TSI - April H&L CPP

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Report: Helensburgh and Lomond Area Community Planning Group
Date: 7 May 2024
Prepared by: TSI 
CPP organisational changes
In a surprise move in an unscheduled report, and in between council administrations with
no elected members present, last week’s CPP Management Committee introduced and
approved a new model for Community Planning with four tiers of meetings and engagement
instead of the current three.  The new model involves the use of a statutory partners only
oversight group with no TSI and TSO representation (unlike at present on the current
Management Committee), a once a year only Community Planning meeting (with wide
representation as now but it has not met in a while), the four Area Community Planning
Group meetings (as now) and the use of working groups to lead specific pieces of work.  This
latter is a good innovation with the Climate Change Working Group providing a good test of
change, but it is the manner of change and the lack of consultation that is surprising.  The
model also misses the opportunity of increasing the power and scope of Area Community
Planning Group meetings.  
As an example, using the current model the TSI, supported by our Social Enterprise
Network, was able to promote Community Wealth Building and proposed the research
described above to the CPP at one of the four meetings annually.  In the new model there is
no method for a TSO to propose innovation or to directly collaborate on the community
planning agenda at the oversight group.
The TSI role across Scotland is to operate at the interface between public and third sectors
and this appears to be a surprise step in the opposite direction.   Some public bodies present
welcomed the move as they had to represent their organization at up to six council area
CPPs and this move makes their attendance at these more manageable, however this should
not be at the expense of local voice and TSO representation.  This point was made and
ABTSI objected to the proposal. 
The paper appeared somewhat rushed, with the change taking place immediately and with
no comparator information provided on arrangements with other CPPs - a question that was
asked by the Scottish Government observer.
The TSI will be in consultation with TSO groups on next steps and if our members wish to
lobby for change then we will take this view to CPP lead partners and the new
administration – at the very least consultation should have taken place and elected
members should have been present.  More on the CPP report here from the 10th April 2024
meeting.