Locality Planning 2.0
North Ayrshire Council · 6 May 2025
Back to Cabinet — 6 May 2025 and its agenda
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NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL 6th May 2025 Cabinet Title: Locality Planning 2.0 Purpose: To seek Cabinet approval of the proposed next steps in relation to North Ayrshire’s locality planning approach. Recommendation: That Cabinet: a) Notes the review work undertaken in relation to locality planning in North Ayrshire; b) Notes the national context and ongoing developments regarding community and locality planning and local democracy; and c) Approves implementation of the proposals arising from the locality planning review as detailed within the report. 1. Executive Summary 1.1 North Ayrshire’s Council Plan identifies ‘communities and local democracy’ as one of four key priorities. The Council Plan sets out our ambition to develop strong relationships with communities and partners based on trust and shared aspirations. The Council has long recognised the importance of participative democracy in co-designing and delivering the best possible services, within available resources, alongside partners and communities. For democracy to thrive, people must be encouraged and supported to take part in decision making at all levels. 1.2 Alongside the national Local Governance Review, Democracy Matters 2 conversation and review of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, officers have progressed a programme of self-assessment work to identify areas of strength within our locality planning framework along with proposals to further strengthen the approach aligned to our Council Plan priority. 1.3 This report sets out the results of the self-assessment work and the recommendations for the future of locality planning in North Ayrshire. The recommendations include opportunities to better support locality planning partnerships, the form and content of meetings, and a renewed focus on locality action plans. The proposed next steps will build upon existing good practice to further strengthen the role of locality planning and the involvement of communities in local democracy. 2. Background 2.1 Collaboration, cooperation and collective action are recognised as leading to improved outcomes for people, and open, transparent and participatory government is fundamental to democracy. Over the past decade, North Ayrshire Council has been building its approach to community empowerment by strengthening communities and improving participative democratic processes. The Christie Commission in 2011 recognised the importance of this
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as a way of working as a driver for public sector reform. This was further enhanced by the introduction of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act in 2015. The importance of this work is embedded within the North Ayrshire Community Partnership Plan (LOIP) and recognised through the inclusion of “Communities and Local Democracy” as one of the four key priorities of the Council Plan, with the aim being that we will have active, inclusive and resilient communities. 2.2 The 2020 Best Value Audit Report recognised that the Council proactively engages with communities, including hard-to-reach groups and its most vulnerable communities. In the 2021-22 Best Value statement, Audit Scotland identified that “The Council continues to be open and transparent and demonstrates a culture of continuous improvement”. The North Ayrshire Participation Strategy, which was approved by Cabinet in June 2024, seeks to further that continuous improvement by setting out our overarching approach to participation, offering an accessible pathway for communities to participate and a commitment to developing new, innovative and inclusive methods for participation that further the transparency of decision making. 2.3 The Scottish Government has embarked on a Local Governance Review, and this national programme of work, alongside the Council’s own recently published North Ayrshire Participation Strategy, has been used as a catalyst to complete a self-assessment exercise in relation to locality planning to understand opportunities for improvement aligned to our Council Plan ambitions. 2.4 Nationally, the Scottish Government has also been undertaking a review of the Community Empowerment Act, and the initial findings and recommendations were published on 31st March 2025. The recommendations outlined in this paper in response to our self- improvement work support the emerging recommendations of the review, particularly in terms of streamlining complex lines of accountability, improving policy coherence between areas such as community planning and Community Wealth Building, involving the Third Sector Interface and local anchor organisations as partners, and enabling effective leadership in CPPs. 2.5 The report on the latest of the ongoing series of Democracy Matters 2 (Local Governance Review) conversations is expected later this year. Early indications are that the approach outlined in this paper will also support the outcomes of the Democracy Matters work and the Local Governance Review. Officers will continue to monitor the expectations from both pieces of work on an ongoing basis and work with our national partners to identify shared learning and expectations. 2.6 One of the key routes for participation in North Ayrshire is through locality planning, including the work of the locality partnerships which bring our Community Planning Partners, elected members and community representatives together to jointly address local priorities. Locality planning is one of the key levers used to encourage communities to work together on joint priorities and co-produce solutions. Locality Plans, which cover smaller areas within the Community Planning Partnership, focus on priorities agreed by each Locality Partnership. 2.7 Locality Planning is outlined in the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 as a way for Community Planning Partners to tackle inequality in a targeted and cohesive manner for communities facing disadvantage. North Ayrshire Locality Planning arrangements are through the North Ayrshire Decentralisation Scheme in terms of section 23 of the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994, as well as complying with Part 2 of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. Locality Partnerships are chaired by elected members as agreed by North Ayrshire Council and since the alignment of Elected Member wards to locality boundaries in 2019, Elected Members sit on one Locality Partnership.
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2.8 Locality planning is a living process which we seek to continuously improve, with the last development being a review of the partnership Terms of Reference and membership criteria in 2022. The development of the locality planning journey to date is attached as Appendix 1. 2.9 Using the national context and the North Ayrshire Participation Strategy as a driver, a programme of self- assessment work in relation to locality planning has been undertaken. This reflects our ambition to continue to grow and improve the local governance framework, using locality planning as a key lever to do so. It also reflects the ambitions of communities across Scotland, which have been identified through the national Local Governance Review and Democracy Matters 2 conversation. 2.10 The self-assessment exercise took place during summer/autumn 2024 and included the following: • Surveys with all locality representatives to gain a deeper understanding and identify what is currently working well, what the challenges to locality working are and what the opportunities are to develop the collective contribution • Completion of ‘locality profiles’ for each locality • Engagement with elected members via a Policy Advisory Panel session • A wider review of the best of practice across national networks to inform our locality planning approach, tailored to local circumstances as required 2.11 The key question which the self-assessment sought to answer was Are we addressing inequalities as effectively as we could? 2.12 Following the development of initial proposals, further engagement has been carried out with elected members, community planning partners and locality partnerships. A timeline of the activity undertaken is attached at Appendix 2. 2.13 Analysis of the feedback from key representatives showed that members of locality partnership felt a high level of involvement and ownership of the partnership, and that community members in particular felt included and involved in decisions which were made. The feedback also highlighted a number of areas for potential improvement including how the time at partnership meetings was used and the potential of focusing in more depth around particular priority themes at meetings. Discussions with our community planning partners also reflected the challenges they have in resourcing locality planning and the high level of movement in partner staffing arrangements recently. This reinforces the need to ensure locality planning is as effective as possible and makes the best use of partners and communities time in addressing inequalities. 2.14 Key to the approach taken in the recommendations is an aim of establishing a core approach to good practice across all six localities in North Ayrshire. Not every recommendation is new to every locality. The aim is to ensure a consistent level of expectation across all Locality Partnerships, while ensuring there is enough flexibility for each area to adapt to their own needs. The recommendations are themed around the key areas: Support for the Partnership 2.15 Support for the partnership will be developed using the concept of the “Team Around the Partnership”. This team comprises the Chair of the Partnership, the Connected Communities Lead Officer, the Locality Officer and the Partnership Lead Officer for the locality. Additional support for the delivery of the Locality Plan and the Council, LOIP and HSCP priorities will be provided by Strategic Leads who are Council and HSCP Chief Officers. An explanation of the roles and responsibilities are provided at Appendix 3. This
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strategic team will help tackle any ‘mission drift’ which may occur in the Partnership’s focus and re-energise Council service, HSCP and CPP partner support. 2.16 The size and complexity of each locality means that the structures that sit beneath each partnership are of vital importance. A ‘locality profiling’ exercise was undertaken as part of the self-assessment work to understand the key community and voluntary groups active in each locality and the contribution they provide to their local community. We will review the membership of Locality Networks which meet regularly to deliver on actions related to the priorities and look at how we can drive participation and representation through existing channels. A key action will be to continue to strengthen and develop the role of Locality Networks with the support of the Council and HSCP Strategic Leads. Joint work, led by the Strategic Leads, will help ensure alignment and integration between the locality work of the CPP and the HSCP. This shared approach will also help identify how the ongoing work of the Collaboration for Health Equity in Scotland (CHES) project can be embedded in localities, reinforcing existing action to close inequities in healthy life expectancy. We will also increase training and development sessions for LP members and stakeholders. 2.17 A place-based approach to locality planning is key, and a clear understanding amongst stakeholders of the assets within our localities (people, buildings, skills, capacity, funding etc) will be key to improving outcomes. In addition, the role of Local Place Plans and engagement as part of the new Local Development Plan and through our Tenant and Resident Associations will be an important aspect of locality discussions in the coming months. Format and content of partnership meetings 2.18 The Locality Partnership meeting is key to the effective delivery of locality planning. The proposal is that we make a radical change to the meeting agenda and format to re-energise the room. This will include a formal decision-making section at the start of each meeting, followed by interactive discussions around an agreed locality priority. The co-production of agenda items and the role of the community representative who is Vice Chair will be emphasised. Alternative formats for reporting will reduce the time spent on “show and tell” style feedback at the meetings which survey respondents indicated could be more effectively communicated. We will further develop the Community Voice agenda item which is already implemented in Garnock Valley across all partnerships. The Locality Partnership Senior Officers Group will support with development activity around the redesign of the meetings. Focus on the locality plan and addressing inequalities 2.19 The focus of locality planning is to reduce inequalities, and the locality plan is the central document which not only allows for planning but also monitoring of progress around delivering on the locality priorities. With this in mind, we will refocus the locality plan to emphasise its centrality to all work related to Locality Partnerships. Actions to address priorities will be developed further with partners and community representatives. Plans will clearly articulate the golden thread which runs upwards and downwards from locality plans to the LOIP and the Council Plan. We will also clearly articulate links to Community Wealth Building in communities. The locality plan will be the driver for Partnership meetings, discussions and projects. 2.20 Our communities are key to not only the development but delivery of locality priorities. The community of volunteers within North Ayrshire make an invaluable contribution across the board. In parallel to the implementation of Locality Planning 2.0, officers will work with partners across the Council, Third Sector Interface and KA Leisure to understand how we can better attract, support, recognise and retain volunteers locally and improve the overall volunteer experience.
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Community Investment Fund (CIF) processes 2.21 One of the key decisions currently made by Locality Partnerships is around their allocation of Community Investment Funding (CIF). At present we are engaged in a comprehensive review of grant making processes across the Council which has the intention of streamlining the process for applicants and ensuring robustness and appropriate governance. As part of this work, we will update the CIF guidance which is provided to applicants and strengthen the checklist which Locality Officers’ complete and supply to assist with decision making. This will help to ensure that applications which reach our Partnerships are as robust and aligned to local priorities as possible. As CIF funding is expended and the approach reaches its natural conclusion across the various localities, we will work with communities and partners to ensure a smooth transition to new ways of co-production. 2.22 Next steps to implement the recommendations will include: • Upskilling cross service Council officers in the purpose and methods of Locality Planning at the forthcoming Leadership Conference in April 2025 • Launching the next phase of locality planning with Community and Locality Planning Partners and communities • Working with the Locality Partnership Senior Officers Group to further develop and embed the proposed changes with partners • Further developing the profile of locality planning through corporate communications channels, including a focus on reporting on progress against locality priorities 3. Proposals It is proposed that Cabinet: (i) Notes the review work undertaken in relation to locality planning in North Ayrshire; (ii) Notes the national context and ongoing developments regarding community and locality planning and local democracy; and (iii) Approves implementation of the proposals arising from the locality planning review as detailed within the report. 4. Implications/Socio-economic Duty Financial 4.1 The delivery of the proposals will be carried out using existing resources. Human Resources 4.2 There are no human resources implications arising from the report. Legal 4.3 The proposals ensure the Council continues to meet its statutory duties in regards to the Community Empowerment Act (Scotland) 2015. In particular they ensure a refreshed and revitalised approach to addressing inequalities through the locality planning mechanism as specified in the Act.
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Equality/Socio-economic 4.4 The purpose of locality planning is to reduce inequalities, widen democratic participation and advance community empowerment by encouraging people to become involved in their community. The refreshed approach ensures that these purposes can be met more fully. Environmental and Sustainability 4.5 Locality planning supports sustainability through, for example, community involvement and volunteering in environmental projects, as well as providing funding for projects which contribute towards their sustainability. Key Priorities 4.6 Locality Planning supports the North Ayrshire Council Plan strategic aims: • To transition to a wellbeing economy, delivering prosperity, wellbeing and resilience for local people by involving local people in identifying priorities and codesigning processes which deliver solutions to poverty and inequality related issues. • We will have active, inclusive and resilient communities by providing a key process for local democratic decision making. • A Community Wealth Building Council that is efficient and accessible, maximising investment and focusing resources towards our priorities through supporting localized use of assets and identifying priorities which make best use of Council resources. Community Wealth Building 4.7 Locality planning encourages increased democratic participation and greater awareness of opportunities, for example, for community ownership of land and assets and plural ownership of the local economy through inclusive ownership models. 5. Consultation 5.1. The proposals contained within this paper have been developed in response to the survey of locality partnership members as detailed above in paragraph 2.10 and in collaboration with the strategic Community Planning Partners as detailed in paragraph 2.12 David W. Hammond Executive Director Communities and Housing For further information please contact Rhonda J. Leith, Head of Service (Connected Communities), on (01294) 324415. Background Papers Appendix 1 - Development of Locality Planning in North Ayrshire Appendix 2 - Self assessment activity programme Appendix 3 - Roles within the “Team Around the Partnership
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Appendix 1: North Ayrshire Locality Partnership Development Timeline 2014-24
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Appendix 2: North Ayrshire Locality Planning Review Activity Timeline 2024-25 Initial Scoping meetings in spring 2024 and LP survey Policy Advisory Panel Session Community Launch Information Session Links to Leadership Conference in April 2025 Cabinet Report 2025 Embedding of from review and launch of Locality Planning 2.0
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Appendix 3: Locality Partnership Role Structure