journey, you can even
check the roads before you go by taking a look at our roads cameras.
The new streamlined website not only looks great, it offers a huge
variety of resources that could save you time and money.
The team are committed to delivering new and useful digital services,
and the website makes it even easier to navigate these. I would urge
everyone to have a look at the new site to see how it can benefit them.
Visit www.argyll-bute.gov.uk 
The Council’s Web Team are always keen to improve the content and
usability of the website, so constructive feedback is very welcome.
Customer Engagement Team: The team continue to deliver on a
number of different platforms, and the following gives a flavour of what
the team have been working hard on:-   
 Webchat re-applied to the website in September along with the
Drupal 9 compliant version of our Web Bot Abbot and the team are
developing an equivalent for the MyCouncil Works pages too. 
 The increase in the call abandon rate from 3% last August to 5.1%
this August and reduction in resolution at first point of contact from
89% to 88% is indicative of the influx of new Agents and loss of
experienced ones over past months. Mediated contacts also rose
adding to the strain on team resources. 
 Marriage activity is still buoyant, although down on the post
pandemic peaks of last year and it is notable that for the year to
date there have been 368 civil and 338 religious ceremonies.
 The number of page views on the new website in August was
42,000 up on the old website last August and it looks like the
visitors to the site are having a good look around it. The web team
have been working to ensure that recording measures and external
website scoring reflect visitor/view levels, including challenging
some metrics successfully which mean that our monthly scores
should improve from the current, very respectable 96/100.

Page 43

 The external facing staff website called My Council Works         
has had a significant facelift by the Web Team under the direction
of the Comms Team and has new HR and Wellbeing pages. 
 New content has also been developed for the Health and Social
Care Partnership on the abplace2b site which is now being linked
to from all their recruitment adverts. Stats are being monitored and
provided to the HSCP to monitor effectiveness. 
Business Support web pages:  Following the recent weather events
and the large scale recovery which is underway, I would encourage all
business owners to take a look at the Council’s website, which 
provides a range of support which is available to them - Business
support | Argyll and Bute Council   
10.3 Corporate Services: 
By-election – Ward 1 South Kintyre: The team administered the by-
election in Ward 1, South Kintyre on Thursday 2nd November, with five
candidates standing for election. There will be a separate report to the
November meeting of the Council in relation to the result. An electronic
count was carried out in Campbeltown immediately following the close
of poll at 10pm on 2nd November. 
11. CONCLUSION 
11.1 This report provides members with an update on each of the Policy
Lead portfolios. Policy Lead Councillors will be happy to discuss any
particular issues with colleagues as required. 
Argyll and Bute Council – Policy Lead Councillors Report – 10th November
2023 
For further information please contact Aileen McNicol, Leadership Support
and Member Services Manager, telephone 01546 604014 or email
aileen.mcnicol@argyll-bute.gov.uk